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SBTB 2025 Summer Romance Bingo
Jun. 7th, 2025 09:00 amsmartbitches_feedOur Summer Romance Bingo is back!
Beginning on the Summer Solstice, which falls on June 20th in the US and ending on September 22nd, right before the Autumnal Equinox, we invite you to play our 2025 Summer Romance Bingo.
Please save the image to use on your own! If you’d like to share on social media, please use the hashtag #SBTBingo so we can see how your card is coming along! Participants who complete at least one bingo are eligible for prizes, including stickers, swag, and a big ol’ box o’ books for one lucky winner or two.
The middle space is a free space, meaning any book will qualify there. Also, please use one book per space. No double dipping!
To submit your card, please fill out this form. Maximum of five entries per person!
Standard disclaimers apply: Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read some excellent books. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law.
The entry form will close September 23.
If you need clarification on any of the categories or want to crowdsource reading recommendations, feel free to ask or brainstorm in the comments section! Remember that bingo doesn’t kick off until June 20th, so don’t start reading qualifying books until then.
The Woman From the Waves by Roslyn Sinclair
Jun. 7th, 2025 08:00 amsmartbitches_feed
A
The Woman from the Waves
by Roslyn Sinclair
June 5, 2025 · Lucky Opal Press
LGBTQIAScience Fiction/Fantasy
CW: Religious trauma, internalized homophobia
I don’t typically read romantasy. I haven’t jumped on any of the big titles, even though friends and family, including my husband, have read at least one. And yet, I had to read this one, because the author wrote my favourite book. I don’t make the rules in my brain, I just have to abide by them. I didn’t really know much going into this book except that there’s a water horse spirit and a nun, which was the perfect way for me to read it. Given that, I’m tempted to tell you all to just go read the book because it’s excellent, but you are here for a review. So if you trust me, please skip to the buy link. If you need more, let’s get into it.
Hæra is an Each-uisge, which means she’s part of an ocean-dwelling, shapeshifting herd of horse spirits. Her father is dead, her mother and brother hate her, she has no friends or allies, and she doesn’t want to become a broodmare, because their lives are truly terrible. Instead, she dreams of becoming the first female Stormhorse, flying in the sky to rain down thunder and lightning like her father did when he was alive. To achieve her dream, Hæra has to find a worthy human to drown and eat so she can take their strength into her body. She doesn’t have many years left before she’ll be forced into the brutal, endless breeding cycle, but luckily Hæra finds someone with great strength of character and just has to lure her in.
Sister Madeleine Laurent is visiting one of the less-well-travelled Orkney islands in Scotland when she hears her name being called. This leads to a confusing encounter where she thinks she drowned a horse only to nearly drown herself trying to save it. The course of her life is changed when she’s saved and kissed by a naked woman, who tells her to return.
Six years later, Madeleine is not a nun anymore and is back on the island, looking for answers about the guardian angel (or demon?) who saved her. When she meets Hæra North, daughter of the now-sober man who had drunkenly helped Madeleine after her angel had left her on the beach, Madeleine can no longer pretend to herself that she’s not a lesbian. And Hæra? Her Stormhorse dreams are closer to being achieved than ever, since the worthy woman she’d saved has come back to her. But can she bring herself to hurt someone who churns so many unfamiliar feelings within her?
Each character has a distinct and well-fleshed-out arc, which were my favourite aspects of the story. Hæra’s arc is about obsession, because she has a singular goal that she pursues with tenacity and eventually has to decide whether she wants it after all. After spending decades as an underwater predator, Hæra has to adapt enough to at least seem human, since she’s still an Each-uisge on the inside. She puts her six years between meeting Madeleine and re-meeting her to good use, learning human customs, mannerisms, and skills including how to read, so she can be better prepared to have good conversations with Madeleine and understand her before killing and eating her. Of course, it’s not so simple when they reunite.
