We made it! It’s the eighth night of Hanukkah, the night when you can toast marshmallows over the menorahs, and the cat knows to stay the hell off the counter when the candles are lit.
It’s also time for one last giveaway!
Ready to see tonight’s prize?
Here we go!
The eighth Smart Bitches Hanukkah Party giveaway is: a $100 gift card to the bookstore of your choice.
WOO HOO!
You can buy a looooooot of books with that, right? We’re here to enable all the book shopping we can!
Ready to enter to win?
Just leave a comment below and tell us about a book you discovered here that you loved – any book! Hearing that recommendations worked is the best feeling and we’d love to know which books have been your favorite discoveries!
Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 years of age and ready to read and relax. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Sun damage may occur if you don’t use sunscreen. Use sunscreen. Use only in a well-lit area so you can see all the words. Keep away from fire or flames unless it’s a menorah or two. Comments will close at or near 8am ET on Monday 14 December 2015 and winners will be announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches!
ETA: We have a winner! Congratulations to Lynette!
Thank you to everyone who entered and celebrated with us. The community at SBTB is a truly marvelous group of humans, and I’m so pleased that you are part of it. Thank you and happy holidays to you!
I saw Glamour in the Glass listed in a sales post and found it was available from my library and loved it. Waiting for book 2 in the series to become available and got the rest of the series ready to read.
I’ve added a lot of books/authors to my TBR pile because of the site, but I’ll mention Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan.
Anything Tessa Dare! You’ve highlighted some great ones me I had never read her before! Sorry I know that is more than one book! 😉
Navy Seal’s Email Order Bride by Cora Seton. I have since read all the branches and some of her related Chance Creek books. These books are like Lay’s Potato Chips, I can’t read just one.
Tessa Dare; I think the first one I read was _A Week to Be Wicked_.
I’m a very picky romance reader, and while smart/intellectual heroines are my catnip, I’ve also been burned too many times by authors who think “uses big words” is a substitute for “educated”. So I was really hesitant to pick up Ms. Dare. But when I finally did, oh my!
She doesn’t always do it for me (_Say Yesto the Marquess_, forex), but when she hits the sweet spot (_When a Scot Ties the Knot_), I will pay full price for her stuff.
Thank you so much for the recs!
I discovered so many, but I think I’m happiest about “The Rosie Effect.”
From browsing SBTB, I’ve read two “classic” romance novels (HIS AT NIGHT by Sherry Thomas, RAVISHED by Amanda Quick) and a surprising number of non-romance books (HOGFATHER by Terry Pratchett, the comic book SEX CRIMINALS, several others). Woot!
Your reviews convinced me to try Courtney Milan–and at the time, I was extremely burned out on historical romances. I’m still not reading all the authors I used to read, not even those who used to be my go-to auto-buys, but I was so excited about her new book coming out this week that I had it pre-ordered and ready to go on my Kindle when I woke up the morning of its release.
But the book that sticks out in my mind that you steered me to was an obscure novel that even when you posted about it was impossible to find. It was a take on the Robin Hood legend called “Greenwood” by Sue Wilson. In order to read it, one had to painstakingly work through the Wayback Machine–but man, was it worth it. And man, did my heart break when I discovered this morning that the copy I thought I had saved on my computer is lost. *weeping* I searched your site for the original post, but when I clicked on the links all it did was take me back to SBTB’s homepage.
I have discovered so many authors here! Sarah Maclean and Courtney Milan prompted me to give historicals another try after having burned out on them a few years ago. I also tried and loved Julie James, and just recently one-clicked Act Like It and A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong after reading about them here.
I just re-read Connie Brockway’s All Through the Night, which I believe I discovered here. It’s definitely in my top five romances!
I discovered Julie James from this site.
I blame you for expanding my book reading horizon and Amazon wish list from just historical romances to contemporary and erotica. I found the website after a Facebook post about Worth the Fall,and fell down the Smart Bitches rabbit hole from there and honestly don’t want to crawl back out.
