Of Swords and Soulmates
Is this a kissing book? Of Swords and Soulmates features two couples (and sometimes more), with varying reading preferences and experiences, as they read, listen, and sometimes watch romantasy stories and discuss plot, fantasy elements, romance, spice, theories, and more. Join us for our non-expert opinions as we discuss, argue, rave, rant, and hopefully entertain. We may just help you find your next reading obsession or at least contribute to that TBR list!
Of Swords and Soulmates
Episode Zero: Exploring the Fusion of Romance and Fantasy
Embark on an enchanting journey through the intertwined paths of romance and fantasy with your guides Mari, Kelly, Ashley, and Jonathan! We delve into what "romantasy" truly means. In this introductory episode, we review what this podcast will be about as we begin the journey with our listeners as our lively discussion paints a portrait of a genre that defies the mundane.
With our unique rating system, we will meticulously assess everything from the authenticity of cover art to the depth of fantasy and romantic elements that make a narrative irresistible. We also share our insights on how romantasy even includes the 'bromances' that define iconic films. Join us for a heart-stirring exploration that promises to leave you spellbound, as we celebrate the inclusivity that allows love to bloom in the most unexpected places, all while discovering how these tales resonate with our diverse literary palates.
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Hello and welcome to of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we discuss romancy stories. I am Mari, one of our four hosts. I have always loved to read, like my whole life. I like reading all kinds of fiction, mainly fantasy, sci-fi, romancy, horror romance and all the mashups I have, kelly.
Kelly:I'm Kelly. I enjoy reading fantasy and science fiction, along with history or the occasional biography. Also joining us, we have Ashley.
Ashley:Hey guys, I'm Ashley. I like reading. You know I don't think I have a favorite. I'm a kind of a golden retriever. I just want to experience and enjoy. Lately it's definitely been romancy focused. I think we've all kind of gravitated towards that in the last year or so. Also with us is Jonathan.
Jonathan:Hi, I'm Jonathan. I am not necessarily the most amazing reader on the face of the earth, but I do enjoy nonfiction and married into fiction, so I'm learning. I think it opens my mind to new adventures.
Mari:And it's always good for discussions, which is why we're here. We're here for funsies and discussions. So we are not literary scholars, we're not experts. We just like to read and talk about what we read and thought that you guys would like to join us on this journey. So the views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants. All creative works discussed are reviewed are the intellectual property of the creators of their stories and it's being used under the fair use doctrine. I figured we could start by talking about what romancy is a little bit to each of us and what our understanding of it is, and then, before we go into maybe, how we plan to rate things and what we plan to do in the podcast. So romancy, obviously, is the mashup of the two words romance and fantasy, and Urban Dictionary has it going back to like 2008. So, even though it's real hot right now, it's not a brand new thing. Has been around for a minute. What do you guys think Like? What does what does romancy mean to you guys? What? How would you describe it?
Kelly:I mean, I just thought at first it was fantasy set in the Roman Empire.
Mari:History nerd. Okay, I can see how you got there.
Kelly:At first I thought it was just, you know, let's take a off the shelf romance book and just set it in a fantasy setting. You know, just smash a Fabio into a hobbit setting.
Ashley:Fabio. That's taken it way back. I don't even know that I read actual Fabio books. I don't think.
Mari:I have either. Yeah, I remember you younger, younger listeners.
Kelly:Fabio was the male supermodel who graced the cover of every romance book in the like 80s and 90s.
Mari:Yeah, yeah, oh, but to be honest grocery store ones, the one mom was into yes. But to be honest, I think the first I remember hearing or knowing a Fabio was like the commercials. I can't believe it's not butter. Was that what he was saying?
Kelly:Yeah.
Mari:Right.
Kelly:Yes.
Mari:Yeah, that was my first like oh, that's the dude from the books, right.
Kelly:Right, that's kind of, I guess, where he got more of a household name amongst people who didn't read trashy romance novels. Yeah, wait, is he Roman? Oh, I have no idea. That was just his name, because he was, I guess, essentially a male supermodel, and you know if you're a good supermodel, male or female, you know you just have one name.
Jonathan:He's like a super duper model.
Kelly:Right.
Mari:He's an Italian-American actor, fashion model and spokesman.
