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 would think would be more common in romance. We talk about birthdays that are cursed, about mistakes made on birthdays, about why heroes don’t seem to have birthdays, and about old reliable — I’m turning thirty, better get rid of this pesky virginity!

Tell us about your favorite birthday romances over on the Fated Mates Discord, where it’s probably someone’s birthday—or at least close to someone’s birthday. The Discord is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Books

• Three Little Mistakes by Nikki Sloan
• Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
• Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas
• Nero by SJ Tilly
• Wicked in Your Arms by Sophie Jordan
• All of Me by Tiya Rayne
• Witness to Passion by Naima Simone
• Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Kylie Scott
• Birthday Shot by Rilzy Adams
• The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Notes

• You can visit The Book Nook bookstore and go on the Blue Bell Ice Cream Tour if you’re ever in Brenham, Texas.
• This reflecting pool situation, honestly, if someone wrote it into a book would be too heavy-handed a metaphor.
• What is clipping, you might be wondering. Well, something that’s bad, actually.
• Charlie Chaplin had babies when he was 73!
• We had a whole episode about Ruination in season 7.
• The “turning 3O book” Jen couldn’t think of is Charlie Quinn Lets Go by Jamie Varon. The nonfiction book she mentioned about “being frozen” is Girls Play Dead by Jen Percy.
• Chicago, don’t miss Jen and Sophia Benoit tonight (June 24), to celebrate the release of her first historical romance, The Very Definition of Love.

Sponsors

• Lotte James, author of From Rogue to Viscount, available in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
• Macmillan, publishers of Julie Murphy’s The Undergrads: Student Union, available in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of To Catch a Sinner, by Dylan Allen, writing as Lucy Wilson-Tagoe available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
• Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off 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/2026/6/23/s0839-birthday-romances
• 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.

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, about secondary characters, about lines that stick with us years later, and about how fated mates works as a trope in a contemporary romance.

Tia also has a new book out this month, The Missed Connection. Get it wherever you get your books.

Listen to our Season 3 episode with Tia Williams about writers in romance and head over to talk about Seven Days in June or any of her other books on the Fated Mates Discord, accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Read Seven Days in June at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Notes

• Sorry, we’re a Knicks podcast now, everyone. Sarah because of New York and Jen because of Villanova. Sarah did look up that Knickerbocker thing, but we never got back to it. Learn more about how those trousers became a symbol of NYC here.
• Sports curses are bad, just ask Red Sox fans! Spike Lee has really been through it, Jalen Brunson’s interview after the game just shows you a man trying to deal with his feelings.
• The World Cup, we just don’t know anything about that yet, but we’re gonna get up to speed on that, just like all the people of the world getting up to speed on America. Also, feels important to romance that we bring you the news that the Tartan Army cleared Boston out of beer.
• We had Tia Williams on the podcast back in season 3 when Seven Days in June was released. Although there is not a sequel to Seven Days, Shane and Eva are secondary characters in the YA romance with Audre that came out in 2025. Find out more about Tia, and see all her books at her website.
• Come see Sophia Benoit in conversation with us in NYC (June 23) and Chicago (June 24) to celebrate the release of her first historical romance, The Very Definition of Love.

Sponsors

• Frederick Smith, author of Love is a Contact Sport, available in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.
• Little Brown & Company, publishers of Lu Chekowsky’s Don’t Buy What I’m Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self, available in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• The What in the Smut? Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
• W by Wattpad Books, publishers of Nicole Alfrine’s Brain Games. Available in print and ebook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/2026/6/16/s0838-seven-days-in-june-by-tia-williams
• 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.

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, vocally political, and about her new book Road Trip. We had a great time chatting and talking about writing, about research, and about how we should all just take a road trip through Ireland. Of course, we recommend a few books!

Find Mary Kay Andrews (and catch WTAF Wednesdays) on Instagram, Threads, or her website.

