← Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
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- [00:00]
A
I just lost my whole list. Everybody I do, I make a list before every episode, and usually it's right there in my notes app, and it is currently not in my notes app.
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B
All right, so she's gonna find it. I'm gonna banter about the Obama library.
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A
Oh, did you go?
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B
So, everybody, we've mentioned this. I've probably been mentioning this on and off for years, but I am within walking distance of this place. And so I, like, watched it being built. I have, like, you know what I mean, like, years and years and years, and it's finally open. And one is, it's a huge campus. It's like 20 acres or something. And so when people talk about being at the Obama Library, there's, like, lots of actual different things that they might have done. So the museum is the part that, like, not as many people have seen, because it's what's in the Obama list. It's what's in the tower, and that's like, sort of the, like, you know, the museum to his presidency and Right. Like, things like that. And not a lot of people have been in there because it's ticketed, and it's, like, impossible to get tickets. We even are, like, founding members, and we are. Tickets which Mr. Reads Romance acquired months ago or, like, back when they first were available are not until the first week of August. And then they just. Today it's July 1st, when we're recording this, released a bunch of more tickets to people who are, you know, founding members, and then they open up to, you know, so this is. Getting into that part of it actually is pretty hard. But the campus itself has other parts that you can, like, sort of go into. So one, and we mentioned this maybe in a previous episode, is there's a Chicago Public Library library branch. And so a lot of authors who are like, oh, my God, my book is in the Obama library, are talking about, like, their book is in the Chicago Public Library on the campus of the Chicago. You know, the Obama Library.
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A
Let's just go with it's in the Obama library.
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B
The other reason, though, it's really cool, is in that library branch, which I was sort of like, oh, I'll be able to, like, over in there and work in, like, years when the crowds die down is there's, like, the branch part of it, right? Like, kind of regular branch kind of selection. And it's, like, cute and small. But then there is, like, the Obama, like, reading room part, which has a selection of books that were, like, selected probably by, like, some of them by the Obamas and some other, you know what I mean? Like, you know, people recommended or authors they like or whatever. And I do think that when the authors are saying like my book is there, they might be talking about that, like sort of smaller kind of part of it. So it's really cool. There's a huge, like sort of plaza named after John Lewis. And if you're seeing videos of like people like dancing and like listening to DJs and hanging out, that's where they are. There's also a really, a sculpture of the Obamas like walking and people literally stand in a line to get up and take a picture with that. But the other thing, Sarah, that is really cool and I did not anticipate this and it's dumb and I don't know why is they have a lot of like neighborhood programming on the plaza that has nothing to do with like being in the library. And for example, they're having like a July 4 thing, which is really cool. But also later on in July they're doing a sing along Hamilton, which I was like, that's fun, right? And so it's like, go out, bring your chair to the plaza. They're going to like show Hamilton and you can just like hang out and watch with the neighborhood. And I was like, okay, that. So that's the kind of stuff that I'm like super excited for. Also, like people, I mean, again, who knew it's. You can rent it out as a wedding venue. Right? I mean, so there's like a lot of stuff going on.
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A
What's very fun about it too is that I feel like every video I see of the Obamas talking about it,
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B
they're like, look at our cool house.
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A
Yes.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Like, I, I honestly the other day I saw them there. It was like, did you see the video where like off, off camera somebody says to Michelle, like, is this a place you would go on a date? And then she was like, yeah. And then she describes this like really delightful first date and Barack is just standing there like, and then. Oh, okay. Like she has like a rich fantasy life about like how you would go on a first date at the Obama library and how like you'd have serious conversations and you would like learn about how people feel about the world. And then you could go to this, like what I assume is either I don't know if there's a restaurant on campus or there is a restaurant.
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B
Like there's a restaurant there. Okay.
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A
And then she's like, and then you'll go to this restaurant and they have Such good drinks. And then you can take out. You go outside, you can sit on the grass. Rock was like, I remember. And you could bring a blanket. And she's like, oh, yeah, it would be great.
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B
Like, I mean, it was such. It was really cute.
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A
Yeah, lovely. And I honestly. And then at the end, she was like, I'm sorry, this was supposed to
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B
be fast, but you're like, no.
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A
Michelle was in, like, a fugue state.
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B
Yeah. And you know what? It's so crazy is Sarah, it was really charming. I really was like, oh. Like, so seeing the campus, even though I live right there. Like, there's a whole section with, like, picnic tables and, like, outdoor barbecue grills. I mean, listen, there's several different, like, playgrounds for kids. It's really cool.
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A
So we knew this going in that. I mean, I think we've talked about this before on the podcast, but I am, like, obsessed with presidential libraries. I think they are. I'm just a big nerd when it comes to them. And, you know, when I first. First, back in the day, heard that, you know, President Obama had refused the funding from the Library of Congress and was doing it himself, was fundraising for himself, I was like, oh. And I had, like, big feelings about it, like, yeah, the Library of Congress should be involved in presidential libraries.
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B
And then.
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A
But now, like, that I see the plan. And also, obviously, listen, what would they
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B
have done to that funding?
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A
They have done, right? What? Like, they would have pulled the funding from the Obama Library right away. And so I get it, and I understand that that was probably part of it too. But the reality is, like, what. What he has done. And also, everybody, part of the reason why he fundraised, raised himself was that this could be a place for, like, social justice discussions and, like, political activism and things that the Library of Congress can't really do in their libraries. Although I will say, like the FDR Museum, which is in New York, just. Just if you ever come to New York City and you're, like, nerdy and really want to do this, it's about 45 minutes, like, an hour out of the city. It's not far, and it's very, very beautiful. And they do have also there, like, it's very, like, anti fascism, which used to feel not political at all, but now it does feel very political. So.
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B
Well, and it's. Listen, it's not to say it's perfect, right? Like, there's a lot of, like, really complicated feelings in the community, especially, like, the black community, right? Like, about, like, what it's gonna do to the neighborhood and property values and like community benefits agreements and how like the Obama. You know what I mean? Like I'm to say it perfect.
- [07:18]
A
It's never perfect. But yeah, when something like this exists, it's never perfect. But I mean it just seems like such a. When. When something like this gets built, honestly, when a museum gets built, it always feels like what you want it to be is community centered. Like you want people to be able to just like walk into the Met and experience it. And that's. You know, I think there are so few museums that really, that really like do that. I should say to everybody in the United States. I appreciate that in Europe most museums are free. But like in the United States there are very few free museums. There are very few places where like you can use it as a community center. You can experience like having the public library there. What a great thing.
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B
Anyway, it's really. It's been. It's been really cool and really interesting. But also like even watching the whole thing get built, they were really playing the programming part at least. It feels like pretty close to the vest. And now all of a sudden I was like, wait, we get to walk over and watch Hamilton? You know what I mean? It is really fun. So I think that will be. I think that'll be really fun.
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A
So is it open or is it opening this weekend?
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B
No, it's open. It's open.
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A
They didn't tack it onto.
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B
No, they opened it Juneteenth weekend.
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A
Oh, right. Of course they did. I know that. Yeah. But I. So now we have. We're in the. It's July 1st, everyone. It's just today I got. We were recording another episode. We were recording next week's episode earlier today. And you guys, next week's episode is a banger. Really, do not miss it. But we were miss. We were recording this morning and I got a text message from. I like to say I got a text message from Mamdani himself. I didn't. I got it from like the New York City, like Dem or like whatever. Like New York City has a very robust text messaging program now that Mayor Mamdani is mayor. I got a text message this morning saying that like very close to my home tomorrow and through July 4th weekend there will be just friendly cannon fire. Sure. As early as 6:30 in the morning. So as I said to Jen earlier, like, we're not actually at war. And so why do I have to be woken up at 6:30 in the morning? Warning by cannons, by the war machines.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Like can it happen at like 10. Like a civilized society. But apparently no.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So that's happening. The tall ships are coming here.
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B
Fun.
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A
They don't get to go to you because that's your landlocked.
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B
We have large body. We are not landlocked.
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A
What goes into what's up there?
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B
You have a great lake. The Great Lakes and that.
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A
But are they connected to something? Can I get to you by water?
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B
Well, you could get your way up to the. Isn't it like the St. Charles? And then like through all the Great
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A
Lakes and then does it go. Then there's a river that. Everybody, please. I know there's a river that goes to the west.
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B
I'm just saying I could like swim to you.
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A
I mean, I couldn't, but if I could, I don't.
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B
I guess, I think. Okay. Living in Chicago on this huge fucking body of water, you don't like to
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A
be called landlocked, but you can't get it landlocked. You can't get a tall ship up there.
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B
No, I mean, sure, you can't get a tall ship. They're not gonna go through whatever definition of landlocked.
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A
I mean, I don't know. Listen, I think I just feel
- [10:54]
B
ocean privilege.
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A
I mean, ocean privilege. That's what it is. So we're getting the Blue Angels. Which. My daughter asked. She was like, what are the Blue Angels? And I was like, oh, it's like a special Air force. And from a distance, Eric was like, it's the nav.
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B
I will admit that I. Even though I know it's just like propaganda on steroids in the air.
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A
I do fucking love that, Jean. I know It's Top Gun and installed some buttons for you early days.
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B
Well, yeah. And my mom worked. I don't know. My mom worked for United Airlines when I was a kid. And every year we went to the air show and. Yeah.
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A
Is United the friendliest guys?
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B
They are the friendliest guys.
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A
They are the friendliest guys. Well, listen, so we're getting those. It's very exciting.
