S08.26: Ballet and Opera in Romance

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fated Mates – S08.26: Ballet and Opera in Romance

Date: March 18, 2026
Hosts: Sarah MacLean & Jennifer Prokop

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Episode Overview

This lively and unscripted episode takes inspiration from a recent celebrity “diss” of ballet and opera (by Timothée Chalamet) and transforms it into a deep exploration of ballet and opera’s role in romance fiction. Hosts Sarah MacLean and Jennifer Prokop share personal anecdotes about their own experiences with opera and ballet, dissect their quintessential appeal in historical and contemporary romance, and offer a treasure trove of book recommendations. The episode is equal parts critique, celebration, and affectionate mockery—delivered with characteristic warmth and wit.

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Notable Opening Banter & Context

• The episode was conceived just hours before recording after Louisa Darling, a podcast listener, suggested it in response to Timothée Chalamet's disparaging comments about ballet and opera.
• The hosts share weather updates, making playful references to Chicago tornadoes and Midwestern storm-watching culture, setting a light, conversational tone.
  • “Do you find that older—” “Oh, yeah.” (Jennifer & Sarah; 02:36)
  • “I got a really good score on my verbal SATs—and the reason why is because of romance novels. Thank you, Judith McNaught.” (Sarah, 07:20)

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Celebrity Prompt: Timothée Chalamet's Critique (09:57–13:00)

• The Incident: Chalamet dismissed ballet and opera as “something no one cares about anymore.”
• The hosts read the quote aloud and respond with tongue-in-cheek indignation.
  • “What a dick. Sorry.” (Jen, 11:47)
  • “Hey, Timothée Chalamet movies wouldn’t exist without opera or ballet.” (Sarah, 11:53)
• Opera companies get in on the fun with promo codes like “TIMOTHY” for discounts.

2. Opera’s Place in Romance Fiction (13:00–22:00)

• Opera is described as “the original camp: big feelings, dying in giant dresses, everyone losing their minds.” (Sarah, 13:00)
• Sarah reminisces about her Italian childhood steeped in opera.
• In historical romance, opera offers an elegant, slightly illicit setting for clandestine meetings and passion.
  • “When I get stuck in a romance and I have people of means in London and I don’t know what to do with them next, I often send them to the opera.” (Sarah, 20:12)
• Opera’s allure: grandeur, mystery, and as a classic “public but private” space for plot advancement.

3. Ballet’s Function and Its Unique Narrative Pull (41:00 onwards)

• Ballet, like opera, is both an aspirational world and a crucible for drama—high stakes, immense bodily demand, and visible vulnerability.
• Exploration of the persistent historical and contemporary tropes: the passionate artist, the outsider, and the “scandalous” female performer navigating societal boundaries.

4. Books That Explore Opera & Ballet (Throughout, see Recommendations for timestamps)

• The discussion traverses both historical and contemporary romance, plus a dash of paranormal with Kresley Cole.

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Selected Book Discussions & Memorable Moments

Opera Romances

• Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux (25:13–28:45): Bodyguard romance with an opera singer heroine traveling under an assumed identity. “Jude Deveraux loves a brat, and Maddie is 100% brat.” (Sarah, 26:52)
• On the Edge (Cara Dee) (30:45–32:58): Professor-student erotic romance with a heroine training for professional opera; praised for its deep knowledge and sexiness.
• When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (36:21–40:56): Opposites attract; an opera singer and a jaded quarterback team up for a publicity tour, highlighting celebrity, career, and emotional stakes.
• Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen (40:56–46:58): Former opera singer becomes a Regency fixer; combines elements of mystery, intrigue, and deep character work.

Ballet Romances

• Second Night Stand by Corellia & Faye Stets Waters (63:58–68:23): Black ballet company head falls for a burlesque performer on a reality TV show in an f/f romance.
• Dancers Down Under series by Chloe Angel (68:23–73:19): “Impossible to talk about ballet without talking about Chloe Angel,” Sarah notes, focusing on principal dancers, injury, and career pivots.
• The Ballerina and the Baller by Imani King (73:40–80:26): Prima ballerina with a career-threatening injury meets a star NFL quarterback; a frenetic, satisfying collision of stakes and plot twists.
• Broken Whispers by Neva Altaj (80:28–86:13): Mafia arranged-marriage with a mute ballerina heroine, a feral Russian antihero, and plenty of Silent but Deadly passion.

Paranormal and Over-the-top

• Dark Needs at Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole (86:38–89:47): Ghost ballerina meets vampire killer in New Orleans. “Sweet baby Conrad can see her…and now my sweet baby Conrad can see her.” (Sarah, 89:15)
• Do Me a Favor by Jessica Cain (90:18–92:41): Campy, bonkers short where a kidnapped ballerina is thrown into a warehouse with a chained, wildman love interest.
• Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort (49:34–55:57): A parody/tribute to Phantom of the Opera with a scarred Broadway diva and a self-serious German metal band, set in a haunted Nevada opera house.

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Overarching Themes & Quotes

• Opera & Ballet as Camp, Power, and Escape:
  • “Camp. Yes. Of course he’s chained to a radiator. Of course it’s in a bordello that is haunted with an evil developer.” (Sarah, 91:34)
  • “Opera is camp and romance loves it.” (Sarah, 14:58)
• The Appeal of Performers in Romance:
  • “These are scandalous women, right? But they are also incredibly powerful.” (Sarah, 41:50)
  • “It underscores the importance of having a passionate relationship to your art as much as … to your older, sexy professor.” (Sarah on the Cara Dee book, 32:04)
• Meta Moments and Humor:
  • “What I'm learning from this is, like, ballet and opera both require real fucking dramatic storylines.” (Jen, 91:19)

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Rapid Fire Recommendations (92:15–end)

• More mentions are given: Jessica’s ballerina novellas, shoutouts to tap dancing, and listener requests for tap dance romances.
• “Tap dancing with Jen … I’d read the single tap dancing romance. Someone out there must know somebody.” (Sarah, 98:11)
• Episode closes with a nod to Moonstruck, Cher, and Nicolas Cage—the original opera/ballet OTP.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 09:57 – The Timothée Chalamet Incident: Introduction of topic and the “dumb celebrity” moment.
• 13:00–15:00 – Sarah’s Italian opera childhood & “opera as romance’s origin”
• 21:00–22:00 – How opera functions in romance novels, especially historicals
• 25:13–28:45 – Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux
• 30:45–32:58 – On the Edge (Cara Dee)
• 36:21–40:56 – When Stars Collide (Susan Elizabeth Phillips)
• 40:56–46:58 – Duke of My Heart (Kelly Bowen)
• 49:34–55:57 – Midnight Duet (Jen Comfort)
• 63:58–68:23 – Second Night Stand (Corellia & Faye Stets Waters)
• 68:23–73:19 – Dancers Down Under series (Chloe Angel)
• 73:40–80:26 – The Ballerina and the Baller (Imani King)
• 80:28–86:13 – Broken Whispers (Neva Altaj)
• 86:38–89:47 – Dark Needs at Night’s Edge (Kresley Cole)
• 91:19–92:41 – Do Me a Favor (Jessica Cain)
• 96:14–98:15 – Tap dancing postscript

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Final Thoughts

This episode showcases the best of Fated Mates: irreverent humor, insightful commentary, and deep, infectious love for the drama, beauty, and emotional resonance of ballet and opera in romance novels. It’s also a resource-rich episode, with thoughtful recommendations for readers who love art, passion, and the highest stakes in their romance. The hosts remind listeners that the genre thrives by finding power, drama, and even radical feminism in so-called “dated” or “campy” forms—all while punching up and never down.

“Opera is camp. And romance loves it.” (Sarah, 14:58)

“Timothée Chalamet, you are a garbage human, but in this case, you did us a solid.” (Jen, 93:01)

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For more recommendations, episode notes, and to join the discussion, check out the Fated Mates Discord or social media pages. And if you’ve got a tap-dancing romance, reach out—the hosts are waiting!

Transcript

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sarah, I think we should do more

[Sarah McLean]

episodes like this where Louisa Darling just calls me up and says, I think you should do an episode.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Or. Yes, because a celebrity has said something dumb. That could be like a. You know, we have deep dives, we have trailblazers. And now we have. Inspired by a dumb celebrity episode. Inspired by a dumb celebrity. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Except we're not going to talk a lot about the dumb celebrity who said something dumb. We're just going to talk about the important, cool romance novel adjacent items, of course. Obviously. And we're recording in an evening, so get ready, everybody, because Eric sometimes thinks that we go a little bit bananas here in the evening hours.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That's clearly true.

[Sarah McLean]

When we record in the morning, we've already had a full raucous laughter where I had to roll away from my microphone. So.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, no, but it's fine.

[Sarah McLean]

Who knows what's gonna happen? It's after dark with faded mates.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It is. It's also like, there's a big thunderstorm coming through Chicago. Potentially real potential for tornadoes in my part of the world right now, so.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, let's. I mean, anything could happen. How exciting. You really don't know what will happen. But also, it's daylight savings this week. Yes. So it's actually earlier than we. So we're really. They're getting the best of us.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

There you go. There you go.

[Sarah McLean]

It's not really the evening. It's sort of.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, no, it's like early morning evening adjacent. I don't.

[Sarah McLean]

How do we feel about daylight savings? You're. You get up early.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I do. So it's. You know, I would say it is not that that's a problem for me. It is. My insomnia is bad. And these tend to be difficult times, these couple of days of transition.

[Sarah McLean]

So, I mean, also for the kids who roll in early and. Yeah, grumpy, I imagine.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, totally. They act. Yeah. Um. However, the first day after daylight savings time, which was Monday, it was gorgeous out, like 70 degrees.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, that was today. And it was amazing.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It was really nice. And so now we're back to 35. And, you know, I guess it's 80 down in. There's like a freeway that goes kind of south of us, the eight, the 80. And every time there's, like tornadoes and shit, it's down there. And so Mr. Reed's romance, who does

[Sarah McLean]

love a weather event, is he like a storm chaser? I.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

He's not, but he is upstairs, like, watching the storm, chasing and coming down every once in a while to report to me. About what he's been seeing.

