Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

It’s Scotland week, Lads and Lassies! We’re talking about the great green jewel to the north of England, where the ladies are bold and the lairds are brawn, and we're all just wishing we could get wrapped in a plaid and cuddled through a cold Highland night. Next week, we’re back with the Lykae with Pleasure of a Dark Prince—starring the FULLY DREAMY Garreth MacRieve and Lucia the Huntress, who just might be our favorite heroine yet. We’ll be talking wolf holograms, how Kresley is blowing the doors off the IAD world, and we’ll be starting Lothaire Watch! Get ready for the PoaDP read along at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or your local indie. Also, the Audible versions of IAD are on sale right now -- and WORTH EVERY PENNY! Listen on Audio! Show NotesHere's the twitter thread where Lillie talked about imprinting on Julie Garwood.The Heaving Bosoms podcast is pretty great, and although this episode about Mastered by Her Mates by Grace Goodwin is not set during Highlander Times, it's profoundly hilarious.Some brief explainers about why old paperbacks have dyed edges, but according to Sarah's research, the more popular an author, the more likely it was the pages would be dyed.All about kilts. Also, it's never too late for a calendar of men it kilts.Dirks and broadswords, oh my!Goodreads has a few lists of Broken marriage romances, but Jen recommends Cherish Me by Farrah Rochan.Here's a google folder with screenshots of the entries for cunt, cunny, pussy, quim, shit, and fuck from the Oxford English Dictionary. Jen mentioned a book called Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, but it's kind of Terf-y, so she does not recommend it.Sarah does talk about the etymology of swear words a lot on Twitter, becuase fuck just isn't a new word. Don't @ us.If you want to learn more about the etymology of swear words, Melissa Mohr's Holy Shit: A Brief History of Swearing is the book for you.A thread about vaginas by friend of the pod S.S. Jaxon.You definitely want to see the flying fuck image and read Jen's column called Who Did it Better on a Horse.Lyrics to a song from 1657 that uses some very choice dirty words. Maybe you prefer to listen?The Hangover is a 2009 comedy, so who knows if it's held up over time.Sarah, Sophie Jordan, and a bunch of other amazing authors will be at Avon's KissCon in early April. Jen will be there as an attendee, and we'll definitely have some sort of Fated Mates meet-up!Jen said she texted Sophie, but that's not true. She tweeted at her.Katy Budget Books has a super-amazing romance section and if you want to order signed copies of Sophie Jordan's upcoming book, you should contact them.Next week, we return to IAD with Garreth and Lucia in Pleasure of a Dark Prince.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/1/7/65-scotland-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 tackling the novellas this week, and finishing up the Wroth Brother Quartet with The Warlord Wants Forever (Nikolai) & Untouchable (Murdoch), as well as their incredible Valkyrie mates. This episode, we’re talking about Myst’s weird chain, Danii’s loneliness, the responsibility of authors to readers, to themselves, to the text, and to literary history, and the way Untouchable hints at the enormous world that IAD is about to become. 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. In two weeks, we’re back to the Lykae, with one of our favorite books — Pleasures of a Dark Prince, the last book in the first arc of the IAD series (this begins at the same time as A Hunger Like No Other). Garreth MacRieve, prince of the Lykae clan and Lucia the Huntress — the greatest archer of all time. Show NotesThe Wroth Brothers are dreamy, and here are the books the feature Nikolai, Sebastian, Conrad, and Murdoch.Take a look at the IAD Ranking Spreasheet of Wonder from the Wicked Wallflowers Podcast.Sarah refers to our novella episode, but she means the Holiday Romances episode where we had a long discussion of the novellas as a form.Jen collected some comparison screenshots from the original (A) and revised (B) versions of The Warlord Wants Forever. The two versions of the scene after the chain is broken; The two versions of the first time they have sex; and the two versions of Nix naming herself.Dubcon romances have main characters who agree to sex play featuring "dubious consent."A little more about the versions of Whitney, My Love. You can still find original versions on eBay or Amazon, but you'll pay more for them.Jen mentions Eric Selinger at DePaul. He teaches classes on Romance at DePaul, which is local for her. SADLY, they don't have PhD programs. But you can read more academic romance talk at a blog called Teach Me Tonight.The Hello Stranger review at Smart Bitches calls out the Orientalism in the novel, and features Lisa Kleypas' response.The Memory Hole is a reference to 1984 by George Orwell.A little more about why sheikh and Native American romances are problematic.A definitive list of the qualities, skills, and powers of vampires in literature and pop culture. At some point, Jen's going to add IAD.Retcon stands for "retroactive continiuity" and here's a great primer about it from the best dictionary, Merriam-Webster.In two weeks, we'll be discussing Garreth & Lucia in Pleasure of a Dark Prince.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/1/13/7-warlord-wants-forever-amp-untouchable 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.

