04.16: (Short and) Sexy Christmas Recs
Holidays are about traditions and it's a Fated Mates tradition to rerun the previous year's holiday episode. So here we are! This year, we’ve added 30 minutes of chatter about two Christmas romances we loved in 2021. You can take Fated Mates to work, but you can’t take the very unsafe for work discussion out of Fated Mates, so headphones in!
Much love and many thanks for being with us!
Please enjoy this short playlist of holiday music featured on the podcast.
For full show notes, see:
Roy and Keely's Sexy Christmas.
Check out Whores of Yore.
Seamen sing shanties. Sarah's talking about something else.
Jen did not make up this thing about St. Nicholas and shoes.
The Black Forest in both a place in Germany and a delicious cake.
S04.12: The Men at Work Trilogy by Tiffany Reisz: Thanksgiving is a lot
It’s autumn which means it’s time to start talking holiday seasons and holiday romances here at Fated Mates, so this week, we’re talking about one of Jen’s favorite category trilogies—Tiffany Reisz’s Men At Work series from Harlequin Blaze. These are sexy, subversive romances that turn tropes on their head while delivering delight.
There’s still time to buy the Fated Mates Best of 2021 Book Pack from our friends at Old Town Books in Alexandria, VA, and get eight of the books on the list, a Fated Mates sticker and other swag! Order the book box as soon as you can to avoid supply chain snafus.
Thank you, as always, for listening! If you are up for leaving a rating or review for the podcast on your podcasting app, we would be very grateful!
Our next read-along will be Nalini Singh’s Caressed by Ice, number three (and Jen’s favorite) of the Psy-Changeling series. Get them at Amazon, Apple, Kobo, B&N or at your local indie.
Show Notes
Tiffany Reisz is the author of the Original Sinners series and several category length romances. The Men at Work series was a Harlequin Blaze, a line that ran between 2001-2017. The ghost story one is called The Headmaster, part of a tiny stand alone Harlequin eBook series called Shivers.
We’ve talked about the history of category romance on many episodes: our favorite bonkers old categories from the 80s/90s, with Steve Ammidown on the first acquisitions of Vivian Stephens, and with rare book dealer Rebecca Romney.
Harlequin at the end of 2021 has 11 different lines: Desire, Heartwarming, Historical, Intrigue, Medical Romance, Presents, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Special Edition, Love Inspired, and Love Inspired Suspense.
The Romance Wars section of Rebecca Romney’s romance catalog starts on page 125, and it’s fascinating. Amazon began in 1994, it had 180 thousand accounts in 1996 and a million accounts by the end of 1997. The Sony Reader was on the market starting in 2004, and the first Kindle was in 2007. Kindle Unlimited started in 2014.
The Invention of Thanksgiving is a video from The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, it features an interview with Paul Chaat Smith, a member of the Comanche tribe. Debbie Reese has a great thread with resources for children’s books with Native American characters to read or avoid.
Sarah recommends the TV show Happy Endings, and Flashdance is has a music video vibe rather than a movie with a plot.
Compare and contrast original Loveswept back cover copy to the updated version for Sunny Chandler’s Return by Sandra Brown.
Here is an explainer about how there was a traditional belief that Judaism is matrilineal, it is not a belief held by all Jewish people. This essay explains how a 1983 decision from Reform rabbis made room for children of mixed marriages to claim patrilineal descent.
Order soon if you want to make sure your Fated Mates Book Pack— 8 of our 10 Best Romance Novels of 2021— from Old Town Books in Alexandria, VA.
S03.39: The Soulmate Equation & Trope Death Match with Christina Lauren
It is release week for some of our favorite people, and we’re here to celebrate with them! Join us for a wild conversation about the books Jen refers to as “the brightest bananas on the tree” — each of us has selected a truly wild ride of a book, and we’re going to share them with you! We also talk about their fabulous new release, now Sarah’s favorite CLo book, The Soulmate Equation. Preorder it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Bookshop.org, or signed from Vroman’s bookstore!
Our next read along is out of print (but available in audio!), so you will have to do a bit of a used bookstore hunt to get it! Get Anne Stuart’s truly eye-widening Tangled Lies at your local library or via a used bookseller near you. We recommend checking Amazon, eBay & Thrift Books.
Thank you, as always, for listening! Please follow us on your favorite podcasting app, and if you are up for leaving a rating or review there, we would be very grateful!
Show Notes
If you'd like to order signed copies of The Soulmate Equation, check out Vroman's Bookstore or the other book shops on CLo's virtual book tour. Tonight, 5/19/2021, Christina and Lauren are celebrating the launch of The Soulmate Equation with Sarah, Xio Axelrod, and Rachel Epstein.
If you want to dive into the Theranos story, Lo recommends the book Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, and the New York Times has a list of recommended things to read and watch.
23 & Me and other DNA Ancestry tests can tell you some things: whether or not you think cilantro tastes like soap, and about the size of our hair follicles, but as of right now, science can’t tell you much about your fated mate, I mean soulmate.
Questions about the future of technology and how it intersects with humanity make for great television in shows like Black Mirror, The One, and Casual.
