Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

It’s a snowstorm, Jen’s from Chicago, and we’re feeling extra qualified to talk about Ice Planet Barbarians! It’s the book, and the series that took the world by storm back in 2015, and we’re revisiting the absolute powerhouse it was then, before it launched an entire subgenre of romance and changed the romance landscape. We’re also talking about Ruby Dixon’s clear skill, her obvious love of the genre, and all the ways she makes us both laugh and sigh.
If you have a favorite IPB book and you want to talk about it, come find us (and other romance lovers) on the Fated Mates Discord, which you can access by joining our patreon. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.
Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Notes
Horsepower is definitely the same as measuring the weight of ice in golden retriever pounds.
There’s lot of ways to support the people of Minnesota right now. A good clearinghouse site is Stand With Minnesota. You can also order directly from area bookstores: Tropes and Trifles, Black Garnet Books, or Birchbark Books, or use Bookshop.Org for any number of Minnesota stores. Monarca If you are looking to support whistle production, You can also support other Romancelandia efforts. Bree (from Kit Rocha) is part of a team of people that have printed over 150k whistles this month alone! Romancing the Vote will also be back up this summer, so look for information on that. Along with Monarca, Indivisible is also holding trainings to teach people how to document and record ICE.
Get ready, Derek Craven Day is nigh!

It’s February, so lots of upcoming romance events to check out!
Feb 12, 2026: Jen will be at Babe’s Sports Bar to discuss a WNBA romance, Rooting Interest.
Feb 14, 2026: the Free Library of Philadelphia will be holding

The brilliant Jayne Ann Krentz, romance trailblazer and royalty, joins us this week to talk about one of her favorite tropes--the shotgun wedding! We're talking all things forced marriage...how it differs from marriage of convenience, how it underscores the inherent conflict in romance, and how it often ends up being more like romantic suspense than one would expect! We also talk a bit about how secret babies (and babies in general) play into this trope. Did Jayne also say something that Sarah had to stop the interview to write down? Of course she did!
If you have favorite forced marriage/shotgun weddings, maybe you want to join the Fated Mates patreon? There, you get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the FM Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.
Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
The Books
The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz
Into the Storm by Rachel Grant
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
Broken Whispers by Neva Altaj
The Duke’s Shotgun Wedding by Stacy Reid
Because the Baron Broods
Stolen Touches by Neva Altaj
Mafia Virgin by Mila Finelli
The King’s Spinster Bride by Ruby Dixon
Ravished by Amanda Quick

Notes
Welcome Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick. Her new book is The Shop...

As it's the beginning of 2026, we're talking about how we think about our reading years. What kind of strategies does Jen use? How is Sarah attempting to control the chaos? Which books do we already have on our TBR piles for 2026, and how do we structure our reading year to make ourselves happy and prepare for the podcast? We're also talking about some books by romance novelists who are publishing outside the romance genre this year.
If you want to talk to more people about reading strategies this year, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.
Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited
Notes
Vaccinations are good, actually. In between recording this episode and when it aired, Caroline Kennedy’s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, who wrote about her cancer diagnosis in the New Yorker, has sadly died.
It will shock no one to learn that Jen learned about immunizations from books. In her childhood, the books The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald. We also recommend Everything is Tuberculosis by John Greene and On Immunity by Eula Biss.
Amazon is forcing AI tools into the kindle books themselves, and it’s all awful. Use your own brain, we don’t know what else to say.

Books
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
On Immunity by Eula Biss
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren
She Fell...

Sarah's still catching up, but Jen, Adriana Herrera, and Joanna Shupe have seen it and they have a lot to say.

Your discoverabilibuddies are back! It's a new year which means we're dropping our Winter 2026 reads episode, in which we talk about the million trillion 2026 romance books coming out in January, February and March (ok, not a million trillion, but enough that Eric came out of his studio this morning with a thousand-yard stare!). As a reminder, we have not necessarily read all these books, but they are on our TBRs and should be on yours!
If you want more recommendations and more people with whom you can discuss 2026 romance novels, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.
Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
January 2026 New Releases
Champagne Taste on a Bad Boy Budget by Zuri Day
Drive me Crazy by Lizzy Dent
Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik
A Scandal Changes Everything by Josie Johns
Dom-Com by Adriana Anders
Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan
Janae Sanders’ Second Time Around by LaQuette
The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura
The Ex Dilemma by Elle Wright
Wish I May by Hannah Murray
Almost One Night Stand by AJ Pine
The Re-Do List by Denise Williams