Episode 104: Romantic Comedies Part II

In this episode, we discuss our favorite romantic comedies that were not on the list we covered in Episode 103. More happy endings for lesbian couples! The Sandra Bullock sidebar! Aunt Lynne’s picks!

Links

Charade
Romancing the Stone/The Jewel of the Nile
American Dreamer
Desperately Seeking Susan
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Zombieland

So I Married an Axe Murderer
Grosse Pointe Blank
Miss Congeniality
Two Weeks’ Notice
The Proposal

Ocean’s 8
Bend it Like Beckham
Bring it On
Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz/The World’s End
Father Goose
Walk, Don’t Run

Funny Face
The Thin Man
Singin’ in the Rain
After Hours
Something Wild
Who’s That Girl?

Overboard
But I’m a Cheerleader
Jeffrey
D.E.B.S.
Imagine Me and You
It’s in the Water

Saving Face
Raising Helen/How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
The Wedding Planner/Maid in Manhattan
French Kiss
Only You
Mrs. Winterbourne
Sweet Home Alabama
The Cutting Edge

Serendipity
Deliver us from Eva
Can’t Hardly Wait
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Set it Up

Isn’t it Romantic?
Intolerable Cruelty
Out of Sight
Love & Basketball
The Holiday

Earth Girls are Easy
Down With Love
A Lot Like Love
50 First Dates
Groundhog Day

Musical Obsessions
Anna: “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson
Alene: “Causing a Commotion” by Madonna (from Who’s That Girl?)

Obsessions
Anna: What Men Want
Alene: Pipsticks

Episode 97: Animated Crushes with @wonderlandchick

In this episode, we discuss our favorite animated heartthrobs with friend of the podcast Sarah. Come for the strangely attractive cartoon foxes, stay for the romance recommendations!

Links
HuffPost: 27 Cartoon Characters Who Gave Us The Hots As Kids
BuzzFeed: 38 Characters That Were Oddly Hot Even Though They Were Animated

Robin Hood
Dimitri (Anastasia)
Trent Lane (Daria) also Daria and Jane
Roger Radcliffe (101 Dalmatians) [David Tennant]
Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon)

Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)
Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Abraham De Lacy Giuseppe Casey Thomas O’Malley (The Aristocats) editor’s note: Alene got his name wrong in the show
Scar, Young Simba (The Lion King)
Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket)
Lucifer (Cinderella)
Tramp (Lady and the Tramp)

Bagheera (The Jungle Book)
Bambi
Miss Bianca and Bernard (The Rescuers)
Wonder Twins (Superfriends)
Brainy Smurf (The Smurfs)

Ookla the Mok (Thundarr the Barbarian)
Optimus Prime (Transformers)

Helga Sinclair (Atlantis)
She-Ra, Frosta
Evil-Lyn (He-Man)
The Claw (Inspector Gadget)
Mulan, Li Shang
Storm (X-Men)

Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn (Batman, The Animated Series)
David Kawena (Lilo and Stitch)
Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh)
Flynn Rider (Tangled)
Zuko (Avatar the Last Airbender)
Garnet (Steven Universe)
Mrs. Beakley (Duck Tales)
Daphne (Scooby-Doo)

Wendy Corduroy (Gravity Falls) [supercut]
Roger Miller
Overdue on The Little Mermaid (live episode recorded at New England Library Association–not on their site as of this writing)
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
Fresh Romance
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
Sally Mackenzie’s Naked Nobility series
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
Yuri on Ice
Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series
Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series
Sherryl Woods Chesapeake Shores series

Tiana, Prince Naveen (The Princess and the Frog)
Wolverine, Gambit (The Animated X-Men)
Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

Megara (Hercules)
Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Kim Possible

Obsessions
Sarah: Romance novels: Alyssa Cole‘s Reluctant Royals series, Alisha Rai, Stripped by Zoey Castile, The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting [Shacking Up], Lucy Parker
Anna: The Wicked Wallflowers Club podcast, Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Alene: My Life as a Goddess by Guy Branum

Musical Obsessions
Sarah: Toccata and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach
Anna: Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
Alene: Gravity Falls theme song

Episode 92: We Need Inclusive Romance!

In this episode, jumping off our presentation at the Massachusetts Library Association conference in May, we discuss inclusive romance novels we’ve read and are looking forward to reading. The official genre of Bellwether Friends is Historical Romance. This episode is brought to you by Fake Dating with a side of Getting It Out Of Our System.

