Romance on the Rocks

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It’s tequila. It’s pergolas. It’s slow burns and snark.

On this episode of Romance on the Rocks, Nicole Danielle and Meghan Leigh dive into two contemporary romantic comedies while attempting to keep their cocktails (and themselves) upright.

Meghan read is It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. It's a grumpy-sunshine, small-town romance where an LA party girl lands in a Washington fishing town and collides with a sto...

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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 k...

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Street corn nachos, a cucumber margarita the size of a goldfish bowl, and enough romance novels to take us from cozy bookshops to briny underwater kingdoms. Season two wrapped up with everything we love:  the reads that made us swoon, the ones that shocked us, and the moments that had us snort-laughing into our drinks.

We talk about the couples that stayed with us, from board-game tenderness to a demon who adored a heroin...

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Pop the cork with us as we open season three and get real about how a half-joking idea turned into a ritual that changed our reading lives. We trace our path from sneaking dog-eared paperbacks to championing today’s expansive romance universe, and we talk about what happened when we let romance back in — more joy at home, a revived writing habit, and a community that feels like a warm, rowdy book club.

We swap o...

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Candy Cane Cocktails in hand, we dive into two very different holiday romances and come up for air with laughter, side-eye and a few hard truths. First up: Good Spirits by B.K. Borison, a contemporary paranormal charmer where a Ghost of Christmas Past lands in a modern woman’s living room and promptly breaks every rule — starting with her heart. We dig into the banter that actually crackles, the clever sensory limits on ...

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Holiday romance should feel like stepping into a warm kitchen: familiar, fragrant and a little bit daring. We open with two cocktails that embody that spirit — a risky Latke Sour with potato syrup and egg white, and a bright cranberry cosmo sweetened with local honey. Then we dive into two Hanukkah-centered love stories that test how much flavor, heat and heart a seasonal read can carry.

First up, Love and Latke...

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A hockey crush in 8th grade and a lifelong love of the game set A.C. Wonderland on an unexpected path: slow-burn romances that feel as tense and electric as a tied third period. We pull up a chair with A.C. to talk about her books One Shot and Summer Shot, why golden retriever male leads deserve their flowers, and how to write intimacy that actually moves the story forward. If your heart wants authentic hockey details wi...

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The ice is cold but these love stories are blazin'. We’re pouring drinks, pulling on jerseys and diving into two hockey romances that deliver big feelings, bigger chemistry and the kind of character growth that lingers after the final buzzer. First up:  One Shot by A.C. Wonderland. It's a slow-burn college romance where a PR hopeful and the youngest team captain in program history find more than spark — they fi...

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Let’s end spooky season with a clink:  a neon-blue zombie cocktail meets a cozy Oktoberfest beer as we close our creature feature month and dig into two wildly different monster romances. First up, Zombie Moon by Lori Devoti drops us into "Brain Alley", Wisconsin, where a werewolf zombie-hunter and a mystery woman collide over brain bait and secrets. We unpack the moral gray zones, the alleyway action, and the ...

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What happens when a debt-crushed millennial takes a job at a "milking farm" and a runaway stumbles into the arms of a golden-sapped tree man who can sew, garden and cook? We pour a drink (okay, a few), roll up our sleeves, and unpack two monster romances that are equal parts spicy, sweet and unexpectedly practical. From fictional Cambric Creek to a swamp sanctuary outside Cypress Landing, this creature-feature ...

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Do monsters make the perfect mate? We kick off with our signature cocktails — Buttersquatch whiskey for a Sasquatch fling and a citrus-spiked Werewolf’s Call — then dive into two paranormal romances that couldn’t be more different in pace, tone, and payoff. First up:  a 97-page sprint where a half-banshee heroine bolts from an arranged marriage straight into the path of a half-Sasquatch protector. It’s fast, filthy, and ...

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A forgotten summer, a hungry garden, and a winged legend with a soft spot for small kindnesses. Our creature-feature month kicks off with two romances that trade jump scares for emotional stakes. 

We start in Yarrow, Kentucky, where three generations of Haywood witches tend a shadow garden that grows on sorrow and fuels a rival distillery’s enchanted bourbon. When the town collectively erases the summer of 1997 from their...

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Something remarkable is happening in Milwaukee — a renaissance of dedicated romance bookstores creating vital community spaces where readers connect over shared literary passions. As we celebrate our one-year podcast anniversary, we're thrilled to spotlight two visionary women transforming the local literary landscape.

Meet Natasha Meyer from The Well Red Damsel, who transitioned from pop-up to permanent sp...

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Fall in love with small-town romance as Nicole and Meghan exchange books perfectly tailored to each other's interests in this delightful end-of-summer reading episode. Their thoughtful book exchange showcases the power of friendship through literature, with Nicole receiving a hairstylist-centered romance and Meghan diving into a story featuring baseball and thrifting.

Nicole explores "Dark Roots and Co...

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Nicole and Meghan dive headfirst into uncharted territory with their first-ever romance novel exchange. And things get spicy faster than either of them anticipated. After exchanging books based on loose personal connections (Nicole's husband is named Bob), the hosts discover they've accidentally thrust each other into the deep end of the romance pool.

Nicole tackles "B.O.B.'s Fall," a fu...

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Ever wondered what happens when you inherit a bookstore from your murdered grandfather? Or when a city lawyer falls for a struggling resort owner in rural Minnesota? This episode dives deep into two contemporary small-town romances that explore what happens when urban professionals leave behind their city lives for love in communities where everyone knows your business.

Meghan reviews "Closer to You" b...

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Summer heat has us craving refreshing drinks and equally refreshing romance novels! We're diving into contemporary romance novels this month, and both our selections had us staying up late turning pages.

Nicole sips a piña colada (perfectly matching her book) while discussing "Mixed Signals" by B.K. Borison. This slow-burn romance features Caleb, a Spanish-teaching ex-firefighter who's been c...

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Christmas in July heats up as the Romance on the Rocks podcast tackles two holiday-themed romances that push boundaries in very different ways. Hosts Meghan and Nicole deliver equal parts humor and literary criticism while enjoying seasonal beverages — a festive "Snowball Old Fashioned" for Nicole and iced coffee for Meghan (who's admirably sticking to her health challenge despite the temptation of a cold ...

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What happens when you mix Christmas romance novels with scorching July temperatures? Pure magic, as it turns out! We're kicking off our "Christmas in July" theme with two delightfully different holiday romances that prove festive love stories work beautifully year-round.

Nicole takes us through "Cowboy, It's Christmas" by Heatherly Bell, where auto mechanic Daisy Carver proposes a f...