Billionaires & Boundaries

If a book hooks the world but fumbles consent, can it still be called a great romance? We pour a drink and dive straight into the tension between cultural phenomena and reader well-being, starting with Fifty Shades of Grey and its legacy of billionaire control dressed up as care. We unpack why rules about sleep and snacks aren’t romantic, how a contract can miss the point of informed consent, and where stories conflate kink with trauma rather than negotiated desire. Expect clear lines:  safe, sane, consensual kink belongs to partners who talk, listen and honor boundaries — not to characters policing daily life.

Then we turn to Ruckus by L.J. Shen, a study in contrasts:  crisp prose, a genuinely surprising twist, and a central relationship burdened by possessiveness and rough scenes that test comfort instead of chemistry. Rosie’s cystic fibrosis adds real emotional stakes yet the hero’s choices sometimes jeopardize her health, raising urgent questions about care, accountability and what love owes someone living with a chronic condition. We also wrestle with the “grand gesture” gone wrong — like a tidal wave of red roses stamped mine — and why public displays can slide from romantic to suffocating when autonomy gets erased.

Throughout, we revisit our spice scale to argue that heat needs context:  reciprocity, aftercare and enthusiastic ongoing consent. We celebrate strong writing while challenging harmful tropes, and we share the kind of reader-centered lens that asks for heroines with agency, heroes who grow and intimacy that feels earned rather than enforced. To cleanse the palate, we preview our next reads:  Book Lovers by Emily Henry and It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. The books promise banter-rich chemistry and character arcs that balance heart with heat.

If you care about romance that’s bold, sexy and emotionally responsible, hit play, tell us your biggest red flag in a love story, and help us spread the word. Subscribe, share with a bookish friend, and leave a review wherever you listen—it helps more thoughtful readers find the show. 

Books & Beverages for the Episode:

Meghan -- Ruckus by L.J. Shen with "The Douche Canoe" (vodka & Red Bull)

Nicole -- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James with gin & earl grey tea

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Transcript

Nicole:
Well, hello. I'm Nicole Danielle.

Meghan:
And I'm Meghan Leigh. And this is Romance on the Rocks, where two bookish biddies imbibe and discuss the romance novels they finished this week. And I say finished, because Nicole, you mentioned to me that this was almost possibly your first do not finish, did not finish, you know, DNF.

Nicole:
Yeah, not because it was like overly terrible. It was just such a slog to get through. And I know the ending or the lack thereof. So, I'm like, meh. But I did finish it. I still have finished all of my books to date for the podcast.

Meghan:
Uh for those of you who may not have seen which number Nicole pulled from our magic little, it's not really a bowl. We're pulling from Martini glasses. That she pulled from the martini glass, her first pick of the year was actually 50 Shades of Gray, which has been on the list for her to complete as kind of an homage to modern day romance. 

Nicole:
I have regrets for putting it in my pile.
But anyway, let's talk first about what we're drinking this evening.

Meghan:
All right. All right.

Nicole:
Meghan, what are you drinking for your beverage of choice this evening?
Meghan:
So, much like you, I had a hard time with my book this week for a variety of reasons, and we will get to that. I walked around the liquor store this afternoon trying to figure out what was the most asshole-like beverage I could possibly drink. And I was kind of at a loss. So, I asked the internet to name the top five douchiest drinks. And one of the first ones that came up was a Red Bull and vodka. And I will drink that happily. You, your husband and I will go have Red Bull and vodkas together. So, I will happily drink that. And I made myself not just a Red Bull and vodka, but I did it with this Kettle One Grapefruit and rose. 

Nicole:
That's one of faves.

Meghan:
 I will tell you why I chose this specifically, it was because grapefruit is bitter and the name of my main female character is Rosie. And so, I figured grapefruit and rose, bitter and rose was a good thing for my douchiest beverage. So, because I have done a slight twist on it, and it's not just a Red Bull and vodka, I am renaming this the douche canoe. Cheers. 

Nicole:
Okay.

Meghan:
What are you drinking tonight? 

Nicole:
Well, like you, Meghan, I'm trying to stay on theme with my book this week. And I did read The Fifty Shades of Gray. And so, I am drinking gin with Earl Gray lavender tea. And here's why: because one of the main characters, Anastasia Steele in the book, is a tea drinker. She doesn't really drink coffee. She always drinks tea. And it's Earl Gray as a nod to Christian Gray. Um, and gin, because I need a lot of gin to get through this fucking book.

