Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

You can buy a 5lb bag of wood?

6 things I love about romances huh?

1) I love that they (sometimes) make me laugh.

2) I love that they (almost always) make me smile.

3) I love that they don’t (hardly ever) take themselves seriously.

4) I love that I don’t (usually) have to leave my brain on while reading them.

5) I love that some of the other fans I’ve met are some of the best people out there.

6) Finally, I love the fact that I started reading ‘romance’ because I was always taught to ‘never criticise something you know nothing about’, and (regardless of a number of wall thumpers) I fell in love with (some sub genres of) romance.

1. patriarchy with all its WTFery bent to the purposes of sexual pleasure for women (I’m an historical reader) 
2. the deliciosity of sexual tension (love those scenes where they almost, alllmost, ALMOST, and some random thing interrupts them *fans self*).
3. a good, snot-laden cry now and then
4. reading about people who actually take the time to pay attention to one another, and who have endless leisure for foreplay.
5. re-experiencing the emotional sensations of falling in love.
6. the fact that these books have spawned a fabulous internet community of writers and fans….and sites like Smart Bitches!!! (love you, Sarah!)

Congratulations on 6 years!

1. the happily ever after
2. (sometimes) the hero
3. (sometimes) the heroine
4. the (sometimes) truly awesomely awful covers
5. the great variety of genres, sub-genres, etc.
6. and the most important, the fact that they make me smile :)

1. I read a study once that romance stories lover your stress level
2.  you can escape into another world and let your troubles leave
    you mind for a while.  (yes house work is still there but it can
    wait)
3. no matter how bad your day is going, a romance story helps
  you through it.
4.  You can think about the hot guys in the story and not get in
    trouble for looking.
5.  Sometime what you read helps you in real life (pass a test in
    history, ok that was a long time ago but it did help)
6.  You can be in outer space today, 100 years ago tomorrow and
    not have to pay for the air fair or even leave you home.

1. Because romance novels are the only place I can read about pirates who bathe regularly, have all their teeth, and are smoking hot.

2. Because I’m not ashamed to enjoy a book with a happy ending.

3. Because I’m proud to be a woman who reads books for women written by women.

4. Because when they’re bad, they’re SO BAD.

5. Because when they’re good, they’re SO GOOD.

6. FUCKING HER ASS. SAVING HER LIFE.

1. great writing
2. great stories
3. mystery/ suspense
4. love
5. laughing out loud, whether the author intends it or not (think julia quinn and opening scene to Pirate and the Pagan by virginia henley)
6. A usually satisfying hea

word: used55

1 - I like porn. Even when it entails orgasms that read like “doves cascaded from her hoo-ha and the unicorns cried and also explosions”.
2 - Happy endings. (Not related to #1. Usually.)
3 - Heroes that aren’t mouth-breathing wastes of air. Or heroes that seem like mouth-breathing wastes of air, but really aren’t. (RUPERT I LOVE YOU)
4 - The excessive clothing descriptions. It amuses me.
5 - Real conflict that’s good, that isn’t just a gratuitous rape scene or some idiotic misunderstanding about a woman’s virtue, and villains that I can actually believe in.
6 - The plot, when it’s good. Not too many disappointments in that category so far. I’ve had the good sense to read the books that have gotten good reviews on this site, and I haven’t been unpleasantly surprised yet.

What I love about Romance Novels

1) They guarantee a happy ending
2) They help promote frisky feelings/getting in the mood
3)They give great ideas for relieving those frisky feelings
4)They come in every subgenre so you can pick the details of your fantasy
5)They are the most re-readable genre. If you find a hero you love you can always go back to him again and again and again
6)There is no other genre of book that can pick you up better than a good romance and actually a bad romance is sometimes an even bigger pick-me-up!

A prize that I am laughing about just trying to explain… Happy Anniversary Smart Bitches. For me, reading romance is about -escaping from where I am
- going to places & meeting people I never get to be/meet in real life
- witty conversations and lots of laughs
- best friends who tell the truth the hero/ine needs to hear
- matchmaking mamas at their best
- the HEA, and everything it takes to get there.

1. The men…sigh
2. The strong female characters, at least those that my favorite authors write about. I cannot handle TSTL in today’s books, old school, alight.
3. The escape factor.  I recovered from an abusive relationship by reading and getting hope that there may be happy ending for me out there somewhere.  Hope makes each day easier to get through.
4.  The sex.  The amazing sex that we only can wish for (but the ideas are always good to practice).
5. The community that romance novels breed.  The sense of community that an author and book can bring is amazing.
6. The raw emotions that romance provokes.  From sadness, depression, to joy and happiness….the range is limitless and the stories convey what we all hope to have during our lifetimes.

1. The hot men from all walks of life
2. wild and wacky story lines
3. the vampires
4. the smut
5. did I mention the smut?
6. smart, sensible, daring, sexy bitches (aka heroines of great romance novels)

1) Smart women
2) Dreamy men
3) good luvin’
4) HEA
5) great covers
6) Getting away

6 things I love about romance:

1. The HEA, of course.
2. A good romance can make the even the worst day better
3. How even the toughest guys will do anything for the woman they love
4. That there is a perfect one no matter what genre I feel like reading
5. I don’t have to fight my husband over who gets to read them first (most of the time)
6. Blogs like this that make me laugh out loud.

-Kathy

1. The HEA
2. Hot sexy heroes
3. Strong rescue-y alpha heroes
4. Beta nerd geeky but still gorgeous-under-their-clothes heroes
5. Heroes in kilts *sigh*
6. Heroes with big, um, swords.

Six Things I Love About Romance

1. Get to explore new worlds and experience other peoples lives
2. Always can guarantee that I’ll find something enjoyable to read.’
3. Hot Studly Heroes.
4. Smart Women who get their men in the ending.
5. Sometimes it lets me cry
6. Romance Novel never judges me….

1. HEA (best part)
2.Losing myself in a fun regency world of dresses and balls
3. Spunky strong heroines
4. Strong wry heroes
5. Steamy love scenes
6. Cinderella-esque love stories

Six things I like about romance novels:
1.  Cover art.  (either the incredible WTF?? kind or the hot, naked man kind.)
2.  HEAs.  Really, who wants to read something that doesn’t end happy?
3.  Learning 1001 ways to describe really hot sex.
4.  Getting action/adventure/mystery/sci fi/(whatever genre entered here) PLUS romance in one compact reading space.
5.  Crazy, random factoids about places, people, and things
6.  Reaction from people when they find out an intelligent women enjoys romance!  (duh!)

college69:  I think that’s self explanatory.

