Girl, Unsolicited

Today, I’m talking about my current favorite podcast, Fated Mates, hosted by romance writer/reader Sarah MacLean and romance reviewer/reader Jen Prokop.

The podcast started out in 2018 as a read-along of Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series and has now developed into something so much more. There are seven seasons in total, and I am on season two. It might seem a bit premature but I can already tell you it’s my favorite because I’m not generally a podcast person in the first place. I cannot tell you how many books have been added to my TBR because of this podcast. Season one was the IAD read-along, and season two is the season where they discuss early romances that made them love the genre in the first place. The way they talk about these books is so *chef’s kiss*.

A little bit of background…

Before I found Fated Mates, I found Sarah MacLean and her books first. The year was 2020 and the pandemic had me in a deep depression that was almost impossible to escape. During that same year, however, the first season of the Bridgerton series (books were written by Julia Quinn not Sarah MacLean but I promise there’s a point here) appeared on Netflix. For those of you who don’t know, the Bridgerton series is a historical romance series set in the regency period. It is hot as all hell. I don’t know what it says about me that I find little slips of ankle driving a man crazy so sexy but it is what it is.

After I gobbled up the Bridgertons, I was chasing a high and basically reading every regency romance I could find. And that’s what lead me, finally, to Sarah MacLean. I will say, really quickly, that she is such a great writer and you do her a disservice by not reading every book she’s ever written as I have done. I’m only kind of joking. After reading every book Sarah MacLean had ever written, to that point, I went searching for more.

Then, BAM, Fated Mates, everyone.

For those of you who like a podcast that sounds like you’re just shooting the shit with some friends, this is exactly the vibe Fated Mates has. My job has a lot of driving involved and I find myself laughing out loud like I’m part of the conversation myself.

Like I said before, the podcast started as an Immortals After Dark (IAD) read-along. The first season of the show is just that with added interstitials that cover different romance tropes. IAD is an absolutely bonkers and amazing paranormal romance series that features the fated mates trope (oh my god, that’s why they call it that!) and lots of hot sex. I would never have known of its existence if not for this podcast, and that’s a great shame because I’m obsessed and I’ve read all the books now.

Sarah has the insight of also being a writer to add to discussions, while Jen is also an English teacher and likes to also explore themes and motif in books. A lot of the exploration of these books boils down to the time period of when these books were published (did they age well?), popular romance tropes (ONLY ONE BED), and how hot the sex is. Sarah and Jen like sex in their books and I also happen to like sex in my books.

Overall, though, Sarah and Jen are two people who live and breathe romance and have a good time talking about romance novels.

I am absolutely here for it.

Please check out Fated Mates and subscribe via your favorite podcast listening app!