← Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
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- [00:00]
A
I read this article the other day, and I said something to Eric about it on the street, and he laughed at me. But, like, according to the squirrels, it's going to be a snowy winter. Well, and he went, I'm sorry, what.
- [00:13]
B
Are they collecting more acorns?
- [00:14]
A
And now listen. Okay, wait. I have a bone to pick with my husband.
- [00:18]
B
Wait, should we introduce ourselves before we start picking? Before.
- [00:21]
A
Okay. My husband, who is also sometimes everybody. He is also the producer of this podcast, and sometimes I just leave him notes. This way I air my grievances here.
- [00:32]
B
He's like, oh, boy. Okay.
- [00:35]
A
Welcome, everyone, to Faded Mates. I'm Sarah maclean. I read romance novels and I write them.
- [00:40]
B
And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor.
- [00:44]
A
And here's the thing. So we. What was I talking about? Squirrels.
- [00:47]
B
Squirrels.
- [00:48]
A
The squirrels, the winter. Okay, here's the thing. So I think it feels like I've talked on the podcast about this whole. I did write a very long newsletter last week, and I took. Talked about it in there too.
- [01:01]
B
But, like, oh, I enjoyed reading that.
- [01:03]
A
I actually was very long. Longer than. See, that's. I should have put all his words into a book, but instead I got a newsletter. Anyway. I really feel like social media is ruining my life. Like, I feel like everybody's life. I feel like when I am doom scrolling on Instagram, which I am, like, I. I fully understand, like, the. I get the dopamine hit. I am, like, addicted to Instagram to, like, the squirrel.
- [01:29]
B
I feel like I have questions about that. But you keep going, and it's fine because I. I get so bored on Instagram that I leave within.
- [01:37]
A
You have to scroll on something else on Blue sky or whatever.
- [01:40]
B
I guess I like to scroll people reading things. I don't like to scroll looking at things.
- [01:44]
A
Yeah. I mean, I think that's the problem. Right. And I think your brain is probably wrinklier because of. Than mine is these days.
- [01:52]
B
So.
- [01:52]
A
And I just. Just. I do feel like. I just feel like when I'm doing it, like, I could lose. I can lose an hour just y scrolling on Instagram. And I have my phone set to, like, tell me when I've been on Instagram for an hour so that, like, I can stop and I just ignore it. Right. And I know that it's bad and I. It's awful. And I'm sure some of the people listening right now have totally been in this. Are in this scenario.
- [02:20]
B
Yeah.
- [02:20]
A
So here's the bone I have to pick, which is three days ago, I was on Threads and my phone went black. And then a message came up. It said, you have reached your time limit on threads. And to get to it, I had to put in a password. And I was like, what the fuck is happening? And then I went to Instagram and it was like, you have reached your time limit on Instagram. Cause they're owned by the same company.
- [02:54]
B
That's. Yeah, of course.
- [02:55]
A
And I was. And I went to Eric and I was like, what the fuck is this? And he was like, no, you have 45 minutes a day.
- [03:03]
B
And, like, you need to use that time wisely.
- [03:06]
A
And I was like, on the one hand, I object. Like, on. It feels like anti feminist.
- [03:14]
B
A radical interpretation of the text there. But okay, I'll allow it. Feelings are feelings.
- [03:19]
A
And then I was like, on the other hand, this is probably, like, what I do. Like, this is like the close we're gonna get to an intervention and rehab. Like, I'm sort of slowly weaning myself off of the drug. And, you know, I laugh, but, like, you read all these articles and it is a drug. It is designed to fire the neurons in your brain that, like, opiates fire. And I feel it, and so I hate it. And so my point is related to squirrels. So now that I only have this 45 minutes, I have to. I can't just be like, doom scrolling. And I will say I'm not doing. It's.
- [04:01]
B
I'm not.
- [04:02]
A
I'm not even doom scrolling, like, political stuff. I'm doom scrolling, like, watch this lady paint a dog. You know, watch, you know, watch this attractive man like, talk to you about cooking. You know, like, it's very sort of.
- [04:16]
B
Oh, you're in, like, the video section. Yeah.
- [04:18]
A
My algorithm is, like, fine. It's not, you know, terrifying, but it is still smoothing out my brain. Anyway, so instead of that, I've had to find other things to do, including reading, you know, articles. And apparently because of the way the squirrels are right now.
- [04:38]
B
The squirrels got the memo.
- [04:40]
A
But so basically, like, what the fuck are you talking about with squirrels? And I was like, listen, this is your fault that I now know about the squirrels and winter. But I did read an article, and according to the squirrels, it's gonna be snowy.
- [04:53]
B
Yeah. All right.
- [04:54]
A
Well, so far, because of their tails or something like. Or the way that they're hoarding. I don't know. I can't remember. I think maybe both. But, like, the. The Farmer's Almanac people are like, well.
- [05:06]
B
And so many people are scrolling. The Farmers Almanac is shutting down. So is it really? Yeah.
- [05:12]
A
Oh, that's so sad. Well, Benjamin Franklin would be sad.
- [05:18]
B
Well, he's dead, Sarah, so I don't know what to tell you about that.
- [05:21]
A
It's basically, this is. We're in this because of Benjamin Franklin.
- [05:24]
B
It's all his fault.
- [05:25]
A
I mean, key in the kite or whatever, fine. Electricity, fine. But, like, couldn't have written a better document. I'm just saying.
- [05:34]
B
Yeah, I don't know. I don't. I will say, I think my. My scrolling has been. I don't have any of it on my phone. I guess I used to scroll on Twitter, but once I got off Twitter, I would say that my scrolling days were really over. Sometimes I'll scroll if I'm on a computer, but I don't think it's the same as when I'm on my phone.
- [05:55]
A
But right now, when I got onto Twitter yesterday. Not Twitter threads yesterday, for my allotted 45 minutes, heated rivalry discourse, which basically seems to be. Let those two boys smash.
- [06:09]
B
Now, I'm not a big TV watcher. In fact, everyone knows this because I. I don't know everybody.
- [06:14]
A
I don't.
- [06:15]
B
I watch, like, one show a year. Although this year I watched two. I watched Reacher and I watched Murderbot, so that's two. And then Little Romance has been home. And sometimes we'll hang out and we'll watch, like, Criminal Minds, but I feel like that's mostly because I want to hang out with my kid before he moves to la.
- [06:31]
A
That's like jellyfish in an ocean washing.
- [06:33]
B
Exactly. But I don't even. That I don't ever really do.
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A
And it's because he's home.
- [06:38]
B
So anyway, I was like, I don't know if I can commit to watching a third show in one year. I'm sorry, that must be too much. And I have, like, one hour of watching in me, like, a week.
- [06:48]
A
And for what it's worth, and with love to everybody who's ever had a romance adaptation. But sometimes these shows, like, if you love romance, they just don't hit, right?
- [06:58]
B
This one sounds like it hits. So I did watch the first episode. I did. I did. I was very proud of myself. I mean, you guys, I'm sorry, I know all of you are like, she's being such an asshole right now. But, like, when you don't watch tv, like, watching TV is just so much work. You have to, like, I don't know, hbo.
- [07:15]
A
Max, please.
- [07:16]
B
Okay, anyway, so I did watch the first episode, and I will tell you, it's great. First of all, they did a great job Casting these two. I mean, they're really, like, handsome and young, but the acting's great.
- [07:27]
A
Well, it's Canadian.
- [07:29]
B
Listen, this guy who plays Ilia has, I swear to God, the best ass I've ever seen on tv. So you guys remember there's an old movie, the Wedding Date with.
- [07:39]
A
Yeah. Dylan McDermott.
- [07:41]
B
Yes. And he walks into something and, like, one of the bridesmaids says, like, look at those buns. Fresh from the bakery. Remember that? Okay, I don't know if you remember that, but I remember that because it always made me laugh. And that is literally. It was literally me watching this. I was like, oh, look at that ass.
- [07:56]
A
All right.
- [07:58]
B
Okay. Despite my admiring that man's butt, I feel like I really tune into faces. And so there is a great scene in the first episode where they, like, hook up for the first time, and Shane is the one who's, like, far more, like, sort of emotionally locked down. Ilia's, like, really kind of more comfortable with who he is. So they hook up for the first time, and basically it's just like blowjobs. And then Ilya, like, leaves, and there's this really great moment. Actor who plays Shane is, like, sort of sitting in bed, and he, like, can't even look at Ilya when he leaves, Ilya's like, goodbye.
- [08:34]
A
You know what I mean?
- [08:35]
B
And then Shane's like, bye, or whatever. It's, like, so awkward. This poor kid. And then he leaves, and they just, like, really linger on his face. It's a real classic romance moment because you can see every single thought on his face. Like, the. Like, oh, shit, what did I do? But, oh, it was so great, and it felt so good, and it was so sexy and fun, and I really. At that moment, I think that's when I was really, like, all in. In for me that I was like, I watched one episode and intend to watch the second one.
- [09:10]
A
Nice.
