It's the holiday season, which means holiday romance! This year, we're talking about Princes of Christmas falling for heirs to Halloween, Hanukkah treats, retellings ofThe Holiday, sexy cabins in the woods, second chances, Harlequin Presents, and yes, an online site called OnlySantas. It's truly something for everyone!

We are taking next week off, but we’ll be back with some special guests for our annual New Years Eve episode, which promises to be a banger. In the meantime, we hope you get everything you want from whomever you believe in.

After New Years, our first read along of 2025 is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

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.

The Books

• The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sarah Raasch
• Pregnant Enemy, Christmas Bride by Maisey Yates
• Kingpin’s Nanny by Evie Rose
• From Meltdown to Mistletoe by Jessica Terry
• Merry Little Mishap by Vivian Mae
• Snowed In by Catherine Walsh
• You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
• I’ll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone
• The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay
• Grounded for Christmas by Savannah J. Frierson
• Return to Love by Tara Pammi
• Deadlines, Donuts, and Dreidels by Jennifer Wilck
• Fortune’s Holiday Surprise by Jennifer Wilck

The Notes

• It’s the most wonderful time of the year. We’ve had lots of previous episodes around the winter holidays, as well. 
• Rare book dealer Rebecca Romney was on the podcast back in season 4, talking about how to collect books. You an read the catalogue for her collection, The Romance Novel in English, which was sold to the Lilly Library at Indiana University. You can see an exhibit of this collection, called Love in the Library, in Bloomington, Indiana through early February of 2025. 
• The real line from Pulp Fiction is “check out the big brain on Brad.” Balls obviously had nothing to do with it. 
• Here’s a pretty solid overview of all the different ways to get audiobooks into your earholes without breaking your wallet. 
• Two very funny posts on Threads about category romance, one from Kate Clayborn and Amanda Cinelli’s reply. 
• Sweetest Day isn’t even a real holiday, unless you’re from Cleveland, that is. 
• The Holiday (2006) is a great movie and everyone is rewriting this plot this year for some reason.  
• Support your local indie by using Bookshop.Org to buy this week’s books in print.

The Sponsors

• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATED50 for free gummies with a limited time $50 off coupon, or use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.
• Sophie Lark, author of Brutal Prince, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Avon Books, publisher of Ally Carter's The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or from your local indie.
• Lark Maitland, author of Ash and the Butterfly, available in print and ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or from your local indie.

We're so excited to be talking about some of the bright new voices in romance this week -- every book we talk about in this episode is a debut romance from 2024. We're introducing you to eighteen new authors, all of whom you'll be able to meet years from now and say, "I've been reading you from the beginning!"

From chefs to film directors, baseball players to librarians, spies to playwrights, there's a little something here for everyone. You're going to love it.

Guess what? There's a debut romance in the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA! There's still time to order...and get a box of our favorite books of the year and support booksellers at a fantastic indie bookstore all at the same time!

If you want to talk romance more ofte, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Books

• The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman
• Unsteady by Peyton Corinne
• The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez
• The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton
• Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit
• But How Are You, Really? By Ella Dawson
• When I Think of You by Myah Ariel 
• Showmance by Chad Beguelin
• The Lovers by Rebecca Faubion
• Say You’ll be Mine by Naina Kumar
• The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain
• The Spy and I by Tiana Smith
• Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
• How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
• Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia
• Temple of Persephone by Isabella Kamal
• I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram
• Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi

The Notes

• It’s not too late to buy the Fated Mates best of 2024 box available from Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA. 
• Jen realized a lifelong nerdy dream by being on Chicago public radio. The show is called Reset, and she was talking about romance with Sonali Dev and Bryn Donovan.
• Jackwagon, defined. 
• Take a look at the feelings wheel.
• The Prom, a broadway show. 
• Sneakers, a movie.
• You can shop this week's books on bookshop.org and choose which local indie you want to support.

The Sponsors

• Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code TINSEL! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
• Pippa Grant, author of The Worst Wedding Date, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Lydia Lloyd, author of When the Viscount Wanted Me, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books.

Let's talk about the over 40s and how they deserve love, too! This week, we're diving into what the industry calls "seasoned" romance, though we're not wild about this phrasing and prefer "Women over forty can get it!" We're talking about romances where, yes, the heroines are older, but they still get to go on adventures, in and out of the bedroom...and with rock stars and incubi, even!

Guess what? There's a romance with a heroine over 40 in the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA! You can get a box of our favorite books of the year and support booksellers at a fantastic indie bookstore all at the same time!

