06.15: Holiday Romances for 2023
It’s our annual holiday romance episode, and we’re so excited to have you with us! No Santa this year, but we’ve got Toy Runners, audio sexitimes in the Alps, menage in NYC, and more than one snowy cabin just waiting to keep us isolated from the outside world. You’re going to love it. Headphones in, though, please!
We don’t have an episode next week, but we’ll be back with a special guest for our annual New Years Eve episode. In the meantime, we hope you get everything you want from whomever you believe in. Thanks for being with us in 2023 — we can’t wait for what comes next.
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.
Show Notes
We read a bunch of books for the holidays, but mostly they lean Christmas this year. Last year’s episode was just about Santa.
Our listener Katie sent us the Instagram Reel about Daddy December, but it's gone now!
Subscribe to the BookBub daily email. You won’t be sad! I also followed @Shadesnpages who had two different #jinglebooks games, one for Naughty and one for Nice. The Lifetime movie that promised a sex scene failed to deliver, and Jen made a joke about it on Twitter, of course.
Audio porn exists -- check out the British Filth archive on Tumblr, MitchellASMR on Patreon (some free stuff on Patreon without subscription, too), and apparemtly, the place to find audio now is Quinn. Try it here.
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
Sara Ohlin, author of Winter Wonderland Love,
available at Kindle, Kobo and Barnes & Noble
and
Meredith Schorr, Someone Just Like You,
available at Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble
or your local independent bookseller
5.16: Snowed-In Romance
Happy New Year, Magnificent Firebirds! Our first episode of 2023 leans into winter — we’re talking snowed-in romances! What makes snowed-in different than forced-proximity? Why is snow different from other situational nature stuff? Why are so many of these stories novellas? How do authors use snow as a plot device, a ticking clock, or a starting gun? All that, and a plea for more snowed-in romances without the holiday angle.
We’re gearing up for a year full of interstitials, more trailblazers and other fun stuff. We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store. Thank you, as always, for listening. If you are up for leaving a rating or review for the podcast on your favorite podcasting app, we would be very grateful.
Show Notes
Of course we've talked about forced proximity romance in general, most notably with Christina and Lauren back in Season 2! But this time around, we're only talking about SNOWED IN.
That being said, snowed in is no joke. Our thoughts are with the people of Buffalo, who experienced major blizzard conditions last week, including four feet of snow. If you'd like to help, here are some suggestions, but we've also heard good things about the organization Friends of the Night People, which helps unhoused people in Buffalo.
A look back at that blizzard in Chicago, which was on Groundhog's Day in 2011.
Don't miss our deep dive from Season 2 of Managed and Fall by Kristen Callihan.
If you're in the DC Metro area, you can see Sarah and Kate talking about Georgie, All Along at East City Bookshop live or on zoom, Friday Jan 27 at 7pm.
Snowed In Romance Novels
Sponsors
Tibby Armstrong & Bianca Sommerland,
authors of Flawed Justice.
get it at Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited,
or in audio wherever you get your audiobooks.
Visit Tibby at tibbyarmstrong.com & Bianca at im-no-angel.com
and
Kate Golden, author of A Dawn of Onyx
get it at Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited.
Visit Kate at kategoldenbooks.com
S05.13: Here Comes Santa Claus
It’s the Holiday Season™️ and for some reason 2022 Holiday Season has brought romance a sleigh full of Santa romance, which may or may not be a thing you’re into…but either way, here we are! Santa is doing all sorts of naughty business in these romances, and this one is definitely not for the kids. So headphones in, MFers!
While you might not get it in time for the holidays, there’s still time for you to buy the Fated Mates Best of 2022 book collection from Old Town Books in Alexandria Virginia, and get the eight traditionally published books on the list along with a Fated Mates sticker!
The holidays are hard, but this box is great. And you deserve it. FYI, you can also throw in other books (or a signed Sarah MacLean book!) if you’d like! Let us know what you end up doing with these fabulous books, and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or Twitter when you unbox (#FMBestof22)!
Our next read along will be KJ Charles’s Band Sinister. We did not fight over which KJ Charles book to read because Sarah is all that is good and gracious in the world and she let Jen win. It is Scorpio season, after all. Get Band Sinister at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or from your local indie.
Thank you, as always, for listening. If you are up for leaving a rating or review for the podcast on your favorite podcasting app, we would be very grateful.
Show Notes
According to Snopes, Coca-Cola didn’t invent our modern image of Santa, but they definitely capitalized on it.
Book Riot also noticed that santa erotica is on the rise, including a link to last year’s Caressed by Ice episode where we briefly discussed the phenomenon.
All about the krampus, Lapland, and why Elf on the Shelf is a cop.
Jen can't take credit for calling Romance "the final boss" because it was Mikki Kendall who said it first: "Romancelandia is the final form of the final boss in the game no one can beat." Am I trying to actually write out the tweets now isntead of just linking in case twitter dies and everything gets deleted? yes.
Eric wants to remind you about the Fated Xmas playlists on both Spotify and Apple Music.
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
Pocket Books Book Shop
a queer, feminist, anti-racist indie bookshop
online and in Lancaster, PA
Shop online at pocketbooksshop.com
Get their “Sapphic Surprise” romance box today!
and
Nikki Sloane, author of The Frat Boy
get it at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or your local indie.
visit Nikki at nikkisloane.com
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.
S03.11: Comfort Reads with Dani Lacey
It’s comfort read week! What makes a comfort read, why do we turn to them, what do we want from them, and why on earth do blue aliens fit the bill?! This week, we all need a comfort read, and we’re joined by Dani Lacey, host of Ice Planet Pod and Black Chick Lit Podcast, to talk about all things comfort reads!
