Featured
Cheers! Happy 21st Anniversary, Smart Bitches!
We're celebrating 21 years with a sparkling giveaway and a big lovefest in the comments. Come join us!
Sunday Sale Digest!
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 Sunday Sale Digest!
Kickass Women in History: Arnarulunnguaq
I don’t know why, but I am a total sucker for books about Arctic and Antarctic exploration. Bring me your frostbite, your scurvy, your long marches, and, above all, bring me my warmest pajamas and a hot cup of tea and we have what I consider to be the perfect ingredients for a cosy night in. The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1897ish – 1922ish) and the many efforts to locate the Northwest Passage in … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Arnarulunnguaq
Yes, The Muppet Show Reboot is Terrific
IT SUCKS when great shows are on the platforms of fuckass companies, but here we are. The Muppet Show reboot was a direct hit of nostalgia, dopamine, and earnest joy that I needed and I was more and more charmed the longer I watched. I’m old enough (ahem) to remember the original Muppet Show, and this reboot is faithful to the format while updating with jokes, references, and the presence of Sabrina Carpenter, whose resemblance to … Continue reading Yes, The Muppet Show Reboot is Terrific
Books On Sale
Con Artists, Historical Romance, & More

Unromance by Erin Connor is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Connor has a new book out this month that I’m excited for. I believe this is in the queue for Cover Awe and it was mentioned on Hide Your Wallet.
Friday Videos Like Irving Berlin

I’m going to need to make a logo for Friday Videos, huh? Suggestions welcome! This week’s Friday Video comes from Varian via the podcast Patreon Discord, and when I say I sent to everyone I know, I mean every person I could think of. Please welcome Lizzy and the Triggermen performing Irving Berlin’s 1941 chart, “When That Man is Dead and Gone.” You’ll want the good speakers for this one. I also found a recording … Continue reading Friday Videos Like Irving Berlin
Podcast
704. JQ Editions with Julia Quinn
My guest this week is Julia Quinn and we are talking about, of course, JQ Editions, a new subscription service creating special limited editions of historical romances. I’ve been writing about this since it was announced, and so I got to ask all my questions – and some of yours. Along the way we talk about the historical romance genre, administrative mayhem, and the practicalities of creating special editions of beloved books. Plus you get … Continue reading 704. JQ Editions with Julia Quinn
News Bites, Feb 2-6 2026: Cancellations and Endings
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 News Bites, Feb 2-6 2026: Cancellations and Endings
Holiday Romance, Cozy Fantasy, & More

One Killer Night by Trilina Pucci is $1.99! I just added this to my TBR pile and now it’s on sale! Perfect timing. This was published by Amazon’s romance imprint, so it’s only available digitally through them.
Lightning Review
Trailbreaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare
Prairie Nightingale has formally opened her detective agency with the people who helped her solve her last case and the book begins with the four of them having a multilayered, multidirectional disagreement. Since each of them are unflinching, stubborn, sometimes prickly women, they get on each other’s nerves, even as Prairie reminds herself and them not to “flatten [someone] to the most annoying aspect of [their] personality.” Then a wealthy, iconoclastic woman walks in with … Continue reading Trailbreaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

