← Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Loading summary
Transcript395 lines
- [00:00]
Sarah McLean
I'm excited for today.
- [00:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, we've been planning and plotting.
- [00:05]
Sarah McLean
Tell everybody what you. Cute text.
- [00:07]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, my God. Okay, so we have talked about this several times, but I continue to feel so angry that it's accurate and true and valid.
- [00:18]
Sarah McLean
Wait, before you tell, I'm gonna lead you. Give. Give you a tee up for your story. Because Eric said that he was looking at something. Something came across his feed about fated mates. And so he, like, clicked through or like, I forgot. He was like, I was somewhere and I was reading and. And somebody who was very complimentary about the podcast apparently was like, but yes, we have read that Lorraine Heath book.
- [00:45]
Jennifer Prokop
You guys see God, terrible. Eric was like, you guys are constantly talking about the same books. And I was like, okay, what's your fucking point? No, I did not feel that way. I believe, though, I was like, you need to not give me this kind of feedback the first week of school.
- [01:07]
Sarah McLean
It's not a good time.
- [01:08]
Jennifer Prokop
This is not a time where I'm gonna be able to take that in.
- [01:11]
Sarah McLean
So we didn't. So we didn't. We put that feedback away, but then we came back to it.
- [01:15]
Jennifer Prokop
So what we're trying to do is, like, we. When we have big episodes where we're like, okay. Where everything we're gonna talk about is new. And I regret to inform you that I have been having a nice time.
- [01:28]
Sarah McLean
She keeps texting me. I am so angry that Eric's right.
- [01:31]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm so angry that Eric's right.
- [01:33]
Sarah McLean
And I'm like, how do you think I feel? An absolute insult. Terrible that my husband is sometimes right.
- [01:39]
Jennifer Prokop
Terrible cannot be born.
- [01:41]
Sarah McLean
So in this scenario, he is not my husband. He's just our producer. I just can't face it.
- [01:46]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, no, absolutely.
- [01:46]
Sarah McLean
It's 2025, and I cannot face my husband being correct. Welcome, everyone, to Fated mates. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.
- [01:56]
Jennifer Prokop
And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor.
- [02:00]
Sarah McLean
And we wanted to draw everybody's attention because we are discoverability buddies.
- [02:04]
Jennifer Prokop
It's true.
- [02:06]
Sarah McLean
If you are the person who said discoverability buddy to us, could you please, like, Instagram me or hit us up on Blue sky or Threads or somewhere so that we can name you because we love you. And, like, we now use this all the time. This is. That's all canon in house.
- [02:20]
Jennifer Prokop
And also on the podcast, what were we gonna say? Oh, it's Black History Month. Bookshop.org It's Black History Month, and bookshop.org has a great list of black romance that you can get this month. And I think it's 20% off. And a bunch of these are books that we have talked about or put on our best of list or have said are upcoming and you should check them out. And so we will put that link in show notes. And I think this is probably just for print books. But the other thing that is really cool, Everybody is that bookshop.org now has a reading app for buying and reading digital books. Now here's the thing about bookshop.org I want to love it in theory, but by the time you like, if you are just buying one book, like with the shipping fees, it just feels so expensive, right? And so at that point I'm like, well, fuck it, I'm just gonna go down to Seminary co op and buy this book and save myself. So the thing is, is many romance readers are reading in e. And so bookshop.org is like great in theory, but has in practice. You know, we are not seeing that people are using these links a lot. So they just opened an ebook store and you have to, you know, like you have to buy on, you know, your computer and you can't buy it in the app, just like with Amazon or whatever or Kobo or what have you and then read in the app. But the thing that is great about this is, as you may be familiar, ebook prices are stable across platforms, right? So you, if you're gonna buy an ebook, this means you can buy an ebook. And you same energy, you say, okay, Seminary Co Op is my local bookstore that I always like designate. Or you can change it up every time if you want to. And then you buy a book, you buy ebooks and read them on your devices. And I actually downloaded kind of as like a lark. It was funny. Tara DeWitt, really, I just admired her greatly. One day for something on social media, she called someone a fascist. And I was like, tara, I don't know you, but I want to.
- [04:35]
Sarah McLean
And so, but also, can we talk? Just, I mean like judging a book by its cover. Those books have great covers. This pteran.
- [04:42]
Jennifer Prokop
So I downloaded the one called the co op.
- [04:44]
Sarah McLean
But also excellent work.
- [04:46]
Jennifer Prokop
Excellent work, Tara. Excellent, excellent work. So I downloaded the co Op because also it made me laugh because my Seminary co op is my local bookstore and I gave the app a little bit of a test run and you know.
- [04:59]
Sarah McLean
And how was it?
- [04:59]
Jennifer Prokop
It's great. It does all the basic things you want it to do, right? So it's like you can do some basic functionality with like changing the font. You can do like reverse you know, black and white in terms of like having a dark background. You know, you can have it be infinite scroll rather than Pagin. Right. Like turning the page. And so I feel like it does all the basic stuff you want it to do. And if you're reading on a phone or a device, an Android device or an iPad or whatever, then you can just have it be one of the suite of reading apps you have. Because I'm sure like all of you, you have a bunch of reading apps.
- [05:35]
Sarah McLean
I know.
- [05:35]
Jennifer Prokop
I have like 20.
- [05:36]
Sarah McLean
All right, I want to talk about the books.
- [05:38]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay. I know.
- [05:41]
Sarah McLean
So there's a divide. This is another reason why we're mad at Eric right now.
- [05:44]
Jennifer Prokop
I am. I'm like, why are you doing this to me? It's so wrong.
- [05:48]
Sarah McLean
Ok, so there is this, this like, device. It's called a Boox B O O X the Palma. And it's basically, it's an E reader. And so Jen reads on. You read on an iPad?
- [06:01]
Jennifer Prokop
I read on an iPad. Cause I have so many different reading devices.
- [06:05]
Sarah McLean
Yeah.
- [06:06]
Jennifer Prokop
And so I.
- [06:07]
Sarah McLean
Which makes perfect sense. I do not like to read. I like E Ink. I do not like to read on a screen. It makes my eyes feel funny. That's why I wear like glasses that have yellow tinted lenses in them. Like, I have an eye thing. And so I. For me, E reader is very valuable. But the problem is, is that I have a Kindle. And like, aside from the fact that it's like a weird size and doesn't fit in your pocket and it's kind of a hassle, it's also like not. It's just a clunky big thing to have to like carry around with you. Listen, I know everybody. Everybody's like, sarah, do you always have a book in your b. Yes, I do. It's not the same.
- [06:49]
Jennifer Prokop
Excuse me. The fuck I better do.
- [06:53]
Sarah McLean
I always have a paper book in my bag.
- [06:55]
Jennifer Prokop
I do.
- [06:55]
Sarah McLean
For some reason that's not clunky. But a Kindle, which is a third of the size is. Don't me. But this new thing, I know it's called a Palma and it's not that new because this is the second generation of it.
- [07:06]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [07:07]
Sarah McLean
Is the size of an iPhone and it's E Ink.
- [07:11]
Jennifer Prokop
And it's an Android device.
- [07:13]
Sarah McLean
It's an Android device. So you can get yourself off of that, you know, billionaire platform. You can get yourself on to say.
- [07:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Kobo or bookshop.org or all of them at once.
- [07:24]
Sarah McLean
Except for Kindle.
- [07:26]
Jennifer Prokop
No, you can get a Kindle app on there. There's a Kindle app for Android. Yes, Sarah.
- [07:30]
Sarah McLean
On books.
- [07:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay.
- [07:31]
Sarah McLean
On the books.
- [07:32]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, Sarah, wait.
- [07:33]
Sarah McLean
Now Jen's going to tell me everybody. She's going to tell all of us. She knows more.
- [07:36]
Jennifer Prokop
Everyone. It's an Android device. So if you have a Google phone, you can get the Kindle app, correct? Yes, correct. So you can essentially get every reading app. This is why it's really. I could bas replicate my iPad situation, which is I have the Kobo app, Kindle app, the books. The only thing you probably cannot get on there actually would be the Apple Books app. Right?
- [08:00]
Sarah McLean
Which is fine because I don't use that anyway.
- [08:02]
Jennifer Prokop
But you could get Google Play, you could get Audible. So essentially if there's a reading app for it in the Android Store, then you can put it on this device and essentially have then all of your ebooks in one place on an E Ink device.
- [08:18]
Sarah McLean
Amazing.
- [08:18]
Jennifer Prokop
I know, I really want one.
- [08:20]
Sarah McLean
So it's not cheap if you're out there. Books people, if the marketing department at books would like faded mates to say, try this out and like tell our users if it's great. Jen and I are here.
- [08:36]
Jennifer Prokop
We're here for you.
- [08:37]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, it's not the cheapest tool in the world, but it, I mean it is tempting. Can I tell you the best part? So Eric showed this to me and then it was like everywhere. Like, then everybody's talking about it. Like when bookshop.org launched it was like, hey, look, you can also get this cool device. Here's what's funny about it. Literally two days later. So enough people must have gone and done this that two days later I got a dedicated email from Amazon AI trying to sell me one of these things and I was like, oh, Amazon AI, you really messed up. Jeff Bezos does not agree on all the research.
- [09:15]
Jennifer Prokop
I just have not actually bought the thing yet. First of all, if you are a dedicated ebook reader, I think it's $280. It is a lot of money, but it's like worth it if you're going to use be a heavy user of an E Ink device. I have heard though that it is better to buy it from a third party, like buy it from Walmart or, or buy it from Amazon and that way it's. I, I have heard their customer service directly is a little tricky. But yeah, I mean I'm really tempted because I essentially, like I said, could replicate my reading situation on my iPad, but on an E Ink device. So in order, I actually have a freestanding Kindle as well. And I really haven't been using it. And then I actually dug it out of its hole and plugged it in and took it upstairs. I was like, maybe I'll have an upstairs e reader and a downstairs e reader. And because I was like, do I really like E Ink? I just haven't read on it in so long. And I was like, oh, yeah, it's fucking great. And then I was like, I wish I wouldn't have done that.
- [10:17]
Sarah McLean
If anybody out there also, like, gets tired eyes and the phone, slash, iPad reading is breaking you at night, which mine does. The E Ink really is a godsend.
- [10:30]
Jennifer Prokop
Here's the other reason I like well, and I essentially have tried to replicate this on my reading iPad. Which is the great thing about these E Ink devices, too, is, like, you cannot. You cannot drift away to, like, look at the fall of democracy.
- [10:44]
Sarah McLean
No, you're. You're in the. The universe.
- [10:47]
Jennifer Prokop
There's less distraction. So on my. My reading iPad, I don't have my email. I don't have any apps outside of reading apps. I. You know, I'm just like, how. I just want to make sure I can't really do those things. I do have, like, a browser just so I can, like, buy books from it. But anyway, so the book's Palma, too.
- [11:07]
Sarah McLean
So you said upstairs and downstairs reading, and I wanted to ask, have I told you my story about when I was a kid and upstairs and downstairs reading? No. Okay. My mother is English, and my grandparents lived for many years in a, like, seaside town in England called Budley Salterton, which is the most English town name, 100%, anybody has ever heard.
- [11:33]
Jennifer Prokop
If I read that in a book, I'd be like, come on, don't do so much. Stop trying so much.
- [11:38]
Sarah McLean
It's a real place, everybody. It's in Devon. It's on a map. Okay, so. But they lived in this big. I don't. Honestly, I've now described this to my mom at one point, and she was like, it wasn't that big. Well, you were little.
- [11:51]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, I was little.
- [11:53]
Sarah McLean
And in my head, it was this, like, massive, like, Victorian house right by the sea. And it was by the sea, and it was a Victorian house. But it was not. My mother is like, it was not massive. And. But it had three floors. And the top floor, the third floor, was an attic, kind of like an attic space. It had, like, a real gabled roof. And so, like, you couldn't probably be able to stand up there, but, like. And there were two very small twin beds, and we were sort of shoved up into this attic Right. And if you've. This house was old then, so it made a lot of noise and it was like creepy and like creaky. And also it was England and so it rained all the time. And you'd be up there and like the rain would be raining and like the house would be creaking and it was like the kind of house where, you know, it was old, electric and so like, you know, things would flicker or like if it was dark, it was really fucking dark.
- [12:57]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [12:58]
Sarah McLean
And. And it was one of those things. I don't know if you were like this ever as a kid, but like, did you ever like, were you ever in the basement or whatever and you'd like shut off the light and then race up the stairs like out of fear that there was something to get me. This was basically my grandparents house on that third floor, but that's where I slept. And so I was a kid and we would go for long stretches of time in the summer to basically because it was so expensive to go to travel in, you know, the 80s that we would go for like a month at a time. And there was a library in Budley Salterton. And that was the full extent of my entertainment because my grandparents had like a TV that had two channels on it. And I would have an upstairs book and a downstairs book. And the downstairs books were. The upstairs book, the downstairs book was like the Witches by Roald Dahl, which is fucking terrifying. And the upstairs book would be like a mills and Boone Dr. Romance because I certainly was not going to read anything that was even remotely scary. No upstairs in that scary room. No attic.
