To talk about ACOTAR, Jessica is joined this week by special guest Alyssa Morris, whose popular Romancing the Phone newsletter demystifies into BookTok trends and digs into the publishing industry. Alyssa and Jessica talk about the phenomenon of A Court of Thorn and Roses (banned statewide in Utah schools), what's really happening with romance and romantasy, and why these genres deserve such respect. Don't worry, we also cover fairy smut!

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"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jessica Goudeau and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @jessica_goudeau.

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Join us in two weeks as Christine and Jessica discuss Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin!

Episode 6 links:

Alyssa's newsletter, Romancing the Phone
Alyssa's website
About ACOTAR from Alpha Reader, AP News, and Utah State Board of Education

Alyssa's Recs:

Romance:

We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Beach Read and Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
Psy Changeling series by Nalini Singh
You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long

YA:

Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, plus her upcoming adult romance debut Overdue (October)
The Wallflower series by Lisa Kleypas

Romantasy:

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Taahir,
The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi,
Radiance by Grace Draven

Jessica's Romance/Romantasy Recs:

Anything by:

Naina Kumar
Ali Hazelsood
Nisha Sharma
Ehi Okosun
Ni

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!