How is it possible we've never done a governess episode? And how is it possible Louisa Darling hasn't been a guest on the pod yet? We're rectifying both of these injustices this week. We talk about Jane Eyre, The Sound of Music and other primordial governesses, and discuss exactly what kind of buttons these books installed--almost entirely thanks to old school historicals. We also talk about how governess books are some of the only books in which we will suffer a child, and yes, we shout out the nannies, too!

Louisa Darling is the pen name of Louisa Edwards and Lily Everett, and the author of Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels, Where Have All the Scoundrels Gone, and Scoundrel, Take Me Away.

Our next read along is Gorilla Twins, AKA Lorraine Heath's The Earl Takes All. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

(Apologies for the subpar audio quality.)

• Learn more about The States Project and donate to the Fated States Giving Circle to keep Virginia blue this November.
• Welcome historical author Louisa Darling. She’s written contemporary romance as Louisa Edwards and women’s fiction as Lily Everett. She imprinted on Jayne Eyre and worked as an editorial assistant for Leslie Gelbman at Berkley, who edited Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz.
• Maybe all those early governess books were really about The Sound of Music. 
• We talked about the Molly O’Keefe series that included Wait For It in season 7, and about Vanessa Riley and wet nurses when we had Kennedy Ryan on in season 2. 
• Finally, our next deep dive will be Gorilla Twins. The actual title, of course, is The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath.

• Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels by Louisa Darling
• Where Have All the Scoundrels Gone by Louisa Darling
• Scoundrel, Take Me Away by Louisa Darling
• Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley
• A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley
• The Duke Who Ravished Me by Diana Quincy
• Deception by Amanda Quick
• Snowed In with the Viking by Lucy Morris
• Sins of a Wicked Duke by Sophie Jordan
• The Game and the Governess By Kate Noble
• The Lie and the Lady by Kate Noble
• The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale 
• Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas
• It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
• The Nanny is Off Limits by QB Tyler
• Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

• Harpercollins, publishers of Lindsay Kelk's Christmas Fling, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Andie J. Christopher, author of Faster, available in print, ebook, audiobook, with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited, or wherever you get your books.
• Lumi Labs, creators of Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.
• Katherine Grant, author of The Widower Without a Will, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/10/14/s0805-governesses-with-louisa-darling
• 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 thinking about Chicago, DC, and LA this week, and standing in solidarity with the people living and resisting in those cities. While reading isn't action, it can supplement it, and keep us joyful as we do the hard work of standing up. To that end, this week, we're recommending books that feature Chicago, Washington, DC & Los Angeles as settings. We're also sharing resources and ways you can stay informed, help communities of immigrants, and get involved in whatever way possible.

Note: We recorded this episode just as the National Guard was sent to Portland, Oregon, which is why Portland-set romances are not included in this episode. Please feel free to share your favorite romances set there in comments or on social media. Tag us so we can share!

Our next read along is Gorilla Twins, AKA Lorraine Heath's The Earl Takes All. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

• Learn more about Ramón Ayala, the King of the Accordion.
• There goes your social life. 
• It's too late to go to The Gothenburg Book Festival this year, but there’s always next year. One of the first internationally known Swedish romance writers is Simona Ahrnstedt. Crime fiction is a big deal in Sweden, and Sarah met Camilla Läckberg and Anders de la Motte.
• Terrible awful things happening in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Portland. Many of these raids are apparently being filmed to make propaganda for the regime. 
• Support local, independent news organizations in your town. This is how you can find out information about what is going on across the country. You might start by checking out: Unraveled Press, Block Club Chicago, The Triibe, LA Taco, WBEZ chicago or your local NPR station, The Chicago Sun-Times.
• You should also find local organizations that do work you care about and find a way to support them. In Chicago, for example, two vital organizations are The Brave Space Alliance and The Love Fridge. And, find out who is supporting immigrants where you live and find out what they need and how you can support their work. For example, The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Illinois, and CHIRLA, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA.
• Find a local Latinx-owned bookstore near you by using this list from the Latinos In Publishing account.  Here's a list of Latinx bookstores in LA if you're looking there.
• The Chicago North Romance Writers hosts a writing conference called Spring Fling, it’s happening in April of 2026. Some of the great people Jen has met from the group or around town at local romance events: Pamala Knight, Shannyn Schroeder, Kelly Farmer, Victoria Hamel, Kathy Douglass, and Chandra Blumberg. 
• Find other people in your community who are working to fight authoritarianism and tyranny at Mobilize.
• Not sure how to contact your reps? Try using 5 Calls and Resistbot. You, too, can Run for Something. It’s not too late to donate money to our Giving Circle for the upcoming election in Virginia.
• Listen to Amanda Litman from Run For Something on Fated Mates
• Listen to Melissa Walker from The States Project on Fated Mates

