It never fails to surprise us when we realize we?ve never talked about a really classic trope even now?eight years in. This week, we?re talking about kids in romance?which we?ve somehow never done before?! We?re covering Romance Babies, Romance Kids, and Single Parents in Romance ? but so sorry to the Secret Baby lovers out there, that one deserves its own episode (someday). We?re talking babies, toddlers and teens, the appeal of the single parent romance novel, and that one Erin St. Claire book that Sarah can?t get out of her head.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Romance Babies/Kids, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesThe Silhouette Intimate Moments line eventually turned into Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Erin St. Claire is one of Sandra Brown?s many pen names.Wet nurses have been around for a very long time, baby bottles not so much. I say this only because Sarah said ?Bottle service? and that?s something different.Red ink has been around for a long time, actually. So maybe that?s how Sophie had access to it during the Regency?So there?s not a whole lot of evidence that birthmarks are hereditary. Shocking, I know.
SponsorsThe Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.LJ Andrews, author of Heir of Twisted Lies, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.Neyha Liu, author of Midnight at Soulfield, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Lucy Score, author of Mistakes Were Made, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Get it wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Someone said something real stupid, and that means we get to hit back in the best way possible ? with romance recommendations! Today we?re talking about the Opera and the Ballet in Romance! We?re talking about historicals and contemporaries, about mafia enforcers and exasperated dukes, about football players and yes, of course, our sweet baby Conrad Wroth. You?re going to have a great time. Congratulations to the movie-starrest of movie stars, Michael C. Jordan, on the occasion of his Oscar win.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Opera and Ballet and romance novels, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesTornadoes are scary, but the University of Michigan is keeping track of them for you. Chicagoans think that the city is tornado-proof; it?s not.Daylight Savings Time sucks.Cara Dion and Robin Lovett are both Opera Singers ? Romancelandia remains the coolest.Thanks Louisa Darling, for giving us this episode about Timothee Chalamet and his boneheaded comments about ballet and opera a few weeks ago, and then he didn?t win a single Oscar. Are these things related? Who can say!Magic Mike is the greatest dance movie ever made, or a feminist text. Pick your poison.A ballet book Jen imprinted on as a teenager was called Mariana by Karen Strickler Dean, and for Sarah it was an opera book called Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux.Kelly Clarkson and Josh Groban do this version of All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera that?s very beautiful.Michael B Jordan DID win the Academy Award for best actor, and we couldn?t be more happy about it.
SponsorsThe Monique Fisher Universe, including The Decadence Series, and the upcoming novella Make Room for Heather, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Blue Box Press, publishers of Kristin Ashley?s After the Climb, a River Rain novel. Available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon & Barnes & Noble.Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Calling all Loons! You?ve heated and reheated the rivalry, and now it?s time for us to talk about what you should read between now and Season 2. We?re joined by friend and fave of the pod, Christopher Rice, who writes m/m and sometimes m/m/m romance as C. Travis Rice. We talk about our feelings about Heated Rivalry, about the books and their impact, and about the transformational work of the show?and then we fill your to-be-read piles with books we thing deliver the same kind of emotions. We had a great time, and you will, too.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Heated Rivalry & romance novels, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesWelcome back Christopher Rice who writes romance under the name C. Travis Rice. Christopher and his best friend Eric Shaw Quinn host a podcast called The Dinner Party Show. You can listen to their Heated Rivalry episode here, and Eric?s tuna melt thoughts start around the 18:30 minute mark. Their episode with Dateline producer Josh Mankiewicz aired on March 1st. You can watch the documentary Anne Rice: An All Saints? Day Celebration for free at her website.Wesley Morris?s essay in the New York Times, I?m so Used to Gay Tragedies That I Almost Missed Romance. The Heated Rivalry Crave social media feed highlighted the power of the adaptation by showing the cast reading from the books, juxtaposing scenes from the show with the text, and loving Rachel Reid!Good Will Hunting is 29 years old! Okay, I know that Ryan Coogler has made a couple of Marvel movies, but he?s also writing dazzling original films like Sinners!Olympians in Italy ran through 10,000 condoms in 3 days and the Village needed to do some restocking. Here?s one athlete?s history of condoms at the Olympics.To be fair, adding a pitch clock and changing other MLB baseball rules have shortened the running time of most games.For more information about gay rodeo, follow the instagram of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Pick Up Men is the first book in the Pick Up Men series by LC Chase.
SponsorsJayne Ann Krentz, author of The Shop on Hidden Lane, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Blue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout?s Dream of You, a Wait for You novella. Available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Things are looking very wild out here in the real world so you deserve a deep dive on a book by an author with a big backlist and we are here to give you just that! Today's episode is on Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife, a modern day marriage of convenience story from Julia Wolf's The Harder They Fall series. We talk about fake husbands down bad, family drama, and the charm of an author building a big universe for all their characters to live in forever.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or you want to talk more about Julia's books, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Read Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NotesHow the great blizzard of 2026 stacked up with previous blizzards. Seems like Providence was a bad place to be. The winner of this year?s Chicago?s snowplow naming contest: Abolish ICE.Everyone loves Bad Bunny.Ryan Coogler gave a beautiful speech about love at the BAFTA awards. Watch Jayme Lawson from the NAACP Awards give a brilliant explanation of why BAFTA and BBC are to blame for the events at this year?s BAFTA awards.We have both been reading a lot of Julia Wolf books ever since our New Year?s Milkin? Eve episode.Wyoming is a very big state with a very small population, so small in fact that there are 117 counties that have a bigger population than the entire state. You can play around with comparing populations using this map tool from Slate.The other books we mentioned this episode by Julia Wolf: a rock star romance, Built to Fall. Saoirse?s brother?s book is Sweet Like Poison. Luca?s sister?s book is In the Details.
SponsorsMelanie Greene, author of New Flames, available in print or ebook. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, a new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.The What in the Smut? Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.Vedentro, premium leather accessories. Use code FATED at checkout to get an additional 10% off the best offer on the site.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Continuing our series on Romance Vibes, we?re talking about Romance Wardrobe this week! We?re talking corsets and chemises, falls and Hessian boots, Armani suits and underpants that rip right off. We also get to the bottom of the pronunciation of bliaut. Do we recommend books? Not really, but it?s ok, we all deserve a week of goofing off sometime. All that, and Sarah saw ?Wuthering Heights.?

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or more romance lovers who love music, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community (complete with a music channel)! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Next week, our read along is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NotesSarah went to see Scare Quotes Wuthering Heights, but Jen hasn?t seen it yet. According to New York Magazine, you don?t have to read Wuthering Heights to see ?Wuthering Heights.? But the costumes sure are beautiful.Those Bronte sisters!Desmond Morris?s 12 Steps to IntimacyAll about smelling salts.A woman and her baby stroller were blown into Lake Michigan last week! The Windy City is no joke! Am I to understand these are not historically accurate Kilts?Beau Brummell was a real person.The Armani suit was a big deal in the 80s.We are not rich enough to do anything but read about stealth wealth.You should watch Deadwood.

All About:

ChemiseReticuleA beaver hat is this, not that.BliautKirtleButtonsWaistcoatGreatcoatPelisseUnion suit
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Larissa Ione?s Demonica Legacy series rereleased paperbacks, available in print, ebook or audiobook. Get the redesigned paperbacks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Amy Spalding, author of In Her Spotlight, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun!...

Our old pal Billy Shakes told us that music is the food of love, and we?re taking that to heart this week! By request from Eric (who?s never requested anything before), we?re looking at songs that charted in February over the years and matching them with romance novels that suit! We?ve got a little bit of something for everyone here, from historicals to paranormals, motorcycles to mafia to magical realism. Eric?s put together a playlist, and you can find links to that and articles about a bunch of these songs in show notes, or you can just head straight to reading the books. We don?t judge!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, or more romance lovers who love music, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community (complete with a music channel)! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NotesYou can listen to the accompanying playlist on Apple Music and SpotifyYou, too, may want to learn about this mahjong situation brewing in the Midwest with Barbara.It?s the Olympics. Defector is covering all the news stories we want to know about, including the Curling Drama between Sweden and Canada, the ice dancers are super villains, and this Norwegian skier is an idiot.Happy Black History Month! Jen did something cool at The Newberry Library. It was part of the Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon, transcribing information about the Colored Conventions. You can still participate using Zooniverse, and looking for the Douglass Day Project.Sarah enjoyed learning about the Asking Dumb Questions class at Yale.Tom Breihan writes a column The Number Ones at Stereogum, and Jen also enjoys a similar Slate podcast called Hit Parade.Here?s the spreadsheet of February hits, and a playlist of songs we talked about today! The Macarena is a song about love triangles! Bad Romance by Lady Gaga is on this list, but we only talk about books we like.The DJ book Jen couldn?t remember was Rival Radio by Kathryn Nolan.The Stud Budz, WNBA players Courtney Williams & Natisha Hiedeman, did a long livestream during the 2025 All Star Weekend, and they sang and danced to Pink Pony Club. Check out Babes Sports Bar if you?re ever in Chicago. Jen did an event there, cohosted by 831 Stories & Off the Dribble Chicago, an organization for basketball-playing women and girls in the city.Prince renamed himself as a symbol when fighting with his record label.
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Dylan Allen?s Rivers Wilde rereleased paperbacks, available in print, ebook or audiobook. Get the redesigned paperbacks at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.MA Wardell, author of Peaches & Pucks, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Jennifer Iacopelli, author of Game, Set, Match, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your

This weekend, the world is celebrating the second most important romance holiday in February (see last week?s episode for the most important)?Valentine?s Day! To lean into the traditions of the day, we thought we?d offer you a dozen roses this week, in the form of books! We?re taking the topic broadly?from character names, to author names, to rose scented things, to roses on the page ? historical, contemporary, mafia and more?there?s something in here for everyone. ?

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Notes

Ladyhawke is a 1985 movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer, and Matthew Broderick.

Go see ?Wuthering Heights? if you want! It has Jacob Elordi ( even though Heathcliff should be a man of color) and Margot Robbie, but mostly it?s about capturing a vibe.

Sinners was terrific, it stars Michael B Jordan playing twins, was nominated for a record-breaking 16 Oscars, and includes both an extraordinary sequence about the history of music and a hero who enjoys a meal.

Well, we actually talked about a bunch of rose adjacent stuff outside of our official dozen roses. Here they are:

Rose DeWitt Bukater from TitanicRose Nylund from The Golden Girls defending MinnesotaThe first book in Lorraine Heath?s Rogues and Roses series is A Duke of Her OwnSJ Tilly (who we think is great) has an epistolary romance called Dear RosieOrca is the official name of the killer whaleWe wouldn?t wish Hyperemesis gravidarum on anyonePlease don?t fuck around with measles?get your kids vaccinated and your titers checkedYou should probably read The Red before you read The RoseThe covers and/or stepbacks of Sarah?s Rules of Scoundrels series feature roses, and in One Good Earl Deserves a Lover, Pippa is breeding rosesLilah Rose is the name of the heroine in A Duke Worth Falling ForWe love author Stephanie RoseHere?s a list of romances with rose in the title, and another list of books with characters named Rose.

Jen will be at Babe?s Sports Bar on Thursday, Feb 12, 2026 to talk about Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato and at the White Oak Library in Romeoville at 10:30am on Saturday February 21, 2026.

On Saturday, March 7th, Sarah will be at the Ballrooms and Beyond Conference in Bristol, RI. The event is free, but registration is required. Also, there?s a (not free) cocktail party!

SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout?s The Primal of Blood and Bone limited edition paperback, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.Harpercollins, publishers of AT Qureshi?s The Baby Dragon Bookshop, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lyx Books, publishers of Brittany Cherry?s Eleanor & Grey, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Tarina Deaton, author of Day in the Knight, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon,

It?s finally happened! In a perfect Derek Craven Day celebration, our Trailblazer conversations continue this week with thee Lisa Kleypas, historical romance royalty, who changed the game when she brought working class heroes to historicals. We discuss her four decades of work in romance, from historical to contemporary to magical realism and now into historical fiction, touching on the Kleypas hero, the way she builds series, and the ways that she continues to push herself as a storyteller. And yes, she was kind enough to play a round of Derek Craven Would Never.

