Hey all! We’re about halfway through our SBTB 2025 Romance Bingo card!
By now, you might have knocked out a few easier spaces, but if you’re having trouble, we’re here to help!
I’m doing my best to just get a single bingo this year and if you’re curious about my own card, here it is:
If it’s hard to see, here’s what my squares are:
Cover without any people: King of Wrath by Ana Huang
Scene or plot with inclement weather: The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George
Book that received a B+ or higher on SBTB: The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
First book in a series: Hooked by Emily McIntire
Left at the altar: Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger
Main couple who are 30+: Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino
Class differences: Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger
Below are some resources or recommendations you can use to fill more specific squares. And of course, I encourage you to brainstorm in the comments.
For trope-specific squares, check out our Book Finder! Most of these tropes have tags in the Book Finder. Using the Book Finder will show you any books we have ever mentioned on the site:
(note: it only shows 150 entries and we have over 13K books in the finder, so definitely play around with tropes/archetype to find titles that skew more toward your tastes.)
- Friends to Lovers
- Renovation Romance
- Western Romance
- Sports Romance (you’ll have to do some more digging for specific sports)
- Time Travel
- Reviews by Grade
- Neighbor/Roommate
- Paranormal Romance
- Small Town
- Spy/Assassin
- Why Choose
- Characters Over 30+
- Class Differences
Other resources and tips:
- Goodreads has lists of popular books published in a certain month
- On GR, you can also list your TBR pile by pub date, which may help you find books in your birth month.
- Abroad Romances list
- Immigrant Main Character list
- Left at the Altar Contemporaries
- Popular Left at the Altar Romances
How is your bingo card looking? Are there any squares you’re struggling with? Let us know so we can help!
I’m loving how creative everyone’s getting with this year’s bingo card! I also went in with the “just one bingo” goal, but now I kind of want to go for a blackout
Your pick for “Left at the Altar” reminded me I’ve had Ruthless Creatures on my Kindle forever — time to bump it up!
If anyone needs inspiration based on their mood rather than trope, I made a little tool that gives 5 personalized book recs: https://bookrecommendationgenerator.com
And for anyone working on the “Abroad Romances” or “Immigrant Main Character” squares, I also created a map of 21st-century literature from around the world — it’s here: https://bookrecommendationgenerator.com/world-book-map/
Would love to hear what you all think if you try it out
@sashko, holy cannoli, that world map of literature around the world is clever.
This is helpful, thank you!
I’m trying to go for blackout, but I haven’t gotten a single bingo yet (but I’m close!). I have books picked out for all the spaces. I’m enjoying the challenge (even though I hated one of the books I picked).
I’m not very far along but I would recommend Scrum Heat by Rayne Waters for Sports – it’s rugby and RH
I’m especially struggling with “made into tv/movie” since I’m trying for a blackout with all queer romances (I’ve read Red, White & Royal Blue which comes up most often).
Slightly struggling with “character lives abroad” but I have an idea or two for that at least.
@Rhonda I am planning on doing Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid which is in production right now.
Psst, Amanda, your text says that you are using Ruthless Creatures for left at the altar but your image shows it covering spies/assassins.
@Lucy – another one I’ve already read (which seems to be the problem).
@Rhonda – I’m also going for all LGBTQ+ romances.
I’m planning to read Heartstopper for made for tv (YA graphic novel made into cute tv show)
For character living abroad I’m planning on Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales (American at a boarding school in fictional European country)
What are you reading for roommates or neighbors?
I have two bingos and I’m really happy with that. And I’m on track for at least one more. I’m doing a few other challenges as well so I’m not planning to go for a blackout. But I do have ideas for most squares.
I’m going on vacation this Sun and I have two library holds in transit right now (When the Tides Held the Moon – immigrant mc and Nobody in Particular – living abroad). I’m just holding my breath, hoping they arrive in time for me to check them out and take them with me.
I usually think that I’m going to use a reading challenge to read books I already own and then I end up reading new to me books instead. I have 3 or 4 books I own penciled in on my bingo card – we’ll see how many I actually read.
I’m looking over my notes, and I’m still missing “Time travel”, “Left at the altar”, “Turned into a movie or TV show”, and “Birth month”.
The topic I found the hardest to search for was “Character who works in audio” because the results of searching for “romance and audio” was overrun with audiobooks.
@cleo – suprisingly, I have dug more into my kindle TBR this summer than I expected for the three reading bingos I’m doing.
I just finished Everything for You by Chloe Liese (“has a sportsball on the cover” in another bingo) and realized partway through that the two MCs live next door to each other, as well as being co-captains of their pro soccer team, so I’m going to count it for roommates/neighbors. I was reading a roommates title, but Amazon pointed out that I’d previoulsy read it (apparently, it must not have been that memorable).
I’ve read at least the first Heartstopper. I could probably read one of the subsequent volumes. I’m going to look up Nobody in Particular!
@C – I counted Something Cryptid This Way Comes by Susan Scott Shelley, from this summer’s Love in Maplewood shared universe, as my character who works in audio. The characters repeatedly talk about the MC’s podcast, so I thought audio. It turns out that he also releases it in video but they called it a podcast.
@cleo – For roommates/neighbours, I loved Cara Dee’s If We Could Go Back (TW for cheating and angst overload) – the MCs become neighbours early on in the book – and Kelly Jensen’s Building Forever. Neither book is perfect but there’s something about each of them that keeps them on my re-read list. Maybe it’s that they each have some degree of bi-awakening, which is my catnip.
