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PODCAST

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

The most listened to romance novel podcast, Fated Mates is co-hosted by bestselling author Sarah MacLean and romance critic Jen Prokop. Weekly episodes include romance novel read-alongs and lively discussions of the work of the genre, highlighting the romance novel as a powerful tool in fighting the patriarchy…with absolutely no kink shaming.

arts books

All Episodes

01:06:52

RERUN: S04.43: [Sex on the] Beach Reads

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/05/21

We're on hiatus this week. We planned this long ago, but forgot to tell you about it. Honest! Please visit the original season four episode page for more info.

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01:20:10

S07.35: On the Shelf with Spinsters and Wallflowers

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/05/14

One of the og romance tropes is on the table today -- we're talking about heroines who are on the shelf! It's not quite wallflowers, not quite ruined, not quite spinsters...it's a very particular flavor of unmarried woman, and one we basically only find in historicals (can you tell Sarah is writing?). We're talking about the subtle nuances of heroines on the shelf and honoring some of the classics...but Sarah's got a batch of books we've never talked about before! Also! It's that time of year again

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01:28:12

S07.34: The Third Act Break-Up (Complimentary)

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/05/07

We're gonna get people excited with this one (it's us. we're the ones who are getting excited). Back by popular demand, we're talking craft this week--digging deep into the third-act breakup, what it really means, why it's misunderstood, and why it really is essential to romance. Sarah suggests that every romance has one whether people like to admit it or not, Jen is, as always, ready to fight. Strap in! Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book out in July and is going on tour, and

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01:34:10

S07.33: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/30

Today we're headed back in the time machine to before the pandemic when everyone but us read this one m/m hockey book and lost their collective minds! Heated Rivalry is one of those books that romance lovers place high up on their keeper shelf, and we're talking about why, about how it really knocks sports romance out of the park (yes, we're aware that there is no knocking out of parks in hockey), and how it might be one of the books that launched a thousand hockey ships. We're talking about erotica

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01:53:23

S07.32: Ruination!

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/23

We're talking about the worst possible thing that can happen to a romance heroine today (it's always the heroines) -- ruination! Whether the hero did it, another man did it, or society simply decided that she's ruined, there's simply nothing to be done about it...except revenge, a triumphant return, or the crowning of a new reigning queen. We cover all three here, with almost entirely new to the pod books, and even get some contemporaries into the mix!If you want more Fated Mates in your life,

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01:34:38

07.31: Romance on the Run

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/16

Yes, Sarah has a longtime fantasy of being on the lam, but let's be honest, she'd be caught reading a book in the nearest diner as soon as anyone got serious about looking for her. This week, we're talking about books in which characters are much more serious about being on the run! We break the category into people on the move and people in hiding, but also talk about secrets, about lies, and about how love really is about telling something all the truths you've got. If you want more Fated Mates in

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01:17:12

RERUN: S04.38: These Books Bang: The Sexiest Romance...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/12

Headphones in, y’all. We have sixty-nine (that’s right, 69, by pure unplanned luck!) recommendations for you this week — everything from bonkers to bloody to blazing hot…naughty bits that we believe deliver the whole banana (and sometimes no banana at all, if you know what we mean). Pencils ready…your time starts…now.This week’s episode is thanks to Julie Block, the Fated Mates listener who won an episode of the podcast in the Romance for Reproductive Justice auction sponsored by The Meet Cute

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01:32:42

S07.30: Getting Things Done (to them): Romance with...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/09

We're crossing off a classic romance novel structure this week -- the list! Whether life changing to-do lists, bucket lists, or lists for kinky exploration, these romances take characters and readers on remarkable rides, reminding us all that sometimes it really does pay to be organized. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a

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01:56:44

07.29: Spring 2025 New Releases: Teasing Your TBR

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/04/02

It's our quarterly discoverabilibuddy episode! Get your TBR piles structurally sound and exercise that preorder clicking finger, because here are nearly 50 books coming out in the next three months that we're excited to read! Eric said next time we have to split it into two if we're going to keep talking about what's coming for hours... In the meantime, we're ungovernable! Tell us about the books you're waiting for...and if you're a romance novelist and have a book coming this year, please head over

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01:30:20

RERUN: S04.26: Jeannie Lin: Trailblazer

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/30

Our Trailblazer episodes continue this week with Jeannie Lin, one of the first authors to write historical romance featuring Asian characters set in Asia. Her debut romance, Butterfly Swords, is set in Tang Dynasty China. In this episode, we talk about the craft of romance, about preparing for and resisting rejection while finding her own path to publication, about how she honed her storytelling, and about the way cultural archetypes find their way to the page. We also talk about the lightning fast