We are so grateful to Lisa Kleypas for making time for us, for her amazing books, and for Derek Craven Day.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Lisa Kleypas Books Mentioned This EpisodeThen Came You by Lisa KleypasDreaming of You by Lisa KleypasChasing Cassandra by Lisa KleypasForever My Love by Lisa KleypasThe Vallerands Series by Lisa KleypasThe Wallflowers Series by Lisa KleypasAgain the Magic by Lisa KleypasThe Devil in Winter by Lisa KleypasMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasLove in the Afternoon by Lisa KleypasDevil in Spring by Lisa KleypasHello Stranger by Lisa KleypasSugar Daddy by Lisa KleypasThe Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas
NotesWelcome Lisa Kleypas. This fall, she?s releasing her first historical fiction novel, The Queen of Lombard Street.People mentioned: editor Carolyn Nichols, editor Ellen Edwards, author Laura Kinsale, author Rebecca Brandewyne, author Stephanie Laurens, author Julia Quinn, editor Jen Enderlin, editor Carrie Feron, author Eloisa James, author Jennifer Crusie.Other notable mentions: Louisa May Alcott?s House in Concord MA, William Crockford the inspiration for Derek Craven, the observation about industry vs crime was (of course) made by Sanj, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson the inspiration for Dr. Garrett Gibson.Keep up with everything Derek Craven!
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Audrey Carlan?s Marriage Auction Series novellas Madam Alana and A Christmas Auction. Available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Learn more at TheBlueBoxPress.com.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Jennifer Iacopelli, author of Game, Set, Match, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/2/2/0820-trailblazer-lisa-kleypas If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many...

It?s a snowstorm, Jen?s from Chicago, and we?re feeling extra qualified to talk about Ice Planet Barbarians! It?s the book, and the series that took the world by storm back in 2015, and we?re revisiting the absolute powerhouse it was then, before it launched an entire subgenre of romance and changed the romance landscape. We?re also talking about Ruby Dixon?s clear skill, her obvious love of the genre, and all the ways she makes us both laugh and sigh.

If you have a favorite IPB book and you want to talk about it, come find us (and other romance lovers) on the Fated Mates Discord, which you can access by joining our patreon. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NotesHorsepower is definitely the same as measuring the weight of ice in golden retriever pounds. There?s lot of ways to support the people of Minnesota right now. A good clearinghouse site is Stand With Minnesota. You can also order directly from area bookstores: Tropes and Trifles, Black Garnet Books, or Birchbark Books, or use Bookshop.Org for any number of Minnesota stores. Monarca If you are looking to support whistle production, You can also support other Romancelandia efforts. Bree (from Kit Rocha) is part of a team of people that have printed over 150k whistles this month alone! Romancing the Vote will also be back up this summer, so look for information on that. Along with Monarca, Indivisible is also holding trainings to teach people how to document and record ICE. Get ready, Derek Craven Day is nigh!

It?s February, so lots of upcoming romance events to check out!

Feb 12, 2026: Jen will be at Babe?s Sports Bar to discuss a WNBA romance, Rooting Interest.Feb 14, 2026: the Free Library of Philadelphia will be holding a Heated Rivalry Event with Xio Axelrod, Rosie Danan & Joanna Shupe.Feb 21, 2026: Jen will be in Romeoville to discuss Romance.Feb 21, 2026: An online Heated Rivalry Trivia event.March 7, 2026: Sarah will join a group of historical romance authors for Ballrooms & Beyond, a daylong celebration of historical romance at Linden Place in Bristol, RI.

Oh, finally, some notes about Ice Planet Barbarians.

Our friend Dani Lacey was the host of Ice Planet Pod if you?re looking for read-alongs.The final girl is a horror trope!Our next read along is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of new special editions of:Donna Grant?s Dragon Kings novellasJennifer L. Armentrout?s From Blood and Ash, featuring sprayed edges and embossed and glossy cover design elements; andHeather Graham's Krewe of Hunter and Cafferty and Quinn novellas.Learn more at TheBlueBoxPress.com.RomantasyLetters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at RomantasyLetters.com.Denise Williams, author of The Re-Do List, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Jennifer Vido, author of Simplicity by the Sea, available in...

The brilliant Jayne Ann Krentz, romance trailblazer and royalty, joins us this week to talk about one of her favorite tropes--the shotgun wedding! We're talking all things forced marriage...how it differs from marriage of convenience, how it underscores the inherent conflict in romance, and how it often ends up being more like romantic suspense than one would expect! We also talk a bit about how secret babies (and babies in general) play into this trope. Did Jayne also say something that Sarah had to stop the interview to write down? Of course she did!

If you have favorite forced marriage/shotgun weddings, maybe you want to join the Fated Mates patreon? There, you get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the FM Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon?s Ice Planet Barbarians (you?re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The BooksThe Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann KrentzInto the Storm by Rachel GrantA Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaughtBroken Whispers by Neva AltajThe Duke?s Shotgun Wedding by Stacy ReidBecause the Baron BroodsStolen Touches by Neva AltajMafia Virgin by Mila FinelliThe King?s Spinster Bride by Ruby DixonRavished by Amanda Quick
NotesWelcome Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick. Her new book is The Shop on Hidden Lane. Listen to Jayne Ann Krentz's trailblazer interview.?Shotgun wedding? is an American phrase dating back to 1929, but forcing people to get married because of pregnancy, politics and patriarchy has been around for a long time.Get your own bank account, women.You can listen to our trailblazer interview with Elda Minger to hear more about the first condom in romance.A romantasy that Jen liked a lot (with no pregnancy plot, that?s why it?s in show notes instead of the photo array) is Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik.When talking about The King?s Spinster Bride, Jen kept saying ?epilogue? when she meant ?prologue.? I have no excuse for this.
SponsorsLexi Davis, author of Pretty Vicious, available in print and ebook at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.The Romantasy Letters, A new kind of romantic fantasy storytelling, delivered right to your door twice monthly. Use the code FATED to get 20% off your year's subscription. Learn more at romantasyletters.com.Sotto Voce Scents, candles for the romance lovers in your life. Go to sottovocescents.com and use code FATEDMATES for 10% off your order.Lee Taylor, author of A Satchel of Richards, available in print or ebook from Amazon or B&N.

As it's the beginning of 2026, we're talking about how we think about our reading years. What kind of strategies does Jen use? How is Sarah attempting to control the chaos? Which books do we already have on our TBR piles for 2026, and how do we structure our reading year to make ourselves happy and prepare for the podcast? We're also talking about some books by romance novelists who are publishing outside the romance genre this year.

If you want to talk to more people about reading strategies this year, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you?re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited

NotesVaccinations are good, actually. In between recording this episode and when it aired, Caroline Kennedy?s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, who wrote about her cancer diagnosis in the New Yorker, has sadly died.It will shock no one to learn that Jen learned about immunizations from books. In her childhood, the books The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald. We also recommend Everything is Tuberculosis by John Greene and On Immunity by Eula Biss.Amazon is forcing AI tools into the kindle books themselves, and it?s all awful. Use your own brain, we don?t know what else to say.
BooksEverything is Tuberculosis by John GreenOn Immunity by Eula BissThe Paris Match by Kate ClaybornThe Romance Revival by Christina LaurenShe Fell Away by Lenore NashAs Far as She Knew by Diana AwadThe Duke by Anna CowanLady X by Molly FaderThe Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 12 EditionAlphabet in Motion by Kelli Anderson
SponsorsAvon Books, publishers of Emma Alban's Like in Love with You, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lumi Gummies, microdose gummies available nationwide. Use the code FATEDMATES to get 30% off your first order. Learn more at LumiGummies.com.Caroline Linden, author of How to Get Away with Scandal, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Allison Bettes, author of Red Flag Warning, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/1/12/0817-setting-new-years-reading-resolutions If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Sarah's still catching up, but Jen, Adriana Herrera, and Joanna Shupe have seen it and they have a lot to say.

Your discoverabilibuddies are back! It's a new year which means we're dropping our Winter 2026 reads episode, in which we talk about the million trillion 2026 romance books coming out in January, February and March (ok, not a million trillion, but enough that Eric came out of his studio this morning with a thousand-yard stare!). As a reminder, we have not necessarily read all these books, but they are on our TBRs and should be on yours!

If you want more recommendations and more people with whom you can discuss 2026 romance novels, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you?re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

January 2026 New ReleasesChampagne Taste on a Bad Boy Budget by Zuri DayDrive me Crazy by Lizzy DentSilver & Blood by Jessie MihalikA Scandal Changes Everything by Josie JohnsDom-Com by Adriana AndersOnly on Gameday by Kristen CallihanJanae Sanders? Second Time Around by LaQuetteThe Lust Crusade by Jo SeguraThe Ex Dilemma by Elle WrightWish I May by Hannah MurrayAlmost One Night Stand by AJ PineThe Re-Do List by Denise WilliamsDefinitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah FoxChasing the Ring by Lauren RoweLast First Kiss by Julian WintersPlaying for Keeps by Alexandria BellefleurFalling for the Fake Lumberjack by Sara NeyInto the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollumWe Who Have No Gods by Liza AndersonWild Russian Storm by Odette Stone
February 2026 New ReleasesFalling for the Rabbi by Jennifer WilckSkate it Till You Make It by Rufaro Faith MazaruraSubatomic Love by Shannon KirkOver and Over by Becky HunterWhispers and Wildfire by Claire KingsleyThe Lovers by Kristen CastOne and Only by Maurene GooOnly Friends by Lydia San AndresThe Regency Switch by Helen GaskellIt?s All in Your Head by Sabina NordqvistBooks & Bewitchment by Isla JewellA Little Buzzed by Alys MurrayIn Her Spotlight by Amy SpaldingGet over it, April Evans by Ashley Herring BlakePersonal Bodyguard by Danielle HaasFree Falling by Jill Shalvis
March 2026 New ReleasesRears & Vices by EM CaroStolen by Her Viking Enemy by Roxy HarperHold Me Like a Grudge by Celine OngSparring Partners by Erin RoseFallen Hero by Riley Edwards

Another year, another chaotic New Year's episode, with one of our favorites, the Lauren half of Christina Lauren! Y'all. When we say headphones in, we mean HEADPHONES IN. This is not for your kids, or your mechanic, or Kate. Today, we're getting into the kink Sarah has been dancing around at Fated Mates Lives for years...the one Sandra Brown and Bertrice Small installed, and Lisa Kleypas and Christina Lauren continued in a grand, noble tradition. Strap in, friends, we're talking lactation kink! You're welcome!

Happy New Year, pervs. We love you.

If you want other people to discuss brand new romance authors with, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you?re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

BooksSunny Chandler?s Return by Sandra BrownAnother Dawn by Sandra BrownAll the Sweet Tomorrows by Bertrice SmallDreaming of You by Lisa KleypasFresh Cream by X CallistoThe Milky View by Luna StarkHeaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsMilking the Rabbi by Violet DareBigger by Casey CaneA Splash of Cream at the Alabaster Cafe by Astra RoseMorning Glory Milking Farm by CM NascostaThe Wild One by Daisy JaneFather Knows Best by Daisy JaneMountain Daddy?s Milk & Honey by Elena DawneDaisy Unchained by Elena DawnePS. You?re Intolerable by Julia WolfBeautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren
NotesLauren Billings of Christina Lauren as our special guest this New Year?s Eve, but frankly Christina has way too much sense for tonight?s nonsense. There?s a Twilight fic called Vulturi Dairy. It?s lactation kink, not adult breastfeeding. The AO3 tag is ?ABF? just in case you need to know. But it?s been around for a long time, including in classics like Dracula.We are embarrassed not by this episode, but by the fact that we didn?t do any MPreg recommendations.The book Lo mentioned that made her say ?Honey are you okay?? is Milk for Money by Amber Sunwell.Read up on induced lactation, which according to the Mayo Clinic ?might? be possible.You can find out more about the Alexa Riley AR Taboo pen name at their website. Be sure to check your content warnings before diving in over there.Rob Lowe!
SponsorsMichelle Dayton, author of Every Other New Year's Eve, available in print and ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Apple Books.Avon Books, publishers of Stacia Clark's We Who Will Die, available for preorder in print, ebook, audio, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Get it at Barnes & Noble,

It's that time of year, when we highlight some of our favorite new voices in romance! This week, we're talking about eight new writers who are making us excited about what's to come in historical, contemporary, cozy fantasy and more. Here's to reading them all for years to come!

From horse girls to divorcees, hair stylists to magical tea shop owners, basketball coaches to jewel thieves, there's something in here for everyone. It's going to be great for you!