My favourite part of Hæra’s journey is how she wrestles to understand the difference between hunger and love, because hunger is something she deeply understands as a predator. But love? Not so much. This is also what makes the romance work so well for me, because I was captivated by the way Hæra comes to understand what love is and what it means to her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the concept of love explored in quite this way and it makes all of the sense. She’s an Each-uisge trying to understand a specific person she feels a connection with, even though it’s because she initially wants to eat Madeleine (insert sex joke here).
For Madeleine, her arc is about finally choosing to live authentically and learning along the way what that means for her. We learn very early in the book that she’d joined the convent because she’d been alone and adrift, finding it a good place to hide from the world and from her unwanted attraction to other women. Making out with her angel/demon/beach saviour rips the bandage off the wound that is her internalized homophobia, kicking off a journey of self-discovery as she prepares and heads back to the Orkneys. Embracing authenticity isn’t easy for Madeleine, because it’s often painful to look at the parts of herself she’d kept locked away for decades.
Madeleine’s arc includes a thoughtful, in-depth interrogation of faith and its relationship to the self. Catholicism features so prominently that it almost feels like a side character, although I’m not sure I would call it a friend or a foe. I was especially struck when Madeleine’s conversations with Hæra invite her to consider whether the rigidity of Catholic tradition and doctrine serve her now or ever have. Even after years of therapy and healing, my mind was blown when Hæra tells her “If we don’t doubt or question what we’ve been told, we don’t learn. Haven’t you found that’s true?” In moments like this, I stepped back from the story to check in with myself, and I was pleasantly surprised each time to learn that I was okay. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, I was encouraged by Madeleine’s departure from a dogmatic, unquestioning place as she learns how to listen to the little voice within.
Speaking of religious trauma, if that’s something you have, especially from the Catholic church, you may not have the same positive experience I did. Frankly, if I hadn’t done as much therapy specific to religious trauma as I have, I’m not sure I would have had the same experience either. Madeleine’s internalized homophobia is bound up with her faith and what she was told about homosexuality by people she’d truly cared about, so challenging those narratives is often painful. I appreciated where the story leaves Madeleine’s relationship with the church and her beliefs, because it felt very real to my experience and reminiscent of what I’ve heard from friends who also live with religious trauma.
This is a book that got under my skin and left me flailing for a few days after I finished it. As much as I loved and believed in the romance, the character arcs and exploration of religious trauma stole the show for me. They gave my brain a lot to chew on and I’m going to need to read it at least a few more times to pull apart all the nuances, because there is just so much there. Even though it’s much longer than most books I read, topping out at around 560 pages, I could have read more, because I loved Madeleine and Hæra so much, from who they were at the beginning to who they are at the end.
Kickass Women in History: Claudia Jones
Jun. 7th, 2025 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
This month’s Kickass Woman is Claudia Jones. Wielding a pen instead of a sword did not make this woman any less of a warrior, one who did battle in three countries in her short life and shared not only Black anger but also Black joy.
Born in 1915, Claudia Vera Cumberbatch was born in Trinidad and Tobago, which was, at the time, a colony of Britain (it is now the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, consisting of several Caribbean islands). When she was seven years old her parents left for the United States in search of employment.
Claudia joined them when she was nine. She was radicalized by witnessing and experiencing racial and economic injustice in New York. Her mother, a garment worker, died a few years later and her father lost his job in the Great Depression. As a result of poor living conditions and poor nutrition, Claudia developed tuberculosis which left her with permanent heart disease.
Claudia graduated from high school and began her activism career with organizing protests regarding the Scottsboro case. She joined the Communist Party in 1936. She rose to a leadership position within the Communist Party of the United States of America, and was later jailed for her Communist beliefs in 1948. In 1955 she was deported and left for London.
The term “intersectionality” was not coined until 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw but Claudia was an early adopter of its principles. Her essay “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Woman” in 1949 was a mission statement that expressed concepts Claudia would fight for all her life: that the fight for liberation must include gender and class as well as race:
A developing consciousness on the woman question today, therefore, must not fail to recognize that the Negro question in the United States is prior to, and not equal to, the woman question; that only to the extent that we fight all chauvinist expressions and actions as regards the Negro people and fight for the full equality of the Negro people, can women as a whole advance their struggle for equal rights.
