RERUN: Daddy Romance

Summary

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

Episode: RERUN: Daddy Romance
Date: September 10, 2025
Co-hosts: Sarah MacLean (bestselling author) and Jennifer Prokop (romance critic/editor)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves deeply into one of the romance genre’s most provocative current trends: the “Daddy” romance trope. Sarah and Jen unpack the trope’s broad cultural appeal, the different flavors it can take, and how it functions both as a kink and an archetype. The discussion is candid, energetic, and unashamed—full of laughter, personal confessions, book recommendations, and a strong emphasis on not kink-shaming. Whether you’re already a Daddy trope enthusiast or just curious (and perhaps a little trepidatious), this episode will illuminate the deeper psychological and cultural threads woven into today's Daddy romances.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Setting the Scene: Why Daddy? (10:26)

• The original plan for the episode was scrapped last minute. (“We had a whole other plan for today's episode, and then I freaked out about it.” - Sarah, 00:18)
• Responding to frequent listener requests to discuss the Daddy trope and acknowledging discomfort and embarrassment as part of the conversation.
• Differentiating the Daddy trope’s resonance among straight cis women and its roots/manifestations among gay men:
  • “This is gonna hit really differently when we’re talking about…cis het women versus Daddy when we’re talking about gay men.” (Jen, 13:41)

Defining the "Daddy" Trope (14:39–17:50)

• Hard distinction between Daddy as kink versus as archetype.
• Daddy as an evolution of the Alpha hero: still dominant and protective, but softer, more nurturing (“Daddies are dominant without being domineering…there is a softness, a nurturing…that tempers Daddy away from Alpha.” - Jen, 15:58)
• Praise (instead of punishment) and caretaking are at the core for many readers/listeners.

Cultural Context & Why Now? (17:37–19:43)

• Societal instability heightens desire for safety and emotional caretaking in fantasy.
  • “The idea that…we have a collective urge to feel, like, taken care of.” (Jen, 17:50)
  • “The one thing I want right now…is I want the President of the United States to make a big fucking speech…‘It’s gonna be okay.’” (Sarah, 18:17)
• This contemporary Daddy feels less about money/power and more about emotional steadiness.

Daddy as Private Fantasy, Not (Necessarily) Public Dynamics (20:05–20:52)

• Distinction from other kinks/tropes: “Daddy” often plays out as private, intimate play—not public/exhibitionist.
• Tied tightly to contemporary romance’s movement toward softening and personalizing power and kink.

The Many Shades of “Daddy” (22:24–27:34)

• There’s a huge range, from full age gap erotica to more “tame” romances where “Daddy” is a private element.
• Not all Daddy books involve age play, breeding kink, or taboo elements—there’s a spectrum.
  • “I don’t want any babies involved in any of this…some of it edges up onto like breeding kink…if that part of it is working for me or it’s not…just shift into another lane.” (Sarah and Jen, 26:56)

Navigating the Daddy Landscape (28:25–31:04)

• Anthologies (e.g., “Dirty Daddies”) are a recommended entry-point for self-discovery.
• Warning: The quality varies widely; a lot are pure erotica churned out in Kindle Unlimited (KU).
  • “A lot of these are not great…you should not feel bad about [skipping them].” (Sarah, 30:29)

Archetype vs. Taboo (32:22–34:37)

• Stepbrother (external taboo) vs. Daddy (internal, psychological/private taboo).
• Daddy trope caters to an internal longing for nurture/control—less about social rules, more about personal fantasy.

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Book & Author Recommendations

Must-Reads for Daddy Themes

1. Eve Dangerfield

• Act Your Age (35:22)
  • Office romance, large age gap, explicit on-page Daddy kink.
  • Dynamically explores mutual discovery and the thrill of exposure.
  • “She calls the…this guy Daddy in bed because she's like, I'm never gonna see this person again...And then she's, like, accidentally done it with her boss.” (Sarah, 38:51)
• Return All
  • Daddy kink without age gap; mutual exploration from a young age.

2. Permanent Ink by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn (42:26)

• MM romance; younger tattoo artist and his father’s best friend; Daddy dynamic that avoids connecting sexuality to family-of-origin issues.
• “Nothing wrong with thinking this is hot or sexy...has nothing to do with the way you were raised.” (Jen, 44:07)

3. Adriana Anders – Daddy Crush (45:27)

• Age gap, emotionally intense, neighbors to lovers.
• Features a highly vulnerable on-page realization/discussion of “Daddy.”
• “He says a bunch of filthy stuff and then, like, like stops…then he thinks in italics in the book, daddy. And then he kind of like, yeah, closes up because he's like, where the…did that come from?” (Sarah, 48:47)
• Explores the intersection of kink and shame, caretaking, and vulnerability.

4. Katie Robert – Your Dad Will Do (52:46)

• Ex-boyfriend’s father; all-in on fantasy, boundary-pushing, delivers promised taboo (son even walks in).
• “Part of it is like he's into it too…she breaks up with her boyfriend and then goes to seduce his father. Now I’m your mom now.” (Sarah, 53:22)

5. Sarah Kate – Praise (55:17)

• Similar premise as Katie Robert, but novel-length and more emotionally developed.
• Great for readers wanting extended character/relationship depth.

6. Rebel Carter’s Cairn Series (55:42)

• Starts with novella, becomes more plot- and character-rich over three installments (“Honey Honey” is book two).
• Interplay of BDSM club setting, mafia subplots, and evolving relationship from erotic to emotional.
• “She is telling you a very careful story in three parts…she’s making a really interesting point about, like, why we come to these books and what we want from them.” (Sarah, 60:19)

7. Anthologies (e.g., Dirty Daddies series) (27:34, 61:25)

• Best way to sample a variety of Daddy kink sub-tropes and authors.

8. Jade West

• Known for kink-versatile Daddy stories, sometimes including queer poly relationships (“Sugar Daddy”).

9. Brianna Hale – Control Freak; Margot Scott’s Daddy Loves You Series (68:21–69:02)

• For more explicit, erotica-focused Daddy stories (with trigger warnings noted for Control Freak).
• “There's an author named Margot Scott that writes like…not saying I'm necessarily recommending these, but I feel like the writing is good enough and it's serving up what you want.” (Jen, 68:36)

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Dirty, Explicit, or “Churn and Burn” KU Reads

• Santa’s Baby by Chloe Maine (66:00)
• Above the Shop by Chloe Maine
• The Dad Bod Series
• Danny Wyatt (“really filthy, everybody” – 67:30)
• Isabella Starling – I’m Your Daddy Now (70:26)

Note: The hosts are clear—these sometimes lack romance, are pure erotica, and can edge into darker, more taboo territory. Proceed according to personal boundaries.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Daddies are dominant without being domineering. Because there is a softness…a nurturing…that tempers Daddy away from Alpha.”
— Jennifer Prokop, 15:58

“The sexy part of these daddy books is when…not punishment, but is praise. And that is for me…Like, those are the books that I’m looking for.”
— Sarah MacLean, 16:12

“The idea that…we have a collective urge to feel, like, taken care of.”
— Jennifer Prokop, 17:50

“This isn’t like we’re not going to the club necessarily. Like this is just like this is you and your partners in your home having this. It’s play, it’s fun.”
— Jennifer Prokop, 20:27

“What you think is like, sexy and fantasy is not necessarily what you’re doing in real life.”
— Jennifer Prokop, 50:40

“It really is fundamentally about, like, the world is hard. And, like, we are all struggling, and I think…most people feel a little bit…like, it would be really nice if somebody would just, like, take care of me. Come take care of me for a little while.”
— Sarah MacLean, 70:38

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Segment Timestamps

• 00:42 — Quick catch-up, Heartbreaker release news
• 02:24 — The “It's a 10” rating game explanation
• 06:47 — Preview of Fated Mates Live
• 10:26 — Kicking off the Daddy discussion, “headphones in” warning!
• 13:41 — Differences in Daddy as kink: queer/gay vs. straight spaces
• 14:39 — Daddy as a male archetype vs. Daddy as explicit kink
• 17:50 — Daddy’s emotional roots and societal context
• 20:05 — Daddy as private fantasy vs. public kink
• 27:34 — Anthologies and sampling the Daddy spectrum
• 30:29 — Quality concerns and churn in KU
• 35:22 — Eve Dangerfield deep dive
• 42:26 — Permanent Ink recommendation
• 45:27 — Daddy Crush by Adriana Anders discussion
• 52:46 — Katie Robert’s Your Dad Will Do
• 55:17 — Sarah Kate’s Praise, longer-form Daddy romance
• 55:42 — Rebel Carter’s Cairn series
• 61:25 — Deep dive into “Dirty Daddies” anthologies and more explicit reads
• 68:21 — Brianna Hale, Margot Scott, and other explicit KU authors
• 70:28 — Boundaries, triggers, and the importance of consent in reading
• 71:10 — Modern Daddy trope as emotional support, not just wealth/power

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Tone & Language

The entire episode is unfiltered, warm, and funny, with both hosts sharing personal reading habits and a frankness about embarrassment, vulnerability, and sexual fantasy. They center the conversation on acceptance ("no kink shaming!") and invite listeners to explore what works for them without judgment.