- [14:17]
Jennifer Prokop
God, no.
- [14:18]
Sarah McLean
So that's what it was. And thanks to the librarians in Budley Salterton for introducing me to Mills and Boone medical romances.
- [14:25]
Jennifer Prokop
Less listen.
- [14:29]
Sarah McLean
Doing the Lord's work, I know, for my upstairs reading.
- [14:34]
Jennifer Prokop
Upstairs, downstairs, but make it books. Okay? That is actually the perfect metaphor to launch into what it is we will be discussing today, which is the new historicals. Now let us explain what we mean. Last week we had Adriana on and we talked a lot about like, just like the state of historicals. And obviously we have historical authors that we return to again and again. But what we.
- [14:58]
Sarah McLean
We know. You've read the Lorraine.
- [15:00]
Jennifer Prokop
He's fine. You've all read Guerrilla. Congratulations.
- [15:03]
Sarah McLean
You could all go reread it and you'd have a lovely time.
- [15:07]
Jennifer Prokop
You know, Everybody knows about St. Vincent. Okay. So what we challenged ourselves to do was to bring you an episode where we basically talked about books we've never mentioned before. And in many cases, authors that are new as well. Right. So we searched high and low. You know, some of these are traditionally published. Some of them are independent, like independently or self published or like kind of a small indie press that only does, you know, ebooks or whatever. Some of these I found on my own. Some of these were referrals from people, direct referrals or recommendations. Some of these I just, like, someone mentioned it on social media and I downloaded at that minute. And I had a big old collection on my Kindle called the New Historicals.
- [16:00]
Sarah McLean
I have the same collection but with different books.
- [16:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [16:03]
Sarah McLean
And because I went to ku, I was like, I am going to Discoverability.
- [16:09]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [16:09]
Sarah McLean
This fucking list of KU authors and list. And I downloaded 32 Kindle Unlimited historicals by names. The rule was I, if I had heard the name, I did not download it. Like, I literally was like, I'm only downloading people I've never heard of. And then I supplemented with some other people who I knew I had wanted to read. And this really gave me the opportunity to finally read them.
- [16:39]
Jennifer Prokop
So what we're going to do today is just talk about these historicals and recommend them, the ones we like the best. I don't think we're going to get through all of them. There's a handful at the end that like, I was like, oh shit, that person has a new book. Or we've mentioned them before, so we might mention some. Some books at the end that like, we haven't read. And then I think some book, if they come out starting in March, we will put into instead into the like Spring Reads episode. Right. So we're really looking at books that essentially you will not have to wait to read. You know, everybody's really excited, and by everybody, I mean me and Sarah and everybody about A Gentleman's Gentleman by T.J. alexander. But it doesn't come out till March 11, so we're just gonna hold on that one.
- [17:24]
Sarah McLean
And there are also, I should say, other books that are coming out. Like, we, for example, talked about the Trouble With Anna, which is Rachel Griffith's debut historical, which comes out end of the month, and I mentioned it on the Winter Reads episode. I'm also going to talk about that book once it's out, but I really feel like it's just not. I think we both feel like it's not as valuable to you all to hear about books if you can't get them today.
- [17:56]
Jennifer Prokop
Right. Right. Like, we are trying to restrict that as much as we can to those, like, preview episodes plus fated mates is.
- [18:04]
Sarah McLean
On the record for being deeply committed to the historical genre. Like, we are going to put historicals in as many rec.
- [18:10]
Jennifer Prokop
As many episodes as we possibly can. Right.
- [18:13]
Sarah McLean
So stick with us.
- [18:15]
Jennifer Prokop
So. Yeah. So we really. And I also think it helps us when we're like, okay, what is the small, narrow thing we're trying to do here? Because otherwise, you know, I can get. Really get away from us. So to that end, Sarah, do you want to start?
- [18:27]
Sarah McLean
I do. I'm so excited.
- [18:28]
Jennifer Prokop
I know. I'm really excited about it, too. There's one I'm so excited about. I won't tell Sarah anything about it.
- [18:34]
Sarah McLean
I know she keeps writing. And then a surprise one.
- [18:37]
Jennifer Prokop
Let's write the surprise book because it's so fucking amazing.
- [18:40]
Sarah McLean
All right, I'm gonna start. And I apo. I want to apologize ahead of time because, like, I read a lot of people who, like, I'd never read before, and I apologize in advance if you've been around for a million trillion years and. But, like, here, I'm rectifying it now.
- [18:56]
Jennifer Prokop
This week's episode of Faded Mace is brought to you by Rayan Gray, author of Double Exposure.
- [19:03]
Sarah McLean
All right, you ready for this? You're going to love, like, multiple layers of this. So Jillian Rhodes, our heroine, lies to everyone she meets. She is one of the world's best art thieves.
- [19:15]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it.
- [19:15]
Sarah McLean
She has basically spent her entire life as a reacher esque heroine. She is flown solo. She gets hired to do these jobs. She does the stealing. She returns the inform, the. The item. She gives the item away, and then she makes money. And it's great. She gets hired to steal a collection of photos belonging to a kind of controversial dead guy from the Art Institute of Chicago around the corner from you. Everything should be business as usual. Except it's not, because she has two problems. She is not the only thief aiming for these photographs. There's someone else also aiming for them, and that is Sloan Caffrey, who has their eye on the photos and also is Jillian's hot ex. Jillian and Sloan had a terribly messy breakup three years earlier. They have been shenaniganing and competitioning and getting vengeance on each other for ever since. And now in this latest theft, they are absolutely at each other's throats. Except it starts to become clear that maybe this whole thing is a setup for the two of them to get caught and sent to prison. Oh, so will they work together? I think they might. And this is going to be just like a sexy, heisty romance.
- [20:32]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it. So if you are interested in this very fun enemies to lovers. We're stealing art in Chicago. I said that in my most Chicago accident. And everybody, you should check out Double Exposure. It has a woman and one non binary main character character, which is awesome. And it is all about stealing hearts, not just stealing art. Thank you to Ray and Gray for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [21:03]
Sarah McLean
All right, I want to talk about Maggie Sims and I want to talk about a book called Lion's Lover. L, Y O N S. So I was predisposed already to enjoy this. The Black lion, the Lyon spelling of lion has really like embedded itself deep in my DNA. Okay, so this, the. The tee up of this book is. The heroine of this book is an courtesan who is ready to retire. She's like, I have a gorgeous house. I have a perfect. Like, I have all the money I could ever need. I have, like, done the job. I have lived the life. I have had multiple lovers. I enjoy sex. I am like, all is well with me, but I would really like to have a family. And so I need to find a person who will marry me knowing that, like, I was one of, you know, the great courtesans of our time and who like, wants to have children and won't be upset that, like, I've been a courtesan. Because that's just how it is. This is like first of all, a plus, unapologetic courtesan is like how I want all things to go. So she goes to a kind of house, like a sex. It's like a. There it's run. It's like. It's like a bordello. It's run by, you know, a particular kind of, you know, a particular woman. And she goes there and she says, and she meets the woman and she says, listen, I'm looking for, you know, this is what I'm looking for and would you please help me, like, find the right person? And so the woman who like runs this basically like matchmaking situation says, yeah, okay, I can help you, but you need to do me a favor first. I. It's. This place is also like a gaming hell. There is a young lord who is like kind of a wastrel, very much a rake, an alcoholic. And like comes in here and he drinks too much and he gambles too much, and he is in debt to me for like a ton of money. Like, and she's like, and I need you to basically like, sobriety, like, sobriety check him. Like, I need you to be his like sober companions. He needs to dry out and I need you to do that. And if you can do that for me, I will then provide you with, like, the name of the person who you should, you know, court and marry. Give me some time. So the is Isabella. Bella is like, yeah, yeah, okay, fine. Like, who could it. Who could it be? And we meet Luke, who is known to his friends as South. We. We meet him because his father is, like, the Duke of Northumberland or something. And so, like, the, like, the joke is his father thinks he's so unlike his, like, stern and, you know, staid father that they call him instead of north, they call him South. This is important. I'm not just, like, telling you everything. Although I could easily tell you the whole plot of this book. Okay, so we meet Luke, like, on a tightrope. They basically have said to him, like, if you walk across, there's a tightrope strung across the, like, bed of nails. And if he can get all the way across the tightrope while, like, fully drunk, without falling, they will waive his debt. But if he can't, they'll double it. And of course, he falls onto the bed of nails. It's very odd.
- [24:46]
Jennifer Prokop
Men are so dumb.
- [24:48]
Sarah McLean
Totally believable. And she's like, oh, boy, I'm gonna.
- [24:52]
Jennifer Prokop
I have my work cut out for me.
- [24:54]
Sarah McLean
So she takes him home, and Jen, she does what really any one. The only reasonable thing to do, which is she chains him to her bed.
- [25:04]
Jennifer Prokop
I was like, what is Sarah about to say? Oh, sure.
- [25:06]
Sarah McLean
Like, they're not in bed together. Like, she just. She's like, he's. She empties the house of alcohol. She discovers that he's, like, kind of a mess and, like, desperate to find alcohol literally anywhere in the house. She's like, well, you give me no choice. I'm just going to chain you to my bed, and you'll have to sleep on the floor. And of course, like, it gets very sexy in that, like, one night, he, like, she wakes up. Or she's like, they're both there and they've had this, like, kind of, like, sexual, like, back and forth, very tense, a lot of tension. And then she can, like, hear him jerking off on the floor. And she's like, you better stop. And then it's just, like, hot, right? I mean, like, anyway, it's very sexy and very hot. And then here's the problem, though. So when she decided I left this part out, she decides when she goes to ask the courtesy for, like, a person. She's like, the court. And he's like, well, do you have a, like, an ex person, an ex lover who you would like, you wish you'd married. And she's like, actually, I do. Like, there was this lover. He was great. I really loved him. He was so. He was like such a decent person. And he would have had me, but, like, I didn't want to leave London because I was young and stupid and. What was his name? North.
- [26:21]
C
Is that not the greatest?
- [26:23]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, wow.
- [26:26]
Sarah McLean
So eventually. Jen.
- [26:30]
Jennifer Prokop
I am shook. Sarah. Oh, dear.
- [26:33]
Sarah McLean
So that is Maggie Sims, Lion's Lover. It is also for those of you looking for an age gap where the heroine is older than the hero. This is for you. I very much enjoyed this.
- [26:47]
Jennifer Prokop
I would bet you that you did.
- [26:50]
Sarah McLean
And I. It is. According to the Internet, the Lion's Den has 72 books as part of the series. So I don't know what's going on there, but I might read more of them.
- [27:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [27:02]
Sarah McLean
Is what I'm saying. Fully intend to read more of them.
- [27:05]
Jennifer Prokop
Why wouldn't you? Are they all by her? No, they're probably like one of those things where the.
- [27:09]
Sarah McLean
Oh, I don't know. It's a good question.
- [27:10]
Jennifer Prokop
It's probably like one of those things where they're.
- [27:12]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, correct.
- [27:13]
Jennifer Prokop
I got you.
- [27:14]
Sarah McLean
I bet the lions. You know what the Lion's Den is probably the sex club. Yeah.
- [27:19]
Jennifer Prokop
I mean, what are you new here?
- [27:20]
Sarah McLean
I know this for sure. Yeah. The most notorious gambler. Listen, do I put it together? It takes me some time.
- [27:25]
Jennifer Prokop
She was like. I was too delighted by north and South.
- [27:30]
Sarah McLean
Yep. I really enjoyed this book. So that is Lion's Lover by Maggie Sims.
- [27:37]
Jennifer Prokop
I. You said age gap, so. All right, challenge accepted. I am going to talk about the Sapphire Heiress by Ella Leon. And this is a debut historical. And this author reached out to us and I was like, yeah, like, thanks. We're about to do a historical episode. Well done. Good timing. And it's an ownvoices romance. The author is Filipina and the heroine is half Filipina. And so what takes happens is. Okay. So I open this book up and it opens. It's 1809 and our hero, Ethan Locke, is a pirate. Oh. I was like, I'm instant. No notes instantly online. And what happens is he has. He's plundering the pirate ship and he finds, like, a treasure trust type thing, like, right in the captain's quarters of this other ship. And inside there are these two very strange items. One is a sapphire that is all, like, on, like a chain that has, like, some sort of, like, filigree around it. And then the other is like, this little tiny bottle, and he takes both of them. And one of the guys on the ship is basically like, you really shouldn't do that. But, you know, he's a young, dumb pirate, and he's like, you. I'm gonna take it. He doesn't say that. That's me saying that. So. And then he, like, goes back to his own ship. This is the end of the prologue. And then the next chapter one starts, and it says, 33 years later. And I was like, what's gonna happen? Because he was like, 25. It makes the point of saying that he's 25. So I was like, wait, how is this gonna be his son? Like, what's.
- [29:19]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, what's gonna happen? Is he 56 years old?
- [29:22]
Jennifer Prokop
Sarah, that sapphire stopped the aging process. Exactly.
- [29:30]
Sarah McLean
Except, guys, historical romance is fucking bananas. I love it so much.
