Shelf Love Podcast
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shelflove.bsky.social
Shelf Love Podcast
@shelflove.bsky.social
A podcast & Substack about romance novels, and how they reflect, explore, challenge, and shape desire. Host: Andrea Martucci (she/her) #romancebks #romancereader

https://linktr.ee/shelflovepodcast
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
With all the Black Friday sales, it’s a good time to check some of these out if you would like to make someone’s holiday a little better this year.
#Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is BACK for our 6th year! 🎁✨

This community-powered gifting initiative is all about mutual aid, kindness, and making sure no one goes without a little magic this season.

Let’s make 2025 our most generous year yet!

Learn more: bit.ly/holidayfairies
November 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
The Romancelandia Holiday Fairies wishlist form is officially open!

Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is a no-gatekeeping, community-led gifting initiative for anyone in Romancelandia who wants support.✨

Submit / learn more: bit.ly/holidayfairies
#romancelandia #romancebks
November 28, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
Can you help? Please share if you would. Thx!
Many years ago, I was feeling stressed by the state of the world and I started a Holiday Fairies thing where people sent me their wishlists and I publicized them to try to get everyone gifts for the holidays.

@shelflove.bsky.social skillfully took it over and made it An Actual Thing!

Like SRSLY!
Holiday Fairies
Romancelandia holiday fairies is a mutual aid effort for the romance novel reader community.
shelflovepodcast.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
A note from one recipient. With @shelflove.bsky.social's stewardship this has grown beyond what I ever imagined, and has touched hundreds of people.

And Romancelandia is vast & welcoming. Even if you don't usually go here, romance readers will invite you in & work for your HEA.

It's our thing.
November 28, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
If you are having a rough year and are worried you can't get gifts for the people in your life, you can sign up here and submit your wishlist.

If you are someone who has a little bit extra and wants to give someone else joy? Find one & buy them something!

shelflovepodcast.com/holiday-fair...
Holiday Fairies
Romancelandia holiday fairies is a mutual aid effort for the romance novel reader community.
shelflovepodcast.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
Many years ago, I was feeling stressed by the state of the world and I started a Holiday Fairies thing where people sent me their wishlists and I publicized them to try to get everyone gifts for the holidays.

@shelflove.bsky.social skillfully took it over and made it An Actual Thing!

Like SRSLY!
Holiday Fairies
Romancelandia holiday fairies is a mutual aid effort for the romance novel reader community.
shelflovepodcast.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:41 AM
#Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is BACK for our 6th year! 🎁✨

This community-powered gifting initiative is all about mutual aid, kindness, and making sure no one goes without a little magic this season.

Let’s make 2025 our most generous year yet!

Learn more: bit.ly/holidayfairies
November 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
The benefit of not being by financially tied to the romance industry is that I will absolutely say something when I see something. #romancelandia
This is about the 831 Stories puff piece in the NYT. (I should have known better.) Several romance scholars were interviewed (myself included)…not that you could tell, given the complete lack of substance.

Hrm, wonder why this was left out? Maybe because it doesn’t align with 831’s narrative?
November 13, 2025 at 11:54 PM
I don’t think I’ll do interviews about romance with “journalists” anymore.

The same boring shit about romance gets published over and over because any viewpoint that doesn’t validate the romance stereotype or “romance is different now and bigger than ever!” narrative is excluded. #romancelandia
November 13, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
This call may be of interest to our readers!
November 7, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Sooo fanfic phenomenon "Manacled" by SenLinYu was transformed into a trad pub book: "Alchemised." Join @fangirljeanne.bsky.social & I for a critical discussion on the ramifications of turning #fanfic into published romantasy.

shelflovepodcast.com/episodes/sea...

#romancelandia #romancebks
Alchemised: Capitalizing Fanfic | Shelf Love Podcast
Fangirl Jeanne, fanfic elder, is back to revisit the fan fiction formerly known as “Manacled,” now traditionally published as “Alchemised” by SenLinYu. Three years after our initial discussion about M...
shelflovepodcast.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
Well that’s a nice wake up surprise! This piece I wrote for @zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social is a finalist for a Los Angeles Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award! www.zocalopublicsquare.org/romance-genr...
Happily Ever After Is for Everyone  | Essay
The romance genre has a single set-in-stone rule: The main characters of the story will end up happily in a relationship. The HEA (Happily Ever After) or the HFN (Happy for Now) is the expectation of ...
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Oh no, now @smutreport.com put zombies removing appendages to facilitate creative intimate moments into my brain…. And the only part I hate is that I WILL be thinking about it.

overcast.fm/+ABBEh76UzvA
Monster Mash Redux — The Smut Report Podcast
We’re revisiting Monster Romance (read about the first time we did so here [https://smutreport.com/monster-mash-smashdown/])! Buddy reads: Maneater by Emily Antoinette [https://amzn.to/4oPD6Kx] Ready ...
overcast.fm
November 3, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Anyone work in book publishing PR who would be interested in doing an informational interview with a PR student I’m mentoring? She’s a romance reader!