For the progressive women’s movement, the Negro woman, who combines in her status the worker, the Negro, and the woman, is the vital link to this heightened political consciousness.
From the same essay:
No peace can be obtained if any women, especially those who are oppressed and impoverished, are left out of the conversation.
In London, Claudia quickly became a Communist Party leader and turned her attention to Caribbean immigrants. This was the era of the ‘Windrush Generation’ and immigrants struggled to access basic needs and rights. The Notting Hill Riots of 1959, where Black immigrants were attacked in their homes, further traumatized the Black community.
Claudia looked to art in the face of violence. In the words of British Vogue:
A firm believer that “a people’s art is the genesis of their freedom”, she utilised the opportunity to uplift the community by celebrating its culture and heritage with the launch of a special showcase for Afro-Caribbean talent. Originally dubbed Claudia’s Caribbean Carnival, the first event took place at St Pancras Town Hall on 30 January 1959 and was televised by the BBC. The following six years would see the annual celebration staged in local town halls and community centres, where people would get together for a comparatively low-key version of the street extravaganza we indulge in today.
For the first few years the carnival’s motto was “A people’s art is the genesis of their freedom.”
As time passed Claudia’s Carnival became one of the inspirations for and precursors of the outdoor Notting Hill Carnival. It is now the second largest carnival in the world.
Claudia’s impoverished youth and four imprisonments did terrible damage to her heart. She died of a heart attack at the age of 49, on Christmas Eve in 1964.
Her insistence that the rights of women, people in poverty, people of color, and immigrants all be upheld within the political Left, as well as without it, left a legacy of intersectionality that was ahead of its time.
Sources for more information:
Mostly Kindle Daily Deals!
Jun. 6th, 2025 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedThe Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
RECOMMENDED: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles is $1.99 and a KDD! Carrie gave this one a B+:
The strengths of this book are in the balancing of conflict with humor and optimism, the rich characterizations, and the portrayal of life on the marsh, as well as a romance between two opposites. It’s entertaining, exciting, and immersive. While I wanted a little more from the ending, I enjoyed this book overall!
Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he’s left alone again. Then Gareth’s father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn’t know.
The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…
Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss’s sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.
The Friend Zone
The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan is $1.99! It’s also a Kindle Daily Deal. We have book one on sale earlier this week; this is book two. If you’re looking to collect the whole series, snap this one up.
Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.
Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.
Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to win Ivy’s heart. Game on.
A Deadly Inside Scoop
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette is $1.99 and the last of the KDDs on the list! This is book one in a cozy mystery series where the heroine works in her family’s ice cream parlor.
This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop–with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.
Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Wyn is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.
To make matters worse, that evening, Wyn finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Wyn’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Wyn is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown . . .
A Lady’s Guide to London
A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delacour is $2.51 at Amazon and $2.99 elsewhere. This is book two in the Lucky Ladies of London series and features an enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance.
An enemies-to-lovers historical romantic comedy between a grumpy Viscount with a rocky reputation and a bright-as-sunshine heiress determined to make something of herself, perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton and Bridgerton.
If he won’t add her business into his guidebook, she’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.
Della Danby is determined to prove she’s more than just a flighty heiress riding on her parents’ money to get through life. When her closest friend and business partner finds her hands full with a new baby, Della takes the opportunity to shoulder more responsibility at their ladies’ gambling club and secure their financial stability, and she has the perfect to drum up new business by adding their club to a popular guidebook of local attractions.
Gambling ruined Viscount Lyman Ashton’s life and his marriage. He has no intention of putting a new club in his guide, nor of getting involved with its intriguing and energetic proprietress. But when Della refuses to take no for an answer and approaches his publisher with a plan to write her own book of attractions for ladies, Lyman reluctantly agrees to collaborate with her in exchange for the money he so desperately needs to pay his debts. As they grow closer, Lyman finds himself falling for Della even though his past could jeopardize her reputation. But if they can ever have a future together, Della may have to choose between the club she’s worked so hard to build and her chance at love.