• Noelle the First by Nicole Falls
• I’ll Get Back to You by Becca Grischow
• The Matched to Perfection Series by Priscilla Oliveras
• The Vega Family Love Stories by Natalie Caña
• The Crowne Legacy Series by Sherelle Green
• The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev
• The Curse Bearer Series by Veronica Roth
• Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
• The Eastside Brewery Series by Mia Hopkins
• The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
• The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Jayne Ann Krentz
• His Girl Hollywood by Maureen Lee Lenker
• The Sapphire Cove Series by C. Travis Rice
• Love Will Always Remember by Tracey Livesay
• Something Cheeky by Thien-Kim Lam
• Streams and Schemes by Rebecca Kincade
• The Rest
  • For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/10/6/0804-we-love-you-chicago-dc-and-la
  • 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.
  
  Feral Warriors Series by Pamela Palmer
• Pride & Protest by Nikki Payne
• The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
• The Blackout Billionaire Series by Naima Simone

• Lindsay Barrett, author of Savannah Royals series, available at in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Vedentro, premium leather accessories. Use code FATED at checkout to get 30% off.
• Jamie Varon, author of Charlie Quinn Lets Go, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

It's October, which means we're thinking about fall, which comes with spice, heat and hanging out under the blankets! Today, our Fall 2025 romance novel preview, guaranteed to fill your TBR pile. There’s something here for everyone — historicals, contemporaries, a splash of magic, princesses, superheroes, time-travel, widows, F1 drivers...a real ideal dinner party roster.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

September Releases

• Faster by Andie J. Christopher
• The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy
• Resisting the Forbidden Widow by Maggie Weston
• The Scot's Seduction Megan Frampton
• The Dreamer and the Deep Space Warrior by TK Tucker

October Releases

• Hell's Heresies by Kat D. Coffin
• Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia
• Wrecking Caine by Amelia Shea
• A Scar in the Bone by Sophie Jordan
• Cowboy, It's Cold Outside by Maisey Yates
• Strings Attached by Noel Bailey
• A Pack for Winter by Eliana Lee
• Isn’t It Obvious by Rachel Runya Katz
• London Calling by Rita Gordon
• Backslide by Nora Dahlia
• Play You For It by Samantha Saldivar
• The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur
• All of us Murderers by KJ Charles
• Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce
• Julia Song Is Undateable by Susan Lee
• Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder
• A Star Is Scorned by Maureen Lee Lenker
• Blue Collar Billionaire by Amy Andrews
• Once Upon a Courtesan by Jess Michaels
• Claiming the Princess by Charis Michaels 
• Heartsick by Kristina Forrest
• Reel Love by Addie Woolridge

November Releases

• The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose Robyn Green
• Not You Again by Erin La Rosa
• These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux
• All Superheroes Need Photos Ops by Elizabeth Stephens
• Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
• Call Me Anytime by Max Monroe
• The Maid of Sherwood Forest by Sian Ann Bessey
• Pick Me by Victoria Schade
• Ellie Hayes and the Himbos by Vanessa King
• Next Time Will be our Turn by Jesse Q Sutanto
• Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi
• Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters 
• Big Sky Safe House by Juno Rushdan
• Snowbound and Royally Forbidden by Maya Blake
• The Reluctant Reaper by MaryJanice Davidson
• Midnight Book Club by E.W. Anderson

December Releases

• Bodyguard Affair by Amy Lee
• Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot by Alexis Hall
• Something Wicked by Falon Ballard
• Her Time Traveling Duke by Bryn Donovan
• How to Grieve like a Victorian by Amy Carol Reeves
• A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour
• Love letters for Other People by Shaylin Gandhi
• Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal

• Jaylee Austin, BL Lucas, Tegan Lleuad, Brie Blackmore, RM Fire, & Natasha Wilco, authors of Monsters in Moonlight series, six books available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• HarperCollins, publishers of Diana Quincy's The Earl That Got Away, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Pippa Grant, author of The Spite Date, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Jamie Varon, author of Charlie Quinn Lets Go, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/9/12/0803-fall-2025-preview
• 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.

