S07:19 Winter 2025 New Releases: the Quarterly Edging Episode

Summary

Fated Mates - S07:19 Winter 2025 New Releases: the Quarterly Edging Episode

Release Date: January 13, 2025

Overview In this engaging episode of Fated Mates - A Romance Novel Podcast, co-hosts bestselling author Sarah MacLean and romance critic Jen Prokop unveil their highly anticipated "Quarterly Edging Episode." Focused on spotlighting new romance novel releases for January, February, and March 2025, Sarah and Jen delve into a vast array of titles, ranging from debut authors to established voices in the genre. Their mission is to enhance discoverability within the romance community, offering listeners a curated guide to upcoming reads that promise to captivate and inspire.

Introduction to the Quarterly Edging Episode At the outset, Sarah and Jen introduce the concept of the Quarterly Edging Episode—a quarterly segment dedicated to previewing a multitude of romance novels set to release in the first quarter of the year. This format aims to bring fresh content to listeners, emphasizing books they are excited to explore, including many they haven't read yet.

Sarah MacLean (00:04:29): "Welcome, everybody, to Fated Mates. That's all we could say. We're not even introducing ourselves."

Jen Prokop (00:04:41): "I'm Jennifer Prokop, romance reader and editor."

They explain the process for authors to submit their works for consideration, particularly encouraging self-published authors to fill out a Google form available in the show notes and on their social media platforms.

January 2025 New Releases Sarah and Jen kick off their discussion with a robust selection of January releases, highlighting a mix of contemporary, historical, and romantic suspense novels.

• Sarah Adams’ Beg Borrow or Steal (00:13:15)
  A contemporary romance featuring feuding second-grade teachers who discover unexpected chemistry as they navigate professional rivalry and personal connections.

• Naina Kumar’s Flirting with Disaster (00:16:25)
  A natural disaster romance set in Houston, where the protagonist seeks a divorce but finds herself reconciling amidst an impending hurricane.

Jen Prokop (00:17:08): "She accidentally sends an email to their boss with her romance manuscript, and they have to get it back, leading to a frenemies dynamic that evolves into something deeper."

• Amy Buchanan’s Let’s Call a Truce (00:17:44)
  A debut enemies-to-lovers tale about a widow proving her worth in the workforce while clashing with a new, initially antagonistic coworker.

• Maureen Lee Lenker’s His Girl Hollywood (00:20:29)
  Set in 1930s Hollywood, this historical romance follows an aspiring movie director and her childhood friend entangled in mob-related secrets.

February 2025 New Releases Transitioning to February, the hosts spotlight a diverse range of titles, ensuring there's something for every romance enthusiast.

• Carmen Lee’s The Relationship Mechanic (00:23:05)
  A sapphic small-town romance where a city woman seeks a one-night stand with a mechanic who is deeply rooted in his community.

• Jazz Forrester’s Shifting Gears (00:25:26)
  Another sapphic romance available exclusively through the publisher’s website, featuring a rural Canadian setting and a whirlwind summer fling.

• Jenny Elder Mok’s She Doesn’t Have a Clue (00:25:36)
  A romantic mystery inspired by Agatha Christie, where a romance novelist and a TV star must solve a murder on a private island.

Sarah MacLean (00:34:32): "Oscar-winning author tells a Cinderella retelling with an all-Asian cast that’s destined to hit Broadway."

March 2025 New Releases The discussion extends into March, with a focus on both established authors and exciting new voices.

• Vanessa Riley’s A Wager at Midnight (00:81:10)
  A historical romance featuring a spinster wildlife biologist masquerading as a man to attend a lecture, only to be saved by a Trinidadian physician.

• Paige Crutcher’s A Circle of Uncommon Witches (00:87:14)
  A fantasy romance where a cursed witch seeks help from the sorcerer who placed the curse centuries ago, blending magic with the potential for love.

• Lindsay Lovise’s Never Gamble Your Heart (00:90:28)
  A historical thriller involving a computer science professor and a guardian navigating missing persons within a gaming syndicate.

Notable Quotes and Highlights Throughout the episode, Sarah and Jen infuse their discussions with humor and enthusiasm, occasionally sharing memorable quotes that capture their excitement.

Sarah MacLean (00:04:06): "...there are 700 books to talk about."

Jen Prokop (00:19:12): "Amazing. Listen, Jen, she was really into him, but he is from San Diego and she's in Delaware. They're 3,000 miles apart. What can a woman do?"

Sarah MacLean (00:34:37): "...they're trying to like, romance reasons."

These snippets underscore their dynamic chemistry and passion for the genre, making the episode both informative and entertaining.

Engagement and Community Building Beyond discussing new releases, Sarah and Jen emphasize the importance of community involvement. They encourage listeners to submit their own books for inclusion in future episodes, fostering a supportive environment for authors and readers alike.

Jen Prokop (00:100:55): "Fill out our Google form and tell us what else are you excited about, and we’ll include indie and self-published romance in our episodes."

They also highlight their presence across various social media platforms and their Discord community, where listeners can interact directly with them and fellow romance enthusiasts.

Conclusion The "Quarterly Edging Episode" of Fated Mates is a treasure trove for romance readers eager to discover new stories and authors. With over 700 books covered, Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop provide a comprehensive guide to the month's most anticipated releases, ensuring that listeners are well-equipped to build their reading lists for the first quarter of 2025. Their blend of insightful commentary, humor, and genuine enthusiasm makes this episode a must-listen for anyone passionate about romance novels.

Jen Prokop (00:103:27): "We talked about 55 books on today's episode. I think so. You're welcome."

Sarah MacLean (00:103:32): "Take care."

Key Takeaways

• Discoverability Focus: Prioritizing new and debut authors to enhance their visibility.
• Diverse Selections: Covering a wide range of romance subgenres, ensuring broad appeal.
• Community Engagement: Encouraging listener participation through submissions and social platforms.
• Energetic Presentation: Dynamic and humorous interaction between hosts keeps the content lively and engaging.

Final Note For more detailed information on each book discussed, including purchase links and additional resources, listeners are encouraged to visit the extensive show notes available on their preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[A]

We're obviously thinking of everybody in California right now. What's happening there is impossible to look at.

[B]

Yeah, it's really scary. So for those of you that may remember, we did a like a cheeky, fun firefighter episode, but we have a listener named Emma who is a wildland firefighter. And at that point in time, we actually did a really cool interview with her that's on our patreon. And we contacted her this week to ask her, you know, like, say we're thinking about her. She's actually not there, but she is obviously like really plugged into that community because she is herself a wildland firefighter. And we asked for some recommendations that we could share with you, not only for places that you might be able to donate, but also for information because there is so much misinformation that is going around and that is obviously a real concern to her. And so she has a couple of suggestions for us all that we can like, check out. So if you are on Instagram, you should follow the Grassroots Roots Wildland Firefighter page. This is the main social, social media outreach for that organization. And it's made up of retired female firefighters advocating for pay raises, increased healthcare coverage, compensation, et cetera. And they just have tons of great information if you are looking to donate. Another good place is the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. They use the money to cover both medical bills and funeral bills for deceased firefighters. And this is an organ that Emma is really familiar with and knows that they do great work. If you are looking for information, she suggests going to insiweb. That's inci web like altogether. They have national situation reporting that will update daily with official updates gathered by firefighting personnel rather than like sort of social media bullshit, frankly. So we will keep that information coming. Emma's going to share more resources with us. But if you right now are kind of like, what do I do? Where? Who do I follow? That is information you can use straight from someone who is in the job of being a wildland firefighter.

[A]

And then I just want to shout out a couple of other organizations that have have come across my feed knowledge, et cetera. I want to. I have said this before a million times, but World Central Kitchen is an absolutely incredible organization that mobilizes volunteers to feed both first resp responders and people impacted by events like this around the world. They are already in la. This is Jose Andres organization. We're going to put a link to World Central Kitchen. There they are. They have food trucks and food up and running and did immediately as soon as the fire started. There's an organization called Baby2Baby in LA that's distributing essential items to families that have lost everything. Diapers, clothing, basic needs to children. If you are a pet person and looking for a way to help people who have housed their pets or pets that are. And animals that are impacted by the fire, the Pasadena Humane Society is looking for emergency relief funds. So we'll put information there. And also because we are book people, I want to shout out Octavia's Bookshelf, which is an independent bookstore in Pasadena that has. Is obviously everybody there is so impacted, but they have mounted a mutual aid pit stop with food and supplies, and they are raising money to continually fund people in Pasadena affected by the. By the fires. So. And then, of course, the RIP Artists is staying open there. They are offering WI fi and food and period products and anything to anybody who can get there. So if you, you know, you can always support the RIP bodice.

[B]

So we'll keep you updated if we find out more information. But just know that, well, this is how we get through together. So on. On with the episode, everybody. We are doing something really fun today, and that is that we are going to be. And that's why, like, listen, there's no time for banter, Sarah, because we have 700 books to talk about.

[A]

Yeah, I know. I feel like we're on a. It's like a rapid fire today. Welcome, everybody, to Fate of Mates. That's all we could say. We're not even introducing ourselves.

[B]

Introduce yourself, please.

[A]

I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.

[B]

And I'm Jennifer Prokop, romance reader and editor. And what we're going to be doing today is we are and we have, you know, we're committed to doing this because we've done it a few times and, like, weren't really super. We weren't as great about it as we should have been. But it is essentially one of these preview episodes where we are going to talk about books that are coming out in January, February and March. So the idea is to do this episode like four times a year. Right. And the whole point is sort of discoverability. So we think that these are books that we are excited to read, but these are also a lot of them books we have not read. So unlike most episodes where we are talking about books we are familiar with and we've read, even if it's a long time ago, a lot of these books are instead books where I was like, this just looks good. I'm excited for reading it, we think you'll be excited for reading it.