This week, we’re having a fun, far-reaching conversation with the wonderful Joanna Shupe—who loves Kiss of a Demon King a whole lot, immediately saw the echoes of one of the most famous old school romances inside it, and came to talk to us about enemies to lovers romances, but ended up telling us all about that time she spent a lot of time researching penetrative sex in carriages. We had a great time, and hope you do, too!Our next read-along episode will tackle the final two Wroth brothers with the two IAD novellas, The Warlord Wants Forever (Nikolai) & Untouchable (Murdoch), available in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology! This will be the last time we tackle vampires until Lothaire, so get your fill! A Note: There are two version of The Warlord Wants Forever — you want the most recent version. Show NotesJoanna Shupe writes delightful Gilded Age romances. Check out this twitter thread where Jen raved about A Daring Arrangement.Sarah was hunting for that Lora Leigh book on Twitter.Goodreads reviewers have feelings about Prisoner of My Desire.Of course there's a YouTube channel of classic clips from Candid Camera.Eleanor of Aquitaine is an amazing woman. The 1968 film The Lion in Winter stars Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.Hot Island Nights is the prequel to Her Best Worst Mistake.Jen also talked about A Matter of Disagreement on Twitter.Consider this a placeholder in case Joanna shares links from her sex in a carraige research. Jen's a little afraid to google search that one.A barouche is a real thing, and you can learn more about all of it at the Carriage Museum in Long Island.We return to IAD next time with two Wroth brother novellas, the first is The Warlord Wants Forever (an earlier version of this was available in an anthology called Playing Easy to Get. It is not HUGELY different, so it's okay if you just have that one--we'll talk about the differences during the episode.) The second is called Untouchable and available in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/2/5/65-freewheeling-with-joanna-shupe 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.

One of the best loved books in the IAD universe, this week we’re talking about Kiss of A Demon King, the completion of the Demonarchy Duology, starring Rydstrom, the deposed King of Rothkalina, and his fated mate, Sabine, the Queen of Illusions, which is an incredibly handy power. We’ve got a fabulous guest host this week, Jenny Nordbak from our sister romance podcast, The Wicked Wallflowers Club. Jenny is ride-or-die for Sabine, and she’s got a fabulous personal story about her relationship with the book that we’re thrilled to share with you.This episode, we’re talking traumatic pasts, Latin references, horns (I mean, obviously), villains, the unlikeable heroine (a whole lot), and we’ll come back around to Cade & Holly and tackle the unfinished business from their book!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. Novellas are up next! We told you we’d get to the rest of the Wroth Brothers eventually, and eventually is here! Our next read-along episode will tackle both novellas, The Warlord Wants Forever (Nikolai) & Untouchable (Murdoch), available in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology! This will be the last time we tackle vampires until Lothaire, so get your fill! A Note: There are two version of The Warlord Wants Forever — you want the most recent version. Show NotesOur special guest this week is Jenny Nordbak, author of the memoir, The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon and co-host of the Wicked Wallflowers Club Podcast.All about the freudian slip.Here is Wendy's blog post about the righted world, along with a twitter thread that Jennifer Porter wrote that eloquently talks about the importance of this idea. Teach Me Tonight jumped in with a look at how this same phenomenon plays out in academia.Jen's friend Liz, the Latin teacher!, loved this book for the sheer number of classical allusions. Here's a report of some of her mort specific findings:"mors, mortis" means death in Latin, so O-mort means "without death" or "in the way of death."The Ourbouros is an ancient symbol that shows up in Egyptian traditions.Finally, the invaders that Omort led into Tornin--the Invidia, Libitinae, and Undines--are also Latin allusions, and they're really evil in the classical world. (Invidia--this Latin word means jealousy and personified envy. Undines-- Latin word for female spirits that inhabit the water. Libitinae--has several meanings: the goddess of corpses (in her temple were kept the funeral apparatus and registries of death), the apparatus of funerals, or death itself.)Jen's interview with Adriana about Domestic Violence in romance.The name Sabine might be a reference to Rome's neighbors, the Sabines. The story