Love it or hate it, The Odyssey (2026) has a lot of people thinking about Ancient Greece. The legendary Trojan War is said to have occurred around the twelfth or thirteenth century B.C., during the time of the Mycenaean civilization.

Fast-forward hundreds of years and we find ourselves in the era known today as that of Classical Greece. Here we meet Telesilla, a poet and a fighter who defended the Peloponnesian city of Argos in 494 B.C.

We don’t know much about Telesilla, and as is so very often the case where Kickass Women are concerned, not all historians believe her to have been real. Only a few sentences of her poetry remain, but many Greek historians and scholars mention both her role as a poet and as a defender of the city.

She was said to have been famous as a poet, and the grammarian Hephaestion named a poetic meter after her. Plutarch claims that she became a poet after the Gods restored her health:

Of all the deeds performed by women for the community none is more famous than the struggle against Cleomenes for Argos (494 B.C.), which the women carried out at the instigation of Telesilla the poet. She, as they say, was the daughter of a famous house, but sickly in body, and so she sent to the god to ask about health; and when an oracle was given her to cultivate the Muses, she followed the god’s advice, and by devoting herself to poetry and music she was quickly relieved of her trouble, and was greatly admired by the women for her poetic art.

So how did the poetess save the city? According to Plutarch, here’s what happened:

But when Cleomenes (I), king of the Spartans, having slain many Argives (but not by any means seven thousand seven hundred and seventy seven [cf. Herodotus, VII.148] as some fabulous narrative have it), proceeded against the city, an impulsive daring, divinely inspired, came to the younger women to try, for their country’s sake, to hold off the enemy. Under the lead of Telesilla, they took up arms, and, taking their stand by the battlements, manned the walls all round, so that the enemy were amazed. The result was that they repulsed Cleomenes with great loss, and the other king, Demaratus, who managed to get inside, as Socrates [FHG IV, p. 497] says, and gained possession of the Pamphyliacum, they drove out. In this way the city was saved. The women who fell in the battle they buried close by the Argive Road, and to the survivors they granted the privilege of erecting a statue of Ares as a memorial of their surpassing valor.

We may not know many details about this woman, but the story of Telesilla continues to inspire travellers, authors, and artists. The poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) wrote a poem titled ‘Telesilla’ and artist Judy Chicago included her in the Heritage Floor section of her famous work “The Dinner Party.”

Sources:

Wikipedia

CSUN

Telesilla Facts for Kids

Brooklyn Museum

Don’t let its colorful cover fool you. Atone, Adonis is a surprisingly dark and thoroughly compelling romance in which our hero must atone for a long-ago crime that he may have never committed. Solidly written with a very impressive plot, this one is a true winner – and one that kept me guessing.

Frederick “Fred” Sedgwick – known as “Adonis” in some circles, to his horror – was once childhood best friends with Julianna and Thomas Farrow. Everything goes horrifically wrong one day when the Farrow family is in a carriage accident that kills their parents. Julianna and Thomas presume Fred caused the accident due to his immediate proximity to the scene, especially when Fred and his stepmother run off to the continent in the wake of the disaster.

Ten years later, Tom and Julianna are living on a cramped and cash-poor farm in Dorset. Tom is dying of tuberculosis, a fact that Juliana refuses to believe. He contacts Fred, now the Ninth Earl of Chester, and demands he marry Julianna in atonement for leaving them at the accident scene alone, presumptively killing their parents, and leaving both Farrows to suffer. The only other relative who could take care of her after his death is a cousin with little sense, who will inherit the cottage and farm when Tom dies.

Tom’s other demand? That Fred never touch Julianna after the marriage.

The twosome go through with the marriage, but the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to hold on to the bitter dregs of the past.

This is a beautiful romance that also deals handily with grief. Julianna is never over the top or unjustified in her anger toward Fred, and he does not accept the yoke of martyrdom with a cowed sense of shame. Instead, the two of them stumble – tenderly, sadly, but always with determined purpose – toward reclaiming their friendship, love and mutual understanding. She is allowed to be sad, but also grows to accept that sadness as her love and lust for Fred grows.

Fred is also dealing with his own issues that color his actions: his angst over his stepmother’s passing, and the aftermath of the reason why he has become known as the ‘adonis’ of their world.

Fred and Julianna have a years-long buildup of presumptions and harms standing between them, and to reach their happy ending, they must metaphorically bloom toward each other like the flowers in Julianna’s garden. The struggle between them, the way they slowly unfold toward one another as toward the sun makes them really lovely to read about. Small gestures – a book given here, time in the garden there, a talk here – build up until their dams break and my heart broke a little, too. It’s a slow burn with purpose: a rare book where the tension feels incredibly well-earned.

Fred falls fast and hard for Julianna, which I understood given their childhood together, though their estrangement was long and emotional. Julianna has higher emotional and mental walls to scale – her anger and hostility toward Fred and her deep and true grief. But when she does make it over the top of that wall it’s breathtakingly beautiful and well-earned by both characters. Naturally, the truth behind the accident is revealed, and the revelations, reactions, and reasons all made perfect sense.

Atone, Adonis is a fantastic, deeply heartfelt romance that broke my heart and then sewed it back up again.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

Ladies in Hating

A pair of Gothic novelists trade rivalry for love in this swoony, steamy, sapphic Regency by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Ne’er Duke Well

Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti is $2.99! This is Vasti’s first full-length novel and her trio of novellas was well-reviewed here. Did any of you pick this one up when it released over the summer?

In this steamy Regency romp, Lady Selina is determined to find the Duke of Stanhope the perfect wife―the only problem is she’s starting to think that might be her.

Peter Kent―newly inherited Duke of Stanhope and recently of New Orleans, Louisiana―must become respectable. Between his radical politics and the time he interrupted a minor royal wedding with a flock of sheep―not his fault!―he’s developed a scandalous reputation at odds with his goal of becoming guardian to his half siblings. For help, he turns to the cleverest and most managing woman of his acquaintance, Lady Selina Ravenscroft.

Selina is society’s most proper debutante, save one tiny secret: she runs an erotic circulating library for women. When Peter asks for her help, she suggests courtship and marriage to a lady of unimpeachable reputation. (Which is to say, definitely not herself.)

But matchmaking doesn’t go according to plan. Peter’s siblings run rampant on Bond Street. Selina ends up in the Serpentine. And worst of all, the scorching chemistry between Peter and Selina proves impossible to resist. For the disreputable duke and his unpredictable matchmaker, falling in love just might be the ultimate scandal.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Earl Crush

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti is $2.99! Many of the Bitchery wase excited for this one when it pubbed in January. It also is in KU, if any of you are subscribers.

In Alexandra Vasti’s newest Regency rom-com, a reclusive earl’s life is turned upside down when a stranger shows up on his doorstep with an astonishing proposal—and an inconvenient connection to espionage.

For three years, wallflower heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace has anonymously penned seditious pamphlets. And for almost as long, she’s corresponded with the Earl of Strathrannoch, whose political ambition is matched only by his charm. When Arthur’s latest letter reveals his dire financial straits, Lydia sets out for Scotland to offer him the only salvation she can think of—a marriage of convenience. To, um, herself.

Unfortunately, the Earl of Strathrannoch has no idea who she is.

When a bewitching redheaded stranger offers him her hand in marriage, Arthur Baird is stunned—but when he learns that his traitorous brother has been writing to her under Arthur’s name, he’s bloody furious. He’s content to live alone in his moldering castle, and he has no desire for a provocative, radical wife. (Or at least, he shouldn’t.)

But Arthur is desperate to track down his brother, who’s become dangerously entangled in British espionage, and he needs Lydia’s help. What he doesn’t need? The attraction that burns hotter each moment they spend together. As Lydia slips past his defenses and his brother’s mysterious past becomes a very present threat, Arthur will have to risk everything to keep her safe—even his heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Once and Future Witches

RECOMMENDED: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a B+:

Overall I loved reading this book. I literally gasped and clapped my hands over my mouth periodically, like a silent movie star. It’s so gripping, so beautifully written, and such a powerful homage to women’s voices and the need to unify against a common enemy.

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Forbidden

RECOMMENDED: Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins is $2.99! Redheadedgirl gave this book an A and reminded us all how lucky we are to have an author like Jenkins:

What Jenkins has been doing for decades upon decades is giving her readers strong three-dimensional Black women who are loved, desired, and cherished. I can’t tell you how important that is. Eddy gets to be strong, but also loved and supported by her community and her man, and that is the thing I loved most about her.  I’m so glad Jenkins is writing these stories and giving voice to these times and places and people. We’re really lucky to have her in our community.

USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins returns with the first book in a breathtaking new series set in the Old West

Rhine Fontaine is building the successful life he’s always dreamed of—one that depends upon him passing for White. But for the first time in years, he wishes he could step out from behind the façade. The reason: Eddy Carmichael, the young woman he rescued in the desert. Outspoken, defiant, and beautiful, Eddy tempts Rhine in ways that could cost him everything . . . and the price seems worth paying.

Eddy owes her life to Rhine, but she won’t risk her heart for him. As soon as she’s saved enough money from her cooking, she’ll leave this Nevada town and move to California. No matter how handsome he is, no matter how fiery the heat between them, Rhine will never be hers. Giving in for just one night might quench this longing. Or it might ignite an affair as reckless and irresistible as it is forbidden . . .

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a B-:

Sonali Dev is an amazing creator of character and I suspect that this book with be A grade stuff for many readers. I enjoyed the conversations around class, race, and disability (in Emma’s case). However, the book left me stressed out instead of happy

Award-winning author Sonali Dev launches a new series about the Rajes, an immigrant Indian family descended from royalty, who have built their lives in San Francisco—a compelling, heartwarming romance between two strangers from completely different worlds, and a poignant exploration of cultural assimilation, identity, and the meaning of the word home.

Only in a family like the Rajes could San Francisco’s most acclaimed neurosurgeon be considered the black sheep. Dr. Trisha Raje has developed groundbreaking technology and won the respect of her peers and the life-long gratitude of her patients. Still, her large, close-knit family—descended from old Indian nobility—has certain rules to uphold. Trusting outsiders is frowned upon. Disloyalty of any kind is unacceptable. Trisha never intended to jeopardize her brother’s political aspirations, yet her long-ago actions inadvertently did just that. At last she has a chance to turn that around.

Up-and-coming chef DJ Caine has known people like Trisha before—people who judge his background and find it lacking, who put pedigree above character. He may need the lucrative, career-making job the Rajes offer, but he has little time for Trisha, especially when he learns that she’s the arrogant surgeon who wants to perform an untested procedure on his sister, Emma.

As the two continually clash, their assumptions shatter like spun sugar on one of DJ’s stunning desserts.  Drawn to DJ’s steadiness, humor, and passion—as well as his extraordinary food—Trisha begins to reexamine her view of the world, while challenging his beliefs about the nature of family. But there’s a past to be reckoned with before they can hope to savor a future bursting with delicious possibility.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Fear the Flames

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling is $1.99! I believe this had lots of hype on social media when it came out. It’s book one in a series.

An exiled princess teams up with the last man she thought she could trust in the start of a dazzling and unforgettable epic fantasy romance series.

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

An immersive fantasy filled with a sizzling reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance, a world to get lost in, dangerous quests, dragon bonds, and an entertaining band of characters to root for, Fear the Flames marks the stunning debut of Olivia Rose Darling.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Relationship Mechanic

The Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee is $1.99! This is book two in the Peach Blossom small town romance series. I believe Dahlia mentioned this one in her monthly queer romance lists.

There’s more than one way to love and more than one place to call home in this rousing small-town romantic comedy that’s sure to charm fans of Hannah Bonam-Young’s Next to You and Ashley Herring Blake’s Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date

There’s no fix for a lonely heart like a little TLC…

Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia “Vini” Williams provides a tow—and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling—her relationship specialty—and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested…

Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown—but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in Peach Blossom. Why sign up for a broken heart?

But the temptation is real as Vini goes out of her way to drive a carless Jessica around town. The pair can’t seem to keep their distance—or their hands to themselves. With only six weeks to figure out where their red-hot chemistry might lead, Vini and Jessica will have to decide if home can be where the heart is when the heart only knows how to run.

From showing up to glowing up, the characters in Afterglow Books are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way. Don’t miss any of these other fun titles…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Perils of Pleasure

The Perils of Pleasure by Julie Anne Long is $2.99! This is book one in the much loved Pennyroyal Green series. I remember starting this one on audio and liking it, though never finished. Previously, we ran a guest review on this one about how a good book can be ruined by one defining moment. I’m unsure if the text has been updated.

A rescued rogue . . .

Scandal has rocked the city of London. Colin Eversea, a handsome, reckless unapologetic rogue is sentenced to hang for murder and, inconveniently for him, the only witness to the crime disappears. Then again, throughout history, the Everseas have always managed to cheat fate in style: Colin is snatched from the gallows by a beautiful, clever mercenary.

A captivating captor. . .

Cool-headed, daring Madeleine Greenway is immune to Colin’s vaunted charm. Her mission is not to rescue Colin but to kidnap him, and to be paid handsomely for it. But when it becomes clear that whoever wants Colin alive wants Madeline dead, the two become uneasy allies in a deadly race for truth. Together, they’ll face great danger—and a passion neither can resist.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Notorious Vow

RECOMMENDED: A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe is $2.99! This was my first Shupe and I loved it. Feel free to read my review, where I gave it an A-:

This book is a gem. It gave me those starry-eyed, book-drunk feelings…

Joanna Shupe returns to New York City’s Gilded Age, where fortunes and reputations are gained and lost with ease—and love can blossom from the most unlikely charade

With the fate of her disgraced family resting on her shoulders, Lady Christina Barclay has arrived in New York City from London to quickly secure a wealthy husband. But when her parents settle on an intolerable suitor, Christina turns to her reclusive neighbor, a darkly handsome and utterly compelling inventor, for help.

Oliver Hawkes reluctantly agrees to a platonic marriage . . . with his own condition: The marriage must end after one year. Not only does Oliver face challenges that are certain to make life as his wife difficult, but more importantly, he refuses to be distracted from his life’s work—the development of a revolutionary device that could transform thousands of lives, including his own.

Much to his surprise, his bride is more beguiling than he imagined. When temptation burns hot between them, they realize they must overcome their own secrets and doubts, and every effort to undermine their marriage, because one year can never be enough.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is $2.99! This is a YA fantasy novel and Michelle wrote this in her RITA Reader Challenge Review:

The biggest reason I picked up Grave Mercy originally was because of the assassin nuns. Because come on, how awesome does “assassin nuns” sound?

Here, she’s created a fantastic medieval world of gods, saints, political intrigue, and romance that swept me away completely.

And yes, the assassin nuns were pretty much as great as they sounded.

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

By the Book

By the Book by Amanda Sellet is $2.99! This is a contemporary YA romance with a focus on book nerds. Hello! This has been featured in both Cover Awe and Hide Your Wallet.

In this clever YA rom-com debut perfect for fans of Kasie West and Ashley Poston, a teen obsessed with nineteenth-century literature tries to cull advice on life and love from her favorite classic heroines to disastrous results—especially when she falls for the school’s resident Lothario.

Mary Porter-Malcolm has prepared for high school in the one way she knows how: an extensive review of classic literature to help navigate the friendships, romantic liaisons, and overall drama she has come to expect from such an “esteemed” institution. When some new friends seem in danger of falling for the same tricks employed since the days of Austen and Tolstoy, Mary swoops in to create the Scoundrel Survival Guide, using archetypes of literature’s debonair bad boys to signal red flags. But despite her best efforts, she soon finds herself unable to listen to her own good advice and falling for a supposed cad—the same one she warned her friends away from. Without a convenient rain-swept moor to flee to, Mary is forced to admit that real life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction and that if she wants a happy ending, she’s going to have to write it herself.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Ok, so 30 years ago (ouch) there was this channel called MTV and MTV played music videos. All day. Unless it was time for MTV News, which was like the Teen Vogue of the time. And there was also…political organizing!

In 1992, the Rock the Vote campaign started appearing on MTV, in part to drive support for the Motor Voter bill, which allowed people to register to vote while applying for their driver’s licenses. Rock the Vote was founded in 1990 by Virgin Records chairman Jeff Ayeroff who wanted to increase voter turnout among young people.

It was a different time.

But back to my point – there were ads, and they were GOOD. No seriously!

To celebrate a great voter turnout and a pretty fucking rad election, let’s visit some late 90s Rock the Vote ads, shall we?

John Leguizamo had the greatest Rock the Vote ad, hands down. This one is my absolute favorite. I still sing this around the house.

“American people, we can vote to change it. If you wanna change it, get your ass to the polls.”

EnVogue did a great a cappella harmony: 

I am unsure if this ad with Madonna ever aired. I think it was considered too risqué, which is hilarious given what’s on tv now, and given the ad after this one.

I FORGOT how RAUNCHY this ad with Aerosmith was!

A woman’s place is in the dome! 

Lenny Kravitz did a Rock the Vote ad:

Alas, he is not wearing a giant scarf.

Deee-Lite wanted you to vote, too! 

“Don’t shut up. Rise up, and vote loud.” – Jody Watley

Even Sonic Youth did a ripping good Rock the Vote spot:

And, last but never least, Chris Cornell: 

These ad spots are a relic of a different time, aren’t they? Not just the musicians and artists featured, though many of them are still working today, but the way voting was made into a pop culture moment and movement.

Friday Videos are very grateful to everyone who wanted to change it so they got their ass to the polls. 

November’s a funny month now that winter holiday releases so frequently come out in October instead, but it means it gets to be full of surprises, and this year we’ve got a glorious hodgepodge of genres, so check ’em out and start getting yourself some early holiday gifts!

Final Cut

Author: Amy James
Released: November 3, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Crash Test Universe #2

Hollywood’s favorite actor. Nobody’s favorite Formula 1 driver. One life-changing winter break.

Quin McCarthy is Hollywood’s favorite actor. Cole Milton is nobody’s favorite Formula 1 driver. The two men have less than nothing in common, and when their paths briefly cross at the Singapore Grand Prix, it ends in mutual loathing.

Neither expects to see the other again, but when Quin moves to a remote Canadian ski town to film a thriller series, he learns that his deep-woods rental cottage has a single neighboring property, owned and occupied by none other than Cole.

Quin resolves to ignore him and spend his winter nights reading books by the fireplace. But when he stumbles upon a dead body on set—and glimpses the murderer making a run for it—his laid-back winter plans take an abrupt turn for the worse. As things grow more dangerous, he’s forced to turn to Cole for help—and in doing so, realizes Cole might not be the bad guy everyone thinks he is.

I’m always gonna root for an author who persists past publishers to keep a beloved series going, and that’s exactly what James is doing with this next installment of the Crash Test series. This m/m F1 Romance brings together a bi driver with a gay Hollywood actor for some wintry goodness perfect for the season and exploring heavier themes like grief and recovery.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

The Drakon King

Author: Terry Benton-Walker
Released: November 10, 2026 by Bramble
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Queer, Black, and sexy as hell, The Drakon King is romantasy at its best: A forbidden love story between princes in the court of a cruel king and an edge-of-your-seat tale of missing dragons, ruthless betrayals, and stolen hearts.

Two princes, born to a world at war.

Heir to a kingdom built on lies and stolen magic, Prince Reverie has one goal: avoid the crown. Raised by a cruel and violent king, Reverie’s real life begins after curfew―bottle service, masked revelries, top-shelf highs, and anonymous rooftop liaisons. But when his king plots to seize dwindling majikal resources from the Drakon King, Reverie hits his limit―he casts aside his royal obligations and gets the hell outta town. Better a free fugitive than a tortured captive.

Heir to a kingdom banished into the sky, Prince Xandreth has one goal: find a missing friend. His brother, the Drakon King, stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that their people keep going missing, so Xandreth takes it upon himself to hunt down answers.

A meeting that will change them both.

Having abandoned their kingdoms, both princes end up stranded in the dangerous and bewitching Wraithwood, and out of desperation, agree to help each other and then go their separate ways.

A love that will save their world.

But when a myth as old as the world―a bird on fire in the belly of a massive volcano―is whispered from Human lips to Drakon ears, Reverie and Xandreth are suddenly at the heart of a crisis so much bigger than a missing friend or even freedom.

If they can’t come together, the world itself may go up in flames.

Perfect for fans of Crescent City, When the Moon Hatched, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Fourth Wing, and the world of Blade Runner.

Benton-Walker’s already done great work in queer Black Middle Grade and Young Adult fantasy, so it is very cool to see him debuting in adult with a seriously sexy-sounding romantasy. Enemy kings! Dragons! Magic tech! A badass way to break into a new category for sure.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Star Lover

Author: Kent Holland
Released: November 10, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

He makes his living being watched. But he only has eyes for one man.

Two years ago, Roman Drake broke Kenny Cassidy’s heart and walked out of his life without a real explanation. Two years later, fate (and a truly awful resort booking error) puts them in the same room for their best friends’ wedding week in Puerto Vallarta.

Kenny is a porn star with a hundred thousand devoted subscribers, a business degree, and an ironclad rule against believing in happily ever afters. Roman is a bestselling romance novelist with a debilitating case of writer’s block, a mother who’s never quite accepted him, and absolutely no business still wanting his ex this badly.

They agree: one night together to finally get closure. Write the epilogue, close the book, move on for good.

It doesn’t work like that.

What starts as one very good, very complicated hookup turns into a friends-with-benefits arrangement, turns into falling in love all over again—right as a leaked video, a furious mother, and a career-ending scandal threaten to end their story exactly the way it ended the first time.

This time, Kenny’s done letting shame write his story for him. This time, Roman’s done hiding the people he loves from the people he’s trying to impress.

The only question left is whether love gets a happy ending—or just an epilogue.

Star Lover is a steamy, emotional second-chance MM romance featuring a sex worker hero, a hopeless-romantic novelist, a scene-stealing found family, and a well-earned HEA.

Holland is a prolific m/m author, and while he’s currently in the middle of releasing his firefighter-centric Hotheads series, this newest is related to his Wanderlust series and thus gets the fun and sexy setting of Puerto Vallarta. It’s loaded with great tropes, from Forced Proximity to Friends-with-Benefits to, of course, Second Chances, and I love when steam meets emotion to forge something real.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Two Can Play That Game

Author: Zakiya Jamal
Released: November 17, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

After a chance courtside encounter, a fake relationship between a rising influencer and a WNBA star gets a little too real in this swoony sapphic romance.

Chelsea has never cared about sports. But when she’s invited to sit courtside at a New York WNBA game, she welcomes the break from her usual routine. What she doesn’t expect is a basketball nearly colliding with her face—or the six-foot-four hottie who jogs over, flashing a heart-stopping grin, to retrieve it.

Adrienne “AD” Davis is a player on and off the court, notorious for their inability to stay in a relationship. Still, something about Chelsea sticks with them—even though their instant connection can’t bring AD to offer more than one night.

But AD’s agent makes a Chelsea should pretend to be AD’s girlfriend. It’s a strategic move. AD, hoping to retire after this season, needs to lock down some brand deals—but their identity as a Black, nonbinary lesbian with a messy dating history makes sponsors wary. Chelsea, a sex-positive influencer, is ready to pivot her platform, and this feels like the perfect next step. With Chelsea’s network and AD’s star power, they could both strengthen their public images. Once the season ends, they’ll go their separate ways.

As the ruse starts to work and their connection deepens, Chelsea finds herself on unsteady ground. Falling for AD wasn’t part of the plan, and if she lets herself get too close, she might lose the future she’s finally starting to build.

I really enjoyed Jamal’s bi4bi m/f, Sparks Fly, last year, and I’m always down for queer sports romance, so this was an easy choice, and whew, it is a sexy one. Also, as someone who thought she was burned out on fake dating romances, I have to say that I love the way it’s done here, with the romance being “fake” but the sexual relationship being very intentional and consistent throughout. This f/x romance definitely scores major points with me!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Bloom Town: Genesis

Author: Ally North
Released: July 12, 2024 by Dell
Genre: Historical: American, LGBTQIA, Western, Romance
Series: Bloom Town #1

Ally North’s viral BookTok sensation follows a preacher’s daughter with a secret, an outlaw running from the gallows, and a thrilling sapphic love story spanning vast oceans and wide deserts.

“Before reading Bloom Town: Genesis, I didn’t even know my soul needed a kidnapping romance, but this is the story of my dreams. Lyrical, romantic, and healing.”—Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

June 1852. When Abby Proctor is kidnapped from a train in the middle of the desert halfway to her new life in California, she makes a promise to herself—she will escape. Abby is leaving Iowa and all its oppressions behind for a reason, and she refuses to be someone’s prisoner again. Especially when that someone is the infamous female outlaw Joey “JT London” Taylor—Abby’s brash, brooding, and inconveniently beautiful captor.

As Abby plots her escape, she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy behind her kidnapping—a complicated revelation considering her growing feelings for Joey, who might not be the ruthless criminal everyone believes her to be. Suddenly Abby doesn’t want to go back to the confines of her religious father or her suffocating husband.

Then Abby realizes it’s all connected—her kidnapping, the secrets she left behind in Iowa, even her plans in California—and she must decide between returning to a life of obedience and unhappiness or trusting an enigmatic outlaw bound for the gallows.

Full disclosure that “BookTok Sensation” is a phrase that generally makes me want to curl into a ball and die, but it gets a thousand times more intriguing when applied to an epic Sapphic Western Romance duology, because, well, what could be more intriguing than an epic Sapphic Western Romance duology?? Well, how about traditional publishing actually picking something like that up? This month, the first book in the duology releases traditionally for the first time, with the follow-up, Bloom Town: Exodus, releasing in paperback on March 23, 2027.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

So we are going behind the scenes to explore what makes a good Christmas rom com, and what her experience as a writer is like. This is really a story about how, as Seneca allegedly said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Katie is currently writing for the Roku limited series “Scarlett Holmes,” starring Lucy Hale!

What holiday rom coms are your favorites?