[A]

I have a whole group, I have a whole list on my, my sheet that are books I am reading because of their cover. Well, that's, I'm fully judging some of these books by their cover.

[B]

I support you. Now let, let us say a couple other things. Because of the way this works. Right. Which is we are often trolling these two places that have like arcs, which is advanced reading copies, like digital arcs. These are mostly going to be traditionally published books. So here's what that means. If you are a listener who is a writer and you have a self published book coming out in April or the rest of the year, the way to like get on this episode is to email us, right?

[A]

Ah, no, Jen, I put together a Google form.

[B]

You did? We discussed it, but I didn't know if it was going to happen. All right, so look at us.

[A]

We have a Google form.

[B]

Yeah. And we'll put it in show notes.

[A]

Maybe in your special podcasting app you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to fill out the form. But maybe not.

[B]

Yeah. Who knows? I would say.

[A]

But in show notes and on our, you know, our insta social media blue sky, social media world, we will.

[B]

The blue thread. Right.

[A]

We'll post a link and we have discussed. We can discuss this now publicly. I think we're going to leave it public.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You won't be able to edit the document or anything, but we'll make the document public so that readers can also go see what kind of, you know, some of these debut books. So if you have a book coming out between April and January 1st, we want to hear.

[B]

Yeah. And I would say here's the other thing. If you are a reader and you like there's a series you love and you know that the author is planning to have a release in that series and you want us to know about it. You can also fill it out essentially saying like, here's a book that's coming out that I am excited about. Like we're not gonna know if it's like the author did it or you did it.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And I think the goal here is that probably is the best, easiest way to kind of loop in the self published people. Right.

[A]

And if you're willing to share an early copy with us or share a copy with us, drop your email address and we'll email you.

[B]

Yeah. And you know, like as with always with these, no promises, like we can't read everything. Sometimes we're just talking about books that look cool. But I. I'm hoping that that will make the next couple of these feel a little more balanced in that way.

[A]

I do have some indies.

[B]

I have a couple. Yeah. But it's because I know about them from another way. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, and some people do put their books in on NetGalley.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is useful.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So. Oh gosh, guess what?

[B]

What?

[A]

My book is on NetGalley.

[B]

I was promised.

[A]

Very startled and unhappy to see it there today.

[B]

You're like. I was like, why didn't you Come.

[A]

On now I'm in here for fun.

[B]

Well, not anymore. You're right.

[A]

No, I opened NetGalley, Jen. And you know how it has like on the main page of NetGalley, it says like, you know, most recently updated. There was these Summer Storms was the most recently updated book on NetGalley. And I was like, oh no, this is too much for me.

[B]

Well, it's exciting for me anyway.

[A]

Yes. And there's. You are. I'm. I will mail you one. I just don't have any. Everyone. And now you've. This has been two ladies talk about a book that you can't read yet.

[B]

So sorry everybody. So. Well, we're. That's essentially really honestly this whole episode. So I mean by the time.

[A]

I mean it's. This is an unfortun. Where this is our. Our. Our quarterly edging episode.

[B]

Wait, I'm writing that down because that's going to be the names of these. Like that's the name of this. Now that's. That's official quarterly edging in the Lily Library. This is the quarterly edging episode.

[A]

Quarterly edging colon winter 2025.

[B]

Now here let me say a couple other things in terms of like some housekeeping. If there will be essentially a massive photo array. Right. Of the books in this episode and a go like also it'll sort of be like a list in one place and then you know. But yeah, a lot of these books aren't going to be available yet. So you're going to have to like think about your strategy for how you're going to, you know, this is your.

[A]

Time to think about your feelings to library pre order to audiobook. Right. Plan.

[B]

Sure. Right.

[A]

Barnes and Noble surely is going to have one of those like massive pre order sales sales soon. They usually do it in January or February. So make your list. That's what we've done too. And yeah, it's January and it's time to talk about winter 2025, which sounds unhinged. So what we call winter is January, February March. And I tried to make my list in chronological order.

[B]

Mine is like, January.

[A]

Like.

[B]

Yeah. Mine's kind of like January, February, and March.

[A]

Wait. Oh, my God. Did you see the thread the other day where somebody referred to us as discoverability buddies?

[B]

No. That's amazing.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. Whoever you are out there, we love you so much. I literally was like, this is the greatest description I've ever heard. They were, like, fated mates is my discoverability buddy.

[B]

That's amazing. A.

[A]

And we are very proud to be that for you.

[B]

Now here I did have a thought, which is maybe we should clear the decks by just quickly mentioning some books from our friends.

[A]

Like, for example, Adriana Herrera's upcoming February release, A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke.

[B]

Yes. Which is.

[A]

Is that what it's called?

[B]

It is what it's called, yes. And it is amazing.

[A]

It's so good. We're going to do a whole episode with Adrianna where we talk about the themes of this book. It's about bodily autonomy. It's about abortion. It feels so important and prescient and essential, and it is a perfect example of why historical romance slaps.

[B]

Yes, perfect. Well said.

[A]

So there.

[B]

Okay. Mila Fenelli, Empire of Temptation, out this.

[A]

Week, out last week, out last week.

[B]

Ali Hazelwood's Deep End comes out in.

[A]

February, which it feels like it's impossible for anybody to not know that, but.

[B]

You know, nevertheless, she persisted. And there it is.

[A]

It's about high. It's a college swimming romance. So if you're into college swimming, which you should be, because the shoulders are very broad.

[B]

I like a swimmer.

[A]

I do, too. I like how they. I like the cut of their jib. I haven't read that book, though, because I asked for it and no one sent it to me.

[B]

So I don't even know how these things happen. But nevertheless, there it is. Okay, so I think. I think that. I just thought, well, maybe it would be good. That'll be like.

[A]

That covers the key people. I think.

[B]

So, Sarah, maybe we should start. Are we just gonna go through? I don't know. See, look at us, deciding how we're doing it as we do it.

[A]

We don't even know. We're just flying by the seat of our pants here. This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Jamie P. Bradley, author of 3000 Reasons to Stay.

[B]

Carrie Weller just does not have time to date. She has juggling, raising her twin teen D with her kind of condescending acts. The only action she's getting is the vibrations from the calendar App notifications on her phone. So when she meets handsome, very handsome. Have I mentioned handsome Marine Force fitness instructor Ryan Duran at a wedding, the sparks fly. And she's really into him, but he is from San Diego and she's in Delaware. They're 3,000 miles apart. What can a woman do? Well, she can send her kids off to a long summer camp and take the really cool consulting gig opportunity with her company to go to San Diego for the summer where she and Ryan have the potential for like a little fun and sexy, flirty affair. Ryan has problems of his own. He is nearing military retirement age and has dreams of opening a gym. But he has like kind of a difficult relationship with his parents and his meddling grandfather is gonna like, sort of help him with that. And he, the meddling grandfather, also very much wants him to find a nice woman to settle down with. And that's where Carrie comes in. So there's lots of really fun family dynamics for this couple that is older but really looking to find a love that can last for all time.

[A]

Aw. Well, if you are also looking for a love that can last for all time, you might really enjoy 3,000 reasons to stay. You can read it right now in print or ebook, wherever you get your books. Or if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Jamie P. Bradley for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, I'm going to start with Sarah Adams. Okay, this book is actually already out. You can get it right now. So this is about rival. Okay, this is about feuding second grade teachers. But Jen, I know how you. Oh, I know how you feel about, about school. And here's what's interesting about it. They are nemeses in school, but what they don't know about each other is that she is a romance novelist and he is a. A mystery novel. He's a best selling mystery novel novelist. And then as. So he, they were nemesis nemeses and he left town and then planning to get married and she was like, thank God that asshole is out of town. And then he, surprise, surprise at the end of summer comes back and she's like, oh, this guy again. But there is. And so they're kind of like at each other's throats, but she accidentally sends an email to their boss with her romance manuscript and they have to get it back and he helps. And so they end up like being sort of frenemies and then falling for each other. And that's Sarah Adams's beg Borrow or steal. And that's out right now.

[B]

Okay. So I would like to talk about Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar. I read say youy'll Be Mine for the debut episode. And in this one she is looking to get a divorce from her husband who she hasn't seen in years. So she goes back to Houston to like procure this document. And instead she gets trapped in their house as a hurricane approaches Houston and they are going to reconcile in the face of a natural disaster. And I was like, yes, I would like to read that.

[A]

You love a natural disaster romance.

[B]

I do. And I love Houston. I don't love hurricanes, but I do love Houston. So there you go. That one is called Flirting with Disaster, which is a great title by the way, for this. So I'm really excited about this one because I really like the first book from her quite a bit from last year.

[A]

I'm gonna both jump off and stay in January.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Because you said debut.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And so I'm gonna talk about Amy Buchanan's Let's Call a Truce, which is out the 14th this week.

[B]

Okay. There you go.

[A]

This week. Look at us. And so this one is. So it's a debut romance again, Enemies to lovers. And it sounds like real enemies. So the heroine is a widow. Her husband dies unexpectedly. She is left with two kids. She spends. And like she has to go back to work despite the fact that she has spent many years as a stay at home mom, which feels very like real. Like this is a thing. And so she goes and she like gets this job and there's a new guy, there's. Or one of the guys who works there kind of says some like inappropriate shit about the fact that like her being out of the workforce has really like caused her to be inexperienced and is a liability. And she is like, fuck this guy. I'm gonna prove him wrong. And then the book begins two years later when like they are forced to work together on a career making like project. And she is like, I'm gonna show. Like, this guy who sucks is having to. To deal with the fact that like, I'm great at my job and he has to, I hope at least that he will grovel. Hard and cold storage. Listen, I love any book that begins with two years of cold storage for an asshole.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

Okay, but like, this is my point. Wait, were you saying this on Twitter the other day? Like, the enemy's lovers has to be enemies. Like, and so in contemporary, this is tricky because I think we're threading this needle of like, well, but he can't be too bad, and he can't really say, like, terrible things, but, like, no, let him be terrible and then redeem him for me. That's what I want.