of the abduction of the Sabine women has been told in art over and over again. It's intersting to consider why this name was used: perhaps to reclaim a story where sex was a weapon used against women?Melanthe means "dark flower" in Latin, and she was a minor character in the Odyssey.Gone with the Wind has a very problematic portrayal of the happy slave and the good master. House elves aren't much better.The Wicked Wallflower's IAD Spreadsheet of Wonder.All the horn photos are on Instagram.Saga is an amazing comic.The Babysitter's Club Summer Special, and all the other amazing goodness of the Scholastic Book Club. And in case you didn't know, the Scholastic Book Club & its Book Fairs are still a thing.Jenny's book is called The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon.That Mr. Too Big (not to be confused with Mr. Big) Sex in the City episode.The Arcana Chronicles is a YA series by Kresley.Why yes, both Sarah and Jen have been on the Wicked Wallflowers podcast. When you're done listening to this episode of Fated Mates, head over to listen, and don't forget their interview with Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter!The Warlord Wants Forever & Untouchable (in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology) are coming up next.Lost Limb CountArms and Hands (3)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)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)Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)Chest and Torso (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)Face and Eyes (2)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)Cadeon loses an eye and part of his forehead and hair when fighting. It all regenerates. (Dark Desires After Dusk)Legs and Feet (3)Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other)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)Thronos is chasing Melananthe and loses a foot when a portal closes on it. (Kiss of a Demon King)The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/1/7/6-kiss-of-a-demon-king 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’ve got Doritos, a stack of Cosmo sex quizzes and an epic mixtape ready to go — Sarah and Jen are talking about road trips and the inevitable smooching that comes with them in romance! Next week, we’re back to the Rage Demonarchy Duology with Kiss of A Demon King — where we get the full wrap up of the plot of the second in the duology, and the wrap up of the plot of Dark Desires After Dusk. We’ve seen Rydstrom total his McLaren and get abducted by Sabine, who is not only Queen of Illusions but also his Fated Mate and he’s not feeling great about this at all (Spoiler: We feel very great about this.) We’ll be joined by the fabulous Jenny Nordbak from The Wicked Wallflowers podcast for part of the conversation, and it will be a longer episode than usual because of that! Get ready for the KoaDK read along at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or your local indie. Also, the Audible versions of IAD are on sale right now -- and WORTH EVERY PENNY! Listen on Audio! Show NotesTexas is very big, everyone. Here's some interesting facts about Starbucks. Jen had no idea how posting horses worked until Elisabeth Lane asked on Twitter. (Sarah knew.)Looking for books with carriage sex? Twitter has recs for you. Learn more about the Gilded Age in America. New York's Grand Central Station is absolutely magical. Hildene, a museum of Lincoln's family home, has a full-scale reproduction of an amazing private rail car...It's amazing how someone on Twitter will always know the good things. All about bustles.Trading Places is a 1983 comedy with Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd, and the blog Obscure Train Movies has an extensive break down of the train scenes from the movie. The Ani Difranco poem Sarah mentioned is called Self-Evident. Buy yourself a set of butterfly swords for $500. JK. That's probably a really bad idea.Here's an overview of the Tang Dynasty, and its capital Chang'an. If you haven't seen Mad Max Fury Road you should probably drop everything and take care of it. In case you were wondering what the world looked like in 750, Time Maps has you covered. Here's a list of rich heroines/poor heroes from goodreads.A quick summary of Pygmalion, and if you happen to be in New York City, you can go see My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center. Sarah talks about Tom Hardy a lot on Twitter. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Apparently, it is Low and High Fantasy, and Reddit talked about the differences between them.There's a Slurpee twitter account, which shouldn't really surprise anyone if you think about it. Whoops, it's my Mom.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/1/18/55-road-trip-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.