Meghan:
Uh amen, sister. Amen. I get it. Who goes first today? I actually don't remember that at all.

Nicole:
It's a whole new year, Megan. I think whoever wants to go first can go first.

Meghan:
Oh boy. Well, do you want to pull off that band-aid and go first, or do you want to let it fester for a while? 

Nicole:
Pull it off first. 

Meghan:
Okay. All right, guys.


Nicole:
Here we go. Let's get into it. So, here's my book, The Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, published in 2011. In terms of the romance subgenres, Erotica, allegedly, erotic romance, contemporary romance, dark romance. I guess sure. My hot take slash quickie with Nicole, as we're calling it now. 

Meghan:
Quickie with Nicole. 

Nicole:
I wish this book had just been a quickie. Or the hot take version, the more fucked up version of Twilight.

Meghan:
I don't even know that that's uh a hot take. I think most people would probably agree with you.

Nicole:
So main characters, Anastasia Steele, she's a lit student who graduates during the course of the book. Christian Gray, a billion who's, quote, fifty shades of fucked up, not because he likes kinky sex and is into BDSM and dumb sub-stuff, but because he has some major trauma and mental health issues that he's not getting proper care for, which leads to him being a controlling abusive asshole. The plot line? There's no real plot line here. A lit student fills in at an interview for college roomy, and it's all downhill from there. Basically, it's Twilight fanfiction putting Anna as Bella and Christian as Edward and making them do kinky shit. And Christian needs way better therapists. Way, way better therapists. Uh, spice level, just gonna put this right out there right now. Um, habanero, I guess, but I think it's bordering with habanero and jalapeno, to be honest. We're not even close to Carolina Reaper. And frankly, for this book, I would think it would be closer to that, but no. There's nothing crazy or wild in this book. There is some abuse and some fucked up shit, but I'm not putting those elements into the kinky sex realm because that is not where they belong.
All right.
Uh, things I loved. Nothing. But I'm gonna try my best to give credit where credit is due. First, I will say that the movie is pretty true to the book the vast majority of the time. So, good for Hollywood, I guess, if honoring the work of an author is important. Having seen all three movies, I can say that the writers, directors, and actors changed things probably for the better for the movies because they were working with some pretty terrible stuff. But to her credit, E.L. James wrote something fans wanted because this book was a New York Times number one bestseller. And Hollywood producers saw fit to make it into not one, but three movies.

Meghan:
I was gonna say it's a cultural phenomenon. I mean, in the same way that Twilight and Harry Potter were cultural phenomenons. So good on them.

Nicole:
And I was about to say, I do remember back in 2011, 2012, this was definitely a much talked-about book. And it was something new and different for a lot of people. And that's the nicest thing I can say about this book. Um, the writing wasn't quite as terrible as I've heard. It's not good, but I've read worse. So, I guess that's a win. 
Challenges. Uh, so many. So many challenges. I don't know where to begin. I don't know where to end. But I'm just gonna try to focus on a few things that lingered for me, like Anastasia's underwear in Christian's pocket. 

Meghan:
Can you say that again, please? 

Nicole:
Yeah. I'm gonna focus on a few things that lingered for me, like Anastasia's underwear in Christian's pocket. 

Meghan:
Yeah, yeah. Thank you for repeating.

Nicole:
Yeah.
Um, for those at home, I'm taking a lot of sips of my beverage because that's what it's gonna take to get through this without sounding like a horrible bitch.

Meghan:
I quite frequently think I sound awful.

Nicole:
I'm trying not to be a raging. 

Meghan:
I don’t think you need to apologize to the folk. 

Nicole:
All right, uh, challenges. Anna's inner monologue, which I talk to you about this, I think. Um, beyond stupid and insanely repetitive, sometimes weird, nonsensical, basically consists of holy shit, holy fuck, oh my, over and over and over again. Anna's sex sounds, literally on one page, arg. A-A-R-G-H. No, Anna, that's what a fucking pirate says. That's what we yell out during sex. 

Meghan:
Well, I mean, for certain role play, it might be. 

Nicole:
Um another challenge. Anna's ability to come at the drop of a hat as an inexperienced virgin who's never even masturbated. To that, I say fucking ridiculous. Meghan, you know, this is one of my top pet peeves because you see this trope all the fucking time. These girls are innocent virgins, they've got no experience, and voila, they're coming with the drop of a hat. But it was made even more ridiculous than normal in this book because Meghan, Christian makes her come for the first time just by touching her nipples. That's it. No extensive foreplay, just touching the nips.

