S07:12 Romance Novels Featuring Bookstores and Booksellers

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fated Mates - S07:12 Romance Novels Featuring Bookstores and Booksellers

Host/Authors: Sarah MacLean & Jennifer Prokop
Release Date: November 24, 2024
Title: Romance Novels Featuring Bookstores and Booksellers

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1. Embracing the Holiday Shopping Season

Sarah and Jen kick off the episode by acknowledging the bustling holiday season in the United States, highlighting the convergence of various shopping events such as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday.

• Sarah MacLean [00:56]: "Just to make yourself feel something."

They humorously critique the consumer frenzy, reflecting on the societal pressures to spend during this period.

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2. Black Friday: The Shopping Frenzy

The hosts delve into the phenomenon of Black Friday, discussing the chaotic rush to snag the best deals. They share personal anecdotes about visiting malls and the surreal atmosphere that often accompanies this shopping event.

• Jennifer Prokop [01:56]: "I remember once being in a Macy's and a woman, like, a clerk looking at me and saying, like, what time is it? It almost felt like the same way you feel when you're in a Vegas casino." [01:56]

Sarah reminisces about taking her daughter to the mall, highlighting the generational differences in experiencing shopping malls.

• Sarah MacLean [04:52]: "She had never been in a mall. And like, there is really, like, nothing to do but, like, shop." [04:52]

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3. The Vital Role of Independent Bookstores

Transitioning from the frenzy of Black Friday, Sarah and Jen emphasize the significance of independent bookstores, especially during Small Business Saturday. They discuss how these bookstores serve as community hubs, fostering local connections and supporting cultural resilience.

• Jennifer Prokop [09:02]: "Small Business Saturday is when you find the local independent store, independently owned, you know, small stores in your community and you support them and bookstores locally." [09:02]

Sarah shares her experience of playing bookseller for a local bookstore, underscoring the personal fulfillment that comes from supporting indie stores.

• Sarah MacLean [12:03]: "Each author's dream. I often think to myself, like, if only I could convince some authors to come and work for an afternoon just to recommend romance novels to people." [12:03]

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4. Supporting Local Communities Through Bookstores

The conversation shifts to how supporting independent bookstores translates to sustaining community centers. They highlight the broader impact of these stores, from sponsoring local events to acting as safe spaces against societal issues like book bans.

• Jennifer Prokop [14:42]: "These are community centers. Right. So supporting these stores means you're supporting these places that sponsor your little league teams and like people can hang out in." [14:42]

Sarah introduces their initiative to prioritize linking to indie bookstores on their website, encouraging listeners to make conscious purchasing decisions.

• Sarah MacLean [16:41]: "Our hope is that you will choose to do that if you have the privilege, if you are privileged enough to be able to do that." [16:41]

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5. Shifting to Independent Platforms

In response to the importance of indie bookstores, Sarah discusses their strategic shift to prioritize bookshop.org links over major retailers like Amazon, whenever possible. This move aims to bolster independent bookstores while acknowledging the necessity of larger platforms for accessibility and wider distribution.

• Sarah MacLean [16:41]: "If a book is available in print from a traditional publisher now, the links will go to bookshop.org so that if you have the capacity and you know, you are able to purchase from a local independent bookstore, you can." [16:41]

Jen adds that supporting local libraries is equally crucial, recommending tools like library plugins to streamline the borrowing process.

• Jennifer Prokop [10:20]: "The best way to support your local library is to borrow books, ebooks, any kind of materials." [10:20]

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6. Book Recommendations Featuring Bookstores

The core segment of the episode revolves around recommending romance novels that feature bookstores and booksellers. Both hosts provide detailed overviews of selected books, blending brief plot summaries with personal insights and thematic connections to the broader discussion on community and love.

a. "The Vampire in the Bookstore" by L.M. Drew

Jen reviews this novella, highlighting its charming premise where a vampire enamors a woman in a bookstore setting.

• Jennifer Prokop [30:09]: "And the owner of the bookshop, who, you know, he has an account and all that stuff. He asks her out for dinner, and they go out to dinner." [30:09]

Sarah praises the book's ability to blend romance with the cozy ambiance of a bookstore.

• Sarah MacLean [31:14]: "This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by 1001 Dark Knights, publishers of Dorinda Jones's Graveyard Dog, a Charlie Davidson novella." [Note: This appears to be an advertisement and should be skipped as per instructions.]

b. "Once Upon a Charming Bookshop" by Heatherly Bell

Jen discusses this Harlequin special edition that blends small-town romance with the struggles of running a family bookshop.

• Jennifer Prokop [40:25]: "Once Upon a Charming Bookshop by Heatherly Bell is just really, really like really, like really do the work..." [40:25]

Sarah connects the narrative to the real-world challenges faced by indie bookstores, emphasizing the emotional investment inherent in such settings.

• Sarah MacLean [43:42]: "These are all like small town books in a lot of ways. And that's really interesting to me because we all know like independent bookstores take a lot of capital." [43:42]

c. "Rock Chick" by Kristen Ashley

Sarah introduces an older school romance featuring a bookseller protagonist, delving into themes of adventure and personal growth.

• Sarah MacLean [63:07]: "This is a delight. Charlotte. Old. Old Charlotte Stein really is in many ways unmatched." [63:07]

d. "Better Than Fiction" by Alexa Martin

Jen recommends this YA romance that offers a unique twist by featuring a protagonist who inherits a bookstore despite not being a reader herself.

• Jennifer Prokop [73:00]: "Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello is a richly layered book that delves into the struggles of maintaining a family bookstore." [73:00]

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7. Engaging with the Fated Mates Community

Towards the end of the episode, Sarah and Jen encourage listeners to join their online communities via Discord and Bookbub for ongoing discussions and exclusive content. They also promote their Best of the Year box, available through Pocketbooks, as a curated collection of their favorite romance novels.

• Sarah MacLean [85:04]: "You can head over and do that while you're there. You could also follow Sarah McLean, like just for fun, for good." [85:04]

• Jennifer Prokop [88:10]: "And you can find other people's recommendations." [88:10]

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8. Conclusion

Sarah and Jen wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of supporting independent bookstores and embracing the community-centric spirit of Small Business Saturday. They emphasize the role of romance novels in fostering connections and celebrating love in various forms, both personal and communal.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sarah MacLean [01:21]: "Black Friday is when you, like, go to Target and buy a TV." [01:21]

• Jennifer Prokop [14:42]: "These are community centers. Right. So supporting these stores means you're supporting these places that sponsor your little league teams and like people can hang out in." [14:42]

• Sarah MacLean [16:41]: "Our hope is that you will choose to do that if you have the privilege, if you are privileged enough to be able to do that." [16:41]

• Jennifer Prokop [22:57]: "Once you support indie bookstores, you're supporting places that sponsor your little league teams and people can hang out in." [22:57]

• Sarah MacLean [12:03]: "Each author's dream. If only I could convince some authors to come and work for an afternoon just to recommend romance novels to people." [12:03]

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Resources Mentioned:

• Bookshop.org: Promoted as a platform to support independent bookstores.
• Library Plugins: Recommended tools for maximizing library usage.
• Best of the Year Box: Available at fatedmates.net/bestof.

Join the Community:

• Discord: Accessible via Patreon at fatedmates.net/patreon.
• Bookbub: Follow Fated Mates on Bookbub for exclusive deals.
• Social Media: Available on Instagram Threads and Blue Sky as Fated Mate or Fated Mates Pod.

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Final Note:
Sarah and Jen emphasize the collective responsibility to support independent businesses, especially bookstores, as they play a crucial role in nurturing community bonds and preserving cultural spaces. Through their thoughtful discussions and book recommendations, they inspire listeners to engage more deeply with the literary communities around them.

Transcript

[Sarah MacLean]

It's. It's Thanksgiving week. If you're in the United States, Happy long weekend.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

That's as much as I can give you this year.

[Jennifer Prokop]

If you are in the kitchen making a lot of food and enjoying it. I am excited for you.

[Sarah MacLean]

People have already. It's Wednesday. People are like the cooks among us, including myself. We. I am currently in a kitchen somewhere with my sister.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I'm not. I'm in a car mining a thing. Driving. Driving to my mom's in Ohio.

[Sarah MacLean]

As Jen just reminded me, Friday is Black Friday. Just. Sure, people.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So Black Friday is when you, like, go to Target and buy a tv. Small Business Saturday is the one we're gonna talk about in a minute. And then Cyber Monday is when you go online and spend all your money, and then basically you're done Christmas time.

[Sarah MacLean]

And then there's Giving Tuesday. Now we've just got a whole thing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure. It's like a whole week where you spend money you don't have.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah. Just to, like, to make yourself feel something. First of all, though, before we get into all these days, this week of shopping. Welcome, everyone, to Fated mates. I'm Sarah MacLaine. I read romance novels and I write them.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and apparently just hog tied to the wheels of capitalism.

[Sarah MacLean]

Okay, let's first talk about Black Friday. Okay. Because you would literally, like, you know that the meme, the sort of tweet that goes around or whatever, the message that goes around. That's like, what is the one thing that if you heard I was doing, you would know I kidnapped, like, shopping on Black Friday. Like, going anywhere near a mall the Friday after Thanksgiving is definitely that for me. What I want to know is, like, what is it? Who are these people who, like, finish their turkey and then go to Walmart?

