BookTrib is proud to present to our readers the Nerdy Romantics Podcast.
Romance and women’s fiction author Y. M. Nelson discusses the nerdy — superheroes, sci-fi and fantasy, and nerdy pop culture; and the romantic — romance novels, romantic movies, and romance tropes she loves. From reviews of books, TV and movies, to interviews with authors, see who does which romance and nerdy pop culture tropes the best.
“Who Gets an HEA?” is a Nerdy Romantics Podcast miniseries that showcases romances with marginalized heroes and heroines. Much mainstream romance consists of twenty- or thirty-something, physically fit or modelesque white characters finding love. Sometimes there are stereotypical images of people of color, differently-abled or LGBTQIA+ characters. Most of the time, these groups don’t get much representation at all. In this series, Nerdy Romantics features books that get it right (and talk about some that make a good effort).
In this week’s episode, Y.M. and Nerdy Romantics guests Marcie, Staci and Jen recommend several swoon-worthy reads with LGBTQIA+ main characters as part of the “Who Gets An HEA?” miniseries, Gay Pride edition. Scroll down to listen to the episode, but first, check out these highlights.
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While we had a great discussion about our search for LGBTQIA+ romances (that got cut off due to technical issues), we realized in our search that our romance picks are great because they represent the LGBTQ community, yet no one in these books is struggling with or being persecuted for who they are or who they love. And in our efforts to be allies, we want to showcase that.
EVERYONE should read romance with LGBTQIA+ main characters!
Read Between the Lines (Book 1 of the Ms. Right series) by Rachel Lacey | Montlake
Rosie Taft has taken over her mother’s bookstore. She’s surrounded by stories she loves, but doesn’t have much of a love life, except a budding relationship via letter with Brie, the author of a lesbian romance series she loves. Jane Breslin works for the family property business by day, but by night she’s writing as romance author Brie. When Rosie and Jane meet, it’s under negative circumstances; Rosie’s store’s lease has been terminated by Jane’s company.
In this episode: Hear how Marcie feels about this conflict-filled, enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.
Work for It by Talia Hibbert | Nixon House
I love how Talia Hibbert describes this book on its GoodReads page: “Basically two dudes have some issues, want to bang, dislike each other and decide they don’t want to bang, accidentally like each other again and then they bang, then they remember they still didn’t fix the issues, then some stuff goes sideways.”
In this episode: Staci agrees that these guys are fun but dysfunctional. Hear what she has to say (before the recording got messed up).
The Witch’s Complement (Cloaked Series Book 3) by Elle Beauregard | Independently Published
Abby has always kept her magic hidden until she meets Wren, her mentor’s friend and a powerful witch in her own right. Wren feels a deep connection to Abby but is hesitant to move forward with her, especially since the last witch friendship she had didn’t work out so well. But Abby needs assistance finding help for her friend, who’s got a lot of dark magic, and Wren knows how to find the dark magic’s source.
In this episode: Jen recommends our first paranormal romance series on the podcast. Check out what she has to say.
Worth Melting For (Dispelled Lineage, Book 2) by Elle Beauregard and Lin Lustig | Independently Published
In this series inspired by Disney movies, Worth Melting For takes some cues from Frozen and runs with them for a totally original story. Lana has the ability to see a person’s future probabilities. Unfortunately, when she saw that her husband was leaving her, she didn’t see that she would have to rely on her awful father to help. Her father makes a deal with her to head his company’s legal counsel, where she meets Shawn. Shawn’s the one person whose probabilities Lana can’t see and, compounded with her attraction for Shawn, that makes her that much more irresistible. But with Lana’s husband out to destroy her, and her father’s horrible presence in her life again, Lana and Shawn need to keep their relationship a secret.
In this episode: Hear what Jen loves about this co-author series.
*Trigger warning: father-daughter verbal abuse
Gilded Lies (Frequency Series, Book 1) by Lin Lustig | Independently Published
Celebrity actor and sex symbol John is in a bit of a love-life mess: his bodyguard boyfriend Emerson no longer wants to be a secret, his public girlfriend Pricia doesn’t know he has special abilities, and he keeps seeing visions of the past with his ex-girlfriend Licia. Turns out that he’s not the only one with visions: Licia and Emerson, who also have special abilities, see them too.
In this episode: Find out why Y. M. loves this nerdy romance and why it reminds her of the X-Men.
Also Mentioned:
Tell Me How This Ends by Victoria De La O | SMP Swerve
In this episode: Jen and Y. M. talk about love triangles, and this romance has a love triangle that’s done well.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE
RELATED POSTS
Nerdy Romantics Podcast: Ep 16 – Who Gets an HEA? – Differently-Abled Romance Recs
Nerdy Romantics Podcast: Ep 13 – Who Gets an HEA? – Black Love Rocks
Critically Acclaimed, Award-Winning YA Books for Pride Month
Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey
Rosie Taft has taken over her mother’s bookstore. She’s surrounded by stories she loves, but doesn’t have much of a love life, except a budding relationship via letter with Brie, the author of a lesbian romance series she loves. Jane Breslin works for the family property business by day, but by night she’s writing as romance author Brie. When Rosie and Jane meet, it’s under negative circumstances; Rosie’s store’s lease has been terminated by Jane’s company. In this episode: Hear how Marcie feels about this conflict-filled, enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.
Work for It by Talia Hibbert
I love how Talia Hibbert describes this book on its GoodReads page: “Basically two dudes have some issues, want to bang, dislike each other and decide they don’t want to bang, accidentally like each other again and then they bang, then they remember they still didn’t fix the issues, then some stuff goes sideways.” In this episode: Staci agrees that these guys are fun but dysfunctional. Hear what she has to say (before the recording got messed up).
The Witch’s Complement by Elle Beauregard
Abby has always kept her magic hidden until she meets Wren, her mentor’s friend and a powerful witch in her own right. Wren feels a deep connection to Abby but is hesitant to move forward with her, especially since the last witch friendship she had didn’t work out so well. But Abby needs assistance finding help for her friend, who’s got a lot of dark magic, and Wren knows how to find the dark magic’s source. In this episode: Jen recommends our first paranormal romance series on the podcast. Check out what she has to say.
Worth Melting For by Elle Beauregard, Lin Lustig
In this series inspired by Disney movies, Worth Melting For takes some cues from Frozen and runs with them for a totally original story. Lana has the ability to see a person’s future probabilities. Unfortunately, when she saw that her husband was leaving her, she didn’t see that she would have to rely on her awful father to help. Her father makes a deal with her to head his company’s legal counsel, where she meets Shawn. Shawn’s the one person whose probabilities Lana can’t see and, compounded with her attraction for Shawn, that makes her that much more irresistible. But with Lana’s husband out to destroy her, and her father’s horrible presence in her life again, Lana and Shawn need to keep their relationship a secret. In this episode: Hear what Jen loves about this co-author series. *Trigger warning: father-daughter verbal abuse
Gilded Lies by Lin Lustig
Celebrity actor and sex symbol John is in a bit of a love-life mess: his bodyguard boyfriend Emerson no longer wants to be a secret, his public girlfriend Pricia doesn’t know he has special abilities, and he keeps seeing visions of the past with his ex-girlfriend Licia. Turns out that he’s not the only one with visions: Licia and Emerson, who also have special abilities, see them too. In this episode: Find out why Y. M. loves this nerdy romance and why it reminds her of the X-Men.
Tell Me How This Ends by Victoria De La O
In this episode: Jen and Y. M. talk about love triangles, and this romance has a love triangle that’s done well.