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Final Thoughts

• Daddy romance is a nuanced, evolving landscape within the genre, offering everything from taboo erotica to emotionally nourishing caretaking stories.
• It resonates in today’s uncertain, emotionally turbulent world as a fantasy of safety, praise, and being cared for—financially or, increasingly, emotionally.
• The best advice: sample widely, follow your comfort, and trust yourself—not every Daddy romance (or kink) is for every reader.

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Want to share your “It’s a 10” scenarios or ask for book recs? Visit fatedmates.net, Twitter (@fatedmates), or Instagram (@fatedmatespod) and drop your suggestions or questions via their Google Doc.

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Next time you want some emotional caretaking (and maybe a little praise), you know what subgenre to check out. And as always: “No kink shaming!”

Transcript

[Sarah McLean]

We're just. I mean, we're just. It's like it's summer vacation or something over here, and so we're just all over the place.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, you know, that's fine.

[Sarah McLean]

It's summer and we just decided to throw caution to the wind.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I talked Sarah into throwing caution to the wind.

[Sarah McLean]

It's true. We had a whole other plan for today's episode, and then I freaked out about it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I was like, I don't like it.

[Sarah McLean]

And we started talking, and Jen was like, no, thank you. So you'll never know what that was. Yeah, Nuns. You missed out. Instead, you're getting whatever this is gonna be. Welcome, everyone, to Faded mates. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor.

[Sarah McLean]

And we're digging deep today.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Before we talk about that, I would like to talk about exciting things happening in our lives.

[Sarah McLean]

Sarah. Oh, yeah, we have stuff we want to talk about.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We. We have a whole list. Well, I would like to talk about Heartbreaker coming out because I'm really excited for people to read it.

[Sarah McLean]

Drinking water. Eric's gonna be like, would you please? Did you get it together, the two of you?

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, we're doing our best. It's.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes. Heartbreaker is coming out. It is a road trip romance between a thief and a very stern duke.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's so good, everybody. I love it. And you know what? I'm. I think one of the things. Well, we, as always, will have a, like, Heartbreaker release week episode. So I don't want, like, spoil it.

[Sarah McLean]

Let's just tell everybody it's coming out August 23rd. You can pre order it now, wherever you get your books. And if you want it signed by me, you can get it signed, as always, from my local bookstore, Word, in Brooklyn. And it will come with some special additional item. Tbd.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There you go. Stickers.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Something, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Something fun.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, we think it's going to be something fun. Not more fun than stickers. Stickers are incredibly fun, but something slightly different than a sticker. But we're not sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Tbd.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's fine. I think it's fine.

[Sarah McLean]

We have six weeks to decide. That's an eternity.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know, it goes fast, though. Already it is the middle of July, the end of July. Who even knows where we are in July? Hot. I know, I know. Well, I'm mostly excited because I love a road trip romance and this one really delivers so well. They do.

[Sarah McLean]

They are on the road and, you know, my best friend read this Book. Who doesn't? She does not write romance novels. She has not. She only ever reads my romance novels. And she was like, sarah, this one is so romantic. And I think it's because they are on the page together.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, the whole book. That's what I like. It's gonna be really fun.

[Sarah McLean]

So I hadn't really thought too hard about that, but that is true. It's these two dummies just on the page together, the whole book.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Perfect. That's what we want.

[Sarah McLean]

So if that's what you want, that's what I'll deliver.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There's also. Listen, I'm very excited. This book is great. There's also a lot of teeing up of book number three, which everyone knows I'm very excited about, too, Imogen.

[Sarah McLean]

But we're not talking about book three yet. No, we can talk about it in the Heartbreaker episode. You can talk all you want about Imogen.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, perfect.

[Sarah McLean]

But right now, everybody needs to love Adelaide.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I just. Well, obviously.

[Sarah McLean]

My lovable baby Adelaide.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And the Duke of Claiborne.

[Sarah McLean]

Exactly. Adelaide Frampton, named for my friend Megan Frampton. And the Duke of Claiborne, named for my friend Kate Claiborne. Together at last.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Together at last.

[Sarah McLean]

Can we talk about something other than that, though?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Can we talk about how much I am absolutely delighted by these. It's a 10.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay. Explain to everybody what this means.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay. Because I did a. Actually, I did a really fun event earlier this week, or, you know, when we recorded with Adriana Herrera, Joanna Shoup, and Harper St. George.

[Sarah McLean]

I've never met Harper, and I love her book.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She was great. And so it was for women and Children first, which is a Chicago bookstore, which is starting a romance subscription box, which is really fun.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So you might want to check that out. And so it was on crowdcast, and it was their first romance event. So it was really fun. And I described to everybody, like, the way this game works. And so what you do is you start off with, like, a statement, like.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, this character is a 10, but then there's some added extra piece of information. Well, and it doesn't have to be a 10 at first.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So it's like the character is a two, but you discover he's an evil twin, and then you re rank him based on that piece of information. So Sarah would be like, 5,000.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't understand. That's obviously increases the number.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right, Exactly. But other things would, like, decrease the number.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So, you know, he's a 10, but he. I don't know. I'm trying to think of something like, neutrally, like not offensive, like.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

But he never puts the cap back on the toothpaste.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I mean, four.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Can't wipe up the sink.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Exactly. Just things that have bothered me this morning in my house.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. He's a 10, but he's in Italy without you. Ah, yeah. I'm actually. He's still a 10. I'm excited for him. He's gonna have a nice time.

[Sarah McLean]

No, 15.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know. I miss him. He's sending really cute photos.

[Sarah McLean]

Mr. Reads romance is in Italy without Jen. It's kind of sad, honestly.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know. Well, tickets to Italy are very expensive, everybody. So it's okay.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, it's fine. So anyway, but what I really like is that I have seen also on like, Booktok and other places, people doing like, the book's a 10, but there's a cliffhanger.

[Jennifer Prokop]

DNF, right. Yeah, it's really fun.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, the book's a five, but the hero steals the heroine's glasses, you know, 7,000, so. Exactly. So Jen and I thought this would be really fun to play together. But we want you guys to send us the proposed items and then we will re rank based on your statements. So what we're going to do is if you go to the main page of the website fatedmates.net or to the Twitter feed that is about this episode or to the Instagram feed that is about this episode, you will find a link to the Google Doc where you can leave us the an. It's a 10 suggestion on that doc. You can also leave us a recommendation request or you can leave us just a kind of Q and A. Hey, Jen, what kind of shampoo are you using these days? And we will do our very best to answer the interesting ones.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

When we are together, face to face.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

In our nation's capital at the end of the month for a Polygon and Fademates Live.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yep.

[Sarah McLean]

Some questions have been coming through about Fademates Live 1. Yes, we are going to record it. Yes. Assuming the files don't corrupt themselves as they have in the past, we are going to release it. We will release it on our annual break which comes at the end of August, beginning of September.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So you'll be able.

[Sarah McLean]

You will not have us like this, but you'll be able to listen to the live that week. And also if you are attending the live, we are super excited to have you. Please visit our Twitter feed and maybe we could pin the.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm coming to the Live and I'm coming alone or I'm coming with friends. Introduce yourselves on that Twitter feed. Make other friends.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Well.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And order a, like, an avatar button from best friend Kelly.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know that it sounds like, really, like, how would that help me? But it really is such a fantastic thing to, like, walk up to someone and be like, oh, my gosh, I know who you are now.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

I recognize you.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I recognize you. Yeah. So it's really cool, and I think that's really fun. So there's a lot of ways that you can, like, sort of prep, prime yourself for making new friends.

