“A LITTLE MAGIC”
This week host Danielle continues the Sci-Fi & Fantasy romance theme with special guest author L. Penelope
EP 219 HOST
> DANIELLE (she/her) is the voice behind LoveReadListen.com where she writes about her adventures in reading romance, YA, and audiobooks. Danie has a passion for promoting Black Romance and can’t wait to share her favorites with you. When she’s not reading, Danie enjoys anime, cartoons, and hip-hop. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @DanieReads
EP 219 GUEST
> L. PENELOPE (she/her) Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. She was born in the Bronx, just after the birth of hip hop, but left before she could acquire an accent. Equally left and right-brained, she studied Film at Howard University and minored in Computer Science. This led to a graduate degree in Multimedia and a career in website development. She’s also an award-winning independent filmmaker, co-founded a literary magazine, and sometimes dreams in HTML. Leslye lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents. You can visit Leslye’s website at https://lpenelope.com/ and follow Leslye on Twitter and Instagram @leslyepenelope
EP 219 DISCUSSION
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
NOTE: These notes include affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon.com to support the RBP transcript project
NOTE: This episode was recorded in late January during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-21
> Find Leslye’s podcast, My Imaginary Friends, here
Link: https://lpenelope.com/podcast/
> Title: Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)
Author: L. Penelope
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting, MC with magic
Representation: Black author, Black MC
Content Warnings: tbd
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/39bb7Rp
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46156814-song-of-blood-stone
> Requiem of Silence, the fourth and final Earthsinger Chronicles book, is due for release in Aug 2021
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56210699-requiem-of-silence
> Find the entire Earthsinger Chronicles series here
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/142549-earthsinger-chronicles
> Danie mentions Leslye’s contemporary paranormal romances, Angelborn and Angelfall
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/177181-angelborn-cycle
> Danie highly recommends the Earthsinger Chronicles on audio, narrated by Allyson Johnson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36476364-song-of-blood-stone
> Danie mentions Leslye’s Earthsinger novellas, as well as her recent appearance in the holiday romance anthology, Under a Winter Sky
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56079175-under-a-winter-sky
> Danie mentions The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44028342-the-orchid-throne
> Danie mentions Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds, which is YA SFF with romantic elements
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50627089-early-departures
> Title: The Opposite of Always
Author: Justin A. Reynolds
Relation to theme: Time travel
Representation: Black author, Black MCs
Content Warnings: character death
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/36jI8cr
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35380157-opposite-of-always
> Danie mentions Ann Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax series, as well as her YA SFF
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/44705-sirantha-jax
> Title: Strange Love (Galactic Love #1)
Author: Ann Aguirre
Relation to theme: Alien MC
Representation: White author, bi rep
Content Warnings: deadly competitions, death (side character), sexual assault (side character)
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/hosts-meka-melinda-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3b1AQxk
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48915429-strange-love
NOTE: This book was discussed in the RBP Best of 2020 episode
LISTEN NOW: http://lustandfoundreads.com/rombkpod/best-of-2020/
> Leslye also mentions Love Code (Galactic Love #2) by Ann Aguirre
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56038313-love-code
> Producer’s Note: At the time of recording, Danie hadn’t listened to the audio book for Strange Love, narrated by Sarah Puckett, but the producer has and highly enjoyed it
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53282541-strange-love
> Title: Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards #1)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting, MC with magic
Representation: White author, white MCs
Content Warnings: court intrigue, murder, death of family members, gladiator games
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/36rVl31
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37671985-kill-the-queen
NOTE: This book is primarily fantasy with romantic elements
> Do you have a series you started and loved but still need to finish?
> Title: The Blacksmith Queen (The Scarred Earth #1)
Author: G.A. Aiken
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting, paranormal elements
Representation: Black author
Content Warnings: court intrigue, casual fatphobia, implied past sexual assault
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3cuT4HX
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43129821-the-blacksmith-queen
NOTE: This book is primarily fantasy with romantic elements
> Title: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)
Author: Kristin Cashore
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting
Representation: White author, white MCs
Content Warnings: MC is gifted with the skill of killing
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/36AQ8WJ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10053149-graceling
> Danie highly recommends the audio book for Graceling which features a full cast
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7822778-graceling
> Title: Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1)
Author: Melina Marchetta
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting
Representation: White author, white MCs
Content Warnings: murdered family (past), exile, imprisonment
Bookshop: unavailable
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3rdgbeh
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8757361-finnikin-of-the-rock
> Leslye mentions Witchmark by C.L. Polk and the tendency to wedge SFF written by women into YA even though the MCs are adults
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36187110-witchmark
> Requiem of Silence, the fourth and final Earthsinger Chronicles book, is due for release in Aug 2021
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56210699-requiem-of-silence
> How do you feel about reading series out of order? Yay or nay?
> Danie mentions downloading The Queen’s Gambit by Jessie Mihalik
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40388109-the-queen-s-gambit
> Title: The Pleasure Hound trilogy
Author: Ines Johnson
Relation to theme: Futuristic setting
Representation: Black author
Content Warnings: kink
Bookshop: unavailable
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2YDONd8
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28432052-the-pleasure-hound
> Title: Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha #1)
Author: Tasha Suri
Relation to theme: Mughal Empire-inspired fantasy setting
Representation: South Asian, queer author, South Asian-inspired MCs
Content Warnings (from reader Leigh Kramer): forced marriage, threatened rape or sexual assault, drugging, violence, abuse of power
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-ana-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3k3cV1n
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39714124-empire-of-sand
NOTE: Don’t miss our recent interview with Tasha Suri
LISTEN NOW: http://lustandfoundreads.com/rombkpod/ep-217/
> Title: Paladin’s Grace
Author: T. Kingfisher
Relation to theme: Fantasy setting
Representation: White author, white MCs
Content Warnings: death, murder, partner abuse
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/host-danielle-s-recs/
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3akfN72
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50702014-paladin-s-grace
> Leslye gives a blanket recommendation for Grace Draven’s fantasy romances
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2759153.Grace_Draven
> Leslye recommends Naomi Novik with the caveat that some of her fantasy romances are light on the romance
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8730.Naomi_Novik
> Which Sci-fi & Fantasy romance favorites did we miss? Tag us @RomBkPod or share with us in the comments
Happy Reading!
EP 219 MUSIC CREDIT
Music: “Lift Off” by Jahzzar
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY-SA 3.0
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