← Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
S08.22: Chart Topping Songs and Their Perfect Romance Novel Pairings
02:01:02
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- [00:00]
Sarah McLean
Well, February.
- [00:01]
Jennifer Prokop
February, it's happening whether we like it or not.
- [00:05]
Sarah McLean
You know, last year everybody was like, oh, this year's been a million years. No, like, for real. I feel like every day. Yeah. Just open my eyes and think it surely is September. And in fact, it's February.
- [00:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Everybody.
- [00:22]
Sarah McLean
We hope everybody had a great Valentine's Day.
- [00:24]
Jennifer Prokop
It's true. I was at the urgent care of, like, a weird skin rash. And so, you know, whatever.
- [00:31]
Sarah McLean
Sorry.
- [00:31]
Jennifer Prokop
I guess that's tmi. But, you know, I don't know.
- [00:35]
Sarah McLean
But you're fine now.
- [00:36]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm fine now. You know, they give you steroids and just knock that shit right out of you.
- [00:42]
Sarah McLean
And. Yeah, I had a. You know, when you have a middle schooler in your life, it's. Everything's a real. A roller coaster. But Valentine's Day is a thing that they like. She continues to sort of think is cool. So we, you know, there was a lot of. I must have chocolate to bring my friends on Friday. And then like, you know, on the day it was. In fact, she came in and she said, mom, I was going to buy you flowers, but I didn't have any money in my Apple watch. So that was the.
- [01:12]
Jennifer Prokop
You're like, wow, thank you for thinking of me.
- [01:16]
Sarah McLean
Thank you so much.
- [01:18]
Jennifer Prokop
You know, it's fine. It's what it is.
- [01:21]
Sarah McLean
No, it is.
- [01:21]
Jennifer Prokop
You know what?
- [01:22]
Sarah McLean
In that case, I was like, you know what? I didn't need flowers. Thank you for thinking of me.
- [01:26]
Jennifer Prokop
But, yeah, exactly. That is nice.
- [01:28]
Sarah McLean
I think that's nice. Yeah.
- [01:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Anyway.
- [01:32]
Sarah McLean
And what is happening. The world is, you know, the worlding. Yes. Today I got really deep into lore on a group of tiktoks that are. Have been made about an elderly community in, I think, the mid. It feels like they're all Midwestern, even though there is. I don't think they are in the Midwest. And there is like a big mahjong problem. Like a real. Like, there's a cheater. Her name is Barbara. And somebody, bless them, has decided that, like, they're going to record all the, like, back channel whispers about Barbara. And I am very delighted by it. Well, so that is where I'm at because it's just helping my brain be smoother. But also, I'm. I'm very excited. And listen, everybody, we did have. We have big plans for an Olympics episode, and I think we're still gonna do it. It just probably won't be when the Olympics are out.
- [02:25]
Jennifer Prokop
Listen, we didn't really have the time for reading this week.
- [02:30]
Sarah McLean
And I've been watching The Olympics. And I am. I'm sorry. I said this to Jen last night, and she was like, I think you maybe disagreed with me, but, like, nothing tops the Winter Olympics. There's like, an 80% chance of death.
- [02:45]
Jennifer Prokop
In every.
- [02:45]
Sarah McLean
That's science. In every sport. And I really think that that is what I need for sport. I needed to feel gladiatorial, if that. If that's a word. I needed to feel like at any time a lion might just, you know, eat a person.
- [03:01]
Jennifer Prokop
There does seem to be quite a bit of. Of, like, shenanigans.
- [03:06]
Sarah McLean
I mean, drama.
- [03:07]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. I mean, the curlers were cursing each other out, and I was like, no.
- [03:11]
Sarah McLean
Sweet one got mad at Canada. The sweets are very nice people sh. Going on there.
- [03:17]
Jennifer Prokop
And they were all like, one guy's like, you. And I was like, oh, excuse me, sir curlers. What?
- [03:24]
Sarah McLean
And then, of course, there's like, the ice skating drama. There was, like, the whole French ice dancing duo who really do seem like, you know, evil. Like, evil like super villains from a cartoon. Like, not that they are in real life, but like, there's just so much. First of all, they, like, really kind of look the part, but also, like, just sexy and super villainy. But then also, like, there's been all sorts of drama about them and their pasts and potential crime. And then there was the Norwegian skier who apologized publicly to his ex girlfriend for cheating on her. And her response, which was, why am I in it? I mean, she was like, no, now you've made me famous in Norway for drama.
- [04:10]
Jennifer Prokop
She's like, I don't even know this man.
- [04:13]
Sarah McLean
Listen, I am having a great time, and you're not watching it because you're too busy.
- [04:17]
Jennifer Prokop
No, I'm sorry, everybody. I'm just.
- [04:20]
Sarah McLean
Well, why are you apologizing to everybody?
- [04:23]
Jennifer Prokop
I find it very easy to watch the Summer Olympics because I'm home, right? And I can just, like, park my dumb ass in front of a TV and, like, watch people play sports all day. But in the winter, I mean, February in a school is like, I don't know, like December in retail. You know, it's just really not a good time. So I think I just come home and I just, like. I don't know. I'm tired. Yeah, I'm just tired. So it'll get better soon. With the turning of the clocks and the return of sunlight and hopefully some warmer weathers. It was actually yesterday. It was like, in the 40s. And I don't know. Everybody. If you're not from a place with cold weather, that Makes you feels like.
- [05:15]
Sarah McLean
You should put on shorts.
- [05:16]
Jennifer Prokop
I was literally today out this morning. Saw many people in shorts. It was 42 degrees because it was. It's minus 20 stretch warm. Comparatively speaking. It is.
- [05:29]
Sarah McLean
And you know, I said to Eric the other day, I was like, warmer is not warm. Like it's two different things.
- [05:34]
Jennifer Prokop
And yet for some of us it is. And so, yeah, I mean it just. And so anyway, we. I. A friend of mine and I from work, we like walked down. Actually, this is really cool. We walked down to the Newberry Library, which is like a. A big research library in the city. And they were doing this. So apparently Frederick Douglass, it's like, this.
- [05:55]
Sarah McLean
Is a good thing.
- [05:56]
Jennifer Prokop
You have heard of him. Black history month moment, two S's. Yes. Apparently chose February 14th as his birthday. And so every year they like celebrate Douglas Day in various ways. And this year, because they did it on the 13th, because of what they were doing is they had this transcribe a thon. And so they. I love this. Yeah, right. So nerdy. And so it was like they had. And it was. This actually was really cool. If you've ever done this before, transcribing old things for like, like research libraries or whatever. Can be honest, like if it's old timey cursive, you're just like, I do not know what that says.
- [06:36]
Sarah McLean
It's really hard.
- [06:37]
Jennifer Prokop
It's really, really hard. But this, in this case, this Douglas Day, they were transcribing a bunch of like essentially newspaper reports from all over the country. I think that had to do with the first like Afro American leagues in Congress. And so you were just transcribing something that was literally like just it. It was already printed. Right. And so sometimes there's like, you know, one. At one point I was really like torn about what to do because it was clearly a N, but instead it looked like a U or vice versa because you know, they were setting type by hand and it just got like reversed. But they are like printed, you know, type exactly what you see did not make any changes, even if it's a misspelling. And so I was like, okay, but.
- [07:22]
Sarah McLean
But it's definitely. But Frederick Douglass would never.
- [07:26]
Jennifer Prokop
Right. And so. And in this case like. So anyway, it was actually really cool and they were using this really cool platform. I'll put all of this in show notes that I don't actually remember the name of. But they put all this stuff into a platform called. A platform called Zooniverse. And essentially you can like log in and help people like do all sorts of things. So there's all these, like, science ones. Like, there was one called, like, I don't know, the Plankton Factory or whatever. And it was just like slides of like, photographs. And you look at them and they teach you to say whether or not plankton are present or not. And then you can essentially be like, helping scientists figure out how healthy the ocean is or whatever. And so.
- [08:09]
Sarah McLean
Amazing.
- [08:10]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. So if you're just like one of those people who's like, I actually want to learn. I actually want to do something for like, good and not evil. So there's like a dolphin spotting one where essentially you look and say if a dolphin is present or not. And then they teach you essentially how to, like, identify. Now, I didn't do any of those. I was transcribing things about.
- [08:30]
Sarah McLean
That was really fun and. Fun to do with young people.
- [08:32]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes, exactly. Like, I was like, hey, fellow teachers.
- [08:36]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, well, I had a thing that I told you about, but I'm going to share it here too, for the fellow teachers that makes it. That sort of made me feel similar. Like, I feel like your Frederick Douglass experience is similar to this. I was, I saw a video from a professor at a. A college who gave like a kind of over, like January term or like inter term, he gave a class. And I think the class is called no Stupid Questions. And you and I, I will try to find this video, everybody. But it's. It was one of those things where like, I watched it and then just. It just disappeared. Like, I. I don't know that I'll be. Find it. Able to find it again. But essentially the premise was that you went to this class and you surrendered your digital devices at the beginning of the class into a box. And then he gave you a list of like, totally researchable kind of stupid questions, like, how long is a tiger? Like, how heavy is the moon? Like, these kinds of things. And then you had to use. They were in the library and you had to use actual books to find them. So, like, it was a research class in the sense of it sort of gave these young people who would never in a million years open an encyclopedia and search for moon, you know, a chance to sort of experience what that is like and also to like, learn how these older texts work. And it was really delightful and the kids had a great time.
- [10:09]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, that's really fun.
- [10:10]
Sarah McLean
They were like, oh, look, it's an index.
- [10:13]
Jennifer Prokop
I mean, that's real, right? You gotta teach them. That is a very real.
- [10:17]
Sarah McLean
So I recommended it to Jen because I actually thought that it would be a fun thing to do, like with.
- [10:21]
Jennifer Prokop
My middle school class. Yeah.
- [10:23]
Sarah McLean
On like a day, like on a Friday when, you know, before a, before a.
- [10:28]
Jennifer Prokop
A. Like a long weekend or a break or something. Yeah. So no, it, it was, it was really fun. And I think the thing I just want to like, like say one more thing about the. So all of the transcription that was being done in this case was for the colored conventions. I'm sorry, I don't know if I'd like said that part of it. And they were really doing a couple things that I thought were interesting. One is that they were. One specific thing they were really looking for is like, is the snippet you like, you have, does it mention people's names? And in particular is it mentioning women's names? So they were really trying to get. So there were like actually two groups. You could just like transcribe or you could be like, look at this list of names. And so they're really trying to like essentially like do a lot of work around like how black people organized after slavery. Right. Because that was the thing about like the colored conventions. It was like these were people who were like, for a lot of them formerly enslaved. And I think the thing that was like pretty amazing. And no one will be shocked by this who's ever, I don't know, like taken a history class or paid attention in one. But you know, a lot of the things that, like there are times I was transcribing things and like speeches where somebody would say something, right. Like here is, you know, a black person from, you know, hundreds of years ago essentially saying things like, there's one. And I don't have the screenshot of it. I think it's on my work computer though, because I was like, whoa. That was basically someone saying, like, here's what we're not going to do. You know, we're not going to be moving people from like unsafe states to safe states. What we want to do is make sure that everyone has the same rights everywhere they go. And it's just like, you know, listening to that and seeing what ICE is doing and you know, it explicitly said again in this speech, like, you know, we're not going to let people be like judged or like taken based on their appearance or the color of their skin. I don't know, man. It was just really pretty powerful. So anyway, I think that work is still ongoing because like there are thousands and thousands of things they want transcribed. So this to me was like very low hanging fruit. Really fun. You do have to register because I obviously, I think somebody could get in there and just be an asshole. But I had a really. I think it's really a cool project and it really feels, I don't know, like, I'm sorry I'm so nerdy, but, like, you just really feel close to history, so I love that. Yeah, it was awesome. I love it.
- [12:52]
Sarah McLean
And actually, it's making me feel like there's gotta be. There have to be a million things to do in New York where that are similar.
- [12:58]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Yeah.
- [12:59]
Sarah McLean
What a cool thing. Yeah, well, we're gonna do something a little less serious than that. Today, this week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Ma Wardell, author of Peaches and Pucks.
- [13:12]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, so this is a nolla in Ma Wardell's like, really fun, like, sort of like teacher universe. And in here we have Harry and Darius. They are both teachers. One is, Darius is a PE teacher. Harry is like a fifth grade teacher. And, you know, when Harry agreed to chaperone the boys hockey team, he really thought his biggest challenge be pretending to understand the rules, not being stuck in a sharing a hotel room with Darius Hill. Uh, Darius is the hockey coach. He's a human whistle. And he is the man who has made Harry's Mondays miserable for years. But somewhere between the bus ride, the 10th semifinal, and one very small bed, Harry starts to realize that the worst part about Darius Hill might be how much he likes him.
