Seventeen years ago, Smart Bitches began.
Smart Bitches launched on 31 January 2005 with a review for Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn and for The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann.
We’re still here.
This honestly blows my mind a little. Still here, talking about books, never running out of things to say about romance.
Woohoo! Thank you! I’m so honored you’re part of SBTB!
Our community is still welcoming, and warm and wonderful. None of that would be possible without you.
So thank you for hanging out with us each day, for sending us so many great covers for snarking, for telling me bad jokes, for telling us about books you loved, sending Amanda links, reporting hot sales prices, and for being part of our community.
As usual, I took a peek at the traditional and modern anniversary gifts for the 17th year, and what did I find?
Furniture. Both modern and traditional? Yup. Furniture.
I’ll be honest with you: that stumped me for a minute. How the F am I going to give away Furniture?
Until I remembered, hang on, I can buy a bunch of pieces of furniture and send them out to winners.
If I use dollhouse furniture!
Thanks to the lovely folks at Dollhouse Junction in Pittsburgh, PA, I am indeed giving away furniture to celebrate our 17th anniversary.
Specifically, I’m giving away furniture that is suitable for reading. Reading furniture, in miniature dollhouse sizes! It’s both tempting, and cute! Have a look!
We have five reading-focused pieces of furniture:
A light blue floral sofa with carved wooden legs! Perfect for tea, a quilt or afghan, and many books.
A miniature wing chair with gorgeous stripes – you know you’d be cozy in that chair.
For the midcentury modern enthusiast, a resin Eames chair and footrest, ready for reclining, reading, and relaxing.
Look at this miniature easy chair, in the perfect shade of pink! (Pen is for scale purposes so you have an idea how teeny we’re talking here.) Comes complete with adorable cushion in matching fabric.
My jaw dropped a bit when I saw this and I was so excited to grab the very last one available: a Victorian chaise in a gorgeous rose pink, complete with decorative carving, just waiting for miniature you, your favorite beverage, and some very graceful, stylish reclining. (Seriously, I love this so much.)
My hope is that the winners will be able to put their furniture prizes in a place that will remind them that they deserve time to read and relax in comfort.
Want to enter to win? I hope so!
Just comment below and share one of your favorite Smart Bitches memories.
A book you discovered here?
A cover snark that made you snort laugh?
A HaBO you solved?
The high incidences of random silliness?
What post or moment do you think of when you think of Smart Bitches? Tell us one of your favorite Smart Bitches moments and you’re entered to win.
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and ready to miniaturize for maximum furniture enjoyment. If miniaturization of self is not possible in your location, imaginary de-biggening will suffice. Not responsible for sudden desire to start collecting miniatures. Comments will close at noon ET on Sunday 6 February 2022 and winners will be announced shortly afterward.
Thank you for being part of Smart Bitches, and thank you for celebrating with us. Happy Anniversary!!
Winner update: Here are the five winners! Please check your inboxes and spam folders shortly.
WOW! VERY happy anniversary, Smart Bitches! You’ve been one of the sites that I continue to visit daily, and I love the humor and clarity you bring to your posts, and the wonderful community you’ve brought together. I love laughing with you over some of those very memorable F+ reviews and have loved reading the recommendations and thoughts of the terrific commentariat! Hugs, and continued best wishes and success for years to come!
Happy Anniversary! I do love the silliness, the book recs and the marvelous community. This Christmas the gift guides have proofed very helpful again. My favorite thing about the Smart Bitches are the discussions about diversity and representation. I have learned a lot – thank you!
Happy anniversary to you and the wonderful community you’ve built. Best wishes for many more!
Happy anniversary, bitchery!!! Thank you for all the laughs and the fond memories.
Please don’t enter me in the draw, as I have enough stuff anyway.
I’ve been a reader since, idk, 2008-2009 or something? The days of the much missed Candy. I remember literally crying with laughter at stuff like “in her ass, saving her life” (which I still quote) and The Playboys Sheikhs Virgin Stable Girl. I miss the raunchiness and irreverence of those days!
I think what I love the most are discussions about older and batshit crazier romance, and the romance that shaped us growing up. I have such fond memories of the comments whenever Bertrice Small et al are mentioned (I remember someone commenting about trying to smooth their hair with silk, like in Adora?). Oh, and Jean M Auel (I could spend days discussing her books).
Sadly, most romance novels don’t work for me, as I seem to mostly go for romance-adjacent historicals, gothic, and fanfic. HOWEVER, the bitchery did introduce me to my favourite miniseries ever, BBCs wonderful North and South, which I’ve watched countless times since reading the review here, so it’s all good.
Random wish: if someone were to write a race-bent AU fanfic of The Shadow and the Star where the ninja actually IS Japanese and not a white guy, and the orphan girl is Black, and they actually end up fighting crime together in Victorian London, I would be forever grateful. If there was ever a book with a brilliant premise that ended up being massively, brutally disappointing it’s this one.