Also: don’t forget! If you are in the Patreon (or if you want to join!) you can sign up to be part of our Holiday Wishes episodes. They’re extremely fun and very popular, and it’s a supremely easy process: we do a 15 minute interview where you share your favorite book(s) of 2026, your wishes for everyone in 2027, and, if you like, a terrible joke. You can sign up from the link pinned on the Patreon page!

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Katie at her website, KatieWilbert.com, and on Instagram @KatieWilbert. She’s also on Substack at KatieWritesaLot.

And if you’re wondering, “What’s the ‘Folgers Incest Commercial’?”, here it is (Reddit link).

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

Thanks to our sponsors:

• Podcast →

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Podcast Sponsor

Support for this episode comes from the Heated Rivalry DVD and Blu-Ray release.

The hit series Heated Rivalry: Season 1 is now available on Blu-ray™ and DVD!

Do you need a reminder of what Heated Rivalry was about? Yes you do.

Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two teenagers evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery.

Heated Rivalry is now on DVD & Blu-ray, featuring all six original episodes, and includes bloopers and deleted scenes.

AND! There is a limited-edition Collector’s Edition box set including all six original episodes, exclusive cast & crew interviews, art cards, a mini-poster and more! Picture is below. LOOK AT IT.

Y’all, the Collector’s Edition had to have been designed by someone who knew how to tempt me

personally and specifically because the box looks like a VHS tape, like you’d find at the video rental store. There is even a little sticker that reads “Romance” and “18+” and BE KIND REWIND. Y’all. I cannot.

The Heated Rivalry DVD makes a truly perfect gift for every loon on your list. And until 10 November 2026, you can comment to win a DVD set on our latest Gift Guide!

Happy Heated Rivalry Holiday Season!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Wild Wicked Mate

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Gilmore, comes a brand new small-town romance set in the quirky town of Maple Hollow!

The closer the proximity, the stronger the spark…

Phoebe and Theo have been best friends for years, never anything more, despite the sparks between them. And after ignoring her desire for so long, Fee has become adept at ignoring their connection.

Until now.

Because when Theo invites her on a road trip, Fee can’t say no. But the only thing separating them on their journey is the heated tension in the cab of his truck…

Acting on their attraction might change everything for Fee and Theo, but is it a risk they’re willing to take?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Second Duke’s the Charm

Second Duke’s the Charm by Kate Bateman is $1.99! I’m worried this is one is going to disappear pretty soon. We mentioned this on a previous Hide Your Wallet and have enjoyed Bateman’s historicals in the past. This is book one in the Her Majesty’s Rebels series.

Meet Her Majesty’s Rebels: three brilliant women who run King & Co., London’s most exclusive investigative agency…

The wedding-night death of her much older husband left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford—and still a virgin. Now she and her two best friends investigate London’s most scandalous crimes, and while Tess longs to experience physical pleasure for herself, she can’t risk losing her treasured independence…

Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he’ll do his duty. When the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin sees an obvious solution: a marriage of convenience that will suit them both.

But the passion that sparks between them is anything but convenient. As Tess works on a new case at the request of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behavior makes Justin question her motives—and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can’t be trusted, but Justin doesn’t believe in love, so there’s absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife…is there?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Return to Sender

Return to Sender by Stephanie Parente is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance with a road trip and a grumpy hero. Have any of you read this one?

Opposites attract in this heartwarming debut romance about grief, sisterhood, and finding love when—and where—you least expect it.

“This book will be your shoulder to lean on, your friend to laugh with, the man you can’t help but fall in love with. I was completely swept away by Return to Sender. I read it in one joyous, tear-filled day.”—Cara Bastone, author of Ready or Not

Violet is usually an optimist. But between her father’s sudden death and the overnight responsibility of caring for her rebellious teenage sister, Phoebe, she’s barely holding it together. Then Phoebe discovers a love letter, never delivered and returned to the sisters’ address, begging its recipient to give him another chance. Phoebe seems excited for the first time since their dad died, and Violet will do anything to keep that smile on her face. Together, they set out to find the letter’s author, hoping to rectify a derailed happily-ever-after.

Despite Dex being rather abrasive (valid) and more than a little enigmatic (intriguing?), Phoebe talks him into a cross-country road trip to put the letter in the right hands. Violet is thrilled to see Phoebe thriving again. With every pit stop, they chip away at Dex’s moody exterior, and Violet realizes she might like what lies beneath . . . a lot. But what happens when they finally reach their destination—and Dex’s ex-girlfriend? Is what they’ve discovered on the road strong enough to make it back home?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Who’s That Earl

RECOMMENDED: Who’s That Earl? by Susanna Craig is $4.99! Catherine wrote a Lightning Review for this and gave it a B:

In fact, Who’s That Earl manages the feat of being low-tension and low-conflict while still having plenty of story and heart to keep you reading. If you are looking for something to read that is charming and relaxing and fun and won’t stress you out too much, this is the book for you.

Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night…

After years of spying for the British army, Thomas Sutherland doubts the Highlands will ever feel like home again. Nevertheless, thanks to a quirk of Scottish inheritance law, he’s now the Earl of Magnus, complete with a crumbling castle currently inhabited by a notorious novelist. When the writer turns out to be the woman Thomas once wooed, suspicions rise even as mutual sparks reignite. As danger closes in, can Jane and Thomas overcome their pasts to forge a future together?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Mobster romances are definitely getting their due these days, so I decided to dip my toes into the puddle with Marry Me Not, the second volume in the House of Ferraro series. Tragically, this one put me on a crash-course with an alpha-hole hero who made me want to punch him in the face. No matter how hot the author tried to make him, or how much effort went into trying to make me believe the book’s TSTL heroine had a chance of looking up at a rainy sky without drowning, both main characters left me feeling dismayed, to say the least.

Fabiana Messero is an innocent in every possible way and she’s been intentionally kept that way as her family has been hoping to marry her off into another of the high-ranking mob families in their world. Unfortunately, the man her brother picks for her hates her immediately. Cosimo is rude and cruel, and wants Fabiana to end the engagement. But he also has Pants Feelings for her, oh no.

Cosimo Ferraro is behaving like a jerk all due to one paranoid reason: he thinks his mendacious mommy Vita intentionally orchestrated the match between himself and Fabiana so Vita could control him and thus the family’s earnings. This is why he doesn’t date and doesn’t want women around him. Unfortunately for him, he’s been abstinent for the past three years, so his pants are blazing.

Fabiana isn’t Vita Ferraro’s doormat, and Cosimo ends up needing her when his father, Gino, is murdered, putting him in the position of taking over the Ferraro crime family. He marries Fabiana but tells her it will be a brief, six month affair until everything’s in order and he figures out who murdered Gino, and then he’ll let her go, scott free. Well, you know what they say about wishes and horses…

Marry Me Not is filled with too many unappealing people trying to appeal to me, which makes me want to shut them up mid-sentence. If they were a podcast, I’d skip the ads. If they were a door-to-door salesman, I’d slam the whole thing shut in their faces.

Fabiana is utterly useless as a heroine. She’s too tiny and weak and sweet and young and naive to hold down a regular job; she has not been equipped to do much of anything and naturally Will Not Learn. She’s a “good Italian girl” who is magically a natural at sex.

We’re told again and again she’s not a doormat and has the spine and spirit that Cosimo is looking for in a wife (even though he hates his mother who has these but is Evil) but her character never develops or demonstrates either. Everything I know about her, I was told, not shown.

Cosimo is so paranoid that his mother wants to control him and/or steal the family business that he steals Fabiana’s phone to look through it and ‘catch’ her talking to his mother (which he fails to do). He’s cruel to Fabiana, suggesting at one point that she is such a fuckup that everyone in her family is going to die due to her incompetence. His moods change wildly and he comes off as irrational in the extreme. And I so don’t care that he hasn’t fucked a woman in three years! This is mentioned so many times that it’s almost absurd. That’s not some sign of physical fortitude! Even his dick is throbbing, angry, and short-lasting.

Our hero and heroine are so whiny. The whiniest. Cosimo whines to Fabiana when she turns him down after his attempts at groveling because oh, no, he needs a temporary wife. Do mafia organizations really care that much about broken engagements?

Fabiana whines and rages when Cosimo treats her like crap in his immature and annoying attempts at driving her off. They fight all the time, which is supposed to show passion or a spark or something but does not. The main bond here seems to be sex, because I didn’t credibly believe that Cosimo even liked Fabiana, let alone wanted to stay married to her. He calls her ‘Nettle’ because of her needling, burrowing ways – ways which I again did not pick up at all from her behavior in the story.

The plot makes no sense. Why do they need to be married for six months to impress the mafia?! Is the Mob that into Traditional Family Values that Cosimo has to marry her? They couldn’t just fake the engagement for a little while longer?

And then there’s the murder subplot. The answer is obvious, clearly telegraphed well in advance, and seemed mostly to exist to seed a fourth book.

Marry Me Not could have been an over-the-top fun ride with extreme characters, but instead it’s just a ridiculous, damp squib of a book. The hero is awful and unchanging, the heroine has no depth beyond whining, and the conflicts between them are inane. It deserves to sleep with the fishes.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

Out on a Limb

A hot one-night stand—and an unexpected pregnancy—lead a young woman to someone she can depend on

Winnifred “Win” McNulty has always been wildly independent and not one to be coddled for her limb difference. Win has spent most of her life trying to prove that she can do it all on her own. With some minor adjustments, she’s done just fine.

Hooking up at a costume party with the incredibly charming Bo changes everything. Win finds herself pregnant—and decides to keep the baby. While Bo is surprisingly elated to step up to the plate, Win is unsure of whether she can handle this new challenge.

Together, Win and Bo decide to get to know one another as friends and nothing more while they embark on this parenting journey together. But, as they both should know by now, life rarely goes according to plan.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Lost and Lassoed

Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage is $1.99! This is the third book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series. We mentioned this on Hide Your Wallet. The hero and heroine have a longstanding dislike for one another.

She thrives in chaos. He prefers routine. The only thing they have in common? How much they hate each other. From the author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the highly anticipated next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Teddy Andersen doesn’t have a plan. She’s never needed one before. She’s always been more of a go with the flow type of girl, but for some reason, the flow doesn’t seem to be going her way this time. Her favorite vintage suede jacket has a hole in it, her sewing machine is broken, and her best friend just got engaged. Suddenly, everything feels like it’s starting to change. Teddy’s used to being a leader, but now she feels like she’s getting left behind, wondering if the life she lives in the small town she loves is enough for her anymore.

Gus Ryder has a lot on his plate. He doesn’t know what’s taking care of his family’s 8,000 acre ranch, or parenting his spunky six-year-old daughter, who is staying with him for the summer. Gus has always been the dependable one, but when his workload starts to overwhelm him, he slips up, and he has to admit that he can’t manage everything on his own. He needs help. His little sister’s best friend, the woman he can’t stand, is not who he had in mind. But when no one else can step in, Teddy’s the only option he’s got. Teddy decides to use the summer to try and figure out what she wants out of life. Gus, on the other hand, starts to worry that he’ll never find what he needs. Tempers flare, tension builds, and for the first time ever, Gus and Teddy start to see each other in a different light. As new feelings start to simmer below the surface, they must decide whether or not to act on them. Can they keep things cool? Or will both of them get burned?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Duke at Hazard

The Duke at Hazard by KJ Charles is 99c! This is the second book in the The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series. It came out last year. Shana was excited for this one because of the road trip element.

Don’t miss the second thrilling Regency romance in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by KJ Charles…

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He’s also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he’s been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can’t let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn’t survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying…until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble-and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father’s crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who’s stolen his heart. He doesn’t know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Soulless

RECOMMENDED: Soulless by Gail Carriger is $1.99! This is the first book by the Parasol Protectorate series and for many readers, this book ignited their love for Carriger’s writing. I loved the first book, especially the heroine, but I agree with other reviewers in that there’s a lot of different things going on that conflict with one another.

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire—and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I’m glad so many of you enjoyed Krillion! I hit a score of 360 yesterday, which has been highest so far. I also hope those of you who were interested in the Read Receipts podcast were able to find it and listen.

Time is marching on and we’ve hit November. Only two more months in 2026. I feel like this year has been a bit of a rollercoaster. But to be honest, it’s been a marked improvement to the latter half of 2025 (at least for me personally).

Definitely on the fence though if I’ll be glad to see 2026 in my rearview or not. Also, I hope everyone was able to exercise their civic duty yesterday (whether by visiting a polling place or participating in early voting)!

…

Vogue had an early look at the Dolly Parton Museum opening in Nashville. My favorite part of the exhibits they showed were the photobooth pictures of her and her husband. They both just look so happy.

…

I just learned that Florence + the Machine did a cover of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” It’s on YouTube, but also across other music streaming platforms.

…

Author Rainbow Rowell has revealed that she has written under the pseudonym Rebecca Morrow. Morrow is the author of Corinne, a work of literary fiction that falls very close to her own experiences.

…

Thriller writers were asked about what’s the most disturbing thing in their search history right now.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aletheia Preston (@aletheiapreston)

…

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!

One gift guide? PSHAW WE SAY.

We’ll be posting weekly collections of gift ideas until Christmas week, so come back every Wednesday for shopping with Smart Bitches! If you’ve got ideas for our gift guides, there’s a whole post for you to share your suggestions so I can highlight them in future collections.

This week: all the Heated Rivalry ideas you could ask for – and a giveaway for a DVD set!

Take a look:

Want to see? Just click that image above or click right here, and come shop with us!

Remember, if you have requests for your holiday shopping, please let us know! 

And if you’d like to browse some more, we have a complete Stuff We Like archive, including past Gift Guides and other posts of our favorite items.

A Rivalry of Hearts

Two rival writers.
One prestigious publishing contract.
A bargain of hearts and desire.

They say never bargain with the fae. They also say don’t get drunk on fae wine. Yet romance author Edwina Danforth has managed a blunder with both on her first visit to the infamous faelands. Now she’s trapped in a magic-fueled bet she barely remembers with a man she’d be happier to forget. The terms? Whoever can bed the most lovers during their month-long dueling book tour wins a coveted publishing contract.

The win should be easy for Edwina. She’s known for penning scintillating tales of whirlwind romance. There’s just one problem: her imagination vastly exceeds her bedroom experience. But when failure means plummeting her career back into obscurity, losing isn’t an option.

Her handsome fae rival, William Haywood, poses an even greater challenge. Not only are his looks as aggravatingly perfect as his track record behind closed doors, but he has his own reasons for playing to win, and he won’t go down without a fight. Unless, of course, it’s a different kind of going down. In that case, he’s fair game.

Edwina and William clash in a rivalry of romance. But what happens when their objects of desire…turn out to be each other?

A Rivalry of Hearts is a spicy standalone adult fantasy romcom in the Fae Flings and Corset Strings series. Every book in this interconnected series is a complete story and ends with a HEA. If you like academic rivals, enemies to lovers, and quirky heroines, then you’ll love this sizzling tale.

The Fae Flings and Corset Strings series is set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy and Entangled with Fae. Journey back to this beloved fae world or fall in love for the first time.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Happy Ending

Happy Ending by Chloe Liese is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance. I thought this one was just okay and a bit slow for my liking. You mileage may vary.

From USA TODAY bestselling author Chloe Liese, a clever and heartwarming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes.

Thea and Alex have three things in common—they love food, they hate where they live, and they’re both divorced. Otherwise, they couldn’t be more different.

Thea’s never cooked a day in her life. Alex is a world-class chef. Alex resents feeling stuck in his hometown. Thea resents the town for not feeling more like home. Thea and her ex are in a contentious custody battle for their dog. Alex and his ex amicably coparent their daughter. Beyond a few friends in common, a couple small-world connections (welcome to life in a mid-size city), their lives look nothing alike. Fast forward two years, and they’re truly the best of friends. No one would ever know their friendship began as a lie…

Two years ago, their exes got together immediately following their divorces, and somehow, Thea and Alex found themselves spinning a spite-fueled story about being old friends and first loves. Two years later, what began as a ruse has grown into real friendship—just friendship, despite what friends and family seem to think. But when their exes invite them on a two-week, “two family” beach vacation—daughter and dog included—Alex and Thea start to wonder if this story they’ve spun might have gotten away from them, and if it’s led them to the last place they ever thought it a happy ending.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

We Who Will Die

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark is $2.99! This is book one in the Empire of Blood series. I’m pretty sure I mentioned this on Hide Your Wallet. I have a physical copy in my “maternity leave” stack.

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.

Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.

She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.

With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.

To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Mission: Improper

Mission: Improper by Bec McMaster is 99c!! This is book one in the The Blue Blood Conspiracy series, which is a spin off of McMaster’s London Steampunk series. While not completely necessary, reviewers say that readers might understand the nuances of the romance and setting more if they’ve read the London Steampunk series. Other books in this spin-off series are on sale.

Three years ago, London society changed forever, with a revolution placing the widowed Queen firmly on the throne her blue blood husband tried to take from her. Humans, verwulfen and mechs are no longer considered the lesser classes, but not everybody is happy with the new order…

Entire families have gone missing in the East End. When Caleb Byrnes receives an invitation to join the Company of Rogues as an undercover agent pledged to protect the crown, he jumps at the chance to find out who, or what, is behind the disappearances. Hunting criminals is what the darkly driven blue blood does best, and though he prefers to work alone, the opportunity is too good to resist.

The problem? He’s partnered with Ingrid Miller, the fiery and passionate verwulfen woman who won a private bet against him a year ago. Byrnes has a score to settle, but one stolen kiss and suddenly the killer is not the only thing Byrnes is interested in hunting.

Soon they’re chasing whispered rumours of a secret project gone wrong, and a monster that just might be more dangerous than either of them combined. The only way to find out more is to go undercover among the blue blood elite… But when their hunt uncovers a mysterious conspiracy, Byrnes and Ingrid must set aside their age-old rivalry if they have any chance at surviving a treacherous plot.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This HaBO is a bit weird because I thought I had read The Love Hypothesis until I saw the trailer and realised that it couldn’t be the book I read because one of the members of the couple is Asian and neither of those actors are.

The books are clearly pretty similar though and that has I think really stopped me from finding the right book. I don’t own The Love Hypothesis and never marked it as read on Goodreads.

My memory of this one is there is a scientist or PhD researcher working in a lab setting, but I don’t know what kind of science. She is very tall and I am pretty sure she is half East Asian (I think Japanese but really could not be certain). She has a romance with a more senior male scientist. I cannot remember if he is her direct supervisor or not, but she is definitely impressed by his scientific background. I actually can’t remember the trope of how they get together or if it is spicy or slow burn. H

e’s definitely described as very handsome while she feels awkward and is a little nerdgirlcore. I read this before the big Ali Hazelwood Love Hypothesis buzz a few years ago because when I saw that book get buzz I immediately thought I had read it but confused it with this particular book, so this book is either a little older or has been out the same amount of time. It is not a particularly old book though. There is a small possibility that the hero is part Asian, but to be honest I am pretty sure it was the heroine.

Does this ring any bells?

…

The New York Times has terminated their contract with author Olivia Waite, their romance columnist, after she reposted Mark Jacob’s repost of Marisa Kabas’ criticism of the Times’ coverage of new rape allegations about Trump.

That is a sentence I didn’t think I’d type today. Or ever.

To get the full picture, we need to start with the recent House Judiciary Democrats’ report that included new allegations of rape against Trump.

No, really.

Last week, independent journalist Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket) shared that she emailed Patrick Healy, the assistant managing editor for standards and trust at The New York Times, “to ask why their story about a House report with new details of rape allegations against the President of the United States included neither those details, nor a single use of the word ‘rape.’”

Kabas later shared Healy’s reply, which attracted substantial attention from the 440+ people who reposted it alongside the 2.3k people who liked it.

Journalist Mark Jacob, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune and author of the Stop the Presses newsletter about right-wing extremism in America, reposted a part of Kabas’ thread with commentary, which Olivia then reposted on her feed.

Jacob wrote, “NY Times assistant managing editor Patrick Healy gives an unacceptable answer when Marisa Kabas asks him why the NYT’s Epstein story this week omitted a new rape accusation against Trump. Healy admits the accuser’s past allegations on Trump were deemed credible enough for the Times to print them.”

Then came an email from Tina Jordan, editor of the Book Review, saying that Olivia’s clear sentiments about the Times mean that the paper is no longer a good fit for her column.

Like Olivia, I have also written about romance for The New York Times. I have a framed Times article on my wall from 2007 and clippings of the articles and book round ups I’ve written. But even more exciting and impactful was that the NYT covered romance at all. A column just about romance? In the New York Times?!

If you’d told me that 20 years ago, I’d have snortlaughed myself into a sinus infection. It has been a LONG road to mainstream coverage, let alone respect.  When they brought Olivia on as the romance columnist, I was genuinely excited for all of us.

But it’s shocking, appalling, and outrageous to see them dismiss a fiction columnist for sharing someone else’s post criticizing coverage of rape allegations against Trump.

This news is one spinning leaf in the tornado of nonstop mayhem this week, but wow, WOW, is it infuriating.

My first question was whether there were clear guidelines for social media for what the Times calls Nonjournalist Contributors. Their editorial standards for ethical journalism outline some requirements for Nonjournalist Contributors, but social media policies are not mentioned that I can see. So why was this the route chosen?

I think what makes me the most angry is the pretense that the Times is trying at all times to appear objective and neutral.

Codswallop. Objective fucking where? The Times’ coverage is often so slanted it could provide shade after sunset.

To quote writer David Singleton, who commented in a Times Insider chat (like an AMA) with Patrick Healy on 2 November:

“…the vibes are quite clear, given the bent of your coverage of the Alaska race, your ignoring the latest allegations against the sitting POTUS, and your paper’s overall treatment of transgender individuals.”

And with the lack of a public editor (the position was eliminated in 2017), there is little visible accountability for the Times’ decisions.

Olivia issued this statement to me (emphases are mine):

Last Thursday on Bluesky I reposted two of Marisa Kabas’ criticisms of the NYT’s coverage of the new rape allegations against the president. On Friday the Times declined to continue my contract as a fiction columnist, via a one-paragraph email praising the quality of my work but citing my presumably negative feelings about the NYT as inferred from my Bluesky posts, which they admitted they have been monitoring.

As a romance novelist and critic, I must professionally insist on the distinction between feelings and critique.

Romance writers often have to discuss sex and rape in professional contexts. The genre is fundamentally a decades-long conversation about how sexual consent is negotiated in a world where power is unequally accessed. These conversations are often fraught, and demand nuance. From vintage bodice-rippers to queer couples in historical eras to modern dark romance and romantasy, an author learns how to engage with scenes of physical intimacy and even sexual violence with a certain amount of detachment.

The detachment is only tenable so long as the violence remains fictional.

We should not be similarly detached when discussing real-life rape. This is not a subject on which even the most platonically objective journalist should aspire to neutrality. “Rape is a serious crime” is a factual statement.

One which the NYT avoided making: one of Kabas’s other statements, which I did not repost, pointed out the paper had not actually used the word “rape” when discussing the new House report alleging that a sitting president committed a crime of the most direct and selfish kind.

On the eve of a national midterm election, the Times reached all the way over to the Book Review and parted ways with a writer in the genre that most often presents rape scenes from the perspective of the victim, in stories that insistently end with the victim triumphant, beloved, and happy.

And it appears that the paper’s ideal of journalistic objectivity and nonpartisan stance consists of not naming rape allegations as such when they apply to a sitting president, on the eve of a national midterm election.

The email demurs that they would never ask me to censor myself on social media — but it’s hard not to view being let go so abruptly as retaliation for one of the most minor modern forms of speaking out.

They contracted me as a critic, and critical I remain. It’s true that nobody is owed a column or a platform for their opinions, no matter how expert. The gig came to me at someone else’s whim, and I always knew it would depart in the same sudden way. There is always mourning when an era comes to an end, but although I’m on the brutal peaks-and-valleys roller coaster of grief at the moment, I have no regrets.

When I asked what Olivia would like to happen, her reply was, as she put it, aspirational rather than pragmatic:

I want institutions to be at least as accountable as the people who work for them.

I want consequences to be proportional, and not just for romance writers.

And I want the safety and bodily autonomy of other people to always be a higher value than emotional detachment and objectivity. The value of being neutral depends entirely on what you’re staying neutral about.

The safety and dignity of human beings is what we cultivate journalistic objectivity for — it has no intrinsic value outside the ethical framework.

Happy Tuesday!

It’s the first week of November and the month is really packed with releases. Lots of sci-fi and fantasy, but there are a couple contemporary romance releases as well.

What new books are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!

A Glimmer of Death

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Released: November 3, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Series: Merry Gentry #10

New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton returns for the first in a two-book epic conclusion to her genre-defining Merry Gentry Series.

I am Meredith Gentry. Princess of the realm of faerie, private investigator in the mortal land of Los Angeles, mother of triplets, and lover to my men—the royal guards sworn to protect me. With a family and a court to support back home, I can’t say no to a job investigating a string of magical attacks against up-and-coming Hollywood actresses. Not when the case raises old nightmares from my own past. This time when I find out who is responsible for all this pain, I can make him pay.

But affairs in the land of faerie keep interrupting my hunt. Aisling is supposed to be the next king of the Seelie Court, but he is doubly cursed once by beauty and once by despair. If we cannot cure him my uncle Taranis, former King of Light and Illusion, may regain the throne. If he does he will destroy me and everyone I care about. Only true love will cure Aisling of his curse but is my love true enough? If not, I will share his fate and lose myself to the haunted magic that torments him.

While we fight for one kingdom of faerie, my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, claims my deceased best friend, Keelin, has turned up alive and well along with a child supposedly sired by her dead son. If this baby is the true child of my former rival to the Unseelie throne, my enemies might use it to take the throne from me. Mysterious fey babies, curses both ancient and new are shaking the delicate balance of the faerie courts, and I am still hunting a monster terrorizing the women of Los Angeles.

The penultimate book in the Merry Gentry series. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Defy the Dusk

Author: Danielle Jensen
Released: November 3, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance
Series: The Sundering Duet #1

When darkness means certain death and survival depends on reaching the dawn, the woman whose magic broke the world will carve another path: defy the dusk. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom comes the first book in a gritty post-apocalyptic fantasy duology.