[Sarah McLean]

Yep. Fademates Live is mask required. So if you are coming to it, please pack your mask. Although there might be a little treat for you when you turn up. And we're excited. Thanks to Old Town Books for being our partner on this one. And when you come, you're gonna get a $25 gift card, those of you who are joining us. And we expect you to snatch up books.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And, you know, evening long, everybody will.

[Sarah McLean]

Hang out afterward to sign books. It's gonna be great.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And I know that a lot of people are like, oh, my gosh, I can't be there, or the tickets sold out. And I just want to say, like, we're hoping this is sort of a test run, like, if we figure it out and it's successful, I think Sarah and I are both hoping this is something we can, like, recreate in other cities. In other cities in partnership with your bookstore and your local authors.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, I think that would be really, really fun. Also, here's some cool news. So our special guest for the Live, aside from me and some of my books will be there at the Live will be Andy Christopher, Kate Claiborne, Ali Hazelwood, Adriana Herrera, Sophie Jordan, Diana Quincy C, Travis Rice, and Naima Simone. And so if you would like to purchase books ahead of time by any of those people and have them signed to be shipped to you, that's a fun thing, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And you can call Old Town Books or visit them online, and we'll put links in the show notes, and you can do that and ask to have them signed at Fated Mates Live. And they will hold the books, have them sign, and then ship them to you afterwards.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. It's gonna be amazing. So I think that's gonna be really fun. I just want us to all have a nice time. I don't think I'm gonna talk about any shampoo changes personally, but I have recently changed my skincare routine. I'm very happy about it. If anybody would like to. So go ahead and ask me anything.

[Sarah McLean]

We'll get there. So, yeah, so you can find the. You can go to the main page of the website, fadedmates.net and click on Survey or whatever it's called. I don't know what it's gonna be called. The button. But click on the button that takes you to a place where you can leave us an. It's a 10. Recommend a book to me based on this trope. Or just ask us a plain old question.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sarah, you think it's a regular romance, but then you realize, Daddy.

[Sarah McLean]

Now listen. I mean, it's kind of like a 12. Okay, tell everybody about earlier today.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, so we had another idea. And then I was like, I don't like it. I've never read these books before. I did, which I don't usually do, but I was not feeling it. So we had a long conversation, and we kicked around a lot of ideas. And then Sarah said, maybe we should do Daddy. And I was like, yes. And she was like, right now I want to take a picture of her face. She's like, I didn't really mean it. And I was like, too late. We got to do it.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm very blushy. Like, I don't get. I mean, this. Okay, first of all, headphones in, everyone.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Daddy.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, but here's the thing. So we've done, like, age gap, and we sort of danced around Daddy, then we talked about Taboo. We've danced around Daddy, then. But I feel like we've never really dug deep on why Daddy works so well.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So.

[Sarah McLean]

But also, I'm like. I really am, like, embarrassed to talk about why. I know I love these books so much. So, you know, I don't know. Don't.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Don't shame me, you guys.

[Sarah McLean]

No kink shaming right there on the website.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No kink shaming, Exactly. We have had lots of folks ask us to do, like, stepbrother, and I feel like, like, we kind of have not, I think, in some ways, like, because stepbrother is like, go. Like, it's like, right. Like, it's not there. But I do think that, like, Daddy is, like, everywhere right now. There's even. I sent Sarah, and I will put this in show notes. A really. I was on Tick Tock the other day, and there's a really funny one that went by. I sent it to Sarah where I guess it's like a, you know, tick Tock meme. Like, you just out of nowhere, walk up to your. If your partner's a man, walk up and call him Daddy, like, he. You know, so there's this one there, this guy is, like, literally, like, looking for something in the pantry, and she calls him Daddy. And he, like, he's like, what?

[Sarah McLean]

Freezes?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And then he's like, what am I feeling right now? What are my feelings being felt?

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's great. It was so funny. It was really a delight. It was delightful. So I feel like it's so mainstream, but it's not in other ways. And I think the one other thing I want to talk about before we kind of get into it is I would like to name at the top that this is gonna hit really differently when we were talking about, like, CIS het women versus, like, Daddy, when we're talking about gay men. And I think I did a little research, and it was really funny because I was with my brother Mike and his partner last week, and Nate, this, his partner, was like. Like, talking about, like, I think Fire island or Palm Springs. And he's like, just like, everything. The gays discover it first, and then straights come along and ruin it. And I feel a little like that is probably the case with Daddy. I have one book that is. I think it is definitely, like, Daddy Kink, that's gay romance. But I think for me, like, it just. It hits differently. So when I talk about, like, the appeal to me as a reader, I really am coming at it, obviously, from the space of, like, a straight CIS het woman. And I can't really speak to, or I don't think it's, like, my place to speak to how it lands in the gay community. But I feel that we should still call out that. This. This is not like a. Like, this is a trope that exists in different ways in lots of different spaces.

[Sarah McLean]

Correct. I also want to, like, I. And I'm sure we're going to get into it, but, like, there's, like, a lot of different vibes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Of Daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

There's a full spectrum of Daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

For all of us, I think. And so I think, like, some of these books are gonna hit. I think my Daddy kink is not everyone's daddy kink.

[Jennifer Prokop]

When we talk about, like, it as kink, that's a different conversation than we talk about it as, like, a male archetype.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so, like, it's also really different.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, so let's start there.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Because.

[Sarah McLean]

So I chose books specifically where, like, the word daddy is on page.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. Yeah, of course.

[Sarah McLean]

So I think. But I think that we need to have a real conversation. Let's start with the archetype yeah. Because I actually think when we start there with, like, why does Daddy work so well? It's because it's layering on an archetype that has worked so well for 50 years.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right, agree.

[Sarah McLean]

We did an episode in season two about Alphas. It's one of our most popular episodes. It's an episode that I'm always entertained that it gets assigned in, like, romance courses in universities. And thank you very much to those professors who think we're smart enough to be assigned in romance courses. But I think the Alpha that sort of dominant.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Protector. Is the skeleton.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes. Of the Daddy. Well, and I. I read a really interesting. And I will link to it in show notes piece on medium from a woman who actually talked about her daddy King with her partners. And she said that exact same thing. But I really liked what she said, which is daddies are dominant without being domineering.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Because there is a softness.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

A nurturing, like, whatever that is that tempers Daddy away from Alpha.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

It's that layering of priests.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

For me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right. Right.

[Sarah McLean]

There is the. The sexy part of these daddy books is when like is not punishment, but is praise.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

And that is for me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, those are the books that I'm looking for. And maybe this speaks to currently what's happening in the world and what's happening in romance. I mean, it's all layered. Right. There's nothing. Nothing in media is ever happening in a vacuum. So if we have this sense of, like, the Alpha has, you know, over 50 years, he has had to evolve.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And so if he gets to a place where. To this sort of intersection that's happening right now in romance, where we're seeing much softer books, like, come into play. We're seeing books that have that really kind of navigate these edges, these sharp edges. Also on the other side, what Daddy books do is sort of merge the two in an interesting way. Like, they are like two great flavors. Yeah. One great taste. Is that right? It's not.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't think there's a playfulness to it.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, it's joyful.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, this is like, when you see this in a book, it's usually like, they're having a good time together. It's fun.

[Sarah McLean]

It's.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Praise, not punishment. It's all those things. And so I do think that there's a way in which, you know, like, I'm always really curious. That same thing. Like, what's going on in society. Like, we feel really unmoored.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, it's a terrifying time. And the idea that, like, there's someone out there that, like, we have a, like, collective urge to feel, like, taken care of.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, you know, that, like, there's some, you know, somebody is out there, like, steering the ship. It's not just, like, terrifying, over the edge.

[Sarah McLean]

Right. It's this feeling. I mean, like, not to bring it back to, like, the. You know, right. On the backs of housing. Like, it should be fun. Like, not to bring it back to everything going on in the world right now. But I'm going to for a second.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

The one thing I want right now, the one thing is I want the President of the United States to make a big fucking speech and basically say, like, it's gonna be okay.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, every time Barack Obama stood up and was like, it's gonna be okay. It's like, okay, somebody's.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Or, like, I think about.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah, right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I think about Independence Day, where it was Bill Pullman, right. Who gives the big, like, don't worry speech. Like, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Bill Pullman, Ultimate Daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, right. I mean, so I do think that there's a reason why, like, we're here right now.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, just in general. Like, so despite, like. Right, That's.