DEMONS ARE HERE! We’re talking Dark Desires After Dusk, starring Cadeon Woede (Prince of the Rage Demonarchy) and Holly, his human fated mate (SPOILER SHE ISN’T HUMAN, WHAT!). This one is the first in what we will end up calling the Demonarchy Duology — and we encourage you to read the next book in the series, Kiss of A Demon King as soon as you can after reading Dark Desires. Each book makes the other better. We’ll cover female rage, sex shaming, fast cars, food, feminism and…maybe a pot joke? Also, Sarah waxes on about horns. A lot. 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. Our next read (in two weeks) will be Kiss of A Demon King — the second in the duology, and the wrap up of the plot of this book. We’ve seen Rydstrom total his McLaren and get abducted by Sabine, who is not only Queen of Illusions but also his Fated Mate. DOUBLE TROUBLE. Cade and Holly are a HUGE part of our episode on Sabine & Rydstrom’s — because we just can’t talk about one of these books alone. Get ready for the KoaDK read along at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or your local indie. Also, the Audible versions of IAD are on sale right now -- and WORTH EVERY PENNY! Listen on Audio!Show NotesA quick primer to the verbs deposed, dethroned, defrocked, and usurped.Groot the Metallurgist is not a cute dancing tree, but rather the half-brother of Omort the Deathless. This Groot has forged a sword that can kill Omort.Jen went back to Dark Needs at Night's Edge and here is a screenshot of the scene where both Rydstrom and Cadeon choose their kingdom over their fated mates. Nix was not amused.Romancing the Stone is a rather amazing 80s adventure movie that stars Kathleen Turner as a romance author who travels to Colombia, where she has to trade a treasure map to free her sister. The sequel is The Jewel of the Nile, but it's not as good.Freya and Woden are two of the three parents to every valkyrie that is created.Jen says Holly is "some bullshitty one thing away" from being done with her PhD, but the phrase she was looking for was ABD (All But Dissertation).A MacGuffin is an object that drives the plot.Serial killers are creepy AF.Women should not be treated like incubators.Genetic (or biological) determinism is a problem.For some reason, even with all the talk of eating and not eating, Jen and Sarah failed to bring up the myth of Persephone. #Fail.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder isn't always portrayed well in the media. UPDATE: One of our listeners wrote this thoughtful thread on Holly's OCD and you should read it.The phrase "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" is from Shakespeare.Lobsters are always about love.Instagram and Twitter horn talk.One of our listeners painted an amazing portrait of Nix.Along with that 50% more blood thing, pregnant bodies are kind of amazing.Jen did some emergency research to find out about the etymology of sword, gladius (this video! lol), scabbard, and vagina.A Bugatti Veyron is very sexy, very speedy, and very spendy. One of our listeners noticed that there is no mile marker 775 in Mississippi, but there is something special about Mississippi River mile marker 775.The Stig read Sarah's book on Top Gear!Groot and Omort are only one letter away, which maybe means nothing; but playing games with words is fun.The Venn Diagram of what the author means vs. what English teachers think it means.Jen loves groveling a lot.420. I mean, that can't be an accident, right? Updated: On Instagram, follower Ellenino22 pointed out that 420 is "the smallest number divisible by 1-7." Whoa.Literary Disco is a podcast with lots of great games.Avon's KissCon will be in Chicago the first weekend of April 2019.Everyone but Sarah should watch these videos of planes landing in high winds.Kiss of a Demon King is going to be epic, so get ready.Lost Limb CountLegs (2)Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other)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) ** Arms (1)**Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)Eyes (2)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)Cadeon loses an eye and part of his forehead and hair when fighting. It all regenerates. (Dark Desires After Dusk)Hands (2)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)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)Horns (1)Cadeon files off his own horns in an attempt to win back Holly. She tells him to let them grow back. (Dark Desires After Dusk)The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/28/5-dark-desires-after-dusk 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.