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't know.

[Sarah MacLean]

Listen for a midnight oak.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I have occasionally been a person who has been in a mall or, like, on Michigan Avenue, I guess, the day after. And it kind of depends on whether or not little romance is home. And, like, if my family's here and my mom wants to take him shopping for Christmas because, like, of course he's like, just give me money now. But, you know, she's like, I just want something for under the tree. But I remember once being in, like, a Macy's and a woman, like, a clerk looking at me and saying, like, what time is it?

[Sarah MacLean]

Like, like she had seen the dark place.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And it was funny because I remember thinking, like, it almost felt like the same way you feel when you're in a Vegas casino. Like, you step in, and time just ceases to exist.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Now, meanwhile, I was really under the impression, like, malls were pretty much dead. But when I was in Hartford a couple weeks ago to see a little romance, we went. We, like, had to. We went to Sephora, which is, like, at this mall. And it was like, a Friday night, and it was.

[Sarah MacLean]

Happened.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And I was like, what's going on here?

[Sarah MacLean]

Was it kids? No, it was like, to go to the mall, Right, Sure.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But, like, some of it, but, like, also families and people. And I was dumbfounded. I mean, I was like, what's going on here? And he's like, you know, mom, he's like, Connecticut really reminds me of Ohio in that way.

[Sarah MacLean]

I mean, that's Connecticut is the Ohio of New England.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So.

[Sarah MacLean]

So anyway, I was up to, though.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Cause, you know, you need to go to the mall. It's nice to have a mall nearby to go to that has stores and, you know, business. So you go hard.

[Sarah MacLean]

So if you love malls or if you, like, love the idea of malls, there is a great book about malls called Meet Me by the Fountain by Alexandra Lang. Alexandra Lang, who I think is a listener, sometimes listener of the podcast. It's. It's an. It's Meet Me by the Fountain an inside history of the mall. And it's basically like a cultural history of what the mall has been since, like, the 1950s. But also, Alexandra and Jen and I are all sort of of the generation where the mall was like, the water cooler.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, that's where you.

[Sarah MacLean]

On Friday night, you had your parents drive you to the mall and, like, you would hang out with your friends and, like, be shenaniganing, you know? So it's interesting, though, because I think I now that we took my daughter because we live in New York City, so we don't have them all. Like, there's. New York City is a mall. And so we were in Rhode Island a few months ago, and I took her. Oh, no, it was last year, Thanksgiving, we were in Rhode island. And so on, like, the Saturday, we went to the mall.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

And she had never been in a mall. And like, I. I really, like, she was 10, and I really feel like she was just, like, overwhelmed. Yeah.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

There is really, like, nothing to do but, like, shop. And so she was like, we can go any. Like, I gave her, like, $20, and I was like, by the way, $20 does not buy you very much at a mall anymore. Everyone. Like, this was my mistake.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Anything, anywhere, really.

[Sarah MacLean]

Exactly. But I gave her some money and I was like, you can. And of course she blew it in the first store we went. Like, she was. She's 10, so it's like, if there's money in her pocket, it must be spent.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Listen, I'm that way and I'm a grown.

[Sarah MacLean]

I'm a grown adult, so. But I think that malls are really fascinating and whatever. Like, I also just think like making. I. I'm like somewhat disgusted by companies that make their employees work on Thanksgiving Day.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

So like, there is that too. Like, I feel like that was kind of a thing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I don't know if it is anym more. I guess it probably depends on where you live.

[Sarah MacLean]

It was for a while like a list. And I feel like it was during the pandemic. People were like, this sucks.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

Not only is it Thanksgiving Day, but it's also during a pandemic where there were lists of like, here are stores that don't open on Christmas on Thanksgiving Day, so like, you can frequent those instead. But also, like, are the deals. I guess the deals must be that good to like stampede the doors of Walmart. And I guess like, if you want a flat screen, you got to get in the Hunger Games. Like, that's how it goes.

[Jennifer Prokop]

My understanding is actually the best time to buy a TV is right before the super bowl. So.

[Sarah MacLean]

Is that true?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I guess all the TVs are on sale. It's like they didn't sell them at Christmas and now there's like a big watching event coming up.

[Sarah MacLean]

Well, you know, there. There is this whole. There was this whole thing that came out. Oh God. Years ago about. And I'll see if I can find it for show notes where Costco released this. Like, because Costco has this incredible return policy, everyone. Like, if you don't. If you have a Costco anywhere near you. And you were thinking this is where. This is the part where Sarah evangelizes Costco, even though I sort of hate going there. But the.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You can hate going there and still love it as a place.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah, like, for sure. It's like they're. Their employees get treated really well. It's like company is employee owned. They have great benefits. Like, it's a good solid company in that way. But then also it has this return policy where like, basically you can return anything at any time and just say, like, I bought this here and like, it's now broken, rotten, whatever. That seems wrong.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, I'm just going to go ahead and say, I think you should not do that. But fine.

[Sarah MacLean]

No, I mean, and so that's the thing, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

You know, Sharon, our listener who is a Costco worker right now is probably cursing your name. Sarah sign.

[Sarah MacLean]

Oh no, I didn't know that, Sharon. And Sharon's probably going to get on the discord and tell me all the ways I'm wrong. So I apologize. Apologize in advance, Sharon. But like this is my. So this is like the Costco of my brain. Yeah. But anyway, so what's fascinating about this return policy is it feels like surely humans wouldn't be decent people about this return policy. But I think largely they are, right? It's like there was that whole piece, this piece I will find and put in show notes. But L.L. bean had this return policy also and they actually just changed it because like people started like bringing like 20 year old flannel shirts in and being like, it has a rip now, you know, and it used to be. Anyway, point is, I remember there being something related to right before the super bowl, people would go to Costco, they would buy the like 89 inch screen, bring it home, watch the super bowl on it and then return it and like Costco start realize like this is happening. And then they did change that particular policy or like, I don't know if it's like at that time of year or like what it is, but it's. Anyway, that's my Costco story.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Here's my thing. We don't feel sorry for corporations, but we do feel sorry for the people who work at these places. And so that's what I just be.

[Sarah MacLean]

Kind to people, but also like be kind.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know when you're behind someone being awful.

[Sarah MacLean]

Just lead with empathy, everyone. Like it's a rough time of year for everyone, but so that's their. That's Fridays.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Small business Saturday though, is when you find the local independent store, independently owned, you know, small stores in your community and you support them and books shop locally. Right. So you know, these are like, there's like a local shoe store or you know, bookstores obviously. Right. Like any number of small independently owned places. So. And I, I think it's smart. Like it just feels really like, okay, I'm gonna support. One of my favorite stores in Hyde park is called the Silver Room. And they have just really cool jewelry and books and some cool T shirts and clothing and Chicago branded stuff. So it's like, yeah, you find those places and you just go to the Silver Room and spend your money. And also of course for all of us if you can bookstores and if you don't have one nearby. Use bookshop.org and pick. Whatever indie bookstore you want to support can do it. Even if it's like, you know, prohibitive or, you know, there are places without.

[Sarah MacLean]

If you don't have a local indie that you, like, really love and want to support, you can choose anyone you want.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Here.

[Sarah MacLean]

Pocketbooks in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for example, who is selling our Best of the year boxes? You can go to fatedmates.net bestof and, like, order one of those boxes. It comes from a queer, feminist, inclusive bookstore in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Yeah, hi, Pocket.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So, yeah, so that's. So in order in honor of that. We thought it would be a really fun episod to talk about booksellers and bookstores and have that be, like, the way that we celebrate Small Business Saturday.

[Sarah MacLean]

I wanna tell you. Yeah, I wanna tell you a story about Shop, Shop, Local, Local, whatever, what's it called?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Small Business Saturday. I got you.

[Sarah MacLean]

Thank you. This is a fairly new invention. And what I mean by that is it's since I became a writer.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

So 100%. But the first year that this happened, I remember I was invited to a book because I, for many years, spent Thanksgiving exclusively in Rhode Island. And the first year it happened, there was a local bookstore which no longer exists. I'm so sad. Called the Savoy in Rhode Island. And it. They invited me to go and be a guest bookseller for, like, two hours of Small Business Saturday. And they, like, gave me an apron and, like, it had a pin on it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Adorable.

[Sarah MacLean]

And like, it was basically like, ask me for a recommendation. And it was really fun. And so, like, people would come. So I got to play bookseller.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So cute.

[Sarah MacLean]

It was. It's like basically every author's dream. Like, I often think to myself, like, if only I could convince, like, the women at the ripped bodice just let me, like, come and work for an afternoon just to, like, recommend romance novels to people.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, it does sound really fun, doesn't it?

[Sarah MacLean]

So if you're out there and you have an indie bookstore, like, if next year maybe you want to invite some authors, some local authors to come and, like, yeah, play it's really Fun seller for a couple of hours. And so I remember that year I, like, played bookseller for a couple of hours and then I stuck around for an hour and wrapped books so cute gifts. And it was like, that's fun. Really fun.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, that's awesome.

[Sarah MacLean]

And I'm sure not every author would be sort of so delighted to, like, hang out and wrap gifts, but a lot of us would.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And.

[Sarah MacLean]

And I had a great time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, and like, really specifically the reason to support these stores is many small businesses like this, like, essentially report that they make. I'm gonna make up their money. Yeah. Like, I'm gonna make up some statistic, like 75 of their earnings for the whole year in this six weeks or whatever.