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B
The St. Lawrence River. I'm sorry.
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A
So the St. Lawrence river goes from the Hudson all the way over to you.
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B
I don't know where the Hudson goes. I'm just telling you.
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A
To Erie.
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B
Correct. Erie.
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A
Niagara Falls goes into Ontario. Erie.
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B
Right. You can get all of them.
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A
Anyway, whatever. We're going to look at a map. We're going to sort it out. Before you're listening to this, we'll know.
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B
I'll. I'll, I'll.
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A
I'm going to look at a map.
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B
I'm Just saying landlocked is like a funny word.
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A
Landlord I support anymore.
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B
But great ships. No, I don't know how you can.
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A
You can't get a tall ship through there. And that's what I'm saying. So. No, it's exciting. And actually, we live, like, right on the water. We live a couple blocks from the water, so the tall ships are actually going to come sort of right by our house. And I got a notification that, like, if we wanted to see the tall ships, we would have to be down by the water at no later than 9am and I was like, do I want to see the tall ships? And then I thought, what are the odds that I'll ever get to see the tall ships? You know, if not now.
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B
Yeah, right, sure. If not now, when?
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A
I mean. But do I care enough? It's just. It's. This whole weekend is really making me feel very complicated.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Do I care enough about celebrating America? No, really.
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B
I mean, we had a birthday episode and we were like, this isn't that birthday?
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A
It's a million degrees outside.
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B
Oh, it's so hot.
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A
Listen, some other stuff is going. Wait. First of all, everybody, welcome to Fated Mates. This is obviously a banter episode. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.
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B
And I'm Jennifer Prob, A romance reader and editor.
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A
And there's some romance stuff going on this weekend in New York City, too.
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B
Tell me about it.
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A
Well, no, I don't mean, like capital R, capital N, romance novel. I mean.
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B
Oh, you mean potentially the great marriage of our time. Okay, it's ironic. Neither of us really care about this, but we support you.
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A
By now we will know if this was actually. Actually a wedding that was going on at Madison Square Garden today. I'm hearing from people, hearing from some people who are in a position of knowing things, that it's not a wedding like that. It's something else. She's gonna launch an imprint. Not an imprint.
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B
Whatever they call that.
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A
Yes.
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B
Listen, neither of us know people who know enough to know.
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A
I know, I know.
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B
This is.
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A
I. I didn't mean. I mean in a position to know, meaning know whatever knows a guy knows a guy who knows a guy. But here's what I will say. Whatever is going on, I don't love that. Like, everybody's being so coy about it. Like, the NYPD gave a briefing and they were like, we're not going to talk about it. And Mom, Donnie's making little jokes and I'm like, is it like, what is going. You're Closing streets. You got to tell us what's happening.
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B
Yeah, that does seem really pretty extra.
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A
Yeah, I will say, like, listen, I love. I love a celebrity wedding as much as the next girl, but, like, we're also getting a ton of warnings, like, you know, be in the cooling centers, make sure that you're being safe, check on your neighbors. And it's like, what are we doing anyway besides all that? So that's happening. And then right before we got on, two dummies climbed the Empire State Building. Yeah, that seems right up to the top. And one of them proposed to the other up there. And I was like, well, congratulations. Now you're getting married, but you're going to get arrested when you get back down. Because, you know, who does not put up with issues this weekend.
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B
Yeah, I just feel like that it's 100 degrees out there. That's a metal building. Literally.
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A
I never felt older than what I was like, it's 95 degrees. Get down from there, you dummies. Amazing. What if you got up there and then you have, like, a fainting spell?
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B
Sure. Well, you know, I have no idea.
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A
I've read a lot of romance novels. They are not uncommon.
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B
You know, we should transition to talking
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A
about romance novels anyway. I don't know. Is it romantic. Is it romantic to get engaged on the top of the Empire State Building and then get.
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B
If you climbed up it. I guess. I mean, climb the fire. Yeah. I mean, look at the whole purpose of Sleepless in Seattle was to get engaged up at the top of the Empire State Building.
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A
Yeah, I guess. I mean, it is. It's probably romantic. It's probably romantic, especially for, like, if you're the kind of person who's met. Listen, if I said to Eric, I'm going to fly in the Empire State, for me, he'd be like, I'm not doing that. Like, but if you find a person who's, like, willing to do that. Crazy with you, first of all, I'm a little worried. Like, sometimes you do need a perfect for each other.
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B
Right.
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A
A partner who sort of settles you and says, how about we go have lunch instead?
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B
We could take an elevator.
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A
Exactly.
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B
There's an elevator up there. Do you know?
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A
Well, that is the thing the news was, was speculating that they did, in fact, buy tickets and got themselves the observation deck. And that then they. Instead of coming back down, they went up. Because there's. If you've ever been on the top, the Empire State Building, like, they make it very, very difficult for you to get down from the observation deck, like defenses all curve over you. Like.
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B
Sure, I see what you're saying.
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A
They don't want you to fall and. Or, you know, other. Yeah. Off the edge. But I don't think they really worry about. And now. Now.
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B
Yeah.
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A
No, listen, if humans can, they will is what my lifetime has taught me. Anyway, so that is that and that is what's going on here. But by now we'll know about those people too. So check show notes where we'll tell you if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married in.
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B
In case you live under a rock and don't know.
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A
In case you aren't sure by now, we'll tell you in show notes. And we'll also tell you what we know about these two dummies who climbed the Empire State Building and got married. Those crazy kids.
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B
This week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Rachel Griffiths, author of Just for the Se.
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A
Rachel is a new historical author. We talked about her book, the Trouble With Anna last year. I put it on the debut list last year and the historical list last year. And now we have the second, the
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B
follow up book to the Trouble With
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A
Anna, this one involving Lady Charlotte, who was Anna's friend in the prior book and kind of a chaos monster, a delightful chaos monster. And now she gets to like chaos monster all over her own book, which is great. She knows all the rules of London and she absolutely loves to break them. And the only problem with that is that once you do break them and you are an unmarried woman in Regency England, you're probably gonna get told you have to get married. And in this case, she's told she has to get married by the actual Queen of England. So yikes. She has one summer to pick a husband. And here comes a country house party. Charlotte invites all of England's most eligible bachelors to an extravagant summer retreat at a country manor house. There is a brooding artist, a wickedly handsome Russian prince, a bunch of very wealthy men from across Europe. So why do Charlotte's eyes keep sliding over to the Duke of Warwick, the only man who's ever come close to breaking her heart or locking her down? I can't. I can't say, Jen, but I'm guessing it's because these two are going to smash.
- [19:11]
B
I hope so. So if you would like to see the smashing, you can get this book in ebook, audio or print. And you can pre order copies, signed copies from the Ripped Bodice, if your podcast supports it. You can click on the chapter title
- [19:27]
A
right now to be taken to buy the book.
- [19:29]
B
Thanks to Rachel Griffiths for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [19:35]
A
That is that. And now we're gonna talk about country house parties, which is, I wish I had a country house with the weather like this.
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B
Yeah, it's true. It is true. You know, it's funny because we've never done this episode. I can't remember. I think we were just like, what would be a fun episode to do? But, like, if you put a house party in a fucking historical romance, I
- [19:56]
A
am in a banger.
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B
A banger. And so I thought it would be really fun. And I will admit, like, I have a couple of newer books I don't think we've ever talked about before, but some of them are just, like, old favorites because it really is, like, such a classic trope. And I think, like, one of the things. And I wanted us. But then it was really funny because for quite a few of my books, I had to actually confirm that the plot I remembered happened at a house party versus a ball.
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A
Correct.
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B
Right.
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A
That's hard to tell sometimes. That is a challenge, right.
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B
Because, like. Cause I was like, oh, Devlin Spring or whatever. And then I was like, oh, no, that's just a ball. Right. I mean. So I think, like, one of the things to think about, and I mean, in you, of course, I was hoping that you would talk about Day of the Duchess. Right. Have written a house party. Because I think that, like, it also, part of the reason I always, like, assumed they existed in terms of the plotting of it is, like, you just need to put people in a place that would need chaperones or that couldn't normally be together. Right. In some ways. And this is the way to do it. Right. So do you want to talk a little bit about it? Like, as a writer, are you.
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A
I do.
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B
Using it as, like, a plot device, essentially?
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A
I think so. Okay. I think there are a handful of. I wouldn't even call this a trope. I think this is what you said is right. It is a device. Right. And I think there are a handful of things. Devices that we come to as writers, especially romance writers, and we say, like, okay, I'm going to write. Fill in the blank. Right?
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B
Yes.
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A
And I mean, maybe we don't sort of overtly say, I'm gonna write a country house party. But, like, I think if you're gonna write a country house party in the purest, most. In its purest, most like, distilled form, you have to kind of know going in that that's what you're doing. You can't, like, Trip into a country house party.
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B
Yeah. It has to be there for a reason.
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A
Sure. It's like. It's like a bottle episode, really.
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B
Yeah.
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A
I mean, it sort of feels like.
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B
Or like a.
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A
You know, it's like if you're doing. If you're writing a murder mystery and, like, it's just. It's like all the characters are in one space. Right. And, like, clue.
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B
Sure.
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A
Right.
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B
So. Well, and it. Yeah, like, clue. It's like you could do a murder or you could do, like, a bunch of sexy times. Fine.
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A
Exactly. I mean, we're basically, you know, the same. We're two sides of the same coin here.
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B
So.
