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!
One of my absolute highlights was listening to the audio of the entire Murderbot catalog earlier this summer. I don’t know why I held off SO LONG on reading them, but what a delight!! I can’t wait for more.
The three books that have made me happiest this year are:
–Paladin’s Strength, by T. Kingfisher, because werebears! And scary rabbits! And so many interrupted kisses I cheered when they finally hooked up!
–The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry, by C.M. Waggoner, with queer magic-using ladies and bonus necromancy!
–Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, in which single mom Rosaline Palmer goes on a show that’s definitely totally not the Great British Bake Off and bakes things and frets about her daughter and falls in love, not in that order.
So many wonderful books this year but the one that comes to mind is Ten Things I hate about the Duke by Loretta Chase. It was just such a fun romp of a romantic comedy and I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time I was reading!
I mentioned this book on Whatcha Reading, but I’ll mention it again. I held off on trying the Blessings Series by Beverly Jenkins, and because of a book swap, where my best friend read a historical romance and I read a contemporary, both by her, I finally took the chance. I had thought I wouldn’t like it since it wasn’t historical, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was just as fun, and it felt like entering another part of her world.
Please don’t enter me since I cannot read hard copy print.
I just finished reading the Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser and it was just the cutest book. I was smiling for most of it, and even laughed out loud a few times. Such good banter between the characters!
Celia Lake’s Albion series. Think my favourite might be Sailor’s Jewel. Or maybe Eclipse. Fantasy, magic, alternate history, thoughtful and interesting people being kind to each other, romance. And sea monsters in Sailor’s Jewel and astronomy in Eclipse.
Of the 82 books I’ve read so far this year (!!! I’m having a good book year ha) I have to say Verity by Colleen Hoover BLEW ME AWAY. I sat up all night reading it after I started because I had to know what happened. I talked about it in two different book clubs and I still continuously recommend it to anyone I can despite having read it back in February. The more people I can talk to about it, the better!
Morning Glory Milking Farm and the follow-up, Girls Weekend, by C.M. Nascosta were so good, and funny! I can’t wait to read more from this author. Monster-human love is my new-found catnip!
The Bromance Book Club series. They are laugh out loud funny plus hot and romantic. They were just what I needed to break out of a reading slump.
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn. I loved the descriptions of New York City, and of the art of lettering.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers
Such a quietly beautiful book about expectations and assumptions and realizations and, above all, kindness. I loved it so much.
There have been so many! Most recently , two that feature men who cook: “Make It Sweet” by Kristen Callihan, and “A Sweet Mess” by Jayci Lee. I had both of these going at the same time (one print, one audio) and besides both being excellent and fun, I had the extra bonus of making interesting comparisons. And then there was the food!
I loved Talia Hibbert’s trilogy about the Brown sisters. I accidentally read Dani’s (the second one) first and I think it was my favorite.
From Blood and Ash (along with books 2 and 3) have been my escapism books this year. It’s been fun immersing myself in a new world of fantasy and following the characters.
Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston (Honey Badger Chronicles 4) gave me so much joy. I can count on Shelly Laurenston to give me a laugh out loud good time.
The Brother Cadfael mysteries! Talk about pure distilled comfort in print form (even with murder involved, lol).
Last Guard by Nalini Singh – her books always work for me and MurderBot!
So far this year two of my favs are Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas & The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. I’ve been following her stories for years and was thrilled when she announced her debut. It’s so wonderful getting to see a wider audience gush over this book and the book made me smile too!
A few books I’ve enjoyed recently are:
A Rational Arrangement by L. Rowyn
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
The Year of Soup by Howard Reiss
Agatha Christie mysteries–can’t stop reading them!
So I discovered Tessa Dare because of this website and that’s been one of the few good things to happen lately — and it opened up a whole new genre of reading! Thank you! A Week to be Wicked was the first in a WHOLE NEW WORLD, woooo!
Anne Gracie’s series The Chance Sisters and the Marriage of Convenience comforted me a lot. Also the Vino and Vertias series by various authors has kept my mind off real life as well.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Hands down the best book I’ve read in a long time. It just made me feel so much! And did so while being simply, utterly charming.
I really enjoyed Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. I don’t think I’ve read a book where both main characters were autistic before.
Pretty much anything by Nalini Singh. Loved Last Guard – especially that the heroine’s mental issues weren’t hand-waves cured – she gets therapy and better meds. Also share the love for Lucy Parker’s Battle Royal. Both Parker and Singh have become comfort reads for me.
I’ve been doing a lot of comfort rereading this year, and my biggest surprise and delight has been rereading The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe. For one thing, I had read it so long ago that I had forgotten a lot of the details, so it was almost like reading it for the first time again. For another, I hadn’t noticed previously that there was a third book in the series, so now I need to find it and prolong the enjoyment! For anyone who might be interested in Georgian Dragons in the Carpathians, this is a great read.
I just picked up my very first bodice ripper, “Heart’s Surrender” by Kathleen Morgan. I was just looking for some “fluff” between book-club-sanctioned “serious” literature, and I fell in love. I couldn’t put it down (and not just because the pages were sticky). Hooked.
Saffron Alley by A.J. Demas was a delight, and I am so happy to hear the third book in the trilogy is coming out next month.
Thanks to SBTB, I have enjoyed all of Celia Lake’s books, particularly Pastiche and Sailor’s Jewel – and there is a new one out today, her first f/f, Complementary.
Charles, by Con Riley, was a deeply comforting read as well.
I started the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn this year, and promptly read all 6 that have been published so far! A couple as audiobooks helped me with the drive from MI to WA as we once again moved across the country. And I just finished “Smoke Gets in your Eyes” by Caitlin Doughty, a memoir of how she entered the field of death. I love her writing, and it’s good to get a fresh perspective on what happens when we die; what to expect, and plan ahead for.
I’ve been rereading a lot of books for the comfort of familiarity, but I practically inhaled Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade.
My dogs and cats!
I loved the whole Stariel Quartet… such a pleasure to read… (and found it through SBTB rec, so thank you!)
Oh you mean books! Haha. Rereading the millennium series.
Murder Bot and Jackie Lau’s books have brought me so much joy this year. Both are autobuy authors for me!
I discovered the Murderbot diaries and it has been such fun to listen to the books when I am out on a run. The house in the cerulean sea was also a treat!
I love Take a Hint, Dani Brown! The whole series is excellent, but Dani speaks to me the most.
The restful books I’ve loved this year are Kikuko Tsumura’s There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job and Sigrid Nunez’s The Friend. I’ve been drawn to clear, uncomplicated prose during this part of the pandemic. On the romance side, I highly recommend Axie Oh’s delightful K-pop YA XOXO and Helen Hoang’s The Heart Principle. The latter is quite heavy in parts and I felt like the last quarter was a bit rushed, but Anna and Quan definitely earned their happy ending.
I’ll have to go with Andy Weir’s HAIL MARY. I was smiling and crying at the end.
Not really a romance (though there were a few breadcrumbs) Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation. I was only a third of the way through it when I decided to put a library hold on the second book. Jane is just an amazing protagonist and I want to know about her!