Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Episodes
06.22: A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re so excited for today’s deep dive on Natalie Caña’s A Dish Best Served Hot — a sexy, second-chance romance that gave us so many feelings...
06.21: Derek Craven Day 2024 : Heroes who Yearn with Sanj
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s February which means it’s time for the biggest holiday in romance — Derek Craven Day! We’re so thrilled to be able to celebrate this rema...
06.20: It's Romance Science!
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This one is probably as goofy as we get — we’ve spent six years talking about Romance Science, and now class is in session! We’re talking biolog...
S06.19: One Night Stands
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It seems impossible that we haven’t done this one, but we haven’t done this one! We’re talking one night stands—the absolute classic that ends...
S06.18: Firefighter Romance Novels
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is it getting hot in here? It is! We’re talking about firefighters this week — arguably the best of the hero(in)es in uniform because, let’s fac...
S06.17: Fresh Starts and New Beginnings in Romance Novels
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is it getting hot in here? It is! We’re talking about firefighters this week — arguably the best of the hero(in)es in uniform because, let’s fac...
S06.16: Happy New Year: Breeding Kink with Mila Finelli
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s New Years Eve, and that means tackling some of the more headphones-in stuff in the Romance Pool, we don’t make the rules. Ok. We kind of make...
06.15: Holiday Romances for 2023
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our annual holiday romance episode, and we’re so excited to have you with us! No Santa this year, but we’ve got Toy Runners, audio sexitime...
06.14: Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You didn’t think we were going to stay silent during the current dragon frenzy, did you? We absolutely have things to say about dragon heroes, and t...
06.13: Sarah & Jen are Taking Your Questions
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s December, Jen is in NYC, and we’re taking questions from our Discord and Instagram! Listen to us talk about how we read, what makes us DNF, h...
06.12: Best Romance Novels of 2023
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the best and worst task for us, because we read so many fabulous books over the course of the year, and choosing ten is hard, ok? But here they...
06.11: Rend by Roan Parrish & the Lift 4 Autism Auction
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re doing things a little differently! A while back, we donated an episode for bid in the Lift 4 Autism auction, arranged by friend of ...
S06.10: Men in Fur: Aliens, Warlords, and Vikings
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re feeling silly and spicy this week, so we’re delivering the silly, spicy niche content you’ve come to expect from us now and then — we’...
S06.09: Sports Romance with Jessica Luther
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s another sports interstitial! We’re talking sports, balls & sports balls with the brilliant Jessica Luther, sports romance lover, podcaste...
S06.08: Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale: Romance Math
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re reading an absolute romance classic — one of those books everyone tells you is a must read, and one that neither of us had read befor...
S06.07: Happy Halloween: Devils in Romance Novels
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jen’s been asking for this for six literal years, and we’re finally doing it! It’s Halloween and we’re talking Devils! Sure, we’ll touch on ...
S06.06: Trailblazer Nalini Singh
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our Trailblazer conversations continue this week with legend Nalini Singh, whose groundbreaking paranormal series changed the game. We talk about the ...
S06.05: Hot For Teacher with Special Guest Lauren Billings
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Oh no! Jen has bronchitis or at least something with bronchitis vibes and her voice is barely with us, so Sarah went rogue and brought Lauren Billings...
S06.04: Sweater Weather: Romance Novels with Fall Vibes
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week is full ✨vibes✨ and we’re not sorry about it. By request, we’re doing a “Romances for Sweater Weather” which aren’t spooky for...
S06.03: Excellent BIPOC Romance Novels for #23for23
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re so excited for today’s episode—in which we topple TBRs worldwide in support of the #23for23 Challenge! Spearheaded by Adriana Herrera, Nik...
S06.02: The Full Banana
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re so excited you’re with us for this season! The first interstitial episode of Season 6 drops today and it’s the full banana, meaning—here...
S06.01: Trailblazer Jackie Collins
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season Six! How is this even possible!Season One gave us a full lAD deep dive (if you’ve never read Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark, general e...
Season Six Starts This Week!
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a short one — our first episode of Season 6 is a trailblazer (AND A GREAT ONE) — so here’s a little glimpse of where we’ve been durin...
Hiatus: Sarah on Failure to Adapt
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season six is almost here, but not quite yet. To keep you entertained, we’re sharing Sarah’s latest appearance on the excellent Failure to Adapt p...
Hiatus: Jen and Sarah's Likewise Chat
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re still on hiatus, but we’ve got more goodies for you. We recently stopped by Likewise for a chat, and they were gracious enough to let us sha...