1. HEA
2. swoon-worthy men
3. kick-ass heroines
4. hot sex
5. HEA
6. HEA

Seriously, I absolutely LOVE knowing there will be a happily ever after. That is the biggest reason I read romances. I love knowing everyone will be ok in the end.

Six things I love about romance novels: escapism, inappropriately loud giggling, lascivious villains, perfect 70s hair, quirky heroes, and the abundance of redheads.

1. The hot men.
2. The escape from reality.
3. The vicarious thrill of that early stage of falling in love-I think it releases dopamine to my bloodstream.
4. The great writing.
5. The parts that make me cry.
6. The parts that make me laugh.

1. HEA 2. snappy dialogue 3. escape from daily life 4. smart women 5. men who appreciate smart women 6. educational

Alright.. I’m a totally dork. I said happy 5 years.. thinking it was 2010. (I hate the first of every year.. it always takes me months to change over) LOL

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY!!

trying57—- maybe after 57 trys, I’ll get it right on my first go for once in my life. :D

Six reasons i read romance….
1) brain break!  I started reading romance while studying for finals in university as it was a complete break from calculus and languages and left me mentally refreshed
2) portable escape!  I can leave the chaos of daily life behind at the turn of a page, regardless of where I am (within reason and limits of personal and public safety)
3) the laughs!  The wit of the Bitchery as books are discussed, the light hearted books, the unintentional humour of some books…when I need a good laugh, romance novels and this community come through.
4) sex.  Oh yeah, there is that.
5) hope.  In my single days I would read romance novels and think “If a woman that stupid can find true love there is still hope for me”
6) my children.  There are few things I can read with the kiddies vying for attention.  Knowing the story will end well and is NOT trying to make me think is a big selling point.

That’s six reasons I read romance…

Happy Anniversary!

Mine are the same as everyone else’s…

1) Guarenteed happy ending. The big one.
2) gut-wrenching conflict = catharsis
3) fun community of other readers
4) escape
5) reading about different mores and standards. Most romance is so much more conventional than my life has ever been.
6) They pique my curiosity. I enjoy observing trends, learning about their history… maybe I should go for a degree. :-)

Sexual tension, covers, great storytelling, some so-terrible-it’s-great storytelling, handsome fantasy men, LURRRRVE!

Six, eh?

1. Men who decide that a woman is right for them, and do everything to get her.
2. Women who do likewise.
3. Happy endings (sigh).
4. Getting to know characters through multiple books.
5. The ideas I get to spice up my marriage.
6. The sex ;)

1. I love that romance novels keep the girly side of me alive.
2. Men are almost always, if not perfect, then imperfectly perfect.
3. They let me escape somewhere else into someone else’s life.
4. They feed my word addiction.
5. The books almost always end with happily ever afters.
6. If I can’t get a man, it’s comforting to know that someone out there is.

1. The escape from the real world
2. The jokes that make me laugh (sidenote-Ridgway’s Then He Kissed Me features a QUEEN that tells the heroine she has blowjob lips ;) )
3. Learning about historical events and things that have been just as well (if not better) researched as dissertations
4. The sex scenes both well done and featuring purple prose
5. Working through my own problems via the characters as therapy
6. Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. But only romance novels have HEA’s.

my phrase was would 73—-how hilarious!

1. HEA
2. yummy guys
3. time travel ideas
4. hawt love scenes
5. to make me sigh
6. because I just love them

Wow, there really is a Hello Kitty vibrator?  I had no idea.

Six things I love about romance (outside of this site, which might actually be on my list but would seem way too much of a suck up for me to put it on the list whether it would actually go there or not):

1. Those sigh moments.  You know, where he sweeps her off her feet and you imagine you might have one of those moments someday, and sigh at how nice it is?  Those.

2. The escapism/fantasy.  I personally love historicals and paranormals the best, so it gives me the above mentioned sigh moments and lets me escape into a different time or reality, all at once.  You can’t go wrong.

3. The community.  Romance novels may get a bum rap, but honestly all of the fellow readers I know, in real life and online, are smart ladies that are fabulous in a myriad of ways.

4. The hope.  Romance gives me (with it’s sigh moments) the little seed of hope that maybe someday I’ll have a true love like the ones I read about.  I had resigned myself to them being strictly fantasy when I got married, but since that only lasted a year my hope in it maybe being possible has been restored.

5.  The junk food for my brain.  I love me a good nonfiction, serious book like anyone else, but no one can read those all the time, and if they say they are, they’re lying.  Nothing can make me feel less depressed about reading essays on the state the environment is in that a good romance.  Brain squishy after a week of finals?  Romance is perfect.  Frustrated at the moment with how your life is?  Nothing works better than curling up with a romance favorite.  It’s more stimulating than watching TV, a hell of a lot more entertaining, and a mood lifter.  It’s downright perfect.

6. The vibrator fodder, in all honesty.  Whether it’s actually erotica (of which I’ve had a devil of a time finding any with decent writing outside of the sex scenes or a believable plot), or regular romances where I’m loving the entire story, they’re good for something to use when your Hello Kitty vibrator comes in the mail.  Plus a lot less conspicuous than a bunch of playboys or porns or whatever.  How many other genres can provide enjoyable entertainment and fantasy stuff all in one?  None.

:)

Six thing I love about romance novels:

1.  The guaranteed happy ending
2.  The way the characters fight adversity, conflict and anything else in order to get to the HEA
3.  The way men in the novels finally learn to talk to the heroine.
4.  The way men in novels eventually become emotionally open and vulnerable to the heroines.
5.  The magical ability of the books to transport me to another world and to let me live an adventure through the POVs of the characters.
6. The way my favorite books seep into my memory and help me deal with my own life conflicts.
7.  The way romance novels give everyone hope that they, too, can have a happy ending.
AND . . .
8.  The way I can always count on SBTB to turn even the worst of books into a funny, snarky review that always lets me know whether or not to pick up a new book.

I know I went overboard, but really, there is so much to love.  Happy Anniversary SBTB!!  May you have many more!

