07.29: Spring 2025 new releases: Teasing Your TBR
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.
Bits and Pieces
We’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 list at Pagebound, as well.
march new releases
april new releases
may new releases
june new releases
Sponsors
Lotte James, author of A Governess to Redeem Him, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Avon Books, publishers of Annie McQuaid's Crash Landing, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Stephanie Rose, author of Just One Favor, available in print, ebook, audio, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
07.28: Everything We Know About Horses Comes From Romance
This week, for some reason, we're talking about romance novels with horses in them! Do we know anything about horses? Of course not! Do we let that stop us? It never has before! We're talking about the ones where the horse dies, the ones where they do it on a horse, the ones where she's a horse whisperer, and the ones where she just really likes horses. Giddyup!
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.
Take the Fated Mates Season 7 listener survey at fatedmates.net/survey
Horse Books
Notes
Who Did it Better… on a Horse? In an elevator? In the library? At Thanksgiving? And on a pool table?
“It’s a fun book, there’s no sex in it,” is something Sarah said about Pride and Prejudice, which is just funny. In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the MacFayden/Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice, they are releasing it again in theaters the weekend of April 20th.
Horses get stressed out on movie sets, and that’s why there are so many regulations about how to care for them. There was an HBO show that got cancelled because so many horses died! Why horses have to be put down when they break a leg.
Based on some research, it was clear that Jen’s friend Bridget said that Lou Diamond Phillips DID know how to ride a horse in Young Guns. But, here’s an interview of him talking about a horse accident on the set of Young Guns 2! LDP, still hot, by the way!
We did an episode on A Kingdom of Dreams if you want to listen.
In A Very Private Love, the horse is like Secretariat or some shit like that.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are real horses, and I’m just gonna say, you come across some weird information about the world when you write show notes. Here's an article about them being at the bar near Sarah's house.
The entire first season of Unbound Pod with Adriana Herrera and Nikki Payne is about Western romance.
As Horse_ebooks once wrote, “I will make certain you never buy knives again.”
SPONSORS
Avery Maxwell, author of Cross My Heart, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Crowns and Courtships: A Royal Romance Collection, with novellas by Claire Contreras, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Lexi Blake and Skye Warren, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Piper Rayne, authors of Mr. Swoony, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. Stay tuned after the podcast for a sneak peek of the audiobook!
07.27: What I Did for a Duke: This Gentleman Is Completely Composed of Revenge Molecules
It's deep dive day here at Fated Mates and we're reading an absolute banger of a historical -- Julie Anne Long's fifth Pennyroyal Green book, What I Did for a Duke. We talk about great romance kisses, about age gaps and how they operate in books, about house parties and art and sacrifice and how sexy it is when someone actually sees you for who you are. If you haven't read this one yet, do yourself a favor and do it right now. It's so great.
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
The main building you think of when you think of the New York Public Library with the lions is officially called the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. From what I can tell, it didn’t actually have anything to do with Andrew Carnegie, but he did donate $5 million to ensure that the New York Public Library had branch libraries in communities around the city. He also donated a lot of money to other things, that’s a fun thing billionaires used to do. Read more about doing the forbidden kind of “romance stuff” in the library. Jen talked to the New York Public Library's Best New Romance List Committee Co-Chairs Kate Fais and Grace Loiacon back in February.
In 2022, we recorded our “Break in case of emergency” episode, and it was in fact two sisters, Cait and Kara who requested the episode. PS: We are in emergency. Feel free to break those out now.
Julie Anne Long’s The Beast Takes a Bride was on our Best of 2024 episode. What I Did for a Duke is the 5th book in her Pennyroyal Green series.
“It must have been a lie,” is what Jen’s grandma Betty used to say if you lost your train of thought and couldn’t remember what you were saying.
This is a good speech from Crash Davis, the pitcher played by Kevin Costner in the 1988 movie Bull Durham (also, Nuke says “what’s all that molecule stuff?” which is pretty funny considering the title of this episode).
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston had a Titian exhibition back in 2022 called Women, Myth and Power, and it seems like a thing Genevive would have liked it a lot. Titian’s Venus of Urbino is currently on display at The Uffizi Galleries in Italy.