If you were shouting book names at your car stereo during this episode and want to shout them at other people, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Books

• Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
• Becoming Crone by Lydia M. Hawke
• Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia
• Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth
• Remember When by Mary Balogh
• Come As You Are by Jess K. Hardy
• Reaper’s Stand by Joanna Wylde
• The Art Collector by Katelyn Brehm
• Losing Sight by Tati Richardson
• Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
• The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen
• Candidly Yours by Reese Ryan
• Dirty Little Midlife Mistake by Lilian Monroe
• Beautifully Unexpected by Lily Morton
• Chieftain by Annie Lucas
• Talk me Down by Victoria Dahl 
• Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl 
• The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbury
• As the Underworld Turns by Robin Peterman
• It’s a Wonderful Midlife Crisis by Robin Peterman

The Notes

• We had an episode about Daddy romance and age gap romance, but that’s not what this episode is about, this one is about characters over 40. Basically, if you loved Pearl Jam’s Ten, then you are probably the age of the characters in this episode. Now that “spicy” is used to describe sexy books, the word seasoned seems less useful. 
• Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day, and how the wikipedia editors are making war on AI slop. 
• Allie Parker is the host of the Romance Ever After podcast, and she recently suggested “the next wave of historical romance would be the 80s and 90s,” but there’s been way more historical romance kerfuffles happening since then. 
• Sandra Antonelli is a key advocate for romance with older characters. Her site has an essay called Ignored and Misrepresented, which describes why characters over 40 should be leads and not stereotypes. 
• This NYTimes article answers a pressing question: Why Do So Many Women Wear Giant Eyeglasses? 
• A new name for middle aged folks: the sandwich generation.

The Sponsors

• Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code TINSEL! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
• Jenni Bara, author of Finding Out, available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Avon Books, publishers of Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone's A Jingle Bell Mingle, available in from your local independent bookstore, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
• Kayla Grosse, author of Axes & Os, available in print, ebook or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

It's Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means capitalism! We're skipping (mainly) the talk of the midnight electronics runs, and heading straight to Small Business Saturday, when your local independent bookseller is doing their very best to put great books in your hands. Ever been in your local bookstore and thought -- I wish this place was the setting of a romance novel? We've got you, friends.

We talk about the magic of bookstores, about the importance of small businesses, about bookshops as sites for revolution, and about the appeal of running your own little shop around the corner. And we recommend a bunch of books that are...honestly? Charming AF.

Want more indie bookstore content? Support some booksellers at a bookstore we really love by purchasing the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA. Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or Threads or Bluesky when you unbox!

If you were shouting book names at your car stereo during this episode and want to shout them at other people, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Books

• Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
• The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean
• The Vampire in the Bookstore by Elle M. Drew
• Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
• Once Upon a Charming Bookshop by Heatherly Bell
• A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles
• Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
• Taken by Charlotte Stein
• Rock Chick by Kristen Ashley
• Better than Fiction by Alexa Martin
• Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever by Molly Harper
• The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath
• Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke
• The Wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer
• The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon

The Notes

• A guide to upcoming shopping holidays, because America: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday.
• Some more info about the best time to buy a TV. Returning a perfectly good item after you’ve used it for a holiday (do we call the Super Bowl a holiday? Probably, if Taylor Swift is in attendance.) is called “wardrobing.” Back in 2018, LL Bean changed their famous lifetime return policy. 
• I guess if you need some Chicago stuff, you should check out The Silver Room, and you can use Bookshop.Org to find a local indie bookstore to support. 
• It’s not called Library Thing (that’s an app to catalog your own library), what Jen was talking about is the Library Extension.
• WTF, You’ve Got Mail, the 90s what an innocent time. You've Got Mail is a retelling of the 1940s Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan film The Shop Around the Corner which, incidentally, is a perfect movie for a lazy holiday weekend with several generations in attendance.

The Sponsors

• Book of the Month, bringing the best new fiction to your door. Go to bookofthemonth.com to pick a book and join. For a limited time, you can get your first book for just $5 with code STUFFED before December 2nd, and TINSEL anytime in December! Remember to tell them Fated Mates sent you!
• Sara Cate, author of Keep Me, available in print, ebook or audiobook from your local independent bookstore, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of Darynda Jones's Graveyard Dog, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon.
• Melissa Dymond, author of Holiday Wedding, available in print or ebook from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

The Best Romance Novels of 2024! This is our favorite episode of the year, where we get to shout at you about the terrific books we read this year, and tell you all the ways romance continues to excite us.

It's the best and worst job, because we get to shout about books we love, but we are limited to only ten! And choosing ten favorites is very difficult! That said, we persevered, and here they are: Ten books we loved, books that delivered all the things we love in romance: bold heroines, big heroes, banter, complexity, conflict, impossible situations, and stories that swing for the fences. You're going to love these books.

