It’s that most wonderful time of the year (Pride! And it’s beach reads time!).
Old Lady Tara rears her ancient head this episode, talking about respecting bedtimes and being excited for the rain to loosen up the soil for weeding flowerbeds. We also return to one of our favourite topics of conversation: book covers.
Official Recommendations
From Kris: Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith
Kris’s official recommendation this week is the gay romance novel Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith. You may remember Smith from previous episodes where we’ve officially recommended his book One and Done and had the opportunity to sit down with him for a conversation. This second chance romance includes aspects of relationships we don’t often see on page, like therapy and safe sex practices. Kris loved this one.
From Tara: For the Bride by Becca Grischow
Tara’s official recommendation this week is For the Bride by Becca Grischow, an enemies to lovers sapphic romance that Tara couldn’t put down. She may have quibbles about the cover’s colour scheme, but only because it suggests the book is a cozy, rom-com kind of affair, which it is not (and that’s a very good thing). The main character, Alice, is a mess and Tara hasn’t seen this kind of character work in a long time. 2026 has been a great year for books and For the Bride is right up there.
Works/People Discussed
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Four Seasons (Netflix)
- The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)
- RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars (Paramount+)
- Project Hail Mary (2026)
- Madame Hyde by Thea Belmont
Support & Follow the Show
Transcript
>> Kris Bryant: Happy Pride. Welcome to Queerly Recommended the podcast, where we recommend queer books, films, TV shows, and more. I’m Kris Bryant, a contemporary romance writer for Bold Strokes Books. And this week I’m recommending a gay romance.
>> Tara Scott: And I’m Tara Scott. I review sapphic fiction at the Lesbian Review and Smart Bitches.
>> Kris Bryant: Trashy Books.
>> Tara Scott: And this week I’m recommending a recently released Sapphic romance.
>> Kris Bryant: Look at us with books this time. Yay.
>> Tara Scott: All right, Kris Well, listen, people are going to be going on their summer trips, or if they’re in the lower hemisphere, maybe wanting to curl up inside with a blanket and a book.
>> Kris Bryant: So beach reads. Beach reads. It’s not for beach reads. We don’t. We don’t want to curl under any blankets. We want the sun.
>> Tara Scott: If you’re in Australia, you might want to, is what I’m saying.
>> Kris Bryant: That far. Okay, that makes sense.
>> Tara Scott: Yes.
>> Kris Bryant: So weird knowing that like, we’re like summertime and they’re like winter time and it’s just m. Blows my mind when
>> Tara Scott: I’ve had colleagues over the years that live in Australia and they talk about their Christmas dinners and it’s like, I suppose you would have a barbecue if it was hot as. Hello. So Right. Instead of turning on your oven to roast it. Who wants a roasted turkey in the summer? Definitely not me.
>> Kris Bryant: No, no.
>> Tara Scott: But speaking of summer, I am getting ready for summer.
>> Kris Bryant: Here’s what I’m doing. I need to get the kayaks out, so I have them on a trailer out back and I have them covered, and I need to bring the trailer up front and I need to make sure everything works. Like, the lights work, the squirrels haven’t chewed through everything. And I still need to be able to find out if the trailer is roadworthy. I need to figure out when I’m going to do that because it’s pretty heavy. Like, each kayak is 62 pounds, and so I’ll take them off the trailer. But still, £62 is a lot for one person to handle.
>> Tara Scott: I mean, yeah, 62 pounds. And they’re awkward to carry.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. They’re 10ft long. I’m sorry, but like, how am I supposed to hold that? So I just need to pull it off and then the trailer is like 145 pounds, but it’s. It’s a rolly thing so I can roll it.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, that’s good.
>> Kris Bryant: I have to like maneuver it in from the backyard into the driveway and then I have to make sure nobody steals it. So m. You know, these things I gotta get ready and then I have to get the E bikes out and get them serviced.
>> Tara Scott: Oh fun.
>> Kris Bryant: And get them ready for summer rides. I guess.
>> Tara Scott: Biking around town.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. Actually go to some trails I don’t like. Driving, driving, riding, biking around. It’s so weird with an E bike because it’s like electric and it’s like I don’t really have to like do anything. I can if I want to.
>> Kris Bryant: But it’s not necessary. But I like to go on trails like that are like super long, like you know, 20 miles trail. That’d be great. That’s what I like.
>> Tara Scott: That sounds fun.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So that’s going to take some time to do all that, you know. And then there’s for me it’s Pride weekend here in Kansas City. So it won’t be done this weekend because I’ll be busy.
>> Kris Bryant: And yeah, so that’s what I’m doing.
what’s newsworthy with you?
>> Tara Scott: So I’ve been complaining every so often, I’m sure you recall. Where is the rain? It’s nothing but snow. Finally we’re recording this on June 2nd. Finally Alberta is getting some rain. And of course they’re getting so much rain that there’s been like an advisory around. Maybe it’ll flood.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yes.
>> Tara Scott: So we’ll see how it goes. It’s been kind of rainy and shitty and very cold for several days. I am back in my hoodies. We had to turn the furnace back on because it was just getting way too cold in the house. And that’s okay. But I, and this is probably the most middle aged thing I’ve said since I got excited about replacing the windows on our house.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yes.
>> Tara Scott: I am excited about once it stops raining to go out and weed my flower beds because it’ll be easier when the soil is wet.
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: Isn’t that sad that I said that out loud and I am genuinely excited about it.
>> Kris Bryant: So let me tell you a weather story.