In the Sundered world, there are two options: Ride the dawn, or face what rises in the night.

Twenty years ago, Lirien’s magic fractured the world and unleashed nocturnal creatures that brought civilization to its knees. Amidst the carnage came salvation: The most powerful survivors were invited to board Dawnrider, a high-speed rig that would deliver those aboard into a new era.

The rest of humanity was left to die.

Instead, a king rose from the darkness to lead them.

In the years since, Lirien has dedicated her magic to Dawnrider while secretly plotting to overthrow the tyrant who rules the rig with an iron fist. But just as Lirien is ready to strike against him, she is violently abducted by Vox—the king of the feralists.

The mercurial Vox gives her two choices: Fight the creatures that hunt the night or be fed to them. Lirien agrees to join his ranks, but embarks on a strategy of seduction that will return her to Dawnrider.

Yet as Vox pushes the limits of her magic, Lirien begins to question whether defying the dusk is the true path to salvation. Intoxicated by both Vox and his war against the night, Lirien must decide where her loyalties truly lie—and how far she’s willing to go for redemption.

Jensen has a new duology coming out with a very good cover. (My boobs could never.)

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Drown the Bones

Author: Alexandra Kennington
Released: November 3, 2026 by Berkley XO
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, LGBTQIA, New Adult, Romance

The spare heir must work with an enemy prince to discover who murdered her twin in this gripping slow-burn romantasy.

As the younger twin, Merridan has never minded being the “spare” to the Rothian royal throne. She knows her brother, Von, will be an excellent king, and she’d rather devote her time to the Goddess, faithfully using her magic to send deceased spirits from the holy lake to the Afterworld.

When the unthinkable happens and her brother is murdered, she is certain their rival kingdom, Nova, is to blame. After all, they worship a false deity and use their magic to toy with necromancy. But when the Goddess halts the investigation of Von’s death, Merridan takes matters into her own hands, using a forbidden Novian ritual to speak to her brother’s ghost.

The last thing Merridan expects is to raise the wrong ghost. Now she’s bound to Phoenix Darragon, the arrogant crown prince of Nova—who was murdered the same night as Von. The prince makes Merridan a deal: if she takes his spirit to Nova to be resurrected, he will help her find her brother’s killer.

But uncovering the truth about the murderer means discovering Phoenix’s secrets, too. As the attraction between Merridan and the prince becomes undeniable and the threat of war builds, she must decide whether finding the truth is worth its cost if it means her beloved relationship with the Goddess is changed forever.

Amanda: I’m primarily motivated by this really cool cover.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

My Neighbor the Assassin

Author: Michelle Heard
Released: November 3, 2026 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

From USA Today bestselling author Michelle Heard comes a scorching yet deadly romance about a waitress who falls for a mysterious coworker—only to discover his lethal past.

I thought Rowan was just the quiet bartender who watched me too closely and made me feel things I shouldn’t.

Then his past catches up to him, and I’m in for a rude awakening.

One minute I’m living my normal life, and the next, I’m on a trip across the country with a man trained to kill without hesitation.

A retired assassin. Possessive, violent, and deadly enough to leave a trail of bodies behind us.

Every mile between us and the men hunting him drags me deeper into Rowan’s terrifying world, where violence means survival and bloodshed comes way too easy.

I keep looking for redeeming qualities in him but quickly realize there are none, and there’s no escaping a man like Rowan Teller.

Not even if I wanted to.

Elyse: I’m getting John Wick vibes. It’s on KU which is always a bonus.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Monsters of Ohio

Author: John Scalzi
Released: November 3, 2026 by Tor Books
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Monsters of Ohio is a heartfelt exploration of a tentacular solution to the struggles of the modern world from the New York Times bestselling author of Starter Villain

Welcome to Richland, Ohio. Things aren’t great.

The town’s biggest employer is closing shop, and Richland’s on the brink. It’s where Mike Boyd, with his own set of problems, finds himself returning to after decades away.

He’s not planning to stay.

But Richland has other plans for Mike, his old friend Dave, and a newcomer Andi. They’re caught in a swirl of local troubles, private equity, executive theft… and something extremely weird involving Jeremy Keller’s prize cow.

Welcome to Richland. Leave your expectations behind. Bring a tarp.

Many of you have enjoyed Scalzi’s books!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

One for Each Night

Author: Dahlia Adler
Released: November 3, 2026 by Dahlia Adler
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella, Romance

From USA Today bestselling author Dahlia Adler comes a sweet holiday rom-com novella, set in the same swoony universe as Soon By You.

Liana Radinsky’s family Chanukah party hasn’t historically been her favorite tradition, but when one of her cousins drags along his surprisingly cute coworker, Gideon Levy, Liana feels she’s been handed a holiday miracle. She should ask him out, but as the lights go down that first night, her nerves simply won’t allow it. .

Thankfully, Gideon gives her the perfect pretext for a subtle invitation to see him again—he’s new to observing Judaism, and what better way to bring him into the fold than by showing him all the best things about Chanukah? Enter seven more nights of chaotic and creative events from a spontaneous party of drunken dreidel games to candle lighting by Zoom with Gideon’s mom. But it’s all worth it in the pursuit of romance… if only she could be sure he wanted it too…

Eight nights. Eight chances to prove they’re meant to be.

Good thing Chanukah’s all about winning uphill battles!

Dahlia has a Hanukkah novella out today!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Sunflower Season

Author: Danica Nava
Released: November 3, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

Fed up and burnt out, a woman leaves the city to take on the challenge of owning a sunflower farm but finds that her biggest trial is facing her first love in this charming second chance romance by USA Today bestselling author Danica Nava.

Drained by her high-pressure tech job, June Walker finds an escape in homesteading videos and the fantasy of a quieter life. When she finally hits her breaking point, she does the only reasonable she quits her job and buys a crumbling sunflower farm in rural Oklahoma where she grew up.

June thought her biggest challenge in restoring Sunshine Farm would be the rotting fences, but soon comes to the crushing realization that “positive vibes” are not a business plan. Nothing, however, tests her resolve quite like running into her first love, the boy she left behind after her world imploded when she was seventeen. She’s back for a fresh start, not to unpack old heartbreaks.

Noah Abbott never left Love County. Between his family, his job with the local fire brigade, and a town that knows him inside and out, he has everything he needs—except answers. So when June Walker returns as the new owner of Sunshine Farm, Noah is determined to find out why the girl who once meant everything to him vanished without a word.

As old wounds crack open and attraction flares back to life, June and Noah are forced to reckon with their past and decide whether first love is a memory best left buried, or the one thing worth replanting.

Scratch your small town romance itch with this new release from Danica Nava.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Do you have a shop, business, storefront, favorite thing that you think would be a good fit for the Smart Bitches weekly gift guide? 

Have you bought yourself something super cute and useful that you want to tell people about? 

Got bookish accessories that all your friends covet?

I want to hear all about your faves, please!

We’re kicking off in November and I would LOVE to hear from you.

Our weekly holiday gift guides are a LOT of fun, and I would love to know what you’d recommend, or what storefront you think I should feature.

It doesn’t have to be book-related, either. We feature a variety of items in our Holiday Gift Guides, from crafty stuff to pets to sparkly things to gifts for readers.

So please leave a comment with a link or suggestions, or email me!

Spectred Isle

Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense…except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.

Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there’s something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Library of Botanical Witchcraft

The Library of Botanical Witchcraft by Jasmine Wigham is 99c at most vendors! This is a cozy fantasy romance and it appears to be a standalone. The romance is between a witch and a librarian.

A plant-loving librarian and a standoffish witch team up to cure a botanical curse in this whimsical and charming fantasy perfect for fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and The Spellshop.

The Evergreen Conservatoire of Botanical Witchcraft is off limits to anyone without magical gifts.

But Thalia Sylvestre has just landed herself a prestigious job as an assistant in Evergreen’s library, granting her rare access to this unique repository of botanical witchlore.

It’s Thalia’s perfect to be surrounded by gilded tomes of magic and enchanted plants with minds of their own. Most importantly, it gives her the resources she needs to research, in secret, a cure for the curse that afflicts her twin sister Hebe.

If only the place wasn’t teeming with troublesome witches. Witches like August Hawthorne, a post-graduate student from a distinguished line of magical botanists. August is standoffish and clearly disdainful of Thalia. But his research could be the key to helping Hebe – if Thalia can stop acting so flustered around him for long enough to find out.

As Thalia and August grow closer, time is running out for Hebe. But within Evergreen are secrets yet to be unearthed . . .

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Bears Behaving Badly

Bears Behaving Badly by MaryJanice Davidson is $99c! This is the first in a series. I liked the social worker aspect of this one, but I fully admit that Davidson’s over the top, somewhat goofy tone doesn’t really work for me. Are you a fan?

These social worker bear shifters give the term “mama bear” a whole new meaning! Bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson is back with this brand-new paranormal romance series featuring a foster care system for at-risk shifter babies and teens.

Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. When a selectively mute and freakishly strong teen werewolf is put in her custody, Annette has to uncover the young girl’s secrets if she’s to have any hopes of helping her. And not even the growling of a scruffy private investigator can distract her from her mission…

Bear shifter David Auberon appreciates Annette’s work with at-risk teen shifters, but he’s not sure if her latest charge is so much a vulnerable teen as a predator who should be locked up. All that changes when he, Annette, and her motley band of juveniles find themselves dodging multiple murder attempts and uncovering a trafficking cartel that doesn’t just threaten the kids, but risks discovery of the shifters by the wider world of homo sapiens.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Last Light

Last Light by Claire Kent is $2.49 on Amazon! This a post-apocalyptic, road trip romance, and it’s been recommend previously in a couple Rec Leagues on post-apocalyptic romances.

It only took four years for the world to fall apart.

Now the last member of my family has died, and I’m forced to travel across what’s left of three states to find the only people I know left alive. To survive, I’ll have to salvage food and supplies and try to avoid violent men who’ve learned they can take what they want by force. The only way I’m going to make it is by trusting Travis.

Travis used to fix my car, and now he’s all I have left in the world. He’s gruff and stoic and unfriendly, and I don’t really know or like him. But he’s all I have left. He’ll keep me safe. We’ll take care of each other. Until we reach what’s left of our town and can finally let go of one another.

Last Light is a standalone post-apocalyptic romance set in the near future after a global catastrophe.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

When A Court of Thorns and Roses first came out, I read it, enjoyed it, and didn’t think much else about it. This was back when it was marketed as YA and before social media exploded the Maas-verse.

This year, I was adapting to a new chronic illness diagnosis and treatment protocol, and struggling with burnout partially caused by that illness, plus working and helping with care for a loved one with dementia. I took my ass to lay on the beach for a week and I inhaled the ACOTAR series in that time.

I am not a mega fan of this series but I do really enjoy it.

Is the writing the best? No. Not with watery bowels all the damn time and the main love interests switching in book two.

Is it fun? Yes.

What I think I really enjoyed about the series wasn’t necessarily the romances or the world-building. It was that Maas has the ability to create an ensemble cast of characters that feel real and drops the reader in the middle of them in a way that feels like you’re part of these friendships. Her secondary characters don’t feel like secondary characters but like people you know and care about and want to spend time with.

Which is all to say I downloaded A Court of Splintered Harmony.

These are my non-spoilery thoughts:

This book doesn’t feel like a complete novel, which the author explains in the forward. She wrote a really huge story intended as one arc but had to break it up because it was too large to physically print. It feels like the first third of a book – which makes sense because that’s exactly what it is.

I think some readers will be annoyed by that and will want the entire thing before they start reading, while others will be fine with this book acting as sort of a prelude.

The conflict in this book centers around another big bad rising and the Inner Circle are the only ones in Prythian who understand the danger and are willing to rise to the challenge…again. Also some of the Fae might enslave humans again and everyone else is basically too tired to care.

The fact that this group is the only one in all the courts who sees the immorality and injustice of what is brewing and is speaking up is both exhausting and also super relevant to our current moment. The real Big Bad here feels like apathy and honestly, I’m tired of it in real life so I didn’t really want to read about it here.

That said I’m also missing ⅔ of the plot so the bleakness might be forced perspective.

Overall it was okay but I should have waited for the entire story to be published before I started reading.

Now for my spoilery thoughts:

Many spoilers!

Proceed with caution!!!

Mega spoilers here!!!!

So overall I didn’t rate this book very high because it didn’t feel like a book to me. It’s setting up some interesting things but it cut off too soon for me to really engage.

I suspect if I’d read it as one story (which to be fair was how it was written) I would have enjoyed it. I’m going to finish the series, but I would advise fans who are cool with waiting to read this as one whole unit not by itself.

If you’d like to discuss spoilery details in the comments, please use our SPOILER code, explained here in our FAQ, or follow these directions:

To hide a portion of a comment behind a spoiler tag, copy/paste the following but without the asterisks. And use only lower case inside the brackets!

[*spoiler*]

Text you wanna hide goes here, please.

[*/spoiler*]

A solid low-spice Regency with a faith-based backing, Pride and Practicality examines the pressure of societal prejudice, the weight of the past, and the hope that goodness will find and protect us. It has a few bumps along the way, but overall it’s an intelligent and beautiful experience.

Rector Thomas Bridges is not one for stuffy ballrooms; his heart is more concerned with lofty matters. But his mother wants him to settle down and get married already, and his parishioners expect him to do the same, so he endures the matchmaking of both parties. When he bumps into and then kisses a lovely but mysterious woman at a ball, his whole life changes.

Eight months pass by before he sees Arianna Reeves again. By this time, she has been branded a fallen woman thanks to being absconded, assaulted, and then abandoned by a young curate. She is understandably embittered against men of the cloth, so Thomas already has a strike against him.

No one knows that she’s a rich heiress thanks to a bequest from a late benefactress. Shunned by the town of St. Greaves, she lives on the outskirts of the social whirl, trying to get back into the good graces of her remaining living family. When her brother Simon miraculously finds someone willing to overlook the family scandal and accept his hand in marriage, she despairs of ever being treated as more than a pariah and an ornament.

Thomas is determined to feed, clothe and educate the working poor of St. Greaves: he wants to build a boarding school for the orphaned children, in particular, so they can escape the horrors of poverty. Thomas needs a benefactor to do this, and Arianna agrees to anonymously fund the project so he and the church won’t be embroiled in her checkered past. But someone who knows Arianna’s scandal intimately decides to make trouble, forcing Thomas to choose between surface respectability and true Christianity.

Pride and Practicality has a number of wonderful things going for it. Arianna has suffered much and must learn that martyring herself for her sins over and over again doesn’t dig a path forward. Thomas is genuinely brave and self-sacrificing and believes in charity and good works, but draws the line when it comes to other people forcing his happiness to bend to their will.

And in the middle they meet in a reluctant, hopeful romance. Neither of them are entirely sure it could ever work out due to Arianna’s scandal and Thomas’ profession, but they are devoted nonetheless to the principles of forgiveness and seeing the good in each other as they care for the children who need them the most. There are some lovely scenes that spring up from those moments, and beyond the children there are Arianna’s lovely sisters and stalwart brother, plus Thomas’ busybody mother to love. The book does a great job using its character’s faith to differentiate between acting out of misguided belief in ones’ religion and actually acting out the true principles of their beliefs.

The ending was disappointing because in the last quarter, and I’m being vague deliberately, Arianna chooses again to run away from her problems instead of facing them. I was surprised by her choices, especially after so much development in her strength and her character, and felt they undermined the happy ending.

Overall this is a lovely Christian historical romance that appealed to me deeply.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

We’ve reached November, but I’m still going to sneak in some spooky reading suggestions. This time, we have an anthology, some nonfiction, and a witchy romance.

Have any recs to share? Leave them in the comments!

A Witch’s Entanglement

What an atmospheric cover! If you’re looking for a unique witchy romance that taps into a sense of place, check this one out.

It’s early fall, 1975. The war is over, ABBA recently released their spectacular third studio album, and Gretchen Marigold is having the time of her life.

Making her way lovingly through the wanna-be witches who live alongside real magic users in her coven, Gretch is leaving a trail of broken hearts but satisfied lovers in her wake. Her life in the small town of Starbridge, Massachusetts is fun, carefree, and enchantingly delicious.

Across town, rushing to a lecture on the Religions of Precolonial Mexico, Jace’s life is the opposite of carefree. Though she too is a witch, and a far more powerful one at that, she’s less than two semesters away from finishing her PhD at Wellesley College, and her schedule is jam-packed. As a black woman in academia, she has to work twice as hard for half the credit. As an ambitious woman with goals of helping others like her gain access to a quality education, Jace works three times as hard.

When these two very different witches meet, their opposing viewpoints and attitudes towards magic proves eruptive. In more ways than one.

But just as their unrelenting attraction towards each other begins to blossom into something deeper, a charismatic and thoughtful visitor comes to town and everything changes.

Is the passion between Jace and Gretchen enough to supersede their differences, or will they be torn apart by the opinions of others and the shadows of their past?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Love Never Dies

Sarah and I have talked about the rise of horror romance and how both horror and romance feel like two sides of the same coin.

A romance editor looks for love where you’d least expect it—and discovers what our favorite horror films can tell us about sex, society, and ourselves

If Sinners and the 1999 cult classic The Mummy taught Emma Cole anything in the year she spent bingeing scary movies, it’s that we love to swoon, sweat, and scream. We seem to crave the uncanny and the transgressive. Emma would know: her day job as a Harlequin book editor revolves around steamy stories that ruffle feathers and rip bodices. In Love Never Dies, she shows how our favorite horror films flirt with familiar tropes and themes to give us romantic subplots that are just as spinetingling.

Cole takes readers behind the scenes of films like Tod Browning’s Dracula and Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes, exploring how and why movies blur the lines of horror and romance.

The books dives into:

– The “Dark Moment” and how it signals an HEA (Happily Ever After)
– Why not having a lover (spoiler alert) saved Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode in Halloween
– Rosemary’s Baby, Interview with the Vampire, and Gothic horror’s comeback
– How romance, especially monster romance, is often a stand-in for uncomfortable truths

From vampires and monsters to slashers and psychological thrillers, Love Never Dies explores the enthralling nature of horror romance films that are full of heart. It’s just that sometimes, those hearts are on the outside.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Something Followed Us Home

Atmospheric horror reading doesn’t have to end just because October is over! 

An instant USA TODAY bestseller! • A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2026 • 2026 International Latino Book Awards Gold Medal Winner for Best Collection of Short Stories—English

“Insightful, humane, and original, Something Followed Us Home features the most exciting voices in dark fiction today and is a must read for any weird/lit/horror fan.” —Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts

Dive into the chilling depths of Latiné horror with this groundbreaking anthology, edited by Bram Stoker Award winner Cynthia Pelayo, where each story reimagines immigration, colonization, faith, and folklore as the fears we inherit and carry across borders and generations.

Something followed us home. It crawled in with our prayers, slipped into our beds, watched from mirrors, waited in water, and learned our names.

Gathering chilling work from some of today’s most acclaimed Latiné voices, this horror anthology moves through haunted households, brutal landscapes, sacred spaces turned dangerous, and bodies claimed by forces both ancient and intimate. The dead murmur behind locked doors. Bones rebuild themselves under merciless suns. Love becomes a doorway for demonic hunger. Blood, devotion, and memory intertwine as the past presses back with teeth.

Something Followed Us Home is an unnerving, visceral, and impossible-to-shake collection that proves that what is carried forward does not remain quiet, and what follows us rarely leaves without taking something in return.

Featuring stories Agustina Bazterrica, Isabel Cañas, Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Zoraida Córdova, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Mariana Enriquez, Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro, Xochitl Gonzalez, Leopoldo Goût, Ananda Lima, Juan Martinez, Mónica Ojeda, Daniel José Older, Cynthia Pelayo, Lilliam Rivera, Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Alex Segura

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Weird Medieval Guys

Pick this one up for its quirkiness and humor, and not for any in-depth medieval history. 

Live, laugh love and die in the Middle Ages with Weird Medieval Guys!

Explore what your medieval life would have been through a choose-your-own-adventure full of quizzes, how-to guides, diagrams and flow charts that takes you from your birth to your gruesome end, revealing your patron saint, the fate of your love life and the trials and tribulations you faced along the way.

Then, discover everything you need to know to survive the natural world, from stripping naked to survive a wolf attack, decoding the signficance of birds visiting your sickbed and brewing love potions all while learning about the magical gemstones found in the heads of toads, horrifying basilisks and saintly hounds – all illustrated with the very best ancient drawings of beasts, birds, fishes and serpents from all four corners of God’s creation, drawn by people who definitely saw these creatures with their very own eyes and lived to tell the tale.

Chock full of hilarious, mad and bad advice for surviving and thriving on the mortal plane, this complete guide to life in the dark ages is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

“No good day had ever started without breakfast. And no bearable one had ever started without a cup of tea” – Not Quite a Witch.

The highest compliment I can pay Not Quite a Witch was that it felt like a wonderful trip into Disney’s Haunted Mansion Ride. It’s giddy, well-written and wonderfully witty. I loved the romance, the worldbuilding and the characters here – it’s one of the best spooky season reads I’ve encountered so far this year.

Yorkshire citizen and recent widow Agnes Brus, Baroness of Skelton, has been accused of being a witch, but the only magic she possesses is the ability to help others through her herbal medicines. Her much-older late husband Richard, Lord Skelton, was lovely and supportive but they did not have a passionate union. Following his death, she plans on working as an apothecary with the faithful assistance of her cat, Bram, serving only the working class. Enter Harold “Harry” Evans, who once worked for Angnes’ husband and has a huge crush on her.

Harry is an accountant who loves moths, and now that Agnes is single he’s raring to offer his hand to her – but he wants to build his own fortune first. He also considers it his duty to make sure Agnes gets her due from her husband’s will — and that might be complicated, because Agnes has been accused of killing her husband via poison. As a result, Richard’s cousin, the new Lord Skelton, only wishes to give her the key to the dower house and an expense account — not at all what Agnes was expecting. Agnes and Harry team up together to find documents that prove Richard’s true intent regarding the estate, with some supernatural help and a little bit of magical interference.

I really, really loved this romance and the way these two communicate. I loved the central mystery as Harry and Agnes hunted for the proof of her inheritance; it’s genuinely twisty and it’s laced with apparitions that may or may not be fake – and dangers that may or may not be real. I especially loved the awkward but sweet romance, which comes about in fits and starts due to Agnes’ personality and Harry’s fear that he’s going to besmirch his best friend’s memory. But neither of them have ever been in real, true love before, and the book captures very well all of the awkward thrilling highs and lows of that chase.

I love Agnes: intensely introverted, intensely devoted to her plants, and strong and smart willed and determined to help others. Harry has his own geeky devotion to his bugs; he’s incredibly awkward in his own way, but also loyal, loving, and sensual when he finally gives in and kisses Agnes.

Sometimes they are their own obstacles, such as when Harry fails to say what he really means thanks to his own awkwardness. He swallows his own foot a lot, and Agnes comes to understand what it is to love a different man who’s not like her reserved first husband. The way they bond over their mutual interests and the discovery that they can really talk about them to each other is such a refreshing change from other romancelandia couples They bond over their mutual interests and the discovery that they can truly discuss said interests together. The novel captures the simple intricacy of getting to know someone who vibrates on a similar frequency: they like each other casually, and then intensely, and THEN passion intervenes to change proper Henry and insular Agnes into heavy-breathing lovers.

I cannot rave enough about the mystery here, which I won’t go into detail about to avoid spoilers. I couldn’t guess who the culprit was, nor whether or not Agnes and Harry had finally encountered the supernatural. Every single element of this book cranks on all cylinders and kept me smiling the whole time. What a perfectly fallish treat, with a wonderful romance. Not Quite a Witch is such a fantastic romance, one that’s tender, unpredictable and fun. This is such a charming novel from a talented first-time author.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

Earls Trip

Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie’s childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green.

This…complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising—and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.

Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

An Unexpected Earl

An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington is $1.99! This is book two in the Lords of the Armory series and features a second chance romance.

A sexy new feminist historical romance from award-winning author Anna Harrington.

Brandon Pearce, former brigadier and now the Earl West, is determined to help the girl he once loved save her property and the charity she’s been struggling to build. But he’ll have to deceive her first…

Twelve years ago, Brandon Pearce had to give up the girl he loved, Amelia Howard. Now Amelia is a grown woman with a past she desperately needs to keep hidden in order to save her brother Frederick’s reputation. In an effort to avoid blackmail, Frederick needs to place a list of gentlemen into government positions, and for that, he’ll need an ally in Parliament—Pearce.

Pearce has been investigating Scepter, a criminal group the Armory believes is behind the government appointments. Pearce must pretend that he sides with the blackmailer, even though it means breaking Amelia’s heart. But Pearce is willing to do anything he can for a second chance with her, even when he discovers she’s been keeping secrets of her own.

Get out your smelling salts: This sexy Regency romance features a second-chance romance between a former military commander who stubbornly thinks he knows best and a strong-headed heroine who will fight tooth and nail for those she loves.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

You’re the Earl That I Want

You’re the Earl That I Want by Kelly Bowen is $1.99! This is the third book in the Lords of Worth series, but it can be read as a standalone. Readers seemed to be divided on the heroine. Some loved how confident and intelligent she was, while others felt her personality overshadowed the hero.

THE EARL DOTH PROTEST . . .

For businessman Heath Hextall, inheriting an earldom has been a damnable nuisance. The answer: find a well-bred, biddable woman to keep his life in order and observe the required social niceties. But it’s always been clear that Lady Josephine Somerhall is not that woman. Once a shy slip of a girl, Joss is now brilliant, beautiful chaos in a ball gown.

. . . BUT THE LADY KNOWS BEST

In her heart, Joss has always loved Heath, the one person she’s always been able to count on. That doesn’t mean she wants to marry him though. Without a husband, Joss can do as she pleases—and now, it pleases her to solve the mystery of an encoded file given to Heath by a dying man. It’s put Heath in peril once, and Joss won’t let that happen again. She’ll do what she must to ensure the earl’s safety. And to remind him that what she lacks in convention, she makes up for in passion.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Stone Cold Fox

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Killer Croft is $1.99! This came out a few years ago and I mentioned it on Hide Your Wallet. I’m a sucker for a con artist heroine.