- [09:10]
B
You know what I mean? So I was really. I think it's. I actually think they're. They're doing a great job. It feels like there's fidelity to the. To the source material, which I. I will also say I don't hugely care about, in that I really am. Like, it is a new product. It's gonna be different. But it feels like they really care about the way the book portrays these two young people, which is, like. Right. Like, we don't have any other way of being together, but in these hotel rooms when we are lucky enough to be in the same town. And sometimes that's gonna work, and sometimes it's not. Yeah. So anyway, I really, I was really impressed. I thought it was great and I can really see why people are so jazzed up about it because it's like really? And it's hot. I was like, God damn. But I also think like that's how the book is like. Okay, I don't know what this says about me but one of my favorite like long running stories is every Olympics how they tell everybody how many condoms they stocked in the Olympic village. Have you ever read these stories? Stories?
- [10:18]
A
It comes up every time we do an Olympic episode which is probably coming on in February. Everyone.
- [10:22]
B
Yeah. And I. And that's like kind of like what it made me think of. Like here are two like athletes at the top of their game who are like, what else can our bodies do this? You know what I mean? Anyway, so it was great. If you have not had a chance to watch it yet, you definitely, you definitely should it feel. Like I said, it feels sexy and horny and fun. But that moment where we see Shane's face is where it felt romancy.
- [10:52]
A
I don't know anything about the production of this but everything that I have heard and read about it is suggests that it was optioned by somebody who really loves the books.
- [11:04]
B
Yeah.
- [11:04]
A
And care. I mean like. And the truth is is that if you have your project optioned by somebody who loves your book, it is going to just be a better, a better production. I think because it's gonna be from some. And listen, I'm sure everybody who has ever optioned a project has been like, I love this book. But there's a difference between I love this book and like, oh my God, I must have this book.
- [11:36]
B
Well and you know, I guess I would also say I think part of the reason I feel the way I feel about it, it's very different. Like you're a writer, right. And I'm just a reader and a viewer. But my sister in law writes for and I will never forget something she said to me once which was, you know, really great books can make boring TV shows and bad books can make great TV shows. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In the hands of the right production team and showrunner. Right. They're going to make the best TV show. Yep. And I think that's like a. To me, I don't feel any sort of way. I mean, I guess if it didn't end in an hea, I'd be pissed. Right. But even then, frankly I'm not sure. Like TV is just different. So it's. It was great though. Like I said this scene where, like, I said Shane's face, I was like, now I. This. That was the moment that I really was like, this. This is a romance, this moment. Right. So it was awesome. So, yeah, check it out, everybody.
- [12:36]
A
Well, it's also sort of like Christmas for romance adaptations this week because today savvy Sheldon feels good as hell. Which is a romance by Taj McCoy.
- [12:47]
B
Oh.
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A
Is out as a TV show on the CW.
- [12:54]
B
Oh, really? See, I didn't even know. As a TV watcher.
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A
I'm sorry. It's not a TV show. It's a movie.
- [12:59]
B
Oh, fun.
- [13:00]
A
But, you know, so that's exciting. That's something to watch too, if you love a romance. And Amber Riley is the lead in it, and she's great. And so, I mean. And then I think, what else? We had the bird watching movie, which was a remake of a remake. An adaptation of Birding with benefits. And then Mason Deaver's I wish you all the best is out too, which I think is ya.
- [13:32]
B
I think they just wrote their first, like, adult romance was the Build a boyfriend project. So, yeah, I do think we are sort of in an age where there's gonna be more of more of these. And I think this is, again, why, like, if you're invested in them, like, keep watching them, you know, like, find those authors and buy those books. I mean, it's really interesting, of course, too, like, coming to these as, like, a romance fan and knowing the source material versus people who haven't read the books or don't know anything about the genre of romance. And so I think that's the other thing. Like, I try not to. I try not to fight with people, but I also sometimes fight with people, and that's just the way I am.
- [14:15]
A
I will say also, the word on the street is that people we meet on vacation, which comes out in January, is tremendously good.
- [14:21]
B
Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot about that.
- [14:23]
A
I think. I think some people have seen it already and it. Not me. Everyone. Nobody cares about what I think, but apparently it's great.
- [14:33]
B
We'll see. There you go. So.
- [14:35]
A
And that feels like it'll be right because everybody loves Emily. And also that book, that was written by Yulin Kuang and she is also a romance novelist, so.
- [14:45]
B
So there you go.
- [14:46]
A
Yeah, look, it feels like we're 25, 26. Romance things are happening, which is exciting.
- [14:56]
B
This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by Bailey Seaborn, author of Peppermint Bark no Bite.
- [15:03]
A
Grace Alvarez, our heroine, has spent years building a chosen family after being rejected by her own. And that family now, her hospital patients, her yoga students, and her best friend Mallory's family. Those are her home. So when it comes to relationships, her wish list doesn't need or include romance. Except Mallory's older brother, Alex, storms back into town, arrogant, a workaholic, and absolutely everything Grace has sworn she would avoid. But when she needs an emergency Santa for sick kids at the hospital, Alex reluctantly agrees. And sudden, seeing her compassion with these kids, his carefully controlled world starts to crack. Because he's making a connection with Grace, and things are heating up faster than Carmel on the stove. They are stealing kisses. And it doesn't just. It doesn't just happen under the mistletoe. But Grace has spent years rebuilding a family after her. Her biological family rejected her for being transgender. And she will not risk her friendship for a man who is in California with a whole life. So Alex is finally learning that some things matter more than making a partner. And can this grumpy lawyer and this sunshiny social worker turn their holiday fling into a lifetime?
- [16:31]
B
I hope so. So if you would like to find out, check it out in Peppermint Bark no Bite. It is about. It is available in print and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. And if your podcasting app supports, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Bailey Seaborn for sponsoring this week's episode. Let us tell you a little bit about our idea for our episode today.
- [16:59]
A
Oh, wait, before we do.
- [17:00]
B
Oh, yeah, sorry. Go ahead.
- [17:02]
A
We just need to housekeep because you can still get 26 is not here, everyone. And we're still talking about books from 2025. And you can still get the best of 2025 book box from our friends at Pocketbooks in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They will ship it directly to your house. I will say mine arrived yesterday and it was so great. Eight books from the list. There are two books missing, but you can add supplemental books to the box if you want. You can add more of my books. Pocket has a list of books that they loved this year, some of which we also loved. I know Adrianna is on that list, some of which. So there are all sorts of things that you can do. If you head over to fatedmates.net bookbox and you can see all the books that are in the box. You can get the whole box shipped to you. You can then wrap them all up and give them out as gifts. You can save them all and hoard them like a dragon. You can Put them in your little free library, which is what I always like to do as gifts for your neighbors and friends and genuinely have a great time reading eight of the 10 books that we loved best this year. And if you want the whole list, you can go to fatedmates.net bestof and see all 10 books, which include Louisa Darling's Scoundrel Take Me Away and EH.
- [18:28]
B
Lupton book, which is Lazarus Home from the War.
- [18:32]
A
I just want to remind everybody. So there are there. There is a limited number available.
- [18:36]
B
They.
- [18:37]
A
These are not an endless supply, unfortunately. But also if. If you purchase from Pocket right now, you get the whole box for 25% off, which, I mean, you get it for $110. Eight books. And honestly, I don't know where you would buy eight books for that physical copies for that anywhere anymore.
- [18:58]
B
And since it's like Small Business Saturday and the whole idea is like supporting local independent shops at this time of year. Right? Like, this is a great. I don't know. Just do it, everybody. You're not going to.
- [19:08]
A
Every penny you put into a small business is a penny that does not go into Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk's pocket.
- [19:16]
B
I guess. Just say it, Sarah.
- [19:18]
A
I don't think Jeff and Elon. I don't think we're there. We're on their podcast list, to be honest. And if we are, you guys give your money away.
- [19:27]
B
I'm really excited to. To see the Son of the morning because it's like one of these fancy cappies.
- [19:34]
A
Oh, yeah, it's really nice. I. I opened the box yesterday and took pictures for the Instagram.
- [19:40]
B
So as one does.
- [19:41]
A
I haven't put them on Instagram, everybody, because I only have 45 minutes a day.
- [19:47]
B
Sarah asked me to do a thing. She's like, I'm gonna put it on the faded mate's Instagram. And I was like, okay. And then this morning I was like, oh, it's weird. It's not there yet. I thought she would do it now.
- [19:57]
A
You know why if it's not there? It's because I overstayed my limit. I overstayed my welcome on Threads or something.
- [20:03]
B
You're like, she spent too much time watching ladies paint dogs.
- [20:06]
A
Yeah, exactly.
- [20:09]
B
All right, so let's talk about this week's episode. Now that it's mostly banter, I guess, is what we're trying to tell you.
- [20:16]
A
That's where we are now.