Don't forget--you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not in the box. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

If you want other people to discuss brand new romance authors with, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. You can also ask for it as a gift, or give it as one at fatedmates.net/gift.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you?re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The BooksThe Best Worst Thing by Lauren OkieOnce Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley JordanCosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie MareHopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg RuoffSavannah Royals by Lindsay BarrettPlay You For It by Samantha SaldivarThe Trouble with Anna by Rachel GriffithsCelebrity Crush by Christy Swift
NotesCheck out our Debuts of 2024 episode here.It?s not frod (Friend + rod), it?s frotting. Here?s the wikipedia page. Sarah apologizes for not knowing the proper spelling.Jenny Hamilton wrote a terrific piece about sex in Heated Rivalry in this recurring feature on her blog called Anatomy of sex scene.The non-romance time travel book Jen mentioned was Version Control by Dexter Palmer.
SponsorsAtria Books, publishers of Ellis Hunter's Blood Bound, available for preorder in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.The Scandals & Swoons Festival, a new historical romance signing event in Orlando, Florida on January 18, 2026, learn more at swoonsfest.com. Mariah Scarpellini, author of The Titan's Rose, the first book in the Olympian?s Curse Saga. Learn more about the book and help Mariah build a world before her launch.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/S2025/12/15/0814-2025-romance-debuts If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We?re so excited for our deep dive of KJ Charles?s The Magpie Lord, first in her magical, gothic series, A Charm of Magpies. We talk about the clear chops displayed in this romance --strong plotting, complex characterization, and a beautiful understanding of what happily ever after looks like. And yes, we get to the tattoos. Obviously.

Don't forget--you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not in the box. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

If you want other people to discuss great romance series, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. You can also ask for it as a gift, or give it as one at fatedmates.net/gift.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NotesThis is our second KJ Charles deep dive. The first was Band Sinister. We were lucky enough to speak to KJ Charles about her work and her pathway through romance as part of our Trailblazers series. Listen to that interview here.It?s been the snowiest start to winter in Chicago since 1978! The Great Lakes can freeze, kind of. Here?s what the Great Lakes ice prediction for this year. The Ice Fishing town hall meeting, as promised. Heated Rivalry is great and Jen (and everyone else) thinks you should watch it. The Magpie Lord was published in 2013 by Samhain Publishing, which shut down in 2016.You can find all of our 80+ deep dive episodes in the Fated Mates Book Club.
SponsorsZara Doyle, author of Bianca and Her Wolf, available in print, ebook, audio or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Alexandra Cait, author of Storm of Fire, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.1001 Dark Nights, publishers of years of delicious romance novellas and collections. The imprint will shutter in 2026, so head over and load up on print versions of all your favorites right now.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/12/2/0813-the-magpie-lord If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

00:00 Wintr Bantr

08:17 Discor Bantr

14:40 AD: BIANCA AND HER WOLF

16:43 Best of 2025 Book Box

20:25 KJ Charles

28:36 The Samhain Publishing Story

32:10 AD: STORM OF FIRE

34:17 The Samhain Publishing Story

36:24 The Magpie Lord

43:19 It's Bad Magic

48:06 AD: 1001 DARK NIGHTS

50:19 Two For Joy

59:28 AD: LUMI GUMMIES

1:01:05 Curses & [in]Fluences

1:10:53 The Romance Pacing

1:19:51 Sex and the Ether

1:31:01 The End

1:40:42 Outro

It's winter, which means that it's time to get cozy, build a blanket nest on the couch, and read a million books one right after the other in the great tradition of our ancient forbears. Today, we're talking about series that deliver one banger after another and, yes, that also bang. We'll talk historicals, contemporaries, and of course, the paranormal series that started it all for us.

Don't forget--you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not in the box. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

If you want other people to discuss great romance series, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. You can also ask for it as a gift, or give it as one at fatedmates.net/gift.

Our next read along will be KJ Charles's The Magpie Lord. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesGo to Sarah?s site to sign up for her newsletter. Apparently, it?s going to be a snowy winter because of squirrels, the Farmer?s Almanac is over, and social media is ruining your life and your brain, or maybe it?s just your whole damn phone. Heated Rivalry, baby. Also this fall, the CW has unveiled a bunch of movies based on Harlequin books, including Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell, Mason Deaver?s YA romance I Wish You All the Best and in January we get Season 4 of Bridgerton, and Netflix's adaptation of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation. Graphic Audio has adapted a bunch of your favorite books, not just Kate Daniels.A graphic of the Beverly Jenkins universe.Here?s a cool way to look at the connections from Lorraine Heath?s Scoundrels of St. James series.Sarah misses Romantic Times magazine.
BooksImmortals After Dark by Kresley ColeThe Game Maker Series by Kresley ColeKate Daniels by Ilona AndrewsThe Cynster Family by Stephanie LaurensPennyroyal Green by Julie Anne LongThe Beverly Jenkins UniverseThe Game Changer Series by Rachel ReidThe Irish Shifters by Theodora TaylorTemperance Falls by London HaleHis Duchess?s Lovers by Elizabeth RoubaixScoundrels of St. James by Lorraine HeathThe Toronto Series by Farrah HeronIce Planet Barbarians by Ruby DixonThe Undone series by Payton CorinneFast Track Billionaires by Amanda CinelliBourbon Brothers by Reese RyanThe Shieldmaiden Sisters by Lucy Morris
SponsorsZara Doyle, author of Tanya and Her Wolf, available in print, ebook, audio or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Jenny Alexandra, authors of Santa Cutie, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Bailey Seaborn, author of Peppermint Bark, No Bite, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Blue Box Press, publishers of JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood: 20th Anniversary Insider's Guide, available in hardcover, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/12/1/0812-bingeable-romance-series-update If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky,

The end of the year is nigh, and it's our holiday romance novel episode! We're talking about a collection of romances that are entirely new to us (except for the one moment where Sarah talks about that old McNaught short story that installed all her cold-weather romance buttons). We've got Austen retellings, Regency cats, characters playing with holiday toys, CIA agents and, of course, some sexy Santas. You deserve nice things.

Don't forget--you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not in the box. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

If you want other people to discuss holiday (or other) romances, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be KJ Charles's The Magpie Lord. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesThere are several accounts as to where Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas. Sarah stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, which claims it inspired the song (by being the opposite of snowy), but there's also an account that he wrote it in La Quinta, CA at the La Quinta Hotel (not to be confused with just any LaQuinta). Check out our prior holiday romance episodes:2024, including Sara Raasch, Vivian Mae, Evie Rose, Timothy Janovsky & more2023, including Holly June Smith, Oona Grace, Kayla Grosse, Tracey Livesay & more2022: Here Comes Santa Claus2021: Short & Sexy Christmas Recs2019, including Adriana Herrera, Delilah Peters, and several anthologies2018, including Therese Beharrie, a Chanukah anthology, Cecilia Grant, Tiffany Reisz & more
BooksAnne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily HardingChristmas in Coconut Creek by Karissa KinwordMistletoe and Mishigas by MA WardellYours for the Season by Uzma JalaluddinThe Holiday Hookup List by Alexis DariaMake My Wish Come True by Caroline LindenClaiming His Christmas Wife by Dani CollinsAn Heir for Christmas by Caitlin CrewsThe Rescue by Julie WeaverChristmas in Spite of You by KC MillsSaint and the Queen by DesireeDate Night in December by Jaqueline SnoweSanta?s Baby by Lacey Hawthorne
SponsorsJenny Alexandra, authors of Santa Cutie, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.LaQuette, author of The King's Pregnancy Proposition, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Ginny B Moore, author of How the Rogue Stole Christmas, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.William Morrow Books, publishers of Olivia Dade's Second Chance Romance, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/11/23/0811-holiday-romances If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

It's that time of year! We're talking about the Best Romance Novels of 2025. We've chosen ten books that we love and that cover a range of historical, contemporary and paranormal, featuring romance with werewolves and cowboys, vaudeville actresses and vikings, Dukes and the actual Devil.

This year, you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not available. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

We love the idea of you gifting yourself this box (you deserve it!), but maybe you?d like to slide into someone?s text messages with the link as a very excellent gift for you! Or?you can do what Sarah does, and buy the box and spread the love around?sending each of the books to someone on your list or wrapping them up and popping them in your local Little Free Library. Let us know what you end up doing with these fabulous books, and don?t forget to tag us on Instagram or Threads or Bluesky when you unbox!

Check out our ?Best Romance Novels? lists from previous years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. (We were 5 minutes old in 2018 and didn?t do a list that year), and please tell us what your favorite books of 2025 were!

If you want other people to discuss this list with, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be KJ Charles's The Magpie Lord. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The BooksFan Service by Rosie Danan  Scoundrel, Take Me Away by Louisa Darling Son Of The Morning by Akwaeke Emezi Tempest Of Desire by Lorraine Heath Into The Woods by Jenny Holiday  Lazarus, Home from the War by E.H. Lupton  A Showgirl?s Rules For Falling In Love by Alice Murphy  The Bone King And The Starling by Elisabeth Stephens  Some Kind Of Famous by Ava Wilder  Cowboy It?s Cold Outside by Maisey Yates
SponsorsLyx Books, publishers of Selina Mae's Lessons in Faking, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. (We mistakenly called this YA in the ad read. It is New Adult.)Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Darcy Green, author of After the Siren, available in print or ebook at Amazon, Kobo, and Apple Books.Zara Doyle, author of Emma and Her Wolf, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/11/17/best-romance-novels-of-2025 If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We had a great week, and so we decided we all need nice things, which means it's time to just talk about the stuff we love in romance. We're talking about our favorite microtropes in romance novels--the things that give us pure shots of joy. There's all sorts of stuff in here: contemporaries, historicals, paranormals, mafia, hockey, tattoos, piercings, kilts, families getting their comeuppance, and much much more.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Our next read along will be KJ Charles's The Magpie Lord. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesIt?s not too early to donate to our Fated States Giving Circle, or maybe you want to Run for Something. You can check out the Collections page for more great book lists (made by humans!), and we also talked about the breeding kink episode in case you want to see just how unhinged we get on New Year?s Eve.The Mandela Effect is in fact named after Nelson Mandela.  Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a researcher who has described universal pleasure centers.Monkey Island is a real place called Cayo off the coast of Puerto Rico  or a video game. Here?s an amazing dissection of a microtrope beloved by Mary Balogh: stern men who can?t stop skinny dipping.If you are in Brooklyn this week, stop by on Thursday November 13, 2025 to see Sarah and several other authors from the Ladies in Waiting collection. 
BooksHer Naughty Holiday by Tiffany ReiszThe Billionaire?s Bargain by Naima SimoneThe Beast Prince by Marian PereraLothaire by Kresley ColeLord of Scoundrels by Loretta ChaseThe Bride by Julie GarwoodMafia Mistress by Mila FinelliMister O by Lauren BlakeleySon of the Morning by Akwaeke EmeziGentle Rogue by Johanna LindseyRedemption by Nikki SloaneFunny Feelings by Tarah DeWittHellfire Riders: Jack and Lily by Kati WildeTempest by Beverly JenkinsMountain Boss by SJ TillyBeautiful Sinner by Sophie JordanThe Hostage Bargain by Annika MartinHans by SJ TillyStreams and Schemes by Rebecca KinkadePuck Me Secretly by Odette StoneKiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsHeated Rivalry by Rachel ReidLead by Kylie ScottOops Baby for the Mafia Boss by Evie Rose
SponsorsLily Riley, author of Phoenix's Last Heist, available in print and ebook at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Kylie Scott, author of So My Ex-Boyfriend is a Serial Killer, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/11/10/s0809-our-favorite-romance-microtropes If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We definitely have a hope became reality hangover this morning, but we also have a very fun episode for you today! We're talking romance shorts -- not novellas, not short novels, but actual short stories under 15,000 words (or about 50 pages). We talk about why this is such a difficult goal to hit, about why romance lends itself to longer formats, and about why short fiction is a really great way to keep reading when things feel chaotic.

We also chat about Sarah's new short story, a part of the Ladies in Waiting anthology, out this week and providing minor characters from Jane Austen their own happily ever afters. Sarah is joined by romance greats Diana Quincy, Nikki Payne and Eloisa James, among others. Get the collection at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Also, we want to take a moment to send enormous thanks to everyone who donated to the Fated States Giving Circle at The States Project this year ? those donations were gamechangers ? last night we expanded our majority in the VA House, and secured a Democratic Trifecta in Virginia! As ever, we?re so proud to stand and fight with you!

