Welcome to Feb episode of Raag on Romance where Shani and Bridget chat about all things romance and podcast each month!

This week Shani reminisced about her older sister reading to her as a kid, how Bridget's kids get a huge haul of books from the library every week, and how Bridget is raising a little reader!

Shani and Bridget talk about the feeling of reading physical books vs Kindle vs audiobooks. And how Shani wants to find the first romance novel she ever read.

Bridget shares all the books she read in January of 2025, some alternative books to Onyx Storm, as well as shares upcoming books on her TBR, and upcoming author interviews!

• It's a Love Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson - Sapphic Enemies-to-Lovers hockey romance
• Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar - Second-chance romance a la Reese Witherspoon classic Sweet Home Alabama
• Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young - Rekindling love!

• Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher - DNF - Bridget reveals her goal to actually DNF books that aren't working for her. She thinks that this book could work really for some people but the Arthur character didn't work for her.
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros - Book 3 of the Fourth Wing series. Bridget went into this book thinking it would be the end of a trilogy. Turns out, it is going to be 5 books! YIKES. The main character is waffling about you don't love me too much, there is way too much additional world-building and cultures added to book 3 that definitely could have been cut out, and generally, I was very disappointed.
• Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao - Bridget re-read book 1, Iron Widow, and is currently reading book 2 Heavenly Tyrant!

• Amanda the founder of the Last Chapter Bookstore in Chicago is coming on to chat about starting a brick-and-mortar bookstore, her journey into romance reading, and more.
• Tre from IG is coming on to talk about Kimberly Lemming's latest book I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com
• Lucy Lennox is returning for an interview in March to talk about her Billionaire Brotherhood series. Be sure to listen to Lucy's first interview with May Archer from 2020.
• Julie Johnson is coming on to chat about The Wind Weaver in April!
• Bridget is super hyped for the release of Oathbound by Tracy Deonn on March 4th! If you haven't read books 1 & 2 the series is excellent YA Fantasy with