If you’re in New York on March 31st, head over to the Astoria Bookshop to see Historical Romance authors TJ Alexander and Joanna Lowell in conversation, moderated by Sarah, in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility.
Books mentioned this episode
The Sponsors
Avery Flynn, author of Airhead: A Hartigans Totally '80s Hot RomCom, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.
07.26: Romance Novels With a Ticking Clock
This one's for those of you who've been asking us to talk more about craft on the podcast! We're talking romances with ticking clocks and clear time frames, about how this impacts conflict and makes books more breathless, and of course about the books that deploy this strategy perfectly. Inside, you'll find road trips and adventures, vacation romances and romantic suspense, house parties and that classic romance chestnut: "I have 30 days to get pregnant." It's going to be fun.
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.
Next week, we're reading Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Show Notes
Join TJ Alexander and Joanna Lowell in a conversation at Astoria Bookshop in Queens, NY on March 31st for a conversation about trans rep in romance, moderated by Sarah.
Learn more about Run for Something and What You Can Run For in 2026 (don't forget to tell us you're running!), and preorder Amanda Litman's book, When We're in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership wherever you get your books.
Four Minutes is a very shallow cut, actually.
This is the good stuff: Casey Kasem’s Top 40 and Friday Night Videos, boom boxes, and cable TV. Also, The Sound of Music on has an actual running time of 2 hours and 52 minutes and an “on-TV- with-commercials" running time of 200 hours and 52 minutes. The best scene is the curtains one, the dancing one, or the tearing down the flag one.
That leg lamp is a reference to the movie A Christmas Story.
Conflict defined. Or, next time Sarah gives it in October 2025, attend her conflict workshop. Speaking of tension, how about that moment in Toy Story 3 when they are headed to the incinerator.
We’ve talked about Ted Lasso season 1 and season 2. Sarah wasn’t the only one disappointed with season 3, Jen felt the ship going down and bailed right out of it.
In the book Techniques of a Selling Writer, Dwight Swain described his scene and sequel theory.
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Office Sparks: A Workplace Romance Collection, with novellas by C.D. Reiss, K. Bromberg, Laurelin Paige, and Heather Graham, available in ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.
Lucy Score, author of Story of My Life, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
TJ Alexander, author of A Gentleman's Gentleman, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Amazon, or wherever you get your books.
07.25: Sci-fi Romance: There’s No Book Banning in Space
Maybe you're rooting for the asteroid, but you gotta have a plan! To help, this week, we're keeping track of what romance is looking like off-planet--it's Romance! In! Space! (Part 2, but the first episode we did was six years ago, so we figured it's time.) Headphones in, loves, this one covers space scavengers, aliens, anatomy, crash landings, abductions, talking lions and people in Space Army (what happens in Space Army stays there, unless it's here).
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 Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Show Notes
Bad news: the asteroid can’t save us, so we’ll just have to save ourselves.
You can read Jen’s newsletter here, she’ll be writing about the grand gesture in Fiasco next.
We did space romance back in season 1, Claire Kent’s Hold back in season 5. And speaking of Claire Kent, she’s been writing dystopian books lately that you might want to check out.
Insane colonialist fantasies are running rampant in the USA right now, so we don’t really need them in our romance, now do we…
You’re a virgin who can’t drive.
All about the legendary imprint Ellora’s Cave.
Our next read along is What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long.
Eric’s old friend Elaine Walker has a lot of songs about space.
Divinyls has a great one, too. 👇
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
Chandra Wicke, creator of The Happily Ever After Sociey: A Book About Romance Novels. Back the Kickstarter.
Yvette de Oro, author of Mine to Match, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Enter to win the Mine to Match giveaway on Yvette’s Instagram by making a donation to your local foodbank — winners will win a copy of her book and a matching gift to the foodbank of their choice!
Amy Spalding, author of On Her Terms, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Elle Kennedy, author of The Charlie Method, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
07.24: He’s *Not* a Billionaire
It's been the longest month of our lives and as self-care, we're not thinking about billionaires this week (or at least for the duration of this episode). Instead, we're talking about those men who are rich in other ways, in throwing a punch, chasing a tornado, camping, playing an instrument, you get it. We've got a bunch of books we love and not a ten-figure bank account to be seen!
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.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of the audiobook of Charlotte Stein's My Big Fat Fake Marriage.
