Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

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 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 private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books

• The Master by Kresley Cole
• Run Posy Run by Cate Wells
• Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell
• Burn Down the Night by M. O’Keefe
• Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
• Tycoon by Joanna Shupe
• Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
• If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel
• Hunter by Emmy Chandler
• Stranded by Jennifer D. Bokal
• The Harpy and the Dragon by Marie Liscomb
• Wyoming Double Jeopardy by Juno Rushdan
• Bourbon and Lies by Victoria Wilder
• Hunted Through Italy by Delaney Diamond
• Dalliances & Devotion by Felicia Grossman
• Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova
• Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders
• Whiteout by Adriana...

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 Romance Bookshop and Fizzery in La Mesa, CA. Julie made a generous donation to the Collective Power Fund at the National Network of Abortion Funds, and in doing so, got to pick the episode topic — Books that Bang!

Show Notes

• Thanks to Julie Block for suggesting this episode and donating to abortion funds for the Romancing for Reproductive Justice Auction, sponsored by The Meet Cute Romance Bookshop & Fizzery, opening fall of 2022 in La Mesa, CA. It is not too late to donate to the Collective Power Fund at the National Network of Abortion Funds.
• While we name checked some Fated Mates classic recommendations like Tessa Bailey, Jessa Kane, and London Hale, somehow we recorded this episode without once mentioning the name of Charlotte Stein. So raise a glass to her and all the other authors writing super hot books that we forgot to mention.
• Probably you want to see Jen Porter's illustrations of the drilldo. (PS. Protip: you might put "drilldo" in the search field of twitter thinking that Jen's tweets will come up, and that would be a mistake unless you want to see it real and in action. Ask me how I know.)

Sponsors

• Melissa McTernan, author of Married to the Fae Queen, the second book in the Fairy Realm series, available in print and through Kindle Unlimited.
• Lumi Labs, creators of Microdose Gummies. Visit microdose.com and use the code FATEDMATES for 30% off and free shipping on your order

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2022/6/7/s0438-these-books-bang
• 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

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 private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books

• Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
• Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
• The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott
• Wicked Nights with a Lover by Sophie Jordan
• What Heals Us by Maggie Gates
• The Ending I Want by Samantha Towle
• Camera Chemistry by Chelsea Curto
• 30 Days and 30 Nights by Christine d’Abo
• The Seal’s Rebel Librarian by Anne Calhoun
• How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
• Rockaway Bride by Pippa Grant
• Mr. Swoony by Piper Rayne
• Three Little Mistakes by Nikki Sloan
• All Played Out by Cora Carmack

Show Notes

• We’re excited about these author and listener created lists at the Fated Mates Collections Department. And in case you want to see the one from Competitive Yam about Skinny dipping, here it is.

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 and fill out our handy Google form to let us know!

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 private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, which you can get in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Books

MARCH

• Witch of Wall Street by MJ Etkind
• A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley
• Lush by Tinia Montford

APRIL 

• Royal Bride Demand by LaQuette
• Wyoming Double Jeopardy by Juno Rushdan
• Any Trope but You by Victoria Lavine
• Whisk Me Away by Georgia Beers
• Playing for Keeps by Lainey Davis
• The Nanny is Off Limits by QB Tyler
• Marriage Bargain with the Comte by Parker J. Cole 
• A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delecour
• The Duke and the Widow by Christina Diane
• Naked in Naknek by Lolu Sinclair
• Fly by Night by Kelly Cain
• The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed

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 changes in romance over the last twelve years. Thank you to Jeannie Lin for making time for Fated Mates.

Transcript available

This episode is sponsored by The Steam Box (use code FATEDMATES for 10% off) and Chirp Audiobooks.

Next week, we’re talking Sarah’s Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, which will release March 22 in a new trade paperback format. After that, our next read along is Diana Quincy’s Her Night With the Duke, which was on our Best of 2020 year-end list! Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local bookstore. You can also get it in audio from our partner, Chirp Books!

Show Notes

• This week, we welcome romance author Jeannie Lin, whose newest book in the Lotus Palace Mysteries series, Red Blossom in Snow, comes out next week on March 21, 2022. 
• Hear us talk about Jeannie Lin's books on our 2020 Best of the Year episode, our Road Trip Interstitial, and our So You Want to Read a Historical episode.
• The Tang Dynasty lasted from 618-907, and Empress Wu reigned from 624-705. 
• RWA's Golden Heart Award was phased out in...