[Sarah McLean]

And not to mention the fact we talked about this when we did 50 Shades of Grey. But, like, romance heroes are often, like, when we see a shift like this, a sort of juggernaut, you know, shift. I mean, if you think about 50 Shades, you can't deny that, like, Christian Gray taking care of literally everything Anna had to do with herself was an appealing prospect.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Part of the appeal of so many of these, like, the appeal of the Tessa Bailey hero.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

The appeal of the Colleen Hoover hero is, like, it doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter. Like, you don't have to be a billionaire. Just have to be willing to take care of.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

The partner. Your partner.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, one of the things I kind of find appealing, right, like, personally about this trope or this archetype, I guess, is, like, BDSM was never really my, like, thing.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But it's like, this is, like, be. It's, like, adjacent to a lot of things that are very taboo.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

So it's, like, adjacent to, like, breeding kink. It's adjacent to, like, bdsm. It's like spanking, but not, like, hardcore. It's often, like, age gap. But the other thing I was thinking is Daddy kind of feels private rather than public.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes. Yes. Oh, my God. This is what I wanted to talk about.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

No. You finished?

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, I mean, I just was thinking about it, right? Like, this isn't like we're not going to the club necessarily.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like this is just like this is you and your partners in your home having this. It's play, it's fun, It's.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's not as domineering like it. And I was just really thinking like, that also seems really appealing. Like the private. The privacy of this.

[Sarah McLean]

This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Avon Books, publishers of Charis Michaels. A Duchess by Midnight.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sarah, I love an ugly duckling story.

[Sarah McLean]

Same.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And in this case, Ms. Drew's Mina, or Drew really, you know, had a rough come up. She was awkward. People didn't like the way she looked. She had a wicked stepsister and an overbearing mother. But she's really determined to turn things around. And so she dreams of opening a school that is gonna emphasize inner beauty rather than outer beauty. She becomes a governess for Ian Clay Black, the Duke of Lachlan. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Does he have girls in his life who need training of some kind?

[Jennifer Prokop]

They are his nieces and they're about to go into the season. And who better to help him but the striking Ms. Trelane?

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, boy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Now, as you can imagine, these two get up to some shenanigans and they're caught in a scandalous embrace. Do they have to get married? Of course they do. If you cannot wait to read more about this ugly duckling and her duke, you can check out Charis Michaels at her website, charismichaels.com or Instagram @chismichaels.

[Sarah McLean]

A Duchess by Midnight is available in print, ebook and audio wherever books are sold. And thank you to Avon Books for sponsoring the episode. Full disclosure, like, this is the kink that I am, like, always, always willing to read.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah. Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And I want to talk about. I think there are, like, really. There are really bucketed areas of this kink.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And there are some things that hit much better for me than don't. We did a whole episode on Jessica and those books are like, full on. Like, she's always, like 18. She's always a virgin. Like, she's always. And like, there is a place in time for Jessica. It is New Year's Eve with all of your friends. We'll link to that episode in show Notes. But, like, that's not. That's not the daddy kink that, like, I am. I'm here for every time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

That is like, a particular taste that, like, every Once in a while, I want to order that on the menu. The thing that's so interesting to me is that. And then there's. On the other side, there is the kind of like, you go to a club, you play the game, you put on the face, you do the scene, and then you go back to your life, and it's.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Whatever it is.

[Sarah McLean]

And sometimes that. And oftentimes in books, in the indie romance world, where all the books are called Daddy, Daddy's in all the titles, often BDSM is involved in that in some way.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I was gonna say there are 70 plus pages of, like, Daddy romance books on Goodreads.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. Like, I tried to find one today that literally I put in the title, what I thought the title was, and there were easily 25.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

With the same title. So I'm not recommending that because I can't find it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

But, like, this is like the KU bucket. Like, if you're looking for the. All these books are in ku. You read one, and then it serves you up the next 12. So. And then there is my favorite, which is when you find. When it's. It's on the surface, sort of a kind of like regular old contemporary romance.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Or historical, whatever. But still. And there is. My favorite moment in these books is the moment where either the hero or the heroine were in there deep in their POV during a love scene. And there is that hesitation of, like, they're both, like, there.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Say it. Say it. And you're there with them, and you're like, oh, I know exactly what they need to say in order to make this, like, you know, take this from like, a 10 to a 12, and you're in the character's head, and they're thinking, like, should I say it? Like, should I? Like, should I say it? And then they do and, like, kaboom.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

That is so fun.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Well, that's why that TikTok video works.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Cause it's that moment. But, like.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You just get that shot of it.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. And I mean, so I want to talk about Eve Dangerfield's act yout Age.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Which has to be on your list, too, is this. I actually.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. I mean, of course. Eve Dangerfield. I mean, I think. Let me say one more thing before we start talking about books.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So this is also a moment where I think it's really useful to think about the difference between, like, erotica versus erotic romance. Yes.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So there are gonna be a group of people who are truly, like, exploring this as Like a romance.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like it's erotic romance. They're exploring this kink together and we get that it's a part of their dynamic. I wanna at some point can talk about like power, like power dynamics and stuff and kind of how that plays out. But I think then there's also a huge group of these that are just like erotica.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. Like full one handed reads.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes. And that's.

[Sarah McLean]

And I think we should talk about who I'm.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know where you're at in terms of recommendations. You guys, you all know this, but Jen and I actually don't pre game at all.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, no, we just roll in.

[Sarah McLean]

So we just like roll in with our bucks and don't talk to each other about what they are until we start recording. So but like I have a list of authors who like if you're just interested in that sort of one handed read experience, like I can give you a recommendation of like here are authors to check out. But I'm not like we'll do that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

At the end maybe. Yeah.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Because there's not much to say.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like those are books that are just. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Like part of the joy of someone like Jessica and.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Is like you know exactly what you're getting every single time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right, Right, absolutely.

[Sarah McLean]

Also, can we talk about one other thing before we start which is I don't want any babies involved in any of this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Some of it edges up onto like breeding kink.

[Sarah McLean]

It edges onto breeding.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I think that's the other thing. It's like this is a well developed landscape where you can literally be like, yes, that part of it is working for me or it's not. And then you just shift into another lane. So I mean that's the other part that I was thinking too is it's like it's not. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't want any play. Like I don't, I don't want like there are some. That's literally like I'm your little girl.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, I don't want any of that.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And there. And you can find that though. And you know one of the things.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean if you want that I support you.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

But that's not going to be what I.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, so here's what I was going to say is if you are not sure like what. What works for you and what doesn't in this area, one of the things I would really recommend that you do is, is get like one of those. Like there's a series of anthologies that come out every year. It's called, like, Dirty Daddies, and it's literally 15. 15 or 20 of them. And, you know, they are going to run the gamut. Some of it's going to be breed or kink, and some of it's going to be like, little girl, like. Like, literally, like, there's, like, a nursery and there's like, play and dress up and stuff like that. Then there, you know, then there's going to be stuff that's like, really, like, you know, spanking, but, like punishment or.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like the whole fucking gamut. So I think that you. If you're interested, but not sure what your kink is, that's one way to figure it out. And then if you're like, oh, this isn't working for me, just, boom, go on to the next one.

[Sarah McLean]

You know who else I would recommend in that situation? If you, like, if you've done a little bit of the daddy stuff, but you're not sure, right. Think about how far. You know, this is one of those situations. I can't remember what other episode we did where we talked about how, like, you're a little bit of frog in a.

[Jennifer Prokop]

A pot of water. Right? Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And so, like, the heat's on and you're like, oh, there's only so much I can tolerate. And then suddenly you're like, wait, it's boiling. I don't even. I guess I'm just here now.

[Jennifer Prokop]

This is where I live now.

[Sarah McLean]

So. But I would say also, like, if you've done the kind of. I don't know how to frame it in any way other than to say, like, the tamer daddy stuff that we're talking about today, say, or like, you did London Hail, right? We're not talking about London hail today, but, like, that's sort of. I feel like that's Daddy101, right? Like an older dude who's like, sure, lovely. Great in bed.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And so if you've done that and you've liked it and then you've done what we're talking about, what we're recommending today, and you like it. I would say the author that you should sort of test the waters with on getting, like, kinkier is Jade West.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah, completely. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And the reason why I say that is because she seems to. To always have a different spin on it. So she goes from, like, there's a nursery to, like, you know, she's like the third joining a gay couple, like, who have a very rich, like, male. Male relationship. And then in. And one of them is the Daddy. And then they both kind of become her daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So, I mean, I would agree with that.