I don’t know, maybe you’ve heard about there being a fundamental incompatibility between science and religion, but others are pretty sure we can work it out.
If you’re not a sportsball fan, Michael Jordan is a kind of a big deal.
Aphrodisia was a short-lived Kensington imprint that focused on erotica and erotic romance, it ran from 2006 to 2014. Jen asked if it was Ellora’s Cave, which was another powerhouse erotic romance publisher that shuttered in 2014.
A satyr is a magical creature from Greek mythology, so we’re not sure if they 1) have two dicks and 2) if they are covered in soft fur. You’re going to have to use your own imagination.
We all hope that Nicholas the satyr is a little sexier that Mr. Tumnus from the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Slate had a woman asking for advice about her pandemic threesome with two brothers, and you can tell a romance reader didn’t write that advice, because probably they could work that out. Jen alerted Jenny Nordbak immediately, of course.
Are you also looking for monster fucking romances?
If you need a quick review on alpha traits, listen to our episode from season two.
Knotting isn't just for A/B/O, it's also in romance. Same with mPreg romances and DP (which no one has made a list of!), in case you need a primer. Lo is looking for a romance that she thinks is called Passionate Ink about an octopus shifter tattoo artist...Maybe? Christina wants your favorite mPreg romance recommendation. We'll also take marriage of convenience recs and secret scar recs if you're in the mood.
More about the word "quim" and how it was used in that Avengers movie.
Next up, Tangled Lies by Anne Stuart. Buy it used because it's not avaible as an eBook.
S02.16: Christmas Romance Novel Recommendations
Merry Merry Happy Happy Joy Joy…it’s Christmas and we can’t quit you, so we recorded a little stocking stuffer for you—fifteen minutes of Christmas novella recs, along with a far-too-long discussion of our favorite Christmas Songs.
If you want to give us a gift this year, please like/subscribe to/review the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform!
We’re back next week with the seasonally appropriate (at least in title) Born in Ice, by none other than the queen herself, Nora Roberts. Read Born in Ice at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or your local indie.
Show Notes
Sarah and Jen like a lot of Christmas songs: Silver Bells, Fairy Tale of New York, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (which in fact does have a sad and not-sad version!), God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Carol of the Belles, Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree, Santa Baby, and Baby It's Cold Outside (which just might be super feminist?).
This year, there's a new Chanukah romance anthology you should check out called Eight Kisses, and Roan Parrish just released a little snippet of a story about Ginger and Christopher from Small Change called A Good, Old Fashioned Chanukah Pegging.
Oh, you aren't familiar with the Carina Dirty Bits line? They are quick and dirty--not thiccand dirty. But whatever works. Also, check out Jen's list of which romances have the best sex in the library.
We have lots of favorite romance librarians, but we love Bandherbooks and our favorite archivist is Steve Ammindown at the BGSU Pop Culture Library in Ohio.
The Sierra Simone story with the bear is from Hot for the Holidays anthology, but she also has a story with Kennedy Ryan in a 2019 release called Christmas in the City.
Did someone say only one circulation desk? Just kidding. It's only one bed.
If you want show notes for last year's holiday episode, click here.
Our first episode of 2020 will be Born in Ice by Nora Roberts, a book that blooded Jen.
15: How Is She Even Able To Walk? - The Master
We’re back with The Game Makers Series this week — talking with the wonderful Sophie Jordan about her favorite book in the series, The Master! Starring Maxim Sevastyan and the first-time escort who lays him flat (in all ways), This one has all the insane sex stuff of the last Game Makers book, now with birth control insanity, and a sweet nod to holiday traditions…and a trip into the Internet to look at chastity belts.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review.
In two weeks, IT IS HAPPENNNINNNGGGGG! We have reached Sweet Ruin, Sarah’s favorite book in the IAD series, and she is BEYOND EXCITED to talk about her favorite Kresley hero and the magnificent, perfect heroine who refuses to back down from their fated matehood. Block off some time, as we can’t guarantee this will be anything near a normal length episode! Read Sweet Ruin at Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Kobo, or from your local Indie. Also, we promise you won’t be disappointed by the audio of this one!
Show Notes
Welcome Sophie Jordan!
You should listen to the Wicked Wallflowers podcast where Sophie talks about her Game Makers Series theory.
The politics of lane-sharing at the pool are more complicated then you'd think!
In case you don't know what pendejo means.
ICYMI: one of our first interstitials was about the escort trope.
I guess we did learn more about what Christian was thinking when she fell over the threshold in that 50 shades sequel, Grey.
Is there really a morning after shot?
The Smart Bitches gave The Master a D! /clutches pearls
If you haven't read Lord of Scoundrels, you should.
I decide who is a Pretty Woman quote. Of course.
The Robin Hood Men in Tights chastity belt, or iron underwear as it's more commonly known.
Sophie's upcoming book is The Duke's Stolen Bride.
You can preorder signed copies of Brazen and the Beast from Word in Brooklyn. You can download Wicked and the Wallflower for $2 all of June.
"That great Kerrigan Byrne Newgate one" is called The Highwayman.
Bitch Planet is an amazing comic.
Sweet Ruin is coming!