6: Reclaiming the Unlikeable Heroine: Kiss of a Demon King

One of the best loved books in the IAD universe, this week we’re talking about Kiss of A Demon King, the completion of the Demonarchy Duology, starring Rydstrom, the deposed King of Rothkalina, and his fated mate, Sabine, the Queen of Illusions, which is an incredibly handy power. We’ve got a fabulous guest host this week, Jenny Nordbak from our sister romance podcast, The Wicked Wallflowers Club. Jenny is ride-or-die for Sabine, and she’s got a fabulous personal story about her relationship with the book that we’re thrilled to share with you. This episode, we’re talking traumatic pasts, Latin references, horns (I mean, obviously), villains, the unlikeable heroine (a whole lot), and we’ll come back around to Cade & Holly and tackle the unfinished business from their book! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review. Novellas are up next! We told you we’d get to the rest of the Wroth Brothers eventually, and eventually is here! Our next read-along episode will tackle both novellas, The Warlord Wants Forever (Nikolai) & Untouchable (Murdoch), available in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology! This will be the last time we tackle vampires until Lothaire, so get your fill! A Note: There are two version of The Warlord Wants Forever — you want the most recent version. Show Notes Our special guest this week is Jenny Nordbak , author of the memoir, The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon and co-host of the Wicked Wallflowers Club Podcast. All about the freudian slip. Here is Wendy 's blog post about the righted world , along with a twitter thread that Jennifer Porter wrote that eloquently talks about the importance of this idea. Teach Me Tonight jumped in with a look at how this same phenomenon plays out in academia. Jen's friend Liz, the Latin teacher !, loved this book for the sheer number of classical allusions. Here's a report of some of her mort specific findings: "mors, mortis" means death in Latin, so O-mort means "without death" or "in the way of death." The Ourbouros is an ancient symbol that shows up in Egyptian traditions. Finally, the invaders that Omort led into Tornin--the Invidia, Libitinae, and Undines--are also Latin allusions, and they're really evil in the classical world. (Invidia--this Latin word means jealousy and personified envy. Undines-- Latin word for female spirits that inhabit the water. Libitinae--has several meanings: the goddess of corpses (in her temple were kept the funeral apparatus and registries of death), the apparatus of funerals, or death itself.) Jen's interview with Adriana about Domestic Violence in romance. The name Sabine might be a reference to Rome's neighbors, the Sabines. The story of the abduction of the Sabine women has been told in art over and over again . It's intersting to consider why this name was used: perhaps to reclaim a story where sex was a weapon used against women? Melanthe means "dark flower" in Latin, and she was a minor character in the Odyssey . Gone with the Wind has a very problematic portrayal of the happy slave and the good master . House elves aren't much better . The Wicked Wallflower's IAD Spreadsheet of Wonder . All the horn photos are on Instagram. Saga is an amazing comic . The Babysitter's Club Summer Special , and all the other amazing goodness of the Scholastic Book Club. And in case you didn't know, the Scholastic Book Club & its Book Fairs are still a thing. Jenny's book is called The Scarlett Letters: My Secret Year of Men in an LA Dungeon . That Mr. Too Big (not to be confused with Mr. Big ) Sex in the City episode. The Arcana Chronicles is a YA series by Kresley. Why yes, both Sarah and Jen have been on the Wicked Wallflowers podcast. When you're done listening to this episode of Fated Mates, head over to listen, and don't forget their interview with Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter ! The Warlord Wants Forever & Untouchable (in the Deep Kiss of Winter anthology) are coming up next. Lost Limb Count Arms and Hands (3) Conrad cuts off his own hand with a rusty axe so he escape the "witched" chains his brothers locked him in. ( Dark Needs at Night's Edge ) Cadeon has both of his hands burned off in the same scene where he loses an eye. There's description of what Cade's baby fingers look like as they are re-growing. It's...kinda gross. ( Dark Desires After Dusk ) Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. ( No Rest For the Wicked ) Chest and Torso (1) Omort severs Rydstrom's spine and punches through his torso in a fight. Sabine saves him and enlists Hag to help heal him. ( Kiss of a Demon King ) Face and Eyes (2) Bowen loses an eye and most of his forehead during the Hie. Mariketa has cursed him and he can't heal until he returns to her. ( Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night ) Cadeon loses an eye and part of his forehead and hair when fighting. It all regenerates. ( Dark Desires After Dusk ) Legs and Feet (3) Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. ( A Hunger Like No Other ) Mariketa 's skull is fractured and her leg is torn from her body. She heals herself after Bowen lays on the ground. Ivy grows over her and heals her. ( Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night ) Thronos is chasing Melananthe and loses a foot when a portal closes on it. ( Kiss of a Demon King ) The Rest For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2019/1/7/6-kiss-of-a-demon-king 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.