Fated Mates

24/07/2024

This week, we are doing something a little different, talking about the New York Times's Best 100 Books of the 21st Century, a list that Sarah was asked to contribute a ballot for. We talk about how Sarah made her list, what she put on it, and why...and why we think there are no romance novels on the final top 100 list.

This week, we are doing something a little different, talking about the New York Times's Best 100 Books of the 21st Century, a list that Sarah was asked to contribute a ballot for. We talk about how Sarah made her list, what she put on it, and why...and why we think there are no romance novels on th

16/07/2024

A number of Johanna Lindsey titles are ever so slightly discounted today, but these two are great deals.

Gentle Rogue (50% off) amzn.to/3zCLCYX
Love Only Once (40% off) amzn.to/3LrXjo7

Sadly, they no longer have these amazing covers.

13/07/2024

Want to read some Elizabeth Lowell? These Fated Mates picks are on sale today for $3 or less.

A Woman Without Lies amzn.to/4cXidaf
Outlaw amzn.to/4cC3lhX
Granite Man amzn.to/4fbczDA
Warrior amzn.to/4f09plJ
Chain Lightning amzn.to/4fbcQ9A
Fever amzn.to/3LjuMkD

The Rocking M Collection is $10 amzn.to/4cUCLjK

We talked about A WOMAN WITHOUT LIES in Groveling Heroes, OUTLAW in Grumpy/Sunshine, WARRIOR in It's Romance Science, FEVER in Sweater Weather, and the rest in Old School Category Romance.

10/07/2024

For the last few years, The Ripped Bodice bookstore has published a Summer Romance Bingo Card and this year, we're helping you win! With absolutely no prep, we're recommending books for every bit of the game, from Lost Treasure to Time Travel to the Olympics. mf.fatedmates.net/bingo

08/07/2024

Bans are happening around the country, in every state, and disproportionately affecting books by and about LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people. What’s more, challenges are likely underreported, because librarians who are resisting them are facing unprecedented workplace retribution and in some cases physical danger.

ook bans in United States schools and libraries are at their highest since the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom started collecting data. Bans are happening around the country, in every state, and disproportionately affecting books by and about LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people. We interview three experts

06/07/2024

It's weekend book deal time! 🎉

Let's start with Katy Regnery - Romance Author's THE V***N AND THE VET. We discussed it in the Redemption Romance episode. It's free today. mf.fatedmates.net/vixen

Lisa Kleypas's CHASING CASSANDRA. We talk about it all the time. It’s $2! https://mf.fatedmates.net/cassandra

We’ve talked about Beverly Jenkins's Beverly Jenkins’s WILD RAIN quite a bit. It was also one of our best romances of 2021. https://mf.fatedmates.net/wildrain

We recommended Ruby Dixon's THE KING’S SPINSTER BRIDE in the Royalty Romance episode. $2! https://mf.fatedmates.net/spinsterbride

We discussed Jeannie Lin - Official Author Page's THE SWORD DANCER in the Antiheroines episode. $2. https://mf.fatedmates.net/sword

We covered Kali Anthony, Author's THE MARRIAGE THAT MADE HER QUEEN https://mf.fatedmates.net/queen and Amanda Cinelli, Romance Author's STOLEN IN HER WEDDING GOWN https://mf.fatedmates.net/stolen in our Harlequin Category episode. They’re both $2.

We talked up Tracey Livesay, Author's AMERICAN ROYALTY in Royalty Romance, [S*x on the] Beach Reads, and These Books Bang. $2 today. https://mf.fatedmates.net/royalty

We talked about Alisha Rai’s THE RIGHT SWIPE in Epistolary Romances. $2! https://mf.fatedmates.net/swipe

We recommended Meredith Duran’s THE DUKE OF SHADOWS in All About Dukes. $2! https://mf.fatedmates.net/shadows

26/06/2024

Who says it has to be Halloween to celebrate witches? It’s 2024 and frankly, we could do with a few more powerful, spell-casting women around here.

We’re talking about our favorite witch romances, many of which (see what we did there) have nothing at all to do with spooky season! There are rumors of a new Practical Magic in the air, which (ope!) makes us extremely happy, and we’re just trying to decide which (!!!) of these fabulous books to reread this week.

We’re going deep into romance history to talk about why witches are so compelling, why they’re perfect for a light, frothy romance, and why magic in the hands of men doesn’t hit the same way.

fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/6/24/s0642-witchy-romances-are-not-just-for-halloween

08/05/2024

This week we're talking about dukes and historical romance. We get to the bottom of many duke questions, including: Why so many? Why are they always dukes? What’s wrong with princes?

This one is for our historical lovers! We’re talking about everyone’s favorite title — Dukes! We get to the bottom of many duke questions, including: Why so many? Why are they always dukes? What’s wrong with princes? How do these guys make their money anyway? What’s with all the normies in...

24/04/2024

A mug is a mug until it's your boyfriend, basically.

This week we're talking bout sentient object romances.
fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/4/23/s0633-a-mug-is-a-mug-until-its-your-boyfriend-sentient-object-romances

03/04/2024

We’re finally diving into alpha submissive romance novels during this deep dive of Heather Guerre's Preferential Treatment. We’re talking about the way some romances do such immense work today—this one really digging into something that romance usually steers clear of…money.

