Episode 516 || Annie Recommends: Rom-Coms
This week on From the Front Porch, it’s an episode of Annie Recommends! In this series, Annie curates a stack of books in a certain genre or theme for you – just as if you walked into our brick-and-mortar store, The Bookshelf. This month, Annie recommends a short list of her favorite rom-coms.
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, stop by The Bookshelf in Thomasville, visit our website (search “Episode 516”) or download and shop on The Bookshelf’s official app:
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
Back After This by Linda Holmes (releases 2/25/25)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Passion Project by London Sperry (releases 4/8/25)
From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.
A full transcript of today’s episode can be found below.
Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
This week, Annie is reading How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris.
If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. You can also support us on Patreon, where you can access bonus content, monthly live Porch Visits with Annie, our monthly live Patreon Book Club with Bookshelf staffers, Conquer a Classic episodes with Hunter, and more. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.
We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.
Our Executive Producers are...Beth, Stephanie Dean, Linda Lee Drozt, Ashley Ferrell, Wendi Jenkins, Martha, Nicole Marsee, Gene Queens, Cammy Tidwell, Jammie Treadwell, and Amanda Whigham.
Transcript:
Annie Jones Welcome to from the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South.
“As Julie always said, Apple Podcasts is figuratively littered with the bodies of people whose last words were, 'How hard Can it Be?”
- Linda Holmes. Back After This.
[00:00:36] I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, I'm recommending some romcoms for your February reading. Do you love listening to From the Front porch every week? I hope so. Otherwise, why are you here? You can spread the word by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone, look for From the Front Porch, scroll down until you see 'Write us a Review' and then tell us what you think. Here's a recent review:
A book club in my pocket. As a busy teacher who loves books, sometimes it's hard for me to find a local book club that works with my schedule. But thanks to From the Front Porch, I now have a weekly book club that goes with me everywhere. Annie and friends are thoughtful, funny and knowledgeable, and I love getting to adopt The Bookshelf as my own far away indie bookstore. There's something for everyone in these episodes, reviews, recaps, recommendations for the romcom, fantasy, horror and general lit lover. Sit down, press play and stay a while. You won't regret it.
[00:01:40] I quite literally couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you so much to this kind reviewer for totally understanding why we do what we do and what we do. Thank you so much. And thank you to all of the reviewers who've left kind words and thoughtful reviews for our show. We're so grateful any time you share From the Front Porch with your friends. Thank you for spreading the word about our podcast and our bookstore.
[00:02:04] Now, back to the show. Sometimes you just want a good book list. We know this because customers come in the store or email Erin all the time asking for recommendations based on a specific genre or criteria. A bookseller’s favorite task, at least in my experience, is to go around the shop and put together a stack of books for a customer who's on the hunt. Even if they don't buy every book we pick, the fun is in the discovery. So every so often on these episodes of From the Front Porch, that's what we're trying to mimic. These Annie recommends episodes are like me walking around putting together a book stack for you. Every so often I put together a book around a certain theme. So last month we talked about book club favorites or book club suggestions. This month, in honor of February, I've made a short list of some of my favorite romantic comedies, and I'm going to do my best to stay true to that term, making sure there's plenty of com with my rom.
[00:03:05] And just like I would never overwhelm customers with a towering stack of titles, I'm not going to overwhelm you either. I want to give you five books I think you'd love whether you're a regular romance reader or attempting the genre for the first time. And if you're looking for even more recommendations, including backlist titles, this episode is going to talk about quite a few front lists. If you want some backlist titles, I would encourage you to listen to episode 463. It's from this time last year where I covered the same territory but with totally different selections. I still stand by that episode. I went and looked at the notes before I made my list for this episode. And because of the fantastic books I picked in episode 463, I tried to go a different direction and focus mostly on frontlists titles for this year's episode. So if you want more romance or romantic comedy book recommendations, you can listen to episode 463.