[Sarah McLean]

Do you find that older?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

No, I don't want to. I don't want to point fingers at Mr. Reid's romance, but I feel like there comes an age in a human where then suddenly they are fascinated by weather.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

He's always been that way, though. Like, I remember when we first started dating being like, this dude could be a meteorologist.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, he's just like, into low fronts.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

He likes. He has friends in low places. So, yeah, he's always like that. And, you know, I will say, when you grew up in Texas, as he did, and then you moved back, I

[Sarah McLean]

know you worry about things. Yeah, there's a lot of.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

A lot of shit flying around out there.

[Sarah McLean]

Lots of possibilities. So couldn't be me living in places where, you know, a cow might zoom by or.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, I mean, you can get. I will say that one of the. A urban legend in Chicago that Chicagoans like to say to each other. And I like, don't even know how it happens because one of my students said it today was like, yeah, but we can't get tornadoes here in the city. And I was like, exactly, Untrue. You actually could. So. But I don't know. That's what Chicagoans tell themselves.

[Sarah McLean]

We can't get.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I mean, like, somehow the Sears Tower is like, has made a tornado proof or something.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, I mean, it is sort of

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

touching the cloud, so I don't know. I will.

[Sarah McLean]

But also, you have that big lake. Like, we don't call it a tornado when it's over.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Water spout.

[Sarah McLean]

It's a water spout. So you just tell yourself, like, oh, we had a water spout.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

You know, when Little Romance played soccer, like, you know, neighborhood soccer. We played in Jackson park, which is right on the lake, and there's one. And, you know, we were like, out there one morning and you know, he was like. Or something. And I was like, looking out at the lake and I was like, is that a tornado? And it was like a water spout during soccer. Fine.

[Sarah McLean]

I remember very, very clearly writing, I was here in Brooklyn and I was home for the day because I was, like, writing furiously on 11 scandals to start to win a Duke's Heart, which was my third romance novel. And in the book, there is a big storm and it's like a huge, massive storm. Now I don't even remember why it happens, but it does happen, and it's important for some reason to the text. And I remember writing the line like the sky had turned, like, green. Had a green Tint. And I looked up and I was like, oh, the sky here, I. I can manage the weather. The sky here is also green. And I got up and I went to the window of my apartment, which was on the third floor. And I looked out the window onto a Main Street, 7th Avenue, everybody in Brooklyn in Park Slope, and the tree across the street. A tree ripped up out of the ground and, like, tumbled down maybe like twice along the street and, like, crushed a car.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And I thought to myself in my. In my dumb head, how interesting. I would never have thought trees would be so light. And then I was like, oh, get your ass down in the basement, McLean. So I grabbed the dog and we didn't. We didn't. I didn't have. We don't have. We didn't have. I didn't have basement access. So we just went into the bathroom, which had no windows.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes. Before.

[Sarah McLean]

And closed the door. And I was like, I guess this is where we waited out. And he was like, what are we doing?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

You were like, we're in the bathroom.

[Sarah McLean]

But I will say I was real, real dumb. Standing in front of a police, like, a big window.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

There was a big tornado in Union City, Michigan, last week. And I. There were like, some actually, like, really amazing people, like, caught it on video, Right. Their phones or whatever. But the one that was my favorite. And I. I say this with love because people clearly were fine. They uploaded the video at some point, but it was like them watching and a woman just going, oh, my God. Oh, my God. And then you hear someone being like, shouldn't we go down to the basement? And like, they just all keep watching. At one point, she's like, come on over here. You got to see this.

[Sarah McLean]

This.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And I just was like, Midwesterners have, like, zero. We're just built, right?

[Sarah McLean]

Just standing in the open garage.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Standing. I was just going to say at reference to last summer's faded mates live, when we gave Sarah a Midwestern hero thing. And it was like, where's the best place to, like, stand and watch the weather roll in from your garage? Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. But Mr. Re's romance doesn't have a garage from which to watch, but we

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

do have a back porch.

[Sarah McLean]

And sometimes so does he go down there.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And as he Stan with his hands

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

up on his hips and, like, his

[Sarah McLean]

arms akimbo, as historical romance taught me when I was a tot.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Uh, same. I knew that word.

[Sarah McLean]

Listen, I got a really good score on my verbal sats or my. My English sats. And the reason why is because of romance novels. Thank you, Judith McNaught.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Amazing. All right, well, enough about the weather. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Really exciting times.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I mean, listen, a tornado is exciting.

[Sarah McLean]

A tornado is, in fact, exciting. It's got to be one of the top. It's like a top three weather event.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

We won't talk about the others because Eric will be like, what the lady. What are the two of you doing? Everybody. Welcome to Faded mates. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I'm Jennifer Prob, a romance reader and editor. And this week, Louisa Darling.

[Sarah McLean]

Tell, Tell.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Tell them what they've won. What was your great idea?

[Sarah McLean]

Less than three hours ago, Luisa Darling called me on the phone.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I. I like this.

[Sarah McLean]

I do.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Like a. Like a. A stunt episode of Faded Mates.

[Sarah McLean]

I know, everybody, we pulled this together literally in hours.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

About three hours ago, Louisa Darling called me on the phone and she said, I think you guys should do opera singers and ballet dancers because of that dummy Timothee Chalamet. Yes. And I said to her, hey, listen, I think that's a great idea, but also, I'd like you to know that everything I've ever learned about Timothee Chalamet, I've learned against my will.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Same. I don't.

[Sarah McLean]

And she said, me too. And I was like, but you know what? We should do an opera singers and ballet dancers episode. Because it's eight seasons in. This podcast is free.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And.

[Sarah McLean]

And also sometimes a topic comes up and you think, well, that is one we could do that we could have fun with and that we would never have come up with on our own.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

No, absolutely not. That's why we need this.

[Sarah McLean]

Say, if you have our numbers, you can always call us and just, you

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

know, or, you know, some dumbass says something.

[Sarah McLean]

We have a standing open request line. We also, for the record, have a standing open request line on the Discord, which you can [e-mail] Patreon, where a tiny amount of money every month gets you access to a massive amount of other romance readers who just want to talk about romance all the time. But also on the Discord, there's a channel called Ask Jen and Sarah or Episode Topic Requests. You can do it in either place. You can really do it anywhere, as long as you tag us and you can say, hey, we would really like an episode about opera singers and ballet dancers. Dumb celebrity statements.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes. And so we're. We don't have to belabor it, but what Timothy Chalamet said, like, do we have the exact. Like, the exact.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't have the exact quote, but basically, he. He maligned the opera and the ballet as being something that people don't have.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I have it. I'm ready. He was talking to, apparently, Matthew McConaughey,

[Sarah McLean]

which another, I don't know, genius. Okay.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

But that man does love ballet because he was a part of the greatest dance movie that's ever been made. Right? So it's fine.

[Sarah McLean]

Wait, what's the greatest dance movie?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, Magic Mike.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm sorry. I don't think of that as a dance movie. I think of that as a feminist text.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Fine. Okay. Anyway, these two dummies are talking and Timothee Chalamet, which, by the way, the best absolute threads take on this, was like this person said, I don't think you should be able to make fun of ballet if both of your names rhyme with it. Timothy. Ballet Chalamet. And I was like, you are a genius.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, this is why you can't quit the Internet then.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Now, here's the part he said, I admire people, and I've done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, hey, we've got to keep movie theaters alive. We. We've got to keep this genre alive. And another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it. I don't want to be working in ballet or opera where it's like, hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about it anymore. All. All respect to ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I'm taking shots for no reason. What a dick. Sorry.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, there's this comedy adage that's, like, the funniest comedy punches up and not down. Like, comedy should never punch down. And I think that's really all I have to say about this, except to also say that, like, hey, Timothee Chalamet movies wouldn't exist without opposite the ballet. And also to shout out the Met, the Seattle Opera Company, and other places that have figured out ways to just like, casually shade this man.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah, things like use the code,

[Sarah McLean]

Timothy, for 14% off your next ticket

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

purchase, which I will admit is brilliant.

[Sarah McLean]

Right? I mean, listen, well done, everyone. Also, again, everything I've ever learned about that man has been under duress, and now this is the end of that. But we do have a lot to say about ballet and, well, especially opera in romance, because I feel like this made perfect sense. The part of the reason why Luisa asked for this episode is because she literally instantly was like, wait a second. Yeah. Opera is, like, the home of romance, especially historicals.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And I. Eric laughed at me today because we were. I told him that we were doing this episode, and he was like. And I was like, opera. I mean, like, my God, romance novels basically exist because of opera. And he was like, what? And I was like, opera's the original camp. Like, big feelings. Fucking dying in a giant dress of tuberculosis and everyone just losing their minds.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, opera, we're talking about an art form that brings live elephants onto the stage of the Metropolitan Museum. Museum. No, of the Metropolitan Opera House. I mean, I grew up. My father. As many as longtime listeners know, my father was Italian, born and raised in Verona, and I spent summers in Italy when I was growing up because he required us to learn Italian and know our family. And in Verona, there is a Coliseum quite similar to the Roman Colosseum, and it's called La Reina. And at La Reina, in the summer, there's a full opera, like opera, like, season. Slate of opera. Season of opera. And, like, I grew up sitting on, like, the steps of this, like, Coliseum, eating, you know, prosciutto on bread while my dad drank beer and, like, listening to that. Sounds nice. Some of the greatest operas, opera singers in the world, many of whom, like, notoriously, I think it was Pavarotti. And I'll put this in show notes if you know, and if I can find it, like, notoriously, Pavarotti said, like, I. I won't sing at Larena because they didn't have mics when I was a kid. Like, they didn't mic them. And so you had to belt it out.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And. And also, you know, the people in the. In the cheap seats would throw their cushions, you know, if they didn't like you. So my point is, opera is camp.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And romance loves it.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by the Romantasy Letters.