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A
But here's the thing. So I think a country house party takes a few things. And the reason why. I think you have to sort of be intentional about writing one of these. By the way, I also think you have to be intentional about writing a road trip. You can't accidentally write a road trip. Sure, sure. And I think they kind of go hand in hand, weirdly, because I think road trips and country house parties kind of require the same thing.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Which is. There has to be a reason why everybody's there. There has to be a reason why there. There is a ticking clock. The end of the. The end of the party is a ticking clock. Right. And I mean, obviously, it's not the same as a road trip where, like, the destination is the ticking clock and you're, like, relentlessly getting there. But, like.
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B
Right.
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A
A country house party has a beginning, middle and end.
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B
Right.
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A
And. And it has to have a collection of characters. Like a cast of supporting characters.
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B
Yes.
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A
And those characters have to. Obviously, this is where we diverge. Cause in a road trip, you sort of meet them and then they. You leave them.
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B
Then they go. Right, exactly.
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A
But here you have to have a cast of characters who fill, like, a certain amount of. Of. They have to have purpose. Right. So.
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B
Right.
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A
I think often there. I think house parties fall into a number of different, like, scenarios. There's, like, the bacchanal.
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B
Right.
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A
Like, we're all going to, like, do sexy things in the country air. There's the bachelorette situation where, like, she's gotta get married, so might as well bring all of. Or he's gotta get married. Bring all the women to one place. That's Day of the Duchess.
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B
Right, Right.
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A
And so. And then there are, you know, a few others. And the way that that works is there have to be sort of. There has to be, like, the gossip. There has to be the sex cut. There has to be the The.
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B
These archetypes almost, right? Like, that's my thing. Like, you stock that with archetypes and even if you've never. You, like, come across one and you're like, oh, this is the old bitty. You know what I mean? This is the old.
- [24:54]
A
The like middle aged man who loves to hunt. The, you know, like, they're sort of kind of, you know, we can see them all for who they are. The mother who is desperate to get her daughter married, those kinds of, you know, and they all sort of fall out from there. And then the plot is, how are these two people who we're trying to get together, going to make it work? And invariably it, you know,
- [25:27]
B
they are
- [25:28]
A
diametrically opposed in some way. Right. So it's like this is where governesses really, or, like companions really shine. You know, the, like, spinster sister, the spinster cousin who is just there as a chaperone, but, like, obviously he's the heroine.
- [25:46]
B
Yeah. I was also thinking about it, like, once we get there in terms of, like, what can happen at the house party, like, what kinds of plots or kind of characters unfold.
- [26:02]
A
Because I feel like, promise of the premise.
- [26:03]
B
Yeah, right. Like, exactly. Like, why did I think, like. So for me, as I was approaching this, it was sort of this question of, like, why did it have to be a house party? Like, why is the house party here?
- [26:14]
A
Right. You gotta get away from London. Right. You gotta get away from distraction.
- [26:18]
B
Yeah.
- [26:19]
A
So here we are, we're all stuck together.
- [26:22]
B
Right? Right. And I think, like, the obvious thing is, like, breaking down sort of like some of the social rules. Right. But I also think, like. I think I was thinking about too, is like, it is also about point. Like, okay, back in, like, the early days of Twitter, I would say, like, the best part about it was being able to, like, eavesdrop. Here I am living in my life and my world and my identity and the place I am, but I can, like, eavesdrop on other people having, like, public conversations and, like, learning from that. And I feel like some of the most interesting, like, house party books to me are ones where it's like, essentially, like, breaking down those barriers. Right. And so you get people essentially, like, I don't know, like, they're able to either be different or act different or see a different way. And I think those are the books that I tend to really like a lot. Along with the whole forced proximity of it all. We're in the fishbowl in some way. It's almost like a ball is like, okay, we're gonna perform our mating ritual in front of society. But a house party is like, we are gonna perform it in front of. Of society. You know what I mean? Like, and so I do think, like, that's why these books are so fun and so interesting.
- [27:48]
A
It also isolates the characters in such a way. Like you said, it's like. It is a fishbowl. And it's so tightly knit. It knits the community in some way so that, like, everything feels more clandestine. Like, when we're alone, there's always a threat of, like, being discovered.
- [28:10]
B
Sure. That old bitty is gonna, like, roll into wherever you are and be like.
- [28:14]
A
Sure. So they're like, there's gotta be a kind of. There's gotta be some kind of parlor game. I. I love it when a hero who is, like, deeply, deeply serious is, like, forced to play blind man's buff, you know?
- [28:29]
B
Yeah.
- [28:29]
A
And then, you know, they're, like, pushed into it. And. And then, you know, they. Or they have to. I don't know, they have to play hide and seek. And they all. They end up in a cupboard alone in the dark, you know, and they might get caught, but they're definitely gonna do it in there. And so I think, like, that's fun. This is also, like, listen, the rain and the groundskeeper's cottage and the. We're trapped in the woods for some reason.
- [29:00]
B
Our.
- [29:00]
A
You know, my horse, you know, she rode off and then the horse came back without her, and it's storming and, like, he's gotta go get her. Like, there's. It just is so. The delight of the familiar at a country house party is really great also. There is no denying that there's something to the kind of. You know. Did you ever see that movie when we were growing up? It's also a play called Noises off. And it's a farce. It's a theatrical farce. And, like, farces, you know, I think they're French originally, but, like, very classically theatrical farces have, like. Are set in a. Again, a closed location. Everybody's in the same house. And, like, the doors. There's usually, like, six or eight doors on the set. And, like, they go in and out of doors. And it's part of the humor of it is, like, I went into this room and I thought it was someone. It was this person's bedroom, but it was actually somebody else's bedroom. And then, like, so, like, in the hands of, say, a clever, like, a Loretta chase, like, that kind of experience happens too, where, like, you, like, you're headed in to one space or, you know, you know, and then you discover that you're actually in the wrong place. And so there's chaos that's involved that way. There's like sneaking around at night. Like, you know, we have adjoining rooms. These kinds of, like.
- [30:33]
B
Sure, right.
- [30:35]
A
It's a little bit, you know, the whole house is structurally, it's designed as like a magic castle.
- [30:45]
B
Right. Anything could happen. You could be anywhere. You could go downstairs.
- [30:48]
A
Romance architecture is really in play here.
- [30:52]
B
Yeah.
- [30:53]
A
And that's true. And I think that that's really charming too. And I think that's why. And also I think it's because there's something very old fashioned about it. So it feels like, you know, you're really. It's a comfortable space at a country house party.
- [31:10]
B
I think the thing too, I kept thinking is, like, I obviously am only going to be bringing historicals to the table, but I do, you know, I did find myself wondering, you know, is essentially the house party that evolves into only one bed. Right. Like, it's about forced proximity, but, like, you just don't need to put people in. Like, it's really hard to imagine what this would look like in a contemporary. Right. Because the pressure that is brought to bear is all, as you said, about essentially like being caught. Right. Like, the rules that govern behavior are so much more strict and strident that it doesn't really function like a house. A party where a bunch of people are in the same place for several days is just like a party in a contemporary. Right?
- [32:00]
A
Yeah.
- [32:00]
B
And so I think, like, that's kind of the thing too is like, this is really to me, like an example of a purely historical trope, like, for what it does and like, what I want to see happen in it, if that makes sense.
- [32:14]
A
We're gonna put this link in show notes. But Lucy Foley, who obviously writes mysteries and whose first book was the Hunting Party and is about a New Year's Eve house party on a Scottish estate, she wrote this great piece in Tatler magazine about just the enduring appeal of the country house party. And she says, and I think this is true, the thing about a country house party is it doesn't have to end when normal parties do. There's no need to go home or to bed because everything's in situ. So you've got. It opens this door to, like, everything is possible because you are in a location where the rules no longer apply.
- [33:03]
B
That's the thing is, like, the books I'm kind of interested in talking about are the ones that do, like, sort of like break some sort. Like, what's the rule that's being broken?
- [33:11]
A
Right?
- [33:11]
B
Like, what's the thing that's happening?
- [33:14]
A
This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Kristen Jennings, author of A Legacy of Magic and Monsters.
- [33:21]
B
Okay, so this is a romantasy, everyone that is advertised as having big energy of the witcher, which I am assuming we're into, right?
- [33:29]
A
Hopefully season one.
- [33:31]
B
So in this one we have Audra. She has been raised in a kingdom that fears magic, believing that it is connected to the evil monsters that prowl the land. So she just, you know, hides her magic and honestly is content with the life she has planned. She's gonna marry her childhood best friend, Prince Graham, and they will rule the kingdom. Except that's not what happened. On the night that should have been the start to her happily ever after. Audra's whole world is turned upside down and she's left heartbroken. So she really has no choice but to escape to the magical world of Mira, a place where she'll learn her powers are nothing to be ashamed of. And a place where she'll find a safe haven until a series of mysterious disappearances happen. The monsters are changing and becoming more violent. And for the sake of her new family, Audra is forced to return to the court she left and be at the mercy of the man who broke her heart.
- [34:28]
A
The worst. The best for us, but the worst for her. For poor Audra. If you would love to read a romantic fantasy with a second chance, a childhood, best friends to lovers, trope and yearning that spans years, then A Legacy of Magic and Monsters just might be the book for you. You can get it right now in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Kristen Jennings for sponsoring this week's episode. I'm gonna talk about my very favorite. I was sitting and I was thinking, like, what is, like, what do I think is like the platonic ideal of a. Of a country house party romance? And I gotta say, I'm like 90% sure. And, you know, I always, whenever I finish an episode, I'm like, I didn't talk about that one. And it was. It's a great one. But I actually think I'm 90% sure that in my mind, the platonic ideal of the country house party is Eloisa James is duchess by night, which is the green one in that series. Everybody knows like and honestly the more like, I talk to people all the time about, you know, romance in general, but anytime I talk to people who've read early Eloisa James, like, this is one of those books that just comes up again and again. And I think partially it is because it is a book that I don't necessarily believe could be written in exactly this way again. And that is because this is a heroine in Disguise as a man book.