- [13:57]
Sarah McLean
Oh, no.
- [13:58]
Jennifer Prokop
Meanwhile, Darius has been pretending for years that Harry doesn't get under his skin. And now, all of a sudden, he cannot hide it anymore. So this is a cozy rivals to lover Nolla, full of banter and heat, which you will expect if you like me. Enjoy Ma Wardell stories.
- [14:15]
Sarah McLean
Well, if you like heated rivalries in ice hockey, this feels like it might be perfect for you. You can get it right now in print, ebook, audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. If your podcasting app supports it, just click on the chapter title and it'll take you to buy the book. Thanks so much to Ma Wardell for sponsoring this week's episode. But today episode was suggested to us by our producer, Eric.
- [14:43]
Jennifer Prokop
You know, we.
- [14:44]
Sarah McLean
We were very happy to have the suggestion and. And complete the task at hand. Or at least I guess we haven't completed it yet, but we are testing the waters. And his suggest. Eric is a musician and he is very into music. And his suggestion was, and I should say he's gonna yell at me when he, when he. I now I'm sort of like, oh, God, I'm gonna say it all wrong, but whatever.
- [15:07]
Jennifer Prokop
You know what? At this point, if instead you hear Eric's voice being like, here, yeah, maybe Eric is pop in. This is what I told him to do. Okay.
- [15:14]
Sarah McLean
But he doesn't know that I'm gonna say this. So, Eric, for. I mean, a long time, I have, you know, I have found Eric on a couch or in bed holding his iPad, reading a column called the Number Ones. Oh, yeah. Which is written by. I. I should do some research. But I did not do the research before the recording. So we're going to say. We're going to put this column in the show notes. It's on a website called Stereogum. And the guy who does it is every. He has been like, writing the biographies essentially, of the number one song every week forever. And he goes forward and backward, right? So he does the number one song for the week. I think this part is where I think I'm getting. I might be getting it wrong. He might not do the number one song of the current week, but, like, he's been going back, back, back, back, back, and he listens. And then he, like, listens to the song. He tells you the history of the band. He tells you the history of the song. He tells you what's interesting about the song. There's usually, like, multiple videos. Like, if it's a cover, he, like, covers all the different versions of it. He talks about the artist's, like, career outside of the song. And these are like, except extensive, like, 10, 15,000 word columns. And so Eric's always been really interested in this, like, number one concept. And I think this is something that's translatable to publishing into, like, any. Any sort of art that is mass consumed.
- [16:45]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, I think that's a good point. Yeah.
- [16:47]
Sarah McLean
Because one of the things that's really interesting is number one songs can be really, like, niche. And, like, it was number one for, like, one week and nobody ever heard.
- [16:57]
Jennifer Prokop
About it ever again.
- [16:58]
Sarah McLean
It just, like, was a fluke. And sometimes they're like a thing that is ingrained in the head of a person forever and ever. Like, and it just, like whole generations of people know that song. And not necessarily because it's good sometimes it's just like, that's the song that we all knew. And so, like, there's this sort of question of, like, is the text. Is the text number one because it's good? Is it number one because of who made it? Is it number one because it just happened to, like, lightning rod its way into a, like, cultural Moment. Right. So Eric's suggestion was, what if you guys looked at the number one list, the Billboard top 100 number one songs forever. Like the whole list from, I don't know, the 40s when it started, and you picked songs and you mer, like match them with a romance novel. And I thought, this will be so easy.
- [18:00]
Jennifer Prokop
And then it was hard.
- [18:02]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. And then I literally. He sent the list over and I opened it up and I was like, oh, shit, I don't know the names of any songs.
- [18:08]
Jennifer Prokop
One last thing I should say, everybody, before we go on. Not all these songs were actual number ones.
- [18:14]
Sarah McLean
Because what.
- [18:14]
Jennifer Prokop
Eric made a really good point, which is like, number ones all by themselves actually can be kind of hard. Right. Like a number one song could be a one hit wonder that peaked once and was on the charts for one week. But some of these songs were like, they Never hit number one, but they were on the charts for 40 weeks. Right. And so, like, everybody knows them. And so what is on the list is actually not just the number ones. Essentially, they're just like songs that were on the charts in February. So don't go through and look through and be like, yes. But actually that was only number 17. We know. Well. And we just told him to do February. So. Yeah.
- [18:50]
Sarah McLean
So what you're going to discover is. Oh, but I want to talk about strategy.
- [18:53]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, yeah, me too, obviously.
- [18:54]
Sarah McLean
So I had a real problem with this because. So first of all, I opened it up and I went, oh, my God. Yeah, I've never listened to a single song ever in my life.
- [19:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [19:02]
Sarah McLean
The top song, by the way, I feel like there are some things that are interesting here. The top song is on this list was Macarena.
- [19:10]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Oh, right. And we asked him to sort by.
- [19:13]
Sarah McLean
Well, he. It was sorted by number of weeks. So the top. So the top line was Macarena. And I was like, okay, well, that.
- [19:23]
Jennifer Prokop
Feels like a trap.
- [19:24]
Sarah McLean
A trap. No, no, like, and also aside from that, I was like, well, that's not a. That's not one. Like, that's not one we'll talk about.
- [19:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay. Meanwhile though, all right. I'm not going to talk about it, but I did actually, like, google it. Like, maybe there is a way I could talk about it. Do you know that that is a song about like, a girl who, like, is like, is involved in a love triangle. Anyway, I didn't.
- [19:43]
Sarah McLean
But this goes to my next piece.
- [19:45]
Jennifer Prokop
I don't have the lyrics. I'm sorry, everybody. This was hard for me.
- [19:48]
Sarah McLean
Oh, that's really interesting because all I Do is listen to like, I. Eric. I mean, this. We are. Being married to a musician is very difficult, everybody. And part of the reason why, if you didn't know. Eric, Eric, like, makes all of our. Makes composes all of our. Our, like, intro music, our outro music. Oh, by the way, everyone, welcome to faded mates. I' I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.
- [20:12]
Jennifer Prokop
And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor and song listener.
- [20:16]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. And so, you know, being married to a musician is one of those things where like, all he likes to say all the time, like, the. His biggest problem with, like, living in the world right now is everyone wants to talk about, say, Taylor Swift, when Taylor Swift is like, popular. And nobody wants to talk about, like, like the actual music. They want to talk about, like, the lyrics and the like, video and the, you know. But like, yeah, nobody's like. And that chord change in like, such.
- [20:42]
Jennifer Prokop
And such voice chords, I don't even literally know what those are.
- [20:46]
Sarah McLean
And he's like, I don't. I don't know what to say to people because then they bring up music and he's like, let me tell you all the nerdy things I feel. And they're like, I really liked the chorus.
- [20:55]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. I mean, I'm. I'm sorry to report.
- [20:59]
Sarah McLean
I so know nothing.
- [21:00]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [21:01]
Sarah McLean
Anyway, so I'm a lyrics person and he's a music person and so never the twain shall meet also. But my big thing is there are a lot of songs that are just like, about love.
- [21:13]
Narrator
Yeah.
- [21:14]
Jennifer Prokop
And like, I mean, it's pop music. It's about partying or fucking.
- [21:19]
Sarah McLean
Yeah.
- [21:19]
Jennifer Prokop
Or falling in love.
- [21:20]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. And that's all great. I'm not saying, like, you can't have music about love, but what ends up happening is you're like, well, this is just a song about love, which is, you know, fine. But it doesn't actually lead you down any sort of interesting. Like any romance novel would match this song about love.
- [21:39]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, so, I mean, there is a song from 2020 that was number one by an artist named Jane Ao called Pussy Fairy. So I mean, I just feel like, I mean, that.
- [21:50]
Sarah McLean
Listen, I don't need. Everybody just perked up.
- [21:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [21:55]
Sarah McLean
So what I did was I went through. I sort of scrolled, you guys. There are so many number one songs for. For February in the well.
- [22:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Cause it's decades. I mean, decades.
- [22:04]
Sarah McLean
Decades and decades. I'm going to tell you how many songs are on this list. It is. It begins.
- [22:09]
Jennifer Prokop
It's gotta be hundreds.
- [22:10]
Sarah McLean
Yep. February of 1959 it is. There are 8,700 songs on this list. We will link to this list so everybody can see the full list. If you have your ideas, you can share them in comments on our Instagram account or on our Blue Blue sky count or in the discord. I was sort of looking for ways to get into the text without, like. I was like, I'm not just going to pick a song that's, like, romantic. I'm going to try really hard to, like, match the song in some other way. Sure. So that was how I picked. What about you?
- [22:51]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, okay, I'm gonna admit something, which is like, I was really afraid that I would be like, I'm gonna just be like, listing, you know, books from olden times and so.
- [23:06]
Sarah McLean
Songs from olden times or books from olden times.
- [23:08]
Jennifer Prokop
Songs, you know. And so I was really outside of, like. So I really tried to force myself to pick songs, actually that are pretty recent. Like, I really. Almost. Most of my songs are from, like, 2020 forward, with a couple of exceptions, because I really was like, you know what? I want it to be, like, sort of fun. And these are songs that I actually know. And, like, I mean, like, I. One of the things that's, like, really. I'm sure you know this too. Like, you mostly know about, like, pop music when you're driving around with your kids. You know what I mean? And so a lot of these songs are songs that, like, I. I was like, oh, I really like the song, you know. And, you know, my kid would be like, mom, you're such a loser.
- [23:51]
Sarah McLean
Yes.
- [23:52]
Jennifer Prokop
And then I was like, I don't care. I think that this is a great artist. And then I'd try and say their name, and, you know, it was bad, but so these.
- [24:01]
Sarah McLean
Dollar sign.
- [24:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Ha. And I was like, sure. Exactly. So I was really like, I'm just gonna try and pick a couple of like, like, you know, like, newer songs. Songs I really. But songs I really like or artists I really like that are newer. And then, yeah, I was really like, okay, I guess I have to read these lyrics because sometimes I don't, you know, I have to pay attention. Although I will admit that there are a couple that I was like, I'm just going on pure. The title alone.
- [24:28]
Sarah McLean
Sure, sure.
- [24:30]
Jennifer Prokop
This is a romance thing. And therefore. Right.
- [24:34]
Sarah McLean
Also, it should be said that Lady Gaga's Bad Romance is on this list. But I. We don't talk about romances we don't like.
- [24:43]
Jennifer Prokop
Exactly.
- [24:45]
Sarah McLean
So bad romance could potentially make it onto the playlist that Eric is going to build from this episode, but Jen and I. That part is redacted.
- [24:53]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes.
- [24:54]
Sarah McLean
From this episode.
- [24:55]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Yeah.
- [24:56]
Sarah McLean
I don't.
- [24:56]
Jennifer Prokop
I. I was like, I'm not gonna necessarily try really hard to find, like, books I've never talked about before unless they bubble up pretty fast. So I can't imagine, like, you're gonna, you know, hear about new books from me that you've never heard from before. And I just had to go with that. That's how I felt.
- [25:10]
Sarah McLean
I think that's fine. Yeah.
- [25:12]
Jennifer Prokop
All right. You should start.
- [25:14]
Sarah McLean
Where should we. You want me to start?
- [25:16]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes, I want you to start.
- [25:17]
Sarah McLean
Okay. Why don't I start with the oldest song?
- [25:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay. I like that. All right.
- [25:22]
Sarah McLean
Which is a song that predates both of us. It is from February 6, 1971. It is Gladys Knight and the Pips, if I were your woman.
- [25:33]
Jennifer Prokop
Great.
- [25:34]
Sarah McLean
It is a great song, and it has a. It has a whole portion of it. One of the lyrics or the lyrics? The lyrics that, like, I always think of when I think of this song are, if I were your woman and you were my man, you'd have no other woman, you'd be weak as a lamb. And it's the very beginning of the song. And listen, basically, this is a song that is, like, pure, unrequited love. Like, this is a woman who has been through it, because this man who she loves has another woman, and he is, it seems like, kind of catting around on that woman. But, like, Gladys Knight is like, listen, if I had you, you would never need to look anywhere else because I would treat you perfectly. And this felt very. Sherry Thomas, Ravishing the Heiress coded to me nice, because as many of you know, we did a deep dive on Ravishing the Heiress. We love Sherry Thomas here, but that book is really a book about unrequited love. Like, it's. The heroine of that book is so wildly in love with the hero of that book, and he is very in love with another woman. And they are married for reason. She. The. Her. The hero and heroine are married for reasons but they've never had. They've never been in a sexual relationship. And the book sort of begins with the idea that, like, basically, they had an agreement that they would be married for a set amount of time. And now the time is coming up and a divorce is going to be in play. But the heroine of this book wants a baby. And so she's like, I'll give you your divorce, but could you give me this like a child? And she is so desperately in love with him. And they are so perfect for each other. And he, I mean, this other woman is very present in this book. Sherry Talmud. We have it on authority. We, of course, Jen and I were basically like, he's totally cheated on her. Oh, yeah. Like, he's totally been with this other woman. And Sherry Thomas came right in to tell us we were wrong.
