We’re trying something new! And a little unhinged.
Over the course of the year, Sarah and I would suggest silly categories based on trends we’ve seen this year, gripes in the comments, or just general nonsense that came into our brains. Thus the unhinged bingo card was born.
The 2025 Unhinged Romance Bingo begins today and will conclude on March 20, 2026.
Please save the image to use on your own or click on it for a larger version! 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 to win a box of books, though there won’t be any stickers for this one.
Here are some explainers for categories that feel less than obvious:
- Start Mid-Series: For when a series is mostly standalones and you can dip in anywhere. This is not meant for continuing a series you’re already in the middle of.
- Swiss Army Knife Character: Coined in the comments by Mikey! This refers to a character who seems to have so many different jobs and identities. They’re a small business owner but also a vampire but also moonlights as an taxi driver.
- Sprayed Edges: You don’t have to own this version, but any book that has gotten the sprayed edge treatment at some point.
- Social Media Made You Buy It: I’m counting the site (or any other blogs, bookish news, etc.) for this one, as I know many of you avoid social media platforms.
- Romance Meta-ness: A well-known real life author is named or alluded to in the text. I’m including Jane Austen here.
- Am I the Asshole: Any setup or plot moment that could serve well as an “Am I the Asshole” post on reddit.
- A Book in a Book: Any book (even non-romance) where there is a book being written or occurring in tandem with the plot.
These squares are meant to be subjective and up to some interpretation. Sarah and I aren’t going to be sticklers and verify each of your selections. 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 the evening of March 20 at 10pm eastern.
If you need further clarification on any of the categories or want to crowdsource reading recommendations, feel free to ask or brainstorm in the comments section!
This is hilarious, and I love it. I love it like, theoretically, since at least five categories are hard noes and almost everything else is either an active turnoff or a matter of indifference. But I nevertheless love that these are trends, and I love seeing them called out and collected like this.
I have a verb tense question: in the “was a fanfic” category, would Northhanger Abbey or similar qualify? Or do the serial numbers have to have been filed off?
I forget, do y’all consider re-reads dubious bingo practice, like is the spirit of the exercise to try new things and expand reading boundaries, or who cares?
Suggestions for how to find out if a book has been sprayed? (Am I the only one with a viscerally negative reaction to this? I can’t be the only one who’s lived through territorial cat conflicts!)
@kkw: Definitely the latter – something that was published online (AO3, fanfic.net, etc.) and then published traditionally. Northanger Abbey feels more akin to parody than fanfiction.
For this card, I say who cares when it comes to re-reading. Ideally, this is supposed to help people knock things off their TBR or try new things, but I realize these categories aren’t as easy.
For sprayed edges, just google “Book title/Author sprayed edges.” So many companies and publishers do them now that there isn’t a singular place to search. Many special editions include this as part of the design; “Book title special edition/deluxe edition” might also work for search terms. Example: Pride and Prejudice has received the sprayed edge treatment: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/805349/pride-and-prejudice-dk-classics-by-jane-austen/
If I were to go back in time and kill* George R. R. Martin before he wrote A Song of Ice and Fire, would that be sufficient to prevent the title format from infiltrating the YA and romance genres, or did Sarah J Maas get her inspiration elsewhere?
* This is a thought experiment. No epic fantasy authors were harmed in the writing of this comment. If you have access to a time machine, please do not use it for murdery plots.
While I know what you mean by knotting (an ick for me), I kinda want to find a romance where an mc does macrame as a hobby for this one.
@merle zomromcom has macrame undies referenced. Cannot speak for the whole book/halfway through but enjoying it so far.
OK, so I now have even more evidence that I’m a dinosaur: unlike Merle, I don’t know what knotting is, please define.
Hi! I know knotting abounds in fanfic, but who’s getting published with it? Is there anything particularly good?
This feels like a dumb comment but what’s a HaBO?