- [20:17]
B
It's fine. It's December and it's post holidays and I think people want to banter with us. As opposed to their insane relatives. Although my mom came and we had a really nice time. We went to Paul McCartney and we saw my cousin and I helped convince her to help clean out little Romance's room because he's moving to la. So it was great for me and we had actually a really fun time. Um, anyway, this week, though, what we're gonna do is, you know, a lot of people have vacation time coming up, Right. And for a lot of us, it's like such a great time to just do reading. Right. And sometimes we're catching up on reading, like, oh, this has been on my list, or I have these books from Pocket or whatever. But for some of us, it's also a time to just, like, sink into a series.
- [21:05]
A
Yes.
- [21:06]
B
Run. Where we're just gonna, like, essentially like, daisy chain our way right through from the first book in a series to the last book and just, like, have that really immersive all day reading experience where it's like, we can't and will not stop. It's.
- [21:23]
A
You know what the best feeling? The, like, greatest feeling I think I can think of is the feeling when you finish a book and you immediately open your e reader and buy the next book. Like, not immediately, like, for tomorrow. I mean, literally.
- [21:41]
B
Right. No, the.
- [21:44]
A
I just finished and then immediately started the next one. And I will tell you that the keenest memory I have of this is the reason why this podcast exists, which is Kressley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. And we have to talk about it because I was actually. I was at an event in Brooklyn at a library a couple of weeks ago, and I was in conversation with Nora Dalia, who is a friend, and we were talking out, like, sort of in the green room before the event, and she mentioned that, like, she doesn't really. She's never really read a paranormal series or, like a romantasy series. Like, she's not. She's like, I can't really. It's not. Dragons aren't for me. Like, I don't really. And I was like, Nora, are you. We've been friends for 12 years. And I'm like, are you telling me that you've never read Immortals After Dark? And she was like, no. Like. And I was like, I am about to change your whole fucking life. Like, because December is a rough time when you have kids in school, you have family, you're traveling all over. Like, you just want something that just, like, you know, you can escape into at any time. And I told her about the beginning of a hunger.
- [23:02]
B
Like, no, Other.
- [23:03]
A
And I was like, you who cut your teeth on Joanna Lindsay are gonna have a great time. And I will tell you that my sale of that book always is that I finished. I mean, I don't know. I don't even know which one did it to me, but I finished a book of that series. I can see. I know exactly where I was. I was in my old apartment on my couch and I finished it and it was like 8:30 in. In the evening. And I immediately opened my Kindle and bought the next one and started it.
- [23:40]
B
Yes, I did that with. I mean I did that like in and out of IAD. I did not read all 18 like that obviously. But you know, the. The Game Maker series, I literally did it like that where I finished whatever the first one is, the player, the professional. And then immediately it was like master boom. Like, I read them in two days.
- [24:03]
A
So everybody, we've talked a lot about these series though they're both by Kressley Cole. The first is Immortals After Dark. It's basic. Eric refers to it as monster mash. It's basically like every kind of paranormal creature you can imagine is in this world. It is our world. They live among us, but humans, like can't see them or can see them, but like perceive them as just like hyper. Like men who are huge, women who are stunningly beautiful. Like they sort of. We don't perceive them as being like special or immortal or powerful. And I mean, every one of them is about finding your fated mate. Yeah. And there are 19 or 20 now. And you're gonna have a delicious time.
- [24:54]
B
Well, you know what's really funny? So my friend Jessica has never read them and I can't remember why, but she was like, I think I want. I want to try again. Right. So she's a. Has been reading romance, I think, you know, since before the pandemic. But like not, you know, she's younger than me. Like, not too much before, maybe five or six years, let's say. And she was like, I tried Hunger like no other back in the day, but it didn't really work for me. So she started with Ruhn. She started with Sweet Ruin. And then.
- [25:21]
A
That's a great place to start actually.
- [25:22]
B
Right?
- [25:22]
A
Yeah.
- [25:23]
B
And then was like, holy shit, this is amazing. What should I do next? I was like, well, read Wicked Abyss. And then she's like, okay, now what? I was like, okay, so here's what I want you to do now. I want you to go back and start now at Hunger like no other.
- [25:35]
A
Try the first.
- [25:36]
B
You Know what she said? And it was so interesting to me what she said, you know, now that I've read more primal playbooks, it was not a big deal. Yeah.
- [25:47]
A
And I was like, he chases her down.
- [25:49]
B
Yes, he chases her down. And if that's like the. If you're just a baby romance reader, you're like, wait, what is going on? I don't like it.
- [25:56]
A
Right.
- [25:57]
B
But if now you're like, yeah, whatever, it's just a thing you wish you.
- [26:00]
A
Could take hunger, like you could take this series and like press it into the hands of every single like 22 year old who just started reading Romantasy and be like, I get that you love these like first person POV heroin POV books. Like books. But let me show you the joy of a hero's pov. And like Kressley, you know, there's so much discussion about like right now about dual pov. And I literally, I wrote an entire thread, like, like a, you know, 10 thread thing. And then I didn't post it because I was like, I. I can't get involved in this. I only have 45 minutes. So.
- [26:46]
B
You gotta start composing somewhere else and then just copying and pasting.
- [26:49]
A
It's basically I'm Marie Kondoing my social media. It's like, if I, you know, am I willing to sacrifice my 45 minutes? But I, But. And all I could think was like, every person who is like, I hate dual point of view, like, I don't understand why I need the POV switch. I'm like, tell me you haven't read.
- [27:11]
B
Yeah, tell me you haven't read.
- [27:12]
A
You know, the moment where Ruhn, you know, where, where Josie bites Ruhn and he realizes she's not going to die.
- [27:20]
B
Yeah. Right. Yeah.
- [27:22]
A
Without telling me that you haven't read that. Like, there are. Kressley just knows the job. But yeah. So anyway, if you've been waiting and you're like, I really need 21 books.
- [27:33]
B
To bring on vacation with me. Listen, your Kindle can handle it, everybody.
- [27:38]
A
And then the professional, the master and the player are mafia romances and they actually are a single pov.
- [27:46]
B
Yeah, they are. And you know what? Frankly, I think they would have been better if they weren't. But, you know, fine, whatever.
- [27:51]
A
And then when you're done reading any one of them, you can come back and listen to our podcast.
- [27:56]
B
Sure. So anyway, yeah, it's funny because Iadi was on my list too. I also think, I feel like we.
- [28:02]
A
Always have to like, yeah, we're talking about our reading series just like, constantly make sure the Kressley's royalty statements produce.
- [28:11]
B
Another long series that I revisited this year. But I did it in audio was the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, which I read, you know, with my eyes over long ago. And the reason I revisited it is because the original audio. Okay, so I also love the Hidden Legacy series, right. I talk about all the time. The original audio for the Hidden Legacy series was done by a woman named Renee Roudman. Again, these are like single point of view. Like, Nevada is the only narrator except for like an epilogue, but she has a really distinctive voice. And the same narrator was doing the Kate Daniels books. And I was like, I cannot listen to this woman be both Nevada Baylor and Kate Daniels. It just like made my brain hurt. And so at some point, a company called Graphic Audio redid the Kate Daniels series. Now, everybody, if you are not familiar with the graphic audio, it's full cast audio, which I really like. It's lightly abridged, like. Right. Like there's definitely. There's some things that they are like sort of cutting and streamlining. Not hugely, but like, it is not the full text experience. And I think that's probably a result of just like, you don't know, like trimming and cutting sometimes. Like, I've listened to the original Hidden Legacy so many times that like, when I listen to it in graphic audios, like, I can tell a little bit like, oh, this is, you know, got cut or whatever. But this, it's not gonna ruin your experience at all. But the thing that is a little hard to. Harder to get used to is there's like sound effects, right? It's like a movie in your mind is what the guy says. So it's like if she pulls like the sword out, you hear like the, like the whoosh of it or whatever. You are into this or you are not. That part doesn't bother me. There's sometimes like music in the background. And I'm gonna say it's like more like Muzak. And I at first was like, I don't think I can listen to this. Like, it was a little distracting for me. But I powered through and got to the place where I actually am now. Like, it's okay. I like it. I re listened to the whole Kate Daniel series and audio pretty recently and it was great. It was, you know, again, this is more of a paran instead of like straight paranormal. I mean, he's a shifter and she's mage. I would call it more like urban fantasy. Right. Like in all 10 books, Kate and her eventual husband Curran are the main characters. But like every single episode, every single book is more like an episode of a TV show where there's like a bad guy or something happening and they're trying to run it down. And then over the the course of the whole series, the big bad guy is Kate's father. So but like the evolution of Kate and Curran's romance, like, like their romance is really strong and so, you know, it starts off with them like circling each other. They eventually like, she essentially agrees to become his mate. They get married, but like their relationship is still evolving. It's not like that's ever a boring or bad part of the book because it's like kind of like who, who are they now in? How are they working together or not? What are the challenges they're facing? So if you've ever been one of those people who, I don't know how to say this like, right, like you get to the end and you're kind of like, I could see more of these two doing stuff together, then a long urban fantasy series can be really appealing. So I really love this series in paper but if you are interested in trying it in, in the graphic audio, it's all been released and you can just listen to all 10 books and you know, be cooking dinner and wrapping presents and doing whatever else you have to do. So it's great. The Kate Daniel series and graphic audio I loved. This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Jenny Alexandra, author of Santa Cutie.