- [29:35]
Jennifer Prokop
You have to understand that I was instantly like, oh, hell, yes. So he and the little bottle essentially, like, is an elixir that can fix any injury.
- [29:46]
Sarah McLean
What?
- [29:47]
Jennifer Prokop
Right.
- [29:47]
Sarah McLean
So this is very lucky. Right, so is he cursed, though? Yeah.
- [29:50]
Jennifer Prokop
No. So here's the thing. Seven years earlier, our heroine, her name is May Blackthorn. Her father was like, Ethan's, like, buddy. And they pillaged throughout, you know, wherever pirates pillaged and had all of this booty. Sorry. Like a child. I got it. And. And her father essentially stole it all from Ethan, including the sapphire. Seven years earlier. And so Ithan has started to age again. Right. So now he looks like he's in his early age.
- [30:23]
Sarah McLean
His father has stopped aging.
- [30:25]
Jennifer Prokop
No, because now he's dead. And so Ethan has returned. And here's the thing. May has, you know, grew up in this house as, like a, you know, like a lady. And then when her father died, she had no idea that there's, like, a literal hidden treasure with a literal pirate's map hidden on her property. And so the house got sold to these terrible people, and they essentially were like, well, you can stay on and be a governess. And they're like, new money. So May runs into Ethan, and he is there, really. He's like, I want to get this sapphire back. Because the. This. The thing about this book that I really admired is there's such intricate plotting, right? So it's not just like, she's got the money and he doesn't. Right. Like, she had an evil ex fiance who tried to do her wrong and she thinks killed her brother. And that guy is in cahoots with Ethan. And then there's another guy named Pierce who wants the sapphire back. And he's part of this, like, group called the Silver Lords or something like that.
- [31:29]
Sarah McLean
Amazing.
- [31:30]
Jennifer Prokop
And so the whole entire book essentially is like, super twisty turny where Ethan, like, betrays her and she finds out and then he promises her, like, no, don't worry, we're gonna split it with you. And, like. Right. Like, all they wanna do is find, you know, find the treasure. But, like, so you think, like, okay, that's the endgame of this book. But, like, it just keeps going. So anyway, I really loved it. It was a super fun read and awesome. Lots of really rich detail, lots of characters. Like, it just felt really fun. Really enjoyed the portrayal of Mae as a woman who essentially was, like, loved in her home, but, like, kind of an outsider in this, like, you know, Dead Water of England, Budley Salterton or whatever the. You know what I mean?
- [32:24]
Sarah McLean
So forevermore, we'll just. They're all in Bedlam.
- [32:29]
Jennifer Prokop
So anyway, it was great. I really liked it. And there is a, like, a second book in the series that comes out, I think, in March this the Silver Order. And Pierce was like, the head of the Silver Order and he was basically like, you gotta give me that sapphire back, because there's like, a secret society. And the second book.
- [32:49]
Sarah McLean
Sure. Well, I mean, also, it feels like this is a very important item.
- [32:53]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, no kidding, right? So, anyway, I loved it. It is such a fun read. And like I said, like, the minute I found out that, like, the hero essentially has stopped aging because of, like, the magic sapphire all in. So the Sapphire Heiress by Ella Leon. It was great.
- [33:15]
Sarah McLean
This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Stephanie Burgess, author of Wooing the Witch Queen, the first in her Queens of Villainy series, narrated by Amanda Lee Cobb.
- [33:27]
Jennifer Prokop
So in this book, Queen Saskia is. This is going to be a trilogy. And each one has a different magical queen. Here we have Queen Sa, and she is, Listen, everybody. A wicked sorceress. I'm not sure if you knew. And she wrested control of the throne from her evil uncle, and now she has a job to do, which is, like, keep her people safe from the evil empire next door. But that means that she has to be, like, you know, whipping up some new spells and she does not have time to, like, organize her magic library. Well, wouldn't you know it? A mysterious dark wizard named Fabian appears at her do, promising that he is the one who can, like, sort of, you know, take care of her. Her cataloging needs, honestly. And so little does Saskia know. She just thinks he's like, a little Sweet. A little nerdy. Yeah, he has some strange requests, but fine, whatever. Little does she know that he is actually an imperial archduke in disguise.
- [34:30]
Sarah McLean
Yes. A secret duke.
- [34:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Exactly. I love it. And I think one of the things that's really fun is that Amanda Lee Cobb just does a great job narrating, like, the delightful kind of, like, turns of the plot. And you know, how Queen Sasuke is leaning into her evilness, and yet she can't even really figure out that, like, who this guy is, like, right under her feet. So I think it really does a great job at capturing, like, the. How delightful and fun this is as, like, a prep us.
- [35:02]
Sarah McLean
Well, listen, I am super excited about this, especially because the tagline is love can be a witch. And that is so fun. So if you also are excited about it, you can read this book in ebook, print, or audiobook. And for a special treat for fated mates listeners, if you hang around at the end of the episode, you can listen to a sneak peek of Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgess and narrated by Amanda Lee Cobb. If your podcasting app supports it, smash that chapter title right now and you'll be taken to a sweepstakes where five lucky listeners will receive free copies of Wooing the Witch Queen. Thanks to Stephanie Burgess and Amanda Leigh Cobb for sponsoring this week's episode. You said, like, a really fun, like, cast of characters, so I'm gonna go to Joanna Lowell. A shore thing. That's shore. S H O R e. Sure, sure. A shore thing. This is set in the 1880s in Cornwall, and it's really char. This is, like, I was so charmed by this book. Okay, so Kit is our hero, and he has transitioned, and he's in a bit of a place because before he moved to. He moved to Cornwall a couple of years earlier. And before he moved to Cornwall, he was a part of really, like, magnificent painter, and he was part of, like, a sisterhood quote of artists who would, like, work together and, like, spend time together. And they had this, like, rich, beautiful friendship. And they were painters and sculptors and, like, artists. And when Kit transitioned, they kind of turned their backs. They. Not kind of. They turned their backs on him. And they basically said, like, you're. If you're not. If you're a man, then you're not part of the sisterhood. And in kind of breaking that relationship with him, they not only broke his heart, right? Like, I mean, the loss of the. The group is keen, but also they broke his love of painting. And so he hasn't lifted a paintbrush since the end. The dissolution of the Sisterhood. Or since he was cast out from the Sisterhood. Instead he's moved to Cornwall and now he sells bicycles.
- [37:43]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [37:45]
Sarah McLean
And so he sells bicycles. And there is, is a. There's a gang.
- [37:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay.
- [37:54]
Sarah McLean
It's not really a gang, but it feels like a gang. It's a group of men who ride bicycles around Cornwall in the 1880s and they're called the Mutton Wheelers. Okay. The problem is the Mutton Wheelers are for men only, okay? And they ride. And now I've pushed the name of the bicycle out of my head, but you know those big, the ones with like the high seat and the giant front wheel, they have a name and somebody is yelling it at their. Okay, so they ride those around and Kit has, has, like, is basically now like selling. He's. He's. You can get him. You can get one of those big bicycles from him, but he is now selling like normal looking bicycles. Right? And he's trying to encourage. To ride bicycles. Now. The Mutton Wheelers do not like this.
- [38:52]
Jennifer Prokop
Course. Of course not. God forbid.
- [38:53]
Sarah McLean
You might notice I haven't talked about our heroine yet. So let's get to it. Muriel, our heroine is described in the book by Kit as blunt and bossy.
- [39:04]
Jennifer Prokop
I love her already.
- [39:05]
Sarah McLean
So queen. A queen. And she is in Cornwall because she is about to go to New York. She's about to get on a boat and go to New York and give a very impressive talk about British seaweed to the New York Society of whatever the fuck. Doesn't matter. Romance, science. So she is like padding around the Cornwall coast with her gay brother who is like. Who like loves her and like is following her around. And the meet cute in this book is one of the best meet cutes ever because she's like on the top of a cliff, like in Cornwall, like kind of vibing. Like she's been sort of chatterboxing her way up the hill, her brother like, following along. And she gets onto the path at the top of the hill and like somebody shouts like somebody rings their bicycle bell. And then she turns and there is a bike coming down at her. And like there's a collision and she knocks, she knocks. The man who is riding a bicycle, like clear off the cliff just to go over the cliff to help him. And it's Kit. And Kit is like, these two are so flirty, like right from the jump. And then like her brother comes like down the. Down the hill and is like, what's going on? And he's like. And there's like a back and forth and there's sort of a. Like the. It's not. I don't think he's like her brother. He's not actually her brother. And he. He's like, well, he's a doctor. He's like, well, I've been prescribing seduction to, you know, Muriel forever to see you. She could really do with one. And Kit's like, well, I'm happy to, like, lightly seduce. And then he just kisses her right there in front of Cornwall and seaweed and everything. And then they get up to the top of the hill again and there are the Mutton wheelers ready to. And they are like, women, like, your dumb small bike is dumb and women shouldn't. You're causing trouble and ruining everything by renting bikes to ladies. And so they make a wager. These idiot men make a wager that, like, if Kit can get a woman to ride a bike for like X number of miles and like, not get tired and like beat the Mutton wheelers or whatever the fuck, then they will, like, stop. They will let women into the Mutton Wheeler Club. I gotta be honest, I'm not sure why anybody would want to be in this club. But. But they will let them in. And if they don't, then Kit will give them their. Kit will give them his business, like, close up shop because he won't rent to women anymore. Right? So. So of course Muriel is like, I volunteer as tribute. I'll be the lady who rides the bikes. But Jen, it's so this, the whole.
- [42:04]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh.
- [42:04]
Sarah McLean
And then she's like, oh, by the way, I'll do all but in order. But I'll only do it if you. Kit, excellent painter. Paint me some seaweed pictures for my talk fair. Listen, a lot's going on here, but it's really very fun and it's so flirty and like the banter is like, top, top notch. And the Mutton Wheelers wait. And there was something else I wanted to tell you about, but now I can't even remember.
- [42:35]
Jennifer Prokop
We're going to do an entire episode on motorcycle clubs and we're just going.
- [42:38]
Sarah McLean
To call them Mutton Wheelers.
- [42:42]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, I know.
- [42:43]
Sarah McLean
There's a moment, like there's a moment sort of early in the book where, like, she stumbles upon, like, Kit and the Mutton Wheelers, like, you know, having a rumble. And the rumble is they are on bikes and they're basically bicycle jousting with pool cues.
- [43:05]
Jennifer Prokop
Listen. And every single one of them.
- [43:08]
Sarah McLean
Mars.
- [43:09]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [43:09]
Sarah McLean
Every time one of Them marks the other one with, like, the chalk from.
- [43:13]
Jennifer Prokop
The end of their pool.
- [43:14]
Sarah McLean
That's a point. Honestly, I cannot. It's so fun.
- [43:21]
Jennifer Prokop
That's great. I love it.
- [43:22]
Sarah McLean
It's so silly and fun, but, like, also really, like, lovely and emotional and, like, Kit finds a whole new. Like. Like, Kit finds a family. Kit finds people who love him. And, like, it's great, but, like, it's also just goofy and silly and has it like.
- [43:38]
Jennifer Prokop
The Mutton Wheelers. The Mutton Wheelers, really. I don't really think I can beat that. Okay, so.
- [43:44]
Sarah McLean
So that is. Joanna Lowell's a sure thing.
- [43:48]
Jennifer Prokop
I could have gone with the artistic element, but I am instead going to go with a book that also, like, delighted me like this, that I just giggled my way through it. And it is the Duke's Bartered Mistress by Carolyn Lee. Caroline. Maybe Caroline Lee. Sorry, Caroline. Okay, so in this one, okay, our heroine is Georgia, and her father is in debt to this, you know, burly, cranky Scott named Demon Hale. Sure. And he is Moored Edmian. How do you say. How do you say, like the myth E, D, Y, M, I, O, N. How do you say that?
- [44:35]
Sarah McLean
Edemian.
- [44:36]
Jennifer Prokop
There you go. That's why he's demon.
- [44:38]
Sarah McLean
You.
- [44:39]
Jennifer Prokop
Got you. Okay. That's the name of his estate. So her. And the book actually begins with these letters in between demon and the father who. And the demon. Demon's basically like, I will. I've bought your debt, and I will give it back to you if you tell me where your brother is. Like, he wants information in exchange for this. He's not interested in money. And the father's like, let me give you some money. And he's like, no, I don't want money. I want the name. So the father sends Georgia, his daughter, up to negotiate as his agent. And so she, like, you know, comes knocking on his door. And Demon Sarah has. He was, like, an agent of the Crown. He's terribly scarred. I know. I knew exactly.
- [45:28]
Sarah McLean
I'm sorry. I am such a basic bitch for it.
- [45:31]
Jennifer Prokop
This book is, like, seriously. And so, like, his. He, like, fired all the servants except for, like, there's two, you know, like, the housekeeper and, like, one maid and then, like, one footman named Bruno. And at, like, one point, legitimately, they make a joke where, like, George is like, where's Bruno? And the. The, you know, the housekeeper's like, we don't talk about Bruno. And I was like, oh, it's that kind of book. You know what I mean? Like, it's that kind of book. Everybody. So anyway, she says to Demon, I'm here to buy back my father. So. And he is like, absolutely not, we're not gonna do that. And she's, you know, I'll do anything. And he was like, anything. And he does a thing where he's like, I'm fine, be my mistress for the next six weeks and then you can go back to your father and the debt will be paid. Thinking of course that he would scare her off with, with his, you know, terrible scarred face and offensive suggestions. And he like writes it out on piece of paper. I will.
