You’re new to romance, where should you begin?! This week, Jen and Sarah are talking about good gateway romances, and we’ve got four that we think work for readers who’ve never dipped a toe, but are open to things from dukes to magic, the America West to kinky London and everything in between.

Next week, it’s Jen’s favorite IAD book, Demon from the Dark! Malkom Slaine is a demon living alone on another plane…until witch Carrow Graie comes to fetch him. Get DFTD at Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Kobo, or from your local Indie. Don’t forget that the Audible versions of IAD are on sale right now -- and WORTH EVERY PENNY! Listen on Audio!

Show Notes

• Next week, it's Demon from the Dark since we already talked about Pleasure of a Dark Prince!
• Derek Craven is our favorite and since it's our podcast, we don't have to listen to anyone talk about St. Vincent.
• A librarian who excels at reader's advisory is a wonderful thing to have in your life.
• Check out Jen's website for targeted romance recommendations.
• John Warner is the biblioracle, and he's an amazing advocate for educators and the teaching of writing. He's also one of the key players in The Morning News Tournament of Books, which is literary blood sport par excellence.
• An explainer about American-style universtiy course numbering.
• Jaime Green is the New York Times romance reviewer and we love her.
• One of the most hilarious twitter accounts is all about the smells of romance.
• The Georgette Heyer chronotope and its limits explained.
• If you are interested in knowing the "beat for beat" way a romance is built, you should check out this book by Gwen Hayes.
• The ton, the modiste, and Bond Street.
• Everyone loves a read-alike, but the problem is finding them.
• The Governess and rake tropes are beloved by romance readers, and Tessa Dare's The Governess Game is an excellent example of the trope in action.
• Lol, you can't fool Jen. She is absolutely not googling "sex swing."
• Hillary Clinton said some things about romance novels, and Romancelandia wasn't having it.
• NPR's Codeswitch wrote about Passing in America.
• Sarah isn't the only one who learned about history from romance novels.
• Jen described her angst vs. stakes theory in this post.
• Alexander Chee is a delight, but Jen hated A Little Life more than any other book she's ever read, so just enjoy this Nicole Cliffe thread where a million people dunk on it.
• The Sex House for sale in PA was the best 2019 story. Don't believe us? Read this interview with the realtor.
• Epistolary novels are interesting; but Jen, Melinda, and Kat talked in this review about Thrall by Roan Parrish & Avon Gale and whether or not epistolary novels work in the age of the internet. (Edited by Sarah to add: Epistolary novels are the tits and anyone who says otherwise is F- wrong.)
• The bass line in question.
• Jen and Sarah really hate cliffhangers.
• Andrew and Illona Gordon are a husband and wife writing team and Jen would probably read anything they wrote (as long as there were no cliffhangers.)
• Tom Hardy as Mad Max and fancast as Derek Craven, Mad Rogan, Rune, etc.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/3/1/85-gateways-to-romance-interstitial
• 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.