Meghan:
Uh, TMI for our audience, that makes my entire body cringe. Like, yuck, don't do that, don't touch me there. Okay, anyway.

Nicole:
And then she comes multiple times, of course, all the time after that. And onto that I say, Anna, okay, honey, whatever. And I just have to say, I remember when I first started having sex and thinking that I had had an orgasm, and then realizing three to four fucking years later, nope, I had not been having orgasms yet. So yeah. Another challenge, Christian's ridiculous sex contract that he wants Anna to sign. Quote, “The submissive will ensure she achieves a minimum of seven hours sleep a night when she is not with the dominant.” Okay, buddy. It's nice quote.

Meghan:
Looking out for her, I guess. 

Nicole:
Just like, do you live in the real world, dude? I'm happy if I get five fucking hours of sleep, you know. And quote, “The submissive will not snack between meals, with the exception of fruit.” What the fuck? Okay. Um, and you know, you think for a sex contract, it would have like some really crazy kinky no, it's weird shit like that that's in there.

Meghan:
He just wants to be able to control her everyday life.

Nicole:
He…snacks between meals. She's a girl. Fuck the fuck off. Girls need snacks. Like, uh anyway, I digress. My last challenge, even though I had a lot more. Christian is a dirty foot licker. And you know I don't like to kink shame, Meghan, but when it comes to hygiene, it becomes an issue for me. Licking and sucking on feet and toes is not my jam, but I do understand some people are totally into it. And if doing that happens after a shower or a bath, go ahead, do your thing. But when you take somebody's gross, sweaty, smelly feet that have been in socks and smelly sneakers and converses, 

Meghan:
I tried to interrupt by saying it was somebody's toe jam.

Nicole:
Ugh. 

Meghan:
You said it's not your jam, but it’s…

Nicole:
Not my jam. 

Meghan:
…somebody's toe jam.


Nicole:
It's Christian's jam. 

Meghan:
Yeah. 

Nicole:
And so, I will leave that there. My final thoughts. If you felt at all compelled to read the book because you have or have not seen the movies, let me save you the trouble. Don't bother. Just don't do it. I read it for you. You can read my full review on our website in my blog, and I'll give you the deets, and you don't need anything else. You're good. 
Um, this year we did talk about wanting to do scents instead of foods. So, I'll quote He smells of freshly laundered linen, an expensive body wash. Right. 

Meghan:
Well, at least he smells okay. He smells clean.


Nicole:
Clean and fresh, but he likes to lick dirty toes.

Meghan:
Oh boy.

Nicole:
Yeah. 

Meghan:
So, I think based on the publishing dates, you're feeling as though yours is some sort of fanfic takeoff of the werewolf universe.
What is that thing called again? 

Nicole:
Twilight. 

Meghan:
And Twilight, thank you. 

Nicole:
That’s not just what I say.  That is what everybody on the internet is saying.

Meghan:
So, I have not read Twilight. I have not read Fifty Shades of Gray. I don't have interest in most of the big cultural phenomenon books. It just doesn't do it for me. That being said, I have a feeling based on publishing dates that the book I read is fanfic of your book. So, I read the book Ruckus by LJ Shen. And I feel like there are some similarities to Fifty Shades of Gray with the billionaire Playboy who needs therapy as our main character. And I don't want to say that my main female character was a super innocent. That's not it at all. But just like the power dynamics in that relationship, I think, are fairly similar. And there are other similarities that I'm not going to talk about because I feel like that might that might ruin it for people who might be interested in reading this book. So, let's get into it. 

Nicole:
Let's.

Meghan:
It was published in 2017 as part of the Sinners and Saint series. It's the second in her series, and it focuses on main character Dean Cole and Rosie LeBlanc. Dean's high school nickname was Ruckus, hence the name of the book. The premise is that when Rosie moved to town during their high school years, Dean ended up dating Rosie's sister, Millie. The scenario basically happened because Dean made a move on Millie before realizing that Rosie even existed. And even though both Rosie and Dean very clearly had eyes for each other, Dean had already by that time asked Millie out. And because Millie was being taunted by another guy in their like high school orbit, Rosie actually encouraged that relationship because she thought that it would help protect her sister from the bullying. Like if she dated Dean, that would kind of keep this other dude off her sister's back. So, by the time that relationship ended, Rosie had convinced herself that, you know, first of all, she could never date someone that had been her sister's first real boyfriend. And she also had convinced herself that she hated Dean. And here's the thing from my perspective, it seems to have him off limits because he dated your sister can be a good rule of thumb, but not necessarily a complete no-go. Like it would depend on the circumstances. Maybe it could be okay. Maybe they ended as friends, maybe it wasn't all that serious. That being said, the part where she convinced herself that she hated him, like I am so on board here because I also hated him. 
His character was very arrogant, self-indulgent, cocky, just like overall asshole-ish. Hence me making my drink tonight and calling it the douche canoe. 