[Sarah MacLean]

Well, that's why it's called Black Friday.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right.

[Sarah MacLean]

We should say that. Like, it's called Black Friday because like a lot of most stores are in the red until Thanksgiving and then they really get the boost that, that carries them through the next fiscal year.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. So, I mean, that's the thing when you support stores, local stores, what you're. And you know, and I think one of the things we're going to talk about over and over again this episode, because every single one of my books has this angle is these are community centers. Right. So like, you know, support these stores means you're supporting these places that, you know, sponsor your little league teams and like people can hang out in. And you know, I mean, after the election, there's a, there's a new small black owned bookstore in Hyde park called Call and Response. And I was looking at their website and they were like, you know, they, I think they have like Dungeons and Dragons after hours or something after the bookstore closes. And. But there's usually like an hour off and you know, the owner had written on the site like, we're going to stay open that hour because if you just need a place to hang out, like, these are vital places to your neighborhood and to places like people really want to live and like meet and be with each other. So it is a good idea to if, if you can. Right. And you know, it might just be you saying, I'm going to set aside $50 and try and just spend it in a store that I enjoy that I want the community to be a part of. Like, that's going to make a big difference to the bottom line to these places.

[Sarah MacLean]

And I will just say as much as, you know, there's been a lot of discussion over the years about romance and independent bookstores and how they don't carry, you know, everything. And, and, and I, I think all of that is fine and it's conversation for, you know, whatever. It's a conversation that's been had. But if you're looking for what to do in an independent bookstore, children's versions in indies are always like really robust and beautiful, you know, so just remember there's that. And then often independent bookstores have local people, like local writers or like histories of the local area. So if you have like a nerd on your list who like really wants to know about that waterfall, there's usually that kind of thing in there too. So. And this is probably a good place, Jen, for us to talk about the links again, the way that we've sort of shifted links because we, we did that recently. We are, we're making a concerted effort for all the reasons that Jen just said about like in indie bookstores and libraries being good citizens in our communities, like being community centers, places where we will be able to. Many, many, many, many. In the history of political organization, bookstores have been a real cornerstone of the resistance. Libraries too right now are in, at the forefront of the fight against book bans. We want to honor that. And so what we are doing is we are shifting the way we link to books on the website and also in, in your apps. In your apps as you're, as you're seeing. So if a book is available in print from a traditional publisher now, the links will go to bookshop.org so that if you have the capacity and you know, you are able to purchase from a local independent bookstore, you can. Our hope is that you will, you will choose to do that if you have the privilege, if you are privileged enough to be able to do that. That said, we understand that Amazon is often cheaper, more financially, financially available. We understand that Amazon, that KU and other and other parts of Amazon are an. Are very important to a robust independent publishing career. We understand that KU is also a place for marginalized authors to find their audience. And we understand that like ebooks are remain, you know, a critical piece of the reading, you know, universe. That said, if you are not available widely, we will of course, or if a book is not available widely, we will of course continue to link to Amazon. But I think what we're, the, the, the change from here, the, the, the mentality that we're working with here is independent first.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. If we can. Right. And if you can. Right.

[Sarah MacLean]

And remember libraries, remember libraries, everyone, library, libraries and librarians need us now more than ever. Love your local library.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And the biggest way to support your local library is to circulate books there. Like, that's what they need. People read them. And so one of the things I also really recommend if you're, if you are like me and you tend to like, look on, you know, look on, you know, Barnes and Noble or Kobo or Amazon or whatever, first is you can install a plugin, especially if you use Chrome and what you can do, essentially, is you enter in. You download this thing, you enter in what libraries you belong to. And then when you search any book site, whether it be Goodreads or Amazon or bookshop.org even, it will show up, is this in your local library's catalog? It'll say. And you can even add hoopla. So it'll say, like, there's one print copy and 39e copies and 24 people waiting in line. And so you can really see, like, oh, hey, this is available at my local library right now. And go directly to get it without having to do a separate search. Essentially, it's doing the search for you while you were searching, you know, on whatever book site. And I use this all the time because then it's like the first thing I do. Okay, hey, I'm interested in this book. How much is it going to cost me? Is it available in ku? Is it on hoopla? Is it at my library? And I can essentially do all those at the same time now. So that is. I'll put a link to it also in show notes. So the best way to support your local library is to borrow books, ebooks, any kind of materials. That is what your library needs to show. This is, look, our community values us. Look at how many books are circulating. Circulation stats are the way. So borrow books, too. This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Book of the Month.

[Sarah MacLean]

I gave myself a Book of the Month subscription earlier in the year because I deserve nice things. And the reason why I did is for two reasons. One, it felt to me like Book of the Month's kind of cure Special curation of books was really designed to deliver readers a read that is really fun.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

And so when you think of Book of the Month, you think of it as, like, the best beach read. Or in this case, because it's December, the best snow read, snowy read in.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Front of the fireplace.

[Sarah MacLean]

And like, I expect to find, I can find a great romance. But this is also one of those things where if you're a romance reader, like, you can kind of trust Book of the Month to. To deliver you a fun read outside of our pool, like, in the wide ocean of literature, which is sometimes scary. So. But interestingly, this month, I chose a book that is a romance that I had not heard of. Jen.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Amazing.

[Sarah MacLean]

So I chose Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark, which is a queer holiday romance about three adult siblings of an absolute chaos. Actress and singer. They each have different fathers, but this is their mother. And they have all kind of been summoned home for the holidays to her manor house in, in the Catskills. And there's like one who is a successful Hollywood showrunner who's in love with the, the lead actress in her show and doesn't know how to deal with it. There, there's one who's like a chronic middle child who has like, who is a stand up comedian and like not sure how to find love herself. And then there's the boy, the baby boy who just proposed to his co worker girlfriend in front of the whole company what he was doing and was turned down.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh no.

[Sarah MacLean]

And so these three go home for the holidays to their chaos mother and they have to like work through family and love and you know, all of that. And it's just tailor made for me.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And it sounds perfect for the holiday season. So if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to our promo code and link. You can also do the same thing at our website, which is fadedmates.net if you use the code stuffed during Black Friday weekend, you will get your first book for $5. And also a special surprise gift. If it's after Black Friday weekend, you're going to want to get that same deal using the code tinsel. And remember, it's the holiday season. This is a great gift for someone in your life who is a real reader and you're never sure what book to get them. So we love Book of the Month and thank them for sponsoring this week's episode.

[Sarah MacLean]

Now that we are finished loving on independent bookstores and libraries, we are going to talk about books that are set in and around in invented bookstores.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I had a lot of fun reading for this one.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah, I think, I don't know why we came up with this, but we just thought it would. For what it's worth, this is, this topic has been on the calendar for.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Like, oh yeah, for six months.

[Sarah MacLean]

It's like we knew we were gonna do it. So we were, we were prescient. Let's talk about like the appeal of the bookstore in the novel.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

Because I feel like this is, this is not just a romance thing. This is like broadly, like there's always like the bookshop on the corner. When I think about like romance and bookstores, of course, like, for me, you've Got Mail is the kind of. I know it's the like prototype, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

So, so mad about it.

[Sarah MacLean]

I know it ends completely wrong. Everyone. I know that. Don't yell at me. Like it really does end entirely wrong. Like she ends up working for Barnes and Noble. And, like, what, he puts her store out of business.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I was like, listen, we're. We should have fucking known all this was coming the minute they made that movie.

[Sarah MacLean]

Nora Ephron was lost here. So. And that is a retelling of the Shop around the Corner who. Which is, like, from the 1940s. So it was. It's a very. With Jimmy Stewart. So there you go.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There you go.

[Sarah MacLean]

If you. Speaking of Christmas. So. But I think that there is something very. Like, the bookshop in fiction and in storytelling is very much about, like, it's sort of a nod to the reader that, like, the author also loves. Like, we all love the same thing, right? That sort of, like, there is a coziness to a bookshop in fiction that is kind of similar to a bookshop in real life. Like, it. You get that sort of same feeling in a way that, like, a restaurant in fiction and a restaurant in real life, like, don't necessarily feel the same way if. I don't know if I'm making sense.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No, it totally does. Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

It feels like for read. And I get, again, I think that people, if you ask somebody who is not a reader about this, they would be like, I don't understand. Like. Like, I think people, but I think for readers, the bookshop is a location that feels very magical.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, so, yeah, of course it makes sense. It's like. It's like how movies are always about, like, the stage, you know what I mean, where you're like, of course you love it because it's. It's illuminating the best parts of, like, what you love. Right. Or. And giving, like, the sort of idealized, like, fairy tale, perfect version of it. What was that movie with Gwyneth Paltrow and Shakespeare in Love? And I remember people being like, I'm really surprised that one. And I was like, why? It's like, every actor probably was like, look at how great and wonderful and awesome and. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I feel like there's something to that. Right? Like, the whole idea that it's like, the community, that the foundational part of it is books. Like, that really speaks to us. Of course.

