Episodes

  • 07.38: Second Chance Romance Redux

    07.38: Second Chance Romance Redux
    Jun 11 2025

    We're taking a second run at second chance romance this week, and while we intended to recommend a million books, we ended up talking about all the ways this trope really works and really doesn't work for us! We're talking about rekindling love, unrequited love, resurrecting old wounds, the unforgivable stuff and of course, pining. It's a long one, and yes, Jen is talking about present tense.

    If you love this one, you can listen to our first Second Chance Romance episode with Priscilla Oliveras here.

    It's that time of year again--Sarah's next book, These Summer Storms is out in July and she is going on tour! What's more, there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

    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 Books
    • Love’s Encore by Rachel Ryan
    • Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan
    • Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
    • Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean
    • Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean
    • Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
    • If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel
    • Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
    • Designing his Duchess by Gabrielle Carr
    • A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria
    • Broken by the Horde King by Zoey Draven
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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • 07.37: Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells

    07.37: Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells
    Jun 4 2025

    Another deep dive episode, and this one feels like it shouldn't have taken so long! We're reading Run Posy Run, talking about the way Cate C. Wells walks a fine line of mafia romance while keeping the book on the morality chain side of the line from dark romance. We talk about heroines against the wall, heroes who have to suffer, the way violence fits into these romances, and about sex and how it's deployed in these books to enormous effect.

    We love this one (as you all know), and we were so excited to go back to it and give it the deep read it deserved. You can find all of our deep dives at the Fated Mates Book Club.

    It's that time of year again--Sarah's next book, These Summer Storms (complete with sexy, silent, deeply competent hero) is out in July and she is going on tour! What's more, there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

    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 Book

    Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells

    Notes
    • A boat, ship whatever, ran into the Brooklyn Bridge, and here’s a video of a woman who is a mariner explaining what might have happened.
    • The Chicago River is an engineering marvel. In 1887, they reversed the river and sent it out to the Mississippi rather than having it flow into Lake Michigan. They were moving rivers around in Rhode Island because of Mayor SOMEBODY and his desire to turn Providence into the Venice of the United States. Waterfire is a Providence thing, but it isn’t the same as the water fire[s] in Cleveland. The greatest of the Great Lakes is Lake Superior, to be honest, and it’s not afraid to tell everyone about it. Station Eleven is a great book set in and around the Great Lakes. No one ever talks about Lake Huron except for Jenny Holiday. Great Lakes, Great...
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    2 hrs and 42 mins
  • S07.36: Celebrity + Normie Romance

    S07.36: Celebrity + Normie Romance
    May 28 2025
    Sarah is over the moon that we're talking about celebrities again, especially because we're keeping it tight this time around and limiting it to celebrity/normal person romance (mostly -- Jen is ungovernable)! Yes, Sarah is going to talk about Perfect, but also we're going to talk about celebrities who fall for stranger normies, for normies they knew before they were celebrities, for normies who work with them, and for normies who protect them. The episode is 1200 books long and honestly, we're not sorry. In case you wondered why Sarah is breaking her rule about talking about her own books, it's that time of year again! Her next book, These Summer Storms (complete with sexy, silent, deeply competent hero) is out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice. 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 Cate C Wells's Run Posy Run, available right now in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited at Amazon, Apple Books, and Libro.fm.The Books Perfect by Judith McNaughtAll The Feels by Olivia DadeThe Hollywood Jinx by Sariah WilsonFan Service by Rosie DananNot a Bad Boy by Louisa EdwardsLOL by Lucy Lennox & Molly MaddoxThe Mechanic by Reina TorresThe Stand-In by Lily ChuThe Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale32 Days in May by Betty CorrelloThe Bollywood Bride by Sonali DevGhosted by JM DarhowerSmall Town Swoon by Melanie Harlow
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    1 hr and 56 mins
  • RERUN: S04.43: [Sex on the] Beach Reads

    RERUN: S04.43: [Sex on the] Beach Reads
    May 21 2025

    We're on hiatus this week. We planned this long ago, but forgot to tell you about it. Honest! Please visit the original season four episode page for more info.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • S07.35: On the Shelf with Spinsters and Wallflowers

