Bitchin' Blog Posts
: Smart Bitches Sizzling Book Club
December 01, 2011 | Thursday at 12:06 am | 43 Comments
Karina Bliss contacted me to tell me that Sandra Hyatt's posthumous last novel for Harlequin Desire will be published this week, and that she and other authors were trying to promote it for her in her memory, and to bring forth the royalty fairy for her family. I'd read Hyatt's previous book and liked it a good bit so I grabbed a copy and read it this week.
OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. SERIOUSLY.
This book is. So. Adorable.
Remember the scenes in Some Kind of Wonderful where Watts is driving Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson around as their chauffeur for their date, knowing the whole time that while she coaches her friend to get this girl he likes, she's costing herself her closest friend?
It's LIKE THAT.
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November 30, 2011 | Wednesday at 7:50 am | 3 Comments
Time for the Sizzling Book Club Chat for Courtney Milan's Unclaimed. I have seen a few people talking on Twitter and Facebook about how much they liked this book - and that they can't wait to talk about it. ME TOO.
The window below the fold will go live at 9pm ET with chatting and mayhem, and Courtney will join us for Q&A at 10pm. I hope you'll bring a glass of wine and yourself to the chat tonight, as it promises to be a fun and lively discussion.
See you then!
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November 01, 2011 | Tuesday at 3:39 pm | 14 Comments
If you tuned in to last week’s book chat, you know that our November book club selection is Courtney Milan’s Unclaimed!
Unclaimed is the sequel to Unveiled, our February book club selection, and it’s as marvelous as the first book in the Turner series.
Here’s the summary: Handsome, wealthy and respected, Sir Mark Turner is the most sought-after bachelor in all of London—and he’s known far and wide for his irreproachable character. But behind his virtuous reputation lies a passionate nature he keeps carefully in check…until he meets the beautiful Jessica Farleigh, the woman he’s waited for all his life.
But Jessica is a courtesan, not the genteel lady Sir Mark believes. Desperate to be free of a life she despises, she seizes her chance when Mark’s enemies make her an offer she can’t refuse: seduce Mark and tarnish his good name, and a princely sum will be hers. Yet as she comes to know the man she’s sworn to destroy, Jessica will be forced to choose between the future she needs…and the love she knows is impossible.
…
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October 26, 2011 | Wednesday at 12:05 pm | 6 Comments
Tonight at 9pm EDT, the window below will go live and we’ll be discussing Sea Change by Darlene Marshall. Pirates! Cross dressing! Women practicing medicine!
I seriously cannot wait to chat with you, especially after the discussion of cross dressing, gender, and women in history living publicly as men. Author Darlene Marshall will join us for a Q&A at 10pm EDT. I hope you’ll stop by and join us as well! Talk to you soon!
Sizzling Book Club Chat: Sea Change by Darlene Marshall
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October 18, 2011 | Tuesday at 10:01 am | 106 Comments
Cross dressing is an old and familiar plot trope in romance. We’ve talked about it here before, and there’s a pretty thorough list at AAR of all the cross dressing romances they’ve cataloged.
I joke (A LOT) about how oddly easy it is for heroines to easily pass as boys. So many romance heroines years past puberty have grabbed some boys clothing, possibly from a well-hipped stable lad, I presume, and shoved a cap on their heads and presto! Everyone thinks she’s a boy.
Yet there is an amazing history of “passing women,” women who “passed” as men, often marrying other women and living publicly as males, even practicing male professions such as medicine. Cross-dressing was a favorite plot device of many a writer, including Shakespeare.
NB: I may be incorrect in my terminology here. I *thought* “passing women” referred to women who lived outwardly as men, but I’m also finding references to individuals who “passed” as another race. I’m referring here to gender and if I’m using the wrong term, I apologize.
There are several accounts…
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October 01, 2011 | Saturday at 10:30 am | 41 Comments
It’s time for the October book club pick - and we’re going to be reading another historical, but a More Different Historical. The Caribbean! Pirates! AND cross dressing!
ETA: I’m opening the contest for an additional day since the site was down this weekend - have at it!
The October book is Darlene Marshall’s Sea Change. Here’s the summary: American privateer Captain David Fletcher needs a surgeon for his wounded brother. But when he captures a British merchantman in the Caribbean, what he gets is Charley Alcott, an apprentice physician barely old enough to shave. Needs take priority over skill, and Captain Fletcher whisks the prisoner aboard his ship with orders to do his best or he’ll be walking the plank.
Charley Alcott’s medical skills are being put to the test in a life-or-death situation—Charley’s life as well as the patient’s. Even if Charley can save the captain’s brother, there will still be hell to pay, and maybe a plank to walk, when Captain Fletcher learns Charley is really Charlotte Alcott.
A war is raging on the world’s oceans, and two…
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September 29, 2011 | Thursday at 10:18 am | 5 Comments
Ahoy! At 3pm today, Eastern time, this window will go live with the discussion of An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverly. This book can generate some strong feelings on the part of readers, so this promises to be a lively discussion. Jo Beverly will join us from the UK at 4pm ET to answer questions. I hope you’ll join in!
