In Bed with a Highlander

Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

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Hollow

Hollow by Karina Halle is $1.99! This is a Why Choose retelling of Sleepy Hollow. I remember Elyse was pretty excited for this one.

A sexy, dark fantasy reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, where Katrina Van Tassel doesn’t have to choose between Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane, and there are worse things haunting them than the Headless Horseman.

Kat Van Tassel’s life was predestined from childhood; she was to marry her best friend, Brom Bones. But Brom vanished from Sleepy Hollow years ago, leaving Kat alone to enroll in Sleepy Hollow Institute, a shadowy university for advanced witchcraft run by her powerful family. And now she finds herself drawn to the school’s enigmatic new teacher, Ichabod Crane, as he delves into dark magic.

When Brom returns, suffering from amnesia and a dark transformation, the trio must confront gruesome murders attributed to a vengeful spirit, The Headless Horseman, while navigating their tangled relationships.

As Kat, Ichabod, and Brom seek answers, their bonds deepen, and forbidden desires take hold. But Sleepy Hollow holds secrets more sinister than they imagined. The Headless Horseman lurks, threatening to claim them, while something even more terrifying looms in the shadows. Embark on a journey of dark mysteries, desire, and danger in the eerie heart of Sleepy Hollow.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Restore Me

Restore Me by J.L. Seegars is $1.99! This is the first book in the New Haven contemporary romance series. This one has some off limits and enemies to lovers vibes.

A steamy, forbidden enemies to lovers romance about love after loss. It is the first book in the New Haven series, interconnected standalones featuring second chances, fiery passion, and Black heroines who get their happily ever afters.

Sloane

Dominic Alexander is my late husband’s best friend and the last man on Earth that I should want. He’s arrogant, dismissive, and up until recently has only ever used those dark eyes of his to look right through me. For the last twelve years, he’s taken a sick pleasure in making me feel paper thin, like my entire existence is of no consequence to him at all.

But now, things are different.

After one drunken night and a surprisingly sexy act of heroism, he’s started to be…nice. Treating me like something other than the physical embodiment of his annoyance, which would be nice if it didn’t make me feel all the things I swore to never feel for another man after my husband died.

Dominic

Sloane Kent is going to be my undoing.

What’s I think I’m going to enjoy being unraveled by the gold flecks in her hazel eyes and the adorable little way she scrunches her nose up when we’re arguing, which we’ve done a lot of over the past decade. She thinks it’s because I hate her, and I’ve always let her think that because the alternative is…untenable.

But something is changing between us, and I don’t know how to stop myself from breaking every promise I’ve ever made to myself regarding my best friend’s wife. Promises that include never telling her that there’s a long list of things I feel about her, but hate isn’t one of them.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare is $1.99! This is a sapphic romance with two women in timelines that are five months apart. I also really like this cover.

A multiverse novel about two women who fall in love despite living in worlds that are five months apart, as they try to find a timeline that doesn’t end in disaster, in this debut novel by Annie Mare.

Tressa Fay Robeson has never been shy, which is how she’s made a name for herself as an in-demand hairstylist and social media star. So she can admit that spending her days at her hair salon and her nights with her tight-knit group of friends (and one grumpy cat) is not the kind of exciting life she’d hoped for.

When a misdirected text from a stranger leads to a flirty exchange, she surprises herself by suggesting an impulsive meetup. But the woman, Meryl, never shows. Tressa Fay brushes it off—until Meryl’s sister and friend show up at the salon demanding to know what’s going on. Because, you see, there’s no way Meryl could have texted her. Meryl has been missing for a month.

Tressa Fay and her tight-knit group of friends soon discover they aren’t dealing with a catfish, but a temporal paradox. As they come to terms with the idea of parallel universes, they realize how many times their paths have crossed like this before. But even as they understand the multiverse more and more, nothing keeps Meryl from vanishing.

As it draws closer to the moment of Meryl’s disappearance, there’s only one question Have they done enough to change the outcome, or have they done so much that none of them will make it past that fateful day in September?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This Bookstore Trip Report is from Elizabeth! Although Elizabeth learned the joys of escaping into books in grammar school, she is only a recent convert to the romance genre, mostly thanks to SB Amanda’s introductions to Alice Clayton, Katee Robert, Sierra Simone, and the like. She delights in watching seemingly impossible conflicts resolve themselves into happily ever after endings, especially if there’s no deus ex machina required. It’s literally a dream come true for her to contribute to the Smart Bitches site. Elizabeth can be found on Instagram at fuchsia.book.dragon.