>> Kris Bryant: Sunday night into Monday, at 1:45pm like the phone starts screaming. Alert. Tornado warning. Tornado warning. Tornado warning. So I heard it. I heard the beep, beep, beep. It’s super loud and super high pitched and I’m like that’s really loud for my alarm because you know my alarm is like low and it’s pretty low but this thing was super high and tornadoes. So I’m like fuck. So I get up and I’m like grabbing my purse and my keys and you know, anything I can think of and head downstairs into the basement. Like we’re like down there. And then by the time we get everything down there, like the bad weather had passed. So I’m like, well, I’m not staying down here. I’m going back to bed. But so sleep was lost and tornadoes at, two in the morning, basically. So that’s where I’m at. Otherwise I m. Don’t like it either. It was terrible.
>> Tara Scott: No, don’t like that at all for you. The other thing was that we. So the other thing we did recently, we thought, you know, we’ve been having some kind of more movie nights as a family. I’ll talk about one of those movies in a little bit. But we thought, let’s show the kids the Matrix that. Oh, wow, classic fun. It’s badass.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh.
>> Tara Scott: Thinking it’s probably fine for a 14 and 11 year old. And then we forgot, you know, the scene when Keanu Reeves is like in the holding cell. And then the. They do some kind of a thing to him so that like his mouth seals up.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: And then put that weird electronic bug in the belly button.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, through the belly, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Our youngest was like, I don’t think I want to watch this. And just left the room and we went,
>> Kris Bryant: oh no.
>> Tara Scott: And the thing is funny is that it’s the last time I remember getting a strong reaction. Like that was when I showed the kids they were tiny and I showed them the land before Time.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh my God.
>> Tara Scott: And when little Foot’s mother died, my oldest turned to me and they were probably M6 or 7 at the time and looked at me crying and angrily said, why did you make us watch this? Say at least my kid didn’t say that. But it was just this very like, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t like this.
>> Kris Bryant: I.
>> Tara Scott: And I just, I think I forgot that this like, this kid is 11. But like they’re taller than me and they’re just so smart and extremely precocious. And was like, well, it’s just, it’s like this really cool. It’s like Al. It’s like Plato’s allegory, the Cave. Like it’s this like reality bending. It’s directed by trans women. It’s pride. Let’s go. And
>> Kris Bryant: No, no. We’re so caught up with like sex and movies and making sure that they’re not seeing nudity and, and activities like that. But you don’t think about things like that are scary. That could.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, like body horror. Well, I was really surprised that Body Horror would be a line given some of the Roblox games they were playing, because they were like playing horror games on there. And, you know, we’re super into five nights at Freddy’s and this like. And so it was, you know, you learn new things about the people in your life all the time.
>> Kris Bryant: I mean, that was kind of a freaky scene. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I was watching it going, oh, I didn’t remember this at all, to be fair. I don’t remember most of it. I just remembered like, Trinity in the leather outfit. Right.
>> Kris Bryant: As one should. For sure.
>> Tara Scott: Right. It’s the best part. So you know what? That’s what therapy’s for later. It’s okay.
>> Kris Bryant: That actually sounds like a good idea to watch all the matrices.
Like, next time I’m sick, that’s what I’m gonna do.
>> Tara Scott: I do still want to watch the rest of it. At some point we ended up just stopping altogether, but I do. It’s been so long. I think it would be fun to
>> Kris Bryant: watch a brand new movie. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Well, and when I. The last time I saw it was when we didn’t know that the Wachowskis were women. So. I’ve heard. It’s also like that there’s an interesting layer to it now, knowing that they are like, that they’re. Because they’re trans. So.
All right, well, what have you been reading or watching since, we talked last time?
>> Kris Bryant: So Netflix now has the second season of a show that I recommended last year called the Four Seasons.
>> Tara Scott: M. Oh yeah, that one with Tina Fey and people whose names I don’t remember.
>> Kris Bryant: Steve Carell and Victor. So there’s a wait.
>> Tara Scott: Is Will Forte in it?
>> Kris Bryant: He’s her husband, right? No.
>> Tara Scott: Okay. No.
>> Kris Bryant: Is it. Is he like, you know. I don’t know.
>> Tara Scott: Anyway, Tina Fey’s definitely in it.
>> Kris Bryant: She’s in it for sure. So there’s a. One of the characters, one of the gay characters. I, only know him as Victor from Fear of the Walking Dead. I can’t remember his name on the. I have been watching this show for like four episodes and I can’t think of his name right now because he will always be Victor from the Fear of the Walking Dead. So I’m watching that. I’m halfway through it. not as good as the first season, but for sure, the queer couple have a much larger role in this one. That’s good. I like that. I’m watching NBA playoffs, but to be fair, I thought I would be good at gambling since we’re down to just a couple of teams. I thought, oh, this can’t be that hard, you know. No, I’m terrible at it. Like, stop it. Like stop, stop it. So I need to stop gambling on, basketball. Stop it. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m like, oh, I got this. This is easy. And I’m like, no, I missed it by one. Ah, ah, dang it. Stop it. Because I don’t know. So I had to tell myself to stop. So I’ve been doing that. And then we talked about it, like right before we started I mentioned, hey, I saw the Mandalorian and Grogu.
>> Tara Scott: And I gotta say, because I saw it too. Neil and I went on a date. I really enjoyed it.
>> Kris Bryant: I did too. And it’s not getting the greatest reviews.
>> Tara Scott: Well, here’s the thing. I don’t understand what they’re expecting of a feature film that’s based off of a TV series. Like to me I thought it was a really good, like it’s just a super solid, very fun. All I wanted was fun and I got it. But like it’s a really solid, just like self contained story. If you’ve never seen it before, it doesn’t matter. I think it’s a fine entry point to Star wars stuff. Like it’s a pretty friendly entry point to people who might be drawn in by, by Grogu or baby Yoda because he’s so cute. But also if you’ve seen all the Star wars things and like we have and we watched the Animated Series too and so we were like, oh, okay. Like we saw references to those TV series and so like, I kind of think there’s something for everybody. But like, I’m not expecting it to change my life.
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: I’m not expecting it to be the test of the Star Wars. Exactly. It’s entertaining.
