On January 31, 2005, Smart Bitches went live with two reviews, and the website was born. Eight years later, we're still here, and more readers find the community here to discuss romance, laugh at the silly parts, celebrate the awesome-y parts, and discover that there are a LOT of fellow romance readers out there in the wonder wily inter webs.
Thank you for being a part of Smart Bitches. Happy eighth anniversary to all of us!
The traditional gifts for an 8th anniversary are bronze, pottery, linens, and lace. I don't think I can do bronze or pottery (that would be a book titled His Lordship's Shipping Nightmare) but linen and lace? That I can do. Time to do fun and silly things!
I went a-looking for linen and lace things and thought…oh, ho ho! FICHU!
I have four to give away – two of each style. They're on their way to me from Turkey, but I'm giving them away right now. Because the 8th Smart Bitch Anniversary gift is FICHU!
Each fichu comes with a $25 gift card to the bookstore of the winner's choice – linen, lace and books! What could be better? You'll be warm, stylish, and entertained.
To enter, leave a comment below and tell us your favorite thing about reading romance – your very favorite. Is it the happy sigh? The potential for Good Book Noise™? The many things you learn? The lovely people you meet (and really, romance readers are among the best people, no question) online and off? Share!
I'll select four winners at random at noon eastern on Monday February 4th, 2013.
Standard disclaimers apply: I'm not being compensated for this giveaway, except for the opportunity to make bad jokes about fichus. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents to the extent permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and sporting excellent décolletage to win. Whereas, upon participation in the contest as aforesaid, said participant shall nonetheless deliver hereunto all such paraphernalia as reasonably necessary and appropriate. Notwithstanding anything hereinafter to the contrary, the contest shall nonetheless be conducted as heretofore described thereupon. Or something.
Most of all: thank you for being here, and making our community worth celebrating every day, and every year. Happy Fichu Anniversary to us!
I love reading romance because I am guaranteed a happy ending! This is the reason I tell people when they ask me “Why Romance?” Plus, all those manly muscles of manliness! Yum! 😉 Happy Anniversary, Smart Bitches!!! 🙂
Falling in love with sweet, strong, sensitive, sexy-as-hell (check that alliteration 😉 ) men, while having sex in physically impossible positions, and living/traveling to lands and times I’ll never see, where every evil gets punished and everyone good lives HEA…
Congrats! May there always be a bitchery! 🙂 Fichus are an awesome idea, and remind me of how in Cecilia Grant’s most excellent “A Lady Awakened,” the heroine’s concession to being seductive was to remove hers. Love it.
I have to say my fave thing about romances is that you always know they’ll deliver everything you want. (As opposed to what readers might *need* from serious literature.) HEA? Check. Reliving the feelings of falling in love? Check. Dreamy heroes? Double check. Sex? Keep those pages coming, my bitches! In all seriousness, though, romances are always a comfort read and I love them for that.
Romance novels are my comfort food – you always know mashed potatoes are gonna be delicious. I love knowing that a romance will have a happy ending. Oh, and I love historicals…so I guess they’re like old-timey mashed potatoes?
Guaranteed happy endings save me huge loads of anxiety
Thank you for 8 years of wonderful, thoughtful work.
I love knowing that, no matter where the story goes, it’s always headed for a HEA.
Happy Anniversary to the bitches who bring the smarts and sass! My favorite thing is the old skool crazy sauce covers – fuschia as far as the eye can see. But now a philosophical question: in a world without fuschia, would there be heaving bosoms?
It’s everything about the romance i like! the characters, the background, the history, the banter, the realization of love, and the hea! it’s an escape into a world of possibilities, and of a knowledge that in THIS world, all will end happily ever after!
Y’all are awesome. Thank you for all the happy celebrations and good wishes!
I love getting lost in the story, and of course, the HEA!
I like the individual character development and love seeing how two characters grow & change when together!
The real world is a scary place. I love romance because good always triumphs over evil, and the good and just live happily ever after.
My favourite thing about romance novels is their crazy-ass unrealistic plots (not to mention heroes) !