Our next read along is Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Show Notes
There have always been rich people in romance, but we think it could be argued that Christian Grey and 50 Shades invented the billionaire romance genre.
Jen started writing a newsletter, leaning back into the romance reader “and critic” part of the job. You can check it out here. It’s free and who knows how long it will last.
Bobby Tom is the hero of Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
If Jen refers to something being “a basic” please know she is referring to a line from Strictly Ballroom.
Maybe you want to learn about a rookery.
Anti-miscegnation laws in the United States prevented people from marrying someone of a different race.
Storm chasing seems honestly like a very dangerous activity. There is no evidence that I could find that a tornado can rip your clothes right off your body, but Kayla Grosse probably read this webpage for research. (lol)
Dyscalculia is a learning disability rooted in math and number.
books mentioned this episode
The Sponsors
Piper Rayne, authors of Mr. Heartbreaker, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Megan Frampton, author of The Devil's Charm, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Riches and Romance: A Billionaire Romance Anthology from Dylan Allen, Kendall Ryan, Lexi Blake and Melissa Foster, available with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Charlotte Stein, author of My Big Fat Fake Marriage, read by Imogen Wilde, available from Audible, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm, or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of the audiobook.
Lucy Score, author of Story of My Life, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
07.23: Long Live Historicals!
Historicals are dead! Long live historicals! This week, we're talking about fourteen (and change) historical romances that we've never talked about before -- all published recently, some already this year. Every book we talk about is available right now for download and reading pleasure--and we have a stack of them ready to talk about in future episodes! We're so excited to be your discoverabilibuddies on this one!
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.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepsteakes to win one of five free copies of the audiobook of Stephanie Burgis's Wooing the Witch Queen.
Our next read along is Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Show Notes
Check out Bookshop’s Black Romance List and you might want to use their new digital books app to read The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt or any other eBook on a Boox Palma 2.
Budleigh-Salterton seems like a nice place to visit if you’re ever in England.
Bicycle jousting sounds like that whole scene in Footloose.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a stage direction from a Winter’s Tale.
A bike with a big front wheel is called a penny-farthing.
Books Mentioned This Episode
Sponsors
Rien Gray, author of Double Exposure, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Stephanie Rose, author of Just One Favor, available in print, ebook, audio, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Stephanie Burgis, author of Wooing the Witch Queen, read by Amanda Leigh Cobb, available form Audible, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm, or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepsteakes to win one of five free copies of the audibook.
Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.
07.22: Adriana Herrera on the Power of Historical Romance: When We’re Up Against a Corner, Baby, Let’s Fight.
There's a new Adriana Herrera book out this month, so that means we get to have one of our very favorites back on the pod to talk about not only her banger of a book, A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, but also about historical in general! This week, we talk about historicals, in general, about why everyone seems to think they're dying (spoiler: they're not!), and do some myth busting on perceptions of the historical romance. We're extremely grateful to friend of the pod Alexandria Bellefleur for offering up her collected data on historical romance and readers -- check out her books (below), as well, and come back next week for more historical recs!
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 Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Show Notes
Welcome Adriana Herrera, author of A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, the third in the Las Leonas series set during the Exposition Universelle in 1889 Paris.
In this book, Aurora is running a women’s health clinic and the text is a fierce call for reproductive justice, and we’re back there. If you’re interested in checking out some of the books she used to do her research, try Sex, Herbs, and Birth Control: Women and Fertility Regulation Through the Ages by Ann Hibner Koblitz and The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service by Laura Kaplan. The Comstock Act of 1873 was a problem then, and sooner or later, they’ll be a problem again.
Thanks to Alexandria Bellefleur for sharing the results of her poll about historical romance. You can check out her latest contemporary romance, Truly, Madly, Deeply.
Books Mentioned This Episode
The Sponsors
Jenn Bouchard, author of Considering Us, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
1001 Dark Nights, publishers of From Friends to Forever: A Love Grows Collection , available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Chloe C. Peñaranda, author of The Night is Defying audiobook, read by Corvin King and Jacci Prior, available from Audible, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of this audiobook.
Sophie Lark, author of Kingmakers: Year One, available in print or ebook from Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Annabelle Slator, author of The Launch Date, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
New York Public Library Best New Romance List
Jen had a great time chatting with the New York Public Library's Best New Romance List Committee Co-Chairs Kate Fais and Grace Loiacono this week. They talk about the list and how they built it, about the power of libraries, and, as always, about joy.
