Send us a text

Pop the cork with us as we open season three and get real about how a half-joking idea turned into a ritual that changed our reading lives. We trace our path from sneaking dog-eared paperbacks to championing today’s expansive romance universe, and we talk about what happened when we let romance back in — more joy at home, a revived writing habit, and a community that feels like a warm, rowdy book club.

We swap origin stories and gateway reads, then dive into tastes that reveal who we are: forced proximity for pressure-cooker growth, friends to lovers for rock-solid foundations, enemies to lovers when the heat needs a sharp edge. Spice gets its own spotlight as we map jalapeño slow burns to habanero thrills and draw the line at Carolina Reaper chaos. Along the way, we shout out our insta-buy and comfort authors — Lisa Kleypas, Emma Hamm, Heatherly Bell, Ashley Herring Blake, B.K. Borison, Katie Robert, Fallon Ballard — and the singular books we’d be buried with, because some stories become part of your DNA.

You’ll also hear how this show actually gets made: racing two-week cycles, editing transcripts that mistake our voices, migrating a website without losing our minds, and keeping the marketing engine humming. Through it all, the laughs steady us. We’re building something welcoming and interactive, where your recs flood our DMs and your niche tropes find a home. On the desired horizon: playful staged reenactments with actor friends, reader retreats, maybe even a romance cruise if we can convince Meghan to board.

If you love smart, spirited talk about romance novels, from historical comfort reads to dark fantasy detours, you’re in the right place. Hit follow, share this with your bookish bestie, and tell us your ride-or-die trope and your latest auto-buy author. Your rec might be our next favorite read.

Support the show

Our The Ripped Bodice Affiliate Link: https://www.therippedbodice.com/aff/romanceontherockspodcast_26867
(the best way to get your smut while supporting a fabulous women-owned business and our podcast!)

Follow us on our socials:
Facebook ... https://www.facebook.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Instagram ... https:/www.instagram.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Pinterest ... https:/www.pinterest.com/romanceontherockspodcast

Credits:
Theme Music Created by Adam Wroblewski
Main Art by PersonalisePortrait

Send us a text

Candy Cane Cocktails in hand, we dive into two very different holiday romances and come up for air with laughter, side-eye and a few hard truths. First up: Good Spirits by B.K. Borison, a contemporary paranormal charmer where a Ghost of Christmas Past lands in a modern woman’s living room and promptly breaks every rule — starting with her heart. We dig into the banter that actually crackles, the clever sensory limits on ghosts (Hot Tamales, anyone?), and the soft-boy off-season where knitting and stray cats reign. Then we pick at the seams: why does a world with cosmic HR underuse its best haunter and what happens when a century-old ghost gets a mortal body with zero paperwork? The snow-globe spice scene delights but the ending raises questions the book doesn’t answer.

Next: a small-town second-chance romance set in Door County that trades genuine intimacy for tourist brochure vibes. Lila returns home with writer’s block, Conrad is mid-proposal arc with his long-term girlfriend, and the story asks us to cheer for kisses before clean breakups. We talk through the stiff dialogue, relentless name-dropping and the deeper issue: how ambition and choosing to be childfree get framed as moral failings, while cooking and caretaking are used as a wife test. It’s a clash between nostalgia and agency, and it makes the so-called happily ever after feel smaller than it should.

We close with clear takeaways: apologies mean you want to try again and cheating isn’t romantic. If you crave holiday romance with heart, look for stories that balance cozy settings with consent, accountability and characters who get to be whole. Hit play for ghostly giggles, spicy snow and frank talk about what makes a winter love story actually warm. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a romance-loving friend, and leave a review. What’s your holiday romance green flag or dealbreaker?

Books for the Episode:

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison

A Christmas Kind of Perfect by Christine Schimpf

Cocktail for the Episode:

Candy Cane Cocktail

Support the show

Our The Ripped Bodice Affiliate Link: https://www.therippedbodice.com/aff/romanceontherockspodcast_26867
(the best way to get your smut while supporting a fabulous women-owned business and our podcast!)

Follow us on our socials:
Facebook ... https://www.facebook.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Instagram ... https:/www.instagram.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Pinterest ... https:/www.pinterest.com/romanceontherockspodcast

Credits:
Theme Music Created by Adam Wroblewski
Main Art by PersonalisePortrait

Send us a text

Holiday romance should feel like stepping into a warm kitchen: familiar, fragrant and a little bit daring. We open with two cocktails that embody that spirit — a risky Latke Sour with potato syrup and egg white, and a bright cranberry cosmo sweetened with local honey. Then we dive into two Hanukkah-centered love stories that test how much flavor, heat and heart a seasonal read can carry.

First up, Love and Latkes by Stacey Agdern. We explore a latke fry-off romance built around Jewish food traditions, a foodie blogger with big TV dreams, and a smoked-meat-loving crush who wants a deli. The sensory writing sings and the food-as-courtship thread feels true. We quote lines about allyship as action and desire that tastes like barbecue on the breath. But we also press on continuity gaps, a “next town over” exile that strains credibility, and TV production logistics that real-life timelines would never allow. When humor is announced instead of earned, the rom-com fizz goes flat—even while the menu dazzles.

Then we head to Milwaukee for a friends-to-lovers Hanukkah story that brings grief, chemistry and real spice with Find Me by Liz Lincoln. The dialogue sounds like 23, the city feels lived-in, and the steam arrives early with intention. We highlight a grounded take on loss — love doesn’t end just because someone is gone — and we talk about how frequent, well-placed intimacy can deepen character rather than distract. We also call out two bar-based encounters that set off our hygiene alarms (because even fantasy benefits from a touch of realism). Overall, this one hit the sweet spot: emotional stakes, local texture and holiday heat in balance.

Across both books we keep circling the same truth: holiday romance thrives on specifics. Food as love language. Place as memory. Ritual as structure for second chances. When timelines are tight and banter is earned, even familiar tropes sparkle. Pour a glass, add these to your TBR, and tell us: are you team cozy or team spicy this season? If you enjoyed the show, tap follow, share it with a bookish friend, and leave a quick review on your podcast app to help other romance readers find us.

Our Books & Bevies for the Episode:

Meghan --

Support the show

Our The Ripped Bodice Affiliate Link: https://www.therippedbodice.com/aff/romanceontherockspodcast_26867
(the best way to get your smut while supporting a fabulous women-owned business and our podcast!)

Follow us on our socials:
Facebook ... https://www.facebook.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Instagram ... https:/www.instagram.com/romanceontherockspodcast
Pinterest ... https:/www.pinterest.com/romanceontherockspodcast

Credits:
Theme Music Created by Adam Wroblewski
Main Art by PersonalisePortrait