[B]

All right, well, we're gonna see how that goes then.

[A]

So that is Amy Buchanan's. Let's call a truce.

[B]

Okay. I'm also. I think I'm gonna do the same, stick to January, but kind of have, like, a little bit of a bump. All right, so. And this actually might go to both these. So in Book People by Jackie Ashenden and everybody. I really like Jackie Ashenden. It's been a while. I mean, she just, like, has been writing solid romances for a long time. For me, it is an Enemies to Lovers, where they. Another one I know own.

[A]

I'm very excited about this.

[B]

They own rival bookstores. She opens a new genre bookstore, and he owns the literary fiction bookstore across the street. Oh, he hates this. And I was like, I love it. So I was, like, really won over by that whole premise because I really like the idea. And I also think, like, two bookstores kind of being, you know, like, I was like, it's called Book People. I'm a book person. It's about book people. I just was like, it speaks to me. So that's Book People by Jackie Ashton and Enemies to Lovers about Books. They probably live on social media street.

[A]

Okay, I am gonna go from books to movies. Okay. And I'm gonna talk about Maureen Lee Lenker's His Girl Hollywood, which comes out this week. Also big week for books. So Maureen's books writes historical, set in 1930s in Hollywood. And the heroine of this book, Arlene, has always dreamed of being a movie director. And she finally, finally gets her shot, which is, like, super rare in 1930s Hollywood, right? But she discovers that she has been assigned the leading man. The sort of hero of the movie is none other than Don Lamont, who was once Don Lazzarini, Arlene's next door neighbor. Growing up, they were best friends. He is the only man she's ever loved. Listen, my favorite is, like, childhood, as you all know, I love a childhood. Like friends to lovers. And. But here's the problem. Don hasn't been home and, like, basically peaced out. She thinks that he just took off to, like, be fancy and, like, like have a dance career. But in actual fall, in actual fact, he's been, like, all tied up in the 1930s New York mob. And now he's back and he has to kind of like, he can't reveal to Arlene what's happened. But like, there's some shit that's gonna go down. Knowing Maureen, it's all gonna be against this like great backdrop of like old Hollywood silver screen stuff. I love these books and I can't wait to read this one.

[B]

All right, I have the Relationship Mechanic by Carmen Lee. This is a sapphic small town romance where a woman driving a rental car, like drives into this small town and her car breaks down. And the beautiful woman driving the tow truck, who's the town mechanic, who picks her up and is gonna get on her engine, shall we say. Right? You know, so these two. The thing that's really interesting though is unlike many a small town romance, the first, I'm sorry, I like wrote myself these plot notes and realized I did not write a single character's name. Sorry for all of my notes.

[A]

I mean, because that's on brand for us. Let's be clear.

[B]

I mean, I haven't even read it yet. How can I know the same? So big city lady with a rental car does not want to live in a small town. She's just like, we're gonna have this one night stand and small town mechanic loves her small town and is not gonna wanna go to the big city. And so it's not one of these things where the city person is like fleeing. Right? It's just more like happenstance. And I think that's gonna be really cute. So that's the Relationship Mechanic by Carmen Lee.

[A]

Okay, so this is so fun because I also have a Sapphic mechanic book on my list. I know. What are the chances things happen. So mine is called Shifting Gears by Jazz Forrester. And here's something pretty cool about this. This book is only available through the website of the publisher. So I think this is really interesting. I can't wait to read it. And I think like, I'm supportive of anybody who's like any. Anybody in publishing who's like trying to do the thing without, you know, touching a billionaire. So anyway, so Eleanor Cromwell is in, in rural Canada and she is planning. She's doing a real estate development. But the problem is, is that all the locals like low. She works for her father, her father's company and they all hate it. And she is trying to get this, this job sort of sorted and this project done without anybody realizing that she is his daughter and she's like involved in this. So she's like hiding in, in rural Canada and her car breaks down and that. And there she meets Danny Cooper, this like very laid back, flannel wearing, like hot lady mechanic, and they have this, like, whirlwind summer fling. But the problem is, is that Eleanor's hiding from everything that. From all of these small town people. And Dani is, like, a cornerstone of this small town, so. Nice.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

That is shifting gears. It's by Jazz Forester. And make sure when you check show notes, you won't be able to find that one on Amazon. The link will be in show notes.

[B]

Perfect. Okay, you said touching a billionaire. So I am going to talk about.

[A]

A book where someone touches and billionaires only in a.

[B]

In maybe a better way, which is I'm going to talk about. She doesn't have a Clue by Jenny Elder Mok. And in this book, the main character is Kate. She's an author, and she is going to a fancy wedding on a private island in, like, the Puget Sound. So, like, in, you know, whatever those islands are the South San Juan Islands. And on the way, she is essentially on, like, the private, like, yacht that's taking them from the mainland. There she, like, runs into an. Her old, like, friend. They parted on some kind of bad terms, but once they get to the island, they just. There's a dead body. And so Kate, who is a mystery writer, is, like, in with her old friend slash wannabe boyfriend are gonna have to, like, solve a real murder mystery on the island, like, where this, like, fancy wedding has taken place. So, like, real, like, you know, whatever. Those vibes are from Agatha Christie.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Where, like, everyone's trapped together and someone's a killer.

[A]

Sure. All right, okay. So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna stay in Suspense world.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And talk about a new Jill Shalvis book, which is out January 21, called Better Than Friends and everybody knows. I think Jill's books are so great in the sense of, like, when you just want a romance that hits and goes down real easy. Jill Chalvis is the writer for you. So in this one, it's old. They are exes. And Olive, our heroine, her parents, who live off the grid, have gone missing. And she really doesn't have, like, she can't get anybody to pay attention, so she has no choice but to, like, seek out an old ex. And the only person she's ever really trusted, Noah, who is a special investigative agent for the National Park Service. And he. And he reluctantly agrees to help Olive because he's, like, recuperating at home from, like, an injury. And his family is lovely, but, like, just all over him. And he wants to get out of there, but he's like, all right, I'm Gonna go and I'm gonna help Olive, but I'm not gonna. We're not gonna get involved again. He cannot fall for her again. Classic.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

What a big dummy. And now they're, like, off in a forced proximity romance, searching for Olive's friend, Olive's family possibly in danger and definitely falling back in love. So that is Jill Chalvis's better than friends.

[B]

Okay, I'm going to talk about the Naked Truth by Sandy Lowe. I'm not sure how it connects to that. I just want to talk about it because it sounds amazing, which is this is another Sapphic romance where so one of our heroines has signed up to be a participant where the study is about your sexual fantasies and the other Heroine is the PhD person doing the research. And so she has to confess and tell, be honest about all of her fantasies with this woman who is, like, she's worried, of course, is just going to be, like, judging her and, like, going in on, like. Right. So this just sounds super sexy and, like, probably a little transgressive. Right? Like, if you're running a study, like, what would it be like if you were finding yourself really attracted to one of the people in it? So I thought that sounded really good. The Naked Truth by Sandy Lo.

[A]

All right, I'm going to talk about Yin Yang Love Song by Lauren Kung Jetsun. I loved her book Lunar Love, which was set against Chinese New Year. And this new. This new book is about an herbalist, Chinese herbalist, Chrissy, who, her family is, like, has a little bit of a curse. And she has decided that she has, like, she never believed in this curse, but it's now like, she's had her ninth breakup. And now everybody in the whole family is like, you. You're definitely a victim of the curse. She and her family run a special healing retreat for the brokenhearted. And when they. They. When she gets there, she has this, like, run in with a celebrity cellist and listen, celebrity chest and local bad boy is how he's described.

[B]

I am not mad about it at all.

[A]

And so basically what happens is they make a kind of deal that they will work together to, like, convince her, her aunties that they are not, in fact, that she's not in fact, cursed. But. But of course, this can't possibly work, except I think maybe it does. So I think it's a really darling, like, I think her books are really darling. Like, they're rom comy and the characters are also, like, charming and fun. And she's a.

[B]

She's a delight this week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Jenny Barra, author of Mother Maker.

[A]

So poor Dylan. She is going through it. Jen, she lives in a falling down brownstone with her three best friends, a broody billionaire, and seven combined children.

[B]

I cannot support that.

[A]

But they also have like a family raccoons in there. I don't know if this brownstone's worth it, honestly, Dylan, I gotta say. But listen. So she's like, I just want one night. I want one night out of the house, away from all of this. And she takes it. And wouldn't you believe that she happens to meet a professional baseball player on this one night and they have a great time. But. But guess what happens. The title of the book is Mother Maker. So I know you're gonna get there. There's an accidental pregnancy. She gets secret babied, and then immediately is like, I have to tell this guy like that I'm that I'm pregnant. So she does, she finds him, she tells him and he's like, let's co parent. Neither of us have room in our life for a relationship. But I wanna be supportive. Why don't I move into your chaotic brownstone with you? Except Jen, where's he gonna sleep?

[B]

Sleep?

[A]

There's only one bed left.

[B]

Sure. Of course it's hers.

[A]

So they are sleeping together. And what are they gonna do in that bed when they're together? They're definitely gonna smash. So here's the big question. Is this gonna be a co parenting thing or this? Or is this gonna be an actual relationship that ends with a happily ever after? You'll just have to read the book to find out.