- [36:08]
B
Yeah.
- [36:09]
A
Which was, I will admit, one of my very favorite tropes for a long, long. I mean, no surprise. Right. I've written a lot of heroines who wear trousers. Continue to write heroines who wear trousers, but for a long, long time, that sort of heroine disguised as a man. And this is because it comes from Gentle Rogue, which was one of the books that blooded me. Heroine in Disguise in order to chameleon into a community where she is going to witness or experience things that she could not witness or experience on her as a woman. Was a really compelling, obviously, story for me for a long time. And I will admit, like, I still have a soft spot for these older books that do this, though I understand that for trans people, this is a complicated. You know, this is a very complicated story to tell.
- [37:08]
B
And the reason why, in case you're kind of, like, listening and you're like, but why? It's like. Well, because we have heroines sort of, like, putting on pants and accessing male spaces and then, like, sort of bouncing back and being, like, sort of happily feminine again. Right. In a way that I think, like, doesn't really feel like. Right. So, like, now when we talk about this, and I think it's just, like, incredibly complicated. I don't want. I can't speak for trans people, but I do hear, like. Like, you know, that there's a lot of ways in which, like, this is complicated. Like, accessing, like, gendered power is a lot more complicated than, like, what clothes you're wearing. Maybe it's just the, like, the most simple way to say it. Right.
- [37:46]
A
I think that's real. I also think, you know, there is a sort of. There. There's a lot that goes on here that's about, like, being, you know, not being it. Not being easy to chameleon into a community the way. And also. And then, of course, yeah, just, like, immediately, the moment it's discovered, everybody's just like, oh, what a lark.
- [38:08]
B
Like. Right.
- [38:09]
A
It's actually a really scary thing. So that said, I do believe that this is, you know, one of the best country house party books ever. It's the third book in her Desperate Duchess series. And this is Lord Strange, who we have. Lord.
- [38:30]
B
What a name, please. What a name, please.
- [38:35]
A
So Harriet, our heroine, is the Duchess of Barrow. And she is tired of being a duchess and having all of the responsibility that comes with being a duchess. What she really wants to do is go to. She's looking for a sex party. I mean, this is one of the classic house party, like, through lines. She's looking for a sex party. She knows the Duke of Villiers, who. If you know anything about Eloisa James books, like, the Duke of Villier is one of her. Is her probably biggest character. Like, he's her Lothaire. He's her Ilya Rozanov. Like, the one who everybody was sort of waiting for. The Duke of Villier's book. So in order to. She knows that Lord Strange, which every year has a country house party that is filled with, like, the worst Best of London. Like, everyone's a scandal. Everything is on the table. Anything can happen. It is gonna be a sextravaganza.
- [39:46]
B
Chapter title. Okay, Sextravaganza. Right.
- [39:50]
A
So Strange throws this party every year. And he is like, he. So she gets.
- [40:00]
B
So.
- [40:01]
A
So Harriet basically gets an invitation by virtue of the fact that she knows the Duke of Villier. And he says, okay, I'll take you, but you can't be Harriet when we go. So she dresses as this, like, kind of notorious rake. And. Well, not notorious. She dresses as this sort of mysterious young rake. And she shows up at this house and she, like, turns up and Strange is like, I've never met this person before. And he's, like, attracted to him. Like, again, this is sort of a complicated. Like, it's. It's an. It's a complicated story that. It was something that I remember when I first read it. I was like, this might be the first time I've ever seen this. Usually the structure is. I didn't. I saw the person dressed as. You know, as a man. And I knew it was a woman.
- [40:57]
B
Right, exactly.
- [40:58]
A
In this case, Villier has, like, a. Or not Villier. Strange has, like, kind of a moment where he's like, all right, I could be into this.
- [41:04]
B
Yeah.
- [41:05]
A
And then it turns out, of course, that, like, she is Harriet. She is there for. She's there just to witness. And he's like, you can't just witness. Like, you have to play. And then. So it's about.
- [41:18]
B
I don't know.
- [41:18]
A
It's probably like, half the book where it's just, like, bantery and you know, sexy. And then the back half of this book is very sexy. I think this might be Eloisa James, like, most sexy book as well. It's really like. I think the exploration of sex and of bodies in this book is really great. I also think, like, Harriet's in, like, Harriet's desire to experience something that she believes is bad for her, like, is. Like is not only hidden from her and not only kept from her by virtue of her title, but also, like, is ruinous for her. And her, like, being drawn to ruination in that way, but, like, terrified of it at the same time is very, like, electric on page here. And of course, this has. This is the story. And this, I think, again, is a real hallmark of early Eloisa James books where, you know, Eloisa James does. She's a. She's a, you know, a scholar. She's a historian. She's, you know, she's somebody who cares a lot about the research piece of the book. And Strange has a child in the house. Like, he has a child who is in the house, obviously kept away from all of this. So the other way that this book works, really interestingly is like, this sort of bacchanal only happens, like, at night, out of the way. And it becomes clear that he's doing this in many ways to keep his child from this child that he lives with from experiencing anything or witnessing anything. And she gets rat bite fever, which is a real thing.
- [42:58]
B
Okay.
- [43:00]
A
And it's really, like, terrifying because she gets so, you know, if you. You know, she gets bitten, literally, by a rat and she gets a fever, which I'm sure now has a real name. But, like, rat bite fever is a thing that I like. Anytime I see a mouse in my apartment or my house in New York City, I'm like, we could all get rat bite fever. Thanks, Elois and James for this.
- [43:19]
B
But what I would say is that what's.
- [43:22]
A
And again, it sort of has this real moment of humanity, right? Like, where this child starts to get sick. There's, like, all this party happening, like, beyond the Door. And, like, Harriet and Strange are here alone, fighting, really, like something. An invisible enemy. An enemy they cannot vanquish because sickness is just sickness.
- [43:46]
B
Yeah.
- [43:46]
A
And I think this is a really. The book is very emotional. It's really sexy. And I think it's a good example of, like, when we talk about historical. A lot of people put Elvis on the. You know, on the list of, like, the. She's an author who endures. And I think this is a book that shows, like, just when she is writing at the top of her game, she is. She's really, like, like, difficult to match. So that is Elois of James, Duchess by Night. And it also. And, like. And it has all the, like, the raucous, like.
- [44:19]
B
Yeah, all the stuff he wants, right? Yeah. So, you know, this is a good place to start, like, sort of like what I like the first book that came to my mind. And again, everybody I know this is a book I've talked about a lot, is banned sinister by K.J. charles. Because we did a deep dive of it. We did a deep dive of it. This is a book that, to me, is, like, pretty much like, a perfect romance. I know that, like, lots of people have their favorite K.J. charles, and this one is mine. And I think it's actually because of the house party of it all. And basically, what happens is Guy is. And has a sister, Amanda. They live in sort of, like, genteel poverty, you know, out in the country. And like, their neighbor, Sir Philip Rookwood, is essentially, like, just, like, you know, I don't know, like, sin personified. You know, everyone in Everybody's sin personified in the. You know, everyone's. Oh, that Guy, you know, he's terrible. And Amanda is thrown from her horse and is terribly injured. But it happens on Philip's property. And so he, like, essentially sends word to Guy, like, you know, your sister's been injured and she really cannot be moved. And, of course, this is, like, you know, I mean, well, she has to be moved because otherwise she will be compromised. And she can't be compromised because, right. Like, you know, Philip's like, well, I'm not gonna marry her. She fell off her horse. Like, whatever, right? I mean, it's. I don't know if he has to say that. It's certainly implied. And so Philip. And so he basically is like, well, you can come here and essentially live here, too, right, While she recovers. And in residence with Philip is his, like, gang of friends, who everyone calls the Murder, which this is like a K.J. charles book without a murder. So I have to think that this is just KJ Charles being like, I gotta put a murder in here. I' just call these dudes the murderer. And what it is to me, for me, in this example, is Guy then having access not only to a different class of people, right? Philip has far more money and wealth and kind of access to power, but also, obviously, Guy has no idea that he is gay. That that's even, like, a thing. So he has access to A sort of, like, sexual set of sexual, like, mores and, like, things that can happen he had, like, had no idea about. And he's, like, kind of like, right. Like, sneaking around and seeing things and hearing things. But to me, like, one of my favorite scenes in this book, I think a scene that is just like, every time I fall into this book, I, like, kind of start here and reread it, is There's a scene. It's very early in the book, right? In the first. Like, the first night or two, maybe, that he's there and Amanda is just, like, in her room, like, sweating and feverish, right? And so Guy is experiencing all this on his own, which is, like, super smart plotting, right? Like, the reason he's there is, like, not somebody that's gonna impede him from experiencing this. And they're at dinner. So he's at dinner with these men who. And they are, like, debating things that he has never even considered before. The meaning of God, who should have representation in the House of Lords or. Right. Like, you know, what is. Should elections happen? You know, and there's this part where. And I actually looked this up, right? Where one of the. One of them says, like, right. Like, you know, you wouldn't put. Put me in charge of the country, would you? And Guy thinks he couldn't begin to formulate answers to questions he'd never even considered asking. And this then sets the stage for the entire journey that Guy goes on of really understanding that there is a life that he could have that is incredibly different than a life he even knew existed. Yeah, Right. And I think that this. And, you know, Philip, at the same time, we get his point of view kind of, like, delighting in, like, sort of shocking Guy and, like, real. Being very cognizant of the fact that, like, Guy is being shocked, but also is potentially, like, really game for things. Like, Philip really understands, I think, certainly far earlier than Guy does, like, what's going on in terms of, like, this strange attraction between them. And, you know, and. And this isn't something Philip is afraid of, Right? This is something Philip is. You know, he's like, we could have something between us. So this is, I think, then, of course, what has to happen in this case, right? If the house party is about showing you a world you didn't know existed, then you have to be thrown out of that world and decide whether or not you want to fight your way back into.
