Smart Podcast, Trashy Books Podcast

634. Climbing Mt. Fuji with Courtney Milan

The Earl Who Isn’t
A | BN | K | AB
Courtney Milan is here to talk about her newest book, The Earl Who Isn’t, and about climbing Mt. Fuji! Along the way we talk about training, the shifting style of historical romances, and audiobooks.

And we have questions from you!

A few moments to be aware of before you listen: we talk a little about her dog Pele, who passed away earlier this year.

We also mention briefly the topics of antifat bias in medicine, weight gain, chafing, trauma, workplace abuse, cancer, and sexual harassment.

Thank you to Tara, Emily for the questions!

Music: purple-planet.com

Read the transcript

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Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Courtney Milan at her website, CourtneyMilan.com, and you can sign up for her weekly tea newsletter as well! 

We also mentioned:

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What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!


Podcast Sponsor

The Starling Inn

Support for this episode comes from The Starling Inn, the new novel by Claire Therese!

If you like renovation stories and you like ghost stories about past secrets coming to light, you’ll want to read this book.

After inheriting a century-old inn from her beloved uncle Rowan, Millie puts her life on pause, leaves her college campus and returns to her roots to grapple with the grief of his passing at his home, the old Starling Inn.

But after moving in, Millie quickly realizes that she may not be alone in the house. Strange dreams visit her every night, and objects inside start to move on their own.

Determined to sell the inn and return to her life, Millie reconnects with Ethan, her childhood crush, who was helping Rowan with repairs before he died. Ethan too grieves the loss of his friend as they get to work, restoring the building and discovering more of its history.

Millie works to untangle family secrets that have been haunting the community since
the first World War. With each mystery solved and each room renovated, Millie transforms loss and pain into forgiveness and healing. But as she gets closer to selling the inn and gaining freedom, she risks destroying the relationship she’s built with Ethan.

Will selling the inn mean letting go of more than just a property?

Emotional, hopeful, and mysterious, this second chance romance is layered with new beginnings, found family, a haunted house and a mystery, and, of course, a romantic happily ever after.

Charlene left a five star review and said it was “the perfect fall cozy read.” Klara also gave the book five stars and said, “This book is simply perfection. It is a mixture of drama, romance, mystery, paranormal, family—well, everything. And prepare tissues, because you’re going to need them.”

Find The Starling Inn by Claire Therese inside Kindle Unlimited now, and follow the author on Instagram @claire.therese.writes

Thank you to Claire Therese for sponsoring this episode, and thank you for supporting our advertisers.

Transcript

Click to view the transcript

This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Smart Podcast, Trashy Books is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find many more outstanding podcasts at Frolic.media/podcasts!
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  1. Kareni says:

    Thank you, Sarah and Courtney, for sharing your wide-ranging conversation. And thank you, garlicknitter, for the transcript.

  2. sara says:

    Loved this convo. My husband and I have talked about the paradox of me enjoying regency/historical romance even though I loathe the modern equivalent– billionaire romances, super-rich-dude-with-minimal-accountability. Why then am I okay with romances about dukes, viscounts? I think that’s why I’ve been a huge Courtney Milan fan ever since the Brothers Sinister, because it engages with class inequality and privilege in an upfront, interesting way. (Plus, Sebastien!)

    I also really liked Meredith Duran’s Duke of Shadows for a similar reason. There, the hero benefits from the British aristocratic system but feels outside of it because he is of mixed heritage (part English, part Indian). For this reason, he is also strongly against Britain’s presence in India. The heroine struggles to make sense of what she’s been taught about England’s “Civilizing Role” with what she’s seeing in person. She’s not this prescient genius who at age 20, with no exposure to life beyond the ton, is making a trenchant intellectual critique of Britain’s role in India. Sometimes, early in her journey, she reverts to the views she’s been socialized into. But her confusion feels real, and it makes her character arc/growth feel authentic. That, along with the dramatic setting and the emotional intensity, made the novel really memorable.

    So yeah, I would not mind more historical romances to grapple with these complicated issues.

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