[B]

This is actually pretty fun, everybody. This is one of the books in the mom. Com series and each book is written so they all are sort of like co writing a big series where each couple has one book in like the sort of family home plus raccoons. I love. I love like a kind of a book, like a book series like that. So if you are interested in Mother Maker, then you should check it out. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Jenny Barra for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, I am going to talk about Best mistake ever by Christy McKellen. And in this book, Sarah, this sounds perfect for you. She has a twin. Her twin convinces her to go and like basically like fake being me at. At her job, right? But when she gets to her twin's workplace, she realizes that her twin has Basically, totally screwed her over because it's like this hotel, and, like, the hotel is basically going under, right? And so she is expected to, like, really, like, fix a huge problem. And her. The hero of the book is her boss or her twin's boss. And he is, like a grumpy ex rock star. So he's like, hiding out from the world or whatever, but, like, standing in for her twin and then falling in love with the twins boss. I was like, that would, in fact, be a pretty big mistake, but it sounds like a good one, so that's. Best mistake ever by Christy McKellen.

[A]

Okay, I am gonna. I'm gonna talk about a romantic suspense that I think is for you since you had one that you thought was for me. I want to talk about Katie. I don't know how to pronounce her last name. Royce, maybe. R, E, U, S. Katie. Oh, Russ.

[B]

Like R E, R. Yeah.

[A]

Is it Russ?

[B]

I don't know, but yeah, I know who you're talking about. Yeah.

[A]

Okay, so I really. I have always really liked Katie's books, and so I'm very. I was very excited when today I discovered that she had this book coming out, so. It's called Fighting for Berlin. It's available January 28th. And here's the deal, Jen. He is so Berlin. I'm sorry. So Berlin is the heroine, and after.

[B]

Her parents die, the location of a very big wall.

[A]

Fine.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Oh, well, we've already. This is on brand for the episode. So her kids. Her parents died, and her younger brothers and sisters, she was responsible for taking care of them. And now they're all in college. So she gets this new job for, like, Harbor, Redemption Harbor Security, which is the. This is the thing that connects all the books, right? But she also plays, like, games online, like, video games online. And when one of her online video game buddies goes missing, she gets worried. And then she basically, like, tries to find him using the, like, Redemption harbor security, you know, name and all of their skills. So here's the deal, though. He was, like, playing video games, and she thought he was just like a normal person, but instead, he. Chance, has been working for a deadly biker gang to find out the truth about his own brother.

[B]

I want it.

[A]

Who is, like, in shenanigans. And when this lady turns up, like, his online, like, friend turns up, and she's also super hot, by the way. He's like, oh, fuck. Now I have to protect her because the deadly biker gang is gonna get her. Jen, you should just go read the. Go. Just go down this book.

[B]

Right now, I'm going to probably exactly do that. Okay.

[A]

All right.

[B]

So one of the things that I. Okay, this is, like, a little bit of a digression, so I know that we are not as great about pitching romanticies because it's just, like, not our thing, but I discovered that I have a, like, local friend that I knew from Chicago. Her name' Gabriella Guava on Instagram. And it turns out that she is, like, a huge Romanasy person. And so I texted her today, and I was like, hey, like, what's coming out in the Romantasy world? So that we can just have, like, at least a couple good ones on the episode. And one of the ones she said is coming out in February is Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan. And this is a. Essentially, there's a Romanecy where the untrustworthy yet magnetic God of war has to protect her kingdom. And I was like, oh, the God of war is a woman I am in. Right. And so she essentially ascends to the throne after her grandfather dies, but she's then summoned to the immortal realm, and she has to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people. Oh, and he is the God of war, of course. Right. And so, anyway, together, they are essentially gonna, like, work together. And I don't know. You said God of war. You know, I love a warlord, so I thought sounded really good. And that one actually came out. Is already out. Came out January 7th. So that's Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan. And it really has a lovely, lovely cover. It's gorgeous.

[A]

Okay, so you're in fantasy, so that means I get to talk about paranormals.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

Let's do it. I want to talk about Malcolm, which is a Kobo original by Margo Bond Collins. So you can get this only from Kobo, but you can download the Kobo app and, like, put it on your phone. You don't have to have a Kobo to read Kobo books. So since they were children, Malcolm and Larissa have been rivals. They are. They have. Like, they just are in constant competition. They are both part of a wolf pack. This is a shifter romance. And since birth, they have vied for, like, like, best student, best hunter, best fighter. Like, best, best, best, best, Best. He's super strong, she's super smart. They are very good opponents. But imagine if they work together. Okay, but here's the deal. So now there is a power vacuum in the pack, and they need to choose a new Alpha, and Malcolm and Larissa are both vying for the job.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

So what I love about this. This. I. You guys, I immediately downloaded this when I heard about it, because what I love about this is it's all. It's very rare that you find a shifter romance where, like, the Alpha might be a woman.

[B]

Yeah, I love it. That's amazing.

[A]

And so I'm into this. I'm looking forward to reading it. And you know who doesn't love a, like, wolf shifter book?

[B]

I love a wolf shifter. Wolf shifter book. Okay. All right, I'm going to talk about Unromance by Erin Connor. This sounds like it has a really cute premise. It's like. Like things we've talked about or you've heard of before, which is she's a romance novelist. And he is like a. She's a romance novelist. He's a TV star who has just been dumped a million times. And he is like, I need to get over being in love and falling in love so easily. And so he hires her essentially to, like, run him through the romance tropes so he will, like, know what to avoid. Oh, my God.

[A]

Adorable, right?

[B]

Which is, like, a very, very cute premise. So I love a book where it's not just, like, you know, he's a thriller writer, she's a romance writer, whatever. Right? So I thought that was just, like, a really fun twist on it. So he's essentially going to tap her knowledge so he can avoid being love Lauren in the future.

[A]

So cute.

[B]

Isn't that cute?

[A]

I just want to say, and I, like, this is a cheat because I should have said it at the beginning. Loretta Chase has a new book out in January. It's called My Inconvenient Dupe. It is. I mean, what else do you need to know? It's Loretta Chase. It's a brother's best friend, second chance. She is desperately in need of a husband because her brother is going to get himself killed and leave the dukedom and her dowry and her entire future in the hands of their repellent cousin. And she needs somebody to help immediately. And so he is. So the Duke of Blackwood is gonna step in and he is gonna take control and also take Alice, which is the part I'm looking forward to the most.

[B]

Of course. Okay, I'm gonna talk about 3,000 reasons to wait by Jamie P. Bradley. This is a military romance that is not like, like, propaganda, essentially. So that's just, like, his job. And Ryan is, like, close to retirement, but he has had really difficult relations with his parents ever since he enlisted. So he is, like, really looking at, like, what he's gonna do. After he gets out of the Marines and he wants to like open his own gym. That will help like veterans essentially, like, you know, that are, you know, like experiencing health issues or you know, like sort of disabilities. And Carrie is a single mom whose twins go off to like soccer camp. And she goes to like essentially is transferred to San Diego for the summer, like for that length of time. And they like meet each other and fall in love. And it's just like a great contemporary romance.

[A]

I don't have a connection, but I want to talk about a book that I, I fully, fully downloaded because of the COVID And now I'm very excited about talking about. So I want to talk about Strike and Burn by Taylor Hutton, also on my list. Which is out. Yes, January 28th. Because the cover's great.

[B]

It's a great cover.

[A]

Yeah, it really is. So it matches in the shape of a heart. It's great. So. Honor Stone. This is a romantic thriller. Honor Stone has no family, no money, no future, and her twins sister has been murdered and she, her identical twin sister has been murdered and she is in the morgue and runs into. In the morgue. How. How is this gonna happen? This like drop dead gorgeous, very, very, very wealthy billionaire named Strike Madden.

[B]

What a name.

[A]

Who she can't really get a handle on because I mean, why is a handsome billionaire. Why handsome billionaire, but also why handsome billionaire in morgue?

[B]

I think is probably answered many questions.

[A]

So he. But Strike does not have any questions except hey, Honor, why don't. Would you please come and work with me as an artist and spearhead my carefully curated erotic animation studio?

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And she's like, okay, well that sounds hot. And like a good job. She doesn't have any money. She needs the money. Here's the problem. Her identical twins obsessive killer is still on the run. And all of a sudden he realized that the killer realizes there's a second one. And so the killer comes after Honor. Strike has to. Strike and Honor have to like keep her safe. And I like the line, he will stop at nothing to protect her, including uncovering his own bone chilling demon.

[B]

Ooh, I like bone chilling.

[A]

And a beautifully broken dark side that doesn't scare honors. So this might be for the dark romance girls. I don't know. I haven't read it. I'm gonna.

[B]

Okay. All right. I have one more January one which is into the woods by Jenny Holiday. I love a Jenny Holiday book. And in this one we have a dance instructor, a dancer who essentially has this like great like chill vibe gig at A summer camp where she's gonn and just, like, be outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Only downside is one of her fellow instructors is essentially a grumpy rock star whose band just broke up. And I don't know, probably there'll be s'mores. Maybe people will get sticky. This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by 1001 Dark Knights, publishers of Love Rekindled a Second Chance romance collection.

[A]

This is so cool. This is what I want from, like, every publisher. Okay, so the premise here is that they have five terrific second chance love stories and they have bundled them all up into a collection. So you just pay one time, you get five books. The deal is great, and you learn. You if you are a second chance romance lover, you are going to love this one because it's got books in a bunch of different, different subgenres. Alexander Ivy is writing here. Corinne Michaels, Kennedy Ryan's the Close up is in here, which is a crossover between the Hoops series and the Hollywood Renaissance series. Very cool. Sawyer Bennett, who you all know, I think is great, is writing a hockey. Has a hockey book in here, Rafe, where he gets transferred back to his hometown team and, like, the girl who got away is the heroine of that book. And then there's a Tessa Bailey novella in here too Rough Rhyth. So you're gonna spend basically nothing to get a big, big shot of joy on this one if you are a Second Chance romance lover and I'm jealous of you.

