Amanda has discovered some hidden gems during her first year of home ownership.
This edition of Cover Awe is inspired by a comment that Elyse made when looking at one of the gorgeous covers below. In our Slack, we’ve shared quite a few covers that have some sort of pink/purple color palette and I think Elyse has cracked the code as to why. Redheadedgirl: Ooooooooo! Elyse: I feel like as a group we’re drawn to fuchsia, purple and teal. My Lisa Frank childhood is showing. Amanda: I also … Continue reading Cover Awe: Thanks, Lisa Frank
As promised in our Heart on Fire chapter one reveal last month, we now have a giveaway for the conclusion to the Kingmaker Chronicles! Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet releases on January 2, 2018 and is the final book in the Kingmaker Chronicles trilogy. But we have five ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) to give to five lucky readers! And if you’re curious (like me, I admit) you can follow Amanda on Facebook to get details her next writing project. I really loved … Continue reading Giveaway: Advanced Reader Copies of Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet
UPDATE: Deal no longer valid.
RECOMMENDED: Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts is $1.99! This is a standalone romantic suspense. I know Elyse frequently turns to Roberts’ books for comfort or to help get out of a slump. However, some found this book rather boring and wouldn’t recommend the audio version. Have you read this one?
We have some exciting news for all you romance audiobook listeners out there! AudioFile is letting us exclusively announce their Best of Romance list. For those who don’t know, AudioFile is a magazine available in print and online that reviews audiobooks. Now to the good stuff. Here is AudioFile’s Best of Romance list, along with links to their reviews and a few audio excerpts: BEAUTY LIKE THE NIGHT by Joanna Bourne, read by Kirsten Potter … Continue reading AudioFile’s 2017 Best of Romance Audiobooks
We’re back this Sunday with another crop of Lightning Reviews. As usual, we have three mini reviews. We have a romantic suspense which I believe was discussed on a previous podcast, a nonfiction book about death in other cultures, and a gay romance set in historical Australia.
Hard as Ice is a romantic suspense that might be a good fit for readers who don’t like a lot of violence in their books. Trigger warning: there is a brief discussion of sexual assault in the book. Most of the suspense revolves around a jewelry heist: an extremely expensive red diamond known as the Crimson Amazon was stolen from an auction house in a manner that suggests an inside job. Sales manager Nia James … Continue reading Hard as Ice by Raven Scott
I so very much wanted to like this book, and am so very disappointed that I did not. The setting – very rural Victoria, Australia, in the 1890s – was fascinating, and I think the initial chapters do a marvelous job of not only introducing the characters but also the place. The descriptions of the trees, the birds, the desolation and the beauty of the landscape surrounding the main characters were absorbing in a way … Continue reading By the Currawong’s Call by Welton B. Marsland
I follow Caitlin Doughty on Twitter (@TheGoodDeath) and when I saw my library had her new book, I hopped on that hold list. This is a world tour of death rituals, led by Doughty in a conversational, empathetic, and at times deeply funny style. Each chapter examines how different cultures and groups, including some that are quite remote and hard to get to, care for their dead, and the rituals that are part of their … Continue reading From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
Previously: Claire jumps off the Porpoise to somehow find Jamie and warn him about maybe getting hanged (again). The title card is a sea turtle, swimming happily in the water. Like sea turtles do. Claire is unconscious and draped over her floating barrel, drifting towards shore. The swell of a waves knocks her off the barrel, and she wakes up and starts swimming to the beach, where luckily, the bundle of the rest of her … Continue reading Outlander 3.11 Uncharted
Amanda and I talk about the behind the scenes elements of running Smart Bitches, and what parts we love most of all. We discuss our favorite features and how some of them came to be. We also talk a little about how we organize our reading for SBTB and for other outlets (SPOILER: There are spreadsheets involved – and I’ll link to mine in the show notes) and how we schedule and track our reading … Continue reading 275. Reading, Writing, and the Power of Dairy: A Little Behind the Scenes with Amanda and Sarah