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Our next read along will be KJ Charles's The Magpie Lord. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesThe Ladies in Waiting anthology was released this week, and in the anthology, authors wrote HEAs for minor Austen characters. Sarah wrote about Miss Bates from Emma. Sarah has a few short stories: The Bladesmith Queen, a Medieval short available with her newsletter signup; "Fire That Lasts," and a YA short in the Generation Wonder anthology. The duke who has a sheep is in a novella called A Duke Worth Falling For. Sarah asked Threads for recs of romance short stories and that?s where many of these stories came from, but there are many more we didn?t get to. So check it out.There are lots of news articles and independent essays about why people are reading less, college kids are reading less, and children are reading less, But also, the decline of reading has been something we?ve been talking about for years.Check out the Read Me Romance podcast and Audible Originals for other pieces of original short fiction.
BooksLadies in Waiting: Jane Austen?s Unsung CharactersNo Taste Like Home by Nisha Sharma Falling for Nola by Katie ReusHis Duchess?s Lovers series by Elizabeth RoubaixGive it To Me by Angelina M LopezHands on Learning by Maggie Eliot Remedy for a Rake by Ginny MooreThe Worst Possible Thing by Melissa KendallWhile it Was Storming by Cara DionThe Greymere Cliffs by Anne KnightBooks & Broadswords by Jessie MihalikCynders & Ashe by Elizabeth Boyle Splash Me by Laura LovelyWhispers of Love by Jayashree GopalTen Things I Loathe About You by Leslie VollardThe Spicy Bites anthologiesThe Bladesmith Queen by Sarah MacLeanFire that Lasts by Sarah MacLean
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Official Blood and Ash Coloring Book, available in print at Amazon, B&N, or wherever you get your books.Avon Books, publishers of Sasha Laurens's When I Picture You, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.William Morrow, publishers of Akwaeke Emezi's Son of the Morning, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books, with your monthly...

It's Halloween which means we're talking about monsters (complimentary)! We've done devils and witches and an entire season on monsters of all ilk, but we haven't done demons yet, and so here we are! Come one come all as Sarah confesses one of her weirdest (charming) kinks and we discuss the age-old adage: "If a demon's horns aren't sexual organs, why are they even there?" We're heading back to the early 00s on this one, so headphones in because who knows what we're going to talk about?! Definitely not us!

This week also marks our 7th anniversary, so we're feeling just a little emotional (grateful). Thank you for being with us, whether this is your first episode or your almost four hundredth. We love you.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

NotesWe?ve done some serious Halloween episodes and also some silly ones. And all of season one was the Immortals After Dark series. The devil is just the most powerful demon in Christian mythology, and apparently so are incubi and succubi. Tim Curry in Legend is actually nothing at all like David Bowie in Labyrinth.
BooksSweet Ruin by Kresley ColeHot as Hades by Alisha RaiSuccubus Blues by Richelle MeadeDealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte SteinPleasure Unbound by Larissa IoneI Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend by Jessica CageKiss of a Demon King by Kresley ColeMacRieve by Kresley ColeDemon from the Dark by Kresley ColeA Rogue?s Proposal by Stephanie LaurensA Witch?s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah HawleyThe Devil She Knows by Alexandria BellefleurDemon Lover by Heather GuerreDionysus in Wisconsin by EH Lupton
SponsorsHarperCollins, publishers of N.E. Davenport's Our Vicious Oaths, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books, with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, or wherever you get your books.Rachel Runya Katz, author of Isn't it Obvious, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.Zara Doyle, author of Tori and her Wolf, available in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Jessica Thomas, author of Dare Me, Ellie, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

It's Gorilla Twins Week! We couldn't be happier to be talking about The Earl Takes All, a book we love so much we gave it a nickname that all of Romancelandia uses now. Whether you're reading it for the first time or the fiftieth, we're so happy to have you. We talk about Jane Goodall, Romance Gorillas, Lorraine Heath's brilliant mind, how she's easily a top-five romance novelist and possibly the best of them when it comes to writing conflict, and just how much we love a bonkers historical.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

NotesIt?s not too late to join the The Fated States Giving Circle, 25 people who give in October will receive a copy of Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen's Unsung Characters, featuring Sarah's novella about Emma's Miss Bates.This is our second Lorraine Heath deep dive episode, because she writes a banger. Listen to our deep dive of Waking Up With the Duke. According to search, we?ve mentioned Gorilla Twins (aka The Earl Takes All) at least 34 times on the podcast. Sorry not sorry.The hallmark movie Adventures in Love & Birding is based on Birding with Benefits by Sarah Dubb. Apparently the birding community has some feedback on the bird situation of the movie. It?s Romance Bird! It?s Romance dormouse! It?s Romance Pig! Rest in Peace Jane Goodall. Famous Last Words is a show where you get to leave your burn book, and Jane Goodall?s was the first episode. Our episodes will be 100 hours each, so plan accordingly. The history of influenza. Vaccines work. Go get a flu shot. Some more information about mountain gorillas. JK. It?s Rune Week!
SponsorsCharis Michaels, author of Claiming the Princess, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Elizabeth Roubaix, author of the His Duchess's Lovers collection, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Sotto Voce Scents. Go to sottovocescents.com and use code FATEDMATES2025 for 25% off your order.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/10/21/0806-the-earl-takes-all-by-lorraine-heath-gorilla-twins If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

How is it possible we've never done a governess episode? And how is it possible Louisa Darling hasn't been a guest on the pod yet? We're rectifying both of these injustices this week. We talk about Jane Eyre, The Sound of Music and other primordial governesses, and discuss exactly what kind of buttons these books installed--almost entirely thanks to old school historicals. We also talk about how governess books are some of the only books in which we will suffer a child, and yes, we shout out the nannies, too!

Louisa Darling is the pen name of Louisa Edwards and Lily Everett, and the author of Don?t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels, Where Have All the Scoundrels Gone, and Scoundrel, Take Me Away.

Our next read along is Gorilla Twins, AKA Lorraine Heath's The Earl Takes All. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

(Apologies for the subpar audio quality.)

NotesLearn more about The States Project and donate to the Fated States Giving Circle to keep Virginia blue this November.Welcome historical author Louisa Darling. She?s written contemporary romance as Louisa Edwards and women?s fiction as Lily Everett. She imprinted on Jayne Eyre and worked as an editorial assistant for Leslie Gelbman at Berkley, who edited Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz.Maybe all those early governess books were really about The Sound of Music. We talked about the Molly O?Keefe series that included Wait For It in season 7, and about Vanessa Riley and wet nurses when we had Kennedy Ryan on in season 2. Finally, our next deep dive will be Gorilla Twins. The actual title, of course, is The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath.
The BooksDon?t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels by Louisa DarlingWhere Have All the Scoundrels Gone by Louisa DarlingScoundrel, Take Me Away by Louisa DarlingRules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer AshleyA Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa RileyThe Duke Who Ravished Me by Diana QuincyDeception by Amanda QuickSnowed In with the Viking by Lucy MorrisSins of a Wicked Duke by Sophie JordanThe Game and the Governess By Kate NobleThe Lie and the Lady by Kate NobleThe Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale Married by Morning by Lisa KleypasIt Takes Two to Tumble by Cat SebastianThe Nanny is Off Limits by QB TylerRafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon
SponsorsHarpercollins, publishers of Lindsay Kelk's Christmas Fling, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Andie J. Christopher, author of Faster, available in print, ebook, audiobook, with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, or wherever you get your books.Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.Katherine Grant, author of The Widower Without a Will, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/10/14/s0805-governesses-with-louisa-darling If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're thinking about Chicago, DC, and LA this week, and standing in solidarity with the people living and resisting in those cities. While reading isn't action, it can supplement it, and keep us joyful as we do the hard work of standing up. To that end, this week, we're recommending books that feature Chicago, Washington, DC & Los Angeles as settings. We're also sharing resources and ways you can stay informed, help communities of immigrants, and get involved in whatever way possible.

Note: We recorded this episode just as the National Guard was sent to Portland, Oregon, which is why Portland-set romances are not included in this episode. Please feel free to share your favorite romances set there in comments or on social media. Tag us so we can share!

Our next read along is Gorilla Twins, AKA Lorraine Heath's The Earl Takes All. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

The NotesLearn more about Ramón Ayala, the King of the Accordion.There goes your social life. It's too late to go to The Gothenburg Book Festival this year, but there?s always next year. One of the first internationally known Swedish romance writers is Simona Ahrnstedt. Crime fiction is a big deal in Sweden, and Sarah met Camilla Läckberg and Anders de la Motte.Terrible awful things happening in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Portland. Many of these raids are apparently being filmed to make propaganda for the regime. Support local, independent news organizations in your town. This is how you can find out information about what is going on across the country. You might start by checking out: Unraveled Press, Block Club Chicago, The Triibe, LA Taco, WBEZ chicago or your local NPR station, The Chicago Sun-Times. You should also find local organizations that do work you care about and find a way to support them. In Chicago, for example, two vital organizations are The Brave Space Alliance and The Love Fridge. And, find out who is supporting immigrants where you live and find out what they need and how you can support their work. For example, The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Illinois, and CHIRLA, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA.Find a local Latinx-owned bookstore near you by using this list from the Latinos In Publishing account.  Here's a list of Latinx bookstores in LA if you're looking there.The Chicago North Romance Writers hosts a writing conference called Spring Fling, it?s happening in April of 2026. Some of the great people Jen has met from the group or around town at local romance events: Pamala Knight, Shannyn Schroeder, Kelly Farmer, Victoria Hamel, Kathy Douglass, and Chandra Blumberg. Find other people in your community who are working to fight authoritarianism and tyranny at Mobilize. Not sure how to contact your reps? Try using 5 Calls and Resistbot. You, too, can Run for Something. It?s not too late to donate money to our Giving Circle for the upcoming election in Virginia.Listen to Amanda Litman from Run For Something on Fated MatesListen to Melissa Walker from The States Project on Fated Mates
BooksNoelle the First by Nicole FallsI?ll Get Back to You by Becca GrischowThe Matched to Perfection Series by Priscilla OliverasThe Vega Family Love Stories by Natalie CañaThe Crowne Legacy Series by Sherelle GreenThe Bollywood Bride by Sonali DevThe Curse Bearer Series by Veronica RothStars in Your Eyes by Kacen CallenderThe Eastside Brewery Series by Mia HopkinsThe Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene GooThe Girl Who Knew Too Much by Jayne Ann KrentzHis Girl Hollywood by Maureen Lee LenkerThe Sapphire Cove Series by C. Travis RiceLove Will Always Remember by Tracey LivesaySomething Cheeky by Thien-Kim LamStreams and Schemes by Rebecca KincadeThe RestFor even more info about this episode, and to...

It's October, which means we're thinking about fall, which comes with spice, heat and hanging out under the blankets! Today, our Fall 2025 romance novel preview, guaranteed to fill your TBR pile. There?s something here for everyone ? historicals, contemporaries, a splash of magic, princesses, superheroes, time-travel, widows, F1 drivers...a real ideal dinner party roster.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Books

September Releases

Faster by Andie J. ChristopherThe Earl That Got Away by Diana QuincyResisting the Forbidden Widow by Maggie WestonThe Scot's Seduction Megan FramptonThe Dreamer and the Deep Space Warrior by TK Tucker

October Releases

Hell's Heresies by Kat D. CoffinFemale Fantasy by Iman Hariri-KiaWrecking Caine by Amelia SheaA Scar in the Bone by Sophie JordanCowboy, It's Cold Outside by Maisey YatesStrings Attached by Noel BaileyA Pack for Winter by Eliana LeeIsn?t It Obvious by Rachel Runya KatzLondon Calling by Rita GordonBackslide by Nora DahliaPlay You For It by Samantha SaldivarThe Devil She Knows by Alexandria BellefleurAll of us Murderers by KJ CharlesOnly Rakes Need Apply by Kate PearceJulia Song Is Undateable by Susan LeeSome Kind of Famous by Ava WilderA Star Is Scorned by Maureen Lee LenkerBlue Collar Billionaire by Amy AndrewsOnce Upon a Courtesan by Jess MichaelsClaiming the Princess by Charis Michaels Heartsick by Kristina ForrestReel Love by Addie Woolridge

November Releases

The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose Robyn GreenNot You Again by Erin La RosaThese Violet Delights by Madeleine RouxAll Superheroes Need Photos Ops by Elizabeth StephensViolet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily KrempholtzCall Me Anytime by Max MonroeThe Maid of Sherwood Forest by Sian Ann BesseyPick Me by Victoria SchadeEllie Hayes and the Himbos by Vanessa KingNext Time Will be our Turn by Jesse Q SutantoSon of the Morning by Akwaeke EmeziLadies in Waiting: Jane Austen?s Unsung Characters Big Sky Safe House by Juno RushdanSnowbound and Royally Forbidden by Maya BlakeThe Reluctant Reaper by MaryJanice DavidsonMidnight Book Club by E.W. Anderson

December Releases

Bodyguard Affair by Amy LeeAudrey Lane Stirs the Pot by Alexis HallSomething Wicked by Falon BallardHer Time Traveling Duke by Bryn DonovanHow to Grieve like a Victorian by Amy Carol ReevesA Most Worthy Husband by Faye DelacourLove letters for Other People by Shaylin GandhiSparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal
SponsorsJaylee Austin, BL Lucas, Tegan Lleuad, Brie Blackmore, RM Fire, & Natasha Wilco, authors of Monsters in Moonlight series, six books available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.HarperCollins, publishers of Diana Quincy's The Earl That Got Away, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Pippa Grant, author of The Spite Date, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Jamie Varon, author of Charlie Quinn Lets Go, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/9/12/0803-fall-2025-preview If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all...