June 2025 Queer Romances
Jun. 6th, 2025 08:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Happy Pride Month, party people! You know the best way to celebrate (outside of fighting for basic civil rights)? You guessed it — buying and reading queer books! Here are some great places to start with new June reads!
Ready to Score
Author: Jodie Slaughter
Released: June 3, 2025 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Cleat Cute meets Friday Night Lights in this funny, spicy, emotional new sapphic romance from Jodie Slaughter.
Jade Dunn has spent years trying to climb her way to the top of the southern high school football food chain. Now, the only thing standing between her and that future head coach spot is years of small-town good ‘ol boy politics. When she scores an invite to a highly coveted monthly poker game perfect for networking, she jumps at the chance for a seat at the table. Only to find the one person with the ability to shake her there. An infuriatingly sexy art teacher who plays her cards like she’s gunning for Jade’s deserved spot.
Francesca Lim never thought she’d be happy in a small town, not after living and breathing hardcore Texas football her whole life. But two years ago, the promise of forever love had her leaving behind a burgeoning coaching career for a new life – only for it to burst into flames. Now, she has a chance to gain back a piece of her life she thought she’d left in Houston. The only one standing in the way? The prickly assistant coach that Francesca can’t keep her mind or hands off of.
Not wanting to risk losing out on a dream job, Jade and Francesca can’t afford to give in to the iron hot attraction that simmers beneath their biting interactions, so they try desperately to ignore it. Too bad their hearts don’t seem to be as on board with the game plan.
Jodie Slaughter’s Ready to Score shows how sometimes you have to go big or go home to get the life – and love – you deserve.
The “rivals to lovers” element of Slaughter’s newest hits hard right off the bat, and damn if I didn’t love that the central conflict was between two (smokin’ hot, extremely mutually attracted) women who are both passionate about coaching football. Grab this one immediately if you love sparks flying in all directions, sports romance, and some serious steam.
Winging It With You
Author: Chip Pons
Released: June 10, 2025 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Popular bookstagrammer Chip Pons’s gay rom-com about two men who impulsively pose as a couple to compete in a reality show contest just minutes after meeting at an airport, and their run-in with the very real feelings that start to simmer between them.
Catching flights…& feelings…has never been more complicated.
Asher Bennet thought his relationship was just fine. Until he’s unceremoniously dumped at the Boston airport ahead of the world-wide travel competition reality show, The Epic Trek. Armed with only a ticket and righteous indignation, Asher finds the closest solace he can: a mimosa and mozzarella sticks combo at an airport TGI Fridays. Still, Asher is determined to find a new partner and luckily, right in front of him is a smooth-talking airline pilot ready for takeoff.
Theo Fernandez has been grounded. He’s the only pilot that has never taken a vacation and the edict has been passed prove you’re prioritizing a work-life balance or say goodbye to your wings. As he struggles to bask in his new downtime, without reconnecting with his family, he stumbles upon the perfect opportunity. The handsome guy who “stole” his mozzarella sticks at his favorite terminal eatery has a sudden opening for a partner . . . on a nationally televised reality show.
Theo and Asher buckle up to fake date for the cameras, but as they do the undercurrents of attraction make them wonder if their on-screen chemistry hints at something bigger. Do they have the courage to leave behind their baggage, and wing it together for another chance at love?
As a big fan of both travel and competitive reality TV, this fun and sexy read gets major extra points for taking fake dating around the world. The chemistry is legit, and I absolutely would’ve shipped #Thasher as a viewer.
Backhanded Compliments
Author: Katie Chandler
Released: June 10, 2025 by Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
A steamy sapphic romance with a fantastical twist about two bitter tennis rivals who realize they are reluctant soulmates—perfect for fans of Expiration Dates and Here We Go Again.
Juliette Ricci dreams of only one being the best women’s tennis player in the world. She’s worked nonstop with her strict father/coach to prepare for her big chance in the Australian Open. Unfortunately, she’ll be playing Lucky Luca Kacic, an aloof player whose unorthodox style and reigning popularity deeply irritate Juliette.