A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country’s wealthiest families.

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.

When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully-loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads, with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be. Like mother, like daughter?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The transcripts for the following episodes are live!

• 742. Writing Recent History with Lea Vale – published October 30, 2026
• 741. RT Rewind: June 2007 Ads & Features – published October 23, 2026

The visual aids for the RT Rewind episode are in the link above. Thanks for your patience, y’all!

This is perfectly logical logic what do you mean.

It’s Halloween Eve! Soon the candy will be either on sale, or in your house, or a little of column and and b!

So, of course, we need a spooky video.

A classic spooky video.

From 2006. 

It’s the KXVO Pumpkin Dance!

Now, this will spoil some of the mystique, but if you’d like to read the backstory, Sean Rameswaram at WNYC has the history.

Friday Videos hope your Halloween is the perfect amount of spooky and silly!

So I want to be clear here that we discuss 9/11 on and off throughout the episode. Both of us witnessed the attacks on New York and the aftermath, so that perspective might be difficult or upsetting to listen to. We don’t get too much into the particulars, but we do discuss what is and what isn’t present in different accounts. Please look after yourself.

You can watch this episode on YouTube!

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Lea Vale at her website, LeaVale.com, and on Instagram @LeaValeAuthor.

Music: purple-planet.com

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

The Once and Future Queen

Outlander-meets-The Princess Bride plus Camelot in a fresh, big-hearted, feminist, timeslip adventure reimagining the epic saga of King Arthur, as told from the perspective of his spunky and surprising queen, Vera – complete with time travel and good running shoes!

Vera always knew she didn’t fit in. When she learns that she is meant to be in another time, she leaps at the chance to embrace a new life in a world of valor, intrigue, and unexpected magic in this bold and romantic retelling of Arthurian legend . . .

22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself.

After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her . .

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

White Silence

White Silence by Jody Taylor is 99c! This is book one in the Elizabeth Cage series from the author of the popular St. Mary’s Chronicles series. If you’ve read both series, how could you compare the two?

The first instalment in the gripping supernatural thriller series from international bestselling author, Jodi Taylor.

‘I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what I am.’

Elizabeth Cage is a child when she discovers that there are things in this world that only she can see. But she doesn’t want to see them and she definitely doesn’t want them to see her.

What is a curse to Elizabeth is a gift to others – a very valuable gift they want to control.

When her husband dies, Elizabeth’s world descends into a nightmare. But as she tries to piece her life back together, she discovers that not everything is as it seems.

Alone in a strange and frightening world, she’s a vulnerable target to forces beyond her control.

And she knows that she can’t trust anyone…

White Silence is a twisty supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This Immortal Heart

This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint is $1.99! This appears to be a standalone fantasy romance between Aphrodite and Ares. Saint does a lot of Greek mythology retellings, but this one has a slightly different cover treatment and communicates more “romance” to me, than fantasy historical fiction.

The epic, captivating tale of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who must reconcile her mind and heart when she is drawn against all odds to Ares, the god of war, from the internationally bestselling author of Ariadne and Hera.

From the moment Aphrodite emerges fully formed from the sea, she is devastatingly beautiful and imbued with ancient power. Driven by passion yet strategic in how she moves through the halls of Olympus and the earthly realm alike, the free-willed goddess wields unparalleled influence over every living being.

When fate brings her face to face with Ares, she bristles at this surly, hot-tempered warrior who’s seemingly her disliked by everyone and devoted to stirring up conflict. Yet these gods are no more immune to the dizzying highs and lows of love and loss than anyone else, and soon, they are irresistibly drawn to one another.

As their love affair spans mortal lifetimes, Aphrodite begins to question the gods’ games and her role in them. But there’s only so much room for fire and passion in Zeus’s kingdom. Before long, she must test her devotion to her own divine purpose—and to a love that can only lead to ruin.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

We Came to Welcome You

We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado is $2.99! I’ve heard good things about Tirado’s books, which toe the lie between horror and psychological thriller.

The Other Black Girl meets Midsommar in this spine-chilling, propulsive psychological adult debut from highly acclaimed author Vincent Tirado, in which a married couple moves into a gated “community” that slowly creeps into a pervasive dread akin to the social horror of Jordan Peele and Lovecraft County—We Came to Welcome You cleverly uses the uncanny to illuminate the cultish, shocking nature of systemic racism.

Where beauty lies, secrets are held…ugly ones.

Sol Reyes has had a rough year. After a series of workplace incidents at her university lab culminates in a plagiarism accusation, Sol is put on probation. Dutiful visits to her homophobic father aren’t helping her mental health, and she finds her nightly glass of wine becoming more of an all-day—and all-bottle—event. Her wife, Alice Song, is far more optimistic. After all, the two finally managed to buy a house in the beautiful, gated community of Maneless Grove.

However, the neighbors are a little too friendly in Sol’s opinion. She has no interest in the pushy Homeowners Association, their bizarrely detailed contract, or their never-ending microaggressions. But Alice simply attributes their pursuit to the community “Invest in a neighborly spirit”…which only serves to irritate Sol more.

Suddenly, a number of strange occurrences—doors and stairs disappearing, roots growing inside the house—cause Sol to wonder if her social paranoia isn’t built on something more sinister. Yet Sol’s fears are dismissed as Alice embraces their new home and becomes increasingly worried instead about Sol’s drinking and manic behavior. When Sol finds a journal in the property from a resident that went missing a few years ago, she realizes why they were able to buy the house so easily…

Through Sol’s razor-sharp tongue and macabre sense of humor, Tirado explores the very real pressures to assimilate with one’s surroundings to “survive,” while also asking the question: Is it survival when you’re no longer your true self? Because in Maneless Grove, either you become a good neighbor—or you die.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

What the Smut? ain’t got an ounce of class, sugar. It was like reading a romance novel written by Dee Reynolds from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it, but some uneven moments — and a ridiculous saccharine ending – kept me from giving it more than a high C. I had a hell of a lot of fun reading it: it’s delightful for what it is and may, at bare minimum, make you laugh.

Salty yet virginal erotica author June Ryan is an anxious flier — even more so when a very handsome man comes and sits beside her on her solo flight to Las Vegas. June finds herself barely coping with the fact that she’s suddenly been seated beside her dream man and tops the moment when her laptop starts playing a graphic porn video two seconds after he sits down. After awkwardly blurting out how good he smells, among other things, she eventually escapes the situation by going to sleep – but naturally their adventure doesn’t stop there.

When June finally dozes, drooling on his shoulder, Adrian Winters is quite relieved. An assassin and hired contract killer who has been targeted by the very people he used to work for, he’s in big trouble. He’s already being stalked and when June is kidnapped under the presumption that she’s his girlfriend, Adrian is told she’ll die if he doesn’t save her. He does not want to deal with this shit, but that’s the story of his life. He rescues June and drags her through the forest, and now she’s a part of his problems.

Bantering all the way, the twosome realize they’re attracted to each other in spite of the fact that June really annoys Adrian — and the fact that they have a whole lot of people running after them.

Let me describe the first ten pages of What the Smut? because humor is subjective.

During a conversation being held in from June’s airplane seat, her best friend Emily fondly calls her ‘cunt nugget’ after recalling how she barfed ‘chunky vomit’ on her during a drunken bender. Then Emily shoots snot all over her phone while she’s face-timing June — double underlining the fact that she’s ill, which is why she can’t come with June on this trip.

Enter the hero a few minutes later, with “big dick energy,” per June. The crazysauce, outrageous tone set up the merry-go-round I was on for the next few hundred pages. The result is a howlingly funny book that doesn’t quite sell me on the romance but most certainly made me laugh.

This is a couple who tries to keep themselves from giving in to their throbbing urges by placing a pillow between them like Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert (she naturally ends up wrapped around him like a boa constrictor). June’s desire for Adrian naturally ends up leaking into her prose, and she’s stuck trying to convince him that it’s okay if they just have sex for a little while. It’s a solid argument in context, I suppose: they could die at any minute because a Russian secret agent might murder them.

June is, to put it simply, bird-brained. She squeaks about how it hurts her hand to throw a punch; she shouts ‘What’s happening!?’ as she prepares to have her first intercourse-based orgasm like she’s in an alien invasion film. She’s goofy and clumsy and trips over things at the best/worst of times. She’s kind of amazing as a creature, like someone who escaped from a Farrelly Brothers film or a sitcom.

Adrian — when he’s not having actual sex with June – feels like he’s dragging his kid sister around the desert as they figure out who’s trying to kill them. He is grizzled and angry and has a dry wit. So it’s all grumpy-and-sunshine.

I did like that June’s anxiety played a small part in the novel, and that Adrian’s mom had it and thus he knew how to deal with her panic attacks. But aside from courtesy and some moments of tenderness, I never sensed that Adrian liked or respected her or that they were really in love with each other. Sure, he wanted to fuck her and fuck her he sure did. And yeah, he didn’t want her to die and went to great lengths to keep that from happening, but that didn’t feel like true love.

There’s mutual tenderness. The sex is great, right from the first time, because we’re in romancelandia here. Her second and third times are in a bathroom stall and a women’s dressing room, by the way. But when the book eventually tries to claim it’s true love in the last quarter, it rings quite hollow. The hornypants sex is earned; the romance is not.

Sometimes a book is so funny, so ridiculous, so over-the-top that I can’t help but enjoy it. It might not be convincing as a romance, but as an action piece, as a character study, and as a comedy, it convinced me to keep reading.

I mean, Adrian’s brother, Theo, declares it sounds like they’re dying when they come and proceeds to embarrass them both during his wedding toast. This cracked me up – but I know that humor isn’t for everyone. If you’re snorting or curious after reading this review, What the Smut? is worth a read, even if you don’t buy its love story.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

This Bone-Us grumpy/sunshine convo brought me back to THE BOOK I imprinted on as a baby romance reader: Too Hot To Handle by Victoria Dahl.

Hero goes into a perfunctory grovel thinking ‘she’s too nice not to forgive me’ and the heroine says, “who the fuck do you think I am?” —it completely flips the dynamic of the book because she’s like, ‘I’m not this way because nothing bad has ever happened to me. being happy and seeing the best in people is a choice and you’re a weak ass little bitch.’

Anyway, perennial rec-please because I’m ALWAYS looking for that.

Amanda: I think this is such an interesting distinction, that the “sunshine” character has adopted this optimism out of like…spite against the horrors around them.

Sarah:  Ok I am not 100% sure this fits but my brain is saying Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl is a good fit.

I know the comments are going to be replete with genius suggestions and I’m going to smack my forehead a lot. I love this character trait.

Watch. There will already be a portmanteau for this character that I didn’t know about. It’ll be like tweedragon or happymad.

Please publish all that because someone will craft the perfect portmanteau and name the perfect title for this question.

Please give us all your suggestions in the comments below!

Dolores Huerta passed away today, 28 October 2026. We are resurfacing this post to celebrate her life. This post was originally published on 8 June 2019. 

…

This month in Kickass Women, we raise a glass to Dolores Huerta, the labor and civil rights leader who became nationally known for her work with the United Farm Workers in the 1960s and who continues to kick ass today. It was Dolores who coined the slogan “Si se puede,” (loosely translated as “Yes we can” or “Yes you can”) a phrase often misattributed to Cesar Chavez and later adopted by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign.

Dolores was born in 1930 in Arizona. She spent most of her childhood in Stockton, California, where her mother raised her to value community activism, education, and hard work. She became an elementary school teacher but quit to focus full time on economic justice when she saw farm workers struggling with low wages, unsafe working and living conditions, and lack of resources:

I couldn’t tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.

Once Dolores discovered community and labor organizing, she had a mission that defined the rest of her life. Dolores is most famous for her work with the United Farm Workers, a group she co-founded along with Cesar Chavez. Originally, she and Cesar founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 in hopes of securing better pay and work conditions in the fields of California. Eventually, they formed the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), a primarily Mexican American group. She led the grape boycott in 1965 along with Filipino workers which eventually led to a collective bargaining agreement between the UFW and grape growers.

Since then, Dolores has been instrumental in fighting for the rights of farm workers through nonviolent activities. She has been arrested multiple times for acts of civil disobedience and in 1988 was beaten so badly by police that she almost died. Her job as an organizer was a calling and nothing induced her to slow down or stop.

In the documentary Dolores, she stated that if she hadn’t been an organizer she might have been a dancer, “but then I discovered that I love people more than dancing.”

My primary source for this post was the documentary Dolores. I highly recommend this documentary, which looks at Dolores’ personal and professional life as well as how her life shaped and was shaped by other women. The documentary talks candidly about the toll Dolores’ work took on her children, and about her often contentious relationship with the male-dominated UFW. The organization, like many others at the time, had women doing the majority of the volunteer work (including Cesar’s wife, Helen), but the leadership roles were held by men. Dolores was the only woman on the board, and she faced sexism both in and out of the union, which did not encourage other women to take visible leadership positions.

I appreciated that the documentary takes time to address the philosophical changes that occur in a lifetime of work. Initially, Dolores and the UFW opposed illegal immigration because they feared that illegal immigrants would undercut efforts to raise wages. Over time, the organization and Dolores herself shifted that position and today Dolores is a supporter of immigrant rights. She credits her friendship with Gloria Steinem and other feminists for helping her change her views on abortion and by encouraging her to challenge sexism within the UFW. In turn, Gloria Steinem credits her friendship with Dolores as instrumental in helping her move towards a more intersectional feminism that addressed the rights of women who are economically disenfranchised (for a good explanation of what intersectional feminism is, see IWDA.com)

Delores took on another area of activism when the UFW decided to fight pesticide use. The publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson increased awareness of the dangers certain pesticides caused to the environment and to the health of consumers. Meanwhile, the UFW became aware that farm workers were being sprayed directly with pesticides This pesticide exposure made farm workers sick and increased birth defects among their children. This prompted Dolores to become active in the environmental justice movement, which addresses the disproportionate toll that environmental problems take on disenfranchised communities.

Today, Dolores, who is in her eighties, is the president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. This foundation helps rural communities organize, with a focus on LGBTQ equality, personal and environmental health, civic engagement, and education and youth. One of her daughters is the CEO and another is the Development Coordinator, and another is the Business Manager. Clearly Dolores’ mission will continue for another generation.

Fabulous Bodies

From Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, comes Fabulous Bodies, a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice.

Fashion influencer by day and grave-robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels—a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon—unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie’s body from the medical examiner’s office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.

Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Devil of Downtown

The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe is $2.99! My main gripe with this series is that the three sisters have an awful, sexist dad. The books kind of overlap in terms of a timeline, so you get to experience the dad in all of his shittiness three times around.

The final novel in Joanna Shupe’s critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beautiful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York’s brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.

Manhattan kingpin.
Brilliant mastermind.
Gentleman gangster.

He’s built a wall around his heart…

Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery’s mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn’t get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene―the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove―Jack may have met his match.

She wears hers on her sleeve…

Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When her mission brings her face-to-face with Jack, she’s shocked to find the man behind the criminal empire is considerably more charming and honorable than many “gentlemen” she knows.

Forming an unlikely alliance, they discover an unexpected desire. And when Justine’s past catches up with them, Jack may be her only hope of survival. Is she ready to make a deal with the devil…?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This Much is True

This Much is True by Vivienne Lorret is $2.99! This is book three in the Liars’ Club historical romance series. I reviewed book one in the series and I think it’d work for someone who doesn’t mind a bit of silliness from a large secondary cast.

USA Today bestselling author Vivienne Lorret returns with the third book in her Liars’ Club series with a sexy and hilarious Regency romance about a thrill-seeking debutante and a highwayman who is more than he seems on the surface…

Althea Hartley has lost her spark. As the youngest daughter of an eccentric family, playwrighting is in her blood. But two failed Seasons have left her disenchanted. In desperate need of inspiration, she takes matters into her own hands by creating a tale of a dashing highwayman. What could possibly go wrong?

But her stories prove to be a little too true for the actual highwayman living beneath the ton’s nose.

Jasper Trueblood, Viscount St. James, needs to put an end to the bewitching Miss Hartley’s incriminating tales. Society can never suspect that he isn’t the clumsy oaf he pretends to be. Or that, under the cover of darkness, he greets scoundrels and lightens their purses. Not too much. Just enough to keep those closest to him safe from his menacing uncle.

Then sparks fly when this unlikely pair meets one perfect night. And while she is eager to unmask him, he is determined to protect his secret identity. But there’s no denying the chemistry that neither of them are able to resist…

The only thing for certain is that Thea needs to guard her heart before the highwayman steals it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

When in Rome

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is $1.99! This is a small town contemporary romance between a pop star and a baker. It’s also the first book in the Rome, Kentucky series.

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her “princess of pop” image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.

When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn’t have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He’s too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room—but only until her car is fixed—then she’s on her own.

Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose—she’s Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can’t help but get close to her. Soon she’ll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she’s been missing, and she’ll help him open his heart to more.

Amelia can’t resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

How are we all feeling? Any exciting Halloween plans or costumes?

For me, I very much plan to stay inside and dig into a bag of candy corn. Yes, I’m one of those people who enjoys candy corn and candy pumpkins. I’ve gone on the record before that I think Easter has the best kinds of candy. Halloween is mostly just taking normal candy and making it “fun size.” I feel like candy corn is one of the few distinct holiday candies we get.

I will also note that pregnancy has been a great way to get out of plans, as someone who loves to bail because past Amanda is always more optimistic about what future Amanda is going to want to do.

…

The adaptation for Brynne Weaver’s Butcher and Blackbird has announced their leads.

…

Reactor Magazine is launching a podcast called Read Receipts. The first episode is out today and it’s titled “Lady Knights & Sword Lesbians.”

…

Lisa Kleypas recently had a book release in Los Angeles. If you weren’t able to make it, some lovely readers on Reddit provided a recap as well as some insights on what’s next for Kleypas.

…

I recently discovered Krillion.io. My partner and I play it every morning and recently got my brother into it. It’s a daily game that asks seven questions. Your goal is to provide the “rarest” answer within 25 seconds. The rarer the answer, the bigger your score. It’s addicting!

…

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!

Fan Service

The truth is stranger than fan fiction in the next sexy paranormal rom-com from the beloved author of The Roommate.

The only place small-town outcast Alex Lawson fits in is the online fan forum she built for The Arcane Files, a long-running werewolf detective show. Her dedication to archiving fictional supernatural lore made her Internet-famous, even if she harbors a secret disdain for the show’s star, Devin Ashwood. (Never meet your heroes—sometimes they turn out to be The Worst.)

Ever since his show went off the air, Devin and his career have spiraled, but waking up naked in the woods outside his LA home with no memory of the night before is a new low. It must have been a coincidence that the once-in-a-century Wolf Blood Moon crested last night. The claws, fangs, and howling are a little more difficult to explain away. Desperate for answers, Devin finds Alex—the closest thing to an expert that exists. If only he could convince her to stop hating his guts long enough to help….

Once he makes her an offer she can’t refuse, these reluctant allies lower their guards trying to wrangle his inner beast. Unfortunately, getting up close and personal quickly comes back to bite them.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Phantasma

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith is 99c! This is book one in the Wicked Games series. I’ve heard good things about this one.

Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen in this spicy dark romantasy where a necromancer needs help from a dangerous phantom to win a deadly competition, only to find their partnership puts her at risk of breaking the game’s most vital rule: don’t fall in love.

When Ophelia and her sister discovers their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia’s sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma—a competition where most contestants don’t make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.

The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win… if her fears don’t overtake her first.

When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn’t trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister’s life on the line, Ophelia can’t afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.

Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Hollow Places

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher is $2.99! I’ve enjoyed Kingfisher’s first horror novel, The Twisted Ones. If you want something spooky but is light on graphic or sexual violence, it’s worth a try.

A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Girl Dinner

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake is $2.99! This one was mentioned on a previous Hide Your Wallet. There are some great blurbs here and it’s been on my TBR pile for a bit.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six , Girl Dinner is a darkly-fun novel about power, lust, and eating your fill, as wealthy moms and sorority girls practice a sinister new wellness trend . . .

Good girls deserve a treat.

Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she’s taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner’s new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane’s clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she’s apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Contemporary Romance – Main characters are longtime friends who pretend to be a couple on a cruise featuring a show/movie fan meet, where the heroine’s favourite actor turns out to be a creep!

I’m not 100% sure if all these scenes belong to the same book, but I have a pretty strong hunch that they do. So, here goes!

Here’s what I remember:

In the initial chapters, the heroine has either gone through a breakup or something has happened with her boyfriend. I’m not entirely sure about this part.

She has a female best friend whom she calls and talks to about the situation. The heroine has a cruise ticket for two, which I think she was originally supposed to use with her boyfriend. After whatever happened between them, she doesn’t want to go anymore.

Her best friend tells her that she shouldn’t waste the tickets just because of him and encourages her to go anyway. The heroine asks if her friend will come with her, but the friend can’t make it.

So, the heroine calls or texts her male best friend (the hero). They’ve apparently been friends for a long time. She tells him about the breakup, and he asks if he should come over.

For some reason I remember a scene where the heroin realizes she’s hungry but has nothing to eat at home. When the hero comes over, he brings food without her even asking! It’s apparently their usual takeout order, and they sit down and eat together.

While they’re eating, the heroine comes up with the idea of taking him on the cruise instead. It’s a very impulsive, last-minute decision!

They go on the cruise, and at some point, a staff member or attendee mistakes them for a couple. I think they initially try to correct the misunderstanding, but eventually, they just go along with it and pretend to be a couple.

The cruise has some kind of cast reunion or fan event for a TV show. The heroine is a fan of one of the actors, and she gets to meet him. They talk, and he asks her to have dinner with him that evening.

However, the actor turns out to be kind of creepy, and the hero isn’t happy about her going to dinner with him. I vaguely remember them having a conversation where the hero asks if she’s really going to go, and she says yes, almost like “Why wouldn’t I?”

The hero then spends the evening wallowing in his room, clearly not wanting her to go on that date. But the heroine gets a weird feeling during the dinner, realizes something is off, and comes back to her room pretty quickly.

And that’s pretty much all I’ve got!

I’m almost certain I haven’t finished reading this book because I don’t remember anything beyond these scenes. That’s probably why I can’t find it anywhere on my read list.

Let’s HaBO!

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!

We’re approaching the end of the month. I can hardly believe it. Lots of holiday romances are popping up, if that happens to be a subgenre you love.

What books are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

A Cinderella Christmas

Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Released: October 27, 2026 by Kensington Books
Genre: Historical: European, Romance

Three reigning legendary queens of Regency Romance deck the halls with this delightful collection of three sparkling novellas, set against the tinsel and mistletoe of a magical Christmas season.

THE MISTLETOE MAIDEN * Sabrina Jeffries
Once arrogant and aloof, Lord Noel Davenport is determined to help childhood friend Eve Archer restore her family’s fortune. Queen Charlotte’s upcoming charity Christmas embroidery contest is the perfect place for Eve to display her skills and gain opportunities. But though Noel has chosen a wife, by midnight it’s clear that guarding his heart is impossible when desire proves an irresistible gift . . .

THE CINDERELLA CHALLENGE * Mary Jo Putney
Rejected by her bigoted family, gifted young Casey has survived by disguising herself as a young man and working in the offices of the Chatham Royal Navy Dockyard. But when she reports her suspicions of a plot against Britain’s most brilliant engineer, she doesn’t expect handsome investigator Cameron Tremayne to swoop in and decide to the solve the mystery of her as well. Can their unlikely partnership bring them a future of loving Christmases together?

A WINTER’S WISH * Anna Bradley
While she designs the stunning gowns that have made her wicked stepsisters the toast of London, Estella Harley also plans to escape her cruel stepmother. Posing as a lady’s maid, she seizes her chance at a glittering Yuletide house party thrown by the mysterious Duke of Hawthorne. But when it comes to secrets—and longing for a real-life fairytale—the duke and Estella have more in common than meets the eye . . .

A holiday historical romance anthology from some well-known authors.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

A Waltz to Remember

Author: Mary Balogh
Released: October 27, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Ravenswood #6

The youngest Ware daughter, Stephanie, has always harbored secret passion for the best friend of her brother. In her eyes Bertrand Lamarr, Viscount Watley, is perfect. For many years she thought of herself as quite the opposite. When he surprised her by asking her to save a waltz for him, she panicked – and refused him in the unkindest words.

Stephanie’s guilt over her behaviour is such that she now dreads seeing him, as she inevitably must, at the Christmas family reunion she is attending. She wants to hide from him, but what she doesn’t know is that Bertrand has always admired her from afar and is determined to overcome her apparent dislike of him and win his waltz. For he believes there is magic between them, and they will discover it can conquer all their regrets and fears if they but give themselves a chance.

This is book six in the Ravenswood series and has some holiday vibes.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Brown-Eyed Earl

Author: Jenny Holiday
Released: October 27, 2026 by Kensington Books
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Earls Trip #3

Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton in USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday’s laugh-out-loud bromantic comedy featuring three Regency-era Earls on their annual trip. These ride-or-die buddies offer one another unconditional support in everything from Lady problems to family woes, but this year, the country house retreat will be earls-plus-girls as our trio of heroes is joined by two beloved wives . . . and an exceedingly charming lady’s companion.

Simon Courteney isn’t like the other earls. He was never supposed to be the heir or the spare. Yet when his older brothers tragically died in an accident, he suddenly found himself a peer of the realm. Strait-laced and scholarly, Simon is resigned to a quiet life of work and service. The two bright spots in his calendar are the annual Earls Trip with his best friends, Effie and Archie, and his visits to Archie’s mother—where he trades books with her beguiling lady’s companion.

Miss Diantha Brown has long been settled into her role as Lady Harcourt’s companion. On the shelf and alone in the world, it’s a better life than Diantha ever imagined for herself. But her boring yet peaceful existence is upended when an old enemy returns, threatening blackmail and forced marriage.

Determined to escape her fate—and to protect Lady Harcourt—Diantha devises a shocking solution: her ruination. She needs just one thing: a kind, intelligent, brave man to help her . . .

