
It’s our 600th episode!! Emily Nagoski is back to talk about her new book Come Together: The Science (and Art!) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections. We talk about the genesis for this book, which is in part that writing a book is stressful and hard, and while writing Come As You Are, Emily noticed that her own interest in sex was missing. By diving headlong into all the research, she realized that people who sustain … Continue reading 600. Life is Too Short to Have Sex You Don’t Like, with Emily Nagoski →
Nineteen years ago, on 31 January 2005, Smart Bitches began. The site launched with a review for Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn and for The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann. We’ve had cover snark and cover awe, helping of bitches out, and, as a neat coincidence, Smart Podcast Trashy Books will publish its 600th episode on Friday 2 February 2024. Celebrations everywhere!! Thank you. The site wouldn’t still be here without you. Our community is welcoming new … Continue reading Happy 19th Anniversary, Smart Bitches! →

We’re traveling back to December 2015 in this month’s RT Rewind, and we’re taking a look at the ads and features in this issue! We’ve got LONG series from Elizabeth Hoyt, Kresley Cole, and Shannon Stacey, plus SWAT team shifters, Navy SEAL Highlanders, and some memories, some not so great, of the 2016 RT convention in Vegas…at the Rio. And then! We have a supplement that only appears in the digital editions of RT at … Continue reading 599. Romantic Times Rewind: December 2015 Ads and Features →
In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the book reviews for the December 2015 issue of Romantic Times, aka RT Book Reviews. Special and massive thanks to Shannon Stacey for sending me this issue! You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind. And, most importantly, if you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can … Continue reading Romantic Times Rewind: December 2015 Ads & Features →
I know many romance readers are also ritual re-readers, with books they re-read or seek out at different times of year. Some folks read The Hogfather every holiday season, for example. Other people re-read a specific book once a year, but the timing is more flexible, and might be whenever the mood strikes them. I think that’s so neat, both as a unique way to celebrate a book that is precious to a person, and that … Continue reading What Are Your Annual Re-Reads? →
I read about book 3 in this series, Death Comes to Kurland Hall, in the December 2015 issue of Romantic Times, which we’re recapping on the podcast. As I mentioned in Whatcha Reading, like a completely strange human being, I didn’t start with book three. I started with book one, Death Comes to the Village. This review will be mostly about that book, with some warnings about book two, Death Comes to London. A Very Important … Continue reading Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd →

Mimi Matthews returns to the show to talk about her latest novel, The Lily of Ludgate Hill, which is the third book in her Belles of London series. Among the major themes of this book? PINING. SO MUCH PINING. Which I love. But this is also a book about grief: characters are pining for what was as much as other characters are pining for what could be. So we talk about grief, loss, hope, and … Continue reading 598. Historical Romances for Horse Girls with Mimi Matthews →

We’re traveling back to December 2015 in this month’s RT Rewind! We take a look at the reviews in this issue and along the way talk about audiobook series, historical romance, Jesus by Volume, and the ever-so-small range of grades in each genre. We also take a side trip into JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. You can find the visual aids for this episode right here!