NB: All photos courtesy of Elizabeth – thank you!

…

My home state of Connecticut is mighty little state in the south of New England, a loose association of six states on the northeast Atlantic coast of the United States. We’re about 70 miles (113 kilometers) by 110 miles (177 kilometers) in size, and yet we currently boast almost two dozen independent bookstores participating in our annual springtime book independent trail. And that’s not including several additional important bookstores across the state that choose not to participate in the formal state book trail.

I’ve been involved in the Connecticut independent bookstore scene for almost as long as I can remember. One of my most anticipated Christmas presents growing up was the annual gift certificate from my father’s business partner to Atticus Books outside the Yale University campus in New Haven.

It was usually just enough money to buy one book, but it meant that my father would take a weekend day off from work and whisk me away from my siblings. We would always go for lunch at Claire’s Corner Copia, a small vegan spot close by, before spending hours in the stacks at Atticus. I’d ultimately chose something obscure from their basement history section that was way above my reading level – I scored The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin one year and A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman another. But the best part of the adventure was always having one on one time with my father in such a special and unique place.

Decades later, when I returned to Connecticut after college, military service, and graduate school, I was pleased to learn not only that Atticus was still thriving in New Haven but also that a fairly large independent bookstore had established a second location in a prominent location on my town’s Main Street, not far from Wesleyan University.

By then, repeated exposure to the rude realities of life had redirected my reading tastes from the grit of international politics and world history to the softness of romance books with their guaranteed happily ever after endings. However, serving predominantly university communities, these two independents had to accommodate such a diverse set of community interest that their romance sections were limited to just one bookshelf of milquetoast bestsellers. While my local indie would happily special order whatever I wanted, I had to resort to a sterile big chain bookstore if I wanted to immerse myself in a more diverse romance section.

Montgomery & Taggert burst into this landscape in fall 2024, starting first with a kickstarter campaign and then opening their brick and mortar location in a former herbalist shop at the edge of a small village on the Connecticut River.

Chester is approximately ten miles up the Connecticut River from the Long Island Sound and boasts a small downtown with restaurants, artsy shops, a gourmet ice cream shop, and even a small brewery. Because of this location, Montgomery & Taggert bills themselves as a “small town romance bookstore,” but they are really a rainbow of happiness and hope on Connecticut’s independent bookstore scene.

My most recent trip to Montgomery & Taggert was for their February 2026 First Friday event, during which they stayed open late, served wine, and donated ten-percent of their book sales to a charity fund that covers the cost of books for young people, families, public school classrooms, and allied organizations in the New Haven area. Just driving up to the shop on a cold winter night filled me with joy as a warm glow emanated from their main window into the adjacent public parking lot.

Entering Montgomery & Taggert is like entering a cozy little cottage. The entry room is dominated by their new releases table, which is in front of their wall of historical romances. As one walks deeper into the second room of the shop, there’s a wall of romantasy books and separate wall of LGBTQ contemporary romances. The third room of the cottage is brimming over with contemporary romance.

There’s even a shelf of positive attitude children’s books right near the checkout register:

Sprinkled throughout the displays and shelves is bookish merchandise. Scented candles with super cute names and fantastic smells. Stickers and book plushies representing all subgenres. Sparkly unique handmade bookmarks, book holders, buildable 3D book nooks and other randomness.

The friendliness of the people at Montgomery & Taggert make the atmosphere even more welcoming. I’ve never visited without Sarah and/or Elizabeth (the owners) offering to help me find something, pull something from their back room, or special order for me.

The other customers are also fabulous; the overall warm environment of the shop encourages patrons to chat with each other as we scoot past each other in the tight spaces and touch the books on the tables and shelves.

Roughly thirty miles to the east of Montgomery & Taggert, The Spice Cabinet opened their brick and mortar store in central Connecticut strip mall in summer 2025.

Even though it is located on a main road about a mile off the Wallingford exit of the Merritt Parkway, it is a little difficult to find because the signage isn’t great. A Chinese restaurant, Filipino grocery store, pizza parlor, and liquor store are pretty obvious in the front of the whitewashed strip mall; however, The Spice Cabinet is tucked into the side wing sandwiched between a professional dog groomer (The Muddy Puppy) and an animal hospital.