Book three in the Earls Trip historical romance series. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Eight Ways to Say I Love You

Author: Amanda Elliot
Released: October 27, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

A spark of attraction burns brighter each year between childhood friends in this sweeping Hanukkah romance by USA Today bestselling author Amanda Elliot.

This Hanukkah, Shira Levinson is returning home to New Jersey riding the high of achieving major milestones. Though she only just graduated from college, she’s got her dream job and a perfect Los Angeles apartment—an actual miracle in the city of dreams.

Life has not been quite as kind to Leo David. Not only did he fail out of college, he was forced to move in with his estranged dad, who he still hates for cheating on his mom years ago. The only silver lining? Getting to see Shira, his childhood friend (and crush, though he’ll never tell her that) while she’s home for her family’s holiday party.

But that’s just the beginning. Over the next eight years, Shira’s and Leo’s lives spin them in all sorts of directions as they grow and change, taking them places they never imagined going. Sometimes those paths take them farther away from each other, and other times closer together. If they can only time it right, they might uncover a love that burns forever.

Dahlia: I’m a huge fan of Elliot’s Love You a Latke so I was obviously gonna pick up her newest Hanukkah Romance even if I hadn’t been asked to blurb it. (I had: my official blurb is “Elliot can always be trusted to bring the charm, the Jewish pride, and the mouthwatering food, and here she kicks it up a notch with a deeply romantic slow burn perfectly fitting the festival of lights. I cheered so hard for Leo and Shira, both together and apart. Eight Ways is the perfect Hanukkah Romance gift!” and I stand by it!)

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

To Dream in Darkness

Author: Ann Liang
Released: October 27, 2026 by St. Martin's Press
Genre: Historical: Other, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.

China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.

Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.

Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia’s disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning…

Amanda: Do not be fooled by the Goodreads genres. This is not a romance, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. Not everything that features a romantic plot is a romance. Know what I mean? Still, it’s a very beautiful and lovely book.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Vera Stein Is Fine

From #1 New York Times bestseller Julie Murphy comes a heartfelt and hilarious tale of a woman who thinks life and love have passed her by until she’s thrown into her grandmother’s quirky world of octogenarian free love and gets a second chance with the one man she never expected to see again. Perhaps it’s never too late to play the opening credits…

Welcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.

Vera knows she’s missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isn’t one to take chances. She’s spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star boss’s ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmother’s house we go!

The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isn’t lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Vera’s former ill-fated college fling and—for reasons that will stay in Vegas—legally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.

It’s not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctor… Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours she’s taken, there’s still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sight…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Enjoy the View

Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler is $2.99! I’m only seeing the sale price at Amazon, but I know many of you have spoken highly about being able to price match at Kobo. This is book three in the Moose Springs, Alaska series.

A grouchy mountaineer, a Hollywood starlet
And miles of untamed wilderness…
What could possibly go wrong?

Former Hollywood darling River Lane’s acting career is tanking fast. Determined to start fresh behind the camera, she agrees to film a documentary about the picturesque small town of Moose Springs, Alaska. The assignment should have been easy, but the quirky locals want nothing to do with River. Well, too bad: River’s going to make this film and prove herself, no matter what it takes.

Or what (literal) mountain she has to climb.

Easton Lockett may be a gentle giant, but he knows a thing or two about survival. If he can keep everyone in line, he should be able to get River and her crew up and down Mount Veil in one piece. Turns out that’s a big if. The wildlife’s wilder than usual, the camera crew’s determined to wander off a cliff, and the gorgeous actress is fearless. Falling for River only makes Easton’s job tougher, but there’s only so long he can hold out against her brilliant smile. When bad weather strikes, putting everyone at risk, it’ll take all of Easton’s skill to get them back home safely…and convince River she should stay in his arms for good.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Baby, I’m Howling for You

Baby, I’m Howling for You by Christine Warren is $1.99! This is book one in the Alphaville paranormal romance series, and may have some hints of romantic suspense.

WELCOME TO ALPHAVILLE, where the she-wolves and alpha-males play. . .for keeps.

Renny Landry is a wolf on the run. Pursued by a shapeshifting stalker and his slobbering pack of killer coyotes, she is forced to flee her job as a librarian to find sanctuary in the wooded hills of Alpha, Washington. A well-secluded safe space for troubled shifters, Alpha is Renny’s last hope. But the first person she meets there is a gorgeous alpha male with fiery eyes, fierce tattoos, and one ferocious appetite—for her…

Mick Fischer thought he left his past behind when he moved to Alpha. But fate has a way of biting him in the tail when a female wolf shows up on his property. Wounded, desperate—and disarmingly hot—Renny brings out the snarling, protective alpha beast in Mick like no other woman he’s known. Can these two haunted, hunted wolves manage to mate for life…even as the deadliest past demons howl at their heels?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Taste

Taste by Stanley Tucci is $2.99! This is a foodie memoir and was a big bestseller for Christmas during the year it came out. I’ve heard amazing things about the audiobook.

From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.

Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, and the perfect Negroni, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the recipes and into the stories behind them.

Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, New York, preparing for and filming the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia, falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last.

Written with Stanley’s signature wry humour and nostalgia, Taste is a heartwarming read that will be irresistible for anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

…

New York, Christmastime, and a suspenseful mystery tangle up in the incredibly entertaining The Santa Claus Con, which ended up being way more intense than I expected it to be at first blush. While it seems to promise a fluffy fun time based on the cover, the action kicks off right from the first chapter, and doesn’t let up until the ending. It’s not all intensity, however: properly tempered with humor, The Santa Claus Con is also achingly funny and sweetly romantic – a book that left me feeling fantastic as I read it. It ended up being one of the best books I’ve read all year, expertly combining romantic tension, good suspense and a fun, silly plotline.

Amazingly-named FBI agent Scarlett Payne has been sent a threatening, cryptic poem claiming they will destroy New York City’s iconic Santa Claus Con and demanding she show up in Rockefeller Center wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit. Even though she’s supposed to be on vacation, she does so, in time to see the star atop a tree near the center’s iconic skating rink explode. In the chaos that follows, Scarlett gets injured — and someone sends her another letter. The team dubs him “Sadistic Santa,” and they must stop him from destroying the event.

Fellow FBI agent Nathan Lambros has just exited a two-year deep cover mission. A year before that assignment, he had ended his relationship with Scarlett, shattering her heart. Back at the office, the two of them are annoyed to be assigned to the Sadistic Santa case. They both hate Christmas, and things have been tense between them since the break-up, to say the least. Nevertheless, Nathan agrees to go undercover as Santa at Santa Claus Con to try to protect the other right jolly old elves and figure out who’s trying to shut the con down – and why they’re targeting Scarlett. This naturally joins the exes together in something much closer to wintertime harmony than either of them could have imagined. Will the magic of the season – and the power of near-death experiences – draw them closer together?

This book reminded me of Ally Carter’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, one of my favorite reads of 2024, which says a lot. The Santa Claus Con is lighthearted but has a surprisingly twisty and satisfying plot. It’s funny without being goofy, has stakes without being super serious, and is romantic in a way that made this a top ten of the year read for me.

I deeply loved Scarlett and her relationship with her sisters and colleagues, which helps deepen her character and makes her feel more human. She’d been hoping to ‘try on’ the Christmas spirit and be cheerier but nope – she still hates it. She’s grumpy and funny and has an edge that makes her believable.She’s very reminiscent of Sandra Bullock’s Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality. I could imagine her strategizing and kicking butt with the best of them.

Nathan just wants to turn in his badge and get on with simple civilian life, but can’t turn down one last case.. His grumpy matches her grumpy, and he has a similar sarcasm and sense of humor that really made him a yummy, enjoyable hero. The two of them grouch their way through the investigation, but both have years of field experience together, which means they work together smoothly as silk.

There’s a balance in the layers of conflict that is understandable from both perspectives and provides plenty for them to work through personally while they’re dodging Christmas-related deadly threats. Their breakup has left behind an emotional mess, and addressing it years later while working together doesn’t make the cleanup easy. It helps that they have great colleagues, and it was fun to spend time with all of them as they tried to figure the case out.

This is such a fun ride, and I really had a great time following Scarlett and Nathan through the ins and outs of the Santa mission, as well as through the flashbacks to their previously shared cases. There’s an extra fun element of competition thrown in, too: Nate ends up competing for Santa Claus of the Year and actually becomes a social media darling. Their past cases provide more humor and competence, as Scarlett shows off her skills and keeps Nathan out of hot water.

I’m a thriller girlie; I enjoy spy shows like Burn Notice and Alias, where girls kick butt and take names, so this was quite a delightful experience all around. I can’t emphasize enough how well the blend of romance and suspense works here. The balance is a complete miracle because it is very tricky to pull off successfully.

You might have to pay close attention as the POV switches between Nathan and Scarlett, and note when the narrative jumps backwards and forwards in time. I had no problem keeping up with those switches at all, but I can see it maybe being a problem for some readers.

This one won me over in an instant, but then again I really enjoyed Lauren Kung Jessen’s previous romances so that shouldn’t be too big of a shock. The Santa Claus Con is incredibly special – a wonderful, hilarious book that kept me completely absorbed in its many twists and turns.

From Maeve: Honey, I think the shrimp was off…

Sarah: Lower left abdomen is appendix, right? Or is that gall bladder? DID SOMEONE STEAL HIS GALL BLADDER?

He’s really feeling himself.

Amanda: The tattoos are giving me some weird optical illusion, like his musculature is on the outside.

Sneezy: Me too. If not that, I can’t tell what tattoos are supposed to be.

It also looks like he’s wearing thigh highs, but if he is, why does he look like a zombie ate his brains?

Melodie: If the “Best Husband in Texas” is this guy with the dead cold shark eyes I’m kinda worried for Texas.

Sarah: Even pixelated that expression gives me the jibblies.

Amanda: There’s a lot happening here, letter-wise. Also “Lass Small” I’m assuming is the author, but it feels like caveman speak for “tiny woman” and that makes me laugh.

Sneezy: This is a mess and I hate it.

Sarah: Here’s a truly excellent cover from this week’s RTRW.

Is he about to take a bite out of her throat? Dude, I think she needs all that.

Also the fact that they’re both kneeling and we can see their lower legs is so funny.

Amanda: Trying to enjoy my teeny tiny glass of champagne and fruit for ants while the wind is whipping my hair around and sand into my face sounds miserable.

Sneezy: Ha!!! The sand got to the champagne and the fruit before them AND the ants!

From SqueeMe: Is this a romance or an ad for an oversized pickup truck? Also nothing about this cover makes sense with the title or this being inspirational romance or romantic suspense.

Tara: I showed this one to a friend and he said: He spurned me so I burninated his truck

Sarah: BURNINATING THE COUNTRYSIDE

BURNINATING THE F150

Nothing says Godly Romance like creating your own Brownfield site.

The ground was contaminated after the fire, but their love was not!

Sneezy: I dunno, I know my love will be contaminated for sure if someone burned stuff so irresponsibly. “Darling, you could have started a wildfire. What can you possibly say for us to come back from that?”

1. Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots Amazon | B&N | Kobo
2. The Winged Game by Sophie Kim Amazon | B&N | Kobo
3. Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik Amazon | B&N | Kobo
4. The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers Amazon | B&N | Kobo
5. Read Between the Lines by Emily Kerr Amazon | B&N | Kobo
6. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz Amazon | B&N | Kobo
7. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn Amazon | B&N | Kobo
8. Once Upon You and Me by Timothy Janovsky Amazon | B&N | Kobo
9. A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath Amazon | B&N | Kobo
10. Body Check by Elle Kennedy Amazon | B&N | Kobo

I hope your weekend reading was wonderful!

Lara: While I’m still reading Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m starting to see it more as a guide than a book to read for leisure. I’ve disappeared down internet rabbit holes and stared into space thinking about women and literature and, based on my recent rec league request, I’m plotting my summer reading. It’s exhilarating!

Shana: I just picked back up a Jan Clausen’s 1999 memoir, Apples & Oranges. ( A | BN | K | AB ) Clausen was a Brooklyn lesbian who fell in love with a man in Nicaragua. Memoirs are my least favorite genre, but I like this book anyway. It’s really half memoir and half feminist reflections on gender and sexuality.

Elyse: I started a horror/romance called Camera Stays On ( A | BN | K | AB ) but one of the characters (not the hero) abuses his dogs so I’m not reading that now.

A

I am reading this omegaverse why choose set in a hair salon called Shear Instinct.

The story is clicking along while my brain is analyzing the power dynamics, the rules of the O-verse, how it affirms and subverts gender roles inside very typical sounding character types. Like there’s a whole passel of horny giant alphas but they’re also equally focused on emotional caretaking in all directions of their relationships, both giving and receiving care and acceptance.

“What is happening? It can keep happening, this is fun, but why is this happening?”

Carrie: I just finished The League of Lost Souls by KJ Charles (not a romance). ( A | BN | K | AB ) I loved it but even for a book stated to be the first in a duology, the ending felt abrupt. I’m a few chapters in to Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson. ( A | BN | K | AB )

Whatcha reading? Tell us in the comments!

Evvie Drake Starts Over

In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn’t correct them. In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy’s childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the “yips”: he can’t throw straight anymore, and he can’t figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.

When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie’s house, the two make a deal: Dean won’t ask about Evvie’s late husband, and Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken–and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they’ll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they’ve broken, the plans they’ve changed, and the secrets they’ve kept. They’ll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance–right up until the last out.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Still Into You

Still Into You by Erin Connor is $2.99 and a KDD! This is a second chance, standalone contemporary romance. I was really intrigued by this one as the hero is the frontman to a metal band.

Two exes reunite for a make-or-break interview that will either bring them back together … or drive them apart forever.

Sloane Donavan dreamed of being a rock journalist ever since she posted her first MySpace blog. Now, one journalism degree, a failed internship, and dozens of backstage passes later, she’s struggling to land a full-time staff position. So when punk rock’s most notorious and elusive frontman offers her his first interview in eight years, Sloane should be jumping at the opportunity—but taking it would mean reconnecting with the only guy she’s ever loved (and lost), Dax Nakamura.

Unable to pass up a shot at making her name—and helping Dax clear the reputation that’s plagued his—Sloane agrees. It’s only a conflict of interest if anyone finds out. But the article Dax wants and the salacious tell-all Sloane’s editor is expecting are two completely different stories. And as old feelings resurface, Sloane’s journalistic integrity hangs in the balance. This is the career-making piece she’s been waiting for, but it comes with a the chance to rewrite the ending with her first and only love.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Give Me Butterflies

Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows $1.99! This is a contemporary romance and the first book in a series. I also really like this cover!

A swoony, steamy, STEM romance in which two curators at a science museum—a handsome but grumpy astronomer and an anxious but sunshine-y entomologist—realize they are the perfect match. Equal parts nerdy banter and fiery tension, it’s perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey.

Millie was never one to take the expected path. She’s an entomologist who loves her job as a natural science curator, inspiring museum visitors every day. It’s her dream to take a larger role in the planning of her department, so when a director position opens up, she is determined not to let anything distract her from her goals. Especially her grumpy coworker with his permanent scowl, electric blue eyes, and nerdy astronomy ties.

. . . Not that she’s spent much time noticing any of those things.

Finn doesn’t mean to glare at everyone, but he’s juggling his role at the museum, navigating the grief of losing his sister, attempting to make his nieces smile, and trying not to ruin dinner for the fifth night in a row. He can’t afford to let anything slip, and certainly doesn’t need anything more on his plate. Millie literally stumbling into him with her bright smile and sunny optimism, is the last thing he needs.

They want nothing to do with each other. But with Finn on the interview committee, avoidance is impossible. And Millie soon realizes it’s one thing when a job is on the line. It’s quite another when it’s her heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Written in the Stars

Written in the Stars by Christopher J. Brice is $2.99 and a KDD! This is a college romance with some friends to lovers and opposites attract elements. It’s book three in The Barracudas series.

Oliver Jacoby is the star left winger of the Berkeley Shore University hockey team. He’s famously known for his skill on the ice, his easygoing charm, and a protective streak that runs bone-deep, especially when it comes to the people he cares about.

Ryan Abrams is a quieter presence on campus, easy to spot in his vintage 1950s style—from the clothes he wears to the music drifting from his dorm room. But beneath the old-soul exterior, his true escape has always been the stars above him.

A hockey star and a stargazer might seem like an unlikely pair, but Oliver and Ryan are anything but strangers. Years ago, they were childhood neighbors, inseparable in the way only kids can be. Until a military reassignment tore Ryan away from his best friend and left their relationship suspended in silence.

Now, reunited by chance at Berkeley Shore University, the distance between them feels both enormous and paper-thin. Ryan is unsure of whether their bond can survive the weight of lost years, and Oliver is determined not to let Ryan slip away a second time.

As old memories resurface and new ones take shape, what begins as a hesitant reconnection quickly becomes something deeper and undeniable. And this time, no amount of meddling by the Ice Queen is going to matter. Because Oliver and Ryan’s love story has already been written in the stars.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

If I could tell you why this particular style of music works for my brain, I’d be delighted because I cannot figure it out and I really want to know. But it does. It soothes what I call the “Jack Russell Terrier” part of my brain and allows me to focus and mellow out.

But I love the new Lofi Teacher stream of “lofi house lounge music to vibe/chill to.” I am indeed vibing and chilling!

Lofi Teacher (the DJ with the mustache) is part of the Lofi Girl universe, which has its own lore and Subreddit, even.

There’s Lofi Girl, who sports headphones and is writing in a notebook with her orange cat in the window.

Across the valley (which fans have tracked to Lyon, France, specifically the Croix Russe area) is Lofi Boy, who streams lofi synthwave while he plays video games while his dog naps. There was a whole dramatic introduction of the synthwave channel, and if it’s night in either stream, you can see their lit windows in the background. Lofi Boy’s is blue, and Lofi Girl’s is the brightest yellow one.

I’ve seen teachers discussing how they use the Lofi Girl channels in their classrooms, and the chat on the streams is very active with people using the animation as a form of parallel work or body doubling.

And, per their channel, “All visuals and music in this video are 100% crafted by talented human artists, without the use of AI. We’re committed to delivering genuine, hand-made creations for our audience to enjoy.”

Are there music streams you love to listen to?

Friday Videos hope your weekend is filled with all the chillest and most vibe-ful sounds.

First, we talk about cereal. As you do.

And I have a Content Warning! At about 20 minutes into our conversation, we start talking about this awful letter to the editor. Please be advised there is some rank homophobia on display here.

Watch us on YouTube! 

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

Visual Aids? But of course!

There are three versions of this cover and each one is more surprising than the last.

Ok, definitely naked.

Still naked.

Wait, this is a historical?? Would you have guessed that from the prior covers, without reading the cover copy?

First, that tattoo had to hurt like hell.

Second, it looks like Trogdor.

Third, we think he looks like a dad who is up at 3 am questioning all his life choices in allowing a sleepover at their house.

It took me more than a few seconds to figure out what I was looking at.

So that’s a title. And a disturbing collage.

This is another before and after. QUITE DIFFERENT, huh? We were fascinated by how impossibly thin her neck is.

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Body Check

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Off Campus series, don’t miss Elle Kennedy’s first hockey romance, now including bonus scenes! More story, more hockey—and more heat!

After a childhood spent being dragged around the country by her hockey coach father, Hayden Houston intends to take some time to figure out her future. Whether that future will include her currently off-again boyfriend remains to be seen. What it certainly won’t include is the for-one-night-only guy she just met at a bar.

It seems hockey star Brody Croft did not get the memo about being temporary. Big, bold and driven, he’s dedicated in everything he does. Up till now, that’s been his team—the one owned by Hayden’s dad. But his night with Hayden has sparked something he didn’t expect. The two of them are good together. Really good. There’s a connection he’s never experienced before, one he knows they’d be wrong to ignore. Even with a game-fixing scandal testing both their loyalties—to teammates, to friends…to family.

Part of Hayden wants to turn tail and run. A complicated relationship with a bad boy hockey player is exactly what she never wanted. But when it comes to Brody, Hayden is realizing that people can be so much more than what they seem.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

How to Summon a Fairy Godmother

How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo is $4.99! This is book one in the Fairies and Familiars series. Book two is also available for $4.99. Have you read this one?

If a fairy godmother can get one sister into a marriage, getting another out of one should be easy… 

Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick—her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated her like a slave. Though Theo knows this isn’t exactly true, it seems her life is thoroughly ruined by the rumor. With the Balfour family estate on the verge of bankruptcy, Theo’s only path forward is a forced betrothal to the Duke of Snowbell, a foul-tempered geezer who wishes only to use her as a brood mare for spare heirs.

Desperate for help, Theo clings to the only thing that might save the rumor of a fairy godmother, one that supposedly helped her stepsister secure a prince. After discovering a way to summon a fairy in Beatrice’s old room, Theo thinks her prayers have been answered. But the fairy she meets isn’t at all what she imagined. Drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly cunning, and slightly devious, Cecily of the Ash Fairies is much more interested in gathering powerful favors and smoking her pipe than providing charitable magic for humans in a bind.

Before she receives magical assistance, Cecily sets Theo to three tasks, seemingly to prove that Theo is a selfless and kind person. Helping her along the way are Cecily’s familiars, the flirty human-turned-mockingbird Phineas and the aloof Kasra, a fox shapeshifter who should not be as handsome as he is for someone with such cutting remarks. As Theo works on her tasks, she shockingly finds kinship with the magical creatures she’s helping, and starts to wonder if a continued life among her human peers is what she really wants after all.

From debut author Laura J. Mayo comes a hilarious new spin on the Cinderella tale!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Read Between the Lines

Read Between the Lines by Emily Kerr is $2.99! This is a bookish contemporary romance. It also appears to be a standalone.

Romance might be closer than she thinks…The brand new escapist Oxford-set bookish romance from award-winning author, Emily Kerr

Kat Fisher wishes her parents had thought harder before they chose her name. A self-confessed romantic, she dreams of finding a guy who can live up to her book boyfriends,

Former police officer Leo Taylor is trying to decide his next step following his departure from the force. His habit of spreading his belongings around the library where she works has been niggling at Kat for days, and his joke about her name is the final straw.

Kat and Leo might not seem like the perfect match, but romance might be closer than they think. If only they could read between the lines…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Love on Lexington Avenue

Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne is $1.99! This is an opposites attract romance and book two in the Central Park Pact series. Book three received a B grade on the site.

“Fans of The Devil Wears Prada will flip over Love on Lexington Avenue.” —Karen Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne comes the second delightfully charming installment in the Central Park Pact series, following a young widow whose newfound cynicism about love is challenged by a sexy, rough-around-the-edges contractor.

There are no good men left in New York City.

At least that’s Claire Hayes’s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the man she thought he was. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of her cheating husband, Claire sets out to redesign her boring, beige Upper East Side brownstone and make it something all her own. But what starts out as a simple renovation becomes a lot more complicated when she meets her bad-tempered contractor Scott Turner.

Scott bluntly makes it known to Claire that he only took on her house for a change of pace from the corporate offices and swanky hotels he’s been building lately, and he doesn’t hesitate to add that he has no patience for a pampered, damaged princess with a penchant for pink. But when long workdays turn into even longer nights, their mutual wariness morphs into something more complicated—a grudging respect, and maybe even attraction…

Filled with laugh-out-loud scenes that blend perfectly with the touching friendships Layne brings to life on the page, this “hugely entertaining” (USA TODAY) novel is perfect for fans of Lauren Weisberger.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Sometimes, you get a romance that crosses your desk and it’s cute as a button and you want to shout it from the mountaintops. As I write this review, we’re within inches of starting World Series season, so why not take a look at a bat-swinging romance with a very cute central conceit and a whole lot of ballgame-related shenanigans. It did have a couple of weak points, but overall I really enjoyed this little look into the old ball game.

Carter Cook dreams about baseball stardom, but he’s going to have to start out with the Red Rock Fliers. He’s battling his way back from injuries incurred in an auto wreck, and is totally determined to prove to the world he can still play major league ball after two years of rehabilitation.

Single mom Jane Morris has one kid in college and one about to wrap up high school, and she’s coping with an ugly, messy divorce from a failed ballplayer named Chad. She’s trying to open a bakery in her hometown (called Batter Up! naturally), and has a contract with the Fliers to sell her treats there to publicise it.

Carter’s an old friend of hers, so when she wants to get her ex off of her back after he gets too forward with her, she lies that Carter is going to move into her spare room. It’s all supposed to be temporary because Carter wants a spot on a bigger team. But the heart, as always, wants what it wants.

This is a fun friends-to-lovers romance that’s as cool and breezy as a late summer afternoon. Batter Up! is tender and funny, and it’s very realistic about its characters and their choices. Both Carter and Jane are on their second chances, and it’s wonderful to see two characters cut loose and have fun after suffering so much. Also yay, an older woman romance! About darn time.

This is such a good, solid healthy relationship and I was so happy to watch it play out. And the details! I was incredibly charmed that our hero helped our heroine re-sterilize the surface of her work station after they did the do in her kitchen (how many times have heroes and heroines done the nasty among commercial kitchens without washing up?). They have such a nice connection and it’s always great to watch a friends-first romance bloom to life.

The conflict here is very realistic, and very mature. One doesn’t stop yearning or dreaming because the sex is good and the romance is wonderful, and he still wants back in the MLB and she still wants to be an independent person.

I loved spending time, too, with Carter’s teammates and Jane’s co-workers and family. Everything felt real, and everything left me smiling. I’ve known so many people like this, been to ballgames like these. Even the subplot about Jane’s youngest son’s attempt at getting into a pro team was emotionally compelling.

Carter’s story was as absorbing as Jane’s to me: they each have something to prove to the world, and there’s a hope that they’ll overcome and get their way at last. It’s a story about rebuilding your life, not just your romance, and they both get to grow up and face down a world that’s been more than a little bit difficult toward them.

What a fun romance, what a great story — and what a lovely time. Batter Up! is a true winner.

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

Sorcery and Small Magics

Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.

He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.

That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Assassin’s Apprentice

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb is $1.99! This is book one in the much-loved Farseer Trilogy. Are you a fan?

