First Dates & Soulmates
Episodes
87 | Holiday Touchdown: A Hallmark Buffalo Bills Love Story [with Sara Frandina]
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the NFL decides it wants Hallmark’s audience and Hallmark decides it wants football money? You get Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love...
86 | Romantic Holiday Microtropes: Gingerbread Disasters & Other Seasonal Love Languages
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Christmas Eve, which means one thing in the FDSM universe: extremely specific holiday tropes, deeply unserious games, and a shocking number of ...
85 | Small Town Romance and Big Feelings with Norah Pritchard
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Meg and Nikki head back to small-town romance heaven with Norah Pritchard, author of “If You Were Mine”, the winter installment of her ...
84 | Heated Rivalry's "Hunter" & "Rose" [Bonus Episode with Andrea Jones]
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode exists because the fandom demanded it. And because Episodes 3 and 4 of Heated Rivalry emotionally drop-kicked us into the boards.Ni...
83 | Making Spirits Bright: Bailey Seaborn’s New Holiday Novella
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this holly-jolly chaos-fest, Nikki once again interviews Meg’s romance writer persona Bailey Seaborn to break down Making Spirits Bright, the 2.5...
82 | Heated Rivalry: The TV MM Romance Making the Whole Internet Thirsty
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heated Rivalry has arrived, and the FDSM household is officially in its Hockey Butt Era! Andrea Jones joins Nikki & Meg to dive into the first two epi...
81 | Pounded by Produce: A Veggie Love Tale (and Too Much Plot)
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Here in the FDSM universe Thanksgiving means one thing: sentient food erotica.This year, Meg drags Nikki into Pounded by Produce: A Veggie Love Tale; ...
80 | Psychopath Lovers & Feral Fandoms w/ Onley James & Shannon Ezzell
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this unhinged crossover episode, Meg & Nikki are joined by Onley James and Shannon Ezzell, hosts of the Feral Fandoms podcast to discuss psychopath...
79 | Always Be My Maybe: Slow burn, old flames, and Keanu Reeves
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki continue their Friends to Lovers deep dive with a pop culture gem, Always Be My Maybe. They unpack why this Netflix hit (starring Ali W...
78 | Friends to Lovers Explained: The Comfort, Chaos, and Chemistry
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki kick off “Friendsgiving” by dissecting one of the most comforting and chaotic romance tropes of all time: Friends to Lovers. They ex...
77 | We Took Our Own New Romance Quiz (and Immediately Started Arguing)
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this flannel-wrapped fall special, Nikki and Meg celebrate cozy season with a “fun house” of games, quizzes, and chaos. Expect haunted hayrides...
76 | Scared Sexy (Kindle Exclusive novella series 6-pack)
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nikki and Meg sink their teeth into Scared Sexy, Amazon’s spooky Kindle Unlimited novella six-pack featuring some of the biggest names in romance. S...
75 | Monster Romance & Lily Mayne's Soul Eater
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week Nikki and Meg sink their teeth into monster romance with Lily Mayne’s Soul Eater. From morally questionable demons to why readers love inh...
74 | Practical Magic: Curses, cardigans, and midnight margaritas
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nikki and Meg slip into slouchy cardigans (and maybe a little gold lamé) to dive into Practical Magic (1998) to unpack whether this is a romance, a f...
73 | Love at First Bite: Vampires in Romance
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
October starts with a bite as Nikki and Meg dive fang-first into the many flavours of vampire romance. From broody immortals to leather-pants predator...
72 | Elle Kennedy on Ice: "The Deal" & "Him"
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back-to-School September ends on the ice with Elle Kennedy’s The Deal and Him (co-written with Sarina Bowen). Nikki and Meg dig into why these two 2...
71 | She’s the Man: The Best Shakespeare Rom-Com Adaptation?
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you take Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, add soccer, boarding school hijinks, and early-2000s Amanda Bynes? You get She’s the Man! ...
70 | Grading Papers, Catching Feelings: Teachers in Love with M.A. Wardell
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Nikki and Meg sit down with author M.A. Wardell (of the Teachers in Love series) along with guest host Andréa Jones (aka author Oli...
69 | Professor/Student Romance: Is This Love or Just an Inappropriate Use of Office Hours?
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In their 69th episode (OH 69!), Nikki and Meg tackle a trope that’s as controversial as it is compelling: professor/student romance. Once labeled a ...
68 | 1950s Rom-Coms: Royal Mischief and Repressed Sexual Tension
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nikki and Meg head into the 1950s for a double feature of classic romantic comedies: Roman Holiday and The Prince and the Showgirl. They discuss:* Aud...
