I read travel guides like any other book. In a world where people seeeeeeeeeeem to think Oh, no, who uses Lonely Planet anymore when you’ve got the internet in your pocket, let me tell you, internet. Browsing through a travel guide is worth your time. You’ll find at least one thing that you may not have found on Expedia’s Top Ten Things to do in London that is clearly a perfect trap set personally for … Continue reading Romance Readers Guide to Historic London by Sonja Rouillard →
Two years ago one of my favorite podcasts, NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, dedicated an entire episode to romance novels. The host, Linda Holmes, was joined by two other NPR reporters and Smart Bitches’ own Sarah Wendell. The episode was 45 minutes of discussion of the romance genre and its many sub genres. I always enjoy the show, but what really impressed me in this installment was the uproariously good time the panel was having. … Continue reading Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare →
Updated March 2018: Since this review was posted, allegations have been made about Santino Hassell specifically about abuse, manipulation, and the hiding or concealing of the actual identity of the author of the books published under that name. You can read a complete summary of everything at The Salt Miner’s three part series: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. This guest review as part of the RITA Reader Challenge project, was written and posted more … Continue reading Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell →
I don’t know how to start this review other than to say that “Let Us Dream” by Alyssa Cole is really, really good and you should go and buy it immediately. “Let Us Dream” is the story of Bertha, a black suffragette who owns a club in Harlem in 1917, and Amir, an immigrant from Bengal with socialist leanings and a hell of a way in the kitchen. If you’re sick of upper and upper-middle … Continue reading “Let Us Dream” by Alyssa Cole →
I have seen NONE of the Fast and Furious movies before. I know there are cars, and explosions, and cars, and Vin Diesel flexes and so does Dwayne Johnson. I asked Twitter to catch me up in the 13 minutes before my showing started, and… Twitter obliged. https://twitter.com/lilisonna/status/852671586360545280 Anyway, serious attempt: They started off as criminals who race cars. Now they apparently save the world and race cars. — 1-800-hun-i-bun (@ashleyeleigh) April 13, 2017 … Continue reading Movie Review: The Fate of the Furious →
I spent one weekend reading The Thing About Love, and it was so enjoyable and so much fun that knowing that I still had more of it to read left me in the best mood. It lifted my entire weekend, and when people ask me about it, I grin and wave my hands around and make Good Book Noise® (and then those people probably regret asking me). Synopsis time! FBI Special Agent Jessica Harlow has relocated home to Chicago … Continue reading The Thing About Love by Julie James →
This review could easily end up being 6500 words long. I don’t think it will, but holy smokes is there SO MUCH TO SAY. First, yes, you should absolutely read this book immediately, if you haven’t already. There is so much happening in the conflict within each of the protagonists, between the protagonists, and around them and their allies and enemies, I can’t possibly discuss all of it, but please know: if you are a … Continue reading An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole →
Sarah: One of the reasons we started this feature was to both explore romantic comedies, a film genre that isn’t appearing in theatres much at all anymore, and to explore the films we love to see if they still hold up. With this film, so many people I know and respect adore this movie that I know it should be very good. “Can I play?” “You nice?” Redheadedgirl: “I told you I was nice! I’m … Continue reading Smart Bitches Movie Matinee: Love & Basketball →
Back in 2012 I was completely amazed to fall madly in love with Warm Bodies, the novel by Isaac Marion that tells the story of a zombie named R who falls in love with a young woman named Julie. I didn’t think I was going to like “zombie romance,” but it drew me in. I liked the movie as well although I’m still upset that they whitewashed one of the characters. The book was marketed … Continue reading The Burning World by Isaac Marion →
Everyone, I think…I think I’m an audiobook convert. Last summer, Elyse wrote a Lightning Review of Sleeping Giants, a scifi novel with a scientist heroine, an interesting cast of characters, and epistolary elements. Definitely check out her review! Just as Elyse did in her review, my plot points will be minimal because the book has a lot of twists and turns. Instead, I’m going to focus on how Sleeping Giants functions as an audiobook and … Continue reading Audiobook Review: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel →
NB: Please be warned that this movie does feature violence and abuse against children and teens. … We got your female rage RIGHT HERE. This is the most recent installation in the X-Men Series. Set in the not-to-distant future where mutants are mostly gone, Logan is an old, broken man who gets saddled with a tiny, violent, mini-girl!Logan, and a classic road trip ensues. With a lot of eviscerations. IMPORTANT NOTE: there will be some … Continue reading Movie Review: Logan →