For months they’ve traded sly insults in their press conferences leading up to their showdown on the court, and their first ever match is the most anticipated of the season. But Juliette refuses to let her nerves—or Luca’s annoyingly perfect abs—get the best of her.
Meanwhile, Luca seemingly has everything Juliette desires but there’s one thing missing from her love. When she shakes hands with Juliette after an agonizing match and sees her rival’s name appear on her wrist, it feels like a cruel joke. Juliette is a spoiled, arrogant brat who wants absolutely nothing to do with Luca or a soulmate.
But despite their personal and professional clashes, the two grow closer after late-night massages and one too many shots of limoncello. Their chemistry is tangible, but Luca’s anxiety tells her that Juliette is just messing with her head to throw her off her game, and Juliette can’t understand why Luca is so hot and cold. With the pressure of the world scrutinizing their every move, they will have to decide what’s more important—being together or being number one.
A speculative sports romance usually brings to mind a fantastical feat of athleticism, but in this case, it marries the soulmate trope with very real professional tennis for something I haven’t seen before. I loved that there was approximately one American in this entire book (our heroines are Croatian and Italian), and I wanted spinoffs for every single secondary character, so I will definitely be keeping an eye on this debut author!
A Rare Find
Author: Joanna Lowell
Released: June 10, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance
When an aspiring archaeologist teams up with her childhood enemy for a treasure hunt, they find it impossible to bury their growing feelings, in a charming queer historical romance from the author of A Shore Thing.
Elfreda Marsden has finally made a major discovery—an ancient amulet proving the Viking army camped on her family’s estate. Too bad her nemesis is back from London, freshly exiled after a scandal and ready to wreak havoc on her life. Georgie Redmayne is everything Elfreda isn’t–charming, popular, carefree, distractingly attractive, and bored to death by the countryside. When the two collide (literally), the amulet is lost, and with it, Elfreda’s big chance to lead a proper excavation. Now Elfreda needs new evidence of medieval activity, and Georgie needs money to escape the doldrums of Derbyshire. Joining forces to locate a hidden hoard of Viking gold is the best chance for them both.
Marsdens and Redmaynes don’t get along, and that’s the least of the reasons these enemies can’t dream of something more. But as the quest takes them on unexpected adventures, sparks of attraction ignite a feeling increasingly difficult to identify as hatred. It’s far too risky to explore. And far too tempting to resist. Elfreda and Georgie soon find that the real treasure comes with a steep price… and the promise of a happiness beyond all measure.
After my deep love for A Shore Thing, I’ll read any queer historical romance Lowell wants to throw my way. But add in a treasure hunt?? I am the most sold I have ever been sold.
Holly Jolly July
Author: Lindsay Maple
Released: June 17, 2025 by Canary Street Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
“We want to wrap this book up with a bow and leave it under everyone’s tree this year. Lindsay Maple delivers a confection of holiday charm, small town quirk, tenderly sketched characters, and scorching heat.” —Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, USA TODAY bestselling authors of A Merry Little Meet Cute
It’s the hottest Christmas on record…
Like naughty and nice, Mariah and Ellie are complete opposites. Small-time actress Ellie is thrilled to be back on set of a cozy holiday film, while makeup artist Mariah only views the low-budget project as a stepping stone on her way to more serious movies. The pair definitely don’t hit it off when they’re introduced, but if they want to survive the summer heat—and Mariah’s stifling Canadian hometown—they’ve got to keep it professional. Luckily, holiday cheer is Ellie’s specialty, and she’s determined to win stubborn Mariah over.
Mariah finds one bright spot in her forced second Christmas: hot hookups with an edgy local bartender. The romance even has her opening up to Ellie—who admits to crushing on her wholesome cottage-rental host. But when Ellie and Mariah realize the guys are cheating on them, they band together to get revenge. It’s fun planning their own Home Alone–inspired pranks…until Ellie and Mariah realize they’re actually falling for each other.
But the film shoot is too short to get serious, so they’ll have to decide: Was their romance simply a holiday fling or a real Christmas-in-July miracle?
