RERUN: Sweater Weather: Romance Novels with Fall Vibes

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People

In this special request episode, hosts Sarah McClain and Jennifer Prokop curate a list of romance novels that evoke 'sweater weather' and co

Key takeaways

• Louisa Edwards is noted for pioneering the chef romance genre before it became a mainstream trend.
• Farrah Rochon's 'The Dating Playbook' uses a football player and trainer dynamic to capture autumn rhythms.

Main topics

• Fall Romance Vibes
• Chef Romance Subgenre

Notable quotes

Basically like Chris Evans in a cozy sweater without the murder.

Conclusion

A highly curated, enthusiastic guide for readers looking to match thei

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Did you know, do you know that this was a request from Speaker 1 (0:02) my friend Speaker 2 (0:02) Louisa? Speaker 1 (0:03) Really? Yeah. Listen, if you're friends with us, you guys, you can just request. Speaker 2 (0:09) Anyway, so my sister's in Switzerland and my mom has COVID. And that means that I am on head home to mom duty. Yeah. Which is, you know, really fine. I'm very happy to go and, you know, be a good daughter. But I said to, we have a recording. We have a trailblazer scheduled for later this week. And I said to Eric, like, I'm going to have to record from my childhood bedroom potentially. And he, which I recorded the Jude Devereaux episode from. Right. And the Susan Elizabeth Phillips episode. And he was like, listen, here's what that room sounds like. And he gave me like a list of a critique of my childhood bedroom sounds. And I was like, this feels weird. that you remember this from two random episodes of the podcast, but that's why we pay him the big bucks. That's Speaker 1 (1:01) right. He is the audiophile and I am the complete dummy when it comes to those things. So welcome Speaker 2 (1:07) everyone to Fated Mates. I'm Sarah McClain. I read romances and I write them. And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a Speaker 1 (1:15) romance reader and editor. Speaker 2 (1:16) And apparently Speaker 1 (1:16) this week we're doing a special request from Louisa, who we really like. So tell us who it is. Louisa Edwards, Speaker 2 (1:22) who is terrific. We love her contemporaries. I have talked about them on the podcast before. She wrote this killer chef series before chefs were a thing. So if you love chef romances and you haven't read those Louisa Edwards books, I think there are like six or seven of them. Boy, do you have Speaker 1 (1:39) a Speaker 2 (1:39) fun time. She Speaker 1 (1:40) was Speaker 2 (1:40) really ahead of the curve on those shows. She really was. Like, that's the problem. Sometimes this happens in romance. Like, someone does it. Yeah. And, like, the books are just, like, terrific, but only a certain group of people find them. And then, boom, chefs become a huge thing. And then it's so late and romance is so productive. Is that the right Speaker 1 (2:02) word? Speaker 2 (2:03) Prolific. Prolific. Speaker 1 (2:04) I guess Speaker 2 (2:04) that's what Speaker 1 (2:04) I'm looking for. That's the word you're looking for. Speaker 2 (2:06) Romance is so prolific. That then like there's so many chef books that no one thinks to go back and check for like older chef books. But anyway, those are great. I think the first one is called Can't Stand the Heat. And it's great. And then there's like so that's like a series set in like a New York City chef community. And then the second series is about like a top Speaker 1 (2:28) chef style show. It's great. Fun. Speaker 2 (2:30) So reality TV before reality TV was also Speaker 1 (2:34) a romance thing. Is there fake dating? Because then it's the trifecta. Speaker 1 (2:39) Right. Speaker 2 (2:39) And then she also did, she wrote as Lily Everett, a series of small town romances set on an island off the coast of like, I don't know, some idyllic southeastern something. And the island has like wild horses and, you know, everybody's sexy and there's lots of homecoming. There's a great Christmas book in that series with like a... soldier home and horses and a Christmas pageant. I mean, it just scratches all the itches of like, you know, American Christmas nostalgia. So yeah, but on top of all of that, Louisa is just a freaking great person. And she texted me the other day and she said, hey, have you and Jen done an episode on like cozy vibes, like sweater vibes? I want fall books that are like Pumpkin spice themed. Yeah. Speaker 1 (3:40) But not spooky. Basically like Chris Evans in a cozy sweater without the murder. Speaker 2 (3:48) Yeah, and without him being sort of like an asshole. Yeah. You want that in Speaker 1 (3:53) book form. Speaker 2 (3:53) The vibe. You want the fisherman sweater. The when Harry met Sally, like, you know, through Central Park in the leaves. Speaker 1 (4:03) And Speaker 2 (4:03) it's interesting because when you request that, of course, I think to myself, like, absolutely. And then you Speaker 1 (4:10) think I've never read an entire book. And then I've never read a book. But the directive was no spooky, nothing Halloween. No, no. Nothing Halloween on my list. So I Speaker 2 (4:19) did Speaker 1 (4:19) not Speaker 2 (4:19) pick anything Halloween. Just as you all strictly fall in love. We do a Halloween episode and we do have one planned this year. Speaker 1 (4:26) Can I, before we launch into this, can I have a, this should have, we should have done this for banter, but it happened last night. Everyone knows I don't really watch TV. Not because I don't like it, but because