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 choice but to go back to the beginning of “The Casino Series,” which is what Sarah calls The Rules of Scoundrels. We’re reading A Rogue By Any Other Name, the first in the series focused on the rakish owners of The Fallen Angel, Sarah’s casino. We talk Bourne, turning around big ships, writing sexy stained glass windows, and what it means to look back on the early part of a career.

Next week, we’re taking a little break, and then we’ll be back with Season Nine of Fated Mates. As ever, we’re so grateful to you for listening, reading and being a part of this community. We’re nothing without you.

If you’d like to spend more time talking about romance novels, 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.

Notes

• The jellyfish thing is a myth, you don’t have to pee on a jellyfish sting.
• All about the amygdala, or Amy for short if you think of her as that messy friend who will definitely lead you astray.
• JB Pritzker talked about the colors of school folders, and it’s A MESS. Feel free to report back on your preferences for folder colors if you, like Sarah, are outraged.
• New York Times hosted a conversation with Tressie McMillam Cottom, Nadja Spiegelman, and Mary HK Choi called “Have We Turned Personality into a Diagnosis?” It’s worth the listen!
• Is it true that Gen Z is this puritanical (the Puriteens!), or are they just worried that everything is cringe?
• JK Rowling is a piece of shit.
• Gambling has always been bad, but it’s especially bad on your phone. Please talk to your kids about sports betting and make sure these apps are not on their phones.
• Crockfords moved a lot of money in the Regency.
• One of the big influences for Bourne & Penelope was Alfred de Vigny’s poem Éloa, ou La sœur des anges about an angel who falls in love with a stranger who turns out to be Lucifer. English translations are tough to find, but here’s a website that has part of it in translation.
• When you think of the The Fallen Angel (the club), you might think of the famous painting by Alexandre Cabanel, but that’s from 1847!

Sponsors

• Megan Frampton, author of Demons and Diplomacy, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.
• Madison Score, author of Wild About You, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon.
• Tracy MacNish, author of Of the Ashes, available in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Hachette Books, publishers of Jennifer Givhan’s The Sleeping Sisters, available in print, ebook or audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or wherever you get your books.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/8/25/s0849-a-rogue-by-any-other-name
• 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.