Our fave, Adriana Herrera, is with us this week to talk about feminism, romance, and how the two intersect. We talk about the history of the genre, about the evolution of feminism within it, and about what we want from the texts we're reading now, as the world does whatever it is it's doing. Oh, and we recommend some feminist romance, because of course we do.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Notes

Welcome back to the podcast, Adriana Herrera. Her first time on the podcast was way back in Season One, talking about Bowen and Mariketa, and then there were all these other times we?ve talked with her or about her books. Her latest project is the After the End kickstarter, which was just ending as this podcast aired. But you might be able to get in on it for a few more days if you act fast. 

Choice feminism isn?t the way, even if you?re Charlotte from Sex in the City? why did Jen think it was Samantha? Because memory is weird, okay. 

In 2025, the New York Times reports that 350k Black women have lost their jobs and the goal of the administration broadly seems to be resegregation. 

We recommend books about feminism below, from beginner to advanced. But we?ve also collected some web-based resources you might want to check out: 

The Race to Innocence: watch this TikTok or read this 1998 paper by Fellows & Razack which first defined the phenomenon.Intersectionality: This idea was first defined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. You can read more about the basics of intersectionality here, here, or here.Feminist Theory: The Four Waves of Feminism explained; The Uses of the Erotic: the Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde; No Offense by Jia Tolentino.Transmisogyny: Transmisogyny defined; why trans rights are human rights, and why feminism must support trans people.
BooksWicked Deeds on a Winter?s Night by Kresley ColeHold by Claire KentFanta C by Sandra BrownDarling Obstacles by Barbara BoswellA Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana HerreraDangerous Men and Adventurous WomenCareless Whispers by Synithia WilliamsThe Bone King and the Starling by Elizabeth StephensHeart of Blood and Ashes by Milla VaneSpark of the Everflame by Penn Cole Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine GonzalesAin?t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsThe Bright Falls series by Ashley Herring BlakeTen Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLeanPreferential Treatment by Heather GuerreStreams and Schemes by Rebecca KinkadeAll About Love by bell hooksFeminism, Interrupted by Lola OlufemiThe Portable Feminist ReaderThe Trouble with White Women by Kyla Schuller
SponsorsMelody Beckett, author of Alien Desire, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.HarperCollins, publishers of A. T. Qureshi's The Baby Dragon Bakery, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Pippa Grant, author of The Spite Date, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/feminism-in-romance If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on

Season Eight! How is it possible you're all still here?! We're so incredibly thrilled to have you all with us for another season. We've got big plans for talking to your favorite people, getting under the hood of your favorite tropes, and filling your TBR pile with your new favorite books. We quickly find ourselves in the deep end, talking about craft, criticism, and romance?s place in 2025. But first, we share what we did on our summer vacations.

Season Eight. Wowzer. Honestly, we love knowing you're out there. Thank you so much for listening.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

NotesIf you?re a writer looking to learn more about in person events for romance craft, check out Romancing the Craft in Anaheim this fall or Spring Fling which will be hosted by Chicago North Romance Writers in spring of 2026. Australia is not actually a land of criminals, but Tasmania is a dark place?the sky we mean. On the This is Love podcast, there was an episode about it! Check out the Night Sky app, which will help you identify the stars you are seeing in the night sky. Martha?s Vineyard is great, actually. But watch out for ticks and sharks. Speaking of Jaws, it?s a different vibe without that music and here?s more about John Williams and the power of the score.AP isn?t doing book reviews anymore, and that means that there will be less book news in papers across America. We talked about the decline of cultural criticism this week. Read more about music criticism and film criticism. This goes hand in hand with news that less Americans are reading for pleasure. Across storytelling mediums, people are noticing a breakdown in the ability to tell a story. Here?s a great essay about the difference between premise and narrative in film. Here?s a really interesting thread from Blue Sky wondering if Sci-Fi is a genre that?s dying.Ten years ago gay marriage passed and it felt like the world had changed, but they?re determined to roll them back. Keep fighting.

--

SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Kristen Ashley's Finding the One, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.HarperCollins, publishers of Laurie Gilmore's The Gingerbread Bakery, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Vasilisa Drake, author of A Bargain So Bloody, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books. Get the audiobook wherever you listen.Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/9/10/0801-season-eight-the-state-of-the-romance-union If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

This year's Fated Mates Live was a little different than those we've hosted before, as it was also launch day for Sarah's These Summer Storms! We celebrated in style in the Midwest, hosted by the fabulous team at indie bookstore (and romance lovers), Novel Neighbor and joined by our absolute favorite, Kate Clayborn.

So many Firebirds turned out to celebrate with us from across the midwest to help Sarah learn the intricacies of Midwestern Romance Heroes??, to talk about Derek Craven and others, and to celebrate Storms in style. The audience was, unfortunately, without microphones, so some of the event has been edited from this recording, but we hope you'll get the vibes -- and learn a little about the midwest! (We apologize for the Indiana and Connecticut shade within.)

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us -- we couldn't have asked for a better event, or a better launch day for These Summer Storms. Thank you for reading, for hanging, and for standing in an endless line to meet us and spend a little of your rainy Tuesday with us!

We?re wrapping up season seven by asking ourselves a simple question. Do we like this stuff? Yes? No? Maybe so? 

We?ll be back in two weeks for the start of Season Eight of the podcast. Honestly, we remain amazed that y?all are with us on this journey. In a world full of madness, you bring us calm, joy and purpose, and we couldn?t be more grateful for you. Thank you so much for listening.

While you?re waiting for Season Eight, you?re welcome to join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

NotesThe Komboucha Girl was sick of seeing her face back in 2019, and yet here we are. Hozier in concert was great, even if his parents were not stars on the NBC soap, Days of Our Lives. That was John and Marlena. The visuals on Eat Your Young and Nina Cried Power were especially moving and inspiring. Someone made a playlist of the Nina Cried power songs, and now is a great time to listen to protest music. The impact 50 Shades had on the sales of ties (and other things) was real. An article from MEL about the wet problem, not just in romance, I guess. (that?s a NSFW link based on the headline and content, okay.) Butts tie these two clips together: Miranda on SATC on ?are we doing this now??  and Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle thinking  ?some lady is going to want to do it her.? But overall, spit is important. Fucking her ass, saving her life is a quote from a Shayla Black book and this amazing review from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Truly a Romancelandia classic. EM Forester described flat and round characters in Aspects of the Novel (1927).?The second shift? is a phrase used by author Arlie Russell Hochschild to describe the housework and childrearing responsibilities faced by women after coming home from their day jobs.    Commuting is really bad for your wallet and bad for your health. Go to a farmer?s market if you must.
BooksFifty Shades of Grey by EL JamesWhat I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsThese Summer Storms by Sarah MacLeanNever Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLeanThe Devil of Downtown by Joanna ShupeHans by SJ TillyThe Club by Lauren RoweMerrily Ever After by Jenny Holiday Lothaire by Kresley ColeRide Steady by Kristen AshleyStuck Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope WardThe Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of the Hearts and Hidden Secrets: A Family Romance Collection featuring Devney Perry, Helena Hunting, Lauren Blakely and Tijan, available at Amazon.Rose Prendeville, author of Grace on the Rocks, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Avery Flynn, author of Head Witch in Charge, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/21/0749-season-seven-ends-with-the-kombucha-gif If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Joanna Shupe joins us this week to celebrate her new book, The Gilded Heiress, and talk about one of our favorite things?baddies with a heart of gold! We talk about the book, about our mutual love of criminals, of noble scoundrels, of con artists and basically anyone willing to do crime in the name of love. We also talk about how everything Gilded Age is back again, which?ugh. We love Joanna and her book ? come see us with her in Chicago on August 28th and in Brooklyn on September 9th.

You can get The Gilded Heiress right now in print, ebook or audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. 

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

NotesWelcome Joanna Shupe, who writes mafia romance as Mila Finelli. Next week, her historical The Gilded Heiress comes out next week. Earlier this summer, she released her latest in the New York State of Mafia series, Empire of Seduction. You can see her on book tour starting the week of August 26th, including with Jen in Chicago on August 28th. Pinkertons & Bow Street Runners were early cops and private investigators. Check out Joanna?s TikTok, which explores how the history of the Gilded Age is very relevant again: Tariffs are pretty bad, actually; the attempt to build an all white town in Arkansas, inspired by Apartheid South Africa, you can learn about Sundown Towns, Redlining, and racist housing covenants. Al Swearengen is a character on the show Deadwood based on a real person.The Gilded Heiress pays homage to Anastasia the Disney movie, which is itself a retelling of the story of Anastasia Romanov. The novel also explores the famous crime of the kidnapped Lindbergh Baby.
BooksGilded Heiress by Joanna ShupeEmpire of Seduction by Mila FinelliThe Devil of Downtown by Joanna ShupeAny Old Diamonds by KJ CharlesThe Player by Kresley ColeScoundrel, Take Me Away by Louisa DarlingFaking It by Jennifer CrusieThe Highwayman by Kerrigan ByrneDuke of Sin by Elizabeth HoytBaron by Joanna Shupe A Good Rogue is Hard to Find by Kelly BowenThe Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat SebastianHidden Sins by Selena MontgomeryThe Unwanted Wife by Natasha AndersPrivate Arrangements by Sherry ThomasThe Windflower by Laura LondonSomething Wilder by Christina LaurenDestiny?s Captive by Beverly JenkinsCaptured by Beverly JenkinsTo Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins
Sponsors: Amy Andrews, Pippa Roscoe, Rachael Stewart and Clare Connelly, authors of The Karma Club series, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Maureen Lee Lenker, author of His Girl Hollywood, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/18/0748-criminals-and-noble-scoundrels-with-joanna-shupe If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on

It?s Bodyguard Romance week, which feels impossible, honestly, considering we?ve definitely done this before, haven?t we? According to Eric and also the internet, we haven?t, which means we get to talk for the first time in seven seasons about why Bodyguards work so well for so many romance readers, including us! We talk about the basics ? the innate joy of having an Exasperated Man?? willing to put himself in front of a bullet for you, the absolute delight of the books that turn the whole thing on its head and make the protector the protected, and yes, Whitney Houston. Also, Jen makes a brilliant observation on surveillance culture and how it?s impacting romance. We?re keeping you safe from the baddies this week.  

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.  

