S05.46: Fast, Incendiary, Burns: Romance Novels that Start with a Bang!
It’s a million degrees and no one has time for slow burns right now, y’all. This week, we’re talking books that start with a bang — and we mean literally. We talk about how difficult it is to thread the needle on romance that starts with sex, about the tropes that lend themselves to this particular theme, about sex work, one night stands, about erotic romance vs. romance, and about how pulling this set up off takes masterful skill with character. There are so many great books for you in here. Enjoy!
After Sarah’s Knockout (preorder it signed, with exclusive FM swag, from her local bookstore), our next read along will be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm. Get it 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
Jen using the phrase “fast, incendiary burn” to refer to books that start with a bang dates all the way back to season 2. The Twitter thread where Funmi compared slow burns to crockpots is here. If I could figure out how to save it (screenshots, I guess, sigh), I would.
We had Nikki Sloane on to talk about taboo romance, but we also like Jennifer Porter’s definition of erotic romance from a 2019 twitter thread, where she said, “I don't think the sexual relationship has to be the conflict. But sex/sexual interaction/etc has to be critical to the development of the relationship….I think their has to be some type of sexual journey for the main characters for a book to be erotic romance…Ultimately, if there is sex in a romance, it should be important to the couple's journey, but maybe in erotic romance, the main characters need to have a sexual or erotic journey of some sort.”
Knockout arrives on August 22! Join Sarah at her NYC launch party (a real party!) and meet new friends at a romance-specific hang on August 24th. Tickets and details here.
Take Sarah's Mastering the Art of Great Conflict the week of August 6th. More info here.
Head to Yale University to take Sarah & Adriana's writing romance class, and to hear Fated Mates & The Black Romance Podcast talk about oral history and romance.
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
Rebecca Hecking, author of The Romance Reader’s Wellness Journal
available now on Amazon.
Find more about Rebecca at rebeccahecking.net
and
Avon Books, publishers of Eloisa James’s new Not That Duke,
available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
and your local independent bookstore
Preorder Sarah’s Knockout at
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books,
at your local independent bookstore, or signed with goodies and
special edition Fated Mates stickers from her
local independent bookstore, WORD in Brooklyn.
S04.38: These Books Bang: The Sexiest Romance Novels
Headphones in, y’all. We have sixty-nine (that’s right, 69, by pure unplanned luck!) recommendations for you this week — everything from bonkers to bloody to blazing hot…naughty bits that we believe deliver the whole banana (and sometimes no banana at all, if you know what we mean). Pencils ready…your time starts…now.
This week’s episode is thanks to Julie Block, the Fated Mates listener who won an episode of the podcast in the Romance for Reproductive Justice auction sponsored by The Meet Cute Romance Bookshop and Fizzery in La Mesa, CA. Julie made a generous donation to the Collective Power Fund at the National Network of Abortion Funds, and in doing so, got to pick the episode topic — Books that Bang!
Thanks to Melissa McTernan, author of Married to the Fae Queen, the second book in the Fairy Realm series, for sponsoring the episode. Thanks, also, to Lumi Labs, creators of Microdose Gummies. Visit microdose.com and use code FATEDMATES to get free shipping & 30% off your first order.
Show Notes
Thanks to Julie Block for suggesting this episode and donating to abortion funds for the Romancing for Reproductive Justice Auction, sponsored by The Meet Cute Romance Bookshop & Fizzery, opening fall of 2022 in La Mesa, CA. It is not too late to donate to the Collective Power Fund at the National Network of Abortion Funds.
While we name checked some Fated Mates classic recommendations like Tessa Bailey, Jessa Kane, and London Hale, somehow we recorded this episode without once mentioning the name of Charlotte Stein. So raise a glass to her and all the other authors writing super hot books that we forgot to mention.
Probably you want to see Jen Porter's illustrations of the drilldo. (PS. Protip: you might put "drilldo" in the search field of twitter thinking that Jen's tweets will come up, and that would be a mistake unless you want to see it real and in action. Ask me how I know.)
The WTF Bucket
Bold & Bloody
Fun & Toys
The More the Merrier
Bondage and (chastity) Belts
The Bad Boy Mystique
Hot Historicals
Just Add Milk
Consent & DubCon
Voyeurism & Exhibitionism
I Have Tremendous Upper Body Strength
Oh, no! Feelings!
Just F'ing Hot
Sponsors
This week’s episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by:
Melissa McTernan, author of Married to the Fae Queen, the second book
in the Fairy Realm series, available in print and through Kindle Unlimited.
and
Lumi Labs, creators of Microdose Gummies
Visit microdose.com and use the code FATEDMATES
for 30% off and free shipping on your order