Hiatus: Five Minute Firebird with Christina Lauren
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re on hiatus this week (next week, too!), but we miss you, so we’re bringing you treats! On our Patreon, we host a short-video conversation ser...
S05.49: Knockout: #TommyGoBoom
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah has a new book out, so as is tradition for our last episode of the season, Jen is playing host, and Sarah is playing guest, and we’re talking ...
05.48: Grumpy/Sunshine Romance: Exasperated Man™️
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking about a classic trope that we’ve somehow missed over five seasons — Grumpy/Sunshine! Of course our favorite brand of this particul...
S05.47: Fairy Tale Retellings with Zoraida Córdova
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking fairytale retellings today with Zoraida Córdova, the author of Kiss the Girl, a new retelling of The Little Mermaid. We talk about th...
S05.46: Fast, Incendiary, Burns: Romance Novels that Start with a Bang!
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a million degrees and no one has time for slow burns right now, y’all. This week, we’re talking books that start with a bang — and we mea...
S05.45: Emotional Navy SEALs: Divorced Main Characters in Romance Novels
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After literal years of requests for this one, we’re finally tackling the divorced main characters in romance! We talk about romance between grown up...
S05.44: New Romance Novels For Summer 2023
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re talking about books we’re excited about this Summer! We’re toppling TBRs with books you can get now, books you can preorder, books ...
S05.43: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer with Christina and Lauren
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We go back to the OG DNA of the contemporary boom of the early 2010s today, with a read along of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, with fabulous fan fic w...
S05.42: The Bride by Julie Garwood: A Primordial RomCom
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We were devastated to learn of the passing of Julie Garwood, honest to God romance doyenne, last month. Garwood installed many of our buttons, and the...
S05.41 Worldbuilding in Romance Novels
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking about worldbuilding this week, and you’re getting a glimpse into Jen and Sarah’s everyday non-podcasting romance chatter. This one...
S05.40: STEM Heroines in Romance Novels
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s heroines in science week here at Fated Mates! STEM heroines are having a resurgence in romance, in no small part because of the rise of “STEM...
S05.39: Trailblazer Mary Balogh
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Trailblazers conversations continue this week with historical romance juggernaut Mary Balogh, whose decades-long career has shaped the Regency rom...
S05.38: Prologues & Epilogues in Romance
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to believe it’s taken us this long to do a prologue and epilogue episode! We talk about beginnings and endings and why they exist and wh...
S05.37: Fated Mates Live
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In March, we had the absolute best time with some of our favorite people at Fated Mates LIVE in Brooklyn! Here, for your enjoyment, is the recording o...
S05.36: The Best Kisses in Romance
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking kissing today! So simple and so powerful, there’s no doubt that that first kiss in romance is always an important one. This episode ...
S05.35: Trailblazer Loretta Chase
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Trailblazers conversations continue this week with the brilliantly talented Loretta Chase, who we adore, and not only because she wrote one of our...
S05.34: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re talking about one of our very favorite romance novels, Sarah Mayberry’s absolute banger, Her Best Worst Mistake. We talk about ho...
S05.33: Bingeable Romance Series
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a number of conversations and requests, we’re talking about the best long-running romance series today! We’ve got something for everyone —...
S05.32: Runaway Brides in Romance
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s runaway bride week here at Fated Mates and we’re delightedly traveling down memory lane to talk Julia Roberts, Sally Field, the importance of...
S05.31: Stealing Midnight by Tracy MacNish: A+ Fresh
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Finally, the read along we’ve been promising! We’re so excited to talk about Tracy MacNish’s Stealing Midnight, a gothic romance from 2008 that ...
S05.30: Christine Feehan: Trailblazer
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re sharing our fantastic conversation with trailblazer Christine Feehan, an undeniable force in the rise of paranormal romance in the ...
S05.29: Spring Romance Recommendations: Sarah & Jen fill your TBR
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We were together for the first time in a while, so we decided to record on Sarah’s couch! We answer questions from the audience at Fated Mates Live,...
S05.28: Women's Friendships in Romance with Sophie Jordan
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sophie Jordan is back again! She’s got a new book out, The Countess, the first in her Scandalous Ladies of London series, featuring a true Regency s...
S05.27: Teachers and Librarians in Romance
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking about teachers and librarians in romance today, but don’t worry — not hot-for-teacher kinds of teachers and librarians (someday, S...
S05.26: Dueling in Romance with Chels: Duels are Never Having to Say You're Sorry
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pistols at dawn, y’all! We’re talking about duels today — what they are, why they exist, who fights them, their rules and why they’re so darn ...
