Reading For Pleasure

Mantras and Minotaurs by Ashley Bennett

Minotaur May is baaaack, and it's another week of us questioning our judgement. How does romance differ post menopause? Why is it usually the woman who leaves everything she knows and loves to move closer to man? And the age old question: wouldn't hooves be really slick on a yoga room floor? Trigger/Content Warnings: previous unhappy marriage described, first time flying, THC use, alcohol consumption, death of a spouse, discussions of menopause related body chances Tropes: monster romance, minotaur romance, later in life romance, dating app, billionaire romance, long distance relationship Master Kim’s Corner: * Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature - Jan Radway Romances for People in Their 50s? Author Jane Porter Says, ‘Why Not?’ [https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/jane-porter-interview-2023/] - no author

Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon

Welcome to WEEK TWO of Minotaur May! Where were indoor cats shitting in this world? Why aren't more romance novels outside? Why is sex work so often villainized in romance novels? Trigger/Content Warnings: claustrophobia, cave-ins, spiders, corpses, rats, grave robbing, parental neglect, financial insecurity, gambling, addiction, alcoholism, unprotected sex, rampant misogyny, knotting, sexually explicit content Tropes: fish out of water, monster romance, fantasy, marriage of convenience, found family, broke heiress Who might feel repped? Nerds, virgins, tall women, cat moms Master Kim’s Corner: What the World Needs Now is Adventure Romance [https://bookriot.com/adventure-romance/] - Jessica Pryde

Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta

Welcome to MINOTAUR MAAAAY! We're kicking things off with the one that started it all - Morning Glory Milking Farm. Join us all month as we break down the tropes, rate the hotness of cows, and fill our hearts with regret. Is Violet a sex worker? How much would you need to get paid to let someone eat you out? How are we coping with the KU/Audible breakup? Trigger/Content Warnings: sex work, glory hole, authority kink, sexually explicit content Tropes: monster romance, billionaire romance, age gap, low angst, slow burn, employee/customer relationship Master Kim’s Corner: * Minotaurs, werewolves and basilisks–the weird sexual politics of romantasy [https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/romantasy-fiction-romance-novels-sex-rebecca-yarros-cm-nascosta-layla-sparks-8cbnmbjpc] - Kathleen Stock * Definitely a look at monster from the outside

Cubs and Campfires by Dylan Drakes

We're joined this week by special guest and REAL gay person, Hank! Are there meaningful differences between MM books written by real gay men vs women/AFAB folks? Why do gay men like outside sex so much? How does body positivity differ in the gay male community? Trigger/Content warnings: cursing, sexual content, homophobia, lack of realism around safety, explicit language, consensual sexual degradation, bondage and domination. Who might feel repped? Gays (men), fats, sluts, (the tri fecta) Tropes: GAY, vow of celibacy, body positivity, career vs personal fulfillment, strangers to lovers, the lure of the wilderness, deception from omission Master Kim’s Corner: * Why aren’t more gay male bestsellers written by gay men? (And does it matter?) [https://www.out.com/books/gay-books-by-gay-writers] - Taylor Henderson Popular gay slang inspired by the animal kingdom explained [https://www.pride.com/identities/gay-animal-types#rebelltitem2] - Pride Editor *SARAH WOULD NOT BE A PIG!!!!*

For the Fans by Nyla K.

Should Cis Women be writing MM romance? Does our digital footprint even mean anything anymore? What's the relationship between sex work as WORK and people who do it for the love of it (or...for the fans)?   Trigger/Content Warnings: mention of childhood sexual assault (not detailed on page), mention of sensitive religious topics, detailed trauma recovery & healing, mention of death & grief, death of a parent (off-page), homophobia (mild), filming of sexual acts for money (online sex work), negligent parents, divorce (mentioned), sexual explicit content Tropes: enemies to lovers, hate to love, grumpy x sunshine, stepbrothers, forbidden romance, secret romance, sports romance Who might feel repped? College kids in the closet, football players, blended families, sex workers, step brothers Master Kim’s Corner: Why is step-incest so sexy right now? We asked actual step siblings to find out? [https://screenshot-media.com/culture/entertainment/why-is-step-incest-so-sexy/] - Abby Amoakuh (Screenshot) * The Disturbing Underbelly of the ‘step’ porn trend [https://mashable.com/article/step-porn-incest-videos-pornhub] - Anna Iovine (Mashable)