- [49:28]
A
Right?
- [49:29]
B
And so I think, like, that then is like, the sort of classic setup. Then is that, like, you know, whatever Distant relative realizes that they're there and it's like they have to, you know, go be. They have to like leave and be, you know, sort of good people again. And that's a real moment for Guy where he's kind of like, wait, am I gonna let these small minded people who would have let me and my sister like essentially starve, right? Like really like suffer because now all of a sudden they wanna like have a say in who we are. And I just think it's a really. It's like. And like you said, right, like, certainly it's super sexy. You know, Guy essentially, like, I think he like walks in on some men having sex or. Right. Maybe it's a blowjob for the first time. And you know, he like. It's like, what is happening? And it's just really. It's great. I really love this book. And I think if you're just like I said, looking for the house party that shows you the possible world, then this is like a great example of that.
- [50:38]
A
Yeah. I mean, K.J. charles loves a house party. One of her other books, Any Old Diamonds, is also a house party. And that actually has a like mystery in it too, which is. So the, the setup there is, is one of the heroes is he hates his father because his father let his brother and let his sister die or something. I can't remember quite why. Romance reasons. Hates his father.
- [51:05]
B
Sure.
- [51:06]
A
Very traumatic. And he has his terrible parents and they're hosting a country house party. I remember this. At the end of a private railway. That's like the only way you can access this like Scottish castle. So like way out in the middle of nowhere and he wants to punish his parents or his father and his stepmother. And he hires kind of like a jewel thief to come out with him and fake being his good friend.
- [51:38]
B
Right.
- [51:38]
A
And steal like these priceless jewels from his family. And of course they fall in love. But there's. I remember in that book there's a great moment where, you know, KJ really like meditates on the bravery it requires to love.
- [51:56]
B
Yeah.
- [51:57]
A
And I think, I mean, she's just the greatest, but also another good example of how a house party can work. You know, in that case with like a real plot.
- [52:13]
B
Like a.
- [52:14]
A
They're gonna steal something.
- [52:15]
B
Yeah, yeah,
- [52:19]
A
I just sort of added that one in. That wasn't one of the big things
- [52:22]
B
I was gonna do. Yeah, no, I figured as much. It's your turn. So this week's episode of Fated Mates is brought to you by Union Square Co. Publishers of Laura Piper Lee's potshot.
- [52:36]
A
So Naomi Wyeth, the heroine of this book, she had it all together. She is the former valedictorian of her high school class. She lives in a charming little neighborhood called Sparrow Nook, New Jersey, and unfortunately, now she has Crohn's disease. And she really suffered for a long time until she found medicinal marijuana and decided that she was going to open a cannabis dispensary in her small town and hopefully help others the way that that she has been helped by medical marijuana. Her plans are rudely interrupted when Dr. Julian D', Angelo, the former salutatorian of that graduating high school class and current asshole, returns home to Sparrow Nook with a medical degree and a chip on his shoulder and some kind of probation to serve at the medical practice next door. What is also happening here is Julian has a lifelong vendetta against wheat. When an unfortunate shaving accident lands Nomi on Julian's exam table, Julian is appalled to discover that his high school nemesis is still inconveniently gorgeous, still hates his guts, and worst of all, that she's planning on opening an amoral weed bordello. His words, not ours, everyone. Next to his clinic, war is the only answer and definitely not an excuse to keep running into witty, free spirited know me. So these two are going to war and we are going to have a great time watching it.
- [54:10]
B
I just would like to know more about the war waged by the pothead. I just feel like that's like casual, relaxed, everyone looks great.
- [54:19]
A
Take a load off war, leave a load on war.
- [54:24]
B
You know that's where we're going. I hope so. If you would like to find out more about potshot, it is available in print, ebook and audio if your podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Union Square Co. And Laura Piper Lee for sponsoring this week's episode.
- [54:46]
A
I you know I love a I love a debut romance. I really, really do. And I think I've talked about this before, but I often think like debut romances are the rawest kind of most vivid look at a writer and how they think about the genre. And also they usually are very full of like the tropes a writer loves. Yes, and Lenora Bell's debut romance, which is called how the Duke Was Won. I remember I can remember an editor at Avon pulling me aside at a RWA and saying we have this new book, this new author we acquired her. The book is a retelling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And I was like, surely I am
- [55:34]
B
misunderstanding that Charlie in the chocolate Factory, that means.
- [55:39]
A
Yeah, and so. But in fact it kind of is. So the premise here is that Charlie, the heroine, Charlene, is a daughter, but like the sort of bastard daughter of a, of an earl and his mistress. And she has just been offered the chance to basically like never have to marry, never have to do anything ever in her life that she doesn't want to do if she will pose as her half sister who she looks like very like these two basically look the same and win the proposal. Win the hand of a duke who is hosting a bachelor style competition at his country house.
- [56:29]
B
Sure.
- [56:30]
A
And the basically like the premise is like that her sister's kind of like not a useful.
- [56:38]
B
She.
- [56:38]
A
She just can't. She can't. There's no question that this, this poor other girl is, has no shot at winning this. But it is. So Charlie's like, yeah, okay, like this is the best shot that I have to be to be a, to like be able to live on my own and like get out from under the like circumstances of my birth. And she's sort of very clear eyed about what the future is for her. And so this is her only shot. So she takes it and she heads off to the country where she meets James and the duke in question. And at this party filled with this like chaotic group of secondary characters who are, you know, everyone again, like the kind of matchmaking mothers, the other, the other, the other bachelorettes, the kind of a constant sense of like at any point someone else could just send the whole thing into chaos. She heads out there and she is like really clear eyed also about class in this book, like this real sense. And it actually does when you sort. When I don't think anybody would know that it was a retelling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But like when you get there, you know, when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, like Charlie just has the number of like every other person who is there is terrible. Or if they're not terrible, they're like, there's just something about them. Like, Charlie understands that he is in a position where this golden ticket will be life changing for him and his family and his future. In a way that makes it the stakes very high for Charlie. In a way they are not for all the other kids.
- [58:35]
B
Right.
- [58:35]
A
Trying to win this chocolate pottery. And I think that's what's going on here with this book is like the stakes are so high for Lenora Bell's Charlie and because they are so high because she is so intelligent and so clear eyed about the competition. The Duke James just falls so hard for her because. And it's not a not like other girls situation. It's really a situation where like, like she shows him like the world that he is living is nonsense. Like, and he doesn't understand the way the rest of the world behaves. And it's a really beautiful look at
- [59:23]
B
how
- [59:26]
A
class plays out in romance and how. And Lenora is really interested, obviously, now that I, you know, have read so many of her books. She's really interested in like how women are punished in this class conversation. And it's clear here that that's, that's like, that's what she was looking to. That's what she was like, kind of wandering through a debut doing. And then at the same time, it's so funny, it's so clever. It's so sexy. And I just, I loved this book from the very beginning. I just felt like it was so special and she, it just set her up as like a really special writer in genre. So that is how the Duke was won by Lenora Bell.
- [60:18]
B
Yeah, she's great. She writes a great book.
- [60:21]
A
Yeah. She knows how to do it.
- [60:23]
B
Yeah.
- [60:24]
A
And I think it's very clear that Lenora loves romance novels.
- [60:27]
B
And you can tell. Okay, I'm gonna really dig up a, like a deep cut here, which is a Connie Brockaway book called A Dangerous Man. This is from the mid-90s, so. Cause I was like trying to think again, like the classic house party tropes. And one is like, an American wanders in, right?
- [60:48]
A
Oh, perfect.
- [60:49]
B
Right? I mean, like, remember that. I feel like you don't see this as much anymore, but because of that, because an American wanders in, like, for sure that there is like, you know, like at some point someone asks her, like, I'm like, I wonder if she's seen any Indians. I mean, it's just like all of that kind of 90s stuff. Like, so you just have to really like, you know, brace yourself for a 90s romance. But in this book, okay, so the prologue is. And I mean, I haven't read this in a long time. And I reread probably the first hundred pages, so I don't even really fully remember the whole thing. But it really hits upon like some really specific things that I think happened really are really great in sort of one of these, like an American wanders in. So. Right. Because again, like, there's a point at which like, everything turns and you have these Americans with like, Money. Or, like, they're these young upstarts. How dare they come over to jolly old England. And I, like, fucking love these books. When I was a kid. Anyway, so in this book, the prologue is we. It's in text, and we have a gunslinger everyone calls the Duke, who has been hired by someone I know, who has been hired by, you know, this guy to essentially retrieve his kidnapped daughter. And she is, like, a teenager, 2013 or 14. And so what happens is, you know, the Duke can't get a clear shot because this girl is a real firebrand, and she's, like, sort of fighting. And it is really clear that the bad guy here is planning to, like, you know, like, drag this girl off and rape her. And it's. You know, so he's gonna be there, and he has one job, which is to, like, save this young woman. But we also get. It's all in his point of view that he's kind of like, I'm annoyed by all of this. And she won't stop moving. And if only she could, I could, like, take this guy out. And so in order to finally, like, just sort of, like, put an end to it, like, there's really no other way. He actually shoots her on purpose.