[Sarah MacLean]

And also I think there is a little piece. And this is, you know, I think those of us who, like I just said, like, have a little fantasy of, like, owning a bookshop, working in a bookshop, like, like, living that sort of bookshop life. Right. I know that there are a lot of booksellers who are. Who listen to this podcast who are like, it is Incredibly difficult to be, like, to live that bookshop life. And I. I know that. But that sort of fantasy, we. We all have that fantasy, and these books give us the opportunity to, like, live out that fantasy in a really, like, powerful way. I mean, there were a few I ended up sort of choosing, you know, specifically. But, like, when I was thinking through, like, what are the ones that I want to talk about? There were several that were like, and she inherits a bookshop, or. And she decides she's going to revitalize the bookshop, and, like, you know, or.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The bookshop is in trouble and they're going to save it.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah. And so I think, like, there is that community piece, too, right? Like, when you think about the Gail carriage or heroine's journey, all romance moves toward community. That now we're seeing, like, is so ubiquitous in current romances. The bookshop. The bookshop has given us that sort of, like, movement toward community for a lot longer than now.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah, yeah, agree. It was, like, weird. I did the same thing I always had to do where I was Googling romance novels in bookstores, right.

[Sarah MacLean]

I was like, have I ever read one of these? You never read one.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I know the entire prototype, but have I ever read one? No. But I did end up reading a bunch of new ones because of that, which was fun.

[Sarah MacLean]

I have written one book that has a bookshop sort of at the center of it, and it's not even a real bookshop. It's like. Like in the. The Rogue Not Taken, Sophie has this kind of, like, dream that she wants to have. She wants to own a bookshop. Like, she just wants to leave London and go back to her, like, the little town she grew up in and open a bookshop.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, and I think that's it, too. Like, it really speaks to the, like, that dream of, like. I mean, it's like real Hallmark movie vibes, right. Like, a simpler, more pure life in some way. Right. Like, you know.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah. And then, of course, she gets back to the town and she's like, so, all right, let's talk about some books. What do you got?

[Jennifer Prokop]

The Vampire in the Bookstore by L. M Drew.

[Sarah MacLean]

Terrific.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Because I was like, that title, hard for me to. Hard for me to pass up. So in this one and this one, I thought was actually kind of really clever. So Declan is this. You know, he's the vampire. So full of ennui, so tired with his life. But he loves bookstores, and he, like, has his particular haunts, like, the ones he always goes to, and he walks into this one Bookstore. And he has this, like, you know, interaction with Rosamund, who he just, like, runs into in the bookstore, and they, like, strike up a conversation, and he's very aware of her heart pumping all that delicious blood through her body. And what happens is, you know, the book shop is about to close, but she's so alluring that he asks her out, like, essentially for dinner. And, you know, this is like a very, like. Like, insta love. Like a quick read. Like, I don't. I want to say it's, like, novella length. I'm pretty sure it was under 200 pages. And so the. The owner of the bookshop, who, you know, he has an account and all that stuff. Right. Is like, you know, the bookshop's closing, and she's holding a. He's like, well, just put it on my tab. We're gonna go out to dinner. And, you know, they go out to dinner. And the thing that's amazing is, like. So she starts talking about how much she loves books, and he realizes that what he wants to do is take her home and show her his personal library, which, of course, he's never shown anyone because he's alone in the world because he's a vampire. And it's got, like, big, you know, Beauty and the Beast and a library. Big Beauty and the Beast.

[Sarah MacLean]

Terrific.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Big Beauty and the Beast beast vibes there. So anyway, what ends up happening in this. And it was just like, really charming is. Then you get in. When you get into Rosen's point of view, you realize that she has actually engineered this. She essentially, like, engineered the whole, like, meet cute. He doesn't realize this, but she was trying to meet him. And it turns out that what Declan essentially is not just a reader, but also a writer. And what she does is she. Her job. Her day job is, like, repairing old books or whatever. Book restoration. Well, it turns out that what she has discovered is he has, like, this. Sarah, this is. Writers would love this. He has this quirk in his writing style that she has recognized and realized that he has been writing books over essentially, like, a century. And that's so cool. Yeah, it's really cool. And she likes, put it together. Like, wait, the phrasing of this book about how to do something is very similar to this fantasy. And so she was able to, like, essentially, like, put together all his pen names.

[Sarah MacLean]

She's like a forensic.

[Jennifer Prokop]

She's a book. Yes.

[Sarah MacLean]

Book person.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And so then, you know, he agrees to turn her. They have sex. The end. And I was like. I mean, literally, like, it is. I think it all takes place in like 24 hours. He's like, I'm totally in love with you. You're in love with my library. And with. And you figured out my secret writer identity. We're done here. And it was just delightful. Like it just was like a really fun. And even though like the bookstore is just like the site of the meet cute so I felt like a little like out of bounds maybe the whole like the writerly life. Right. It really captured that vibe and I. It's just. It was really cute. So that was the Vampire in The Bookstore by L.M. drew. True.

[Sarah MacLean]

Oh that. I'm writing that down. That sounds great.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Her discovering all his pen names was a great. Like, I just. I was delight. Delighted.

[Sarah MacLean]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by 1001 Dark Knights, publishers of Dorinda Jones's Graveyard Dog, a Charlie Davidson novella.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So this is set in the Charlie Davidson world. And here we have Izzy Walsh, who thought she was safe. She dyed her hair, changed her name, moved 1500 miles away, all to get rid of her ex and his motorcycle club. When there is a knock on the door in the middle of the night, it's Michael Cavalcante and he has essentially like covering for his friend who's a maintenance tech. He's just being sent to this woman's house at 2 in the morning to like fix her hot water heater. Well, instead he gets taste and gets frying pan to the face face.

[Sarah MacLean]

Isabelle is just doing what she needs to do to keep herself safe.

[Jennifer Prokop]

That is correct. And she's not just keeping herself safe, Sarah, she's also keeping her daughter safe, who his has been. Right. Right. So she has to really protect her daughter because she knows that if they find out the MC Club, then this is leverage. So how's she going to keep this sexy Nandofall quiet while she is planning and plotting essentially how to get herself out of this message? Only it turns out that he doesn't want to harm her or her daughter and he wants to know who does. Maybe she's found an ally.

[Sarah MacLean]

I bet she has. If you too would like to find an ally, you can read Graveyard Dog, a Charlie Davidson novella right now in print or ebook if your podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to by the book. Thanks to 1001 Dark Knights and Dorinda Jones for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, so, so my pick is JC Lee's. My first pick is JC Lee's book Donna Feeling Perfect Title J. So good and so JC. I think JC's great. I also think, like, this is, this is a friends to lovers romance. And probably one like, JC's probably one of the few writers who can like, turn me toward this. So our heroine, Lizzie is a lawyer in Los Angeles. And, and she is like, she has convinced herself, or I think more her mother has convinced her that like, being a high powered attorney is like the dream job. And she finally has it. And so at the beginning, talk about a Hallmark setup. Right at the beginning of this, this like, book, she realizes she sort of has a moment of like, true anxiety at work. And she tells herself, like, she's burning out. And she says, I'm gonna go home and just like, home to my small town just for a little while. Like, just to like, reset and then I will come back and like, do the job. And so she goes home to this like, tiny small town and she rents a little apartment above a bookstore. And like, and in this small town, her like, best friend from childhood, Jack, which is just like a really nice romance novel name. Like, he's just steady. Jack is a, a steady, strong dude. Jack is a accountant at his family's brewery and like, but aside from like, you can't just like have a full time job as the accountant at a brewery, like, he's also like a handyman. Sometimes he works there. Like, he lifts a lot of heavy things, which is why he has such a terrific six pack. You know, like, sure, he really does the job, Jack. And he's just like a, A steady, strong like, presence in this town and in Lizzie's life. And he has been in love with her since they were kids. Like, he, she's always been like Lizzie, some, like, Lizzy left. But like, Lizzie was the one. And when he, when she comes back, he's, she's like, you know, she's living upstairs from the bookshop. The bookshop is owned by a single mom who, like, needs help. Like, there isn't a ton of money. Like, you know, there. This is a very real perception of like, you know, like, it is hard to run a bookstore. And Lizzie's like, no problem, I'm gonna jump in, I'm gonna help you. And she sort of has this like, really like, fantastical kind of like, wouldn't it be lovely to work in a bookstore? Kind of feeling. But there's a lot of stuff that needs to be done. Like there, there are tons of little, like, jobs that need to be done. And so she turns to six pack handyman in the Brewery, best friend from childhood. And she's like, jack, I need your help. And he's never said. He will never say. So they, like, work together to get this bookstore kind of, like, back up and running. And, like, it's a very. You all know this. This story. It's like the two of them kind of, like, relearning each other, like, better coming to better understand, like, who they are and who they grew to be. JC doesn't do this thing, Jen. I know that your, like, least favorite thing is, like, we were in love when we were kids, and it's okay, you know. No, no, no. We were in love when we were kids, and, like, we haven't changed at all. Like, the feelings are all exactly the same. Like, that's not what's happening here. Like, they really do relearn each other. Jason, like, yeah, threads that needle in a really good way. And, you know, I think that there is. But at the same time, like, there. There's this big community. The bookstore comes with, like, a. A group of people who, like, the, you know, the owner and all of the, like, lives that touch the bookstore. And then there's also, like, Jack's family and Jacey's mom. Like, there are all these different kind of characters in the book who push and pull them in different ways, and it ends up really feeling. And I think all of JC's books feel this way to me. It really feels like Lizzie and Jack against the world in a lot of ways. Like, it's these two together forever. And, like, anything that comes will, you know, be great. But there is a great moment in this book where Jack is, like, in the bookstore, and he is holding a historical in his hands, and he kind of, like, scoffs at it. And I'm like, oh, this is interesting. Like, that doesn't feel quite right. And then the literal next line is like, he couldn't believe he. It was unbelievable that a man, that this man would have enough core strength to bend her that way.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, my God, that's amazing.