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father’s gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him sectetly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz’s blood runs the magic Skill–and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Ungodly Rich

Ungodly Rich by Katharine McGee is $1.99! I’m on the fence if this is a contemporary fantasy with a romantic subplot or an actual contemporary fantasy romance. Marrying into a family of gods sounds like a nightmare, but the book does seem a little fun and salacious.

Old gods, new rules. New York Times bestselling author Katharine McGee puts a modern-day twist on ancient mythology in this bold reimagining of the Greek gods as a family of billionaires—with all the messy drama that entails.

When Julia Dodds meets Harry Adams, love hits her like a lightning bolt. He’s adventurous, charismatic, and impossibly handsome. Little does Julia know that her boyfriend has left out a few key details. His name isn’t Harry: it’s Ares, as in the ancient god of war. His mother is Hera, and his father is Zeus.

Soon, Julia is caught up in a world of wealth and privilege as she joins Harry at a lavish family reunion. Except these billionaires don’t just have wealth—they have divine powers. And the moment she steps onto their private island, Julia becomes their latest target.

It’s no secret that the Gods love to meddle, and when it comes to Julia, Harry’s immortal relatives each have their own agenda. Harry’s mother, Hera, will do anything to protect her own. Harry’s sister-in-law Aphrodite has a deeply personal reason for hating Julia, and tasks Hermes, keeper of family secrets, with digging up dirt. Meanwhile, Hades has spent years trying to upend Zeus’s power—and now he finally sees an opportunity to strike.

Set against a globe-trotting backdrop that sweeps from New York’s exclusive private clubs to the wilds of New Zealand to the gated estates of the British aristocracy, Ungodly Rich is a story of love, revenge, secrets, sex, and the most ancient motivator of all: family.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Gingerbread Bakery

The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore is 99c! This is book five in the Dream Harbor series. All the books in this series are billed as cozy, small town romances, and others appear to also be on sale.

From the international bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Café and The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, comes the highly anticipated Dream Harbor romance for 2025!

A wedding in Dream Harbor can only mean one thing, everyone wants to get involved!

With Jeanie and Logan set to tie the knot, and Kira desperate to hire out her newly renovated barn at the Christmas tree farm, everything seems to be going well. Annie has agreed to bake the cake, and Mac is responsible for, well… just being Mac. And as the whole of Dream Harbor comes together to celebrate the wedding of the year with the snow falling around them, can Annie and Mac put aside their dislike for each just long enough for the ‘I Do’s’ or is that one request too far…

The Gingerbread Bakery is a cozy romantic novel with an enemies to lovers dynamic, small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

It’s Wednesday; how did that happen?!

My household is currently watching Lanterns and it’s very good. Not what I expected, in a good way! It’s definitely grittier, but that’s typical for DC adaptations. The pregnancy has allowed me to do a lot of TV and movie watching, since I’m usually horizontal by around 7pm.

In the last week, I’ve watched Backrooms (horror), Ready or Not 2 (horror), The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder (true crime doc), and put a dent in Marry My Husband (k-drama).

Are you watching anything good right now?

…

Enshittification has hit the world of chocolate. Apologies if you hit a paywall for this one!

…

There’s currently a Kickstarter to bring Murderbot to the world of graphic novels. It has already hit its goal and has several weeks to go.

…

If you want to know ahead of time whether a book chapter will emotionally devastate you, well there’s a website for that!

…

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center is getting a Netflix adaption in November! Getting slight Miss Congeniality vibes from Leighton Meester in this one.

…

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!

Starling House

A grim and gothic new tale from New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Mating Game

The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson is $1.99! This is a standalone paranormal romance that released last December. Both the hero and heroine are wolf shifters.

Two wolf shifters reluctant to love discover there’s no fighting the call of the wild in this steamy romance by USA Today bestselling author Lana Ferguson.

Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she’s not sick—she’s actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can’t afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she’ll just have to do her best to follow the doctor’s advice to keep away from alpha shifters.

Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he’s determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around . . . he’s left with few other options than to grin and bear it.

Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head over paws for each other, there’s no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they’re playing a dangerous game—one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The One You Can’t Forget

RECOMMENDED: The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren is $3.99! I love this series and highly recommend any of the books in it. However, please be warned that it deals with the aftermath of a school shooting.

Most days Rebecca Lindt feels like an imposter…

The world admires her as a survivor. But that impression would crumble if people knew her secret. She didn’t deserve to be the one who got away. But nothing can change the past, so she’s thrown herself into her work. She can’t dwell if she never slows down.

Wes Garrett is trying to get back on his feet after losing his dream restaurant, his money, and half his damn mind in a vicious divorce. But when he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca―the attorney who helped his ex ruin him―his simple life gets complicated.

Their attraction is inconvenient and neither wants more than a fling. But when Rebecca’s secret is put at risk, both discover they could lose everything, including what they never realized they needed: each other

She laughed and kissed him. This morning she’d melted down. But somehow this man had her laughing and turned on only a few hours later. Everything inside her felt buoyed.

She felt…light. 

She’d forgotten what that felt like.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Garbage Man

Garbage Man by Max Monroe is 99c at Amazon only! This is book one in the Blue Collar Vigilante Vampires series. I feel like this one is channeling some Sandra Hill kookiness because the hero is a hockey-playing, vigilante vampire garbage man.

He collects trash for a living.
Before sunrise, he’s collecting her.

Rook Slater is big, brutal, and permanently grumpy. By day, he’s a garbage man. By night, he plays hockey and keeps the world at arm’s length.

Until the fated mate bond strikes hard and fast. One look at Kylie Moon—right after his twenty-eighth birthday—and destiny snaps into place.

She’s his.

There’s just one problem.

Her blood is rare—coveted—and the monsters in the shadows want to claim her.
Evil. Elite. Powerful. These are the kind of men who stop at nothing to have what they want.

But Rook Slater doesn’t lose what’s his.
And he certainly doesn’t bend the knee.

He’s good at taking out the trash—and these monsters are next.

Once fate locks in, Rook won’t just fight for the woman he loves.
He’ll kidnap and kill for her.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

​I am trying to find a romance novel I read a while ago. It’s a category romance (most likely Harlequin Intrigue or Silhouette Intimate Moments) published before 2005 (probably late 1990s or early 2000s).

​Here are all the specific details I remember about the plot:

​The setting was working sanctuary/rehabilitation ranch in Texas for troubled and rebellious teenage boys and girls, run by the hero.

​The heroine (a counselor, social worker, or investigator) takes on a case involving a teenage girl who was severely abused. The victim is deeply traumatized, shuts down, and cramps up, refusing to tell anyone who her abuser is.

​To figure out what happened and find the culprit, the adult heroine goes undercover at the ranch posing as a rebellious, troubled teenager. She doesn’t wear a complex physical disguise; she just acts and carries herself like a rebellious teen resident to blend in.

​The abuser isn’t an outside adult; it’s a long-time resident teenage boy living at the ranch. He has developed an unhealthy, violently possessive attachment to the hero and actively targets/assaults any female who attempts to get close to the hero.

​​The teenage boy is exposed when he tries to physically assault the heroine. The hero steps in, catches him, and protects her.

Does this sound familiar?

Happy Tuesday!

Some interesting picks this week, include a new Lisa Kleypas and a forced proximity, second chance romance.

Which new releases are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

No Love is an Island

Author: Katta Kis
Released: October 20, 2026 by Katta Kis Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Pagans & Pop Stars #4

A drag queen, a fading superstar
Secret exs… stuck on a dating show together
What else could go wrong?

Former boy band idol and (mostly) reformed hot mess Leo Starr needed a break. His drinking was finally under control, but that wasn’t enough to get his drag bar out of the red. Worse, his secret ex Martin was back. Leo had one last ace up his glittery sleeve: he’s off to “find love” on a reality dating show.

A few bad albums dimmed Martin Mejia’s star power. The plan: a bombshell documentary to get him back into the public eye. The director wanted to cover his boy band days, but after he left the Beatboyz and Leo, his former bandmates won’t talk to him. If he could just get Leo to agree, the others would fall in line—but Leo’s about to be unreachable, filming on an island. The solution: join the cast.

Stuck together on a tiny island surrounded by cameras forced Leo and Martin to be more honest with each other than ever. When the show became a disaster not even the producers expected, they had to rely on each other to get out alive.

Their relationship might heal under pressure but can it last once the cameras stop rolling? Or would it end in yet another break-up?

Shana’s pick!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Now That We Don’t Talk

Author: Rachel Pologe
Released: October 20, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

A commitment-phobe finds herself stuck spending Hanukkah with her childhood best friend turned nemesis, only for holiday chaos to ensue and complicated feelings to resurface, in this emotionally resonant debut romance.

Norah Gold is a bolter. She avoids emotional situations at all costs, doesn’t do meaningful relationships, and when things get a little too real, she runs. She hasn’t let herself fall in love in nearly a decade, not since her whole world fell apart when her dad suddenly passed away. Desperate to escape a friends-with-benefits situation gone clingy, she returns home to Chicago for the holidays. Her one goal? Avoid Henry Cole, the boy who blew up her life and broke her heart back in high school. Easier said than done when she discovers that their mothers are dating and insist on celebrating the holidays together.

A decade later, Henry Cole is all custom suits and condescension. He is order to her chaos and absolutely insufferable about it. When Norah and Henry get snowed in together and learn just how serious their moms’ relationship is, they call a truce to make it through all eight nights of Hanukkah without setting each other on fire. As they begin to rediscover the foundation that made them so close growing up, Norah is desperate to keep her distance—the last thing she can handle is reopening decade-old emotional wounds. But even though they’ve tried to escape the past, Norah and Henry have unfinished business too pressing to ignore. Can Norah shake off her deep-seated impulse to bolt, or are they destined to flame out just like they did as teenagers?

Dahlia: Nothing thrills me more than a new Jewish Romance author entering the arena, especially if they provide me a delightful Hanukkah read, and Pologe does just that with this rom-com that’s equal parts heat and healing. (Also, the Sapphic parent rep is cute as hell.)

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Our Dark Incantations

Author: Wanda Hellmund
Released: October 20, 2026 by Ace
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

In this achingly romantic dark academia fantasy a young woman must embrace Dark Magic and an alliance with a deadly Wielder to fight a powerful threat cloaked in shadow.

After the war, ex-healer Mira Winters swore she’d never touch magic again. And yet here she is attending the newly reopened Ivercrest University, enrolled in the wrong magic department, paired up with the absolute wrong partner—the infuriating Aidric Dawson.

Instead of learning how to make a potion strong enough to heal her incurable scar, Mira attends demonology lessons, casts deadly spells…and is accidentally dragged into a murder investigation on campus—one with devastating ripples that bleed into the magical world far beyond the university.

Even more devastating? Aidric Dawson. Rumored to have been a high-ranking soldier during the war, the lethal Wielder is arrogant, aristocratic, and shrouded in secrets…but with his own wounds from the war, he may also be the only one who truly understands Mira.

A labyrinth of clues pulls Mira and Aidric deep into a sinister plot hiding in the shadows of magical society, threatening war once more. Can the two enemies work together without losing their hearts—or their lives—in the process?

Amanda: What did I say just last week about dark academia releases!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Queen of Lombard Street

Author: Lisa Kleypas
Released: October 20, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Historical: European, Literary Fiction, Romance

From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas—a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who’s determined to build Britain’s first women’s bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she’s created.

In Victorian England, no woman—not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin—is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she’s haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer’s bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women’s bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina’s domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He’s been assigned to investigate Farlow, who’s suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina’s expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women’s bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren’t limited to the battlefield—they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain’s first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don’t know who we were?

New Lisa Kleypas, though I think this skews more toward historical fiction.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Royal Witch

Author: Philippa Gregory
Released: October 20, 2026 by William Morrow
Genre: Historical: European, Literary Fiction
Series: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #1

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

1420. Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V. Pretty but not highborn, she hopes for nothing more than to marry well.

It is a golden age for England, its royal family’s dynasty stretching across Europe. But chaos waits in the shadows. Betrayals and shifts of power change the flourishing world Eleanor has stepped into.

Working in the household of a Countess who commands her own army, Eleanor begins to see for the first time what a woman is capable of…what men’s promises are truly worth.

As the safe, comfortable future she’d envisioned begins to shift, Eleanor changes with it. Now she must use her wits to survive – and to rise. Her newfound ambition will to carry her further than any woman before has dared. But if she is to rule England itself, she will need to turn to darker arts..

Elyse: I’ve read all of Gregory’s novels and I really enjoy them.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Succubus

Author: Kate Fox
Released: October 20, 2026 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Her touch kills, his saves the dying.
Are they fated, or forbidden?

Tempest Dunlap loves romance novels, but she knows she’ll never have her own happily-ever-after. She is a sweatpants-wearing doula who homeschools her seven-year-old niece in suburban New Jersey. Unfortunately, she’s also a succubus: Every man she’s ever kissed has died. But Tempest is a good person who never intended to be a murderer, so she’s sworn off love forever.

Then she meets Joel Tav, a gorgeous, gentle doctor who makes celibacy feel impossible. Tempest knows she can’t touch him—or tell him his brother was the last man she dated and accidentally killed.

Meanwhile, a vigilante is hunting people with dark powers, and Tempest is next. Should she keep hiding in her safe, lonely life, or should she embrace the darkness she fears and risk the ultimate forbidden love?

Maybe Tempest will get her love story after all . . . or maybe she’ll become its villain.

Dahlia: This is a fascinatingly twisty debut that took me on a serious ride from “Wait, is this really paranormal or a metaphor starring paranoid people?” to… well, I won’t spoil it, but needless to say it is definitely a PNR! It’s a bit of a wild ride (complimentary) from instalust (a personal fave) to enemies to lovers to ???, but underpinning it all is an aching poignancy about what it means to want to love but be unable to physically express it without harming the object of your affection. Definitely one of my most unique romance reads this year.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

The Tarot Trials

Author: Katee Robert
Released: October 20, 2026 by Tor Books
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Tarot Trials #1

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Dark Olympus series, this high-octane, fast-paced epic fantasy of tarot magic and deadly competition launches an explosive new series perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and Carissa Broadbent.

The deck has always been stacked against her.

Kestrel has trained her whole life to compete in the Tarot Trials. Her mother won once, earning a place among the five ruling Cinque—then paid for it with her life, executed for alleged treason against the Minor Court.

But fortune favors the bold.

Now it falls to Kestrel to take up her mother’s mantle as Champion of the Moon, enter the Trials, and face her fate. If she can master her new powers of shadow and illusion, navigate the poisonous game of alliances and lies, and corner the fellow Champion who dealt the killing blow to her mother years ago, she may uncover the truth she’s seeking without losing her head… or her heart. But in the Trials, betrayal is a question of when, not if. And winning the game isn’t about what she must do to win, but who she needs to survive.

I think I saw Robert mention this is more fantasy with romantic subplots. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

The Winged Game

Fantasy meets sports romance in this sizzling slow-burn novel in which the disgraced star of a brutal magical sport must team up with the rival who destroyed her career, from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The God and the Gumiho.

“Fourth Wing-meets-rugby is something I didn’t know I needed in my life, but now I’m obsessed. The Winged Game is going to be the next big thing for sure!”—Ruby Dixon, New York Times bestselling author

Carriwitchet, the violent, rugby-esque game played atop winged beasts, was once Taissa Cho’s whole life, and she was once the United Kingdom’s most promising player. Until her nemesis, rival player Kion Locke, destroyed her career in a single moment. Expelled from the sport in disgrace, Taissa has spent the last two years dreaming of nothing but revenge and relishing watching Kion’s team plummet to the bottom of the league.

So when Taissa is offered the chance to redeem herself and her career, she can’t refuse—even if the offer is coming from the very man who ruined everything in the first place. It’s close to a dream come true . . . except for that pesky clause in her contract that demands she and Kion enter a fake relationship in order to garner some much-needed positive PR for the team. This could not be a worse match. Taissa and Kion only have two things in their love of the game, and their undying hatred for each other.

Yet as a mysterious illness befalls the winged creatures of the entire league—putting both the beasts’ lives and the very sport itself at stake—the athletes find themselves partnering up in other ways, determined to crack the case of the eerie sickness. As their investigation takes them on a whirlwind adventure, Kion and Taissa are prepared for anything . . .

Anything, that is, but their fake-for-the-cameras relationship to maybe, just maybe, become something real after all.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Act Like It

RECOMMENDED: Act Like It by Lucy Parker is $1.99! If you haven’t read this yet, it was one of Sarah’s favorites. She says, “I mean, I could squee at you some MORE beyond my review but I think you’ve heard me already. I loved this book. You should read it. It’s delightful.”

This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre’s Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Elaine Graham

Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard’s antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city.

Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man?

Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance.

Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Slippery Creatures

RECOMMENDED: Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles is $3.99! Many of Charles’s romances are on sale right now. AJ reviewed this one and gave it a B+:

Long story short, if you’re looking for a fun thriller and you don’t mind buckling up for the long-ish haul on the romance (or if you just miss used bookstores as much as I do), give it a try!

Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.

Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.

And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.

But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.

A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Nora Goes Off Script

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan is $1.99! Shana gave this one a C+:

Nora Goes Off Script made me laugh out loud, and offered a soothing fantasy about discovering your humdrum life is someone else’s perfection. It felt more like women’s fiction than romance, and I found myself wishing for more flavor in the love story, and in Nora’s meatloaf.

“The perfect escape.” — USA Today

“Readers who loved Emily Henry’s Book Lovers are sure to savor Nora Goes Off Script .” — Shelf Awareness

Named one of the Best Beach Reads of Summer 2022 by The Washington Post • USA Today • Cosmopolitan • Southern Living • Country Living • Business Insider • Buzzfeed • Book Riot • The Augusta Chronicle

Nora’s life is about to get a rewrite…

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same.

The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven it’s the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.

Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story—the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This guest review is from Jane! Jane credits romance novels with at long last sorting out the muddle of misconceptions she grew up with about sex and identity. She only wishes she’d learned the word “demisexual” sooner! She and Sarah talked about the prevalence of penetrative sex in romance novels in episode 658 of the podcast. Jane writes cozy romantasy, copyedits science papers, and teaches bread-making classes in North Carolina. You can find her on Bluesky as @ephemerily and online at janebuehler.com.

…

I was super excited when I learned about Thighs Wide Shut by Hayley Fleming, which has a heroine with vaginismus, or pelvic floor muscle spasm. A few books have included characters with pelvic floor dysfunction (the Smart Bitches had a Rec League on it in 2023), but in this story, the condition is front and center. It’s the main driving force of most of the conflict and is ever present in heroine Emma’s thoughts. She even fends off a running commentary by her set of colorful vaginal dilators, from tiny Lavendar to giant Cobalt, who pop into her head to mock her and play up her fears throughout the book.

Emma grows up in Florida and arrives at college in Boston ready to start hooking up with guys. During her first such experience, when “Hot Boy from Spanish Class” puts a finger inside her, she feels intense pain and accidentally knees him in the crotch. She thus is led to get help and is diagnosed with vaginismus at 18, but she doesn’t proceed with pelvic floor PT or using her dilators to reduce the symptoms because of fear and shame and avoidance. She keeps hoping the condition will resolve on its own.

After college, Emma returns to Florida and becomes a teacher for five years, then quits and returns to Boston to work in her friend Jo’s coffeeshop, which is when the book begins. Emma has vowed to “do better” and deal with her condition, starting with pelvic floor PT.

So, we go with her as the therapist teaches her breathing exercises and yoga positions to relax her pelvic floor. She uses what she learns throughout the book, each time she has an experience that causes her muscles to start clenching, causing pain, which can happen even when nothing is inside her. Even though Emma has (1) a diagnosis and (2) access to various health professionals, dealing with her condition is still hard. Progress is slow. I appreciated that she wasn’t miraculously cured.

One of the hard parts of pelvic floor conditions like vaginismus and vulvodynia (pain in the vulva) can be figuring out the cause. Sometimes there’s an obvious cause, like a traumatic experience, but other times it seems like the condition just is. I liked that Emma didn’t have a clear idea of what caused her condition. She has kind, loving parents who don’t seem to have imparted any harmful ideas about sex, and she first approaches sex with excitement.

She reads as allosexual, feeling sexual desire but not able to act on it. By describing Emma’s experiences as a teacher in Florida, related to banned books, the story hints that the origin of her vaginismus might be psychological, perhaps in part developing from inadequate sex education.

I thought a lot about misconceptions as I read. Even if we’re given accurate information, we can misinterpret it, especially as inexperienced children, and carry those skewed ideas into adulthood. Or, we can be told something, but we’re surrounded by images that tell us something different, and the images paint a much stronger picture in our minds and overwhelm what we were told. I often wonder, what could someone have said in 1985 sex ed class to set me on the right track? Even if someone back then had had the knowledge to say, “Some people feel interested in sex and others don’t, and love and sex are two separate things so it’s okay if you want one and not the other,” would I have retained that knowledge into adulthood, when every romance I saw seemed to lead to sex?

Speaking of romance, at this point, you may be wondering, is there any romance in this book? Yes! Emma makes two best friends in college, her roommate Jo and her freshman dorm neighbor, Harrison, whom she meets shortly after her upsetting experience with Hot Boy from Spanish Class. Emma and Harrison are inseparable for four years, but she always avoids letting their friendship blossom into anything more because of her condition, which she can’t bring herself to tell him about.

Something happens to cause a rift between the two at the end of college, and Emma leaves Harrison behind when she flees to Florida. When she moves back, she accidentally becomes his downstairs neighbor, and many awkward interactions ensue as the two struggle to rebuild their friendship.

A lot of times books are criticized for having conflict based on misinformation that could be cleared up with one conversation. And Thighs Wide Shut mostly falls into this description, with Emma keeping her condition secret for various flawed reasons, like Harrison “deserving to be with someone who’s easy to love” or a fear that if he doesn’t reject her, it will be out of pity, and he’ll never be truly happy with her.

But I think this book might be a rare case where the situation is believable. Emma has no conception that a cis-het M/F relationship is possible without sex, or that “sex” can mean interactions without penetration. Her handful of dating experiences have reinforced this misconception, when she is rejected after not agreeing to have sex, by which her dates mean penetrative sex. And since she lives in the real world, we can imagine that she’s been inundated with the same media we are, which also reinforces flawed narratives.

Emma and Harrison are not perfect. She pushes him when he’s only just let her back into his life, when I wanted her to be more patient, and he has trouble standing up for himself. I found myself frustrated with both of them at times. But Emma’s voice is funny and irreverent, and they both learn throughout the story and keep trying to improve. Emma’s “do better” refrain is repeated each time she catches herself making a mistake. And as twentysomethings, they are literally half my age, so I should cut them some slack. (I am often judgmental, something I myself am trying to do better at!)

Parts of the book were hard to read because they brought up memories. Like when Emma goes to a gynecologist for a pap smear, speaking up about her condition, and the doctor tells her PT is a good step but then asks if she’s “tried having a glass of wine before attempting penetration?” (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told to just try wine, instead of solving an underlying problem.)

Or like how throughout college, Emma indirectly misled people, including Harrison, into thinking she was sexually active. I trace this behavior back to middle school for me, when there was pressure to fit in and everyone else was talking about sex, so I learned to behave as if I were down with whatever people said.

Central to this story is how misunderstandings can begin and persist and grow over time. Sometimes, even if someone tells you something true (like “there’s all kinds of ways to be physically intimate”), the words fall by the wayside when you’re constantly presented with images and videos showing something else.

While I did have some frustrations with the characters and their romance, I loved all the medical parts and found so much of the writing to be very fun. If you ask me, romance novels are at the forefront of broadening the narrative, and Thighs Wide Shut is a great leap forward.

We have an all-fiction edition! Hooray! They’re also all fantasy novels. Most of them are on the cozier side, which I thought might be needed in the leadup to the US midterms. Don’t forget to vote and then maybe treat yourself to a book for doing your civic duty.

Do you have any recommendations to share? Drop them in the comments!

The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium

This is a cozy fantasy romance debut with an amazing cover. I love designs that communicate a sense of place. I also loved the concept of a magical witness protection program.

A magical witness protection program, a town in need of saving, and a sorceress-in-training . . . oh, and the human woman she’s not supposed to fall for. The Blue Moon Café has a little bit of everything (except, you know, decent coffee).

In the tiny town of Pine Hollow, barista and fledging sorceress Talula Smith runs The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium, aka the worst coffee shop in town. The café’s horrible reputation hides its true providing new identities and safe passage to at-risk magical beings while keeping humans far, far away. That is, except for town local Dahlia. Dahlia’s devastating dimples, addiction to Talula’s cocoa recipe, and keen observation skills keeps the smitten barista scrambling to ensure that her magical abilities (or, lack thereof) stay a secret.

But when big game hunters start preying on magical beings, her powerful sorceress mother is called away to track them down, leaving Talula and her barely-there magic in charge of The Blue Moon. With the impending Samhain festival to organize, magical refugees to help, half of the town turning against her, and her ever-growing feelings for Dahlia, Talula’s magical destiny feels further away than ever. But as the hunters set their sights closer to home, it’ll be up to Talula to master her craft, trust her heart, and bring her magical and human communities together . . . before she loses everything she loves.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Calculated Whisk

C mentioned this one in an October Whatcha Reading and they got their rec for another series of comments in an earlier Whatcha Reading. I love it when recommendations make their way around the community and I wanted to spotlight this one, in case you aren’t involved in the site comments.

The Dragon Bookkeeper Wanted.

After a lifetime as a mercenary and years of war, Rylana seeks a peaceful new career, and this job looks perfect. What could be calmer and more relaxing than crunching numbers while delightful scents waft from a professional kitchen?

There’s just one problem. The Dragon Diner is run by a real dragon, one she shot with an arrow during the war. And, oh yes, he remembers her.

This might not be the relaxing new start to life that Rylana envisioned.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Legends and Lattes: The Graphic Novel

This is mainly for gifting season! If you have a fan of Legends & Lattes in your life, there’s no a lovely graphic novel edition. There’s also a really beautiful deluxe edition. 