- [27:45]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm sorry, but, like, actually speaking, Sheri, I still. I still don't believe you.
- [27:49]
Sarah McLean
I don't know what book you were reading.
- [27:51]
Jennifer Prokop
I was like, you say that all you want, Sherry, but we know the truth.
- [27:55]
Sarah McLean
But listen, it's very like, oh, man, if Gladys Knight read Ravishing Neris, she'd be like, I get it.
- [28:03]
Jennifer Prokop
I mean, yeah, I think that it's you guys.
- [28:05]
Sarah McLean
It's so romantic. And then when finally when it all comes. Comes together and it's so clear that these two are. They're just so perfect for each other. And it is clear that, like, there will never be another person for that hero. Like, it is. It is the heroine and no one else forever.
- [28:23]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Perfect.
- [28:25]
Sarah McLean
That is Sherry Thomas ravishing the heiress.
- [28:30]
Jennifer Prokop
This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Blue Box Press, publishers of the River's Wild series by Dylan Allen.
- [28:38]
Sarah McLean
So Dylan is great and she's written a ton of books, but this series, the Rivers Wild series, is really, really special. It's a collection of standalone romances all located in Houston, Texas, in a kind of specific enclave that's owned by the Rivers and the Wild families. It's incredibly valuable oil land. This is a series that's about old Texas money in the legacy, the legend and the Jezebel. You're going to the Rivers family and the Wilde family.
- [29:13]
Jennifer Prokop
These books have all the kind of.
- [29:16]
Sarah McLean
Big, bold alpha heroes that you've come to expect from Dylan and from Blue Box and also a really passionate, emotional through line on every one of these stories. The heroines are all just like big and bright and they can hold their own with these kind of impossible heroes. And you're gonna have a great time reading this one. These books have already been published, but they're being republished and re jacketed by Blue Box.
- [29:43]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. So if you would like to check these out and your podcast supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Blue Box Press and Dylan Allen for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, maybe I'm gonna go in the opposite way and go with my most middle. Yeah, we'll meet in the middle. Although I think we'll cross over at some point. Okay. All right, so I am. All right, I. Okay, so if it's like a recent song, Everybody, like I said, it's like a song I really like. So I'm doing that song by Shaboozi called a bar song Tipsy. And what's shocking about this song, Everybody is I'm. I'm not really a country person, but this song slaps. It's really good. And so I was really like thinking to myself, like, okay, what would be like a. A, like a boozy song basically, Right? Like a song that has essentially either like, like I was thinking like, bar. So I was like not thinking about the lyrics as much as this one. As I was thinking maybe just about like, right where the song be playing or where are like, you know. So I have two quick recommendations. One I haven't read in a really long time, but I remembered that Victoria Dahl had a. A series set in a. A brewery called Donovan. The Donovan Brothers Brewery or something.
- [31:06]
Sarah McLean
Yep.
- [31:06]
Jennifer Prokop
And the third book is called Real Men Will. And I went looked at this and basically, like, it opens up with Beth. She works at like a sex toy shop, which, you know, or is the manager. And she is essentially thinking about this one night stand she had with a. With this like, really hot guy who's like one of these brothers. I think his name is Jamie. And so she was just like, you know, we were just going to have this one night stand and that. Oh, no, Eric. Eric is. I think Jamie is one of the other brothers, everybody. Sorry. So anyway, Beth is like, you know, it was just supposed to be this like, one night stand, but, like, it was really hot and I can't forget it. I can't get over it. And so, I don't know, it's just really funny. Like this is. And then like, we kind of switch over to Eric who's like, at the bar and like, you know, he's just like dealing with like this really funny. Like, I reread the first chapter to kind of like jog my memory, and there's this really funny scene where like, one of his bartenders was really upset because, like, the woman he's dating, her husband is there. And like, Eric's kind of like, wait, dude, like, she's married? And he's like, no, it's an open marriage. She's allowed to date me. Like, and it just felt like, messy the way that, like, I would sort of expect like a good, like, bar book to be messy. Okay, so that's a real Men Will by Victoria doll. And then, of course, I was thinking about Empire of Seduction by Mila Fenelli, which is the second book in her New York State of Mafia series where Maggie owns a win. And this is, like, kind of a piece of shit winery in northern New York or, like, upstate New York. And, like, you know, Vito comes along, and he's constantly basically, like, this wine is terrible, but this lady is hot. And, you know, there's a lot of drama. You know, like, they get together. He's in the Mafia. He's like, you know, essentially her brother, like, loses the winery and, you know, in a. In a gambling, you know, a poker match or whatever. And so, I don't know. Like, I just feel like, to me, a really good bar book has to be real messy, and that's what these books made me think of. Is that bar song? A bar song.
- [33:19]
Sarah McLean
I mean, perfect.
- [33:21]
Jennifer Prokop
I love that.
- [33:23]
Sarah McLean
Okay, wait, where's my list? I've lost our. I've lost our list.
- [33:26]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, no, don't do it.
- [33:28]
Sarah McLean
Here we go.
- [33:29]
Jennifer Prokop
All right.
- [33:31]
Sarah McLean
1973, February 3rd. Joanie Mitchell's. You Turn Me on. I'm a radio, which I love it. I love Joni Mitchell. We almost need my child Joni. So she is really. She's a big. A big fave here in this house.
- [33:47]
Jennifer Prokop
That's a very 70s coded name to me.
- [33:49]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, it is. Well, also, my grandmother's name was Joan, so I was like, oh, it's also, like, a family thing. But yeah, oh, It's a very 70s favorite encoded name. But also, it's, you know, not the 70s anymore. So we were like, let's bring it back. And also Joni Mitchell. There are worse people than. Listen, there's a person who I don't think has ever been a garbage person, hasn't come out, hasn't turned out to be a garbage person. And if she has everybody, please don't tell me. I just.
- [34:14]
Jennifer Prokop
Again, I can't live like that.
- [34:18]
Sarah McLean
Anyway, you turn me on. I'm a radio. It. I mean, first of all, what a great sentence. What a great. What a great metaphor. And it just works out great. But then I was like. And I saw it, and I was like, oh, I want to talk about Joni Mitchell. And then I was like, what radio romances have I read? Because there are some pretty great podcast romances, right? Like, I was. I was sort of like, okay, there's. There's Kate Claiborne's most recent, the Other side of Disappearing. And, like, which is about a podcast. Like, a true crime podcast. There are A number of like podcast adjacent books out. And then I remembered Lauren Landish wrote a book called Dirty Talk, which is a straight up radio dj. Like he's a radio talk show host. He, his name is. Anyway, I can't remember. It's gone. But okay, so the premise here is the heart, the hero is he goes by the name the Love Whisperer. And he has a like late night talk show where you can call in and he'll give you like sex and love advice. We've all, we all understand this as a concept. The here the heroine is like a pretty sort of straight laced coder who has been in a relationship for a long time. And there that relationship is very sort of staid and kind of and like just the same. And she discovers over the course of, you know, scrolling on her boyfriend, like scrolling Instagram. Discovers accidentally that her boyfriend has been like fully cheating on her. Like there's a, like there's a kind of dick picky experience on Instagram and she is panicking because she's basically like, I can't say we've seen this before. Like this kind of. I feel like I'm the problem. When actually she's dating an absolute monster.
- [36:17]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [36:18]
Sarah McLean
And so she calls in to the Love Whisperers show, tells her this story and they like talk for a little while and then at the end he's like, he takes the call like off the air and he's basically like, I, you have to call me back and tell me like how it all goes when you have this confrontation with him. And she does and it's sort of this like slow tumble into them becoming like friendly. But they are definitely hot for each other like from the jump. And so they go from phone to text to. Or like we go from the radio program to text to phone to meeting in person to dating to. And it just sort of like goes on from there. But it's this really lovely, like there are every moment. It's very sexy. Obviously Dirty Talk is the title of the book, so it's also like sexy in that way. But it's also this like really fun, you know, slow ride to them falling for each other. It's very physical. And then like they realize that they've, they've fallen for each other. It's very cute. I read it a long time ago when it came out and so. God, in 2017.
- [37:32]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [37:33]
Sarah McLean
Which feels like, you know, a lifetime ago. But that's my radio DJ Dirty Talk book. What I would say though is that if you do know of a radio book, I'm interested. I know there was a.
- [37:48]
Jennifer Prokop
There was one. It was like, radio. I can't remember that. By Catherine Somebody, maybe. Radio.
- [37:54]
Sarah McLean
Yes.
- [37:55]
Jennifer Prokop
Radio. Yes. Somebody is yelling.
- [37:57]
Sarah McLean
But, like, right now there's gotta be an old. Yeah, like. But there's gotta be, like, in the. In the Harlequin, like, in presents or, you know, those kind of early, like, the blazes. All of those. Their radio teachers were so sexy when we were young. Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [38:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Right.
- [38:13]
Sarah McLean
Listen. There's a reason why we say things like, he had a face for radio, by the way. But there's. But, like, I remember growing up and, like, listening to the radio in. In the evenings and, like, really having.
- [38:25]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, yeah. Like, a relationship with these people. Yeah, yeah.
- [38:29]
Sarah McLean
So I bet there's a. A lot of radio romance.
- [38:33]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, yeah, there's gotta be. I also was thinking, I wonder if there are, like, romances where, like, someone's, like, a DJ in the club. There has to be. I just can't think of any off the top of my head.
- [38:42]
Sarah McLean
Right?
- [38:42]
Jennifer Prokop
Like, because now DJing is, like, back in such a big way as, like. You know what I mean? Like, you can go see DJs, you.
- [38:50]
Sarah McLean
Know, it's interesting, right, because that's a good example of, like, a story where, like. Where, like, I can see how that would be a job where it would take over the story.
- [39:02]
Jennifer Prokop
Right, Right. Maybe, maybe.
- [39:04]
Sarah McLean
Plus, it's a pretty solitary job. So, like, what does a workplace romance look like for a DJ? Yeah.
- [39:09]
Jennifer Prokop
And, like, they're all DJing, so you can't really get with them in the middle of the club anyway.
- [39:13]
Sarah McLean
But they send you messages through the music, but then you're in sort of like, how do you do music in a book? It's complicated. Okay.
- [39:22]
Jennifer Prokop
All right, let me talk about a song that I have called 30 for 30 by SZA and Kendrick Lamar. This is from 2025.
- [39:31]
Sarah McLean
I knew you were gonna put Kendrick on here.
- [39:33]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, well, and I knew it. I love.
- [39:35]
Sarah McLean
And I was hoping. And I've skipped him. I was like, I skipped those. J'll put somebody on.
- [39:39]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, you know what? I. Okay, I'm gonna say this is not one I know as well. I like other songs by SZA I really like, and other songs by Hendrick I like. But 30 for 30. I feel like there are so many romances where it's like, she's like, it's my 30th birthday and I'm a virgin.
- [39:53]
Sarah McLean
My dirty 30.
- [39:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. And I have to. I have to lose it. Including a book by you, Sarah. Called Brazen and the Beast. Right?
- [40:01]
Sarah McLean
Oh, yeah. And she is turning 30.
- [40:03]
Jennifer Prokop
She is turning 30. And so one in brazen and the Beast. Right.
- [40:07]
Sarah McLean
The. An ancient age, by the way, for a historical.
- [40:10]
Jennifer Prokop
I mean, sure, obviously. Embrace it. In the Beast, Hattie is about to turn 30. She has decided that she has to lose her pesky virginity. And so she is going to. Essentially, she's gonna have, like, the Year of Hattie. Right. Or is it her 20? It's her 30th year.
- [40:27]
Narrator
Right.
- [40:27]
Sarah McLean
She's 29. It's the year leading into her 30th.
- [40:30]
Jennifer Prokop
And so.
- [40:30]
Sarah McLean
But 30 is the year.
- [40:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [40:32]
Sarah McLean
She's like, oh, I gotta do this.
- [40:33]
Jennifer Prokop
I gotta do something. And so she essentially is gonna, like, hire, you know, a sex worker to take care of this for her. But then instead there is a.
- [40:43]
Sarah McLean
A lady with a plan.
- [40:44]
Jennifer Prokop
A brooding, handsome, huge man tied up in her carriage. And he is like, that seems like a bad idea. Why don't you let me take care of that instead? Not immediately, but in the course of this book. And she does.
- [41:00]
Narrator
Wow.
- [41:01]
Jennifer Prokop
Right? Suddenly youy by Lisa Claypis has the same. The same plot, only in that one, she thinks it's the sex worker who she has hired to show up at her house. And instead her boss. Her boss, he's a publisher. And you know how that goes. So I do like. I do like these books. Again, I. Yeah, I don't think those. That song really has anything to do with this plot.
