Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah!
Get ready, we’re going into the new year with candles and jelly donuts and latkes and it’s going to be a party!
Like last year, I’ve put together eight care packages designed to make your winter more fun, mellow, warm, and entertaining.
Just in time for the beginning of 2026!
First: my Hanukkah wishes for you tonight and for the next eight: may each candle lit lead to another and another, until we have all connected to bathe the world in light and warmth. May there be peace in our lifetime.
Now, let’s talk about what’s in the care packages. I used to be super great at care packages because my kids went to sleepaway camp – not the type of camp where the care packages included Gucci bags and Loro Piana slippers wrapped in an Hermes scarf or anything – and I LOVEDÂ putting them together.
I still sort of send care packages now that they’re in college because I have to send them things pretty regularly, but that’s a small item in a bubble mailer. This is a whole ass box.Â
So what’s in the care package?
I’m not telling!
Well, I’ll share some details so you know what to expect, but some of it will be a surprise. It might rhyme with “schmeggo.”
In keeping with my wishes for all of you to have a cozy and warm 2026, the care packages will include:
- things that are fuzzy
- things that are warm
- things that are soothing
- things that are fizzy
- things that are indulgent
- things that are fun!
And, like last year, I reached out to folks I know in publishing, and have assorted books, of course! There will be several books in each package, including some major titles from this year. And maybe an ARC or two (shhh!).
This is a way for me to thank you for being part of yet another lovely year here at SBTB. We are still here, and it’s because of you hanging out with us each day. It’s been a big year, and we’re looking forward to more mayhem and silliness in 2026!
SO, ready to enter to win?
To enter, please comment and tell us what book (or recommendation of any sort!) that you found at SBTB that you most enjoyed?
It doesn’t have to be a 2024 book, of course. Any book that you haven’t read is a new book! But what did you discover this year at SBTB that you really liked?
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 be warm and cozy. May cause increased feelings of security, warmth, and delight.
Comments will close 21 December 2025 at or near 11:59am ET, and winners will be announced shortly afterward. Packages will be shipped out in January 2026.
Thank you to the indefatigable Kristen Dwyer of LeoPR for their generosity!
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches! May you have a lovely holiday, and for everyone, a peaceful new year.
Congrats to our winners! If your comment was selected, you’ll have an email in your inbox from me. Congratulations and thank you for making this year’s care package extravaganza so much fun!
- Libby
- Eleine
- Becky
- lorenet335
- EditChief
- Kaelie C.
- Darlynne
- Heather L
I’m in the middle of KILLS WELL WITH OTHERS right now and loving this series, all thanks to SBTB. Another book I probably wouldn’t have picked up without the review of it here is BRIDE by Ali Hazelwood. Looking forward to another great year with the SBTB community!
To echo everyone else: Happy Hanukkah! I’m so thankful that this little corner of the internet brings light into my life everyday and especially throughout this past year.
I found You, Again by Kate Goldbeck via SBTB and totally adored it. It’s not one that I would have picked up on my own but thought the character growth through the book was top-notch and it was so fun to read about living, becoming an adult, and falling in love in NYC.
Like others, I will forever be grateful to this site for recommending Murderbot. While I’ve enjoyed watching Star Trek and Galaxy Quest during adulthood, sci-fi books aren’t usually my jam. It took a while for me to give it a chance (it seemed off-brand and I couldn’t quite understand the premise) but once I tried the first novella, I inhaled the rest. Ebooks and audiobooks via Libby, then within a week I needed my own copies. Yesterday I finally started collecting the print versions! (Holiday present to myself.)
I swear that this series, like the Smart Bitches site, has helped me accept my neurodivergence in a paradigm-shifting way, all wrapped up with snark, humor, and heart. A huge thank you to Sarah, Amanda, Elyse, and all the other wonderful contributors!
So, I’m going with the most recent rec from the Bitchery because it saves me from having to decide which is best among all the great books mentioned on the site. I just finished the last entry in Taylor Fitzgerald’s Between the Teeth m/m hockey series and it had all the warm gritty goodness of my favorite sports romances. Thanks go to @kkw in the comments on SB Candy’s review of Heated Rivalry. I literally would never have heard of these books if not for SB-TB.
I discovered KD Casey’s Breakout Year here and it’s one of the few books I actually managed to finish this year.
I think I first heard about THE FROZEN RIVER here. Anyway, it’s the best book I read in 2025.
So many of my favorite reads ever came from SBTB, and generally I think Elyse and I have the same taste so I’ll read anything she suggests. This year my fave from y’all is A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston ❤️
Murder or came from you all, as did (I think) the ZomRomCom which cracked me up way too much
I would have to say Mariana Zapata. I enjoyed the banter and the slow burn and it was JUST what I needed and enjoyed.
I loved and have reread many times Hot and Badgered. I love reading your titles because it lets me browse books like I used to do at the book stores.
Enjoy winter!
Because of SBTB I found Liana De la Rosa’s books. This year, I read and gushed over Ana Maria and the Fox. Haven’t dove into the next two in the series yet because I don’t want it to be over!
Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Hannukkah! I get most of my recommendations from this site, but one of my favorites this year was Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore. I have thought about this book so many times since I read it last spring and recommended it to many.
