Hey all! It’s been such a long time since we’ve done a grab bag giveaway and you all deserve some boxes of books.
That’s right! I said boxes!
Right now, we have six (6) boxes of relatively new releases to give out!
The books included are new, finished copies, unread, and printed on paper. We can also promise there will be at least five books, possibly more, in each box.
Each box will have a mix of subgenres. Genres include contemporary romance, historical fiction, and historical romance. While we hope the box you receive contains a subgenre or author you enjoy, we also have our fingers crossed that you’ll love trying something new. And as always, our mission statement is to share the love and share the romance.
To enter, tell us what book has brought you joy this year!
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read read read. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Boxes will contain books. If you’re lucky, maybe a stray hair from one of our very helpful pets. Entries will end around noon on Sunday 26 September 2021, and winners will be announced and notified shortly afterward.
Good luck, everyone!
Winner update: Below is the list of winners for our boxes of books! Thank you all for entering and I hope you’ve found even more books to add to your TBR pile in the comments.
Winners, be sure to check your inboxes and spam folders for an email from me!
There have been so many books this long, long year, but recently Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick has really stuck with me. I almost started it over again when I finished it!
I really loved Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake. I love baking and I love Alexis Hall so there was no way I wouldn’t thoroughly enjoy this book!
I have devoured Martha Wells Murderbot series. I love Murderbot! Also, I really enjoyed the Jesse Mihalik Polaris Rising series.
Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews, Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert and Battle Royal are probably my favourite books of the year so far, and will all be in my top ten of the year.
“The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels” by India Holton gave me such joy this year. It made me absolutely cackle and cheer throughout and I can’t stop telling my friends to read it! 🙂
It’s hard to choose. I’ve loved the Murderbot books and am eagerly awaiting Ilona Andrews’ blade novella since I LOVED the few books in this series. Their hilarious short story where they negotiating a marriage contract and must name every possible sexual act the heroine would be expected to provide her husband still makes me chuckle. And Shelley Laurenston’s latest honey badger shifter books are great for my spirits.
Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian. I got it as an ARC a few months ago and have read it at least 6 times since then!
“See you in September” by Charity Norman. I read the german translation “Das Ende meiner Welt”. Set in the beautiful landscape of New Zealand it describes the journey of Cassy into a cult and the aftermath for her Family and friends.
For fun i read the Bourbon Trilogy by J.R. Ward. So soapy 🙂
I’ve read lots of great books this year, but Breaking Badger stands out for me. I laughed out loud in places, and it was so fun to be back in that world.
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper, a lexicographer for Merriam Webster was fascinating and often also funny. I highly recommend it for any other language enthusiasts.
Right now, I am burrowing my way through the Uptown Girls series by Joanna Schupe. It is EXACTLY what I needed! Still historical, but different enough to keep me interested!
I just finished the new Chloe Liese and then immediately started it again. It was amazing.
The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite – just a delightful, warm, happy read!
Signs of attraction by Laura Brown. I found it to be just what I needed at the time, as well as a fascinating introduction to the world of people with hearing loss.
The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan. It was so nice to see a Jewish character (Ethan) who was happy and comfortable with being Jewish and his sexuality and trying new things for his community. I love how he and Naomi interact. It was so….Jewish….
I’ve read several books lately that I’ve really enjoyed but I’m going to go with Battle Royal (Lucy Parker) for this one.
What brought me joy this year?
The Vorkosigan Saga – Lois McMaster Bujold (Watching Miles flail around a potential love interest is my jam and Komarr brought that in spades.)
Machineries of Empire – Yoon Ha Lee (Ninefox Gambit, Raven Strategem, Revenant Gun – hard scifi with no hand holding. Great characters, intricate plot, and a lot of gray morality.)
Chuck Tingle!
I really loved the LORD OF STARIEL series by A.J. Lancaster — fantasy set in a world that resembles Edwardian England (sort of). The Lord of Stariel and her magical world and fae lover were just the right form of escapism for me. And — for something completely different — I’ve been reading Simone St. James’s early books set in 1920s England: ghosts, murder, and cloche hats. Jack Yates from SILENCE FOR THE DEAD is my new favorite book boyfriend. That’s certainly a kind of joy.
I just recently discovered the Encrypted series by Seanan McGuire. It’s Urban fantasy, and only on Audible.❤
I’ve re-read all of Ilona Andrews & Patricia Briggs this year. My favorite “new” book was The Girl Who Moved Sh*t with her Mind.
I discovered Roan Parrish this year – In the Middle of Somewhere and Better Than People blew me away with joy and warm fuzzies.