- [41:24]
Sarah McLean
No. But it brought this version.
- [41:26]
Jennifer Prokop
This world plot to me. And I was like. And you know what?
- [41:29]
Sarah McLean
It's not even.
- [41:30]
Jennifer Prokop
Only in. It's funny. I tried to. No one has made this list easy for me to find on the Internet anywhere. But I feel like I have read this, like, several times. Right. You know, just like, I'm about to turn 30. There's this big birthday.
- [41:42]
Sarah McLean
You know who has to make that list? Jen?
- [41:44]
Jennifer Prokop
Me and Par.
- [41:44]
Sarah McLean
Apparently, us. We have to do an episode. Okay, well, have we never done, like, Help. I.
- [41:51]
Jennifer Prokop
Help. I'm turning 30.
- [41:53]
Sarah McLean
Help.
- [41:53]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm getting old at the beginning of every episode, according to Eric. Okay, so that is. Like I said, I'm not sure the lyrics really support this read, but when I saw 30 for 30, I really did laugh. And I thought, oh, wait, I. That, like, immediately brought a whole set of books. Books to my head.
- [42:14]
Sarah McLean
Amazing. Okay, let me see. Wait, I have to go back because I have one from the 60s on here. Okay. I want to talk about the marvelettes. Please, Mr. Postman.
- [42:27]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing.
- [42:28]
Sarah McLean
Which was a number one and was on the charts for 23 weeks. And we all know this one. You know this one. Is there a letter in your bag for me? Anyway, so the Marvelettes, you know, are a very fun. This is a very fun group from the 60s. So wait a minute, Mr. Postman. Also, there's a cover from the Beatles. I didn't know that. But there is.
- [42:54]
Jennifer Prokop
I'm sure everybody's remade the song has to be, right? Yeah.
- [42:57]
Sarah McLean
I mean, the Beatles did a lot of covers in those early, early days. And so. But this story is.
- [43:03]
Jennifer Prokop
This is like.
- [43:04]
Sarah McLean
It's the 60s.
- [43:05]
Jennifer Prokop
It's.
- [43:06]
Sarah McLean
It's about, like, getting letters from, like, the sort of inferences that there is somebody far away who is sending. Like, is it a soldier? Is it somebody who is going, who wants to come home? Who's, like, the hope is that you'll hear from them and that they'll be saying that they're coming home. And so what's interesting about this is it can be a very. I have not heard the Beatles cover. I have not heard many. Like, I haven't really paid very much attention, honestly. But the original version of this song is, like, very sort of like, yep, da, da, da, da, da. Like, very upbeat and like, 1960s. But the reality is, like, this is pretty sad. Like, here's a woman who has been waiting a long time to be. To hear from the man that she loves. So this felt. Obviously, I saw this on the list and I was like, well, I gotta do an epistolary romance.
- [43:56]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, of course. You're perfect.
- [43:58]
Sarah McLean
My favorite. So I am going to talk about. You just talked about Leisa, but I am going to talk about Lysa Klepus's Love in the Afternoon, which is in Jen's vault.
- [44:11]
Jennifer Prokop
It is in the vault.
- [44:12]
Sarah McLean
It is a Hathaway novel. It's Beatrice Hathaway's novel where she. It's essentially a. It's a Cyrano book where Christopher Phelan, Captain Christopher Phelan, is home in their, like, tiny little town, and he has a crush on this very beautiful young woman in the town who, like, dances with him at a town ball, at a country ball, on the eve of him being sent to war. And he's basically like stars in his eyes for this woman. And she says, oh, yeah, I'll marry you when you come back. And then he goes off to war and he sees terrible things and he writes to her because, like, he's on the front lines of a war and she is a beautiful thing that, like, he holds in his mind and the letter arrives, and she gets it, and Beatrix Hathaway is there. And this woman is like, oh, la. He's so depressing. And so. And she's like, I'm not gonna write him back. Like, I'm bored now. And Beatrix is like, you have to write this man back. Like, he is. He is on the front lines of a war.
- [45:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Like.
- [45:20]
Sarah McLean
And he is thinking of you. You must. Yeah, do this. And so Beatrix writes her back as. Writes him back as this other woman. And they start to exchange these, like, long, beautiful, personal letters that are so emotional. And, like, they're both desperate to hear from each other the whole time. And then when he gets back from war, like, halfway through the book, he's like, I gotta get to her. I gotta get to this. You know, I don't remember the woman's name, because who cares about that bitch? He's like, I gotta get to her. And he goes to her, and she's like, oh, la. I. Weren't our letters just so silly? And he instantly is like, what the fuck?
- [46:07]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [46:08]
Sarah McLean
Like, who did? Like, who was it? Who's writing to me?
- [46:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [46:14]
Sarah McLean
And he. And Beatrix is like, oh, fuck, I'm in big, big trouble. And, like. And then the second half of this book, the tone just shifts so much because then it's like, he's returned from war. He's obviously, like, riddled with PTSD from what he's seen. Sure. And he's also like, I'm crazy about this, about you, about the person who is writing me letters, but you're also not the person. Like, you lied to me. And it is, you know, emotionally fraught in only the way Lisa Klepas could do that job. So that is Love in the afternoon. And please, Mr. Pilfman, by the Marvelettes.
- [47:00]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it.
- [47:01]
Sarah McLean
The Marvelettes.
- [47:02]
Jennifer Prokop
The Marvelettes. Oh, and epistolary. You love it. I do love it. This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by the Romantasy Letters, an interactive reading experience magic in your mailbox.
- [47:19]
Sarah McLean
So this is so cool. This is exactly what I want from my romance experience. This is breathtaking. Romantasy by mail. You get 24 letters over the course of a year, with each letter coming with keepsakes and engaging items that take you deeper into a very particular romanticy story and universe. And this includes stickers, art codices, sigils, journal entries, coded messages, letters. Every package that you receive from Romantic Letters is designed to be saved and returned to, and each one will have sort of messages that come through later in the story, the Romantasy team uses absolutely no AI. Everything is human made and they're currently telling the story of a treaty of hearts which is about a mortal king and a Fae star weaver bound by a blood treaty. This is enemies to lovers in the extreme. They have to work together to save the world and fall into a dangerous slow burn passion that throws everything under threat. Ooh.
- [48:32]
Jennifer Prokop
So if you sign up now, you will receive two letters each month and these are beautifully crafted letters that let you not just experience the love story but actually touch it. So if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. And if you are interested in checking out romantasyletters.com, you can use the code faded for 20% off your year subscription. Thanks to the Romantasy letters for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, I am going to talk about Pink Pony Club by Chapel Ron. It was, it was on the charts for like 30 weeks, but it was only ever like 26th or whatever. Now okay, this everybody. It's like the story of the song is that like she leaves her small town and like Tennessee and she ends up like dancing, you know, essentially being a stripper at a bar I think in la. The pink, the Pink Pony Club. Now I however, I'm going to talk about a WNBA romance and here's why, if you will remember, maybe you won't everybody. Last summer during All Star Weekend, these two players, Courtney Williams and Natisha Heideman called. They're like, everybody calls them the Stud Buds. They did a live stream of the essentially the entire All Star weekend and it was like honestly like the craziest thing I've ever seen. Just like non stop WNBA content but like from a player's point of view. And you could tell like they were at parties. I mean it was wild. I just was like how is this happening? Because it was honestly the craziest thing. But at one point, at one point I think it's Courtney like was talking about how much she loves this song, Pink Pony Club and she is just like kind of like singing it to herself. Like just like, you know what I mean? Like just like vibing out with this song. And I think then after that it became, became sort of a WNBA anthem. And so I am going to talk about a WNBA lesbian romance called Rooting Interest. Not because they ever go to a club or anything like that, but just because of like the vibes of like this song. And so in Rooting Interest and this I actually did a book event this week with, with Kat, who's the author, and it was actually really fun. It was at a. A women's only sports bar up on the north side called Babes. And so I.
- [51:04]
Sarah McLean
And I.
- [51:05]
Jennifer Prokop
This was a place like, I'd wanted to check out, but it was like the first time I had ever been there. And so I was like, oh, this is, like, really perfect. And it ended up being so fun. And I think part of it was because, you know, you're just used to sort of like, sitting in the bookstore. And so, like, there were all the people who came for the reading, like, essentially like in the back, like, and, you know, we had mics and I'm asking her about the book or whatever. And then there's just like all the patrons of the bar up in the front who, like, started drifting to the back or whatever.
- [51:31]
Sarah McLean
It was awesome.
- [51:32]
Jennifer Prokop
It was really fun. So anyway, in this book, Jennifer Felix is a sports reporter. She covers the NFL. She's openly lesbian, but she also, like, when she's kind of at work, really keeps it pretty tight. Like, she doesn't, like, wear her hair a certain way. She just doesn't want anyone to judge her essentially for her sexuality when she's covering the NFL, which is like, you know, so hyper masculine and, you know, and. And then what happens to. She gets reassigned to the WNBAB kind of temporarily, and it's kind of shitty. Like, she's aware that the only reason they've assigned her to the WNBA is because she. She's a queer woman and she's kind of like, I don't even know anything about basketball. You're kidding me. So what she's covering is the return of Natalie Zapsky, who is like a player who's been out with an ACL injury. She's coming back and she's like, just sort of just made it back. So this is her first All Star Weekend back. This is the other thing. It was like an All Star Weekend book. So the Pink Pony Club thing was perfect here, and these two kind of meet and have, like, a lot of great chemistry. But Felix is like, I'm not going to. Obviously, I can't date someone who I'm covering. That can't happen. And so, you know, and it's smart. Like, she gets reassigned back to the NFL and then it's like, things are okay for her and Natalie to date. And so anyway, this is like a really fun WNBA romance, but also like, just like a real, you know, the other thing is like, Pink Pony Club is about this, like, journey, right? From, like, small town to big city. And here's Felix is. Is a like, professional sports reporter in Los Angeles and yet, like, somehow covering the wnba, like, allows her to like, kind of move forward in her journey herself as like a queer woman and like, how she wants to present in the world. So anyway, it's great. I loved it. And so, yeah, Pink Pony Club and Rooting interests by Kat DiSabato. Love it. What a good choice. It was perfect.
- [53:37]
Sarah McLean
All right. I want to talk about my favorite Prince song because it's a weird one. Nobody else has their. Has this song as their favorite. But my favorite Prince song is Seven by Prince and the New Power Generation. And this was when he was not a prince. He was a symbol.
- [53:53]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, like a symbol. Sure.
- [53:55]
Sarah McLean
And I love it so much and.
- [53:57]
Jennifer Prokop
I play it all the time and I have been playing it a real.
- [54:00]
Sarah McLean
Lot recently because it's all about, like, how revolution will, like, if, like love will topple everything. It's great, Great. It's very fun. If you have not. If you don't know this song or you are have not, you don't remember this song, go listen to it now. It's very fun. But one of the things that one of the lyrics in this song is all seven and we'll watch them fall. And then at the end he says, I am yours now and you are mine and together we will love through all of space and time. So I was like, all right, this has to be one of those books where, like, people find each other over across time. And so I want to talk about Tia Williams's A Love Song for Ricky Wilde, which is so delicious. So now if you've read any Tia books, you know that like, Tia likes to sort of bend. Refract a romance novel through magical realism. Like, there is always a little sort of blend of something that is curious out there outside of the romance itself, like just to sort of tweak on time. And Seven Days in June did this. And now a love song for Ricky Wilde does this also. Where, like, there is a past, the hero is. Has a sort of. Is set in the Harlem Renaissance and the heroine, Ricky is set in current, present day New York. And it's all around the. It's around leap year. Like there's a.
- [55:33]
Jennifer Prokop
It's February.
- [55:34]
Sarah McLean
February. Yeah, it's February. Oh, so look at us there.
- [55:37]
Jennifer Prokop
Look at this.
- [55:38]
Sarah McLean
I didn't actually even think about that until this exact moment. It's leap year and there was this sort of magical time on February 29, when, like, there's this idea that, like, everything gets thin and you. And, like, magic can happen. And so we have our, like, incredibly sexy, like, hero from the Harlem Renaissance, who is a musician and, like, trying to, like, make his way in the world, like, having pulled himself up by his bootstraps and, like, gotten himself to Harlem, where he is finding his way. And then we have Ricky, who is also trying to find her way on her own. She has a sort of overbearing family, and she's decided that she's going to leave this, like, Southern family and come to New York and, like, open a flower shop and, like, try to actually, like, make space for herself on her own outside of the, you know, heavy weight of her family expectations. And they meet in these, like, beautiful. It's February in New York, and it's very cold, and they meet in this city, like, a lot. A garden. Like a community garden. Space that, even though it's February, feels like it, like, smells of jasmine and, like, feels like there's something magical about this space. And they meet, like, the first time they meet there, it's, like, nighttime, and she's like, here's this, like, magical man. And the whole book is about, like, how they find each other and make love happen with one of them living in the Harlem Renaissance and one of them living here now.