[Sarah MacLean]

And it's like. It's like the perfect nod to the romance novel community. Like, it's a perfect, perfect moment.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sometimes Mr. Reid's romance is like, I just sometimes look at the books around and think, huh? And I was like, yeah, just stop talking right there, buddy. I mean, it's fine.

[Sarah MacLean]

But we all know, like, you know, it's great. You know, the gravity. Yes. And she is, like, bent in half over his arm, and it's just like.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Holding a unicorn in the other arm.

[Sarah MacLean]

Exactly. Romance novel anyway, J.C. loves romance novels. J.C. loves bookstores. And this is, I think her, her book for that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay, so my next one is actually a Harlequin special edition. This is called Once Upon a Charming Bookshop by Heatherly Bell. And this is the sixth book in the charming series. Charming Texas series, which is like a small town romance in Charming, Texas, is on the Gulf coast. So it's like near Houston, but you're, you know, but just like a little, a little, you know, beach town. I have not read the other ones in the series. This is, even though it's book six, I was perfectly fine just like reading it as a standalone. And so what we have here is Twyla Thompson is running the family bookshop. And of course, like, it's not going great, right? Like, it's a small town. It's, you know, there's not as many tourists as there used to be. It's, you know, hard to run the bookshop. And she feels a lot of anxiety about it and just sort of like not sure how to handle that. But what happens is her childhood best friend Noah comes back to town and.

[Sarah MacLean]

See another childhood best friend.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Right. Like, I think these are like, really. I mean, this is like a very cozy romance. Like I, you know, like Silhouette Special Edition is. It's, you know, very. It's, it's like, it literally is like reading a Hallmark movie. Complimentary, everyone. And so what happens is, and you're kind of like, what's going on? Like, there's some tension between them. Well, it turns out that Noah had an older brother who 10 years ago. So like they're like 28 now, right? So like right at the end of their teenage years, Noah and his brother were out on a boat and they were like thrown overboard. They hit a sandbar. And I think Noah was the one driving the boat at the time and Will died and Twyla and Will had been dating and so basically like Noah of course was super in love with her, even though they were best friends. But this was his brother's girlfriend. And I don't think people really knew that the breakup had happened. And so like Noah to deal with his grief and he had always been like sort of to differentiate himself. He loved his brother, but his brother was like the perfect son. Noah was kind of like the bad one, right? Like he was like riding in fast cars and you know, that kind of stuff. And so he goes off, I think it's to Houston or Austin maybe, and actually like works as a firefighter. He's sort of like living on the edge in that way. Like dealing with his grief and his pain about his brother being gone until there's like a near accident where he like literally almost dies doing his job. And so he's like, I, this is not what I want to do with my life. So he returns back to Charming and he. And this is the part that like everyone in town, including Twilight, is like, are you kidding? He buys the, like the company that's like the charter boat tours. Because he's like, this is what I always wanted to do. Like, I'm not going to let the fact that like I, this happened to my brother stopped me from like, this was what I wanted. I wanted to live here. And like, you know, and he, you know, he, he and his brother wanted to buy this business and like essentially like be on like vacation every day. So he just decides like it was essentially like a sign he's gonna come back and do this. But like everyone's. How are you gonna tell your mother? And meanwhile, Twyla has really kind of been stuck in stasis. This town is so small that she's been like Will's sad ex girlfriend for a decade. So anyway, Noah comes back. Twyla, you know, it doesn't think they are firmly in the friend zone until they are not. Right. And so the question is, how are friends and family gonna, you know, adjust to this new parameters around these two, you know, they're not gonna be friends anymore, they're gonna become lovers. And you know, also like, how are the. How is his determination to kind of like bring tourists back to town and help our bookshop? So anyway, it's Once Upon a Charming Bookshop by Heather Lee Bell. And like I said, it's just like really, like I said, if you love like a Hallmark movie and you want to read that in book form, this is the book for you.

[Sarah MacLean]

These are all like small town books in a lot of ways. And that's really interesting to me because we all know like independent bookstores take a lot of capital. Right? Like it, it requires a lot, it requires a kind of vibrant town.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

For a indie bookstore to stay open. You know, I was talking about the store that was in Rhode island, the Savoy, and it was in a like small town in Rhode island and a town that like had that, that Taylor Swift has a house near. Right. Like, it's not a, it's not a town that people don't go to. Right. Like it's a, it's a vacation town, a seaside sort of Rhode island coastal town. And it Couldn't stay open. And so I think, like, there's also a mythology and a fantasy here about small towns that's really interesting to me. Like, I'm not gonna talk about this book, but one of Lisa Klepas Friday harbor books, which are all like a touch magical realism, is set, I think, in a children's bookstore. Like, again, in a small town. Like, I think if you sort of point to these stores, to these. To these stores in books, often they, they come in these kind of like idyllic small towns. But I want to talk about K.J. charles's seditious affair, and that's not said in A Sentinel.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There you go. Perfect.

[Sarah MacLean]

We've had Katie KJ Charles on the podcast. If you are KJ Charles fan, you should go listen. Well, even if you're not, you should go and listen to her trailblazer episode because it's terrific. And A Seditious Affair is one of those books that like K.J. charles. It's. This is one of the books that, like, people point to as, like, this is. This is one of the best. I mean, it's. You would be hard pressed, I think, to buy it to.

[Jennifer Prokop]

This is your favorite as Choose a.

[Sarah MacLean]

To choose the best. This is not my favorite, but it is one of my favorites. This is certainly like a top. A top for me. When we decided, obviously six months ago we were gonna talk about bookshops, this did not occur to me. But then this week, this occurred to me because I think this is a book that, like, right now, if you are thinking about revolution, this is a book that will give you a lot of joy. So our characters are Silas Mason, who is a radical. So obviously this is set in England in the 1800s. England has a very, like, clear social structure and power structure, right? Like, it is both a monarchy. It is a monarchy. There is a very strong division of. Of power. There is a very strong division of wealth. Right. If you're thinking kind of like, you know, yeah, whatever. It is all of that. It is all of that. Silas is a bookshop owner, owns a bookshop. And he is selling in many ways. He is selling like, essentially seditious works, right? So, like, works that are promoting the radical perspective that, you know, citizens rights should matter, that social justice is important. Works that are pamphlets that are incendiary and calling for things like political revolution, right. Unfair working conditions are in here. I mean, like, he is a true radical, right? He sells these books in his shop. He distributes these pamphlets through his shop. And surprise, surprise, he is also the author of many of these.

[Jennifer Prokop]

What a shock.

[Sarah MacLean]

Okay. He is also, though, a dude who likes it hot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I love that.

[Sarah MacLean]

So he is a member of, like, a men's only sex club. If you love a sex club, this one's gonna be very much for you. Also, if you, like, like, the dom submissive kink, this is gonna be for you. Because at this sex club, he runs into Dominic Frey, who is a highborn man who works for the home office. And his job during the day is to, like, curb seditious activities, so.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh.

[Sarah MacLean]

Now uncover who is writing the kj.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Charles just has no fear. And I love this.

[Sarah MacLean]

No. How is this gonna end up. How is this gonna end up happily ever after? Right? So he. But, like, Dominic also likes it hot.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I hope so.

[Sarah MacLean]

He turns up at this sex club. They meet each other in a kind of, like, very mis. Like, very kind of masked. Like, I don't think they are masked, but, like, you know, it's a very sort of, like, secret sense. They don't share names. Like, they just have these, like, blazing hot interludes. Silas, again, she makes the. Really, the proper choice, which is, like, Silas is the dom, right. Dominic is the submissive here. So, like, there are all these, like, interesting power plays, and they don't know who each other are.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Nice.

[Sarah MacLean]

And so as it's sort of getting the. Like, the. The. The rope is tightening around them, right? Like, they're sort of. They're getting closer and closer to figuring out who each other. Who. Who they are. They are also, like, becoming more and more entangled with each other. Like, and it is becoming clear that these two people, just like they are, they are desperate for each other. And I think, like, there is something. This has all of the other pieces. It's actually the second or third in the series. You will definitely benefit from reading the earlier books in the Society of Gentlemen series, but I think you can read this out of. Out of series. I think this is just a really great example of how when the needle is threaded perfectly on conflict, it is heartbreaking, this idea that these two people who are. You know, there's this moment, Jen, where, like, they finally end up, like, they kind of know each other. And they have this, like, this moment where Dominic says to Silas, like, bring me your revolution. And of course, he means, like, in bed, but it's like this. This just gutting moment where you're like, oh, it's so hot. Why is it so good? Why is she so good? She's so good. Anyway, it's just great. I think it's really interesting. I think, like, I pulled it up this morning and I was like, I think I'm gonna reread this book this week. Like, it's like perfect. It's just a book that if like right now you're like, what does revolution look like? Like, how do we. I don't know that it answers that entirely for us right now, but it feels really important. Yeah, like, this is one of those books that, like, this is a book that right now, if somebody were saying, like, make a list of the 10 books that like, do the work right now, now this would be possibly top.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, that's high praise, but.