Jonathan:Did you say Italian-American?
Mari:Italian-Americans what it says here.
Jonathan:He could be Roman Kelly. There we go there we go.
Mari:We found the link oh simple Yep.
Kelly:What did romancy mean to you and to you, Ashley?
Ashley:So I don't think I'd ever come across the term, you know, before the last year or year and a half maybe I think. For me, the mashup it brings the magic a little bit right, because when you think fantasy you don't think you know regular, day-to-day, normal kind of setting. So I think the fantasy is the appeal for me because you're getting something not ordinary, since you can find in a lot of books, I think, romance related or not, you know, there's always some kind of bond that's formed, whether it's friendship or familial or romantic. So the romance part isn't necessarily a must for me but it's a nice touch. I like the fantasy part of it.
Jonathan:Interesting. I think of it as soft-core dragon porn and I get uncomfortable listening to them and I'm always I know it's only happening between my ears at the time but I'm like looking around trying to figure out if people are judging me, like if you, if you knew, and I feel like I'm 10 years old in a confessional, like like I oh, I have to when I'm done with reading I have to go say like for Hail Mary's and our father, or something like that. But I really like the idea of like dragons and laser swords and like magic wands and like just going to the ability to do things in a world or space that you can't do. Like physics. It just, you know, can't fly, but they can.
Mari:Makes me feel like anything's possible right.
Jonathan:Yes.
Mari:I wonder how much of that like embarrassment feeling or whatever the feeling is, that uncomfortable feeling is because you do so much of your reading through audiobooks. So I know audiobooks. If I listen to spicy parts in audiobooks I kind of get that vibe to, versus when I'm reading it on the page. It hits different for me.
Jonathan:There's an element of acting it out. That's happening in audiobooks, whether it's just the tone of the voice that's changing, paints a different picture. Maybe it's a little more vivid in audiobooks.
Mari:You know well, I would say for me, yeah, the term romantic is newish to me too, like I think I think really within the year this year, last year maybe, when I first entered my world, my vocabulary but, like, I look back on the books that I enjoyed reading as a kid and as a, you know, young adult and whatnot, and I've always liked fantasy and magic and sci-fi and all that, but a lot of the magic stuff and fantasy stuff that I like is stuff that is coming up on Romantic lists now, like some of the earliest fantasy that I remember falling in love with was Anne McCaffrey.
Mari:You're talking dragons, you're talking a lot of female main characters, which tends to be something that I feel happens more in Romantic than in your standard boilerplate fantasy, which is why, like, I think I was drawn to those kinds of books growing up, because it was like, oh, it's not just a bunch of dudes with swords, like there can be chicks, and sometimes it's not just about a big epic battle, sometimes there's other ways to like, get the thing done that needs to be done. So for me, romantic is where, like, if you take the romance portion out of the plot, the plot falls apart, like the book falls apart. So it has to be like integral to the part. It can't be just a romance book or just like a fantasy book with like a side romance situation happening.
Kelly:So what would be a good example of a book that falls apart if you take the romance out of it, because I'm thinking like the classic would be like the Princess Bride.
Mari:I was going to say that.
Kelly:Because that entire book is built on the romance of Wesley and Buttercup. So if that romance wasn't there, you know, wesley would have had no reason to leave and go become the dread pirate Roberts or come back and try and save. We were from Humberdink and all of that stuff. So without the romance there's no story there.
Ashley:Yeah, no, I said sorry there was a delay in my brain there because I was like processing that. No, you're absolutely right. Like that, the romance part of that tale was the motivator. It was. It was the ball that you know had to roll down the hill to get the rest of the story going.
Jonathan:Is that the one with with the Wonder Years? Kid.
Ashley:And yes, yeah, that was the.
Jonathan:Kinder Suicide, grandpa.
Mari:Yup Okay.
Ashley:Yeah, hold on.
Jonathan:That was a book. Yeah, I thought it was a comedy. Is that a comedy?
Mari:It's a little bit of everything, Like Princess Bride is a little bit comedy, a little bit romance, a little bit adventure, a little bit fantasy. I mean little bit of drama.
Kelly:But if someone were if someone were publishing the Princess Bride today, would it fall into the Romantic classification?
Mari:100%? Yes, I think so.