Happy New Year, Fated Matesers (This isn’t a great name for us. We need a better name—someone name us)! We’re back, it’s 2019, new year, new us, and we’re starting as we mean to go on with Curvy Heroines, because, in the words of Julie Murphy, Every Body is a Swimsuit Body. Jen and I love a curvy heroine, and the men who love them, and so curvy romances are OUR FAVES.Next week, we’re getting into Demons! We’ve met Cade, the prince of Rothkalina (the Rage Demonarchy) and his brother Rydstrom, its deposed King, before — they were in the Talisman’s Hie, and in Néomi & Conrad’s book. Next week, we tackle Cade & Holly’s story, Dark Desires After Dusk, with Rydstrom & Sabine’s book Kiss of a Demon King two weeks later. We highly recommend reading these two close together!Show Notes- In the summer of 2018, Jen and a bunch of people on Twitter discussed Nine Rules to Break While Romancing a Rake using the hashtag #9RulesRake.- Sarah also has a curvy heroine romance that is coming in July! Brazen & the Beast has a gorgeous curvy heroine on the cover.- Just a reminder that Jenny Crusie is completely awesome, and Bet Me is an amazing book.- Courtney Milan has lots to say about romance. All of her books are amazing, but we talked about The Heiress Effect.- Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein was awareded the platinum medal in Jen's "Who Did It Better in the Library" post.- Romancelandia often recommends books with curvy and fat heroines, and there are quite a few thoughtful pieces about how we think aobut these characters our ourselves.- Naima Simone writes very excellent books and Jen & Sarah want this one right now.- Olivia Dade is an advocate for fat women in romance, and Jen and Sarah both loved this thread and want to read books about all these heroines.- Check out the full transcript for this episode.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/28/45-curvy-heroines-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.

Book 4 is here and so are ghosts! We’re talking Dark Needs at Night's Edge, starring Conrad (the most tortured of the Wroth vampire brothers) and Néomi (the ghost trapped in the house where he’s held hostage while he dries out). We’ll cover heroines with agency, menstrual cycles, virgin heroes and the importance of family. Also, Jen is on about the moon again.   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.Our next read (in two weeks) will be Dark Desires After Dusk — the beginning of the Rage-Demonarchy duology, featuring Cadeon Woede, who is forced to choose between familial loyalty and his human (or is she?!) fated mate, brilliant mathematician, Holly.Get ready for the read along at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or your local indie. Also, the Audible versions of IAD are on sale right now -- and WORTH EVERY PENNY! Listen on Audio!Show Notes- Ghosts are a human problem and preoccupation.- According to the Washington Post, "nearly half of the women who were murdered during the past decade were killed by a current or former intimate partner." Huge content warnings for everything in this article.- The Flame and the Flower, Shanna, and some of Sarah's thoughts about rape in romance.- We talk about Id a lot on Fated Mates, and we use it as a shorthand for our most primal, deep-rooted desires.- "All happy families resemble one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" is the famous first line of Anna Karenina. This New York Times article about the many Tolstoy translations is fascinating.- Kresley Cole isn't the only one to use the menstrual cycle as a symbol; but others wonder why menstruation is almost always absent from fiction.- A crescent moon (or "sliver moon" as Neomi calls it) is never up at midnight. Literally never.- Jen rants a lot about first person narration a lot on Twitter, but it's super OTT, so just read this thread about first person narration that was started by Rebekah Weatherspoon.- Shortly after they recoreded this episode, Jonathan Franzen stanned for third person narration and Jen realized she's just a handmaiden to the patriarchy.- Jen strongly recommends Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon. She saw Kiese Laymon being interviewed by Lolly Bowean at the Chicago Humanities Festival, and it was amazing.- All people deserve birth control that's right for them.- Some romance readers love breaking in the ponies with a virgin hero.- Arguably, agency is the most important character trait.- There are 45 cemetaries in New Orleans, 31 are historic, and 5 are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.- If you're planning to write a sitcom, know the formula.- In IAD, it's Thrane's Key; it Harry Potter, it's a time turner.- Get yourself some IAD ringtones.- Holly Ashwin and Cadeon Woede are up next in Dark Desires After Dusk.Lost Limb CountLegs (2)- Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other) -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)Arms (1) -Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)Eyes (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)Hands (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)The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/28/4-something-we-said-dark-needs-at-nights-edge 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.