[Sarah McLean]

The Romantasy letters are so fun. This is. And of course, this is sort of cooked up for Sarah McLean, who loves an epistolary romance. This is a literal epistolary romance coming to your actual mailbox in 24 letters over the course of a year. Each letter arrives. We are subscribers here at our house at McLean Manor, and each letter comes with a letter inside a piece of. There's, like, a little booklet that's the. The A chapter of the book, a letter from one character to another. There are stickers, there are maps there's art, there's character art, there's journal entries. This is all done with, like, human writers, no AI involved whatsoever. And the current story is called A Treaty of Heart and it's about a mortal king and a Fae star weaver bound by a blood treaty, forced to marry and this kind of duty that has come between them, where they together are now responsible for uniting their world and keeping them both safe. It's fun. We're three. We're now three letters in here. I'm super into it. My daughter is really enjoying them and it's really fun to like, open the envelopes and go through all of the, you know, new art that you get every week, week, and keep the story alive. So we've been saving each. Each envelope so that we can go back to them and look at things. And this is very cool.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Super fun. So if you would like to have a romantic fantasy experience and bring mailback magic back to your mailbox, visit romantasyletters.com you can use the code faded for 20% off your year subscription. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to their website. Thanks to Romantasy Letter for sponsoring this week's episode. I've only. You know, it's funny because I've only

[Sarah McLean]

been to the opera once, and it

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

was actually a really cool experience because it was a. It was Macbeth.

[Sarah McLean]

That's fun.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And it was at. In Chicago. I'm here in Chicago. But it wasn't at the opera. It was in. At the Symphony hall instead. Sure. And the reason I went is because one of my students was part of the Chicago Children's Choir, and she just. This kid really loved singing and she was really into it. And there was a part during the opera where the children's choir was up on like a balcony, like, doing some of the singing. And so her parents were like, you know, we do have an extra ticket. Do you want to come? And it was awesome. And the thing though, that was really interesting is it was not a staged opera. Like, it was just like the people singing up in the front were like wearing a tuxedo and like a. You know what I mean? Like kind of formal wear. It was really cool, though. And I have always been like, I should go do that again. But I have not. So maybe one day, you know who is a big opera fan? Laurie Muchnick.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, really?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

You should like to go to the opera with me. I love the opera, but my husband does not love the opera. In fact, one of the biggest fights we've ever had happen on the street outside of the Metropolitan Opera House.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay. Cher and Nick Cage. What happened?

[Sarah McLean]

No, we don't have to share. It was really very intense. He hate. I took him to the opera for the first time. Or rather he took me to the opera for the first time. He. It was his first time, but it was my 40th birthday and he was like, I know you love the opera. I knew you said you wanted to go to the opera. All these times he got a box at the Met, it was all very fancy. We dressed up. That's so fun. We went to the opera and then he hated it. Yeah. And then he was like, I don't get it. And I was like, oh, God, what have I married?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, a guy who loves music of all kinds.

[Sarah McLean]

So I am kind of surprised. What's interesting is he is actually everybody a like really Cracker Jack musician. And he was just like, I don't care for it. And I was like, how could you, how could you malign this art? Basically Timothee Chalamet, you know, except not taller.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Taller. Taller.

[Sarah McLean]

So, yeah, no. So anyway, I do like the opera.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Look, I just made you an opera friend. Lori is my editor at Kirkus, everybody, and she's great. So.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah. Also, fun fact. One of the things that I think a lot of people misunderstand about both the ballet and the opera is that in most places, these organizations are in a lot of these places, they're non profit and so there are always cheap tickets. Like you can get a ticket to an opera at the Met in New York city for like $15.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And you know, obviously it's not. You're not going to be in the per. In like the best seat in the house, but you will have a seat and it will be wonderful.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That's pretty cool.

[Sarah McLean]

So anyway.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

All right, there you go. So when you think about the opera though. Okay. So outside of the real opera. Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't think about real opera when I write. Yeah.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

So let's. And I do romance opera. Right.

[Sarah McLean]

About romance opera.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Romance and romance ballet.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes. So romance opera, this is, this really is the realm of the historical romance novel. Although I do have a contemporary one that I'm going to talk about too. And the reason why I think it is is because often, well, what I say is, when I get stuck in a romance and I have people of means in London and I don't know what to do with them next, I often send them to the opera. Sure. Because the opera is a Place of mystery and dark corners.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And truly, it's a great place to send characters who like need private time together but are not yet able to have private time without ruination.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

So I famously send characters to a box at the opera and then they, you know, sneak out to do whatever. Shenanigans.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And often, you know, she'll head for the loo and. Or the. To powder her nose in the ladies salon and he will collect her on the way there or back and you know, put her into a wall and yeah, of course. Obviously do the business in the dark.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay, so I like that.

[Sarah McLean]

Right. And I think that's a very common.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Use of opera in romance. Like, I feel like there are dozens of. Of books where people just bang at the opera.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

In fact, I'm sure I did not look for this, but I'm sure there is a goodreads list of characters.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I looked and it was. You know what? I don't think maybe I was as specific as enough because I was. Well, we only had a few hours, so it was kind of a. It was like a. A fascinating exercise also in your own memory. This is always also fun for us. You know, I did remember something though, not about the opera, but about the. A book about the ballet. And now I'm going to talk about Baby Jen as a reader. So there was. And it took me a while to run this down today, this actually is probably the most research I did was trying to figure out what this YA book was that I loved because I was like, oh. All of a sudden I remembered that, you know, as a big rereader, even as a kid, there were books I like, really liked. And I would sort of read and reread them. And I was like, there was one I loved about ballet. And I'm pretty sure because I actually have looked at the COVID and this is like a book that was, you know, from 1981. So even when I was reading it, it was, you know, had been out for a while or whatever called Mariana. And it was an Avon Flair book by an author named Karen Strickler Dean, who also wrote other books. I'm sure that I read one about a woman named Maggie. Like Maggie Adams Dancer was one of them. And this Maggie Adams had a bunch of. Had a bunch of books like there's like Maggie Adams Dancer and you know, but in this book. Okay, now I was. There's no. Had there been a digital copy of Mariana, I would have fucking downloaded it and been reading it this afternoon. However, sadly, that is not available. I'm gonna have to like order one off of thrift books or whatever. But what I remember about this book is that Mary like this girl is determined to be a prima ballerina. That's her big dream. And I think that there is like her mother, her mother I think wants her to be a ballerina. And so there's a lot of familial pressure on her. And the other thing I really remember is that she instead is like falling in love with this boy. And you know, I think there's like, I think it was pretty, like very. Because it was like ya, right? Like this. I don't know, this was a romance in a happy sense of the world. Like I remember a lot about eating disorders, about anorexia, like the, the pressure that she was on to like sort of weigh a certain amount or be a certain size. And the other thing I remember is that she and this guy like do it. And I was like, what is happening here? Because you know, she's in love and she's like 16 or something. So anyway, I actually had a massive like YA flashback to this book today and now kind of want to order this book from somewh like amazing. Yeah, I mean that's always like such a funny feeling where like, I mean I haven't thought about this book in a long time and it just came right back to me. And the reason I'm pretty sure that this is it is because I recognize the COVID It's like this, you know, ballerina and like sort of a filmy kind of blue dress. Oh yeah, you know, her point shoes on or whatever. So.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, since we're talking about the books that you know, blooded us early on all of this, I feel like I got to talk about Mountain Laurel by Judeau and I feel like also I should qualify that. I don't know that I'm recommending Mountain Laurel by Jude Devereaux. I always say this, like, listen, I'm. I'm going to tell you the plot of it because it's hard. It's like burned into my brain the

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

plot of Mountain Laurel.

[Sarah McLean]

It's, it's probably, I think the first bodyguard romance I ever read. But I also like, it's set in the American west and it was published in, you know. Yeah, seems 1980 something. And so, you know, you have to take all that with a very, very large amount of salt. So. But here is the premise of that, which is Maddie Worth is the heroine's name and she, she is known the world over as like the greatest Opera singer to ever grace the stage. And she travels as La Reina, which means the queen. And she. She is like a legend, an absolute legend. And for some reason, Maddie has decided that she is going to do. I mean, nobody knows she's Maddie.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

All she.

[Sarah McLean]

She, like. I think she, like, speaks with an accent. Like, she, like, really puts it on. And she is in a coach headed west through, like, mining country in, like, the Utah, Colorado, you know, the Judy Deborah.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

Because this is a Montgomery book. Ring Montgomery is the hero of this book.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Obviously.

[Sarah McLean]

Ring is hired to be Maddie's bodyguard. And basically he is following her. He is like, outriding her through the American West. He cannot stand her because she's sort of fakes this. He sort of has her number right away. But she's, you know, she's just sort of. She's spoiled. You know, I mean, Jude Devereau loves a brat, And Maddie is 100% brat. And it turns out that what the situation is here is that he. She has been, like, blackmailed by these bad guys. There's always some, like, terrible bad guy in a. In a Devereaux book. And her sister, whose name is Laurel, hence Mountain Laurel, has been kidnapped. And Maddie has been tasked with going to six different mining camps and delivering, like, some mysterious letter to E. To somebody in each of the camps. So she is going under the guise of, like, singing for miners, minors with an E. And. But she. But, like, she's really there to, like, you know, Romancing the Stone. Her sister out of, like, whatever problem it is they're, you know, they have. It's probably was written right after Romancing the Stone, honestly, because it's. Now that I've Literally. Now that you're like, oh, I just said those words. And now I'm like, oh, wait a second.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Amazing.

[Sarah McLean]

And like, it's. This is like, deep enemies lover. She thinks he's just, like, contemptible. He thinks she's just exasperating in every way and a big fat brat. And they, you know, I don't know. And it's true, Devil. They hate each other into, like, sex and then that.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

But honestly, like, I remember every word, like, every beat of this book. And yeah, that's probably. That's where the opera comes from, I guess, for me.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Amazing. A plus.

[Sarah McLean]

I'll also say Mountain Laurel was not on my list until you started talking about that. So here's this. It's just better when we don't plan.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Let's see how this goes at the end.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, So I don't Know that anybody reading these books would agree, but you never know.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That's fine. Okay, so you want to do ballet book first or opera book first?