- [57:09]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [57:09]
Sarah McLean
And, like, it's sort of. It's. I mean, gosh, Tia just does such a good job of, like, pulling the story through to make you feel like, how is she gonna pull this off and, like, what is gonna happen and what is happening? Like, what is this magic? And it just feels. This is a book that feels, like, humid, if that makes sense. Like, you just. You just want these two to bang. But, like, respectfully. So that is a love song for Ricky Wilde and a perfect, perfect, perfect read for February.
- [57:43]
Jennifer Prokop
February, exactly. See how this works? See, See, Everybody I know.
- [57:48]
Sarah McLean
And that song by Prince. Oh, perfect.
- [57:50]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay. All right. I have another. I have another sza song. Sorry. I really like her. It's called Nobody Gets Me. And the lyrics of, like, nobody gets me are basically like. Like, you know, like, essentially come back. Right? Come back. Because, you know, nobody gets me like you do. Right? And so, you know, she. I think in the. The. The song, like, she's, like, a musician who's, like, out on the road, and she's basically like, there's a song, right? Like, if I was you, I wouldn't take me back. I pretend when I'm. I'm. When I'm with a Man, it's you, right? So, you know, I don't want to see you with anyone but me. Nobody gets me like you do. So how am I supposed to let you go? And I am going to talk about one of my. This really, of course, hits, like my favorite, which is, you know, like, she's. She's gonna bounce. And he's like, yeah, but you have to come back. Nobody gets me. And so I'm gonna talk about Run Posey, run. Which is like one of my favorite. Nobody gets me, right? Like he this dumbass at the beginning. Dario essentially is like sort of tricked into believing that Posey has cheated on. On him him with like video evidence that has been doctored. And he like throws her out of the house and you know, takes her money, takes her, you know, like, cancels her credit cards. And like all she has is like this one suitcase and she's, you know, he, he's. And Rey, who is the driver who's like charged with like sort of taking her into the city and dropping her off somewhere kind of is like, you know, this is like a mafia romance. It's like, Posey, you're in real trouble. Like, like, you know, the bad mafia guy is going to come after you. You're a loose string now. And so she is like, oh, you're right. And so she is a smart cookie though. And so she does everything she can to disappear. And within like a half an, right, like she dumps her phone and her debit cards into a garbage can. Like she tries to get money. She knows she can't check check in. She realizes that like the hotel where Ray drop her off is above like a subway station. So she like just basically like disappears. And within like minutes, Dario was like, get her back.
- [60:11]
Sarah McLean
Because he's a dummy.
- [60:12]
Jennifer Prokop
Because he is a dummy. And she is like, gone, baby, gone. And I. It's great. And so the whole idea of basically like the song being, you know, like how, you know how my nobody gets me like you do is literally true because nobody does get Daario like Posey does. And so it's a great book. I think that it really plays around with, with. I don't know, like, I think it. I think it's very honest about sort of like the mafia world. I think Posy is a very like, clear eyed like, heroine who understands the limits of like the life she can have because of how she was raised. But also like really does love Dario. And so she does go back and she like whips his ass into shape and it's Terrific. So that would be Run Posey, Run. Perfect.
- [61:05]
Sarah McLean
I love it. Where am I now? Let's see. Oh, I'm in 1995, I'm in high school and Boys to Men. Oh yeah. Has a 26 week run on the charts with I'll make love to you.
- [61:24]
Jennifer Prokop
All through the day and night like.
- [61:26]
Sarah McLean
You want me to. Amazing. And so obviously, you know, I gotta talk about escort romances here. Sure. Because if you are gonna make love to me the way I want you to, then you're gonna have to do it exactly the way I want you to.
- [61:44]
Jennifer Prokop
So.
- [61:45]
Sarah McLean
So. And then I realized it has been a long time since we have talked about the kiss quotient.
- [61:50]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, okay.
- [61:51]
Sarah McLean
There you go. And Helen Hoang is. Has a new book coming out. It sounds like she posted on. She sort of resurrected her Instagram account recently. She's. She's been very, very quiet for a long time and she said she had turned in a manuscript to her editor. So that's very exciting for people who did not read the kiss quotient back in the day when it sort of really, you should.
- [62:12]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, it was huge.
- [62:14]
Sarah McLean
It is so sexy and so delicious. The heroine of. And really kind of broke some boundaries in interesting ways. Like it. Stella, the heroine, is an incredibly successful mathematician. She is autistic, but she doesn't disclose that to anybody at work. And but the problem is, is that it has made for. She feels that her autism has made it very difficult for her to date and to like, have us have sexual encounters that like, she feels comfortable with. Because, like, part of her. Her identity is very much wrapped up in, like, her needing to understand every step of the way. Right. That's why she's such an excellent mathematician. So she hires Michael, like an incredibly sexy escort to teach her how to be better in bed and how to do bed. And they. And so when. So he turns up for this kind of like, okay, you've hired me to do this. And he thinks like, we're. They both think, like, this is going to be a sort of very perfunctory as Stella especially is, like, this is going to be very perfunctory. This is how it's going to go.
- [63:34]
Jennifer Prokop
You're going to make love to me.
- [63:35]
Sarah McLean
The way I want you to. He's like, what if I made love to you the way you want me to, but you don't even know how you want me to in this. True.
- [63:46]
Jennifer Prokop
You know, like, let me be in charge of that.
- [63:48]
Sarah McLean
Michael's like, listen, you're a statistician. That's great. But I this. Why don't you let the professionals work here? And then what happens is like he's really drawn to her and he understands her in a way that a lot of people don't. And he really sees parts of her that, that she has, she hides from other people. And then it becomes a kind of like. Well, could you also help me kind of wrap my head around how relationships work and how dating works and it becomes a fake relationship of sorts. Michael has a really beautiful family and like there's a, there's a, a lot of sort of conflict and, and like love that comes from Michael's family and basically the, this is, it's just, it's a great romance novel. When it came out. God, when did it come out? 2019, maybe 2018. I think 2018.
- [64:40]
Jennifer Prokop
I want to say years ago.
- [64:43]
Sarah McLean
And when I can't stress enough that like when this book came out, just rioted through. Yeah.
- [64:50]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh yeah. Like it felt like we had all.
- [64:52]
Sarah McLean
Seen something that we had never seen before.
- [64:55]
Jennifer Prokop
So that is.
- [64:55]
Sarah McLean
Is boys to men.
- [64:59]
Jennifer Prokop
Amaz. That's amazing. Thank you very much. I was pretty proud of that one. You as you really should be. Terrific work, everybody. Terrific work.
- [65:11]
Sarah McLean
This week's episode of Fade of Mates is sponsored by Jennifer Yacopelli, author of Game Set Match.
- [65:18]
Jennifer Prokop
So this is a tennis romance, which is so fun. So all of Penny Harrison's. I know it's sporty month, so all of Penny Harrison's hard work is finally paying off. At 21 years old, she's a tennis icon in the making. Massive sponsorship deals, legendary status on the horizon. All she has to do is nail the upcoming Grand Slam in Paris. Until then, no room for mistakes. But when she returns to her sort of home tennis club in the Outer Banks to train, she comes, comes face to face with the biggest mistake she's ever made. Alex Russell. Oh boy, he is a bad, bad boy tennis player and the only guy who has ever broken Penny's heart. So keep her head in the game and her mind off Alex. Penny leans on two of her friends. They have their own exploding careers and off the court romances. And she's hoping like that drama is enough to keep Penny distracted. But as the days tick down to Paris, Penny can't seem to always find herself like she's always somehow in Alex's orbit. So winning means laser focus. So why can't she stay away from the one guy who ruins everything?
- [66:27]
Sarah McLean
Penny, Head in the game, girl. You can get Game, Set match right now in print, ebook or audiobook. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to buy the book. Also, as a special treat for fademates listeners, if you stay tuned, after the episode episode, you'll have a sneak peek of the audiobook of Game Set Match. And we are very excited to share it with you. Thanks to Jennifer Iacopelli for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [66:57]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, all right, I am going to go. I'm like, I have things on my list that I'm, like, sort of skipping because I think I realized I just really like the title. But then I couldn't, like, figure out what song I was gonna do, but I was convinced I would come up with it. So, for example, break up with your girlfriend. I'm bored by Ariana Grande.
- [67:14]
Sarah McLean
That would be amazing, right?
- [67:16]
Jennifer Prokop
I was like, book is at. So anyway, I'll just.
- [67:18]
Sarah McLean
Oh, that's funny.
- [67:19]
Jennifer Prokop
You know. Anyway, that is funny. Okay, so I am going to talk about the way life goes by. I feel real white saying this, everybody. Lil Uzi Vert, which is like a song I actually really, really love. Like, this is like one of those songs where you're like, you're driving around with your kid and you're like, I love this song. Right? I just love it. And so the thing is, is if you don't know the song song it's from, like, I guess it's from 2018, I think Nicki Minaj, back before, you know, Nicki Minaj was, you know, a trumper or whatever was on it. But so one of the things about this, this, the chorus of this song, right, is I know it hurts sometimes, but you'll get over it. You'll find another life to live. I swear that you'll get over it. I know you're sad and tired. You've got nothing left to give. You'll find another life to live. I know you'll get over it. And I just think it's like a really like. Like, I don't know. I. I love this song. This is like one of those songs where I'm just like. I like lock in as if. If it comes on my playlist, I'm always really happy to hear it. So anyway, I was going to talk about A Girl like her by Talia Hibbert, which is being re released. So this is a book that was like, probably one of her first. This is probably one of her first books. This first Ravenswood series books. And so this is like also probably back in. My guess is 2018 or 2019. And I just realized that they are. They re jacketed it and it's coming out again in March in trade, which is in a trade paperback size, which is really nice. But in this book, Ruth is our heroine and she is like, found a way to like make her life the way she wants it. And she is, she does like web comics and drawing. She. She's like kind of on her own because she essentially. And she's, she's very close with her sister. And she however is like a, an outcast in their town. And she essentially like kind of like when she meets Evan, her new like super hot ex military next door neighbor guy is like, you know, I'm autistic and people don't like how I am and I'm just too, you know, that I, I'm not playing by the. Their rules. Like the rules of everybody in the town. And it turns out that like she essentially was like really treated very badly by a boyfriend who like kept her a secret. And he was like, you know, like real classic like rich kid, you know, kind of taking advantage of her. You know, I think he's white and she's, and her, you know, her family's black. She lives on this poor side of town, you know. And so she is really like almost at a loss for to understand like how she was kind of targeted and, and, and then isolated like she was. And so she's just like kind of made this life for herself. And then here's Evan who all of a sudden is like not anything like anyone she's ever met before. And so, you know, it really is like this sort of question about like, can she feel safe again? Can. Can she get over it, right? Like, like these people made her life miserable and the, the power they, you know, I, I like a, I like a small town or small like neighborhood story where like the power dynamics are really like, honestly like hey, the rich people in town are terrible and this is what they're doing, you know. So I think that there is like she really is truly recovering from an abusive relationship. And I think that it is. Is like a really good match for like a story that. A song, right? This song, right, Called the Way Life Goes about. Like just like if this. These bad things did happen but you, you will get over it. And, and so I don't know, I think like it. It's really powerful. Obviously we talk a lot about like main characters in romance have like wounds, right? Things are getting over but like Ruth's wounds are there very real at very deep and, and you know, have had Years to sort of calcify and harden into her just being a real loner. And so to have all of a sudden someone appear who's just, like, ready to bring her back into the light. So it is coming out. It's being republished, but maybe you have one in the dregs of your, you know, e reader, and you should check it out. So that's a girl like her. I love it. Yeah.
- [71:59]
Sarah McLean
What you gonna do with all that junk, Jen?
- [72:03]
Jennifer Prokop
I also saw this go by and was like, what? Somebody gets like a. What's it called? A bbl.
- [72:11]
Sarah McLean
All that junk inside your trunk. I'mma get, get, get, get you drunk get you love drunk off my hump.
- [72:21]
Jennifer Prokop
It's too much there.
- [72:24]
Sarah McLean
It's poetry is what it is, Jennifer.
- [72:27]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay.
- [72:31]
Sarah McLean
My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas.
- [72:36]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing.
- [72:38]
Sarah McLean
Now listen. I am a curvy girl who likes curvy girl romance. I like this song because, listen. Sure, I like this song. I'm not ashamed. A little bit. I'm a little bit ashamed.
- [72:50]
Jennifer Prokop
You sound a little ashamed.