Links
LA Review of Books: Romance, Compassion, and Inclusivity (Or: How Romance Will Save the World)
Why We Need Asexual Romances
Reading romance as an asexual & aromantic person

Courtney Milan Cyclone series
Sherry Thomas
Jeannie Lin
Alyssa Cole An Extraordinary Union, A Princess in Theory, A Duke by Default
Jasmine Guillory The Wedding Date, The Proposal

Helen Hoang The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test
Jackie Lau Grumpy Fake Boyfriend (May 2018), Mr. Hotshot CEO
Alisha Rai Forbidden Hearts series
Camille Perri When Katie Met Cassidy (June 2018)

[LESBIAN ROMANCE SIDEBAR]
Bold Strokes Books, Bella Books

BookRiot: Native American Romance Novels by Native Authors
V. S. Nelson
Evangeline Parsons Yazzie
Laura Brown Signs of Attraction
Margaret Locke The Demon Duke
Amanda Quick Deception
Julia Quinn To Sir Phillip, With Love
Karin Kallmaker
Claire O’Dell A Study in Honor

Jamie Wesley Slamdunked by Love
Cathy Yardley Level Up, One True Pairing
Sonali Dev A Bollywood Affair, The Bollywood Bride, A Change of Heart
Alexis Hall How to Bang a Billionaire, How to Blow it With a Billionaire, Glitterland, Looking for Group
Mia Sosa Acting on Impulse
Ruby Lang Acute Reactions
The Ripped Bodice: The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report
Jeevani Charika A Royal Wedding
Alexis Daria Take the Lead
Pema Donyo Revolutionary Hearts
Talia Hibbert A Girl Like Her
Priscilla Oliveras His Perfect Partner
Cat Sebastian
KJ Charles

E. E. Ottoman
J. K. Pendragon
Damon Suede
Yolanda Wallace Tailor Made
Rebekah Weatherspoon So Sweet

K. M. Jackson Insert Groom Here
Beverly Jenkins (we totally forgot to talk about her but she should be on this list)

WOC in Romance
Read Harder: Romance Novels By or About a Person of Color
Romance Novels in Color
A List of the Best Contemporary Romance Books Featuring Women of Color
Diverse Romance
The New York Times: In Love With Romance Novels, But Not Their Lack of Diversity
The New York Times: The Changing Face of Romance Novels

Obsessions
Alene and Anna: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before; Crazy Rich Asians

Musical Obsessions
Alene: “Money (That’s What I Want)” by Cheryl K feat. Awkwafina from the Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack
“Material Girl (200 du)” by Sally Yeh from the Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Kina Grannis from the Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack
(Bustle article)
Anna: “Yellow” by Katherine Ho from the Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack (LA Times story)

 

Episode 78: Holiday Romance Films with @helenstwin

We brought in holiday romance expert Cory (and her mom) to help us sift through the offerings from the 2017 season. We talked about diversity, Lifetime vs. Hallmark, nude nail polish, royalty, adorable moppets, and more, using our Holiday Romance Movie Checklist as a baseline. See our spreadsheet of the 38 movies the Bellwether Friends team watched this season here.

Links
Episode 41: We Love Historical Romance!
Episode 56: Romantic Christmas Movies
Episode 74: Horror Project Checkup and Holiday Romance Checklist
#BFHolidayRomance

Enchanted Christmas (the one with ballroom dancing)
Wrapped Up In Christmas (the one with Tatyana Ali)
The Nine Lives of Christmas (the one with cats)
Fametracker/previously.tv
The Christmas Cure (the one with Bobby from Dallas)
[The Librarians]
The Twelve Trees of Christmas (the one where she saves the library)
Sound of Christmas (the one where he is going to buy the music school)
Annie Claus is Coming to Town (the one with a third skinny redhead)
Looks Like Christmas (the one with Anne Heche)
Kristin’s Christmas Past (the one with Elizabeth Mitchell and time travel)
Sleigh Bells Ring (the one with the aunt’s antique shop)
My Christmas Love (the one with the guy Alene likes)

Sharing Christmas (the other one about a mall/with the guy Alene likes)
Snowed-Inn Christmas (the one with competing journalists)

The Mistletoe Inn (the one with romance writers)
My Christmas Prince (the one that isn’t A Christmas Prince)
The Perfect Christmas Present (Cory’s favorite)
[ASMR videos]
Fir Crazy (one of the ones with a Christmas tree farm)
Christmas Festival of Ice (one of the ice sculpture ones)
Farewell Mr. Kringle (the one with Christine Taylor and an early kiss)