Our fave, Adriana Herrera, is with us this week to talk about feminism, romance, and how the two intersect. We talk about the history of the genre, about the evolution of feminism within it, and about what we want from the texts we're reading now, as the world does whatever it is it's doing. Oh, and we recommend some feminist romance, because of course we do.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

Welcome back to the podcast, Adriana Herrera. Her first time on the podcast was way back in Season One, talking about Bowen and Mariketa, and then there were all these other times we’ve talked with her or about her books. Her latest project is the After the End kickstarter, which was just ending as this podcast aired. But you might be able to get in on it for a few more days if you act fast. 

Choice feminism isn’t the way, even if you’re Charlotte from Sex in the City… why did Jen think it was Samantha? Because memory is weird, okay. 

In 2025, the New York Times reports that 350k Black women have lost their jobs and the goal of the administration broadly seems to be resegregation. 

We recommend books about feminism below, from beginner to advanced. But we’ve also collected some web-based resources you might want to check out: 

• The Race to Innocence: watch this TikTok or read this 1998 paper by Fellows & Razack which first defined the phenomenon.
• Intersectionality: This idea was first defined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. You can read more about the basics of intersectionality here, here, or here.
• Feminist Theory: The Four Waves of Feminism explained; The Uses of the Erotic: the Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde; No Offense by Jia Tolentino.
• Transmisogyny: Transmisogyny defined; why trans rights are human rights, and why feminism must support trans people.

• Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night by Kresley Cole
• Hold by Claire Kent
• Fanta C by Sandra Brown
• Darling Obstacles by Barbara Boswell
• A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera
• Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women
• Careless Whispers by Synithia Williams
• The Bone King and the Starling by Elizabeth Stephens
• Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
• Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole 
• Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzales
• Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• The Bright Falls series by Ashley Herring Blake
• Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
• Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre
• Streams and Schemes by Rebecca Kinkade
• All About Love by bell hooks
• Feminism, Interrupted by Lola Olufemi
• The Portable Feminist Reader
• The Trouble with White Women by Kyla Schuller

• Melody Beckett, author of Alien Desire, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• HarperCollins, publishers of A. T. Qureshi's The Baby Dragon Bakery, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Pippa Grant, author of The Spite Date, available at Amazon, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

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

Season Eight! How is it possible you're all still here?! We're so incredibly thrilled to have you all with us for another season. We've got big plans for talking to your favorite people, getting under the hood of your favorite tropes, and filling your TBR pile with your new favorite books. We quickly find ourselves in the deep end, talking about craft, criticism, and romance’s place in 2025. But first, we share what we did on our summer vacations.

Season Eight. Wowzer. Honestly, we love knowing you're out there. Thank you so much for listening.

If you'd like more romance chat in your life, please consider joining our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! There, magnificent firebirds hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com. 

• If you’re a writer looking to learn more about in person events for romance craft, check out Romancing the Craft in Anaheim this fall or Spring Fling which will be hosted by Chicago North Romance Writers in spring of 2026. 
• Australia is not actually a land of criminals, but Tasmania is a dark place…the sky we mean. On the This is Love podcast, there was an episode about it! Check out the Night Sky app, which will help you identify the stars you are seeing in the night sky. 
• Martha’s Vineyard is great, actually. But watch out for ticks and sharks. Speaking of Jaws, it’s a different vibe without that music and here’s more about John Williams and the power of the score.
• AP isn’t doing book reviews anymore, and that means that there will be less book news in papers across America. We talked about the decline of cultural criticism this week. Read more about music criticism and film criticism. This goes hand in hand with news that less Americans are reading for pleasure.
• Across storytelling mediums, people are noticing a breakdown in the ability to tell a story. Here’s a great essay about the difference between premise and narrative in film. Here’s a really interesting thread from Blue Sky wondering if Sci-Fi is a genre that’s dying.
• Ten years ago gay marriage passed and it felt like the world had changed, but they’re determined to roll them back. Keep fighting.