It’s the holidays, and whether you’re the type to hole up on the couch and read, or go for a long walk to escape, we’ve got you covered. Get ready; we’re talking about horns. Show Notes- Update: Jen got THREE books for Christmas this year! These two from her brother, and her best friend gives perfect, #onbrand books. Sarah got Thomas Madden's Venice and the Great British Bake Off coloring book. Does that count as a book? - Sarah loves The Great British Baking Show, so you should watch. Or maybe you would just like to admire silver-fox, Paul Hollywood. -Here's a 1979 New York Times article about this new craze sweeping the nation: hand-raised pies. Everthing old is new again in Sarah's house!- Jen no longer has the decorative wooden book item, but she does like to window shop for glass jars full of...things.- "You can put your weed in there" is an old SNL joke.- Gatsby's books are a symbol, but maybe more than you wanted to know about how books are put together and how pages are cut.- Read some more AMAs if you're in the mood, and you know Jen can't wait to read that first one. - Strawberry Rhubarb pie is Sarah's favorite, and although Jen didn't mention it, a favorite pie she makes every summer is Strawberry Margarita pie.- Our favorite pie shops in Houston, Northern Michigan, Chicago, and Brooklyn.- Charlotte Stein and Sophie Jordan are auto-buys, and A Kingdom of Dreams and Dreaming of Youare comfort reads. Sarah's most re-read IAD book is Sweet Ruin, and Jen's is Demon from the Dark.- Kresley announced in her newsletter a few months ago that the next IAD book is Munro (he's Uilleam's twin brother).- It's not only romance where we talk about unlikable heroines, but it's also that we only ask women authors if their female characters are likable.- A quick overview of Gender essentalism.- A very long twitter thread where all of Romancelandia picked their IAD dream cast.- Olivia Dade made a list of cinnamon roll heroes.- The ultimate romance rule is HEA or GTFO (Happily Ever After or Get the Fuck Out). There's also HFN, or Happy For Now. Here's the rest of Jen's Romance Rules.- More about the the problematic fave- Your Kink is Not my Kink, a very useful way to be respectful when something just isn't your jam. Also, Sarah would like to remind you that decent people don't yuck other people's yum.- Jen could write odes to the arms of Linda Hamilton and Angela Basset forever.- Aidan Quinn, then and now.- We'll be ringing in 2019 with Neomi and Conrad.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/12/24/ama-with-sarah-amp-jen 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.

It’s the Holiday Season™️, which means it’s time to talk about Holiday romances! Get ready because there are A WHOLE LOT of books in this show. Also, get ready, because next week, on December 26th, instead of releasing our Dark Needs at Night’s Edge episode, we’re releasing a bonus Ask-us-Anything episode as a special holiday present to you! Our official IAD reread will resume January 2nd, with Néomi (ghost) & Conrad (vampire) and we have so. many. feelings. SO MANY.Show Notes- In case you're curious, here's where Jen learned to properly pronounce Therese Beharrie's name. Therese wrote 2 Christmas books this year: A Wedding One Christmas and Her Festive Flirtation, and Jen liked them both.- Before Sunrise came out in 1995, a sequel Before Sunset in 2004, and a third Before Midnight in 2013. This New Yorker review is a perfect example of everything Jen hates when people review anything romantic, so hate-read it if you're in the mood.- Jen completely got the name of that chapter book wrong, it's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.- Novellas are really common in romance, maybe more than other genres, and Jen anxioulsy awaits the think-piece explaining why.- Speaking of novellas: The anthology of Chanukah stories that Sarah mentioned is called Burning Bright; Reindeer Games is an anthology of stories with the snowed-in trope; and in Silver Belles, all the characters are over 40.- Sarah described the cover of A Holiday of Love as an example of a certain type of old-school book package. But just last year, A Christmas to Remember with Lisa Kleypas, Lorraine Heath, Megan Frampton, and Vivienne Lorret followed the same exact cover protocol.- Epistolary novels are super fun to read (Jen's favorite is Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Sarah is--unsurprisingly--very pro epistolary romance; her favorite is Kleypas's Love in the Afternoon), but Jen's pretty interested in how they are changing in the age of the internet.- All three of the books in the Men at Work series by Tiffany Reisz are delightful, but the Thanksgiving one is an absolute classic.- Last year, Jen ranked Thanksgiving romances for The Book Queen.- How the Dukes Stole Christmas is pretty great, and here's where Jen talked about Joanna Shupe's novella on twitter.The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/28/35-holiday-romances-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.