@Stacie HaBO is Help a Bitch Out, which is a regular column on the site
@Susan/DC Knotting is featured in some shifter and monster romances. It refers to the penis swelling and locking the participants together during intimate moments.
Of that doesn’t appeal to you, I’m going to assume that scenes involving cowboys, sailors, or former scouts exercising their rope skills would count.
Oh, duh. Like I said, dumb comment lol
@Nicole, oooooooh yeah. It’s definitely a thing. Bride by Ali Hazelwood had it and if you go on Amazon and just put the search words “knot omega” you will find a ton of books, usually w/punny titles. Most of them are Kindle Unlimited which can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on how you feel.
I don’t know where to start w/recs, but they’re out there. I honestly prefer it in fanfic over original fic, personally. Don’t know why.
I’ve read a couple books recently that would have worked, so I’ll share them as recs.
Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot by Alexis Hall – the whole series fits the “first name last name does a thing” prompt but this is the most recent and also my fave.
The Keeper of Magical Things – has a niche business or hobby (the MC can talk to magical objects) and it takes place in a town that becomes increasingly twee as the townspeople use the titular magical objects in it.
This is the perfect way to end/start the year(s)! My life is finally approaching something like (a new) normal and I have time to read like I used to… this gives me a place to start and I’m immediately thinking of starting with the Carlisle books for the formerly fanfic square.
Ah – I did not read knotting like that! Thought I must have missed a whole sub-genre of macramé-themed romances. Googling, there is Bleeding Heart by Roxie Clarke, in which the characters meet at a macramé class.
A lot of you probably already know this, but there’s a Goodreads list for a “noun of stuff and things” titles
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/103147.A_Noun_of_Things_and_Stuff
@Nicole I personally really like both CM Nascosta and Allegra Hall for their writing and world building. Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic is super sweet about an ADHD werewolf and a local divorcee who thinks she wants a sperm donor. Run Run Rabbit is less sweet, but digs more into the worldbuilding (my selling line for CM’s books is “come for the salacious top line, get hooked by the well done characters, and stay for the unexpected criticism of capitalism and the pharmaceutical industry). Allegra Hall’s A Wolf in the Garden is set in New Zealand in a world like ours except the existence of supernatural creatures has been revealed somewhat recently. The novella a Breath of Fresh Air is set in the universe.
Could you please elaborate on what is meant by “First person, single POV book copy”? My friend and I are both confused.
@HeatherS: I want to be helpful but am having a hard time explaining without just saying the same thing again. It really is what it sounds like: The copy on the back of a book (or the description on Amazon or where have you) is not a short description of the contents in third person, but rather the narrator telling you something about themselves and/or the other main character from their POV.
I just searched for “billionaire romance” on Amazon in order to find an example and literally the second title I clicked on had this format. The first paragraph was like this: “I took a job with the grumpy billionaire who destroyed my business. Now we’re enemies, roommates… and one kiss away from disaster.” It goes on like this.
OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! SO MUCH! THANK YOU!
@HeatherS: Katty is correct. The book description/jacket copy is written in first person POV from a single character.
@Rhiannon & @catscatscats — I was sort of kidding, but as usual y’all managed to come up with actual interesting suggestions.
A friend once said macrame was just shibari for plants, so I asked if he was sure it wasn’t the other way around…
Does anyone know of queer books with a Noun of Stuff and Things title?
@cleo A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland fits!
For niche job/hobby – I’m recommending again Diffidence and the Rift, by Amy Crook, which I mentioned in my holiday wishes interview. Diff ends up in the business of “unfucking” things (fixing magical mistakes, repairing items, etc), which he started while still a grad student.
I just finished the latest Tasha Suri, The Isle in the Silver Sea. Besides being really good (especially if you like Sapphic longing and lady knights) it works for A book in a book and niche job / hobby. One of the MCs is a witch and a tattoo artist.
@Nicole – thank you! And bonus points, I was already kind of interested in reading A Taste of Gold and Iron (I’d just completely forgotten about it).