>> Kris Bryant: Right. And everybody loves Pedro Pascal, so he’s so good.
>> Tara Scott: Like I think if you’ve never seen any of the Star wars stuff and you can just accept Pedro Pascal is a Mandalorian, what does that mean? Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. And he has a tiny son whose name is Grogu and who is a baby Yoda, why are they together? Don’t worry about it. There’s a TV series, you can go to Disney and watch it, all about it. As long as you can accept that they’re kind of like a dad and son. They’re, they’re like this little bonded pair who go out and do adventures together and they’re gonna have an adventure in this one and they do. And you get to see Sigourney Weaver in like military style gear. Very good.
>> Kris Bryant: Let me tell you something. I was a little put off by her acting. I was like, she’s better than this.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, she is.
>> Kris Bryant: So I didn’t know what that was.
>> Tara Scott: But you know what, good for her. Get some coin.
>> Kris Bryant: I know, I get it. Like I think it’s great. But I was just kind of surprised. I was like, like her first couple of lines, were just kind of like they felt forced and not very fluid and oh yeah, I was surprised. I was like, well that’s weird because like this is aliens. Like, yeah, like Sigourney Weaver has been around forever. Like Avatar, aliens, everything. Everything a she’s been in.
>> Tara Scott: So did you catch that Martin Scorsese does one of the voices.
>> Kris Bryant: I saw the name and I’m like, oh, so is the one of the uncle, is he the uncle?
>> Tara Scott: No. So do you know when they were in that city and he went to like a food truck to get information?
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. Oh, that was him.
>> Tara Scott: That was him.
>> Kris Bryant: And I just thought like how fun.
>> Tara Scott: And I thought he did great. Like really, really fun. Yeah, it was exactly what I wanted. I just wanted a fun movie.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, I thought it was good. It wasn’t like over the top.
>> Kris Bryant: There wasn’t anything. There wasn’t like big shootouts and stuff like that. It was just, it was an adventure that they went on and it was good and it had like emotions and stuff. So I liked it.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, I liked it too.
>> Kris Bryant: So I’m glad that we watched it together.
What else have you been watching and, or reading? Because I
>> Tara Scott: am. Okay. So I read a book that I didn’t love. So I don’t really want to talk about it. But just know I read at least one other book. I’m not here to talk it about books that I don’t love because maybe it just wasn’t for me and that’s okay. But there is a new Drag Race All Stars, and it’s actually quite a bit through the season but I got so excited about other things in previous weeks that I haven’t been talking about it. All Stars of course is where they bring back queens who have been on previous seasons who haven’t won before. And it’s been, it’s been pretty fun. There are some from some sort of more recent seasons. So there’s someone from all the way back in season two which like considering of the main series, they just ended season 15 like to bring back people who were on so long ago. Wow. So, so, so good. And they’re doing the brackets thing again so that they have six queens competing in each of three brackets. And in each bracket, only two are going to go forward instead of last year where it was three going forward. So, like, the stakes are even higher. I’m enjoying it. It’s like, it’s super solid. But I’ve been actually having a ton of fun with the official recap show on YouTube called that is the Best.
We watched Project Hail Mary as a family
well, because I’m going to talk
>> Kris Bryant: about a book in a minute. You know who I am.
>> Tara Scott: I do. So, yeah. That’s been, that’s been fun to watch. And then as a family. So this is the one I said I was gonna talk about as a family. We watched Project Hail Mary. Loved it. Right?
>> Kris Bryant: How so? Good.
>> Tara Scott: Good as that. And so I didn’t really know a ton going into it. Neil saw it in the theater with his best friend and he came back and he sort of described the premise. And I couldn’t really picture what he was talking about because I was like, what? The whole thing about Rocky, like, if you don’t see a trailer, you’re literally just going off of somebody describing it. I’m like, what? And then we start watching it. That movie is so charming.
>> Kris Bryant: It is like, it was.
>> Tara Scott: I did not expect it to be so funny. Like, I laughed so much, but also, oh, my God, the kids and I all ended up crying.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I bawled all of us so much. It was just this, like, beautiful, hopeful. I really liked the ending.
>> Kris Bryant: I did too. I was so impressed with the ending. Like, I laughed. I thought it was great. I thought it was fantastic. Yeah, I needed that.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, I think it was just perfect for it. Ryan Gosling was wonderful.
>> Kris Bryant: He was. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: We sort of unintentionally ended up doing back to back weekends of watching, movies with him because we watched the Fall Guy.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah, that’s right.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, Right. So we watched the Fall Guy and he was great in that. And then we watched this and he was even better. Like, he was just spectacular. And then also hilariously, like, I heard that Meryl Streep had a line in it, but I was like, what is it? And then when you get to it, and it’s when he’s testing out the different voices for Rocky, and I was
>> Kris Bryant: like, oh, my God.
>> Tara Scott: And then of course, he goes, she can do anything. Like, it was so funny. Our youngest loved the. Both kids loved it. All of us loved it, really. But like our youngest said, not only was it their favorite movie, but that it changed their life, which I thought was so special and so sweet.
>> Kris Bryant: That is sweet.
>> Tara Scott: And okay, I’m reading a book right now, which technically I could wait and probably recommend it next time, but I’m too excited. So I’m going to talk about it now instead. So it’s Thea Belmont’s latest book with Ilva called Madame Hyde. And it’s supposed to be like a one night to forever romance. And so the idea is there’s this woman who, you know, she goes down into her buildings. Is it her building’s laundry room? I think so. It’s either that or there’s like a laundromat on the main floor of the building that she lives in or something. It doesn’t matter. And there’s this person there who’s like super hot and they kind of hit it off and she goes up with her after and they, you know, bang it out as you do. It’s supposed to be a one night stand. And the, the person who lives in the building, Lucy, she is Australian. This is in Australia. And Seth is the woman who, you know is there for the one night stand, is American and who is only in town. And she thinks that Seth is a, ah, groupie for Madame Hyde, which is this like super popular rock band. She’s the lead singer. Oh, they really do hit it off. And so they get together again before she has to leave town. they stay in touch. There’s some text, there’s some sexting and fun. It’s going on for months. And Seth still hasn’t said, by the way, I’m a famous rock star.
