It’s been 11 years since the first reviews from the hot pink palace of Bitchery went live, and every year, we like to celebrate with merriment, traditional and modern anniversary gifts, mayhem, and possibly also shenanigans.
Lucky for us, the traditional gift for the 11th anniversary is steel, and the modern gift is jewelry. I thought, hey, this is awesome! STEEL JEWELRY ahoy!
Then RedHeadedGirl said, “Wait. SWORDS.”
Swords?
And everyone else said, “YES. SWORDS.” So this year, we’re giving away jewelry and swords! Happy anniversary to everyone!
Here are the prizes:
Yup, it’s a sword! The Timber Wolf sword is perfect for this giveaway since we’ve got plenty of shifters in romance, plus men and women wielding swords, and who doesn’t need a deep blood groove in their sword, right? And if you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not jewelry…” SURE it is! It’s Jewelry for ALL OF YOUR SELF!
More steel! And more jewelry!
And of course, some steel jewelry for your pocket or purse:
Want to enter? Easy! Just leave a comment below and recommend a romance you loved. You’ll be entered to win one of the prizes. Comments will close around noon eastern, and I’ll select the winners at random on Friday, 5 February 2016. If the item pictured above is not available at time of announcement, a similar alternative will be provided.
Standard disclaimers apply: Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and full of steely determination to read. I’m not being compensated for this giveaway except for the opportunity to go sword shopping, which is compensation a-plenty! Crumb coats make the icing look very smooth, but icing is just as good straight from the bowl. Icing is also a legitimately delicious food group. Blanket forts may be constructed for purposes of reading; no prior warning is required.
Thank you for spending time with us. Smart Bitches wouldn’t be as much fun without you, so thank you for being part of our celebration!
ETA: 5 February 2016
Thank you so much for all the anniversary wishes! I am honored that you all come hang out with us each day, and I’m so happy to celebrate our anniversary with you. It’s winner announcement time!
The winner of the sword: L
The winner of the typewriter bracelet: Giddypony
The winner of the reading & tea bracelet: Cerulean
The winner of the reader pendant: Jill B
The winner of the flask: Alaina Keener
Thank you to everyone who entered, and thank you for celebrating with us!
I have to recommend Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase – it’s a great introduction to romance!
I just looooove Think of England by KJ Charles!
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie — the first time I really related to a heroine.
Congrats! I been a daily reader of the blog and weekly listener of the podcast for 3 years. When I thought about recommending a favourite read two came to mind UNCOMMON PASSION by ANNE CALHOUN and AFTER HOURS by CARA MCKENNA.
Happy Anniversary.
One of my favorite recent romances is Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones. Ruritarian, Fantasy of Manners, Swashbuckling Swordswoman, sweet romance between her and a heiress, mystery competently solved, and everyone uses her brains! Wonderful book.
Happy Anniversary!
Has to be Lisa Kleypas’ The Wallflowers, specifically Devil in Winter. But read them all. Seriously. All the books.
Happy anniversary!! My favorite is Dark Lover by JR Ward. It’s the first paranormal romance that I really fell in love with and introduced me to the genre.
I think everyone who hasn’t should check out Victoria Holt/Jean Plaidy/Phillippa Carr. I loved hiding in my grandmother’s back bedroom during summers sneak reading them.
Happy Aniversary!
I would recommend Slightly Wicked by Mary Balogh. It’s one of the very first romances I read and I still go back and read that entire series once in awhile.
Now You See Her by Linda Howard
I recommend “Dearest Rogue” by Elizabeth Hoyt. It has hero AND a heroine with disabilities, a road trip, a bodyguard romance, and plenty of action (in both senses). One of my favorite reads last year
Wheeeeeeeeeee, congrats on eleven great years! Rosemary Rogers is the first romance I remember.
Happy anniversary! I loved Three Weeks with Lady X.
Any book by Tessa Dare . . . But “Beauty and the Blacksmith” may be my favorite. Blacksmith. Anvil. Unff.
