Fated Mates - A Romance Novel Podcast Fated Mates

This week, we are doing something a little different, talking about the New York Times's Best 100 Books of the 21st Century, a list that Sarah was asked to contribute a ballot for. We talk about how Sarah made her list, what she put on it, and why...and why we think there are no romance novels on the final top 100 list.
Don't fret, though -- on the Discord, FM listeners have started collecting nominations for the 100 Best Modern Romance Novels (since the publication of The Flame and the Flower)! Join the group to submit your own nominations and vote on the final list throughout August.
We're coming up on the end of Season 6 (what?! how!?), which means a deep dive of one of Sarah's books, even though she doesn't have a new one this year! We're talking Wicked & the Wallflower, the first of her Bareknuckle Bastards series. Get it at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.
The BooksWe talk about lots of books today, but most of them aren't romance novels. The nine romances on Sarah's list for the New York Times are:
Kate Clayborn's Georgie, All Along
Kresley Cole's Dark Needs at Night's Edge
Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me
Uzma Jalaluddin's Hana Khan Carries On
Beverly Jenkins's Forbidden
Lisa Kleypas's Again the Magic
Angelina M. Lopez's After Hours on Milagro Street
Sherry Thomas's Ravishing the Heiress
Milla Vane's A Heart of Blood and Ashes
Show NotesIn between the recording of this episode, about two hours after Biden dropped out of the race, and the time we released it on Wednesday: Kamala Harris has locked up the delegates for the nomination and raised 100 million dollars from small donors, a majority of whom are first time donors.
Click here to express your interest in joining us for Fated States phonebanking. If you’re an author who would like to donate books to phonebankers, please fill out this form.
We’re mad at Aaron Sorkin for writing a boneheaded oped in the New York Times, which was truly the dumbest thing, and then retracting it later.
The New York Times a...

Jen and Sarah are together at last (again), and we’re taking your questions! Listen as we revisit some of our favorite past episodes of the podcast, as we discuss our favorite books with our least favorite tropes, and recommend a bunch of books that take the finger. We’re also talking about historical romance, and why it remains an absolute bop.
We're coming up on the end of Season 6 (what?! how!?), which means a deep dive of one of Sarah's books, even though she doesn't have a new one this year! We're talking Wicked & the Wallflower, the first of her Bareknuckle Bastards series. Get it at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.
The Books
The Next Best Fling by Gabby GamezChef’s Kiss by TJ alexanderUnmasked by the Marquess by Cat SebastianSomething Spectacular by Alexis HallThe Perks of Loving a Wallflower  by Erica RidleyLove and Other Disasters by Anita KellyAn unsuitable Heir by KJ CharlesThe Ghost Town East Series by Amelia SheaIsland Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana HerreraThe Duchess Hunt by Lorriane HeathMorning Glory Milking Farm by CM NacostaJust Playing House by Farah HeronThe Duke Gets Even by Joanna ShupeMystery Man by Kristen AshleyPreacher Man by Jessa Kane
The Show Notes
Jen went to go see Illinoise when she was in New York, and the Fated Mates team ate at Claro in Brooklyn.Some of our favorite episodes of the podcast: the Derek Craven episode with Kate, the first category romance interstitial, and trailblazers a href="https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2021/11/13/s0411-vincent-virga-a-trailblazers-episode" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

For the last few years, The Ripped Bodice bookstore has published a Summer Romance Bingo Card and this year, we're helping you win! With absolutely no prep, we're recommending books for every bit of the game, from Lost Treasure to Time Travel to the Olympics. Head to The Ripped Bodice's instagram feed to see the bingo card and get reading!
Books Mentioned Only and Forever by Chloe LieseA Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston One Last Shot by Betty CayouetteRemember Summer by Elizabeth LowellFire on the Ice by Tamsen ParkerSeduction on the Slopes by Tamsen ParkerFrom Lukov with Love by Mariana ZapataThe Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda NevilleHottie Scotty and Mr. Porter by R. Cooper Breath of Magic by Theresa MedierosOutlander by Diana GabaldonCrazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay AdamsShaken and Stirred by Kathleeen O’ReillyDouble Down by Katie PorterCopper by Lily AtlasSanta’s Baby by Chloe MaineLighthouse on Moonglow Bay by Lori WildeDragged to the Wedding by Andrew GreyLooking for a Sign by Susie DumondStar Crossed Seduction by Jenny BrownaA Touch Magical by Sonia HartlReaper’s Property by Joanna WyldeWaylon by Theodora TaylorDo Your Worst by Rosie DananThis Scot of Mine by Sophie JordanSummertime Punchline by Betty CorrelloWild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob MayerSomething Wilder by Christina Laurena href="https://amzn.to/3xFH4Rf"...

We're taking a break this week, but we forgot to tell anyone about it.

Who says it has to be Halloween to celebrate witches? It’s 2024 and frankly, we could do with a few more powerful, spell-casting women around here. We’re talking about our favorite witch romances, many of which (see what we did there) have nothing at all to do with spooky season! There are rumors of a new Practical Magic in the air, which (ope!) makes us extremely happy, and we’re just trying to decide which (!!!) of these fabulous books to reread this week. We’re going deep into romance history to talk about why witches are so compelling, why they’re perfect for a light, frothy romance, and why magic in the hands of men doesn’t hit the same way.

We are the weirdos, Mister.

We are talking about a full on banger of a historical this week — Joanna Shupe’s The Devil of Downtown, which is Sarah’s favorite of the Uptown Girls series (Jen is a The Prince of Broadway fan, but honestly, all three are basically perfect). We love this one so much, you’re about to get an hour or so of squeeing and sighing — Jack Mulligan is everything you could possibly want in a romance hero, Justine Greene is the do goodingest doo gooder who ever was, and the way they adore each other is enough to wreck you. If you haven’t read this one yet, do yourself a favor and go read the whole series right now.