>> Kris Bryant: And how do you not Google them?
>> Tara Scott: I don’t know. I’m kind of taking a bit of a, like, you know, don’t worry about it.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, Product license there. Of course.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, I think you sometimes have to do that. And the thing that’s so funny though is that like, Lucy is aware of who this band is, but she doesn’t like them, because her roommate always plays them when she’s having sex with her boyfriend. And so there’s this like, no, I don’t want to listen to that. And so, yeah, she just thinks, she thinks Steph is just a fan. And she’s like, I’m sorry, but I’m not actually that much of a fan. She’s like, oh, well, maybe you should check out this other band, which is her, it’s, it’s the same singer, it’s her other band, but doing more like folky type, yeah, music. And she really likes that but like still never connects that so far it’s fun. It’s on the spicier side for some of the romances I’ve read. I think it’s kind of that, I, I don’t know if it counts as, maybe it counts as an erotic romance. It’s unclear. And I’m about halfway through and I feel like I’ll have a more clear opinion of whether it’s an erotic romance or just like, on the spicier side of, of a contemporary romance. I love celebrity romances and I think this is just kind of a fun, like, oh, she doesn’t know she’s a celebrity, but there is a bit of like a. You got to tell her at some point. Like, come on, what are you, what are you gonna tell her? So I’m curious to see when that happens and what that’s gonna look like. But it’s like super quick, easy read. I would be done except I had to work. And I’m trying to, I’m trying to better respect my bedtime in a way that I didn’t used to when I was younger because it helps me keep my migraines under control. Really boring. But hey, you know what, Fewer migraines is great. And I guess I can just patient and keep reading the next day even though in my soul I’m like, no, let me finish it.
>> Kris Bryant: Same.
>> Kris Bryant: Love it.
>> Tara Scott: But it’s that time.
So Kris what is your official recommendation today?
>> Kris Bryant: So my official recommendation is Love is a Context Sport by Frederick Smith.
>> Tara Scott: Okay, you’ve mentioned this one, but for people who haven’t listened recently. Okay, what’s it about? Tell us what it’s all about. What do you love all those things?
>> Kris Bryant: Okay, so let’s dig into it. Let me read you kind of the synopsis of it. Okay. After a rough breakup, gay romance author Rennie Ross heads to the Bay Area for a fresh start. His new gig, writing the anniversary story for a local university, is supposed to be a fresh chapter. But Rennie didn’t expect to run into a familiar face from his past. Yeah. After dropping off his youngest child at college, recently divorced Brent D. King, Dupree is on a journey to freedom, liberation, and loving the life he’d put on hold. Living the life he’d put on hold for over 20 years to raise his family. And neither man expect a second chance. But working together at the same university stirs up feelings that never really faded. Their love doesn’t have to be a secret anymore, but will they get it right this time?
>> Tara Scott: Interesting. Now, is it the same university from his other book that I recommended a long time ago?
>> Kris Bryant: You know, I don’t know. What was the university? Ha.
>> Tara Scott: That’s a great question. Hold please.
>> Kris Bryant: Probably, because I know something we edit.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, well, that book was called One and Done.
>> Kris Bryant: And where does it. San Francisco.
>> Tara Scott: And it does take place in San Francisco. So the. I don’t, I can’t remember the name of the institution, but the leads in that one are Dr. Taylor James and Dustin McMillan.
>> Kris Bryant: Yep.
>> Tara Scott: Nice. Okay, so we get to revisit some familiar characters.
>> Kris Bryant: So familiar characters and a second chance romance.
>> Tara Scott: Lovely.
>> Kris Bryant: And it’s kind of funny because in the, in the book, Frederick says that he kind of makes fun of a one bed trope because that kind of happens. So I love it. I love it. So I’ve never read a gay romance by a black man before. And I learned a lot about black culture and I learned a lot about gay romance and love.
>> Tara Scott: Nice.
>> Kris Bryant: So it was a, it was a big book for me. And then I was thinking, have I ever really read a romance by a man before? And I’m like, I don’t think so. But then I realized Nicholas Sparks. M m. So we got romance. Even though he’s a joke. I know, but. Yeah, but every single person here has either read or seen the movie the Notebook and A Walk to Remember, you know, all of us. Did you not. Have you not. You haven’t. Stop it.
>> Tara Scott: Listen, there had to be one person who didn’t. And it’s.
>> Kris Bryant: We’re the only one. Just know you are the only one in this world who has not either seen or read it.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So, you know, but the thing is, like, it’s romance, but you never know if it’s going to be a happy ending or not with Nicholas Sparks. And I’m. Or Dear John was another one. So I have read a lot. Like, I read a lot way back when when he was like popular and wrote a bunch and all that stuff.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And it was always like, as I kept reading it, because I’m like, I’m gonna find a happy ending in all of this somewhere. But I mean, he still wrote really well and I, and I enjoyed the stories even though, you know, not all of them were happy. But it was kind of like I hadn’t read anything else. But I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know anybody who writes?
>> Tara Scott: That’s. I mean, that’s the thing that’s tricky. I mean, technically, some of his books are not, like, according to the genre conventions, are not romances because they don’t have happy endings. He. I remember he famously.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, God.
>> Tara Scott: Well over a decade ago, tried to claim that. It’s like, no, I don’t write romance. I write literature. And it’s like, listen, asshole, you’re writing love stories.