1. Jane Austen for planting the romance seed in my heart and Julia Quinn for bringing me into the modern romance writing world (even when the story isn’t set in modern times!)
2. The sexytimes!!
3. Heroines you want to be, and heroes you want to be with!
4. Funny, heartbreaking, soul-shaking, amazing insights into human nature to rival any fancy “literary” writing, but with the promise that it always leads to…
5. The HEA!!!
6. The Smart Bitches, and other wonderful sites that provide so many wonderful book recommendations and insightful commentary on romance and publishing in general!!

Here’s to 6 more wonderful years!!!

6 Things i love about reading romance novels:
- HEA
- the chicks are kick ass, they may start out the ugly duckling but then in the end they are on top
- Gives me a mini vaca from my world without having to actually go anywhere
- the Alpha guys, even though they might annoy me if they were in my life, i like to read about them in someone else’s =o)
- learning useless trivia from the books esp. the historic ones… comes in handy at happy hour with friends
- and of course the great “romance”

1) witty banter
2) the elevator-stomach-lurch right before the first kiss
3) falling in love with men I don’t have to live with
4) being seduced with language
5) perfectly sized packages
6) happily ever after

Six things I love about reading romances…
1. Happy endings
2. Sexy, handsome men
3. Relationship between leading female and male characters
4. The romance (of course!)
5. Meeting other people who also love reading romances
6. Finding blogs like this one online that made me realize I’m not the only one who loves reading romances.

#1: Love Story
#2: Other places &/or times
#3: History (accurate or not)
#4: a good story
#5: laughter
#6: the occasional ‘warm’ feeling

Six Things I Love About Reading Romance:
#1: They let me escape from my everyday life without abusing the Calgon. (There’s a 12-Step program for that somewhere…)
#2: The men are _always_ appreciative AND hot.
#3: The ladies are _always_ attractive and charming to the men (see #2) even when they’re not.
#4: My kids refer to them as ‘Mommy-Books’ (”...Because the ‘Daddy-Books’ don’t have hugging people on them”)
#5: My sister and I spend ridiculous amounts of money sending books to each other. (Thank goodness for Media Mail postage rates…)
#6: When I read them on my iPhone, my husband thinks that I’m reading the NYTimes App that he installed ‘for me’.  :)

Well, I have all the iron, wood and candy (more’s the pity) that I need so I’ll just say:
CONGRATULATIONS!
and
GO STEELERS!

Happy Anniversary!

Six things? That’s easy:

1. Great writers
2. The wonderful, smart, funny online community
3. Characters who grow emotionally and show me things about myself
4. The celebration of hope
5. Learning so much about other cultures, historical or imaginary
6. Keeping my mind sharp and my emotions accessible

Six things i love about romance, broken down in to categories.

bad romance
1) WTF?
2) OMG!
3) LOL!

good romance
1) WOW!
2) AH!
3) awe…

6 fav things about romance novels?  Piece of cake:

1) Staying up past midnight because I just HAVE to know that everything will work out and hero/heroine will live HEA
2) Knowing that there will always BE a HEA
3) Man Titty
4) Ridiculously good dialogue and witty reparte
5) Hot, hot, makes me want to wake up hubby we we can try something, sex scenes
6) Even when they’re bad, there’s almost always some redeemable content.  And if not, I can bitch about it here or settle for mental mockery

1. Learning new euphemisms.
2. Scandalizing random hipster douchebags in coffee shops.
3. Being reminded of my own past romantic encounters.
4. Getting inspired to write said past romantic encounters down.
5. That moment in some great romance novels where it gets so good you have to slam the book shut for a moment and exclaim out loud.
6. The validation of my firmly held belief that just in being yourself, you’ll captivate an un-gettable guy who’ll be ruined for life for anyone but you.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Best things about romance novels for me:

1) Escapism factor - reality is highly overrated sometimes:)
2) Stories that take me to different times & places without leaving home!
3) Drool-worthy guys!
4) I always get my HEA ending that real life sometimes doesn’t give us!
5) Hawt sex scenes (hawt covers are nice too!)
6) Warm fuzzies I get reading a story where everything just comes together at the end for the Hero/heroine regardless of all the obstacles (see above mentioned overrated reality)

1. The chance to escape
2. The love with a sprinkling of sex
3. The sex with a sprinkling of love
4. Strong characters
5. Engrossing plots
6. And like so many have said, the HEA

1)  Escapism, pure and simple.  2)  Validation that spunky, smart-assed women have a place in this world and that 3)  there are smart-assed men out there that appreciate them.  4)  There is no dialogue like the fights, flirts, and fussing of two people in love.  5)  The historical elements.  I love the clothes best.  Lastly, 6)  they make my heart go pitter-pat.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Six things I love about romance novels… eternal happy endings, learning new and interesting ways/places to do the dirty, finding out new and descriptive ways to describe the dirty, escape from reality, being able to shock people when I happily admit that I read “bodice-rippers,” and the discussions that result from aforementioned admissions.

1. Love overcomes adversity.
2. Love overcomes ill health.
3. Love overcomes poverty.
4. Love overcomes separation.
5. All you need is love.
6. At the end of the book, I feel better about life, work, family, friends, and everything than I did when I started.

1. They’re a portable means of escape
2. The knowledge that there’s a happy ending somewhere
3. Usually cheaper than a movie for hours more of entertainment
4. A warm, generous community of romance readers and writers
5. Learning about history in a fun totally painless way
6. Just plain fun!
Happy anniversary!

1. The HEA
2. The Creativity
3. The Fun
4. The ‘OMG I love you!’ moment
5. The ‘OMG You love me? Awesome!’ moment
6. Badguys, usually, get their comeuppance

OMG, I think this is the best giveaway evah! Too funny.  Hmmm, 6 things I love about reading romance novels…
1) the wonderful escapism
2) the hot, steamy sex…even when it’s only implied
3) the assurance that there will be a happy ending
4) love triumphing over all…especially the eeeevil, back-stabbing bitches and bastards who try to keep the hero and heroine apart
5) cheering for the underdog who become the surprise sensation of the season
6) knowing that even if the book sucks, I’ll get entertainment from mocking it with y’all

1) Reading only for enjoyment, not for school or literary self-improvement.
2) The great sex scenes.
3) The horrible sex scenes.
4) The addictiveness of the happily ever after.
5) The loving snark of fellow romance readers.
6) Totally pwning people who mock my reading material with cunning arguments gleaned from years reading Smart Bitches.

