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The question as old as time…are vampires and werewolves monster romance, or is it straight paranormal? We bring in a subject matter expert to give the official ruling.
B.L. Brown (Britta) writes across three worlds:
— the sapphic monster romance of Camp Cryptid
— the witchy urban fantasy of Witch of the Demesne
— and Beer Hall Brides, a cozy fairy-tale romance set at a magical Oktoberfest where every beer hall gets its own love story, built on folklore creatures from the German Alps
We also get into the "what if" engine behind monster romance (but seriously, how does the anatomy of a faun work?), why you should meticulously plan your red herrings but let the romance surprise you, and the one-bed trope that was just supposed to be a joke and turned into one of her favorite scenes.
Plus…romance is NOT FLUFF! The bodily autonomy thread running through Ice Planet Barbarians. The student debt and sex-work conversation buried in Morning Glory Milking Farm. Why Unhinged — yup, that Unhinged, the one about a sentient doorknob — is a genuinely smart Greek myth allegory.
Britta also gives three pieces of advice for new writers, including tossing out the term "aspiring."
Make sure to stay to the end, where Holly and CJ react to Sarah J. Maas wiping her Instagram to announce her upcoming Valkyrie Cycle books, A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody. We have some hot takes about the vibes.
Andrew was on vacation. The hosts noticed. Be prepared.
CURRENTLY READING
Holly — Our Immortal Hearts (Lara Buckheit)
CJ — Kiss of the Basilisk (Lindsay Straube), our next book club pick
Britta — The Moon Raven (Grace Draven), Mr. and Mrs. X
ALSO MENTIONED
Unhinged · Stiff · PS I Hate You · Ice Planet Barbarians · Morning Glory Milking Farm · Emily Antoinette's minotaur romance · Cleo Evans· Krista Luna's orc series · Crescent City
TROPES: monster romance, paranormal romance, sapphic, grumpy/sunshine, second chance, enemies to lovers, only one bed, "my wife” , fated mates
SPICE: High in the books, frank in the conversation
CONTENT WARNINGS: Explicit language; open discussion of sex, spice, and monster anatomy; discussion of sex work; brief mention of grief and cancer (PS I Hate You)
FIND B.L. BROWN
Website — https://brittawritesthings.com/
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/brittawritesthings
TikTok — https://www.tiktok.com/@brittawritesthings
Britta keeps content warnings for all of her books on her website. Newsletter signup is in her Instagram bio.
Catch her in person at Spellbound in the Valley (New York) in late October.
BUY THE BOOKS
Ritual Income (Witch of the Demesne) — https://books2read.com/ritualincome
Faun Over Me (Camp Cryptid) — https://books2read.com/faunoverme
Shady Depths (A Witches of C.R.O.W. Novella) — https://books2read.com/shadydepths
Britta's ask, and ours: request indie books at your library. Authors can't get themselves stocked — readers can.
Currently reading something great? Leave us a comment wherever you're listening — especially if it's a monster romance.
If you've been with us a while, a rating is the one thing that puts this show in front of people like you.
Instagram: @trigger.warnings.bookclub
Holly is running the NYC Marathon in November to support The Book Fairies! Consider giving a donation:
https://give.thebookfairies.org/fundraiser/7126101