>> Kris Bryant: And there’s like, why do we need
>> Tara Scott: to be a snob? Like that. And he tried to compare himself to Cormac McCarthy, which led to one of my hands down favorite lines in a film review of all time. Because Roger Ebert was still alive. And it was. So I, The other things we’re saying is Roger Ebert was also probably one of my favorite critics of all time, because when he didn’t like something, it was so scathing that it was like incredible comedy. His pen was so sharp. But when he loved something, it felt like he was writing a love letter to cinema. And so I just. I loved reading his things.
So he says in this one, the Last Song is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the screenplay. Sparks recently went on record as saying he is a greater novelist than Cormac McCarthy. This is true in the same sense that I’m a better novelist than William Shakespeare. Marx also said his novels are like Greek tragedies. This may actually be true. I can’t check it out because tragically, no really bad Greek tragedies have survived.
>> Kris Bryant: Like, and that’s not even,
>> Tara Scott: That’s not even my favorite line, to be sure. I resent the sacrilege Nicholas Sparks commits by mentioning himself in the same sentence as Cormac McCarthy. I would not even allow him to say, hello, bookstore, this is Nicholas. Mark, Nicholas Sparks. Could you send over the new Cormac McCarthy McCarthy novel? You just show respect by ordering anonymously, which is just like, holy shit.
>> Kris Bryant: What?
>> Tara Scott: So when I think of Nicholas Sparks, I think about that because, like, I’m sorry, but you can’t. Why are we doing that? Why are we comparing ourselves? No, but to your point about men writing romance, there’s also this whole thing, and has been for a very long time, where there are lots of gay romances being written. There have been hundreds, thousands. I don’t know how many, but most of them are not being written by gay men.
>> Kris Bryant: Right?
>> Tara Scott: They get scrutinized differently. And it’s almost like there’s a penalty for writing from experience. And often the audience is mainly not for gay men either. It’s for housewives.
>> Kris Bryant: What? No, bored housewives.
>> Tara Scott: Right. Like it’s women writing for women.
>> Kris Bryant: And it’s,
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, like. And I, I am not at all saying that that’s not, you know, a valid thing, that again, anybody should be able to write anything. but also it’s not fair when men are writing from their own experience and they get piled on for how they’re writing sex scenes.
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: When it’s like. Well, again, not that I think everybody writes a sex scene that, that they’ve like, they’ve specifically done every single thing that’s in that specific scene they’ve written. But like, come on, you can’t tell a man that he doesn’t know what his own experiences have been like.
>> Kris Bryant: Right? Right. You know, I’ve read books. Not gay romance, but I’ve read books by male or gay men and like, just fiction, I guess. And, and then I think we read the whole Criminal. What was that? The Crime. Was it the Crime and Punishment? What was that? Why can’t I think of what it’s called? But we did Short Stories and McMahon and. Come on.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, you’re right. And there was that anthology that, John Copenhaver and so. And Salem west edited Crime Inc. Which had all kinds of sexuality.
>> Kris Bryant: Exactly. So I have that. But this is the first time I’ve read gay romance with black characters written by a black man. And I completely and totally trusted every word that Frederick said because I believe him. Yeah, right. I had no reason not to. So yeah, I was in. I jumped in. Jumped in right away.
So like I said before, this is a second chance romance. And the story follows both. It kind of alternates between the chapter between Brent and Rennie Ross and it goes back and forth back in time. 20 years when they first met. They meet in college.
>> Kris Bryant: Brent is a, basketball star. And Rennie actually goes by a different name in college, but now he’s going by Rennie Ross, who’s this quote unquote famous writer. And so he and Brent kind of have this thing that happens in college and there were lots of word, said scenes happening, but it just wasn’t their time. So things happen. They separated for 20 years and it was, it was so interesting to see like a lot of times. And I actually wrote this down. So let me, let me go to my messages now and see because I saw it and I wrote it down several times and I was like, this is, this is interesting and you’re going to love this. As soon as I Find it. You’re going to love this. So Brent struggles with internalized homophobia.
>> Kris Bryant: And also, like, you know, he’s like, I’m not gay. I like women. Like, I have a girlfriend. And. But at the same time, like, I’m attracted to this man, but I shouldn’t be. And like, there’s this whole thing. And so, like, for 20 years, he. He really tries to figure out, like, why he’s the way he is. You know, he has his family, but then he’s trying to figure out who am I really and why am I fighting this. So that it’s like there was a whole character growth and just reading about it and understanding it and seeing like, the, The. The cast in his life. Cast of his. His family, his family members, his. His kids, his. His wife.
>> Tara Scott: Is he still married?
>> Kris Bryant: No. Ex wife.
>> Tara Scott: Sorry.
>> Kris Bryant: I mean, but like, for back and forth and back and forth, you know, married, girlfriend, Married. Not m. Married. Still best friends. Love it. I love that they’re still best friends. Yeah. And the kids, you know, understanding things and trying to figure things out and having the conversations. And another thing that you’re going to totally love. I know that you’re going to love this. I read this, and you’re the first person I thought about. I am reading a scene and the first person I think about is you.
>> Tara Scott: That’s so nice.
>> Kris Bryant: Right? Brunt has a doctor’s appointment and he’s like, you’re going to come with me and we’re going to go and talk to the doctor about prep. We’re going to talk about. Good. Yes. So, like, taking care of ourselves and having a responsible sexual relationship, if that’s the direction we’re going to go in. So I really liked how they just didn’t kind of like, jump right back into it. They got to know each other and, and both had to say, okay, is this what I. What I really want? You know? And Brent was like, yes, I’ve lived my life for so long a certain way, and now I really want to embrace who I am. And then, Rennie was just kind of like, you know, I kind of go from relationship to relationship to relationship, and it’s. I really need to stop doing that and, and see if this is really what I want. So I really enjoyed watching them grow together and. And learn to like each other and not just like, be sexually attracted to one another. You know, the whole jumping jump in the bed just because, you know, like, m. We’re both single, we should have sex. So I liked that they took their Time and sweet. Let’s see what else.