Jonathan:So, speaking to people who have read you read the analog version of it like when they get to the part where the Mennon tights guy poisons the bald, cranky fella, did they spell it out differently? Cause, like I just realized this year, that poison was inhaled, not like he didn't drink it, he inhaled it. So when he sat down he was like hey, do me a favor, smell this. And he was like okay, and then he tried to outsmart him. But what? The poison wasn't in the cup it was in. He smelled it. Is that different?
Mari:in the book. I don't remember that detail. I'm really bad about remembering details. Kelly's, mr Trivia.
Kelly:I mean, essentially the book is different, but I mean really the plot, studying and characters are pretty much the same. I think the book is actually shorter than it's made out to be. I think they kind of fluffed it up some to make it a longer movie. If you read the book and you've seen the movie you'll know there's some differences. But you know there's just certain adaptations can be as good or better than the book and I think it's just as good as the book, maybe not as good in some ways and not as bad in some ways. Oh, was there enough?
Jonathan:spice in that book. Was it like? Did it reach? Like the? Was it like salt? Or was it like you know, salt Chili powder.
Mari:I would say there's no spice in the book and I don't think you have to have spice for it to be a Romantic book. I think you have to have romance, but not necessarily spice, you know, because spice isn't for everyone. I like spice but not everybody does, so I don't know the necessary, you know.
Jonathan:Okay, so what about Star Wars? Star Wars fit into that. So that's like mild spice there.
Mari:Well, I mean, would the story fall apart without? Well, okay, two questions. If we're going to do Star Wars Number one, would the story fall apart without romance? No-transcript. Where in the story are you starting this? You know, are you talking about regional series? Are you talking about the whole overarching story?
Jonathan:You know those are great points because I think like a new hope, I don't think that falls apart without there's like no, like very, there's mild, like low key actor romance through that to that first trilogy. But the prequels, I mean, that's all so passionately driven right, the romance. Okay, I'll see where we're headed.
Mari:I'm gonna put your putting down doesn't mean that one's better than the other, doesn't mean the ones better than the other. It just, I think, as a way of classifying them, like. I think that's what it is Like, if, if you take the romance out and the story falls apart, then it's integral to the story.
Kelly:Right, you could easily say the original trilogy is not romantic at all. You could maybe make an argument for this prequel trilogy because the entire story evolves around Anakin and Amidala and you know he essentially what turns to the dark side because he's trying to save Amidala. So I guess you could make the argument it could be romantic, but or you could just classify it as hot garbage.
Jonathan:So that's a source spot for you, kelly. So hey, so I got one for you. Every year my friend tries to convince me that I hard as a Christmas movie and I feel like if I win that argument, that it would take something from that that person. So it's something they enjoy in that genre, regardless of how I feel about it. So if I Sinitively win a debate over that and I remove that element of enjoyment from them, I'm just I'm taking that from them. So I think, is it possible that it's Quantifiable but more Qualifiable?
Kelly:I mean, there's always an argument about whether or not it's a Christmas movie. Is it just a Christmas movie because it takes place it during Christmas? I think the strongest argument you could make that it is a Christmas movie is that because Bruce Willis's character, mcclane, went to Nakatomi Plaza for the Christmas party. He was invited by his wife to come to that Christmas party.
Mari:I Would have to interject because I think that that's true. But I would argue that the Strongest relationship in that movie is not between Bruce Willis's character and his wife, it's between Bruce Willis and the cop. Romance bromance yes.
Jonathan:That's a whole new category bromantisy Bar you could. You may have just discovered something that's like the person who Put pineapples on pizza baby, baby.
Kelly:There we go, million dollar. Literature category idea Bromanacy.
Ashley:But I think it's a subcategory. I mean, that's, that's what you know. A lot of paired up or friend groups are in some of the the thicker, you know Romantic verses, right, I mean we were seeing it a little bit in fourth wing. We see it definitely in a guitar, right, and I mean not to dump any spoilers out there Not not everyone's red Sarah J Mass, I'm just dipping my toes in that water.