This one is easy for me! I get tons of great recs from SBTB, but my very favorite was The Botanist’s Assistant by Peggy Townsend. It would have not even been on my radar if not for this site.
Happy Hanukkah and thank you! Murderbot is probably the book I wouldn’t have picked Up in my own and have reread this year once again. New to me this year is Zhaos Iron Widow, which I devoured.
I came to SBTB pretty early in my romance exploration, but having come from YA/Twilight romance vibes, I had zero knowledge of historicals. Lord of Scoundrels was one of the first books, I think from a podcast discussion maybe, quickly followed by a glom of Lisa Kleypas, and I’ve loved historicals ever since!
Murderbot! Would not have read that without the raving of the bitchery 🙂
Thanks for all you do! This is one of the only websites I visit on the daily
So many… Fan Service, Rosie Danaan. Absolutely delightful, unexpectedly deep.
Happy Hanukkah! This year new-to-me author TJ Alexander was my favorite rec, I think from one of the monthly queer romance posts. It started with a Gentleman’s Gentleman, then blazing through Alexander’s books was a spot of joy in my year!
Happy Hanukkah!
There were so many but the latest you have raved about and I also adored was The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman.
I binge read Mimi Matthews thanks to the bitchery!
One of my favorite reading experiences this year was SBTB summer bingo.
I’m terrible at remembering why I decided to read something, but I know for sure that I learned about Jodi Allister’s Marry Me Juliet series here.
Happy Hanukkah – my favorite by far is Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito – Awesome book!! Dont know if it was in a SBTB post or in comments, but I also love The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong. Thank you!
The Ornithologist’s Guide to Love! Probably not a regular cozy read for me, but the play on the ‘one bed’ trope was just too good, and in fact when I shared bits of it with others it got others to check out the book too.
This year I found The Spirit Collection of Thorne hall by J Ann Thomas. So good!
Happy Hanukkah! The review for Discovering Nicola by Clare Ashton led me and my wife to read all three of the Oxford Romances and we both really enjoyed them all <3
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. I enjoyed her YA books, and this is my first of her adult novels. I loved it.
Most recent one was An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister.
Started the year with Alyssa Cole’s AN EXTRAORDINARY UNION and squeed about it so much that my son hunted down the rest of the series and gave them to me for my birthday! That and the Lizzie Hyde series by Viola Carr really made my world this year. Thank you all for the great recs!
Happy Hanukkah, and may we all continue to spread the light and warmth in our present darkness.
Happy Hanukkah! As many others have said, SBTB recommendations are responsible for a wonderful abundance of books I’ve enjoyed and probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Long term, I’m grateful to have been introduced to Jodi McAlister. Most recently, I greatly enjoyed K.J. Micciche’s The End of Summer, plus the other Micciche books that I devoured after that initial recommendation.
Happy Hanukkah! And thank you for all that you do for the community.
This year – last year? – does time have any meaning anymore? – I found Society of Irregular Witches. Which was so good. I rec’ed it to my mom too and she enjoyed it.
There’s always something good to be found in the reviews and the deals. My TBR and library list may never go down! 🙂
This is really tricky as I have found so many good books through SBTB.
But there is a possibility I could have come across some of them independently, like Anne Bishop’s “Others” series, Shelley Laurenston’s Honeybadger series, Ilona Andrew’s NON Kate Daniels books and of course, Murderbot (which, coincidentally, was required reading for my nephew’s BA at Queensland Uni this year).
But the book I would not have come across was “Act Like It” by Lucy Parker, which I adore.So I will nominate Lucy Parker’s books.
I’ve had so many great recommendations from y’all! The most recent one (that I loved) was The Botanist’s Assistant by Peggy Townsend.
Happy Hanukkah! My boyfriend and I discovered the wonder of the Murderbot TV series through SBTB, and I keep stalking the books to see if the price will ever drop a tiny bit!
Happy Hanukkah! There have been a lot of books over the years, but one book from this year that I doubt I would have picked up if I hadn’t seen it recommended here is Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey. I thought it was some sort of creepy thriller, instead it turned out to be one of the most interesting books I read this year.
I love food-centric novels and magic realism is my jam. Though it wasn’t perfect, Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim was very enjoyable. I’m glad I read about it here and I am so glad I was warned about the love interest. I actually think he was completely unnecessary. The book was a love letter to mothers and grandmothers and community and food. And I went to my local Super88 market and Hmart both during the read and immediately after finishing the book haha. The descriptions of food are mouth-watering and I ached to hug my grandmother.
The Marry Me Juliette books by Jodi McAllister are one of my favorites!
It’s been an incredibly hard year but one of my consistent joys is catching up on SBTB reviews. I’m reading a lot less recently and am much less likely to stray from my comfort zone, but picked up Greenteeth the other day because, even though it didn’t get a great review here, something about it struck with me enough to inspire me to give the book a try. And I’m very glad I did.
I’m certain that you all are where I found both Wake Up Nat and Darcy and where I first found Alexis Daria, both things that vastly improved my 2025. And Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous.
But honestly SBTB is my absolute most reliable book recommendation source, bar none.
I discovered Tessa Dare from you all! What an incredible gift — you opened the door to so many fabulous books. I think the first one I heard from you all was her Week to be Wicked.
Found Swordheart and other T. Kingfisher books though the bitchery