This year, you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2024 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the traditionally published books on the list and a Fated Mates sticker! A Love Song For Ricki Wilde (hardcover) and Lips Like Sugar (independently published) can be added to the box for an extra fee. As always, you can add other 2024 books by some of our favorite people (or a signed Sarah MacLean book!) to the box if you’d like.

We love the idea of you gifting yourself this box (you deserve it!), but maybe you’d like to slide into someone’s text messages with the link as a very excellent gift for you! Or…you can do what Sarah does, and buy the box and spread the love around—sending each of the books to someone on your list. Let us know what you end up doing with these fabulous books, and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or Threads or Bluesky when you unbox!

Check out our “Best Romance Novels” lists from previous years: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. (We were 5 minutes old in 2018 and didn’t do a list that year), and please tell us what your favorite books of 2024 were!

If you want other people to discuss this list with, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Books

• A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
• The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott
• Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel
• Lips Like Sugar by Jess K. Hardy
• The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long
• Sex, Lies, and Sensibility by Nikki Payne
• Hans by S.J. Tilly
• No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt
• Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalie Cana
• Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

The Sponsors

• Avon Books, publishers of Sarah A. Parker's When the Moon Hatched, available in print, ebook or audiobook from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or Amazon.
• Vi Keeland, author of Bossman, available in print, ebook or audiobook from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
• Lois Templin, author of Heart of the Hawk, available in print or ebook from your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Melanie Greene, author of Common Ground, available in ebook from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/11/17/0711-the-best-romance-novels-of-2024
• 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.

Like many people, we don't have much to say this week, and whatever we might have said probably wouldn't have been very eloquent, so we've decided to talk about something we know about: Comfort reading and the way romance provides us solace, peace and hope.

This week's books are our old reliables--books that we turn to again and again for a reminder that love triumphs, hope sings and romance is resolute. We're so happy you're here; we are, too, for as long as you'll have us.

If you want more romance content, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Judith Ivory's The Proposition, a terrific Pygmalion retelling and one of Sarah's favorites. Find it at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

The Books

• The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath
• Sweet Ruin by Kresley Cole
• A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
• Butcher & Blackbird by Brynn Weaver
• A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Cana
• Scoring Off the Field by Naima Simone
• On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera
• Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells
• Chain Lightning by Elizabeth Lowell
• Secret Santa & All He Wants for Christmas by Kati Wilde
• The Proposition by Judith Ivory
• Tycoon by Joanna Shupe

The Notes

• We’ve talked about “Break in Case of Emergency” reads on an episode back from 2022, and comfort reads with Dani Lacey back in 2020.
• Kaitlyn Greenidge sent out a substack with her 2016 interview with Dorothy Allison, who died this week. 
• Pat the Producer and Clayton have a podcast called The BO Boys, and a few weeks ago they recorded a live episode with guests Sean Donnelly and Brett Arnold. The question was: are we okay? 
• If you happen to be in Chester, Connecticut, visit the romance bookstore Montgomery & Taggert. You should just call them directly and order that romance card game called Romance vs. The World. 
• Follow Fated Mates on BookBub, you can select your preferred eBook platform and get emails when books we’ve recommended go on sale. You can also follow Sarah for information about her books and upcoming releases.

The Sponsors

• Max Monroe, author of Meet Me at Midnight, available in print or ebook from Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Blue Box Press, publisher of Heather Graham's The Ghost of a Chance, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon.
• Jaime P. Bradley, author of Wait: A 3000 Series Novella, available in print or ebook from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Amazon.
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATED50 for free gummies with a limited time $50 off coupon, or use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.

It’s just a very normal first Tuesday in November, and you need — and deserve — a distraction! We’re here to help with an episode that not only avoids discussing anything that might or might not be happening in the US today, but also lacks anything remotely of consequence (we promise 100% vibes!).

Today, we’re releasing the November 2024 Bantr+, which is usually exclusive to the Patreon, in the main feed, in case you need it. For no particular reason. (But for real, if you haven’t yet, please go out and vote. Don’t wait! Or, better yet, bring us with you and listen to us while you’re in line!)

If you need further distraction/comfort/community (and more Bantr+ episodes), you might find what you’re looking for over at the Patreon.

Today we're talking mermaids with our friend, Zóraida Cordova, an author of many genres who also writes romance under the name Zoey Castile. We talk about the appeal of mermaids, why we're so drawn to them as creatures, their history in mythologies around the globe, and yes, we get into biology, because we give the people what they want.