Book Chat: An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverly
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September 27, 2011 | Tuesday at 10:45 am | 0 Comments
It’s book club chat time! Tonight at 9:00pm ET, the window below will go live with discussion about this month’s election, Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson.
I hope you’ll join us to discuss this book and romangst as well!
Sizzling Book Club Chat: Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson
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September 19, 2011 | Monday at 10:42 am | 7 Comments
As you know, Bob, I selected An Unwilling Bride but then found out it was not being re-released digitally and couldn’t use it in the book club. Ruh roh!
But since this book is fascinating and somewhat controversial, I wanted to have a discussion about it. And, since I was going for the romangst this month, I selected Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson. It’s romangst month here, y’all.
So let’s schedule some book chats! First, the chat for An Unwilling Bride is a bit tricky since Jo Beverly has agreed to join us for the last half hour, and she’s in the UK. So! 3:00 pm EDT Thursday 29 September is the chat, here at the Hot Pink Palace of Bitchery.
Need a calendar reminder? Here you go: 
But wait, there’s more!
The Sizzling Book Club Chat for Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson will be held at 9:00 pm EDT on Tuesday 27 September.
Need a calendar reminder for that one? But of course!
I’m really looking forward to these discussions,…
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September 09, 2011 | Friday at 11:41 am | 59 Comments
At the last book chat, I announced that the September selection was Jo Beverly’s An Unwilling Bride, and I was all set to rock and roll when I learned that Kensington doesn’t have the digital rights to the book, and can’t release an ebook version alongside the reprint. RUH ROH!
So, this month, we’re going to do two chats! WOO! First, since An Unwilling Bride is a much-loved and/or muchly-controversial historical romance, I still want to talk about it. Jo Beverly is also interested in chatting with readers so we will host a chat about that book this month - stay tuned for details.
That also means that I have a more different selection for the September Book Club, one that is still a historical romance with plenty of what I call “romangst:” Mistress by Marriage by Maggie Robinson.
Here’s the summary:
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August 24, 2011 | Wednesday at 6:54 pm | 0 Comments
Get ready! Tonight at 8:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time, the window below will go wild and crazy with discussion about Jennifer Estep’s Touch of Frost. We’ll have lots to talk about - and I am so curious to hear what you think of the book.
I also hear rumors of prizes and things to win (woo!) from Estep and Kensington Teen, which is always the most fun. I hope you’ll join us tonight! See you then!
Sizzling Book Club Chat: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
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August 20, 2011 | Saturday at 5:24 pm | 3 Comments
Friendly reminder time!
The Sizzling Book Club Chat will be Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 8:30 EDT. We’ll chat live about the book in our ever-quickly-scrolling live chatroom, and Jennifer Estep will join us at 9:30 EDT to answer questions and enjoy the mayhem.
Want to make sure you don’t forget? Here, have a spiffy button to add it to your Google calendar:
See you next week!
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August 01, 2011 | Monday at 10:22 am | 69 Comments
My pick for august, is paranormal, YA, and is the first book in a series - woo! Touch of Frost is a new YA series from author Jennifer Estep, and I thought it was spiffy.
Here’s the synopsis: Gwen Frost is an outsider at Mythos Academy, a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword. Gwen is an outsider both to the students of the Academy and the rest of the world. But when her gift of psychometry - the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it reveals dark undercurrents and danger afoot, she has no choice but to get involved.
One thing I liked about the book was that it was very frank about its inspirations: there’s a little bit of Buffy, Veronica Mars, and all different sorts of mythological creatures at Mythos. As usual, if you use SBTBARE at checkout, you will get a 50% eBook Bucks Rebate at AllRomance.com, the…
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July 26, 2011 | Tuesday at 10:02 am | 8 Comments
Tune in today at 8pm EDT for the Sizzling Book Club Chat for Sarah Morgan’s A Night of Scandal! 8pm Eastern? Isn’t that Really Freaking Late in the UK? Yup! But Sarah Morgan wants to chat with as many US readers as possible at 9pm EDT because the series was just released in the US, so she’s cranking up the tea intake.
The window below will go wild with discussion and commentary. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on this book, and about Harlequin Presents, and where Sarah Morgan hid that sheikh. See you then!
A Night of Scandal by Sarah Morgan
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July 19, 2011 | Tuesday at 10:06 pm | 14 Comments
Join us at 8pm Eastern time on 26 July for the Sizzling Book Club chat to discuss Sarah Morgan’s A Night of Scandal. We’ll discuss Harlequin Presents, alpha heroes, Morgan’s twist on some very familiar tropes, and where she hid a sheikh reference in this book.
Sarah Morgan will join us at 9pm Eastern - better known as 2am in the UK, good heavens. This series was just released in the US after being out since March in the UK, and she’s very interested in chatting with US readers. She insisted on a late-hour chat for her so she could talk with as many of you as possible. I suspect she’ll be totally wired on caffeine, so this should be fun!
Worried you might forget? Have a handy button to add it to your calendar:
I know so many people have enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait to hear what you thought of it. See you then!
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