[Sarah McLean]

I think that one's called Sugar Daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So then you can just sort of be like, this works for me or it doesn't. But I do think that's the other thing is because so much of it is in ku, you can just like.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Try it out. Yeah, exactly. It's like. I will say it's you. It's easy to find out what you like because there's no barrier to entry. Yeah, right.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, I will say also, I'm. I'm just gonna say the quiet thing. Loud here, which is like, a lot of these are not great. Like, it is really. It's tough to like, mine this. I often find this when. When there's, like, a. A kink.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. That becomes popular.

[Sarah McLean]

It's like, it just ends up being, like, churn of books that all have that sort of the same title. Like, daddies in every title. And so, like, you. You should not feel bad about.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. You're, like, standing, like, do this writing or whatever. It's fine. Yeah, I agree. So, I mean. Yeah, I mean, I think that's what happens when you're in the KU erotica space.

[Sarah McLean]

But we're gonna help you navigate to, you know, six or eight books that we think you'll enjoy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Perfect. So I do think we should start with Eve Dangerfield. The question I had is. I'm sorry, like, five minutes later is, was she the first to put, like, Daddy Kink on page in romance in this way, or just, like. I mean. Yeah, I guess not.

[Sarah McLean]

I feel like this is a tale as old as time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, right. Like, Yeah, I do.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know, though. I wonder. We should see. We should do a little research. I'll do a little research for show notes. And, you know, come back, everyone, and look at Jen's excellent show notes, and maybe I'll have found something. But I feel like, you know, appreciating that, you know, gay men found it first. Yes.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

I do think, like, there's. There's some certainly, like, the crossover into what I guess we would say the mainstream. Right? Like Oscar Isaac and Pedro Pascal making jokes about being someone's daddy on, like, film. I feel like now it's just real. I mean, I wonder what it is, though, that broke it out.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, okay. Can I say, I actually have one theory. I'm sorry. I know we said Eve dance.

[Sarah McLean]

I love a theory. I love a theory.

[Jennifer Prokop]

One of the reasons I think it's harder to talk about. Stepbrother is because it's, like, similar to a lot of things we mentioned, but, like, it's such a specific, like, relationship.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, you have to be the same age, like, whatever. But, like, any man who wants to could be a daddy, but not any man could be a stepbrother. Does that make sense?

[Sarah McLean]

Like that, you mean archetypally.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Archetypally speaking.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, does that make sense? I feel like it's broader. It's like a bigger umbrella.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. I mean, obviously there's that. I think there's also. I think stepbrother is an external taboo, and Daddy is an internal one.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah, right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Because here's something I'll say. QB Tyler, who we've talked about a number of times on the podcast. Right. Who really has a. Has a very sort of strong hold on stepfather romance.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

She does not do Daddy.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Those book. I don't think of those books as being.

[Jennifer Prokop]

As being Daddy Kink.

[Sarah McLean]

And maybe that is why. So, like, I. I think it's like, maybe there's like, an external piece and an internal piece here. Like, maybe this does go back to what we were talking about.

[Jennifer Prokop]

About.

[Sarah McLean]

It feels really private.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, where it feels like I want Charlotte Stein to write me a daddy book. Like, it feels like that when you're reading these. Daddy. You know, I feel like in our very first interstitial episode, I talked about how much I love Charlotte Stein. And the reason why I do, and I'll say it again, you know, four seasons later, for those of you who weren't here for then, is that every Charlotte Stein book I read, I feel like I am standing inside a telephone booth with these two people falling in love in front of me. And I am not involved in this, but I cannot get away from it. Like, I'm so close. And that is what I think is happening emotionally in the feelings of these books when they're done really well.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

That sort of sense of we're so close to it, and daddy's very internal in a way that these other things are not.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, no, I think so, too. And so that's why I think they're, like two sides of the same coin.

[Sarah McLean]

So maybe that's part of it, too. Like, I feel like romance with the advent of dark romance and, like, single POV and like, you know, these kind of, like, the blurbs. Those, like, the indie blurb. The rise of the indie blurb of, like, you know, first person, like.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Kind of a free association in those Blurbs.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, all of that stuff is so internal that maybe that's the other reason why Daddy is like, like, becoming a more prevalent piece of the puzzle.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I like it. I think that's a good theory. Okay. Finally, 800 years later, we're ready to talk about Eve Dangerfield. Go for it.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, for me, it's act yout Age.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Eve Dangerfield does Daddy kink in a lot of her books. Because the other thing is praise. Right. Praise is a big piece of this, I think, for a lot of readers, because it's caretaking.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

It's like we've had this conversation about dirty talk, right. Where, like, it's a common, constant reminder of, like, enthusiastic consent. I have wanted to do a praise kink episode, but it's so rare. Like, it's still a really new thing. So, you know, there's Sarah Kate's praise, which we sort of have danced. We've talked a little bit about on the podcast before, and I don't want to do too much of it here, but there are. But I do think that part of the. I think Daddy and Priya come together. They come hand in hand in a number of ways. Because like I said, it's enthusiastic consent. It makes for, you know, super sexy dirty talk. It makes for play without. Without pain.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And it, you know, it just sort of. It sorts out all of these different pieces. So in act yout Age, the heroine, Kate, is referred to by everyone at her job as Middleton or Princess. Like, she's perfect. She has that sort of very, like, unruffled, like, perfectly honed everything. And she is. The book begins while she is on a work. She's, like, in another town. They're on, like a work trip, like at a conference. And it's her. She's the only girl, the only woman in the office or on the team. And it's her and, like a number of other people on the team. And they're boss Tyler, who is in his 40s and is, like, stern and cold and unyielding and kind of like office dad. Like a protector, but from afar.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And Kate is hitting it off with, like, some young guy in the bar and he. She starts to make out with this other guy. Like, it's clear that, like, she's gonna. She's about to have a one night stand.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Mm.

[Sarah McLean]

And Tyler interrupts because he can't handle the idea.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Of like, this girl who's on his team having a one night stand. And he's always had, like, a thing for Her. She wears these, like, tight skirts, and, like, he's definitely noticed her.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

But he would never. He would never touch her.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But here we are.

[Sarah McLean]

Road trip. Right. Like, pulled out of the location that they are always in. So out kind of fish out of water. And he takes her home. She's had too much to drink, takes her back to the hotel. She wakes up in the middle of the night, and she thinks she is in bed with the guy from the bar.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Mm.

[Sarah McLean]

And so they. She basically, like, jumps him in this bed, and she calls him Daddy. Because that's her kink.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And he is like, yes.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's.

[Sarah McLean]

I am on board. And so what's fascinating about it is they've, like, made. They make this, like, terrible mistake, but they reveal she calls the.

[Jennifer Prokop]

This.

[Sarah McLean]

This guy Daddy in bed because she's like, I'm never gonna see this person again. Like, I can do this. I can be myself here. Like, I can free myself. And then she's, like, accidentally done it with her boss. And then, of course, like, it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

It unravels in this really great way, and it's super hot. I mean, it's just a great. It's a great book. And it has all that sort of, like, hesitation. It has this sort of exploration piece. It really feels like an authentic. This isn't like, a game. This is these two people exploring themselves.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And I recently talked about Return all, which is one of her books. And I think the other thing that I really liked about Return all is it's Daddy Kink. That is not age gap. They're the same age. They sort of discover that they share this when they're, like, dating in high school.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, so I think that's. The other thing is, like, if the age gap part is a deal breaker for you, which is. I mean, that. I mean, that.

[Sarah McLean]

Totally reasonable.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Totally reasonable.

[Sarah McLean]

Right. Very difficult to find in this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I think that's. That's, like, one of the things that I. That I like about Eve is she's exploring this in lots of different ways and lots of different relationships with a.

[Sarah McLean]

Lot of, like, authenticity. Like, there's a. You know, Eve Dangerfield books don't feel like fantasy as much as some of these other ones do.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. I think that's a great way of putting it. Yeah. This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Juniper Butterworth, author of Priest Queen.