If you want more romance content, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

The Books

• The Captive Merman’s Promise by Zoey Castile
• Mermaids Never Drown edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker
• Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova
• The Penguin Book of Mermaids
• Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
• Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin
• The Mermaid’s Knight by Jill Myles
• Soul Song by Marjorie M. Liu
• Tentacles and Triathlons by Ashley Bennett
• One Night Standard by E.F. Dodd
• Siren’s Secret by Debbie Herbert
• Whispers of the Deep by Emma Hamm
• Wish out of Water by Holley Trent
• Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
• To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

The Notes

• Welcome Zoraida Cordóva, our resident mermaid expert. Well, everyone’s mermaid expert. 
• Laura Von Holt is another one of our faves, and she has a mermaid podcast you might want to check out.
• The ocean is so deep, we don’t even know what’s down there! 
• Have you ever googled a whale penis? 
• Merman christmas ornaments. What a world. 
• A huge group of YA books sold all at once:  Wake by Amanda Hocking, Fins are Forever by Tera Lynne Childs, Tempest Rising by Tracy Wolff, Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli
• Maybe you’ve read a Namor comic, or watched Aquaman with Jason Momoa, or Splash with Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah, or either of the two versions of Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
• MerPeople is a Netflix documentary about professional mermaids. The Coral Room was a bar in New York the features professional mermaids, such as Julie Atlas Muz.

The Sponsors

• Avon Books, publishers of Alyssa Cole's How to Find a Princess, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & Apple Books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Madison Score, author of Happily Never After, available in print or ebook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
• Alyxandra Harvey, author of The Scandalous Spinster, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• MJ Etkind, author of Dishwasher Safe, available in print or ebook from Amazon.

This is a bit different than our usual Halloween adjacent episodes -- we're talking about the rise of romance centered around ghostly secondary characters (Jen) and funeral homes and mortuaries (Sarah). These two themes have become more and more prevalent in romance over the last few years, and we talk about how and why they've risen and what they might mean -- considering the way romance reflects the world we live in.

We talk about the pandemic, about grief, about community and about the way humor and love find their ways into the cracks left by death.

If you want more romance content, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Also! We stay phonebanking! Join us this Saturday and next to phonebank with fellow romance lovers. Jen & Sarah are joined by special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates.

If phonebanking isn't your thing, we're also raising money for downticket house and senate races, because state legislatures may not be sexy, but they sure hold all the power. Learn more, and give what you can at fatedmates.net/givingcircle.

The Books

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
• The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
• Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
• Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist by Ali K. Mulford & K. Elle Morrison
• Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
• A Ghost in Shining Armor by Therese Beharrie
• Undertaking Love by Megan Montgomery
• Inheritance and The Mirror by Nora Roberts
• Temple of Persephone by Isabella Kamal
• Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
• Mourning Wood by Heather Orgeron
• Big Witch Energy by Molly Harper

The Notes

• We have one more Fated States phone bank, or maybe you want to try ballot curing phone banking, which might feel less stressful.
• Reborn Yesterday by Tessa Bailey was released on March 16th, 2020. Three days later, California became the first state to give a “stay at home” order. On March 25th, we had an episode celebrating health care workers. Even at that time, we wondered how romance would process the pandemic, and we weren’t the only ones. In May 0f 2020, the New York Times published the names of 100,000 people who died, with the headline An Incalculable Loss; as of October of 2024, over 7 million people have died in the Coronavirus pandemic.  
• Remember, remember the 5th of November is from Guy Fawkes and maybe you saw it in the movie V is for Vendetta. 
• Tim Walz called Elon Musk a dipshit last week, Eminem (who is hot now?) showed up at a Kamala rally, as did Beyonce. 
• The Day of the Dead is an important celebration meant to honor and commemorate those who have died, and Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art has a different exhibit to celebrate every year.
• Jen discovered there is an entire subgenre of books with ghostly banging that you might like, such as TBR: Dead but Well Read or Gang of Ghouls, but that don’t seem to be part of the pattern at hand we’re talking about. But you know. 
• Mick Jagger went (and dropped out) of the London School of Economics. Who knew.

The Sponsors

• Brianna Bancroft, author of the Dash of Desire novella series, The Businesswoman and the Bartender; The Librarian and the Mechanic; and The Maestro and the Roofer available in ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Robyn Peterman, author of Fashionably Dead, available in print, ebook, or audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Katherine Grant, host of the Historical Romance Sampler Podcast. Listen now on your favorite podcasting app.
• M. Jacqueline Murray, author of Out of Time, available in print, ebook, or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or in print, direct from the author.

Happy anniversary, Firebirds! Seven years ago this week, we launched Fated Mates with our first Episode, "A Wolf Without a Foot," in which we planned a tight 18 episode series, here and gone before you'd know it. Seven years later, we're still here, and we're celebrating by doing the obvious: Talking about Sin!