Thank you!
Man, there have been several. I think my most recent is discovering Rose Lerner. Thanks so much for all that you do!
So many. But my fave was the Ilona Andrews oeuvre. I glommed Kate Daniels on a vacation trip.
I discovered The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan–scientist heroine!!! I’m a scientist!!!–and of course, before I’d let myself read that one, I had to read the books before it in the series. So glad!
Of all the books I’ve discovered on here, my very favourite is Beyond Heaving Bosoms. I recommend it for people who read romances, or hate romances, or just don’t get what it’s all about. I had almost as much fun reading this as the Smart Bitches seem to have had writing it.
this year, I discovered Julia Spencer-FLeming Clare Fergusson/ Russ Van Alstyne mysteries through Sarah’s appearance on Pop Culture Happy Hour. So good! Pretty much the only thing I’ve rated (and re-read!) all Fall.
When I decided I wanted to read a romance (as like an exploratory thing), I googled “best romances” and found the AAR list. I started with the number 1 choice: Lord of Scoundrels. And that was four years about 500 books ago. ; )
Sarah Morgan for me! I love her contemporaries.
I learned about Molly Harper, and specifically “How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf”. It brought me much joy. 🙂
The first book I found here was Lord of Scandal and many more after. Great site.
Yours to Keep 🙂
Tessa Dare’s books!
In just in case! I have several series i need to fill in my collection of, and a couple other books coming out soon (next Mercy Thompson – yay!) that would be nice to grab…
Courtney Milan!
I won’t be very original – the Duchess War, by Courtney Milan. I love it so much, and frankly, after reading that one I spend all the money I had at hand on binging on all the other Milan books 🙂
Anne Bishop Written in Red. Love it – have it in paperback, kindle and audio. Ditto for the other two in the series, and I’m more than ready for the upcoming release of Marked in Flesh.
I’ve discovered many books and authors here, but the one I’m most thankful for is Written in Red by Anne Bishop. I am in love with The Others!
I discovered the Julie Anne Long Pennyroyal Green series after seeing a review for “What I Did For a Duke”. The series is now one of my favorites and JAL has become an auto-buy for me! Awesome series and an awesome group of women on this site!
Most recently–Lucky Parker’s Act Like It. Super cute!!
I raved on and on about it, but I discovered The Shattered Court from an ad here. Also, anything from Loretta Chase and Courtney Milan.
So many. Sarah McLean, Sherry Thomas, Loretta Chase, Sarina Bowen, Courtney, Milan, Ruthie Knox, so many more. I realize these are authors but not books. It makes the list shorter than if I listed all their books separately. And the sale feature makes it tempting to try new authors – do appreciate the sales notifications.
Most recently, I have been reading the Saga series of graphic novels because Carrie recommended them. That is something I probably would never have picked up otherwise and it’s great, so thank you!
Stayed up way too late the other night and read Act Like It by Suzy Parker which was reviewed here last week – and it was great!If I one clicked everything I see here I would be beyond broke and up too many late nights in a row reading… restraint I say to myself, restraint!
Cordelia’s Honor! I loved that book, couldn’t put it down and staying up late loved that book.
Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
I wouldn’t have read it except for the review here.
And I really liked it. I’ve got the other books in the series in my TBR pile. (actually more like a mountain range ready to avalanche)
So, Thank you, Smart Bitches!!
I can’t recall the exact books, but Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan were new-to-me authors that I found through SBTB and have loved. I love the fantasy romances, and can think of Anne Bishop and Ilona Andrews, but I knew of those outside of here. Keep up the great and varied work.
Another long time lurker here. I have found so many wonderful books through this site and the podcast. An author that I may not have found on my own, who I was introduced to through the podcast, was Sarah Mayberry. My first book by her was Her Best Friend and from then on I was hooked. Thanks Smart Bitches for giving me hours of enjoyable reading!
This is where I discovered Laura Kinsale, restricting it to one book seems wrong so I’m sticking with the author 🙂