- [32:08]
A
Melody Whitaker doesn't just love Christmas, she worships it. She's one of those people who like, like can't get past the twinkle lights, the trees, the Hallmark movie marathons, hot toddies and caroling. And she just loves every bit of Christmas thanks in part to having flee to holiday hating cult. And this year she is ready to bring it even bigger. She has signed up to play Mrs. Claus at a local nursing home and she is ready to bring holiday cheer to act. Absolutely everybody. This is like Buddy the elf turned.
- [32:45]
B
Lady in a romance novel.
- [32:47]
A
You can imagine she's a delight for people who love Christmas and really the opposite of a delight for brooding, grumpy hot dudes who are forced to play Santa to her Mrs. Claus at the nursing home and who kind of hate Christmas and that is what we have in Eben. Maybe it's the mistletoe though, because Melody can't stop looking at him and flirting with him and falling for him and she is ready to just like accept the Christmas miracle that is falling in love with this hot Santa. But the Christmas nursing home pageant goes.
- [33:23]
B
Ho ho, horribly wrong.
- [33:25]
A
And Melody is left wondering if Christmas spirit can save the season and if it can thaw Evan's very frosty heart.
- [33:34]
B
All right, if you would like to check out Santa Cutie, it is available in print or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. And if you're podcasting up support it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Jenny Alexandra for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [33:52]
A
I love a book with a family tree at the front of it. Right. And now I'm not going to talk about there. Listen there. We've talked a lot about like classic historicals over the, over the years on, on the podcast. But honestly, the books that I remember as a reader being the first to have a family tree are those Stephanie Lawrence Sinster books. Like, I can remember being like 15 and opening to that front page and like making like checking every single book off my list, like, oh, I've read that one and that one and they were all related. Right. And so these big kind of historical family books series are obvious. Right. Like Bridgerton, we all like, there's a reason why we love it. It's just like every you, you watch every sibling, you know, quickly, you know, match up and then Sinister 2. And it seems like there are a lot of, you know, Julianne Long's Pennyroyal Green series is two families who are like constantly dancing around each other in this small town and then ultimately there is a kind of match between the two families. So if you love a family historical's really, really deliver.
- [35:10]
B
Yeah.
- [35:11]
A
But I want to talk about Beverly Jenkins because she does this thing that is really interesting, which is most, not all, but most of her books are in the same universe.
- [35:25]
B
Yes.
- [35:26]
A
And so and I also write in the same universe, but for the way Beverly writes there are about. And I'm going to link actually I'm going to drop this in chat Jen for you right now so that we have it. But I found this morning on Reddit a post where somebody had built out essentially a tree of like, here's how all the books in this series.
- [35:52]
B
Oh, that's so cool.
- [35:53]
A
Historical books of them are connected and it's incredibly cool. I'm sending it to you so you can look at it while I talk.
- [36:03]
B
It's amazing. Okay, everybody, this will be in show notes too.
- [36:08]
A
So all the dotted lines are connections between like interconnections in the series or within the. I'm Sorry. The Beverly Jenkins universe. The, like, cinematic universe of Bev. And so you can see how they're all connected. Listen, part of the joy of reading Bev's books is that there is a constant sense of, like, happily ever after is so enduring in her books. And this is true because. So you may not know this, but if you are a historical reader, you obviously know Bev this way. But she also has a contemporary series which is called the Blessings series, all set in a small town. And that series is populated by the ancestors of the characters from the historicals. So there is this just sense of, like, the enduring power of love through all of her books. Like, you know, I always joke, like, no one ever dies in my universe, but, like, people die in Bev's universe, but they've died after, like, living long lives and having children who then, like, come forward into 2025 and are still living, like, happy love, love filled lives. It's terrific.
- [37:24]
B
Yeah.
- [37:25]
A
So we're gonna post.
- [37:26]
B
I'll.
- [37:26]
A
I'll link to this post. I want to give a shout out to the person there, the person who posted this. In Historical Romance, the Historical Romance Reddit channel is named Emotional Cloud 2779. So thank you. Emotional Cloud. That's cool.
- [37:44]
B
Yeah, that's amazing.
- [37:45]
A
And I just want to say, like, part of anybody who's been reading romance for a long time knows that, like, there is a real joy in getting to, like, book 25 of the series and seeing a character from book three.
- [37:58]
B
Yeah.
- [37:58]
A
Kind of, like wander past or putting together, like, oh, my God, like, you know, Tempest's, like, male main character is the brother to the female main character in Wild Reign. Right. Those books are not next to each other. And so, like, it just feels great. And I love when writers go back and forth, when they move around, when they pick a character up from two series ago and bring them forward and connect them in a new series. I love it so much that that's what I do with my books. So. But Beverly does it in this, like, one. She's a. She is the template for how to do this.
- [38:39]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And I. You know, it's funny. Cause I was going to bring this up too. I think that you can then also, like, read A Strain, you know what I mean? Like, I'm just gonna read the Levesque books.
- [38:51]
A
Right.
- [38:51]
B
Or I'm just gonna read, you know, these standalones. But, like, you sort of see it all together and I just really. Oh, it's so rewarding. I don't know how else to say it. Especially because I feel like so many of us read, like, we read so fast or we read kind of, you know, we're reading over years and decades ourselves. And then to, like, sort of go back and then kind of be like, oh, I remember this character. And then you want to, like, circle back and read their book. And, you know, I just think that it's. It's the best feeling. But, yeah, the person who did this is a genius because it has. So, I mean, I think there's also a way, like, people are really interesting in the way they sort of show their, like, love and appreciation for an author like this. This, like, family tree. It's like more like a timeline, but it has all this information, like, embedded in it. Right. So it's like, you see all the books, but then it sort of has all these little, like, you know, Galen and Hester have a brief cameo in vivid reading order. Unimportant. And you're just, like, doing the Lord's work by letting me know this. Right. And listen, I will also say I am not a person who feels any kind of fidelity, really, to reading order. If you are a person who loves reading in order because it's just important to you to have that whole thing, you know, that's fine. Like, you know what kind of reader you are. I'm not talking about you, but I do think that it's, like, kind of sometimes a subtle form of romance gatekeeping. And I don't love it. And it's really interesting because there's a lot of people, you know, on threads, for example. I mean, obviously people are so excited about this series that all they wanna do is read the books. Right.
- [40:39]
A
I mean, like, heated rivalry.
- [40:41]
B
Talking about heated rivalry now. Right. And so. And I'm sorry I, like, made that transition without making with you, but I'm.
- [40:48]
A
Clarifying for, you know, people who aren't in your brain.
- [40:50]
B
I know. Thank you for being in my brain. So I want to, like, kind of talk about something which is like, I. And so a lot of people are like, no, you have to read it in order. Listen, you don't rate. Like, if you trust in the romance product, and I do. Right. Please know that for the most part, most romance series are you can read in any order you want. And like, I was thinking about, like, okay, so obviously, I don't think you should read the Long Game before you read Heated Rivalry. Like, right. Like, you shouldn't be doing that.
- [41:22]
A
But, like, if everyone. The Long Game is book two about these characters. Yes.
- [41:26]
B
Right. But, like, you can Go ahead and read Heated rivalry and then the long game and then be like, I love this series so much. I'm gonna go back to the beginning and read the first book and then the interim books. Like, yeah, the romance. You have free will. Yes.
- [41:40]
A
What you want.
- [41:40]
B
Trust in the romance product. And if people. I also feel like it's such a. I don't know. I think I'm really sensitive to this. I think it's like a teacher. Because I think that there are people who tell kids, like, you have to read in this order. Like, no, you don't. Like, it's fine. Not in a romance series, you don't. You really don't. And a good example of this would also be, like, the Ravenels, right? Like, so West Ravenel's book is, I don't know, fourth or something. You see him in earlier books. You see, like, the whole arc of his journey. But trust me when I tell you, you could just read West's book. And if you trust in the romance product, those people are gonna go back and read the whole series and they're gonna be like, oh, I really liked seeing more of west or seeing where west came from. It's not gonna compromise the reading of, like, Devil's Daughter just isn't. No. And so I will say I have a question. I'm, like, a little annoyed by people who are like, you have to read it in order to.
- [42:37]
A
Oh, no, I. I mean, though, I would say I haven't read the whole series, but there are six books in that series. And listen, like, right now, that feels like the series for you for holiday reading. Like, unfortunately, everybody, you're going to have to buy it an ebook because the print book is sold out everywhere. And there seems to have. I don't know, publishing is allergic to making money. Why? Why? And every. You know, I have a lot of feelings about this that. I don't know. I mean, whatever, but. But I get it. Like, there's this whole. Obviously, there's no movie tie in. And the story behind Heat of Rivalry is that it is produced and. And distributed in Canada. And they announced that they were producing and distributing it in Canada months ago, and they announced a release date in Canada, which was November 28, and it still was not picked up in the United States, did not have a U.S. distributor. And then, like, I don't know, what, two weeks ago or something, HBO was like, we are going to release it in the United States simultaneously. Everybody's thrilled. There's no tie in cover. And that could probably be. That's like a timing issue. Although my big question is, like, it was still coming out in Canada, so why wasn't there a tie in Canada? That's North American rights, like, right. There's no reason for it not to exist. Right. It just needed to be. They needed to print more of them in the United States. But that said, also, it feels like we just should have all known to order more books.
