Jennifer Prokop 3/13/24 Jennifer Prokop 3/13/24

S06.27: Enemies to Lovers

A classic among classics, we’re talking enemies to lovers this week! We get to the bottom of what we think of as “enemies,” and how it differs from “rivals-to-lovers” and “friends-to-enemies-to-lovers” and “friends-to-lovers” (jk, we’ll never understand friends-to-lovers). We revisit some of our very favorite romances, talk about stakes, about impossible situations, and about how sexy hating someone can be.

If you just can’t get enough of us, consider joining our Patreon! You get an extra episode of banter every month and access to the Fated Mates discord, full of people who love romance as much as we do. It’s pretty great, we have to say. Learn more at patreon.com/fatedmates.

Our next read along is Heather Guerre’s Preferential Treatment, one of Sarah’s favorite romances of 2022. Get it at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

15 ENEMIES TO LOVERS RECS FROM THIS EPISODE

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole

Mafia Target by Mila Finelli

Unlocked by Courtney Milan

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry

Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey

Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary

Fighting for Control by JJ Arias

Late Night Love by Chayla Wolfberg

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez

Vows in Name Only by Naima Simone

Devil's Game by Joanna Wylde

Notes

Pandora Ravenel owns a boardgame company, but I don’t think she made ouija boards. You should watch Only You (1994), directed by Norman Jewison who also directed Moonstruck! Don’t forget how charming Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is, a very different vibe from Ripper Street.
Jen thought about Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips when she read an article about the updating of the gorilla enclosure at the Brookfield Zoo. IYKYK, and if you don't, listen to Jen on Learning the Tropes.
Sarah said there's only one friends-to-lovers romance she likes. It's Christina Lauren's Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating.

05.48: Grumpy/Sunshine Romance: Exasperated Man™️

We’re talking about a classic trope that we’ve somehow missed over five seasons — Grumpy/Sunshine! Of course our favorite brand of this particular trope is what our friend B.andherbooks calls “Exasperated Man™️,” but we’re talking about the whole continuum of grumps and sunshines, including grumpy women (because it’s 2023, and aren’t most women pretty grumpy, honestly). Check out this list of books, and share your own faves!

Next week, we’re reading Knockout! Get it signed, with exclusive FM swag, from Book Club Bar in NYC), our next read along will be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or from your local indie.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, you are welcome at 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.

Show Notes

AI is for scamming, and scamming, and more scamming.

Perhaps you, too, would like to see Denzel Washington not as the enforcer, but as the Equalizer. The 3rd installment will be released on Sept 1, 2023.

Books Mentioned This Episode

Remember When by Judith McNaught

The Magic of You

Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux

Managed by Kristen Callihan

Fall by Kristen Callihan

Warrior by Elizabeth Lowell

Outlaw by Elizabeth Lowell

Worked Up by Tessa Bailey

Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey

Wild Rain by Beverley Jenkins

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary

In a Jam by Kate Canterbary

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurensten

Everything For You by Chloe Liese

The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara

Knockout by Sarah Maclean

S05.04: What to Read If You Liked The Love Hypothesis...

Today we start one of our new features for Season Five: If You Liked…Read This! We begin with Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis, a book that took romance and BookTok by storm last year when it burst onto the NYT best seller list and hung out there for nearly a year, bringing so many new readers (and Reylos!) to romance.

This one is full of tropes romance loves, and we take them topic by topic, recommending read alikes for everything from grumpy/sunshine, to academic romance, to STEM heroines, to that spicy sex scene that was a delightfully unexpected surprise! That, and we’ve got a bunch of Reylo fic recommended from Ali herself (check the end of show notes)!

Notes

Tattoos are expensive!
ReyLo is the ship name for Kylo Ren and Rey from the Star Wars movies. And the actor who plays Kylo Ren is Adam Driver.
All about Pansexuality.
Censorship on TikTok is so widespread is has its own wikipedia page, which makes it rife for misinformation about sex and sex education.
Small point of order, Jen was at the LPI (Lunar and Planetary Institute), which is close to the Johnson NASA Space Center in Houston. Obviously, she wasn’t at the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), because that’s in California.