Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

Latest Episodes:

1: We're Gonna Come Back to Biting - A Hunger Like No Other Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

Sarah & Jen talk A Hunger Like No Other, why reading Alphas in 2018 is a tricky situation, how Kresley instantly changed the game with Lachlain MacRieve, and why Emma's bite sets the standard for the whole series.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, a like would be awesome!

Our next read (in two weeks) will be No Rest for the Wicked — the story of Sebastian Wroth (vampire) and Kaderin the Cold-Hearted (valkyrie), and the beginning of the IAD Amazing Race mini-arc!

Notes

Why do people hate the word moist?
There really are catacombs below Paris, and they seem very creepy.
Co-ed is a more dated word than you'd expect. According to the Oxford English dictionary, it's been in use since the 1880s. Game, set, and match to The Independent, which printed the following sentence in 1903: "Any college where the girls are commonly called ‘co-eds’ is not a truly co-educational institution."
The TSTL trope in romance heroines.
All about Mary Sues.
The Fated Mates trope.
Maybe you all missed the Kavanaugh hearings. I love myself, so we'll just stick to one informative infographic.
Jen's romance book club at 57th Street Books in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. If you're not in Chicago, bookstores and libraries across the country and online will be participating in The Great Big Romance Read in December 2018. Find your people!
Romance isn't the only genre examining old favorites through the lens of #MeToo. Molly Ringwald looked back at John Hughes and The Breakfast Club in The New Yorker. This podcast from WNYC is about pop culture in the #MeToo era.
The list of RITA award winners, sorted by year.
A million articles have been written about Twilight, but I like this one that looks at the big themes that bubble up time and time again.
Alisha Rai has said lots of smart things about toxic masculinity, as it turns out.
Representation in BDSM matters.
Take a crash course in modernity.
A brief overview of Cassandra from Greek mythology.
The Devil in Winter, because everyone loves to read about a sex deal.
According to The Smart Bitches, a magic hoo-hah is "shorthand for the equally illustrious and many powers of the female sex organ, specifically the vagina. The Magic Hoo-Hoo tames the Mighty Wang, and becomes the magnetized true north for the hero’s trouser compass from the point of their first sexual coupling. The Magic Hoo-Hoo brings the hero to monogamous attachment, because after experiencing it, the hero will not be satisfied with anything or anyone else."
I'm sure everyone wants to learn more about moon phases.
Fury is an actual furie.
When we say Lothaire was a big deal, we mean there was an actual Lothaire bus touring around America.
Are you ready for No Rest for the Wicked?

The Rest

For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/11/1-were-gonna-come-back-to-biting-a-hunger-like-no-other
If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

.5: Rock Star Romance Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

While you're reading A Hunger Like No Other, we're bringing you off-week romance recommendations, on themes! Join us this week for Rock Star Romances.

Kristen Callihan

Idol (VIP Series #1)
Managed (VIP Series #2)
Fall (VIP Series #3)
Sarah’s first Kristen Callihan book, Evernight

Kylie Scott

Lick (Stage Dive Series #1)
Play (Stage Dive Series #2)
Lead (Stage Dive Series #3)
Deep (Stage Dive Series #4)

Anna Zabo

Syncopation (Twisted Wishes #1)
Counterpoint (Twisted Wishes #2)

JN Welsh

In Tune
Sarah’s first JN Welsh book, Gigolo All the Way

The book that made Sarah a Rock Star Romance reader, Erika Kelly’s Take Me Home Tonight

The Rest

For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/11/5/rock-star-romance-interstitial-1
If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

Intro: A Wolf Without A Foot Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

Welcome to Fated Mates! Author Sarah MacLean and critic Jen Prokop launch their fan podcast about Kresley Cole’s Internationally bestselling paranormal romance series, Immortals After Dark. Sarah and Jen introduce themselves and the series, and talk about its place in the romance genre. Topics include feminism, patriarchy, modernity and Moonstruck. Yes, the one with Cher. Also included, an introduction to the first book in the series, A Hunger Like No Other…the book they’ll be rereading for Episode 1.

Buy A Hunger Like No Other at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, or your local indie.

Show Notes

Jen wrote about A Hunger Like No Other twice: a Throwback Thursday review, and a look at how the book covers changed over time.
A definition of the Fated Mates trope.
Sarah wrote about fated mates and Kresley Cole on twitter.
What is paranormal romance?
A big overview of PNR
A thoughtful academic definition
Superhero movies after 9/11
Superhero Movies have become an endless attempt to rewrite 9/11 from Vox
On Superheroes and the Myths of American Power from LitHub
Monster Mash. And cuter Monster Mash.
The Immortals after Dark on Audio
Lots and lots of tweets from us about the audio.
Robert Petkoff, audiobook narrator of our hearts.
Kresley Cole’s Pocket Books page
Moonstruck, 30 years old and still amazing.
Sarah wrote about the Alpha Male in Romance after the 2016 election.
What is Urban Fantasy?
Have we mentioned that we talk about this series a lot on twitter
A Google folder with PDFs of articles above that still exist online as of 8/2023)

The Rest

For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2018/10/23/5-a-wolf-without-a-foot-intro
If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.