- [44:03]
B
Yeah.
- [44:04]
A
So, I mean, maybe that's just me thinking about how I like to read, but it feels like even if there weren't a movie tying cover, we should have ordered more books, everyone. Why not print as many books as we think are gonna sell anyway? So that is that. And you can't get it in print as of right now. Though I'm sure now that Harlequin has. Has gone back to press and they are printing more books. Maybe by the holidays we'll have, you know, everything we need from Heated Rivalry. But you can read them all in E. Yeah. And they are all in audio as well. And so you can have a lovely time.
- [44:43]
B
Well, in the first book right now is two bucks. So you can just like get started there if you want to. Or you can just go right to Heated Rivalry or, you know, put yourself on the list at your local library. I mean, my library has. Has them in Libby, you know, so, I mean, I guess I just feel like this is actually, I will tell you, I'm. I'm. That's my reading plan. Right. Like, I'm really excited to like, read the whole series because I've only read part of it. And so I guess I would just say, like, yeah, I was a really kind of like, you don't have to gatekeep this whole series. Like, let people read Heated Rivalry first. They're going to be so into it that they will read the rest of them. And you know what? I also feel like so many people do read, you know, from the library and like you only have books in certain orders or they only have certain books. You're trying to like, piece this together. I also feel like kind of a demand to read books in order comes from people who can afford to buy whatever they want. Right. So I also feel like. I don't know, I get really. I get very defensive about it. Like, but a romance. Most romance series can be read in any order. It's fine. So I am really excited to read. To read. Yeah, read that series because I've read one of them. I read Heated Rivalry. We did a whole episode on it.
- [46:03]
A
We did, and we loved it. This Week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Zara Doyle, author of Tanya and Her the Next in the New York City Werewolves series.
- [46:14]
B
Listen, I'm not mad about it because what happens in this one is Tanya is all set up to go out on a date with a real Greek God, if you know what I mean. She even wore her favorite overpriced bottom shrinking jeans on their first date. And that was just her intro, just to introduce herself to Ryan. Instead, he kissed her, confessed that Tanya was his fated mate and threw like, picked her up Sarah and threw her over his shoulder.
- [46:39]
A
That's McLean coded, right?
- [46:43]
B
Where she obviously had a great view of his butt as he runs through Manhattan. And listen, he is a great kisser. Fine, but faded mate. She is skeptical. First of all, she's human. Second of all, she wears push up bras, but only on days she doesn't need to breathe. The wildest thing about her is her rebellious hair. But God, the way Ryan looks at her like she is just so yummy, she might have to believe him. So that the problem, of course, is her, I don't know, conservative coded parents who just never thought she was going to marry a werewolf or have a mate instead of a husband.
- [47:20]
A
That was a possibility.
- [47:22]
B
I have no idea. It's New York, after all. So they by the time she finds out, she's in love, living in his incredible apartment and pregnant. So there's a lot going on for Tanya and I think honestly, it sounds like like everybody's gonna have a great time.
- [47:39]
A
There's a lot going on for t anyway, if you als if there's a lot going on for you too, I think this book will give you a lot of joy and you can read it right now in print, audiobook, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. If you, like me, are interested in reading it right now, you can click on the chapter title and be taken directly to buy the book. Thanks to Zara Doyle, as always, for sponsoring this week's episod.
- [48:09]
B
This is actually a second kind of series, like, right, so we talked about like really long series or really like big worlds, right? But I think for me I have a lot of unfinished series, right? Series where like, right, like, you know, the truth is everybody, I've got a full time job. I'm often reading for the podcast I'm editing. I don't always have the time. I used to, to just like read what I want, right? Often I'm now reading for another purpose and that's not a bad thing. I'm never sad to be reading for the podcast, but it just means, like, there are lots of series. I've sort of, like, what I would say, like, left on the road. Right. Like, I started them, and I was like, God, I love this. I have to, like, finish it. And then I, you know, I haven't done it. And I think that one of the things I want to do is really think about how can I, you know, kind of finish some of those series coming up. And I have a lot of books like this where I've read one or two, but I'm either, like, waiting on the third book to come out, or I just. It, you know, I forgot that it was coming out and I missed it, or, like, I just, you know, like, with the Game Changer series, like, I just haven't had time to read those other five books. So I'm always looking forward to that. So there I have a couple of examples. And you're gonna think I'm great because these are all really fun. Fun. Okay, so everybody knows that I love Theodora Taylor.
- [49:37]
A
Yep.
- [49:38]
B
Author of Waylon My bae. And Theodora Taylor has the series, it's called the Irish Shifters, and the first one is called Her Irish Wolves.
- [49:54]
A
Nice. Perfect.
- [49:55]
B
The plot is essentially that, like, there is this, like, almost like these sect of, like, a Mennonite women who, like, you know, know nothing about anything, but they're also, like, shifters or something, and. Sure. And so in the first book, the woman is going to see her sister's, like, wedding in Scotland. And what happens is. And she really has felt, like, really like it has been. She's not been happy in this, like, you know, Mennonite. It's called, I think, Wolfenite. Fine sect. Right. Like, she really wants to have, like, a life of her own outside of this, like, very, like, stultifying kind of religious sect or whatever. So what happens, though, is, like, she and all of the other, like, girls get kidnapped. Fine. And she ends up with, like, these. These, like, this one king, and there's, like, these three kings. And so the first one is about the Irish Wolves. The second one is about the Irish bears. Yes. Yes, Sarah. Yes.
- [51:07]
A
Brightest work, everyone. Correct.
- [51:09]
B
I've read both of these, and coming in February, and I. You guys, I have to tell you, I literally cannot wait for this. So I guess I'm not reading this right away, but, like, this is like a kind of, like, waiting. I'm doing is her Irish Dragon.
- [51:24]
A
Yes.
- [51:25]
B
And it's all I want. Terrific work. Yes. It's all I want. Right.
- [51:29]
A
Everyone Theodore Taylor also went to Smith College. And so I'm very proud to share.
- [51:34]
B
An alma mater with this lady because terrific work. If you have her email, just tell her I'm waiting for the Irish dragons.
- [51:42]
A
Okay.
- [51:43]
B
But I think like, I guess what I would say is for me, like, I put this on the list because it also is like, okay, so yes, I'm like waiting, like anxiously waiting to finish a series. But the thing is, Theodora Taylor is one of those authors that to me is going to deliver every time. So if there's ever a moment where you're kind of like, what do I want to read next? Sometimes it's like, go to your. Go to authors, find a series. Right? And just, just go to town. And you know, she has so many different series. There's like a new one. Yeah, the, it's like the Ruthless and I'm not like super into bullies, but like I do like these Russian dirt bags. So there's a series called Ruthless Bullies where they're like in college and it doesn't seem like super bully, like that kind of stuff, but I'm, I'm just like, I could probably like lay in bed and read Theodora Taylor, but books literally all day. So I think that's another way to like tackle the what do I want to read next problem is like who wrote a series that I did do that. Boom boom, boom. And then like what, what have they come out with lately or back in the day that you haven't read and.
- [53:02]
A
Just like have a nice time, enjoy yourself.
- [53:05]
B
Enjoy yourself.
- [53:07]
A
Well, since you said like this kind of like lay in bed, boom, boom, boom thing, I feel like we have to do a one handed reading series.
- [53:15]
B
Sure.
- [53:16]
A
As part of this also. And so I have, we have talked, we've done an episode on one handed reads. We've done like quick and dirty and we've talked about London Hail before. But I just want to like shout out again the Temperance Falls series by London Hail. They are. No, that is a. It is a writing duo and they are no longer writing as London Hale, which is very sad. But there are 10 books, books in that Temperance Fall series. And they are basically kind of like each one is just like a full on trope bonanza. It's like, you know, there's like a couple daddy books. There's a nanny book, there's a priest book, there's a cop book, there's a dirty talking firefighter, there's a, you know, like every. And like there's a family and they're all sort of connected by the family. There's a, you know, small town billionaire if you have a kind of problematic fave of a trope that you don't like to really talk about, but you do like to read when you're just sort of having a couple hours to yourself on a Christmas wrapping day. London Hale is gonna do great for you. So I just wanna. I wanna shout them out because I think they're terrific and we probably haven't.
- [54:38]
B
Talked about them in a little while. A little while.
- [54:40]
A
So new listeners maybe haven't heard me.