67 | It’s All Connected: Inside Eden Finley’s Shared Universe
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nikki and Meg sit down with bestselling author Eden Finley to talk all things generational romance, character crossovers, and the chaos of collaborati...
66 | Emotionally Repressed and Ready to Cuddle: Nikki's Gay Book Club
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Nikki takes over with her Gay Little Book Club, a roundup of recent M/M romance reads featuring everything from pierced men with large…at...
65 | Standing There Menacingly: How Readers Search for Romance
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meg dug into the weird world of romance search terms, using real SEO data to see what readers are actually Googling and what that means for the storie...
64 | Fake Dating, Real Emotions: Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki tackle Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez and the book club is in session! They’re breaking down all the sandy, swoony, and slightly ...
63 | Pining, Kink, and a Lot of Yelling: a game of romance "Would You Rather?"
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Meg and Nikki play a wacky round of Romance Would You Rather, where the questions are unhinged, the stakes are fictional, and the answers r...
62 | Only One Beach House: a Love On Vacation trope deep dive
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki unpack the logistics (and impractical magic) of the “love on vacation” trope! From beach house hookups to European cruises , they de...
61 | Stylishly Suited & Slightly sexist: RomComs of the 1940s
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's the episode where the suits are sharp, the heroines are divorced, and the kisses last less than three seconds! Nikki and Meg dive headfirst into ...
60 | Creator Burnout & Soft Doms: Olivia Carter's debut novel "Soft Launch"
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the favorite kind of debut: when a podcast superfan becomes a published author and takes the mic! This week, we welcome Olivia Carter (aka Andr...
59 | Slash, Fanon, & Fix-It Fics with "Dr Fandom" Katie Freund
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your PhD was in fanfiction? (Spoiler: our guest actually did that.) In this episode, Nikki & Meg are joined by scholar and fandom queen Dr. Ka...
58 | Butch, Femme & Found Family: Celebrating FF Love Stories
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, it’s all about the L in LGBTQ+. Nikki & Meg dive into the world of women-loving-women romances: the genre’s underrepresentation, share ...
57 | Sweet, Spicy, and Queer: Author DJ Jamison on MM Romance
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this author spotlight, Nikki & Meg sit down with romance writer DJ Jamison to talk about crafting queer love stories with heart, heat, and a whole ...
56 | "I'm Coming Out": Queer Awakenings in Romance
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Pride Month, and Meg & Nikki are kicking things off with a reflective conversation about queer identity and coming out romance stories we love ...
55 | Rockstar Romance with Jessica Topper
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week Nikki and Meg sit down with author Jessica Topper to dive into the world of rock star romance. A librarian-turned-romance-writer, Jessica sh...
54 | It's Our Anniversary! One Year of Romance Reads & Recs
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the one-year anniversary of First Dates & Soulmates — and Nikki & Meg are getting a little misty-eyed about it. In this retrospective episode...
53 | All Twerk, No Play: Neighbors, Musicians & Messy Heroines
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All Twerk No Play drops May 15th! Head over to the ‘Zon and download/buy your copy ASAP. Support indie writers! https://amzn.to/3Ee2O9ZNow onto the ...
52 | A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood: Neighbours to Lovers Trope Deep Dive
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Don’t forget, Meg’s new book All Twerk No Play drops May 15th! So get thee to the ‘Zon and download/buy your copy ASAP. Support indie writers! h...
51 | Fake Dating the Hot Mess: Hothead by Stella Rhys
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
First off, Meg’s new book All Twerk No Play drops May 15th! So get thee to the ‘Zon and download/buy your copy ASAP. Support indie writers! https:...
50 | Science, Sex, and Spreadsheets: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of First Dates and Soulmates, Nikki and Meg dive into The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood—a fan-favorite academic rom-com that spar...
49 | Same Trope, Three Ways: Eden Finley's Fake Boyfriend Series
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on First Dates and Soulmates, Nikki and Meg dive into the first three books in Eden Finley’s Fake Boyfriend series—Fake Out, Trick Play,...
48 | Just Go With It: a fake divorce romcom?!
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our April theme of fake dating, this week’s pick is Just Go With It (2011), starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston—and spoiler: Meg...
47 | Where Absurd Meets Heartfelt: Why We Love The Fake Dating Trope
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strap in. We’re going deep. This week on First Dates & Soulmates, it’s a trope episode! And we’re dissecting every glorious and absurd nuance of...
46 | Romance, but Make It Rich? Secret Billionaire Romance
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we wrap up our month-long Secret Identity theme with the most opulent trope of all: Secret Billionaires. We discuss “Butt-Dialing the Bill...
