547 episodes

Melody Carlisle and Sabrina Bradley love romance and they do it out loud! Every Monday, these long-distance best friends recap romance novels from a comedic, intersectional feminist, sex-positive perspective.
If you're itching for a BFF book club or just love raucous slumber party vibes, this is the show for you! Whether you've read the book or not, all are welcome! Giggling, tangents, and sincere joy abound.

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    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Melody Carlisle and Sabrina Bradley love romance and they do it out loud! Every Monday, these long-distance best friends recap romance novels from a comedic, intersectional feminist, sex-positive perspective.
If you're itching for a BFF book club or just love raucous slumber party vibes, this is the show for you! Whether you've read the book or not, all are welcome! Giggling, tangents, and sincere joy abound.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Ep. 326 - Claimed by Elle Kennedy

    Ep. 326 - Claimed by Elle Kennedy

    Hey HBs! It's Post-Apocalyptic Times!! We're recapping CLAIMED by Elle Kennedy, and wow is outlaw country sex and kink positive! We've got a heroine with a BIG secret, a hero with a vendetta, and a passel of boys we can't get enough of!
    Bonus Content: Michael's angry bird artistic debut, that potent post-apocalyptic pussy, sexy hit point increases, the confusing commerce of outlaw country, flower favors, outlaw jail, and so much more!
    Lady Loves:
    Sabrina: see your friends as much as possible! Especially if they live far away.
    Mel: I've been noodling on some wisdom from a fictional yoga class written by Sarina Bowen. The idea "never give up and always surrender." Work hard and follow your dreams, but allow for things to evolve along the way!
    Make sure to check out Mel's new podcast Bonkers Romance! 
    Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell all your friends :)
    Get more content on PATREON!!
    Sign up for our Newsletter! 
    MERCH! Teepublic, Chicaloo Kate, Redbubble
    Instagram: @heavingbosoms
    Twitter: @heaving_bosoms

    • 1 hr 41 min
    Ep. 325 - Ravished by Amanda Quick

    Ep. 325 - Ravished by Amanda Quick

    Hey HBs! Mel and Sabrina are here to recap RAVISHED by Amanda Quick! It's a historical with a fossil-obsessed heroine, a VERY misunderstood hero, a dangerous ring of robbers, and a cavernous ruination!!
    Bonus Content: Mel got her 5 yards of dirt delivered, Sabrina wants to be BFFs with this heroine, the gals go on a crustacean tangent, Mel does a big word association on everyone because it's tired in here, Lady Whipplethorpe, Lord Applebottom Doorman, and so much more!
    Lady Loves:
    Joint lady love: HB David sending a much-sought 1st print of a Lisa Kleypas book to HB Emily after a Patreon watch party! HBs are the BEST.
    Sabrina: StoryGraph has actual graphs now! Pie and bar ones!
    Mel: Get yourself whatever your 5 yards of dirt is! Is it nuts? Maybe. But is it for you? DEFINITELY.
    Make sure to check out Mel's new podcast Bonkers Romance! 
    Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell all your friends :)
    Get more content on PATREON!!
    Sign up for our Newsletter! 
    MERCH! Teepublic, Chicaloo Kate, Redbubble
    Instagram: @heavingbosoms
    Twitter: @heaving_bosoms

    • 1 hr 43 min
    Ruthless Bosses Series by Theodora Taylor

    Ruthless Bosses Series by Theodora Taylor

    Hey HBs! It's the birth of "the Quickie" with the Ruthless Bosses series by Theodora Taylor. Did Mel not-so-subtly coerce Sabrina into staying for all three books when she had too much on her plate? Maybe. But, honestly, no regrets for anyone.

    In this episode, Mel recaps HIS REVENGE BABY, HIS ENDURING LOVE, and HIS EVERLASTING LOVE!

    Enjoy!!

    Ep. 324 - Happy St. Vincent Day!!

    Ep. 324 - Happy St. Vincent Day!!

