The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson - 36

So as it turns out, sequels are hard. For all the love I have seen for The Fake Mate (and I am eternally grateful that everyone was so into the wolfy weirdness), it felt like there was so much pressure to deliver, to make Hunter and Tess’s story just as dynamic. All I can hope for is that you loved them half as much as I do! (I did give you knot massaging, after all, which I am intensely proud of.)

As always, in the ever-ongoing parade of hand-holding, and in no particular order, I would like to thank:

Cindy Hwang, the best editor a girl could ever ask for, who possibly loves knots more than I do, and that’s saying something.

My fabulous agency and my agent, Jessica Watterson, for being the best cheerleader and always answering her phone even when it’s (usually) something silly I am bothering her about.

The amazing art team and Monika Roe, who came up with yet another banger of a cover, and the entire team at Berkley, for always making this process so fun and seem effortless (even when I know it absolutely isn’t).

Keri, my sister by choice, for knowing every single detrimental thing there is to know about me and still loving me—there’s no one I’d rather talk about knots with than you.

Kate Golden (wife), for always being up for a long phone call where I say mostly nothing except how much I think something isn’t working and then making me believe everything will be okay anyway.

Elena Armas, for her continued love and support (and her amazing voice notes). I am always happy to see your name in my notifications.

Kristen (daddy), for always being the one to speak up and tell me when I’m being a stupid bitch (because I deserve that; you don’t understand the number of ways I can be mean to myself)—this stupid bitch loves you very much.

Ruby Dixon, for still answering my emails after all this time, and also just for being an all-around genuinely lovely human—I probably would have had a breakdown long before this point if not for you.

Destinee, for being a knot-oisseur and wonderful friend. Getting to hug you this past year was a highlight, and I can’t wait to do it again.

Vanessa, who is always down to tote around with me, to hold my hand in person when I need it—I am so grateful that this wide world of books brought me to you.

A wholehearted shout-out to the amazing bookstagrammers, bloggers, journalists, BookTokers, librarians, and reviewers who hype my books—your comments, posts, TikToks, and article mentions are sometimes the only things that keep me going, and I’m so grateful.

The readers…this is all for you, and I wouldn’t be here without you.

And lastly my husband, who may not have a knot in the truest sense of the word, but definitely has a knot of the heart, so to speak, just a little something extra that makes me all aflutter—I love you, even if you can’t turn into a wolf.