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Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

Fated Mates

300 episodes · Explicit

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.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. RERUN: Devils in Romance Novels

    · 1 h 20 min · S9 E8 · Bonus · Explicit

    Early voting is happening in most states, with the remaining few coming online in the next few days. Enjoy this Season six episode on the way to or from the polls. The Rest • For even more info about this episode,…

  2. S09.07: Why Horror with Stephen Graham Jones and Becky Spratford

    · 1 h 39 min · S9 E7 · Explicit

    We’re talking about the mythmakers again this week with a chat about romance’s sister genre, horror! We’re joined by NEA fellow, Bram Stoker Award winner and bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones, and…

  3. S09.06: Fated Mates: You Are Our Mystical Battery

    · 1 h 52 min · S9 E6 · Explicit

    This one is very meta (complimentary): Fated Mates (the duo) explains Fated Mates (the trope) on Fated Mates (the podcast). We can’t believe all these years in, we’ve never talked fated mates! We’re rectifying that…

  4. S09.05: Sweet Treats: Bakeries and Patisseries in Romance

    · 1 h 46 min · S9 E5 · Explicit

    We’re talking about romance with baking and sweet treats today! This is one of romance’s most common Romance Jobs, and we’re getting to the bottom of the appeal of the bakery in romance. Why do we love it when one…

  5. S09.04: Fall 2026 Preview

    · 1 h 39 min · S9 E4 · Explicit

    It’s discoverabilibuddy time! We're dropping our Fall 2026 reads, in which we talk about an outrageous number of romance novels coming out in October, November and December. As a reminder, we have not necessarily read…

  6. S09.03: Hammered, Nailed & Drilled: Romancing the Tool

    · 1 h 45 min · S9 E3 · Explicit

    As they say on the Discord, this year’s theme is…Themes! This week, we’re talking about hammers, nails, drills, pipes and more — literal characters who are wielding literal (and metaphorical) tools! We’re hopping in…

  7. S09.02: Romance by Numbers

    · 1 h 31 min · S9 E2 · Explicit

    This is a fun one! We’re talking romance novels with numbers in the titles today, a wide collection of books from zero to infinity! While we came prepared to talk about four or five books each, we ended up playing a…

  8. S09.01: Cloud Nine: Romance in the Sky

    · 1 h 53 min · S9 E1 · Explicit

    Nine seasons of talking about romance, and no signs of quitting! We’re starting a new season, full of much of our same old nonsense, now with more nonsense, because who needs tropes when you can talk about microtropes!…

  9. S08.49: A Rogue By Any Other Name

    · 1 h 37 min · S8 E48 · Explicit

    It’s the end of Season 8 (what! how!), and we usually celebrate the end of the season with a read along of Sarah’s new book, but since there is no new book, we have no choice but to go back to the beginning of “The…

  10. S08.48: Long Live Historicals, Volume II

    · 1 h 53 min · S8 E47 · Explicit

    We are once again celebrating a wide swath of historical romances that are recently published and by authors we’ve not talked much about on the podcast! Saddle up, because we’re talking the Titanic, submissive heroes,…

  11. S08.47: Romance Tattoo

    · 1 h 26 min · S8 E46 · Explicit

    We’re talking tattoos and body art this week! You might not have a tattoo, but odds are you’ve read a few thousand of them, as romance novels love a main character with a message…right on their skin. We talk about some…

  12. S08.46: Photographers in Romance

    · 1 h 40 min · S8 E45 · Explicit

    Why is photography so hot? We’re tackling this question this week, talking about why romance novels featuring photographers work so well and push so many sexy buttons. We’re talking about characters who notice, about…

  13. 08.45: Judith McNaught's Perfect: Content Warning, the 90's

    · 1 h 52 min · S8 E44 · Explicit

    We’ve been talking about the end (almost end) of this one since we started the podcast, so it seemed high time we did a deep dive on it! Judith McNaught’s Perfect is the most 90s thing we’ve ever read, so gird your…

  14. S08:43: Romance with Magical Elements

    · 1 h 23 min · S8 E43 · Explicit

    The last few years have brought a wave of romances with magical elements—not really paranormal, not really witches, not really contemporary — books where something is just slightly ✨magic✨. Today, we’re talking about…

  15. S08.42: Romance Reasons Meet Thriller Reasons with Anders de la Motte

    · 1 h 37 min · S8 E42 · Explicit

    Once upon a time, Sarah went to Sweden and met a thriller writer who likes talking about the rules of writing in genre as much as we do. We’re so excited that to be able to bring Anders de la Motte’s brilliant thoughts…

  16. S08.41: Country House Parties

    · 1 h 40 min · S8 E41 · Explicit

    It’s summer, so we’re talking Country House Parties! We’re skulking around, having scandalous meetings in cupboards, getting caught in the rain near the groundskeeper’s cottage, and generally causing chaos during a…

  17. BONUS: Sports Romance Rerun + Jen Chats with Gina Prodan Kelly [FIXED]

    · 1 h 48 min · S8 E41 · Bonus · Explicit

    F1! WNBA! NY Nicks! World Cup! We swear we're not turning into a sports podcast, but we did feel like it's a great time to rerun our most recent Sports Romance episode with the brilliant Jessica Luther. But first, Jen…