Things I love about Romance Novels:

1. HEA ends
2. Series, I just love romance novels series for some reason.
3. Any mood I am in to read be it mystery, western, sci-fi, fantasy, historical to time traveling Vikings there is a book in whatever genre I am in the mood for in Romance.
4. Romance authors have always been some of the coolest authors to meet in person even impressed my husband enough to read one of her books.
5. Sex scenes (I doubt I have to explain further)
6. Some of the best characters ever.

I have so many more reasons but for the 6th anniversary these are my top ones. Happy 6th and here is hoping for several more years.

1) Love
2) Written by women
3) Written for women
4) Knowing, like you just can’t in life, that there will be a HEA
5) Sex
6) and Love, again

ohh!!! happy 6th Annie!!!!
now my 6 favorite things about Romance in random order
6.The WORK (From the begining an idea starts to grow… all the way to taking the time to hit every yard sale within an 1hrs. drive cause the you have read a book to peices and it out of print!!)
5. The COVERS (How found you all so best thing ever!)
4. The WORDS ( I can never hear the words Weeping, Twinkies and many others.I have and will laugh like a Loon. Also if I or Anyone else says “Stay” My mind adds on “-For the Man Titty”)
3. The TBR (HaBo has turned My TBR pile to so many I could make a book case outof books)
2. The DEDICATION (Of fans of Romance to read what thay love and love what thay read. Or to Bitch about what thay don’t so everyone can laugh right-along with them
1. The LOVE (HOT!!! Sex, AWW Cuddling, Or “THE KISS. FINALY.”
THE END/ FIN /HAPPILY EVER AFTER…......................)

AND My Capcha I kid you not
firm77   Thanks to Romance I know 77 ways to describe the firn weeping manhood of many an Alpha Male.

Happy, Happy!
I’m a lit major, so I read lots of heavy duty, intensive and, in most cases, depressing stuff. I love romance novels because they are the opposite. I don’t have to wonder or worry about the end. I know that no one will be murdered or kill themselves or wander off alone into the distance. It’s comforting in the sea of books that I swim in daily, to know that there is a genre that will uplift and guarantee a happy ending where the good get rewarded and the bad get their just desserts.

I totally love this site! From reviews to great advice, it just keeps getting better (and it doesn’t hurt that you give away prizes/great books too). Happy anniversary.

1.I love historical romance and the way you can actually learn while reading “trashy” books
2. The look on people’s faces when I tell them I know things because of romance novels
3. They give me courage to believe that love does always find a way
4. Finding female role models who own their sexuality and enjoy having sex.
5. The immediate escape from the world.

And of course…..

6. THE MAN TITTY!

Here are my six reasons:

    1. HEA
    2, They’re fun
    3. Takes me away from my everyday life (read boring)
    4. Great Heroes/Heroines
    5. All kinds of genres, so there is something for everyone
    6. They bring out all kinds of emotion in me: weepy, happy,etc.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

1) Love the heros
2) HEA
3) Great escape
4) Love the witty dialogue
5) Variety within the genre
6) Can I mention the heros again?

Happy sixth anniversary! May there be many more anniversaries to come :-)

Six Things I Like About Romance:

1) The fact that the heroes are always decent blokes (not that I’m bitter about my evil exes or anything *cough*)

2) The names are really entertaining, in a slightly trainwrecky kind of way. Most people I know have normal names, like David and Sarah. Not romance heroes/heroines.

3) The highly entertaining descriptions of sex and orgasm. As I dabble in writing myself, I heartily sympathise with those trying to work out the words to describe it…but it doesn’t make any of the weird descriptions any less weird or less entertaining!

4) The covers. There’s a few good ones (or at least inoffensive ones, like when they do a landscape cover or a flower on the cover), but - as proven by the SBTB cover snark, there’s a LOT of very funny ones.

5) The stories. Despite my poking fun at a number of elements of romance novels, I do love the stories, and the fact that there’s always a HEA.

6) The fact that the romance genre was responsible for this blog! This honestly is one of my favourite blogs - where else would one find serious discussions of society and the impact of romance novels mixed with man titty and blue fart gas covers?

Happy Anniversary!

1. There’s almost always a happy ending.
2. The chemistry between the lead characters.
3. The hot men.
4. The clothing descriptions.
5. The situations you know almost never happen in real life.
6. No matter how bad your day was, you can escape into a romance novel and feel better.

I can’t believe it’s been 6 years.  It seems like I’ve been following for much longer.  Congrats!  What I love:  the sex, the escape, historical descriptions, lead characters that rock, some whitty banter, and your reviews on this blog!!

Is it wrong that I actually DO want that iron?

I read Regencies almost exclusively, so…1) being able to imagine a world in which I wouldn’t have to work a lick, ever.

2) Dropping fully into another world if the writing and research are good—or not, if they aren’t.  (Either is an enjoyable exercise.)

3) Following familiar-ish characters through a series.  I love picking up on a secondary character’s story later on.

4) Lawful marital congress.  Sacred man/wife intimacy.  Also, sitting it sideways in a carriage.  (Mind the velvet squabs, now!)

5) Finding this community and throwing off my shaaaaaame at being a smart person who reads those kind of books.

6) The comfort of knowing mostly how a story is going to go, and the ultimate happy ending.

Thanks for all you bitches do here.  I love this site and its readers.

SITTING it sideways? Jaysus.

Hitting.  HITTING it sideways.  And scorpion-style.

1. HEA’s
2. multiple orgasms. EVERY SINGLE TIME SEX OCCURS!
3. magic hoo-ha’s. Every girl needs one.
4. the hero is always handsome and washboard abs are required
5. the hero always takes care of his woman
6. (based on items 1-5) giving me the ability to completely suspend disbelief!

1. HEA’s & HFN’s
2. Learning new words for sexual organ’s Example: “Lady Softness” (snort, haha)
3. Alpha males, gotta love ‘em.  Nom nom nom.
4. Escapism.  No matter how sucky my life is, I can always trust my kindle books to take me to my happy place.
5. The variety.  No matter how many romances you read you will always find another that is completely different from all the others you’ve read.
6. Love. IRL I still doubt that this exists, but in my stories it’s there and it feels tangible. I can immerse myself in the emotions of the characters and believe.