Wow! Seventeen years! I came on board somewhere around the Cassie Edwards debacle.
I’ll admit I really miss the F+ reviews. I actually bought The Playboy Sheik’s Virgin Stable Girl because of that review, and I’m still worried about the chicken.
Thank you for providing a safe space where we can agree to disagree sometimes. It is so reassuring to know that I can say I didn’t care for something that seems to be universally loved, and not be deluged with comments about what a moron I must be.
I don’t even read romance as much anymore, I’m into young adult fantasy more as tastes change but I’ll be reading the site as long as it is still going. I love the Snark, the recommendations, and the reviews. I get so many recommendations from the Whatcha readings, my day always brightens when I see them. And I love the hide your wallet, that leads to many recommendations and purchases as well. I love this site.
The fact that you review other things besides books is amazing as well, I’m not sure I would’ve watched Jessica Jones and some movies without the recommendations.
Thank you for 17 wonderful years.
A book I discovered here? My goodness, that list is in the hundreds. I’m currently most grateful for SBTB introducing me to Becky Chambers, in a time where I so desperately need a comfort read. Thanks for being here!
Happy anniversary! SBTB is the first site I check every morning, and at least twice a week I jump straight over to the library site to check for books – or sometimes I go straight to buy. (Last week it was both, when I decided not to wait for Weather Girl.)
I’ll second @Francesca, I really appreciate being able to say a book didn’t work for me.
Congratulations! May you have many more years ahead. I’ve been around since at least the Cassie Edwards saga or whenever Sarah’s youngest child was born (whichever came first, because I remember both clearly). I think my favorite feature is WAYR because I never fail to add new-to-me books and authors to my tbr. One of the things I’ve really enjoyed doing over the past couple of years is introducing my daughters to the site. Although only one of them reads much romance, they (like their mother) love the inclusiveness, intelligence, humor, kindness, and consideration of the site, staff, and commenters. One of my daughters started knitting last year and now usually comments (as @Queen Victoria) on the knitting posts. Yes, Smart Bitches, you’ve been around long enough to see the second-generation of the Bitchery arrive.
Happy anniversary, SBTB!! I’ve been a reader since I had my son in 2009, so I remember when it was just (or mostly) Candy and Sarah. Took some time away from romance, but 2020 had be running back, and now I think I’ll never leave! I’ve learned about a lot of great books through this site, but one of my favorites is The Worst Best Man, by Mia Sosa. Love the tiny furniture!
I found this site recently, at a time when life was rough and a little daily romance reading was giving me the downtime I needed. I now visit daily and greatly enjoy the thoughtful reviews from site authors and readers!
Happy Anniversary! I love getting new book ideas from the reviews and laughing over the covers!
I did not know that I needed a mini Eames lounge chair until now! Wow.
I found SBTB during the Candy era, maybe in 2009 or 2010. I dived right into the community and the archives and discovered many favorite authors, including Sharon Shinn and Loretta Chase.
Carrie S’s reviews convinced me to buy my first e-book (which I read on my laptop) and that led me to buying my first e-reader in 2011.
The Bitchery solved a HABO of mine in no time flat and I am proud that googling “full frontal vicar” still has only one result.
(I’ll never have an Eames recliner in real life but that miniature one would look completely darling on my study window, reminding me to go and do something other than work.)
Happy anniversary! This site has made me laugh and find great new books and authors for so many years – and both parts have helped me get through some really tough times.
My very favorite book/author discovery through this site was probably Lucy Parker, Act Like It!
Happy anniversary! Though I’ve switched from active participant to lurker over the years, I still enjoy reading your reviews, seeing your cover snark, and all the rest. Cheers to many more.
Happy Anniversary!! Here’s to many more.
SBTB is a site I check daily. I love the sense of community and welcome. It’s a safe space to share and not just about books.
Whilst I have discovered many new to me romance authors here I’ve also discovered many mystery authors – Anna Lee Huber, Jennifer Ashley, Cathy Pegau, Andrea Penrose, Deanna Raybourn. I love that this site supports all the genres.
I love the non-book posts. From The Bachelor, to Knitting, to serious issues both within publishing and about the world around us.
Thank you for creating and maintaining such a wonderful place.
This is the first site I read each morning right after I peruse the local news. I love the “smartness” of this site, the in-depth reviews and of course, how can you not love Cover Snark? As to a memory, this is the place I first heard about The Hunger Games. SBTB–so ahead of its time!
Specifically you introduced me to NK Jemisen, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente which I loved. But in general you helped this benighted English major embrace a genre she had turned her nose up at for far too long. ❤️
Happy anniversary! I have many much-loved memories of this site, which (among other things) introduced me to Stardew Valley as a Thing Of Interest to Me. But my most favorite has GOT to be the Pregnesia review – and excellent author response.