We know money and power are inexorably intertwined, but what does that really mean when relationships are budding, and when s*x is on the line? How do power dynamics shift and move, how does money impact our ability to be honest in a relationship, and most importantly, should billionaires exist?

We’re finally diving into alpha submissive romance novels during this deep dive of Heather Guerre’s Preferential Treatment , one of Sarah’s best romances of 2022 . We’re talking about the way some romances do such immense work today—this one really digging into something that romance usual...

18/03/2024

If she’s a criminal, a grifter, a villain or a generally bad dude, we’re here for her, we support her, and we’re rooting for her to fall in love!

In this one, we talk about the way ANTIHEROINES play in romance, about how we hold them to different standards than antiheroes (it’s the patriarchy, that’s why!), and about why they seem to be more prevalent in historicals and paranormals than they are in contemporaries.

fatedmates.net/episodes/2022/8/8/s0447-antiheroines-in-romance

14/03/2024

This week we're all about ENEMIES TO LOVERS and we've got 15 high-stakes, high-conflict books for you. What's your fav? What did we miss? fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/3/12/s0627-enemies-to-lovers-romance

06/03/2024

Today, we’re taking an unexpected, unexpectedly thorough look at what might be one of the rarest and most maligned heroes in Romancelandia—the Himbo. He’s darling, he’s sweet, and he’s made of nothing but love and abs. Journey with us as we consider the place of these lovable dummies in the pantheon of this great genre of ours.

LISTEN: fatedmates.net/himbos

05/03/2024

We've been talking about our love for Kyle Scott since episode two. We eventually devoted an entire episode to her Stage Dive series. We’d intended to only do Lead, but ended up talking about all four, and it was great.

fatedmates.net/episodes/2021/6/19/s0344-the-stage-dive-series-by-kylie-scott

01/03/2024

13 of our Best of the Year picks are currently available in KU. What a time to be alive!

29/02/2024

Today's the last day for this sale on one of our Best of 2023 picks. Sn**ch it up while you still can! amzn.to/3SXIyhR

29/02/2024

There’s still time for you to join us for Fated Mates LIVE in Brooklyn, NY, at the gorgeous William Vale Hotel, on March 23rd, along with Kate Clayborn, Lauren Billings (one-half of Christina Lauren), Nikki Payne, and a roomful of other romance-obsessed listeners for a night of romance shenanigans at a live taping of Fated Mates!

tickets @ fatedmates.net/live

28/02/2024

You all enjoyed Romance Science so much, we figured, why not tackle romance law next! This week, we’re discussing wills and trusts, inheritances, guardianship, and more than a few HR violations! We also begin the episode with an important addendum to Romance Science (apologies to the Passion fans in the crowd).

fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/2/26/s0625-its-romance-law

25/02/2024

We’re talking about firefighters in this one — arguably the best of the hero(in)es in uniform because, let’s face it, there’s something pretty s*xy about someone who will run into flames to save a stranger…let alone to save you.

fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/1/15/s0618-firefighter-romance-novels

24/02/2024

For our 200th Episode we finally did the thing we’d been talking about doing for 200 episodes! A full deep dive into one of our favorite — or possibly our favorite! — romcoms…Moonstruck!

We've been thinking/talking about this movie a lot lately and this episode is absolutely worth a second listen.

fatedmates.net/episodes/2022/10/11/s0505-were-moonstruck-on-our-200th-episode

17/02/2024

Lisa Valdez's PASSION is the romance equivalent of "I have an extra stomach for dessert."

On this episode, we’re talking about a historical that we like to think of as the full banana. A descriptor which, now that we’re typing it, really covers a ...

16/02/2024

Do you have a book coming out in 2024? Our audience wants to hear about it. fatedmates.net/ads

14/02/2024

Why does Sarah love a casino so much? Why are we so into ladies being wagered by the idiot men in their lives? What makes these places that are so not s*xy in real 2024 life so incredibly hot in a) James Bond movies, b) heist movies, and c) historical romances?

We’re getting to the bottom of it—or at least, we’re going to talk about books we love. That’s the Fated Mates promise.

🎧 fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/2/13/s0623-casinos-gaming-halls-and-clubs-in-romance-novels

07/02/2024

We’re so excited for today’s deep dive on Natalie Caña’s A Dish Best Served Hot — a s*xy, second-chance romance that gave us so many feelings, including delight that Natalie is at the very beginning of her romance writing career!

Here we talk about taking big swings in romance, about properly deploying kids in romance, about telling love stories against the backdrop of real life issues, and about how this book’s ending might be the closest thing to Kleypas we’ve read in a long time.

https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/2/6/0622-a-dish-best-served-hot-by-natalie-cana

05/02/2024

Join Jen & Sarah and a collection of special guests along with a roomful of other romance-obsessed listeners for a night of romance shenanigans at a live taping of Fated Mates! Head to fatedmates.net/live for tickets!

The event is Saturday, March 23, 2024 at the gorgeous The William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

We guarantee two-hours of books, booze and bantr…and promise you’ll leave full of joy from all the fun. We’ve even got The Ripped Bodice on hand to sell books, and the room will be available for hanging with other Firebirds after the live!

04/02/2024

DEREK CRAVEN WOULD NEVER

Listen to today's episode: https://fatedmates.net/derekcravenday2024