[00:04:00] Let's kick things off with the beloved author Rainbow Rowell. So you might recognize Rainbow Roll from Eleanor and Park from back in the day. Attachments perhaps from even further back in the day. I'm not sure what she wrote first, actually. I love Rainbow Rowell. And when I saw in my catalog last year in 2024 that she was releasing a book in the summer, I got super excited. And I have just the fondest memories of reading Slow Dance. That is her latest book, Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell- came out last summer. I have the fondest memories of reading that book. I went through a season and who knows, maybe I'm still in this season. But a lot last year. I took myself to lunch at Longhorn and read a book while I sat at the Longhorn. And that's a little insight into me. And so I took Slow Dance to Longhorn and read it there and it was delightful. It's about Cary and Shiloh. This is, I suppose, what would qualify as a second chance romance, which if you were to give me a list of romance tropes, romantic comedy tropes, I'm not sure second chance romance would be a favorite of mine. I'm not sure that's one I would list. That being said, I loved this book.
[00:05:18] So Cary and Shiloh were high school sweethearts, friends. They were in this great kind of group of three. Didn't we all have a group of three in high school or middle school that we hung out with? And then after high school they kind of parted ways, in some cases married or were in relationship with other people. And now they're back living in their hometown. I think part of the reason I love this book so much is because, as I think most of you know, I have written a book being published this year about staying put. And one thing I think Rainbow Rowell does really well is she writes books about her place and her place is Nebraska. You don't get a lot of romance novels set in Nebraska. And I really like that Rainbow Rowell is true to her home and to her place and these characters in turn are also true to their place. And they're trying to figure out how do we navigate adult life in the place where we grew up, and how do we navigate an adult relationship when we only were ever maybe a couple of teenagers in like or in love with each other?
[00:06:29] I thought this was fantastic because it's a sneaky romcom. I'm not even sure I would shelve it and I don't think it is actually shelved in the romance section of our bookstore. I think I would shelve it in general fiction because to me like an Amy Poeppel or Katherine Heiny book, there's so much here about family and adult friendships and relationships that I think there's more to the story than the romance, but the romance is really sweet and lovely. And it made me think maybe I do like second chance romance books after all. I thought it was fantastic. If you are new to the genre, this could be a place where I might start you. Because it's not entirely a traditional romance novel. And there's another one of these on the list that we're going to talk about. But I think this would appeal to a wide range of readers.
[00:07:24] And one of the things I loved is-- maybe it's because I'm getting older. Actually, I was going to say I will turn 39. I am already 39. When you listen to this, I will be 39 years old. And so maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I do like when I encounter a romance book that features adult characters. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a YA romcom. I love books about people who are trying to figure their stuff out in their angsty 20s. I do like those, but there's something about adults who already know who they are. Cary and Shiloh know who they are, and now they've got to figure out can we be together? We know who we are as individuals; can we be together as a team? And I think that's a really fun thing to play with. So that is Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell.
[00:08:21] Another author who I might put in this Rainbow Rowell, Amy Poeppel category where they're like toeing that line, they're right on the line of romance writers or women's fiction writers-- and I don't have the capacity for it, but one day maybe I'll write an essay or do a deep dive into why even still we insist and me included, Annie B. Jones, insist on using the phrase women's fiction. I don't know why except sometimes it's the only thing that's appropriate. I don't know why I do that. One day I'll investigate it. For now just know that I think there's this whole group of authors who because they're writing about women, because they're writing about, maybe in some cases motherhood, maybe in some cases women who are in careers. But specifically women main characters they find themselves maybe toeing the line whether it's going to fall into romance or women's fiction. Linda Holmes is in this category to me. You've heard me talk about her a lot last couple of weeks, and that is because her new book Back After This releases February 25th.
[00:09:26] I love Linda Holmes. You've heard me talk about following her career for a long time. I actually think even in high school I was reading-- I don't know what this says about me, but I was reading the Internet forum, Television Without Pity. Does anybody remember that? I was reading that in high school. I was reading, I believe, Gilmore Girls Recaps. And so Linda Holmes was a writer for Television Without Pity and then she moved over to NPR, works on their podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, and she's a writer of some great romance novels, women's fiction novels. Evie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo. Her new book, and the reason I've mentioned her a lot over the last couple weeks is because it's been a minute since she's had a book out. And for me, Back After This, her latest was one of my most highly anticipated novels. I've read it now and I loved it. I thought it was great.