- [46:27]
Sarah McLean
And it literally is like now it's because then it's a contract like I, I, I will. That's romance law.
- [46:33]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, it, it basically is like he's like fine, sign this. It's like it like literally so insulting, like I will bend over and lift my skirts whenever you want me to. And she's like, all right, give me a pencil. And he was like what? And she bends over Sarah and lifts her skirts and listen, I would like you to know everybody. Sometimes I feel like my husband walk downstairs when I like say these like dramatic pronouncements. But like, you know how we have talked about like, like the utter greatness of a book where a hero goes down on her before ever kissing her on the mouth.
- [47:05]
Sarah McLean
Yep.
- [47:06]
Jennifer Prokop
This man, his initial foray, he fingers her. That's it.
- [47:12]
Sarah McLean
Pardon me.
- [47:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Before anything else.
- [47:15]
Sarah McLean
Right in there.
- [47:16]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [47:16]
Sarah McLean
400 level.
- [47:18]
Jennifer Prokop
Cuz she's a widow. So you know, she's. And this is the part that's then really interesting. So anyway, the whole book is just like, like giggly and silly. He has. Look, I'm not going to lie to you, I enjoyed this book a lot. But like for sure there are times like his Scottish brogue is like really thick. And then other times it doesn't exist. And none of this bothered me.
- [47:36]
Sarah McLean
Don't worry about it.
- [47:37]
Jennifer Prokop
That all doesn't matter. But the part that that was really interesting to me is he then writes a letter to her father which is like, I've defiled your daughter. And she has written a letter to her father that's kind of like, don't worry, I'm staying in the village. And it turns out that she got married to someone that, you know, she had a great time with. They had a lot of fun in bed purely to spite her father trying to marry her off to some old man. And she has been essentially. And then her husband died. She was still very young, they were married less than a year. And so she really feels like I have to do this. Like, this is the only way my father will continue to support me, that I can show him how committed I am. And so the whole entire time she thinks, like, my dad doesn't know what's up, but Demon has told him the truth, and the father is basically like, oh, well. And so it's really like a pretty, like, so the whole time it's, like, giggly and silly, and they're just, like, fucking all over the place. And I enjoyed that a lot.
- [48:41]
Sarah McLean
Right.
- [48:42]
Jennifer Prokop
But then you're kind of like, what's the emotional core of this book gonna be? And then it's going to be this thing where Demon knows something about her father that, like, she doesn't know, which is that he essentially really has agreed to, like, prostitute her in some ways. Right.
- [48:58]
Sarah McLean
Yeah.
- [48:58]
Jennifer Prokop
So anyway, I. So it's really fun, but I think that it's one of those books that's, like, super giggly and super silly. And for sure there would be times that I would not be in the mood for it, but, like, in the past couple of weeks, I have been in the mood for this. It felt so light and fun. But there is, like, a core of, like, serious stuff there. Right. And then, like, what Demon is trying to figure out with essentially is, like, who was responsible for the fire that burned him because he was, you know, betrayed. So that is the Duke's bartered mistress.
- [49:36]
Sarah McLean
This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Stephanie Rose, author of Justice One Favor.
- [49:44]
Jennifer Prokop
So Olivia and Tyler are the kinds of friends where, like, their parents forced them to play together when they were kids.
- [49:52]
Sarah McLean
Oh, the worst.
- [49:53]
Jennifer Prokop
It is the worst. Right? And so they have grown up essentially being enemies. And she just thinks he's an annoying jerk. He's sexy, yes, but also grumpy. He is a baker, but even his delicious chocolate chip cookies have not convinced her to, like, give him a chance. However, he. He does need a favor from her. His terrible ex fiance, who left him for his best friend, is going to be at his cousin's wedding. And for romance reasons, he asks Olivia to be his fake date. So there she is. Like, even I cannot let you suffer through this by yourself. So, yes, she agrees, and they go to the wedding, and they are swept away by wedding feelings as one does. So all of a sudden, they're fake dating is real kissing and real something else. Because all of a sudden, surprise, baby.
- [50:47]
Sarah McLean
Nine months from now, you guys, what.
- [50:50]
Jennifer Prokop
Are we gonna do? They're gonna have to figure it out together.
- [50:54]
Sarah McLean
Oh, boy. Well, you can read this. Enemies to lovers or friends. To enemies. To lovers or friends. To enemies. To friends. To lovers. Standalone romance with a hot side of longing, sexually charged banter, and a broken hotel. One of my very favorite microtropes.
- [51:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Correct.
- [51:13]
Sarah McLean
Right now in print, ebook or audio, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, if your podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Stephanie Rose for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, well, I'm gonna go with Bartered Mistress here, because I have one, too, but it is not silly. It is very dark. And so. And like, this one is. I think it's like, if you're into dark romance or mafia romance, like, this is for you. This one's for you. The Villain by Victoria Vale. Now, I wanna preface this with everybody. It's a duology. So the first book ends on, like, it's not a cliffhanger, but it ends. And then there's a whole second book. And that's, you know, what it is. I don't know what to say. But listen, this is a full on. Everybody knows I am all vengeance, all the time. Like, that's all I want in all of my books. And so Daphne, we meet Daphne, our heroine. She's literally. It's very gothic beginning. She's like, climbing a hill to a dark castle in the rain at night. Okay? She bangs in Scotland, she bangs on the door. The door opens. This, like, scarred, like, servant is inside. And she's like, tell I'm here to see the Earl of Heartmoor. Tell him Fairchild has come to see him. And she's dressed, we discover as a man. And she in, like, she's been. The. The only way that she can imagine this man letting her into the house is if he thinks she is a man in her family. So the servant goes and gets the master of the house, the Earl of Hartmoor. And he comes to her and immediately clocks that she's a woman and is like, you're not Fairchild. And she's like, no, I'm Lady Daphne. I'm my brother's sister and my father's daughter. And I'm here to find out why you have set up, like, set out to ruin our family. And it becomes clear that, like, he has taken every penny from them. He. They've had to, like, they, like this family that once, you know, was well respected and had lots of, like, money and power now has nothing. And it's because, like, this man Hartmore has, like, methodically ruined them. And he's like, okay, here's what we're gonna do. You stay here as, like, mine for 30 days and 30 nights in my bed. I will pay you £1,000 per night. Right? £30,000 at the end of this.
- [54:16]
Jennifer Prokop
That seems like a lot of money. Back in, right. Olden times.
- [54:20]
Sarah McLean
And I will tell you exactly what happened that made me, like, decide to destroy your brother and your father. And she's like, well, I don't have any choice. Like, $30,000 will save my family, right? And so she's like, yes, okay, I will sell myself to you. And then, Jen, I mean, this man is like, I'm gonna break her. And then, like, immediately goes down on her.
- [54:49]
Jennifer Prokop
He knows the rules. Romance rules.
- [54:53]
Sarah McLean
And he's like, I'm gonna be terrible to her. I'm gonna destroy her. And he's like, let me make you come a thousand times. I don't want you. I don't even. You don't even have to touch me.
- [55:04]
Jennifer Prokop
Right? I don't deserve it. Right?
- [55:06]
Sarah McLean
Exactly.
- [55:06]
Jennifer Prokop
Right.
- [55:07]
Sarah McLean
So then, like, it becomes clear that, like, he has a sister who was, like, her brother. That, like, who. Who was wooed by her brother, like, under false pretenses, that her brother, like, raped his sister. It is a very. This is a dark book, right? Left her pregnant. There is a child that, you know, that her brother has, like, turned. Essentially turned his back on his father. Has. Their father has, like, done everything they could to, like, cover everything up to ruin, like, Hartmore's sister. Like, this is a very dark. Like, there's a lot of, like, deep, heavy, like, darkness in this book. And it's. What's great about it is one. It's, like, incredibly sexy. And also, it's one of those. It feels kind of old school in the vibe of, like, he has set out at the beginning of this book to loathe this woman. Like, he is, like, she is the. This is what I have been waiting for. This is the final instrument of my revenge. Of, like, my revenge. And then he, like, like, just cannot control himself. Like, he is, like. He can't stop falling for her. Like, there's a line in chapter six, like, nowhere into this book. And he says, do you think I care if you stay that I'll come running after you like a dog chasing a bitch in heat? And I'm like, oh, this man is done for.
- [56:37]
Jennifer Prokop
Like, I think you will, sir.
- [56:38]
Sarah McLean
Done for. Because she's also, like, like, so strong, this heroine. At one point, I don't know, like, halfway through the book, she discover. It's very Like Beauty and the Beastie, right? Like, there's a wing of the house that she's not allowed to go into because that's where, like, his sister and her child live. And he, like, peaces out for a couple of days because, like, he can't deal with feelings. Like, he's, like, starting to feel feelings. And so he's like, I got to get out of here before I feel, like, real feelings for this woman. So she. He leaves. And she's like, well, fuck that. Then I'm gonna, like, explore this house because I'm bored. And so she finds. He comes home and discovers that she's, like, broken the rules and gone into the west wing or whatever the fuck. And then he's like, get out. And she's like, no, I need the money. Like, you promised me 30 grand to sleep in your bed, which I have been doing. And he's like, get out. And so he casts her out into, like, a. A cold storm. Scottish storm. And you know what this bitch does? She sleeps on the doorstep.
- [57:43]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it already.
- [57:44]
Sarah McLean
And I'm like, oh, Jen's gonna love her. Like, right? She's like, you. You owe me money. And, like, he can't, of course, bear it. Like, he lets her sleep one night, and then he's like, I'm.
- [57:56]
Jennifer Prokop
I can't. Like, right, yeah.
- [57:58]
Sarah McLean
Like, he brings her in and, like, right, straight to bed.
- [58:00]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it.
- [58:00]
Sarah McLean
Have to. I didn't get to eat well last.
- [58:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Night, so I missed my night. Le.
- [58:08]
Sarah McLean
So anyway, this ends with. I'm just going to tell everybody it ends with a cliffhanger. Like, it's not a cliffhanger. It ends with, like, her going back to her family and, like, like, really having to reckon with, like, how terrible her family has been. And she is like, he set me free. Because he's like, I'm too terrible. Like, I've treated you too poorly. I can. We can never. Like, you can never love me. And I certainly, like, he's like, I can never love you. But what he really means is, like, you'll never love me. I'm a monster, right? Don't look at me. Don't perceive me. And then, like, we instantly. Like, in the epilogue, he's like, I can't fucking deal without having her. And then he's, like, off to London. And then in the second book, he's in London. And there's, like, a whole other thing that happens in that second book. The first book is great. The second book is very solid, and you'll enjoy. You'll Have a lovely time.
- [59:01]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm gonna read book one. You know, I never read the second book of the Cliffhanger, but I will read the first one. Have a great time.
- [59:05]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. I'll tell you what chapter to skip to in book two.
- [59:08]
Jennifer Prokop
There you go. Just get it over. Yeah, get to the end.
- [59:11]
Sarah McLean
So that's Victoria Vale's the villain. Okay.
- [59:13]
Jennifer Prokop
I am going to do another revenge book. Like, less. Less. A little less intense, maybe. And this one is called Exit. Pursued by a Baron by. And it looks like maybe Adra Richards is this. I don't know. Again, I think. I'm sorry, I didn't look that up.
- [59:31]
Sarah McLean
Okay.
- [59:32]
Jennifer Prokop
Anyway, in this one, the book starts off with Lydia on St. London in a. I think it's the Winter's Tale. And she is looking out at the audience and just thinking how much like, the London crowd sucks because all the, you know, the aristocrats are there to, like, see each other and not the play. And she looks up and she meets the eyes of Marcus Beaumont, who was her lover. She was a seamstress in, like, the Modiste shop five years earlier. He'd taken his sister there and saw her and they. And he fell in love with her and put her up in a house and, like, put her up as his mistress and then became convinced that she was cheating on him and cast her out and said, you will never return to London. Like, I will ruin you if you do. And so it. She is right? So she's like, okay, so this is her first time back and Marcus has seen her and he like, you know, and he's just like. She can feel the, like, virulent hatred, right? Which of course is not really hatred. So he shows up in her dressing room and it's basically like, I told you not to come here. And she's like, it's none of your business. I'll be here for a month. Like, you slow down, buddy. But like, you can tell immediately. Like, they basically are both totally in love with each other. So then what happens is he. Okay, so he goes back home and he's just like, I must get my revenge. And she's like, that bastard ruined my life.
- [61:08]
Sarah McLean
And he.