Oh. So one thing that I really like that Frederick does is he really tackles mental health and how important therapy is. And it’s okay to have therapy. Like it is okay to go talk to somebody about issues that you’re having because they can help you find the answers quicker than you can by yourself if you ever do. So I liked that it was discussed with several different characters in the book, throughout the book, not just like the two mains. So I thought that was very interesting. Yeah, it’s very, very good. And I think that because of pride, I think this whole month I just kind of reached out and wanted to do something different.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And I had started this book, like I said, like a couple weeks ago, a couple podcasts ago, we were talking about it and I think if you just want to try something different and support all of our siblings under our umbrella, I. Recommend this book because it’s something different and it’s. You get to see love. you know, I watch a lot of gay movies. Yeah, we talked about this before. I’ve watched a lot of gay movies. I’ve seen tons of them. But to actually read it, it’s a, It’s a whole different experience.
>> Kris Bryant: I enjoyed it.
>> Tara Scott: And yeah, there’s stuff, I don’t know, like sex scenes that you can’t do in a movie.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: That allow for that deeper level of exploring intimacy that’s just not accessible in a mainstream film.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. And this is a spicy, It is a spicy book. It’s honest. It’s very honest. Like, let’s talk about our feelings. And it was so refreshing to see men talk about their feelings.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: You know, because we’re so used to like the whole stereotypes of men not being able to embrace who they are and not talk about their feelings because that’s not, you know, manly or whatever. I don’t know how that is. I don’t have people in that. I don’t know how that works, but I, I will say so. This is kind of, this kind of a digit on Frederick Smith right now. I’m gonna, This is from me to you.
>> Tara Scott: Okay.
>> Kris Bryant: So Love is a context sport is a phenomenal title for this book. I think it’s great because you know, basketball player and just love itself and it is a context sport and blah blah, blah. But he got it because of a Whitney Houston song. Okay. That is a Whitney Houston song. So I’m like, oh, I love Whitney. I love like 900 songs that she’s done. And I played this, and it is my least favorite song I’ve ever heard from Whitney Houston.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, no.
>> Kris Bryant: It is so unbelievably poppy. Like, it’s very poppy. And it’s not like I want to dance with somebody poppy. It’s like, I don’t even understand, like, what. Like this. I was very disappointed about the song, but I love the title. I think the title is fun. I think it’s a fantastic title.
>> Tara Scott: So that’s not really a dig about him.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s not really.
>> Tara Scott: That’s about Whitney Houston’s producer at the time. Yeah, that’s.
>> Kris Bryant: You know, it’s just kind of funny because I really was excited because, you know, powerhouse. Like. Yeah. I didn’t even know.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, right.
>> Kris Bryant: And I’m like, what? What is this? Come on.
>> Tara Scott: Turns out there was a reason you didn’t know about that song.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s true. But, like, it’s true. Whitney fan probably is, like, rolling their eyes at me right now, like, are you kidding me? Like, it’s a phenomenal song.
>> Tara Scott: They’re probably not listening to this.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s awesome.
>> Tara Scott: Or maybe they are. Who can say? Because you. Who knows more about music?
>> Kris Bryant: Right? Exactly. For a few. Just kidding.
All right, so that was my official recommendation. What about yours, Tara? What is yours?
>> Tara Scott: Okay, so mine is for the Bride by Becca Grishow. This one is all told from the perspective of Alice. She works in a music studio. she’s sober. She, like, she kind of. She has her life together in a way that she didn’t previously. She used to, be the front person for a band. you know, she had been an alcoholic, which isn’t to say she’s not an alcoholic anymore, but she is very firmly sober. She’s been sober for more than three years. And so, like, she’s gotten her shit together. The ex girlfriend who had. So she had had a best friend who was her girlfriend. And then while she was not sober, let’s say she was not a very good girlfriend. But they are back in each other’s lives now. Gin is her best friend again. Jin, short for Virginia, is her best friend. Gin is getting married, and she wants Alice to be one of her bridesmaids. How wonderful, right? Except, oh, one of the other bridesmaids. One of Gin’s other best friends. Renee Roberts.
>> Kris Bryant: She’s type A. Oh.
>> Tara Scott: the opposite of Alice. She hates Alice’s guts because she remembers. She remembers what Alice was like back when she was drinking. And she was a terrible girlfriend and an unreliable friend. But here’s the thing. They’re in this wedding together, and Gin is the kind of person that anybody would do anything for. And they’re like, fine. Well, and. And Gin talks to both of them and is like, can you just try? I think you’d really like each other if you could just. Just try for me. I want this wedding. I want you both to be in my wedding party, please.
And so it’s this, like, enemies to lovers, where, like, they really don’t like each other, but as they spend time together, of course, like, maybe Renee’s not a complete and total bitch, but at the same time, while I said, you know, it looks like things are going well for Alice, there’s also some things that are really hard. Like, her dad died less than a year previously, and she finds out that her mom is dating one of her dad’s ex bandmates, and the wedding is just around the corner, and she only has one friend. Like, Gin is her only friend. And so she doesn’t feel like she can burden her with it when, like, this wedding is coming, because it’s kind of one of those, like, I’m getting married pretty soon, actually, so it’s, like, all hands on deck for this wedding. And she.
And it’s actually interesting how much gets put in the blurb, because I was like, really? So I feel like if it’s in the blurb, it’s fair game for me to say. But there is a night, and it. It’s. It’s that night when she finds out about who her mom’s dating that challenges her sobriety. We’ll say, oh, she doesn’t break it. And I do feel like that’s important to say. Yes, It’s a tiny spoiler, but I think for people who, you know, sobriety is a challenge for them already, and that reading about somebody who is a recovering alcoholic, I, do think it’s important to say, you know, she doesn’t break it. And part of that is because she runs into Renee just as she needs her, and Renee really helps her, and things really change between them. They actually do become genuine friends, and they’re working together on this wedding. And so I loved this book. But I will say that the COVID of this book is deceptive.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, let’s see it.