45 | "My boring husband is a super spy!" True Lies & Mr. and Mrs. Smith
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you fix a secret spy marriage? Blow some stuff up. This episode, Nikki and Meg discuss two classic secret identity action romance films, 1994’...
44 | “I just want to be normal!” Secret Princes & Princesses Seek Love
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week the March theme of secret identities continues by diving into secret royalty romance: the ones where princes, princesses, and future kings j...
43 | Royalty, Spies, & Billionaires: Secret Identity Romances
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever fallen for someone only to realize they’re secretly a billionaire? Or a prince? Or, oh, just a government spy with a kill count? This ...
42 | Set It Up: The Millennial Rom Com We Deserve
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do you get when you mix Cyrano, The Parent Trap, and two insanely charming leads? You get “Set It Up”, the Netflix rom-com that had us yearni...
41 | Regency Romance: Sarah MacLean's Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever read a historical romance and thought, “I would 100% sneak into a gambling den just for the drama”, then this week’s episode is...
40: A Romantic Birthday Mailbag
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Nikki & Meg’s birthday, and they’ll rant about romance tropes if they want to! Our hosts are back with a special mailbag episode, where the...
39: Football Romance with Alexa Martin
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strap in, romance fans, because this episode is intercepting all your expectations! We’re chatting with the MVP of football romance, Alexa Martin, a...
38: An Interview with K. Stirling
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode of First Dates and Soulmates, we are welcoming author K. Stirling! Listen in as Meg, Nikki, and K talk:* how K’s writing career...
37: The Weight Of It All by NR Walker
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can you fall in love at the gym?Continuing our theme of self improvement this month, this week Meg and Nikki are talking about NR Walker’s book, The...
36: Journeys of Self Improvement
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our series on characters who want to improve their lives, this week we’re diving DEEP into stories that start with characters who resolve...
35: "Get a Life, Chloe Brown" by Talia Hibbert
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are kicking off a series about main characters who seek out to improve some aspect of their lives and first up, “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by th...
34: The First Annual Tingly Awards
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to 2025 and our first annual Tingly Awards!Join Nikki and Meg as they look back at the books that made them blush, tingle, squee, and smile. T...
[Re-Release] Christmas in July: 30+ holiday romance novel recs
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ho, ho, ho, everyone. This week, because it is the holidays, and both Meg and Nikki are enjoying some well deserved time off, we come to you to the po...
33: NaNoWriMo Roundtable- The Results
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The month of November has passed and it’s time for us to check in with our NaNoWriMo authors from episode 27 to see how it went!Join Nikki, Meg, Lee...
32: Christmas Falls Season 2
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of romantic shenanigans can happen in the small town of Christmas Falls? A hell of a lot, as it turns out! In this week’s episode, our hos...
31: Meet Me Next Christmas, a holiday romcom
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Could it be a holiday miracle meet-cute involving the beautiful harmonies of Pentatonix? Why yes, it could! This week on the show Nikki & Meg are divi...
30: Sex Lives of Superheroes with Diana McCallum
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Your friendly neighbourhood spider person with radioactive sperm, an Amazonian warrior who gets tied up, and a caped crusader who likes to fight with ...
29: Back for Seconds, a hedonistic holiday tale
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this ode to American Thanksgiving, this week our hosts are diving into platters full of stuffing, phallic vegetables, and creams of all kinds. Meg ...
28: Romance That Makes Us Hungry
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you hungry? Famished? Voracious for something…delicious?In this week’s episode, Meg & Nikki dive deep into a prix fixe framework of delicious ...
27: A NaNoWriMo Author Roundtable
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For many creative folks the world over, the month of November is spent in pursuit of writing 50,000 words. Today, Meg & Nikki welcome 3 of Meg’s aut...
26: Bride by Ali Hazelwood
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Take one strong alpha male shifter and one super smart yet culturally naive vampire, put them in an arranged marriage with a dash of political intrigu...
25: Spooky Teen Romance Films (Twilight & Warm Bodies)
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the podcast Nikki & Meg are diving into YA spooky romance films Twilight and Warm Bodies! Yes, we are biting our lips, touching our cold ...
24: The Hidden Species series by Louisa Masters
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Hellhounds declaring a glitter fight? Vampires at war with accounting? It’s another day at the Community of Species Government.”In a bit of sur...
23: A Book Launch Review (and update) with Bailey Seaborn
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been almost two months since host Meg (aka author Bailey Seaborn) released her debut novel, Peppermint Bark No Bite. This week, we are checking...