[B]

Okay, so if you are interested in checking out Love Rekindled, it is available in ebook and also will be available with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. It came out on January 14th, so you can just check it out right now. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to 1001 Dark Knights for sponsoring this week's episode.

[A]

So, everybody, we are. We are going to talk about historicals on a episode that is coming. So that is why we are not, like, doing a ton of historicals. But I do think it's important to talk about Jade Lee because I think Jade is one of the, like, she's great. She's just. She's terrific. So her book coming out January this week. January 16th. Look.

[B]

Look at us. Look at us.

[A]

Another one you can just snatch up right now is called the Duke's Guide to Fake Courtship. And basically, here it is. Declan, our hero, has inherited a dukedom, and he freaking hates it. Like, it being a duke is not not. He's not his. Not for him. So. But right now he is trying to. He's having to deal with like his cousin who's like after some like, inappropriate woman. And so she. So he decides he's gonna get in there and he's gonna stop this marriage. Except here's the problem. Once he meets Grace Richards, he discovers pretty quickly that like, there's the thing inappropriate or reprehensible about this woman at all. She's beautiful and she's feisty and he's into her all. The only problem is that she is the illegitimate daughter of an Earl. She needs an advantageous marriage to protect her sister's futures. He's a handsome duke. It all seems like it would work out perfectly fine. But he. He knows that he's gonna have to marry somebody of title and means and she needs to increase her popularity. So maybe they could like use each other to get what they want. Except obviously that never works that way.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

It always ends with them ending up together.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Anyway, this is a Harlequin historical, which means it is going to be a straight shot of just like bananas, perfect excitement from Jadeley. Okay.

[B]

I'm going to actually then add one more that's kind of related, which is the Bro Posal by Sonora Reyes. Is she's written some great YA books. I think this is her first adult romance. And this is these two, like best friends. They've been best friends forever. It's going to be a marriage of convenience because one of them needs a green card. And so I think that that is very. Going to be very relevant. I think that's like really topical and you know, I think it. I love the idea that they've just been friends for a really long time, but now there is something that's going to like, kind of like force them to be together. So that's the Bro Posal, which is also, by the way, a great title.

[A]

Yeah, it is. All right, now I'm officially in February.

[B]

Me too. I'm ready.

[A]

All right, I'm going to start with never gamble your heart, a new book by Lindsay Lovise, which is a historical. Listen, one of my very favorite setups here. The heroine's impulsive younger sister goes missing. She needs to find her. She is. There is a thread connecting a man who she might be getting married to to a exclusive gaming hell owned by one Jasper Jones. And. And it just so happens that he is the newly minted guardian of a 15 year old who needs a governess. So the heroine, Frankie, heads off to pose as a governess in his household and uncover what happened to her sister and what is happening to a number of girls who are going missing across London. I think this is gonna be very fun because. Because I love a hero who is a gaming hell owner. And also in the COVID copy, it says that he's like teaching people. She ends up teaching his ward how to count cards. And she's super into math and working on how to game the casino, which I like.

[B]

Okay. So I'm also going to do a bit of a forbidden Roman romance kind of. It's not historical, but it is a mafia romance with same energy. This is the Mafia King's Sister by P. Rayne. And everybody knows this is the dark romance kind of pen name for Piper Raine.

[A]

We love them.

[B]

And in this one, which is book three of the Mafia Academy series, there is basically like a Romeo and Juliet vibe to this one. So her name's Aria, his name's Gabriel. She is off limbs to him because she is like the younger sister of one of his enemies. And he has a darker side and he has to steer clear of this sweet girl. But he's got big mind feelings every time he sees her. And so he helps her one night and then it feels like they are just on, right? And so she is very drawn to the darkness in him and he is very drawn to. To her. So the Mafia King's Sister again, great title, IP Rain.

[A]

I like a book where a man steps in to help. And so I want to talk about Frenemies with Benefits by Sunithia Williams.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

We love her here at Fated Mates. We've talked about her books a lot. So here's the deal. Tracy Thompson has been through it. Her. Her soon to be ex's very public affair with her business partner has resulted in a shocking pregnancy on that side. A huge scandal. And she has been working really hard to make her bed and breakfast in this small town a success. But instead, instead of being like lauded for this great business, she's now everybody, all anybody wants to talk about is this scandal. So she's like, if everyone's going to talk, fine. You know what? Maybe I will have a little bit of scandal. I would really like it if I could have a little fun. And wouldn't you know, Jen, Brian Nelson, who owns the nursery, the plant nursery, who supplies her with like all her plants for special events, is like, I have been waiting. Put me in coach.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

So fresh out of his own bad relationship, Brian is ready to give Tracy everything she wants and more. And I'm looking forward to reading all about it. That is frenemies with benefits and it is out February 11th.

[B]

Okay. I am going to talk about one of my most anticipated reads which is Unloved by Peyton Corinne. I really, again, like reading those debuts has really come in clutch for me because I, you know, like this is. I read Unsteady and really loved it for the debate, the debut episode. So in this one we have Freddie who is a like, kind of like just like the wild man on the hockey team falling in love with his tutor, his newly assigned tutor and her name's Ro and she's the roommate of, of the heroine from the first book. And she's actually been wildly in love with Freddie since they had this amazing interaction like at a kind of a party where they were both drinking freshman year of college and he does not remember her. And then before this year starts their seniors in college. Now they have another kind of amazing night together where she's drunk and can't remember. So both of them have like these memories of each other. But I think the thing about these books is they are, are super angsty. Like if you are just like, I would like to wallow in these people's feelings, then these books by Peyton Corinne are for you. And this one is called Unloved and it comes out on February 4th.

[A]

I have had BK Borison's first time caller on my desk for months because I love the idea of this. This is like, really speaks to my love of like old Nora Ephron movies. So the premise is that the hero, Aiden is the host of Baltimore's like romance hotline where people call in. It's like a call in radio show and classic Sleepless in Seattle setup. A young girl calls into the station asking for dating advice for her mom. The interview goes viral and the mom who thought everything was totally fine realizes that like all of Baltimore now is deeply invested in her love life.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

So she and Aiden end up, you know, having to having interactions that bring them closer and closer. And so I think this is kind of a. And he doesn't believe. He doesn't believe in love. Like it sounds like exactly my kind of thing. So I'm looking, I'm really looking forward to reading it. I actually really like the COVID of this one where they're. They're not looking at each other, but they're connected by all these wires because of the phones. Nice. Anyway, I'm, I'm looking forward to that one. So that's BK Borison's first time Caller.

[B]

Okay. Kind of related, I guess, a little bit of a everybody's in your business vibe is from on screen and offline again by Caitlin Cross. Notably everybody. This is the first book that is coming into the romance space from essentially TikTok central. Right? So this is from their new press. And in this one, essentially we have childhood sweethearts Wilhelmina and Dax. So Will and Dax were on like a TV show together as kids. Their show got canceled. He went away to college, they broke up. Now they're in their 20s and Dax is about to get like, essentially into like a, you know, a hot new movie. But he. They can't find the right co star for him. So meanwhile, Will has been arrested at the only phone number she can remember is Dax's because who knows anybody's phone number anymore? So she calls him and he basically makes this deal like, I'll get you out, but you have to come and try out for this movie. So Dax and Will have a second chance romance from their childhood. We were like childhood stars on a show together. So that's On Screen and off again by Caitlin Cross.

[A]

Okay, I want to talk about Kimberly Lemming's new book.

[B]

Oh, me too.

[A]

Which is I Got abducted by Aliens and now I'm trapped in a rom com. Amazing.

[B]

What more do you need to know?

[A]

These books are so fun. I'm so excited. So this, this is the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf. Werewolf. This is the vibe that we're going for. Like a true rom com vibe. So the heroine of this book, Dory, is getting her PhD in wildlife biology. She is attacked by a lion and saved by aliens.

[B]

A plus.

[A]

I mean, what's saved is sort of like a in quotes because she's actually abducted by aliens. And so she and the lion, who she names Tota, so perfect, commandeer an escape pod on this alien ship and then crash land on an alien planet that has dinosaurs. They are saved in that moment in the nick of time by a sexy alien named Saul. And on their new adventure, they team up with an equally hot, equally sexy Locke who may or may not be an alien war criminal. They don't know what is going to happen, but the three of them and the lion are all working together at this point to survive on their new planet. And then I guess the big question is like, does Dory really want to go home to Earth because she's got these two hot aliens and a lion.

[B]

I mean, I think we know the answer to that, Sarah.

[A]

Two hot aliens and A lion in Jurassic Park.

[B]

I don't understand why this book isn't in my hot little hands right now.

[A]

I don't understand why this book is not, like, number one on the New York Times. Because it's not out yet. Because it's not out until 18th of February.

[B]

Okay, since we're kind of in fantasy land, I guess I'm gonna talk about Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgess. This is the first book in a series called the Queens of Villainy. And I'm actually. I don't think I need to know anything more.

[A]

Perfect.

[B]

And in this one, Queen Saskia is a wicked sorceress. Everyone fears her. She's taken throne from her evil uncle. And so basically she's just like, I'm busy. I have things to do. But she can't. Her library of magic is a mess, so she needs a librarian. And so a mysterious dark wizard arrives at her castle and she hires him on the spot. He's sweet and nerdy. His name is Fabian. You know, he's got all these crazy ideas, but he's getting the job done. But what she doesn't know, of course, is that he is in disguise. He really has no magical training whatsoever. And they, you know, everyone's on his trail. But, you know, luckily he knows a villainous queen, so I think it's gonna turn out okay for them. That's Wooing the Witch Queen.

[A]

Nice. So you said queen, so I'm gonna talk about historicals again. I want to talk about the Trouble with Anna, which is another debut coming out March 4th. Oh, shoot, I'm in March. But I'm gonna come back around to February.

[B]

Okay, fine.