[Sarah McLean]

Well, since we're in. Since I'm talking about opera, let me talk also about. I want to talk about Cara Dion, because Cara Dion, who is a member actually of the Discord, but. And who hosted See Again, I didn't even know. Everything comes together for a reason this weekend, as you all know. Those of you who've been listening to the podcast know that I was in Rhode island this past weekend at an event hosted in Bristol to celebrate historical romance. And it was actually really great. Everybody. It was a free. It was free and open to the public. You had to reserve a seat. And it was me, Adriana Herrera, Joanna Shoup, Caroline Linden, and Ginny B. Moore, all at this event in this, like, 18th century fancy house that was, you know, on Main street in Bristol, Rhode island, called Linden Place. And it was a really, really fun time. And like 120 people came.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, my gosh.

[Sarah McLean]

To spend the day with us to talk about historicals. It was really fun.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That is fun.

[Sarah McLean]

Lots and lots of faded mates, listeners, which was really great. And the reason why we were invited to do this is because Kara is the executive director of Linden Place and she put together this great historical romance event. Kara is also a contemporary romance novelist. I've talked about her romance novels before, but she does not write historical. She writes contemporaries. And she. But more. More relevant to this particular podcast, Kara is a trained opera singer.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That's so cool.

[Sarah McLean]

And. Which is very cool. And her I want to talk about. Now listen, this here is the. A book where when you describe it, it's basically like a siren song for Sarah McLean. Very much for Sarah the hero. So this is a professor student erotic romance game over. Where the heroine is a professional opera singer and, you know, like. And the hero is an alpha kind of professor who is training her, who is like her. Her, like opera teacher. And so. Or she's not professional, but she's like training to be a professional. And this book is very, very sexy. It is very, very like the sex. It's deeply erotic in the sense that, like, the sex really moves the whole story, story along. And you know, this obviously, like, there's an age gap in here. These two are deeply hot for each other. And it is a really, really fun book in part because Kara knows so much about opera.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And so she is really thinking about, like, how to talk about the push pull of not just the way that, you know, the art form is evolving and the struggles of, like, getting into professional opera because it is sort of a world that requires a level of commitment and passion. But like, there are, there are a finite number of like, places for a young opera singer. And then also there is this kind of sense between them. Like, there's a very, there's like, this is a book that's about passion in multiple ways. It's sort of, it underscores the importance of having a passionate relationship to your art as much as it underscores the importance of having a passionate relationship to your older, sexy professor.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I mean, I guess.

[Sarah McLean]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by the Monique Fisher romcom universe, which is about to have a new nolla called Make Room for Heather.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

All right, so if you want to get yourself ready for Make Room for Heather, the first thing you need to do is check out just all of her really fun books. I believe we have talked about Hot for Teacher on, on this podcast, but She's a Baddie is the first book in the decadent series which has to do with Christopher Rossmore essentially wants to run his family's winery, but he is competing with his estranged father's gold digging fiance for the job. And listen, I have a feeling that some things are going to be happening because one of the things about Monique's like, especially fun brand of like, rom combing is that the pairings, the friendships, the family groupings are all really dynamic and fun and changing. So in this case, right, like in the first book of the series, Christopher is going to have to like, team up with Izzy in order like to sort of make a really big fancy wedding happen at the winery and in Make Room for Heather, which comes out in July, so you can go ahead and pre order it now. Heather is heiress to the Brawn luxury watch empire and she is like living the glamorous life in LA when she meets Julius Waller who is rap royalty and he's got his like, nanny quitting on him and you know, essentially hires Heather to like, sort of like come, you know, come along for the ride and you know, she's gonna be like the nanny, but she's never even really held down a job. So like, Monique just has so many like, really fun and like, like kind of big like rom comy like setups for all of her really delightful books.

[Sarah McLean]

Also, it bears noting that Heather, that that is an alpha submissive book coming. Make Room for Heather, my favorite. I just want everyone to know when it's my favorite.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, so these are like Fun books with, like, you can see just the whole vibe, like. Right. A lot of the books have, like, there's one called Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming, where it's like, just a big crew of people on the COVID And so, like, these are books that really, like, celebrate, like, kind of friendship, fun, family, and then, of course, falling in love.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, if you love the idea of these sexy erotic romcoms, then Monique Fisher is exactly the place for you. You can find Monique's books wherever you get your books. And again, Make Room for Heather comes out this July. And you can pre order it right now, which I'm going to do immediately. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to look at all of Monique's books. And thanks to Monique Fisher for sponsoring this week's episode. Well, I'm talking about romance novelists who are trained opera singers. Robin Lovett, who wrote the Planet of Desire books, which, you know, I love, love, love, she is also a trained opera singer. And I wonder if she wrote a book about the opera. But anyway, amazing. Okay.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

All right, well, I have two opera books. Do you have a lot of opera books?

[Sarah McLean]

I have two more historical ones.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Perfect. Okay, well, then I'll do my contemporaries, you'll do your historicals. All right, so I am going to talk about When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips first in this one. It is part of the Chicago Star series. Thad Owens is, I don't know, he's like, benched, I think, and he is, you know, I, like many of this one is probably like three or four books back in the Stars series. And this is actually like, kind of where I, like, came back online a little bit with this series because I was really interested in it. A lot of the Chicago Stars books, to me, take place sort of on, like, the periphery of Chicago. But this one, Olivia Shore is a opera singer with the Chicago Municipal Opera. It's called, I think, in. In the. In the book or whatever. And the. It all takes a lot of. It takes place around, you know, like, sort of the opera house in Chicago, which is right on the river. And in this book, Thad and Olivia essentially are both going on a kind of like a marketing kind of tour. Right? Like, so Thad has been, you know, injured and I think is, like, now gonna be Ben, you know, riding the bench. He's not going to be the starting quarterback or whatever his position is anymore, but he is has, like, an endorsement deal, and she is the other side of this endorsement deal. And I think there's some sort of Chicago tie in. Like, basically, like, here are two of Chicago's best people or whatever. And so what happens is, is they're going to like go out on this, like, kind of publicity tour. And part of the reason that Thad is like kind of down with this is because otherwise he'll have to mentor the court. Young quarterback essentially taking his place. And he's like, you know, sure, it sucks. Like, let me, let me just get out of here now. Olivia is actually really also struggling. She is. Her fiance or ex committed suicide and like essentially like sent her an email kind of blaming her for what he had gone through. And she is just like devastated by this. I don't think that she thinks it's true necessarily, but like that feeling of like guilt and recrimination and, you know, it just really has, has completely just sidelined her. And the two of them then are really like, I don't know, like, playing against type in some ways. Right. Like, she is. He thinks, of course, that she's just like a prima donna. And, you know, she thinks he's just like this dumb brute. Right. Like, so it's like a lot of, of course, like with these two roles. Right. A lot of it is just like sort of unpacking this.

[Sarah McLean]

I think one of the things I

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

remember really liking about this, about this book is that it becomes pretty clear that, like, as she starts talking about this ex fiance, that I think he was also a singer or there's some sort of way in which he was expecting her to like, kind of put her career second to his. And so she and Right. Thad and Olivia have a lot of really interesting conversations about, I don't know, like, who's gonna give up a job for whom and what would it mean for them to be together when you have two really high profile, kind of one of a kind jobs. Right. Like, he's not, you know, it's just not like two marketing people or whatever. And.

[Sarah McLean]

Right.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

You know, and I, and I thought that that was actually like really interesting. Like a really interesting. You know, they're both kind of celebrities in their own realms and so much so that they can't really even see how the other person could like, fit into their lives. Because, you know, if you're going to be an opera singer at that level or a star quarterback at that level, you've already given up so much. So I remember thinking that that was like actually a really cool part of this book was sort of like two brilliant, like, kind of brilliantly Successful people, but, like, struggling in the same way but unable to also, like, give up anything. So, yes. When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, I want to talk about Duke of My Heart. So in historicals there by Kelly Bowen. Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen. And I think I've said many times on the podcast, like, I think Kelly Bowen really just is. Was a star when she was writing historical romance. And one of the things that I really love about historical and the way historical plays with opera singers is they. They live in this kind of like, in between space between obviously, like these. These are. These are scandalous women, right? Like, they are performers. The whole world looks at them as. Or the whole kind of upper class looks at them as like the very best an opera singer can hope for is to be like a mistress to a powerful man. But the reality is, like, they are also incredibly powerful by virtue of being like, talented performers. And they hold this kind of really interesting space because in oftentimes they come from lower classes or they're illegitimate or whatever, and they become performers and it gives them the kind of freedom to run around, right? They don't need chaperones. They don't. They've sort of all they've shown, thrown off the shackles of societal expectation. But they also hold a lot of power, you know, because they see the world in a very different way. Right? So in this book, Duke of My Heart, the heroine of this book is Ivory Moore. And she was a very, very famous opera singer. And now she is the main fixer.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

She.

[Sarah McLean]

She has an organization called Chigar and Associates. And this is basically like Scandal, but the TV show, but make it Regency nice. And the book begins with this, like, great moment where she is. I mean, chapter one. She arrives to a family home of, you know, the. A young woman. Who. Who is she? Like, in the first chapter, she.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

They.

[Sarah McLean]

She like, walks in and there's a body of. Of a dead man tied to this young woman's bed.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh.

[Sarah McLean]

And it turns out that she is the younger sister of Maximus Harcourt.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

What a name.

[Sarah McLean]

Name is Destiny and who is about

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

to be a duke.