22: Paranormal Romances
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are spooky scary skeletons sending shivers down your spine?Will dastardly demons and alpha shifters send tingles into your groiny bits?This week on th...
21: Heartless by Elsie Silver | cowboy, nanny, surprise baby grumpy-sunshine romance
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For many of us, romance is an escape from our day to day lives where we can just focus on the witty repartee, brooding good looks, and all of the ting...
20: The Best of RomanceBooks subreddit with Andréa Jones
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re diving deep into the bowels of our FAVOURITE subreddit to pick out the most curious of questions, the hottest of hot takes, and share t...
19: Secret Identity Rom Coms with Shenee Howard
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dear Fellow Plant Daddies, what would you do if you discovered that the anonymous person you have been chatting with is the horrible shirtless plant i...
18: Trope We Hate/Book We Love - Kissing Tolstoy by Penny Reid
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all have our favourites when it comes to tropes and storylines that we love. We also have ones that we hate with the burning fiery passion of a tho...
17: Sensitivity Readers 101 with Sydney Fowler
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that we should only write what we know?In this episode of #FirstDatesAndSoulmates, Meg & Nikki sit down with Sydney Fowler, a sensitivity r...
16: Bro’s Best Friend Romances with Mikayla Christy
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is dating your brother’s best friend… taboo?How shocking!In this week’s episode of #FirstDatesAndSoulmates, Nikki and Meg are joined by guest Mi...
15: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all know Nikki read her first romance novel (Born in Ice by Nora Roberts) when she was around 10 years old - but what about Meg’s first romance r...
14: The Weird-Ho’s Table with Author C. Rochelle
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Given our love of himbos, heroes (and villains) in spandex, and random ho-stuff, we knew there was but ONE PERSON who we could invite to the show this...
13: An Alien Mate for Christmas
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this last episode of First Dates and Soulmates’ “Christmas in July” series, Meg and Nikki are doing a read-a-long of a Christmas novella, An ...
12: Peppermint Bark, No Bite with Author Bailey Seaborn
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode of First Dates & Soulmates, Nikki is interviewing soon-to-be-famous author, Bailey Seaborn.Bailey Seaborn (Meg Casebolt’s p...
11: Peppermint Bark, No Bite: Chapters 4 & 5
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Get a sneak peek of Meg Casebolt's (written under the pen name, Bailey Seaborn) debut romance novel, Peppermint Bark, No Bite, a witty heartwarming, r...
10: Love, Actually: Film Review
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Love, Actually came out in November of 2003, so many critics hated it. Meg and Nikki are here today, continuing with Christmas in July to talk ab...
09: Christmas in July: Holiday Romances
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki are kicking off the month by celebrating Christmas in July.In this week’s episode of First Dates & soulmates, Meg and Nikki talk about...
08: Bridgerton Season 3 Recap
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 of Bridgerton is out and Meg and Nikki have THOUGHTS. In this week’s episode of First Dates & Soulmates, Meg and Nikki discuss their favori...
07: Trope Deep Dive: Enemies to Lovers
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode of First Dates & Soulmates, Meg and Nikki are doing a deep dive of one of the most popular romance tropes, enemies to lovers....
06: Peppermint Bark, No Bite Chapter 3: The Midnight Meet Cute
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Get a sneak peek of Meg Casebolt's (written under the pen name, Bailey Seaborn) debut romance novel, Peppermint Bark, No Bite, a witty heartwarming, r...
05: Their Last Resort by R.S. Grey
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meg and Nikki sure do, but in the case of Their Last Resort by R.S. Grey, they were left a little disappointed with the execution of some of these tro...
04: The Bridgerton Prosaic Universe
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of First Dates & Soulmates, Meg and Nikki are diving into the Bridgerton universe. Written by Julia Quinn and brought to T.V. b...
03: Peppermint Bark, No Bite sneak preview: Chapters 1-2
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Get a sneak peek of Meg Casebolt's (written under the pen name, Bailey Seaborn) debut romance novel, Peppermint Bark, No Bite, a witty heartwarmi...
02: My First Read: Born in Ice
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can you remember the very first romance novel you've ever read? For Nikki, it was Born In Ice by Nora Roberts. And in this episode of First Dates...
01: Why We Love Romance So Much That We Can’t Shut Up About It
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the first official episode of First Dates & Soulmates, Meg and Nikki talk about where their love for romance and reading began and why they&apo...
TEASER: First Dates & Soulmates
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Premieres Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024. Join Meg Casebolt and Nikki Mcknight for their weekly conversations on their latest romance reads. Each week, lis...