See the full list
Visit the New York Public Library
07.21: Meet My Vibe Criteria: V.E. Schwab on writing, obsession, and romance outside of Romance
We're mixing it up today with a fabulous special guest! The brilliant V.E. Schwab joins us for a far-reaching chat about writing romance outside of romance novels™️, about the difference between obsession and love, about the way we can't help but ship characters who will never get together, and about writing in general...and how we tackle character, conflict, and power in storytelling. We had a great time, and you will, too.
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 Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free audiobook copies of Emma Lord's The Rival.
Show Notes
Welcome V.E. Schwab to the podcast! You can check out her podcast about writing called No Write Way, and you can click her to sign up for her newsletter.
Sarah has a new birdfeeder for her office, and maybe you want one, too.
You, too, can watch Lee Child playing chess.
Philip Larkin wrote a great poem about parents, This Be the Verse.
books mentioned this episode
The Sponsors
Max Monroe, author of Playing Games, available in print or ebook from Amazon.
Adriana Herrera, author of A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Macmilllan Audio, publishers of The Rival by Emma Lord, read by Jesse Vilinsky, available from Audible, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of this audiobook.
Allison A. Andrews, author of The Winning Ticket, available in print or ebook from Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
A Taste of Craven (Happy Derek Craven Day!)
It's February 4th, the most important romance holiday in February: Derek Craven Day! We're celebrating this year with a little reminiscing of the past years' episodes, and a close reading of the first chapter of that classic, Lisa Kleypas's Dreaming of You.
Read Dreaming of You at: Bookshop, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
Learn more about the holiday, and the man who inspired it, and listen to past Derek Craven Day episodes at our Derek Craven Day museum .
If you want more discussion of Derek Craven 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.
07.20: Tarot, Astrology, and Psychics in Romance
We'll be honest, we don't know what the heck is going on, either. If we could find someone or something to make all this chaos make sense, we'd be very very happy. And so, we're reading books this week about people and things that make sense of chaos--that realign the universe. It's tarot, astrology and psychics 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.
Our next read along is Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free audiobook copies of Jenny Elder Moke's She Doesn't Have a Clue.
Show Notes
Eric listens to the ATP (Accidental Tech Podcast) and this week, they gave a little pep talk. It helped us to remember we aren’t alone. It’s not going to be easy and lots of people are going to be hurt. But we are a community and we love you.
BTW, that's Marco Arment doing most of the talking at the beginning of the ATP episode. He's the creator of our favorite podcast app, Overcast.
We did a witchy episode this past summer.
Maybe you want to learn about tarot. The Cards of Love series has a very nice website that is still functioning.
Books Mentioned This Episode
The Sponsors
Jillian David, author of Dr. Alaska, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Macmilllan Audio, publishers of She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke, read by Sarah Mollo-Christensen, available from Audible, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks. Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of this audiobook.
Avery Maxwell, author of The Renegade Billionaire, available in print or ebook from Amazon.
S07.19: Back in Time with Harlequin Blaze
We're getting into the romance time machine and setting the course for 2001, when Harlequin decided that those Temptations could get scorching hot and become a Blaze. We scoured ebay for boxes and boxes of old Blazes, dug deep into the back catalogues of our Kindles, and are celebrating the OG one-handed read, the Harlequin Blaze. We had a great time, but we knew what to expect -- if you need content warnings, make sure you check them. And let us know if you want us to explore some other category lines!
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 Julie Anne Long's What I Did For a Duke, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free audiobook copies of Amy Buchanan’s Let’s Call a Truce
SHOW NOTES
Sarah is teaching her beginner Start Your Romance Today class virtually on February 23rd at 1pm eastern.
What is a category romance? Maybe listen to our episode from season 5.
The Blaze line, from 2001-2017, was a spin off from the Harlequin Temptation line. The Kimani romance line ran from 2006 to 2019.
We had an episode about Tiffany Reisz’s Men at Work trilogy, a 2016 Blaze series, back in season 4.
Join Sarah with Rebecca Romney at The Strand’s rare book room on Feb 18, 2025 to celebrate the release of Rebecca’s book, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf.