Ashley:But the friendships that come off as bromances, you know, for lack of better terminology are just as interesting and hypnotizing as an actual intimate romantic relationship like that's. Jonathan was saying how listening to some of those spicier scenes Makes him want to floss his ears, right, like he's. He's nervous about other people listening in and that's not the stuff that really makes me, makes my toes curl, right, it's like it's the soft touches, it's the inside jokes, it's the, it's the softer side, that of romance that doesn't necessarily have to do with the Bumping and grinding. Yeah, so I think there's something to be said for the friendships and the bromances that really make a story captivating.
Mari:Yeah, like the things people do for each other, the sacrifices they do for each other. The family that you make yeah, like adding to the Sarah J Mastiff is throwing a glass has a lot of examples of just really good, strong friendships through thick and thin Right. It's another really good example of that.
Jonathan:Like Kevin Hart and Wayne the Rock Johnson.
Ashley:Yes, 10,000 percent. Yep, 10,000 percent.
Kelly:I mean you could say any of the classic buddy cop movies could be, you know, a bromance. I mean that's what kind of the whole point of them are. Is the bromance between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover right? It's their relationship dynamic when I'm a crazy psychotic cop and the other ones the cop who's too old for all this.
Mari:Leave the weapon right. Leave the weapon yeah. Yeah, that's true.
Jonathan:I like it, I like it, I like it, like Axel Foley and Serge. Yeah, okay.
Kelly:So romancy means that without the romance or the bromance the story just kind of falls apart. You know we're not interested in Danny Glover out patrolling the streets by himself. It's his interaction with his partner that makes the story compelling.
Mari:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Kelly:So the same for, like romancy, you take out the romance and then the entire plot or the point of the story falls apart. Perfect. I like it, I agree. What's next on the agenda Rankings.
Mari:Yeah, we're going to talk about rankings, but I wanted to just kind of mention also that we're talking about romancy and we're going to be doing about a lot about books, but every once in a while we're going to maybe talk about movies and things too. If we decide to do like a whole you know episode on a movie and delve into deeper on a movie, yeah, our ratings, our classifications, will be fairly standard, regardless of what we're reviewing. Okay, perfect.
Kelly:And so what are those rankings going to be?
Mari:So this won't necessarily apply to movies that we may look into, but it may. Is the cover art Like? I do want to discuss a little bit about the cover art that the author chose, or publisher chose, to portray their work. Not necessarily how good or bad the art itself is, but I think it'd be interesting to talk about how well it syncs up to what's in the inside, like does it relate to what the story is about? Does it go with what the story is about? I recently received a book that's about a dark, vampire, werewolf kind of situation and the cover looks like something that would be on the cover of Princess Bride. It's very pastel, very flowery, very bright, and that's what made me think about Slightly misleading.
Jonathan:Yes.
Mari:Yeah, I'm like, oh, I would never have thought that what's on the inside of this book is what's on the inside, based on this cover.
Ashley:Yeah, that was a decision.
Mari:Mm, hmm. So I thought that would be an interesting thing for us to talk about just how well it relates and what we think about, you know, the covers in relation to what's on the inside. Anything to add about cover stuff from you guys?
Jonathan:Well, I like the colors.
Mari:I like shapes.
Ashley:It's crazy. You know, what I think is interesting too, if we're going to bring up covers, is how it's different depending on location. So I think what's super cool about Rebecca Yaros is when she's traveling, or not even that. I think she just gets a lot of pictures and so she'll post what the covers are in Germany, in Italy, in Dubai and just kind of from all over the world, and so it's different, and it's not even just necessarily the exclusive or deluxe extra packaging whatever, it's just what's happening over there. So that might be interesting to talk about as comparing contrast what's going on US-based versus international?
Mari:Yeah, I agree, and if there's any cool deluxe versions that we know about. There may not be, obviously, for all the books we're reading, but it would be cool if there's like, oh, this Uber or Duber or deluxe version has whatever this different picture on it so we would write or talk about it. I don't know if we're going to write it, but just kind of talk about it in relation to the book and how it relates. The other thing would be the main category would be stars. How many stars would give the book, which would be based off of story, plot, narrative, character development, kind of the more traditional mundane rating system? What people would expect to hear Five-star book? It's a three-star book. We're going to be talking about that and why we think overall it's a whatever, because something could have great plot and poor character development, depending on how important that is to you. You give it more or less stars, got it.
Jonathan:Absolutely.