1. Happy endings - I get too stressed out if I don’t know that the characters are going to be together in the end. Knowing that it will all work out means I can concentrate on how the author gets me there.
2. Historical romance - I love when they get the history right. I don’t mind too much when the author gets small things wrong. If I can’t get through the 1st chapter without cringing, I don’t read the book. Hey, I know how it’s going to end anyhow.
3. Hot men.
4. Snappy dialog between people who are attracted to each other but haven’t (yet) hooked up.
5. Finding a heroine I can relate to.
6. Finishing a really good book and then reading it again for the “good scenes.”

1. Escapism
2. Hot sex
3. Hot men
4. Happy ending
5. Fantasizing about escaping to a place where I have hot sex with a hot man and get a happy ending (ha).
6. Shocking people with my duality of smut-love and a Ph.D.

Hey, you guys share my birthday! (that’s so cool)

1. Escapism from my boring life
2. HEAs… if I can’t find one for myself, at least I can read about it
3. Getting caught up in a story
4. Talking about books (read heros) with my friends
5. Dashing off to far off places, daring sword fights, a prince in disguise…
6. Finding a book and characters I absolutely love to read about over and over and over again.

1. The opportunity to take 10 minutes and be somewhere completely different.
2. The way they make me laugh
3. The HEA’s
4. The swoon-worthy moments
5. Quotable dialogue

In no order of importance:

1. Fun, sharp heroines
2. Really cheesy euphemisms
3. Giggle-worthy moments
4. Interesting plot lines
5. Escapism
6. I work with kids, and I like the chance to have something grown-up to occupy my down time even when surrounded by minors

1. My friends write them, and I love to support them.
2. The locations are GREAT. I love exotic locales!
3. Lots of romance novels are historicals, and I dote on ‘em.
4. Romance novels cross over into so many other wonderful genres I love, SF, mystery, etc. I can get two fixes at once!
5. I rarely read a romance with a true bummer of an ending. There’s always a glimmer of hope.
6. Strong women and interesting men.

6. Learning new vocabulary words.
5. Picking up new items of interest, like historical events/people/places, to spend time with on Wikipedia.
4. When I’m reading, I’m not out putting more money on my credit cards.
3. Reading romance led me into my two professional careers.
2. Having a huge community to talk about the good and the bad of the genre and using romance as a jumping off point to develop deep and long-lasting friendships with them.
1. Getting the opportunity to spend time in other people’s minds :D

1. HEAs
2. The tasty sex
3. Flexible reading - 1 chapter, 20 minutes, 5 hours: they always fit my schedule
4. The covers!!!
5. The inexpensive travel opportunities: any time any place for less that $10
6. Where else will I read about a hunky viking trying to evade a randy she whale?

1. Short and Quick
2. *sniff* happy endings!
3. chance to live vicariously through other people
4. Ridiculous sex
5. Reading them led me to THIS lovely site
6. Covers that don’t match the characters.

I found one last night. Cover: toned Adonis in restless sleep next to sylph-like woman with long blond tresses. Characters: 2 tall, sexy Spanish men who are brothers. Main female is…short. Not curvatious. BLACK, SHORT hair. All I can think is that either the couple on the cover is the younger brother (freddy) and his girlfriend (who IS the cover wench), or for some reason, Caesar is sleeping with his brothers wife after she has her baby…‘cause she’s pregnant throughout the book. Very strange.

1.) Experiencing a new exotic locations
2.) Happily Ever Afters
3.) Falling just a little bit in love with every hero ;)
4.) sex!
5.) Hilarious Dialogue
6.) This site

Happily-ever-after
Relatable heroines
Alpha heroes
Sexxin’
Cowboys
Weird historical tidbits

1.) Getting lost in the world the author creates
2.) HEA’s
3.)  Cross over romance/sci fi or romance/mystery
4.)  The Characters, of course
5.) Amazing men loving intelligent women
6.) always a fun read, even if its because I’m making fun of the book!

Happy Six Years!

All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me six things you love about reading romance novels…

Well, you asked for it, so here goes (in no particular order):

1) They’re emotionally satisfying. I’m left with a smile on my face, even if I’ve shed a few tears/had my heart broken on the way to the HEA.

2) I learn stuff. About history, women’s issues, why diamonds are so damn expensive, cooking tips, whathaveyou, a well-researched romance will help with my next game of Trivial Pursuit. (I also learned how to read while walking. So romances are the reason I spread hilarity and astonishment around town. :-P)

3) They entertain me when I’d otherwise be bored out of my gourd. Sitting on the bus, waiting for a appointment, in line at the grocery store, waiting to get a changing room during a sale… I just whip out my paperback or ereader, and I’m good.

4) The online romance reading community, especially at SBTB.

5) As the bumper sticker says: I READ ROMANCE SO THAT I DON’T KILL PEOPLE!

6) Romances are just generally full of win. Which means they make my day better.

My top six reasons for loving romance:
1) Happily-ever-after
2) When there is a relatable heroine (my favorite is the one who’s more clumsy or accident-prone than I am)
3) Alpha heroes (not gonna lie, love me some old skool Diana Palmer)
4) Sexxin’
5) Cowboys
6) Weird historical tidbits

1.  reading books with HAE makes me more of an optimist
2. reading romance gets me out of my own head, which lately is like a bad neighbohood afterdark.  And unlike wine, no hangover!
3. awesome tips to use in the sack.
4. gives me something to talk about with other readers
5. great descriptions of historical clothes, food, etc.
6.  never have to be bored as there is ALWAYS an author new to me

1. Escape
2. Learning history.  Really.  Who knew my knowledge of the British Navy, gleaned from romance novels, would come in so handy when we saw Master and Commander?
3.  I know words guys don’t when we play Scrabble
4. Tortured heroes
5. Usually no surprise sad endings
6. Being able to talk to myself like a Jane Austen character, which is someday going to accidentally slip out during a meeting at work:  “I find this all very vexing”

6 Things I love about reading romance novels:

1) The sex.  (It’s good to learn new things!  A good education is important!)
2) The villain always gets his comeuppance.
3) Oh! The romance!
4) I do occasionally get the one that I can not put down, yet can not stop making fun of.  That is just so fun. 
5) What girl does not love a hot man?
6) Romance novels can be picked up and read at any time, you don’t really have to be in a particular mood.  (Such as, “i could really use a good comedy / horror / sci fi / whatever right now.” romance always does it.)

