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It’s After Dark Season, Y’all!

Like spooky season but better because mantitty.

Friday Videos Love a Pumpkin Classic

An image of a VHS cassette with a label that reads FRIDAY VIDEOS Smart Bitches Ep. 21 against a pink crosshatch background

It’s a classic for a reason, and the reason is, it’s a classic! 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 … Continue reading Friday Videos Love a Pumpkin Classic →

Podcast

742. Writing Recent History with Lea Vale

Lea Vale is the author of Blue Sky Black, a dual-timeline recent history romance that takes place, in part, on 9/11/2001. We talk about writing recent history, especially recent traumatic history, into romance, we also discuss the power of the HEA, and we chat about her NHPR show, Check This Out! 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 … Continue reading 742. Writing Recent History with Lea Vale →

Book Review

What the Smut? by C. Hallman

What the Smut?

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 … Continue reading What the Smut? by C. Hallman →

The Rec League: Spiteful and Stubborn Sunshines

The Rec League - heart shaped chocolate resting on the edge of a very old book

This Rec League came from Amelia in the SBTB Podcast Patreon Discord. It arrived because of a bonus episode discussion between me and Sarah on grumpy/sunshine pairings. 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 … Continue reading The Rec League: Spiteful and Stubborn Sunshines →

Kickass Women in History: Dolores Huerta

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 … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Dolores Huerta →

After Dark at the Movies: Frankenhooker

Smart Bitches After Dark with After Dark in neon glowing style and a small reel of film in the lower left corner

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading After Dark at the Movies: Frankenhooker →

Links: Lisa Kleypas, Podcasts, & More

An illustrated image of a desk space with a computer, stack of books, reading glasses, and a mug.

Happy Wednesday, all! 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 … Continue reading Links: Lisa Kleypas, Podcasts, & More →

Help A Bitch Out

HaBO: Friends to Lovers on a Cruise Ship

This HaBO comes from Happy Highlights, who is looking for this contemporary romance: 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 … Continue reading HaBO: Friends to Lovers on a Cruise Ship →

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