[00:10:15] And, listen, for me, not all romances are created equal. I started another romance novel that I did not enjoy. I'm kind of picky, I think. I'm kind of picky about what I like in this genre. And what I am drawn to are rich characters, relatively believable. I can suspend some of my beliefs, but relatively believable points of conflict, communication troubles. I just want it to feel real. And I want it to be witty. I want it to be funny. I need com in my rom. I need comedy in my romance. And I think Linda Holmes delivers. So as you've heard me mention, this book is about Cecily. She's a podcaster. Linda Holmes certainly brings her own expertise to that. And I found that fascinating. There's this great character named Eliza who maybe could have even played more of a role, but she kind of is the side character role. She's a wellness Instagram influencer. She's trying to navigate constantly changing algorithms, and the two of them wind up becoming paired together for a podcast about blind dates and about almost maybe reminds me of something like Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance, where maybe adjusting expectations in order to open yourself up to the right person.
[00:11:36] And so Cecily and Eliza embark on this reluctantly, perhaps, especially on Cecily as part, embark on this podcast project. All the while, Cecily finds herself attracted to a neighbor she ran into named Will. Will is also a really fun, well-drawn character. That's again what makes a romcom work for me. There's a reason When Harry Met Sally is a classic. There's a reason You've Got Mail is a classic. You might hate Joe Fox, but he's interesting. At least he's interesting. I'd rather have an interesting male protagonist, male lead, any day than somebody who just is a bump on a log. And so Will is a fun male lead in this book. And the podcasting of it all, the social media of it all, I actually found really timely and interesting. So there's a lot going on here and a lot more than the romance, which was the great thing about Slow Dance as well. So that is Back After This by Linda Holmes.
[00:12:32] Now hear me out. This next book, I think romance readers are going to balk. I think romance readers are going to cringe in their cars. I'm going to have people metaphorically yelling-- maybe you will yell in your car. I don't know. Not everybody's going to agree with this pick. But here's what you need to know about when I'm doing an episode like this. I'm literally imagining myself going around the store and picking a stack. And the thing is, I don't always fully know who the customer is. If I know the customer is a romance reader, the stack is going to look different. But I'm assuming this is a customer I've never seen before because I've not seen most of you before. And a customer comes in and it's Valentine's Day, it's February, it's gross outside, but we're hanging hearts in our windows and she comes in-- it's probably a she, let's be real. She comes in and she says, I don't really know what I'm looking for, but maybe something with a little bit of romance. I'm not a huge romance reader. I don't read a ton of that. But tis the season. That's what I'm looking for.
[00:13:36] And so that's why I would do something like Slow Dance or Back After This because Emily Henry is the obvious go to. But for a reader who maybe doesn't typically read this genre, maybe the last book they read is The Women by Kristin Hannah, what can I hand them? And so the third book I would put in the stack, get ready to yell if you want, is the Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. The reason I would put this here, this is a book that I talked about last year I think a lot. I feel like I talked about a lot specifically with Olivia. This is a book that we talked about because basically it was this weird-- it is so weird. This weird mash up kind of novel that appealed to Olivia, me, Erin, Kyla might have even read it. It scratched the metaphorical itch for a variety of staffers and that is why it would make a great book in a book stack because it's bound to appeal to some part of your writerly interests. If you forgot about this one, let me tell you about it. So the Ministry of Time came out last May. And essentially it's Bradley's pandemic fever dream come to life. Basically, during the pandemic she became obsessed with this real life and kind of sort of handsome (you can judge for yourself) Arctic explorer named Graham Gore.
[00:14:57] So he's an Arctic explorer. He's a real person. And she became obsessed. And as an Enneagram five, I know what it's like to become obsessed with something and to have a hyper fixation. Graham Gore became her hyper fixation. And through the pandemic she started writing him as the main character, the main protagonist in a time travel adventure, romance, spy novel. And her friends read it and she sent it to a publisher. And then it got published and here we are. The book is narrated by an unnamed British Cambodian civil servant who serves as Gore's Bridge to the Modern Era. So this is like a traditional time travel book. The thing that it reminded me most of and that I frequently referenced, I think, when talking about it last year was the American romantic comedy Kate and Leopold. Which if you haven't seen that, go give it a go. I rewatched it, I believe, last year and not bad. I still have some questions about Hugh Jackman right now, don't we all? But growing up I loved that movie.
