This week, we’re joined by one of the greatest, Veronica Roth, whose new book, Seek the Traitor’s Son, features one of her most beloved of tropes: Sad Boys Who Punch Things. We were delighted when she suggested we do an episode on this very particular, very delicious romance concept, and of course, we invited her to join us! We talk about how it works, why we love soft boys who are full of rage, and how we stan a hero who is willing to stand back and let his partner be awesome. We also talk about The West Wing & Ladyhawke (makes sense). And of course, we talk about her books!

If you’d like to continue the conversation about sad boys who punch things or about Veronica’s deep backlist, please join the Fated Mates Discord, which is accessible to our Patreon subscribers. By joining the Patreon, you meet other Fated Mates listeners and get an extra monthly episode from us. Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along is Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, wherever you get your books, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

NOTES

Veronica Roth’s newest release is Seek the Traitor’s Son, the first in a dystopian fantasy duology with a strong romance subplot.

We love the follow sad boys: Toby Ziegler, Angel, Fox Mulder, Tobias from Animorphs, and Rutger Hauer from Ladyhawke.

The Sixth Faction is coming soon!

SPONSORS

• Piper Rayne, author of The Hotshot, available in print, ebook, audiobook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Rose Prendeville, author of A Faire Affair, available in print, ebook and with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of Dylan Allen’s beautiful new print editions of The Daredevil, The Mastermind & The Wild Card. Available in print and ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
• Lumi Gummies. Go to lumigummies.com and use code FATEDMATES for 30% off your order.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/5/18/s0835-sad-boys-who-punch-things-with-veronica-roth
• 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.