Tarot for the Hard Work is one of the best tarot books I’ve come across in a long time! This book uses the Major Arcana (the first twenty-two cards in a tarot deck) to explore the role of tarot in helping the reader understand systemic racism and intersectional inequality and how to dismantle these oppressive systems. As much as I love getting my books from the library, I encourage readers to buy a copy of … Continue reading Tarot for the Hard Work, by Maria Minnis →
I read this book in snatched moments and stolen hours and I adored it. It features tropes that I’m not all that interested in: single dad, nanny x boss, and small town romance, but the writing is so immersive and rich that these didn’t feel like familiar tropes. They felt original and fresh. Like this was the first nanny on the planet to fall in love with her boss. THAT original. But I’m getting ahead … Continue reading Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone →
Cinder House is such a clever, inventive, re-imaging of Cinderella! This novella stuffs in a lot at the last minute, but other than that, it’s perfect. Here is how the book begins. It’s not a spoiler – I’m literally quoting the first words of the book. Ella’s father died of the poison in their tea. Ella drank less and so might have lived, and not turned ghost at all, if the house hadn’t shrieked for … Continue reading Cinder House by Freya Marske →
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 Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe →
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 →
Did you watch the Miss Fisher TV series and long for more of the same? I have something similar that might scratch that same itch: this book! It’s set in the sweltering summer of 1925 in New York City. It is stiflingly hot and the ceiling fans can only do so much. Meanwhile hemlines continue to rise and bathtub gin is a thing. Freddie, our heroine, has generational wealth but chooses to work as a … Continue reading Murder in Manhattan by Julie Mulhern →
The only way to review a book this late in a series is in a lightning review. There’s only so much you can say without spoiling the entire series. Suffice to say, spoilers for the preceding eight books lie ahead. It is finally Zeus and Hera’s turn! PRAISE BE! I was one of the chumps who thought this would be book 3. Anyone else? Can you believe?! Things are happening! The threat of Circe has … Continue reading Tender Cruelty by Katee Robert →
This guest review is from Lucynka! Lucynka is a long-time lurker, who has occasionally commented under a couple different names in the past. Over the last few years, she’s become really interested in the history of the romance genre, particularly those forgotten or oft-overlooked parts. You can find her on Bluesky @lucynka.bsky.social, or else over on her WordPress, where she blogs about “obscure bullshit,” including a lot of romance pulp magazines from the 1920s-’40s. … … Continue reading Love’s Magic Spell by Glenna Finley →
There is a more extensive list of triggers and warnings on the author’s website that goes into more detail, especially regarding kinks. Boys Who Hunt is a dark, bully, why choose romance, and it was the art that made me read it. I was advertised a Kickstarter for special editions and I was like, Whoa, that cover art is gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of the dreamy art styles I see in romance manhwa … Continue reading Boys Who Hunt by Clarissa Wild →
This is a book about a quiet, steady woman in her 50s who is dogged in her pursuit of justice. Margaret is a research assistant and she’s perfectly suited to the job: she’s methodical, reliable and devoted to science. When her boss dies unexpectedly, it is Margaret alone who suspects murder. In the way of these things, she is dismissed and not believed. As to that disbelief: the book is frank about how older women … Continue reading The Botanist’s Assistant by Peggy Townsend →
Growing up in Wisconsin with a doomsday prepper father, Casey partially credits her dad for her miserable childhood. The rest of it goes to Blake Morrison, a bully who leads the charge of torment through middle and high school. Now an engaged adult living in Chicago and completing her residency, Casey actively avoids involving her dad in her life. When a mysterious outbreak leads to a zombie apocalypse and Casey’s fiance abandons her in the … Continue reading Dating After the End of the World by Jeneva Rose →