A stunning graphic novel adaptation of the New York Times bestselling BookTok sensation and beloved cozy fantasy Legends & Lattes

“The modern classic about starting over truly comes to life in this warm adaptation of Baldree’s cozy masterpiece. I wish I could live in every panel.”—Matt Dinniman, New York Times bestselling author of Dungeon Crawler Carl and Operation Bounce House

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword. The battle-weary orc aims to start afresh, opening the city of Thune’s first-ever coffee shop. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success, not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her dreams a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone. After all, the true rewards of an uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether they are drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup―Viv may find something deeper here than she ever imagined…

This full-color graphic novel adaptation brings the high fantasy and low stakes of this beloved story to vibrant life as it’s never been seen before.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Wickhills

This is the only non-cozy rec, but it’s still fantasy! This is a spy thriller but heap on the fantastical. A really great mashup of genres. 

In the dangerous magical city of Wickhills, a streetwise secret agent is tasked with protecting a foreign defector from his pursuers… even at the threat of war.

Looking after a defecting scientist should have been Vycol Ferec’s easiest mission. But now he’s on the run from the intelligence agency he works for, dodging a handler who might have gone rogue and relying on a secret patchwork of illicit resources and dodgy contacts. Turns out his defector might be carrying an apocalypse-level magical weapon — and protecting it requires Ferec and his team to go underground, literally. Down here, the rules are very different… and the tense peace between every city in the world will shatter unless Ferec can drag their darkest secrets into the light.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.

The Art of Charming a Changeling

Author: Sylvie Cathrall
Released: August 25, 2026 by Orbit
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Historical: European, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Pigments and Paramours #1

A cozy slice-of-life romantic fantasy set in a Regency-inspired world where humans and fairies compete for artistic supremacy, from Sylvie Cathrall, author of A Letter to the Luminous Deep. 

On her first day working in the prince’s galleries, art conservator Florrie Hyverfell discovers that the most famous portrait in the collection is not only a fake—it’s also inhabited by Vern, a fairy trapped in the forged painting.

Tracking down the stolen original is the only way for Florrie to save her job and for Vern to escape his canvas. Yet as they journey to a famed fairy museum to find the missing artwork, Florrie finds herself taking more than an art historical interest in the changeling painting’s charming inhabitant.

Cathrall’s debut, A Letter to the Luminous Deep, was a big hit on the site. However, this is the start of a new series and I felt like it’s flown under the radar. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

The Court of Venus

Author: Bel Banta
Released: September 29, 2026 by Tor Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

The Court of Venus is an ensnaring romantic fantasy in which a moon-blessed magician is summoned back to the deadly magical court she thought she had escaped; where power is determined by the stars—and the closer you are to the king, the more likely you are to die. Perfect for fans of The Knight and The Moth, The Familiar, and A Darker Shade of Magic.

In Alvion, magicians have always ruled beside kings. Blessed at birth by one of the seven planets, their abilities are miraculous and extremely rare. Magicians born under Jupiter influence luck. Saturnborn can speak to the dead. Venusborn read the desires of the living.

At the moment of Bianca Mortlake’s birth, the stars and planets aligned just so, making her the first Moonborn magician in over a thousand years. A sorcery so rare that even the history books cannot say what she is capable of.

After a childhood training under the realm’s most powerful magician—and alongside a most insufferable Venusborn named Roland—Bianca lives a quiet life far from court. Until a chilling missive arrives in the night, summoning her back.

A mad and deadly court awaits. Two queens have met the executioner’s blade, and one wrong move could see any of them next beneath its steel. As power is pulled between ruthless royals and courtiers like the tides by the moon, Bianca must rely on the last person she would ever want to—the infuriatingly alluring Roland.

Because something is terribly wrong in Alvion. And only this moon-blessed magician and her oldest rival can save the court—and each other—from the dark fate they see written in the stars.

I feel like I’ve seen this one talked about frequently in my own internet circles. I think I may have even seen some of you mention it in the comments!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

The Mystic and the Missing Girl

Author: Vicki VanSickle
Released: September 8, 2026 by Minotaur Books
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery/Thriller

Small town secrets, a reluctant psychic, and a cold case that could expose them all.

Drew Benson can read tarot cards and get impressions from objects―she just never expected to use her gifts to investigate an infamous cold case.

Drew Benson has a secret. She gets visions, something she hasn’t tapped into since she was a teenager, when her late aunt, a TV psychic known as Hannah Mystic, became the scapegoat in the unsolved disappearance of a local teenager. Twenty years later, Drew is happy to ignore her gift, focusing instead on keeping the metaphysical shop she inherited from Hannah afloat, wrangling her sole, astrology-obsessed employee, and dodging local rake Foster Banks in her picturesque lakeside hometown.

But when Drew’s arch-nemesis from high school, now a big city reporter, decides to investigate the cold case from all those years ago, it’s Drew’s ability that could finally make a break in the decades old mystery. With bills piling up, a disapproving mother laying on the guilt, and a local vandal who wants Drew and her witchy store gone, Drew has a lot to lose. But what she stands to gain―finding out what happened to the missing teen, clearing her aunt’s name, and a second chance at belonging―could change everything.

In The Mystic and the Missing Girl, Vikki VanSickle seamlessly draws readers into an utterly charming world in this unputdownable, small town mystery.

If horror isn’t your bag for spooky season, here’s a cozy paranormal mystery set in a small town to get you in the mood.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Now That We Don’t Talk

Author: Rachel Pologe
Released: October 20, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

A commitment-phobe finds herself stuck spending Hanukkah with her childhood best friend turned nemesis, only for holiday chaos to ensue and complicated feelings to resurface, in this emotionally resonant debut romance.

Norah Gold is a bolter. She avoids emotional situations at all costs, doesn’t do meaningful relationships, and when things get a little too real, she runs. She hasn’t let herself fall in love in nearly a decade, not since her whole world fell apart when her dad suddenly passed away. Desperate to escape a friends-with-benefits situation gone clingy, she returns home to Chicago for the holidays. Her one goal? Avoid Henry Cole, the boy who blew up her life and broke her heart back in high school. Easier said than done when she discovers that their mothers are dating and insist on celebrating the holidays together.

A decade later, Henry Cole is all custom suits and condescension. He is order to her chaos and absolutely insufferable about it. When Norah and Henry get snowed in together and learn just how serious their moms’ relationship is, they call a truce to make it through all eight nights of Hanukkah without setting each other on fire. As they begin to rediscover the foundation that made them so close growing up, Norah is desperate to keep her distance—the last thing she can handle is reopening decade-old emotional wounds. But even though they’ve tried to escape the past, Norah and Henry have unfinished business too pressing to ignore. Can Norah shake off her deep-seated impulse to bolt, or are they destined to flame out just like they did as teenagers?

This one is out soon and is a forced proximity Hanukkah romance with some second chance elements.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Once Upon You and Me

Charming fairy tale meets spicy bedtime story in this deliciously enchanting age-gap LGBTQIA+ romance

When Taylor Frost’s boss, Amy, flies him across the country to prep for her daughter’s sweet sixteen at the Storybook Endings Resort in the Catskills, the solo mission is well within his wheelhouse. Taylor is excellent at his job—except, he’s probably not supposed to flirt with the resort’s mountain man of a manager, Ethan Golding. Because the rugged older man is also the birthday girl’s father, aka Amy’s ex-husband. Oops.

For Ethan, his divorce seemed like the bad ending to his romantic story. And now, making his daughter’s sweet sixteen dreams come true is the closest he’ll get to the kind of magic happiness in fairy tales. Until adorable Taylor has him wondering if maybe this is just the beginning of a more erotic kind of bedtime story…

The only problem is Amy. And how very not okay she’d be with the chemistry between her assistant and her ex.

If only forbidden flings ever led to happily-ever-afters…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Night Bus

The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance with a strangers to friends to romance scenario. It came out earlier this year.

One book. Two strangers. An unforgettable journey as they rewrite the ending.

Daisy Douglas has spent her life behind the scenes: at work, in her relationships, and now, in planning a wedding she isn’t sure she even wants. As an entertainment journalist, she can spot the start of a story a mile away. So when her routine 4 a.m. bus ride to the newsroom takes a surprising turn, she notices.

For months, the same man has boarded at the same stop, reading the same tattered copy of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando over and over as if his life depends on it. When a broken-down bus and a shared walk through the quiet early-morning London streets finally throws them together, Tom reveals the heartbreaking truth as to why he can’t be without his novel.

Determined to help him find the answer to the riddle hidden in its pages, Daisy joins Tom on his strange literary quest—one that leads them to places neither of them ever expected. But as their friendship deepens, she starts to wonder if what they’re both looking for might not be in the book after all.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Stars Too Fondly

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton is $2.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a C-:

For goodness sake, if you are able to accept this story on its own terms and be happy, then do not let my grumpy ass stop you! I wish it had worked better for me.

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton tells a tale of galaxy-spanning friendship, improbable love, and found family.

So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace, but then the stupid dark-matter engine started on its own. Now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri and unable to turn around while being harangued by a hologram that has the face and snide attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie.

Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship travels deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting; old mysteries come crawling back to life; and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Evening the Score

Evening the Score by Lexi LaFleur Brown is $2.99! This is a hockey romance with a bit of fake dating. Brown has another hockey romance, but I’m unsure if these are part of a series.

USA TODAY bestselling author, NHL insider, and TikTok influencer Lexi LaFleur Brown is back with another trope-packed, spicy, hockey-accurate rom com!

Don’t get mad — get even.

A grudge hates to see Olivia Hinckley coming. Years ago, a dirty hit ended her late father’s NHL career with the Minnesota Freeze. It was never fair that Erik Parker walked away with little more than a penalty, but it’s worse that her father’s rival is now up for Hall of Fame induction. On top of that, Erik’s son—hockey’s golden boy, Brody—just signed on to play for the Freeze. Determined to dismantle the Parker legacy, Olivia enacts a revenge plot that has her donning the Freeze’s mascot costume to gain intel on the Parkers. And she can’t help but mess with Brody’s gameplay—and his heart for good measure. After all, what’s a little fake dating between enemies?

Brody Parker only ever wanted to play hockey for fun, but the pressure of being part of hockey’s “First Family” has him dodging nepotism allegations along with high sticks. Erik might act like Father of the Year when the cameras are on, but behind closed doors, Brody struggles with his father’s impossible expectations. Preserving Erik’s image is a full-time job, but lucky for Brody, his new connection with Olivia is a welcome (spicy) distraction.

When Brody finally opens up to Olivia, she never expected she’d pity a Parker for anything. Suddenly, she wants to protect her once-enemy. The romantic feelings she faked are now unexpectedly real, but after leading Brody on for so long, can she keep the lies and the truth straight before she accidentally blows up his whole life?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

On the podcast, I told Sarah that I listen to music that you start fights to. I love heavy drums and lots of screaming. For this Friday, Sarah asked me to share some of my favorite heavy metal songs.

Be warned, some of these may contain explicit lyrics and are certainly an assault on the senses.

One of my favorite collabs is “RATATATA” from BABYMETAL (from Japan) and Electric Callboy (from Germany). It’s one of the few heavy metal songs that even my partner enjoys.

Electric Callboy is one of my favorite bands. I was lucky enough to attend a concert last year. The energy was so good. Lots of attendees showed up in costumes from their various music videos. There was a banana man in the mosh pit. Since they brought on Nico as a lead singer, their music is sillier with an an electronica feel.

“TANZNEID” is a great song off their newest album and I often listen to it when I’m commuting into the city for work.

Lorna Shore is a deathcore band with one of the most unique vocalists. I will say that his voice is very goblin pig-esque. You’ll see what I mean when I listen. However, the instrumentals combined with the harsh vocals just really do something for me.

“Sun//Eater” is a good example of this!

Speaking of instrumentals! I love Nini Music for some amazing arrangements using traditional Chinese instruments.

For something not quite as heavy, Our Last Night does amazing rock covers of popular, trending songs. Many of their covers have made it onto my Spotify playlist.

Bilmuri is my go-to for “y’allternative” music, which blends pop punk, heavy metal, and some twang. The music videos are also goofy as hell. Last album, they just did a lost of posing around farming equipment that got progressively bigger and bigger.

Ska also makes some great pump-up music, but not necessarily for throwing punches. I’ve seen a meme that describes it as “what plays in a 13-year old kid’s head when they kit extra mozzarella sticks.”

Perhaps if I takeover a Friday Videos again, we can do some cheese stick tunes!

May Friday Videos give you an outlet for the rage!

Now she’s in the middle of a new trilogy she’s calling Love Notes, and we’re going to discuss the latest book, A Study in Sparkling. We’re going to discuss learning a TON about wine, and about writing romance set within the terrifying world of academia. Then I come to find out she’s done recent published research on erotic audio dramas, and about the bonkbusters of the 80s.

Special thanks to Josephine for requesting this interview and asking such thoughtful questions!

ETA: The transcript is here!

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Jodi McAlister at her website, jodimcalister.com.au.

We also mentioned:

• IASPR: the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance
• The IASPR call for papers for the 2027 conference
• The Bonkbuster: Women’s Popular Reading in the 1980s.
• Audioerotica
• Somm (documentary)

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Julia Song is Undateable

CEO seeks dating coach

Critically acclaimed and reader-favorite author Susan Lee’s hilarious adult debut is a shimmering and joyful look at the magnificent—and sometimes suffocating—weight of family, the ways we limit ourselves, and the irresistible power of love.

Julia Song, CEO of Starlight Cosmetics, is at the height of her career. Then why does she feel like such a failure? Maybe because she’s thirty and single, with a terrible track record at dating. And in the eyes of her Korean family, that is just unacceptable. It never really bothered her—that is until her beloved grandmother drops the bomb that she is sick and her dying wish is for Julia to get married. Impossible. So in a moment of weakness, Julia asks her family for help. Set her up on three dates to help her find The One. But it will never work—Julia is undateable. If only there was a coach for that…

Tae Kim knows about the weight of familial expectation. He’s currently unemployed, living in his parents’ basement to care for his ill father. Sure, he’s become somewhat of a fix-it man for the Korean community around town, but that’s not a real job. And the pressure to get his life together is getting to be too much. So when the Julia Song—his childhood crush—asks for his help, it may be just the distraction he needs. He’ll do whatever it takes, even coach her for these three dates. Problem is, the more time they spend together and the closer they get, the more Tae wonders if anyone is good enough for Julia…including him.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Scot’s Seduction

The Scot’s Seduction by Megan Frampton is $2.99! This is book two in the Heirs & Spares series. The heroine is asked to help the hero’s niece through her Season debut.

A deliciously fun romance blossoms between a fiercely independent woman and a reserved Scotsman, in the latest installment of Megan Frampton’s Heirs and Spares series.

She’ll never say yes…

Lady Drusilla Courtenay has sworn off marriage, though she still dabbles in romance, much to Society’s shock. She’s determined to help other women remain independent, but she lacks the means to see her vision through. When Murdoch, Earl of Cragmore, arrives on her doorstep with his niece, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse; if she assists with his niece’s debut, he’ll turn her dreams into reality. But accepting this bargain doesn’t mean she can’t also have some fun with the burly, handsome Scot—as long as they both keep their stronger emotions in check.

He can’t say no…

Murdoch has never met a woman like Drusilla. Proud, opinionated, intelligent, and fiercely independent, she is also the most passionate woman he’s ever encountered. When she proposes they extend their bargain into something more intimate, he agrees, even though he knows it will end at the conclusion of the Season. As he gets to know her, he falls deeply in love. He knows it is hopeless, since the Drusilla he’s desperately in love with would never agree to upend her life to be with him.

Will the two most stubborn people finally compromise, or will they deny their hearts?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

House of Blight

House of Blight by Maxym M. Martineau is $2.99! This is billed as a Gothic romantasy and is the first in the series. I’ve enjoyed Martineau’s earlier releases, but haven’t tried this one just yet.

The first novel in an eerie, darkly creative, and romantic new gothic fantasy duology from Maxym M. Martineau, for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.

Edira Brillwyn is a threadmender. She holds a rare, lifesaving power that can cure disease and heal injuries in the blink of an eye. But magic always comes with a cost, and saving anyone sacrifices a sliver of her own life. She’s always kept her abilities hidden…until the powerful Fernglove family discovers her secret.

The Ferngloves are charming and beautiful, possess powerful magic, and don’t take no for an answer—especially Orin, the head of these ruling elites. When Edira’s brothers unexpectedly contract blight—an incurable virus killing people throughout the town, and an illness too strong for her to heal them both—Orin offers to help. Together at his estate they’ll research a cure while Orin slows their sickness and Edira hones her magic. His kindness and honesty surprises Edira, as does her undeniable attraction to him.

But the other Ferngloves are suspicious of her power and may be more dangerous than the ever-present disease. The longer Edira stays within the confines of the Manor, the more the family’s pristine exterior begins to crack—until Edira discovers a terrifying secret and must choose who she can save and at what cost…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Bad Boy Era

Bad Boy Era by Amy Daws is $1.99! This is a grumpy/sunshine small town romance. It’s also book four in the Mountain Men Matchmaker series. I know we’ve featured books one and two on sale before in case you’re hoping to gradually accumulate the whole series.

Rule #1 on the Everly Fletcher Matchmaking Manifesto…Never fall for your best friend’s grumpy brother.

Everly is the matchmaking mastermind of her family, but her own love life is a bit of a flop.

Back from four years in Dublin, she’s ready for a quiet summer on Fletcher Mountain helping launch her aunt’s animal rescue center—until Conri “Wolf” Reilly shows up.

Wolf is her college roommate’s infuriating twin brother. He’s brooding, Irish, and college rugby’s resident bad boy with thighs that could crack a watermelon.

His red card reputation has trashed his rugby prospects…until a training camp in Denver comes calling. As a favor, Everly reluctantly gets Wolf a place to stay if he volunteers at the rescue center.

Now Everly’s finds herself working and living next door to the Irish tattooed grump who treats her like a nuisance—but looks at her like he could press her up against a hay bale until they forget their own names.

Wolf swore he came to America to fix his image, not fall for his sister’s best friend, but the more time he spends with Everly, the harder it is to keep his distance.

Perhaps Everly’s in her bad boy era…or maybe Fletcher Mountain might has its own matchmaking plans.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I’m reading Jane Austen’s Bookshelf and it’s making me really curious about the classics. Something I haven’t felt in at least a decade. So it’s a really broad rec request. Which classics (especially women writers who aren’t necessarily ‘canon’) would the bitchery recommend? I have only one other requirement – that the book have a happy ending. Oh and preferably available as an ebook as my budget and location don’t stretch to collecting rare books.

Sarah: I was an English major at a women’s college in the south so my ‘classics’ curriculum was a lot of Southern Gothic writers. Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor didn’t write romances, or books with what Lara would think are happy endings so I’m really pondering.

The thing with classics in what is considered the literary canon, aka A Lot of Books by Dead White Guys, is that they don’t end happily in a way that corresponds with our understanding of romance. Two very different genres, in other words.

So I’m playing a little loose with the idea of a ‘classic’ here.

Would Anne of Green Gables ( A | BN ) be considered a classic? I think so, and it ends happily. The Blue Castle is even more romantic.

Elyse: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf ( A | BN | K | AB )

Sarah: A Room with a View by EM Forster, ends with choices that romance readers would probably identify as a happy ending (though if you read the unpublished epilogue, well, maybe don’t do that).

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, which follows four women in a villa in Italy.

A | BN | K | AB

The Count of Monte Cristo ( A | BN | K | AB ) and The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas ( A | BN | K | AB ) – a dude, but also some excellently satisfying revenge.

Amanda: Dumas is one of the few classic authors I don’t feel is overrated.

Sarah: One more book that is probably mentioned in Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: Evelina by Fanny Burney. ( A | BN | K ) I read that in grad school and woo was that a fun one!

It’s epistolary, and very Dramatique!

Tara: I think Pamela by Samuel Richardson ( A | BN | K | AB )  counts, although I haven’t read it since I was in university.

Carrie: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ) As with any classic be warned of issues around xenophobia, racism, classism, and ableism going in.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ( A | BN | K | AB )

Not a romance but has a happy ending: A Little Princess by Frances hodgson Burnett and, also by her, The Secret Garden.

A lot of Dickens had at least some characters having happy endings

My Antonia by Willa Cather ( A | BN | K | AB ) had a bittersweet ending, everyone ends up at peace with where they are and Antonia has a very happy life.

Are there any classics you’d recommend? Let us know in the comments!

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

A | BN | K | AB

The cover copy:

Brighton, England— 1811.

The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses-that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr’s mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness’s death-and his mother’s uncertain fate.

As he edges closer to the truth-and one murder follows another-he confronts a conspiracy that imperils those nearest him and threatens to bring down the monarchy.

Here are my many and varied thoughts while reading this one:

1. Witch burning … I know one shouldn’t rely on historical fiction but the statistic given in the book on the number of women burnt as witches in ‘Christendom’ shocked me (5 million!). Can it be real? Does anyone have book recommendations for digging a little deeper on this?
2. Did anyone else struggle to keep all the family connections clear in this one? Everyone seemed to be related by blood or marriage. I really wanted a diagram of the connections. Through sheer repetition I eventually had somewhat of a grasp on it.
3. The author really doesn’t like fat people. Her favourite word to describe the villains of the piece is ‘fleshy’. Possibly my least favourite word to describe fatness.
4. So many people died! It’s so unflinching and because her writing is so vivid, it’s deeply affecting. I was so sad that Guinevere was killed. Sometimes I find in books that I don’t really get sad about the first person killed in the story, but Guinevere really came to life for me.
5. Is it weird that I’m developing a crush on Paul Gibson, the surgeon?

Final thoughts

I really enjoyed this one. I appreciated that the primary victim was seen as fully human and properly mourned. I coped with the pretty relentless violence. I am DEEPLY intrigued by the little that was revealed about Sebastian’s mother’s ‘disappearance’ and I’m really looking forward to learning what secret his dad is keeping – the one that prompts him to keep sending funds to Venice.

If I were to give this one a grade, I would say a B+ which might not be fair because the drawback (keeping the characters straight in my mind) could well be a personal failing and not a failing of the book!

A | BN | K | AB

The cover copy:

When the grisly remains of Alfred, Lord Stanton’s eldest son are discovered in the Old Palace Yard beside the House of Lords, the local magistrate turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help.

Ranging from the gritty world of Thames-side docks to the luxurious drawing rooms of Mayfair, Sebastian finds himself confronting his most puzzling–and disturbing–case yet. With the help of his trusted allies–young servant Tom, Irish doctor Paul Gibson, and his lover Kat Boleyn–Sebastian struggles to decipher a cryptic set of clues that link the scion of a banking family to the son of a humble Kentish vicar.

For as one killing follows another, Sebastian discovers he is confronting a murderer with both a method and a purpose to his ritualized killings, and that the key to it all may lie in the enigmatic stanzas of a haunting poem…and in a secret so dangerous that men are willing to sacrifice their own children to keep the truth from becoming known.

The thoughts I thunk:

1. I was delighted when Sir Henry Lovejoy made his appearance so early in the story. He’s a firm favourite of mine. This quote delighted me:
   “He was a funny little man with a shiny bald head, pinched, unsmiling features, and an almost comically high voice. Painstakingly moral, upright, and fastidious, he was also one of the most sincere and dedicated men Sebastian had ever met.”
2. For someone who usually abhors characters in historicals who believe that aristocrats are better than working folk, I have a lot of time for Sebastian’s dad, Hendon. I enjoy that he says ridiculous things like, “What sort of vile beast would perpetrate such a barbarity upon men of wealth and breeding?” while still clearly loving his son in his gruff way. Although that secret hinted at the end is a big one. I must learn more!
3. This author is forever telling us what scents from the outdoors come in with the character entering the room. Some from this book:
   “Bringing with him the cold damp of the morning”
   “Tom came hurtling into the dressing room, bringing with him the scent of the rain that had been threatening all morning.”
   “… brought with him the crisp scent of the September morning.”
   “… bringing with him the scent of well-bred horses and a cool morning rain.”
4. Kat Boleyn’s reveal took my breath away! AAAAH!
5. My crush on Paul Gibson continues unabated. Just FYI.
6. I am very hopeful for this new valet and can’t wait to meet him in the next book.

Final thoughts

I did a better job than usual of keeping track of the various clues in this one although the killer’s identity shocked me! Which I love. I don’t want to KNOW who the killer is. It MUST be a surprise. But also it must be a surprise that makes sense with the rest of the story.

I thought it was a really creative premise. I’m breathless with excitement at the secrets that have been revealed and those that have just been hinted at. I want to learn more about Hero and Jarvis himself. Will that secret of Hendon’s ever be revealed? This book left me with a burning hunger for more of this series.

Lara will be working her way through the Sebastian St. Cyr series and sharing here. Have you read – or re-read – this series? 

Silent in the Grave

“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.”

These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.

Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.

Determined to bring her husband’s murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward’s demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Witch You Would

Witch You Would by Lia Amador is $2.99! This is a standalone paranormal romance with witches and a reality show. I remember giving this one a go and felt there was a lot going on.

When a young witch gets a life-changing chance to compete in a magical reality show, sparks fly as she’s partnered with a man she can’t stand.

In a Miami where enchantment is just another college major, the magic of television could change two lives.

Penelope Delmar, a broke salesgirl, has been chosen to compete on Cast Judgment, a spellcasting reality show. The winner gets a big cash prize, and for extra hype, this season is the Spellebrity every contestant will be paired with a celebrity teammate. Unfortunately, her partner, Leandro Presto, is best known for his goofy viral spell videos, not his skills.

Gil Contreras, alias Leandro Presto, has been crushing on his pen pal Penelope for months. Now they’re working together to win a contest that could save his grandfather’s charity—except he has to stay in character the whole time, so his dream girl thinks he’s a total loser.

Can they beat snobby rivals, fix spells gone wrong, and survive increasingly dangerous sabotage attempts to win the grand prize—and each other’s hearts? Or will Gil’s secret make both their magic and romance fizzle out?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Ghost Bride

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo is $2.99! This is a mixture of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance. The Ghost Bride. It’s also been made into a Netflix adaptation that I’m super curious about!