  18. S08.40: Summer 2026 Preview

    · 1 h 39 min · S8 E40 · Explicit

    We’re filling summer reading lists and making sure that you have plenty of beach reads ready for whatever your plans are! It’s hard to believe it’s July, but we’ve got another quarterly upcoming romance episode here to…

  19. S08.39: Romance Birthday (Do Men Have Them?)

    · 1 h 19 min · S8 E39 · Explicit

    Is it our birthday? It is not! But who says you need to celebrate a birthday in real life to celebrate birthdays in romance novels? Not us! Today we’re talking about books that focus on birthdays — something that you…

  20. S08.38: Seven Days In June by Tia Williams

    · 3 h 07 min · S8 E38 · Explicit

    We’re back with a deep dive on one of our favorite recent romances, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams! We talk about yearning in contemporaries, about books that have a powerful sense of place, about dual timelines,…

  21. S08.37: Road Trips and a Chat With Mary Kay Andrews

    · 1 h 18 min · S8 E37 · Explicit

    This week, we’re visiting with Mary Kay Andrews, a longtime writer and certified badass who we adore for her WTAF Wednesdays and her delightful books. We talk about her writing journey, her decision to get publicly,…

  22. S08.36: The Rain Fell in Torrents: Weather Is Genre

    · 1 h 28 min · S8 E36 · Explicit

    We’re celebrating the paperback release of These Summer Storms this week, and that means we’re talking about the weather! We talk about rain and snow and wind and tempests and tornadoes and monsoons, and we talk about…

  23. S08.35: Sad Boys Who Punch Things with Veronica Roth

    · 1 h 32 min · S8 E35 · Explicit

    This week, we’re joined by one of the greatest, Veronica Roth, whose new book, Seek the Traitor’s Son, features one of her most beloved of tropes: Sad Boys Who Punch Things. We were delighted when she suggested we do…

  24. S08.34: Historical Romance with Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera

    · 1 h 53 min · S8 E34 · Explicit

    We are thrilled to have two of our favorite people with us today to discuss one of our favorite genres! Ali Hazelwood and Adriana Herrera, the masterminds behind the AH2 Kickstarter of Historical Trailblazers are here…

  25. S08.33: Ian Mackenzie is DTF: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie

    · 1 h 37 min · S8 E33 · Explicit

    We’re deep diving into one of our favorite historicals from the 00s today — Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. It’s a great follow up to our Paris episode last week, but we also talk about how Ashley…

  26. S08.32: Paris Romance with Kate Clayborn

    · 1 h 34 min · S8 E32 · Explicit

    We Love Paris in the Springtime and we love Paris in The Paris Match by our very favorite, Kate Clayborn. Today, we’re talking about the City of Love itself, with Kate! We talk about the magic of the City of Lights,…

  27. S08.31: Trailblazer Ruby Dixon

    · 1 h 46 min · S8 E31 · Explicit

    This season, we’re expanding our traditional Trailblazer series to include the romance writers who are trailblazing today. Our first guest on this branch of the legend tree is Ruby Dixon, author of the Ice Planet…

  28. S08.30: Irredeemable Characters: Morality Chain Redux

    · 1 h 30 min · S8 E30 · Explicit

    By request, we’re talking about the characters who have been exiled from family, from community, and from themselves—the irredeemable characters in romance. This is Morality Chain all over again. We’re talking about…

  29. S08.29: Jen & Sarah Answer Your Burning Questions

    · 1 h 25 min · S8 E29 · Explicit

    As always when we’re together, today we’re answering listener questions! In here, we’re recommending sex lessons books, motorcycle romance, books set in Toronto, Ohio and more — we’re also talking about the evolution…

  30. S08.28: Spring 2026 Preview

    · 1 h 38 min · S8 E28 · Explicit

    It’s time to fill those TBR piles again! April means the start of Spring and also another quarterly upcoming romance episode! We’re talking about romances hitting shelves and ereaders during April, May & June 2026!…

  31. S08.27: Romance Baby: Not the Secret Kind

    · 1 h 38 min · S8 E27 · Explicit

    It never fails to surprise us when we realize we’ve never talked about a really classic trope even now…eight years in. This week, we’re talking about kids in romance—which we’ve somehow never done before?! We’re…

  32. S08.26: Ballet and Opera in Romance

    · 1 h 39 min · S8 E26 · Explicit

    Someone said something real stupid, and that means we get to hit back in the best way possible — with romance recommendations! Today we’re talking about the Opera and the Ballet in Romance! We’re talking about…

  33. S08.25: Heated Rivalry Read-Alikes with Christopher Rice

    · 1 h 44 min · S8 E25 · Explicit

    Calling all Loons! You’ve heated and reheated the rivalry, and now it’s time for us to talk about what you should read between now and Season 2. We’re joined by friend and fave of the pod, Christopher Rice, who writes…

