Smart Bitches Trashy Books is 21!
Twenty-one years ago, on 31 January 2005, Smart Bitches began.
As we’ve noted, the site launched with a review for Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn and for The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann.
We’ve cover snarked, helped bitches out, talked about what we’re reading, and, as a neat coincidence, Smart Podcast Trashy Books published its 700th episode on Friday 9 January 2026.
(You can watch the video of the episode on YouTube!)
We’ve made some major changes over the year, too!
We launched Smart Bitches After Dark, the community that keeps the site free for everyone (thanks, y’all!).
With their support, we have turned off all external ads on SBTB, upgraded a number of elements of the server side, and fine tuned settings to make the site faster and easier to use.
And speaking of, with the support of the Podcast Patreon, I turned off all dynamic ads before and after the show permanently to avoid ads for ICE and other right-wing propaganda airing with my show.
My goal here is always to create and defend a safe space for us to talk to one another, and even if the internet makes that increasingly difficult, I’m determined to keep our community thriving.
None of that is possible without your being here. Thank you!
The site wouldn’t still be here without you. Our community is welcoming new readers, helping people find the books they want to read, and thriving as a warm and wonderful collection of humans from all over the globe. You let me know when something isn’t working, and you’ve been very effusive with the compliments and kudos, which I appreciate so much.
It’s a very hard time in the online media world, especially in the independent media world like we are, and the offline media world, for so many people. And because we are still talking to one another is an accomplishment and one that I don’t take for granted.
Thank you for hanging out with us, for telling us about all the books you’ve read and liked, and about the books you’ve read and didn’t like. Thank you for supporting our work and telling us jokes, for emailing us exquisite cover art, and for being part of our community.
Usually I look at the modern and traditional anniversary gifts, but 21 is an obvious choice.
For this year’s anniversary celebration, we’re giving away four stemless champagne glasses like this one:
Except they’ll be custom engraved with:
You need a Smart Bitches champagne glass in your life, right? And it doesn’t have to be champagne. Drink juice, cider, a smoothie – whatever your libation of choice, you can enjoy it Smart Bitches style. Each winner will receive one glass.
So, want to win a prize?
Just comment below and share something you love that you found at Smart Bitches.
A book or author you discovered here that you adore?
A cover snark that you re-read and then snort-laugh?
A conversation or review you still think about?
A HaBO you solved or a HaBO you sought?
A comment that blew your mind?
What post or moment do you think of when you think of Smart Bitches? Tell us one of your favorite Smart Bitches memories 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 read, and possibly sip fine beverages, with panache and style. Comments will close at noon ET on Thursday 5 February 2026 and winners will be announced shortly afterward.
Thank you for being part of Smart Bitches, and thank you for celebrating with us. Happy Anniversary!!
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Congratulations to our winners: Jess, Heather A., Kareni, and book_reader_ea01sj71r4!
If that’s you, check for an email message from me.
And I noticed the requests for that image to be a sticker – I’m on it.
Thank you so much for celebrating with us!
I can’t think of an author who I’ve loved in the past decade that I didn’t hear about here first. Courtney Milan and T. Kingfisher are auto-buys, but so many other books and authors that have helped me and changed me and made my life so much better. Thank you all for the reviews, laughs, and community. Here’s to 21 more!
Zulus is right; this is a great place to get early news about books I will enjoy, and to read well-written, witty and on-the-nose book reviews. Many thanks.
Many thanks also for taking part in yesterday’s strike.
I’ve solved a couple of HaBO, which really tickled me. Mostly, I just want to thank you for providing a supportive community where we can have differing opinions about books and authors without being judged or piled on.
As mentioned above, I found a community of like-minded people to share my love of romance. It has allowed me comment on my absolute dislike of cartoon covers and first person books. Thanks for letting me vent.
Many happy returns! T. Kingfisher is definitely an author I found here. But the Cassie Edwards black footed ferret is one of my all time favorite discussions still. Or there were a few times Nora (that Nora!) showed up in the comments. I didn’t hallucinate that, right? It really happened. . .
So many authors that I found through here, but mostly I enjoy the community!
Oh, this is the easiest quiz ever:
A book or author you discovered here that you adore?
Camilla Monk’s Spotless series and Anne Cleeland’s Doyle and Acton series. Both just a little out of the romance mainstream but so perfect for me.
A conversation or review you still think about?