Entering The Spice Cabinet is a bit overwhelming. It’s brightly lit by overhead fluorescent lights with an open floor plan. While there are a few cozy looking lavender velvet chairs to read in, there aren’t any quiet nooks to hide in. There are a series of bookshelves lining the left wall, a bunch of cubbies lining the right wall, and tables of books on the floor in between. There are also two interesting spaces for author signings and fun bookish activities, like book bedazzling.

The books on the left wall are arranged by author in alphabetical order, with all the subgenres mixed up with each other. But there were multiple copies of several of the books. Underneath the shelves are baskets of random used books acquired through the store’s book buyback program. They were all in good condition and very affordable. I paid $5 for a paperback copy of Wallbanger by Alice Clayton to send to a friend for St. Valentine’s Day.

The center tables included a 20-percent off table with good authors and with blind date bags leftover from the winter holidays. There is also a table of signed books and a section for the special editions. So many gorgeous sprayed edges!!! Their blind book dates are a bit hidden and very cleverly packaged. The variety of romance related apparel on the back wall included t-shirts, sweatshirts, and ball caps – and a mirror to check yourself in!

On the wall of cubbies, there were a few closed cabinets (specially labeled as 18 years plus only) containing “sexual health” items, including lubricants and toys (like a banana emoji shaped vibrator), as well as colorful bookmarks shaped like male anatomy. Open cubbies contain fun romance related items, such as journals, games, magnetic poetry boxes, book sleeves, headbands, rainbow highlighters, and other stationery goods.

There’s even a special section of spices from a Kentucky company with names evoking romance tropes like “Golden Retriever Vibes” and “Cowboy Daddy.” I walked away with two different spice jars as St. Valentine’s Day gifts for another friend – and a Smutty Poet magnetic poetry kit.

Roughly twenty miles southeast of The Spice Cabinet is the Blush Book Lounge, which was opened in fall 2025 in the Housatonic River Valley by the owner of the nearby Blush Beauty Lounge.

My first trip there was from a local relative’s house on Valentine’s Day. It turned into a bit of an adventure because I can’t tell my left from my right; however, it was pretty obvious once I got over that hurdle. The bookstore sits just over the bridge from downtown Derby near a corner of the main road in Shelton. There is plentiful parking a short block away in the free public parking lot that also serves the local post office.

Entering the Blush Book Lounge is exactly what one would expect of a romance bookstore. It was very welcoming, painted a soft pinkish eggshell and a baby blue rather than sweetheart pink. I received a very friendly greeting from behind the register as soon as I walked in.

The store is fairly narrow, with a long hallway from the front room that branches into three subgenre rooms…

…before ending in a ladies’ room at the very back of the shop.

The vibrant wall paintings throughout the store create a very cheerful vibe, which is reinforced by the shop’s music selection.

The front room was laden with bookish merchandise, such as mugs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and candles. There was even a kindle cover decorating station (with an amazing variety of stickers) and some small bouquets for Valentine’s Day. New releases, staff picks, and seasonal books were prominently displayed near the register. I was intrigued that the staff picks weren’t exclusively romance books but also included romance adjacent books, like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

There was a great choice of beautifully packaged and reasonably priced blind book dates, with one sentence blurbs on the back. I was intrigued by one that was billed as an enemies to lovers between an architect and interior designer that involved a spite house. I guessed that it was one of Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls books; the ladies were able to tell me I was wrong without disclosing the title.

Each of the three subgenre rooms – Enchanted Realm, Honeymoon Avenue, Sweetheart’s Saloon – featured bookish merchandise, a reading nook, and lots of books. The labels of the subgenre rooms were not one-hundred percent accurate. For example, the Enchanted Realm room housed romantasy and paranormal – as would be expected – as well as dark romance and thrillers.

The thriller section contained romance- adjacent authors, such as Alice Feeney and Lucy Foley, rather than romantic thrillers. Honeymoon Avenue was predominantly contemporary romance, including authors and titles that I had never heard of, like Jessa Hastings.

The historical section and literary fiction section also included romance- adjacent authors like Kristin Hannah. For February, there was even a section honoring Black history month.

