It's been several years since the last time we talked about the allure of competency in romance, but it's a topic we adore, so here we are again, talking about characters with relentless competence and the characters who love them beyond measure. If you're new here, welcome! We're happy to have you!

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Our next read along is Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Natural Born Charmer. You can get it at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Notes

• The These Summer Storms tour is a wrap, ending with Sarah in conversation with  Rebecca Baumann from the Lilly Library at the Mallow Run vineyard.
• That one movie with Keanu Reeves and a vineyard is called A Walk in the Clouds (1995).
• You can’t grow grapes anywhere, but you can grow them in a lot more places than you’d think. 
• The Nora Roberts book about fossils called Birthright, and here’s the manga Dreaming of You. Look at all these editions of Wuthering Heights.
• The Airmont career series.
• Here’s a recent update on the search for Amelia Earhart’s plane from just a few weeks ago.
• Watch the video of Delta’s flight crew uniforms over time.
• Jen was interviewed by Lauren Sarner from the New York Post for an article about love triangles in pop culture because of the return of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
• Ranger vs Morelli has been going on for far too long, or maybe it’s over?
• We last officially talked about careers back in Season 2, episode 8.
• Speaking of fixers, you might enjoy the movie Michael Clayton.
• Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. 
• Our next deep dive is Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Books

• Georgie All Along by Kate Clayborn
• Out with Lanterns by Hillary Bowen
• A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera  
• Single Player by Tara Tai
• Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen
• Pugs & Kisses by Farrah Rochon
• Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles
• Cowboy, It’s Cold Outside by Maisey Yates
• Evernight by Kristen Callihan
• Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan
• The Fixer by Helenkay Dimon
• King by SJ Tilly

Sponsors

• Hillary Bowen, author of Out With Lanterns, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.
• Wattpad Books, publisher of Z.W. Taylor's The Pack, available in print, ebook and audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Bookshop.org.
• Lumi Gummies, THC gummies available nationwide. Go to Lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/7/22/0744-jobs-careers-and-fixers-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.