The protagonist of Fabulous Bodies, Poppy, appears on the scene as a horrible person who has survived a horrible childhood. Early on, she meets someone who says, “I’m not a bad guy. I’m just a survivor.” Over the course of the novel, Poppy learns what the difference is. This story by Chuck Tingle is a gory horror-thriller that I absolutely ate up, but be prepared for a high body count and a lot of implausibility. … Continue reading Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle →
I have now read a grand total of two dark romances. The first was so utterly shit that I didn’t attempt the genre again for a few years. While it was a very popular book, it was not at all appealing, and afterward I wasn’t sure what were hallmarks of the genre and what was just bad writing. I see now how wrong I was. It was plain bad writing. Butcher and Blackbird is the … Continue reading Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver →
I picked this book up for the following reasons: The colours on the cover – hello neon! The title – what could a ‘safari murder party’ be? The use of ‘safari’ in the title. I am a Zimbabwean/South African and while I have been on plenty of game drives and visits to nature reserves, I’ve never considered any of that a ‘safari’ even though they’re marketed as safaris outside of my region. Fletcher is an … Continue reading Safari Murder Party by Rachel Moore →
I’m a big KJ Charles fan so it was inevitable that I would read this book one day. I read it this weekend and I had a great time, with a couple caveats. Aaron is a police detective in London in the 1920s. He is told about a graphologist, Joel, who can decipher people’s personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy. Aaron is sure that Joel is a charlatan or a con artist of some … Continue reading Copper Script by KJ Charles →
Prairie Nightingale has formally opened her detective agency with the people who helped her solve her last case and the book begins with the four of them having a multilayered, multidirectional disagreement. Since each of them are unflinching, stubborn, sometimes prickly women, they get on each other’s nerves, even as Prairie reminds herself and them not to “flatten [someone] to the most annoying aspect of [their] personality.” Then a wealthy, iconoclastic woman walks in with … Continue reading Trailbreaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare →
Since around 2016, I’ve developed a fascination with horror, particularly feminist horror. I’m intrigued by its similarity to romance – it has a million subgenres, it lacks respect, it involves exploration of fantasies and desires, and above all, when it works, it works on a personal and emotional level. Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) is a nonfiction book that analyzes the way that the domestic horror films of … Continue reading Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism by Eleanor Johnson →
This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next … Continue reading Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath →
Would that I, like this book’s heroine, were newly turned sixteen again, for if I were I would have absolutely swooned over The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire. I cannot overstress how madly I would have loved this story. Now I’m old and cranky so I viewed it with a more demanding eye, but anyone interested in Welsh folklore and grumpy heroines will enjoy this road trip through the land of the Tylwyth Teg (fae). … Continue reading The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni →
Jane Austen’s Fashion Bible is a great gift book for a very specific reader. They must be sufficiently interested in Jane Austen’s work to want a book which combines excerpts from Austen with Regency era fashion plates from La Belle Assemblee, a periodical that published its first issue in 1806. But they also have just the right level of interest – too much, and this book will leave them feeling cheated of more information. This … Continue reading Jane Austen’s Fashion Bible by Ros Ballaster →
PamG is a long time fan of Smart Bitches Trashy Books. A former library worker at her alma mater (hs), she is now retired and devoting her time to reading and occasionally commenting on same. She also enjoys memorizing songs and poetry, spontaneously bursting into song, playing with the Merlin app on her phone, and writing the occasional poem. … I can’t even count the number of times I’ve begun a sentence with “I don’t … Continue reading When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa →
I’ll Have What He’s Having is a sweet m/m romance that is cosy and chill but marred by an excess of mopiness towards the end. The worst thing I can say about this book is that it made me super hungry and that the minute I finished it I forgot all about it. It was pleasant and solidly written (barring too much repetition) but not especially memorable. Farzan is a great cook, a skill he … Continue reading I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram →
