Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

We begin the exploration of The Books That Blooded Us with the one that probably least surprised listeners—Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You! We tackle this fabulous, bonkers book (yes, we get to the bottom of the did-he-or-didn’t-he conundrum, and we spend some serious time discussing Joyce). We also talk about how we think Derek Craven changed the romance hero game, what might have been in the water in romance in the early-mid 1990s, and Sarah tells a few stories about her weekend with the queen herself, Lisa Kleypas. Don’t forget to like & subscribe in your favorite podcasting app so you don’t miss a single second of us in your earholes!Show NotesAnyone know if Warby Parker is looking for a podcast to sponser?Sarah & Lisa spent time together because they were signing at Nora Roberts's bookstore, Turn the Page, in real-life Boonsboro, MD. Jen had some hard-core FOMO.February 4th is Derek Craven Day, look at some of our tweets from that day.A reminder of that 1992 election and what we should have learned from Anita Hill. But Stormy Danielsis more in control of her narrative.Josh Lyman never calls it a recession, call it a bagel.We love Steve Ammidown at the BGSU pop culture library.IRL, Matilda was Pamela. But that ending, classic Lady or the Tiger or The Sopranos.The second casino is in Devil in Winter, where Ivo Jenner's daughter falls in love with Sebastian, St. Vincent, whom many think is Lisa's best hero. They are wrong.We're back on Moonstruck with that mother-in-law and "Bring me the big knife!"More about some of those Jungian archetypes.Jen meant coitus interruptus in the Urban Dictionary way, not the Merriam-Webster way.This article seems to think head hopping is more common in roamance, but I don't know if that's true.Close third person POV or Free Indirect Speech & Jane Austen.Have you listened to our bodily autonomy episode?Dangerous Liasons the book has been around for a long time, but Jen is talking about the 1988 movie."She leaves the gun on the table" is a reference to a famous writing precept by Chekhov.Doing spectacles better than F. Scott Fitzgerald.Gentle Rogue is coming up in two weeks.Kelly has some Fated Mates swag and Romancelandia buttons for sale.Derek Craven would never.Fated Mates is produced by Eric MortensenThe RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/9/24/s021-lisa-kleypas-does-spectacles-better-than-f-scott-fitzgerald-dreaming-of-you If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

As we lead into Season Two, and consider the fact that some of our faves are definitely going to be problematic, we’re talking about the alpha hero this week — we’re also tackling the beta hero and the cinnamon roll, and why these archetypes largely don’t work for us. We’re talking romance heroes who changed the game for us and the genre, about how hard it is to turn the alphahole around, and how satisfying it is to watch it happen. We’re also talking the female gaze (of course) and the patriarchy (like always). Next week, we’re digging into one of our original alphas, Derek Craven! You can find Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie. It's currently $2.99 in digital everywhere, so snatch it up!Show NotesThe alpha, the beta, and the cinnamon roll.You should all follow Cora Harrington (lingerie addict) on twitter. It's all so beautiful.Jen screams about first person a lot, but MOSTLY about first person present.It was Demon Rumm by Sandra Brown that was all in the male POV, and this review is so great. Jen's going to follow Alaina, the author, on twitter. UPDATE: The Browne Pop Culture Library was able to find the descriptions of Demon Rumm, and as Jen predicted, they were in the back matter of the previous month's books! Thanks, Steve!Alec Kinkaid, The Montgomerys, James Mallory, and the Westmoreland heroes.Did you somehow miss us talking about The Professional?It the Movie may or may not be your cup of tea, but this discussion of Jane Doe with Victoria Helen Stone has some really interesting points about horror and romance.Bourne from A Rogue by Any Other Name is "Sarah's worst hero" by which she means it was just reall satisfying to break him.You have to listen to our antiheroes episode if you want to know what it means to "take the finger."P in V is great, but 2Ps in V is even better.Hillary Clinton was wrong about romance novels, and Lisa Kleypas explains why.Adriana Herrera's American Dreamers series is one of our faves.What it means to be a Kinsey 2.Romance for Raices has a few more days. Spend enough money and you can pick an upcoming interstitial topic!The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/9/17/s022-the-alpha-in-romance-novels-interstitial If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