[Sarah MacLean]

So that's K.J. charles's a seditious Affair.

[Jennifer Prokop]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by Melissa diamond, author of Holiday Wedding.

[Sarah MacLean]

This is really cute. It feels like if you loved the Holiday the movie, this might be something that you're interested in. It has has two completely separate but interconnected romances going on in this one. So there's Gwen. Gwen and Caleb are madly in love. They have plans for a beautiful Christmas wedding. But then there's a blizzard, things start to go haywire, and then, oops. Jen, Caleb's stalker, turns up and it's a problem. So the question is, are these, these two gonna make it happen? Are they getting down the aisle at all? Meanwhile, Gwen's best friend Jenny and her maid of honor turns up from her just terrible life in Los Angeles where everything, her career is stalled, her boss is terrible, her life is just a mess, and she shows up in New York like ready to really deliver as a maid of honor. And then only to discover that this wedding blizzard stalker situation is going on. And to make matters better, slash worse, Caleb's bodyguard, Dean. Jenny has known him for ages and she's always kind of had a little thing for him, but he like put her on ice a long time ago. And now these two are gonna have to work together because she happens to be a reporter and investigator and he is a bodyguard. These two are gonna get to the bottom of this stalking situation and make this wedding happen. Jen.

[Jennifer Prokop]

All right, so Holiday Wedding has this dual point of view with Gwen and Jenny each telling their own stories. It's a page turning holiday romance that has suspense, but also enemies to lovers, forced proximity and grumpy sunshine. And of course, snowed in only one bed. So also, I want to point out that Melissa offers two versions of the book. One that is is spicy and open door and one that is closed door with only kissing. So you can choose the level that is right for you if your podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Melissa diamond for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, I'm gonna actually recommend a YA book. I know we don't do tons of YA on here, but one of the things I was thinking is like, so many, especially as you're going into the holidays, you might have a young reader in your life, right? Like a young teenager who you think might be open to reading a romance. And so I thought this would be a good time to talk about one.

[Sarah MacLean]

Of those books, right?

[Jennifer Prokop]

You're like going to the bookstore to shop for, you know, the teenagers, you know. So the book I'm gonna talk about is called Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello. And it is set and also set in London. And so in this book we have Trey, his family has own. Has like a small black owned bookstore that they have owned. Like it's his dad's, you know, grandparents or whatever, right? So like they have owned this Bookshore bookshop and it's called Wonderland for generations, but they have not really kept up with the times. And so, you know, they've sort of rested on the laurels of kind of like their reputation. But what has happened at the beginning is there is a, like a. A bookstore down the street that has opened. And I don't think it's quite a big box store, but I don't think it's an indie. Like, I think it's. And it's like undercutting them essentially in every way. And all of a sudden no one is at the bookstore anymore. And Trey has always had, you know, Trey is eight. Like they're 17. He's 17. The main characters are 17. And so he's always like, kind of been a little annoyed that he has to work at the bookstore and. Right. Like, just feels like, you know, like u. But once he finds out that they are in dire straits and of course that there is a developer who maybe wants to buy the bookshop, he really comes online as being like, I want to try and say, you know, do what I can to help at the bookstore. Now he has this girlfriend who is, you know, he and this girlfriend are like the, you know, the prom king and queen vibe, like really popular. Everyone loves them. But you, you can tell he doesn't even really like this girl. It's like sort of this really interesting push pull where he feels, you know, kind of like he's with her. But, you know, he's really questioning, like, what am I getting out of this? Like, what, you know, who is this person? And Ariel is this girl who goes to school with him who has always kind of had a crush on him. But like, really like as like I. I'm not in love with him anymore, right? I don't like him. And they like have this interaction at a party where she like spills a coke all over him and he like kind of storms out of the party and she realizes actually that something's going on at the store and like, kind of is like. And she's an art student looking to get like a scholarship. Like, this is really richly layered. Like, this author Abiola does a really great job of like, layering in lots of like the things kids care about, right? Like, where am I gonna go to college? And can I. My family afford it. Her father has died of cancer earlier in the year, so it's just her and her mom and a younger sibling. And so. So she wants to try and get a part time job to essentially save money for what comes next. Enter this scene that I thought was honestly really well done, which is Trey's best friend convinces him that they should have a party at the bookstore. And what they're going to do is charge an entry fee and then they can guess his parents the money, right? Like, and you're like, as an adult, you're reading this and you're like, oh.

[Sarah MacLean]

No, like this is gonna go so poorly.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Gonna go. And it's just like, I read it, I felt sick to my stomach, right? And of course it's essentially like a, you know, it's not a total disaster except that someone left like the taps on in the basement and flooded the basement and all of the stock down there. And his mother is like, you know, and it turns out that, you know, then like, we get another layer. Trey's mom wants to sell the bookstore to the developer, but dad doesn't want to. This is his legacy, right? He falls off a ladder, the dad. And so Trey and Ariel end up deciding to like, they're gonna save the bookstore together, right? Like they. And it's really cute. Like, she paints a mural of like famous black authors and they like create like this community event they're going to get people to come in for. She goes down, yeah, she goes down to the other bookstore and like, does research on how they're doing stuff. And it's just honestly, really.

[Sarah MacLean]

And.

[Jennifer Prokop]

But like, he also has to like let go of that other girlfriend and realize that he has way more in common with Ariel, who cares about the same things he does. Like, Right. She cares about art and he cares about books. And it's just like a. It is a terrific. Like I said, really richly layered. Like, these kids are not just. I mean, sometimes I think the. I enjoyed it as an adult. Right. Like, and I feel like sometimes when you're reading ya, you're really like, hey, I. You know, this is not. I'm not really the audience, but the layers of characterization and plot and conflict that are layered into this book make it. I think anyone would really love it. But I also think, like, if you have a teenager in your life. Life, this would be a book that they would really, truly enjoy. So it's called Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello.

[Sarah MacLean]

All right, well, we're gonna go from YA to erotica, because, sure, that's how we are here. And I talked about this. I'm sort of bummed because I did. I think I must have just had this, like, book on the brain, because I talked about it in the little, like, kidnapping episode. But we're gonna talk about it again. I want to talk about Charlotte Stein's Taken. And. And which is. This is old school Charlotte Stein. So I know a lot of people have come to Charlotte through her recent rom coms, but, like, if you are anything like me, like, you fell for Charlotte like, way back when she was writing, like, two People Chained in a basement. Which is what this is essentially.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Which is literally what this is.

[Sarah MacLean]

But it's funny because I. I pulled it off the shelf the other day in preparation for this, and. And on the very first page, she refers to the hero as a werewolf. So I feel like she was just, like, always moving in this werewolf direction, but, like, maybe go back to this. So the premise here is that Rosie and her friend, like, it's. It's a very light, light premise. But, like, so Rosie and her friend go to this rare bookstore a lot. They like to go in there because it's sort of, like, quiet and, like, feels like magical in some way. And the owner is this, like, enormous, hairy, like, you know, he's just like, she. I mean, he's just like, big in every possible way and gruff and grumpy, and whenever they, like, touch the books, he, like, yells at them, right? And so they decide her friend decides, like, she's gonna get back at this, like, this. This guy, and, like, they get in trouble and he.

[Jennifer Prokop]

The.

[Sarah MacLean]

The. The friend sort of takes off out of the store and he Grabs Rosie and then, like, drags her, kicking and screaming, like, down into the basement and handcuffs her to the bed in the. There's a bed in the basement? Jen, of course. I mean, listen, we're not monsters. Okay? Handcuffs her down there and then immediately is like, oh, like, he's like, I'm gonna call the police. But, like, she's handcuffed to the bed and he's like, oh, no, I've made a terrible mistake, right? Like this. I could be in big trouble for what I've done. So he starts to try to, like, get her out of the handcuffs and then he. He can't. Like, he has trouble getting her out of the handcuffs. And then like. Like, it just becomes like, he turns into this, like, perfect Charlotte Stein hero who is simultaneously, like, I don't know, 8 or 9ft tall, very big in all, all directions, but also just, like, utterly embarrassed and like, un. Like, just like, awkward in, like, his. Like, he doesn't know what to do with himself. Like, you know, I mean, like, Charlotte's whole kink is like, I'm so big. Don't touch me. I'm grotesque.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Sure.

[Sarah MacLean]

Right? And so they end up like he's. He has a classic also Charlotte kink where, like, he's super kinky, but, like, thinks that that makes him a grotesque in some way. And so they do. Like, he's. He's a super dirty talker. Like, it. This. This goes directly down, like, straight into the Charlotte's Dine erotic vein. Like, like there is, you know, everything. The. The. It becomes just the two of them. And it's like the two of them have never existed outside. Like, nothing in the whole world exists except for these two in this bookstore basement. And he's like, you know, he wears like, tweed jackets and, you know, fiddles around with books, and then he fiddles around with other things too.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I would hope so.

[Sarah MacLean]

So anyway, it's a delight. Charlotte. Old. Old Charlotte Stein really is in many ways unmatched. So you will enjoy yourselves if you're looking for a very sexy bookshop moment. But it is also, like, short. It's like 100 pages. Because, I mean, how much longer could it be?

[Jennifer Prokop]

Listen, the promise of the premise, it's right there. Just going to be all packed right in there. Exactly. Okay, so speaking of old school, I'm going to talk about an old school Kristen Ashley book called Rock Chick. This is, I think.