[00:15:59] So Kate and Leopold starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, it's kind of the same type of premise where Graham Gore finds himself as Arctic explorer, finds himself living in the present. And so the civil servant has been assigned to him because it's this time travel government program. The civil servant has been assigned to him as a bridge to connect him to the modern era and the modern community. And we don't really know-- and that's where this book takes some interesting turns that perhaps some readers like and some readers don't. But we don't really know is this time travel experiment or project by the British government nefarious? Is it scientific? Is it governmental? What's going on here? So there's a little bit of like alias, like there's a little bit of what's going on here? Why are we doing this? Which takes a turn probably three quarters of the way through the book. I thought the first 75% of this was just a romp, just a blast. Just absolutely fun.
[00:17:04] And who knows what Kaliane Bradley's initial drafts looked like, but this was a fun time. And then the back quarter delves more into maybe the spy adventure part of the book, which again is why I would put this book in this category. It's not shelved in our romance section. The first thing I said about this book wouldn't necessarily be that it's a romantic comedy. But there are romantic comedy elements. There are definitely comedic elements, which I love, and it is time travel. It's adventure like Romancing the Stone or something like that where you've got this great chemistry with a main couple, but there's also lots of other adventures and shenanigans going on. And so you might be in your car yelling, "That's not a romance novel, That's not a romantic comedy." But I do think there is part of it that is romantic comedy. And if I have a customer coming in asking for recommendations, I think I'd throw this one in there just to see if it's the one that might strike them best. So this is a spy novel, an adventure story, time travel. Maybe Outlander fans would really like it. I had a good time with this. And as I recall, most other staffers did, too. And everybody kind of liked something different. So I liked the romantic time travel elements. Just watching Graham Gore try to wrap his brain around the modern era was pretty fun. I think Olivia liked maybe the Spy and the time travel. So I think every reader is going to find something different to like about this one. And it's been a minute since I've read something that almost defies genre. So kudos to Kaliane Bradley. I felt like this was pretty original. This is the Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.
[00:18:54] Okay. Those would be my first three. Now we're going to go more traditional romcom. So we know I love Annabel Monaghan. I do. And she's been to The Bookshelf and so now we all do feel a deep connection with her. But that's not why including her on the list. I just feel like I read Summer Romance so long ago-- so that's the fourth book, Summer Romance. I read it so long ago that when I was making my list for this, I thought, gosh, I really needed to talk more about that book than I did because it was one of the first books I read in 2024. So time to talk about it again. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan. Last year I broke my seasonal reading rule or my seasonal reading pattern, and I read this in the dead of winter despite it having summer literally in the title. I'm a big fan of Annabel Monaghan's previous books, particularly Nora Goes Off Script but also Same Time Next Summer. Both are fantastic, great for the beach, but they also have some heft and depth to them. I famously, (famously to me) read Nora Goes Offscript, I believe, five times, which is unheard of for me, but that's how much I loved that book.
[00:20:05] So this is a book with a thoughtful, slightly older protagonist. Again, maybe a romance between adults rather than angsty 20 somethings- though I do have one of those on the list as well. So Allie's 38; she is reeling and recuperating from a magnificent loss really. And the love story brings the light and fun. So Allie's got some serious grief she's dealing with. But the romantic storyline is light and fun. There's no over-the-top miscommunication. There's no made up hardship three quarters of the way through, as is often true in a romance novel, everything feels very realistically portrayed. The book's poignant death especially comes from Allie's personal growth. She has a really great friendship with her elderly neighbor that I absolutely loved. And in fact, I underlined multiple sentences in this book, and then I actually cried. I have a distinct memory of crying at my dining room table while reading this book, which, again, that is not what I do when I read a romantic comedy or when I watch a romantic comedy for that matter. I'm not a huge crier about stuff like that, but this one struck a chord with me.
[00:21:15] I think if you read it, you'll see why. I would never want to spoil that for you. I looked up my review from last year when I read it, and one of my favorite lines for my review is this is just a really great book that happens to be a romcom. And isn't that really what I'm looking for? Yes, it is. Always what I'm looking for. When Harry Met Sally is just a good movie. That's just a great movie. Like being your top ten, it's my favorite movie of all time. It's a great movie. It happens to be a romcom and that is what I'm looking for out of my lit as well. And Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan and actually I think all of Annabel Monaghan books, they just are really great books and they happen to be romances. They happen to be romcoms. Yeah, I had a blast with this book. Great memories. I'm going to reread it this summer. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan. Her settings are really fun, too. Kind of like Emily Henry in that way. I love the settings of Emily Henry books. I love the settings of Annabel Monaghan books.
[00:22:17] Okay. Now I know I've maybe thrown a little bit of accidental shade onto angsty 20 somethings, but I actually do really like reading about angsty 20 somethings because weren't we all? We all were there at one point or another. So Passion Project by London Sperry. Now, this book is not out yet. It releases on April 8th. I read it last year. I don't know why. I cannot remember if this just came across my Kindle or what, but it does not release until April 8th, so you need to preorder it. But why I wanted to mention it is because last year one of my favorite romances I read was a book called Summer Fridays. I still would highly, highly recommend that book. You should read that one in the summer. It was so fun, but there was kind of an infidelity adjacent plot line that I know made it tough for some readers. I know that because I think some readers told me that. And also Goodreads told me that. Goodreads always tells me. Goodreads always tells me what people don't like. And so I do remember people had some qualms with that, but I thought that was a really great, traditional New York romantic comedy.
[00:23:28] It reminded me of Kate Spencer's In a New York Minute. So Summer Fridays was like about a couple or these two people who they were engaged or dating other people, kind of like You've Got Mail. And they wound up spending their summer Fridays in New York when you get either a day off or a half day of work. They wound up spending their Summer Fridays doing fun things around the city together. It was delightful. But again because these people were dating other people, it wasn't for everyone. I think Passion Project then is a great solution. It employs a similar concept. You've got a New Yorker who's trying to embark on a journey to help another find her passion. So instead of spending Summer Fridays together, this guy is spending time trying to help this girl figure out what she's passionate about. And so there's a series of dates and occasional mishaps, but there's no infidelity here. Nobody's dating other people.
[00:24:23] The chemistry is fantastic in this book. That's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for witty repartee. I'm looking for a meet cute. I'm looking for a butterfly moment, which is hard to do in the written word and in the current romcom climate. So this book, I thought, had great butterfly moments where you could feel the chemistry between the two. Very Set It Up kind of vibes, if you liked that movie. The novel also has some extra depth to it because the main character is dealing with grief and anxiety. And so I actually really did like those parts of the book because I felt like there will be a lot of people who can really relate to how this woman is feeling and to why she makes the choices that she makes. So fantastic springtime romance. And I wanted to mention it here because I read it so long ago. I knew I was going to forget about it. And so now was the time to talk about it. It is called Passion Project. It's by London Sperry and it releases in April. And you should read it in April or May. I think it would really would make a lovely spring read. So Passion project by London Sperry especially for you if you like Set It Up, In a New York Minute or Summer Fridays-- or you wished you liked Summer Fridays, but maybe this will suit you better.
[00:25:40] Okay. That is my stack, so I'm going to say them again. Although, they are all in the show notes. Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. Back After This by Linda Holmes. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Summer Romance by Annabelle Monaghan and Passion Project by London Sperry. Again, these are all frontlist titles, though I believe at least two of them are paperback originals. But if you are looking for more backlist recommendations, you can listen to episode 463 from last year where you can get a different book stack with a lot of backlist selections. I hope you'll find something that you can read seasonally during February. Now's a fun time to try to pick up a romcom if you never have before.
[00:26:25] This week I'm reading How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris.
[00:26:27] Annie Jones: From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website:
A full transcript of today’s episode can be found at:
Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of From the Front Porch and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
Our Executive Producers of today’s episode are…
Cammy Tidwell, Linda Lee Drozt, Martha, Stephanie Dean, Ashley Ferrell, Gene Queens, Beth, Jammie Treadwell…
Executive Producers (Read Their Own Names): Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins
Annie Jones: If you’d like to support From the Front Porch, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the show even better and reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the Podcast App on your phone, look for From the Front Porch, scroll down until you see ‘Write a Review’ and tell us what you think. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us over on Patreon, where we have 3 levels of support - Front Porch Friends, Book Club Companions, and Bookshelf Benefactors. Each level has an amazing number of benefits like bonus content, access to live events, discounts, and giveaways. Just go to:
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