We’re talking about women’s friendship in romance this week — how it works, why it’s important, and why we want all our romance heroines to have a squad.

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Next week, we’re reading Stephanie Laurens's Devil's Bride, starring Devil Cynster, who also happens to be the only romance hero Sarah's husband can name (yes, even now). Find it at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or your local indie.

Show Notes

• We know we shouldn't make the gallows humor jokes about coronavirus, but we did. We hope there won't be a pandemic, but if there is, get your TBRs ready. Jen's excited it won't have anything to do with RITA books.
• Have you preordered Daring and the Duke yet?
• Daddy is kind of sexy, but Mike Pence really does call his wife mother, and that's never gonna be sexy.
• We love Henry Cavill in season 1 of The Witcher. Just watch this video of them kissing. Jen stopped watching when they broke up in episode 7, and Netflix really wants her to finish.
• The idea for this week's episode came from listener Mary Ann Harlan who wondered, "Do you have an episode on how female friendships in romance disrupt the patriarchy? Or even just how female friendships work in a good way in romance?" I mean, probably just listen to season 1 where we talked about the witches and valkyries.
• Jen wrote about women's friendship in romance for Galentine's Day. So if you're looking for more recommendations, check it out.
• Some of the early proto-women friendships in historicals are Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowersand Penelope in the Bridgerton series.
• Adult friendships are important even if you don't have a best friend.
• Deficit modeling is a kind of thinking that assumes people can't move forward due to deficits or shortcomings. It's a phrase used in education that blames students and their families for lack of school readiness; for women, it's used when discussing the way they assert themselves.
• It would be really weird if your ex started dating Lady Gaga.
• It can be hard to be friends when the other person has more money than you.
• In abusive relationships, the abuser often separates and isolates the victim from their friends and family in order to control them.
• The Outsiders by SE Hinton is a really beloved book. One day, Jen's going to write a think piece about how it's all about American identity.
• Every woman loves the song "I Will Survive." We don't make the rules.
• Linda would definitely have your back, so follow her on Twitter if you're not already.
• Looking for new buttons from Kelly? Jen loves Danger Bang! while Sarah is Living Every Week like it's Rune Week. The full set of t-shirts and totes is available now from Jordandene.
• Wash your hands! Stop touching your face!
• Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens is next week.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2020/3/3/s0226-womens-friendship-in-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.