“Full of hilarious hijinks and tenderness in equal measure, this holiday romance had me flipping the pages late into the cozy night. Come for the revenge, stay for the true love.” —Ashley Herring Blake, USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Hands-down one of the things I’m most frequently asked to recommend are books where women band together to get revenge on a guy but fall for each other instead, so my eyes already lit up as soon as I saw that trope. Add in a fun “Christmas in July” element and this looks like the perfect beach read!
670. It’s Trash-ception with Chelsea Devantez of Glamourous Trash
Jun. 6th, 2025 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Meanwhile I’d been working up the nerve to ask her onto my show, and then the universe intervened through this lovely person. Thank you!
I recapped Danielle Steel’s dog memoir on her show, and now, she’s in the guest chair on mine.
We talk about her memoir, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (But I’m Going to Anyway), which was published last summer. Along the way we discuss embracing vulnerability, hating small talk, and avoiding it by…writing a memoir! We also examine how the Depp/Heard case affected the final version of that memoir. Chelsea’s book is bookended by her own story of intimate partner violence, and much of it was redacted, as we discuss in this interview.
CW/TW: throughout this episode, we talk about domestic violence, intimate partner violence, infertility, donor conceived children and adults, the infertility industry, drive by shootings, shame, and mental health.
“Not talking is never the answer. Just talk about it.”
Listen to the podcast →
Read the transcript →
Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:
You can find Chelsea Devantez on her podcast, Glamorous Trash, and she’s on Instagram @ChelseaDevantez, with a second account for her podcast, @GlamorousTrashPodcast.
You can find me on Chelsea’s podcast in the episode where we discuss Danielle Steel’s dog memoir, Pure Joy.
Len Pennie, the guest on Episode 612. Poetry in Scots with Len Pennie, recently won the Discover Book of the Year award at the 35 British Book Awards. Her acceptance speech is terrific.
Music: purple-planet.com
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Football, Vampires, & More
Jun. 5th, 2025 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedThe Rakess
RECOMMENDED: The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham is $1.99! Carrie read this one and have it an A-:
The combination of personal catnip with descriptive language and complex characterization is spot on. I recommend this for fans of vocal feminism, found family, angst, and explicit sex in their historicals. I plan to read my copy many, many times!
Meet the SOCIETY OF SIRENS—three radical, libertine ladies determined to weaponize their scandalous reputations to fight for justice and the love they deserve…
She’s a Rakess on a quest for women’s rights…
Seraphina Arden’s passions include equality, amorous affairs, and wild, wine-soaked nights. To raise funds for her cause, she’s set to publish explosive memoirs exposing the powerful man who ruined her. Her ideals are her purpose, her friends are her family, and her paramours are forbidden to linger in the morning.
He’s not looking for a summer lover…
Adam Anderson is a wholesome, handsome, widowed Scottish architect, with two young children, a business to protect, and an aversion to scandal. He could never, ever afford to fall for Seraphina. But her indecent proposal—one month, no strings, no future—proves too tempting for a man who strains to keep his passions buried with the losses of his past.
But one night changes everything…
What began as a fling soon forces them to confront painful secrets—and yearnings they thought they’d never have again. But when Seraphina discovers Adam’s future depends on the man she’s about to destroy, she must decide what to protect…her desire for justice, or her heart.
A Cruel Thirst
A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya is $1.99! I mentioned this one on Hide Your Wallet and fully admit I bought it for that gorgeous cover. Have any of you read this one?
A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together–against their better judgment–to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible romantic fantasy.
Carolina Fuentes wants to join her family in hunting the bloodthirsty vampiros that plague her pueblo. Her father, however, wishes to marry her off to a husband of his choosing, someone who’ll take her away from danger.
Determined to prove she’d make a better slayer than wife, Carolina vows to take down a monster herself. But when she runs into un vampiro that is somehow extremely attractive and kind, her plan crumbles.
Lalo Villalobos was content leading a perfectly dull life until un vampiro turned him. Now forced to flee his city, he heads to the pueblo where he believes the first vampiro was made. Surely its residents must know how to reverse this dreadful curse. Instead of finding salvation, Lalo collides with a beautiful young woman who’d gladly drive a dagger through his heart.