We've taken the seven deadly sins and assigned a great romance novel to each one, and we've dug deep into the dark recesses of our minds, our bookshelves and our psyches to do it. This is a long one (obviously), and full of some real "abandon all hope, ye who enter here" vibes. Thanks for being with us new listeners and longstanding ones...we love you!

If you want more romance content, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Also! We stay phonebanking! Join us this Saturday and next to phonebank with fellow romance lovers. Jen & Sarah are joined by special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates.

If phonebanking isn't your thing, we're also raising money for downticket house and senate races, because state legislatures may not be sexy, but they sure hold all the power. Learn more, and give what you can at fatedmates.net/givingcircle.

The Books

Envy

Barbarian’s Taming by Ruby Dixon

Sin and Ink by Naima Simone

Staying in Vegas by Sam Mariano

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath

Lust

Uncivilized by Sawyer Bennett

Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly

Stolen Desire by Robin Lovett

Gluttony

Fury on Fire by Sophie Jordan

Cajun Hot by Nikita Black

Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren

Greed

Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

One and Done by Cynthia Sax

Sloth

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Fan Service by Rosie Danan

Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels by Louisa Darling

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

Wrath

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane 

Wait for It by Molly O’Keefe

Nero by SJ Tilly

Pride

The Bride Price by Anne Mallory

Double Standards by Judith McNaught

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale

The Notes

As we all know, there are 3 kinds of pipe.

The Seven Deadly Sins are:  sloth, wrath, gluttony, envy, lust, greed, and pride. In case you not a sinner, you may be more familiar with the seven virtues: humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and diligence. 

Historically, it was illegal for a man to marry his brother’s widow. 

“I am in lust with Dain,” is a line from Lord of Scoundrels. 

With some further researching, Jen discovered that there is a podcast by Stephen Fry about the 7 Deadly Sins.

The Sponsors

• Blue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer Probst's Book of the Month, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & Apple Books.
• Kylie Scott, author of Text Appeal, available in print, ebook, or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & Apple Books, or in audiobook from Audible.
• Stephanie Rose, author of Safe With Me, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Laura Moher, author of What She's Having, available in print, ebook, or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & Apple Books.

We're starting our Season 7 read alongs off with a bang! M. O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid duology is some of the best contemporary romance out there, and if you need proof, here it is: The first book ends on a cliffhanger and it holds a prime spot on Jen's keeper shelf. We're talking about all the ways this book works, the way O'Keefe wields tension and description and narrative voice and point of view like an absolute master and delivers a series that is not only deeply representative of the contemporary romance of the mid 2010s, but also a near perfect example of how contemporary can fire on all cylinders. Clear your calendar, you're going to want to read all four books in this series back to back.

If you want more romance content, maybe you want to join our Patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Also! We're back on the phonebanking train this election season! Join us Saturdays between now and Election Day to phonebank with fellow romance lovers. Jen & Sarah are joined by special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates. If phonebanking isn't your thing, we're also raising money for downticket house and senate races, because state legislatures may not be sexy, but they sure hold all the power. Learn more, and give what you can at fatedmates.net/givingcircle.

The Books

• Everything I Left Unsaid by M. O'Keefe
• The Truth About Him by M. O'Keefe
• Burn Down the Night by M. O'Keefe
• Wait for It by M. O'Keefe

The Notes

• Raise a glass to the Old School Romance Book Club on Facebook. They had their final zoom on October 14, 2024.
• Problematic vs. Dated originated with a discussion of Rocky Horror Picture Show on Twitter, a conversation that has been ongoing for a long time. 
• Just to be clear, when Jen said “it’s 2015 so it’s in past” she’s referencing that although some books were written in present (like 50 Shades, published in 2011), the wholesale shift to present tense that we see in romance now hadn’t happened yet. 
• Researchers and law enforcement professionals have determined that nonfatal strangulation is a leading indicator of escalating violence in a relationship and an important risk factor for homicide in women, and the fact that choking is on the rise in teenage sexual encounters is especially troubling.

The Sponsors

• 1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Audrey Carlan's A Christmas Auction, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon.
• Aethon Books, publishers of Belle Walker's Blood and War, available in print, ebook and audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Lumi Gummies--use the code FATED50 for $50 off your first order, or use the code FATEDMATES for 30% off your next order.
• Meghan Quinn, author of How My Neighbor Stole Christmas, available in print, ebook, audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Don't forget to keep listening for an audio excerpt of June Westwood's Grave Temptation, available in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.