[Sarah McLean]

Right? And so what's fascinating about this is the maid instantly, like, when. When this young woman discovers that this man, who she's been kind of like in a. She's been having relationship with, is dead and tied to her bed. Her maid sends, not for her brother Max, but for Ivory, because Ivory can get rid of the body and help them. Qu. Sort of like sort this all through. And now she's there and she Sort of like, pulls on her gloves and she's, like, ready to take control and, like, fix the situation. And in comes Max at exactly the wrong time to discover this body attached to his sister's bed. And. And the. And he is like, what? And there's this great moment where Ivory turns and looks at him and she thinks to herself, oh, this is a very attractive man who I am deeply, inconveniently drawn to.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

And she's like, fuck. Now here's the problem. His sister is missing. So we have a dead body attached to the sister's bed, and then we have the sister missing. And where Max would have covered everything up himself. Now he has the added problem, which is like, Ivory knows what's up and so they have to work together to find his sister, which uncovers, of course, like, this is a really great adventure romance. Like, it uncovers a lot of, like, you know, baddies and twists. There are some twists and turns in here. Now, Kelly Bowen actually writes historical mysteries and Max is sort of regularly overwhelmed by how brilliant and beautiful and talented Ivory is. But getting back to the opera singer piece of it, this is a woman who is very used to. To hiding her feelings and her thoughts and, like, putting on a show. And so she is able to really hide a lot of the things that she feels in this book. She is, in a lot of ways, the. She plays the role of the cipher in his point of view, like, when he is dealing with her. But what's really great is, is Kelly's. The way Kelly, like, unpacks her point of view. And of course, like, this is all. It's.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It's a classic. Old school.

[Sarah McLean]

Like, it's not old school, but it's a romance from the early 20s, 2000s. And so it's in third person, but it. But, you know, Kelly really understands how to thread the needle between, like, a performer, heroine and. And the like, true thoughts of that heroine. And she uses the opera singer reality and the opera singer's, like, keen awareness of how society works to really make it sing. It's great. It's great. Kelly also writes a great secondary character. There's like a big cast of characters here. That's really fun.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Kelly writes a. I love those store.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't know if you've read this one, Jen, but if you haven't, it is really fun.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, that's. I'd forgotten about it until you started talking about it. I was like, oh, Kylie Bowen. Yeah, Kelly Bowen.

[Sarah McLean]

Louisa, this morning when she. Or this afternoon when she asked me about it. I was like, oh, Kelly Bowen. And she was like, is she good? And I was like, she's the best. You gotta go read this. This week's episode is sponsored by Lumi Gummies. Consistent, mellow and super delicious, Lumi Gummies are specially designed to make you feel good, not stoned. Whether you're looking for an end of day de stressor, a midday mood boost, or getting the best sleep ever, Lumi Gummies has a strain that's right for you. Jen.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Would you like to know a fun fact? I. I would.

[Sarah McLean]

Yesterday we were out and we were talking about gummies in relationship to whether or not you it is ethical for you to take a gummy before you go and watch your child's middle school play. And I discussed with the answer, by the way that we came up with was no, we should not discuss do that. But everyone just so if you're, if you are, if you work at my child's middle school, just know I did not take a gummy before I came to the play. But also I then g did the full intro to the Lumi Gummies ad for my sister in a bar and

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I did it perfect. We are big fans of looming gummies here. I personally, the best sleep ever thing is really where I like, Lumi and I are buddies or Lumi shines. Lumi shines in my life because this is something so I'm a person who can fall asleep, but then often wakes up in the middle of the night. And so that can be really hard because it's so frustrating. You're not truly awake. All you want to do is go back to sleep. But that can be a really hard thing to do. So what I do is I take a gummy and then I put on an audiobook. A romance audiobook, please everyone. Sometimes I put on like one of those podcasts that's just like the sound of rain falling. And I just find that like the combination of these two things just like helps me drift off to sleep in the most pleasant and amazing way.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, if you also would like to drift off to sleep in a pleasant and amazing way, you can get Lumi Gummies nationwide. Go to Luming gummies.com that's L U M I gummies.com and use the code faded mates for 30% off your order. Again, that's lumigummies.com code faded mates lumigummies.com code faded Mates. Thanks to Lumi Gummies for sponsoring this week's episode.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I'm gonna be delighted to tell you about this. This is a book that I've really never quite figured out, like, where to slot in. And so when you said ballet opera today, I was like, I can finally talk about Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort, which is a feature Phantom of the Opera kind of like, nice. Okay, listen, I'm gonna say something which is like, I think I saw Phantom at one point. I have no memory of it. I do think I have, like, one song with, like, Kelly Clarkson singing a. A Phantom song with, like, Josh Groban or whatever. So, like, I. I'm. I'm reading. I, like, actually looked up the. Like to kind of remind myself of some of the plot. Like, and there is, like, someone who left a very specific Amazon review listing all of the references in the book to Phantom of the Opera. All of this went right over my head because I'm an idiot. But I love this book. And it is. One of the things that is really remarkable about it is it is genuinely funny, but in a really kind of zany, hyper specific way. Like, if you are a person who has ever had somebody say, like, I don't really get what people mean when they say voice. This is a book you should read. It has a really distinctive voice. So the book opens with. I did start rereading it today and really fell right back into it. Okay. Erica Green starts off, and she is a. On. She's a Broadway. Like a Broadway. A rising Broadway star. She's been nominated for a Tony. Now, the only problem is, is that Erica. Well, let's be honest, she's kind of a bad person. And that's what she says about herself. So she, like, drinks a little bit too much, and she like the. So the prologue opens with her kind of like blowing into, you know, rehearsal an hour late because she's the star and she can do that. And she's sort of like, oh, God, I had sex with that guy last night. And then there's someone else. And she's like, wait, what am I supposed to remember about this person? Well, it turns out that her understood not her understudy, but her. Like, she's. It's. They're putting on Les Mis and she plays fan. Phantom fan. What is the. Anyway, Phantom. No, no, no. In Les Mis. What's the name of the Cozette Fantine?

[Sarah McLean]

Right.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay. So she plays that role and the. The actress who plays her daughter, who plays Cosette is, like, actually engaged. Like the guy she slept with. And she was like, oh, that's what I was trying to remember. So already, I don't Know, I'm kind of, like, laughing my ass off the. At. Really funny. And then she goes out to, like, hit her, like, kind of spot on the stage to start singing when a stage light falls on her and basically, like, up her face, right? So now she's all scarred.

[Sarah McLean]

I'm sorry, it's not funny, but I get it.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay, you get it now, Right? Okay, then. So, okay. Two years later, the book picks up, and Erica has inherited her great grandmother's opera house, the Paris Opera House in Paris, Nevada. And she's trying to make a go of it, essentially, like, getting tourists to come through because she's like, basically, like, it's haunted. Now. She is about to lose it to foreclosure because there's all this, like, tax lien and all this, you know, all, you know, whatever. So she's in real financial crisis when she gets an email from a guy named Christoph Day. He is the lead singer of a German metal band called Night Music, and he and his band want to.

[Sarah McLean]

Like Night Music.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Exactly. Well, it's like knock music is probably how you say it if you were German. No, Sarah, I've got to tell you, like, this is pretty.

[Sarah McLean]

Sounds pretty delightful.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It is delightful, but, like, it's such a very specific kind of humor. And apparently it is my kind of humor because I laugh my ass off through this entire book, right? So anyway, he and his band want to record their next album in America because, like, everyone in the band is, like, convinced that if they want to, like, have the right vibes, they actually need to record it in, like, a haunted place. And Erica's, you know, Paris Opera House is also a bordello where a murder took place. So she's like, it's haunted. So they all show up and they're going to, like, essentially, like, record their next album. Write and record their next album in her opera house. And essentially, like, wacky hijinks ensue, right? Like, so they. He, like, walks in. It's like he's carrying his guitar, like, over his shoulder, and she's like, who the fuck actually does this? But he's so handsome. And he sees her, and of course, you know, her hair is hanging over her face because she's scarred. And he's basically like, she just looks like a total badass. I don't know. It's really funny.

[Sarah McLean]

That does sound really funny.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It's just like. I don't know. I think this is a book that really, like, picks a very specific kind of humor. A very specific kind of, like, these characters, right? Like, you know, here he is like this, like, really, I don't know, like, controlling because he's the band's manager and the singer or whatever. And, you know, he's got his ex. His ex, you know, girlfriend was part of the band, but she's left the band. And he doesn't want to tell the other band mates. I mean, it's just. Okay. Sarah. She has two pet rats and their names are Javert and Jean. And I was like, if you save that, that's funny. And I did.

[Sarah McLean]

Then I think this sounds really great. I'm going to download this right now.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It is delightful. I love it. And so, of course, then, you know, there's an evil developer who's trying to steal the theater from her. And she's. Of course, now that the girlfriend's side of the band, they have extra room and she's this trained singer. And, you know, you can all see where this is going. But the wacky hijinks of it takes place in a haunted bordello in Nevada. And it's a hair metal band. I mean, like, after they have a big fight, he's like, really upset and then he's like, can I borrow your mascara? And you know what? Yes is the answer. Yes, you can. So that's Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort. I. It is a delightful, delightful read if you have my sense of humor, apparently.

[Sarah McLean]

Amazing. That's great. I want to talk about Julianne Long. So do you remember the. Her book After Dark with the Duke? It was recent and it had that

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

great, like, green robe on the COVID That's a fave.

[Sarah McLean]

It's pretty delicious. And this is another. This is another age gap. I'm. You know, everybody knows I love an age gap. So Mariana, the heroine, is an opera singer. And this whole series is set in, like, a boarding house that's run by some, you know, kind of goofy women. And it's called the Grand Palace. And Mariana, the setup is right at the, you know, sort of start is she's an opera singer. She's known. Now she has a kind of terrible nickname because her ex lover thought she was, you know, being too free with her favors. And he fought a duel with another man. And of course, as with all things patriarchal like duels, the person who came out with the short end of the stick was actually Mariana. And she was sort of nicknamed the Harlot of Heywood Street. And she needed to get gone and. And lay low for a little while, so she ends up in this boarding house, which for romance reasons, includes there is another person in the romance. And so they sort of. She gets there, she doesn't have any money. And she says the owners, like, I don't have any money and I'm really stuck and, you know, whatever. And the owners say, okay, well, you're pretty famous and you're, you know, a well known opera singer, so we'll give you free room and board and say a safe place. And like, we won't tell anybody that you're here if one month from now you give us, you perform like an opera concert here, like to draw more attention to our place. So she's like, cool. Yes. So she ends up giving. She ends up like in this place. And the other person staying in the, in the boarding house is James, who is Duke of Valkirk. And he is hiding away because he has writer's block relatable. And she. He's basically like, I need to get away from being a duke to. Right. And so he's taken himself off to this boarding house and they now are together. And this is a very kind of Julianne Long setup because that's kind of the whole ball game. Like, he teaches her Italian and they like, you know, talk a lot and they, I mean, it's a, it's a, you know, it is a Julianne Long slow burn, which means it's very sexy, despite the fact that they're not actually doing it until, you know, sort of later in the book. But ultimately when they do do it, it's just really, really, really sexy. And I mean, this book also sort of explores this question of what is. How does, you know, a woman get past a reputation like, you know, harlot.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Right?