S05.25: Masquerades in Romance
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking Masquerades! Is it the Phantom of the Opera? Is it Amadeus? Is it Jude Deveraux’s The Raider? We don’t know but man we love a masq...
S05.24: Technology in Romance
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It feels like you can’t turn around these days without stumbling into a story that’s a little unsettling about technology and how we’re all livi...
S05.23: Books We Wish We Could Read Again for the First Time
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every once in a while, we decide we’re going to do an episode about books we just really really really like. Books we want you to really really real...
S05.22: Trailblazer K.J. Charles
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re welcoming KJ Charles to Fated Mates for our next Trailblazer episode! Known for her work helping to bring queer historical romance to t...
Fated Mates Live!
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s happening LIVE, in New York City! Join Jen, Sarah, and an absolutely fire lineup of special guests for a Fated Mates LIVE recording, in person,...
S05.21: That's So (Derek) Craven
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Derek Craven Day 2023—empirically the best romance holiday of February—and we’re celebrating in traditional fashion by talking about why ...
S05.20: Shifter Romance: Manimals!
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You’ve been asking for a shifter interstitial, and we like to give you what you want. Today, we’re talking manimals! We go back to the beginning a...
S05.19: Homecoming Romance with Kate Clayborn
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Seven-timer Kate Clayborn returns to the Fated Mates studio (lol, jk there is no studio) to talk about about going home again in romance and to celebr...
S05.18: Harlequin Category Romance Interstitial: The Romance Industrial Complex
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t talk enough about category romances, and that is a big mistake. This week, we’re changing that — discussing the power of the category r...
S05.17: Catherine Coulter: Trailblazer
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re thrilled to share our next Trailblazer episode this week—we had a great time talking with Catherine Coulter about her place in romance histo...
5.16: Snowed-In Romance
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year, Magnificent Firebirds! Our first episode of 2023 leans into winter — we’re talking snowed-in romances! What makes snowed-in differ...
S05.15: Omegaversity: Class is Now in Session with Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As is customary, we’re celebrating New Year’s Eve here on Fated Mates with some of our favorite people in a fully headphones-in episode! Pour your...
BONUS: Sarah's appearance on Failure To Adapt
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah recently joined Red Scott and Maggie Tokuda-Hall on their excellent Failure To Adapt podcast to discuss the Jane Austen’s Emma and Amy Heckerl...
Bonus: We Wish You a Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year of Books
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy happy holidays — our gift to you this weekend is a little bantr, a lot of book recs, and a wish that you get everything you want this holiday ...
S05.14: Band Sinister by KJ Charles
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our final read along of 2022, and we’re so excited to be talking about KJ Charles’s Band Sinister — one of Jen’s favorite books (she wo...
S05.13: Here Comes Santa Claus
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the Holiday Season™️ and for some reason 2022 Holiday Season has brought romance a sleigh full of Santa romance, which may or may not be a ...
S05.12: Twinterstitial: Twins in Romance
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
TWINS! For two romance readers steeped in 80s romance mythology, it’s hard to believe that it took us five seasons to have an interstitial on twins ...
S05.11: Best Romance Novels of 2022
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Best Romance Novels of 2022! It’s the best and worst task of the year for us, because we read so many fabulous books over the course of the year...
S05.10: The Diamond Dogs Book Club: Romance Novel Recommendations for the Ted Lasso Cast
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Two seasons ago we promised an episode where we recommend romance novels for each of the characters in Ted Lasso. Sarah’s brother is holding us to i...
S05.09: Hold by Claire Kent: There is Nothing Soft in this Book
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve talked about this week’s read along so much it’s kind of impossible to imagine that we haven’t read it with y’all, yet! But here we ar...
S05.08: Iris Johansen: Trailblazer
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our Trailblazer episodes continue this week with Iris Johansen, who began writing category romance in the heyday of the format at Loveswept. During he...
S05.07: Spooky Stuff! Halloween Romance
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s spooky season and that means we’re reading spooky stuff! We recommend some of our favorite recent witches and demons and incubii and ghosts a...
S05.06: Redemption Romance with Christopher Rice
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the very best version of “third time’s the charm,” we are finally welcoming Christopher Rice to Fated Mates! A man of many talents, he writes...
Stop Book Banning: A Special Episode of Fated Mates
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2022, book bans in United States schools and libraries are at their highest since the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom started collecting data. B...
S05.05: Moonstruck: A Wolf Without a Foot Redux!