The F-grade review Elyse gave Lisa Kleypas’s HELLO STRANGER, plus Kleypas’s response.
A HaBO you solved or a HaBO you sought?
I was in search of a short story by Jayne Ann Krentz that had been plaguing me for years, and the bitchery solved it in less than 20 minutes. Thank you, Mandy the librarian.
A comment that blew your mind?
My google-fu isn’t up to finding the original post with the comment. I think it was a Books on Sale post that included Lucy Parker’s ACT LIKE IT, where the commenter pointed out that Lainey should have gone to the police about the sexual assault. Now, nothing can diminish my love for Act Like It, but the comment made me realize how 1980s my thinking was re: SA in (some) social situations. Like, if Lainey had been a college student at a party where some frat boy did that to her: police. 100%. But an adult woman assaulted by the host of a dinner party somehow didn’t ripple for me? Social opprobrium (and off-page, to boot) is such an outdated Harlequin Presents response!
Thanks for all of it, SBTB.
My goodness! I now realise that I’ve been here almost from the very beginning, since 2005 was the year in which I got my first home (dial up!) internet connection and started visiting romance review sites, most of which are no longer in existence. It was the fabulous website name, the cats’ eye glasses and the snark that drew me immediately.
I have discovered so many authors from the Whatcha Reading? posts (Fearne Hill and Julie Kriss spring to mind) although sadly the kindle deals never apply here in Australia.
Also, I have to say I was first surprised, but then inspired to find the site dark yesterday. Romance can be a refuge from the worries of the world but this is a time to fight however you can. The rest of the world is with you.
Happy anniversary! I read about Smart Bitches in a magazine years ago, and have discovered multiple new to me authors, including V.E. Schaub. There was a pic of a cover Sarah shared on a podcast episode that made me giggle short so hard, I saved the pic to my phone to look at while having a tough day at work. A dude with a gun pointed right at his….manhood.
Thank you to everyone at Smart Bitches for building such a safe space for all of us. I came here looking for books, but I found a thoughtful community that has taught me a lot. I read recently that nonfiction teaches through information, and fiction teaches through imagination. I think the discussion of SA in Parker’s book above is a perfect example of how other readers deepen that experience, because everyone’s viewpoint is so different. All of our imaginations together – how much more we are learning than if we just use our own.
Thank you all for sharing your unique takes on why you love some books – it has let me lean into what I love more, too. Reading @DiscoDollyDeb and others love spicy stuff with such intelligence and intention has made me prouder to love it, too. And many of us read some really neat, freaky shit! Keep it coming!
Hearing how other books don’t work for you or are outright harmful has also been an education – I am so in my own head, some things don’t even occur to me. Please don’t stop. We all need to pause and think for a minute, especially on line. And thank you for shutting down yesterday. Brava!
Lastly, thank you all for being so fucking funny. We can be sensitive and considerate and still have a giggle. Elyse and Sarah both make lol regularly, but almost everyone who participates has brightened my day with something silly. Many times mentioning nipples. Thank you!
Happy reading, peace, and love to you all.
Congratulations and thank you for all the amazing content! I think my favorite is learning about Alison Goodman and her terrific books. You are awesome!!
Happy Anniversary Bitches!
No need to enter me in the give-away, I just wanted to add in my thanks for the site and all you do here, from shutting down yesterday and speaking up about AI and RWA and plagiarism and other abuses, to the wonderful community you have fostered, and the wealth of recommendations over the years.
Twenty odd years ago there used to be a number of websites and blogs I would visit regularly, although even then it was rare to find another one where it was rewarding to read the comment section. I can’t blame everyone who gave up, but wow am I grateful you all have stuck around!
Wow! Champagne flutes. So appropriate now that y’all are legal to drink.
I’ve got to say that Candy’s Heated Rivalry commentaries are taking up most of the space in my head this year. Reading her edgy posts made me feel positively giddy.
That in turn made me think of the year Sarah was guest speaker at our state’s Library Staff conference. That also made me giddy, and tongue-tied with ith. I fondly recall how appreciative she was of the bone folder in her Welcome packet.
Finally, @Big K, I also appreciate this community’s wide range of perspectives and its acceptance of our differences. All y’all are the best!
