We're gonna get people excited with this one (it's us. we're the ones who are getting excited). Back by popular demand, we're talking craft this week--digging deep into the third-act breakup, what it really means, why it's misunderstood, and why it really is essential to romance. Sarah suggests that every romance has one whether people like to admit it or not, Jen is, as always, ready to fight. Strap in!

Also! It's that time of year again! Sarah has a new book 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 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.

The Books

• Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
• Something Wilder and Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren
• Hidden Truths by Neva Altaj
• Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
• Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins
• The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
• Lead by Kylie Scott
• Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kang
• Painted Scars by Neva Altaj
• MacRieve by Kresley Cole

Notes

• We love Sephora and Ulta, and Sarah has some faves from Dermatology Instagram, like dermangelo and drdrayzday.
• Sarah’s on tour for These Summer Storms in July, and Fated Mates Live will be in St. Louis!!
• Sarah recommends the audio of The Hero’s 2 Journeys by Michael Hauge
• In our discussion, we identified several types of third act break-ups: Going Home Again, Self-Sacrifice, Who am I?, and You Fucked All the Way Up.
• An SD card, for you youths.

Sponsors

• Dani Francis, author of Silver Elite, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Cara Dion, author of Claim to Fame, available in print or ebook from Amazon.
• Rachel Griffiths, author of The Trouble with Anna, available in print, ebook, audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Anna Todd, author of The Last Sunrise, available in print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/5/5/0734-the-third-act-break-up-complimentary
• 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.