- [62:49]
A
On purpose?
- [62:49]
B
Yeah. So that she'll, like, fall, and then he'll be able to kill the real bad guy. So that is, like, the end of the scene. And then we pick up, and it's like, 10 years later, and now we're in England. And the Duke is not a duke. He is an earl. His name is Hartmoreland. He's the Earl of Perth. And he is, like, the greatest part about this is when you see this guy in the first chapter, you're like, yeah. And then you're like, oh, wait, no. He's this, like, boring old stick in the mud, right? So he has three sisters. He's married three. Maybe it's four. He has several sisters. He's married some of them off successfully. He has one more to marry off. They're gonna be. They're at this house party, and that is, like, the place that, like, the last sister is finally. He's gonna finally get her married off to somebody. And he is kind of excited. Not excited is not the right word. But he is satisfied with the house party setup. I don't think it's his house party. I think. Think they're like, the sister has, like, a bow, and they're at this guy's house party, I think. And he's like, this will be good. Cause then I Can tell if he is really good enough for my sister. Now, along comes this young, brash American girl, Mercy Coltrane. And she has been, like, sniffing around, asking about Perth, right? And he gets wind of this, and he's like, oh, she's probably some fortune hunter or whatever. And then he sees her and, like, you know, somehow he. You know, her shoulder is bared or whatever, and he sees the bullet hole, and he realizes that this is the person who she is he shot, right? And the reason she is there is because in the intervening 10 years, I think her mother or her parents have died or maybe her mother has died or something, but her brother has gone missing and he is in England. And what Mercy wants is for Perth, who was her father's hired man, to essentially help her find her brother. And so she is at the house party essentially to sort of talk him into this, and eventually she has to blackmail him into it. And he's like, you know, pissy about it the whole time. And the greatest part about it, like I said, is here he is, this badass gunslinger, and instead he's just like, oh, she's. How dare she, with her bad American manner. And it's really like. Cause what of course, we as readers understand is this isn't the real him. Somehow the real him is the guy we saw in chapter one. Yeah. And there's one scene in particular that I made a point of rereading because I really loved it, which is in typical house party fashion, right? If there are parlor games for the people later, there's also, like, gendered games happening, like, during the day. And in this case, there's going to be a shooting match between the men, right? The men are gonna shoot and they're gonna have a competition about the shooting. And Mercy gets out there with her fucking rifle, and she is gonna be a part of it. And he is outraged. Like, how dare she draw her attention to herself now, meanwhile, he has said to her, nobody knows who I am here. You better not speak a word of it or I'll basically kill you. I mean, he doesn't say that, but it's implied. Like, I will ruin you if you yap about what you know about me. And so she is like, you know, you're just such a stick in the mud, but I need you to help me with my brother. And so she's like, I'm gonna stick around at the house party, but she's constantly, like, too American for it all. So anyway, they. The guy, like, who is the house party, right? The beau of the sister who turns out to be kind of a jerk, sets up like it is described Sarah as a fucking romance. A paper mache, like buffalo. They make a paper mache buffalo. And all I kept thinking is some servants had to do this. And they bring it out here and they're gonna be like, mercy, can you hit this thing?
- [66:50]
A
What?
- [66:51]
B
And she's like, oh, you really. You assholes really think I don't know how to shoot because I'm a girl. What? And so then she says to.
- [67:00]
A
They just wait and they just whip up a paper mache buffalo.
- [67:04]
B
No, they knew. I think they were like, gonna, well, okay, again, romance buffalo. Sarah, just go with it. But it is men to. Essentially, they're like, placating her. Oh, you think you can shoot? You're gonna show us western style shooting, right? We're gonna let you do this, but we're gonna, like, essentially like, kind of make fun of you at the same time. And she's like, well, where do you want me to shoot it? And they're like, anywhere you can. And she looks over at Hart, right? Who is, you know, knows what she's capable of because he was in Texas and apparently everyone in Texas can shoot a rifle. And he's like, well, why don't you shoot the. The horn? And she's like, well, which one? And all the other men are laughing like, ha, ha. Yeah. So of course, Sarah, she fucking fires this rifle and it's. Yeah, it's perfect right through it. And everyone's like, oh, she can be.
- [67:53]
A
Connie Brockway knows the job, right?
- [67:56]
B
But then what's great is she essentially, like, dares Hart into shooting with her. And then it becomes this, like, battle of shooting prowess between the two of them. And people are betting money on it. And he's so disgusted by it. But also she's basically called him chicken in front of all the other men. And so something's gotta give. Now, it turns out that at the end of the book, they find her brother and one of the guys of the house party was sort of a bad guy. And all of that feels like a lot of scenery chewing in the way only a 90s romance could do. But I did really, this was a very memorable scene for me and the book itself just for, like, the whole idea of, like, here is someone from outside of British society, right? Showing like. And all of the women are like, wait, this is kind of cool. She can shoot, right? And it's just also, I don't know, it's very interesting.
- [68:55]
A
It's a great scene.
- [68:56]
B
And I think like also just really shows, you know, she's I guess in 90s style fashion, not like other girls, but only cause she knows how to shoot a rifle and is from Texas. So there you go. And that is a dangerous man. By Connie Brockway.
- [69:13]
A
This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Max Monroe, authors of Where I Should have Been.
- [69:19]
B
All right, so this is the third in the Red Bridge, Vermont series. In this small town, everyone knows that Tad Hanson, who's the local sheep farmer who's a total hottie, is just like basically like a good time guy, right? He doesn't believe in forever, he's gonna be the best time you've ever had. But he is not interested in commitment. What they don't realize is that of course he has like a dark secret past that he's trying to keep buried, right? He's just like this is the way my life is Until a snowstorm and a beautiful woman sends his carefully controlled world spinning. She's Breezy Bishop. She thought she had her life figured out until her father gave her the proverbial middle finger from the grave by leaving the family gallery she worked so hard to build to her entitled younger brother. With nothing keeping her in New York, she heads to Red Bridge looking for space to breathe. Instead, she finds a sexy, flirty Tad, a rivalry with the editor of the Redbridge newspaper, and a feeling that maybe the this small town is the place that she will be truly happy.
- [70:24]
A
Well, what's going to happen? If you want to find out what happens if you love a snowstorm, a beautiful woman, and a sheep farmer down bad, then you're going to love Where I Should have Been. You can get it right now in ebook, audiobook, or print. And if you hurry, you can get a copy of the delay first edition print run of this book, complete with sprayed edges and stenciled artwork. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Max Monroe for sponsoring this week's episode. Now I want to talk about my other marriage. My other marriage, Country House Party, which is Erica Ridley's Forever your Duke, which is part of her. So Erica did this school where she wrote a collection of novellas called the twelve Dukes of Christmas. So this is Christmas in July, everybody. The idea here is every. So it's a series of novellas. They're all great. Erica writes a really great historical. She understands the like, you know, what a historical reader fundamentally wants from a novella. And these, all 12 of them are really fun and they, and they're set in a town. I can't remember the name of the town but it's like a town where it's Christmas all year. Wrong. All year long.
- [71:52]
B
Right.
- [71:54]
A
So this is the 12th book though in the series. And so this is her big bad duke, right. The Duke of Notting Vale. And he has been sort of lurking around in the background of these other books. He is a very proper, very like unlike unflappable, very, very even keel aristocratic duke. This is not a rake by any stretch of the imagination. And he is, but he is no, he is so like kind of above it all that he has convinced himself that like quite courtship is truly just like too much work. So he decides that he is going to host a Christmas house party and invite a bunch of eligible young women from very, very like high class, like blue blooded families to come. And she. And so fine. And of course like all the families are excited, all the mothers are so exc. Everybody's ready to come and just like put on the dog and like really win this duke. And the, the other girls have all been like sort of trained. And then there is Cynthia who is our heroine and Cynthia, what did I say? A companion. It's a country house party to work for a companion. Cynthia has been like, she is a full on spinster. She's been on the marriage mart for like seven or eight years. She's just a fricking weirdo. Like nobody wants to marry her. She's too loud mouth, she's too weird and intellectual. She's kind of a blue stocking. There's just so much about her she knows about politics, it's all just, she's the worst. But she has a cousin and it's her favorite cousin and she has decided that she is going to be. She's basically going to be this cousin's second, you know, wingman and chaperone through this Christmas party. And so she turns up at this party with the cousin in tow like and basically kind of like blows it by like throwing the cousin, you know, poor thing directly into the path of the Duke and then like discovering almost, almost immediately that like this is a bad idea because she's always kind of had a thing for the Duke herself.
- [74:35]
B
Sure.