@C – For left at the altar, I read and enjoyed Aubrey Mcfadden Is Never Getting Married by Georgia Beers (f/f contemp). Aubrey was left at the altar by her college boyfriend 10 years ago and now all of her college friends are getting married. She goes to 5 weddings in 1 year and surprises herself by being drawn to her college nemesis. Not perfect or particularly deep but it’s fun and cute, with a Four Weddings and A Funeral vibe.
For time travel, I enjoyed Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield – a YA time loop novel with a low key and sweet Sapphic romance.
I’m aiming for a blackout and StoryGraph tells me I’m 54% of the way there, but I don’t have a single bingo yet.
So far my favourites have been Sorcery and Small Magics for magic, Deep End for sports, The Darkness Outside Us for roommates or neighbours (I had to be in exactly the right mood for this because it is heavy, but it was fantastic), and Himbo Hitman for spies or assassins (this was a lot of fun).
I’ve had a couple unfortunate misses, too – I really wanted to love Drag Me Up by RM Virtues for cover with no people, because tm4tf romance?! Sign me up!! But the constant tense changes, sometimes in the middle of sentences, really threw me out of it. I still enjoyed it but it wasn’t the five star I had been hoping for.
And Knot My Type for character who works in audio was also a bit of a miss, because the pacing wasn’t great. Again, so wanted to love it because how often do we see lower extremity disability shown in a spicy romance?! And I did enjoy it, but I didn’t love it.
I’m rereading A Most Unusual Duke for renovation romance and I am absolutely loving it. My very first omegaverse novel. It remains a complete delight.
(Also, putting the cover photo on the square is so smart. I had been trying to figure out how to type it in real small, like a complete weenie.)
I managed to both do some reading and type up my notes this weekend. I’m going to post the current state of my bingo card in the spoiler tag.
– B1 — Book released in your birth month: ???
– B2 — Western romance: Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell
– B3 — Character living abroad: An American in London by Louise Bay
– B4 — Character who works in audio: Dirty Talk (Pushing Boundaries Book 1) by Lauren Landish
– B5 — 1st book in a series: When He Desires: A Dark Mafia Romance (Fallen God Book 1) by Gabrielle Sands
– I1 — Friends to lovers: Style of Love (Gay 4 Renovations Book 1) by AJ Sherwood
– I2 — Left at the altar: A Summer to Remember: A Bedwyn Family Novel (Bedwyn Saga) by Mary Balogh
– I3 — Turned into a movie/TV show: Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
– I4 — Book that received a B+ or higher on SBTB: My Inconvenient Duke (Difficult Dukes Book 3) by Loretta Chase
– I5 — Spies or assassins: Force of Nature (Deserted Island Book 1) by Amelia Wilde and Skye Warren
– N1 — Immigrant main character: Precious Hazard: An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance (Perfectly Imperfect Book 11) by Neva Altaj
– N2 — Magic!: Curse and Craving: An Urban Fantasy Fae Romance (Of Myth and Man Book 1) by Jill Ramsower
– N3 — Freebie: Beg For Me (Morally Gray Book 3) by J.T. Geissinger
– N4 — Roommates or neighbors: The Princess and the Player (Strangers in Love) by Ilsa Madden-Mills
– N5 — A Why Choose romance: American Queen (New Camelot Book 1) by Sierra Simone
– G1 — Cover without any people: The Kingpin’s Call Girl by Annika Martin
– G2 — Sports romance that isn’t hockey, baseball, or American football: From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata
– G3 — Time travel: ???
– G4 — Paranormal romance: Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter Novels Book 9) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
– G5 — Main couple who are 30+: Fan Service by Rosie Danan
– O1 — Renovation romance: Man Hands (Man Hands Book 1) by Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby
– O2 — Scene or plot with inclement weather: Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
– O3 — Yellow or orange cover: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels Book 1) by Kerrigan Byrne
– O4 — Small town: Latte Darling: Book Two of The Darling Series by S.J. Tilly
– O5 — Class differences: Perfect Enemies: A New Adult Mafia Romance (The Five Families Book 6) by Jill Ramsower
Anyone have suggestions for LGBTQIA options for Immigrant main character?
I was going to use When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley but I’m having trouble getting into the writing style.
I’ve already read Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian.
@cleo – I read The Broposal, which had been lurking in my TBR. One of the MCsis undocumented, so it may be a tough read for some folks. It could be roommates/neighbors instead.
I think I have a bingo? Can I use one book to cover multiple tropes, given that I don’t have time to read as voraciously as most of the Bitchery? Can I count a book whose cover is half yellow? (Background is yellow, characters in foreground are not.) Help me with the rules, fellow Bitches! This is the first time I have attempted this!
@EC Spurlock: Only one book per square.
For covers, use your best judgement. If you think the cover has 50% or more coverage in shades of yellow, that’s fine.
This is all honor system!
@Amanda: Thank you! I am assuming only one square per book as well, then. Like I said I’m new at this so still figuring out how this works. I appreciate your help!
@EC Spurlock – good luck getting bingo!
Did the bingo form close early? I went to put mine in but it’s already closed. The main bingo page says it’ll close 9/23 (tomorrow).
@Nic: It’s open again. Been traveling and had my days mixed up.
Understandable! Thank you!
Hey there – I tried to submit my form as it was supposed to be open through the 23rd. It would not let me and said it was closed already. I would have done it last night but I was outlate and was under the impression I could do it today.
@Elizabeth: The last day of summer was Monday the 22nd and I closed the form at 7:30pm ET last night. If you want to submit your books, please send them along with your name and a mailing address if you wish to receive a sticker, to my email address: amanda[at]smartbitchestrashybooks[.]com
I had a good time with bingo this summer! Thanks for organizing it. 🙂