[Sarah McLean]

So essentially it's interesting, you know, he, like I said, he teaches her Italian and she, Julianne Long uses this kind of these kind of like quiet moments of instruction to really dig into what the meaning of, you know, his. Of their. Their relationship is. Like, they really. You. She uses these like, moments to really lay both characters bare. And when she does this, there's sort of this revelation that the heroine has really is struggling with who she might be, if not like, what happens if she can't go back to this, this space where she is both powerless because of course, she's a woman and she is perceived as, you know, I mean, you know, a step above a sex worker and also deeply empowered by being a really respected singer. And so, you know, this whole thing happens. And then layered on top of this is this like, he's a duke, she's an opera singer. They cannot end up together. Like, that's just not how it works.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And so he has to, you know, the sacrifice is really clear. The grand, the grovel is very. Or the grovel. The sort of sacrifice that he needs to make and the grand gesture he needs to, to provide to her in order to prove that like, he wants her even though she is a opera singer. And he wants her because. Because she is so talented and so, so brilliant and so smart and so learned and, you know, so quick and clever and all the things. And it's really lovely because I mean, anyone. The part of the joy of romance novels, historicals is this kind of Cinderella story of like anybody can catch the Duke.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

And like make him sacrifice title, fortune, future for love.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And that's what Julianne Long does really beautifully in her books. And then, you know, I. This was a great one. After Dark with the Duke by Julianne Long.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by Blue Box Press, publishers of Kristen Ashley's River Rain series, the first book of which is after the Climb.

[Sarah McLean]

So this whole series has had a complete repackaging new covers. Fresh, just like a fresh facelift from Blue Box Press. And. But these are classically Christian Ashley books. River Rain is an outdoor company that was founded by Duncan Holloway, an absolute genius. He grew up kind of pulled himself up by his bootstraps along with his best friend Corey and there, who also went through a really tough childhood and like a cool girl, Imogen, from their childhood who despite not having the same background as them, ended up being like the third in their little band of friendship. Um, now Duncan is an activist, he's a CEO. He's the face of River Rain outdoor stores. Imogen is an award winning actress and super duper famous and Corey is a ruthless tech billionaire who's kind of turned to the dark side. They are all rich, they are all famous, and now they are coming back together. And some betrayals and mistakes and selfish acts on the part of one will affect all of them and the lives of the people that they love. So this book is going to be big drama, big feelings, big characters. This is a Christian Ashley book, so it's going to be big sexy times too. And you're going to watch Duncan and Imogen find their way back to each other, find forgiveness, navigate some really fierce betrayals and really start the River Rain series off with a bang.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay, so I was also going to say that you're definitely in a Kristin Ashley book, gonna get some big hair. And I think that's a nice thing. So if you would like to check out after the Climb or the rest of the River Rain series, they are available wherever books are sold in print, e and audio. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to the River Rain page of your favorite website. Thanks to Blue Box Press and Kristen Ashley for sponsoring this week's episode. Okay, I don't have any more opera ones, but I do.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't either. I'm on to ballet.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I'm on to ballet. Timothy Ballet Shallow Bay. Okay, so I am going to talk about Second Night Stand by Corellia Stets Waters and Fay Stets Waters. And these two authors, I believe are married to each other. So in this, what in this, this is actually like a really fun romance. So in this romance we have two women who are essentially like dancers, but in very different ways. Okay, so Lillian Jackson is the, like the lead dancer or was a ballet dancer and now essentially has her, her own company. And the company highlights black dancers. Right? So she's a black ballerina. She knows the struggles of black women in this kind of like really rarefied like world of ballet. And so, you know, this is like something that is like just like really near and dear to her heart. But she has learned essentially that the they're going to like lose their funding and so they, what ends up happening is they end up essentially like her backers or, you know, she and her people or whatever decide to enter her into a like a reality TV show kind of competition where that will have a million dollar prize and essentially if you know, she wins, she can like save her ballet company in the run up to this. You know, Lillian is like super controlled, but she just, she's like, you know, she likes to have a nice time with another lady, but she just can't handle relationships. So she basically just does like one night stands. Right? Like no reason to get involved. No, no reason to, you know, have feelings or whatever. Like just one and done. And so she has this really great one night stand with a woman named Blue. And this is like a real, like she's really curvy, she's got blue hair. Like they have a great time together. Well, what would you know, Sarah? But when they get to the reality TV show competition, Part Blue, it turns out her real name is Izzy Wells, is part of, is a burlesque dancer. And her, she is of course performing in the same reality TV show and she is trying to essentially win the money to save her, her troop, her Burlesque troop, which has, if I remember correctly, like, a really cool, like. I mean, this is like, the problem with, you know, no memory. You have to, like, do it all from memory is like.

[Sarah McLean]

I think if I remember, like, it's

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

like a really body positive, you know, like, no audition. If you want to do burlesque with her troop, you can do it. But she's kind of made some dumb financial choices. She bought the theater in order to, like, have a home for the. For, you know, the dancers. And it's basically like a money pit. So she also really wants to win. And so the thing that's really cool is, of course, that these are very different kinds of dancers, very different kinds of women, right? But their love for the dance and their love for kind of their dancers is really something that, like, brings them together, even though they each have their own, like, really, like, kind of sad wounds, right? About, like, family, about body image, about all the things that come with being part of, like, professional dancing, essentially. So it's really great, and it's like a really. I think it's a really great read about. I don't know, like, it's one thing to be, like, okay, the head of your ballet company or your burlesque company, but, like, when it comes to being a leader in an artistic field, right, like, the challenges of that, because that is something that is, you know, like, it seems almost like, at odds with the work of being a creative. And I think this book does a really cool job of exploring.

[Sarah McLean]

Exploring that.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

So that's Second Night Stand by Corellia and Faye Stets Waters.

[Sarah McLean]

I think it's impossible to talk about ballet without talking about Chloe angel, of course, whose series, Dancers Down Under. It begins with pas de don't. And they have. They all have these, like, clever little cover.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Little puns. So this premise is really beautiful because I think what Chloe does so well is she takes. She writes about ballet, and she writes about dancers, and she takes this sort of really kind of classic romance structure and then lays this very deep knowledge of ballet over the top of it.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And so in this one, this is the first. And Heather, our heroine, is a ballerina. She has just. She sort of is having, like, the greatest. The chapter.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

The.

[Sarah McLean]

The book begins with, like, her on top of the world. She is principal dancer in her company, and she is proposed to by this man, Jack, who is, like, also a remarkable dancer, like, ballet royalty. And it just seems like everything's coming up roses for Heather. Simultaneously, Marcus Campbell is an Australian dancer who is also tremendously talented. And we see right out of the gate, I mean, like, three pages into this book, we see him destroy his Achilles tendon on stage. And so he is in immense. And the chapter is really kind of grueling and he is in so much pain and he sort of has this awareness that, like, this pain is like nothing he's ever experienced before. And also it is going to be potentially the end of everything he's ever dreamed of. Right. So we have these two characters who are really, like, running completely different lives despite being both ballerinas. And then, you know, time skips forward and Heather discovers, you know, a friend of hers was. Sees that his. That her boyfriend is. Or her fiance is cheating on her. They're like, the friend took photographs. There's this kind of, again, very kind of brutal scene where we see Heather recognizing that, like, that piece, the love piece of her life is definitely not going to give her, you know, the happiness that she was hoping for. She's really nervous about her career because she. She's. Yes, she is principal dancer, but part of the whole kind of legend now of Heather is that she is engaged to Jack. So, like, who is Heather as a person and as a ballerina without Jack, her. Her fiance. So she ends it. And then she gets this opportunity to go to. To Sydney to dance in the. In a ballet company in Sydney. She gets there and she discovers, or she is assigned, Marcus Campbell, now continuing to rehab his Achilles, now feeling as though he is too old. Right. He's aging out of this, like, grueling sport slash art form. And Marcus is assigned to take. To take Heather all over Sydney and, like, tour, basically give her. Show her the new city that she lives in. Right. He's her tour guide. It all works out really well in the sense that there, you know, the. The ballet company has a very strict, like, dancers can't date policy. So there's a kind of instant tension between them there. There's also kind of this very real awareness of what ballet does to your body.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

And how the. The work of ballet is really destructive in a lot of ways, not just to bodies, though that's certainly Marcus's arc, but also to your life in general, to your reputation, to. There's such a constant threat of, like, Heather having to navigate, you know, powerful power within ballet men who feel like they have. They can lay claim to her in some way. The kind of. The realities of being a. A woman in ballet are very startling. And I think Chloe. Clear.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Chloe.

