Featured

On Reviews and What Makes Them Useful

I’m often frustrated by superficial reviews that don’t articulate the reasoning for an opinion about a book.

Book Review

’Neath Tropical Skies by Mollie Donovan Maule

‘Neath Tropical Skies

Lucynka is a long-time lurker, who has occasionally commented under a couple different names in the past. Over the last few years, she’s become really interested in the history of the romance genre, particularly those forgotten or oft-overlooked parts. You can find her on Bluesky @lucynka.bsky.social, or else over on her WordPress, where she blogs about “obscure bullshit,” including a lot of romance pulp magazines from the 1920s-’40s. … While my last guest post showcased … Continue reading ’Neath Tropical Skies by Mollie Donovan Maule

Sunday Sale Digest!

Smart Bitches in a blue typewriter font, and After Dark lit up like hot pink neon

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Sunday Sale Digest!

Bookstore Trip Report: Bookish Boutique, Panama City, FL

Bookish Boutique Logo: A pink circle with an open book in the center with text that reads BOOKISH BOUTIQUE apparel, gifts, books. Around the outside is the address

This trip report is from Crystal Anne! Crystal Anne with An E comes to us from a sunny clime, but prefers to remain a pale indoor cat. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching something nerdy, going to see live music, and playing video games. She works as an autism consultant by day, got a degree in information science for fun, and currently serves on her local library advisory board, which she’s written about for SBTB.  … I’ve … Continue reading Bookstore Trip Report: Bookish Boutique, Panama City, FL

Hide Your Wallet

Book Beat: Gay Fantasy, Villainesses, & More

Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.

Friday Videos Love Visiting the Animals

An image of a VHS cassette with a label that reads FRIDAY VIDEOS Smart Bitches Ep. 21 against a pink crosshatch background

Web cams aren’t technically videos so much as they are live streams, but I love them and wanted to share a few of my favorites. Also: did you know the first live stream cam was about coffee? The first webcam was the Trojan Room coffee pot at the University of Cambridge computer lab in the UK, and was created in 1991. 1991! The camera was set up purely to monitor the amount inside the coffee … Continue reading Friday Videos Love Visiting the Animals

Podcast

718. RT Rewind: December 2012 Reviews

We’re back in the time machine, heading back to December 2012 to see what new books were reviewed in Romantic Times magazine. We’ve got “multicultural” books, beefy paragraphs, big thorns, Schroedinger’s baby, and “charming vulgar nonsense.” Plus, we ask a very important question: if you were suddenly the heroine of an Inspirational romance, how would you know? TW/CW for the erotica section at the end. It was a time, y’all. If you want to watch … Continue reading 718. RT Rewind: December 2012 Reviews

Books On Sale

F/F Romance, Urban Fantasy, & More

Books on Sale: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James & More

RECOMMENDED: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James is $1.99! Elyse loved this one and gave it an A:

I love a good scary mystery, and The Sun Down Motel had all the elements to make it perfect. I loved the Gothic atmosphere, the theme of women coming together to get justice for other women, and the excellent momentum of the pacing. Other than possibly being too spooky for some, I can’t come up with a single reason why anyone should avoid this book.

Continue reading →

Book Review

The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton

The Potting Shed Murder

While looking ahead at upcoming releases, I came across The Body in the Kitchen Garden, the sequel to The Potting Shed Murder. The sequel sounded intriguing and from time to time I’m quite partial to a cosy mystery and it has been a while since I read one. Why not see if I still enjoy them? So off to the library I went. Daphne, her husband, and her three children move to the English countryside … Continue reading The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton

↑ Back to Top