As expected, the Sweethearts Saloon was dominated by cowboy romance, with lots of Elsie Silver, Paisley Hope, and Lyla Sage. There were even some genre related mass market paperbacks.

The three rooms of the store were packed with books. Not only was there a wide selection of titles and authors, but also there were multiple copies of most titles. Some of the shelves were too tall for me to safely reach, especially since I didn’t see any step stools. But the staff was so engaging and friendly that I’m sure they would have pulled whatever I wanted had I asked.

Curiously enough, none of these three romance bookstores had any shelf talkers. These are totally my jam, especially if they are written in crammed serial killer handwriting. I do love to know why certain books resonate with certain people. And there’s something about having to put pen to paper that clarifies your thoughts.

At Montgomery & Taggert, the willingness of the owners, staff, and other customers to talk about any book in the shop more than makes up for the missing shelf talkers. Blush Book Lounge was very similar. The staff was delighted to talk with me about the Sarah Cate book I was interested in purchasing, even doing a bit of bookish research to determine whether it could be read as a standalone or whether the series had to be read in order.

All three bookstores are active on social media, so romance book lovers across the world can vicariously experience their positive vibes. Montgomery & Taggert is so deeply embedded in their small town that their accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads also share community events to encourage visitors to patronize other local small businesses. Montgomery & Taggert offers online ordering, including special orders, with in store pick up to further encourage visitors to experience Chester, but they don’t ship.

The Spice Cabinet uses its Facebook and Instagram accounts to publicize its sales and local events. In addition to its social media presence, The Spice Cabinet offers online ordering and shipping throughout the United States.

Blush Book Lounge is probably the most active of the stores on Instagram, also frequently posting their sales and events. Unfortunately, they don’t yet have a website.

After months of stalking these three bookstores on social media, I was very grateful to have motivated outside my introverted groove to experience them in real life. Happily each one of them far exceeded the expectations set by their online presence. Just being surrounded by romance novels was a treat. Montgomery & Taggert was even cozier and friendlier than its photos, which I didn’t think was possible. The Spice Cabinet had a more interesting variety of used books and romance adjacent merchandise than I expected. And Blush Book Lounge was prettier with a more expansive stock of books than I would have thought for such a quaint storefront.

Even though I do dearly love my downtown independent bookstore, these new venues were well worth the adventures down the different Connecticut scenic highways. Return visits are definitely in my future; most likely when the weather gets nice enough to take advantage of hiking trails and other amenities in those areas.

In fact, I have already committed to return to Montgomery & Taggert for their upcoming Foam & Fables book discussion and am constantly monitoring the event calendars for The Spice Cabinet and Blush Book Lounge for something fun that will fit my crammed schedule.

…

Thank you for the EPIC trip report, Elizabeth! Have you been to Montgomery & Taggert, The Spice Cabinet, or the Blush Book Lounge? 

If you’d like to write a trip report about your visit to a romance-focused bookstore, I would LOVE to hear from you.

The transcript for Podcast 711. RT Rewind: July 2000 Ads & Features has been posted!

This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.

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Daughter of the Forest

Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched. Daughter of the Forest is a testimony to that talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love.

Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac.

But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.

To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror.

When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.

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Sugar Queen

RECOMMENDED: The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen is $1.99! I’ve talked about my love for Sarah Addison Allen before. Her books are literary fiction with magical realism and they’re such perfect comfort reads. I like Garden Spells (her debut) better, but this was still a good read.

In this irresistible follow-up to her New York Times bestselling debut, Garden Spells, author Sarah Addison Allen tells the tale of a young woman whose family secrets—and secret passions—are about to change her life forever.

Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother…

Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey’s clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return she’s going to change Josey’s life—because, clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey is soon forgoing pecan rolls and caramels, tapping into her startlingly keen feminine instincts, and finding her narrow existence quickly expanding.

Before long, Josey bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who makes the best sandwiches in town, is hounded by books that inexplicably appear whenever she needs them, and—most amazing of all—has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush.

As little by little Josey dares to step outside herself, she discovers a world where the color red has astonishing power, passion can make eggs fry in their cartons, and romance can blossom at any time—even for her. It seems that Della Lee’s work is done, and it’s time for her to move on. But the truth about where she’s going, why she showed up in the first place—and what Chloe has to do with it all—is about to add one more unexpected chapter to Josey’ s fast-changing life.

Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Binding 13

Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh is $1.99! This is a New Adult romance and was popular on BookTok (if that means anything to you). I was tempted by this given the popularity, but I prefer a one and done book, which this isn’t.

An epic and unforgettable love story begins in Binding 13, the first in the international bestselling and TikTok-phenomenon The Boys of Tommen series, from Chloe Walsh.

He wants to save her. She wants to hide.

She’s damaged. He’s determined.

Fate brought them together. Love binds them.

Johnny Kavanagh is the definition of popular. He is an all-star rugby player with loads of friends, which means he should be enjoying the many perks of his life. But what people don’t know is that he has been dealing with a painful injury that could halt the magnificent trajectory of his career. This means he has no time for distractions or mistakes. Especially not a girlfriend.

Shannon Lynch has been bullied all her life. She is shy and would rather hide herself away to make it through school. But when she arrives at Tommen College for a fresh start, she meets the notorious Johnny Kavanagh on her first day in a not-so-romantic way. What follows is a complicated friendship that turns into undeniable chemistry. It seems that Shannon won’t be able to hold onto the anonymous status she once hoped for. But maybe that’s alright?

Johnny won’t give up on Shannon. No matter what it might cost them both.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Drunken Botanist

The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart is $2.99! This is a nonfiction exploration of plants that can be turned into alcohol, and the history of each. It seems like a perfect gift for science nerds, people who enjoy learning the history of the things they eat and drink – or both!

Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet?  In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries.

Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history.

This fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Thank you to Sarah for the lovely wedding post and for all the sweet comments and advice. We had a lovely evening, drinking champagne and eating cheesecake in bed while we watched National Treasure.

In other news, our youngest cat, Fig Newton, just turned two and has become a monster. She wants attention in the middle of a Zoom meeting. She wants to eat trash. She wants to use your chest as a springboard to jump onto the headboard at 2am and scratch at the walls.

I’m so tired.

…

Calling all my cozy gaming fans, there’s a Kickstarter currently running for a game where you make your own toys and plushies. It’s already met its funding goal!

…

I’ve been watching a lot of Interior Motives on YouTube. It’s a game show where people send in photos of their living spaces and the host/guests guess the submitter’s identity.

…

In “this timeline is trash” news, Harlequin has announced that they’ll be working with an AI entertainment company to produce animated microdramas of books. Author Jackie Ashenden has made a Threads post, which Sarah and I assume has something to do with this announcement, that she had no clue this was happening.

…

And for a little bit of a cleanse after that news, enjoy this very cute kid and his biking dad.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dim (@hellodimeji)

…

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

Introducing Smart Bitch Magazine!

Didn’t Amanda do a great job on the cover??!

I particularly like the part where we are reviewing all “5 million books coming out this month.”

Also – Y2K, is it a historical romance? Genius!

If you’re curious where the image is from, that is the original romance artwork that I have hanging in my office. It was used for The Lion and the Lark by Doreen Owens Malek. I also have a paperback copy in a shadowbox that I’m going to hang next to it.

I wish everyone could work under the benevolent presence of John DeSalvo in a hot pink toga, because it’s truly an experience.

I love the idea of a print magazine reviewing every romance coming out in a given month. HOW BIG WOULD IT BE. Like nine Manhattan phone books tied together? Imagine the sound it’ll make when it lands on your porch!

I also love the idea of paper dolls. I realize these fashions aren’t a perfect match for the time periods Bertrice Small wrote in, but they’re so adorable. I LOVE the striped ensemble on the lower left.

Would I fall down all the time if I had that much train and bustle? Absolutely.

Would I look freaking fabulous doing it? Yes. Yes, I would.

Happy April 1st, everyone. I hope this brought a smile to your face!

Want to look back at some of our past April Fool’s editions? Here are a few of my favorites:

In 2023: Amanda and I were co-executive producers of The Bookshelf, where readers move into a luxurious mansion and collaborate (not compete) to find their OTPR – their one true perfect read.

In 2022: we had some turgid hotwallets with our own cryptocurrency, BitchCoin!

In 2021, we created the Smart Bitches Smart Device! It’ll track your reading and embeefen your wifi while picking fights with other appliances that aren’t getting the job done.

We’ve fallen in love with rabbits, and  made our own social media network in 2014 complete with hoax-detection technology (wow, wish that had been real).

And still, one of my all-time most-favorite April Fool’s Day inventions?