>> Tara Scott: I’m gonna bring it up for you now, Kris and I’m gonna recommend everybody else look up the COVID for. For the Bride by Becca Grisho. And my opinion is that it doesn’t. It’s a beautiful cover.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m waiting to See it.
>> Tara Scott: I know. I’m bringing it up. Jesus Christ. We’re all doing our best, Kris
>> Kris Bryant: I’m waiting here. Like, please show me. Show me.
>> Tara Scott: So you see, like, there’s a lot of. Like, they’re in pink dresses. There’s lots of green. It’s, like bright colors, and it gives this almost fun and flirty vibe, right?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: So I was talking to one of my co workers about it last week because I thought, oh, okay. I think this person might. Might like the book. I think that cover is deceiving because it looks like it’s going to be a fun rom com. And that is not what this is at all. It’s a much more serious book, and I loved it. I absolutely adored it.
So the whole story is told from Alice’s perspective. She knows that she was a shitty girlfriend to Jin, and she’s so grateful to have her back as a friend. And so what’s interesting is because we don’t get to see into Renee’s perspective. We’re only seeing Alice’s. We know how hard Alice has worked to become a better person and how she’s really trying to her best to, like, really show up in these moments. All we see at first is that Renee is a complete and total asshole to Alice. And I’m like, what are you doing? She’s trying. She’s been. She’s sober. She’s a good friend. She’s showing up, and she just. You know, she comes across as this total control freak. And Alice is just. Just trying to do the best that she can. And we know that she’s, like, dealing with all of this grief. And even before she finds out who her mom is dating, there’s this. You know, her mom’s like, hey, if you want to, like, if you want to come out, you come over anytime, call anytime. Like, her mom is clearly just, like, begging for connection. And she’s like, I am just trying to hold my shit together right now.
And it really, like, Jin is an absolute, total genius because that whole, like, can you just. It’s so. It’s not. Only, can you just try, but when they go on the bridesmaids trip, because they go on a bridesmaids trip to Palm Springs where two rooms have been rented, and she’s like, hey, why don’t you two share this room? And me and the other bridesmaid will share this other room? Because that’s really the. Like, that’s the beginning of things thawing. And then, like, they’re not friends coming out of that trip, but that’s the beginning of them being able to kind of, like, be able to share space. Yeah, share a space, have some empathy, See each other as human beings. All of these things.
And so I think the thing that’s most interesting to me about this is, like, yes, this is a romance novel. As much as I was talking before, too, about, like, the conventions of romance novels is absolutely fits for me. And I think what makes it so special is that it’s a character study. And Alice is one of the messiest characters that I’ve met in a long time. Wow. She’s not nearly as messy as she would have been when she was drinking, because then she was completely. She was totally unreliable, prone to blackout, say and do things that were not good. But she carries the weight of that with her. She feels so much guilt. Like, her old nickname was Blackout Alice.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: You know, people would say, oh, class. You know, there was. There’s this one, time when she shows up late for something because she had been working until three in the morning the night before. That was just, you know, how it went. As she’s working in the music studio, she shows up late in, like, pajamas because she went, holy shit. And, like, rushed over. And one of them said, classic Alice. And it was just this, like, shame that comes across her because she thinks everybody assumes the worst of her. But also, you know, Gin sees the goodness in Alice. She knows that it’s there, and she believes in her. And I think one of the things that I love, like, the.
The title is called for the Bride. And I think it’s really. It’s a brilliant title for it because Alice and Renee don’t like each other, but they both say the same thing multiple times, which is anything for Gin, because Gin is selfless and she does anything to help other people. And so for them, it’s like, well, I love her so much that I’ll put up with you, you piece of who I don’t like. but. And yet it sort of works out.
And so, like I said, she’s sober, but it’s also like, there’s. It’s more complicated than that, and it can be quite heavy. And I think this is one of those, if you need to know about. Because of the subject matter, I mean, it’s understandable. I think, for me, yes, there’s been alcoholism in some of my extended family, but it was more of like, an aunt or uncle kind of situation, not like one of my parents. But Alice was motivated to become sober and try to live in recovery because her dad wasn’t able to do that. That’s why he died. He was an alcoholic, and her dad was a rock star. He. It was almost like, The best analogy I could think of was like, her dad would have been like, the lead singer of the Eagles or something like that. Like, that kind of like, classic rock band that everybody sort of knew. But he, you know, he drank until something pretty bad happened with his health, and he didn’t stop after that.
So then, you know, she’s trying to. She’s been trying to change her life. She has a hard time connecting with her mom, and she wishes she could just text her dad. And so I think something really kind of beautiful in here is that we see the notes that she writes to her dad in her notes app, because she can’t text him, but it’s like, whatever she would text him, she’ll do that. and so grief is kind of a big thing.
And just I was so invested in her story because I think, you know, her arc is all it’s really about. Like, can she learn to trust herself enough? Because, like, it does take a certain amount of trust in yourself to be able to be in any kind of a relationship, whether it’s romantic or a deep friendship or whatever it is, and think that you deserve to be in that. So I feel like she has a romance with Renee, and in a way, she almost has a romance with herself. Maybe that’s a stretch, I don’t know, but. But I really loved it. And even still, like, I did feel like this was a satisfying romance. I believed in the chemistry between Alice and Renee. And also there were times I just wanted to hug her or sometimes shake the shit out of her and just say, like, you got to get out of your own way. Can you please get out of your own way?