- [61:09]
Jennifer Prokop
And here's the part I really liked. I think this is a book that really does a pretty good job of dealing with, like, this is a class issue. So Marcus is obsessed with her, and basically he goes back, like, the next night with his sister, the one that he went to the Modiste with. And she was like, well, you ruined her life. What do you. What's your problem? Why do you think you've been wronged? And he's like, what do you mean? And he's like, well, you put her up in a house and you threw her out of town. What do you think? She's. She has no money. Did you give her money? Like, he threw, you know, he threw her out. He like, cold threw her out. And so Marcus is kind of like, am I the baddie? Right? Is his journey in this book.
- [61:50]
Sarah McLean
And that's my favorite.
- [61:51]
Jennifer Prokop
It is my favorite, right? Am I the baddie? And then he sends his brother. And so what he's convinced is. And I also liked how matter of fact, this is like the her, like, boss, her manager of a guy who's like, putting on the play or whatever. It's like very matter of fact that basically the only way that actresses and actors can really make a living in this job is by like, like taking.
- [62:14]
Sarah McLean
Also being courtesans.
- [62:15]
Jennifer Prokop
Also being courtesans, right? And so. But she is like, I'm not going to do that. Like, I. I thought I was in love. I thought we were going to get married. And he threw me out, so I'm not doing that anymore. So she lives in, like, a real rough part of town in St. Giles. And so one night Marcus is like, go follow. He says to her, his brother, go follow her and find out, like, who's she with. So Mark, you know, the brother, like, knocks on the door and is like, I'm here to see Lydia and like, basically gets her in trouble with her landlady who's like, I rent a nice clean boarding house, right? And so the brother goes back to Marcus and is like, buddy, you really up? She's living in a shitty part of town in a like, renting a shitty room. And I think I might have just ruined that for her. And Marcus is like, am I the baddie? Right?
- [62:59]
Sarah McLean
Like, does he go and get her?
- [63:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, hell yes. He goes and gets her and he kidnaps her and like, forces her to live in his house and all of the things.
- [63:08]
Sarah McLean
No notes. Yeah, sorry, everybody. Kidnapping A plus.
- [63:12]
Jennifer Prokop
And I was just like, I. And she was like, you are the baddie. You just kidnapped me. And he's like, but for your own good, you know. So anyway, the whole thing is honestly great. And I just really, you know, what it was is I really found, you know, I like a man who has to grovel y. And I think like, the fact that he starts out being so convinced that he was wronged, and then finally his brother and her sister, like, how did you come to decide that she had been cheating on you? And then he, like, just explains and they're like, are you stupid? Like, basically, like, it was really. He just, like, lost his mind. So anyway, I really enjoyed it. I definitely got a few laughs. There's, like, a lot of really good banter between them. And, you know, essentially she's like, I'm not going to be in love with him. And then they, like, kiss and stuff and she's like, I'm going to get my revenge. And it's great. So. So they both want to revenge each other. Sarah, exit pursued by a baron. It's also a great title. This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Lumi Gummies.
- [64:18]
Sarah McLean
Lumi Gummies has been a sponsor of Faded Mates for a long time, and we're very happy to have them back for 2025. Because you can't just be out here Rod hogging 2025.
- [64:28]
Jennifer Prokop
Absolutely not.
- [64:30]
Sarah McLean
We like them because they're consistent, they're mellow, they're delicious. And Lumi Gummies are specifically designed to make you feel good but not stoned. Whether you're looking for an end of day de stressor, a midday mood boost, or help getting the best sleep ever, Lumi Gummies has a strain that's right for you. And I just have to tell you, Jen, the other day I was with somebody and it was like, I don't know, 1:00 in the afternoon. And she was like, oh, I just took my gummy and now I'm gonna go home and write for the rest of the afternoon. And I thought to myself, what, oh.
- [65:02]
Jennifer Prokop
My, what a plan.
- [65:04]
Sarah McLean
And then I. And so I think she must take a sativa gummy, because sativas are. They're. They don't. They don't have a sleepy effect. Or at least they're. They're built to not have a sleepy effect, but they are just sort of like, I assume they just like, quiet the noise and give her a chance to write and listen. I'm not lying. I'm gonna try that and then I'll report back in a future ad. But if you're looking for, you know, know, just a way to calm down and de stress these could be the right choice for you. Or, like, if you're having trouble sleeping with a lot, which a lot of us are doing these days, you can take an indica gummy. Or if you just want to quiet like the noise of the world and not worry about your rectangle while you're watching A movie. Then you can take a hybrid gummy and enjoy yourself that way. You know, we all take them here. We have our favorite flavor and you should try them.
- [65:55]
Jennifer Prokop
So Lumi Gummies are available nationwide. Go to lumigummies.com that's L U M I gummies.com and use the code faded mates for 30 off your order. Again, that's L U M I gums.com and the code is faded mates lumigummies.com code faded mates. And you too will have a better day, a better movie, a better sleep, and hopefully a better 2025.
- [66:21]
Sarah McLean
Wow.
- [66:22]
Jennifer Prokop
No pressure.
- [66:22]
Sarah McLean
Promise. But let's hope so.
- [66:24]
Jennifer Prokop
Thanks to Lumi Gummies for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [66:30]
Sarah McLean
I want to talk about Royally Singh because you said, well, first of all, you said brothers, so. But also like a little bit of second chance y going on here. So this, the book that I read is called called Seduced in a Storm, which actually you can get free from Royally's website if you sign up for her newsletter. It's a novella. It's a real delight. It's set on Holy and Malini and her sister grew up as like, neighbors to these hot twins.
- [67:06]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay?
- [67:08]
Sarah McLean
The Earl of Dashwood Aditya, who is called Adi in that, and his brother. And his brother, we are told, broke her sister's heart by kind of like saying that he was going to marry her and then like, peacing out to Greece for some sort of, like, travel. And Malini is very fiery and like, hot under the collar about this. And she, it's, it's holy. It's, it's the Holi festival. And if you don't know anything about Holi, there's, there are a lot of like, it's, it involves like, colored chalk. And so there's like a kind of part of the, like, joy. It's a celebration of spring. And like, part of the, the, the experience of it is like people paint each other kind of like as a joke. Like, you know, you'll like, touch somebody's face and like, wipe like a colored chalk on them. And then everybody gets, like, colorful and dirty and like, I mean, it's not really dirty because it's just like colorful and beautiful. And then, and so she knows that this, this twin who broke her sister's heart hates this. Like, he hates having to then, like, he hates getting mussed up. And so she decides she's going to, like, take a handful of this stuff and, like, find him and throw it at him and like, basically prank him. It's all very harmless. And she like sneaks into a, into the house to like, find him. She finds him, like his back is turned to her and she like calls out and he turns and she throws this like colored chalk at him and then realizes she's got the wrong twin. Turns out that she has the actual Earl of Dashwood, the oldest of the twins, Adi, who does not hate Holy and definitely does not hate Malini because six years earlier or some number of years earlier they were teenagers and it was a different Holi and there was like this like fiery kiss between them. And then Malini kind of freaked out and decided like, she couldn't, she didn't know what to do. Like he was the Earl and that wasn't going to happen for her. And like, she just sort of like got in her own head about it and then like immediately stopped talking to him. And so he became really convinced that like she hated him and like something had been done. So he took off, started a law practice, practice in India. And then when, and then when it turned out that his brother and her sister kind of were talking about getting married, he was like, I have to get back and I have to see her and see if there's something there. So he gets back and he's like. And they are like a little bit at each other, but she sort of takes off into the. Onto his estate and it starts to rain. And this is a novella. Okay, and so where are they gonna go, Jen? In the rain? But the nearest groundskeepers cottage.
- [70:08]
Jennifer Prokop
There's only one place to go when it's raining.
- [70:11]
Sarah McLean
Everybody knows that if it's raining, you go to the groundskeepers cottage.
- [70:15]
Jennifer Prokop
I built one in the empty lot next door to our house.
- [70:17]
Sarah McLean
Come on. So they go to this cottage and of course she's wet and she's cold. And what is, what, what does he suggest? Like, you have to get out of your wet clothes. And he's like, I won't do anything untoward. I'll just warm you. And then he's like, I mean, this is very hot. He's basically like, once he's warming her, he's like, I can't. He's basically like, I can't handle this. Like, and he says, he like has this great moment where he says out loud to her, like, all I can think about is kissing you. All I can think about is like doing terrible, depraved things to you until you beg me to do more. And like, she's like, like, yeah, I kind of want that. And so like, basically this is like a like really beautiful morsel of a novella. Like it, it doesn't over complicate. It's a really straight shot and it is just like two people who've been dancing around each other and like thinking the, the yearning in this novella is really great. It's very clear that these two have been like, like thinking about each other for years.
- [71:30]
Jennifer Prokop
What's the title again?
- [71:31]
Sarah McLean
It's called Seduced in a Storm and it's by Royalene Singh. And I think you can actually only get it if you sign up for her newsletter.
- [71:42]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh. On her website. Okay. Well we will make sure that that's.
- [71:45]
Sarah McLean
But there is also and I have not read it, her first novel is out. It's called Betting on a Duke's Heart. And I haven't read it. I have it on my Kindle though.
- [71:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, you said siblings. So I am going to talk about A Bloomy Head by J. Winifred Butterworth, which I think does. So this is like a ro. Like a romance kind of regency mystery. There is a murder at the heart of it, but also like a big, a big family. And so, and I, I thought now okay, fair warning everybody. I'd worked on this book but you can trust me. I really think this book is extraordinary. So it starts off essentially with like a young girl in 1794 in France, like essentially watching someone in her family get guillotined. So it is like the French Revolution. And she takes off and the story picks and this is like 1794. The story picks up 25 years later with this woman's children as like a big kind of unruly family. And the main character is Kate. And she has essentially has been married. Her husband has died. So she's a widow. But she was never able to have children. She had a many miscarriages, a couple miscarriages. And so her brother in law is essentially like get out. You. You didn't do your job right. And these were terrible. Her, these, her husband was you know, not a nice person. And essentially like we kind of find out through the course of the book like why she kind of ended up leaving home when she did. Her. She has a twin brother, Henry, who has returned from the continent with Thomas Holyoake, a doctor who is a very injured and near death. And Henry is basically like all I know Henry is sort of. He knows everything about farming but he is not very good with people. And all he knows to do is like bring the doctor home. Like he sells off the doctor's medical instruments and like they get on a boat, and they go back to England. And so essentially, like, the beginning of the book is Henry is coming home. Kate is, like, walking back to, like, like, the family farm, and there's, like, a dead body. And both of them, for, like, whatever reason, I don't think Kate sees it right away. Henry does, but he's got the doctor and he just keeps on going. And the. This body has been beheaded. Now, once she gets back, she's. No, listen. And you're like, what's happening? The part that's so crazy, Sarah, is like, for as much trauma as these people have, it's all off page, right? Like, people, the characters reflect on the trauma, but it is not like you're not reading about this stuff, like, in real life, you know, in real time.
- [74:52]
Sarah McLean
And it's kind of.
- [74:53]
Jennifer Prokop
I don't know how to explain the magic by which all these traumatic things happen, but this is such a warm and, like. I don't know, though. I'm, like, struggling for the right word, but the way this book made me feel was just, like, really, like, enveloped in this family that, like, loves each other desperately but doesn't know how to talk to each other, right? So Henry knows, right? Henry knows that there's a dead body. Mom is gone. Their older brother John Mary, is, like, somewhere, but, like, not really anywhere that they can, like, see. Like, there's evidence of him, but he's not there. Peter is the. The vicar. And his job essentially, is. He is, like, really slimy, but he will do anything to protect his family. Like, you know what I mean? Like, he's just like, like, a real power player in, like, whatever this location is. And then, like, one of their brothers, Jake, is at sea, and then Anne is the younger sister. And so, like, Kate comes back, and, like, like, all the cows are just, like, wandering around, and, like, you know, there's no windows and everything just is, like, falling apart. And Kate's like, okay, well, I know how to make cheap cheese. And the cows are milking. Whatever. I don't know how cheese works, you guys, so I'm gonna just go ahead and, like, do that so that we can sell them to keep the family in order. Now, meanwhile, Thomas Holyoake is laying in the. In the front room, like, dying, and Kate is nursing him. And what Kate discovers, and it is just, like, no big deal to her because of her brother John Mary, is that Thomas is trans. A trans man man. And so he has, like, a. Essentially, like, something that he wears in his pants that looks like, like, a little penis. So that, like, other men can't tell, like, what's going on. Right. And Thomas wakes up and is basically like, I am where? Because it is very close to the place he grew up and to. The really, truly evil villain of this book is Thomas's uncle, who terrible things happened to Thomas in his. Before he transitioned. So anyway, the whole story is really about, like, all the siblings are trying to protect each other and they all have little pieces of information. Meanwhile, Kate is falling in love with Thomas. And it's such a beautiful story because she just has such a pure, accepting heart. And she also. And of course, Thomas is like, how there's, like, a really beautiful thing that I think is happening in this book, which is like, a really true exploration of how terrifying it would be as a woman at a time where you'd suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and there's no way to prevent pregnancy. You just have to suffer through this. And so Thomas knowledge both as a doctor, like, his personal experience with, you know, like, sort of doctoring, and then knowing that, like, actually Kate loves him for who he is, but also there's this thread of her thinking, like, I don't ever have to worry about this man almost killing me. Right?
- [78:15]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. Yeah.