Mari:Then I figured we could rate the romance element. How strong is the romance in it, how well-developed, and that could be whether or not it was something believable, or whether there was romance in it at all, or whatever we thought of the romance element of the book.
Ashley:The feels.
Mari:Yeah, the feels, the overall feels of the romance. Then we would do the fantasy element. That could be stuff like the magic system, how well-developed the world is, creatures that may exist in the world, how overpowered or realistic certain things are, how believable some political ideas or ideologies or whatever are in the book. That can range.
Jonathan:I like that. I think it's those insights at just drawing those rounding the guidelines of when you said how, what was the phrase you used for the magic? You say them.
Mari:The magic building.
Jonathan:Magic.
Mari:Yeah, yeah. Is it magic based off of the elements? Is it magic based off of where you are, how old you are? Is it something intrinsic? Is it born to be a fiery wielder? Things like that. Just depending on how the author decides to express magic in that world. Some of it can be really well done, some of it can be believable, some of it can overbalance. Maybe the main character is super powerful and everyone else is not. Things like that. World building is the other thing too. How well, how fleshed out the world? Maybe that may or may not be important to the overall book. If your character is a very young character or a character that's very sheltered, they may not know much about the world. There may not be a whole lot that's shown. I think good example of that is Akatar, I feel like the first book. The main character is very new and she doesn't know a whole lot of what's going on, and then as the books go on, you learn more about the wider world with her.
Jonathan:They build the world in concert with her developmental journey.
Mari:Sometimes authors lay it all out from the get-go, like Fourth Wing, where she is laying out the big things of the world. As she walks across that parapet and is reciting things and you're like, oh wait, she's telling me everything that's happening in this world right now. I better pay attention in class.
Jonathan:Absolutely.
Mari:And FICE. Obviously we can rate how much spice there is or isn't, or how well done it is or isn't, and, like we talked earlier, this may not be in every book, and that's fine. That doesn't make it a better or a worse book. It's just something that sometimes people are interested in, like if they're deciding whether to read a certain story or book or whatever, how much spice is in it may factor in to their decision making. And I think, ultimately, the last thing that we can kind of go over is just the final question of is this a Romantic book? Does this fall into what we think a Romantic book is after we read it? Because something can be labeled Romantic and we can disagree and we can kind of decide if it meets the elements of what we think a Romantic book is, which in my head I hear the little boy's character from Princess Bride, where he's like is this a kissing book? That's it, we will decide. Is this a kissing book?
Jonathan:I really like that element. I think that's fantastic.
Mari:Yeah, I love that. I love it. Yep, that's the main thing. I figured, as we go on, we will review one book, or we may take several chapters and review. We may review a movie, we may review events, we may interview people. It'll vary up depending on what comes our way, what we feel like doing.
Kelly:Right, we're new at this, so we're still trying to feel it all out.
Mari:Anything else you guys are thinking that we may want to think about doing before we round it out.
Jonathan:So I think it's super exciting, the ability to kind of weigh in on all these different elements and see and just explore how, at the end of the day, how this piece of literature or pop culture or events or person, if they've changed your outlook we're good or for bad on anything. Would you give them a? Are they maybe? Are they rereadable or are they? Would you do it again?
Mari:Right, I mean, that's ultimately it, right, the was it? The reader lives a thousand lifetimes or whatever. We, you know, readers of fiction, tend to be more empathetic because we've experienced different stories, different characters, been in people's heads and seen things from different viewpoints, and each of each, each story, no matter how small you think it is and how much you think you may have forgotten it, changes and affects you in some way.
Kelly:All right. Well, it sounds like we have a good idea of what this is going to be about. Hopefully you, as the listener, will have a good idea about what this is going to be about, or hopefully be about, as we move forward and, like any podcast, I don't think there's any podcast I've ever listened to that hasn't changed over time, so I'm sure this one will as well.
Jonathan:Absolutely. We're starting where we finish. It'd be too wildly different things, but I like it.
Mari:Our own story, yeah, our own narrative. We'll figure it as we go along. So we are looking forward to having a fun time just digging into these stories and we hope that any of you listeners out there will enjoy coming along for the ride. Thank you for listening to of Swords and Soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check out the show notes rate, review us on your podcast app of choice and make sure to follow us on Instagram at of Swords and Soulmates.