[Sarah MacLean]

I don't know if this was her.

[Jennifer Prokop]

First book, but, like, this is. Yeah, I mean, this is probably from four or fifty Shades. Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

You're, like, pulled me through my life to a very particular place in time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And so this. But you know what? I feel like sometimes, like, that's really. I was like, oh, yeah. So the main character is Indy, indie savage. And she inherited a bookshop in Denver called Fortnums, I think. And this is then, like, sort of, like home base for, like, the rest of this series, which is not. Okay. You know how there's, like, the. This bookstore is like a Hallmark movie. Okay. This bookstore is more like a slapstick comedy. And so in this book, Indy has. And it's all, like, kind of her. She narrate, you know, it's her narration. And this is. It's early enough that, like, you get, like, the sense of, like, the Kristen Ashley vibe. Like, if you start reading and you're like, this is not for me. Like, her writing style is very specific, and it's actually pretty tightly controlled here. But she has been in love. So her best friend is Allie, and Allie Nightingale has an older brother, Lee. And Andy has been in love with Lee Nightingale her entire life. And when she was, like, in her late teens and he was in his early 20s, she would, like, kind of throw herself at him. And at one point, he just, like, shut her down so hard that she sort of was like, I'm going to avoid him. But because she's best friends with Ally, she's like, yeah, so I only had to see him at, like, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine's Day. Same thing. You know what I mean? She's like, basically, he was in public, impossible to ignore, but she, like, did her level best until one of her workers in the bookstore, which, like, her, like, I think she inherited from her, like, kooky great aunt who just, like, loved the 70s and, like, was a flower child. And Indy is like, yeah, that's my vibe, too. One of her employees essentially gets into some trouble with the local mob, as one does, and they get. She gets shot at. And she is, like, so shocked that she doesn't know what to do. And so she is like, why better? I'm gonna call one Allie's brother. So the other brother is Hank, and he's a cop. But she feels like that will be the wrong thing to do because the. Her employee is like, just don't call the cops. So she instead calls Lee. And Lee essentially owns his own, like, PI firm. But basically they're just, like, badasses. Like, literally, that's what she calls him. And Lee shows up to help her, and the whole, you know, this is like, there's kidnappings and explosions. And it turns out that he's basically been in love with her too. And they finally get together and they, like, do it all over the place. And it's just like this, like, Mad Cap, like, absolutely over the top adventure. But if you like. Like this sort of, like, you know, gruff, alpha, you know, really, like in the mold of those, like, two early 2000s romances, then Lee. Lee Nightingale's gonna push all your buttons and then some. So this is the first in a long series where every single person ends up. You know, there's like a huge cast of characters. Kristen Ashley has no fear. She's like, I'm gonna put 23 people in this scene. I got you. And Fortnum's, the bookstore remains essentially like home base for Indy and her friends throughout the entire series. And it's like the corollary, if you will, to, like, Badass PI Headquarters. Right? Like, this is the domain of women in these books. And it's. Honestly, it's just really fun. It's. It's. And it's fun in, like, a dated way, I would say, like, maybe look at content warnings for.

[Sarah MacLean]

Well, that is always the case with Kristen Ashley. Like, you need to just know there's something weird going on in there.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. There's probably some really wacky language and. Yeah, yeah. You know, where you're like, well, what happened? But if. You know what it reminds me too, of, like, if you like Stephanie Plum, like, it had, like that, like, there was a definite kind of vibe of books that, like, kind of emerged in the late 90s, almost, like, if it. And I think Rock Chick is essentially like one of those books. So that's Rock Chick by Kristin Ashley.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah. Like, it's of a time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's of a time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, it's not gonna be for everybody, but you might be like, oh, I remember that and want to revisit that time, too.

[Sarah MacLean]

This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Sarah Kate, author of Keep Me so Killian.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Barclay is a brooding Scotsman, which. Excellent, everybody just click right now.

[Sarah MacLean]

Exactly.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And all he wants is to be left alone. He's had enough heartache to last a lifetime. And so he does what any rich Scotsman would do. He turns his famous ancestral home, Barclay Manor, into a den of iniquity, where he just holds a bunch of wild parties.

[Sarah MacLean]

Sure. And why not, Jen?

[Jennifer Prokop]

I mean, this is what I would do. So one of these parties, New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux, has an A run in with him. She's not even there for the party. She's there to find or look at this famous heirloom. But she herself has this like really hard shell. Like she grew up as the daughter of famous but neglectful parents. So she just like, they have this like really turned her kind of mean, sexy interaction and she's like, I'm out of here. But a few weeks later, Killian's family approaches with her proposal. They want Killian and Sylvie to marry. She's gonna re, you know, calm down his playboy reputation.

[Sarah MacLean]

Sure, sure she is.

[Jennifer Prokop]

And a year later, she walk away. Walk away with $10 million dollars.

[Sarah MacLean]

What?

[Jennifer Prokop]

So obviously, what's she gonna do? Is she gonna grow closer to him or is she gonna break his heart and walk away with $10 million? What's a girl to do?

[Sarah MacLean]

What is a girl to do? Well, if you really love a modern day marriage of convenience, an enemies to lover story, and a broody hero with kinky vibes, then Keep Me is probably for you. You can read it right now in print, ebook or audiobook on Amazon and everywhere you buy books. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Sarah Kate for sponsoring this week's episode. I want to talk about Alexa Martin's Better Than Fiction, which I think has this very, very cute twist on this.

[Jennifer Prokop]

So all the.

[Sarah MacLean]

To a book, all of the books I could think of that were about bookstores or booksellers were about people who love books. And this twist, this book has a twist in that it is about a bookshop that is inherited, but it is inherited by a character who does not read.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Oh, wow, that's smart, right?

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah, a really clever play like twist on it. So, okay, so Alexa Martin's Better Than Fiction. Here's the structure. So our heroine Drew has recently lost her grandmother. And like her grandmother was extremely important, like an important figure in her life. And the. She is really going through it. And so she, she doesn't. Her, her grandmother owned a bookstore and this bookstore was like a true community center. Like it has a like hilarious group like the book club the of like older women who have like a romance, like an erotic romance book club. Like there's. There are so many little extra characters in this world who are, who were connected to her grandmother and like, like connected to this store. And when Dru inherits this book, she's like not that sure that she's going to keep it, but she was kind of passionate. She's sort of lost her way. But in losing her grandmother, she's really lost her like, North Star. And so she was really like. She was sure she wanted to become a photographer, but, like, now she has no passion to do that. She can't, like, find that love anymore. So she's like, okay, I'm gonna run this bookstore. And she feels really obligated to do it. Like, there's a real responsibility layer here that feels both. Like, obviously it keeps her close to her grandmother and like all these people who knew her grandmother, but like, this. Is this really what she wants? Like, she doesn't even read. So.

[Jennifer Prokop]

A.

[Sarah MacLean]

An author that. So the. The older women who have this book club, the Dirty Birds Book Club, right. It's a romance and erotica book club. In comes our hero, who is an author of romance novels. And he. Jasper. Jasper comes and he is. And like the Dirty Birds meet him and they're immediately like, I got. We got a medal. So they hook Jasper up with. It's set in Denver, this book. And so they hid it. They hook Jasper up with Drew just like a sort of a. Like, oh, Jasper, you're new. Like, why don't you meet Drew who can take you around and show you the sights? And so they like, kind of have this thing where she agrees she's going to show Jasper Denver and he is like, well, I'm going to show you books. And so they have this thing where like, he. He gives her. He tries to make her see what. What's beautiful in like the books in the shop, in the whole thing. And it's this like, lovely little conceit where they, you know, go all around like it's a little road trip romancy in the sense that, like, you know, they have all these little journeys. She shows him like, all her favorite places and all the. These like, places in. In town. And then he like, he like, gives her books to like, show her himself and like in all the ways that he was made. And then she like slowly rebuilds her passion for photography. Like, it's sort of a. It's a really lovely, very kind of quiet romance that is about the way love pulls us out of grief.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah.

[Sarah MacLean]

And. And it's. It's. It's not. I. I'm almost. It obviously is a romance novel. There's a happily ever after. But it almost feels like it lives like kind of in the romantic fiction world. Like it's. It is a much bigger story than just like these two people. But it is a. It's lovely. And so that's Better than fiction.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Nice.

[Sarah MacLean]

By Alexa Martin. Okay.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I have also have one more, which is I'm still on my. I have not. I got on the Molly Harper train and I apparently am never getting back off of it.

[Sarah MacLean]

I wondered if you were going to talk about this book.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I don't know if it's the same one I was going to talk about. Nice Girls don't have Fangs. Is that the one?

[Sarah MacLean]

Oh, no, that's not the one I was thinking of.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Well, I began and ended with vampires.