[Sarah McLean]

So Priest Queen is the second in Juniper's Goblins and Cheese series, and it is a fantasy romance. In Korea case, the title wasn't enough for you? About our heroine, Elson, who has found herself crowned the first priest queen in history, which I like that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I like a woman in charge.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, exactly. What's important is that Elson would prefer not to be in charge of a kingdom. Elson wants to make cheese and keep track of holy cows, but instead she has to get married and she has to begin to rule a kingdom. So she's got this promising and kind of, well, really only candidate, and that is a goblin prince named Kandar. But she's not ready. So she sends Kandar off and sort of insists that he has to go fetch her best friend Ben from exile, and then they can get married.

[Jennifer Prokop]

What I love about this is MMF romance. These three are gonna end up figuring out how to help the kingdom and the cheesemakers together.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes, they are. So this one is going to be perfect for you. If you're looking for fantasy romance. I know there are so many of you out there who are ask asking us for more fantasy recs all the time. Childhood friends to lovers, love at first sight, marriage of convenience, cheese in general. In romance, I mean, I like cheese.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Everyone likes cheese. Priest Queen is available in print, ebook and in ku. Thank you to Juniper Butterworth for sponsoring this week's episode of Fated Mates. So one of the things I want to say is I think I've talked about some of these books before. In other words, other topics. But they're worth revisiting because I think they're kind of like the best of the erotic romance daddy category versus the erotica category.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Does that make sense?

[Sarah McLean]

For what it's worth, I'm not. I don't think I'm. I don't think we've talked about any of my books.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, interesting. Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, because I was embarrassed about it. Oh, there you are.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Here we are.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Here we are. I want to talk about Permanent Ink Bite, Avon, Gail and Piper Vaughn. I think I have talked about this maybe on the age gap 1. This is a really great example of like a gay romance that has Daddy Kink and Po is a like 23, 23 year old graffiti artist. He's kind of bratty almost at the beginning, right? Like, he's just like 20s, young. He doesn't have a shit together.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so his father gets him a job at his. The father's best friend is this guy named Jericho. And he's like, Jericho owns a tattoo parlor. You need a job. I've essentially reached out to Jericho. Jericho to make sure that you can. Like, he's Gonna help you. My best friend is gonna help you get your together. And Jericho and Po end up having a very intense and like, sexy and hot relationship. And one of the things that I think is really interesting when it's the daddy is like, someone you know.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, now it's not someone that, like, he knew really well. I think as a younger man, I feel like sometimes that definitely can be like, not into my wheelhouse. But a big part of this is, how are we going to tell your father, my best friend? One of the things I think that this book does really well is there's nothing wrong with thinking this is hot or sexy. And it has nothing to do at all with the way you were raised in your family of origin. So I don't know if that makes sense.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I feel like sometimes the assumption is like, oh, you weren't taken care of by your own father, so now you have this daddy. And I feel like that is. This book is great for just being like, no, it's hot. We like this. It's fine. It has nothing to do with Landon. It has to do with us again in private.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Sarah McLean]

Yes. I think that is such a smart way of thinking about the different. Like the. That is. That is the bucket that is Daddy. Like, and it feels like daddy in that bucket is not taboo.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, there is a. There's a Venn diagram here.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, yeah, it's awesome.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So anyway, it is a terrific. A terrific, I think example, like, exemplar even of like, if you're like, I'm not sure I would like this. But you're open minded. This is a great romance.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, it's so terrific. I think anyone would love it. So I definitely recommend.

[Sarah McLean]

So I have one where I talked already about how I really love it when there's that, like has that when the realization of the kink is on page.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

I want to talk about Adrianna Anders, Daddy crush.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Which is.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Very.

[Sarah McLean]

So Audrey. What I love about Adrianna's books.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Less.

[Sarah McLean]

So about Whiteout because Whiteout has such a like, big external.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

There's so much externally happening there. But what I love about Adrianna's books is how intense she built. She builds a backstory for her characters that is just so intense. Like, she layers on in a lot of cases, trauma.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And then delivers these characters to a love story that again, feels very intimate and intimate in a way that is like, I mean, it feels like all romances are intimate, but that's not true. Like, some of Them, like, really do throw you into the phone booth. So this particular book, Daddy crushed the heroine. This is age gap too. The heroine, Jerusha, is in her 20s, early 20s. She has essentially escaped. I mean, she's left her extremely, extremely conservative religious family, like her evangelical parents, to go to art school. Like, she does. She never fit in. She didn't. She never fit in with her family. She never felt like she's, like, one of, like, I don't know, seven or eight children, and she escapes to, like, freedom, and not in kind of a, like, terrible way, but just in, like, a way where she's no longer welcome in her family because she wants something that her family does not value, approve of or approve of.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

So she has, like, rented this house in the town where the college is, and she's going to art school. Like, she's. She's studying to be a painter, I think.

[Jennifer Prokop]

What, like fabric arts or something, though, isn't it?

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, yeah, Fabric arts, you're right. And then. So the next door neighbor, Carl, is older and, like, has been. He's like. He's just, like, kind of a.

[Jennifer Prokop]

He's just a guy. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, he's. He's just like a working dude and he lives alone and he has a daughter and a dog.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And.

[Sarah McLean]

And it's, like, all fine. And they fall for each other. Like, they. And they fall for each other in a really, like, kind of slow, Ish burn. Like, there's.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, it's not. It doesn't immediately jump onto the page, this, like, this sex. But it's really lovely. It's like a lovely, romantic, like, falling for each other. And then they get to. It gets to the sex. And Adriana writes a great sex scene, period. And this is the book I think of often when I think of a moment where, like, he's. They're. They're in it, and he's, like, dirty talking at her. And like, he's basically like. He says a bunch of filthy stuff and then, like, like stops, right? Because. And he's. I. I mean, I don't even know what he says, but he's basically like, you know, are you gonna come for your. And then, like, it just cuts off. And then he thinks in italics in the book, daddy. And then he kind of like, yeah, closes up because he's like, where the. Did that come from? Like, what is that? How, like, is that? I'm feeling feelings, right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

And it's shame, Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I think it's really, like, very obvious that he's like, oh my God.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, aware. Like there is a sort of awareness in this character about, like, what the heroine has been through. And so like, he also doesn't want it to be weird. Like he wants. And then of course, she's like. And that the scene is in his pov, right? Because he's having this kind of like, panic about, like, what he's feeling. And then he sort of. She's like, what? Say it. Like, there's sort of like a.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like this.

[Sarah McLean]

No, you say it first. No, you say it first. And it's like there's like a back and forth and then they don't say. It's just. They both kind of sit with it in that moment. And it is great. It's so hot, but also like, so vulnerable. And I think part of why I love it, I love this, that structure of the story so much, is because of the vulnerability. Because there is such a moment where, where, you know, sex is weird and it is super private. And it does sometimes feel like, you know, you can go years without sharing, like, your most intimate parts with somebody.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I think that's one of the things I think about this, like, kind of kink in general that's really interesting is how easily, like, especially in this moment, we can really doubt the difference between like, and. I don't know, I don't like, want to say this, like, the right way. I feel like. And I was trying to, like, take notes on this because I really thought this was important. But basically, like, what you think is like, sexy and fantasy is not necessarily what you're doing in real life.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so for that moment, for, for Carl, it's really tied up in like, I'm an actual father. Is this right? Bisexualizing daddy? Is this like, right? Like, and like, you know, there's a lot of really terrifying ways right now where there's like, grooming discourse that's really being weaponized against like, gay men in particular.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, and so I think that that is like a big part of it is like, when is it okay for me to like, to just be like, yeah, I think this is hot and sexy. We're playing with it and have fun. Versus does this mean I'm damaged or whatever? And our culture's so puritanical about these things that it often feels like anything that like, is adjacent to those, it can be really shame filled. And I think that's what that book does so well, is really explore.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

How it's not.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. There's also inside this book a really great relationship between Carl and his, you know, teenage like coming of age daughter. Like she's maybe 16 or 17.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And it, it's great. Like they have a great relationship where she's like, you know, it's fine if.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You guys are like, well, isn't she. Isn't it that she and Jerusha are actually kind of the same age or pretty close.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, so they're pretty close.