1) They make me happy
2) I love deconstruction popular culture: reactions to romance and readers of romance are fascinating
3) Reminds me that misogyny still exists in our culture, so that I may work to counter act it (“Yeah, the genre sells more than anything else in publishing, but C’MON! You can take that SERIOUSLY!”)
4) They are an excellent prelude to hot sexing in real life
5) They help me realize and articulate what I want out of sex and relationships
6) There is a massive community dedicated to talking and thinking about Romance, would have missed out on so many awesome discussions if I hadn’t heard a review of Beyond Heaving Bosoms and decided to give Romance novels a try.

Six of the many reasons I love to read romance and various sub-genres of romance;
1. Hope - I like stories that feature relationships as central to the theme and not all with HEA but at least the idea that love is important, helpful and possible.
2. Escapism - I can go anywhere and be anyone in fiction and I prefer a romance because as much as I love The Lord of the Rings I prefer now to read heroic journeys that include more women!
3. Romance - it’s cozy to read a good old-fashioned love story.
4. Character building - I’m sure this is not exclusive to romance but if a relationship is a driving plot point then I usually find characters to be more than afterthoughts to the plot.
5. Heroic lead female and/or male characters - again not exclusive to romance but generally if characters are central to the story they tend to be doing heroic things, whether in their own neighborhood or saving the world.
6. Feel good reads - for all of the above I think any story, whether romantic urban fantasy, sci fi romance, paranormal romance, historical romance, romantic suspense or a contemporary romance, that includes a romance leaves me in a better frame of mind. Plus I often learn interesting trivia or facts about a lot of different things. I read a wide variety of fiction but I gravitate to romances. I like ‘em!

Happy Sixth Anniversary SBTB!!! TY for all the great entertainment and information.

PS: I didn’t read the other comments b4 I wrote this, I find myself thinking Yeah! Oh Yeah! Lots of great reasons listed.

1. A guaranteed happy ending and thus good for a pick-me-up when I’m down and blue
2. Interesting purple prose and vocabulary, and not just in the sex scenes
3. Perfect escapism
4. Men the likes of whom I have never met in real life
5. I learn about the damnedest things in them, especially the historicals
6. They make perfect palate cleansers following a particularly harrowing YA book or heavy literary novel

Happy Anniversary, you guys are fantabulous!

Reasons why I like Romance novels:
1.  Book cover blurbs - My best friend in high school and I used to give dramatic readings of the back cover blurbs while waiting in checkout lines.
2.  Potato rage - Glad to finally have a name for that WTF? moment
3.  Purple prose - Worth a snort and giggle every time
4.  Snarky heroines
5.  Beta heros - So much more my style than Alpha males
6.  Guaranteed HEA

1. A guaranteed HEA is not to be sneered at, especially when you’ve had a rough day, your car broke down, your landlord is being an ass, and oh my god you’re out of wine and of course the damn liquor store is already closed.
2. They’re of a length that, when I am using and abusing the romance novel as a mood-enhancer, I can usually knock one out during an afternoon or evening. Efficient!
3. You learn shit—no it’s true! I mostly read historicals and I have so much random-ass knowledge about history thanks to (largely romantic) fiction.
4. Absolutely ridiculous cover art, yeaha.
5. Female empowerment makes my inner (and, okay, outer) feminist happy.
6. They kinda make me believe in love. Isn’t that lame?

Happy Anniversary!

1. Escaping to another world
2. The romance of it; reading about people falling in love
3. The writing styles
4. The community that springs around the books
5. That tender moment when the H (usually hero) does something that shows you just how much s/he cares about the other H, whether they recognize it or not
6. The HEA

And so much more.

1.  The hero never, ever rolls over in bed and farts against her leg.

2.  When the dialogue is well written the heroine always says the things I wish I’d thought of (and always do, three days too late).

3. Foreplay, the kind that makes me squirm in my chair.

4. True lurv.

5. Wouldn’t have found the Bitchery without them.

6.  The covers, oh God, the covers.

Here’s to many more anniversaries and mantitties!

1) I love that romance novels are by women, for women, and now span the fantasies of all kinds of women.  2) I love that utterly indulgent feeling of OMG THEY AREN’T GOING TO—YES YES YES! when the author surprises me with a delicious turn of plot.  3) I love the accessibility of authors in the modern age, and how even long before the internet, fans would talk about our favorite authors like they were our dear friends.  4) I love the heroines who give us a peek at what it could be like to be someone completely not ourselves.  5)  I love the heroes who remind me of what I admire in the people I do know.  6)  I love that in this most cynical age where sincerity is passe, romance novels celebrate LOVE, and that more and more smart bitches aren’t ashamed to admit it!

hmm.
escape from my life of running around
sex on the beach
romance
sex by the fireplace
big words
I can usually finish it in one reading and move on to the next one (although if it’s really good, I’ll re-read it)

1. The wonderful characters
2. The humor
3. The warm fuzzies I need when I’m feeling down
4. Happy Endings
5. Feeling connected to all of these other wonderful readers out there
6. Renewed love for my amazing husband

1. Constant snappy dialogue that doesn’t exist in my real world
2. A chance to relax
3. It requires nothing from me but my own attention
4. Can make traveling seem like a breeze
5. Happy Endings
6. The chance to laugh

1. snappy dialogue
2. the new world’s created by the author
3. the sexy time ;)
4. the feeling that another person (the author, or other readers) thinks and feels the way I do
5. vivid description of costume or setting
6. the feeling that the couple really belongs together

Only six? Geezzz…so not fair! But I’ll tell you why I love romance:
1. Professional. Yep, don’t laugh. Try researching labor market developments and the eternal issue of youth employment, that is transition from school to a job. After eight to ten hours of that daily, I just love to throw away my own"creations” and statistics and read about a nice gel and fella getting hitched for the happily ever after.
2. I like links and correlations, so the second would be it gives me a perfect excuse to postpone when something doesn’t come up as I dream when I fight figures and graphs. Right when I can already guess I won’t get in my aim yet a happily ever after, here it is that sentence where"he drawled lazily” and I second-guess the next chapter. So, I can run to that chapter and forget my own ‘aggravations’
3. Perfect means to eat ‘mental eye-candy’. I should avoid too much chocolate. So, here is the purrrfect replacement. Especially if I happen to be just at the beginning of a hot luvers’ scene. Well, then I must finish what I’m reading. Graphs, they are nothing compared to that moment of great love, love, love and more love.
4. I fell in love with romance as a teenager, and some of the things in them taught me how to react in real life. Sometimes, and laugh at my own and my friends’ faults. It helped particularly when I needed to make him grovel. Just once in our lives.
5. Women literature for women. In my opinion the best reason. If you read them, you can see how our own perception about ourselves developed, even in the last two decades or so. Many of the things we think and don’t say, are there. And the hero understands and accepts us from the books just as we are. Wouldn’t that be perfect?
6. It helped my cool mathematical head understand why I love the man I am with, without trying to ‘intellectualize’ the hell out of it, as I was tempted due to my inner nature. Ask him. It still gives him a shivers and makes him twitch when I remind him, without actually going there.