First, thank you to @BigK for your kind words. I’m so happy that SBTB is still here to provide a place where we can share our love of romance novels while still casting a critical and considered eye on what we read. I’ve been here since before the birth of Sarah’s second child (I clearly remember her posting a picture from her hospital bed), so however old they are, I was a regular visitor at that point. I don’t think I started commenting regularly until about 2012 (at that time, just as “Deb”), and I wasn’t posting on WAYR until about 2015 (I lost some of my older notes when I got a new laptop some years back, so the oldest notes I have now are from 2016, but I know I was posting to WAYR before that). As I am one of those people who always has a pen and pad at hand when I open SBTB, I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many books I’ve read because of this site, but I can say for absolute certainty that I would not have read Kristy Greenwood’s THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE without the review here (and listening to Greenwood on the podcast): it was wonderful…and ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2025.
@PamG: not only do I still have that bone folder but I still exclaim about it every time I use it.
Thank you for celebrating with us and for all the kudos. I can’t fully express how it feels to know you value this community as much as we do. Thank you.
Happy 21st anniversary to you, SBTB; I wish you (and us) many more happy years together! One of the things I most appreciate about this site is the way that you and the reviewers engage with the community here.
(No need to enter me in the drawing.)
Cat Sebastian’s books were a SBTB discovery for me, and I am so grateful! Happy birthday, you amazing site!
Happy Anniversary! Has it really been that long?
One thing which has stayed with me for years was the review of a Loretta Chase–I believe it was Mr. Impossible– which was done primarily with emojis. I’m not sure why, but that has stuck with me since those early days. Sadly, I can’t find it on the site any longer, because I laughed so hard at it. That review is what had me move Loretta Chase up to the top of my (then large and physical) TBR. I can’t remember which exactly which one it was because I binged a large chunk of her backlist because of that review.
As an elder romance reader, y’all validated my love for all things romance. I have found new authors, old books, lovely crafts, so much more. What I found with SBTB was a family, a community! Thank you!
P.S. I need that as a sticker!!
Elyse’s review for The Protector sends me into orbit every time I reread it. The cat photos! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Cover snark. Black-footed ferrets. Beyond Heaving Bosoms. Between the site content and Charlotte Stein and T. Kingfisher, two of my favourite authors I found thanks to you, I can’t begin to count the hours of happiness you’ve brought me. Happy 21st!
How is the site another year old already?! I have, in fact, been here since almost the beginning.
One of my favorite memories was participating in SB Book Club. It was amazing to have the authors join us and chat about their work, characters, processes.
I adore SBTB for many, many reasons, but mainly for all the humans that contribute by posts and comments. I have laughed so hard, I cried because of this site, I have cried catharticly because of this site, I have raged at injustice because of this site. All due to the amazing humans who write and comment and share pieces of themselves. At a time when yelling takes the place of discourse, the team and visitors at SBTB care passionately, but allow room for context, nuance, and growth. I can honestly say that the welcome, inclusive team here helped influence and shape my own views on inclusion and identity.
While I came from the trashy books, I’ve stayed for 21 years due to the Smart Bitches. You all are the best!
Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations Smart Bitches! Many moons ago I was a baby romance reader just starting out and not sure where to go to find my next read. I would sneak my mom’s old school harlequins from her hiding place and I had befriended my high school librarian in hopes of recommendations. (This was how I came to fall in love with Outlander.) However, one day while searching Google for books similar to my favorite Meg Cabot books I somehow happened upon a Smart Bitches Trashy Books book review and was immediately in love. I wish I could remember the book that review was for, but all these years later I just remember the feeling of finally finding my people. Over the years I have felt so happy to have found a community that makes me laugh and feel seen.
My husband would also like me to include that he loved when Amanda and Sarah streamed on Twitch during 2020 and eagerly awaits any future streams they decide to do. Those streams were entertaining and helped get us through the early days of the pandemic.
Thank you for everything!
Absidoodles27
Congrats on your anniversary! Your site is one of my happy places. I live for your book recs and I’ve stepped outside my usual sub-genres of romance. Thank you so much for helping me broaden my reading horizons.
All the best for 21 more years (at least)!
You guys brought me the joy of Jennifer Crusie, Tessa Dare, and so many more I cannot even remember. But you truly made a community that I am so proud to be a small part of. What a legacy.
I’ve learned and discovered so much from this site including widening what I read in a lot of ways and definitely made me a better librarian. I help run a romance book club because of what I’ve read here and I think I’m a better reviewer and recommender.