- [74:36]
A
And so she's known him and they've been like, you know, she's a woman of an age. They've, you know, she's been interacting with him over the years despite not being married and not not finding marriage of her own. She has access to these world, the world that he's in. And so, like, she's had this kind of, like, long standing interest in him and knows that, like, no Duke is gonna pick up a spinster so far on the shelf. But, like, so does that thing that, like, we have seen done in so many romances where she can't have him, so she's happy to, like, find another person who she loves to have him and, like, vicariously through it. Of course, he is like, I can't marry a spinster. What I like about this is often with this tee up, there is a sense with authors that, like, the Duke, the hero will sort of say, like, I don't care about propriety, you know, immediately. That is not the case here. This Duke sort of has a reason to marry well. And, like, this weird spinster is not gonna be it, except he can't help but touch her. You know, he can't help but be with her. Now, I do want to say Erica's books are generally much less spicy than other books, so this is actually a good choice. It's very short. It's about. I would think it's no more than 100 pages, but it's not gonna be spicy. This is just a sort of real emotional kind of house party, sneaking around, getting caught in the. The, you know, cupboard kind of book.
- [76:21]
B
All right, how many more do you have?
- [76:24]
A
I have two that I can talk about either all together or, like, okay, one. I mean, one of them is again, the magic Jen. So, like, okay, how about this?
- [76:35]
B
I have one more real one, and then, like, one I want to mention that we've already talked about a lot. Let's do that.
- [76:39]
A
Okay.
- [76:39]
B
All right, so I am going to talk about Tessa Dare.
- [76:44]
A
Oh, a great choice.
- [76:45]
B
Yes. So, I mean, you know, I mean, I think, like, okay, so this one is. Do you want to start a scandal? And what I. Again, this, to me, is sort of the classic. Like, I really literally did have to be like, wait, was this a ball or a house party kind of thing. And then I'm like a dummy because, of course, the whole reason it works is that it's a house party. So what happens at the beginning of this is we have. You know what? It's like, I kind of. You guys, I know this is silly to say, but, like, I forgot how truly funny Tessa Dare books can be. So I was rereading this to sort of, like, remind myself of, like, the plot. And what happens is it starts off with Charlotte, who is a, like, a spinster. I don't think she's, like, been on the shelf forever. But like, she has a matchmaking mama and her matchmaking mom has her sights set on piercing. And the thing about this guy is that he is basically like, you know, he's a, you know, a lord and he's, you know, he's gonna, you know, he's the guy. This is the guy, like, right. Her mom has her sets on. So Charlotte essentially finds him essentially in the library or something of this ball house party, whatever, and is basically like, hey, listen, you're gonna want to stay away from me because my mom has her eyes set on you for me. Pierce is like, wait, what the fuck is going on right now? Right? Like he literally, I mean, and it's great because like, we are literally just as confused as he is. Like, well, Charlotte, why didn't you just stay the away from him? What are you talking about? What's going on? And she's like, no, really, like my mom is really nefarious and she. I just am telling you, like, stay away from me and I'll stay away from you. And then you're. Don't worry, your virtue will be safe with me. Essentially. Now, just at that moment, as they're sort of like kind of wrapping up this very strange conversation, they hear someone coming and he is like, essentially like hides them away inside of like a window seat. He unties the curtains on the window seat and they're hiding in there because someone's coming in and they can't be found together because otherwise, right. Like they're gonna be. She'll be compromised. And so instead what happens is these two people come in and they have sex against the desk. Like it is really funny because Charlotte is describing like the grunting and the sounds just like she knows what's going on. Even though she's a virgin, she's like not an idiot and she knows what's going on. And so these two people have sex in the library and then they leave and she's like, woo. Thank God they didn't find it us. Let's get out of here. And just at that moment, an 8 year old boy comes in. Now the house is her friend's house. So this is like her friend's little brother. And he is like, I heard funny noises down here. I think someone did a murder in here. And Charlotte is like, no, honey, no, nobody did any murdering in here. Don't worry, it's fine. And then like other people start to come in and, and, and nobody really at this moment kind of realizes that Piers and Charlotte were in there by themselves. Until this little kid, kid starts yapping about what he heard. He's like, no, I was upstairs and I heard a noise and people were like, describe the noise. And so this kid does a pretty faithful apparently rep, you know, representation of people he doesn't know. That's the sounds he's making. Everyone else does. And Charlotte's like, no, it's not like that. And he, you know, so long story short, they're compromised and, and Piers is like like I will, you know, the next morning, you know, I was like, I'm going to offer for your hand. And at this point her brother in law is there or something, I can't remember exactly. And, and Charlotte is like no, that's crazy. Why would he do that? And so she talks to him, she's like, why would you do that? And he's like, well you know, I'm titled and I'm rich and I need a wife and you know, maybe it's just time. And this is like, you know, the universe's way of showing me it's time. Nice. And it turns out that that is sort of true like for him, like he is you know, titled or whatever, but also that he is there as an agent of the Crown. He's like a secret agent. And what he has to do is like essentially discover like you know, who the bad guy is or whatever. And so it also suits his purposes to have Charlotte be there, right? To be sort of his to be engaged. But she freaks out. And what she essentially makes him promise is that they, she's like, listen, I don't want this. Let's, if we have to be at this house party for the next two weeks together, let's try and figure out who was really fucking in the library and then we can force those people to admit it was them and no one will be any the wiser about our situation. And so like the whole purpose of the house party is he's trying to find like the real bad guy. Like he's trying to figure out, you know, if this person he's investigating is being blackmailed or is like what's going on. He's about to get some high ranking post somewhere and you know, it is Piers's job to like make sure the guy is like on the up and up and he thinks something's wrong. And Charlotte is trying to figure out like who was fucking in the library. Now another really funny memorable scene. This is, I Looked, this is 2016, back when emojis were sort of really like we were first using them in Our time. Maybe not verse, but still. There's a whole really funny scene where Charlotte's mother describes what will happen on her wedding night using a peach and an eggplant. Do you remember that scene? And she's basically, like, trying to. Yes, right? She's like. Essentially, like, okay, so your parts are kind of like this peach, and Charlotte's like, why not a flower? Right? Like, it's a really, really funny scene.
- [82:38]
A
I mean, that is a Tessa Dare classic, like, these moments. I mean, she's so funny. She's so funny.
- [82:46]
B
It is. It's really funny. And it's just like this really, like, sort of madcap, you know, and then, like, the house party takes a couple, you know, those two weeks, and they're, like, investigating, and all of the, like, sort of madcap silliness you would expect. But, you know, at the end of the book, like, it's really, like, deeply emotional. Why peers would essentially, like, sign him up for a loveless himself up for a loveless marriage, and why Charlotte doesn't want anything to do with it. And so it ends up being, of course, you know, at the end of the day, really, like, serious exploration of, like, what it means to, like, sort of find love in the ways that we sort of lie to people and ourselves or whatever. But it also is just really, really, really funny. So it's, I think, also, like I said, the whole we were caught at the house party, right? And now what is another real classic part of that genre? So that's. Do you want to start a scandal?
- [83:44]
A
All right, well, I think it's time for us to talk about Mary Belog and Slightly Dangerous, which I know so many people have wanted us to talk about for so long, and I always forget to talk about it. But this is another one where, like, platonic ideal of a country house party is involved here. What I would say is that this book, this deploys. So, I mean, listen, we know Mary Bellogue is amazing, right? But she deploys the country house party in a very interesting way here because. So this is Wulfric Bedouin's book. And if you know anything about this series, I think it's like the. The Bedouin saga, right? So this is six books. There are six Bedouin siblings, and Wulfric is the duke, and his whole job is like, I'm gonna get my. He sees all of his siblings married, and he, like, takes Duke very seriously, right? And. And he's like, listen, like, Mary writes a very historically accurate book in the sense that, like, every little piece, like, they don't feel nothing about them. Feels like shorthanded. And so, you know, we've been watching. By the time we get to book six, we've been watching Wulfric sort of dominate and be domineering for all of this time. And so here we are, it's the final book. He is invited. He has a mistress through some of these books and I don't know what happens to her. She's not here in this book. And so. But he invited. Is married. Married. I'm sorry. So he has no, no mistress. I think she might be dead, honestly. Like, it's a thing that, like, he doesn't have this mistress. He is without a mistress. And you'll understand why in a little, in a second. And so he gets invited to a country house party and he sort of is at sea having. Not. Not having his mistress around. And so he's like, yeah, I'll go. And then, and then immediately is like,
- [85:49]
B
what a terrible idea that is.
- [85:50]
A
Like, he's like, I don't wanna go. I changed my mind. But he's like too stern and like, this is a man who, when he says he's gonna do something, does it. And so he's going to this country house party. Meanwhile, you've got Christine, the heroine of this book, who is like legions below him in stature and money and class. She was the. She was married to like the younger son of a earl or a viscount. And while the marriage, her marriage sort of started off well, it ended with like him. He died, but like, it ended with him like accusing her of like all sorts of things. He told his, his brother and sister in law, like, and, and all of society that like, she was cheating on him.
- [86:36]
B
They.
- [86:37]
A
She was cut off without a penny after her husband died. She didn't get anything. She lives in like a crofter's cottage with like her mom. She has a friend who also is. Who's the wife in this country house party situation. And they're short a woman and so they have to have even numbers. So Christine, you have them even numbers there. Come on now. So Christine gets invited to this thing and she shows up and everybody kind of knows like who she is or at least like, kind of gets like they know she's not one of them. And there's this great meet cute. Probably one of like a top meet cute in the, in. In genre where she's drinking lemonade all over the banister of like the outside banister of this house and he's coming in with all this stuff and she Accidentally pours lemonade in his eye and he's like, he looks up and he's convinced she's a servant because she looks so, like, low class. And she's like, sorry. And then like, wanders off, right? Like, she's. And then they meet later and he, I mean, this is also a book with a. We. You all have asked, a lot of people have asked us to do an episode about talismans. And I would definitely use, use this book as an example of that too. Wulfric likes to stare at people through his quizzing glasses.