[Sarah McLean]

Chloe is a trained ballerina. She Knows a lot about this world and I think, think it's a good example of how romances can really say a lot about a sport, an art, a life that we don't know anything about. So that's Pota don't by Chloe Angel.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, you know, the. I think the. This whole series, I mean, to me it's almost like you said, it's like, impossible to talk about ballet without talking about this series. Because I remember when the first one came out, just feeling like, oh, a ballet. Ballet, romances, of course. Yeah, right. And I think the thing that's really interesting is in the newest one is called Bar Fight, which again, great title

[Sarah McLean]

is the middle one is Point of Pride.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, right. Is that, you know, it starts off with Justin, who is, you know, a. You know, like, essentially the lead or whatever, like, just getting a. The shittiest review of his dancing, basically calling him soulless, you know. And so then the thing that's fascinating is it's just like the copy of the article. And then, you know, the book starts like five years later. And of course, all you're thinking is, whoa, like, what happened? Right? Like, how did we get from that article to five years later? So I think it also is really interested, this series and just sort of like the. I don't know, like, I think, you know, you. You are so determined to, like, make it in this one field. But then, like, how. How do your life, right. Like, it goes on beyond it? I think that's like, very key in, like, a football romance too. Right. Like, it's interesting to me. Like, the other. I also have a football and a ballerina romance to talk about, which is funny because I do think, like, there's this sense of, like, these are books that really, I don't know, understand in some kind of key way, like, what you're putting your body through. So this one is. So anyway, you, yes, read the Chloe angel series, obviously, but here's I'm going to talk about the Ballerina and the by Imani King. And I, again, like, sort of really, like, pulled this one out of my memory. But then I, like, fell into rereading. I was like, oh, yeah, this is a really fun book. So it starts off with Anna, who has just achieved her lifelong dream, essentially of being a prima ballerina at City Ballet in New York. Like, this is all she's ever wanted. And on her first, like, night dancing there, she injures her foot. And that actually is not on page. Instead, the book opens with her essentially coming out of the physical Therapist's office. And this is, you know, the premier physical therapy kind of place in New York City. Kind of understanding that she's been doing physical therapy now for, I don't know, four or five weeks and that, you know, it's not getting better. And she is just, like, devastated because she's like, I cannot believe I achieved the thing I wanted in life. And then maybe I will, like, not be able to dance or I'll have to do something, you know, Do I have to do surgery if this doesn't work out? So she stumbles into, like, a very exclusive bar and meets a really hot guy and is an O. No, I know. She's on the. Like, on the corner. And a woman's like, honey, you know, honey, are you okay? And she's like, yes. And she, you know, she's like, I just had a terrible day. And the one's like, you know, just go somewhere and have a drink and find a man. And Anna's like, okay, like, good idea. So she meets this hot guy at the bar, and he, like, starts to introduce himself, and she's like, no names, just first names only. So it's Anna and Troy. And she's basically like. She starts to, like, hyperventilate. He's being really kind to her. He takes her outside. He's like, I just think you need some air. She's like, do you live near here? And he's like, yeah. She's like, let's go back there. Like, let's just. That's what I mean. And this guy's like, sure. And I'm always like, is it that easy? But it is in romance. So they go back to his apartment. They have unbelievably great sex, of course. Right? And then, you know, even the next morning, like, I think she. She, like, falls asleep and, you know, like, gives him a blowjob the next morning, and then, like, disappears. And. And he's like, you know, of course obsessed with her. How can I find her? But, you know, he is a quarterback, and he's, you know, in the NFL. And he is about to enter into a, like, fake engagement, like, for publicity reasons, with this actress named Kaylee. So he's like, I can't even really find Anna, like, just obviously not going to work until he, like, blows out his knee. And then where is he going for physical therapy? Sarah. But the same place that Anna is. So he sees her, and she thinks that he has, like, followed her there because she's like, I'm famous. And he's like, no, you don't understand. I'm famous, right? And so they end up. It's actually really interesting, like, kind of having another night together. But then he basically is impulsive and stupid, and he, like, takes her out. Now, remember, he has a fake engagement for publicity reasons, and he takes Anna out, and there is a photographer there. And, like, they just go through the paparazzi grinder. And the thing that's then really interesting and this book makes, I think, like, a really interesting choice is essentially then we, like, sort of diverge where Kaylee, the actress who's he's in the fake engagement with, is like, I'm gonna fucking sue you. Like, you signed these papers and then you're out this woman, and so you're gonna have to, like, clean up your fucking image. And. And he's like, okay, I will do that if you leave Anna alone. And they end up, like, he ends up being forced to, like, pretend he's in rehab. And there's, you know, he kind of disappears for a while. Meanwhile, Anna is just at the mercy of the paparazzi, and he has no idea. And so he finally, like, kind of gets out. You know, it's like a couple weeks later, and, like, he gets his phone back and he's like, holy. And he tries to go to apologize, and she's basically. Basically like, you. And she, like, throws him out. I don't know. It was just really. I was kind of delighted. Delighted by the whole thing. And then it's finally Kaylee, who's like, you're a fucking idiot. Why are men are so stupid? So there's, like, a lot going on in this book. I thought the pacing of it was very interesting. And also, it's like a really short book. I mean, I think I reread it this afternoon in maybe an hour, so it's not, like, super long. And I think it's because of the way that it is inverting not only like, a regular romance timeline, but really, like, Troy basically ends up looking like a real doofus. And it's Kaylee, the one he's like, fake fiance to, who's kind of like, what is wrong with you? Like, why are you so stupid? Like, you. What you want is for your life to be easy. And you think that you made a series of choices that were going to do something, but what you really did was made your life easy. And I was like, thank you, Kaylee. A hero to us all. So, anyway, it's great, Anna. You know, there's. There's a lot going on there in the back end, there's just, like, lots of plot. It's like a fire hose. Applause in the short book, and I wasn't mad about it. So that's the ballerina and the baller.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, I don't hate it.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It was fun. I was like, this idiot.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, I want to talk about Neva Altage.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

I want to talk about Broken Whispers, which is an arranged marriage, Mafia romance.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

We've talked about this one. Yeah, but it's.

[Sarah McLean]

Have I talked about this one already?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, I think we did arrange marriages, but I think you should talk about it again.

[Sarah McLean]

I should talk about it again because how many. Also, I'm not sure. I talked about the ballet part because

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

that's the best part.

[Sarah McLean]

There's so much else to talk about. Okay, so here's the structure. This is a. This is a. A Mafia series that I have been listening to on my morning walks and on my. On my daily trudge.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Mental health trudge.

[Sarah McLean]

Okay, so this. This one begins with. Mikhail is like a scarred beast of a man that doesn't love and can't feel and is relentless and powerful and punishing, and everybody's terrified of him. And he's Russian, and he also. We meet him for all of this. We meet him, like, in the back of the Seattle Opera House where Swan Lake is being performed. And he, like, has. I can't. It's not really. Don't worry about how he gets in there. But he does every day, every night, he goes to the performance of Swan Lake, and he sneaks in the back, and he stands there and he watches this ballerina do, like, her thing on stage, and then he sneaks out before she can see him. And then how lucky is this? This ballerina he is obsessed with is the daughter of the Italian mafia don. And the Italians and the Russians are at war, and there's something has happened, and they have to have a marriage. And she is like, I'll never. She. Her dad is like, you're gonna marry this guy as somebody. You know, you're gonna marry one of the. One of the Russians. And she's like, off. I'm not marrying anything, and I don't want to get. I don't want any part of your life. I don't want any. Of course, she says all this in sign language or she writes it down because she doesn't speak.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Of course not, Sarah.

[Sarah McLean]

She doesn't speak. So. But she's very. You know, she has. She's a firebrand. She won't do it. And he says, well, if you won't do it, then I'm gonna marry your sister off to him. And her sister, of course, is, like, 18, and, like, she has to protect her because it's a romance novel, and those are the rules, Jen. And so she's like, fine. So he's like, okay, well, I guess I'll send word that you'll marry. That you'll marry, like, whoever the Russian Don says you have to marry. But, you know, you're pretty. I'm not sure that anybody will want you. Like, look at you. You're just. Yikes. Some skinny stick bug ballerina. And so the Russian Don calls in all his people, and he says, all right. And he. He, like, points to, like, the nicest one, and he's like, so I. You're gonna get married, and you're gonna marry this woman. And the moment Mikhail hears who it is, he's like. He's just feral. He's like, I'm gonna marry her. Nobody touches her. I marry her. And he's just. He grunts basically, a lot. And then they get married, and she's like, hey, I think you're hot. Like, I think you're big, and I love your hands the size of dinner plates. And he's like, don't perceive me. I'm ugly and brutal. And then she's like, I like your gym. And he's like, don't perceive my gym while I'm in there. And then she. But, like, he. And he thinks to himself, he says, you know, you can use my gym, but you can't come in there. And especially not when I'm not wearing a shirt.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

God, I love this series so much.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, and then she. But she does go in there, because she dances in there. And then, surprise, surprise, Jen. He is the, like, loving uncle of a child whose mother has died and who. And he loves her.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

That's right.

[Sarah McLean]

Or, like, wait, that it might actually be his son, his child, his daughter? I can't remember. It might be. It's not important. The point is, he's basically this child's father. And, you know, but Bianca is so beautiful and perfect and, like, bright and lovely, and she teaches this little girl all about ballet. And they twirl together, and he. Every twirl, she twirls. He, like, melts a little bit more and becomes a little bit more feeling and, you know, becomes a little bit more human. But also, whenever they go to the mall, he, like, can't handle anybody looking at her. And, like, he sure roughs men up for no reason. It's very feral and very, like, primeval.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

You're saying that like a bad thing.

[Sarah McLean]

I don't care. I had a great time listening to this one. Apparently there's one later in the series where, like, she just needs to be

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

full all the time after they do it.

[Sarah McLean]

I haven't gotten to that one yet, but I am looking forward to it. So. Yeah. So listen, that's broken Whispers by Neva Altaj about a mafia ballerina.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Okay.

[Sarah McLean]

Who doesn't speak.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure, sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And the Russian mafia enforcer who is obsessed with her.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I mean, I. I don't have anything to add.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, it seems really plausible.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I mean, of course. Do you have other. I feel like we should talk.

[Sarah McLean]

I have some rapid fires. How about that?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, are we gonna talk about Cresley's ballerina?

[Sarah McLean]

I mean. Oh, well, obviously we.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

You should do that. Okay. Well, this is. I.

[Sarah McLean]

Somebody actually. Wait. Somebody texted. Messaged us. On Instagram or. No, on threads or blue sky. Saying what? Where should I begin? With Immortals after dark?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And you were like, dark.

[Sarah McLean]

No, you said. You answered before I saw it. Because I'm never. I think it was blue sky. I'm never over there. And I think. And you said, don't we always recommend that you skip the first nolla and you start with a hunger like no other? Yeah, but we should talk. We're going to talk about dark needs at Night's Edge. Because I actually think that this is. This is the best starting place book in. If you're willing to start, like, out of order.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, no, this person had re. Had read some of them and was like, now what I. What should I do? And I.