- [78:17]
Jennifer Prokop
So it is such a richly layered book. All of the characters are so interesting. There continues to be dead bodies and the siblings come under the fire as being the potential ones who have done it. And they all think that someone else in the family did it and are trying to protect them and.
- [78:38]
Sarah McLean
Amazing.
- [78:39]
Jennifer Prokop
It is a truly marvelous book. Like, I. I really loved reading it. I think it is so just, like, beautifully written, both as the romance between Kate and Thomas, obviously, but as a really beautiful portrait about family and how we love our siblings, but also desperately sometimes are like, what the fuck are you up to? And then kind of watching them all work in concert without kind of even really knowing it. It is. Is a terrific read. I loved it very, very much. And I think you will too. A Bloomy Head by J. Winifred Butterworth.
- [79:18]
Sarah McLean
Well, I'm gonna stick with siblings. I read this one today and I was, like, so excited about it. Okay, so I want to talk about Never Woo the Wrong lady by Charlie Lane. So in this one, Andromeda is. She and her sisters have an erotic lending library. And I love it. And they, like, keep all their sexy books in a wardrobe in their house. And, like, ladies come to tea and they, like, literally, like, they library. I'm like, throwing things. I'm so excited. They library these like, like, old timey sex books with like lewd drawings out of the.
- [80:04]
Jennifer Prokop
The.
- [80:05]
Sarah McLean
The wardrobe in their house. Okay, so they have a brother who is. Their brother is a duke. And basically like their brother. So when their mother died there was kind of a rule set in place. Like she. She basically extracted a vow from him that he would never force any of them to marry. And so they could. They were allowed to choose love. So here they all are, the fourth, like kind of vibing and they all have like different feelings about love. But like Andromeda has this curious thing where she has been engaged for years.
- [80:47]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, I love this.
- [80:49]
Sarah McLean
She. No, it doesn't go the way you think. I don't think so. She has been engaged for years to this guy Hubert who like lives far away and like no one's ever met. Like her duke brother was like away and then like he came back. And Andromeda writes regularly to this man who lives far away, like a Canadian boyfriend. And, and like they have this like thing and she receives packages from him. Like they have a back and forth. Like somebody is responding to her and everybody believes. Well, the brother believes she has this like, like man who's like willing to marry her but like is nervous like I don't know, gun shy about getting married. And, and so fine. But like the reader immediately is like something is up with this. And so the brother goes to his best friend Tristan, who is the illegitimate son of the Earl of whose he Whatsit and doesn't matter. Tristan is an illegitimate son and he's older than the actual legitimate heir. His father. Father is dead and the legitimate heir is his 13 year old half brother who Alex, who lives with, who like is around. Like we meet Alex. Really kind of charming. I was delighted by this book. So, so Tristan comes home from like being out and he's. And it's our first look at Tristan and he's like. And he's. It's in the third person and he's. We're in his POV and he's like he was not expecting a boy to be peeing on his house when he arrives like home that night. And then it turns out it's his 13 year old half brother who has been like out with his 13 year old like also young title boys who. And they have been like drinking. He's like, are you drunk? What's happening? What have you been doing? And he's like, well you drink. And he's like, yeah, but I'm. You're 13. And he's like, he's like, you have a Mistress. And he's like, you're again, you're 13. Like, you are too young for women. You are too young for drinking. What the fuck is happening? Right? Like, and this child, this 13 year old boy is like, like in deep grief because he lost his father, right? Like, and also like, clearly has this real sense of like his older brother who he loves and who he reveres. Like, but isn't the. Doesn't own the title. Like, there's sort of a real sense that this like, teenager kind of gets the injustice of all of it too. And it's really like, lovely, this whole setup. So here's the thing. They have an aunt who's basically like, you're an illegitimate. You're illegitimate. And you really are not a good influence on this 13 year old. And he's like, I had nothing to do with this. Like, you're the one who's sending him these schools with these boys who like, take him out and do stuff. And he's like. And at the same time, his best friend, this duke, who's like up to his eyeballs and sisters who are unmarried is like, I have a idea. What if. So Tristan has plenty of money, but he doesn't have the like, the like, cachet of like a wife who can just like, be a steady hand, like, be a supportive female influence for his like, half brother. And his. His best friend is like, hang on a second. I'm lousy with sisters who all need to get married. So what if I hook you up with my sister Charlotte, who is like, quiet and unassuming. Charlotte is not. Charlotte also runs an erotic lending library.
- [84:32]
Jennifer Prokop
But, like, why would a brother know that, though? She.
- [84:36]
Sarah McLean
She plays the part. Right? And Charlotte's also bad news. Charlotte's been in love with somebody I think is in a future book because definitely is in a future book because Charlotte's been in love with some guy who she also like, simultaneously loathes for years. Anyway, Charlotte's like. So he's like, no problem. Let me introduce you to my. Do. My sister Charlotte. And then you guys can court. Don't kiss her. But you guys can court.
- [85:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Court.
- [85:01]
Sarah McLean
And then, you know, you can get married and that'll work out. Everybody's happy. So Charlotte's like, well, if I have to meet this guy, I better go put on a dress that makes me look not great.
- [85:11]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, right, right.
- [85:14]
Sarah McLean
So she goes off leaving Andromeda, like, alone. And Andromeda's like, well, I better go like entertain this guy while, you know. So she goes into the sitting room Where Tristan is sitting and he doesn't know who. He's never met these girls. She walks in. He's like, holy shit. I've never seen anybody so beautiful in my fucking life.
- [85:32]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it.
- [85:33]
Sarah McLean
He walks directly up to her. He's like, so, are you in? She's like, in on what? He's like, would you like to be courted? And she's like, you know, I think I would like to be courted in general. Like, she's like, yes, this seems like a good idea.
- [85:46]
Jennifer Prokop
I'd enjoy it.
- [85:47]
Sarah McLean
He's like, cool. Cool. Well, your brother was right that we should court, but he was wrong that we shouldn't kiss. Kiss lays one on her.
- [85:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [85:55]
Sarah McLean
She's like, he tastes like the sea and sun. Sure.
- [85:58]
Jennifer Prokop
Of course.
- [85:59]
Sarah McLean
He's. She's like, oh, my God, I'm in love. What about Hubert, Jen? Hubert's her book dealer.
- [86:08]
Jennifer Prokop
I mean, listen, I. If there. Listen. Everybody listening.
- [86:12]
Sarah McLean
The scandal.
- [86:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Go ahead. If there's a real romance here named Hubert out there, please let us know. But I. I knew all along that Hubert was not going to be.
- [86:21]
Sarah McLean
No, but Hubert's the rare book dealer. And so now, like, hang on a second. They're actually. These four chaos demons are actually in no way good at, like, raising the level of civility in a house because they're lending, like, lewd books all over London. Chaos. Anyway, a real delight. And that is never woo the wrong lady. Which he absolutely is doing. From the jump by Charlie Lane.
- [86:49]
Jennifer Prokop
It's like Kindle Unlimited, but, you know.
- [86:53]
Sarah McLean
Make it ladies a real treat. Aren't you so excited that we have done this work?
- [86:57]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, it's amazing. It really is. Okay, wait, Sarah. Okay.
- [87:00]
Sarah McLean
Everybody's like, yeah, great job, assholes. You actually did the reading.
- [87:04]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, Sarah, I'm about to reveal the one I've been keeping a secret. And remember, the whole time, I was like, I'm gonna trust the process and trust that the right connection is gonna.
- [87:13]
Sarah McLean
And it happened.
- [87:14]
Jennifer Prokop
Because this book is called Dionysus in Wisconsin.
- [87:19]
Sarah McLean
All right, it is Andromeda.
- [87:21]
Jennifer Prokop
Exactly. You got me. Wait.
- [87:22]
Sarah McLean
Dionysus in Wisconsin.
- [87:24]
Jennifer Prokop
It is set in 1969.
- [87:26]
Sarah McLean
And 1969. I get it.
- [87:31]
Jennifer Prokop
That's really all I need to say. No, it's not. I have so much more to say because I truly loved everything about this book. So this book is by E.H. lupton, and it is the first in the Wisconsin Gothic series. In this book. Okay, so our two heroes are Ulysses and Sam. Ulysses is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in, like, magical Studies. So this is a book that obviously. Dionysus, right? It's got element of magic to it. He should be, you know, he's, like, working on his dissertation, but he also kind of works low key as, like, a little bit of, like, a ghost private investigator. So I found myself, as I was reading thinking, like, oh, we could have talked about this in the, like, I see dead people thing. Because Ulysses is often, like, doing all this work, and his whole entire family is gifted. Like, his babushka. He lives in, like, a big old house with his family. His babushka, like, reads tarot cards. At one point, I was like, I could have talked about it this episode, but I just read this book, okay? So what happens is. And at first, you're kind of like, what's going on here? Right? So Sam sterling is, like, 25. He is just coming back from getting a master's at Harvard or whatever. He's an archivist in the library. And, you know, like, there's something like. Like, weird about Sam. Like, Ulysses can tell. And at one point, like, they're in the library elevator together, and, like, the lights flicker out, okay? And Sam's like, oh, my God, what's gonna happen? And, like, the lights go out and Ulysses, like, you know, don't worry, he pulls out his Zippo lighter, because, you know, he pulls out a lighter and he, like, flicks it open and, like, the temperature has dropped. And on the inside of the, like, steel doors of the elevator, it says, dionysus is mine. And Sam is like, what the fuck is happening? And Ulysses is like, something really creepy is happening. And, like, they get attacked by demons, and it turns out that Sam, like, Dionysus, is about to return to Earth, and where else would he go but Wisconsin, where everyone loves beer. I'm not. When I tell you how delighted I was by this book, I, like, I cannot tell you because I was delighted by this book.
- [89:51]
Sarah McLean
This is terrific.
- [89:52]
Jennifer Prokop
It is terrific.
- [89:53]
Sarah McLean
So, Percy Jackson, but make it romance.
- [89:56]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes, make it a gay romance set in Wisconsin in 1969. It's everything I. Everything I didn't know I wanted wanted. So anyway, what, it turns out, is happening, and it takes Ulysses a while. So then, oh, here's what happens. Sam goes to, like, a family dinner, and he comes back. Comes back to see Ulysses. And at this point, they've had sex once or twice. And, you know, like, they're definitely, like, vibing with each other. And Ulysses is like, you've had a. Like, a spell put on you, and this spell makes you, like, want to follow people's orders. And Sam's like, what are you talking about? Like, I just was home. And so what in. In breaking this curse. So essentially like, Ulysses is like, don't worry, I can break the curse. But there's this like slap back on the person who did it. And it turns out that his stepmother has been essentially cursing him since he was 4.
- [90:49]
Sarah McLean
What?
- [90:50]
Jennifer Prokop
And the, the nature of the curse is that Sam is going to be a vessel for Dionysus's return. So Dionysus is going to come back to earth and inhabit Sam, like take over his body and like, Sam's going to be goodbye, right? Like Ghostbusters. And Ulysses is like, well, I'm in love with you, so I'm going to have to save you. And it is like a rip roaring kind of paranormal adventure. It is a bit of a mystery. It's got a bunch of family drama because, of course, why would Sam's father have had this woman, you know, married her and like cursing them and cursing him. And then like when Dionysus appears, it's just like, so Dionysus does come back and like, what's happening is like there's this one night where they go out to a bar and Sam goes out to dance. And then like all of a sudden Ulysses looks up and like everyone in the bar is like circling around him and it's like, like a bacchanal. And I have to tell you, I really love this book.
- [91:55]
Sarah McLean
That's really fun.
- [91:56]
Jennifer Prokop
It was so fun.
- [91:57]
Sarah McLean
Wait, who wrote this book?
- [91:59]
Jennifer Prokop
E. H. Lupton is the author's name.
- [92:01]
Sarah McLean
And are there other books?
- [92:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes. So here's the parts. Really cool. So first of all, this was Shortlisted for the 2024 Lambda Literary Awards for Gay Romance. So like, this is like a really well regarded book. And, and the thing that is really cool and I'm actually very excited about is the series. The Wisconsin Gothic series continues on with Sam, Ulysses, but they're like breaking and like solving other paranormal mysteries. So the next one is called Old Time Religion and then the third one is called Troth. And I literally cannot wait to read them because, you know, when you're. When you find a historical romance that just feels like 100% fresh.
- [92:46]
Sarah McLean
So fun.
- [92:47]
Jennifer Prokop
Dionysus in Wisconsin. You're welcome, everyone.
- [92:51]
Sarah McLean
That's pretty great. I'm gonna read that tonight. That sounds awesome.
- [92:54]
Jennifer Prokop
It was awesome.
- [92:56]
Sarah McLean
All right, well, you said tarot and so I'm gonna go to astrology because I also have one that I could have talked about last week or two weeks. Ago and three weeks ago, and. But I didn't read it in time. So. Okay, I want to talk about all about that Duke by Mary Farmer.
- [93:15]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing.
- [93:16]
Sarah McLean
Okay, wait, I have to pull the series title for this. So, okay, I really need you to Google this. I need you to look at this cover first. Everybody look down. I hope it can be down in front of you, because.