Jen is SCREAMING because the sequel to Certified Male? You guessed it.
If you read Hot Island Nights first, go back and check out Her Best Worst Mistake.
Harlequin shared it’s guidelines for writing Blazes at tryblaze.com.
Flash animation from blazeauthors.com circa 2004.
Books Mentioned This Episode
The Sponsors
J. Winifred Butterworth, author of A Bloomy Head, available in ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Jill Shalvis, author of Better than Friends, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Macmilllan Audio, publishers of Let's Call A Truce, by Amy Buchanan, and read by Charlotte North, available from Audible, Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm or wherever you get your audiobooks.
Enter the Macmillan Audio sweepstakes to win one of five free copies of this audiobook.
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.
S07.18: Winter 2025 New releases: The Quarterly Edging Episode
We're toppling TBR piles and preorder lists today with our quarterly "Books we're excited to read" list! We're name-checking more than 50 romance novels we're looking forward to, and looking forward to hearing about the ones you're waiting for, too! If you're a romance novelist and have a book coming this year, please head over and fill out this 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.
THE SHOW Notes
Los Angeles, we are thinking of you.
After our very silly firefighter episode, we chatted with magnificent firebird and wildland firefighter, Emma, who gave us the lay of the land as a woman firefighter. While it was originally available only to patrons, you can now listen to that conversation on YouTube.
Emma recommends the following resources: the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters account on Instagram, and you can make donations to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. If you are looking for factual, reliable information, check out the website of the National Interagency Fire Center, inciweb is the national situation report with information from wildland firefighters. If you are looking to make donations to aid those impacted by the fires, we recommend World Central Kitchen, Baby2Baby, the Pasadena Humane Society, and Octavia’s Bookshelf which has details mutual aid collection efforts on their Instagram. The Ripped Bodice has free wifi and period products .
If you have a 2025 release you have written or you are a reader looking forward to something this year, please use our handy form to submit books for upcoming episodes in spring, summer, and fall.
For more Romantasy recs, follow Jen’s friend Gabriella Guava on Instagram.
Our friends at Pocket Books have a standing 15% discount on all preorders with code PREORDER.
January 2025 Releases
February 2025 Releases
March 2025 Releases
The Sponsors
Jamie P. Bradley, author of 3000 Reasons to Stay, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Love Rekindled: A Second-Chance Romance Collection from Tessa Bailey, Sawyer Bennett, Alexandra Ivy, Corinne Michaels, and Kennedy Ryan. Available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Jenni Bara, author of Mother Maker, available in print, ebook or audiobook, with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, or wherever you get your books.
S07.17: The Proposition by Judith Ivory
Happy New Year, Magnificent Firebirds! We don’t know what 2025 is going to bring, so we’re starting with a bang—the long awaited deep-dive of Judith Ivory's The Proposition, featuring that rakish rat catcher, that ferret-loving firebrand, the man himself, Mr. Mick Tremore! We’re talking sexual tension so overwhelming it makes a girl cry, horse-faced ladies who bring men to their knees, kissing on omnibuses and legs! All that, and Sarah and Jen disagree heartily on the issue of mustaches, but agree heartily that lionhearted virility is the energy we want this year.
Get the book at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
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 did some holiday movie watching, as one does: Moonstruck, Sleepless in Seattle, and some scenes in particular were great to watch with our kids, the bus scene in Almost Famous and the underwear scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Lil Romance and I also watched When Harry Met Sally. There’s a new book called Nora Ephron at the Movies you might like, and this TikTok is great. Sometimes I just find cool stuff when I’m working on show notes, like this 2014 article from The Cut about the visual storytelling in When Harry Met Sally.
A rolodex, including Marie’s portable version.
Sarah was wrong about Nightime radio host Delilah, but you know. We aren’t apologizing for anything in 2025.
Judith Ivory published 6 historicals, and then another 4 as Judy Cuevas.
The Proposition is a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady retelling with a side of Trading Places.
Do we think the dormouse is Ravishing the Heiress was inspired by Mick?