NotesIn a recent interview Kevin Costner talked about his feelings about Whitney Houston. Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston?s versions of I Will Always Love You, Whitney?s isolated vocals on How Will I Know, and Whitney sang the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl in 1991 and the New Yorker article about it. Caroline has created a bodyguard collection featuring books across subgenres. The Big Easy is a movie with Dennis Quaid (he?s crazy now) and Ellen Barkin where he is a cop who uncovers corruption on the force. Everyone, it looks like this thing about not needing a PI license in the state of Wyoming is legit, go forth and spread the news.
BooksPrincess by Galen FoleyHans by SJ TillyWyoming Bodyguard by Danielle HaasThe Wilde Ways Series by Cynthia EdenTough Luck by Annabeth AlbertThe Billionaire?s Bodyguard by Emma HollySexy/Dangerous and Rare Danger by Beverly JenkinsBurned Dreams by Neva AltajA Duke to Remember by Kelly BowenAce of Hearts by Renee RoseKeep Her Safe QB Tyler
Sponsors:  Blue Box Press, publishers of the Duty and Desire: A Uniformed Heroes & Bodyguard anthology featuring Aurora Rose Reynolds, Kristen Ashley, Kylie Scott & Rebecca Zanetti available at Amazon. Hunter Snow, author of Gone Country, available at Amazon, B&N or wherever you get your books. Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/12/0747-bodyguards If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

 

We're back with a deep dive episode on one of our favorite Susan Elizabeth Phillips books, Natural Born Charmer. Jen thinks this one marks SEP's Imperial Period, and Sarah looks askance at the term romcom to describe romance novels. We're back on our bullsh*t, is what we're saying. We're talking plot, character, risk-taking, and how romances can feel wildly expansive.

This is our last deep dive of Season 7 -- more in Season 8, which begins in September. If you want to talk in depth about specific books, though, maybe you'd enjoy being a member of our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

NotesYou can get Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Natural Born Charmer at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.In season 2, we did a deep dive of an earlier Chicago Stars book, Nobody?s Baby But Mine. We also did an episode with Susan in season 3. It?s the interview that made us realize we should keep interviewing romance trailblazers. Jen was on Learning the Tropes to talk about another SEP book, Kiss an Angel. In 2003, the song Hey Ya by Outkast was number 1 for 9 weeks at the end of that year and into early 2004. In 2018, Rolling Stone ranked the song #4 in the top 100 songs of the 21st Century So Far. This article from Spin describes what it means when an artist is in their imperial period. Sleazy Burt Reynolds guy.Almost Famous (2000) is amazing movie about the rise and fall of a 70s rock band. A great thing happened during the baby races halftime show last week at a Las Vegas Aces game last week. Also at the Indiana Fever game.
SponsorsScarlett Xavier, author of Irish Fire and Forbidden Love, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Avon Books, publishers of Mason Deaver's The Build-a-Boyfriend Project, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Claire Trella Hill, author of Black and Deep Desires, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Avon Books, publishers of Holly Michelle's Last Night Was Fun, available in print, ebook or audio from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/4/0746-natural-born-charmer-by-susan-elizabeth-phillips If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

By request (and because Sarah needed books for her upcoming trip), we're talking about romance novels by Australian authors this week, with a nod to some New Zealanders as well. We discuss how historical romance has much maligned Australia, recommend some absolutely terrific books, many of which we've actually done deep dives on, and we talk about why so many Australian romances hit the spot with American readers.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along (next week!) is Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Natural Born Charmer. You can get it at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesFrench Kiss is not available on streamers and it's very upsetting for those of us who know the deep magic of Kevin Kline & Meg Ryan.Australia is not the nation of criminals historical romance novels would like you to believe, but a lot of criminals did get sent there over an 80 year period from 1788-1868.Sarah is going to talk to the Romance Writers of Australia and the  Romance Writers of New Zealand next month. Yes, she'll be going to Port Arthur in Tasmania to check out the place where all those criminals were sent.Victor Gadino illustrated the stepback for Dream Fever by Katherine SutcliffeMills & Boon is a British romance imprint, in North America these books are published under the name Harlequin. When Sarah talked about The Australians in the early years of Mills & Boon, she was wrong, and likely thinking of Diana Palmer's 1985 The Australian. The Australians series was a 12 book series in the early 2010s from Harlequin Presents. The book Raising the Stakes by Jess Dee is no longer available in Kindle, but maybe it is in other countries or maybe you downloaded it in the past? Check out her available titles here.
BooksDream Fever by Katherine SutcliffeThe Sydney Smoke Series by Amy AndrewsClaiming the Courtesan by Anna CampbellDevil?s Bride and the Cynster family by Stephanie Laurens (listen to the deep dive)Wildflowers, Lies, and It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Kylie Scott (listen to the deep dive of Kylie's Stage Dive series)Captivated and Act Your Age by Eve DangerfieldOffice Affair by Jess DeeThe Milvus Files by NR WalkerThe Last Binding Series by Freya MarskeA Baby in his In-Tray by Michelle DouglasThe Autumn Bride by Anne GracieThe Return of Her Billionaire Husband by Melanie MilburneFugitive Bride by Miranda Lee Home by Jezz De SilvaCaressed by Ice by Nalini Singh (listen to the deep dive)The Devil?s Submission by Nicola Davidson
SponsorsWorld Gone Wrong: A fictional chat show about friendship at the end of the world, available at audaciousmachinecreative.com and wherever you listen to podcasts.Sophie Morgan, author of Season of the Witch, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. Louisa Darling, author of Scoundrel Take Me Away, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/7/29/0745-australian-romance-authors If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If

It's been several years since the last time we talked about the allure of competency in romance, but it's a topic we adore, so here we are again, talking about characters with relentless competence and the characters who love them beyond measure. If you're new here, welcome! We're happy to have you!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Natural Born Charmer. You can get it at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

NotesThe These Summer Storms tour is a wrap, ending with Sarah in conversation with  Rebecca Baumann from the Lilly Library at the Mallow Run vineyard. That one movie with Keanu Reeves and a vineyard is called A Walk in the Clouds (1995). You can?t grow grapes anywhere, but you can grow them in a lot more places than you?d think. The Nora Roberts book about fossils called Birthright, and here?s the manga Dreaming of You. Look at all these editions of Wuthering Heights.The Airmont career series. Here?s a recent update on the search for Amelia Earhart?s plane from just a few weeks ago. Watch the video of Delta?s flight crew uniforms over time. Jen was interviewed by Lauren Sarner from the New York Post for an article about love triangles in pop culture because of the return of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Ranger vs Morelli has been going on for far too long, or maybe it?s over?We last officially talked about careers back in Season 2, episode 8.Speaking of fixers, you might enjoy the movie Michael Clayton.Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Our next deep dive is Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
BooksGeorgie All Along by Kate ClaybornOut with Lanterns by Hillary BowenA Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera  Single Player by Tara TaiDuke of My Heart by Kelly BowenPugs & Kisses by Farrah RochonWanted, A Gentleman by KJ CharlesCowboy, It?s Cold Outside by Maisey YatesEvernight by Kristen CallihanQueen Move by Kennedy RyanThe Fixer by Helenkay DimonKing by SJ Tilly
SponsorsHillary Bowen, author of Out With Lanterns, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.Wattpad Books, publisher of Z.W. Taylor's The Pack, available in print, ebook and audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/7/22/0744-jobs-careers-and-fixers-in-romance If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Our Trailblazer series continues with Pamela Sanderson, the first Native American author to write contemporary romance about Native characters in Native community. Pamela joins us to talk about her writing journey, about her decision to write and independently publish romance, about the need for more Native American romance in the world. We so enjoyed this conversation, and we?re grateful to Pamela for joining us to tell her story.

Listen to all the Trailblazer episodes.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

NotesPamela Sanderson is an enrolled citizen of the Karuk Tribe, located in northwest California on the Klamath River. Pamela also publishes in other genres as Pamela Rentz. People Mentioned this Episode: Louise Erdrich, N. Scott Momaday, Johanna Lindsay, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Stephen King, Anne Rice, On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves, Courntey Milan, Sarina Bowen, Love is a War Song by Danica Nava, Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Dare, Alexis Hall, Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman, the TV show North of North, The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, and Rebecca Roanhorse.Writing Workshops: Clarion West and Romancing the CraftThe Dear Author blog was an early, vocal fan of Pamela?s work. If you are interested in KidLit or have children, you should be familiar with Debbie Reese and her blog, American Indians in Children?s Literature.
Pamela's BooksHeartbeat BravesLovesick BravesSweetheart BravesCrooked Rock Braves
SponsorsBlue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer Probst's The Reluctant Flirt, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org. Kylie Scott, author of Wildflowers: An End of the World romance, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.World Gone Wrong: A fictional chat show about friendship at the end of the world, available at audaciousmachinecreative.com and wherever you listen to podcasts. Renée Ahdieh, author of Park Avenue, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/7/15/0743-trailblazer-pamela-sanderson If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Last night?s Fated Mates Live was so much fun, but now we?re back in your earholes. It?s time again for our annual Sarah MacLean deep dive (with no spoilers!). As per tradition, Jen asks Sarah a bunch of fun questions and forces Sarah to talk about her book. And it all ends with Julia Whalen reading two chapters of These Summer Storms!

It was a delight to see so many of you in St. Louis yesterday, and to everyone else, we?re just as glad you?re here with us today.

NotesIt?s finally time for These Summer Storms! And it might not be too late to see Sarah on book tour! Mary Kay Andrews is very fierce on Instagram, and we love her for it. You can also see her with Renee Adiah, author of the forthcoming Park Avenue, which she mentions at the end of the show.When the New York Times published their Best Books of the 21st Century so far, Sarah shared her ballot. Rhode Island has a long history of being associated with big money.On Inside the Actors Studio, the host James Lipton always ended with the same list of questions, known as the Pivot questions after their originator Bernard Pivot. Similarly, the New York Times column By the Book (Jen called it Get Booked, sorry for any confusion!) has a rotating list of questions, but some are very common. If you are interested in reading some of these columns, check out By The Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life, published in 2015. The books on Sarah?s nightstand were: The Second Coming by Carter Sherman, It?s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan, Can?t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan, and Full Bloom by Francesca Serritella. 
SponsorsKylie Scott, author of Wildflowers: An End of the World romance, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.1001 Dark Nights, publisher of Midnight Myths and Magic, available in print and ebook from Amazon. Mina Brower, author of A God of Moonlight and Stardust, available in print, ebook, and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Avon Books, publisher of Scotch on the Rocks, available in print, ebook, and audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're thrilled to have audiobook queen and Voice of the Summer (USA Today), Julia Whelan with us today! Aside from being the voice of Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins Reid, VE Schwab and Kristen Hannah, she's also an author of her own delicious books and the founder of Audiobrary, an audio book company that pays narrators on a royalty structure. She's here to talk about her journey to writing and to narrating, about the way she thinks about her work, her advocacy, and the world of audiobooks. We are so incredibly thrilled to have her!

Julia is also the narrator for Sarah's book, These Summer Storms, available next week wherever books are sold. The audiobook is perfection, and you can read it on Audible, LibroFM or Apple Music...or wherever you get your audiobooks.

There are still tickets to see Sarah on tour in NYC, Chicago, Winston-Salem, NC, Newport, RI, Cambridge, MA, Decatur, GA, or Franklin, IN. There are a handful of tickets still available for Fated Mates Live in St. Louis, MO on July 8th! Join us!

If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

NotesWelcome Julia Whelan, USA Today's voice of the summer, audiobook narrator extraordinaire and the founder of Audiobrary.  A Netflix movie of her book My Oxford Year is coming soon.Sarah wants you to know that she realized later that she was remembering the plot of The Girl on the Train when she was talking about the audiobook Gone Girl, but that they're both bangers. Like everything, AI is creeping into the audiobook world.An audiobook Julia recommends is Jess Walters?s Beautiful Ruins, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.
BooksThese Summer Storms by Sarah MacLeanThank You for Listening by Julia WhelanMy Oxford Year by Julia WhelanCasanova LLC by Julia WhelanGone Girl by Gillian FlynnAnimal Bodies by Suzanne RobertsHeroine by Mary Jane WellsAmerican Queen by Sierra Simone
SponsorsAvon Books, publishers of Alexandra Paige's An Irish Summer, available in print, ebook or audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Chelsea Fagan, author of The High Dive, available in print, ebook or audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.Alyxandra Harvey, author of A Deal with the Devil, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.MA Wardell, author of Stirring Spurs, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/7/1/0741-a-conversation-with-audiobook-narrator-julia-whelan If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're both staying very still in front of air conditioners this week, so that means we're very very happy to have a pile of summer reads at the ready! We're teeing up your piles of summer reads this week with our quarterly romance roundup! As a reminder, we haven't read most of these books -- but they're the ones toppling our TBR! As a reminder, preorders mean a lot more than they should these days, so if there's anything on this list that makes you go "oh, yes. that's for me," and you're able to preorder from your local bookstore (or from Pocket Books Bookshop with the code PREORDER) or reserve at your local library. The authors on this list thank you.