[A]

I have one more for events February, but any. Anyway, like Rachel Griffiths, again, a debut historical, which is so exciting. This one I have read. It is so fun. I'm going to talk about it more later in. In the month or later this year, so I'm not going to get too deep into it. But basically, Lady Anna is the. The victim of a grandfather's will. Jen.

[B]

Oh, I love, love it.

[A]

So basically, her grandfather dies and the will stipulates that she has to marry or she'll be left penniless. And so she has nothing to do but find herself a man who will help her figure this out. And she goes head to head with Julian Ramsey, who is very hot. This is a book full of banter and kissing and fighting and kissing and quarreling and kissing. And it's gonna be a great ride for anybody who's looking for, like a really bright, sparkling Heroine who feels really modern and an arrogant lord who, like, you definitely just wanna watch, like, be brought to his knees. I love it. I'm super excited about Rachel, and I can't wait to read everything she writes.

[B]

Okay, I have a couple more February, so let me run through them, and then I have. Oh, you do? Oh, okay.

[A]

All right.

[B]

So that was just. That was a march. But it was.

[A]

It was an accidental.

[B]

It was an accidental march. You know what? I'm going to make sure that I put it in the march list, though. So when you guys. That might be out of order on the page. Page. But it'll be fine. Okay. I am going to talk about no Saint by Donna Alam. And in this one, I was very taken with this. So she's the wedding planner, and the bride essentially says that she needs a decoy at an upcoming wedding to, like, throw off the press. So she tells the wedding planner, like, essentially, like, I will give you a huge bonus. I will, you know, make sure that, like, the business. I will tell everybody how great your business is. You're just gonna basically, like, stand in and, like, we're gonna have this decoy wedding only. And the. The groom. The fake groom is going to be the best man only. What do you think happens when they wake up the next morning? It's been a real wedding. Their real names are on it, and so maybe their fake wedding has turned into a real one. And I just was like, that sounds like. I love it.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Right?

[A]

So I love it.

[B]

Right? No. Saint by Donna Alam.

[A]

Meagan Frampton has a new book out in February which is very exciting for everybody. So it's called the Devil's Charm. And it's book one in a new series of Megan's called Heirs and Spares.

[B]

Ooh, perfect. Perfect. I love it.

[A]

Love it. So, okay, Lucien Blackwood is the second son of the Duke of Waxford. And basically he takes his job as spare very seriously in that he is extraordinarily willing to basically cat around London and seduce any woman interested in being seduced, win at every card table, and just look perfect at every possible angle. What he does not expect is to be at a wedding and accidentally, accidentally meet and kiss a, like, incredibly compelling, beautiful woman. And what's even worse, or better is that he happens to meet and kiss this incredible woman who is the daughter of his father's longtime enemy. And now the two of them have to work together because they're very into each other to heal the rift between their father others. And then, you know, you Know, get it done to themselves.

[B]

I do know. Everyone I do know.

[A]

Yeah, it's exciting. Diantha is the heroine and she is initially very appalled she would find such a.

[B]

Yes, of course.

[A]

That she would allow herself to be such a sin, such a scandal by such a man. And then she's like, all right, cool. I may be into this.

[B]

Amazing. Okay, I am going to talk about the love. Lyric by Christina Forrest. In this one, Iris Green essentially fell in love with the love of her life, got married, had a baby and became a widow all in two years. And so now she's still a very young woman. She's raising her 6 year old by herself. She has a great job at a beauty company when one night she meets a very handsome pop singer, an R and B singer named Angel Hughes. He's super successful and he has just landed an ambassador, like a brand ambassador deal with her company. So they can't get together because it would be so unprofessional.

[A]

But so unethical.

[B]

So unethical. What is a beautiful R and B singer to do? So I hope he serenades the heck out of Iris because she deserves it. So this is the love lyric by Christina Forrest.

[A]

All right, I'm in March now.

[B]

Oh, can I just say I've. Okay, I have two more. One is. I just want to point out, we're always talking about hockey, hockey, hockey, my God. But we have a tennis romance coming out.

[A]

Oh, really?

[B]

Yes. It's called Breakpoint by Yara St. John. And in this one they are, listen, and I love this. This is essentially like a second chance at love. So Tegan Williams, essentially her whole entire tennis career collapsed. She like broke up in this, you know, essentially broke up with this man at the same time. But now it's however many years later and she's essentially competing in just like a country club tournament when her ex the spotlight, stealing almost love of her life, Dominic Fletcher shows up. And he is also going to be playing in this charity tournament. And so basically they are going to take out their like enmity and their differences on the court and off.

[A]

So amazing.

[B]

I mean, tennis romance. I just feel like that's amazing. And so I was really excited to see that. So that's Breakpoint by Yarrow St. John. And then I just want to shout out. We talked back in the over 40 episode. We talked about Losing Sight by Tati Richardson, which is I really love. It's where the woman gets a pair of essentially magical glasses so she can see people's auras and she falls in love with the optometrist, even though she also there's like all these other men who are kind of interested in her. And so she has to like really pick the right one with the help of these glasses. And another thing I really love about this book, and I'm not even sure I mentioned it, is that Tati has some like real good friends and they are always like, it has like big sex of the city or girlfriends vibes where she has like, I mean, all of the secondary characters in this book are just a real treat. So that one also comes out in February. That's Losing Sight by Tati Richardson. Okay, now we're in March. We are.

[A]

I'm gonna start with ya.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

For those of you looking for like a great YA for the yas in your life, why not try Take a Chance on Me by Elizabeth Uhlberg. Um, Liz. Evie, the main character of this one is heartbroken when a video of her confronting her cheating ex boyfriend goes viral. And so she has no choice but to flee to London for summer vacation where she loves everything. She's obsessed with all of the London of it all. Listen, that's fully relatable Evie. And she finds a she keeps sort of running into in these like classic meet cute moments, a charming and handsome British busker named Aiden. Cute. And she knows that she's going back to the States and like she really shouldn't. She really can't take a chance on him because he'll just break her heart too. But he's funny and he's kind and he doesn't care about all of the tick tock of it all. But it's one of these very cute like coming of age story. It's a, I mean I, I think Elizabeth's books are so fun for kids and I just know everybody's gonna love this one. So. And fun fact, Elizabeth herself took a chance on London and like up and left years ago to go and like just start a new life there. So I think it'll, it'll be really, I think this one's gonna hit.

[B]

Okay, I have a YA fantasy again from my friend Gabriella. It's called Rebel Witch and it is like sort of upper YA is how she marked it to me. And this is a witch witch hunter duology. So the first book came out and was called Heartless Hunter, but this is the big awaited sequel and this is by Kristin Ciccarelli. And so that one's called Rebel Witch. So if you're looking for like YA Romantasy, then you might want to Check out Rebel Witch or this duology.

[A]

I'm staying in London for a moment.

[B]

You should.

[A]

If I may. Please. I want to talk about A Gentleman's Gentleman by T.J. alexander. This is a historical. This one is about. It's. Mm. Historical. And the notoriously eccentric Lord Christopher Eden has a bunch of sort of unusual habits. He lives far from the prying eyes of the tall and he would. He has like. He lives with his like, cook and his butler and a bunch of servants and. But his lonely life is upended when he receives word that according to the will, he must find a wife by the end of the season. Of course, we have a problem because Christopher is not attracted to women. And the chances of him being able to have a happy marriage are none. Enter James Harding, his new distractingly handsome valet. And the two of them have struck up a fragile kind of friendship. And they are. They have clear feelings for each other and there's a kind of like back and forth damp dance between them that is doomed. Right? I mean, Christopher has to marry and they are keeping secrets. And this is a very kind of slow burn. Really, like, it's going to. I think this one will be a really, like, beautiful book that is going to be remembered for a long time.

[B]

Okay, you said England, but how about Nova Scotia? They're basically the same.

[A]

They're, I mean, six of one. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

The shots you take by Rachel Reed. Everyone loves a Rachel Reed book. So this is two ex teammates and former best friends with benefits Riley Tuck and Adam Shepherd. And essentially what happens is they, Riley had sort of has like left hockey and his broken heart behind him. But then Adam essentially shows up in his. This tiny town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, kind of hoping that maybe he can win Riley back. Unfortunately, he is a huge hockey star. And so everyone in town is like, knows exactly who they are and what's going on. And so they're gonna have to like, there's like a second chance. Romance, Hockey romance. So that's the shots you take by Rachel Reed.

[A]

Okay, I'm gonna go from sports to celebrity because, you know, sure, why not that I want to talk about. One in a Million by Beverly Kendall. So the, our main. Our sort of main character Whitney is a like, huge celebrity. She has four Grammys. She has an Oscar. She's got a billion dollar clothing line. Her career is just like off the charts and everything seems to be going like, okay, she has a plan, she's sticking to it. She's going to become a superstar. And then in a few years, she's going to settle down. She's going to marry somebody. She's going to have kids. Like, everything is organized. She freezes her eggs in order to ensure that this is what, this will go as planned. Like, nobody is getting in the mix here. Except somebody is getting in the mix. There is a mix up at the fertility clinic where her eggs are stored. And then, oops. Turns out Whitney suddenly has a daughter whose biological father is very reluctant to share her. And so she ends up being a mom before she is ready. And she and the biological dad are gonna have to figure it out. So this one is for. I think what's interesting about this one is it's like a real modern twist on secret baby.

[B]

Like, that's a great way of putting it.

[A]

Right? Because we have talked so much about secret baby being tricky now because, like, I mean, in an age of bodily autonomy. But, like, what happens when, like, secret.

[B]

Baby, literal mix up. Yeah.

[A]

The person with the eggs doesn't. Yeah, like, didn't. Didn't get a chance. That is one in a million by Beverly Kendall.