Casey McQuiston’s newest, One Last Stop, was so wonderful and had me making all the Good Book Noises. Will definitely keep it on permanent rotation as a comfort read!
Nalini Singh’s Last Guard and Ilona Andrews’s Blood Heir are my favorite releases this year. But I also loved Scarlett Cole’s Love in Moments, I think is my favorite book of hers. Kit Rocha’ The Devil you know made me cry my eyes out and I can’t wait for the next in the series…
Besides these, at least 1/2 the books that I read this e year are rereads and I adore those, but there’s not enough space to mention them all.
Thank you for the giveaway!
SBTB introduced me to Rainbow Rowell and I really enjoyed Baz’s voice in the Simon Snow trilogy (and the magic that actually had logic to it! and wordplay!). To wit: “We literally have three ‘pickup trucks’ in all of England, but here they’re everywhere. What is it Americans have to pick up that the rest of the world doesn’t?”
Fiction: NK Jemision’s Broken Earth Trilogy
Nonfiction: Kara Cooney’s When Women Ruled the World
After a long time on my TBR pile, I read the first of the Murderbot books…and, now I’m hooked. I get the love, now.
The Professor Next Door, book 3 in the Cider Bar Sisters series by Jackie Lau was a highlight of this year.
I read an alien abduction/rescue type thing that was so funny and sweet despite the characters running for their lives. And they even picked up a cute(?) little pet on the way.
Hss! by Zeta Star
I was stuck in a reading rut, where nothing clicked with me and I DNFed a bunch of books at 25%. I was poking around kindle unlimited and found this series Rumors and Lies at Evermore High, light and sweet, and just the thing I needed at the time.
I’ve been enjoying the Whisper Lake series by Barbara Freethy. Trying to whittle down my TBR pile before I added more.
The Selection by Kiera Cass. Okay – yes, totally cheesy plot. Kind of like a post apocalyptic bachelor. BUT my 13 year old recommended it -and we are basically reading the book series together. She’s a book ahead of me. Spoiler: We are both Team Maxon (although Aspen has his moments.)
Murderbot!!
I loved Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston. I have read some wonderful books this year, but this one really gave me a needed dose of laughter.
The Murderbot series by Martha Wells!
I just finished Annie J. Rose’s small-town romance series and I really enjoyed it. It follows a group of 5 women and their friendship is such a central part of the story, it’s nice to have their friendship celebrated as much as their romances.
The audiobook for BOYFRIEND MATERIAL by Alexis Hall and narrated by Joe Jameson reliably made me happy. Also, like others, I loved ROSALIND PALMER TAKES THE CAKE!
I also started reading the Psy-Changeling series which I had never tried before (thanks Sarah for giving me a new obsession) when I was deeply depressed and while some of the first books in the series had elements not to my taste, the overarching story grabbed me and I held in like they were a lifeline!
I loved reading Kristen Ashley’s “Chasing Serenity” and listening to Karina Halle’s “The Royals Next Door”. Both were feel good reads/listens that I really, really needed this year.
Ever wanted to read Naoki Urasawa, but felt intimidated by the many volumes of 20TH CENTURY BOYS? (Your patience will be rewarded, but that’s neither here nor there.) May I present the perfect single-volume treat: Urasawa’s MUJIRUSHI: THE SIGN OF DREAMS! I won’t explain much (partly not to spoil things, but also because it’s a bit hard to describe), except it’s got tons of Japanese and French scenery for pandemic-deprived travelers, clever anti-Trump allegory, a sweet father-daughter relationship (and the tyke is cool!), a great art heist, and (my personal favorite) a completely lovable firefighter who has a TOTALLY GRATUITOUS shower scene (always the best kind). It’s not a romance, but I love it. I also appreciated the laughs and music geekery in Tom Scharpling’s memoir IT NEVER ENDS (cw for mental illness and ECT treatment).
All of them, really. If a book doesn’t spark joy, I stop reading. Some I might pick up later, mostly I just follow my instincts (Self-Care WTW). Ridiculous as they are, the novels by RJ Blain/Susan Copperfield have reliably made me feel better these last months. A recent addition was Mary Monica Pulver’s Murder at the War (rec’ed by Judith Tarr): cozy mystery at a SCA-faire, ca 1980.
It’s been a rough year in every possible way. So far the one book I’ve read that’s really stayed with me and hit me just right was Erica Ridley’s The Duke Heist. I loved that the book REALLY explored what it meant to have a title but absolutely no funds to back that up, and on the other hand, to have no standing in society. I felt, deep in my bones, the female protagonist’s sense of invisibility. But most of all the premise for that series, the construction of family, the way family is defined and created in that world is just, *chef’s kiss* I can’t wait for the next book in Oct.