https://ift.tt/Q5tgaoP https://ift.tt/GZq2oyC June 14, 2026

Show Notes:

Follow us on Instagram.

Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com. 

Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!

Hosted by:

Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)

Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)

Guests:

Ella Dawson (@brosandprose on bsky and instagram) is an NYC-based sex and culture critic and the author of But How Are You, Really, a romance novel about college reunions and millennial angst. She is also the host of the Rebel Ever After podcast about progressive romance novels.

If I’m going to suffer at the hands of a man, I would at least like a little narrative consistency.

Hosts Adrie and Stitch explore the history of the romance hero — from bodice-ripping pirates to soft cinnamon rolls — and why the sociopath anti-hero is making a loud, alarming comeback. Then they sit down with Ella Dawson (Rebel Ever After podcast, But How Are You Really?) to talk about why readers are drawn to these narratives, what the rise of dark romance says about hetero pessimism and the modern dating landscape, the genre collapse between erotica and romance, and why asking "why do you like what you like?" shouldn't be a threat.

Topics: dark romance, alpha heroes, romance tropes, genre criticism, consent in fiction, BookTok, feminist theory

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

• The Songs of Submission series by CD Reiss
• The Right to Bear Arms by Vivienne Savage
• To Conquer a Highlander by Mary Wine
• The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
• Devoured: The Serpent and the Pomegranate by Eunren and Gamjajeon
• One Night Only by seowoo
• Love is an Illusion: the Queen by Fargo
• Steel Under Silk by snob
• The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
• Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee
• Willing Prey by Allie Oleander
• Back for Seconds by Betty Corello

Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Now you can grab some show merch, or become a show patron, support the hosts, and start some extremely awkward conversations in mixed company!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.