We're Back!We promised you we'd be back with Season Two in September, and here we are in September, back with Season Two!We've said farewell to Season One, but we'll never fully be able to quit IAD, so Season Two will be The Books That Blooded Us -- that is, the books that made us the romance readers we are...books that taught us what the genre could be, books that scratched our itch, books that made us lifelong romance readers, books that set us on the path directly to your earholes!Over the season, we'll tackle 10 (or so) books that blooded each of us -- we'll deep dive, discuss, and delight in each other's picks -- and we've got some fun ideas for how you all can share the books that blooded you!So...where do we begin? We begin in two weeks with the primordial text for both of us...the one...the only...Dreaming of You. We'll talk Derek Craven's cockney accent, Sara Fielding's legendary novel, Lisa Kleypas's immense skill with talismans, and we'll get to the very bottom of some of the most controversial bits of this glorious book that the two of us love a whole lot.Get reading, y'all, we've got a lot to say. You can find Dreaming of You at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie. It's currently $2.99 in digital everywhere, so snatch it up!We'll be announcing the schedule for the first few reads later this week -- so you'll have time to read ahead, but in the meantime, sit back, relax, and let us give you a preview of what's to come!Don't forget to like and subscribe in your favorite podcasting platform!Show NotesJen tweeted about Altogether by Brill Harper and then all of Romancedlandia read it. It's deliciously filthy.Read Sarah's drunk texts to Jen and Kate on the Vika group chat. Take a look at these covers for Rebecca Zanetti's Deadly Silence.Sarah was on Wicked and the Wallflowers podcast to talk aboutBrazen and the Beast. You had no idea flag design was so fascinating.Looking back at twitter, it might have been a shared love of Derek Craven that made Sarah and Jen friends. We can't wait to discuss Dreaming of You in two weeks.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/9/9/s021-welcome-to-season-two-1 If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

In July, at the Romance Writers of America annual conference, we had the extraordinarily good luck to record a crossover episode with Jenny Nordbak & Sarah Hawley of The Wicked Wallflowers podcast! We talked about our favorite books with a roomful of librarians & bloggers, and we had the best time. Now, you can, too! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting app so you know the moment we return!Subscribe to these other amazing romance podcasts! The Wicked Wallflowers (with Jenny & Sarah)Heaving Bosoms (with Melody & Erin)Learning the Tropes (with Erin & Clayton) The Big Gay Fiction Podcast (with Jeff & Will)Listen to the longer version of the conversation with Sarah (MacLean) that Jenny (Nordbak) talks about in her discussion of Brazen & the Beast. Sarah's hometown library (complete with dark corridors for romance novels) is the Lincoln Public Library in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Yes, yes, we're on hiatus. But we can't stop, won't stop!In this mini episode, Jen talks to her friend Elizabeth about what we can do when someone judges our romance reading.Be sure to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting app so you know the moment we return!

We're on hiatus until September, when we'll start Season 2, but here is a quick hi from Sarah, with a story from her trip to the UK that only Fated Mates listeners will appreciate.Be sure to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting app so you know the moment we return! Show NotesGeorge & Dragon Inn, Clifton, Penrith, UKLowther CastleHugh Lowther, proper reprobate and 5th Earl of Lonsdale