- [93:30]
Jennifer Prokop
So, okay, with the bicycle.
- [93:35]
Sarah McLean
The premise of this book of this series. I have to talk about the series first, which is called that wicked O'Shea family. And look, if you. You can see, this also has that big old timey bicycle with the wheel, which I still cannot remember the name of.
- [93:49]
Jennifer Prokop
But I will.
- [93:50]
Sarah McLean
It will come to me, everybody. Okay, so this series is set. It's by Mary Farmer, and it is set in Ireland. And what I. What drew me to this instantly, aside from the fact that this lady is fully on a bicycle on the COVID is that every single cover in this series is green because Ireland and they all have bicycles.
- [94:18]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing. Look at that.
- [94:20]
Sarah McLean
So perplexing. Right? Here's the deal. I mean, this is also. This goes with a sure thing. We could do like bicycle romances and.
- [94:29]
Jennifer Prokop
Just do the series.
- [94:31]
Sarah McLean
So, wait, so, okay, this is also a brother who. A brother who was away from, you know, his sisters. He has four or five, some number of sisters. Okay? And I think there are five of them. And his. Her brother returns. Her brother Fergus returns to Ireland and discovers that, like, they have all been, like, in full cast chaos. Like, at the beginning of this series, they are. They are fully doing whatever they want. He is living on an estate in England that's part of their dowry. And they're fine with that because, like, they get to do whatever, Whatever. And so, like, they've like, started a brewery in town and they're, like, causing trouble all over the place. And he's like, this is crazy. Like, we need to get you guys, like, sorted. And so he says, like, I want to move you all, like, into one house. I want you all to be, like, together. We need to get you all married. And he's like, I'm gonna give each of you a bicycle, which will give you, like, a sense of freedom, but, like, keep you close to home. And of course, what he doesn't realize is that, like, now that they have bikes, they can get wherever they want to do shenanigans, right? Real shenanigans. And so, so they each, like, as I understand it, in each of these books, like, the bike brings them to, like, like some chaos event. Well, in this case, our Heroine Chloe is at. She's into astronomy and astrology. And so she has like this like very powerful micro microscope, this very powerful telescope. And she likes to take it to a particular estates like hill. Like a hill on a particular estate in Ireland that has like a really great view of. Of the sky at night. There is a meteor shower. She has like biked in the dark up onto this hill to like view this meteor shower. And while she's doing this in the country, in the. The estate house, there is a ball that is being thrown for an English duke who has been ex. Not exiled, but like has basically been sent to Ireland to find a wife because he has like reeked raked chaos along in. In. In London. And like all the women in London are like, this guy has been like, has been just like breaking hearts all through London. And so he gets sent off to his aunt in Ireland to meet a woman and his aunt is like trotting him out as an English duke to like a million country house parties and a million dances and tea. And he escapes a ballroom finally because he's like, I cannot dance with one more person. Walks up onto this like hill and promptly in the dead of darkness, like trips into her bike, of course, and like spills her lantern, causes a little bit of an explosion and then almost breaks her telescope. And then like, so this is the meet. The meet cute. But Chloe is like very sweet and very charming and she's sort of like. So she's immediately like, well, you're chaos. Like, what's your deal? And then she's like, when's your birthday? And he's like, he tells her and it turns out he's a Scorpio. And he's like, well, when's. And she's like, oh, well, that won't work for me because I'm a Gemini and we won't. There's nothing, no chance. We're not compatible. And then she's like, but I am kind of attracted to you and I wonder if there's something else in your chart that would make that happen. So do you mind giving me your date and time and place of birth and I'm going to run your star chart and I'll come to your house tomorrow and give it to you. But really, I just want to understand why I'm sort of attracted to you. So he does. He happens to know his date, time and place of birth. Time of birth is very much, much like this. A very clever little way that he knows that his time of birth. And so she goes off and she does his star chart. And, like, what's really fascinating about this is it's a very sort of easy. This is a very easy romance. These two are a real. They're really lovely together. They clearly, like, adore each other, but she really. She has his number. And there's. There are these great kind of bantry moments where she's like, well, is it true that you had two married mistresses at the same time? And he's like, well, yeah, but it wasn't quite like that. And she's like, mm. And is it true that, you know, this other thing happened, too? And is it true that you were caught, like, naked in a. Such and such. And he's like, well, it really.
- [99:11]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes, but.
- [99:12]
Sarah McLean
And she's like, you seem like you're not really great at being a man in the world.
- [99:19]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing.
- [99:20]
Sarah McLean
And so they're just like. It's really kind of great. And this is just, like, two people falling in love. Like, this is a very. This one is for anybody out there who's like, maybe I need, like, a little less.
- [99:33]
Jennifer Prokop
I don't need the Return of the.
- [99:34]
Sarah McLean
God Mutton Riders or, like, Return of the God. I need just, like, two people who are, like, really lovely falling in love together. Falling in love with each other. I will say the Irish of it all is sort of like hand waved. It doesn't really feel Irish. It feels very, like, English. But it's. It's nice. It's a ni. It's like a really. It's a really nice romance that I would happily read again. It was a very lovely couple of hours.
- [100:01]
Jennifer Prokop
And sometimes you just want that, right? Like, just a great romance.
- [100:03]
Sarah McLean
I mean, this is the service that we provide for you here at Fate. Amazing.
- [100:07]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, right? Every.
- [100:08]
Sarah McLean
Every varietal, there is something for everyone. So that is. Merry farmers. All about that.
- [100:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Duke, I sent you. I just sent you everybody. I'll put it in show notes, too. My son is a Gemini, and I am a Scorpio. And so anytime there's a really funny meme, I send it to him. And there's this one, and it's like, two people with sunglasses on, spying, and it says Scorpio and Gemini secretly teaming up whenever they hear any gossip or useful information. So I think there's a future for these two. I believe in that.
- [100:35]
Sarah McLean
They'll be okay.
- [100:36]
Jennifer Prokop
They are going to be okay. All right, so I am going to talk about. Let me look at what my list is. I have two more. Okay. I'm gonna talk about the. I don't think this is, like, a great leap, but I feel like I'm never gonna beat Andromeda to Dionysus, so we're just gonna go off The Wayward Duke by Katrina Kendrick. And this is a marriage and trouble romance.
- [101:03]
Sarah McLean
I'm so excited that you read Katrina Kendrick, because some. Somebody sent me all of her book. Her publisher sent me all of her.
- [101:08]
Jennifer Prokop
Books this week, and I was like, just in time. I think I probably was like, oh, great. Perfect timing. So this book is set in 1874, and Caroline is the Duchess of. I don't know, whatever. The Duchess of Hastings, I guess, or Duchess of.
- [101:26]
Sarah McLean
Whatever.
- [101:27]
Jennifer Prokop
The Duchess of Whatever, Blah, blah, blah.
- [101:28]
Sarah McLean
The duchess of whose he wants it.
- [101:30]
Jennifer Prokop
And it starts off with her. She's a painter, and she has, like, a nude man in her studio, and she's painting him. And of course you're like, oh, is this going to be the hero? No, it is not. He is just literally, like, a model, and she is just wallpaper. Yeah, this is wallpaper. And so what happens is, is her husband Julian walks in, and they have been estranged essentially for, like, eight years. So when he is in town because parliament is seated, he stays somewhere else. They had, like, a, you know, a big falling out. And we don't. We don't really know what caused. There are some hints that it has to do with. There were, like, three really good friends, so they, like, grew up together and with a friend named Grace, and Grace died. And so at the beginning, you're kind of based on Caroline's, like, narration or, you know, inner interiority. Like, she's like, you know, was he. You know, did he really love Grace more? That's when he, like, left. And so you're kind of like, wait, what was going on?
- [102:32]
Sarah McLean
On?
- [102:33]
Jennifer Prokop
And so basically, he says, well, you know, for romance reasons, I'm going to need to stay here for a month. Right. And then I'll go to Italy, and you'll. You won't see me again. And she is, like, honestly kind of pissed at him. She's like, look, it's humiliating. Everybody knows that we're estranged, and if you stay in this house, but not in our room, the servants are going to talk, and I can't take it. So I think what we need to do is prevent, you know, present a united front for this month only while you're here, and then that'll, like, quell some of this gossip about us, and then you can go off to Italy, and it'll be fine. So he agrees to this, and you're. And I Was very curious about, like, the evolution of, like, their relationship. Now it turns out that Julian does some work for the Crown and, like, does a little bit of spying and you know what I mean? Like, there's like, a bunch of, like, other stuff going on here. I hope that's right. I think that's. I just said that I was like, is that right? I read so many historicals. Anyway, anyway, so there is some code breaking that he is really good at, but there's a person who is sending letters in code that are, like, announcing terrorist acts, like, this thing's going to explode or whatever. And they aren't having any luck cracking the code in time to prevent these things from happening. But Julian's an expert codebreaker, but so is Caroline. And so he essentially asked her for some help. And they, like, kind of are doing this together. And in so doing, like, kind of realized, like, maybe they have a chance to repair what was broken. Now, everybody check your content warnings. I don't want to spoil what, like, what happened between them, but it is. Well, maybe I just. Okay, how about this? Like, I already fast forward if you don't want to know. But it has to do with her having a miscarriage and he was not there. And when he returns and finds out about it, she basically is so devastated that she's like. He spends months trying to get through to her, and she's just so lost without. Right? And so she's just like, get out. And so this is the thing that they have not been able to get past. And so. But now it's years later, and so they finally have this opportunity to really, like, talk about what happened for the first time without the immediacy of this pain and anguish and guilt. So I just thought, you know, what I really loved about this book is, like, it had a really strong external plot with, like, this terrorist and the code breaking and all this business, but it didn't really lessen the really, like, beautiful kind of connection between the two of them. And this was like a marriage in trouble book where you really felt like these people just were young and thought they were doing the right thing. The reason he was gone was not for a bad reason. And it just, like. Because of it, they just couldn't see a way to, like, be together. And now it's the right time. And I just found it to be very. I just, I really. I. I found it to be like one of those historical romances that just felt like it had a deep well of feeling that it was really drawing upon. Yeah, right. So that's the Wayward Duke by Katrina Kendrick.
- [105:59]
Sarah McLean
Oh, I'm so glad I have that one. So I'm going to read that, too, very soon. All right. I want to talk about Louisa Darling. And I know you worked on this book.
- [106:11]
Jennifer Prokop
I did.
- [106:11]
Sarah McLean
So. And full disclosure, Louisa is my friend, but I would never. I mean, this book, we would not steer.
- [106:20]
Jennifer Prokop
You're on.
- [106:20]
Sarah McLean
I want to talk about where have all the Scoundrels Gone? So good.
- [106:25]
Jennifer Prokop
Which. It has the best opening of a book that I've read in a long time.
- [106:32]
Sarah McLean
Okay. It begins. I'm going to set the scene. Okay. So it begins at an underground boxing club, which we all know, like, already. Sarah is in. This is the second book in her Dukes in Disguise series. So he. The. The name of this. This club is called the Nemesis. And it is basically like, MMA on steroids. Like, it is. There is no. There are no rules. It is a boxing ring. These are brutal fights. And the way that it's structured is there is a. There are these, like, intense fights, and the man who wins the fight at the end of the night can select a woman from the crowd to, like, take to bed. So the Duke of Ashbourne has a secret, Jen. And that secret is that he is the winningest man at the Nemesis. Like, he is a duke by day and by night. He fucking destroys people in a boxing ring. Right? But he never chooses. Oh, no, a woman. Like, at the end of every night, he never chooses a woman. Now, Elizabeth Pickford is very controlled. She is extremely put together. She is the chaperone for the Duke of Ashbourne's half sister. And she is incredibly practical, but she gets access to the Nemesis and she goes to the Nemesis to walk, watch one of these fights, and she is essentially, like, standing there, and he. She watches this man absolutely destroy another man. And he turns and he looks into the audience, and he has never selected a woman to be with. And he points at her.
- [108:48]
Jennifer Prokop
He points at her.
- [108:49]
Sarah McLean
He's like, her.
- [108:51]
Jennifer Prokop
It's so good.
- [108:53]
Sarah McLean
And it's.
- [108:54]
Jennifer Prokop
I was literally screaming, yes.
- [108:57]
Sarah McLean
It's so hot. And then it goes back. The. The. The. The book goes back, you know, several weeks, and we see how they have come to this. Like, these two people have, like, they. She is essentially like a servant to his half sister who he has a terrible relationship with. With. He is cold and unyielding. He is. They never, like, there is not an ounce of, like, human feeling in this man. And she realizes, like, he comes home battered and bruised from one of his fights, and she Helps him. She, like, uses her, like, petticoat to bind up, like, a cut that he has. And then it cuts to the nemesis and she realizes that this masked fighter is wearing her petticoat bandage. It's like old school medieval. Like when they would wrap the jousting, whatever it was called with a favor from the ladies.
- [110:11]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [110:13]
Sarah McLean
Anyway, it's so hot, you guys. Well, and, like, and then, like, they find when they finally, like, figure out who each other are.
