Episode Details

The last few years have brought a wave of romances with magical elements—not really paranormal, not really witches, not really contemporary — books where something is just slightly ✨magic✨. Today, we’re talking about those books, how they work, what they’re saying, and how they work in terms of character, plot and POV. We’re also discussing how the books exist on the outer edges of the romance pool.

If you want to talk more about these speculative romance novels, or about romance in general, come join our Patreon! You’ll get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord. Learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is an old school contemporary, Perfect by Judith McNaught. Sarah says it has the greatest all-is-lost moment in romance history. Read it to find out if she’s right. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

Books

• A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
• My Date with a Pair of Gray Sweatpants by Cassie O. Peia
• The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill
• Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
• Every Version of You by Natalie Messier
• The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz
• The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
• The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston
• Losing Sight by Tati Richardson
• Struck Speechless by Tati Richardson

Notes

• This year’s men’s World Cup actually broke the Own Goal record with 14 of them. Get ready for the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year in 2027! So these English fans made up a bunch of chants for a regular player, which is very charming. Speaking of soccer, Mamdani continues to show us all that politicians