And so to go back to, you know, the cover and what I was saying, like, very, like, greens and pinks and that kind of, like, feeling kind of rom comy. And it’s, again, not a bad cover. I have not shit talked it in any texts, which is how, you know, it’s not in my opinion. But when I was talking to my friend at work because I knew she would look at the COVID and go, like, I don’t know if that’s something I want to read. I don’t know what I would do in terms of, like, actual visual elements on it. But if I were designing the COVID for this book, divorcing it from the title, because I know the title wouldn’t make sense. With this, I would almost go like with, dark, like a medium dark denim blue and like a rusty red. And I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me it makes sense that that’s the vibe of this story. So.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, I think. Well, maybe. Do you think. Well, that’s a whole other topic. Never mind. You keep, you can ask.
No, I’m just going to talk about how we’re always doing cartoon covers now. Like, like, are we ever going to get away from that?
>> Tara Scott: That’s a good question. I think we would be away from that already if there weren’t such a violent response from, the writing and reading community against AI covers. I mean, AI covers are still happening somewhat and they are often happening for the illustrated covers.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So that’s why they confuse me.
>> Tara Scott: It’s a tough one. I’m curious to see if we do go back to more like photographed covers. I mean, I think part of why they were always terrible in Sapphic romance, unfortunately, is there just aren’t enough photos of Sapphic women together that weren’t. Oh my God. One of the fun, most fun things to do online like a decade ago was like, go on istock photo and look up lesbians. It was a trash fire.
>> Kris Bryant: So, not that it’s any better. I mean, it’s better, but it’s not. I, I don’t, it’s not believable. No, it’s not.
>> Tara Scott: Oh my God, no. And, well, I mean, perhaps this publisher, because it is from a large, this is from a large mainstream, publisher, they could afford to do it. But I don’t, I don’t even know what budgets are like in publishing companies these days. Like, media writ large has been hit so hard and none of the small to medium sized presses could afford to like hire photographers because they’re not going to make the money back overall. Like, they’re trying to find ways to get their costs back and make sure their authors are making their money. So, yeah, I’m over it with the illustrations though. I’m with you, I hope.
>> Kris Bryant: I, I, and I was told years ago, years ago, like, hey, like, let’s get away from that. And I’m like, that’s cool, that’s fine. And so I did. And everybody else, it’s like double down. I’m just like, wait, I thought we were getting away from this.
>> Tara Scott: I know. it’s so strange.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: I don’t know where covers are going to go.
>> Kris Bryant: It is a totally change of subject. So. I’m so sorry. Finished, please.
>> Tara Scott: No, that’s Fine.
Well, I was just gonna say, I think, you know, people who pay attention to the books that I recommend know that I’ve been praising a lot of cozy books in the last few years. There are books like this, I would say, also like the second draft, where it’s not, you know, it’s tackling something very different. But, like, I love that books like this are coming out where we have characters who are messy.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes. I like the messy character now.
>> Tara Scott: Perfect. And I think Allie. Allie. I think Alice’s messiness and how hard she’s trying to change is such. It’s so interesting. And her imperfection, of course, makes this book perfect because she needs to accept that she deserves love. And I just. I really love that because I don’t think I’ve seen. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this in a very long time. If ever this book made me cry.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, dang.
>> Tara Scott: Oh. Like, the. There’s just. It’s. There’s so much going on with it. And the funny thing was, at first I wondered, are there too many elements to this? And I got to the end, and I was like, no, it’s perfect. It’s perfect because it’s Alice’s story. And that’s what it needed to have, and it’s what it needed to be to be Alice’s story. So, yeah. For the Bride by Becca Grishow. I do think this is going to end up being one of my tops.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, I love that.
>> Tara Scott: Of the year. I know. 2026. It is a good year.
>> Kris Bryant: You’ve been happy? You’ve been happy.
>> Tara Scott: I’ve been very happy. I think it helps this stuff. Chilled out at work so I could read fiction again. But also, I do think there’s a difference. Like, it’s interesting watching authors talk about it. I was a little concerned for our sector, I’m not gonna lie. And especially when I saw, like, I saw a drop in the number of Sapphic books that were being put up on NetGalley for a while, and I was like, okay, what is happening, like, especially, you know, with the changeover in your administration and your current president and all of that. And not to say that it’s still not hard for authors to write, but I do wonder if there’s a bit of, like, writing through this time and putting out extremely interesting stories, and we’re still getting the cozy books and we still need them, but I think it was almost like there were a lot of maybe. I don’t know if I’m projecting or What? But, but I suspect there might have been a lot of cozy books because everybody was like, oh my God, my nervous system red alert and melting down and what do I do? This is what I could write. Mm. And now we’re getting some like, really raw and emotional and beautiful books. I’m so excited. I’m. I am more excited for Sapphic fiction than I’ve been in a long time.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s amazing.
>> Tara Scott: It’s not bad.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s not bad. I, I need to find that. I mean, I keep, I keep pushing myself a little bit and I try harder and then I like, oh no.
>> Tara Scott: And then they give you more work to do at work at work.
>> Kris Bryant: And then like the administration like drops some something stupid like let’s start a war somewhere. Okay, well, this is really great for my mental health, so.
>> Tara Scott: Oh.
>> Kris Bryant: anyway, that’s a whole different story.
>> Tara Scott: That’s all for this episode, maybe. Yeah, that’s all. Before we get into like your politics and the politics of what’s happening here, we’re not doing that. Thank you so much. If you’ve made it this far in the episode, if you have a friend that you think would like the show, if you think that they would like any of the books or anything that we’ve talked about, please, you know, tell them all about us. send them a link or whatever. And if you want to support us, we do have a link in our show notes to our coffee.
>> Kris Bryant: or if you want to connect with us on your favorite social media sites, we have links in the show notes for that too.
>> Tara Scott: Goodbye everyone.
>> Kris Bryant: Happy pride.
>> Tara Scott: Goodbye. Happy pride.