Ugh, I miss romance conventions and just book cons in general. But anyway! This HaBO comes from Shelly, who is looking for this contemporary rom-com: The main character is a female journalist/writer/maybe publisher and she is reluctantly sent to cover a romance writers convention. There is a cover model competition and one of the supporting characters is in the competition, though he’s not the romantic lead. Comedy ensues mixed with drinks. I’m not sure when … Continue reading HaBO: Journalist at a Romance Convention →

This HaBO comes from Kristen, who is trying to find this romance: I have a vague memory of a book I’m hoping the brilliant readers of SBTB may be able to help uncover. All I can recall with any clarity is a chunk of the ending – the hero has a driver/partner/bodyguard who drives like a maniac. At the end of the book the heroine and hero are in the car, and the driver is … Continue reading HaBO: Hero Has a Reckless Driver →

This HaBO is from Jenn, who has a tough request: I keep thinking about this one book and it is driving me up a wall. Literally the only thing I remember is that the heroine is a smarty-smart who always has the answers and when people inquire as to how she knows she replies some version of “I read”. This culminates in a situation where someone asks the hero how she knows something and he, … Continue reading HaBO: She Reads →

This HaBO is from JJ, who is trying to track down this historical romance: I’m trying to remember the name of a historical romance or mystery that I’ve read in the past few years. The heroine is skilled at embroidery, but she does gruesome patterns, like a fox eating a chicken. The book is funny and characters are funny (like Lynne Messina or Deanna Raybourn) and there several interactions with family/friends commenting on her unusual … Continue reading HaBO: Macabre Embroidery →

This HaBO comes from Susan, who is trying to find this romantic suspense: During my stint working at a lovely used bookstore about 2 years ago (best job ever!), a customer brought in a romantic suspense book that I wanted to set aside and borrow to read for myself before it went out onto the shelves. As happens, I set it aside in the wrong spot and somebody else shelved it and I could never … Continue reading HaBO: Secret Ops Hero Named Ghost →

This HaBO comes from Holly, who wants to find this contemporary romance: I’m looking for a book with the following details: Contemporary. The heroine inherits a brownstone in Boston from her estranged father. I believe her late father had been a famous academic or author. The house has a widow’s walk and also a beautiful garden out back. There’s a gardener, who ends up being more than a gardener (the hero). That’s all I remember. … Continue reading HaBO: She Inherited a Brownstone →

This HaBO is from Sarah, who is looking for an older category romance: I’m looking for a hurt/comfort style romance that I read long ago. We had a health scare with my father, who is going through cancer treatment, and I feel compelled to read some hurt/comfort romances where the heroine is taken care of. I know it sounds weird given the circumstances but I’ve always had the vague memory of one of the first … Continue reading HaBO: Jewelry Store Robbery →

This HaBO request comes from Jennifer, who wants to find this very formative romance novel: I feel like I may have asked this years and years ago, either here or on the now defunct amazon romance message board, and I feel like it was found but I’ve since lost it again. This book has stuck in my memory very strongly for decades, it was my neighborhood best friends book, and she had torn the cover … Continue reading HaBO: Wagon Train Prairie Masturbation →

This HaBO is from Sarah, who is looking for either an anthology or historical romance series: I read this romance within the past 3 years or so and now I can’t find it again. I don’t think the book itself was that new though. The plot involves three women and their interlinked stories – all taking place at a country house party – so I have had trouble narrowing down the keywords for an online … Continue reading HaBO: Olivia, Judith, & Annabelle →

This HaBO was sent in by Kimberlee, who wants to find a book that may have been mentioned on the site: Long time lurker, first time sending in a request for HaBO! I’m looking for a book that’s a historical romance, heroine is a linguist (or anthropologist) of some kind (if memory serves me correctly I think she has red hair?) who falls in love with a man she meets while out on an expedition. … Continue reading HaBO: The Linguist & the Virgin →

This HaBO comes from Omphale, who is looking for the first Harlequin they ever read: this is the first HQ I ever read (I am pretty sure I picked it up in the Walgreens/CVS) sometime in the mid-90s. Hero has amnesia and wanders to heroine’s small hometown of “Haven” somewhere in the English countryside. Hero kicked heroine out when she got pregnant and refused to terminate and so she retreated to hometown (where maybe she … Continue reading HaBO: Amnesia in Haven →