Our 2015 Time-stopping wearable device that doubles as a reader, pedometer, page counter, audio device, sale alarm, and timekeeper.

I can’t tell you how much I wish the stop time wearable was real.

If you’ve got ideas for next year, by all means let me know. We have SO MUCH FUN coming up with the April Fool’s pages each year.

We’ll be back with more silliness, but until then, Happy April, folks.

The Keeper of Magical Things

An almost-mage discovers friendship—and maybe something more—in the unlikeliest of places in this delightfully charming novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes.

Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. Nevermind that she’ll have to work with Mage Aurelia, the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her.

The two must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. There, they must fix up an old warehouse, separate the gossipy teapots from the kind-of-flaming swords, corral an unruly little catdragon who has tagged along, and above all, avoid complications. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident.

Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents—and each other—they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. Friendships blossom while Certainty and Aurelia work to make Shpelling the haven it could be. But magic is fickle—add attraction and it might spell trouble.

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By the Horns

By the Horns by Ruby Dixon is $1.99! This is book two in the Royal Artifactual Guild series. It’s a monster romance and I find these covers to be an assault on the senses.

In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman with a deadly magic secret needs the help of the minotaur she’s trying to forget in the sizzling sequel to Ruby Dixon’s New York Times bestseller Bull Moon Rising.

Gwenna has always considered herself a normal person. A former servant, she wants nothing more than to land a steady job with the Royal Artifactual Guild so she can make some steady coin to send home to her mother. She’s not special. She’s certainly not a necromancer. That would be impossible, given how necromancing (or any ‘mancing) is forbidden upon penalty of death. So if the dead keep talking to her? Well, she’s going to keep on ignoring them. They’re not going to stand in the way of her dreams.

Also standing in her way? One big, arrogant, far-too-flirty Taurian named Raptor. They slept together once, and now he wants more . . . but she doesn’t have time for that. Her focus is on being a fledgling, a trainee for the Royal Artifactual Guild. But Raptor won’t go away. He’s on a secret mission for the guild to find an artifact thief.

Problem is, he thinks the thief is Gwenna.

How can she convince Raptor that he’s got the wrong girl when all the signs point to her? And how do you tell a Taurian you can’t date him because you hear dead people and it might cost you your life?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Ghost Business

Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca is $1.99! This is book two in the Boneyard Key series, which is set in Florida. The main characters have rival ghost tour businesses.

“You get a long, hot summer full of the most delectable kind of pining.”–The New York Times

Clashing ghost tours lead to a sizzling romantic rivalry in the second romance in the new series from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Boneyard Key, Florida, is the only home Sophie has ever known. Her love for its supernatural history has flourished into a career, as she guides the one and only ghost tour through the town’s can’t-miss haunted spots. And while her bank account isn’t full by any means, her heart is. Or at least, it was.

But there’s a newcomer in town. The son of a Fortune 500 businessman, former theater kid Tristan has grown his tours from a fraternity fundraiser to a multicity ghost tour conglomerate. It’s doing well, but not well enough—if he can’t prove that he’s solidly in the black by the fall, Dad’s going to pull his funding, spelling the end of his career. Boneyard Key, with its haunted reputation, seems like the perfect place to boost his bottom line.

When the two ghost tours clash, Sophie’s expletive-filled rant goes viral, and the rivals strike up a deal. Whoever has the most successful business by summer’s end stays, while the loser must ghost. But the more Tristan comes to appreciate Boneyard Key, the more Sophie comes to appreciate Tristan, and what starts as begrudging respect becomes something spicier. Can they put their feuding businesses aside to make room for a chance at love, or is Boneyard Key too small for two ghost tours?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Pack for Winter

A Pack for Winter by Eliana Lee is $1.99! This is book two in the Cozyverse series, which is an omegaverse, why choose novel. I’m very curious about this series as I’ve never read any omegverse books before, but I this may be too twee for me.

She’s resigned to being single. They’re on a mission to change her mind.

Ivy Noelle Winter is content with being a 31-year-old unbonded omega with no prospects of a pack. She adores teaching fifth grade, she has wonderful friends — and that baking show marathon isn’t going to watch itself.

Until a snowstorm and power outage traps Ivy in her classroom after hours…with three men.

Rome, the new alpha music teacher.

James, the flirtatious beta vet he’s bonded to.