- [72:51]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, I'm a little bit ashamed. But here's what I'll say. You deserve nice things, and you deserve a romance novel where the curvy girl gets the hot man who just cannot. He is just cannot get over how much he loves her body. And so I have two for this one. First is Bella Andres Take Me, which is an oldie but a goodie.
- [73:21]
Narrator
Where.
- [73:21]
Sarah McLean
And this one. And I'm giving you two because obviously. Obviously. What you gonna do with all that junk? This is a woman who knows exactly what she has and is not afraid to use it.
- [73:31]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [73:32]
Sarah McLean
But in. There are two, like. There are two schools of thought on curvy romance. Some women really like the curvy romance where, like, there's a certain level of, like, insecurity about your body that then, like, becomes you. You, like, end up discovering that your body is lo. Is to be loved by virtue of, like, meeting somebody who loves you so desperately. And that is this one. Take Me by Bella Andre, who has Bella, the main character of this book, is best friends with, like, grew up with a set of very handsome romance twins. Is best friends with one of them and, like, absolutely gone for the other one. Even though he is, like, grumpy and kind of mean, and he's never very nice to her, but she just, like, cannot. He's so handsome and he's so perfect, and she just cannot. She wants to hate him, but she can't. And he is. Comes out, of course, that, like, part of the reason why he's so difficult with her is because, like, he has wanted her forever, and he's jealous of his brother, who is her best friend, and he ends up. This is a whirlwind. Kind of a whirlwind romance where they. They end up in. In Italy because she's an interior decorator and he's an architect, and they're, like, working on a project, and it's very sexy. And he just, like, wants her so badly, and she is very, like, insecure about her body, but, like, comes to be very, like, proud of it. And it's, I think, very. It's great. If you would prefer a heroine who just, like, is. Just looks great and knows she looks great and knows what she has and just wants a man to. To who deserves her, who, like, deserves to love her, then your book is Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen. Oh, yeah.
- [75:22]
Jennifer Prokop
I love this one.
- [75:23]
Sarah McLean
Wow. And so I'm gonna give you both because this book is. I mean, I feel like Curvy Girl Summer also sort of broke romance when it came out because people were just.
- [75:35]
Jennifer Prokop
So delighted by it.
- [75:37]
Sarah McLean
It's incredibly hot. This is another 30th birthday book.
- [75:42]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, see, there you go.
- [75:43]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. So she is ins. She decides she is going to find a boyfriend before her 30th birthday. She starts dating, like, online dating. It's a mess. Mess. She ends up on a failed. Like, she goes to. She goes on a blind date. It's a total disaster. And she. There's this, like, very sexy bartender who actually suggests. This is. So the bartender actually says, like, what about online dating? And then.
- [76:15]
Jennifer Prokop
She.
- [76:16]
Sarah McLean
And then he. They. What's cool about this book is that. So she's sort of like, ugh, online dating. Like, the dates are just terrible. And they do not know each other at the beginning of this book. But he becomes, like, her friend first. Like, it's very clear that, like, he's into her and she's a little bit into him. But, like, at first, this is really them, like, becoming friends and then becoming lovers, and it's just, like, sexy and fun. And she knows. I mean, this woman knows. Aliyah knows what she looks like, and she knows, oh, she looks great. And. And so, like, there is a certain amount of, like, the realities of dating as a big girl in here, but she's also like, I look great. And there is something very, you know, she's gonna get you drunk. Love.
- [77:07]
Jennifer Prokop
Drunk love. Drunk. Amazing.
- [77:11]
Sarah McLean
So that is Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen.
- [77:15]
Jennifer Prokop
I love it.
- [77:18]
Sarah McLean
Okay.
- [77:19]
Jennifer Prokop
All right. I'm going to do Young, Dumb and Broke by Khalid. Because, listen, I feel like the truth is there are so many, like, New age romances out there right now that, you know, are like, really, like, sort of like you're right on the verge of, you know, graduating from college, and we're, you know, we're gonna be out there and one day we'll have money. But right now we're just, like, young, dumb and broke. And so one of my favorite of these books is. And I know, listen, this is like an older book. I don't care. The. In, like, I don't care. I don't care.
- [77:58]
Sarah McLean
I don't care.
- [77:59]
Jennifer Prokop
All right, so we talk a lot about L. Kennedy's the Deal, right? Which is like, really, I think was one of the. And this is from. I think this is, like, 10 years ago was like, kind of one of the first times I was like, oh, I. I see how these books, right. Could be really great for, like, right. The. Just you're in college, you're about to graduate. You're like, right. 22 or 23. But one of my favorite, actually of this series is the Mistake, which is the second book. And in the second book, what happens is. And so it's like, if you've never read this one, it just really makes me laugh because it really, to me captured like, like, just like, kind of a way that, like, college works that nowhere else works, which is. Grace is a. Like, actually, I think she's a freshman and the, like, hero of the book is, like, one of the most popular hockey players on campus. And his real name is. I think his real name is, like, John Logan. Right? But everybody calls him Logan and. Because, of course, he's like a hockey bro, right? And I think he, like, knocks on her door thinking it's someone else's and it's not who he was looking for. But they end up hanging out all night, and then they end up, like, watching a movie and, like, fooling around. And it's kind of like, how does this happen?
- [79:24]
Sarah McLean
Right? But.
- [79:25]
Jennifer Prokop
And then the part that is really funny is he. He gets off, but he doesn't get her off off. And she's kind of like, well, that was a little disappointing. But I also know that this was like, I. He's. That was just like a. That was like a shooting star of an interaction. Like, I'm never like, that wasn't real. Like, right.
- [79:44]
Sarah McLean
Like, I.
- [79:44]
Jennifer Prokop
And she's smart enough. I think one of the things I like about the book is she's not like, oh, this is. We're dating now. Like, she understands that. Like, she just hooked up with this.
- [79:53]
Sarah McLean
Guy and that's that.
- [79:54]
Jennifer Prokop
So this, like, really makes me laugh. Laugh. He, like, wakes up the next morning, like they'd been drinking or whatever and was kind of like, horrified. Like, I didn't get this girl off. So he, like, goes back to her dorm and like knocks on the door and she's like, what are you doing here? And he's like, did you come last night? And she's like, no. He's like, all right, well, give me a second chance. And she's like, okay. So. And in my memory, she's just like, literally, like in a robe and she's just like. And he just like goes down on her. And that's the actual.
- [80:27]
Sarah McLean
That perfect as a meal.
- [80:29]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, exactly. And I felt like that's the part that really. It was just like, it really captured for me. Like, sometimes I just find the, like, oh, he's the 28 year old master of the universe. Like, just like really hard to believe. Right. And that's a little bit about what's happening in the first book. Like, Garrett is like the star of the hockey team and he's just like, right. He's like so self assured and he knows he's going to be going to NHL and he's going to be famous.
- [80:54]
Sarah McLean
And all of that. And.
- [80:55]
Jennifer Prokop
And Logan is a wreck. And I think that in that sense I found the story, like, way more in the vibe of like, young, dumb and broke. Right. Like, just like, who knows what we're doing? We're just, you know, drinking and partying, having a good time because we're just like a bunch of stupid kids. And honestly, that's kind of how that book was to me, but in the best possible way. So that was the mistake by L. Kennedy.
- [81:21]
Sarah McLean
I love it. Let's talk about Harry Styles.
- [81:27]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, let's.
- [81:28]
Sarah McLean
Harry Styles, who is. Has been rediscovered in my home by my 12 year old. All right. And has a new album coming out soon, I'm told. So I want to talk about as It Was, which came out in 2023, sat on the charts for like a year.
- [81:45]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Literally 43 weeks.
- [81:48]
Sarah McLean
Yeah, 43 weeks. Yep. And it's a, like, it's. It's very fun. And I want to talk about Ava Wilder's first book, how to Fake it in Hollywood. So this book. So in this. In the text of the song, you know, as It Was, is reference to, like, I know it's not the same as it was.
- [82:14]
Jennifer Prokop
Right.
- [82:14]
Sarah McLean
And then throughout the song, through the song, Harry talks about, like, there's a line where he talks about, like, being on the phone late at night and somebody says, what kind of pills are you on, Harry? Right. Like, it's a real song about, like, struggle, like, struggling through, you know, coming. Coming through life challenge and, like, talking to somebody who maybe it's not going to work out with. In Ava Wilder's how to Fake it in Hollywood, the hero is a. Is a very, very, very famous actor who fell apart when his very, very various, very famous, like, acting best friend died in a kind of very tragic situation. And he, the hero sort of stopped acting, like, stopped and became a real, like, tabloid name. He fell deep into drugs, like, and. And it. His. His marriage broke up. It was really messy. And the heroine is essentially an actress who was on a television show that was incredibly popular for eight or ten years and then, like, couldn't. Just couldn't quite find the next thing. And now she's, like, stuck just being, like, the woman who once played that one character that everybody loves. And so it's a classic Hollywood, like, kind of acting setup where these two are sort of forced by their managers or their publicists to, like, know each other. Like, and the idea being maybe we can resurrect both their careers if they'll, like, go out and be seen together. It works, right? And they really like each other.
- [83:57]
Jennifer Prokop
Like, they. They are.
- [83:59]
Sarah McLean
They. They fall for each other, and they fall for each other hard. It's very romantic. But Ava Wilder doesn't let up. She's aware of the fact that, like, drugs were like. You can see her as a writer especially, you know, I love a debut, Jen. Like, this is her first book, and you can see her really negotiating the, like, the challenge of writing a character who has a. Has had in the past, past problems with drugs, who has had in the past these sort of, like, deep traumatic experiences personally and like, whether or not he is ready to love again. Like, is he the same as it was? Listen, I think read the content warnings on this book. You know, make sure if you think drug addiction is. Is a challenge for you, this might not be the right book for you, but I think it's. It's a good example. I know you really loved Ava's last book. I haven't read it yet. I just, you know, I love her first book because I think it shows kind of right what might be coming. And I think she's an incredibly talented writer.
- [85:06]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Fun. Okay. I am going to talk about We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, which is probably one of my favorite. I mean, I just really love this song. And so this is from the Emancipation of Mimi, if you remember that album. And I do. Like, this is like one of these songs. Like, again, same thing. When it comes up on my spot, like my playlist, I'm always like, oh my God, I love this song. All right, so in this one, essentially, like, this is a comeback story, right? Like, come back baby, please Cuz we belong together, right? So who am I going to lean on when times get rough, right? Who am I going to talk to on the phone till the sun comes up? Like, those are the lyrics.
- [85:47]
Sarah McLean
Lyrics.
- [85:47]
Jennifer Prokop
And for this one, I have selected a book called Beast Business by Alona Andrews. And the reason is because it's basically like in classic Alona Andrews, Hidden Legacy style, essentially, like in the first book, they aren't really together at the end. And so I'm like, I am like, please, how long must I wait Now? Now I will tell you, this book came out of nowhere for me. Like, it was released like, a couple weeks ago and It's a novella January 29th. And I literally, luckily, I didn't know.
- [86:23]
Sarah McLean
They put something out.
- [86:24]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, they put out, they are, they are very prolific, but they haven't put out anything in the Hidden Legacy series for a long time. And so this is a novella with two of the Hidden Legacy characters. And I, and I maybe found out about it like, the day before it came out. And I was like, this is perfect for me. So I didn't have to be anxious and waiting for it, but now I'm anxious and waiting for it. And so if you have read the Hidden Legacy series, it is about Augustine Montgomery, who is an illusion prime, and he essentially agrees to help out Diana Harrison, and she is Cornelius's sister. And they are going to essentially, like, they're on a, like, a case together. She needs. She. He's a like, a magical private investigator and she's hired him. And so they are going to go out on this case together to try and, like, find this, like, magical creature that belongs to her family. Augustine in the books, like, really, everything's really like, close with him. You don't know who he's interested in. There weren't any hints at all that he would end up with Diana. And so I was literally like, wait, what? And I then. And you guys know, I read really fast, fast. But I would literally read like a chapter and then I'd put it down and wander around because it's a novella. It's only 200 pages.
- [87:44]
Sarah McLean
You gotta save that.
- [87:45]
Jennifer Prokop
And I was like, I need to make this last as long as possible, which might, you know, which means I made it last 12 hours instead of two.
- [87:51]
Sarah McLean
But fine, whatever.
- [87:52]
Jennifer Prokop
And so anyway, they go out on their. Like, their big adventure, and at the end of the book, we essentially get this scenario where, like, you know, they have. They've, you know, parted. They've, like, solved this mystery, but they're both thinking about each other. And so, you know, that either. And I don't know, it was just like, I love the hidden legacy world so much that, like, to get a new. Any kind of new story in that world just felt like such a gift. But also, it really is perfect for these, like, Mariah. This Mariah song, because you're literally like, they do belong together, so get them together for good. And, like, put me out of my misery. Just like, the way that Mariah is in misery because she is not with her man. So that is. It's called Beast business. That's great.