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01:21:32

RERUN: S04.35: Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin: Some...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/30

This week, we’re talking about one of our favorite historical romances, Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords. This is one we’ve mentioned on previous episodes, and discussed at length during Jeannie’s Trailblazer episode, as it is the first own voices Asian-set historical romance. Aside from setting the standard for adventure romance, it’s also a near-perfect road trip romance with one of the hottest slow burns you’ll ever read. We talk about all of it, including the absolutely devastating first kiss—one

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02:16:59

07.28: Everything We Know About Horses Comes From...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/25

This week, for some reason, we're talking about romance novels with horses in them! Do we know anything about horses? Of course not! Do we let that stop us? It never has before! We're talking about the ones where the horse dies, the ones where they do it on a horse, the ones where she's a horse whisperer, and the ones where she just really likes horses. Giddyup! If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join

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01:26:56

07.27: What I Did for a Duke: This Gentleman is...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/19

It's deep dive day here at Fated Mates and we're reading an absolute banger of a historical -- Julie Anne Long's fifth Pennyroyal Green book, What I Did for a Duke. We talk about great romance kisses, about age gaps and how they operate in books, about house parties and art and sacrifice and how sexy it is when someone actually sees you for who you are. If you haven't read this one yet, do yourself a favor and do it right now. It's so great.If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our

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01:45:17

07.26: Romance Novels With a Ticking Clock

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/12

This one's for those of you who've been asking us to talk more about craft on the podcast! We're talking romances with ticking clocks and clear time frames, about how this impacts conflict and makes books more breathless, and of course about the books that deploy this strategy perfectly. Inside, you'll find road trips and adventures, vacation romances and romantic suspense, house parties and that classic romance chestnut: "I have 30 days to get pregnant." It's going to be fun.If you want more Fated

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01:39:12

07.25: Sci-Fi Romance: There's No Book Banning in Space

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/03/05

Maybe you're rooting for the asteroid, but you gotta have a plan! To help, this week, we're keeping track of what romance is looking like off-planet--it's Romance! In! Space! (Part 2, but the first episode we did was six years ago, so we figured it's time.) Headphones in, loves, this one covers space scavengers, aliens, anatomy, crash landings, abductions, talking lions and people in Space Army (what happens in Space Army stays there, unless it's here). If you want more Fated Mates in your life,

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01:54:50

07.24: He's *NOT* a Billionaire

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/02/25

It's been the longest month of our lives and as self-care, we're not thinking about billionaires this week (or at least for the duration of this episode). Instead, we're talking about those men who are rich in other ways, in throwing a punch, chasing a tornado, camping, playing an instrument, you get it. We've got a bunch of books we love and not a ten-figure bank account to be seen!If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord

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02:08:24

07.23: Long Live Historicals!

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/02/16

Historicals are dead! Long live historicals! This week, we're talking about fourteen (and change) historical romances that we've never talked about before -- all published recently, some already this year. Every book we talk about is available right now for download and reading pleasure--and we have a stack of them ready to talk about in future episodes! We're so excited to be your discoverabilibuddies on this one! If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with

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02:05:50

07.22: Adriana Herrera on the Power of Historical...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/02/11

There's a new Adriana Herrera book out this month, so that means we get to have one of our very favorites back on the pod to talk about not only her banger of a book, A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke, but also about historical in general! This week, we talk about historicals, in general, about why everyone seems to think they're dying (spoiler: they're not!), and do some myth busting on perceptions of the historical romance. We're extremely grateful to friend of the pod Alexandria Bellefleur for

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22:47

New York Public Library Best New Romance List

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/02/11

Jen had a great time chatting with the New York Public Library's Best New Romance List CommitteeCo-Chairs Kate Fais and Grace Loiacono this week. They talk about the list and how they built it, about the power of libraries, and, as always, about joy. See the full listVisit the New York Public Library

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01:37:28

07.21: Meet My Vibe Criteria: V.E. Schwab on writing,...

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ·

2025/02/04

We're mixing it up today with a fabulous special guest! The brilliant V.E. Schwab joins us for a far-reaching chat about writing romance outside of romance novels™️, about the difference between obsession and love, about the way we can't help but ship characters who will never get together, and about writing in general...and how we tackle character, conflict, and power in storytelling. We had a great time, and you will, too. If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which

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