S06.50: Daddy Issues (not the fun kind) with Christopher Rice

S06.50: Daddy Issues (not the fun kind) with Christopher Rice

Author: Fated Mates August 20, 2024 Duration: 1:41:56

We're back with Christopher Rice celebrating one of the longest running themes in romance: Daddy Issues (not the good kind)! Christopher writes romance under the pen name C. Travis Rice, and today, we're talking about his recent banger, Sapphire Dawn. We talk about the longstanding history of characters with terrible fathers, about why romance seems to love a bad dad, about our favorite characters with terrible fathers, and about why terrible fathers make the best heroes? (we know! it's problematic!) All that, and we're talking about Nora Roberts and (gasp!) Janet Dailey!

We're coming up on the end of Season 6 (what?! how!?), and so incredibly grateful to you for listening. If you'd like more romance chatter, we encourage you to join our patreon, where you get another episode from us each month, and access to the incredible readers and listeners and brilliant people on the Fated Mates discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Also! We're back on the phonebanking train this election season! Join us on Saturdays between now and Election Day to phonebank with fellow romance lovers, Jen, Sarah, and special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates.

The Books


The Notes


The Sponsors


The Rest

  • For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2024/8/20/s0650-daddy-issues-with-chris-rice
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Co-hosted by bestselling author Sarah MacLean and critic Jen Prokop, Fated Mates-Romance Books for Novel People digs into the genre with a blend of scholarly enthusiasm and pure fandom. This isn't just a book club; it's a deep, weekly examination of why romance novels work, how they mirror and challenge our world, and why they are often dismissed despite their massive cultural impact. The conversation is always grounded in the text itself, often through structured read-alongs of seminal works, where Sarah and Jen unpack character motivations, tropes, and narrative structure with the detail they deserve. You'll hear lively discussions that treat the genre seriously-analyzing its function as a subversive force and a powerful tool against patriarchal norms-while never losing the joy and sheer fun of a good love story. The tone is inclusive, insightful, and famously without kink-shaming, creating a space where appreciation and critical analysis coexist. Tune into this podcast for a dialogue that celebrates complexity, champions the reader's experience, and consistently argues for the intellectual and emotional heft of romance fiction.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Podcast Episodes
S06.46: Romance and The New York Times Best 100 Books List [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:44:47
This week, we are doing something a little different, talking about the New York Times's Best 100 Books of the 21st Century, a list that Sarah was asked to contribute a ballot for. We talk about how Sarah made her list,…
S06:44 Summer Romance Bingo Recommendations 2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Duration: 1:23:32
Who says it has to be Halloween to celebrate witches? It’s 2024 and frankly, we could do with a few more powerful, spell-casting women around here. We’re talking about our favorite witch romances, many of which (see what…
S06:41: The Devil of Downtown (Yeah, He Is) by Joanna Shupe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:42
We are talking about a full on banger of a historical this week — Joanna Shupe’s The Devil of Downtown, which is Sarah’s favorite of the Uptown Girls series (Jen is a The Prince of Broadway fan, but honestly, all three a…
S06.40: Siblings in Romance Novels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:37:42
We’re talking about brothers and sisters as secondary characters in romance today — by popular demand from listeners, it’s our sibling episode! We get to the bottom of why we all love secondary siblings—the overbearing o…
S06.39: Summer 2024 Reads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:38:28
School’s out for Jen’s summer and Sarah’s in the final stretch so we’re dreaming of romance beach reads and talking about our massive summer TBR piles! There’s something here for everyone — hot librarians, superheroes, h…
S06.38: Curvy Heroines #3: Curvy Girls Get Railed in Carriages, Too [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:32
One of our most popular interstitial topics, we had to come back for a third run at Curvy Heroines this month in celebration of Bridgerton-mania online and our absolute delight that we finally get to see Penelope get tha…

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