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!
Dialog. All the way.
Happy trashy birthday, bitches!
The most enjoyable part of a romance novel for me is the moltenly hot alpha hero. Meow. Come on ladies, admit it. 😀
My favorite thing about romance is starting a book, not knowing what the journey (plot) will look like, but knowing it’ll end in a HEA. Closely followed by impressive amount of English history I’ve managed to pick up 🙂
Congratulations on your anniversary! What I love best about romances is the Hot, Hunky, Heroes. Even better, 2 Hot, Hunky Heroes!
Definitely the HEA, but the fichus are a close second.
Since I already found my Mr. Right I like reliving the tingles and heat of the beginning of a relationship. Hot sex scenes are a close second. . .
Banter, because if the chemestry’s good it fills me with a giggling, gleeful joy.
wow, I’m still mentally processing that you were able to find fichus.
I’m on team HEA. Life’s depressing enough as it is, so I love to escape and read a HEA.
I love the HEA. But I also love making new friends in the pages of the books.
My absolute favorite thing is when the end makes me happy cry!!
So many things to like!
Overall, I think my favourite thing about romances is that, in the best of them, the characters develop and become more than they were in order to achieve their HEA.
I like my protagonists to earn their happiness.
Happy Birthday SBTB! Thanks for bringing so much awesomeness into my life!
I think the thing I’ve loved the most is the community I’ve found here of smart women who love the romance. I love all of you!
I love when you are so into the story, your heart does a wee fluttery thing when a cute moment happens 🙂
A combination of the HEA and the lovely people who read romances!
Me! Me! I want a fichu or two!!
My favorite thing about reading romance is the variety of romances available – the Tudor period, the Regency period, contemporary, not-as-contemporary (books published 20, 30, or more years ago), paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, and so on. So many flavors, so little time.
Lately what I like best about reading romance is romance blogs’ reviews and discussions. It is so much fun to get so many different viewpoints. I LOVE IT!
Like Britbc I like dialog, especially between smart and funny characters, but it’s also the venue for me. London, New York, Paris or Virgin River I love reading about different eras and cultures and I enjoy sightseeing along the way before ending the journey with HEA. Romance books can be great social and cultural educators.
Happy Anniversary SBTB….and many more!
Happy Anniversary SBTB! I love the tension (sexual and otherwise) leading up to first encounters – you only get that feeling so much in your own life! And of course, the HEA is very therapeutic 🙂
I love the lightheartness, if books are Escapes, then romance is vacation you want to be on.
I’m totally making “fichu” my new go-to swear. “Oh, yeah? Well, fichu!” Ha! I love reading romance because of the relationships between the characters. Nothing is better than seeing people fall for another class/race/gender, etc because of genuine attraction and developing feelings. Even in the contrived stories where people “have” to get married, I love how they turn out to fall for each other. Sigh… happy book noise.
Happy 8th Anniversary! No matter how bad my day was or how horrible the news a good romance book let’s me escape from the world without the physical harm of drugs or liquor.
I love that feeling of my soul glowing past of my skin when good chemistry and strong love win the day.
I love the struggle and the rewards
The relaxation I feel when I read a good romance. 🙂
I love the happy endings. Real life should be full of more happy ending.
It’s hard to pick just one favorite thing! I love snappy dialogue and funny/cute scenes – like the furzels from Linnea Sinclair’s Games of Command, or when the heroine from Judith McNaught’s Kingdom of Dreams sews the armholes shut on all of the hero’s shirts.
I love being drawn into another reality.
I love the happy ever after of finding that special someone.
I’ve been reading Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series and I absolutely adore the giddy feeling I get when the hero or heroine realizes they are in love. Also, bickering. I adore the bickering and clever back and forth between awesome characters. I am especially loving It’s in His Kiss. Gareth is turning out to be a heart melting hero and I adore Hyacinth! I love how romance novels allow me to relax and sink into another time and place that (at this point, after many years of reading regency historicals) is very familiar.
Rain drops on roses and Whiskers on kissers
Bright copper kettles and warm hugging misters
Cute paperbacks written with silly things
These are a few of my favorite things
Romance is my brain candy.
Generally sweet, easy to read, and an overall mental treat & retreat form everyday life
Happy endings. Life doesn’t always gift us with them, but my romances always do!
Like many others, I like knowing how things will end (and that they’ll end well).
I work in a field which isn’t that keen on genre texts and so I also very much enjoy placing my paper copies of romances next to Foucault, Heidegger, Deleuze, etc and watching people’s faces as they go through my bookcase 🙂
Happy 8th b-day, SBs! Here’s to many more years of downgrading my work productivity with your smolderingly magnetic posts.
I think the best part of being a romance novel reader is knowing you’re part of huuuge family. A turgid, quivering family about to spill out of their corsets. Bounteous even. Ample. I wonder if our family tastes like a berry of some sort…..
Happy Anniversary.
My favorite thing is the potential for happy book noise.
Character, chemistry, and the HEA (which all lead to the happy book noise….)
Happy Anniversary!
Reading romances makes me feel warm and fuzzy—I especially turn to them when feeling down—I think because of the complete relaxation that comes with knowing nothing bad is going to happen (I stick with the fluff type authors). I also like feeling like a huge tradition of women readers, like I’m part of a secret society.
(I really want a fichu!! Those are gorgeous!)
My favorite thing about reading romance is the fact that they always end with a happily ever after!
In real life, even the best people I know don’t get good relationships, so it’s heartening that in romance novels, at least, no matter how fucked up you are, somebody is going to love you completely and forever.
The Happily Ever After. Granted, some HEA can be unbelievable, but that’s part of the fun 🙂