Fortunately, Lalo and Carolina share a common enemy. They can wipe out this evil. Together. If his fangs and her fists can stay focused, they might just triumph and discover what it feels like to take a bite out of love.
Playmaker
Playmaker by Deanna Faison is $2.99! This is a New Adult sports romance with a friends with benefits arrangement. This is book one in the Hidden Attractions series. The next book in the series is out this August.
Spring Break is about having fun–and a steamy friends with benefits relationship for Maddie and Cameron until they realize they might be falling in love. This BookTok sensation is perfect for fans of Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker and Tessa Bailey’s spicy rom-coms.
What started as a game just got serious.
Cameron’s a hot NFL prospect, and a total player on and off the field. But his moves don’t seem to work on Maddie. While she once crushed on him hard, that crush has since faded. She’s got big plans of her own and they don’t include him.
Then Spring Break turns their plans, and their feelings, upside down. Maddie and Cameron start a steamy affair, sneaking around behind their families’ backs. But there’s one big Maddie’s WAY overprotective brother–who happens to be Cameron’s BFF.
Will Cam be able to admit he’s got real feelings? Will Maddie ever be able to stand up to her brother and make her own decisions?
One thing’s for sure, their choices will change their life playbooks for good.
Based on the smash Webnovel, MY BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND, this spicy sports romance is sure to give readers a thrill.
A Problem Princess
A Problem Princess by Anna Harrington is $1.99! This is book six in the Lords of Armory series and features a bodyguard/princess romance. Are you a fan of this series?
Enter into a steamy, forbidden romance between a princess destined to marry a duke and her bodyguard—the one person she is sure she can trust and the man she’s passionately falling for.
General Clayton Elliott, Home Office Undersecretary and new viscount, gets suspicious when London is too quiet. Everyone says that the anarchist group he’s been fighting died along with its leader, but his instincts say just the opposite.
Then he meets Her Serene Highness Princess Cordelia of Monrovia. Resigned to doing her duty for her country, she is in London to make a match with a royal duke—whichever duke wants her. But when she is shockingly attacked at a party, Clayton becomes her bodyguard. Is there a connection between the evil group Scepter and whoever apparently wants the princess dead? While Clayton and Cordelia evade her enemies and pursue their individual missions, the more they realize they can depend only on each other…
Fans of Sarah MacLean, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Bridgerton won’t want to miss this adventurous, danger-filled Regency romance.
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
Jun. 5th, 2025 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
B+
The God and the Gumiho
by Sophie Kim
June 4, 2024 · Del Rey
Contemporary RomanceFantasy/Fairy Tale RomanceRomanceScience Fiction/FantasyUrban Fantasy
TW: deception, murder, mutilation and consumption of corpses by mythological figures, sequel-bait
Ed note: NOT SEQUEL BAIT!!!!
This dreamy book is so much fun! The God and the Gumiho features Korean mythology, grumpy/sunshine, secrets, and of course Only One Bed. While I did I find this book to be somewhat slow going, I also found it to be deeply imaginative and delightful. It’s the first in a series, so the HEA is more of a Happy Ever Eventually Probably. The second book, The God and the Gwisin, ( A | BN | K | AB ) came out on June 3, 2025.
This book is loosely based on Korean mythology. I’m not familiar with Korean mythology, so for me this was a real treat, full of surprises. I’ve never felt such cozy vibes from a story that involves supernatural beings consuming human livers (gumihos have specific tastes). This story is often violent and horrifying. However, it’s also full of humor and affection and a fantastic and funny romance between the very grumpy Seokga and the very sweet (other than her occasional liver, uh, procurement and consumption) Hani. All of the characters are endearing (other than the Big Bad whose identity I shall not reveal).
Even though this is a mystery with a lot of plot to it, I found it took me longer than usual to finish this book. Perhaps it was simply that I was tired. Perhaps it was that the entire book felt like a dream. I can’t say enough how much I loved the worlds in the book (1990’s Korea and the mythical world) and how much I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. It felt fully immersive and incredibly creative, but also easy to wander away from and come back to. I’m excited to read the sequel!