[Sarah McLean]

So maybe they're. Yeah, right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So, yeah, that's like weird too, right? But I think the other thing about this is like we talk about power dynam dynamics all the time, right? Like, that's like what romance's relationships are really built on, like navigating power dynamics. And it feels like one of the cool things about daddy is every single time the power dynamic is explicit and on page instead of the like real fantasy of like power dynamics don't exist. Everything is equal.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so I think the thing about like daddy is always like, it's there, there's always a power dynamic. And this, it's so in your face, you can't help but explore it. And I think that's cool.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, me too.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So speaking of that then I would like to talk about Katie Roberts. Your dad will do.

[Sarah McLean]

We love, we love these. I love these.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I love this. Yeah. This whole series is really great.

[Sarah McLean]

We did do an episode about ex boyfriend's dad, right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't. I feel like we've talked about this one for sure. But I don't know like in which.

[Sarah McLean]

Episode we talked about ex boyfriend's dad in age gap.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Maybe an age gap.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But like this is really specifically like she breaks up with her. Her boyfriend and then goes to seduce his father.

[Sarah McLean]

Now I'm your mom now.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And listen this for it. It's so hot, right? I mean it is pure. It's like supercharged. I don't even know. I don't know that I have anything else to say about it.

[Sarah McLean]

And it's great.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Part of it is like he's into it too. Part of it is like there's some really sexy parts where they like recreate essentially scenes where the son had been present.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like there's a scene where like she's laying on the couch.

[Sarah McLean]

He had witnessed. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And then at the end the son walks in on them. I mean, so this is like the.

[Sarah McLean]

Full well, because that's the promise of the premise of that ex boyfriend's dad. Of course, the son has to, the boyfriend has to walk.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right? Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So I mean, and, but I think like that's it. It's like Katie Robert is leaning into this so hard, like she's got no fear.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I feel like that's why that whole series, I think it's called A Touch of Taboo, really works because she is not unlike sort of Eve Dangerfield, where it really feels so grounded in sort of like reality. I think Katie is doing the work, but it really feels like almost like fantasy, right?

[Sarah McLean]

Yes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know, like this is like, what are the things that would really turn your crank? She's going to give them to you.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so I think like they're kind of. It's like the continuum or the spectrum. But to me it still reads very much as like erotic romance. Like at the end they get to the point where they're like, no, this is real. This isn't just kink. And so like, what's that going to mean and how are we going to go forward from here? Because now like the power dynamics and the play, that was really just like us exploring that now, like, what's that gonna mean in a relationship?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

For those of you looking for something that is longer and does a little bit like, falls a little bit more on the erotic romance side rather than like the erotica side. That is Sarah Kate's praise.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I would agree.

[Sarah McLean]

It's almost an identical story, but just like a novel instead of a novel. So there's just like more time to navigate all the emotional stuff.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I want to talk about Rebel Carter. Have you read this series?

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't think I have.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, my God. Oh my God. Okay, so again, on the record, I think Rebel's fabulous.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She's great.

[Sarah McLean]

I think she's a great writer. So Rebel Carter has a series called the Cairn series. It begins with a novella called. And I. I think what Rebel's doing here is really interesting, Jen, because I think that what she is doing with this series is playing with structure and almost sub genre in each of these three. It's a three part series. The first part is a novella which ends with so, all right, the setup is there is the heroine whose name is Honey. She has access to. She's like a barista, she works in a coffee shop. But she gets access to a BDSM club called the Cairn. It's like a very exclusive BDSM club and you can only go for a certain length of time. There's like a 48 hour limit on the number on the amount of time that you can be inside the club for. Any, like any member can be inside the club, like playing.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

So she gets there and she has this like really like, remarkable chance to like play. And she's gonna get paid. Like, she's like. She's not. She has an. She has access to this as like a paid. Like a person who can go and. And like get paid.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

And she needs money.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

So she goes. She is. She is put into a relationship with this guy, this sort of mysterious guy. And he basically says to her, like, I'm a. I'm not a dom, I'm a daddy. And they have like a 48 hour, like intense experience inside this club.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

Where he just. Just. So it's like deeply erotic.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

So the first book is the two of them in this like, very intense erotic. It's a novella. It's this very intense erotic experience. I'm gonna spoil this for everybody because I think it's. And actually it's spoiled in the catalog copy, in the COVID copy for it. So this book ends with her leaving. She leaves the club and she thinks like. And it. It's not like, I hate you, I'm leaving. It's just. It's over now. Our interlude is over. It is erotic. It is an erotic novella. Book two, which is a full length novel, is Honey Honey. And essentially this one is the one where she and Lawson, the hero are brought back together again. And now he's like, I can't stop thinking about her. This is where it starts to feel like he's like obsessed with her in the. Not in a terrible way, in a kind of like in a nice daddy way. In a kind of daddy way. But like, so he, like they go back to the club. Like there's like they meet again. It's more intense. There are these like great moments where like he. There. There's like really great caretaking in this. Like in this book. And then of course, like in this second book ends with like a happy for now. Like there's a real sense of like these two might make it right. At the same time there's this like, thread of. There's a mafia you could call. I think this edges up on dark. It doesn't. It's not a dark romance, but like there's mafia involved and this crime family gets back involved. And so in the second book you start to feel like they're. There's something rumbling outside, like externally from these two. And then it starts to become clear that like Honey is in some amount of danger by the end of the second book in the series by Honey Honey. And then the third book, which is called Bitter Desire, is kind of like the romantic suspense of it all.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Sarah McLean]

That's so awesome. Two of them against the world. I think Rebel is so thoughtful in the way that she puts series. Puts books and series together. She is. What I love about this is that it doesn't feel like it's a cliffhanger. It's a cliffhanger. It feels like she is telling you a very careful story in three parts.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And what she's doing is she's really thoughtful about where she ends each of these. And I think she. She's making a really interesting point about, like, why we come to these books and what we want from them.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. That's awesome. She's so smart about.

[Sarah McLean]

She's so smart. I know about the way that works.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

We are trying really hard to figure out a time for Rebel to get on the podcast to talk to us. But, like, these are. These are. All three of them are great, and I highly recommend just downloading all three and just reading, meeting them.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Bang, bang, boom.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, so I'm gonna talk about one.

[Sarah McLean]

More author.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And then maybe one. I mean, like, this is where it's like. I think I feel like I'm now ready to, like, get to more of the erotica. Yep. Be more of the. Like, a drive down the erotica path. And this is where it. You know what? Like, it's funny because I think you and I feel, like, really strongly, like, no kink shoes. But some of this stuff does feel like you're like, wow, I'm more vulnerable, like, kind of admitting to this.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

To reading. To reading this stuff. And that's just, I think, you know, society and culture or whatever. But so I. What I mentioned is that one of the ways I read a lot of Daddy Kink was an anthology that is no longer available, of course, called Dirty Daddies. And I think it comes out, like, every year. So, you know, it, like, goes on sale every September. There's one right now that's, like, Dirty Daddy's Pride, which I think probably came out last month, but the one that comes out in the fall, I downloaded, like, last year, and it had, like, I don't know, probably 25 different authors. And, you know, I was just, like, kind of, like, reading in and out and, like, seeing what I liked and, you know, kind of figuring it out. And I ended up checking out Renee Rose. And if I. This is. If you remember, in the Dark Romance, Joanna Shoup recommended a book by Renee Rose, which is the one in Vegas, and I really ended up liking that series. It was kind of like dark romance light, like Heather Gray romance, as Jo would say. And so I was like, oh, I recognize that name. And so I read whatever was in the anthology. And then she has a series called Daddy Rules.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Fire Daddy, Hollywood Daddy, and Stepbrother Daddy.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

And it's really interesting because the one I ended up liking the best is the one that is probably, weirdly, the one that is like. Like, not necessarily what I would have expected, which is Stepbrother Daddy. And it's like a 1950s age play. Romance is like the. The subtitle. And it.

[Sarah McLean]

Wait, I'm sorry.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's her stepbrother.

[Sarah McLean]

Stepbrother Daddy. I know. 1950s age.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know. I was like, what is going on here?

[Sarah McLean]

I'm like, so I'm like, that last lady gift.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Gift. Let me calculate. Well, I think that's why. Maybe actually, that's why it was. I'm building my vending sort of appealing. Cause I was like, what is going on here? Fire Daddy, he's just a fireman. Fine.

[Sarah McLean]

But he's just.

