Just to be clear, the fandom has decided to dub SJM as a ‘fated mates’ author. SJM has never called herself a fated mates author. She is a HEA, love conquers all, through love all things are possible author.
SJM has been a trendsetter in this genre for years now. Most authors in recent years are emulating tropes and micro tropes that Sarah has popularized. Why do so many assume she’s just going to continue to do the same thing over and over?
Why is it so hard to believe that the author who is the queen of cheese would choose to explore a love more powerful than fate? That is the more compelling story to tell.
.. or are we really choosing to ignore that within the past few months (not a decade old screenshot) Sarah asked the question she’s been reiterating in her books for years:
“nature made a mistake”
“what if the cauldron was wrong?”
“So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if” —I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden — “that is what she needs? Is there no free will?”
“Sometimes, the bond is nothing more than some… preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At its basest level, it’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.”