As a reminder, Sarah has a new book out on July 8th -- go see her on tour in NYC, Chicago, Winston-Salem, NC, Newport, RI, Cambridge, MA, Decatur, GA, or Franklin, IN. There are a handful of tickets still available for Fated Mates Live in St. Louis, MO on July 8th! Join us!

If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The Books

June

When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia SosaBest Summer Ever by Jessica CunsoloKeeping the Countess by Lille MooreAn Ancient Witch?s Guide to Modern Dating by Ceclia EdwardsSunny Side Up by Katie SturinoParty of Three by C. Travis RiceEliza and the Duke by Harper St. GeorgeSteel Horses & Leather Roads by Cher Terais

July 

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLeanEnemies with an Earl by Lizzie C. KozThe Summer You Were Mine by Jill FrancisGive Me a Reason by Jayci LeeBehind Frenemy Lines by Zen ChoHow Freaking Romantic by Emily HardingOne More Time by Emily S. MorrisTotally and Completely Fine by Elissa SussmanLove is a War Song by Danica NavaAugust Lane by Regina BlackOnly Lovers in the Building by Nadine GonzalezSweet Thing by Kate MeaderBad Luck Bride by Laura Lee GuhrkeScotch on the Rocks by Elliot FletcherRoll for Romance by Lenora WoodsNot Part of the Plan by Lucy ScoreSoulgazer by Maggie RapierThe Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. IsabelleCoffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by CB LeeA Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan 

August 

Heart Strings by Ivy FairbanksA Promise of Forever by Sheryl ListerThe Sea Witch by Eva LeighHis Forgotten Wife by Tara PammiYou?ve Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUsThe Fortune Hunter?s Guide to Love by Emma-Claire SundayMy Big Fat Vampire Wedding  by Jessica GadzialaZom Romcom by Olivia DadeKiss & Collide by Amanda WeaverThe Gilded Heiress by Joanna ShupeHere For a Good Time by Pyae Moe Thet WarThe Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara RaaschLove is an Open Book by Chandra BlumbergGabriela and His Grace by Liana De La RosaOnce Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley JordanA Waltz on the Wide Side by Erica RidleyMy Best Friend?s Earl by Bethany Bennett

September

Time for You by Elizabeth DavisBy the Horns by Ruby DixonIt Had to be Him by Adib KhorramDead Poet Sorority by Sofia ShelleyThe Haunting of William Thorn by Ben Alderson The Princess and the P.I. by Nikki Payne Tracing Her Stolen Identity by Katie MettnerTo Heist and to Hold by Christina BrittonHoney and Heat by Aurora Palit

This week, we're talking about romance's most common family: the dysfunctional one! Sarah wrote a book about one, so we're thinking about what makes them special to romance, and what sets the romantic dysfunctional family apart from the ones that live outside of the genre. Jen has five categories. There's a game involved. You can play along at home!

If you love this one, you can listen to our Daddy Issues (not the fun kind) episode with C. Travis Rice. And if you just want to listen to an episode about Daddies (the fun kind), we've got you.

Sarah's book, These Summer Storms is out in three weeks and she is going on tour! What's more, there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The Books The Filthy Rich Americans series by Nikki Sloan The Uptown Girls Series by Joanna ShupeThe Dukes in Disguise Series by Louisa DarlingAmerican Royalty by Tracey LivesayAlong Came Amor by Alexis Daria One and Only by Jenny HolidayThe Billionaire?s Bargain by Naima SimoneLead by Kylie ScottAfter Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. LopezDark Needs at Night?s Edge by Kresley ColeThe Player by Kresley ColePreferential Treatment by Heather GuerreDarkest Sins and Sweet Prison by Neva AltajThe Dangerous Royals Series by Annika MartinNatural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsDream a Dream by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsA Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaughtBeautiful Beast by Neva AltajWelcome to Temptation by Jennifer CrusieThe Scandal and Scoundrel Series by Sarah MacLeanThe Proposition by Judith IvoryThe Blue Cedar Falls Series by Jeanne ChinJust for the Summer by Abby JimenezThe Takeover Effect by Nisha SharmaThe Vega Family Love Stories Series by Natalie CanaMistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
NotesIf you love Derek Craven, check out  the newest entry at the Fated Mates Collections Department, Spectacular Spectacles courtesy of Sanj. You can listen to our Susan Elizabeth Phillips episode as you do your ?one a days.? (When we recorded all the eBooks were on sale, but they aren?t anymore. SORRY.)According to Psychology Today, there are 5 specific types of dysfunctional families.Taking the Finger, explained Jen called it a Drive-Thru in Dream a Little Dream, but she meant a DRIVE-IN. Maybe go to one if you want and report back, idk! Or the new version is this Rooftop Cinema Club, where you sit together with bluetooth headphones.A great discussion of why it?s problematic or damaging to always redeem the family, read this powerful essay about why queer people have the right to leave their harmful family members behind by Nathan Burgoine. 

Sponsors

Kristen Jennings, author of Lessons From a Tour Guide, available in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Amy James, author of Crash Test, available in print, ebook, or audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple or wherever you get your books.JL Birchwood, author of Power Ballad, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/6/17/0739-romances-dysfunctional-families If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably...

We're taking a second run at second chance romance this week, and while we intended to recommend a million books, we ended up talking about all the ways this trope really works and really doesn't work for us! We're talking about rekindling love, unrequited love, resurrecting old wounds, the unforgivable stuff and of course, pining. It's a long one, and yes, Jen is talking about present tense.

If you love this one, you can listen to our first Second Chance Romance episode with Priscilla Oliveras here.

It's that time of year again--Sarah's next book, These Summer Storms is out in July and she is going on tour! What's more, there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The BooksLove?s Encore by Rachel RyanQueen Move by Kennedy RyanRavishing the Heiress by Sherry ThomasDay of the Duchess by Sarah MacLeanDaring and the Duke by Sarah MacLeanBefore I Let Go by Kennedy RyanIf I Told You, I?d Have to Kiss You by Mae MarvelLeft of Forever by Tarah DeWittDesigning his Duchess by Gabrielle CarrA Lot Like Adios by Alexis DariaBroken by the Horde King by Zoey DravenIt Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Kylie ScottMake Me Hate You by Kandi SteinerDreams of Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole
NotesEveryone watches women?s sports. You can watch basketball, women?s soccera, and the new softball league. Get out there, go do stuff in your town! We had a second chance romance episode back in season 3 with Priscilla Oliveras.
Sponsors1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Dark Clouds and Bright Skies: A Grumpy Sunshine Collection, with novellas by Joanna Wylde, Kristen Proby, Larissa Ione and Laura Kaye, available in ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Ava Miles, author of The Hockey Experiment, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Meghan Quinn, author of Till Summer Do Us Part, available in print, ebook, or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Avon Books, publishers of Holly Michelle's Last Night Was Fun, available in print, ebook or audio from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/6/9/0738-a-second-chance-on-second-chance-romance If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Another deep dive episode, and this one feels like it shouldn't have taken so long! We're reading Run Posy Run, talking about the way Cate C. Wells walks a fine line of mafia romance while keeping the book on the morality chain side of the line from dark romance. We talk about heroines against the wall, heroes who have to suffer, the way violence fits into these romances, and about sex and how it's deployed in these books to enormous effect.

We love this one (as you all know), and we were so excited to go back to it and give it the deep read it deserved. You can find all of our deep dives at the Fated Mates Book Club.

It's that time of year again--Sarah's next book, These Summer Storms (complete with sexy, silent, deeply competent hero) is out in July and she is going on tour! What's more, there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The Book

Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells

NotesA boat, ship whatever, ran into the Brooklyn Bridge, and here?s a video of a woman who is a mariner explaining what might have happened. The Chicago River is an engineering marvel. In 1887, they reversed the river and sent it out to the Mississippi rather than having it flow into Lake Michigan. They were moving rivers around in Rhode Island because of Mayor SOMEBODY and his desire to turn Providence into the Venice of the United States. Waterfire is a Providence thing, but it isn?t the same as the water fire[s] in Cleveland. The greatest of the Great Lakes is Lake Superior, to be honest, and it?s not afraid to tell everyone about it. Station Eleven is a great book set in and around the Great Lakes. No one ever talks about Lake Huron except for Jenny Holiday. Great Lakes, Great Times!The New Jersey mob loved The Sopranos. There is a short story now available about Dario & Posy?s daughter called Made Man.The psychopath vs. sociopath continuum.  You can listen to our previous episodes for more about the difference between morality chain and dark romance. 
SponsorsPatricia Grayhall, author of A Place for Us, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Underlined: Where Books Are Life, a place for young readers to explore find their next book obsession along with quizzes, reading lists, book trailers and more. Visit getunderlined.com.Darci St. John, author of Racing Heart, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Avon Books, publishers of Alexis Daria's Along Came Amor, available in print, ebook or audio from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/6/3/0737-run-posy-run-by-cate-c-wells If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Sarah is over the moon that we're talking about celebrities again, especially because we're keeping it tight this time around and limiting it to celebrity/normal person romance (mostly -- Jen is ungovernable)! Yes, Sarah is going to talk about Perfect, but also we're going to talk about celebrities who fall for stranger normies, for normies they knew before they were celebrities, for normies who work with them, and for normies who protect them. The episode is 1200 books long and honestly, we're not sorry.

In case you wondered why Sarah is breaking her rule about talking about her own books, it's that time of year again! Her next book, These Summer Storms (complete with sexy, silent, deeply competent hero) is out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Cate C Wells's Run Posy Run, available right now in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited at Amazon, Apple Books, and Libro.fm.

The Books Perfect by Judith McNaughtAll The Feels by Olivia DadeThe Hollywood Jinx by Sariah WilsonFan Service by Rosie DananNot a Bad Boy by Louisa EdwardsLOL by Lucy Lennox & Molly MaddoxThe Mechanic by Reina TorresThe Stand-In by Lily ChuThe Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale32 Days in May by Betty CorrelloThe Bollywood Bride by Sonali DevGhosted by JM DarhowerSmall Town Swoon by Melanie HarlowJust Playing House by Farah HeronJust for the Holidays by Adriana HerreraWhen I Think of You by Myah ArielWhat I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsJust the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie JamesInto the Woods by Jenny HolidayNora Goes Off Script by Annabel MonaghanSet Piece by Lana SchwartzFunny You Should Ask by Elissa SussmanThe Mixtape by Brittainy CherryThe Bodyguard by Katherine CenterKeep Her Safe by QB Tyler
The NotesPilsen is a great Chicago neighborhood that has historically been home to Mexican-Americans, including stunning murals throughout the neighborhood. But also, that Chicago dust bowl of 2025 was not so great!  Summer book tour is upon us. Check out Sarah?s book tour, including dates for Fated Mates Live. In Chicago, Jen will be at The Last Chapter with Mia Sosa for her book When Javie Dumped Mari on June 30th and the Books in Bloom Event hosted by the Chicago North Romance Writers in July.Jen went out for Kennedy Ryan?s tour for her new book, Can?t Get Enough.We?ve had versions of the celebrity romance in previous seasons: the celebrity romance in season 4, way back in season 1 we did an episode on rock star romance, and sports romance with Jenny Nordbak in season 1, with Farrah Rochon in season 3, and Jessica Luther in season 6. And no, we haven't done a bodyguard episode, but check out Caroline's "I Can Be Your Bodyguard" collection! The primordial celebrity/normie romance for Jen is the movie Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. For Sarah, the primordial celebrity normie book was Perfect by Judith McNaught. As it turns out, Hugh Grant and Hugh Jackman are not the same person.
The SponsorsAlice Murphy, author of A Showgirl's Rules for Falling in Love, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple or wherever you get your books. Blue Box Press, publishers of Lexi Blake's Built to Last, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple,

One of the og romance tropes is on the table today -- we're talking about heroines who are on the shelf! It's not quite wallflowers, not quite ruined, not quite spinsters...it's a very particular flavor of unmarried woman, and one we basically only find in historicals (can you tell Sarah is writing?). We're talking about the subtle nuances of heroines on the shelf and honoring some of the classics...but Sarah's got a batch of books we've never talked about before!

Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Cate C Wells's Run Posy Run, available right now in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited at Amazon, Apple Books, and Libro.fm.