- [54:42]
B
Yeah. I would like to say a recent series like that to me was those Elizabeth Robay series, like. Oh, yeah, right. I tore through a bunch of those. And I do feel like it's something about so dirty. Yeah, right. Like, this is the. Well, then there's like all these other ones, you know, like, just like. And again, like, really trophy. Right. I mean, so these are.
- [55:08]
A
Well, you're saving one of them for New Year's Eve, I bet.
- [55:12]
B
Of course, I'm. Yes, right. But correct.
- [55:17]
A
Everybody, stay tuned for New Year's Eve. We're just going to tell you right now, you're going to need your headphones in for that one.
- [55:23]
B
Like, just put them in right now, as a matter of fact, to prepare.
- [55:26]
A
Exactly, exactly.
- [55:28]
B
So, yeah, there's like a bunch of those that are just like really fast. And you know, I read the. The one that we did an ad for, but then I. Oh, His Duchess's Lovers. But then, you know, I read a whole other series called A Few Good Books.
- [55:44]
A
Yeah, of course.
- [55:46]
B
So I bet you can tell what that was about. So anyway, those are also really fun. So. Yeah, I do. I think that sometimes that's true. That's really what Kindle Unlimited is, frankly, for. Yes.
- [55:59]
A
Okay. I want to talk about Lorraine Heath, because I always want to talk about Lorraine Heath, but I want to talk about an old series of Lorraine's where she does the same thing that Beverly Jenkins is doing with, like, a universe of people. And the reason why I immediately thought about her and thought about this episode actually, is because I was reading for the Best of the Year episode. I was reading A Tempest of Desire, which I put on the. The Best of the Year list. Again, you can get the whole box of Best of the Year books from Pocketbooks, a terrific bookstore in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at fademates.net bookbox. But I put Lorraine's book on the Best of the Yearbook because she lists. Because for lots of reasons, not the least of which is Lorraine's books are Always, like, top tier. Like, even the worst Lorraine Heath book is better than so many romance novels. My favorite Lorraine series, and this is probably just because, you know, you're. You always remember your first. Right. Is The Scoundrels of St. James series, which is the premise of this series, is there are four kids. Actually, I think there are five kids. And they are all. They all grow up. No, it's five boys and one girl, and they all grow up kind of like on the streets in Covent Garden working for. It's like a retelling of, like, Oliver Twist, sort of where they work for, you know, a kind of monstrous dude who. They. They're all pickpockets. They're all trained in, you know, like, crime. And it turns out that one of them is actually an earl. And then, of course, it turns out that, like, more than one of them is actually a something. Right.
- [57:46]
B
But.
- [57:47]
A
And each. And then each one of them sort of matches up and it's. This is. If you love a class difference story. Like, these books are for you. One of. It's all. All of them are like, one is a duke, the other one is, you know. Or one is like a, you know, like, highborn lady, and the other one is like a literal street criminal. So these are very fun. They installed a lot of my buttons. There are five of those books in. There are five books in the original Scoundrels of St. James series. Or there were four. And then she wrote a fifth, like, 10 years later when they told her she could write about a doctor because for a while we weren't allowed to write doctor romances in Regency because they.
- [58:34]
B
Wild. Sure.
- [58:35]
A
You know when people say, like, oh, we couldn't write about those things. Like, everybody's like, how is that even possible? Like, when I started, I wanted to do my. I wanted to write a series about doctors. Yeah. And my editor told me too, like, you can't write about doctors because it's gross.
- [58:50]
B
Yeah. Interesting.
- [58:51]
A
And I was like, well, it is kind of gross, but, like, people love.
- [58:54]
B
The Pit, but I guess that didn't exist back then.
- [58:56]
A
It's fine, whatever. So now people can write doctors or maybe just Lorraine can write a doctor. I've never tried. So the. Anyway, so then what ends up happening is she then does, like, the second generation, which Lisa does, and others. But it's interesting because Lorraine's books are second generation, but they are so light touch. Like when Lisa's. When Lysa delivered her second generation, you know, series.
- [59:23]
B
The Raven Elves.
- [59:24]
A
Yeah, the Raven Elves. Like, it felt like, we were reading so much of the kind of wallflower characters in these books. Books. A Tempest of Desire. He is the child of the. The characters in the first book in the. In. In Bed with the Devil, which is the first book of Scoundrels of St. James. And it took me, like, half a book to put it together. And then, of course, like, they need a doctor. So, like, they go to the doctor from Scoundrels of St. James, or, like, they need a police officer and they go to, like, the Bow Street Runner from Scoundrels of St. James. Like, it's sort of a. She's using the characters from that first series, but it's so light touch. So she's got. I think there are. I'm looking now. There are, like, 12 books that are all interconnected. I'm gonna drop this link, too. That will be in show notes that will show you how they are all connected. But I would say you do not have to read these in any form, even if you are like a. I must read in order. Like, these really, really do stand alone, with the exception of that. That first four books in the series, which. Which are really the story of these kids, like, getting out of the world that they were born into. But it's terrific. And these books, man, I love a historical all the time, but, like, Christmas feels like the right time to read historicals. Like, it feels. Oh, you're gonna have a wonderful time with these. And I hope that if you've only read the sort of recent Lorraine's, like, now you can go back and read these kind of early ones that are terrific.
- [61:10]
B
My first Lorraine's, according to my Amazon account, were those Texas ones.
- [61:15]
A
Oh, well, those are even older.
- [61:17]
B
Yeah.
- [61:17]
A
And they're only three, I think, of those.
- [61:18]
B
Yeah, I think so.
- [61:19]
A
And she. And she, like. I don't know if she even started in. In American. Maybe American, but. But these four. If you haven't read these, Jen, you really should. They are really fun.
- [61:31]
B
I've read some of them. I mean, I think this is, like, the thing. Of course I've read some of them, but I haven't read them all. I think that's also what's, like, really interesting is, like, when you get into that situation. Oh, you know what? I was going to talk about the Farah Heron books that are all sent in Toronto. These are all. Now, this is like an author who I think of as being someone who delivers a great book that I love every time. But it's really interesting because they aren't really a Series as much as they are like loosely interconnected. And I'm not even talking about. I guess it would be more like the universe model. But I think that these are books that I just really super enjoy.
- [62:14]
A
And.
- [62:16]
B
Really one of these authors that I think. I don't think there's ever been a book by Fairhairon I have not liked. And they're all sort of different. The characters are really different. They deal with a bunch of different things and they're all set in Toronto and it's clear that like they're sort of like a, like a, a big extended friend group. I put Jana Goes Wild on the Best of list a couple of years ago. But since then there have been a couple of other books that I. And you know, Camilla Knows Best was one Just Playing House came out then a couple years ago. And this is one where one of the main characters is having a double mastectomy because she has the gene for, you know, breast cancer. And she's just like gonna take care of it. And she ends up meeting a like an old high school rival who needs essentially a place to stay and agrees to like take care of her after kind of post surgery in order to like stay in her house, which is gonna be closer to his movie set. And then this year's was called A Little Holiday Fling. And I didn't talk about it on our recent holiday episode. Cause we basically like ran out of time. But in this one, Ruby is, Gosh, I really like this book a lot. She is, you know, the characters are not Christian, right. But they really like sort of engage with the idea of like, what is it this book engages with the idea of like, what does it mean to enjoy like the festiveness of a holiday you don't celebrate? Especially when it is so such a big deal. And so Ruby is like, actually this is what she hopes is her last year in Toronto. She's always wanted to like move to England and work for a bnb, but she lives in Toronto instead. Works in like really high end retail. And she ends up meeting Rasheed, who is like not a holiday guy at all, but he's got these young nieces. And there's this classic scene where he like helps her drag a Christmas tree into her house. And it turns out that they like sort of have friends in common. And his family owns a hotel chain in, in England. And so she's kind of like, well, I'm gonna offer to help this guy with his nieces and maybe he'll offer to help me. And he kind of sees right through this, but still they end up sort of having this like, fling for the duration of like the holiday season. So I think that this would be an example books where like, maybe you've read one or two of the other ones, but you might not even realize like, these are not like sort of sold as like a series or anything. They're all really like standalones that like, have these like, kind of distant connections. But I think that like, again, for me, often like these people that just like deliver one great book every year and I cannot wait to read it. Farrah Heron is an example of that. And so because this one in particular starts with a holiday romance and like I said, it's really more about like, what does it mean to celebrate holidays as a family and as a community and like, what does it do to bring people together so. And especially like when it's not your holiday. So I thought this was great and like I said, I really feel like these are books that I love. She's just, like I said, an author that delivers every single time. So I would really recommend those Farrah Heron books in this one that came out this year is called A Little Holiday Fling.
- [65:57]
A
This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Blue Box Press, publishers of J.R. ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood 20th Anniversary Insider's Guide. What a cool thing.
