This week on Genre’d: Off Book, we sit down with our forever friend Ankeen — Brooklyn massage therapist, philosopher-at-heart, and unapologetic romance lover — to talk all things smut, tropes, and why romance is so much more than “frivolous.”

We get into how Harlequin paperbacks and Nora Roberts’ Montana Sky turned her into a reader at age ten, why “tasteful” sex scenes still hit, and what makes a perfect gateway romance versus a full-throttle smutty series (rock bands, hockey players, high-end sex clubs in London… we cover it all).

Along the way we unpack big misconceptions about the romance genre, why men should absolutely be reading “books for girls,” the tropes Ankeen loves (brother’s best friend, sexy doctors, firefighters, found family) and the ones she’ll DNF without hesitation (college main characters, high-school second chance, surprise pregnancies, zero communication). We also talk about the unexpected overlap between romance novels, philosophy texts, and how we all crave intimacy and connection in every part of our lives.

Plus: where to find Ankeen for lymphatic drainage, cupping, Ayurvedic face massage, and witchy goodness at Uncle Nat’s and Enchantments in NYC.