  34. S08.24: Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf

    · 1 h 42 min · S8 E24 · Explicit

    Things are looking very wild out here in the real world so you deserve a deep dive on a book by an author with a big backlist and we are here to give you just that! Today's episode is on Sincerely, Your Inconvenient…

  35. S08.23: The Chemise Protects You From Boning: Romance Wardrobe

    · 1 h 28 min · S8 E23 · Explicit

    Continuing our series on Romance Vibes, we’re talking about Romance Wardrobe this week! We’re talking corsets and chemises, falls and Hessian boots, Armani suits and underpants that rip right off. We also get to the…

  36. S08.22: Chart Topping Songs and Their Perfect Romance Novel Pairings

    · 2 h 01 min · S8 E22 · Explicit

    Our old pal Billy Shakes told us that music is the food of love, and we’re taking that to heart this week! By request from Eric (who’s never requested anything before), we’re looking at songs that charted in February…

  37. S08.21: 🌹A Dozen Roses for Valentine’s Day🌹

    · 2 h 07 min · S8 E21 · Explicit

    This weekend, the world is celebrating the second most important romance holiday in February (see last week’s episode for the most important)—Valentine’s Day! To lean into the traditions of the day, we thought we’d…

  38. S08.20: Trailblazer Lisa Kleypas

    · 1 h 58 min · S8 E20 · Explicit

    It’s finally happened! In a perfect Derek Craven Day celebration, our Trailblazer conversations continue this week with thee Lisa Kleypas, historical romance royalty, who changed the game when she brought working class…

  39. S08.19: Ice Planet Barbarians

    · 1 h 30 min · S8 E19 · Explicit

    It’s a snowstorm, Jen’s from Chicago, and we’re feeling extra qualified to talk about Ice Planet Barbarians! It’s the book, and the series that took the world by storm back in 2015, and we’re revisiting the absolute…

  40. S08.18: Shotgun Weddings with Jayne Ann Krentz

    · 1 h 33 min · S8 E18 · Explicit

    The brilliant Jayne Ann Krentz, romance trailblazer and royalty, joins us this week to talk about one of her favorite tropes--the shotgun wedding! We're talking all things forced marriage...how it differs from marriage…

  41. S08.17: Setting New Year's Reading Resolutions

    · 1 h 29 min · S8 E17 · Explicit

    As it's the beginning of 2026, we're talking about how we think about our reading years. What kind of strategies does Jen use? How is Sarah attempting to control the chaos? Which books do we already have on our TBR…

  42. BONUS: Fated Mates All Stars talk Heated Rivalry

    · 1 h 05 min · S8 E17 · Bonus · Explicit

    Sarah's still catching up, but Jen, Adriana Herrera, and Joanna Shupe have seen it and they have a lot to say.

  43. S08.16: Winter 2026 Preview

    · 2 h 01 min · S8 E16 · Explicit

    Your discoverabilibuddies are back! It's a new year which means we're dropping our Winter 2026 reads episode, in which we talk about the million trillion 2026 romance books coming out in January, February and March…

  44. S08.15: Jen & Sarah's New Year's Milkin' Eve!

    · 1 h 39 min · S8 E15 · Explicit

    Another year, another chaotic New Year's episode, with one of our favorites, the Lauren half of Christina Lauren! Y'all. When we say headphones in, we mean HEADPHONES IN. This is not for your kids, or your mechanic, or…

  45. S08.14: Terrific 2025 Romance Debuts

    · 1 h 53 min · S8 E14 · Explicit

    It's that time of year, when we highlight some of our favorite new voices in romance! This week, we're talking about eight new writers who are making us excited about what's to come in historical, contemporary, cozy…

  46. S08:13 KJ Charles’s The Magpie Lord: We’re Gonna Get to the Tattoos

    · 1 h 44 min · S8 E13 · Explicit

    We’re so excited for our deep dive of KJ Charles’s The Magpie Lord, first in her magical, gothic series, A Charm of Magpies. We talk about the clear chops displayed in this romance --strong plotting, complex…

  47. S08.12: Fantastic Romance Series

    · 1 h 30 min · S8 E12 · Explicit

    It's winter, which means that it's time to get cozy, build a blanket nest on the couch, and read a million books one right after the other in the great tradition of our ancient forbears. Today, we're talking about…

  48. S08.11: Holiday Romance 2025

    · 1 h 41 min · S8 E11 · Explicit

    The end of the year is nigh, and it's our holiday romance novel episode! We're talking about a collection of romances that are entirely new to us (except for the one moment where Sarah talks about that old McNaught…

  49. S08.10: The Best Romance Novels of 2025

    · 1 h 52 min · S8 E10 · Explicit

    It's that time of year! We're talking about the Best Romance Novels of 2025. We've chosen ten books that we love and that cover a range of historical, contemporary and paranormal, featuring romance with werewolves and…

  50. S08.09: Our Favorite Romance Microtropes

    · 1 h 27 min · S8 E9 · Explicit

    We had a great week, and so we decided we all need nice things, which means it's time to just talk about the stuff we love in romance. We're talking about our favorite microtropes in romance novels--the things that…

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