1. Sex. (Especially kinky!sex)
2. The progression of a relationship.
3. When a woman kicks ass.
4. When a man kicks ass, but not because a woman needed him to do it.
5. Respect.
6. Love.

Just discovered your site a few weeks ago, and spent hours reading it instead of studying.  Finally motivated to post by the seductive possibilities involving Hello Kitty and chocolate covered cherries.
My six reasons:
1.  Escapism
2. Books where the quirky heroine finds her perfectly imperfect match.
3.  A conversation I had with my Dad recently- he’s reading Bill Bryson’s At Home, which tells about things like why halls are called halls, and the like.  I had him really impressed by already knowing many of the cool factoids he was sharing- and then I got to tell him that it had nothing to do with my history degree, and everything to do with my love of historical romance.
4.  Dry, deadpan, laugh out loud humor.
5.  Books where you make that sound Sarah talks about… but books that make you squirm work well too.
6.  Finally finding a place where my friends won’t scoff because I’d rather read a romance than watch tripe on tv.

I’m all set with goodies, but I wanted to say,

Happy Anniversary, SBTB!

Happy 6th Annivarsary!

6 things I love about romance novels:
1. The sex!
2. Fast paced, snappy dialogue.
3. Romantic, funny heroes. 
4. Awesome, self-sufficient heroines.
5. Discovering new favourite authors.
6. Happy endings.

Excuse me, I need to go read now!

Six things I love about reading romance novels -

1. the hot, hot, hot sex scenes (kenyon, showalter, adrain, devlin to name a few good authors)
2. the witty, snarky dialogue
3. reading about a girl that can kick ass, take care of herself but yet still is searching for love
4. escaping to a far off, dark steamy world or place all while children and hubby chaos rein around me.
5. did I say hot sex scenes…oh I meant to say the cover art.
6. I enjoy romance because the stories are so varied.  I can go from Nora Robert’s to JD Robb, to JR Ward to Sherrilyn Kenyon to a ton of other great authors all while staying within the genre of “Romance”.

1. Fun, humorous repartees.
2. Feel-good feeling.
3. Romance, adventure, action, all in one package.
4. Free travel around the world.
5. Forget worries of everyday life.
6. Better than comfort food.

Congratulations & Happy Anniversary!

1. It’s my personal way of saying, “Fuck you!” to all those people who say a woman can’t be smart, independent, and read romance novels because -gasps- she wants to.
2. It breaks social taboos between the virgin whore labels women of teh twenty first century deal with. Both for the women who read it and for the protagonist female characters who enjoy sex in a safe and consentual way.
3. It opened my doors about masturbation and oral sex. “Wait, it’s not just for guys?? Fuck, yeah! Etc.”
4. They put me in reading streaks. Read one good romance novel and I’m good to finish a Hemingway and the paper that’s due this week about Hemingway, and then snuggle back into my romance novel when things get dull, motionless, and grey.
5. No matter where I am in life I feel in touch with my feminity.  Because clearly, that can be anything a woman damn well pleases as my leading ladies of romance novels have shown me. Slay a demon? Stay at home mom? Teacher? Middle class? Wandering maiden? Sure, why not?
6. Isles away I can spot a shimmery section of the book area where harps are playing guiding me to the romance spot, my romance author, and that awesome 8 pack abs, waxed chest, and pert man titty cover that lets me know this is a romance novel. This is going to be a good story with a happy ending and will make your ovaries squeel with delight and ooze oxytocin into your romance lov’n viens.

And that’s why this Smart Bitch loves romance novels.

1.) The first meeting
2.) The Unavoidable Attraction
3.) The First Kiss
4.) The Sex0rz
5.) The Misunderstanding
6.) The Happy Ending

6. Vicarious living.
5. Zero calorie indulgence.
4. Warm fuzzies. Also known as tiger shifters.
3. Happy endings. Wait… Umm…
2. Bad boys who are real good men.
1. Pure WTF escapism.

1. I love the escape it gives
2. I love the tension in romance
3. I love the community around this genre
4. I love the devotion its readers
5. I love the variety in the novels- one will be tragic, one will be humorous
6. I love the wide range of author and novels available at any given time

1. I started reading almost strickly Romance on my 1st cancer diagnoses 4 years ago..took me far away from the crap- escapism at it’s finest.
2. Found some fabulously entertaining websites that review romance ahemmm.
3. sexy fun-time
4. Laugh out loud comedy- sometimes you just need to read about a guy with washboard abs in ridiculous situations.
5. I love reading about characters that I would want to be friends with.
6. I missed the whole teen dating thing as a young’un and feel like I missed some important lessons there- in living vicarously thru many different characters and situations I kinda think I learned a few things.

Wow! Four pounds of chocolate covered cherries. What a prize. Love your site and read it daily. Best way ever to start my work day.
Six things I love about reading romance:
1. HEA/HFN endings.
2. Strong heroes and heroines.
3. Problem solving that can be applied to real life.
4. Strong, true emotions, especially about love, life, and sex.
5. A sense of humor.
6. A developing sense of self in the characters as they grow.
I do read other genres, but I keep returning to romance as my first choice of all. Keep up the good work.