Fated Mates returns with Season Two in September — don’t forget to like & subscribe in your favorite podcasting app so you don’t miss a single second of us in your earholes!And more than all this — thank you for listening to us talk at you about vampires, valkyries, wolf holograms, horns & Rune for 39 weeks — there honestly aren’t words for how much we love you for listening!Team Vertas 4eva! — xoxo Sarah & JenShow NotesThis is The End is by The Doors, and Closing Time is by Semisonic.The RITAs were amazing, and one of the best things about it was this romance trailblazers video.Lila is a face character at Disney.Inside the Mouse is a book you should read, or just this New York Times article where John Jerimiah Sullivan (omg. his essays are so good! Read Pulphead!) trying to figure out the best place to smoke weed there. That Banksey video.Because Disney is too expensive, #TeamReadsRomance suggests Cedar Point if you like roller coasters.Hela's crown in Thor Ragnarok is PRETTY GREAT.It's interesting to think about a framing device and what it does for a story.Sarah's WaPo piece about the Alpha Feminist.All about archetypes and the princess trope.The Room of Requirement is part of Hogwards.When we talked about time, Sarah recommended Kylie Scott's Repeat.Tim Curry as The Darkness in Legend or The Devil in Fantasia.We talked about curvy heroines way back at the beginning of this podcast.Everything Sian owns is in a box to the left.The Beauty and the Beast Library.We're all on Munro Watch.Thanks to everyone for listening to season one of Fated Mates!The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/7/20/19-wicked-abyss If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform so that you know the moment we start Season Two (in early September)!Next week, it’s the end! WHAT HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! We’re talking Sian (HORNS HORNS HORNS HORNS HORNS HORNS HORNS) & Lila with Wicked Abyss, featuring the literal King of Hell, and the Queen who takes fully no shit from him. Get Wicked Abyss at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie!Show NotesWhat is the appeal of the antihero?Fangirl Jeanne wrote a really interesting thread about why she ships villains and what it means to believe in an HEA for everyone.The Sierra Simone Scale seems relevant here.We here at Fated Mates love a grovel.Morality Chain is a very specific trope.Jen's goodreads search for books with criminal heroes versus criminal heroines.Take a minute to donate to RAICES because we do have concentration camps on our border, and it's so hard to know what to do about it.Jen and Sarah talked about female antiheroes in pop culture: Catherine Zeta Jones in Traffic and Mary Louise Parker in Weeds.Jen's Rita thread about how white guys get to be anitheores.Movie time references: Sarah is Italian, so since there are no Italian mafia guys anymore, watching The Godfather is the only choice. The "one armed man" reference is to The Fugitive.What are we talking about when we talk about billionaire money.A "diamond of the first water"Molly Fader, Molly O'Keefe, and M. O'Keefe are three pen names for one author who really knows her branding. #BlessedWicked Abyss in next and then...we're done with season one. Commence mourning.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/7/29/185-antiheroes-interstitial If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review.We’re getting down to the wire with Season One of Fated Mates — in two weeks, join us for Wicked Abyss, featuring the literal King of Hell, and the Queen who takes fully no shit from him. Get Wicked Abyss at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie!Show NotesYou know Kresley is self-publishing when you see it's Valkerie Press.In IAD, a sorceri queen has the most power in that area. Love triangles are very common in YA.- Eloisa James' first novel was Potent Pleasures, the the line Sarah quoted is: "Charlotte was one week short of 17 when her life was changed, falling into two halves like a shiny child's ball: before and after."The best thing that ever happened at Coachella.Uh. While researching for this podcast, Jen realized that Deadmou5 is real.Sarah's hero/heroine/heroine's best friend on the line book is A Rogue By Any Other Name, which you can get in ebook for $1.99 right now!There apparently was a crossover between IAD and Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. Tell us what you know.Gay romance author and all around good guy Nathan Burgoine explains why "Gay for You" is a problem.No one like a milksop.All about the Kinsey Scale, and Jen thinks of this very funny tweet from her friend Zach every time she hears the phrase "Kinsey scale."Happy Days didn't spin off from something, it was the spinner. Frasier was a Cheers spin-off. The Dacians is not an IAD spin-off. It is IAD. This is canon now.The Arcana Chronicles is Kresley's YA series.Jen recommends The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker if you're interested in a novel about women artists at work.In two weeks, we're finishing Season One (sniff!) with Wicked Abyss!Lost Limb CountArms and Hands (8)1. Conrad cuts off his own hand with a rusty axe so he escape the "witched" chains his brothers locked him in. (Dark Needs at Night's Edge)2. Cadeon has both of his hands burned off in the same scene where he loses an eye. There's description of what Cade's baby fingers look like as they are re-growing. It's...kinda gross. (Dark Desires After Dusk)3. Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)4. Lucia peels all the skin off from her hand in order to free herself from some handcuffs. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)5. In order to retrieve the ring from La Dorada , Lothaire cuts off her finger. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)6. Lanthe and Carrow cut off Fegley's hand so they can use his thumb to unlock their torques. He's later killed. (Demon from the Dark)7. After receiving Lothaire's heart in a box, Ellie cuts off her middle finger and sends it to him. (Lothaire)8. Chloe's shoulder is dislocated in the escape from her auction (MacRieve).Chest and Torso (7)1. Omort severs Rydstrom's spine and punches through his torso in a fight. Sabine saves him and enlists Hag to help heal him. (Kiss of a Demon King)2. Lucia's neck is broken. She regenerates. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)3. On Torture Island, Regin,4. MacRieve,5. and Brandr are vivisected. It's pretty terrible. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)6. Declan's skin is peeled off by the Neoptera as a child. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)7. Lothaire rips out his own heart and sends it to Ellie in a box. (Lothaire)Head, Face, and Eyes (6)1. Bowen loses an eye and most of his forehead during the Hie. Mariketa has cursed him and he can't heal until he returns to her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)2. Cadeon loses an eye and part of his forehead and hair when fighting. It all regenerates. (Dark Desires After Dusk)3. During a rugby match, Garreth has his teeth knocked out and swallows them. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)4. Lothaire kicks out La Dorada's remaining eye and throws her over a cliff. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)5. In the Bloodroot Forest, the tree grows over Lothaire's lips and tongue. (Lothaire)6. After she gains her immortality, Chloe's hair grows, but she cuts it off every morning. (MacRieve)7. Lanthe agrees to have her tongue cut out to save herself and Thronos, knowing she can still use the power of persuasion telepathically. (Dark Skye)Horns (2)8. Cadeon cuts off his own horns to prove to Holly that he is worthy of being her mate. She tells him to let them grow back (Dark Desires After Dusk)9. Malkolm is captured by his enemies in Oblivion and taken to the city of Ash. The publicly cut off his horns and then intend to kill him, but Carrow saves him. (Demon from the Dark)Legs and Feet (3)1. Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other)2. Mariketa's skull is fractured and her leg is torn from her body. She heals herself after Bowen lays on the ground. Ivy grows over her and heals her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)3. Thronos is chasing Melananthe and loses a foot when a portal closes on it. (Kiss of a Demon King)4. While in Pandamonia, Thronos is trapped in a Groundhog Day like trap, doomed to repeat his worst nightmare over and over again. When he believes that Lanthe is about to die, he repeatedly tears of his legs in order to reach her. He never actually loses a limb, but he was willing, so we're counting it. (Dark Skye)Beheading as a Romantic Gesture (4)1. The first time Garreth spies Lucia, it's when she shoots an arrow and beheads a kobold. He notices that it's "a fantastical shot" and he's super into it. Later, he helps her pick up the head because he's a real gentleman like that. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)2. Later in the book, they are under attack from vampires and Lucia asks him to help. Garreth promises to "give her their throats" and beheads two vampires. But she's upset about it because of a previous bad experience with cannibalism. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)3. Malkolm beheads men that attacked Carrow in Oblvion, and he throws them to prove he's a worthy mate. (Demon from the Dark)4. Declan fights and beheads several creatures as they escape Torture Island, including squeezing one dude so hard his eyes pop out and then he twists his head off. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)5. Thronos beheads several foes during fights, which impresses Lanthe; but he also beheads Felix, a sorcerer who once tricked Lanthe and stole her sorcery. (Dark Skye)6. The bag of heads, yo. This is the pinnicle of this category, obviously. (Shadow's Claim)Beheading as a Non-Romantic Gesture1. Ellie cuts off Lothaire's head, leaving a slender 1/8 of an inch left. It was kind of an accident, but he deserved it. (Lothaire)Maybe?1. Does Garreth's losing his connection with his mortal soul count? (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)2. When Soroya inhabited Ellie's body, she subjected her to a full Brazilian wax. Ellie doesn't realize it's happened until she takes control of her body again. (Lothaire)

Next week, we’re tackling the Dacians in two weeks with a two-for-one episode featuring both of these Lothaire spinoff stories, Shadow's Claim (featuring demon-sorceress Bettina and Dacian assassin Trehan) & Shadow's Seduction (featuring Caspion the demon and Mirceo the vampire prince)!Show NotesJen loves hype video, and there are some for the USWNT are amazing.All about advanced reading copies (ARCs) and what it looks like when you get typeset pages.Jen has a new title at Kirkus: romance correspondent. She's been interviewing a lot of authors.Kate Clayborn perfectly described why we love a grunting hero.Only 33 Fortune 500 CEOs are women, which is nonsense.Listen to our Curvy Heroines interstitial.Covent Garden and the rookeries.What's a life peerage?Derek Craven forever.What it means to be "on the shelf."Audiobook narrator Justine Eyre is the narrator for Sarah's books. Can you even imagine what would happen if she and Petkoff ever got together and narrated a romance?Preorder Brazen & the Beast at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple, or Indiebound -- or from Sarah's local indie, WORD, and get it signed and with fun goodies!The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/7/20/175-this-isnt-a-podcast-this-is-a-brazen-and-the-beast-hype-episode If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates. Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough. If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.