Legs is a ZZ Top song
The Sponsors
Mila Finelli, author of Empire of Temptation, available in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
A.E. Merriweather, author of Marin in the Moonlight, available in print, ebook or audiobook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Max Monroe, author of What I Should've Said, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
S07.16: Hear Me Out: New Year’s Romance Eve 2024
It's New Year's Eve, and we're ringing it in with our standard silliness, this year with brilliantly funny duo Adriana Herrera and Nikki Payne, playing the current internet sensation game, Hear Me Out, where we share the people, illustrations, and vibes that can get it in our respective corners of the world.
While there is no specific call for headphones in on this episode, you may choose to wear them to save yourself having to explain what exactly you're listening to!
If you are looking for something a bit more headphones in, you should try one of our past episodes!
In 2021 we released the Season 2 Ted Lasso Roy Kent lovefest on New Year's Eve, but we were still pandemic-ing, so please don't blame us for the detour in brand that year.
Our first read along of 2025 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
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
Nikki Payne and Adriana Herrera are friends of Fated Mates, but they are also the hosts of their own romance podcast, Unbound Pod. The first season was all about the Western and was six episodes. You can listen on all the podcasting apps. Preorder Adriana’s upcoming release, A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke or go see her on tour.
This TikTok thing, who knows what will happen!
Hear Me Out is a fun meme, but in our case, no cakes were involved.
”That’s not my praxis” is a funny thing to say in a text thread.
Sorry Bambi’s Dad, from Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago.
Listen, everyone was hot in Romeo + Juliet, so they aren’t in the photo array below. But the real ones know. Same with the NBA: Angel Reese and DiJonai Carrington, no need to convince people about it!
HEAR US OUT FROM ADRIANA, JEN, NIKKI, AND SARAH
The Sponsors
Meghan Quinn, author of The Path to Loving Him, available in print, ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, on January 7th.
Avon Books, publisher of Jillian Meadows's Give Me Butterflies, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or from your local indie.
Kayla Grosse, author of Axes & Os, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Kate Cole, author of Under Construction, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from your local indie.
S07.15: Holiday Romances for 2024: Put It in the Lilly Library
It's the holiday season, which means holiday romance! This year, we're talking about Princes of Christmas falling for heirs to Halloween, Hanukkah treats, retellings ofThe Holiday, sexy cabins in the woods, second chances, Harlequin Presents, and yes, an online site called OnlySantas. It's truly something for everyone!
We are taking next week off, but we’ll be back with some special guests for our annual New Years Eve episode, which promises to be a banger. In the meantime, we hope you get everything you want from whomever you believe in.
After New Years, our first read along of 2025 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
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
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. We’ve had lots of previous episodes around the winter holidays, as well.
Rare book dealer Rebecca Romney was on the podcast back in season 4, talking about how to collect books. You an read the catalogue for her collection, The Romance Novel in English, which was sold to the Lilly Library at Indiana University. You can see an exhibit of this collection, called Love in the Library, in Bloomington, Indiana through early February of 2025.
The real line from Pulp Fiction is “check out the big brain on Brad.” Balls obviously had nothing to do with it.
Here’s a pretty solid overview of all the different ways to get audiobooks into your earholes without breaking your wallet.
Two very funny posts on Threads about category romance, one from Kate Clayborn and Amanda Cinelli’s reply.
Sweetest Day isn’t even a real holiday, unless you’re from Cleveland, that is.
The Holiday (2006) is a great movie and everyone is rewriting this plot this year for some reason.
Support your local indie by using Bookshop.Org to buy this week’s books in print.
Books mentioned this week
The Sponsors
Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATED50 for free gummies with a limited time $50 off coupon, or use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.
Sophie Lark, author of Brutal Prince, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Avon Books, publisher of Ally Carter's The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or from your local indie.
Lark Maitland, author of Ash and the Butterfly, available in print and ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or from your local indie.
S07:14 Excellent 2024 Debut Romance Novels
We're so excited to be talking about some of the bright new voices in romance this week -- every book we talk about in this episode is a debut romance from 2024. We're introducing you to eighteen new authors, all of whom you'll be able to meet years from now and say, "I've been reading you from the beginning!"
From chefs to film directors, baseball players to librarians, spies to playwrights, there's a little something here for everyone. You're going to love it.
Guess what? There's a debut romance in the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA! There's still time to order...and get a box of our favorite books of the year and support booksellers at a fantastic indie bookstore all at the same time!