Christmas Getaway (the one with a double booked cabin)
The Christmas Cottage (the one with a magic cabin)
Christmas List (the one with the earliest kiss)
12 Men of Christmas (the one with sex!)
A Boyfriend for Christmas (the one with Santa waiting twenty years to grant a wish)
A Christmas Kiss (the one that starts with a kiss)
A Gift to Remember (the one where the guy gets amnesia)
One Starry Christmas (the one with the cowboy)
Christmas Dance (the one with Andrew McCarthy)

Christmas Connection (the one with Tom Everett Scott)
Romance at Reindeer Lodge (the one with a Christmas themed ranch)
Candace Cameron Bure
Last Chance for Christmas (the one with the delicious reindeer farm)
Christmas Parade (the one with texting and driving)
A Rose for Christmas (the one with the Rose Parade)
All About Christmas Eve (the one with Haylie Duff)
Christmas Belle (the other one with Haylie Duff)
Christmas at Holly Lodge (the one with a developer trying to buy the inn)
Finding Father Christmas (the one with a secret missing dad)
Engaging Father Christmas (the sequel to Finding Father Christmas)
[Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel]

Christmas Miracle (the one with letters to god)
Finding Santa (the one with Jodie Sweetin)
Once Upon a Holiday (the one with a runaway princess)
The Mistletoe Promise (the one with Lemon from Hart of Dixie)
All I Want for Christmas (the one with a kid asking for his mom to get a new man)
The Flight Before Christmas (the one with Mayim Bialik)
Hitched for the Holidays (the one with Joey Lawrence)
[Harpers Bazaar: 20 Nude Polishes For Every Skintone]

Readalikes:
Debbie Macomber
Shannon Stacey
Bella Andre
Alice Clayton
Jill Shalvis
Belladonna Ink

Obsessions

Cory: Check, Please! Beards and Bondage series (Haven) by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Black Panther
Anna and Alene: Proud Mary

Musical Obsessions

Anna: “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner
Alene: “Proud Mary” by Leonard Nimoy
Cory: [What is Punk?, What is Hip-Hop?] “I’m the One” by The Descendents, “Wildflowers” by Dolly Parton

 

Episode 74: Horror Project Checkup and Holiday Romance Checklist

All the checking in this episode as we discuss the progress we’ve made on watching horror movies since Episode 73 and also our plans for watching and unpacking holiday romance movies (see also Episode 56) for a future episode. If you want to follow along with us, we’ll be using the hashtag #BFHolidayRomance on Twitter and Facebook and using our Holiday Romance Movie Checklist:

Download here

Links

Dear Secret Santa (the one we can’t remember the name of)
The Nine Lives of Christmas (the one with a cat)
Window Wonderland (the Alex Danvers one)
Every Christmas Has a Story (the Lori Loughlin one)
Wish Upon a Christmas (the one with the actuary)
A Royal Christmas (the one with Jane Seymour)

A Princess for Christmas (the one with Lena Luthor)

Obsessions
Alene: A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
Anna: Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis

 

Episode 56: Romantic Christmas Movies

 

 

We’ve spent our time over the past few months watching loads of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies — ALL FOR YOU.

Links

The Worst Bestsellers: Episode 36–The Mistletoe Promise
The Federalist: Here’s The Hallmark Christmas Movie Party Game You’ve Been Waiting For
The Fandomentals: Top Ten Weirdly Common Hallmark Christmas Movie Tropes
Yahoo! TV: Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas: Eight of Your Favorite Returning Actors Tell All
Elle: We Ranked Every Single Lifetime Christmas Movie (Yes, All 42 of Them)
NPR: 20 Things You Desperately Need To Know About Mariah’s Hallmark Movie,
Does The Hallmark Channel Have Basic Cable’s Most Efficiently Defined Brand?
Buzzfeed: This Is What It’s Like To Watch “Love Actually” For The First Time

A Snow Globe Christmas

The Nine Lives of Christmas

A Royal Christmas
Window Wonderland
A Christmas Melody

Dear Secret Santa
Christmas on the Bayou
Wish Upon a Christmas
The Christmas Gift

Crown for Christmas
Every Christmas Has a Story

Musical Obsessions

Anna: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Alene: “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince (now on Spotify!)

Obsessions

Anna: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee and Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
Alene: Half-price chocolate/Cadbury mini eggs

Episode 53: Movie Advisory and Best of 2016

 

In this episode, we talk about movies we’ve seen since our last movie advisory (episode 35), share our picks for best of 2016, and squeal over what we’re looking forward to in 2017.

