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Our first season of our podcast, Romance on the Rocks, features a bevy of trashy romance novels written over the last fifty years. You can listen to our podcast on your favorite streaming service or via our podcast player right here on our website. Just head over to the Season 1 Episodes section. Here are the books we review in our inaugural season. (We’ve included our affiliate links for several of the books for your convenience if you’d like to purchase them but we also encourage you to check out your local secondhand bookstore or borrow from the library.)
Episode 1
In our first episode, The Power to Heal, Meghan reviewed Beauty Contest Nurse by Diana Douglas and Nicole reviewed The Viking’s Chosen by Quinn Loftis. Both romance novels featured women who were had the power to heal others and we ranked both at a poblano spice level. (To learn more about our romance novel Spicy Scoville Scale, click here.) Beauty Contest Nurse is no longer in print but you can purchase The Viking’s Chosen here.
Episode 2
Episode 2, Playing House, featured Younger Sister by Kathleen Norris and The Princess by Jude Devereaux. Both our books centered around young women embarking on their new lives as newlyweds but for very different reasons. Meghan gave Younger Sister a poblano ranking while Nicole put The Princess at a jalapeno. If you’d like to read Younger Sister, you can purchase it here in paperback or hardcover. For, The Princess, click here.
Episode 3
Episode 3 took us on a wild ride to Tennessee and Kentucky with Southern Romances: Music, Mobsters and Models. Meghan chose to review Heart of Nashville by Robert Vaughan while Nicole went for Bluegrass King (thinking it was about bluegrass music but it was actually about horses). Heart of Nashville is available here and Meghan ranks it at a habanero. Bluegrass King is the 17th book in Dailey’s Americana series which covers all 50 United States. Nicole ranks Bluegrass King at a poblano. You can purchase it here.
Episode 4
We were super excited about our Thanksgiving reads this year and the two books we chose did not disappoint. For Episode 4, A Thanksgiving Stuffed with Love, Nicole ditched her initial book and went for Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance by Jessica Gadziala while Meghan opted for A Thanksgiving to Remember by Margaret Watson. A Thanksgiving to Remember gets a jalapeno from Meghan while Nicole gives Stuffed a habanero ranking. You can purchase A Thanksgiving to Remember here and Stuffed here.
Episode 5
As we headed into December, we decided to hit the holiday romance novels hard. For Episode 5, (insert Episode title), Nicole chose a book by the proclaimed “Official Storyteller of Christmas,” Debbie Macomber: 1225 Christmas Tree Lane. Meghan chose a book with a very unusual storyline with Familiar Christmas by Caroline Burnes which features a cat detective. Familiar Christmas receives a poblano ranking from Meghan while Nicole felt she couldn’t even rank 1225 Christmas on the Spicy Scoville Scale. She says it’s less than a green pepper. You can purchase Familiar Christmas here and Christmas Tree Lane here.
Episode 6
For our final regular podcast of the season, we continued the holiday and Christmas theme. Meghan opted to read A Charming Christmas Arrangement by Heatherly Bell while Nicole’s pick of the episode was A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas. Nicole was hoping for a steamier Christmas read after the milk and cookies of 1225 Christmas Tree Lane and A Wallflower Christmas delivered with a spiciness level of habanero. Meghan also high enjoyed her second Christmas book and she ranks it at a jalapeno. You can purchase A Charming Christmas Arrangement here and A Wallflower Christmas here.