- [88:46]
Sarah McLean
Let's do Too Sweet by Hozier. A favorite in this house. 42 weeks. Yeah. I mean, at number one or not at number one, but 42 weeks on the list.
- [88:58]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah, I.
- [89:02]
Sarah McLean
This is one of the songs that, when it comes out, you know, our kids are very different in age. And so when this. And also, you know. Yeah. And so when this. When this song comes on, like, the. Everybody sings along.
- [89:16]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, yeah.
- [89:17]
Sarah McLean
I mean, the bit where he says, like, you know, while in this world, I think I'll take my whiskey neat.
- [89:26]
Jennifer Prokop
Oh, yeah, my coffee in. You know, it's a great.
- [89:30]
Sarah McLean
I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My coffee black in my bed at three.
- [89:34]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [89:34]
Sarah McLean
He's like the opposite of her in so many ways. Right? But I keep. I kept coming back to that. I had a lot of books where I was like, oh, it could be that, could be that, could be that. But I kept coming back to that whiskey neat. And I was like, well, I gotta talk about a Caribbean heiress in Paris.
- [89:49]
Jennifer Prokop
Perfect.
- [89:52]
Sarah McLean
And I think. And so listen, probably my favorite Adriana Herrera book. I love it so much. It's historical. It's set in the 1890s in Paris. I'm not gonna talk too much about it. Cause we talk about it so much on the podcast, and we love her so much. And you all. You all should have read it by now. But what I would say is the hero of this book has a. Oh, is Scottish. Is a Scottish earl. He has a whiskey distillery up in the Highlands. And they. He meets the heroine in. At the World's Fair in Paris. She is a Dominican heiress who has decide. Has like basically to pr has decided to prove herself to her family. She's going to go to the World's Fair. She's going to exhibit her, like, special herbal, like, tinctures that get added to drinks. Like they are. She has this like, really innovative spirit that she is. Spirit that you drink. Not spirit like spooky that you drink. Spirit that she's sort of show showcasing at the World's Fair. Men across the world are also at the World's Fair showcasing their alcoholic wares. And they all like, just fully underestimate her as a human. And so they meet because, I mean, this man is down bad for her from the jump. Like, he's just like, I must have her. And he has everything that you want in a romance hero. Like, thigh is the size of tree trunks. And he has this, you know, whiskey distillery that really matters to him. And like, it matters to him for a million different reasons, both emotionally and financially. And ultimately what ends up happening is these two have to have a kind of marriage of communities. This is a. A situation where like, a. A marriage for a prescribed amount of time will solve a number of problems.
- [91:50]
Jennifer Prokop
For both of them.
- [91:52]
Sarah McLean
It will not solve the problem that these two are just like, destined for each other. And absolutely. And she absolutely refuses to acknowledge it. And God, it's so sexy. He like, they basically. He like. He finger bangs around the Eiffel Tower. I don't know what else you can do about this.
- [92:10]
Jennifer Prokop
I feel like that's really all you know.
- [92:11]
Sarah McLean
But it also has this. This like, really fun, like, rollicking plot that like, has big explosions, literal and physic, figurative coming through it. And there's like a kind of bad, like a decent hero. Not a decent hero, but like a hero who like, is a real hero and. And a villain who is a real villain. And God, it's just such a fun book. And it has all the hallmarks of historical. You know, the. Adriana always says, like, historical is the Broadway of romance. And like, man, you can see that she really feels that way in this one.
- [92:50]
Jennifer Prokop
So that is historical is the Broadway. Romance is great.
- [92:54]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. Hozier's too sweet. And Adriana Herrera is a Caribbean heiress in Paris.
- [93:00]
Jennifer Prokop
Perfect. Okay, so my last one is also a Prince song, which is I could never take the place of your man, which is a song from not like again, like, not one of his biggest hits. It was on the chart for 13 weeks. It was only got to number 10. This is back in 1987. But I feel truly that this. If it's like a. If it's like a romance with. If it's like a male, female romance, like for sure, like, basically it. I love it. It probably has like this guy. Nice, like the narrator, like, right, like this. The lyrics of this, right? So basically it starts off with Prince is like, you know, her old man ran away. Like, you know, she knew that, you know, that her he wasn't gonna come back. Right? And so they meet up at the bar because she's like out for the night. And the lyrics are right. I said, baby, don't waste your time I know it's on your mind. I may be qualified for a one night stand But I could never take the place, place of your man. And then of course by the end of the book, he's going to be like, in fact, I am going to take the place of this man because I am going to like rise to the occasion and realize I am, you know, better than I thought. Right. And so I really love a book like that where like essentially like, like, right, the hero is basically like, I am a human garbage dump. I don't deserve you. Correct. You don't. So I have a couple that. And I also think that because of the like your man business, I feel like it really like skews more towards like the, you know, I don't like mafia dark romance like vibes because like in real life people don't talk like that. This is my man. I don't know, maybe they do.
- [94:43]
Sarah McLean
Right?
- [94:43]
Jennifer Prokop
Okay, so I have a couple and again, I've talked about some of these before because I love them. One is, Wait for It by Molly.
- [94:51]
Sarah McLean
O', Keefe, thief in this one, right.
- [94:54]
Jennifer Prokop
Tiffany has been like, left with a kid. She had an abusive husband. And this guy, the abusive husband happens to be Blake's brother. And they're really on the outs. And he has done some. He has also done bad to Tiffany because he assumed she was like a gold digger in a previous book. And so he has never let her know that like their mom is still around, that the kids have grand a grandmother. And so when he like, you know, comes. When he finally like sort of of realizes like that she's like truly in dire straits again and that like Phil has left her like once again in this situation. He's like, okay, well, I guess I better, you know, get it together and like step up and be the man she deserves. I would also like to say that like, I think of a lot of like, IAD Heroes. Like, when I think of this. Right. Again, like, I'm just, I'm not qualified for this. I'm just like a, A, you know, I'm just a. I'm just a, you know, vampire Prince Lothair. But I don't deserve you. And you know, but also the. Another, another one I was thinking of is there's a. A really good. Joanna Wilde wrote like some of the first motorcycle club romances. I wrote down the title somewhere and. Oh, and in sorry, Reaper's Legacy, again, it's very similar. She was with his brother and he comes back and you know, basically he. She is now like a single mom. The brother is long gone and has like left her alone. And he is, you know, like, kind of like, let me help you. And she's like, no, I don't want anything from you or your stupid family. And. Right. So Sophie essentially was like, I mean, like, basically barely out of her teens when she had her son. And so, you know, the. So in this book then Ruger is the hero, like, comes along and essentially is, you know, now she has a little boy and he realizes just how much of a deadbeat his brother is and he's like determined to like, come along and like, like help her. And through doing this realizes that he, in fact, like I said, can take the place of her man, especially when that man is his shitty brother. So I do love that. I don't know, it's interesting that they both had the bad brother being the one I liked, but the bad one. So I'm not.
- [97:20]
Sarah McLean
I'm not surprised by that at all.
- [97:22]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah. Right. Like, isn't that kind of perfect? Yeah.
- [97:24]
Sarah McLean
Yeah.
- [97:25]
Jennifer Prokop
So. Yeah, and I just love that like, Prince, right? Like being like, you know, that's. I'm just good for a one night stand stand. No, Prince. You're Prince.
- [97:34]
Sarah McLean
Prince. Nobody wants a one night stand with you.
- [97:36]
Jennifer Prokop
We want forever. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah.
- [97:42]
Sarah McLean
Well, I have, I have others. I have, you know, I have others that, that are sort of more quick. I had one for umbrella.
- [97:50]
Jennifer Prokop
I.
- [97:51]
Sarah McLean
Which was Kayla Gross's Whirlwind, because you can stand under my umbrella. But they're storm chasers.
- [97:56]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [97:56]
Sarah McLean
Perfect. Perfect. See.
- [97:58]
Jennifer Prokop
See what you're doing here?
- [98:00]
Sarah McLean
Listen, you guys, I've talked about this before, but that one, there's storm chasers. There's a tornado and they can't escape the tornado, so they get out of their truck and they get into like a ditch and then they're on top of each other and then it's just like, well, what else are we Going to do in here. Yeah.
- [98:13]
Jennifer Prokop
Right.
- [98:14]
Sarah McLean
While there's a tornado, we're might as.
- [98:16]
Jennifer Prokop
Well bang in here.
- [98:17]
Sarah McLean
You can stand under my umbrella or lay down with me in this ditch.
- [98:22]
Jennifer Prokop
Amazing thing.
- [98:24]
Sarah McLean
Yeah. And then I had the Shoop Shoop song It's in His Kiss, which is a very old school. Like, it's a very old school. Another one from the 60s, but it then re. Do you remember the movie Mermaids when we were young?
- [98:35]
Jennifer Prokop
Right. Oh, yeah.
- [98:36]
Sarah McLean
And Cher did a re. A reissue of it. But really, all I want to say about that is it's in His Kiss is obviously a sweet ruin reference.
- [98:48]
Jennifer Prokop
I really was like, is there one where someone can talk about.
- [98:52]
Sarah McLean
Right.
- [98:52]
Jennifer Prokop
They're ripping out of the heart or whatever. Right, Exactly.
- [98:55]
Sarah McLean
Wait, is Poison not on this list?
- [98:57]
Jennifer Prokop
Well, it has to be. Yeah, but not for February necessarily. Oh, yeah, right.
- [99:01]
Sarah McLean
February.
- [99:02]
Jennifer Prokop
We, like, had a very narrow list to work with. Otherwise it would be all of music.
- [99:06]
Sarah McLean
Other. No.
- [99:07]
Jennifer Prokop
And then what would we do? And then there was a song, and it reminded me of this book.
- [99:13]
Sarah McLean
Anyway. Well, we all know that the sweet room theme song for real is Poison. But I will accept it's in His Kiss from February.
- [99:20]
Jennifer Prokop
Sure.
- [99:23]
Sarah McLean
And that's that, everybody. Another goofy episode.
- [99:26]
Jennifer Prokop
It's all we can do. It's all we can do this time of year.
- [99:31]
Sarah McLean
We hope you're enjoying our goofy episodes.
- [99:35]
Jennifer Prokop
I think we did.
- [99:35]
Sarah McLean
I think we did. Roses. Roses was really fun.
- [99:37]
Jennifer Prokop
That was fun.
- [99:38]
Sarah McLean
Now we are sort of niche, though, now, like, but welcome. If you like niche book talk then. And we have it here for you. Anything to say? Oh, one more. You still have a chance. If you are in or around Rhode island, you still have a chance to join me, Adriana Herrero, Joanna Shoup, Caroline Linden, Elizabeth Everett and Kate Canterbury at Linden Place on March 7 for a historical romance bonanza. It is free and open to the public.
- [100:11]
Jennifer Prokop
But can you.
- [100:12]
Sarah McLean
You do have to register to attend. There are tons of sessions. There are panels. There are. We're playing a game. We're playing Price is Right. No, not Price is Right. What's the one with the Family Feud?
- [100:24]
Jennifer Prokop
Ooh, fun.
- [100:25]
Sarah McLean
With romance. Facts.
- [100:26]
Jennifer Prokop
Nice.
- [100:28]
Sarah McLean
And other things. There is a lunch. There is a cocktail party where you can come and hang out with us.
- [100:34]
Jennifer Prokop
You do have to pay for the.
- [100:35]
Sarah McLean
Lunch or the cocktail party, but the rest of it is free. And we hope you'll join us us links, as always, in show notes. And we hope we'll see you there. That is March 7th. You have anything going on, Jen?
- [100:46]
Jennifer Prokop
Yes. This weekend at the Lockport. There's the Lockport branch of the Romeoville like sort of public libraries and I will be there on Saturday morning talking about romance. I think it starts at like 10:30. It'll be like an hour. So that might be really fun. If you are out in the western suburbs.
- [101:07]
Sarah McLean
That'S of Chicago.
- [101:08]
Jennifer Prokop
The only suburbs that matter. No, I don't know. Yes everybody, I live in Chicago.
- [101:13]
Sarah McLean
Yes, so that's that. I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop. We are Faded Mates. You can listen to us every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts or online@fademates.net We've been doing this for eight years so there's lots of other episodes for you to listen to into. You can find all of those@fatedmates.net also just click on Episodes and you can see Show Notes where every book we talked about today will be listed in the episode notes for today, including all the other little things that we said. You know. Oh, check show notes for that. Check show notes for that. Also maybe we'll link to all of these songs. That feels like a thing Eric would probably want to do. There will also be a playlist somewhere. There will be links in check show notes to all of that so you can play along with us. If you have a good idea for a number one song that you or a chart topping song that you think you've got a romance novel that really connects with it, please let us know at Instagram or on Threads at Faded Mates pod or on bluesky at Faded Mates. Or you can join the Patreon which can you access to the Discord where there is even a music channel where people talk about music all the time. Head over to the Discord. You can find the patreon@faded mates.net patreon you can head over to the Discord and join there. Talk to other romance lovers. You get one extra episode a month if you do that and we would love to have you there. Other than that, we hope you're doing okay everyone. We know it's rough out here, which is why we're doing some goofy romance episodes this month. But we're thinking of you.