- [66:08]
B
Yeah, this might is gonna be a great gift for someone in your life, right? So obviously the Black Dagger Brothers series has millions of devoted readers across across the globe. And to celebrate two decades of the Brothers, JR Ward opens the door to their world once more. Inside the Insider's Guide, Ward reflects on the journey, sharing behind the scenes moments, heartfelt memories, writing advice and insight into the challenges and triumphs of this long and legendary series. She brings back the original brothers in a mix of classic content and never before seen material, including a brand new novella called Happy Anniversary about Wrath and Beth Brotherhood updates as JR interviews the brothers to reveal where they are now, fan favorite features such as Ask your brother, the vicious agony ant column and Kitchen Corner with Fritz. And then playlists, monthly horoscopes and more. This just sounds really fun.
- [67:09]
A
It really, really does. It sounds like it's exactly what you want. If you or someone you love is a Black Dagger Brother Brotherhood fan, you can get the 20th anniversary black dagger Brotherhood Insiders Guide right now in print, ebook or audiobook, which sounds super fun. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book thanks to Blue Box Press and to J.R. ward for sponsoring this week's episode. I think we have to talk about Ruby Dixon Fair. And it's interesting because as I've been sitting here, I've been like, jen, we never did a deep dive on a Ruby Dixon book.
- [67:50]
B
Yeah, that seems wild.
- [67:51]
A
And it feels like we should do Ice Planet Barbarians. So everybody, like, stay tuned because I actually think that next year I'm going to require us to do an Ice Planet Barbarians deep dive because it feels crazy that we haven't. All right, you've all heard of Ruby Dixon. You've all heard of the Ice Planet Barbarians. And I mean, when these books. Okay, here's my story about Ice Planet Barbarians, which I will tell again on our Deep Dive. But when these books came out, God, it was a decade ago. I mean, it feels like a long time ago that these books came out. I can remember sitting, being on the phone with Sophie Jordan in my bed and her going, you don't understand. It's so good. She's like, sarah, I've read six of these in a week. Cannot stop now. Listen, there are like 19 ice planet barbarians books. And then also, oh, yeah, Ruben on has written like, spinoff series. She's written second epilogue. She's written stories that are about, like, the evolution of the planet that the Ice Planet. The, the Ice Planet Barbarians live on. Like, how the Ice Planet barbarian culture came to be. Like, this is an expansive world of characters and stuff. And what I would say is, I, you don't have to care about any of that. So the. But what I. But, okay, so here the base basic premise is that a spaceship full of women who have been kidnapped by aliens to be sold into, like, slavery, essentially as breed as, like, because they're all, like, healthy and of breeding age crash lands on an ice planet far in the distance. And there is no hope of them getting back to Earth. And they are found by, and saved by a largely male, almost entirely male community. Everyone's died off of aliens, blue aliens with lots of different gees attached to them. And like Ice Planet Barbarians begins, like, with this blue alien. Once the blue alien appears, like, he's basically like, he can't. There's no communication. They can't communicate. They don't speak the language of. They don't speak each other's language at the beginning of the book. Like, it's very clever the way it's all structured and, and it's, you know, we'll get into it when we do our deep Dive. But the reality is that like the rest of this series is just like, these men connecting and, like, falling and, like, you know, finding their fated mates with these human women who have landed on the planet. And it feels like that's just too simple for a series.
- [71:12]
B
And yet.
- [71:14]
A
You are gonna tear through these books.
- [71:18]
B
They're shorter, too. And I think, like, a series where you're. It's like, all dopamine. You know what I mean? Like, it's just really is. It's like, there's no downtime whatsoever. And I think it's just like a very. I will say too, like, the current KU model of, like, every book is a thousand pages or whatever. Okay, that's hyperbole. But only a little. Not always, right? As opposed to, like, an earlier KU model that was like, every book's gonna be 150 pages. You know, they go down so easy. And I think that there's something to really be said for that. But I think, yeah. Yeah, that's fun. We should definitely do some Ice Planet Barbarians. I mean, they're just.
- [72:03]
A
Listen, you know what it is? You just said it. It's so fun.
- [72:07]
B
Yeah.
- [72:08]
A
And you feel like. I feel like one of the challenges right now with romance is like, we are forgetting. I forget who it was on threads who talked about how, like, the best thing about romance heroes is that they know they are a camp. Right. Like, we know romance should have a kind of level of camp to it. And I think one of the struggles that I'm having as a reader in romance is that the campiness of romance is part of what, like, scratches that kind of really primitive itch for me as a reader. Like, I wanna feel it in my. Like, I wanna feel it in my chest. And in order for us to do that, like, there is sort of a requirement that it's a little camp that.
- [73:00]
B
Oh, yeah. Like some scenery chewing.
- [73:02]
A
Dialed up to 11 in a.
- [73:04]
B
Really.
- [73:04]
A
This is why I also. Let me tell you something, everybody. This, like, trend. And it's not a trend anymore, years in, it can't be a trend anymore. But this way that, like, so many of us are marketing our books with, like, a line from a sex scene. And I'm always, like, deeply grossed out by it. Not because I'm not into sex scenes, but because, like, it loses all the. Like you said, the scenery chewing, the, like, dialing the feelings up to 11. And it's just like a line of, like. Right. And I also think, like, sometimes the line of, like, big feelings can. Can, like, hit that way too. Like, just be like, cheese. Deeply cheesy.
- [73:45]
B
Yeah. Right.
- [73:45]
A
Instead of, like, in the moment, you're reading and you're like, oh, it doesn't matter that it was so cheesy. It was, like, the greatest thing anybody's ever said to anybody else. It's so romantic, right? And I think when we are pulling our punches as writers and we're starting to think about, like, how do I write, quote, realistic romance, right? We're losing the fun. We're losing the, like. This is a delight to read. This book makes me laugh. Like, when Sophie Jordan told me exactly what happens in the first two chapters of Ice Planet Barbarians, I howled with laughter. And that's what I want. And these books are so fun. And, yeah, I mean, like, if you buy them in print, good luck explaining it to everybody, but you're gonna have a great time.
- [74:34]
B
I want to talk about a series that I have found very, like, old school in its kind of mentality. And it's, like, what it's delivering, but very, like, new in, like, the package, which is like, these are, like. Like, essentially, you know, young college students. And it's like hockey. Like, kind of, like, situated in hockey, but okay, so the series is called the Undone by Peyton Corinne. I've talked about these books before. The first one's called Unsteady, the second one's called Unloved, and the third one, which comes out in April, again, I'm sorry, I'm talking about future books, and I have it on my Kindle, and I haven't been able to read it yet, but I'm really sad about it. It's called Unbound. And the thing about this, okay, so it's like, they're, you know, they're seniors in college, and, you know, these guys are hockey players or whatever. So, like, this, to me is, like, you couldn't be more, like, topical. This is what people want. Like, give me more hockey, right? But what these books delivered is, like, all of these people on threads who are like, I just want to read books with yearning. Please let me tell you, you should read these books, because it's the kind of, like, real. I think the thing that makes. It makes. Listen, I'm old now, but reading those books makes me feel young. And the reason I'm saying that is because especially in, like, the first book, as I just remember, in college and in my early 20s, like, really longing for connection and longing to, like, oh, my God, I was so obsessed with this one guy when I was a sophomore in college, right? And all I wanted was him, and I had no idea how to make that happen, and it never did happen. But I think my point is, is, like, these books really show young people who, instead of being, like, masters of the universe, right? Like, Shane and Ilya are essentially, like, literally, like, the most, like, pop. They're like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, right? Like, they are the most accomplished young professional athletes in hockey. Like, they. But, like, feelings wise, they're a mess because they don't have to do anything because they're young. They're 21, they're 22. And I think that these books really situate us in, like, what would it be like if Shane and Ilya were, like, on the same campus, Right? And so in the first book, it's like Rhys essentially has, at the end of the previous season, had a. Got hit during a hockey game so hard that he essentially, like, blacked out and has been really trying to recover, but is almost like, suffering from ptsd, while Sadie is, like, trying to keep herself in college on a figure skating scholarship and also be responsible for her younger brothers because her dad's, like, a drunk. So, like, these are young people that just have the weight of the world on their shoulders and they are, like, attracted to each other, but also just like, oh, it's just like, too much like, how are we supposed to be together under these circumstances? In the second book, Freddie is the character and he's essentially like, hockey team. Everybody thinks he's like this golden, like, God of hockey. Everything's perfect for him. All the, you know, everybody wants to be him, but nobody knows that he is essentially, like, about to fail out of school, right? Because he has dyslexia and discalcul dyscalculia. I don't know if I'm saying that right. And adhd, like, he literally is like, yeah, I'm great at hockey, but I'm bad at everything else about school. And this is school. And so Row becomes his tutor, and she's the one who figures out, like, he should have been getting services from the university that he wasn't getting. And yet he's so, like, ashamed and embarrassed by. By this. He is, like, internalized a story where he's, like, blaming himself, right? And so my point is, is, like, these are like, I. I just found. Found these books. If you're just like, I want to wallow in angst, right? Which is sometimes, listen, I just want to lay in bed and, like, wallow in people's feelings of not being good enough, not just for each other, but for the world.
- [78:50]
A
Yeah, Yeah.
- [78:52]
B
I think that that's Like a very old school kind of like thing that romance used to deliver all the time.