Podcast 669, Your Transcript has Arrived!
Jun. 4th, 2025 08:50 pmsmartbitches_feed
The transcript for Podcast 669. RT Rewind – February 2015 Ads & Features Part II has been posted!
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
Links: Bookshelf Decor, Tea, & More
Jun. 4th, 2025 06:00 pmsmartbitches_feed
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Thank you all for the lovely comments on my dress. Now begins the waiting game until it arrives, while I hem and haw over shoe choices. I’m thankful we’re eloping, so I don’t have to factor in the many hours I’ll need to be on my feet.
I mentioned this in the Hide Your Wallet comments yesterday, but SBTB Summer Romance Bingo will be returning this year. The bingo card will be revealed on Saturday and the official start is on June 20th. Plan accordingly!
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If you’ve been looking for other places to shop for things that aren’t Amazon, Target, etc., I’ve found this IG account that lists other retailers for specific categories of items like Pride merch, kitchen gadgets, and more.
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How cute are these bookshelf tavern signs? I’m also curious how many people organize their shelves by genre.
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Another Instagram account that the algorithm served me: A Mug of Life. The account owner travels around England and offers to share a thermos of tea with strangers. If you love accounts like Humans of New York or Meet Cutes NYC, you may want to follow this one.
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Bless this boyfriend and how confused he seemed by a diva cup.
@ellareames the eyelash curler @Billy Howard ♬ original sound – Ella Reames
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Horror, Amanda Quick, & More
Jun. 4th, 2025 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedThe Night Circus
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is $1.99! This fantasy novel was everywhere when it came out and does seem to have romantic elements. While the setting captured readers’ attentions, some wished it had more emotional depth.
Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding bestseller that has captured the world’s imagination.
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
Ravished
Ravished by Amanda Quick is $1.99! This is a historical romance with some Beauty and the Beast vibes, which many readers loved. However, other readers felt the heroine’s characterization was a bit inconsistent with constant mood changes. Have you read this one?
From the cozy confines of a tiny seaside village to the glittering crush of the a fashionable London soiree comes an enthralling tale of a thoroughly mismatched couple . . . poised to discover the rapture of love.
There was no doubt about it. What Miss Harriet Pomeroy needed was a man. Someone powerful and clever who could help her rout the unscrupulous thieves who were using her beloved caves to hide their loot. But when Harriet summoned Gideon Westbrook, Viscount St. Justin, to her aid, she could not know that she was summoning the devil himself. . . .
Dubbed the Beast of Blackthorne Hall for his scarred face and lecherous past, Gideon was strong and fierce and notoriously menacing. Yet Harriet could not find it in her heart to fear him. For in his tawny gaze she sensed a savage pain she longed to soothe . . . and a searing passion she yearned to answer. Now, caught up in the Beast’s clutches, Harriet must find a way to win his heart–and evade the deadly trap of a scheming villain who would see them parted for all time.
Silver Nitrate
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is $1.99! This released a couple summers ago. Moreno-Garcia always has some interesting setups for her horror and mystery novels and I think does a good job creating a sense of place and time.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film–and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.
Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.
Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.
Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.
As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.
Pole Position
Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery is 99c! This was an indie published romance that received a paperback release earlier this year. I believe Dahlia mentioned this in her queer romance posts.
Kian Walker has always been the golden boy of motorsport. The four-time Championship winner has racing in his DNA – his father was a legend on the track, just don’t let him catch you comparing the two. As reckless and unreliable at home as he was behind the wheel, there’s nothing Kian wants less than to be just like his dad.
Enter Harper James. This year’s rookie called up to compete with the big boys – and Kian’s new teammate. Cocky, hot-headed and with a reputation for breaking as many hearts as he does new track records, Harper’s the opposite of Kian in every way. But when the season starts, there’s no getting away from him.
This might be one of the most dangerous sports in the world, so why then does Kian’s heart feel safer flying around the track at 220mph than when he’s anywhere near his teammate?