Nicole:
Aptly named, apparently.  

Meghan:
Yeah. Here are a few snippets of his inner dialogue just to give you a feel. “She was immune to my all-American hot jock, tear your panties off with my teeth charm”. Next, “Sex was everywhere and I couldn't get enough of it. I was good at it too. Did I say good? Scratch that. Amazing. That's the word I was going for. Because practice makes perfect, and God knows I've had a lot of practice.” And “When you needed drugs, you came to me. When you needed a good party, you came to me. When you needed an amazing fuck, you came to me. And on me.”
It was like this all the time. Anyway, I digress. Rosie. Rosie LeBlanc has cystic fibrosis, which for those of you who may not know, it's a chronic lung disease. It comes with a whole host of issues, mostly attacking the lungs, it creates excess mucus, making it hard to breathe, easier to get infections, can pull down your immune system in general, and can cause some people to be infertile. Because of this condition, Rosie has always been treated like glass by her parents. She's had a lot of hospitalizations and regular medical treatments throughout her life. 11 years after this high school debacle, with all the dating of the supposedly wrong people, things are set in motion between Dean and Rosie once again, as we approach the upcoming nuptials of Rosie's sister and Dean's ex-girlfriend Millie, with another guy from their friend group, Vicious. Because why not have nicknames like Vicious and Ruckus? Rosie and Dean end up in a forced proximity situation that tempts their fates back onto that romantic path. And for reasons that are incredibly unclear to me, Rosie actually likes this guy, despite trying to tell herself that she has hated him for all of these years. So even though he's a pompous dickbag who lets his alcoholism negatively affect her health, she's in this relationship for the long haul.

Nicole:
Is there any indication of what's attracting her to him? Like what is she finding redeeming quality out of a douchebag?

Meghan:
I have a feeling that this is supposed to be one of those stories where he appears to be unredeemable and an asshole to everybody else, but somehow for her, he's going to, you know, hang the moon and stars. It's that thing where women want to feel like they're the only ones who could have tamed the beast. But I really, in this book, it's a lot of looking at his behavior and his treatment of her and me just being like, I find all of it just unpleasant. So yeah. 
That's about all I'm gonna say about the plot. So as not to ruin things, if you would like to read about this icky guy and a girl that is way too good for him. But I will now give you some follow-up here. 
So, do we want to start with the good? The good quotes? 

Nicole:
Yeah. 

Meghan:
Early in the book, Rosie comes home, has herself a nice bath, and then afterwards, this is the quote, “I poured myself some wine and had a healthy, balanced dinner consisting of Cheetos and an orange flavored dip of unknown origin.”

Nicole:
That sounds perfect. 

Meghan:
I know, I was like, yep, girl, I relate. This is one of the nicer things in Dean's inner monologue. “I love watching Rosie dance. She was so terrible at it. You couldn't help but laugh. But she didn't care. The girl didn't fucking care. And that's what I loved about her the most.” I thought that was quite sweet. 
And then I think this explains, you know, you had asked, what does she see in him? This is Rosie saying, I love you so much that I hated you for a while. And now that I know that you're damaged, I love you even more. Perfect things are not relatable. Unbreakable is fascinating, but not lovable. You are breakable, Dean Cole. So, I do feel like it's that that thing where she's seeing the wounded creature underneath the shield of the beast. Yeah.

Nicole:
I have thoughts and opinions on that, but I'll keep it.

Meghan:
I have lots of them. Um let's get to the things that annoyed me, which was about 100% of the sexual encounters in this book. I found most of them abrasive, unsexy, rough, unnecessary. I did not find them moving. It was a it was a lot of uh thrusting with no foreplay, stretching things that should not be stretched, biting things that should not be bitten. Here's a quote, “I slid another finger in until I fucked her with my entire hand.” How much of your hand? No. If you're throwing all of that in there, go away. Get away from me, get away. And then there's also a part in the book where I just wrote ew. In bold letters in ink. Big bold letters I just wrote “EW”. And that was in reference to the previous four pages. I couldn't even pick necessarily the part that grossed me out the worst. But here, “Why did it feel so divine when the man who claimed he wanted to save me hurt me? Maybe because part of saving sick little Rosie was by showing her that she was capable of suffering without breaking.” Okay, so this is not my kind of sexy.