- [78:58]
A
All the time.
- [78:59]
B
Right. And it's now when I find it, it just feels like, oh, this is like a real kind of emotional. Like, this is like the emotional. I don't know, it's. It was. It's just really satisfying. So I have book three on my Kindle. It comes out in April and I literally cannot wait to read it. So. But I don't think I'll get to it till like Christmas break. And I. Honestly, Sarah, I'm kind of like, maybe I'll have to reread the first two first. You know what I mean?
- [79:26]
A
Perfect.
- [79:26]
B
Because I just want to be like. I just want to have an all day experience of like laying in bed and feeling feelings.
- [79:31]
A
Amazing.
- [79:32]
B
Yeah.
- [79:36]
A
What else? I'm trying to find other. I'm trying to think of like other big long series that you can really sink your teeth into. Like, I have other sort of three book series that I really enjoy.
- [79:48]
B
See, I think I enjoy a three book series. I will say I find like a super long series sometimes can be. It feels like a little too much. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, do I have time for this? But like a three book series is just so God tier. Like just boom. Yeah, I understand. I think there are a lot of them in category.
- [80:14]
A
Oh, yeah. I mean, category is a great place to go for. I mean, if you go to say, you know Amanda Cinelli, right. Like, she is selling books to Harlequin that are kind of, you know, in. They're all interconnected. Right. Like she's right now writing an F1 series, I think, about billionaires in F1. Sure. It's called like the Fast Track Billionaires Club. But you know, she. She does. These are all. I don't know if they're interconnected series, but they're all like if you love a brother series, Amanda knows how to deliver it. She has those Greek billionaires that I love a brother are all accidentally married or like married because One Night Stand produced, you know, triplets.
- [81:10]
B
Yeah. Or just again, like pick like Reese Ryan. Like pick your favorite. Pick your favorite. Like that, like what is it? The Urban Brothers maybe or something.
- [81:22]
A
My favorite of that series is the Savannah Royals, I think. And it's. Oh, God, so good. Rhys Ryan can write.
- [81:31]
B
Yes.
- [81:31]
A
I mean, those books are so fast. They're so sexy.
- [81:35]
B
Yeah.
- [81:37]
A
And she. And so I guess interestingly what you're sort of coming to is in category, part of the Joy of category. And we obviously sing the praises of category all the time, but one of the big joys of category is finding a category writer who you love and then just reading everything by them. So it's not a series necessarily, but you just know anytime you pick up a book by, like, you know, I have my. My people. Right. Yeah, I know anytime I pick up a Rhys Ryan book, a Kathleen O'Reilly book, Amanda Cinelli book, like, I'm gonna have a great time. Naima Simone wrote so. So many categories. Oh, God. So fun.
- [82:23]
B
Yeah.
- [82:24]
A
And categories are so fun, too, because you can do what Jen and I do, which is go on ebay.
- [82:28]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [82:29]
A
Buy yourself like a box of 12 for three and a half dollars.
- [82:35]
B
Yes.
- [82:35]
A
And then have a great time. Just read them one after. Leave them by your bedside and one after another like candy.
- [82:43]
B
Yeah. No, so, I mean, I guess I would also just say. Yeah. I mean, like those. Is it Lucy Morris who writes all those Viking books in Harlequin Historical.
- [82:51]
A
Yeah, listen, I. That is a good example of somebody who, like, I've not read enough Lucy Morris. But recently I was at this retreat with Adrianna and Joanna. We were talking about historicals and, like, what we really want from historicals and, like, what we really loved reading and what we miss reading. And I really do love a Viking romance. Yeah. Which I was reminded by. By the Bone King and the Starling, which I also put on the Best of the year list and is a Viking kind of edging up on romantasy kind of romance. And I should say low fantasy meaning, like, there's no. There's very little magic in there. It's just a lot of killing. But anyway, you can listen like that.
- [83:34]
B
That's cool.
- [83:35]
A
No, it's not that they deserve the killing, so it's fine. So Vikings, Men in fur.
- [83:43]
B
The other thing I would say about category, like, if you love romantic suspense and there's just not a lot of romantic suspense out there, there are romantic suspense lines. Right. Like you can read Harlequin intrigue or. So I mean, I guess I also feel like sometimes a sub genre is, like, in or out of fashion, but, like, they're still delivering it over in category. Or there's 20 years of harlequin intrigues for you to go back to, too. So I think that they're. You know, that's so. Yeah, that's just. Listen, I just feel like. Read more category, everybody. It's so great. So great.
- [84:18]
A
It's so good. You know what I miss, though?
- [84:21]
B
What?
- [84:22]
A
I miss Romantic Times Magazine. Because back in the day, everyone. There was a magazine called RT and it was like, like a real magazine, like a glossy magazine about the people and things in romance novels.
- [84:42]
B
Yeah.
- [84:42]
A
And there was always like an author on the COVID And then there would be kind of, I don't know, 15 pages of interviews and stories and like little, you know, bits and bobs about the world of romance. And then it was like 40 pages of reviews of the books that were coming out that month. And they would give them starred star reviews like between, you know, one and five stars. And then if like it was a top pick. It was you know, a big thing when you got, you know, nine rules to break when romancing a rake was a gold like a top pick gold. And like, and like my publisher cared about like was like this is a big deal because was readers would subscribe to RT and then they would get, they would flip to the back or to the back to the meat of the magazine and they would just scroll for every, like every five star review and they would buy all those books and man, it is a huge loss. Yeah, the loss of that magazine.
- [85:49]
B
Because now it's like, you know, a million. Now it's like a million substacks you gotta subscribe to and go to Goodreads. And it's just like a lot.
- [85:57]
A
I still feel like I don't know where to find books.
- [86:02]
B
People listen to us, Sarah.
- [86:04]
A
I know, but I'm us.
- [86:07]
B
Where do I go?
- [86:09]
A
Why let could this be about me for one second? I go to the Discord sometimes. I'll tell you what, you too could go to the Discord. We have this great Discord everybody. It's so fun. And you can join it and you can do that by going to our Patreon. $5 a month gets you access to the Discord and like all these incredible people who are obsessed with romance novels, just like us. And you can drop questions, rec requests, you can like get involved and like interact with other people and talk about the books that you love. It is such a fun time. People have such a great time over there. Also right now it's like you're some. You have somebody in your life. Like my mother is currently nagging me about gifts. If you have somebody in your life who's nagging you about a gift you can buy, you can say, I would like a gift subscription to the Faded Mates Patreon. You can go to faded mates.net gift. We're not going to push this at all a lot because you know, we love to have you however you like. But it is the holidays. And if you're looking for, like, something, it's a. It's a very easy, inexpensive gift and would get you into our community for the year. And that's where I find a lot of books.
- [87:29]
B
Yeah, definitely. For sure.
- [87:31]
A
Right now there's a best of the year like list that's being compiled by all the members of the Discord. They have a great time every year doing it, and they never. They don't let us release it, which I think is so fun and like their own personal, like.
- [87:47]
B
And.
- [87:48]
A
And I always, like, don't get involved in it because I feel like I'm a. I'm a mole.
- [87:56]
B
You know, I really like. We. We are not mining the Discord for content. And if we do, we try to really, like, say, like, so and so was it was their idea or, like, ask for permission because it really is like its own community right now. It's so nice.
- [88:09]
A
Yeah, that's what we wanted. Essentially. We built the Discord only because Twitter was going away.
- [88:14]
B
Yeah. But now we so much better with.
- [88:17]
A
All of these cool people who talk about romance novels. And I know that we lost so many of those people to, like, other places on the Internet and we miss them. And if you still listen and. And you're somewhere else on the Internet, we wish you would engage with us. Come back to us. We're fun. We like to hang. Anyway, it's coming up on the end of the year, everybody.
- [88:38]
B
Yeah. So going on, we have our upcoming.
- [88:41]
A
Read of the Magpie Lord, that's next week. Yep.
- [88:46]
B
And then our debut list, our best debuts of 2025. And then the all the of important and very fun New Year's Eve extravaganza.
- [88:55]
A
Right? We're skipping. We're. We are having a dark week Christmas week, everyone. Because it's too much. It's too much.
- [89:03]
B
It's too much. All right, everybody.
- [89:06]
A
But we are so excited to have you all with us always. I'm Sarah Mlan. I'm here with my friend Jen Prop. We are faded mates. You can find us every Wednesday wherever you get your podcast. And if you want to spend more time with us, like I said, you can join the discord@fatedmates.net Patreon joining the Patreon gets you one extra episode of the podcast a month and access to the Discord. And then you can also find us online at Instagram and Threads at thetamatespod and on blue sky at thetamates. We are. I don't know, we're quiet right now. No big events. Coming up to find us in real life.
- [89:48]
B
Yeah, just read, everybody.
- [89:49]
A
It's the holidays. We're quietly reading and we hope you are gearing up for a really lovely, restful holiday. We hope you have good books loaded up for that. And, yeah, we love you. Take care of yourselves and each other.
- [90:08]
B
It.