S07.36: Celebrity + Normie Romance

Sarah is over the moon that we're talking about celebrities again, especially because we're keeping it tight this time around and limiting it to celebrity/normal person romance (mostly -- Jen is ungovernable)! Yes, Sarah is going to talk about Perfect, but also we're going to talk about celebrities who fall for stranger normies, for normies they knew before they were celebrities, for normies who work with them, and for normies who protect them. The episode is 1200 books long and honestly, we're not sorry.

In case you wondered why Sarah is breaking her rule about talking about her own books, it's that time of year again! Her next book, These Summer Storms (complete with sexy, silent, deeply competent hero) is out in July and is going on tour, and there is a real deal Fated Mates LIVE planned for July 8th in St. Louis, MO! Get tickets to any of these events (Jen will be at a bunch of them, and other pod friends will be popping up along the way) at sarahmaclean.net/tour! If you can't make the tour, you can preorder These Summer Storms signed with a special romance dust jacket from The Ripped Bodice.

If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.

Our next read along is Cate C Wells's Run Posy Run, available right now in print or ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited at Amazon, Apple Books, and Libro.fm.

The Books

• Perfect by Judith McNaught
• All The Feels by Olivia Dade
• The Hollywood Jinx by Sariah Wilson
• Fan Service by Rosie Danan
• Not a Bad Boy by Louisa Edwards
• LOL by Lucy Lennox & Molly Maddox
• The Mechanic by Reina Torres
• The Stand-In by Lily Chu
• The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale
• 32 Days in May by Betty Corrello
• The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev
• Ghosted by JM Darhower
• Small Town Swoon by Melanie Harlow
• Just Playing House by Farah Heron
• Just for the Holidays by Adriana Herrera
• When I Think of You by Myah Ariel
• What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James
• Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday
• Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
• Set Piece by Lana Schwartz
• Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
• The Mixtape by Brittainy Cherry
• The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
• Keep Her Safe by QB Tyler

The Notes

• Pilsen is a great Chicago neighborhood that has historically been home to Mexican-Americans, including stunning murals throughout the neighborhood. But also, that Chicago dust bowl of 2025 was not so great!  
• Summer book tour is upon us. Check out Sarah’s book tour, including dates for Fated Mates Live. In Chicago, Jen will be at The Last Chapter with Mia Sosa for her book When Javie Dumped Mari on June 30th and the Books in Bloom Event hosted by the Chicago North Romance Writers in July.
• Jen went out for Kennedy Ryan’s tour for her new book, Can’t Get Enough.
• We’ve had versions of the celebrity romance in previous seasons: the celebrity romance in season 4, way back in season 1 we did an episode on rock star romance, and sports romance with Jenny Nordbak in season 1, with Farrah Rochon in season 3, and Jessica Luther in season 6. And no, we haven't done a bodyguard episode, but check out Caroline's "I Can Be Your Bodyguard" collection!
• The primordial celebrity/normie romance for Jen is the movie Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. For Sarah, the primordial celebrity normie book was Perfect by Judith McNaught. As it turns out, Hugh Grant and Hugh Jackman are not the same person.

The Sponsors

• Alice Murphy, author of A Showgirl's Rules for Falling in Love, available in print and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple or wherever you get your books.
• Blue Box Press, publishers of Lexi Blake's Built to Last, available in print, ebook or audiobook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, or wherever you get your books.
• Bailey Seaborn, author of All Twerk, No Play, available in print, ebook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
• Avery Maxwell, author of Heart Strings and Hotlines, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.
• Vedentro, premium leather accessories. Use code FATHER at checkout to get $25 off. If you sign-up on the website you will receive an email with an additional $45 off, for a total savings of $70. Visit vedentro.com for more info.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/5/26/0735-celebrity-normie
• 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.