We’re putting read alongs on hold for a bit to spend the next few weeks hanging out with some of our favorite people and talking about books and tropes that give us joy, so we hope you’ll join us and keep a pen handy so you can add to your TBR list as needed!
Also! please join us for a Fated States phonebanking session with Indivisible.org on Saturday — it’s so fun! We love seeing so many of your amazing faces there, hanging out, and lifting each other up through absolute anxiety! Please join us, fellow Fated Maters, and special guests for Fated States Phonebanking Part 5 this Saturday, October 24th at 3pm Eastern to call South Carolina! It’s easy, not scary, and there will be prizes!
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!
Show Notes
Welcome Dani Lacey, host of Ice Planet Pod and Black Chick Lit podcast. Black Chick Lit is a podcast Dani hosts with her friend Mollie, and the focus is books by and about Black women. Ice Planet Pod has different guests every week, and Jen has been on and Sarah will be on!
Some of the specific Ice Planet Podcast episodes that Dani mentioned: she did one with her friend Mollie from Black Chick Lit, Jen talked about what would happen if Wedding Magazines existed on that world, and the latest release was with author Katrina Jackson.
All about Hoopla and the difference between Hoopla vs Libby (Overdrive). If your public library doesn't have Hoopla, it's probably becasue they can't afford it.
You, too, can have a banana phone. Don't tell Sophie, but Sarah's definitely getting her one of these.
In the Ice Planet books, the khui is the magic thing that “resonates” to tell the two people that they are a destined to be together--it also allows these shipwrecked humans to survive the ice planet, and also to speak the same language.
A couple of times, Dani mentioned “Harlow’s book, and the title of that one is Barbarian Mine.
Jen's friend Julie was a little worried about Chuck Tingle being sad when he released Chuck Tingle Pounded in The Butt by a Knockoff Book that Glorifies a Deadly Tragedy and Doesn't Prove Love is Real Then Accepting This as a Sad Side Effect of Making Wider Positive Impact as an Author, but the following week it was Mike Pence Pounded in the Butt by His Handsome Werefly, so he’s probably fine.
Magic Mike XXL is a pure, beautiful movie about men and their feelings. We highly recommend it.
If you’re a fan of the Stage Dive series, there was a new novella that was released yesterday called Love Song. It’s the book about Adam Dillon, a character that the band mentored in later books in the series.
How the Reddit forum AITA (Am I the Asshole) reveals the sexism of everyday life.
The two audiobook companies are Tantor and Brilliance, but with the huge rise of popularity in audiobooks, lots of audio in now produced in house.
When it comes to the Ice Planet audio, Dani loves the two narrators Hollie Jackson and Mason Lloyd. The Ice Home series, a spin-off of the Ice Planet Barbarians Series, has two new narrators Sean Crisden and Felicity Munroe. But Jen recently listened to a book narrated by Sean Crisden and it was awesome. So we think you should give the Ice Home audio a try, Dani!
Welcome to Night Vale is a podcast and also a book.
Books and Series We Mentioned: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon | Barbarian’s Mate by Ruby Dixon | The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon | Grace Goodwin's Interstellar Bride Series | Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon | A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane | Sweet Ruin by Kresley Cole | Lead by Kylie Scott | Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas | Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas | Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins | A Chance at Love by Beverly Jenkins | The AI Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole | Brothers Sinster Series by Courtney Milan | Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz | Love All Year a holiday anthology | Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade | A Winning Season by Rochelle Alers | Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews | Jack Reacher Series by Lee Child | Welcome to Night Vale is a book based on the podcast |
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.
3.5: Holiday Romance
It’s the Holiday Season™️, which means it’s time to talk about Holiday romances! Get ready because there are A WHOLE LOT of books in this show. Also, get ready, because next week, on December 26th, instead of releasing our Dark Needs at Night’s Edge episode, we’re releasing a bonus Ask-us-Anything episode as a special holiday present to you!
Show Notes
Our official IAD reread will resume January 2nd, with Néomi (ghost) & Conrad (vampire) and we have so. many. feelings. SO MANY.
- In case you're curious, here's where Jen learned to properly pronounce Therese Beharrie's name. Therese wrote 2 Christmas books this year: A Wedding One Christmas and Her Festive Flirtation, and Jen liked them both.
- Before Sunrise came out in 1995, a sequel Before Sunset in 2004, and a third Before Midnight in 2013. This New Yorker review is a perfect example of everything Jen hates when people review anything romantic, so hate-read it if you're in the mood.
- Jen completely got the name of that chapter book wrong, it's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
- Novellas are really common in romance, maybe more than other genres, and Jen anxioulsy awaits the think-piece explaining why.
- Speaking of novellas: The anthology of Chanukah stories that Sarah mentioned is called Burning Bright; Reindeer Games is an anthology of stories with the snowed-in trope; and in Silver Belles, all the characters are over 40.
- Sarah described the cover of A Holiday of Love as an example of a certain type of old-school book package. But just last year, A Christmas to Remember with Lisa Kleypas, Lorraine Heath, Megan Frampton, and Vivienne Lorret followed the same exact cover protocol.
- Epistolary novels are super fun to read (Jen's favorite is Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Sarah is--unsurprisingly--very pro epistolary romance; her favorite is Kleypas's Love in the Afternoon), but Jen's pretty interested in how they are changing in the age of the internet.
- All three of the books in the Men at Work series by Tiffany Reisz are delightful, but the Thanksgiving one is an absolute classic.
- Last year, Jen ranked Thanksgiving romances for The Book Queen.
- How the Dukes Stole Christmas is pretty great, and here's where Jen talked about Joanna Shupe's novella on twitter.
