I swear I’ve read Suddenly You before. I even think it was on my BnF queue and I had it in the house. I remember seeing the cover on my foyer table, in the old house. But did I remember the plot? Not at all. Which is odd; usually I can remember a Kleypas plot. She’s one of my solid-B writers, an author whose books are usually replete with good dialogue and interesting plots or … Continue reading Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas
You can find the first part of the Kleypas Lightning Reviews here. Somewhere I’ll Find You: In one word: SNORE. C- Because You’re Mine: In three words: SNORE SOME MORE. C- Stranger In My Arms: Yes, yes, yes, this is very blatantly a rip-off of The Return of Martin Guerre with an HEA tacked on at the end. I still loved it, incredibly contrived ending and all. Does this make me some sort of pea-brained, … Continue reading Lightning Reviews: Lisa Kleypas, Part 2: The Mostly Meh Years
Short, snarky vignettes on every published Lisa Kleypas novel to date. (Edit: Uhhh, actually, only goodly chunk of published Kleypas novels are covered in this entry, the rest are to be covered tomorrow.) Not sure how helpful this is for the reader, but savor it, y’all, this is one of the few instances of brevity from me that you’ll ever find. And of course, feel free to tell me how awesome and spot-on my opinions … Continue reading Lightning Reviews: Lisa Kleypas, Part 1: From Crap to HOLY CRAP THAT’S AWESOME!
For fans of Lisa Kleypas and Sarah MacLean, Rachel Griffiths’s latest historical romance is a sexy, laugh-out-loud romp that’s The Bachelorette set in Regency England with shades of Bridgerton. Lady Charlotte Louisa Aveton knows all of London’s rules, and better yet, knows how to break them. But when she takes it too far and stumbles into a serious scandal, she knows only one thing will save her—marriage, as soon as possible. With only one summer to pick a … Continue reading Just for the Season
There’s tension brewing on the high seas between a stowaway Indian princess and a British sea captain in this “vivid, sensual, and beautifully written” historical romance (Lisa Kleypas, #1 New York Times–bestselling author). “Star-crossed, swoony, steamy love. . . . A unique and truly resonant read.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Princess Sarani Rao is on the run. In her best disguise, she stows away on the next British ship out of India. … Continue reading The Princess Stakes
“A sharp-witted and sharp-tongued heroine closely guards the secret of her past from an equally determined hero with a few secrets of his own in the latest sinfully sensual, superbly written addition to Kleypas’ wickedly funny Hathaway series.” —Booklist (starred review) “Lisa Kleypas is the best.” —Sarah MacLean, New York Times–bestselling author For two years, Catherine Marks has been a paid companion to the Hathaway sisters—a pleasant position, with one caveat. Her charges’ older brother, … Continue reading Married by Morning
Earlier (I have to look up when because time is a mystery to me) in December 2025 I covered the announcement of JQ Editions and the upcoming Kickstarter. Well, the Kickstarter has launched and if you were envisioning rocket fuel powering the pledge total, you were right. Currently the pledge total stands at $251,216, which more than covers a pledge goal of $10,000. That will change by the time I hit publish on this post, I … Continue reading JQ Editions Kickstarter Has Launched
Shout out to the commenters in our latest Whatcha Reading post! There were some great comments about “In Case of Emergency…Break Glass” books and a request for a post. We’re always happy to run requests like these! We ran a similar post in 2020, so we did our best not to duplicate suggestions. Sarah: In 2020, I mentioned the Call of Crows series, and that I always keep them with me should I need … Continue reading The Rec League: In Case of Emergency…
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 News Bites, January 5, 2026
Update: January 13 The JQ Editions Kickstarter page has arrived, and there are pictures of the first three books. The Last Lady B by Eloisa James An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase There are custom covers, spredges (drink!), plus endpaper illustrations for each book: You can see the end paper illustrations and detailed images of the spredges (cheers!) at Kickstarter. The campaign hasn’t launched yet, but you can follow to … Continue reading Updated – Julia Quinn Launches JQ Editions, Kickstarter Subscription of Special Edition Historical Romances
Three full-length novels. One great price. Limited time only. Three Dukes. Three Sins. Three Games You Can’t Resist. Over 1,000+ pages of sizzling passion, ruthless wagers, and irresistible danger in this exclusive boxset of the first three novels in the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Book 1 — DUKE OF RATH – Beauty and the Beast meets Marriage of Convenience A brooding Duke haunted by guilt. A brilliant woman he swore never to touch. Each … Continue reading Seven Dukes of Sin: Books 1-3
