Holly Brinkman has a beautiful mind for detail. Her experience with romance novels is thorough and it's hard to imagine a more perfect person to guide through an improvised collection of sweetly assembled productions.
She smartly breaks down a romance novel into it's core elements and tropes, before assembling a variety of stories based around the conceit of the novels. It's a collection of pieces that form a backbone to what a romance novel is and can be, and she handles it with grace, poise and a beautifully soft demeanor that welcomes everyone to the table.
I do with that there had a bit more explaination at the begining as to what makes romance novels special. She briefly touches upon her own history with the format, but never fully goes into what makes them so unique in the pantheon of literature and why they are so important to her. One of the most fascinating parts to me was where an audience pulled a book out and she explained on the purpose of a modesty cover which I found delightful - but the thought that others might not get this unique piece of trivia is odd.
Overall, I do wish that she was creating one big story instead of snippets of multiple stories, but the way she handles everything meant I still left appeased and delighted by her ability to craft intricate saucy tales at the drop of a hat. Her knowledge is certainly unmatched and I would happily go back for more.