If you want to talk romance more ofte, 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 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
Show Notes
It’s not too late to buy the Fated Mates best of 2024 box available from Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA.
Jen was on Reset with Sonali Dev and Bryn Donovan, a Chicago public radio show on WBEZ.
Jackwagon, defined.
Take a look at the feelings wheel.
The Prom, a broadway show.
Sneakers, a movie.
You can support your local indie bookstore by shopping this week’s books on bookshop.org
Books mentioned this episode
The Sponsors
Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code TINSEL! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
Pippa Grant, author of The Worst Wedding Date, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Lydia Lloyd, author of When the Viscount Wanted Me, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or from your local indie.
S07.13: Getting Pearl Jammed: Romance After 40
Let's talk about the over 40s and how they deserve love, too! This week, we're diving into what the industry calls "seasoned" romance, though we're not wild about this phrasing and prefer "Women over forty can get it!" We're talking about romances where, yes, the heroines are older, but they still get to go on adventures, in and out of the bedroom...and with rock stars and incubi, even!
Guess what? There's a romance with a heroine over 40 in the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA! You can get a box of our favorite books of the year and support booksellers at a fantastic indie bookstore all at the same time!
If you were shouting book names at your car stereo during this episode and want to shout them at other people, 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 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
Show Notes
We had an episode about Daddy romance and age gap romance, but that’s not what this episode is about, this one is about characters over 40. Basically, if you loved Pearl Jam’s Ten, then you are probably the age of the characters in this episode. Now that “spicy” is used to describe sexy books, the word seasoned seems less useful.
Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day, and how the wikipedia editors are making war on AI slop.
Allie Parker is the host of the Romance Ever After podcast, and she recently suggested “the next wave of historical romance would be the 80s and 90s,” but there’s been way more historical romance kerfuffles happening since then.
Sandra Antonelli is a key advocate for romance with older characters. Her site has an essay called Ignored and Misrepresented, which describes why characters over 40 should be leads and not stereotypes.
This NYTimes article answers a pressing question: Why Do So Many Women Wear Giant Eyeglasses?
A new name for middle aged folks: the sandwich generation.
Books Mentioned This Episode
The Sponsors
Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code TINSEL! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
Jenni Bara, author of Finding Out, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Avon Books, publishers of Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone's A Jingle Bell Mingle, available in from your local independent bookstore, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Kayla Grosse, author of Axes & Os, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
S07.12: Romance Novels About Bookstores and Booksellers
It's Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means capitalism! We're skipping (mainly) the talk of the midnight electronics runs, and heading straight to Small Business Saturday, when your local independent bookseller is doing their very best to put great books in your hands. Ever been in your local bookstore and thought -- I wish this place was the setting of a romance novel? We've got you, friends.
We talk about the magic of bookstores, about the importance of small businesses, about bookshops as sites for revolution, and about the appeal of running your own little shop around the corner. And we recommend a bunch of books that are...honestly? Charming AF.
Want more indie bookstore content? Support some booksellers at a bookstore we really love by purchasing the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA. Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or Threads or Bluesky when you unbox!
If you were shouting book names at your car stereo during this episode and want to shout them at other people, 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 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.
The Notes
A guide to upcoming shopping holidays, because America: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday.
Some more info about the best time to buy a TV. Returning a perfectly good item after you’ve used it for a holiday (do we call the Super Bowl a holiday? Probably, if Taylor Swift is in attendance.) is called “wardrobing.” Back in 2018, LL Bean changed their famous lifetime return policy.
I guess if you need some Chicago stuff, you should check out The Silver Room, and you can use Bookshop.Org to find a local indie bookstore to support.
It’s not called Library Thing (that’s an app to catalog your own library), what Jen was talking about is the Library Extension.
WTF, You’ve Got Mail, the 90s what an innocent time. You've Got Mail is a retelling of the 1940s Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan film The Shop Around the Corner which, incidentally, is a perfect movie for a lazy holiday weekend with several generations in attendance.
Books Mentioned This Episode
The Sponsors
Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code STUFFED before December 2nd, and TINSEL anytime in December! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
Sara Cate, author of Keep Me, available in print, ebook or audiobook from your local independent bookstore, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Blue Box Press, publishers of Darynda Jones's Graveyard Dog, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon.
Melissa Dymond, author of Holiday Wedding, available in print or ebook from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
