The Super Duper Ultra Stuffed Lesbian Romance Rant (for Pride!)

Cracked Spines

WHEW WE HAD A LOT TO SAY. This week, we're discussing lesbian romance novels and, unfortunately, why we just don't like a lot of the ones we've read. Amelia discusses gender exploration and lesbian relationships with gay men. Sarah laments the lack of butches and why Regency era women should be allowed to do rampant infidelity. We both spend a long, long time trying to figure out why the sex is so boring. Afterwards when Sarah was editing the episode, Amelia asked her to try to make us not sound like evil dark sex perverts. This feat that proved to be absolutely impossible.
Media discussed:
Olivia Waite's Feminine Pursuits series which includes

• The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics
• The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
• The Hellion's Waltz

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
A Proper English by KJ Charles
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole*

(non-ff media)
Think of England by KJ Charles
The Simple Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles
Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles
*Note from Sarah: I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that I read this book, and then proceeded to say nothing about it. Since I spoke pretty disparagingly of contemporary lesbian romance in this, I wanted to clarify that while I still didn't connect with the central romance of this book, I enjoyed reading the story overall and would recommend it to people looking for a modern twist on a princess-bodyguard story starring two Black woman, a fictional country, a critique of the idea of monarchy while still enjoying some of the trappings, and a fun cast of main and side characters.
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