--

• Blue Box Press, publishers of Kristen Ashley's Finding the One, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• HarperCollins, publishers of Laurie Gilmore's The Gingerbread Bakery, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Vasilisa Drake, author of A Bargain So Bloody, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books. Get the audiobook wherever you listen.
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/9/10/0801-season-eight-the-state-of-the-romance-union
• 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.

Welcome to week two of our hiatus! As we prepare for season eight, we're sharing an old favorite: Daddy Romance!

For all of the recs and more, check show notes.

See you next week!

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2022/7/13/s0444-daddy-romance-interstitial
• 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 year's Fated Mates Live was a little different than those we've hosted before, as it was also launch day for Sarah's These Summer Storms! We celebrated in style in the Midwest, hosted by the fabulous team at indie bookstore (and romance lovers), Novel Neighbor and joined by our absolute favorite, Kate Clayborn.

So many Firebirds turned out to celebrate with us from across the midwest to help Sarah learn the intricacies of Midwestern Romance Heroes™️, to talk about Derek Craven and others, and to celebrate Storms in style. The audience was, unfortunately, without microphones, so some of the event has been edited from this recording, but we hope you'll get the vibes -- and learn a little about the midwest! (We apologize for the Indiana and Connecticut shade within.)

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us -- we couldn't have asked for a better event, or a better launch day for These Summer Storms. Thank you for reading, for hanging, and for standing in an endless line to meet us and spend a little of your rainy Tuesday with us!

We’re wrapping up season seven by asking ourselves a simple question. Do we like this stuff? Yes? No? Maybe so? 

We’ll be back in two weeks for the start of Season Eight of the podcast. Honestly, we remain amazed that y’all are with us on this journey. In a world full of madness, you bring us calm, joy and purpose, and we couldn’t be more grateful for you. Thank you so much for listening.

While you’re waiting for Season Eight, you’re welcome to 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 Komboucha Girl was sick of seeing her face back in 2019, and yet here we are. 
• Hozier in concert was great, even if his parents were not stars on the NBC soap, Days of Our Lives. That was John and Marlena. The visuals on Eat Your Young and Nina Cried Power were especially moving and inspiring. Someone made a playlist of the Nina Cried power songs, and now is a great time to listen to protest music. 
• The impact 50 Shades had on the sales of ties (and other things) was real. 
• An article from MEL about the wet problem, not just in romance, I guess. (that’s a NSFW link based on the headline and content, okay.) Butts tie these two clips together: Miranda on SATC on “are we doing this now?”  and Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle thinking  “some lady is going to want to do it her.” But overall, spit is important. 
• Fucking her ass, saving her life is a quote from a Shayla Black book and this amazing review from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Truly a Romancelandia classic. 
• EM Forester described flat and round characters in Aspects of the Novel (1927).
• “The second shift” is a phrase used by author Arlie Russell Hochschild to describe the housework and childrearing responsibilities faced by women after coming home from their day jobs.    
• Commuting is really bad for your wallet and bad for your health. 
• Go to a farmer’s market if you must.

• Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
• What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
• Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
• The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe
• Hans by SJ Tilly
• The Club by Lauren Rowe
• Merrily Ever After by Jenny Holiday 
• Lothaire by Kresley Cole
• Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley
• Stuck Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
• The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson

• Blue Box Press, publishers of the Hearts and Hidden Secrets: A Family Romance Collection featuring Devney Perry, Helena Hunting, Lauren Blakely and Tijan, available at Amazon.
• Rose Prendeville, author of Grace on the Rocks, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Avery Flynn, author of Head Witch in Charge, available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/21/0749-season-seven-ends-with-the-kombucha-gif
• 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.