    Hey HBs! HAPPY ST. VINCENT WEEK! Tomorrow, April 2nd, is officially the 3rd (or maybe 4th?) annual St. Vincent Day! Where we celebrate Sebastian St. Vincent, the misunderstood bad boy who's really just broken and wants to ensconce your feet in warmth and feed you and plan funerals so you don't have to and become the sexist casino business man and take bullets for you. CASUAL STUFF.
    Last year, we got recommendations for books that have St. Vincent *vibes* and boy did HB Taylor deliver! She's back with us to recap THE LUCKIEST LADY IN LONDON by Sherry Thomas. We have the horniest heroine on a mission, an asshole in disguise as the Ideal Gentleman, mistress-turned-marital machinations, and so much more!
    Bonus Content: so much math horniness, floriography, chalkboard fantasies, tentacle fingers, telescope metaphors, and more!
    Lady Loves:
    Sabrina: if you can, hire a person to do the thing you hate! Sabrina just got a guy who will mow her lawn and now she can use that time cross-stitching or reading or knitting AND reading or just taking a load off.
    Taylor: Weleda body lotion. It smells like plants and she swears by it.
    Mel: laugh directly in the face of misogynists. If a guy looks you dead in your beautiful face and says he doesn't "need your permission to call your husband" give into your involuntary response and cackle right in his face!
    Make sure to check out Mel's new podcast Bonkers Romance! 
    Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell all your friends :)
    Get more content on PATREON!!
    Sign up for our Newsletter! 
    MERCH! Teepublic, Chicaloo Kate, Redbubble
    Instagram: @heavingbosoms
    Twitter: @heaving_bosoms

    • 2 hr 2 min
    March 2024 Reading Roundup!

    March 2024 Reading Roundup!

    Hey y'all! This month, Mel has been cruelly bridled by Sabrina's need to experience books for herself before hearing about them. But never fear! We give you two quickies of books in Roan Parrish's Middle of Somewhere series and Elizabeth Stevens' Xiveri Mates series!

    Quickies are a new format that's super fun for us! We give ourselves a set timeframe to recap a book and it really forces us to get to the nitty gritty! Next week you'll hear the origin of the Quickie when Mel tells Sabrina about the rest of Theodora Taylor's Ruthless Bosses series!

    Until then, here's our discussion of OUT OF NOWHERE (older brother Colin's book!) and TAKEN TO NOBU (Kiki's book!).

    Ep. 323 - Taken to Voraxia by Elizabeth Stevens!

    Ep. 323 - Taken to Voraxia by Elizabeth Stevens!

    Hey HBs! We haven't recapped an alien romance in a while... dare we say TOO LONG! We're here today with TAKEN TO VORAXIA by Elizabeth Stevens! As of the release of this episode, Mel has read through book 6 without any plans to stop. This series is sooo good!
    TW: discussions of sexual assault, slavery, and forced abortions.
    Bonus Content: Mel can't tear herself away from the Ruthless Bosses series by Theodora Taylor, how much we love the there-aren't-enough-babies trope, xora pockets (insert rooster emoji here), and ships turning into armadas!!!
    Don't worry, Mel told Sabrina all about the rest of the books in the Ruthless Bosses series by Theodora Taylor and that will be out on Patreon and Apple subscription on Tuesday, 4/2!!
    Lady Loves
    Mel: Pizza dough made from scratch, and then cinnamon rolls made with any leftover dough!
    Sabrina: Author Emma Hamm is a recent discovery with a DEEP backlist and oh Sabrina might need saving pretty soon!
    Make sure to check out Mel's new podcast Bonkers Romance! 
    Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell all your friends :)
    Get more content on PATREON!!
    Sign up for our Newsletter! 
    MERCH! Teepublic, Chicaloo Kate, Redbubble
    Instagram: @heavingbosoms
    Twitter: @heaving_bosoms

    • 1 hr 44 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
1.2K Ratings

1.2K Ratings

Lauren Genevieve ,

If you love romance you’ll love this podcast!

Heaving Bosoms has been my favorite podcast for the past four years. During 2020 covid lockdown, I rediscovered my love of reading and especially romance books. In addition to reading again, I wanted to consume more bookish media. I found heaving bosoms when I wanted to recap ACOTAR and instantly fell in love with the Melody/Erin duo and felt like I was listening to my close friends talk about my favorite books. My comfort episode(s) are Ep. 87/88 (Bully). More recently, I’ve also been loving the Melody/Sabrina duo and the books and reactions have been as fun as ever! Thank you for bringing joy and laughter into my ears every week <3

5 Star Rec: For the Fans by Nyla K. (MM forbidden/Taboo romance)

Hannahrd21 ,

Love it!

I just listened to the podcast on A Court of Thorns and Roses and I love it! Absolutely hilarious, it felt like I was listening to my girl friends talk about it ❤️

missvivi121 ,

Hilarious

Love the podcast! I turned it on yesterday while putting my shoes on, then listened to the entire episode snort laughing and playing mindless card games on my phone. I loved Erin and Melody together, and now love Sabrina equally!

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