Our Summer Romance Bingo is back!
Beginning on the Summer Solstice, which falls on June 20th in the US and ending on September 22nd, right before the Autumnal Equinox, we invite you to play our 2025 Summer Romance Bingo.
Please save the image to use on your own! If you’d like to share on social media, please use the hashtag #SBTBingo so we can see how your card is coming along! Participants who complete at least one bingo are eligible for prizes, including stickers, swag, and a big ol’ box o’ books for one lucky winner or two.
The middle space is a free space, meaning any book will qualify there. Also, please use one book per space. No double dipping!
To submit your card, please fill out this form. Maximum of five entries per person!
Standard disclaimers apply: Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read some excellent books. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law.
The entry form will close September 23.
If you need clarification on any of the categories or want to crowdsource reading recommendations, feel free to ask or brainstorm in the comments section! Remember that bingo doesn’t kick off until June 20th, so don’t start reading qualifying books until then.
@Kareni: Goodreads has several lists!
Left at the Altar (Contemporary)
Left at the Altar (Historical)
Shelf for Left at the Altar
Thank you, Amanda! I see a couple of likely prospects.
@Kareni: You’re welcome! I love a Goodreads list because it’s easy to see what is already on my TBR pile that matches the trope/theme.
Two questions:
Would the 3rd Hart and Mercy book – The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannan count as Western Romance? They aren’t in our universe, but the first two felt like Westerns to me…
I’m also curious about how strong the romantic plot needs to be to count toward bingo. I just finished The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold and there was a YA romance plot, but mostly it was a YA dystopian.
Thank you for the guidance!
@Kareni – if you read M/M romance I recommend JILTED by Nora Phoenix. I really enjoyed it and could also count for neighbors/roommates or first in series instead.
@Jeannette ~ I do indeed read M/M romances, so thank you for the recommendation. Now off to get a sample!
@Em: No to the first, yes to the second. I’m going based off the genre tags on Goodreads.
@kareni – I just read Aubrey Mcfadden Is Never Getting Married by Georgia Beers for left at the altar. It’s a cute f/f contemporary – cuter than I was expecting from the blurb actually, although probably not something I’ll re-read.
Thanks very much, @Cleo! I shall head off to get a sample.
What is the minimum page length this year?
@Trix: 250 pages for a full-length novel.
Does renovation romance require the characters to work on a project together? Or is just one main character working in doing renovations enough?
@C: As long as renovating something is part of the story.
Goodreads defines it as: “Romance where the hero or heroine are involved in renovation, remodeling, construction etc, or their house/office/building is being remodeled/renovated, and that is part of the storyline. i.e no architects/interior designers where they never leave their own office.”
So just to confirm, books have to have the same tags on Goodreads to qualify? I have a feeling that will disqualify a bunch of my books as the tags I saw were very generic.
@Issa: Can you give me an example? I’m not checking everyone’s entries and am operating on the honor system. But I find Goodreads to be a good crowdsourced resource for checking if books are in a certain genre. For tropes or even more specific things like “plot or scene with inclement weather,” that probably won’t be tagged and is based off the content of the book (which I will probably not be familiar with).
@ Amanda, One example is Beg, Borrow, or Steal, Sarah Adams. They are neighbors, it says in the blurb, but not the tags. So if the blub didn’t have they were neighbors, though they are in the book, would that be disqualified for Roommates or neighbors??
And does Immigrant main character need to be contemporary or can it be fantasy? Thinking about Wooing the Witch Queen where the hero moves from his kingdom/land to hers.
@Issa: I only use Goodreads tags for determining genres (Western, Paranormal, etc.). Most people don’t use them for tropes. So if the description mentions the trope or it’s obvious from the blurb, that’s fine.
For immigrant main character, real places should be used for this square.