1. Happy Endings! Why would I want to read a book that will bring me down?
2. Can I say Jen Crusie and Lisa Kleypas make me happy to read romance novels? OK I DID SO THERE.
3. Sex. The Fiance is always interested to find out what ‘Jackie reading one of THOSE books’ leads to for him. :P (TMI? Ooops.)
4. Being able to answer Jeopardy questions because of something I read in a romance novel. “Whoa, where’d you learn that?” “Oh, a great book I read…”
5. Being able to relax while reading them. Maybe that’s the HEA that’s almost guaranteed, but it’s comforting to read!
6. This website! Clever, witty, snarky, and willing to discuss anything… you rock. :)

I love ah-ha’s list @10:40, especially #6, and will gladly cede my prize to her, should I win it.
spamword: heavy22 - what’s in a box filled with my biggest romance paperbacks

1. They don’t talk back
2. Inspire me to love and forgive
3. Make my brain tingle w/ creativity
4. Allow me to make new character ‘friends’
5. Historicals make me grateful for all the technology I usually complain about.
6. Give me hope that maybe one day someone will love me like that.

My 6 favorite things about romance novels:
1.  The HEA—it’s the one place that I know no matter how crappy things seem it will all turn out OK.
2.  The fun of getting to “live” lives that are totally different from my own.
3.  The fact that they take female pleasure seriously.
4.  Less than perfect heroines get their HEA, just as surely as the perfect ones.
5.  Hot Alpha heroes (not alpholes)
6.  They inspired the creation of Smart Bitches Trashy Books—-Happy Anniversary!

1.) There is always a happy ending.
2.) I actually learn a bit about history as I read historical novels.
3.) The descriptions of people, fashions, the houses, the social events are so much fun to read about.
4.) Following along as the characters in the novels fall in love and work through their problems is very interesting.
5.) The love scenes are so entertaining. Be still my heart!
6.) I love the families that appear in the series books, such as the Mallorys, the Mallorens, the Wallflowers, etc. They keep me coming back for more. I feel like I know them.

1. happy endings
2. interesting time periods/settings
3. romantic tension
4. clashing of smart girls with alpha men
5. humorous dialogue
6. escapism

1.when I was in jr high/ hs, this is where I learned EVERYTHING I ever wanted to know about men, women, sexxoring and luurve. (as if my Tiger mom were not enough! Schooled by Old SKool, under the covers, with a flashlight)

2.  I (at least in part) attribute conceiving my 2nd kid and a vast jump up in quality, quantity and imagination in love life to resuming the romance habit more than 2 decades later.

3. contemplating what a long way we’ve come, baby (from 70s-80-90s til now): no more (not as much?) slut-shaming but instead freedom to enjoy sex, beta heros, impact of Buffy/Joss Whedon/kickassery of strong intelligent heroines; people of color who are not just sidekicks, exotica or insults; occasional breaks from being set in Britain and Almacks, older heroines; HEAs that don’t need to involve churning out babies, romance that doesn’t have to be so heterocentric; dialogue, motivations and relationships (not to mention clothes and music) that reflect my generation or (creak creak) more current ones…

4. Discovering/ re-reading classics: Kinsale, Ivory, Roberts, Gaffney, Crusie, SEP, Heyer, Chase, Stewart, McNaught, Howard.

5. Finding new (to me) voices, new genres, new twists: Briggs, Armstrong, McKinley,  Hart, Hill, Spencer-Fleming

6. Snarktastic, passionate, fascinating reviews and engaged heated commentary - I’d say SBTB is the icing on the cake, but I’m not so much about the icing.  Crust on the strawberry rhubarb pie?  Orange powder on my Cheetos? Yeah, that.  Thank you for all the recommendations and TBRs and happy anniversary!

Happy Anniversary! Thanks so much for all you do.
My 6 things.
1. Getting lost in a story.
2.Going to another world.
3.Falling in love all over again.
4.Becoming another person for a little while
5.The idea of being hopeful
6.And the thoughts that dreams can come true.

Ok I’m officially a sap. Think I need a drink.

Thanks for such a wonderful site - love it!
1.  Smut!
2.  Escape my life as a stay at home mom.
3.  Enjoy voyeuristic adventure and happiness.
4.  Maintains my belief in “happily ever after” and magic.
5.  Makes me feel like anything is possible.
6.  Smut!

The 6 things I love about romance…hmmm

1. the sex
2. the sex
3. the sex
4. learn new sex positions LOL
5. the HEA
6. the books help me understand love better after reading

The top six things I love most about reading romance novels…
6. Because I’ve been married 12 years and it keeps me randy under the sheets with the hubby.
5. Romance novels provide a much higher quality of escapism than fine quality programming such as “Wipeout”
4. They have provided me with a vast knowledge of questionable synonyms describing the male member.
3. Romance novels have strengthened my hand muscles by…..having to fold back the covers so no one could see the lurid tales I read.
2. The weird knowledge that you accumulate by reading a range of romances- who knew a fifteen year old could be a resource on Barbary pirates or the appropriate terminolgy to address a member of 19th century British peerage?
1.  Without doubt- romance novels have inspired my love of reading all genres.  I voraciously consume books of all types, but always, always come home to romance.

Loads of different eras to read about.
Always a HEA.
Women who are strong.
Hot sex scenes.
Or not, Hi, Georgette Heyer, I’ll take the witty banter instead.
Because of reading romance novels, I found this site and so many others who love romance novels, too.

How do I love romance novels? Let me count the ways:
1) Kick-ass heroines who don’t NEED a man to rescue them.
2) Witty heroines who have their repartee ready on the spot, not six hours later, like me.
3) Flusterable heroines, whose repartee is always six hours behind, like me.
4) Happy heroes who don’t mind kick-ass heroines who can verbally spar with them on an equal basis.
5) Tightly woven plots which build suspense/sexual tension/emotional connection to a bang-up satisfying finish.
6) Authors who have big vocabularies and aren’t afraid to use them and aren’t willing to “dumb down” their writing.

six things i love about romance novels….

1.  THE NAMES: omfg…. i love made up names so much. HANK GOODLORD and KEENA SHYBERRY soooo great….

2. the hair: THE GLORIOUS HAIR, so much glorious descriptions at length

3. the fabulously skewed versions of historic storytelling!!!! WHY YES, THIS PIRATE DID EXIST…. AND HE WAS BETTER THAN BLUEBEARD

4. the creative sex…. the more positions they try.. THE MORE SERIOUS THEY ARE ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP/MARRIAGE/IT’S COMPLICATED

5. finding out what color the heroine’s eyes are… THEY"RE ALWAYS PURPLE CAUSE THEY"RE SO UNIQUE LIKE EVERY OTHER WILL BE PRINCESS

6. The ‘plot’.

also, i’m desperately in need of all these things.. but especially the iron (sadly) i just *WANT* the chocolate…. lol

ashley