Nicole:
Also, people at home can't see if they're listening to the podcast, but I'm just scrunching my nose and making squinty eyes.

Meghan:
Yeah, you may want to take a screenshot of the part where I just am holding up the word “EW” and you're making scrunchy face, because that kind of I think explains tonight's episode. Here's my “I have thoughts.” After they sleep together for the first time, he decides to go all out with a romantic gesture. And you know, we love romantic gestures here. I just don't feel like I can call this a romantic gesture from my standpoint. So, you tell me what you think. They sleep together. He decides he is going to send a token of his love to her at work. What does that mean? Usually a bouquet of flowers, you know, a special delivery of cookies or a cake or a singing telegram. 
No, he has his personal assistant call every florist within a 20-block radius of her work, and they're in New York City, so there's gonna be a lot of them, and deliver red roses from each of those businesses with a note on each one of these little bouquets that just says “mine,” and have these all delivered to her work. So, at her work at this tiny little coffee shop, about 200 different florists show up with bouquets with a one-word note that just says, “mine.” It was so over the top, so suffocating, so possessive, and to me, stalker-ish that I found it very uncomfortable. And perhaps other people would find that to be like, oh my God, this man is spending so much money on me and he wants me to be his. I would have been out of there so fast. That would have been like a straining order immediately.

Nicole:
That's like red giant red flag, unhealthy, like run girl, run.

Meghan:
I actually wrote in my show notes, “run Rosie.” I wrote, run Rosie, run. Yes. I was like, that is so uncomfortable.
And her coworkers are like, “he's so romantic.” 

Nicole:
Okay, I don't know what's worse. The women who find this romantic, or the coworkers and friends who are like, oh, isn't that so romantic? Like just diving right in and perpetuating the grossness.

Meghan:
To her credit, Rosie found it annoying, but only because she had to tip every single one of these delivery drivers. 

Nicole:
Oh, fuck that. 

Meghan:
Okay, so…

Nicole:
Okay, let's rewind just a little bit.

Meghan:
Yeah.

Nicole:
What would you rate this on the spicy scale?

Meghan:
It's absolutely a habanero. I was feeling like it bordered on the Carolina Reaper, but I was trying to figure out how to justify that because in the previous episode where I had a Carolina Reaper book, I based that on the fact that one of the characters in the book actually died.

Nicole:
During sex. 

Meghan:
Because of sex. And so, I was like, well, that qualifies as Carolina Reaper. So, if we're going for a sexiness scale here, I personally did not find these scenes sexy. They were edgier than most of my habanero books, though. So that's why I'm teetering toward that Carolina Reaper. So personally, did not find them sexy, doesn't mean other people wouldn't, right? And this is kind of where I go to my confliction on this book. The writing was really good. 

Nicole:
Okay. 

Meghan:
Yeah, LJ Shen, I can recommend as a writer. She also had a very unexpected twist in the middle of this book. And I really respect when an author can fool me with a twist because I do feel like quite often, I see it coming. I know what we're leading up to. You get your context clues. You can see through the red herrings. I did not expect the twist to be what it was. I knew something was coming. I thought that I absolutely had it pegged. I was wrong. And so mad respect for that. And I liked her style of writing so much that I actually looked up her other works to see if there was something else that'd be more my speed, something I would enjoy reading more. But unfortunately for me, it looks like most of her work tends to focus on rich jagoffs, like these billionaire playboys who are kind of just beastly. So, that was disappointing for me because I do like her writing and having that twist and the other things really was engaging. So, even though I didn't care for the male main character here, I would still consider reading more of her books, even in this series, because I somehow found her writing style so engaging that I was interested to see how she got these women who seemed very respectful and respectable to be with these guys who I just find so unsettling. It's like pushing on a bruise that you just can't stop touching, or like watching a train wreck you can't peel your eyes off of. Yeah. Uh A plus writing, sex scenes were too rough and a bit gross for me. Overall, I liked Rosie, didn't like Dean, and you can take that all for what you will. It's hard for me to necessarily recommend this specific book, but I did like the writing. And so that's where we're at.

Nicole:
Any scents in your book?

Meghan:
You know what? I forgot to highlight any scents, or maybe there just were. I'm sure there were. I did not highlight them. But booby prize.


Nicole:
Oh, yes. Tell me, where did the boobies appear?