[B]

Okay, so you said celebrity, so I'm going to talk about. And they had a great fall by Shelby Seville. And this one, essentially during the pandemic, Jake, Lauren and Kat Green had a secret, like, casual affair. Right. Because no one was around to know. Right. They just were able to hide away and do it. Right. He. Jake is a really promising young actor and a rising celebrity. And Kat is a single mother who essentially is, like, really experienced a lot of career success but feels like everything is being held together with, like, string and paper clips. Right. So they are reunited in Copenhagen, the city of fairy tales, but only neither one of them, really. It's going to be a fairy tale because once the. Is the press gonna get wind of what's going on between them, like, it's really impossible for them to hide. And so Jake essentially has to decide if he's gonna help Kat keep her family safe, even if it is at the expense of his own fame. So that's. And they had a great fall by Shelby Seville.

[A]

All right, I want to talk about Ali Rosen's unlikely story, which is out March 1st. So I really loved Ali's first book, Recipe for Second Chances. And so I'm excited about this one. This is Nora. The heroine is a relationship therapist, and she is in love with a man she has never met. So amazing. She writes an anonymous. She writes an anonymous advice column, and her editor is in London. London. And she's in New York. They only communicate through shared, like Documents. And when he confides that his girlfriend is out of the picture and asks her to come to London, Nora goes. But at the same time, a client's ex boyfriend has moved into her co op directly beneath her. And he is pretty pissed at her because he's like, you're the reason why my girlfriend broke up with me. And he is trying to make her life miserable. So Nora, like in New York has this man who like, she really can't stand but is starting to. She's starting to warm to him. And then she's got this like mysterious like London beau and she has to make some choices I love. So I expect that this one will read like a little more like a commercial novel, but like a roman, Like a piece of romantic fiction. But I am very excited. I love the idea of it.

[B]

Perfect. Okay, I'm going to talk about Fan Service by Rosie Dannon. Similar, which is. Devin is like a Fox molder type. Like he was the star of like a really popular like paranormal TV series. And he in, on the TV series he was like a werewolf FBI agent. And in the book, Devin, who is like a washed up actor now, and everyone thinks he's kind of pathetic because he just has never been able to have a hit like that again. And he's like trying to like kind of make it come back, actually literally transforms into a werewolf, but he's kind of a himbo and he doesn't know what to do about it. So he does a bunch of Internet research and ends up reaching out inadvertently to the woman who used to run his fan club online, asking for help. And she realizes that like he thinks she actually knows stuff about werewolves.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

And so she, he comes to her small town in Florida and like kind of through like, and she just thinks it's, you know, she's like, what is going on? It just is all like this totally over the top look at like fandom. And then like, what would happen if the paranormal, like world of your. Of your show in his case and of the fandom she loved in hers actually came true? So that's Fan Service by Rosie Dannon.

[A]

I want to talk about this. I don't even know. I'm very, I'm very into the idea of this book. This is actually. I downloaded this today and I think this is the book I'm gonna read tonight. I wanna talk about the Big Fix by Holly James. So this is billed as a romantic action adventure and everybody knows that. That's all I need to sign me up. Right? It's beautiful. People blowing things up. So, all right, Penny Collins, our hair, is at an antique estate sale at like her neighbor's house that her sister has sort of forced her to go to because, like, why not, right? So she's rummaging through these like, antiques. She gets into an argument with about candlesticks with the owner, the dead owner's nephew Anthony. And then surprise, surprise, a dead body tumbles out of the closet in the room that they are in. So she had this big plan. Like, Penny is like a very buttoned up, like, organized person. Like, she had a plan to finalize tenure at the university where she is a computer science professor and like get her job in order and live her like very normal life. But instead she's suddenly like on the run with Anthony who. And they're like scaling walls and evading henchmen and like stabbing people and like the wrong people have got it in their heads that she's Anthony's girlfriend and in possession of like some like, mysterious thing. And they, she suddenly like, she is in danger, girl.

[B]

And what.

[A]

As for Anthony, he is a fixer. He has, he has like this top secret job nobody knows about and a recent fix dane recently went awry. And now this poor woman is in danger because of him. And so he is, he feels very responsible for her safety. So they are dodging a ruthless billionaire. Listen, I love it. The FBI and who knows what other people, but the two of them end up having to work together. And I really love the idea of like a computer science professor and a hot fixer on the lam.

[B]

I love it. Okay, in a similar vein then I'm going to talk about Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley. And in this one we have a bit of a marriage in trouble. And so Jane and Dan are like been married for 19 years. Will they make it to 20? She thinks no, she's ready to ask for a divorce. She's pretty sure her husband is that Dan's may be cheating on her. She had one published novel, but it sold, sold like 500 copies. Which, you know, they say like, you know, you're lucky if you sell that many. But you know, she heard their teenagers are jerks. Whatever. So they're out to dinner and she's like, I'm gonna ask him for a divorce tonight at dinner when all of a sudden a climate active, like an a climate activist group comes in and holds everybody hostage. But the thing that's really weird is that all of the things that they are doing are the things that came Right out of the pages of her book. And so she and Dan are the only people who. And by the way, she's always thought, she always thought Dan never read the book, but he's like, yeah, this is just like your book. And so they are the only people who probably know what's gonna happen next. And so they're gonna like, essentially like work together to stop. Isn't that a great premise? Yeah. So that is Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colle Oakley.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

Yeah, I love it.

[A]

That's cool. Okay, so let's talk about other people who are caught in, in a situation and need to think fast. I want to talk about A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley, which comes out March 25th. And Scarlett Wilcox, the heroine, is very, very happy to be a spinster because it means that she, she does a ton of medical research and she just wants to be left alone. She's like always sneaking into lectures at the Royal Academy of Science. She has to masquerade as a man in order to do that. And she knows that, like, if she gets caught, she's. It's a, it's a big scandal for her, for her sisters and for her older sister and her family. She sneaks into a lecture on ophthalmology and then is unmaske at this lecture, see ophthalmology. They see her for what she is and she's like fully prepared to be disgraced. But then she's saved by Trinidadian born physician Steven Carew, who claims her as his cousin. And then so she has that. Then like, these two are sort of like stuck together. He of course, has no interest in marrying like a frivolous, like, privileged woman like her, no matter how charming she might be or how brilliant she might be. And the two of them pretty much like they are so into each other that like everybody in this whole book is basically like, you have no choice, like you're going to have to marry each other. And the two of them are of course very nervous about committing to a marriage, especially Scarlet, because she has plans. But I think Stephen's gonna let her, you know, traipse around, go to, go to Royal Academy meetings. So that is a Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley.

[B]

I'm going to talk about A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher. And in this one, Doreen McKinnon is doomed to die of a broken heart. She is one of the most, the most powerful witch, right, like in centuries in her witchy family. But centuries ago, a another Witch. A warlock, I guess. I don't know. A powerful male witch named Ambrose fell in love with one of her ancestors and then put. And he was, like, sort of spurned by this woman. And so he put a curse on the whole family that future generations will never find love. But now Ambrose is still alive because he's a witch, and so he has been imprisoned by themselves. No, listen.

[A]

No.

[B]

Doreen is, like, the 13th of the generation, and she's like, ambrose, you gotta help me break the curse that you, in fact, put on me. So essentially, of course, he's like, sure, I'll help you. But my real plan, of course, is vengeance, right? And so, you know, but I just thought that was really, like, again, like a really clever, like, sort of trope. Like, my family's been cursed, but the guy who cursed me is still alive because he's a witch. So we're gonna go. I'm gonna have them. They're gonna work together, or are they? To break the curse, maybe fall in love? So that's a Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher.

[A]

The next book in the Damsels of Discovery series by Elizabeth Everett is out in March. March 25th. This one sounds really good.

[B]

It's the title.

[A]

I knew you were going to ask me that.

[B]

I'm sorry. People want to know.

[A]

People need the titles for both.

[B]

They do. I'm sorry to report.

[A]

The lady sparks a flame. A great title. Okay, so Lady Phoebe Hunt has been exiled to America. And listen, she made some bad decisions and her family was like, get the out. You're going to America. Where people who make bad decisions go. I mean, listen, we're living it. But her father dies and he has a bunch of debt, and she has no choice but to go home to England. Go back to England and settle his estate. She's all that's left once she does it. She's going back to America because there is nothing for her in England. Here's the problem. She. Sam Fenley is like a classic romance hero. He was. He was a shop boy and then became a very wealthy man. And the problem is, is that Sam can't. He's only been able to travel so far, like, get high, get to a certain level, because he doesn't have a title. So there are all sorts of places that he can't go and people he can't meet with and things he can't do because he doesn't have a title. He needs a title. He needs an estate. And he is willing to pay Phoebe basically to, like, buy the estate from her and like, give her everything she needs to go back to, to America. The problem is, is that she thinks this is great. But once the plan is in motion, some threats from the past turn up on Phoebe's doorstep and the two of them kind of have to work together and save her from what's to come. It's gonna be. I mean, I think this will be really interesting. This will be a great historic, historical, a real, like classic historical setup where neither of them are expecting what they end up getting and both of them get exactly what they need. So that is the lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Evans.

[B]

Okay, I'm going to talk about a sci fi romance, not romantasy.

[A]

And I love sci fi. I don't.

[B]

Sometimes I'm like, why aren't these books in my mailbox? I just don't understand. Sometimes I'm so dumb.

[A]

Okay, everybody, please send us these books.

[B]

Please, please.

[A]

We would like these books.

[B]

I want these books. Okay, so this book is called Chaos by Constance Fay. And it is the third book. Hello, Who? No one told me about. One and two of the Uncharted Heart series. And in this one, listen, here's really all you need to know. It is a space romance between a space mercenary and a super soldier.

[A]

Sold.

[B]

His mind control breaks when she touches him.

[A]

Sold.

[B]

I, I bray.

