Recommendations for The Ripped Bodice’s 2019 Summer Romance Bingo

The Ripped Bodice is back with another round of Summer Romance Bingo. Visit their site for a printable bingo card and rules on how to win prizes!

We’ll be playing along in our Goodreads group and helping one another out with recommendations. You can also follow The Ripped Bodice on Twitter for more recs. If you’re not on Goodreads, that’s okay! We’ll be giving some suggestions here and opening it up to the Bitchery for further help in the comments.

Not all of the square themes are listed below! Here are the ones we skipped, so if you have suggestions, leave them below:

• Beach cover
• On the Page Atheist
• Eloping
• Tarot
• Prom

For the recs, we’re pulling from books that have been mentioned here on SBTB, are well-known, or have been recommended to us!

Next Door Neighbor

We had a great guest review of Feud by Phyllis Bourne ( A )!

Sleepover by Serena Bell ( A | BN | K ) received an A grade from Elyse, and has an emotionally fluent hero.

The hero and heroine in A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) begin as neighbors. I liked this one a lot!

Our database also contains the Neighbor trope with over forty books to browse!

Show Business

Show business could mean a lot of things, but we do have a tag for Actors/Actresses! We have another for Rockstars/Musicians.

Lucy Parker has a whole dang series for this!

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a Roman Holiday retelling with a K-Pop heroine.

Elyse liked Heartstrings by Belinda Williams ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), which is a holiday romance novella with a British actor hero.

Queer Paranormal

Wolfsong by T.J. Klune ( A ) has been recommended a lot on the site!

And I do think some of K.J. Charles‘ books might qualify. Which would you suggest?

Assassins

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has assassin nuns! Not really a romance, though.

We do have a Spy/Assassin character archetype in our database, but I do think there’s a difference between the two. Be sure to check for context!

Multiple Countries

More Than Words by Mia Sheridan ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) starts in the U.S. where the hero and heroine are kids, and then takes place in present-day France.

Want something more bonkers? The Professional by Kresley Cole ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) begins in Nebraska, has some cornfield finger-banging, and then is set in Russia.

For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has an Indiana Jones-esque plot and has some traveling to other countries.

Sassy Grandparent

You might be able to find something in this Rec League of Eccentric Older Women!

Heroine Smells Like a Flower

We don’t have any specific recommendations for this one, but we have a Rec League for Gardening Romances. And, if a heroine is a gardener, I bet there’s at least one mention of her smelling like flowers.

Both Leads Over 50

We have some great suggestions for this one!

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a historical lesbian romance. Check out the guest review for this one!

We recently featured The Inheritance by Rochelle Alers ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) on sale. If you bought it, it counts!

Carrie liked Bingo Love by Tee Franklin ( A | BN ), which is a graphic novel and features a romance between two Black women in their 60s!

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a historical novella that Sarah enjoyed. The hero is in his 70s and the heroine is in her 50s.

Titles Include Character Names

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan would also work here, but remember, you can only use each book once!

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon ( A | BN | K | AB ) is a contemporary romance with a nanny hero. Carrie gave this one a B+!

I believe any books in Sandhya Menon’s Dimple and Rishi series would work! The first book is When Dimple Met Rishi ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Dragons

We have a tag for that!

You can’t go wrong with romances by Thea Harrison, G.A. Aiken, or Donna Grant. You may have even bought one their books because they’re on sale frequently.

I loved The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Sarah and I both read Highland Dragon Warrior by Isabel Cooper ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), but be warned that it’s light on actual dragon-ing.

Kilts

Is a kilt ever worn by the hero in A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole ( A | BN | K | G | AB )?

Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has a contemporary kilt-wearing hero.

I thought Highland Promise by Alyson McLayne ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) was a good read. It got a B+ from me and is the start to a series.

We also have nearly 90 books tagged as Highlander/Scot in our database.

YA Historical

Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) would fit!

My Lady Jane by Cythina Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is YA historical with a fantasy twist. The other books in this series also work!

Wine & Spirits

Kristen Proby’s Blush for Me ( A | BN | K | AB ) has a bar manager heroine.

We can’t forget A Lot Like Love by Julie James ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ). The heroine owns a wine store!

Kyle Scott has a Dive Bar series, with the first book being Dirty ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).

Bartender characters are also part of our Chef/Foodie/Bartender tag.

Cowboys

May I direct you to our Cowboy archetype in our database?

I’d also recommend Reckless in Texas by Kari Lynn Dell ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Road Trip

If you read the recent guest review of Desire Lines by Elizabeth Kingston ( A | BN | K | AB ) and picked it up, that fits!

Theresa Romain’s Passion Favors the Bold ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has a treasure hunting heroine.

You can find more Road Trip romances here!

Epistolary

I don’t want to say When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is the best romance with epistolary elements out there, but it’s pretty close.

An older option would be My Sweet Folly by Laura Kinsale ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

We have a tag for that!

Royalty

We’ve shelved over 150 books that feature royalty in our book database. That’s a heck of a lot.

Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series is an obvious choice. The first book is A Princess in Theory ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) just released and is a YA lesbian royal romance.

For something a bit different, A Queen from the North by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a royal romance with alternate history.

Someone Wears a Costume

I know of two off the top of my head!

Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren has a scene where the heroine is dressed up as Hermione.

In Chase Me by Tessa Bailey ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Scribd ), the hero and heroine first meet when the heroine delivers a singing telegram in a bunny costume.

F/F Contemporary

Have you seen Tara Scott’s guest reviews? She has you covered!

If you need a specific review, a site favorite is Edge of Glory by Rachel Spangler ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).

Will you be playing this summer? If you’ve played before, welcome back! Any Bitchery suggestions for the bingo categories would be so welcome!