[Sarah McLean]

Should I go back?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, then just go back to the beginning. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So this is, I will admit, probably my favorite one of my faves.

[Sarah McLean]

It is a top tier Immortals After

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Death book and it is called Dark Needs at Night's Edge. And in this one, sweet baby, Connor Ross. Our sweet baby, Conrad Ross.

[Sarah McLean]

He's so sweet. He's so sweet.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And he's a killer, which is fine.

[Sarah McLean]

He. He can't help it. He's drugs, which is blood.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

He's addicted to blood. Drug, drug, drug. Bloods. We're ridiculous. It's all breaking down. He can't help it.

[Sarah McLean]

He can't help it. He's chained to a radiator.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, because he. His evil vampire brothers want to save him. And he's like, no, I hate these two. And that's complicated. There's complicated family dynamics among these brothers.

[Sarah McLean]

Who among us who among us?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And so they essentially buy a abandoned New Orleans mansion, as one does, to chain him up to the radiator because

[Sarah McLean]

he has to dry out everybody. My poor baby.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And there's no better place to do it than an abandoned, sweet New Orleans.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, what's this house? What's the worst that could happen? What? The house is haunted.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It is haunted. Sarah is by Naomi Lares, who is a ballerina. Who was a ballerina and in the twenties. In the twenties. And she essentially. We hear the sad tale of how she came to be murdered and now haunts the very house that he is in. And he can see her, and she can see him.

[Sarah McLean]

But no one has ever seen Naomi, like, since she died. Yeah. I mean, imagine. Yeah. She's been dead for, like, a hundred years, and no one's ever been able

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

to see her before. And all of a sudden, he can.

[Sarah McLean]

And now my sweet baby Conrad can see her.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

This book is a God tier. I don't even want to say anything more.

[Sarah McLean]

I really feel like you can't. Except to say writers out there pay attention to the way Kressley uses tense.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

Because this is the way we should be thinking about tense. Yes. Not just like, hey, what do readers want?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, right, right.

[Sarah McLean]

Think about. Read this book and think about tense.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, it's great. The whole time. It's great. So anyway, we love this book. So, yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

That's like, eventually he gets unchained from the radiator and he takes a shower, and it's freaking great.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah. She's got, like, a hidden room full of treasures.

[Sarah McLean]

It's. Oh, she's so broken.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Beautiful. And so is he.

[Sarah McLean]

Broken babies.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

It's great.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It is great. It's terrific.

[Sarah McLean]

I feel like we can't. I mean, I feel like the reason why I said rapid fire is because I do want to mention that Jessica has a ballerina.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure. Of course.

[Sarah McLean]

And it's called do me a favor.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Do me Sorry.

[Sarah McLean]

And it's about ballerina, obviously. It's just came. So she's, like, 18 years old.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure.

[Sarah McLean]

And she is being trained, coached by this, like, freaking terrible person. Like a terrible, terrible man who says she's, like, mediocre and terrible and, like. But it's not true. She's actually, like, incredibly, incredibly, remarkably amazing at ballet. And for some reason, again, sort of like Jessica reasons, which I think are even, like. That's like a special edition reasons.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, it's true

[Sarah McLean]

for Jessica reasons. She gets like. She. She's like, at practice with her coach and he gets mad at her, and then he, like, kidnaps her away and, like, throws her into, like, a room in an abandoned warehouse where he keeps his brother hostage.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I think.

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, this is. And the brother.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

What I'm learning from this is, like, ballet and opera both require real fucking dramatic storylines.

[Sarah McLean]

Yes, exactly. Camp. Yes.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Of course he's chained to a radiator. Of course he's changed.

[Sarah McLean]

This is basically chained to a radiator.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

It's in a bordello that is haunted with an evil developer.

[Sarah McLean]

Exactly. This is an abandoned warehouse. Oh. And basically, the coach says because she, like, has. She has stars in her eyes and, like, wants to fall in love, and the coach is like, no, no love, because only ballet. And I'll cure you of wanting love or wanting any relationship. I'm gonna throw you into this abandoned warehouse with my beast of a brother who basically has, like, a mattress and, like, a.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sorry, everybody.

[Sarah McLean]

The thermos is less important.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

They probably gonna hydrate after all the things they're about to do.

[Sarah McLean]

Listen, according to Amazon, this PA. This book has 69 pages. And of course it does.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

No notes.

[Sarah McLean]

No notes, Jessica. And I don't remember what happens in it, but I will tell you, I bet that he talks a lot about breeding her.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure, of course.

[Sarah McLean]

So if that's your thing, you're gonna have a great time.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, listen, Timothee Chalamet, you're welcome to say something dumbass anytime you want. Look at the wonderful episode that has fallen into our laps. And you know what? It is like, I really. It was so fun to do this today and really be like, here are books. Like I said, this Jen Comfort book I have really had in the back of my mind, like, where am I gonna talk about this book? And just. Timothee Chalamet, you are a garbage human. But in this case, you did us a solid.

[Sarah McLean]

Please don't tell me anything more about this man. I don't want to know. And I hope Michael B. Jordan wins the Academy Award this weekend.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Make it so. Where we are talking in the. In the past, but in the future, in which you're listening, that's probably already happened.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, is it? Will this be after that?

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yes.

[Sarah McLean]

Well, Michael B. Jordan. Listen, I'll tell everybody my little joke about Michael B. Jordan. As you all know, I. I think I've talked about. I told you the story about sinners before on an earlier episode, and I was not aware that Michael B. Jordan played twins, whom Jen refers to as Michael A. Jordan and Michael B. Jordan.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

No, that's Sarah, that is literally what it is in the fucking credits of the movie.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh, how clever. Well, let me tell you something. They got it wrong because it was Michael B. Jordan and Michael C. Jordan. And the C is for cunnilingus because one of them goes down and he knows exactly how to eat a meal.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Oh, my God.

[Sarah McLean]

And that's what I'll say about that.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

There was actually a really. Another really funny thread with someone posted, like, basically, like, I bet Michael B. Jordan, if he has opinions about the opera, the ballet, or smart and sort of keep his mouth shut.

[Sarah McLean]

Exactly right.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

And I was like, yes, Michael B. Jordan, he has never maligned those arts that Oscar voting was happening.

[Sarah McLean]

Also, Michael B. Jordan's not a idiot. He no probably really likes the ballet.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sure, who wouldn't?

[Sarah McLean]

I mean, look at these people. Pure sportsmanship, but also music. Stop it. I'm Sarah McLean, everyone. I'm here with my friend Jen Pro Copy, and we are Faded Mates. You are listening to us maybe on a Wednesday. That's when we drop our episodes every week. And you can listen to them wherever you get your podcast. If you throw us a like and a subscribe on those podcasting apps, our producer Eric would like us just a little bit more so, you know, do us a silent a solid. You can find us online at Instagram and threads at fademates Pod and on Blue sky at Fated Mates.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I already about talked.

[Sarah McLean]

Talked a little bit about the Discord earlier in this episode, but if you want access to the Discord and one extra episode a month, you can join our patreon@faded mates.net patreon I don't have anything going on for the next few months.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

No, me neither.

[Sarah McLean]

She makes me very happy and Jen doesn't either. So you can't come see us, but if you have our texts or would like to just, you know, throw us a message of your own, like, hey, you guys should do an episode on Fill in the Blank.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah.

[Sarah McLean]

You know, we're not above taking other people's requests and that is what we have to say about that. We hope that you are listening to the opera or going to the ballet and in general forgetting that that other Batman really exists.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

The only person you really need to think about right now is Nicholas Cage. Loving the opera and wanting Cher to be his date. That's it.

[Sarah McLean]

Yeah, he loves the opera.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Loves the opera, and he loves her.

[Sarah McLean]

And he just wants them to be

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

together for one night.

[Sarah McLean]

Sarah, somebody recently told me that the movie White Nights holds up.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Really?

[Sarah McLean]

And I'm shocked by this News and I really do feel like I have to find it.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, you know, I love, I love

[Sarah McLean]

that Mikhail Barishnikov and Gregory Hines are terrific.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Well, have I told you that I love tap dancing? I mean this Gregory hines that actually

[Sarah McLean]

100 does not surprise me. You see if somebody said to me what is Jen's favorite kind of dancing? I would say tap.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Wait. All right everybody, we are an hour and 30 minutes of this. But I'm gonna say one thing which

[Sarah McLean]

is Eric's like what the is.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

No, no, I'm just gonna say one thing and I'll save her for later.

[Sarah McLean]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Is my colleague, my dance teacher. It's a post credit sequence, post credit sequence about how much I love tap dancing. My. The dance teacher my school is my friend Erlin. And she took me to see a tap dancing like show on the south side where I live called the. The name of this group is Mad Rhythms. And she was basically like this is the best. This is the best tap you will see in this country. It was unbelievably cool. And cuz she talked a lot about like essentially like you know, Broadway tap versus like this kind of tap. And I had the best time. And the really cool thing is we sat in like the second row was just like free seating. And I was kind of like well that's weird. Why are we sitting this close? And she looked at me and she said I like to see the feet. She's a dancer and it was terrific. And the other thing she said is when you're watching tap, she's like one of the ways you can tell how good it is is by closing your eyes and listening. Because if they are all on point like right they are going to hear

[Sarah McLean]

them all one time.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I had the best time. Mad Rhythms.

[Sarah McLean]

That sounds so fun. I'll put a link to the courtesy tap with your friend.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Yeah, no kidding. I. I want everyone to come see tap with us. And like it was just really cool.

[Sarah McLean]

So anyway, listen, tap dancing with Jen.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

There's not a lot of tap dancing world romance that I know of, but if there is, please let me know.

[Sarah McLean]

I'd read the single tap dancing romance. Somebody please let us know, please.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

I would love to read.

[Sarah McLean]

Someone out there must know somebody. All right, we love you everybody. Have a great week.

[Jennifer Pro Copy]

Sa.