Love Letters and Books

55: The Discomfort of Being Seen and Loved (by a Protective Kidnapper): Good Hands by Author Maggie Gates

Author Maggie Gates returns to Love Letters and Books to introduce Good Hands, a morally gray (ish) romance about a grumpy casino bouncer, a stats professor turned card counter, and what happens when “stealing from Peter to pay Paul” goes very, very wrong. Amelia has spent her whole life cleaning up her brother Joel’s messes, and starts counting cards to pay off his debt (at the exact casino owned by the man who holds that debt) while Jude, a former Navy SEAL and bouncer ordered to kill her, kidnaps her instead and drags them both into a dangerous mission to bring down the house. We explore the emotional heart of the story: paying someone else’s debt while resenting them, the complicated love between siblings who are stuck in old roles, and what it’s like to go from being everyone’s last priority to being one man’s first and only thought, and how uncomfortable it can feel to be cared for when self-reliance has always been your armor. Good Hands is the perfect book if you love morally gray protectors, kidnapping that turns into romance, and secret identities. Good Hands asks the question: How do you learn to receive when all you know how to do is give? If you’ve ever felt like everyone else’s safety net but nobody’s first choice, you’re going to love this love story. Connect with Love Letters and Books TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com Connect with Maggie Gates TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormaggiegates Threads: https://www.threads.com/@authormaggiegates Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaggiegates Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/authormaggiegates/ Website: https://maggiegates.com/

54: Surviving Alina May’s Lucky # 14: Kink, Trauma, and Healing Dark Romance

Dark romance author Alina May returns to the podcast to talk about Lucky #14, the latest installment in her interconnected Hunter’s Club universe. This is a high-stakes thriller where people are hunted for sport, and survival is the only rule. We explore what happens when deeply traumatized people try to love each other, why real intimacy often looks like messing up and trying again rather than being the “perfect survivor,” and how kink, especially degradation and power exchange, can become a safer, embodied way to edge toward vulnerability when words feel impossible. We also talk about why Alina loves writing characters who are allowed to be messy and wrong, yet still worthy of healing. The conversation closes on boundaries as a form of freedom, how Alina protects her own mental health while writing dark, trigger-heavy stories, and her hope that readers can take a deep breath at the end of Lucky #14 and feel that it’s possible to walk through hell and still find a place to rest on the other side. Connect with Love Letters and Books TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com Connect with Alina May TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alina_may_author Threads: https://www.threads.com/@alina_may_author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alina_may_author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/133494816419422/ Website: https://www.alinamaybooks.com/

53: Of Fate and Fortune: Legacy, Healing, and Romance with Erinn Maxwell

Author Erinn Maxwell returns to talk about Of Fate and Fortune, the dual-timeline sequel to Of Heather and Thistle that follows Heather and Flynn in contemporary Scotland as they hunt for Jacobite gold while uncovering the 18th‑century love story of her ancestors, Harris and Fiona. We discuss how the novel uses history, hidden treasures, and parallel romances to examine legacy, cycle-breaking, and the long, non-linear journey from mere survival to genuine thriving. We also unpack one of my favorite lines from the book, “what cannot be buried must be carried,” and how it applies not just to gold, but to grief, family stories, and the parts of ourselves we can no longer pretend aren’t there.  Connect with Love Letters and Books TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com Connect with Erinn Maxwell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@erinnmaxwellwrites Threads: https://www.threads.com/@erinnmaxwellwrites Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinnmaxwellwrites Website: https://erinnmaxwell.com/

52: Two Very Sensitive Bunnies Talk About Hope, Hurt, and How Life Takes a Turn After Hitting Rockbottom

Join me for another hopecore episode with Ceilidh of @YourHopefulRomantic! Today, we’re exploring the double narrative of the phrase, “Good things happen when you least expect them,” and how it can feel both hopeful and deeply invalidating when you’re at rock bottom. And why these kinds of storylines in books can be so healing. So whether you’ve hit a wall or just fallen off your path, we’re here to let you know you’re in the right place! We’ve heard this line in moments of grief, career upheaval, and personal “failure,” and we’re talking about why it can feel like a Band-Aid over real pain, and how presence and sitting in the discomfort can sometimes be more healing than fast-forwarding to the silver lining. Ceilidh’s book this week is Ronnie Matthews’ small-town romance, Melody Whispers, where an unexpected pregnancy between near-strangers, Harriet and Warren, collides with Warren’s PTSD. The episode also features a voice love letter from Ronnie herself, sharing her intention to write about mental health in a way that is both realistic and uplifting, especially for people who often feel alone in their struggles Books mentioned in this episode: Melody Whispers by Ronnie Matthews Rules For Starting Over by Katie King Connect with Love Letters and Books TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com Connect with Ceilidh aka @yourhopefulromantic TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourhopefulromantic Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yourhopefulromantic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourhopefulromantic/

51: Forced Proximity, Why Choose, and Vigilante Hearts: Grave Errors with Author CJ North

Author CJ North returns to talk about Grave Errors, a why-choose MFM dark romance that collides medical debt rage, vigilante justice, and forced-proximity obsession. We discuss the real-world fuel behind this book: the cruelty of medical debt, medical gaslighting, and the belief that our lives only have value if we’re perfect humans who never struggle, get sick, or need help. CJ shares personal healthcare experiences that informed Willow’s fury, explores themes of debt (financial, emotional, generational) and worthiness, and reflects on why she keeps writing stories where broken people still choose to protect others, even at great personal cost. Grave Errors is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Connect with Love Letters and Books TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovelettersandbooks Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lovelettersandbooks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelettersandbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelettersandbookspodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoveLettersandBooksPodcast Write me a love letter: lovelettersandbookspodcast@gmail.com Connect with CJ North TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cj_north_writes Threads: https://www.threads.com/@cj_north_writes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575075535014# Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cj_north_writes/