In terms of authors, Courtney Milan is high up there as is KJ Charles, Loretta Chase, Georgette Heyer, so many. I think the most unexpected was Shelley Laurenston, the badger books were a great surprise.
Your site is one of my favorite spots on the internet. Thank you.
I don’t need to be entered–I just want to thank you all for introducing me to the work of Celia Lake with your review of Eclipse.
She’s now one of my favorite authors!
Getting the newsletter every day is a real highlight for me! I love this site so much. Here’s to lots and lots more anniversaries!
Congratulations on 21 years! Thank you for providing this space.
I’ve really enjoyed bingo this year. 🙂
I have been reading your site since you started! I love your take no prisoners reviews…you love it, you don’t love it, you kinda love it, you tell it like you see it. I’ve found so many books to read that I’d never know about, but for you. HAPPY ANN8VERSARY!
Y’all introduced me to Sarah MacLean several years ago and I am still forever grateful. Congratulations on 21 years but also thank you for sticking with us for so long.
I go running to every single HaBo. The unsolved ones make me sad. Thank you for putting this fun community together.
Also, would buy these.
Happy 21st Smart Bitches!
So glad I discovered you, this community, and Romancelandia back in the dark days of lockdown. Thank you all for helping me stay relatively sane through the even darker days since.
I have to believe that love, in all its forms, will prevail.
Happy Anniversary! I always love the Cover Snark and Cover Awe features, plus HaBO! The crazysauce plots and covers get me through the hard days.
Happy anniversary! I always enjoy Whatcha Readin’? and how everyone confers on recs in the comments…
Thanks to SBTB, I’ve been introduced to some fabulous authors: Sarina Bowen, Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas, Alice Coldbreath, Cat Sebastian, Alyssa Cole, Penny Reid, Elle Kennedy, Casey McQuiston, Lucy Parker, Talia Hibbert, Jennifer Crusie, Alisha Rai, Julie Anne Long, Pippa Grant, Suzanne Brockmann — to name just a few!
Congratulations on 21 years!
I learned about SBTB through the Cassie Edwards plagiarism scandal and it introduced me to the whole world of book reviews and blogs. I can’t believe it’s been so long – I remember surreptitiously reading about the scandal at my day job, afraid someone would notice my browser history.
An author I discovered here was Cate C. Wells, through the recommendation of DiscoDollyDeb in the comments.
And Murderbot! How can I forget MurderBot?!
Thanks for all that you do!
Whoa!!! Happy 21st, Smart Bitches!
I don’t need to be in the running for a prize, I just want to yap.
This site is why I started reading Romance; I had a lot of dismissive ideas about the genre before I got here. I came here for funny reviews of bad novels, then stayed for positive reviews of good ones, then daily deals for cheap/free ebooks, then was in too deep to let go.
I love HaBO posts with crazysauce, reviewing the Whatcha Readin’? threads for recommendations, and the biannual Bachelor/ette watchalongs. I scroll through the F+ reviews when I’m having a bad time, and the phrases “like fuzzy caterpillars floating in a bowl of sweet cream” (KKW’s guest review of Desire’s Bride by Teresa Howard) and “im in ur ass, saving ur life” (Candy’s review of Decadent by Shayla Black) live rent-free in my head.
Historicals that focus on people besides Regency dukes (though I enjoy some of those too) are my played-straight favorites; Alyssa Cole and Beverly Jenkins are among my favorite authors I’ve found through here. My other favorites are ridiculous old skools with gothic overtones, because sometimes you need a vampiric curse or two.
Cheers to another year!
You may not know this, but this year’s patron animal for girl scout cookie season is the ferret. This led to me telling a coworker my favorite Romancelandia story of all time: the matching donation from Dame Nora for supporting black footed ferrets in response to plagiarism. All time best story and random trivia (and also why a WWF adoption stuffed black footed ferrets lives on my bookshelf in front of the Bridal Quartet.)
I have been here a long time, and there are too many books/authors to list, but some other highlights have been Elyse’s defense of romance as a genre post (Imma read what I want), the HaBOs (mine got solved in 2 comments!), Elyse’s Bachelor reviews, the recent AI post, the super helpful books on sale posts, and just generally being one of the few places on the internet that I can find like-minded individuals who support and make each other laugh, especially with the dumpster fire of misogyny/hatred/buffoonery going on in the world at large. Thanks to all of you!