And Logan, the town’s grumpy alpha electrician.

Their scents call to Ivy and her body answers, setting off her first-ever mini heat. When the pheromones settle, she gets a proposition beyond her wildest dreams—a chance to be a pack.

But there’s no such thing as a perfect courtship, especially when the biggest roadblock to happiness might be Ivy herself.

A Pack for Winter is a standalone MMFM why choose small town romance. It is part of the Cozyverse shared universe, bringing you cozy omegaverse full of heart, heat and humor.

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This was a 1980s/90s vintage romance with a heroine undercover as a high school student a la Never Been Kissed???

The hero is a teacher who thinks she’s 17 for most of the book.

It’s a yikes but I’m in a Fast Times at Ridgemont High cultural deep dive and it’s driving me insane trying to find when this came out.

Sending up the bat signal to HaBO!

Happy Tuesday!

It’s the last day of March and a pretty big release day. I feel like there’s a little bit of everything from historical romance to non-fiction.

Which new books are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

A Widow’s Charm

Author: Caitlyn Paxson
Released: March 31, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Historical: European, Romance

In this witty fantasy romance, a widow attempts to resurrect her dead husband by blackmailing her rakish necromancer neighbor—only to find herself falling for him instead.

“Witty, whimsical, and deeply kind, A Widow’s Charm is beyond charming—it’s wholly enchanting.”—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting

Lady Hildegarde Croft is accustomed to changes in position. After all, she rose from maidservant to lady of the manor when she married Lord Thorgoode Croft. But when he dies unexpectedly, the plans that would have protected her and the people of Croftholde die along with him. What’s a widow to do?

Potential salvation arrives in the form of Lord Elmwood, who is fleeing the consequences of using his forbidden Charm to raise the dead. Now he’s injured, destitute, and hiding out at the neighboring estate.

For Hilde, blackmailing Lord Elmwood to resurrect Thorgoode seems like the perfect solution. For Elmwood, beautiful Lady Croft seems like the ideal distraction from his troubles. The problem is, all she wants from him is the horrifying power he knows he can never use again.

Sarah: A widow attempts to blackmail the necromancer next door into reanimating her husband to save his estate and her life, and then the necromancer is hot. Historical.

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The Dreadfuls

Author: A. Rae Dunlap
Released: March 31, 2026 by Kensington Books
Genre: Horror, Historical: European, Mystery/Thriller

A Victorian-era Nancy Drew meets The Woman in the Window as true crime and historical fiction collide in this atmospheric thriller featuring real-life figures and a rebellious, uniquely inventive young reform school inmate determined to solve the serial killer case dominating the headlines in London, and soon, in the world: the Jack the Ripper murders.

London, 1888. Committed to the Whitechapel Hall Reform School for “incurable delinquency” 15-year-old Adelaide “Dell” Morton is a precocious, defiant misfit. She’s also a voracious reader of true crime and detective fiction, including the sordid, sensationally popular Penny dreadful stories. In an unlikely stroke of luck, she’s found a kindred spirit in her poised, perfectionist roommate, Pippa. Their obsession is only further fueled by the Jack the Ripper murders blazing a trail of terror throughout London’s seediest streets . . . right outside Whitechapel Hall’s front door.

Desperate for adventure, they embark on their own investigation—and discover an ally in Noah, son of the local butcher. But Noah’s motives are not mere fascination: His father is the prime suspect. Noah is desperate to clear his name, and Dell and Pippa are only too eager to help.

Their budding spywork soon yields shocking results: they witness straightlaced Whitechapel teacher Miss Kaye escaping the school the night of the latest crime. Could Jack the Ripper be a she? Delving into Miss Kaye’s background, Dell is both horrified and thrilled to find that within Miss Kaye’s past lies a chapter dark enough to rival any Penny dreadful . . .

Dell’s fixation with Miss Kaye reaches dangerous heights while a series of suspicious events leave Miss Kaye in sole command of Whitechapel Hall. Trapped in their teacher’s ever-tightening web of control, the three devious detectives devise a risky plan to track her. But what ensues may only propel them ever deeper into secrets, lies, ruthless acts, and betrayals that go back decades—and a confrontation that will irrevocably change the fates of all involved . . . if they survive.

Amanda: I was on board with “A Victorian-era Nancy Drew.”