Happy anniversary! A romance I read and loved because of this site was Seduced, by Virginia Henley. It was pretty epic. Then I started reading more of her books, and gosh the OMGWTFBBQ is strong with her. I love them. Here’s to (at least) 11 more years!
Happy Anniversary! Rangers by Cianna Stone.
Happy 11th Anniversary SBTB! I’ve followed your site for years (not sure how many). My favorite Romance series is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Jamie truly is the King of Men 🙂
I recently read and enjoyed Courtney Milan’s Once Upon a Marquess. Happy anniversary!
Happy 11th anniversary! My all-time-favorite romance is The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.
My favorite romance book is Loretta Chase’s The Lord of Scoundrels. The last romance book I read that I absolutely loved is Kristan Higgins’s Anything for You. Happy anniversary; 11 years young!
I’ll give a shout out to the Night Huntress books by Jeaniene Frost that I just re-read for the upteenth time! Love me some Cat & Bones!
Yesterday, I read Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon (which I picked up from a sales post this week. Thanks SBTB!) and loved it. The conflicts were so layered and the setup so interesting. When I finished it, I wanted to flip back to the beginning and start again.
Oh my goodness. I will name Julie Garwood’s The Bride as my gateway book into this fabulous genre.
Happy Anniversary ladies!
Long may you reign !
I’m in the middle of Emma Chase’s Sustained, which I learned about here. It more than lives up to the hype, and I heartily recommend it!
There are so many I love! I do keep re-reading Welcome to Temptation, though, by Jennifer Crusie, so let’s go with that. Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BITCHES!!! 😀
Romance I’d recommend to those new to the genre (if I was brave enough) in historical Loretta Chase Lord of Scoundrels and Lisa Kleypas Wallflower books. Contemporary Judith McNaught was the first contemporary author I read so Paradise and Perfect though they are super dated hold a special place in my heart. And paranormal would be Nalini Singh’ s Psy Changeling series Heart of Obsidian is one of my all time favorites.
Oh gosh, just one? I’m going to have to go with Lisa Kleypas’ Devil in Winter. 🙂
I’ve found so many of my favorite romance authors on this site! My favorite SBTB fund is probably Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series. Steampunk romance at its finest.
Happy anniversary!!!
I’d recommend the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. Love her narrative voice. 🙂
Happy anniversary!
I love Jenny Crusie – I think Crazy for You is my favorite followed by Bet Me. Katie MacAllister’s dragon novels are fun, too.
My favorite writer is Nalini Singh, I’ve just started re-reading her Guild Hunter series. Good luck to everyone and congratulations to the ladies!
I absolutely LOVED Laura Lee Guhrke’s Secret Desires of a Gentleman. I swooned, I melted, I baked cupcakes (the heroine is a pastry chef). Reading it made me hungry in every good AND bad way. It’s been given a spot on my keepers shelf, and those are difficult to earn.
My first ever taboo’ish book, which probably wouldn’t make it out today, was The Wanton by Rosemary Rogers. I’ve always hung onto the hardcover book, and good thing, because you can’t find it now
Happy Anniversary!!!
Cordelia’s honor by Lois McMaster Bujold was my gateway romance book
Congratulations!! And job well done! I recommend anything by Courtney Milan or Cecilia Grant! Some of the most interesting historicals out now!
Congratulations! I’d recommend The Wallflower series or Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas.
Happy anniversary, dear bitches! You rock! Thank you for many hours of happy reading!
Happy anniversary! I recommend Loretta Chase in general, and Mr. Impossible in particular.
Happy Anniversary!
Pick a fav? Not possible. But…
One of the first sets of books to turn me on to series was Twin of Ice and Twin of Fire by Jude Devereaux. I was so amazed that the books and characters could be related. I’m sure Devereaux wasn’t the first to do it but she was one of the first I read. Then I found Bertrice Small and Skye O’Malley. I expect most most romances (books in general really) to have spin offs and sequels now.
One of my favorite features of Pink Palace is HABO. I am always impressed at the responses and the variety of books that get mentioned when a sister bitch is trying to find that missing title. Y’all are amazing!
Sarah MacLean’s One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. It’s sweet, steamy, and has a great ending.