Meghan:
I think I'm gonna win this one. 

Nicole:
Okay. 

Meghan:
I'm page four. That might be a record. 

Nicole:
I'm not sure. 

Meghan:
Is that the earliest we've had a boobie reference? 

Nicole:
Page three. 

Meghan:
That's it. Page three. Oh, so close.  Second place.

Nicole:
What was your page?

Meghan:
Page four. Okay. You missed it by one page. I did. I did. Oh well. “They figured I was a rich stoner bastard who needed more money, like Pamela Anderson needed more tits.” Page four.

Nicole:
Okay. Um, shockingly, for 50 shades, the breasts did not appear until page 70. The quote started on page 69, but the actual breasts did not appear until page 70. Quote: “I rub it all over myself, fantasizing that it's him. Him rubbing this heavenly scented soap into my body, across my breasts, over my stomach, between my thighs with his long-fingered hands.”

Meghan:
All right. Well, we read some books. They were they were a little dark. They were a little rough. 

Nicole:
You know, this is supposed to be really dark. I don't feel like it was that dark. 

Meghan:
I'm just pleased that the writing of my book was good. I don't think I would be as conflicted if the writing was awful. I would just be able to dismiss this out of hand. But I really liked her writing style. So, I'm hoping that there is something in one of her universes that I can connect to a little bit more. So, there's that.

Nicole:
So, on the next episode, we've already picked our number for our next books. If you want to watch us pick our numbers, we're gonna put the videos up online to tease which numbers we drew and which books we drew for our next read. We'll go ahead and tell you right here, too, what they are. Mine is “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry. And I believe you have a Tessa Bailey.

Meghan:
I do have a Tessa Bailey. I have “It Happened One Summer” with a nice little lighthouse in the background. And I am I am of lighthouse people, so I'm excited to read this one. Yeah.
I come from a family of lighthouse keepers. 

Nicole:
I'll read my synopsis. Nora Stephens - and Stephens, I would like to know, is with a PH. The way it should be. 

Meghan:
The right way. 

Nicole:
The right way. “Nora Stephens's life is books. She's read them all, and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laid-back dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister, Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sister's trip away, with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she's convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or a bulging forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish, brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet cute, if not for the fact that they've met many times and it's never been cute. If Nora knows she's not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he's nobody's hero. But as they are thrown together again and again in a series of coincidences, no editor worth their salt would allow, what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they've written about themselves.” 

Meghan:
That sounds sweet. 

Nicole:
It's a girthy one. And I'm not very far into it. Enjoying it so far. I've had some laugh out louds already.

Meghan:
That's good. I have not started mine yet because I'm in the middle of reading the most recent Christmas novel from Heatherly Bell. So I'm gonna probably finish that within the next day and then start on It Happen One Summer. So, I'm going right from Christmas to summer with this Tessa Bailey. “Piper Bellinger is fashionable and influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party land Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So, he cuts her off and sends her and her sister to learn some responsibility, running their late father's dive bar in Westport, Washington. Piper hasn't even been to Westport five minutes when she meets big bearded sea captain Brendan Taggart, who thinks she won't last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So, what if Piper can't do math and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives? How bad could it really be? She's determined to show her stepfather and the hot, grumpy local, that she's more than just a pretty face. Except it's a small town, and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there's an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn't want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects to her past and begins to feel home at Westport, Piper begins to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan and this town full of memories may have already caught her heart.”

Nicole:
I am looking forward to these books and chatting about them. I'm getting Pride and Prejudice vibes from mine, which I'm a huge Pride and Prejudice fan. You and I like different versions of it though, in terms of the movies.

Meghan:
Oh yeah. No, I need the six-hour miniseries. Give me the pure, unadulterated, long, slow burn. I know you need to get into it.

Nicole:
I do appreciate that miniseries, but I really prefer. Even though Kira Knightley is not my favorite actress in the whole world, I still like that movie version, but for a lot of other reasons. I just love the ancillary characters. I think they do a really phenomenal job, so.

Meghan:
I can see every scene of the six-hour miniseries in my head, so I no longer have to watch it. I can just play it somewhere in the house, and my brain just puts all the images and it can just be there.

Nicole:
Well, I think that's all we have for this week, Meghan. I know we're both looking forward to our next books and reading something a little more contemporary.

Meghan:
Well, for me, it's gonna be something a little bit lighter, I think. This was kind of dark, and I think the next one is going to be a little bit more cheerful, you know, different ends of the spectrum. 
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