Today marks the Sixth Anniversary of this here hot pink website. Our first review was posted January 30, 2005 – a review of Sharon Shinn’s Angel-Seeker. Wow, huh? I’m sort of shocked and amazed and ready to party!
The official gifts of the Sixth Anniversary are… wait, don’t have anything liquid in your mouth, ok? … iron, candy, and WOOD.
Oh, this is going to be fun. It’s giveaway time! To celebrate our sixth anniversary, I’m giving away the following prizes:
That’s 4lbs of chocolate covered cherries, an iron, a 5lb bag of wood, and a Hello Kitty vibrator (a much better substitute for the wood, because it’s woody-like).
All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me six things you love about reading romance novels, and you’re entered to win. Standard disclaimers apply. Void where prohibited by law. I ship internationally when possible. Take your shoes off. Wash your hands. Any resemblance to iron wood made of candy is completely coincidental. No chocolate was harmed in the creation of this contest.
You have 48 hours to leave a comment, and I’ll select the winners at random. I know you all want that iron, right? RIGHT? Right. Of course!
Happy Sixth Anniversary to us – thank you for being here to make the site as fun and fantastic as it is. I’m so glad to know you visit every day to talk romance, man titty, and general mayhem.
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. 😀
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…