Episode Notes Maha and Eda welcome you to the podcast after a long pause with a different subject than usual. With the lack of summer dizis this year they have been enjoying some reading time and this episode is all about their latest favorite genre: fantasy romance or "romantasy". Join them for a fun adventure as they talk about the history, favorite sub-genres and also psychological and sociological reasons why it's been so popular these past few years. Some of the things mentioned throughout the episode: "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series by Sarah J. Maas Grimm Diaries by Cameron Jace "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine "Circe" by Madeline Miller EDA's recs: "A Study in Drowning" by Ava Reid "The Bird and the Sword" by Amy Harmon The book Eda mentions towards the end where we say, spicy scenes must feel earned is "One True Love" by Linda Kage. Not half as good as the two books she recommended above but you might want to give it a chance. It's about forbidden romance and does have spicy scenes so please beware if you are underage. (We talk about it at 44.40) -MAHA's recs: "Ember of Ashes Quartet" by Sabaa Tahir "Glass of Throne" series" by Sarah J Mass "Caraval" by Stephanie Garber "The Iron Butterfly" series by Chandra Haan Also mentioned: The Fourth Wing and it's sequel The Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros TIME STAMPS 00:00 - 00:50 Intro music 00:50 - 09:00 What are we excited about regarding upcoming dizis? 09:00 - 16:20 Origins of fantasy romance 16:20 - 26:00 Psychological and sociological reasons behind romantasy's success 26:00 - 35:00 Sub-genres of romantasy 35:00 - 41:00 Eda's reading experiment 41:00 - 47:30 How we feel about spicy scenes 47:30 - 53:05 Our favorite books 53:05 - 55:10 Goodbye and outro Let us know if you want us to make an episode about fantasy romance movies and series. Follow us on social media: Dizi Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dizifriends/ Dizi Friends on X: https://twitter.com/Dizi_Friends Thanks for listening! See you on our next episode! Find out more at https://dizi-friends-podcast.pinecast.co