I'm overwhelmed by it. And then when you don't watch TV for a long time, it's super overwhelming. Well, where Speaker 2 (4:42) do you even begin? Speaker 1 (4:43) Exactly. I just completely like, I just don't Speaker 2 (4:45) even know. Now, it's an Speaker 1 (4:46) embarrassment of riches. Speaker 2 (4:47) Like, it's a nonsense thing, the way TV works now. Like, it used to be you turn on the TV and ALF was on and you watched ALF. Everyone out there, once upon a time, there was a show called ALF. It was about Speaker 1 (4:57) an alien puppet. I don't even. It's the weirdest thing. He ate cats? Speaker 2 (5:02) I don't know. Either way. Something about cats. Speaker 1 (5:05) But last night it was like seven o'clock and I was so tired and I was like, I can't fall asleep right now. So I'm going to put on the TV. This is like usually when I'm like just so exhausted and I couldn't find anything because I got overwhelmed really fast. So I ended up watching Pretty Woman, which I have not watched in its entirety in a long time. And I'm going to tell you something, romance writers out there. You know how we say. Like, OK, if you need to match like physical intimacy with emotional intimacy, if you would like to see that perfectly executed in a movie, Speaker 2 (5:37) that Speaker 1 (5:38) movie is perfect. Sometimes the bad stuff is easier to believe. Speaker 2 (5:44) That moment where she tells him that story. Yes. Speaker 1 (5:47) And I mean, just the way that like, you know, like that, like just the way they go from looking at each other to touching each other, like the intimate. I mean. It was amazing. And I was like, it really delivers on like you really believe that these two fell in love. Speaker 2 (6:05) Yeah. And also there's a piano scene that basically imprinted upon me. And then I've written in like multiple books. Super hot. Speaker 1 (6:12) Yes. Sure. Right. How is Richard Gere so hot? I don't even know. Yeah. Well, there is something very daunting. I remember when I first thought I was a lot younger, obviously, and was like, he's old. And now I'm like, he's so Speaker 2 (6:25) young. Speaker 1 (6:26) He's like younger than us, I think, in that movie. But Speaker 2 (6:28) also he's gray haired and a billionaire. Speaker 2 (6:33) It's great. He's not a billionaire, I don't think. I think he's like a real. He's Speaker 1 (6:36) a Speaker 2 (6:36) millionaire. He's a millionaire. And at the time, billionaires were like not a thing. Speaker 1 (6:41) Right. Speaker 2 (6:41) Right. Speaker 1 (6:42) Nor should they be a thing now, if we're being honest. Speaker 2 (6:44) But anyway, it was just fun to watch and kind of be like. Well, you know, though, like the McLean core story is she rescues him right back. Of course. Speaker 1 (6:52) Of Speaker 2 (6:52) course. Because of Pretty Woman. Speaker 1 (6:53) Because of Pretty Woman. Did Speaker 2 (6:55) you know Pretty Woman was supposed to be like originally it was supposed to be a Disney movie? Interesting. I didn't know the original title was supposed to be 3000. Did Speaker 1 (7:05) you know that? Oh, Speaker 2 (7:05) because that's how much it costs. No, it was like, I'm going to look this up now because I'm pretty sure I'm correct. And it sounds insane. And that's why I think I'm right. Like, why would I have made that up? Sometimes I Speaker 1 (7:17) have very vivid memories of things I read in like magazines when I was. And I remember the reason I know that little factoid is like I read this profile of Julia Roberts, I think, in like Elle before the movie came out and was kind of like, oh, I should watch. OK. Speaker 2 (7:32) All right. Originally, yes, it was supposed to be a Disney movie. Walt Disney Studios greenlit it as a modern day fairy tale and love story. But it was originally written, yes, by J.F. Lawton and it was called 3000 and ended with Vivian and they. They were not a the original plot was that Vivian was addicted to drugs. And part of the deal between them was that she had to stay off cocaine for a week. And then it ends originally with him throwing out her out of the car and leaving her. And then she and Kat and Kit go to Disneyland. Speaker 2 (8:17) And then someone at Disney was like, okay, so yes, we love this. We love this, but let's just throw it all out. And then. It's dental Speaker 1 (8:30) floss, not cocaine, everybody. Speaker 2 (8:34) And then like in came Gary Marshall. And he Speaker 1 (8:40) like rewrote the whole thing. The other thing that was really interesting about watching this at the beginning is the, you know, it sort of starts off with Richard Gere like driving down the Hollywood Hills in this Lotus. And they have all of these like kind of, you know, I don't like scene shots of L.A. And it was so smoggy. And like, remember how smoggy L.A. was like you just couldn't see anything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now when you see that like that, we like they sort of fix that. But it was so very dramatic because you're like, well, these were like this was beautiful L.A. and you could barely see anything because the smog. So anyway, it was a good time. I enjoyed watching it. And I once again failed. My husband was like, are you watching Pretty Woman for fucking real? I was like, I can't find anything else to watch. And he was like, yeah. Don't judge me. Don't judge me. You watch football like all the time. Shut up. You Speaker 2 (9:35) guys, football, it's everywhere now. Speaker 1 (9:38) OK, so my husband loves fantasy sports. I'm sorry. We're just bantering, even though it's not a banter episode. This is listen, if you