Thank you to librariancat for creating this challenge in StoryGraph.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/0f787ca8-8287-49e9-b492-2a73988f73fe
Second that, Big K!
Romance-meta: does a quote from a romance author after the copyright page (like in Always Only You) and/or under the chapter heading fit?
A Noun of Stuff & Things: it doesn’t literally need to start with “A”, right? Ex: “Gods of Jade and Shadow” or “The Girl of Fire and Thorns” are ok?
In Battle of the Bookstores, there’s a brief conversation about what knotting means (as described in comments here), plus a supporting character crochets.
Thanks, cleo! Librariancat, these are so helpful! Thanks for making them.
@N:
Romance-meta: No. The meta-ness should be happening within the plot of the book and not a design element. It should signal that the main characters KNOW about real life romance authors. If they discussed Austen within the book, that counts. If a quote is used as a chapter heading that would not.
A Noun of Stuff and Things: Yes, those are okay.
Knotting: Preference would be that the knotting is integral to the character identities or plot. So if one of the main characters crochets, sure.
@librariancat: Thank you!
The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (published 2004) follows 4 women who meet for a beginner knitting class. I remember enjoying it when I read it, but it’s been long enough that I’m fuzzy on the details so it may be more women’s fiction with a romantic subplot. At any rate, if you are looking for something with yarn crafts as an integral part of the plot, that’s an option.
Thanks, Amanda! Makes sense.
Sarina Bowen and others put up 10 free sports romance novels through early January. One of the covers has people without facial features. Not sure about other bingo boxes.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/DatingtheDefender
I think today’s Stuff Your Kindle event (romancebookworms.com) would single-handedly provide many of the bingo boxes. Some wild titles….
For the knotting books, I highly recommend Cate C Wells. Her writing is excellent and her books are pretty subversive if the alpha/omega dynamic is not typically your thing. Also, lots of character development.
If anyone has suggestions for “clearly a stand-in fora real life celebrity”, I’d like to hear them. I’m afraid my poop culture knowledge isn’t up to recognizing one in the wild.
Also, does the legally-distinct-from-a-celebrity character need to be a lead or could it be a support character or even a cameo appearance?
@N, I’ve read the Sarina Bowen title at the link. Moonlighter has a section at technology conference, so that’s a possibility.
@C: Preferably a lead, but I’ll reiterate that Sarah and I aren’t going to be checking your homework.
The unhinged thing for us to do would probably be to check every entry at least three times, but I don’t wish to be THAT unhinged.
@C: Oh – I have some suggestions for “Clearly a stand in for a real life celebrity,” and am using “allegedly” but it could also be “inspired by.” These are off the top of my head but I know there are more.
Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper, by Hilary Liftin – allegedly Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
The Royal We, by Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan – allegedly Kate Middleton and Prince William
Royal Holiday, by Jasmine Guillory – inspired by Doria Ragland, Meghan Sussex’s mother (Guillory has said so)
The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee – allegedly Harry Styles (important note:
It Happened on a Sunday, by Tracy Wolff – allegedly Swift/Kelce
Heavy Hitter, by Katie Cotugno – allegedly Swift/Kelce – the cover makes it rather obvious
Funny You Should Ask, by Elissa Sussman – based on Chris Evans interview with Edith Zimmerman (article here: https://www.gq.com/story/chris-evans-gq-july-2011-cover-story)
@C – Playing for Keeps by Alexandria Bellefleur is on my list for celebrity stand in (I also am pop culture challenged – I got it from the StoryGraph challenge).
It’s an f/f romance between the publicists for a pop star and football star who start dating. Reviews say the secondary romance is clearly inspired by Taylor Swift / Travis Kelsey and that one of the MCs seems inspired by Taylor Swift’s publicist.
Ohh, @Amanda and @Sarah, are you collecting suggestions for next year’s unhinged bingo?
Because I have one: SEO subtitle (you know, the subtitles that are like “a best friend’s dad romance” or “a hot holiday romance” or “an enemies to lovers mafia romance”)