Joanna Shupe joins us this week to celebrate her new book, The Gilded Heiress, and talk about one of our favorite things—baddies with a heart of gold! We talk about the book, about our mutual love of criminals, of noble scoundrels, of con artists and basically anyone willing to do crime in the name of love. We also talk about how everything Gilded Age is back again, which…ugh. We love Joanna and her book – come see us with her in Chicago on August 28th and in Brooklyn on September 9th.

You can get The Gilded Heiress right now in print, ebook or audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books. 

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. 

• Welcome Joanna Shupe, who writes mafia romance as Mila Finelli. Next week, her historical The Gilded Heiress comes out next week. Earlier this summer, she released her latest in the New York State of Mafia series, Empire of Seduction. You can see her on book tour starting the week of August 26th, including with Jen in Chicago on August 28th. 
• Pinkertons & Bow Street Runners were early cops and private investigators. 
• Check out Joanna’s TikTok, which explores how the history of the Gilded Age is very relevant again: Tariffs are pretty bad, actually; the attempt to build an all white town in Arkansas, inspired by Apartheid South Africa, you can learn about Sundown Towns, Redlining, and racist housing covenants. 
• Al Swearengen is a character on the show Deadwood based on a real person.
• The Gilded Heiress pays homage to Anastasia the Disney movie, which is itself a retelling of the story of Anastasia Romanov. The novel also explores the famous crime of the kidnapped Lindbergh Baby.

• Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe
• Empire of Seduction by Mila Finelli
• The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe
• Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles
• The Player by Kresley Cole
• Scoundrel, Take Me Away by Louisa Darling
• Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
• The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne
• Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt
• Baron by Joanna Shupe 
• A Good Rogue is Hard to Find by Kelly Bowen
• The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
• Hidden Sins by Selena Montgomery
• The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders
• Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
• The Windflower by Laura London
• Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
• Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins
• Captured by Beverly Jenkins
• To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

• Amy Andrews, Pippa Roscoe, Rachael Stewart and Clare Connelly, authors of The Karma Club series, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Maureen Lee Lenker, author of His Girl Hollywood, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/18/0748-criminals-and-noble-scoundrels-with-joanna-shupe
• 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.

It’s Bodyguard Romance week, which feels impossible, honestly, considering we’ve definitely done this before, haven’t we? According to Eric and also the internet, we haven’t, which means we get to talk for the first time in seven seasons about why Bodyguards work so well for so many romance readers, including us! We talk about the basics – the innate joy of having an Exasperated Man™️ willing to put himself in front of a bullet for you, the absolute delight of the books that turn the whole thing on its head and make the protector the protected, and yes, Whitney Houston. Also, Jen makes a brilliant observation on surveillance culture and how it’s impacting romance. We’re keeping you safe from the baddies this week.  

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.  

• In a recent interview Kevin Costner talked about his feelings about Whitney Houston. Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston’s versions of I Will Always Love You, Whitney’s isolated vocals on How Will I Know, and Whitney sang the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl in 1991 and the New Yorker article about it. 
• Caroline has created a bodyguard collection featuring books across subgenres. 
• The Big Easy is a movie with Dennis Quaid (he’s crazy now) and Ellen Barkin where he is a cop who uncovers corruption on the force. 
• Everyone, it looks like this thing about not needing a PI license in the state of Wyoming is legit, go forth and spread the news.

• Princess by Galen Foley
• Hans by SJ Tilly
• Wyoming Bodyguard by Danielle Haas
• The Wilde Ways Series by Cynthia Eden
• Tough Luck by Annabeth Albert
• The Billionaire’s Bodyguard by Emma Holly
• Sexy/Dangerous and Rare Danger by Beverly Jenkins
• Burned Dreams by Neva Altaj
• A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen
• Ace of Hearts by Renee Rose
• Keep Her Safe QB Tyler

• Blue Box Press, publishers of the Duty and Desire: A Uniformed Heroes & Bodyguard anthology featuring Aurora Rose Reynolds, Kristen Ashley, Kylie Scott & Rebecca Zanetti available at Amazon. 
• Hunter Snow, author of Gone Country, available at Amazon, B&N or wherever you get your books. 
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off. 

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/8/12/0747-bodyguards
• 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.