Listen to our earlier romance road trip episode from Season 1 and head over to tell us all about your favorite road trips and find an endless list of road trip recs on the Fated Mates Discord, accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Next week, our read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Books Discussed

• Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews
• Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews
• This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
• Nevermind the Mistletoe by Louisa Darling
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Odyssey, Emily Wilson's Translation
• The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
• This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
• The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Sponsors

• Edward Underhill, author of The House of Now & Then, available in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.
• Kristina Forrest, author of The Summer Girlfriend, available for preorder in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• Little Brown & Co, publishers of Emily Adrian’s Seduction Theory. Available in print, ebook and audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off 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/2026/6/9/s0837-road-trips-with-mary-kay-andrews
• 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.

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 why we all like weather in books so much (hint, it’s because it’s dialed up to 11).

Tell us all about your favorite weather in romance novels and find an endless list of books that are as wild and stormy as you like over at the Fated Mates Discord, accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Books

• These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
• Eleven Scandals by Sarah MacLean
• Struck Speechless by Tati Richardson
• A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath
• Beautiful Russian Monster by Odette Stone
• Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins
• Uncharted by Adriana Anders
• Whirlwind by Kayla Grosse
• After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M Lopez

Notes

• We are fans of Mayor Mamdani, texting Sarah about the weather. This lady didn’t get the memo, but we hope she’s okay. After this episode was recorded, the Knicks were headed to the MNBA finals, and the Mayor repealed bedtimes for all the kids in New York. Could we love him any more?
• Eric was camping, which Sarah and I imagine is like Ferngully, but it was real rainy.
• Half agony and half hope is from Persuasion, which just goes to show you that you can never read Jane Austen and still get the basics!
• Send Help is a movie with Rachel McAdams and it’s basically light horror, maybe? Idk, Jen covered her eyes a lot, but it was super fun.
• It was a dark and stormy night is from Snoopy, and also an 1830 novel called Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who was an aristocrat! He was the first Baron Lytton! Paul Clifford is an example of a Newgate novel.
• Snowed-in is a subset of forced proximity, but the snowed-in is a symbol.
• You can watch People We Meet on Vacation on Netflix.
• Speaking of Crash Landing on You and weather.
• James Joyce was afraid of thunderstorms.
• Sophia Benoit will be with Sarah at Book Club Bar in Brooklyn on June 23rd, and with Jen at Women & Children First in Chicago on June 24th. Sarah will be with Mary Kay Andrews on Long Island on June 12th.

Sponsors

• Rachel Griffiths, author of Just for the Season, available for preorder in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, signed from the Ripped Bodice, or wherever you get your books.
• Lulu Morris, author of The Dating Pact, available for preorder in print, ebook, audiobook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• W by Wattpad Books, publishers of Sabrina Blackburry’s Half Wylde. Available in print and ebook from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/6/1/s0836-weather-is-genre-these-summer-storms-paperback
• 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.

AH2's Historical Trailblazers Romance Collection is inspired by the Fated Mates Trailblazers series, so we thought it would be good to rerun each featured author's Trailblazer episode. This time we've got Loretta Chase, author of Lord of Scoundrels. If this leaves you hungry for more, you can revisit our Lord of Scoundrels deep dive episode.

The Historical Trailblazers Kickstarter runs until June 2. Don't miss out!

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 an episode on this very particular, very delicious romance concept, and of course, we invited her to join us! We talk about how it works, why we love soft boys who are full of rage, and how we stan a hero who is willing to stand back and let his partner be awesome. We also talk about The West Wing & Ladyhawke (makes sense). And of course, we talk about her books!

If you’d like to continue the conversation about sad boys who punch things or about Veronica’s deep backlist, please join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Books

• Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth
• When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole
• Lothaire by Kresley Cole
• Managed by Kristen Callihan
• These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
• The Professor by Charlotte Stein
• How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
• The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin
• Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas
• Wait For It by M. O’Keefe
• Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Notes

• Veronica Roth’s newest release is Seek the Traitor’s Son, the first in a dystopian fantasy duology with a strong romance subplot.
• We love the follow sad boys: Toby Ziegler, Angel, Fox Mulder, Tobias from Animorphs, and Rutger Hauer from Ladyhawke.
• The Sixth Faction is coming soon!