really enjoy this. Yeah, right. Exactly. You should join the Patreon because you get this every month. Are my husband loves fantasy sports and he and I like and listen, no judgment. Right. I have a romance novel podcast and basically every part of my free waking hours thinking about romance novels. So I want to be clear. I'm not judging. But he, at the end of the WNBA season, mentioned that he had nine WA fantasy teams. And I was like, wait, if you have nine WNBA fantasy teams, how many NFL fantasy teams do you have? And he was like, I can't even tell you. And I was like, oh, it's got to be good then. He has 50. Now, he doesn't actively manage 50. He set up like 30 of them. Are you just like set it and forget it? You can never change them? And I was like, Speaker 2 (10:29) but like, does he are these all with friends? Does he have 50 teams worth of friends? No. Speaker 1 (10:35) So like, OK, 30 teams are just like random, you know, CBS sports or whatever. You can just do it online. But he has a lot of team like he has one with his old fraternity brothers and he has one with my brother and he has one with right. But like there was this huge, crazy injury. A guy named Nick Chubb like had this his knee kind of exploded, honestly. Speaker 2 (10:54) But Speaker 1 (10:54) my husband was literally like, I've got to like. fix my fantasy teams. I'm busy drafting his replacements. No, it's like, okay. I Speaker 2 (11:02) don't understand fantasy teams. I feel about fantasy football the way I feel about fantasy novels. It's too complex. Anyway, listen, he loves it. There I am. Listen, I'm happy for him. If this gives people joy, if you're out there and you have 50 fantasy football teams, look. God bless. I'm happy for you. We need to find joy wherever we can Speaker 1 (11:23) get it. So, you know, my reading buddy Ernie, you know, my reading buddy Ernie also loves sports. Jack Reacher Ernie. Jack Reacher Ernie also loves sports. And so he was like, hey, do you think Mr. Reed's romance would help me have a fantasy football question? And so I was like, yeah, sure. So I hooked them up via text. They've met each other a Speaker 2 (11:39) bunch of times, right? Now they're in a team. And now Speaker 1 (11:41) they're like. Speaker 2 (11:44) fantasy Speaker 1 (11:45) football texting Speaker 2 (11:46) friends. It's like Speaker 1 (11:47) pickup. It's like pickup basketball. It's really cute. But like online football. But you know what? This is a good place to start because one of mine is a football romance because one of mine is a hockey romance. I was thinking this would maybe transition to the topic at hand. Right. Vibes. Speaker 2 (12:04) Which is fall vibes. Fall vibes is football, right? Speaker 1 (12:08) Yeah. So I have talked at length about the Farrah Rochon series about the three friends. But the dating playbook is the one where he is a football player. Speaker 2 (12:23) Jamar Speaker 1 (12:24) Dixon. And he grew up in Katy, Texas, now famous for book banning. And that's where he was like a high school super hero football player. Also famous for Sophie Jordan, everyone. Which is better than book banning. Yes, for sure. And he has been injured and is desperate to make it back into the NFL, but doesn't think like kind of doesn't want people to know his real status. So if he goes with like a trainer that is like well-known in the football world, he's worried that like that person will essentially be, you know, like tell like not telling on him, but just like reporting about how he's really doing. So he finds Taylor Powell to be his trainer. And essentially it's like what he convinces her. It's like one of the few fake dating books that really worked for me is he's like. And no one will know why we're together. Someone will figure out eventually. So if we pretend a fake date, no one will figure out that you're really my trainer. And her reason for going along with it is essentially that he promises her that if he gets back into the NFL, that he will tell everybody it's because of her. I mean, in having essentially like training someone back up into like fighting form for the NFL. Right. So it's a really smart. great premise. And I also think it's a book, I don't know, I just, this is probably one of my, this book has really stuck with me. I think it really is, deals with sort of, and I think of like autumn, I guess this way, like. Speaker 1 (14:02) He desperately wants something because he can't imagine his life without it. But everybody knows that it's really like he has to let it go. You know what I mean? It's a great book. So if you haven't read The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon, I think that football season vibe and the importance of football and like the rhythm of his life is really, I think it's really. perfectly beautifully done. So if you're a autumn football fan, this would be the one for you. Speaker 1 (14:35) This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by Kelly Washington, author of Claiming the Heart of Wraith. Jen, Speaker 2 (14:44) sometimes a book comes into your life and it feels like the perfect book for a perfect moment. Here we go. Our heroine, Mara, is an ex-Army combat veteran who has written a memoir, but it has flopped hard. Speaker 1 (15:02) No one Speaker 2 (15:03) likes Speaker 1 (15:03) it. On Earth. I'm delighted Speaker 2 (15:08) already. Here's Speaker 1 (15:10) the Speaker 2 (15:10) thing. E-books live in cyberspace and cyberspace just might be attached to real space. This is romance science. And it turns out that this memoir on Earth has been translated on another planet