Whoa!mance: Romance, Feminism, and Ourselves

What was 2025, really? What did we say we were going to do—and did we do it?In this Year-in-Review episode, we take stock of the year with clear eyes. We revisit the wins, the misses, and the pacing problems from our shelf this year—from Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End to the dark-romance chaos of Nocticadia. We did a shadow-daddy bracket (a rigorous, peer-reviewed process; dissenting opinions noted for the record) that functioned as a useful tool for Isabeau, and found time to accidentally fall head first into the zeitgeist.Who earned the hardest Whoa!? Who took home the most definitive No? And which couples earned space on our mental shelves forever?We close by looking ahead to 2026: what we’re pursuing, what we’re done negotiating, and what we’re leaving behind—because not every arc deserves a redemption.

In part two of our discussion of NOCTICADIA by KERI LAKE yr grls dive into chapters 39 - epilogue. Does the ambiguity of an HEA in horror make it impossible (if already strange) bedfelllows with romance? What is the appeal of "dark" romance and what is the bright side for those of us who don't lean into taboo? TWINS???

Stop twitching, that isn't the fluttering of dusty moth wings in your ear - its yr grls discussing NOCTICADIA by KERI LAKE.Lilia Vespertine is a destitute but extraordinarily hot smart orphan in evil Baltimore who happens to get a mysterious full ride to spooky Dracadia University - a private institution on an isolated island with a 30-year-old tenured professor of...biology? I guess? Let's see if you can guess what he looks like. If you screamed "ADAM DRIVER!!!!!". Yeah. You're right. You got it. They both, unbeknownst to one of them (no points for guessing this one), share a research interest in these specific moths and their gooey babies. But it turns out...sing along it if you know it...that is not the only interest they share. Nor, the only mystery...How does horror work, or not work, with romance? What is the itch that dark romance or taboo romance scratches? Can all this be solved by the appointment or a new Provost? Okay, sure, but what about a more robust student council?Don your velvets. We're putting the slimthicc (ah, those were the days) in Gothic.

Don't be scared! That is just the loud cracking of our ankles over a totally normally recording of Whoa!mance's discussion of THE RUIN OF EVANGELINE JONES by JULIA BENNET.The titular Evie is a psychic medium scammer under the control/support of a Svengali type. Harcastle is a Due under the oppression of his dead father. Plus his hobby is busting fake spiritualists in Victorian London. But, Evie is tempting in that mysterious buttoned-up-but-secret-nudie-photo-past that maybe...just maybe...he'll be doing bustin' of a different kind. Please don't tell anyone that I wrote that.What isn't a gothic romance (shoutout to Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights trailer)? Why would you include a plucky child and/or dog in your novel? What IS good pacing anyway?Touch pinkies and tuck winkies - this seance we're summoning a big ol' Whoa.

Welcome to the Shadow Daddy Bracket: Final Four, where our pleasures are interrogated and pitted against one another. Our contenders? Rochester brooding in his attic-bound domestic gothic, Rhysand a fae High Lord wielding sovereignty and seduction, a couple of aristocrats flexing thier authority, and Buffy’s Angel/Spike—vampiric embodiments of tortured desire and ethical ambiguity.But the bracket isn’t just about who wins a romance face-off. We’re also asking: why now? At a moment of resurgent authoritarianism, and renewed assaults on feminist gains, the cultural magnetism of shadow daddies feels especially charged. Join us as we illuminate the shadows and the allure, tackling the familiar pleasures and the deeply unsettling things it may reveal about us.#shadowdaddy #bracket #romance #romantasy #acotar

Shadow Daddy's abound. But how do you pick the best one? what would the best even mean? How do you quantify or categorize the shadows and the daddies?Morgan and Isabeau developed a tournament style bracket ranking the shadow daddies of the past, present, and super natural--follow along and make your own! Who will take the crown?

Morgan and Isabeau return to the back half of Quicksilver—and yes, the vampires have arrived. With plenty of biting insights, they unpack what makes for a strong first-person narrative (and what can throw it completely off kilter). Then it’s on to the heart of romantasy: shadow daddies and fated mates. Why do some bonds feel electric while others fall flat? She's just the most beautiful mortal in two realms with magical abilities and a seemingly bottomless anxiety spiral. He's a prince, a lord and a tortured big brother just trying to make things right. All the ingredients are on the page but this pound town cake is giving yr grls trouble.Maybe it takes more than magic tattoos and a surly disposition to make the romance in romantasy?

This week we’re diving deep into the shadowy (haha) corners of QuickSilver—where Saeris Fane finds herself escaping a burning kingdom in the arms of a shadow daddy by the name of Kingfisher. Badass tattoos and appellation aside what makes a shadow daddy? Is it literally just commanding shadows and six pack? Is it the brooding and the martyr complex? Kingfisher checks all the boxes, and with a winning backstory and clear motivation so does Saeris--so what's the hold up?Follow along in this two parter where we unpack what we are really attracted to when our heroines get tangled in the fantasy of female subjugation. We're ready to do the work on this 1800 year old manchild--but is he?