Sponsors

• Piper Rayne, author of The Hotshot, available in print, ebook, audiobook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Rose Prendeville, author of A Faire Affair, available in print, ebook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of Dylan Allen’s beautiful new print editions of The Daredevil, The Mastermind & The Wild Card. Available in print and ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
• Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off 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/2026/5/18/s0835-sad-boys-who-punch-things-with-veronica-roth
• 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.

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 to talk about all the ways historical romance is unmatched! We talk about the new Historical Trailblazer special edition box set that AH2 launched this week, about the power of historicals, and about some of our favorite historical romances, past and present.

The Historical Trailblazer Box Set of books, including Indigo by Beverly Jenkins, Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin, The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, and (of course) Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas. The box set includes stunning hardcover editions, gold foil, sprayed edges, original artwork and letters from the authors. Learn more at the AH2 Kickstarter page.

If you’d like to continue the conversation about historical romance, please come join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Books

• Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
• Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin
• The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles
• Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
• Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
• Passion by Lisa Valdez
• Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins
• Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
• Can't Get Enough of the Duke by Lenora Bell
• My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas
• Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens
• Provoked by Joanna Chambers
• A Deal with the Devil by Alyxandra Harvey

Sponsors

• Blue Box Press, publishers of Larissa Ione’s Legacy of Desire, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
• Juniper Butterworth, author of The King in the Forest, coming soon in print, ebook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Elle Kennedy, author of The Off Campus series, beginning with The Deal, now a television show on Amazon, available in print, ebook and audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Dawn Banks, author of The Spreadsheet Situation, available in print or ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, free with Kobo Plus, or wherever you get your books.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/5/11/historicals-with-ali-hazelwood-and-adriana-herrera
• 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.

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 really wrote the heck out of this book. We talk about widows, about sex in historicals, about autism rep in historicals, romance families, and the way this series electrified us as readers. This book is a straight up banger.

If you’re interested in learning more about the AH2 Historical Trailblazer Kickstarter, featuring beautiful, hardcover special editions of Lord of Scoundrels, Indigo, The Magpie Lord, Butterfly Swords and Dreaming of You, head over to the Kickstarter page and sign up for updates!

If you’d like to continue the conversation about The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie or any of Jennifer Ashley’s other books, please come join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Notes

• Check out the AH2 kickstarter, partnering with Fated Mates and Julia Whelan’s Audiobrary. It goes live next week!
• Dua Lipa met her fiance Callum Turner because they both were reading the same book, Trust by Hernan Diaz. Dua Lipa’s book club is called Service 95.
• You, too, might enjoy reading Dungeon Crawler Carl. Or Reacher. Or Murderbot. Jen is thinking of going to bedazzle a copy of Dungeon Crawler Carl, but is that too silly?
• Dorchester Publishing was a house that published mostly mass market paperbacks, and it shuttered shortly after the publishing of The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie. The editor of the book, Leah Hultenschmidt, is now at Forever.
• There’s a new-ish translation of The Odyssey by Emily Wilson that you might like. Xenia is the ancient Greek word for hospitality, and Wilson talks a about how the word comes from the root xenos, meaning both stranger and friend. Maybe if we were all a little more open to those we don’t know, things would be different.

Sponsors

• HarperCollins, publishers of Laurie Gilmore’s The Daisy Chain Flower Shop, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
• Michelle Ruoff, author of A Summer to Stay, available in print, ebook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Jennilynn Wyer, author of All Our Next Times, available in print, ebook and audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/5/4/0833-the-madness-of-lord-ian-mackenzie
• 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.

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, about the weight it has in romance, and about the mythology it carries with it whenever it’s included in a book. Yes, of course, we talk about Jessica and Dain, but we also celebrate Kate’s new release, The Paris Match! We’re also covering sex workers, chocolatiers, cigarette smokers and heroes who gnaw off their own legs, the Champs de Elysee be damned. Thanks, as always, to Kate for joining us and putting up with our shenanigans.