My favorite SBTB review ever was Redheadgirl’s review of Tempest in Time, told with the assistance of many Jeremy Renner gifs.
Happy anniversary! There are so many books/authors I’ve discovered through this site, but I can definitely say I would not have found ‘Lighting the Flames’ by Sarah Wendell (ahem) without SBTB. I love it here. Keep up the good work. <3 p.s. no mini reading chairs required, just wanted to say H.A.
Happy anniversary!
I credit SBTB with leading me, directly or indirectly, to almost every profic romance I’ve ever read. The first time I picked up a Kissing Book, I expected it to be awful and was flabbergasted when it wasn’t. More research into the genre was clearly necessary! Google led me to this website, and the reviews here helped me to discover the kinds of romances I love. I’ll always be grateful to SBTB for broadening my horizons. ❤️
Happy anniversary! Best SBTB memory – meeting a bunch of romance enthusiasts in a basement bar here in London with one of the SBTB team. For a relatively small group we made a lot of noise!
Happy 17th Anniversary! I stumbled upon this community a few years ago, and I’m so glad I did! This is a wonderful community, and it’s brought a lot of laughter and support. I’ve got to say I really love the cover snark, and the reviews of ridiculous books. The reindeer series was especially memorable.
Little lizard. Nuff said
Happy Anniversary!!! I started reading romance books 2 years ago. Since then, I have read 562 books(according to g.r.) and I couldn’t have done it without your help. I look forward to your emails everyday. I know if I need something, I can find it here. I love the reviews and sense of humor for all things books and all things interesting. Thank you so much. I know it must be a labor of love and I truly truly appreciate it. I don’t know what I would do without you. Much love and wishes for continued success in the future. Thank you again.
Been following since 2008-2009. My best IRL SBTB memory was meeting Sarah a few years ago when she hosted a viewing of the romance documentary “Love Between The Covers” at the public library in Columbia, SC (where I lived at the time).
Amazing accomplishment! Congrats on 17 years! Happy blogoversary!
Happy Anniversary! Cover Snark is my favourite, and I love the intelligence and balance of the reviews. If I have to choose a single memorable event, it’s the discovery of Sarah’s book Lighting the Flames. Although Jurassic Jane Eyre was pretty hilarious.
Happy Anniversary! I discovered SBTB through your first April Fool’s page and I’ve been here ever since. I wear my HaBO title of Duchess Twitterpants with pride!
Hoorah to the Bitchery!
Happy Anniversary, Smart Bitches! I’ve been reading the site since 2008, shortly after I started reading romance, so I can’t even count the number of books I discovered because of you. My day is not complete without a visit to SBTB and its community of smart readers. Here’s to many more years!
Aw, happy anniversary!!!! You folx have been a consistent source of delight in times that are very much not full of delight. My fave memory is “he’s in her ass, saving her life” but I see that has been mentioned already, so I’ll go with
“You’re probably saying, Elyse, don’t flip a table over the implausibility of Were-Shark erotica, but no. I demand better Were-Shark erotica. I will not be complacent with subpar marine life fuck fests.”
Happy Anniversary,
I’m relatively new to SBTB–less than a year, I think. I read it “cover-to-cover” and like everything about it. My favorites, though, are the book reviews. I’m a writer and a book reviewer, and although I’ve been doing those things for many years, I still have much to learn, and I can learn a lot of it here. Thanks for your gifts to me. May you have many more years and many more readers.
Happy anniversary! I don’t know how long I’ve been hanging around but it was Candy days. You helped me get over shame I felt over my choice of reading while still able to be critical and have fun. I feel like I’ve become an adult woman with you guiding me over the years. I’m so glad you started the podcast and what it has evolved to as well; finding out how much SJ Maas swears was fun, I’ve been following her career since she was a teenager on fictionpress.
P.S. No need to enter me in the draw.
That furniture is adorable! But I gave my dollhouse to my friend’s kid, so no mini-furniture needed here. Just wanted to say Happy Anniversary and thanks for everything.
The dollhouse my great-great uncle built for me in 1964 is desperately in need of updating, so thank you for the new resource. I will, however, be hanging on to the chaise Santa big brother gave me the next year.
I miss the Rita reviews. Wrote a few. LMAO reading a few.
Thanks for 17 great years.
Happy Anniversary! I’ve discovered so many favorite reads through SBTB, but my favorite was the Discovery of Witches trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Last year I read it for the first time and I’ve become obsessed. The books, the audiobooks, the series, I love all of it! Thank you SBTB for bringing so much joy into my life!
Happy Anniversary! I check this site daily and appreciate the recommendations from Whatcha Reading and the daily sales post.