- [110:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure. Well, because this is like, my favorite part is, like, she knows it's him and he knows it's her, but neither of them thinks the other one knows. I mean, sure, the historical romance thing where, like, everyone's face blind once you've got a mask on. I don't even care. I was so into it.
- [110:35]
Sarah McLean
Listen, that is romance science.
- [110:37]
Jennifer Prokop
I believe we've discussed this. Right? It is so good. Oh, and it's really. I think the thing for me about this book is, like, it really highlights, like, the whole thing about, like, control and then, like, society's rules. Because she's a cook. He doesn't know that. Right?
- [111:01]
Sarah McLean
At, like, a cook at a posting in, like, out in the middle of nowhere. That has been a kind of joke to him. He knows the place. She is a cook. Oh, God, he has to come down, like, 25 pegs. It's so good.
- [111:17]
Jennifer Prokop
It's terrific.
- [111:18]
Sarah McLean
I mean, every book in this series. So this begins with a novella that's basically like, what's it called?
- [111:26]
Jennifer Prokop
Parent Trap.
- [111:27]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, the Parent Trap, but make it a romance. Then there is the first book in the series, which is don't let your dukes grow up to be scoundrels where we meet, like, it's basically like, shit's creaky. And then this one. Oh, with the bare knuckle boxing and the masks and the petticoat bandages. It's so hot. And you're gonna love every. You're gonna love this. Also for audiobook listeners, don't let your dukes grow up to be scoundrels is narrated by Mary Jane Wells.
- [112:05]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. And I'm assuming she'll have Mary Jane Wells do this one too. And it's not yet.
- [112:08]
Sarah McLean
She's doing the next one too, but it's just not out yet.
- [112:11]
Jennifer Prokop
Which, like, what else do you need to know? Okay, I have one more. It is called Winnie west has an agenda by Kat Sterling, and it is set in Seattle in 1908. So I also just want to say, like, I feel like I had a really good time reading books that were not not just like regencies, if that's your thing. And in this book, Winnie west is a widow. She's like 23 or 24 and her husband has been dead for two years. And she has left Boston, moved to Seattle where she works as a stenographer for a paper. But she wants to be a reporter. And so the book opens with her like, kind of like girding her loins to go up into her boss's office and ask if she can do some reporting work. But this is a deeply sexist society. And so, right, the boss is like, here now, little lady, get out of my office. And she's so upset. Both like, she was like, I. She was so convinced it was going to work, you know what I mean? And I really found myself feeling deeply sympathetic to her at this point. Like she really thought it was going to work. So anyway, she ends up kind of going for a walk and while she's out, out on the street, she sees a woman who is doing some leafletting and trying to drum up support for women to come to a. A suffragettes like meeting. Right? Like women should have the right to vote and western women are going to lead the way. And Winnie is really like, truly like, hell yes. Like, I just had a man turn me down and I, you know, I'm kind of like, I'm not going to take it anymore, basically. And so what happens is she goes to the first meeting. Now one of the things that I like just want to like talk about at this point because I thought it was really, I was very like won over by this, is she gets to the meeting and the woman who's running it, I mean, because, right, like the suffragettes were very white. And so it's always like a little tricky when you're going to read something like this because you're like, how is this author going to handle it and this particular group she's in, essentially there's some young women there and some older women there. And this particular group is like, we are not going to discriminate. Like anybody who wants to be part of our group can be. And you know what I found myself thinking, and this is something we talked about Adriana with Adriana last week. Like, as I read that part, part, because I was so like heartened by. It is sometimes like a really good historical romance when it is like honest about like the history can feel like the opportunity for a do over. And here we are right now girding our loins and like making communities and trying to think about what it's going to be like, to, like, work together to fight this. And instead of feeling like, well, that's not the way it really worked, instead I felt like, okay, write the fuck on. Right? Like, you could read this book and feel. Feel like, okay, I can do this. And like, right. Like, it's. I don't know. So anyway, here's the hero's name is Mac. He also works at the paper. And he has been promised, like, his father was one of the owners, but his uncle's now in charge, and his father, when he passed away, the mom essentially made a deal with the uncle. Like, once Mac is old enough, he'll take over. But Max whole, like, way of kind of dealing with his uncle has been sort of like, I'm just going to let him do what he's going to do, but then when I take over, I'll do it my way. But what happens is, is that the. The I think his name's Horus uncle is like, we need to take a stand on these suffragettes. And I think we're going to be anti. And Max, like, wait, what are you talking about? Like, we're going to be pro, of course. Right. This is the right thing to do. And essentially it's like, really? It felt just so. Like it could have been written today, right where the. Where the uncle was like, yeah, but, like, no one's gonna buy our paper if we say that. Like, we have to be on this. Yeah, right. Like, as a journalist, essentially, like, our job is just to tell people what they want here, not to, like, advocate for something. And so he's like, you know what we can do is we can have Winnie me. We'll tell her that she can write articles, but then secretly what we'll do is you will write an opposition piece. And so Mac is like, well, that's super shitty, and I don't really want to be a part of it, but if I don't do it, someone else will do it. And if I don't do it, I won't get the paper. And so they are essentially, like. The tension is like, Mac is like, I deeply respect what she's trying to do, but I just need to, like, hold until I can take over her. And I'm. And so in order to, like, not tee her up like this and betray her, have her write this piece and then have me tear it down instead, I'm just going to tell her her ideas are no good. And it's just like, really fascinating because you're essentially watching a man learn that Capitulation is not the way.
- [117:21]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, interesting, right?
- [117:23]
Jennifer Prokop
And so I found that's great, though it felt. And like I said, I mean, this, I think a couple years old, but I truly was like, wow, do I need this book right now. Right? Like, we have talked so much about, like, historical romance can make you feel brave, right? And that this whole plot about Winnie being like, hell yes, women should be able to vote. Hell, yes. I should be able to have a job. And I just. And have Mac be a person who's like, I'm a good person, but I'm not really willing to stand up for that right now because I see a future where I'll just get what I want if I just wait long enough. And of course, that's not how it works. So I just really thought it was terrific. I thought it was doing really, truly. I was like, this is how people are. Right. It just felt so real to me.
- [118:20]
Sarah McLean
So.
- [118:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Winnie West Has An Agenda by Cat Sterling was my last one. I love it. It was great.
- [118:28]
Sarah McLean
Listen, I didn't. I haven't thought about anything outside of these books for two hours. So thanks, everybody for listening. I hope that you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Gosh, I had the. Be the most fun. I. I still like. I. I'm going to download all of yours. I'm going to read more. My goal is to, like, just keep lifting up voices in historicals. Thank you to everybody who is recommending historicals to us. Thank you to everybody, all the authors who are, like, hitting us like, my books are on ku, head over and read them. Like, please keep telling us. I know it sometimes, like, we don't. We don't always respond. And I try really hard. I'm. I'm Instagram.
- [119:08]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [119:09]
Sarah McLean
And so, like, I try really hard to reply to everybody. I don't always. But, like, I do download your books and I do pass messages on to Jen. And so we love hearing for you from you about all of that. I want to name a couple of people who we have talked about in the past or who we know are people who we think are great. I just want to say Isabel Kamal, who I've talked about in the past, is terrific. And I highly recommend the Temple of Persephone, which I talked about on the funeral episode. Also Grave Temptation, which I also talked about on the funeral episode, by June Westwood.
- [119:53]
Jennifer Prokop
I have a couple people. I just want it. These are authors we've maybe talked about before, but they have new books that I just didn't have a chance to check out, but I want to like just name drop. Alexander Harvey had a book come out this past month called A Deal with the Devil this week or next. Samara Parish has a new one coming out called While the Duke Was Sleeping, which is essentially like a retelling of while you were sleeping. And then earlier this month Lindsay Lovise had a book Never Gamble youe Heart. And these were three historicals that were sort of like on my list to try and get to, and I just didn't. There are a couple other ones that are coming out. Like I said at the beginning, they'll be coming out in the spring and so we will mention them in upcoming episodes and also in our spring preview.
- [120:45]
Sarah McLean
That is that I am Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop. We are Fated Mates. You can listen to us every Wednesday. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can find us online@fatedmates.net and if you click on Show Notes there, it'll take you to the Show Notes for this episode where every single book we talk about on the episode is listed and you can find them all in one easy place. Also, there are all the other show notes that we sort of promise, including information on all the stuff that we talk about in banter. And this week you can also find information about my class, which is I'm teaching a beginner's romance class via Zoom on Sunday the 23rd. So join me for that. That's new content every year and that class is specifically designed for somebody who has an idea but doesn't know what to do or is in the middle of their first manuscript and stuck. You are not alone. I am in the middle of my 21st manuscript and stuck. So you know, join me. You can find all of that information in Show Notes. You can also find us on Instagram threads and bluesky for now, but it's always a question as to whether we'll continue to be there as things change in the real world. If you love talking about romance novels and you want to share books you love, or talk to other listeners of the podcast and other romance lovers about books they love, can we recommend joining our Patreon where you get access to one episode of additional banter every month month from me and Jen, but also to the Discord, the Fated mates discord where literal thousand other people are hanging around talking about romance 247 for fated mates listeners, don't forget to stay tuned for a special audiobook excerpt from Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgess, narrated by Amanda Lee Cobb. Thanks to macmillan Audio for that. And don't forget to click through and enter the sweepstakes to win one of five free audiobooks of Wooing the Witch Queen this week. Tell us about your favorite historicals, especially if they're people that you don't see talked about all the time on all of the comment places. Wherever we are, we're always looking for good recommendations and we love you Historical.
- [123:15]
Jennifer Prokop
We do.
- [123:16]
Sarah McLean
We're with you.
- [123:22]
C
It was a cool rainy evening in Estavio City City when Astarion's archduke decided not, after all, to give his in laws the gift of his own early demise. He was at the opera when the decision crystallized within him. Sitting in the velvet hung cage of the royal box, his father in law, Astarion's chief Minister, sat straight backed beside him, silver mustache magnificently waxed and uniformed, chest glittering with metal. His burly brother in law, the High General of Astarion's armies, lounged carelessly on his other side, one leg spread out to block him from going anywhere. On the stage below, a soprano warbled tunefully about lost love while opera glasses sparkled eagerly across the tiers, all fixed upon the most famous young widower in the audience, Archduke Felix Augustus. The Archduke was of course, clothed in endless black. It was the only color ever to be found in his wardrobe nowadays, no matter how many times he requested otherwise, it would make the perfect, breathlessly awaited climax to this evening's public performance for him to simply lean forward, overwhelmed by his so famous grief, and topple from the High Royal box onto the stage below. Felix, the 23 year old man behind the title, had grieved his wife's death 13 months ago. He had grown up with Emmaline, the kind hearted daughter of his grim regent and one of the only other children he'd ever been allowed to meet. They had protected one another against her father as well as possible throughout their shared childhood and the quiet moments of peace they'd found together had formed his sweetest memories. During those cold years, Felix had been not only glad but desperately relieved when he'd first learned on the cusp of adulthood that she was the bride chosen for him by the Count rather than some foreign stranger. When Emmaline had unexpectedly been taken ill, he had held her hand to the very end, and when her eyes had been shut by the highest of the attending physicians, he had lost all dignity and wept before witnesses for the first time since his parents had died and Count von Herztendorf had arrived to instill brutal rules of discipline upon him. He was surprised at the Time that his father in law allowed so many servants and courtiers to witness such a shameful breakdown. It was only when he finally emerged from the fog of grief several months later, that he realized the simple truth. With Emmaline's death, Count von Hertzendorf had lost his prime claim to the Archduchy of Astarion, so he was already planning his next move. At 3 and 20, Felix was too old to require a regent in the eyes of the law. He could theoretically dismiss his father in law from the role of Chief Minister and wrench control of the army from his brother in law's violent grasp. He could even choose to wed again and bring a rival family into power. It all seemed wildly unlikely to Felix himself, who barely knew any of the other members of his high cabinet and had never been allowed a private conversation with any of them. But Count Gerard von Hersendorf had not become the most powerful man in Astarion by dismissing any potential threats on the horizon. He had been preparing, even at the moment of his daughter's deeply disappointing death. Death for the worst that he could imagine to happen. And Felix had played directly into his hands with his unmanly display of emotion. The Count would never willingly give up the power he had seized 15 years ago. Having been appointed temporary regent by his fellow members of Astarion's high cabinet, he had chosen to appoint himself Chief Minister on the day of Felix's 18th birthday. Although he'd had the political sense to send out that proclamation in Felix's name, by then, Felix hadn't even tried to protest. He had been taught for years, by means of ruthless beatings, strategic isolation, and carefully calculated starvation, that the Count would brook no challenges to his authority. And Count von Hertzendorf recognized no mercy when it came to enforcing his will. The laws of the empire and the force of public opinion were both strong enough that he couldn't push Felix over the balcony. Now, in front of hundreds of fascinated onlookers, however, he could make utterly certain that no one would be surprised when news of the Archduke's eventual, tragically self inflicted death was finally released to the newspapers. Felix had no doubt that all the details of that upcoming death had already been carefully planned. Thank you for listening to this clip provided to you by Macmillan Audio. To hear more, look for this title wherever audiobooks are sold.