My experience with The Bachelor franchise is as follows: I edit the recaps from Elyse, which she’s been faithfully recording since 2017. That’s it. Now, I have watched two (2) episodes to fill in for Elyse, prompting the following questions: Why are they four hours long? Why are they on two subsequent nights sometimes? Why on sequential nights or on four hour nights are they stretching out TWENTY FIVE TOTAL MINUTES OF FOOTAGE into an … Continue reading Here For All the Reasons: Why We Love the Bachelor, edited by Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais →
For those of you who have had the pleasure of being edited by Head Smart Bitch Sarah, you’ll know that she’s a master at drilling down to the core of things – distilling language so that it accurately reflects your feelings on a book and, more importantly, the reasons for those feelings so readers can assess for themselves if that book is a good fit for them. Ed.note: thank you! While I am a reviewer … Continue reading On Reviews and What Makes Them Useful →
Amanda and I have discussed many times on the RT Rewind podcast episodes that reviewing a book that’s deep into an existing series is a fraught proposition. The potential for spoilers is significant, and the question of audience can be a puzzler, too. Am I writing for new readers who might enter the series with this book (TL;DR, don’t do that, you deserve the whole Murderbot series!) or am I addressing folks who already love … Continue reading Platform Decay by Martha Wells →
RECOMMENDED: Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood is $2.99! Fingers crossed this deal lasts. Elyse gave this one an A-:
Problematic Summer Romance is a friends-to-lovers romance/brother’s best friend romance, but it utilizes those tropes without any masculine over-protectiveness, which I appreciated. It’s also a romance that’s light on external conflict, but heavy on emotional growth, which was perfect for me.
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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 Let’s Talk About Con Behavior →
Welcome back and welcome to May! Have I complained yet about how busy this month is for me? I’m already looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. A friend and I are doing a staycation to just read and relax, and then my brother and sister-in-law visit! Keeping my fingers crossed for a very chill summer. … The Women’s Game Fest is running now through Halloween on Itchio. As an aside, I totally understand those that … Continue reading Links: Pangea, Spaceballs, & More →
Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy is 99c! This has been a huge favorite of commenters on the site when it first released. Have you read it?
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This HaBO is from Eddie, who is hoping to find this romance: I am losing my mind trying to remember the title of a romantic suspense book I read sometime in the 2010s. I have a very clear picture of the physical book and some wildly specific plot points, but the title and author completely escape me. The Physical Book & Publisher Clues: I am almost positive it was a category romance maybe Silhouette/Harlequin. It … Continue reading HaBO: Harlequin Where the Hero is Being Hunted →
Happy Tuesday! It’s May! A small batch of new releases on our TBR piles this week: new Murderbot, a dark graphic novel, something new from Lily Chu, and more. What books are you excited for this Tuesday? Let us know!
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren is $2.99! This was recommend on The Rec League: More Action Adventure Romance. There are several CLo romances on sale this month, so definitely double check their backlist.
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Yesteryear was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026 so it’s such a bummer that it fell apart for me. I think this book had the opportunity to be a really interesting commentary on the Trad Wife movement and on White Christian womanhood, but it took a turn that felt frankly kind of lazy. Natalie Heller Mills is a very successful trad wife influencer. She lives on a farm with her husband and six … Continue reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke →
