Ep #122 – LUST & FOUND

“WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS ON ROMBKPOD”

This week Meka and Melinda, aka Melinka, host the podcast and continue our discussion of fake relationships and marriage of convenience

EP 122 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. You can follow Meka 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 122 DISCUSSION

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

> Title: Lush Money (Filthy Rich #1)

Author: Angelina M Lopez

Relation to theme: Marriage of convenience

Representation: Latinx author, Latinx MCs

Content Warnings: CW: toxic parents, past child neglect, characters focused on getting pregnant, side character in car accident resulting in hospitalization and surgery

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46038661-lush-money

> Title: A Fake Girlfriend for Chinese New Year (Holidays With the Wongs #3)

Author: Jackie Lau

Relation to theme: Fake girlfriend

Representation: Chinese-Canadian author, Chinese-Canadian MCs

Content Warnings: past broken engagement

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48761687-a-fake-girlfriend-for-chinese-new-year

> Title: Take Me Home (Belladonna Ink #2)

Author: Lorelie Brown

Relation to theme: Fake girlfriend

Representation: Queer MCs, white MCs

Content Warnings: toxic family, past loss of a parent

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30848832-take-me-home

> Title: Appetites & Vices (The Truitts #1)

Author: Felicia Grossman

Relation to theme: Fake engagement

Representation: Jewish author, Jewish MC, gentile MC

Content Warnings: antisemitism, addiction, gambling

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41934624-appetites-vices

> Title: Private Eye (The Spies Who Loved Her #2)

Author: Katrina Jackson

Relation to theme: Fake couple for spy games

Representation: Black author, queer author, queer MCs, fat rep

Content Warnings: lying, sex work, spy games

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43513916-private-eye

> Title: Didn’t Stay in Vegas

Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

Relation to theme: Marriage of convenience

Representation: Queer author, queer MCs, white MCs

Content Warnings: none identified

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48216704-didn-t-stay-in-vegas

> Title: The Coyote’s Bride (Masters of Maria #6)

Author: Holley Trent

Relation to theme: Marriage of convenience

Representation: Author of color

Content Warnings: miscarriage, divorce, cult elements

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38905164-the-coyote-s-bride

> Melinka’s monthly romance blogger shout-out goes to Callalily from Sense & Disability who blogs about disabled characters in romance. You can follow Callalily on Twitter @CallaLily57 or follow the link to the blog below

Link: https://sensedisability.wordpress.com/

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

Happy Reading!

EP 122 MUSIC CREDIT

Music: “Lift Off” by Jahzzar

From the Free Music Archive

CC BY-SA 3.0