One of the og romance tropes is on the table today -- we're talking about heroines who are on the shelf! It's not quite wallflowers, not quite ruined, not quite spinsters...it's a very particular flavor of unmarried woman, and one we basically only find in historicals (can you tell Sarah is writing?). We're talking about the subtle nuances of heroines on the shelf and honoring some of the classics...but Sarah's got a batch of books we've never talked about before!

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.

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.

Books

• Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
• The Proposition by Judith Ivory
• The Viscount Who Loved Me and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
• A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
• An Earl Like You by Caroline Linden
• Along Came a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle
• One for the Rogue by Manda Collins
• His Wicked Reputation by Madeline Hunter
• Love is a Rogue by Lenora Bell
• Taming His Viking Woman by Michelle Styles

Notes

• Check out the The Collections Department for fun groups of books, organized by real people.
• On the shelf, wallflowers, and spinsters.
• What does being a spinster look like now?
• - Louisa Darling suggested the French Guy who made a TikTok about “dating a girl who is used to being alone.”
• - A contemporary example (other than Bridget Jones) is Gracie from Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
• Author Madeline Hunter died in April and was an important member of the romance community. A professor and historian, for many years, Madeline was chair of the RWA Academic Grant Committee, ensuring that researchers and academics had access to funds to research and write about romance. She wrote this piece about spinsters for USA Today in 2015. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and readers.

SPONSORS

• Ava Rani, author of The Charmer, available in print, ebook, and audio from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm.
• 1001 Dark Nights, publishers of Sparks and Surrender: An Enemies-To-Lovers Collection, available in print or ebook or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited from Amazon.
• Susan Lee, author of The Romance Rivalry, available in print, ebook, or audio, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm.
• Stephanie Rose, author of A Whole New Ball Game, available in print or ebook, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2025/5/12/s0735-on-the-shelf-with-spinsters-amp-wallflowers
• 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.