She’s ready to hear the real story on what it’s like to work in the industry as she figures out her career path.
#romancelandia
October 22, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I find no pleasure in being right: the heroine absolutely can’t come to terms with him owning a BDSM sex club, but nothing about her characterization or behavior explains that stance.

And even worse: book ends with a cliffhanger and it’s like…4 books.

I am worse off having read this book.
I’m reading a romance that I’m pretty sure is just contemporary but I feel like some of the intense attraction and vagueness could only be explained by “he’s a secret vampire” or “she lost her memory and they used to be lovers!” But it’s probably just that his hotel is a bdsm club…
#romancelandia
October 18, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I’m reading a romance that I’m pretty sure is just contemporary but I feel like some of the intense attraction and vagueness could only be explained by “he’s a secret vampire” or “she lost her memory and they used to be lovers!” But it’s probably just that his hotel is a bdsm club…
#romancelandia
October 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
There's still time! JPRS is still accepting reviews of recent YA scholarship for our special issue on YA series romance. See our Padlet for more details: padlet.com/bookreviews/...
#RomanceResearch @jprstudies.bsky.social @iaspr.bsky.social
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
Ooh, really like the idea of the neo-Gothic in here.
How has Lisa Kleypas ret-conned her characters for modern readers, or the idea of what modern readers want? Tehyah Carver shares revisions made to Kleypas's Wallflower series and the project of rehabilitating villains like Sebastian St. Vincent. #romancebks
shelflovepodcast.com/episodes/sea...
October 15, 2025 at 12:03 AM
How has Lisa Kleypas ret-conned her characters for modern readers, or the idea of what modern readers want? Tehyah Carver shares revisions made to Kleypas's Wallflower series and the project of rehabilitating villains like Sebastian St. Vincent. #romancebks
shelflovepodcast.com/episodes/sea...
October 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Me, whenever I see someone claiming romance novels in general are rotting brains/suspect/a problem/addictive because of the (too much) sex:
#Romancebks

shelflovepodcast.substack.com/p/why-did-li...
October 13, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I really wish more people would cite their sources. Either there is none, it’s not a credible source, or the conclusion has been misrepresented like, 90% of the time.

This is true in general, but as I am ostensibly a romance podcaster/essayist/scholar, I specifically mean in romance discourse.
October 12, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Can’t help thinking about how the Swift-E disk horse is so similar to romance disk horse around problematic favorite authors and books.

You can like something AND acknowledge its issues…

People who criticize something you like aren’t HURTING YOU.

Just saying.
#romancelandia
October 9, 2025 at 6:40 PM
What a magical night in a London speakeasy!
Throwback pics to when by chance we were in London at the same time and I met @shelflove.bsky.social in person. 🫶🏾
October 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Shelf Love Podcast
@shelflove.bsky.social tricked me into listening to philosophy and ENJOYING it. Pretty fucked if you ask me! Anyway, I’m 2/3 through Andrea & Jodie’s extremely ~exploratory~ episode: DOMINATE YOUR DESIRE (below) and it’s really good. Recommend it strongly. Would cannibalize again!
Have you dominated your desires into submission yet & figured out how to only fantasize about the things that align with your values? Me neither.

Join me & Jodie Slaughter as we discuss navigating romance community in the personal panopticon of late-stage capitalism.

#romancebks #romancereader
October 2, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Why are people drawn to scary media?

Do romance readers like dark romance and bodice rippers because they're morbidly curious!?

@morbidpsych.bsky.social shares his research on horror fans & insights from his new book, Morbidly Curious!
#romancebks #horror

shelflovepodcast.com/episodes/sea...
Morbid Curiosity Meets Romance with Dr. Coltan Scrivner | Shelf Love Podcast
Are readers of dark romance or bodice rippers more morbidly curious than those who read sweet romcoms? Is the allure of horror and scary romance similar. Dr. Coltan Scrivner joins Shelf Love to discus...
shelflovepodcast.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:49 PM