Ep #110 – LUST & FOUND

This week Meka and Melinda, aka Melinka, host the podcast as they debate the enemies to lovers trope and sustaining romantic tension

EP 110 HOSTS

> MEKA WHITE (she/her) is the voice behind BookAbility.me where she writes about her adventures in reading romance and being visually impaired. Meka loves pushing books and can’t wait to share her favorites with you. When she’s not reading, Meka also enjoys singing and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her guide dog, Treble. Follow her on Twitter @Mektastic

> MELINDA UTENDORF (she/her) was that child reading Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High books with a flashlight until 2 a.m. and checking out stacks of books from the library every week. After getting sick of ‘important’ books in her English degree classes, she turned to romance and HEAs and hasn’t looked back since. Melinda spends her time doing puzzles, listening to podcasts, and helping as admin for @RomanceSparksJoy. When she’s not busy with all of that, she’s a freelance editor or talking about books as @MelindaEdits

EP 110 DISCUSSION

> “Melinka” is Meka and Melinda’s cute portmanteau

> Meka references the famous line from the movie The Princess Bride, “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!” While popular, this quote was actually left off the AFI’s list of “100 Movies, 100 Movie Quotes” in 2005, much to the disappointment of many fans. In the link below, actor Mandy Patinkin, discusses the legacy of this classic quote
Link: https://www.npr.org/2012/10/05/162383428/mandy-patinkin-25-years-after-the-princess-bride-hes-not-tired-of-that-line

> Melinda refers to author Sarah MacLean as the Queen of the Grovel, and recommends MacLean’s current romance series, The Bareknuckle Bastards
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/210911-the-bareknuckle-bastards

> Melinka refer to the romance Rogue Anthologies project, which was discussed extensively in RomBkPod episode #109
Link: http://lustandfoundreads.com/rombkpod/ep-109/

> Do you have PNR or SFF enemies to lovers or political romance recs for Meka and Melinda? Don’t hesitate to share with us on Twitter or Instagram @RomBkPod

> Title: The Kingmaker (All the King’s Men duet #1)
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Relation to theme: Political activist MC, enemies to lovers
Representation: Black author, IR/Native American MC
Content Warnings: missing/presumed dead parent, discussion of murdered and missing Indigenous women
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45024651-the-kingmaker

> The Rebel King (All the King’s Men duet #2) will be published on Nov. 18th
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47872917-the-rebel-king

> Melinda actually recommends Kennedy Ryan’s entire backlist
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7429243.Kennedy_Ryan

> Kennedy Ryan, along with Minx Malone, made history by winning at the 2019 annual Romance Writers Association (RWA) RITA awards, and you can watch the entire awards ceremony at the link below
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4uqBSIuZbQ

> November was declared Native American Indian Heritage Month on August 3, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and thereafter commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month or sometimes Indigenous Heritage Month. You can learn more about the annual commemoration via the link below
Link: https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/

> Title: Going Under (Bound By Magick #3)
Author: Lauren Dane
Relation to theme: Political activist MC
Representation: White cis het author and MCs
Content Warnings: political upheaval, survivor’s guilt
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15710591-going-under

> Title: The Queen’s Game (Cincamarre #1)
Author: Carla de Guzman
Relation to theme: Royal politics
Representation: Filipina author and MCs
Content Warnings: parent death, grief
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35692900-the-queen-s-game

> Melinda highly recommends The Queen’s Game for fans of Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/212083-reluctant-royals

> Based in The Philippines, #RomanceClass is a dynamic community of romance authors and devotees who write, workshop, and self-publish English-language romance. Founded by the talented Mina V. Esguerra, you can follow their work on Twitter at #RomanceClass and on Instagram @RomanceClassBooks

> Title: Beastly Desires (The Verochka Pride #1)
Author: Nikki Winter
Relation to theme: Pride (as in lions) politics
Representation: Black author, black MCs
Content Warnings: pride violence
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21469901-beastly-desires

> Title: Beastly Passions (The Verochka Pride #2)
Author: Nikki Winter
Relation to theme: Pride (as in lions) politics
Representation: Black author, black MCs
Content Warnings: pride violence
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28762079-beastly-passions

> Title: Flirting With Scandal (Capital Confessions #1)
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Relation to theme: D.C. politics setting
Representation: Latinx author, white cis het MCs
Content Warnings: illegitimate child, secret identity, gossip
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22535694-flirting-with-scandal

> Title: Feud
Author: Phyllis Bourne
Relation to theme: Feuding neighbor families
Representation: Black author, black MCs
Content Warnings: death in the family
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38363619-feud

> Here’s the link to the “80 Black Romance Novels…” article Meka refers to from Sharee Hereford’s blog, The Sistah Girl Next Door
Link: http://shareehereford.com/black-literature/80-black-romance-novels-published-in-2018-that-you-should-read-in-2019/

> Do you have PNR or SFF enemies to lovers or political romance recs for Meka and Melinda? Don’t hesitate to share with us on Twitter or Instagram @RomBkPod

> Melinda recommends the Black Chick Lit podcast, which features in-depth discussions of the latest and greatest works penned by black women. Join hosts Danielle and Mollie as they talk prose, judge every character’s decisions, and laugh at their own jokes. You can follow them on Twitter @BlackChickLit and on Instagram @BCLpodcast
Link: http://blackchicklit.com/

> Which #InclusiveRomance favorites of yours did we miss? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @RomBkPod

Happy Reading!

EP 110 MUSIC CREDIT
Music: “Lift Off” by Jahzzar
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY-SA 3.0