If you’d like to continue the conversation about Paris, please come join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Notes

• Welcome Kate Clayborn. Her first episodes way back in Season 1 were about Siblings’ Best Friends and then Sexclamation Points!, and since then, she’s been on about a million other times.
• Cormac McCarthy has some strong feelings about punctuation and Random House doesn’t like the interrobang, but Sarah’s a rebel.
• Green screen technology has come a long way. In this interview, Heated Rivalry cinematographer Jackson Parrell describes how he used the technology in the show, including the scene on the beach in Tampa. Cinematographer Valentina Vee did a really interesting set of videos talking about the use of green screen technology in the show.
• The Edna St. Vincent Millay sonnet about place that Sarah quoted is Time Does Not Bring Relief.
• Kate wrote a round up for People magazine about great books set in and about Paris.
• Jen heard about Puppets by Jenna Ryan after being tagged in an Instagram post by WendieReads. But in digging around, Jen discovered the Passages podcast did a deep dive of the book in 2025.
• You can read more about the puppet theaters of Paris in this New York Times article from 2019.

Sponsors

• Elle Kennedy, author of Love Song, available in print, ebook, audiobook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Claire Wilder, author of Nailed, available in print, ebook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of Donna Grant’s The Dragon Chronicles, beautiful new print editions of seven books in the series, including Dragon King, Dragon Fever, Dragon Burn, Dragon Night, Dragon Claimed, and Dragon Lost. Available in print and ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
• Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off 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/2026/4/27/0832-the-paris-match-by-kate-clayborn
• 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.

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 Barbarians series. Ruby joins us to talk about how she became Ruby Dixon, what inspired the Ice Planet Barbarians series, how she thinks about writing this ever expanding world, the business of the Barbarians, and what’s next. We’re very grateful to her for making time with us.

If you’d like to continue the conversation about Ruby Dixon, her work and the Ice Planet Barbarians, head over to join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Notes

• Welcome Ruby Dixon, bestselling author of the Ice Planet Barbarians series.
• Authors, Publishing Professionals, and Influencers Mentioned: author Anne McCafferty; author Edgar Rice Burroughs; author Andre Norton; author Bertrice Small; author Julie Garwood; editor Cindy Hwang; Ellora’s Cave authors Evangeline Anderson, Laurann Donner, and Jaid Black; author R. Lee Smith; Dani Lacey’s Ice Planet Pod; TikTokker and now author Charlotte Swan; agent Holly Root; Ruby’s writing group, Alexa Riley, Kati Wilde, & Ella Goode.
• Books and Movies Mentioned: Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, Last of Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, Amarna Sunset by Aiden Dodson, Beneath the Sands of Egypt by Donald Ryan, Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, Villain Origin Story by Ruby Dixon, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman.
• For more Ruby Dixon, check out our Ice Planet Barbarians deep dive.

Sponsors

• Little Brown & Company, publishers of Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham’s The Academy, available in print, ebook and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• Lucy Score, author of Mistakes Were Made, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Get it wherever you get your books.
• Lumi Gummies, Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off 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/2026/4/19/0831-trailblazer-ruby-dixon
• 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.

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 characters that have done terrible things on and off the page, to the detriment of their reputations in the text and outside, with readers, and somehow, by the end of their own book, are made whole and worthy of love. Here lies St. Vincent, Mr. Vivisection, and more.

Tell us about your favorite irredeemable characters in romance on our social media or head over to join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Notes

• We have been so inspired by all the moon joy in the world. Here is the Artemis II path from the Astronomy Picture of the Day; splashdown was awesome; the dark side of the moon isn’t like a real thing, exactly; and here’s a bunch of other stuff from NASA. Check out our episode from season 1 with astronomer Summer Ash (her interview is at the end of the episode), and learn all about that golden record they sent out to space on Voyager.
• Michael Corleone was irredeemable! Tommy Shelby? Well, apparently that’s open to interpretation!

Sponsors

• Neyha Liu, author of Midnight at Soulfield, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Avery Maxwell, author of The Forgotten Billionaire, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Little Brown & Company, publishers of Ruth McKell’s Honey in Her Veins, available in print, ebook and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or wherever you get your books.
• Claire Contreras, author of Isle of Wrath, available in print, ebook, audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net
• 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.