Spectacular Spectacles
Collected by Sanj, a grad student and romance reader who you can find on most platforms @baskinsuns. You can also read her writing on her Substack, Scratch Paper.
“I love when a character whips out a pair of glasses and it absolutely derails their love interest’s plans. I’m biased, as a gently visually impaired person myself, but I’ve never met a pair of spectacles that didn’t do some much-needed “Oh, that person is surprisingly adorable and scholarly,” work for a romantic dynamic. Sometimes the spectacles are secret, as in literally concealed from the other person. Sometimes they just emerge unexpectedly. Sometimes they’re just the thing about the character that their love interest can’t stop thinking about. No matter how they’re served, I want them. (And yes, Derek Craven, but if you’re here you already know about Dreaming of You, so here are a few others <3)”
We talked about MARRIED BY MORNING in That’s So Derek Craven. We covered ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN IN Grumpy/Sunshine. We recommend LEAD a lot, including in the Stage Dive Series episode. We discussed WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT in Renovation Romance. We talked about ONE GOOD EARL DESERVES A LOVER in Masquerades. DARK DESIRES AFTER DUSK, of course, has its own episode. We talked up DATING DR. DIL in The Romance Matriarchy.