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Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

by Fated Mates

The most listened to romance novel podcast, Fated Mates is co-hosted by bestselling author Sarah MacLean and romance critic Jen Prokop. Weekly episodes include romance novel read-alongs and lively discussions of the work of the genre, highlighting the romance novel as a powerful tool in fighting the patriarchy…with absolutely no kink shaming.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

S09.04: Fall 2026 Preview

#23 trending · Arts

It’s discoverabilibuddy time! We're dropping our Fall 2026 reads, in which we talk about an outrageous number of romance novels coming out in October, November and Decemb

Sep 30
1 h 39 min

RERUN: Sweater Weather: Romance Novels with Fall Vibes

Today we're celebrating the season with some help from season six. Enjoy! The RestFor even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to off

Sep 26
1 h 05 min

S09.03: Hammered, Nailed & Drilled: Romancing the Tool

As they say on the Discord, this year’s theme is…Themes! This week, we’re talking about hammers, nails, drills, pipes and more — literal characters who are wielding liter

Sep 23
1 h 45 min

S09.02: Romance by Numbers

This is a fun one! We’re talking romance novels with numbers in the titles today, a wide collection of books from zero to infinity! While we came prepared to talk about f

Sep 16
1 h 30 min

S09.01: Cloud Nine: Romance in the Sky

Nine seasons of talking about romance, and no signs of quitting! We’re starting a new season, full of much of our same old nonsense, now with more nonsense, because who n

Sep 9
1 h 52 min

RERUN: S06.10: Men in Fur: Aliens, Warlords, and Vikings

Today we're revisiting a 2023 episode. It's a fun one. While the episode is unchanged, we did spend a full hour of our morning updating the Men in Fur Mood Board. (revA)

Sep 3
1 h 07 min

S08.49: A Rogue By Any Other Name

It’s the end of Season 8 (what! how!), and we usually celebrate the end of the season with a read along of Sarah’s new book, but since there is no new book, we have no ch

Aug 26
1 h 36 min

S08.48: Long Live Historicals, Volume II

We are once again celebrating a wide swath of historical romances that are recently published and by authors we’ve not talked much about on the podcast! Saddle up, becaus

Aug 19
1 h 53 min

S08.47: Romance Tattoo

We’re talking tattoos and body art this week! You might not have a tattoo, but odds are you’ve read a few thousand of them, as romance novels love a main character with a

Aug 12
1 h 25 min

S08.46: Photographers in Romance

Why is photography so hot? We’re tackling this question this week, talking about why romance novels featuring photographers work so well and push so many sexy buttons. We

Aug 5
1 h 40 min

08.45: Judith McNaught's Perfect: Content Warning, the 90's

We’ve been talking about the end (almost end) of this one since we started the podcast, so it seemed high time we did a deep dive on it! Judith McNaught’s Perfect is the

Jul 29
1 h 51 min

S08:43: Romance with Magical Elements

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 jus

Jul 22
1 h 23 min

S08.42: Romance Reasons Meet Thriller Reasons with Anders de la Motte

Once upon a time, Sarah went to Sweden and met a thriller writer who likes talking about the rules of writing in genre as much as we do. We’re so excited that to be able

Jul 15
1 h 37 min

S08.41: Country House Parties

It’s summer, so we’re talking Country House Parties! We’re skulking around, having scandalous meetings in cupboards, getting caught in the rain near the groundskeeper’s c

Jul 8
1 h 39 min

BONUS: Sports Romance Rerun + Jen Chats with Gina Prodan Kelly [FIXED]

F1! WNBA! NY Nicks! World Cup! We swear we're not turning into a sports podcast, but we did feel like it's a great time to rerun our most recent Sports Romance episode wi

Jul 3
1 h 48 min

S08.40: Summer 2026 Preview

We’re filling summer reading lists and making sure that you have plenty of beach reads ready for whatever your plans are! It’s hard to believe it’s July, but we’ve got an

Jul 1
1 h 38 min

S08.39: Romance Birthday (Do Men Have Them?)

Is it our birthday? It is not! But who says you need to celebrate a birthday in real life to celebrate birthdays in romance novels? Not us! Today we’re talking about book

Jun 24
1 h 19 min

S08.38: Seven Days In June by Tia Williams

We’re back with a deep dive on one of our favorite recent romances, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams! We talk about yearning in contemporaries, about books that have a

Jun 17
3 h 07 min

S08.37: Road Trips and a Chat With Mary Kay Andrews

This week, we’re visiting with Mary Kay Andrews, a longtime writer and certified badass who we adore for her WTAF Wednesdays and her delightful books. We talk about her w

Jun 10
1 h 18 min

S08.36: The Rain Fell in Torrents: Weather Is Genre

We’re celebrating the paperback release of These Summer Storms this week, and that means we’re talking about the weather! We talk about rain and snow and wind and tempest

Jun 3
1 h 27 min

Chart trend

Position in the Books chart (US), last 90 days.

#16
all-time peak
541
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 1, 2026).

#100 ▲ 18 Arts US
#36 ▲ 4 Books US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I’m a longtime romance reader (GenX, started out by borrowing my Mom’s romances in the 80s) and what I love about this podcast is how inclusive it is. It has something for everyone: new books and authors for longtime readers not on TikTok (me!) and Old Skool Classics for newcomers. OH! And if you’ve heard about Derek Craven Day on social media, listen to one of the Derek Craven episodes!

Bay Area Laura · Apr 2026

This podcast is a master class in plot, character, writing romance, storycraft, and dirty jokes. The episodes are both hilarious and profound. I have a PhD in literature and I’ve still learned so much about writing and story from Sarah and Jen. But above all, this podcast is *joyful*. It’s an antidote to the news and the world. Listen to the Santa Claus episode and just try not to giggle.

Keeth Ink · Apr 2026

This podcast is a mood boost every week. I am constantly delighted by Sarah and Jen, and feel better about society for having them in it.

S.W.S.W. · Mar 2026

Listening to Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop freaking love on the Romance genre, prop it up, critique it, dissect it, cackle about it… it’s the perfect combination of brilliant nerdiness and gleeful joy.

Giselle AB · Feb 2026

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.

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About Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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