BooksNine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLeanThe Proposition by Judith IvoryThe Viscount Who Loved Me and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia QuinnA Night to Surrender by Tessa DareAn Earl Like You by Caroline LindenAlong Came a Duke by Elizabeth BoyleOne for the Rogue by Manda CollinsHis Wicked Reputation by Madeline HunterLove is a Rogue by Lenora BellTaming His Viking Woman by Michelle Styles
NotesCheck out the The Collections Department for fun groups of books, organized by real people. On the shelf, wallflowers, and spinsters.What does being a spinster look like now? - Louisa Darling suggested the French Guy who made a TikTok about ?dating a girl who is used to being alone.?- A contemporary example (other than Bridget Jones) is Gracie from Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Author Madeline Hunter died in April and was an important member of the romance community. A professor and historian, for many years, Madeline was chair of the RWA Academic Grant Committee, ensuring that researchers and academics had access to funds to research and write about romance. She wrote this piece about spinsters for USA Today in 2015. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and readers.
SPONSORSAva Rani, author of The Charmer, available in print, ebook, and audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm. 1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Sparks and Surrender: An Enemies-To-Lovers Collection, available in print or ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited from Amazon. Susan Lee, author of The Romance Rivalry, available in print, ebook, or audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm.Stephanie Rose, author of A Whole New Ball Game, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/5/12/s0735-on-the-shelf-with-spinsters-amp-wallflowers If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're gonna get people excited with this one (it's us. we're the ones who are getting excited). Back by popular demand, we're talking craft this week--digging deep into the third-act breakup, what it really means, why it's misunderstood, and why it really is essential to romance. Sarah suggests that every romance has one whether people like to admit it or not, Jen is, as always, ready to fight. Strap in!

Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The BooksDreaming of You by Lisa KleypasSomething Wilder and Beautiful Stranger by Christina LaurenHidden Truths by Neva AltajMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasForbidden by Beverly JenkinsThe Duke Who Didn?t by Courtney MilanLead by Kylie ScottKiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsHow to End a Love Story by Yulin KangPainted Scars by Neva AltajMacRieve by Kresley Cole
NotesWe love Sephora and Ulta, and Sarah has some faves from Dermatology Instagram, like dermangelo and drdrayzday.Sarah?s on tour for These Summer Storms in July, and Fated Mates Live will be in St. Louis!! Sarah recommends the audio of The Hero?s 2 Journeys by Michael HaugeIn our discussion, we identified several types of third act break-ups: Going Home Again, Self-Sacrifice, Who am I?, and You Fucked All the Way Up. An SD card, for you youths.
SponsorsDani Francis, author of Silver Elite, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Cara Dion, author of Claim to Fame, available in print or ebook from Amazon.Rachel Griffiths, author of The Trouble with Anna, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Anna Todd, author of The Last Sunrise, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/5/5/0734-the-third-act-break-up-complimentary If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Today we're headed back in the time machine to before the pandemic when everyone but us read this one m/m hockey book and lost their collective minds! Heated Rivalry is one of those books that romance lovers place high up on their keeper shelf, and we're talking about why, about how it really knocks sports romance out of the park (yes, we're aware that there is no knocking out of parks in hockey), and how it might be one of the books that launched a thousand hockey ships.

We're talking about erotica vs. erotic romance vs. romance, about sexy secrets, about first names and about why it's always sexy when people say "I love you" in a foreign language.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

The BooksHeated RivalryThe Long Game
NotesVisit the Fated Mates Collections Department for great romance recommendations organized by micro tropes, characteristics, subgenres, or things like Virgin Heroes. Check out Jen?s collection Hoop! (There It Is) and listen to the 1993 hit song, Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team.Barnes & Noble and Amazon holding sales during Independent Bookstore day felt super icky. If you missed it this year, maybe you can find a great indie to visit next year. It?s always the last Saturday in April. Alan Ritchson is Jack Reacher, Alan Rickman is not.On the road to the NHL, the World Juniors is pretty important. Professional sports are notably homophobic, especially the NHL despite its history of hosting pride nights. Luke Prokop is the only openly gay professional hockey player, but he does not play in the NHL at this time.  The professional sports league with the most openly queer players is the WNBA, which also has a past history of enforcing certain gender norms and gender presentation for its players.Leagues create rivalries between players and teams in order to promote their brand and ratings. A WNBA case study is Angel Reese & Caitlin Clark.
SponsorsMeasured & Slow, purveyors of unique crafted products for people who love books and whimsy. Visit the shop at measuredandslow.studio.Jillian David, author of Paging Dr. Breakup, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.LaQuette, author of Royal Bride Demand, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/4/28/0733-heated-rivalry-by-rachel-reid If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're talking about the worst possible thing that can happen to a romance heroine today (it's always the heroines) -- ruination! Whether the hero did it, another man did it, or society simply decided that she's ruined, there's simply nothing to be done about it...except revenge, a triumphant return, or the crowning of a new reigning queen. We cover all three here, with almost entirely new to the pod books, and even get some contemporaries into the mix!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Books Mentioned In This EpisodeChasing Cassandra by Lisa KleypasThe Duchess Hunt by Lorraine HeathA Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLeanWicked & The Wallflower by Sarah MacLeanMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasThe Magic of You by Joanna LindsayA Little Bit Wild by Victoria DahlThe Harlot Countess by Joanna ShupeAgain the Magic by Lisa KleypasTempt Me at Twilight by Lisa KleypasWild Rain by Beverly JenkinsThe Rake by Suzanne EnochCompromised by Kate NobleRide Steady by Kristen AshleyAfter Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M Lopez
NotesThe space domination of Katy Perry is depressing compared to the space demotion happening to real women scientists.  In terms of plotting and the hero, Anne Stuart?s Breathless (2010) might be a good precursor to what we call dark romance today.Actually, you say ratafia like this.   Check out the 2025 Lift for Autism auction, sponsored by Kennedy Ryan.Stay tuned at the end of the episode for a sneak peek of the audiobook of Piper Rayne's The One I Didn't See Coming.
Sponsors1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Pride and Passion: A LGBTQIA+ Love Collection, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Jess K Hardy, author of Wish You Were Here, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Mara Moody, author of The Reunion Recipe, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you get your books.Piper Rayne, author of The One I Didn't See Coming, available in print, audiobook or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/4/21/0732-ruination If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Yes, Sarah has a longtime fantasy of being on the lam, but let's be honest, she'd be caught reading a book in the nearest diner as soon as anyone got serious about looking for her. This week, we're talking about books in which characters are much more serious about being on the run! We break the category into people on the move and people in hiding, but also talk about secrets, about lies, and about how love really is about telling something all the truths you've got.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books The Master by Kresley ColeRun Posy Run by Cate WellsClaiming the Courtesan by Anna CampbellBurn Down the Night by M. O?KeefeDragon Bound by Thea HarrisonTycoon by Joanna ShupeSomething Wilder by Christina LaurenIf I Told You, I?d Have to Kiss You by Mae MarvelHunter by Emmy ChandlerStranded by Jennifer D. BokalThe Harpy and the Dragon by Marie LiscombWyoming Double Jeopardy by Juno RushdanBourbon and Lies by Victoria WilderHunted Through Italy by Delaney DiamondDalliances & Devotion by Felicia GrossmanKiss the Girl by Zoraida CordovaUnder Her Skin by Adriana AndersWhiteout by Adriana AndersKink Camp: Hunted by Adriana Anders
The NotesFill out the survey, check out our quests on Pagebound, and the Fated Mates Collections Department.Thanks @kimonlyreadsromance from Threads for coming up with the name ?discoverabilitybuddies? -- and for submitting a Collection for Books with Secret Tattoos!We?ve done deep dives of The Master and Dragon Bound. Run Posy Run and Whiteout have both appeared on one of our year end ?Best of? Lists.Mr. and Mrs Smith is a great movie and a great tv show. Just make some time to read The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
The SponsorsMichelle McCraw, author of Conspiracies and Chemistry, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.SE McPherson, author of A King's Trust, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/4/13/0731-romance-on-the-run If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're crossing off a classic romance novel structure this week -- the list! Whether life changing to-do lists, bucket lists, or lists for kinky exploration, these romances take characters and readers on remarkable rides, reminding us all that sometimes it really does pay to be organized.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLeanGet A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia HibbertThe Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie ScottWicked Nights with a Lover by Sophie JordanWhat Heals Us by Maggie GatesThe Ending I Want by Samantha TowleCamera Chemistry by Chelsea Curto30 Days and 30 Nights by Christine d?AboThe Seal?s Rebel Librarian by Anne CalhounHow to Fail at Flirting by Denise WilliamsRockaway Bride by Pippa GrantMr. Swoony by Piper RayneThree Little Mistakes by Nikki SloanAll Played Out by Cora Carmack
Show NotesWe?re excited about these author and listener created lists at the Fated Mates Collections Department. And in case you want to see the one from Competitive Yam about Skinny dipping, here it is.Kelsey Plum?s cigar photos went viral and now she models for a cigar company. We love this for her.The Bucket List (2007) stars two terminally ill men, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. They are out checking items off their list before the ?kick the bucket.?  We?ve done deep dives of several of the books on this episode: Nine Rules, Chloe Brown, and Three Little Mistakes.
The Sponsors1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Vows & Veils: A Celebration of Love, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Elizabeth Bright, author of Wild, Wild Cowboy, available in print, or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.Rachel Griffiths, author of The Trouble with Anna, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.Andrea Jenelle, author of Spine of Steel, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/4/7/0730-romances-with-a-bucket-list If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It?s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

It's our quarterly discoverabilibuddy episode! Get your TBR piles structurally sound and exercise that preorder clicking finger, because here are nearly 50 books coming out in the next three months that we're excited to read! Eric said next time we have to split it into two if we're going to keep talking about what's coming for hours... In the meantime, we're ungovernable! Tell us about the books you're waiting for...and if you're a romance novelist and have a book coming this year, please head over and fill out our handy Google form to let us know!

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books

MARCH

Witch of Wall Street by MJ EtkindA Wager at Midnight by Vanessa RileyLush by Tinia Montford

APRIL 

Royal Bride Demand by LaQuetteWyoming Double Jeopardy by Juno RushdanAny Trope but You by Victoria LavineWhisk Me Away by Georgia BeersPlaying for Keeps by Lainey DavisThe Nanny is Off Limits by QB TylerMarriage Bargain with the Comte by Parker J. Cole A Lady?s Guide to London by Faye DelecourThe Duke and the Widow by Christina DianeNaked in Naknek by Lolu SinclairFly by Night by Kelly CainThe Matchmaker by Aisha SaeedAnywhere You Go by Bridget MorrisseyOnce Upon You & Me by Timothy JanovskyGold Coast Dilemma by Nana MaloneThe Last Guy You Kiss by Carla de Guzman

MAY

Left of Forever by Tarah deWittTime Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie LauThe Singular Life of Aria Patel By Samira AhmedBad Publicity by Bianca GillamA Showgirl?s Rules for Falling in Love by Alice MurphyLove in Focus by Lyla LeeA Simple Twist of Fate by April AsherHis Dark Vendetta by Katelyn BrehmDigging Dr. Jones by Olivia JacksonAll Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth StephensThe Romance Rivalry by Susan LeeSlipstream by Madge MarilKatheryn by SM LaVioletteAlong Came Amor by Alexis DariaHunted through Italy by Delaney DiamondMarked by Moonlight by Sophie Jordan

JUNE

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. SutantoEmpire of Seduction by Milla Finelli Never been Shipped by Alicia ThompsonWriting Mr. Right by Alina KhawajaParty of Three by C. Travis RicePlus Sized Player by Danielle AllenWhen Javi Dumped Mari by Mia SosaCruel Summer by Maisy YatesA Rare Find by Joanna LowellGloves Off by Stephanie ArcherSavannah Royals by Lindsey BarrettHe?s to Die For by Erin DunnSounds like Love By Ashely PostonWriting Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong
Bits and PiecesWe?ve collected our 76 (and counting!) deep dives at fatedmates.net/bookclub, making it a fine place to discover your next great romance read. And if you?re the type of person who?s always believed you deserve a medal for your reading prowess, you can visit our friends at Pagebound.co, where you can join our Fated Mates Book Club Challenge. Don?t forget to tell us what you think of us in via our annual survey. We?re dying to know what you think. The Arc browser is almost a religion for Eric, but you should feel comforted by the fact that a normie like Sarah likes, too. We love these great indie bookstores: Montgomery & Taggert (in our new favorite small town, Chester CT) and Heartleaf Books in Providence, RI. Nearly all of these titles are available at Bookshop.org. We created a collection to make it easy for you. We shared the full...