Links

Movie Advisory
Love and Friendship
Finding Dory
From The Washington Post: How Finding Dory and Finding Nemo Deal Beautifully With Disabilities
The Secret Life of Pets
Trolls
Kubo and the Two Strings

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
From Slate: J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts Flirts With Gay Allegory. Its Sequels Should Go All the Way.
Witch, Please: Roaring Anachronisms and Where To Find Them

Moana
From Bustle: Moana Kicking The Love Interest Storyline To The Curb May Not Be Something To Celebrate

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Queen of Katwe

Rogue One
Moonlight
From The Atlantic: Moonlight Is a Film of Uncommon Grace
Fences

Best of 2016

Movies
Deadpool, Finding Dory, Love and Friendship, Moana, Moonlight, Trolls, Ghostbusters

Books
#libfaves16
American Housewife by Helen Ellis
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Behind the Throne/After the Crown by KB Wagers
Hold Me by Courtney Milan
A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson

Television
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Conviction, The Crown, Steven Universe, Supergirl Pending: Stranger Things, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Music
Soundtracks: Moana, Trolls, Hamilton, Hamilton Mixtape
Love You To Death by Tegan and Sara
Musical Obsessions Playlist

Other
Tater Tot Casserole (or this recipe)
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel
Styling/Volumizing Powder

In Memoriam

Looking Forward to in 2017

Movies
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Ghost in the Shell, Murder on the Orient Express, Hidden Figures, Fate of the Furious, Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Despicable Me 3, Pitch Perfect 3, Beauty and the Beast, It, Baywatch, Power Rangers, Wonder Woman, Fifty Shades Darker, Before I Fall, Annihilation, Star Wars Episode 8
From E!: Movie Preview 2017: 84 Films You Should Know About in the New Year

Music
Spirit from Depeche Mode
Katy Perry, Michelle Branch, Kelly Clarkson, Fergie, Icona Pop, Lorde, Taylor Swift
From Billboard: 2017 Music Preview: 40 Most Anticipated Albums

Books
Illuminae Files #3 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch
Buried Heart by Kate Elliott (Court of Fives #3)
Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn
#fridayreads
Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman
Avon romance authors: Sarah Maclean, Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Tessa Dare
From The Millions: Most Anticipated: The Great 2017 Book Preview

Television
Star Trek Discovery, Emerald City, American Gods, Twin Peaks, Riverdale
From A.V. Club: The A.V. Club Tells You What to Watch in 2017

Musical Obsessions
Alene: Club Tropicana by Wham! UK (La Isla Bonita by Madonna)
Anna: Careless Whisper by Wham!, Freedom! ’90 by George Michael

Obsessions
Alene: Pusheen
Anna: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Episode 41: We Love Historical Romance!

For this episode, we talked with Cory Eckert (aka @helenstwin aka Joint Chief of Storytime Underground) for a discussion on historical romance tropes, types, and favorites. We apologize in advance for sound quality issues that we had during recording.

Links

Sarah MacLean’s Recommended List of Romance Novels

Lace by Shirley Conran

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Jane Feather

Georgette Heyer

Patricia Veryan

Kathleen Woodiwiss

Victoria Dahl
Lisa Kleypas
Laura Lee Guhrke
Amanda Quick
Betina Krahn
A Lily Among Thorns by Rose Lerner
Celeste Bradley
Joanna Bourne
Deanna Raybourn‘s Lady Julia Grey mysteries
C. S. Harris’s Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries
Sherry Thomas
Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series
Stephanie Laurens’s Cynster series
Lisa Kleypas’s Hathaways series
Loretta Chase‘s Mr. Impossible [and Lord of Scoundrels!]
Mary Balogh‘s Slightly series
Jeannie Lin
Rebekah Weatherspoon
Beverly Jenkins
Yellowthroat by Penny Hayes
Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller (Alma Routsong)
Pembroke Park by Michelle Martin
Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Colleen Gleason‘s Gardella Vampire Hunters series
Jacqueline Carey‘s Kushiel’s Legacy series
Mary Jo Putney
Courtney Milan
Sarah MacLean
Julie Anne Long‘s Pennyroyal Green series
Sophie Barnes
Sophie Jordan
Elizabeth Boyle
Grace Burrowes
Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready
Eva Leigh
Megan Frampton
Anna Campbell’s Claiming the Courtesan
Elizabeth Hoyt Maiden Lane series
Sally MacKenzie’s Naked Nobility series
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare

TBR Challenge
Anna:

A Lady Awakened
by Cecilia Grant

Cory:

The Countess Conspiracy
by Courtney Milan

Alene:

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Musical Obsessions
Cory: Jbrary, “Sober” by Selena Gomez, “Sober” by Pink
Anna: “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera
Alene: wrestling with iTunes; “Angeleyes” by ABBA

Obsessions
Cory: Masterchef Australia
Anna: Witch Please podcast
Alene: Buy Nothing