[Sarah MacLean]

I actually didn't pick it because I was like, oh, Jen's going to talk about it.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. Well, in this one, the part of the reason I picked this one is because it had like the other part of the strip up. So this is. There are four books in this, like, Jane, I think it's like Jane Jameson series. And this is the third book. And in the first book she's like, turned into a vampire when she like, Molly Harper, I swear to God, I love your brain. I like, just need the humor in these books. Anyway, she is. She gets fired from her job at the local library and instead of a, like a severance check, she gets a, like a gift certificate to like, the local bar. Shenanigans. So she goes to Shenanigans and gets a waste did. And then like, meets this really handsome guy named Gabriel who like, sobers her up and she goes, you know, sobers up, goes home. But on her way home, her car dies. So she's walking home and a local thinks that she is a deer and shoots and kills her. And Gabriel comes along and turns her into a vampire to save her life. And then they start dating. So, like, basically her sire is her boyfriend. And so they have a couple of books that it's like, what's going on? And then in the third book, she and their. And it's like cute world building in terms of, like, how vampires came to be, like, known to humans and how that all works. And so in the book, she and Gabriel are like, traveling through Europe, but, like, something's really wrong. He's getting all these mysterious messages and he's leaving her and saying they're business meetings. And so she thinks that he is cheating on her. So she does my favorite thing, which is she. He's like, I'm leaving. And he's like. So he basically kind of like. She's like, I think we broke up. Like, he didn't even try to stop me. And she goes back to her small town, which is like in, I don't know, Tennessee. Or maybe Kentucky. I can't remember. And basically, she owns a bookstore called Specialty Bookshop that is, like, for vamp. Like, for, like, the undead. Mm. And they. So they can come in and, like, you know, like, shop for books that are for, like, them. But she is really trying to make it, like, sort of like, she's like, I want everyone to feel welcome here. And so she's like, goes to the Chamber of Commerce and try. You know what I mean? Like, she's just, like, trying to make this, like, you know, there's like, the. She inherited the bookstore from essentially, like, a. An elderly kind of gentleman she knew who is now a ghost. But, like, that ghost is having an affair with her aunt who left her. You know what I mean? Like, it's just, like, very patented Molly Harper kind of goofy. Like, not goofy, but, like, funny. Like, truly funny. Like, like charming funny. Like, great banter. Like, really funny. Like, things happening in this town. Like. And I just love her voice. I love the voice of this character. You know, there's one part where she, like, figures out her best friend is. He is. Got in and his wife are expecting a baby, but his wife is a werewolf, so she's like, wait, what's happening? You know, Like, I mean, it's just, like, everything. And I love these books because I just. The audiobooks are terrific. They're really fun reads, and I was really delighted by the idea of essentially a specialty bookshop for the particular needs of the undead population of this area. Perfect. Yeah. So that's. Sorry. It's called Nice Girls don't have Fangs. And even though it's the third book, you know, it's like, Molly does a little bit of, like, upkeep so that you could sort of figure out what's going on. But definitely, I would recommend reading them in order and just landing on number three and finding out what happens once that bookshop gets, you know, listed in the community Chamber.

[Sarah MacLean]

Amazing.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Chamber of Commerce. Like, you know, amazing.

[Sarah MacLean]

Okay. I have, like, just a handful of historicals that I just want to name check.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Okay.

[Sarah MacLean]

Because they're, you know, historical bookshops. They're often, like, side characters. Like, they're not.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It's not as rooted in the.

[Sarah MacLean]

Yeah, right. And also some of them, like, for example, Lorraine has a bookseller. The Earl takes a fancy. The girl, the heroine, runs a bookshop, and the Earl in question is, like, kind of into her, and he keeps coming to buy books from her. So if you like that one. And then Anne Mallory has a bookshop. There's a girl who the heroine works in a bookshop in Seven Secrets of Seduction. And then the hero hires her to come catalog his private library.

[Jennifer Prokop]

I love it.

[Sarah MacLean]

And then I wanted to name check something else, which now. Oh, and then there's. I mean, this one is a. Is a again. I feel like, bleh. I feel like everybody's read this. But of course, there is also beach read, where it is two authors, but the bookshop in town becomes a piece of the puzzle. That's Emily Henry's beach read.

[Jennifer Prokop]

There's a bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Gerke, which I have not read, which is a historical. Where she runs a bookshop in London, and the Duke comes in and offers to make her a diamond of the first water, but because of a bet with his dirtbag friends, of course. Yep. I was also a book I, like, started and literally was just like. It was kind of on my list to just kind of look at. And then I was mad I didn't get to it. It was called the wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer. She is a bookseller on her 30th birthday. And it actually is. It had a truly laugh out loud, like, beginning, which is a. She sold a book to a local, like, kind of older man, and he thought it was Lord of the Rings, but it was really orc erotica. And so he's, like, reading it to her out loud. Like, he's like, that is funny. And she's horrified because she looks up as he's like, Don the local guy. Like, kind of like, I thought it was Lord of the Rings, but, like, listen to this. And the local hottie Wyatt, who owns the surf shop is like. They're, like, kind of cracking up. And in the plot of this book, she essentially is, like, tired of being, like, a spinster, essentially, and talks Wyatt into helping her, like, be cool and beautiful in exchange for, like, social media help for his shot. And then the other ones I wanted to mention, this is a mystery series. There's, like, a romance in it, which is. And I've mentioned this series before, the Adrian English Mysteries. He owns a mystery bookshop in Los Angeles and then ends up, like, solving mysteries with the help of this local LA cop named Jake. And Jake is like. And look, this book has, you know, again, it is not a romance. Like, he and Jake develop a romance over the course of the series. But, you know, Jake is closeted and, like, actually, like, like, gets married at one point to a woman. And Adrian's really heartbroken. There's, like, homophobia on Paige. Right. So like, please check content warnings for this. This is not a, you know, this is a book that it's like much grittier the series. I think it's maybe only six or seven books though. And I just, but I really enjoyed the sort of like book seller as mystery bookseller solving mysteries. And you know, you definitely are kind of ro for him and Jake to figure it out and for Adrien to like not have to hide who he is the way Jake is. So that becomes like a big part of the, like the romance between them. But yeah, definitely, like lots of ups and downs in this one. And you know, like I said, it is not a romance. Right. So all of the sort of like promises we make to each other about like what kinds of things characters will have to deal with with I think are not true in this book. So in the series. But I really enjoyed it. So that's the Adrian English mysteries by Josh Lanyan.

[Sarah MacLean]

There are about a million that you're all going to tell us about in comments. This is my favorite thing now. People in on Instagram and Blue sky are constantly telling us like, don't forget this one. What about this one? Those are my favorites. So don't forget to go check the comments too on all of There's a.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Chloe Lease book where he's a bookseller. I mean, there's so many. So I know that we didn't get to them all, but you will tell us about the ones and you can find other people's recommendations.

[Sarah MacLean]

It's true. Anyway. Yeah, we don't have any.

[Jennifer Prokop]

No housekeeping.

[Sarah MacLean]

But if you really want to. Also, if you really want to talk about all the other books that we have missed, then the place for you is our Discord and Bookbub.

[Jennifer Prokop]

We'll talk about that.

[Sarah MacLean]

Oh, oh, and BookBub. Okay, so two, so two things. We have started a Bookbub. And by we, I mean Eric has started a Bookbub. And he is quietly, like when he watches television, adding books from our from our back catalog into the Bookbub. So if you head over to Bookbub, make an account and follow faded mates, you can, you will get an email.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Whenever one of those books goes on.

[Sarah MacLean]

Sale that we recommend goes on sale, which is a great way of buying books cheap.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Yeah. And you can say like what platform you want. So you can say if you're Apple Books or Kobo or Amazon's or Barnes and Noble. And so it will tell you that it's on sale in your platform, which is great.

[Sarah MacLean]

Terrific. Couldn't be better. So you can head over and do that while you're there. You could also follow Sarah McLean, like just for fun, for good.

[Jennifer Prokop]

You can follow me. I don't know why you would, but.

[Sarah MacLean]

You could definitely should follow Jen. But you could also follow me and.

[Jennifer Prokop]

To hear about me really soon.

[Sarah MacLean]

For example, like if, for example, I had a book coming out in July and then we have what else. So. But the Discord is really where you want to be because that's where the smart people are. You're just listening to Dummies every week. But if you had. But if you head over to Patreon, to our Patreon, which is fading mates.net Patreon and sign up, you can join our Discord, where people are talking about romance novels literally all the time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Amazing.

[Sarah MacLean]

I reinstalled something, Jen the other day and I didn't turn off the sound on the, like the notification. And literally I was like, what is constantly pinging me? And it was, it was the Discord. So they are just. It is go. It is hopping over there all the time.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Time.

[Sarah MacLean]

So head over again patreon.no again faded mates.net patreon and you can join the Discord. And also when you join the Patreon, you get an extra episode from us every month of just, you know, banter. And other than that. I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop. We are Fated Mates. You can find us every Wednesday in your podcasting apps, wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, you can find our show Notes with full lists of all the books that we talk about in the [e-mail] click on show Notes for more of that. And then if you're on Instagram threads or Blue sky, we also are on Instagram threads and Blue sky and you can find us there at either Fated Mate or Fated Mates Pod. Follow us. We talk about new episodes. We also boost people's recommendations when they recommend books to us. And you know, you can join us there. Shop indie if you can, this weekend. And don't forget that our Best of the year episode box is available now. You can order it between now and December 10th to get it in time for Christmas and Hanukkah, which both start with on the same day. And you can do that at Pocketbooks. If you go to fatedmates.netbestof, you will see all the information, the books that we chose for the box and be able to click through. You'll get a letter from us, a sticker and the books.

[Jennifer Prokop]

Perfect.

[Sarah MacLean]

Thanks to Pocketbooks for taking care of that.

[Jennifer Prokop]

It.