- [102:52]
Jennifer Prokop
We love you.
- [102:53]
Sarah McLean
Don't forget that Minnesota remains under siege and you can crowdsource their crowdsourcing funds and you can find places to give your money to help@standwithminnesota.com again links to Show Notes will be that link will be in Show Notes as well. We're thinking of you Minnesota and everywhere that is under scene. We love you and.
- [103:16]
Jennifer Prokop
Yeah.
- [103:16]
Sarah McLean
Until next week.
- [103:21]
Narrator
Chapter One Penny was burning from the inside out. That was the only explanation she could conjure at the sensation of pure fire coursing through her veins. She reveled in every flame as she arched up off the cool slip of silk sheets, the firm grip of his palm at her hip, calloused thumb gently circling the rise of it as his other fingers left imprints that would bruise in the next few days down her thigh, his mouth at her breast, the scratch of his stubble on her skin, his hips driving into hers, then the nip of his teeth against the sensitive line of her neck, his body long and firm above her, her thick and heavy inside, her strokes dragging deep and deliberate to hit the spot he found that made stars explode behind her eyes. She rose to meet him over and over, rocking into a punishing rhythm of their sweat soaked skin and his raspy groans and filthy words and a note high and desperate from the back of her throat that pulled her soul from her body while she shook beneath him, him, and he talked her through it. That's right, love. Take me with you. You're so fucking perfect. Finish me off. Her only answer was a jumbled mess of incoherence, and distantly she heard his voice catch on one final word before his arms gave out and he fell into his own release, collapsing down into her, his weight a satisfying, crushing thing. Penny and then consciousness. A beam of sunlight shining through her window warmed her cheek and she pressed her nose into the cotton sheets, not silk, and inhaled the fresh, clean scent of the laundry detergent that her mother used, not sweat and sex and a hint of warm spiced cologne that led to so many bad decisions was a reminder that for the first time in four months, she was home. That was a dream, just a dream, but a vivid one, like she was back there, back with him. Penny. Her brother Jack's call carried up the stairs and into her bedroom, a repeat of the sound that pulled her from her sleep and a very different voice that said it. Delivery for you. Groaning, she rolled out of bed, banishing the last fleeting images of burning blue eyes and the sound of his voice when he called her name. That dream had turned into a nightmare in real life and she no longer had time for it. She had work to do. When she got downstairs, both her brothers were in the kitchen. Jack, five years older than her, who pulled double duty as her big brother and her agent, was digging through the fridge. Her twin Teddy was sitting atop the central island, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Beside him was a long white box wrapped with a bright blue ribbon. You want some? Teddy asked, his mouth full of the sugary crap he called breakfast, but honestly, she was just impressed he was up this early. Normally you wouldn't see him out of bed before noon on summer breaks break. No thanks. Penny pulled the ribbon free of its bow and folded it neatly. Setting it aside, she lifted the lid to reveal a dozen long stem roses. There was a note tucked inside the sea of petals. Too many more victories. Your friends at Nike. She breathed in the aroma of the fresh cut flowers. Nike was upping their game. They'd been dangling a sponsorship deal since she'd won a few lower level tournaments during her first year on tour, but they'd backed off slightly after she'd lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Penny wrinkled her nose. Lost was a bit of an understatement. She'd been eviscerated, a total embarrassment and something she'd never let happen again. The flowers are a nice touch, jack said, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. A car would have been a nicer one, teddy quipped. I already have a car, penny said, tucking the note back inside the box and then pushing his legs out of the way to find a vase under the island. Teddy smiled, his dimples appearing, making him seem far more innocent than he'd ever been. Yeah, this new one could be for me spending too much of that nil money on beer, man, jack said. Teddy's name, image, and likeness deal with Duke had netted him a decent amount of money over the years, particularly after Penny had started making waves on tour, but it definitely wasn't enough for a car. Speaking of cars, though, can I borrow yours real quick? He asked, ignoring their brother and turning to Penny. Penny? Nope. I'm going to obx, she said you could come with me. Wait, why are you going in today? I have to train. The French Open is in less than a month. I can't just walk into Roland Garros unprepared. Yeah, and you just won a million dollars in Madrid. You're not going to take a day to enjoy that. I did, penny said. When Jack and I stopped over in New York to talk to potential sponsors. I took the whole afternoon off and went shopping. Oh, you're a real wild woman. I tried. Come on, please. I don't have time to wait for you to finish training to drive home, and I've already walked back once today. What do you mean? Jack asked. Teddy smirked. I stayed over at OBX last night and I left my phone by accident. I just need to pick it up. A new girl? Jack's eyes narrowed. You just got home. Teddy went to Duke and had wrapped up his junior year a couple of weeks before. Who was it this time? Katie Nelson? Katie? Sweet, penny said, looking up from arranging her flowers. She deserves better. She doesn't think so. In fact. Don't finish that sentence, penny said, reaching for the bowl of car keys on the counter. Take my car. I'll hitch a ride with this one. She motioned toward Jack. You're the best. Teddy jumped down and took the keys from her, then strode out of the kitchen toward the front door. So, Nike, jack said, taking the card from the box. Looks like your win in Madrid made them rethink things. Penny wiped some of the last sleep from her eyes. Looks like it. You know, this isn't just an outfitting deal. They want you to be the new face of their tennis brand. You can't go into a major tournament and bomb out again. Things have to be different in Paris. I know that, she said, crossing her arms over her chest. They'd had this conversation a million times since January. I'll be ready. Jack slung an arm over her shoulder and squeezed. I know. But I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't remind you. Rolling her eyes, Penny said, what was I thinking, hiring my brother as my agent? You were thinking that your big brother is brilliant and that he'd always do what's best for you, even when that means kicking you in the ass. Now go get dressed. She stood tall and saluted him. Sir. Yes, sir, Brett. Twenty minutes later, they sped down Ocean Trail toward obx, windows open, the morning sun sparkling against the water, salt air crisp against her skin. Pulling into the parking lot, Jack navigated into her designated spot reserved for Penelope Harrison, world number 33. The sign had been updated after her run at the Aussie, as well as some decent finishes in a few other tournaments. Now, after last week, she'd popped into the top 20 for the first time in her career. They'd have to update it again. Rankings were determined by a point system that reflected the results, good and bad, of each player at every tournament. Some tournaments were worth more than others, and Grand Slams were worth the most. When Dom recruited her, convincing her parents to move their family from Chicago to this tiny town on the North Carolina coast, he promised she would someday be a top 20 player. Now here they were, a few weeks away from the French Open, where she could hopefully push into the top ten. Penny grinned, thinking about that last match in Madrid she'd worked for that win for a very long time. A breakthrough, a crucial step that brought her closer to winning her first Grand Slam. As she stepped out of the car, the sounds of the game she loved filled her ears from over the high fences surrounding the 45 court complex. The solid thwack of balls hitting racket strings, sharp instruction from coaches, the pounding of feet on the hard courts. Jack went to the trunk to grab his bag, but Penny headed straight in. She and Jack managed only a few steps into the main building, which housed the offices, a few indoor courts, and the training rooms when Roy Whitfield caught sight of her. Penny Harrison. Hey, Roy. The old security guard was at his usual post in the atrium, his stack of daily newspapers ready, the collar of his navy blue polo shirt starched, and his ever present walkie talkie on his hip. He greeted her with a bright smile, just like he always did when she arrived home from tour. As usual, not much had changed in her absence. The air smelled the same rubber from the soles of all the sneakers, the distinct aroma that popped out of every newly opened can of tennis balls, and the sharp scent of the floor cleaner. This was home, too. OBX was the place that made her dreams a reality. Coach asked to see you as soon as you got in, roy said, nodding up at her coach's office. I'm not in trouble, am I? She asked as she walked to the stairs. I wouldn't call it trouble, roy said, his cheeks wrinkling as he smiled. I'm gonna head out there, Penn. I'll see you later, Roy, jack said, walking off toward the back exit. After playing tennis at Harvard, Jack had sometimes helped with the coaching. When he was back at OBX between law school terms, and even once he'd graduated and started representing Penny, he kept at it. He insisted he did it to keep himself in shape, but Penny figured he must miss playing. She couldn't imagine giving tennis up cold turkey. She took the stairs two at a time up to Dom's office and found him standing at his window, which overlooked the rest of the facility and, in the distance, the coast, with tiny umbrellas dotting the shoreline in various shades of the rainbow. Hey, she said, tossing herself into the seat across from his desk. Dom turned and moved around his desk. P welcome back. You ready to go? Yep. Roy said you wanted to see me. What's up? I wanted to talk through our training plan. Penny pursed her lips and waited for him to continue. As nice as it was to be home, there were two tournaments between now and the French Open. She could be playing in both of which Xena Lutrova was headlining. It had been Dom's idea to skip those tournaments in favor of coming back to train. I've brought in an old friend of mine to be your hitting partner. He's just getting back into full time training himself, so it'll be the perfect fit for the next few weeks. Penny raised an eyebrow. Yeah. Dom nodded. Yeah. I want you to focus on your defensive game and building up your endurance. You saw what it was like in Australia this year. Two weeks of tennis is no joke. You can't fade at the beginning of the second week. You need to be peaking for the semis and finals, not for the round of 16. Right, Penny said, clenching her teeth. She wanted to tell him that endurance, or lack thereof, had nothing to do with the end of her run at the Australian Open. It was the only time her mental focus had slipped. At the highest levels, the mental game was even more important than the physical. I am still the world's number one. Xena's Russian accent reverberated through Dom's office. Penny's head snapped to the video screen in the corner and everything else flew straight out of her head. It was an interview from the tournament in Rome where Xena was playing this week. Week Harrison played a good match, but I did not play my best. It was a fluke, the young superstar said from the press conference desk. Dom paused the video as the interview ended. Penny focused on the smirk Lutrova managed to wear even while discussing a decisive loss at the hands of a player she was claiming to be better than. That expression alone was enough to make Penny want to grab a rack it, fly to Rome, and take Luthrova's ego down a notch. Or 50 again. These next weeks are critical. Xena will be gunning for you in Paris. You're going to face her down and you're going to win. Dom said, I'll be ready. Good. I'll go. I'll be on a few. I've got to pull together the Classic rankings by this afternoon. A wave of nostalgia hit her. For the first time since she'd arrived at obx, Penny wouldn't be competing in the Classic, a tournament Dom arranged every year for the best up and coming young stars tennis had to offer. Since it was his tournament, the player rankings were up to his sole discretion. Penny had never not been ranked number one, and she'd never not come out on top. It's that time of year again, huh?
- [118:15]
Sarah McLean
Huh?
- [118:16]
Narrator
Feels like yesterday I won my first one. Yeah, well, three in a row was a good run, but looks like we'll have to find a new champ this year. Penny was halfway to her practice court, one of the very few clay courts on campus, before she realized she hadn't asked Dom who her new hitting partner was. He'd said it was an old friend, but Dom had been in the tennis world for nearly 30 years. That didn't exactly narrow down the field. Whoever it was, they were sure to be damn good. Her coach would only let her train with the best. She opened the gate and dropped her bag against the fence before tilting her head in confusion. There was a man sprawled across the court, eyes closed, face to the sun, completely relaxed except for his hands, which were firing through the air, air drumming along with the music she could hear buzzing through his headphones, even from the other side of the court. Excuse me, penny said sharply. This court is reserved. The man didn't move. He was tall and broad, making the large playing surface seem much smaller than it actually was. Excuse me, she repeated when he didn't so much as twitch in response. This court is Frowning down at the court squatter, she immediately recognized him, especially since the last time she'd seen him, he'd been in a similar state, totally relaxed, eyes closed, though he'd been wearing much less clothing. Alex Russell. The best men's player in the world. Or at least he used to be. And the guy she'd been dreaming about, remembering, really, just this morning, seven years before, when he was only 17. Alex Russell was the first English man to win Wimbledon since 1936, and the youngest man ever to do it, breaking a record from 1985. By age 20, he'd added French, US, and Australian Open trophies to his mantle, completing the career Grand Slam. Then, in the handful of years since, his game had gone to hell. Too much partying and not nearly enough training sent his ranking free falling from number one in the world down into the mid-20s and only that high because of his insane natural talent. He also held the distinction of being the only thing to distract Penny Harrison from tennis and the last person she ever wanted to see again.