8 years in the blogoverse—that’s like, umm, MUCH LONGER in Real Life. Congrats! One of my favorite things about romance novels is that they’ve taught me words like “fichu!”
I like discovering new authors
I must admit that the characters in a romance are what intrigue me (and yes, fine, I HAVE yelled at a character about his/her behaviour…. perhaps even in public. *ahem). MOVING ON…
What has been most amazing for me is the community of readers I’ve discovered because I have been reading romance … such an incredible community of readers, and so many fascinating people!!!
Oh, and my décolletage? Fan-freakin’-tastic. Think of how much better it would look in a fichu.
The very best thing about reading romance is that during the year I was sick romance novels brought me back to reading after many years of only reading for work. I can’t believe that didn’t start reading romances until I was 40! So many wasted years!
Happy anniversary, SBTB!
I love angst and tension when I know there will be HEAs. Those moments of will they, won’t they are so much better when I know inevitably they will.
Happy anniversary! I think I’ve been here about 5 years now – started sometime while I was still in school. I don’t remember how I found the site but I’m glad I did!
My favourite part about reading romance is stepping into another world.
Happy ending.
The predictible plot lines, because sometimes it is a comfort to know that they will always end up together in the end!
Knowing that the characters will definitely (eventually) make decisions that work out for them, and be happy.
Happy Anniversary! Here’s wishing you many, many more. I’ve loved all the many blogs and reviews over the years and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next 🙂 I love reading romance b/c between those pages are a new perfect world that I can escape into and enjoy!
The adventures where i know everyone will end up ok and not inA&E.
thanks and happy birthday!
Enjoying decent people getting happy endings
Bad jokes about fichu aside, I love the love. Characters to adore & the big fat HEA.
I like knowing it will end well. Seriously, I read the end of thrillers first because of the trauma of coming to like the bad gut. If I get attached to a character, I want to know they will end up ok, as they will live in my head after the book is done. There are enough bad thing sin my head, not adding to the nightmare fodder.
I love escaping into another world. And vicariously experiencing that great rush of falling in love.
my favorite thing about romance is the HEA
Congrats on 8 wonderful years!
I could go on and on about all the great things in romances but what it really boils down to is that they make me feel good when I read them!
My favorite part of a new romance book is when you get to an incredibly awkward-how-could-you-do-that moment and you almost can’t continue reading but you have to find out what happens… its usually accompanied by an ‘EEK’ or two.
Also, happy anniversary!
That moment in a romance when I find myself just full of anticipation and then absolute glee – I can’t properly describe it, but the kiss on that last episode of ‘New Girl’ sums it up. That! That moment! And while you can find variants of that moment across various genres and media, you find it most consistently while reading romances.
Happy Anniversary! 8 years is AMAZING. o__o
I like romance because of the happy feels it gives and the sometimes over the top chase between the H/h. Yum.
I love the HEA, and the sense that all is right with the world because the hero and heroine are finally together.
Happy Anniversary! My favorite part of reading romance is that it so often includes all the parts of life that get left out of other types of literature. Romance, family interactions, life in the small details, all those things often are either not shown or shown in a negative light in Literature with an L. I also enjoy the certainty that things will work out – it may not always be the HEA I wanted, but it is, at least, a HEA.
my favourite thing about reading romance is the clever conversation. you don’t get that in other books.
I just love the language, the dashing heroes, the plucky heroines, and the amazing and completely unreal lives they lead.
The happy endings- of all types 😉 And all of the weird and wonderful information you learn from romance novels- I swear romance authors must collect notebooks full of interesting tidbits. I am forever quoting things I learned from a romance novel!
I adore the guarantee of a HEA. Also, I rock fichus!
First of all, happy 8th anniversary! I love SBTB!
My fave thing about reading romances is the fact that I can connect to heroines who are quirky/out of the norm in the same way I am and not feel like a total weirdo. LOL I also love when they overcome some obstacle or take a chance to get what they want and that inspires me to do the same. Plus the HEA. (Duh! ;))