- [88:00]
B
Sure.
- [88:00]
A
And he, like, inspects things. Like, and they're of course, like. And these quizzing glasses are like a protective magic for him. Like, you know, Balag deploys them often as, like, you know, when he first meets her, meets Christine in the house, like in a room, he's staring at her through his quizzing glasses and she, like, stares directly back at him. She's, like, not intimidated by this, like, this screen that he puts up. Anyway, so they have this country, this country house party. He, you know, it goes exactly as you would imagine. They sort of, you know, they have these moments where she's deeply charming, everybody thinks she's amazing. Everybody turns their, you know, rethinks the way that the society thinks of her. Except he is still, like, cold, impenetrable, unable to, like, feel a feeling. Those quizzing glasses are fucking out all the time. Every time he looks at her, right? And then like, slowly he's looking at her without them. And then the country, the party's over and she's like, I'm kind of, of into him. And he's like, I feel no feelings. But then, oh, what if I'm short a mistress?
- [89:12]
B
Like, what if? Right?
- [89:14]
A
What if you were my mistress? And she's like, sir, you forget yourself. Like, she's like, get the fuck away from me. Like, I am not, I am a respectable woman and I. This is not the life that I want. And so then what happens is, is so the country house party is maybe the first, like 40%, 50% of the book. And then the rest, the back end of the book is really Wulfric, like, chasing her, but without, I mean, this is an old school romance. It really is. Like, this is a man who, I mean, he feels his feelings at such a level, like, it's so deep that we don't see it for a long time. And she's, she just refuses to let him have access to her emotionally until he is in a place where he can reveal his feelings. To her.
- [90:11]
B
Yeah.
- [90:12]
A
And that takes a long, long time. And like, there are some great moments here where she just like, turns him away and he is like, left with no choice but to just like, stare in the middle distance into the middle distance and like, sit with his own assholicness. And like, nobody does this better than Mary Balogh. She is so good at drawing a character who like, just needs to deal with his shit. And what ends up happening is by the end, like, Wulfric Bedwin is just tied in knots for the time.
- [90:49]
B
Oh, I bet. Yeah.
- [90:50]
A
And it's really, really beautiful. And I think if you. I mean what I would say. And one of the reasons why I always kind of hesitate to recommend this book as like a top romance or a book. It's never a book that I put into the hands of somebody who's like, tell me what to read. Historical first. Part of the reason why is because I actually think this book works immensely better and it's much more emotional. If you read the other books first,
- [91:19]
B
the five books before that.
- [91:21]
A
Yeah.
- [91:21]
B
That makes sure. Like sometimes you have to really. And I think. I think the thing that's interesting about that is like, I don't know, sometimes you like, the buildup to a character is so intense and then you're like, is it gonna. And then it like, doesn't. The author can't quite deliver. But it sounds like here it really does deliver. Right.
- [91:38]
A
So, I mean, it's tremendous. It's just also a situation where like. Yeah, you just. If you have summer, like, if you are looking for, like, I wanna read. I wanna give myself a reading, like journey. I wanna read something that's. That really tells me a big story. The Bedouin Saga. From first book to the last book. The last book hits so hard. If you've read the five preceding books.
- [92:06]
B
Yeah. The one I just really quickly wanted to mention was what I did for Duke by Julianne Long, if you remember. Right. Essentially, Genevieve is like, it's the eversea house party and she's finally gonna tell her friend how she feels about him. And then right beforehand, this guy is like, I'm going to propose to Millicent. Terrible. Right. And at the same time, Alex, who is the Duke, is like, I'm going to go get revenge by like seducing her because her brother seduced my wife or whatever it is. And so it felt to me like a really good example of like a house party where you have like. Like different people with like radically different agendas for what they want to achieve or accomplish instead discovering they were wrong about what they thought would make them happy entirely.
- [93:00]
A
I have two that I just want to name check. Cause we've talked about them all before. But Joanna Shoup's Fifth Avenue Rebels series is interesting because it does a thing that is also sort of a trope in country house parties that we didn't get to, which is it's four books and they're all set during the same house party experience. And the hero of the fourth book is really the driving force through all
- [93:30]
B
of the other books.
- [93:32]
A
It's a very clever little conceit where the hero of the fourth book is an English duke who has come to America to find a bride. And he, in the first three books, really, he thinks he found it every time he strikes. And then he gets his bride at the end. My favorite again, of this series is the fourth book in the series, the Duke Gets Even. But this is another one where you will be much happier with that book if you've also read the three preceding books. And then I just have to shout out again, the Magic. Because it's. I mean, talk about like I always talk about, again, the Magic as being Lysa Clapis's. Again, the Magic as being a book where basically nothing happens. Like, it's so internal, all this conflict. Much of it's sort of told in two parts. The first part is when the hero and heroine are very young and a tragedy strikes and sends them spinning away from each other. He goes to America, she stays in England. And then he's so livid that he believes that something happened that didn't happen. He's so livid about it that when he comes back, he comes back for revenge. And he comes back to a country house party at Westcliff's house. Westcliffe, who is the first hero of the Wallflower series, right? Or second hero of the Wallflower series. Lillian's husband, Westcliffe, Short King.
- [95:01]
B
Westcliffe, the short King.
- [95:02]
A
And. And so he comes back to a country house party at Westcliffe's house where it's him and his best American friend and, you know, a few other people are around. It's a sort of much smaller house party, but there are some strangers in the mix. And I've said this before, but I think, again, the Magic is a tremendously well done house party book because you get the main. The A plot is the, like, second, possibly the best second chance love story ever in history of romance. And the B plot is possibly the greatest secondary love story in all of romance. And they are.
- [95:43]
B
Yeah, they couldn't happen without the house party. Right.
- [95:46]
A
Totally related to the house party. And, you know, there's a moment where there was a ball and there's a garden scene in that secondary romance. And I honestly believe it's one of the most romantic, romantic scenes ever in romance. So that's great. Lisa is again, the magic.
- [96:02]
B
And that's it. What a time.
- [96:05]
A
I know. I'm about to have some knee surgery, which means I'm not going to any house parties.
- [96:11]
B
No, you're not. You're having house parties in your house.
- [96:14]
A
I can't dance.
- [96:15]
B
No quadrilles for you, sir.
- [96:17]
A
No, not one fucking quadrille, Jen. For six straight weeks. Anyway, I tore my meniscus. Everybody feel bad for me.
- [96:29]
B
I do.
- [96:30]
A
We all gents tore hers before, so she's.
- [96:32]
B
But not like that because I didn't need surgery. I just, you know, it was fine.
- [96:36]
A
Oh, I didn't know you didn't need surgery. Well, we'll talk about that. So listen, we hope you. I hope you all are going to country house parties. I don't feel like people get to do that. No, I. Maybe like, I don't know, Alec Baldwin throws one out on the Hamptons every. Sure.
- [96:53]
B
I mean, but like the Hamptons house party. Now I think of that book, the Girls.
- [96:57]
A
Yeah.
- [96:57]
B
Is that. No, no. Is that the name of it? The green one by Emma Klein?
- [97:01]
A
I don't think it's called the Girls.
- [97:02]
B
That was a previous Emma Cline. It's called the Guest. And she's basically like bouncing around from House. House party. House party.
- [97:09]
A
Acting rich and pretending to be someone she's not. I do think, like we said, the, you know, Lucy Foley writing about house parties, I think like, they do lend themselves in contemporary to mysteries. Yeah, right. Like something bad happening at a house party. Right, right. But anyway, I mean, there's that great knives out with a house party. The second one, the Glass Onion. Yeah, I love a party. We just watch. We watched Clue not long ago with. With my daughter and I'm. What a fun. Oh, you know that fun time. But that's just one night, so. Sure. Anyway, Everybody, I'm Sarah McLean and I'm here with my friend Jen Prokop. And we are fated mates. You can listen to us every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find us online where you can tell us all about your favorite house party romances on Instagram and thread. Threads and blue sky we are on Instagram and threads as faded mates Pod we were. We are on blue sky as fatedmates.net. and you can also find us@fademaids.net where all of our, all of the books we talk about every episode are in show notes. You can just click on episodes and you get every episode. All the books we've recommended, the links to all the things we talked about today, you know, who knows, knows. We'll, you know, we'll throw up some pictures. It does look, while we were talking, while we were doing this, they did in fact get engaged up there on the top. The Empire Steel Building, everybody. They are known urban climbers and I don't know, congratulations to them. Hope you enjoy New York City together.
- [98:47]
B
Did you see the sign, though? When the power of love beats the power of the world knows peace. I mean, I'm sorry, these are Romans, people. I'm sure it's just, you know, terrible.
- [98:58]
A
It was a little wordy, that banner for me. I was like, that's hard to read. It's a little blowy. I feel like we could have tightened that up. Team.
- [99:05]
B
Yeah. You know, they're climbers, not writers.
- [99:11]
A
So that's that. If you would like to come hang out with us and lots more romance readers, join our discord, you can do that@patreon.com Discord if you just like listening the podcast and you feel like leaving us a review on wherever you listen to the podcast, we love that, too. Next week, like we said, we have a guest joining us. It's going to be a banger. Don't miss it. It'll be very fun and happy summer, everybody. Hope you have a country house to go to, make make good friends.
- [99:47]
B
Sam.