[Jennifer Prokop]

He's just a fireman. What's the big deal? But it's in this one. Luann is the main character. It is like the 1950s. She's at an all women's college. She gets busted. There's, like a boy in her room with her friend or something, right? And she gets in trouble. It's the 50s. So they call, like, right, Someone in her family to come, like, come get her. She's in trouble. And her older stepbrother comes to get her.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm sorry, the COVID of this book is neither 1950s nor age. Age.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But no, listen, this is clearly just a, like, boom.

[Sarah McLean]

Here, read this book with a naked man.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I'm like, yeah, sure. You know what? It's okay. Well, look at Fire Daddy. It's a fireman on the COVID It's fine. It doesn't matter.

[Sarah McLean]

Listen, I'm gonna read the hell out of this. You go, sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, and he. And I think the thing that's, like, really interesting to me is if this was anything but, like, the fantasy of Daddy romance, I would be, like, purely out, right? Like, there's, like, spanking, and he's like, like, you've been a bad girl. I mean, it just feels really very much, like, super far past the point where it's romance and it's purely just erotica to me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

And you know, it's. And it's kind of like he's like, I've I've been fooling around with my life, but now that I have her to take care of, I'm gonna, like, you know, get my act. Get my act together. And it's just really. I don't know how to describe it, except that I. I very much enjoyed it, everybody. And so I was like, this isn't. It didn't feel like my thing, but I still was like, yeah, this is hot. And I liked reading it, which I think is really where a lot of.

[Sarah McLean]

I just downloaded it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

That's really where a lot of daddy kink lives for me. Like, and we've talked about Chloe Main, right? Which is like, sure, I think.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, that Chloe Main one where she goes to her best friend's wedding in.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The car with her dad. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

What's that one?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Good? I don't know. That one's called Good. No, like, there's the one with the. Like, the lighthouse keeper. Shut up. It's amazing.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes, that's a Santa one. Yeah, that's pretty good, too. That's Parents best friend.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah. So I think what we should do here is now share the ones that are purely, like, you know, erotica.

[Sarah McLean]

You want me to share? You want to share the ones that are. That are dirty.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Dirty, dirty, dirty. Like, there's not really romance. This is just.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, my God. Hang on. Well, I mean, I. I don't know. Oh, that one's called Santa's Baby. That's on my Ku. Like a standard. Standard Takes up a standard slot on my Ku. And that's Chloe, Maine, also above the Shop.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Above the shop is probably my favorite of those. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

So there's a dad bod series, which, you know, is another one of these, like, just, you know, churn and burn.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Daddy books.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Often. Here, can I give my, like, Ku, because, look, the KU porn rabbit hole is very difficult to navigate.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. Because there is so much. Much.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's bananas. But one of the things that I often will find myself doing is like, okay, so, like, let's say you're like, okay, this Chloe Main one, that's like the Santa. It was actually part of a series called Filthy Dirty Christmas Christmas, which was 24 books. So.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

So.

[Sarah McLean]

But here's the thing about these series. Go ahead.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, they're 24 different authors, but they. So they essentially, these authors, indie authors, get together and they're like, okay, let's have a series that's a bunch of daddies at Christmas or whatever, and. Or a bunch of Christmas stories. And so then you can kind of be like, okay, well, I'm gonna just like, bop in and out of these and see which ones I like. It feels like a. Like a discoverability strategy for me is often these. These big ones. Does that make sense? Makes sense.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. 100.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So Danny. Danny Wyatt is really filthy, everybody.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, I have one. I can't recommend that one.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, I'm like, I don't know if I'm recommending them as much as I'm telling you. It's like, right? You're like, I don't know.

[Sarah McLean]

Don't read that one.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Wait, there's one other one I have to figure out that I have to look at. Hold on. It's. I have to look through my ku.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, this is what I'm doing right now is just like scrolling through your.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Head, scrolling backwards, and you're like, what did I read?

[Sarah McLean]

There's a lot of Jessica. And here.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Just over and over again.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There's a reason. There's my. My password is Kindle protected. Little. Little romance last week asked me if he could have my Amazon password to watch something on Amazon prime. And I was literally like, I will buy you your own Amazon prime account, but I am not sharing my Amazon password with anyone. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have.

[Sarah McLean]

To say know there is a book called Control Freak by Brianna Hale that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I. Brianna Hale, I think does it.

[Sarah McLean]

I have enjoyed.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You can't even talk about it. It's like, I have enjoyed.

[Sarah McLean]

I have enjoyed it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There's an author named Margot Scott that writes like. And again, I'm like, I'm not saying I'm necessarily recommending these, but I feel like the writing is good enough and it's serving up what you want.

[Sarah McLean]

They do the business.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There's a series called Daddy loves you. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh. I just want to say if you do download that. That Brianna Hale book, Control Freak, just trigger warning there. It's. The heroine has a pretty significant eating disorder through part of it. I don't know. Maybe we should take this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

That out. I don't know.

[Sarah McLean]

It's a lot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

These are a lot.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

These.

[Sarah McLean]

A lot of these books are a lot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I think that's the part where, I mean, I think it's worth keeping in. Because here's the thing I want to say is back to that whole thing about power dynamics.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

That I think is the way in which you will find your boundaries.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right?

[Sarah McLean]

Yes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So it's like there are. There are a group of them where. Where it's like, I'm Literally, like, waiting around for the stroke of midnight on her 18th birthday. That's not for me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know, I mean, so I feel like there are. You know, I actually think I tried reading that one, and I was like, that's not for me, the control freak one, because I was like, the eating disorder part and him kind of, like, nurture. Like, he's like, you know, you need to eat. But it was too much for me. Like, I. I didn't write. So one of the things I think about this sub genre, whatever we're gonna call it, is, you know, I think you just need to trust your instincts. If you're like, this isn't working for me. Like, pull out.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, there's. You don't need to be doing that. Literally.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know, just, like, go on to something else.

[Sarah McLean]

There's a box set from Isabella Starling called I'm your daddy now.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. Look at us. We're like.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, listen. It's. You guys. You can probably hear.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's.

[Sarah McLean]

It's a lot for us to be confessing. We're now officially friends. We hope you kept your headphones in this whole time. Don't. Don't tell anybody what we've confessed to today. No, but listen, it really is fundamentally about, like, the world is hard.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And, like, we are all struggling, and I think. Think most people feel a little bit. Like, it would be really nice if somebody would just, like, take care of me. Come take care of me for a little while.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And, like, just hold me and tell me it's gonna be okay.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The thing that I think is really interesting, and maybe this will be, like, a way we can wrap up, is when we talked about that with Christian Gray after, like, essentially the financial crash, it was very explicitly, like, take care of me financially.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, take care of me so I don't have to worry.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, I. Taking care of myself and my family and the financial constraints of that are so hard. But now, in a time when people are really struggling emotionally.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, their mental. The mental health crisis that is, like, sort of facing us, I think is. I mean, anybody who works with people knows how hard people are really struggling. What's interesting to me is that these books are. The take care of me part is about, like, taking care of me emotionally, not taking care of me, putting me on a fancy plane, buying me fancy clothes. Right. Like, a lot of these guys are just regular dudes, right?

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just. I mean, I think this goes back to what I was talking about at the beginning. Like Tessa Bailey's heroes, Colleen Hoover's heroes. Like, it's not a mystery why these heroes are landing the way that they are in the world.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And it's because they are just ordinary dudes who like treat people with decency.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Right.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And will blow your back out fine.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, that's what I mean by.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Treat people with decently.

[Sarah McLean]

See? Oh well. So anyway, that was fated Mace. Might have been our last episode. Who can tell? We are Jen and Sarah. You can find [e-mail] you can find us on Twitter Aided mates and on Instagram aided mates Pod. If you would like to leave us questions, ask for recommendations or Propose a it's a 10 proposition. Head to fademates.net and click on whatever the button is there that says, yeah, leave us a question or whatever and we will answer those for a live Q and A or live live to tape Q and A. When we are together at last. At the end of the year. No, not the end of the year.

[Jennifer Prokop]

End of the month.

[Sarah McLean]

At the end of the month.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You never know. Thank you to this week's sponsors, Avon Books, publishers of A Duchess by Midnight by Charis Michaels and J. Juniper Butterworth, author of Priest Queen. Have we said everything we need to say about Daddy?

[Sarah McLean]

Sarah, I'm your daddy now. Who's. Who's your daddy? Who's your daddy? Okay, have fun, everyone. Bye. Be safe. Make good choices.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sam.