We're starting our Season 7 read alongs off with a bang! M. O'Keefe's Everything I Left Unsaid duology is some of the best contemporary romance out there, and if you need proof, here it is: The first book ends on a cliffhanger and it holds a prime spot on Jen's keeper shelf. We're talking about all the ways this book works, the way O'Keefe wields tension and description and narrative voice and point of view like an absolute master and delivers a series that is not only deeply representative of the contemporary romance of the mid 2010s, but also a near perfect example of how contemporary can fire on all cylinders. Clear your calendar, you're going to want to read all four books in this series back to back.

If you want more romance content, maybe you want 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 Saturdays between now and Election Day to phonebank with fellow romance lovers. Jen & Sarah are joined by special guests who will knock your socks off! Learn more and register at fatedmates.net/fatedstates. If phonebanking isn't your thing, we're also raising money for downticket house and senate races, because state legislatures may not be sexy, but they sure hold all the power. Learn more, and give what you can at fatedmates.net/givingcircle.

The Books

• Everything I Left Unsaid by M. O'Keefe
• The Truth About Him by M. O'Keefe
• Burn Down the Night by M. O'Keefe
• Wait for It by M. O'Keefe

The Notes

• Raise a glass to the Old School Romance Book Club on Facebook. They had their final zoom on October 14, 2024.
• Problematic vs. Dated originated with a discussion of Rocky Horror Picture Show on Twitter, a conversation that has been ongoing for a long time. 
• Just to be clear, when Jen said “it’s 2015 so it’s in past” she’s referencing that although some books were written in present (like 50 Shades, published in 2011), the wholesale shift to present tense that we see in romance now hadn’t happened yet. 
• Researchers and law enforcement professionals have determined that nonfatal strangulation is a leading indicator of escalating violence in a relationship and an important risk factor for homicide in women, and the fact that choking is on the rise in teenage sexual encounters is especially troubling.

The Sponsors

• 1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Audrey Carlan's A Christmas Auction, available in print, ebook, and audiobook from Amazon.
• Aethon Books, publishers of Belle Walker's Blood and War, available in print, ebook and audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Lumi Gummies--use the code FATED50 for $50 off your first order, or use the code FATEDMATES for 30% off your next order.
• Meghan Quinn, author of How My Neighbor Stole Christmas, available in print, ebook, audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Don't forget to keep listening for an audio excerpt of June Westwood's Grave Temptation, available in print, ebook, audiobook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.