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our 200th Episode and we’re finally doing the thing we’ve been talking about doing for 200 episodes! A full deep dive into one of our favor...
S05.04: What to Read If You Liked The Love Hypothesis...
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start one of our new features for Season Five: If You Liked…Read This! We begin with Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis, a book that too...
S05.03: Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas: A Professional Driver on a Closed Course
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s official! Sarah has broken the glass and taken Marrying Winterborne out of the vault and she has exactly as much to say about it as you expect!...
S05.02: Romance Novel Beginnings: Starting With a Bang!
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not that kind of bang! We’re talking about beginnings today, on the first interstitial of Season 5! This one edges into a bit more writing shop talk...
S05.01: Season Five! Romance World Domination!
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Season Five starts today, you Magnificent Firebirds!Season One gave us a full lAD deep dive (if you’ve never read Kresley Cole’s Immortals After D...
Bonus! Fated Bosoms/Heaving Mates Crossover
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re still on our break (back next week!) but this week we have two episodes coming to your earholes! Today, we’re releasing our crossover episod...
Bonus! Fated Mates Live in Alexandria, VA
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're on hiatus until September 14, when we'll start Season 5, but you won’t miss us, because this week, we have the recording of Fated Mates Live, ...
S04.49: Heartbreaker: Meet the Hell's Belles
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah has a new book out, so as is tradition for our last episode of the season, Jen is playing host, and Sarah is playing guest, and we’re talking ...
S04.48: J. R. Ward: Trailblazer
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The final Trailblazer of Season 4 is a very excellent one—we’re welcoming JR Ward to Fated Mates! Best known as the author of The Black Dagger Bro...
S04.47: Antiheroines in Romance
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our final interstitial of Season 4 and we’re talking Antiheroines! If she’s a criminal, a grifter, a villain or a generally bad dude, we’re here...
S04.46: Two Girls, One Microphone, Headphones In: Sarah and Jen at Apollycon
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You’re getting the full banana this week, y’all, because we were together! Like, actually face to face, across a table in a hotel room! We’re ta...
S04.45: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re talking about one of our (and many of your!) favorite recent contemporary romances, Talia Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown. We’...
S04.44: Daddy Romance
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Four seasons in, we’re just throwing caution to the wind now. It’s Daddy week! Yes, that kind of daddy. No, it’s not for everyone, but it is for...
S04.43: [Sex on the] Beach Reads
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s July, which means it is officially summer reading time in the northern hemisphere! We’re so excited to share this week’s episode, in which ...
S04.42: Brenda Jackson: Trailblazer
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our Trailblazer episodes continue this week with Brenda Jackson, contemporary romance juggernaut, the first African American romance novelist to hit t...
S04.41: Unputdownable Romance Novels
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t even know, y’all, so this week, we’re doing a little bit of flailing and a lot of talking about books we found unputdownable when we re...
S04.40: Royalty Romance #2
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We were going to do a deep dive this week, but then we read the book and decided that was a hard pass! So, we do a very shallow dive and then get to t...
S04.39: Superhero Romance with Barry Lyga
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re talking Superheroes! Why is it so rare to see a great romance in a superhero story? Is there really no room for love and capes? Do ...
S04.38: These Books Bang: The Sexiest Romance Novels
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode is thanks to Julie Block, the Fated Mates listener who won an episode of the podcast in the Romance for Reproductive Justice auc...
S04.37: Groveling in Romance Novels
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If there isn’t a grovel, is it even a romance? This week, we’re getting to the bottom of one of our favorite moments in a romance novel — the gr...
S04.36: Jude Deveraux: Trailblazer
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our Trailblazer episodes continue this week with Jude Deveraux, an early historical romance author who broke several publishing barriers over her more...
S04.35: Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin: Some Real Hero Sh*t
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re talking about one of our favorite historical romances, Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords. This is one we’ve mentioned on previous ...
S04.34: Celebrity Romance Novels
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re tackling one of Sarah’s favorite tropes this week — the celebrity romance! We talk about all the ways that her buttons were installed (tha...
S04.33: Something About You by Julie James: Jack’s A Good Name For A Hero
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re talking about a beloved contemporary romance, the first in Julie James’s FBI/US Attorney series — Something About You. This on...
S04:32: EE Ottoman: Trailblazer
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Trailblazer episodes continue this week with EE Ottoman, the first out trans author of romance novels. EE joins us to talk about his journey into roma...
S04.31: Vampire Romance Novels
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the request of Instagram, we’re talking Vampires today! We’re doing some deep cuts, returning to Kresley Cole for a minute or two, and then dig...