‘One evening, my father asked me whether I would like to become a ghost bride…’

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family’s only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, traditional ghost marriages are used to placate restless spirits. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lims’ handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits, and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family’s darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Scotch on the Rocks

Scotch on the Rocks by Elliot Fletcher is $2.99! This is book two in the Macabe Brothers series. It’s a small town romance with some opposites attract and off-limits elements.

Opposites attract in this sexy Scottish romance between a young woman and the man who is completely off-limits, from the author of Whisky Business.

The Macabe Brother Rule Book (according to Juniper Ross):

Don’t look at a Macabe brother
Don’t talk to a Macabe brother
Don’t even think about a Macabe brother

It’s pretty tough for June to follow her own rules, considering one brother is in love with her best friend, one is her ex-fiancé, and one … well, one is super-hot, small-town hero Callum Macabe.

But when Callum seems to be popping up everywhere, especially when Juniper is at her most vulnerable, it’s hard not to imagine just how good breaking a rule might feel.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Thank you all for the batch cooking suggestions from last week. We plan to do a freezer clean-out soon to take inventory and free up some space.

Things are also cooling off in New England, so it’s getting ready to be soup season anyway. I always anticipate my first batch of slow cooker chili of the season. Sorry, Texans, my recipe includes beans.

…

The 2026 finalists for the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards are up! I’m always so amazed at how photographers get these shots.

…

If you’re a frequent user of Libby, here are a few insider tips from a librarian.

…

Do you love Labyrinth and Magic: The Gathering? Well, I’m happy to report your worlds are colliding.

…

Someone made Eddy’s dress from the cover of Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins for their Addy Walker American Girl doll!

…

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!

A Tempest of Desire

New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath returns to the fan favorite series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, with the story of a viscount who has retreated to a small, secluded island only to have a mysterious and beautiful woman wash up on shore.

After surviving a horrific railway accident, Viscount Langdon retreats to his private island to recover and conquer the nightmarish memories that continue to haunt him. The very last thing he wants—or expects—is for London’s most infamous courtesan to wash up on his beach.

Marlowe is known for her bold flirtations, but her most daring exploits involve flying in her hot air balloon. When a storm blows her off course, she discovers herself alone with the isle’s only inhabitant. The gorgeous, seductive lord tempts her beyond reason, but giving into temptation would lead to her ruination because the all-consuming liaison would demand complete surrender. And she has secrets to protect.

Langdon finds the captivating beauty near impossible to resist, but he can’t risk her learning the true reason behind his isolation. However, a powerful tempest of desire is swirling wildly between them, urging them to give in to the perilous passion that could destroy them . . . or perhaps show them the way to love.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Like in Love with You

Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban is $2.99! This is a f/f historical romance with some rivals to lovers elements. Have you read any of Alban’s romances?

Mean Girls meets Northanger Abbey in this brand new, sapphic, rivals-to-lovers Regency Romance by USA Today bestselling author Emma R. Alban!

When country-bred Catherine Pine relocates to Bath in 1817, she and her mother come face-to-face with her mother’s arch nemesis, Lady Tisend, and her daughter, the wildly popular and gorgeous Lady Rosalie. Though once her very best friend, Mrs. Pine alleges Lady Tisend ultimately did her a great injustice. Twenty-five years later, she sees the perfect opportunity for retribution:

Catherine will win the favor of Lady Rosalie’s suitor, Mr. Dean. Together, Catherine and her mother will ruin the Tisends’ lives, secure Catherine a fruitful match, and launch a fully triumphant return to Bath. It’s the perfect plan for revenge. Only Catherine soon discovers that there’s more to Lady Rosalie’s mean streak than meets the eye. Lady Rosalie is by far the wittiest, cleverest, most intriguing young woman Catherine’s ever met, and she’s utterly smitten.

Meanwhile, Rosalie feels trapped in her perfect life as Bath’s favorite daughter and resident mean girl. There’s no challenge anymore, no excitement, no surprise. But when she notices newcomer Catherine gunning for her spot as queen bee, Rosalie finally feels a spark again. She determines to meet Catherine’s challenge with gusto, because Catherine ignites something in her. Something Rosalie absolutely doesn’t want to extinguish.

As their mothers force them into increasingly absurd contests of wit and feminine charms to win Mr. Dean’s affections, Rosalie and Catherine instead find themselves falling for each other, scheme, by barb, by catty jab…

Can their sizzling rivalry really become a match to last?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Other Princess

The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce is $2.99! This one was featured in a previous Book Beat post. We’ve also had Bryce’s debut Wild Women and the Blues on sale before.

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.

With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.

But embedded in Sarah’s past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.

From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James’s Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.

Based on the real life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Magpie Murders

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is $2.99! This was a pretty buzzy book when it released. It was also adapted into a series on PBS Masterpiece.

Alan Conway is a bestselling crime writer. His editor, Susan Ryeland, has worked with him for years, and she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. Alan’s traditional formula pays homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. It’s proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.

When Susan receives Alan’s latest manuscript, in which Atticus Pünd investigates a murder at Pye Hall, an English manor house, she has no reason to think it will be any different from the others. There will be dead bodies, a cast of intriguing suspects, and plenty of red herrings and clues. But the more Susan reads, the more she realizes that there’s another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript—one of ambition, jealousy, and greed—and that soon it will lead to murder.

Masterful, clever, and ruthlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage crime fiction.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I am trying to track down a standalone mass-market historical romance paperback that I read years ago. It would have been published anywhere from the late 1990s to 2010.

The Heroine: Lucy. She lives with her father and is highly intelligent but very near-sighted—she completely relies on her glasses to see. She is hired to restore a library at a grand estate.

The Hero: Nicholas. He is a brooding widower who owns the estate where Lucy is working.

Lucy is working on restoring the books in Nicholas’s library. While searching a desk, she discovers a hidden drawer containing a fictional manuscript written by Nicholas’s deceased wife.

The manuscript tells a story about twin sisters who were severely abused by their mother. As Lucy reads it, she realizes this “fiction” is actually a true autobiographical account of the late wife’s hidden childhood.

The late wife’s unhinged mother is orchestrating a dark plot. She wants to secretly swap in the late wife’s identical twin sister (whom nobody knew existed) and trick Nicholas into marrying her, pretending his first wife never actually died.

It was a total standalone novel (not part of a massive family series), and it beautifully blended traditional Regency/historical romance with heavy Gothic suspense elements. I’m not completely sure that those are the main characters names but they sound right. Does this ring a bell for anyone? Thank you so much for the help!

Can we HaBO?

Happy Tuesday!

A bit of a calmer week from last Tuesday. Definitely expect holiday romances to ramp up in the coming weeks.

What books are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

As You Wake, Break the Shell

Author: Becky Chambers
Released: October 13, 2026 by Harper Voyager
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: As You Wake, Break the Shell #1

Explore a universe of stubborn survival and found family, of persistent danger and quiet wonder in the first installment of a heartfelt new duology from Hugo Award–winning author Becky Chambers.

Life on the resource-poor planet of Fortune is challenging, but for its inhabitants, it’s home. For two of them, Signy and Cora, this home might no longer be enough.

Signy is a brilliant but reclusive botanist who bio-prints medicine from her small plant shop, often bending the rules to help those the system leaves behind. Her life is filled with the green of her store, the warmth of her one elderly friend, and the quiet determination to help others without putting herself in danger.

Cora is a rorqual pilot, one of the few with the unique ability to navigate the massive, living ships that connect the scattered settlements of their solar system. Her bond with her rorqual, Colibri, is profound—a connection that is both her greatest gift and a threat to her career.

It is that threat—the “mindbleed,” a dangerous side effect of her piloting—that brings her to Signy’s shop, and her appearance puts Signy in the danger she so fears. But it’s soon apparent it’s not just about losing her license—this delicate balance between risk and trust has the potential to change everything for them.

Told in an alternating timeline of their initial coming together and a not-so-distant future where they have found domestic bliss, this is a story harrowing and haunting, heartfelt and hopeful. Through a love story centered around survival, we are given a glimpse into the very best of what Becky Chambers does in her writing: explore what it means to be human, and what it means to come together.

New Becky Chambers! And it’s the first book in a series. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Entities to Lovers

Author: Mallory Marlowe
Released: October 13, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

A connection that’s more than supernatural emerges between two rival tour guides who wish they could ghost each other in this sparkling romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Mallory Marlowe.

Paranormal medium Rory Woods spends her days offering psychic readings at Ye Olde Spirit Shop and nights haunting the streets of Boston as a ghost-tour guide. Sure, business could be better, but she’s proud of the shop she runs with her mom.

Enter Ezra adjunct history professor, noted thorn in Rory’s side, and—though she’d only admit it under threat of medieval torture he surely knows too much about—a distractingly handsome, charismatic coworker.

Rory can’t stand Ezra’s know-it-all, show-offy behavior. Ezra loves to tease the gorgeous, brilliant medium at the shop. And when the two are forced to host a tour together? It’s no wonder they end up hexed after disturbing a matchmaking ghost.

Saddled with perpetual bad luck unless they’re physically near each other, Rory and Ezra will try anything, from séances to kissing, to stop the jinx from wreaking havoc on both their lives. But in their quest to appease the spirit, they realize that growing closer might not be the curse they once thought it was.

An autumnal paranormal romance. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder

Author: Ally Carter
Released: October 13, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Romance
Series: Kiss, Merry, Kill #2

A billionaire’s grandson and the housekeeper’s daughter square off in this cat-and-mouse holiday romance-mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

Ella Chambers didn’t kill Liam Montgomery.

If she had, she certainly wouldn’t have done it outside his family’s mansion during the Christmas party of the year. She definitely wouldn’t have loaded his body into the trunk of her car. And she absolutely would not have announced to the town that the boy who ruined her life ten years ago was “so dead to her.”

But now Liam is missing—nothing but a bloody spot on the drive and a host of unanswered questions—and Ella is the only person who knows he’s still alive.

So it’s up to her to prove it.

Liam Montgomery didn’t want to die.

But, it turns out, when you’re the sole heir to a billionaire, someone might want you dead. Luckily for Liam, being dead works for him.

Now he’s on the hunt for a killer. Unfortunately, Ella is on the hunt for him.

She’ll have to prove he’s still alive to clear her name, but that’s easier said than done in a quaint mountain town where everyone knows your story but no one knows the truth. Can the billionaire’s grandson and the housekeeper’s daughter join forces to catch a killer? Or is their past too steeped in secrets and lies?

As the storm of the century blows in, every step will bring these two childhood rivals closer to a killer—and each other.

Because, this Christmas, only one thing is it’s beginning to look a lot like murder.

Lara loved the first book in this series, so we expect good things for book two. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Love You to Death

Author: Jenna Levine
Released: October 13, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance

A jaded grim reaper and a woman who wants another chance at life give ‘til death do us part a new meaning in this paranormal romance from bestselling author Jenna Levine.

Lucy McKenzie’s life has always been a disaster. So it should come as no surprise when one day she’s hit by an inconveniently-timed bus—and dies. Unfortunately for the handsome grim reaper who shows up to take her to the afterlife, Lucy is not about to go quietly.

Daniel is tired of his job collecting souls. While working for the Agency beats the heck out of going to Hell, he’s been doing this for literal ages. The drudgery has him yearning for more. Touched by Lucy’s plea for more time on earth, he convinces the Agency to make a Lucy can have six more weeks of life if Daniel can observe her and report back on humanity.

But as Lucy and Daniel navigate the chaos of life and afterlife together, they discover that a second chance at living might be their real chance at love.

We’re seeing a lot of death/afterlife romances lately!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

Mothsblood

Author: Lynn Jung
Released: October 13, 2026 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre: LGBTQIA, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

An ambitious alchemist must uncover her university’s dark secrets while trying to escape from her mysterious past in this electrifying debut.

On a rain-soaked night in modern-day Paris, Larkspur Lee and her academic rivals find themselves at the center of an impossible crime: the murder of their university’s headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel.

In the aftermath of Flamel’s death, the school devolves into chaos. The mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, believes a cult known as the Promethean Genesis is responsible for Flamel’s murder. But Lark, who knows all too well what kind of horrors that the Prometheans commit, will do anything to stay out of the cult’s reach. Matters are complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean and a continent to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own.

As the Prometheans’ plans come to fruition and the university’s dark history comes to light, Lark has no choice but to decide whether the power she desires is truly worth the price.

Amanda: Fall is cooking with dark academia titles!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

Snow This is Love

Author:
Released: October 13, 2026 by Hyperion Avenue Digital
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: Meant to Be #5.5

The Cozy Holiday Romances You’ve Been Dreaming Of…

Come in from the cold and let your heart melt this holiday season with five all-new cozy romance stories from the best-selling authors of Disney’s Meant to Be collection: Zoraida Córdova, Jasmine Guillory, Christina Lauren, Julie Murphy, and Jesse Q. Sutanto.

From Christmas to New Year’s Eve to Lunar New Year, today’s best romance writers reimagine beloved Disney tales as contemporary romances with a dusting of holiday magic.

Featuring:
“Deck the Heels” by Julie Murphy
Nothing says Merry Christmas like a televised fairy tale wedding produced by your not-so-evil stepmother.

“Beauty and the Baking Battle” by Jasmine Guillory
A brainy beauty and her (reformed) beast’s visions of sugar plums for their dream baking competition turn into a nightmare.

“Siren in the Snow” by Zoraida Córdova
She’s the girl who has everything. He has nothing, when he loses his luggage and control of his romantic Christmas surprise.

“Best (New Year’s) Day Ever” by Christina Lauren
Can a sunshine and not-quite grump check off everything on their holiday bucket-list and make it home for their first New Year’s Eve kiss?

“Dreaming of a Perfect Lunar New Year” by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A possible curse, a meddling family, and a disastrous Lunar New Year party almost come between a couple that is meant to be.

This is a holiday anthology that features continuations from the Disney-retold couples in the Meant to Be series. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Villain

The Boys meets Starter Villain and Assistant to the Villain in Natalie Zina Walschots’s electrifying, sharp, violent, and hilarious sequel to the highly acclaimed novel, Hench, in which the Auditor must confront the near-impossible in order to right the many wrongs in the superhuman industry…or cause more of them. She’s not picky.

Anna, better known to superheroes as the Auditor, has carved out a name for herself. Any hero unlucky enough to cross her path knows her potential and powers. Surely, success should taste she has an incredible job with lots of perks, and her boss will literally annihilate anyone who crosses her, and her greatest enemy, the former hero Supercollider, has been utterly defeated and literally ground to a pulp.

But Anna still has her sights set on a greater destroying the Draft, the organization that makes, trains, and manages the world’s most powerful superheroes. These “heroes” have shown time and time again that they do more harm than good, and now is the time to stop the damage at its source.

Yet all is not well for the Auditor and her fellow evildoers. Her employer, Leviathan—the world’s most feared supervillain—is not coping well with Supercollider’s defeat at someone else’s hands. Moreover, her unlikely ally and unexpected friend, Quantum Entanglement, has vanished without a trace, leaving Anna to examine all the ways they deceived each other. Tension and uncertainty fill the air, and fear that this moment of triumph is about to crumble looms over all of them.

Anna soon finds herself facing down an opponent unlike any she’s taken on before—not another superhero, but someone like her…someone much more the Draft’s Chief Marketing Officer. This isn’t a test of physical prowess, but ideas, and as the fight spirals deeper and deeper, with new foes popping up every day—she’ll need more than just her superpower—data research—to keep ascending through the supervillain ranks.

It’s guerrilla ad warfare, and the Auditor might have finally met her match.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Chaos Reigning

Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik is $2.99! Ellen reviewed it, giving it a B-:

I think if you have enjoyed the series overall this is a worthwhile read, but I wish my expectations had not been so high coming off the second book.

Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion series.

As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.

Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate.

But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.

But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried. . .

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Once and Future Duke

My Once and Future Duke by Caroline Linden is $2.99! This is the first book in The Wagers of Sin historical romance series. Elyse wasn’t a fan of this book because she’s over heroes using heroines as pawns for revenge. However, others loved how the romance developed between the two main characters.

What happens at the infamous Vega Club . . . 

Sophie Campbell is determined to be mistress of her own fate. Surviving on her skill at cards, she never risks what she can’t afford to lose. Yet when the Duke of Ware proposes a scandalous wager that’s too extravagant to refuse, she can’t resist. If she wins, she’ll get five thousand pounds, enough to secure her independence forever.

Stays at the Vega Club . . . 

Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, tells himself he’s at the Vega Club merely to save his reckless brother from losing everything, but he knows it’s a lie. He can’t keep his eyes off Sophie, and to get her he breaks his ironclad rule against gambling. If he wins, he wants her—for a week.

Until now. 

A week with Jack could ruin what’s left of Sophie’s reputation. It might even cost her her heart. But when it comes to love, all bets are off . . .

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Age of Magical Overthinking

The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell is $2.99! I’ve enjoyed Montell’s previous non-fiction titles, but haven’t got around to reading this one. It’s also her newest release.

From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.

“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.

In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “Halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the “Sunk Cost Fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

TW: sexual harassment, use of lab animals (not shown suffering) Highlight to read.

Lara: I have a theory that having been raised on rom-coms of the 90s and 2000s, I find it exceptionally difficult for a contemporary rom-com to meet all my expectations. I want wit and charm and swooning and that delicious warm feeling of falling in love. I get this feeling from loads of books, maybe because for me books are more immersive than film or TV.

I say all this because I think my expectations of contemporary rom-coms are unreasonably high.

That giant disclaimer out the way, I did really enjoy The Love Hypothesis. I read the book back in 2021 and reviewed it for the site. I landed on a B-. Most of the time, I prefer the book to the film so I anticipated giving the film around a C. But I didn’t! It was solidly in the B territory too, but for different reasons!

Carrie: I went into this without knowing anything about The Love Hypothesis ( A | BN | K ) except that it was by Ali Hazelwood.

Here’s a quick description of the plot:

A | BN | K

Lara: I adored Lili Reinhart as Olive. I found her charming and relatable and I really wanted her to win. I wanted her to have the career AND the guy and the great friendship with Ahn (Rachel Marsh).

Tom Bateman as Adam was hot and tall and very good at being grumpy, but I could have done with a bit more emoting of his inner feelings. I fully confess that I watched the show without my glasses so maybe I missed finer facial details. (My eye sight isn’t that bad and I hate wearing glasses)

Carrie: You did not miss finer facial details, although I give credit to Tom Bateman for being an extraordinary actor since he played the opposite type of character in Hedda. He has range. He does good ‘yearning’ face.

But Adam is a pretty flat character other than his hidden “squishy center.” I found both leads to be very genial and attractive and pleasant to spend 112 minutes with, but I honestly thought Olive had more chemistry with Anh than with Adam.

Lara: Now that you mention it, the real love story is Ahn and Olive. And isn’t that just always the case. Best friends for life. Soul sisters.

From what I remember of the book, it seemed a pretty loyal adaptation, with a few minor exceptions. It’s a rare film adaptation that can depart significantly from the source material without crashing and burning, in my humble opinion.

So I recommend this movie? Yes, I do! It didn’t give me that lovely giddy feeling that romance books or Sandra Bullock rom-coms do, but I enjoyed it and you know how I know that? I only picked up my phone twice and that was to add things to my to do list and I put my phone right back down again. In the attention economy, that’s saying something.

Carrie: I, alas, was more grumpy. I thought a lot of things about the movie were problematic, I had a hard time keeping my attention on it, and it did not cause me to swoon in romantic delight although I did swoon in horror from time to time.

I had a huge problem with the imbalance between Olive being a student and Adam being a postdoc. Adam immediately addresses it and says that the code of ethics permits their relationship because there’s no academic or professional overlap between them. But there clearly is a lot of overlap – because of Adam, Olive has access to faculty in ways she otherwise wouldn’t, and that is both to her detriment and to her benefit. While Olive isn’t Adam’s student, her roommate is, and that causes problems for all three of them.

I also felt bothered by the age gap, which is super hypocritical because I married a man twelve years older than me and we’ve been married for twenty-six years. So of all people to gripe about age-gaps, I’m the least justified. Olive and Adam are less than ten years apart in age.

But in the movie, they really play up how youthful, how naive and shy and vulnerable Olive is, and how much older Adam is. He’s much taller so she’s always on tip toes, he carries her around, she wears adorable clothes that are very cute and play up her youth, and his friends are much older than her friends and their social gatherings are completely different. So on paper the age gap probably wouldn’t have bothered me, but the visual made it impossible to ignore.

Lara: You know, Carrie, now that you mention it, they DID play up her youth, whereas if I’m remembering the book clearly, it was the staff/student thing that bothered me more in the book than the age gap. It would be interesting to reread and remind myself of how the age gap was treated in the book, but I’m afraid I don’t care enough to expend that effort (maybe this should be a C? Or maybe I’m just tired?).

Carrie: I have one last gripe which is that, while I praise this movie for having a diverse cast, and while I adored Anh and would follow her anywhere, they are all in service of these two White people.

Ten years ago I wouldn’t even have noticed but now I’m so grumpy and I really would have found either Anh or Olive’s other friend Malcolm (played by Jaboukie Young-White) more interesting characters to follow.

Lara: Ditto and yes and please.

Carrie: That’s a lot of grumping about what is really a sweet, gentle, low-stress rom-com. I’d give it a C, maybe a C+?

Lara: I think I’ll stick with my B- if only because I didn’t check my phone much which I ALWAYS do when watching TV.

We’re averaging the C/B- grade to a C+, because our database only allows one grade. Have you seen The Love Hypothesis? What grade would you give it? 

Source

In the coming months, annual subscriptions to After Dark will be up for renewal.

First, some housekeeping:

If you’re a member, your subscription will automatically renew.

We wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of the mayhem we’re working on, so if you’d like to check your membership subscription, you can do that right here.

What’s the opposite of housekeeping? Whatever it is, that’s this part:

I have to give a massive, truly smothering thank you to the Smart Bitches After Dark members! THANK YOU.

Because of you: Smart Bitches is still here. No, really.

Or, as my grandmother would say, no foolin’!

I can’t overstate how important your support is. You might have noticed the media landscape changing rapidly, as sites shut down or are absorbed into other properties. Advertisement spend – marketing spend in general – is down, while AI scraping and repurposing of content is way up. I won’t get too detailed because it’s a massive bummer, but it’s hard to be independent in an increasingly corporate-driven media landscape.

Because of your support, we are open and accessible to everyone looking for a global community of romance readers, and a place where they can find connections and book recommendations that suit their tastes. Because of you, we’re about to hit 22 years! Twenty. Two.

Thank you.

I know that your time and your resources are important, and I am truly honored by your investment in our little corner of the internet.

Last year, I did a survey of the After Dark members, and these are some of the responses when I asked why they joined:

I love the book recommendations, but it is also just important for me to support a site that is probably one of my favorite things. Reviews are always interesting and insightful, the community comments are jerk free, I love this place.

I say all the time that I don’t take myself too seriously, but the comment space is something I take very seriously. Not only do we have wonderful humans here, but we maintain a supportive environment for new folks, too. Thank you.

Knowing I’m supporting the B*tchery and a safe place for books and love and romance of all kinds.

…

Honestly, I like knowing I am helping to keep the doors open and the lights on in what feels like the last safe space in the virtual world. I also love that the content is deeper and more thoughtful about the romance community.

We really are a piece of the vintage internet, aren’t we? How cool is that.

I never, ever thought Smart Bitches would become what it is, and I never expected to still be talking about romance after 22 years. But with the support of the After Dark community, I’ve been able to:

• Remove intrusive ads
• Upgrade to faster servers and better bot protection (you would not believe how many AI bot crawlers there are per hour).
• Pay reviewers and contributors
• Most importantly: keep the site open and free for everyone who stops by.

In the past 22 years, everything about the internet has changed, and very few people are doing what we do here at Smart Bitches.

If our community is important to you, we need your help to keep on Bitchin’.

Your support keeps us open, and your enthusiasm and dedication to our community keeps me going. There are fewer and fewer safe spaces online, and I’m extremely proud and humbled that you’ve helped safeguard this one for all of us.

Thank you, thank you, and on to another year of After Dark!

If you’d like to find out more, or join After Dark, we’d love to have you!

From Belle: Someone needs to be extra careful with their font choice, especially around words that end with -unt.

Sarah: NOBODY noticed this?

Amanda: Would 100% read a book called The Bride Cunt.

Sarah: Absolutely would.

I still cannot get over this cover. Literally nobody noticed? OR, someone DID notice and held their tongue, which, okay, I respect the commitment to chaos.

From MegCat: By the looks of the expressions on their faces, they’re in the toilet queue and whoever’s currently in the one and only cubicle is taking forever.

Sarah: Today’s edition of “Faces and necks are hard to draw.”

She looks like she’s about to hoist that L and swing it at his head. Think it’ll kill him?

Amanda: You can tell she hates his Burger King crown and is imagining ripping it off his head.

From C: I know the big bad mafia man is trying to look all secretive, but I can’t shake the feeling that what he’s hiding is morning breath.

Sarah: The Devil’s Promise must begin with a gnarly fart.

Amanda: Or he’s about to throw up.

Sarah: Caught a bad smell.

From Maeve: This is a series of 12 shorts with different male torsos on each cover. There’s just so much on these covers to marvel at.

Sarah: She’s not lying – look at em all.

Those are…those are some torsos.

Amanda: The clipart legs are sending me. I also had to google “tatzelwurm” and now I have even more questions.

Sarah: Which year’s clip art book did those legs come from, do you think? 2002? 1996?

1. Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter Amazon | B&N | Kobo
2. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Amazon | B&N
3. Fragile Hopes by Lisinia Coney Amazon | B&N | Kobo
4. In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Cuerto Amazon | B&N | Kobo
5. History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook Amazon | B&N | Kobo
6. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
7. Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman Amazon | B&N | Kobo
8. The True Queen by Zen Cho Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
9. The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V.L. Bovalino Amazon | B&N | Kobo
10. Love is a War Song by Danica Nava Amazon | B&N | Kobo

I hope your weekend reading was comfy and cozy!