Romance Unzipped

Your HEA Bookclub

Bookclubbing the world's best genre. All tropes embraced. Annie + Hollie—super friends turned co-authors who read, write, and obsess about all things romance—explore the mechanics and the magic of the book they're reading this week. Sometimes our dogs, Sofie and Talisker, even make an appearance, too.

  1. Apr 21

    30. Loving the Legend by Kit Grey, an M/M Sports NBA BasketBall Romance

    NBA highs, grief lows, and Sid King—the world’s greatest baller—drive Ty 'Pretty Boy' Washington’s story in Loving the Legend, by Kit Grey. An M/M sports romance with high steam, high angst, and a (newly coined trope just for this book!) very hot Gentle Sports Daddy in the spectacular form of Sid King. As Sid and Ty’s love unfolds, Ty works to grow from a young heartbroken man to a top-tier NBA star who has to face his PTSD and depression or lose the man he loves. Mental health themes and grief are heavy in this one. As is a very b*dass, head-on approach to shutting down homophobic bigotry in professional sports. Kit Grey writes awesome dialogue as Sid King, the seasoned NBA champion who falls for Ty. Sid, and Ty's teammates lines responding to invasive questioning about their private lives will have you taking notes for your next family reunion. AND, obviously, we all need a Gentle Sports Daddy like Sid to get us monogrammed slippers for the yacht and our first edition print of The Three Musketeers and really all the love and affirmation and neck hickeys one could ever need. Sid's mentorship of Ty and their eventual love is a beautifully written. As is the author's creation of two emotionally attuned apex athletes. How refreshing and unique to read about the two actual best B-ball players in the world also being sensitive and thoughtful, while also both being alpha in their own right. Join us for a rollercoaster of emotions, spicy takes on DP, and very excellent pun-uenndos. The good times are waiting for you in the full episode!  #LovingTheLegend #MMRomance  #RomanceCommunity #NBAromance #SportsRomance #GentleSportsDaddy

    51 min
  2. 12/26/2025

    24. Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

    Holiday Romance! Friends-to-lovers! Soft steam,* sweet, M/F contemporary race-to-make-Christmas-in-Ireland travel disaster, mistletoe-kissing, happy family-full, feel good romance. Listen up and get your holiday tank filled up with all the charm and banter of Molly + Andrew in Holiday Romance, by Catherine Walsh. This episode unzips the classic 'Friends to Lovers' trope, explores the impact of family traditions, serious levels of Christmas cheer, big Irish families, explores character development via plot devices, how a character's professional life shapes personal dynamics, and ways to bring depth to a golden retriever MMC. *Did we just make that up? Because if not, it feels like 'soft steam' should be a real humdinger of a sub-genre theme. Thanks Catherine Walsh, for writing this darling book, and who we've never met but sure do appreciate. And listen all y'all, we trust you to read any kind of content warnings before you read any books of any kind so take good care of that nice self of yours. Because on Romance Unzipped we read romance books of all kinds and tropes and loves and sub-genres and things can get pretty spicy/wild/dark ... silly/fantastical/downright outrageous. So, we trust you to know what's good for you! WE LOVE TO BOOKCLUB ROMANCE. IT IS KIND OF OUR THING. (We being Hollie and Annie, the royal collective we of Romance Unzipped.) And also, we're writing a contemporary romance and that's coming along quite nicely, thank you!

    36 min

About

Bookclubbing the world's best genre. All tropes embraced. Annie + Hollie—super friends turned co-authors who read, write, and obsess about all things romance—explore the mechanics and the magic of the book they're reading this week. Sometimes our dogs, Sofie and Talisker, even make an appearance, too.