    S07.35: On the Shelf with Spinsters and Wallflowers
    May 14 2025
    One of the og romance tropes is on the table today -- we're talking about heroines who are on the shelf! It's not quite wallflowers, not quite ruined, not quite spinsters...it's a very particular flavor of unmarried woman, and one we basically only find in historicals (can you tell Sarah is writing?). We're talking about the subtle nuances of heroines on the shelf and honoring some of the classics...but Sarah's got a batch of books we've never talked about before! Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour!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 Cate C Wells's Run Posy Run, available right now in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited at Amazon, Apple Books, and Libro.fm.BooksNine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLeanThe Proposition by Judith IvoryThe Viscount Who Loved Me and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia QuinnA Night to Surrender by Tessa DareAn Earl Like You by Caroline LindenAlong Came a Duke by Elizabeth BoyleOne for the Rogue by Manda CollinsHis Wicked Reputation by Madeline HunterLove is a Rogue by Lenora BellTaming His Viking Woman by Michelle StylesNotesCheck out the The Collections Department for fun groups of books, organized by real people. On the shelf, wallflowers, and spinsters.What does being a spinster look like now? - Louisa Darling suggested the...
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • S07.34: The Third Act Break-Up (Complimentary)

    S07.34: The Third Act Break-Up (Complimentary)
    May 7 2025
    We're gonna get people excited with this one (it's us. we're the ones who are getting excited). Back by popular demand, we're talking craft this week--digging deep into the third-act breakup, what it really means, why it's misunderstood, and why it really is essential to romance. Sarah suggests that every romance has one whether people like to admit it or not, Jen is, as always, ready to fight. Strap in! Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour!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 BooksDreaming of You by Lisa KleypasSomething Wilder and Beautiful Stranger by Christina LaurenHidden Truths by Neva AltajMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasForbidden by Beverly JenkinsThe Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney MilanLead by Kylie ScottKiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsHow to End a Love Story by Yulin KangPainted Scars by Neva AltajMacRieve by Kresley ColeNotesWe love Sephora and Ulta, and Sarah has some faves from Dermatology Instagram, like dermangelo and drdrayzday.Sarah’s on tour for These Summer Storms in July, and Fated Mates Live will be in St. Louis!! Sarah recommends the audio of The Hero’s 2 Journeys by Michael HaugeIn our discussion, we identified several types of third act break-ups: Going Home Again, Self-Sacrifice, Who am I?, and You Fucked All the Way Up. An SD card, for you youths.SponsorsDani Francis, author of Silver Elite, available in print or ebook, from
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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • S07.33: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

    S07.33: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
    Apr 30 2025
    Today we're headed back in the time machine to before the pandemic when everyone but us read this one m/m hockey book and lost their collective minds! Heated Rivalry is one of those books that romance lovers place high up on their keeper shelf, and we're talking about why, about how it really knocks sports romance out of the park (yes, we're aware that there is no knocking out of parks in hockey), and how it might be one of the books that launched a thousand hockey ships. We're talking about erotica vs. erotic romance vs. romance, about sexy secrets, about first names and about why it's always sexy when people say "I love you" in a foreign language. 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 BooksHeated RivalryThe Long GameNotesVisit the Fated Mates Collections Department for great romance recommendations organized by micro tropes, characteristics, subgenres, or things like Virgin Heroes. Check out Jen’s collection Hoop! (There It Is) and listen to the 1993 hit song, Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team.Barnes & Noble and Amazon holding sales during Independent Bookstore day felt super icky. If you missed it this year, maybe you can find a great indie to visit next year. It’s always the last Saturday in April. Alan Ritchson is Jack Reacher, Alan Rickman is not.On the road to the NHL, the World Juniors is pretty important. Professional sports are notably homophobic, especially the NHL despite its history of hosting pride nights.
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • S07.32: Ruination!

    S07.32: Ruination!
    Apr 23 2025
    We're talking about the worst possible thing that can happen to a romance heroine today (it's always the heroines) -- ruination! Whether the hero did it, another man did it, or society simply decided that she's ruined, there's simply nothing to be done about it...except revenge, a triumphant return, or the crowning of a new reigning queen. We cover all three here, with almost entirely new to the pod books, and even get some contemporaries into the mix!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. Books Mentioned In This EpisodeChasing Cassandra by Lisa KleypasThe Duchess Hunt by Lorraine HeathA Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLeanWicked & The Wallflower by Sarah MacLeanMarrying Winterborne by Lisa KleypasThe Magic of You by Joanna LindsayA Little Bit Wild by Victoria DahlThe Harlot Countess by Joanna ShupeAgain the Magic by Lisa KleypasTempt Me at Twilight by Lisa KleypasWild Rain by Beverly JenkinsThe Rake by Suzanne EnochCompromised by Kate NobleRide Steady by Kristen AshleyAfter Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M LopezNotesThe space domination of Katy Perry is depressing compared to the
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    1 hr and 53 mins
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