[A]

I mean, mind control breaks when she touches him is like all I want. Yes, he is poisoned to everyone but her.

[B]

Thank you. I, I just. So that's it, right?

[A]

Why are all books.

[B]

He has a chip in his head that turns him into a mindless killer, but then when she touches him, the chip becomes.

[A]

Yeah, listen, I can't even. She can. She's. She's the savior of the universe. There are about a million chips. I would like to become a nerd right now.

[B]

And like, the COVID of this is so cute. It's like two little people in their little space suits. Like it's a spacesuit clinch. Again, I like.

[A]

Wait, I want to read the first two of these.

[B]

I want to read all of them. Bramble. Hello. Don't you love us?

[A]

Tell us. Wait, what's the name of this book?

[B]

Okay, the book is called Chaos by Constance Fay and it is the Uncharted Hearts series. It's book three, so I feel very invested in this. And I'm definitely going to check out the first two as well. So a straight sci fi romance. Sign me up. What do you got?

[A]

Okay, and this is my last one. Denise Williams is Just our luck out March 25th. So, Sybil, sweet is really down on her luck. She is pretty directionally. Her family thinks she's kind of a mess. She fears she is actually a mess. But all she really needs at this point is a little financial stability and carbs. And so she decides that she's going to buy herself two things. She's going to buy herself a lottery ticket and a donut.

[B]

And I'm not mad about it.

[A]

Very relatable. So, so she does just that. She, she, she, she goes, she buys herself lottery tickets. She heads into the donut shop where a very dreamy Kieran Anderson, who had big dreams of his own but ended up working in his family's bakery, is running the donut shop in the evening. Um, he is tired, he is broke and he is struggling. This donut shop is struggling. Um, but he and Sybil have a little like flirty time and she, they have a one night stand and then she runs out. But she leaves her lottery ticket behind, Jen, because nobody actually wins the lottery, of course. Except she wins the lottery and Kieran is like, oh shit, this lady left a winning lottery ticket here. And because he's a stand up guy, he start, he tries to find her and what looks like a hugely romantic gesture goes immediately Internet vibe spiral. Sales at the donut shop go through the roof. The donut shop becomes like completely incredibly popular. And all he really wants to do is find this woman so amazing. He does. I know.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So cute. What a cute me cute.

[B]

I love it. That is a really cute me cute. Okay. I have a second chance romance called something cheeky from Tien Kim Lam. And in this one we have Zoe Tran living her best. She designs plus size lingerie at her own boutique. So she has experienced a lot of success in D.C. when her college best friend Derek reenters her life and essentially offers her like her dream job which is to be the costume designer for a show that he is putting on at a local theater. It's super high stakes though because it is essentially a Cinderella retelling that has the first all Asian cast. And so if it's a hit, essentially they will be on, you know, like the train to Broadway. Okay. And so when they were back in college, Zoe ever only saw Derek as a friend, but he's been in love with her all along. And so he has come to her hoping not only to have her obviously amazing skilled talents for his production, but also to finally convince her that he is the one for her. So that's something cheeky.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

You do have one more to talk about, which Is that Sarah Rash book with the St. Patrick's Day guy? You know, Sarah, you know how you like the one? The Christmas. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Wait, is that out?

[A]

Is the second one.

[B]

It comes out in March. It's called Go.

[A]

What? Of course it does. Because he's St. Patrick's Day. Oh, my God.

[B]

I've been waiting the whole time in.

[A]

March for you to talk about. Wait, how do I. How do I spell her last name?

[B]

It's called Go luck yourself, Sarah Go.

[A]

Of course it is. Oh, my gosh, you guys, I'm so excited. How do I.

[B]

How do.

[A]

Listen, here's my other thing. Bramble. Where's my book?

[B]

Bramble? We don't you know about us?

[A]

Have you not heard of us, Bramble? Oh, my God. Did you see it has green sprayed edges. The Christmas one had red ones. If you care about that kind of thing. Oh, my God. You. You guys.

[B]

All right, so I've been waiting the whole time. I was like, wait, I don't have any more.

[A]

Here's what you don't know, because when I. All right, so the premise of the Christmas one involved.

[B]

I'm so excited.

[A]

The premise of the Christmas one involved, like, the. The hero and heroine of the Christmas one. She was, you know, she was Christmas and he was Halloween.

[B]

Wait, wasn't it male mail?

[A]

I'm sorry. Yes, he was Christmas and. Sorry. He was Christmas and. And. And the other one was Halloween, but there was a sister who was like, the married. She was supposed to. She was the Princess of Easter. Sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't prepared. She was the Princess of Easter, and he was the. And, you know, whatever. There was a brother, like, basically. And there was this sort of question of, like, the brother, the Christmas brother, and the Princess of Easter were going, like, how to kind of thing. Except by the end, it was clear that that wasn't the case. Chris, who is the second brother of Christmas. Cole was the hero of the last book, but now there is Chris. Their dad is, like, having a crisis in the Caribbean. Cole is handling, like, all of Christmas. And Chris, something has happened. And, like, somebody is stealing the joy from Christmas. And there is only. There is a.

[B]

A.

[A]

A single clue. Jen.

[B]

Is it a shamrock? A shamrock? Or does someone dye the Chicago river green?

[A]

No, no, they don't do that. So Chris is like, Fuck Shamrocks. Fuck St. Patrick's Day. I'm gonna go check the. I'm gonna go give St. Patrick's Day people a piece of my mind. So. But instead of like. So he decides he's gonna go undercover to St. Patrick's Day. He's going to pretend he's an ambassador from Christmas to foster goodwill, but he's actually just going to go down there and like fuck some people up.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Except when he gets down there, The Prince of St. Patrick's Day turns out to be a guy he knew back at Cambridge and that they like, basically. So he's had, he's been like rivaling with this St. Patrick's Day guy for a long time except. And he hates him. He's terrible. He's so infuriating. He's stubborn, he's loud, he's obstinate, he's super duper hot. And then he realizes, oh, I'm in. I'm in it now because I think St Patrick's Day is hot and they are the enemy.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

Christmas versus St. Patrick's Day, I love it. Is what we are into now. And I am immediately going to get this.

[B]

See, I was totally like, wait, why hasn't Sarah talked about this?

[A]

I didn't know. I didn't know.

[B]

See, this is what happens. Discovery, discoverability, goes all the ways. Okay, I have one more then. So it's perfect.

[A]

You're my discoverability.

[B]

I was like that. St Patrick's Day romance is coming. Okay, in code word romance by Carly Walker, Max is just your average girl. She has, you know, your average amount of soul crushing debt, but she is also a dead ringer for Europe's youngest female prime minister. But someone's trying to assassinate this prime minister, of course. And so the CIA, CIA now approaches Max and basically is like, we're going to give you a bunch of money to pretend to be her right to essentially be again her decoy. On and on the the Prime Minister's annual Italian vacation. So essentially, Max is going to get a free trip to the Amalfi coast. Only problem, of course, is that she'll be beset upon by assassins. Reasons. But Flynn, her CIA handler, is super hot. Now, do I have questions about why the CIA is involved with the Prime Minister? I do. But also why. Romance reasons, I'm sure.

[A]

Do you have questions about why Christmas and St Patrick's Day are rivals?

[B]

Come on, you just have to go with it, everybody.

[A]

And so romance reasons.

[B]

Romance reasons. So Flynn, it turns out, has an unexpected history with Max and he has been ordered by the CIA to stay in Max's suite to protect her.

[A]

Oh boy.

[B]

There might be more than one bed in that suite, but I bet they will only use one of them. And that is code word Romance by Carly Walker.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

Love it. That's it, everybody. January, February, March, merch. You're not gonna have time to do anything else.

[A]

But I know. And we left out, like, I left out a number of books that I know I'm talking about in other.

[B]

Yeah, no, same. Yeah.

[A]

So, I mean, you're welcome, everybody, I guess. But listen, we need discoverability buddies too. So this goes. It does go both ways. This.

[B]

So fill out our Google form and tell us. Tell us what else? And you know what. And so anything that's coming out this year that you're excited, excited about, either because you wrote it or because you want to read it and you're waiting for it. And hopefully we can get at our next couple of episodes, have more indie self club romance. That's the goal. But listen, there's always great books coming out. We just have to, like, know where to look for them.

[A]

I love it. I'm so excited for so many books coming up. These are my favorite episodes because they really, like, give me an opportunity to really, like, sit down and think, all right, what am I going to read?

[B]

I'm so excited about all of them and also so angry I don't have this stack of books on my plate.

[A]

I know. Also, don't forget, everybody, that if you're. If you're a debut author and this is on the list, if there you can tick a box that says I am a debut author, please do so that we can give you extra love. And that's that for today. I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Prokop. We are fated mates. You can find us every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. We. You can also find our extensive show notes. This week it's just going to be just pages and pages of authors and [e-mail] just click on show notes and you'll get all the information there. Don't forget to fill out the form when you're there. Also, you can find us online at Bluesky, Threads and Instagram. Though, honestly, with social media, who knows, evolving, who the hell knows where we are at any given point in time? We're here and we're on our discord every Wednesday we are. And if you want to hang out with us, which of course you do, we're fun. You can do that on our discord on the listener Discord, which you can access by joining our Patreon for a small amount every month. You get an extra episode every month and also daily 24 hour, 7 day a week. 365 day a year access to the brilliant minds on the fade of Maze Discord. They know way more about romance than we do and they will answer all of your questions immediately. Late. You can do that@faded maids.net Patreon Other.

[B]

Than that, Sarah, I have just one more thing to say, which is like my rough and dirty note taking tells me.

[A]

We talked about rough and rough and dirty. 55.

[B]

We talked about 55 books on today's episode. I think so. You're welcome.

[A]

Listen, there's something there for everybody. We apologize if we missed your book. We'll get to it. I hope. Take care.