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Game On

Author: Navessa Allen
Released: March 31, 2026 by Slowburn
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: Into Darkness #3

Book three in the No.1 New York Times bestselling Into Darkness series, following the dark rom-com sensations Lights Out and Caught Up . The game is on for these enemies-to-lovers with laugh-out-loud banter and scorching-hot brat play.

I hate that woman.

Tyler Neumann has spent years looking for his father, and not because he wants to meet the man. No, he wants to destroy him. And he’ll manipulate whoever he can to exact his revenge.

Including Stella McCormick. She’s everything Tyler hates. Her wealth and privilege have protected her for her entire life, and Tyler thinks it’s time she finally paid the price. Whether she’s ready to or not.

I hate that man.

Stella might not believe in love at first sight, but loathing at first sight – no question. From the moment she sets eyes on Tyler in her tattoo parlor, she knows he’s the devil planning to make her life hell.

Forced to play the part of his girlfriend and invite him into her family’s glittering circles, Stella quickly clocks Tyler’s ulterior motives. But love and hate are two sides of the same coin, and soon she doesn’t know which is being blackmailed by a man who wants to ruin her, or that they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

Game On is an enemies-to-lovers dark romance with morally grey characters. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the content warning at the beginning of the book.

The third book in the very popular Into Darkness series.

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The Geomagician

Author: Jennifer Mandula
Released: March 31, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Historical: European, Romance

When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him with the help of a fellow scholar—her former fiancé—in this enchanting and transporting historical fantasy.

Mary Anning wants to be a geomagician—a paleontologist who uses fossils to wield magic—but since the Geomagical Society of London refuses to admit women, she’s stuck selling her discoveries to tourists instead. When an ancient egg hatches in her hands, revealing a loveable baby pterodactyl Mary names Ajax, she knows this is the kind of scientific find that could make her career—if she’s strategic.

Mary contacts the Society about her discovery, and they demand to take possession of Ajax. Their emissary is none other than Henry Stanton, a distinguished (and infuriatingly handsome) scholar… and the man who once broke Mary’s heart.

Henry claims he believes in the brilliant Mary, and that he only wants to help her obtain the respect she deserves. She knows she can’t trust her fellow scholars, who want to discredit her and claim Ajax for their own—but can she even trust Henry, who seems intent on winning Mary back?

Now Mary has a new mystery to solve that’s buried deeper than any dinosaur She must uncover the secrets behind the Society and the truth about Henry. As her conscience begins to chafe against her ambition, Mary must decide what lengths she’s willing to go to finally belong—and what her heart really wants.

Amanda: This sounds delightful!

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How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay

Author: Jenny Lawson
Released: March 31, 2026 by Penguin Life
Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction

Warm, insightful, and witty, the first book of advice from New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson—aka the Bloggess

Jenny Lawson is full of contradictions. She’s a celebrated author but battles self-doubt, paralysis, and anxiety. She’s an award-winning humorist but struggles with treatment-resistant depression. The questions people most often ask her are, “How do you do it? How do you keep going even when it feels impossible? How do you keep creating?” This book is her answer.

In How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay, Jenny shares more than one hundred humorous, heartfelt, and genuine tools and tricks that she relies on to keep her going even when her brain isn’t working properly due to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. She also offers tips to stay passionate and focused on creative endeavors, especially when everything around you is saying to give up.

With chapters like “Wash Your Brain More Than You Wash Your Bra” (sleep, you beautiful human), “Working on Easy Mode Is Still Working” (asking for accommodations is okay!), “Celebrate Good Times, Come On!” (make it a habit to celebrate the good things), and many more, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay is a balm and companion, reminding us all that we are not alone. It’s for anyone who struggles with self-doubt, guilt, motivation, and mental blocks and wants to rekindle their passion for creating. Funny, simple, empathetic, and full of hope, it will encourage you not to just survive but to find and curate joy in the face of difficult times.

Amanda: Lawson is an autobuy for me!

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Kill the Puckers

Author: Sam Evans
Released: March 31, 2026 by Super Gravity Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

Alyssa Reed has always been a problem solver and a fan of the long con. So, when the justice system fails her best friend, Alyssa takes it upon herself to set things right. And as far as Alyssa is concerned, setting things right means killing the hockey players who assaulted her friend.

There’s just a minor problem, and it’s not means or motive. It’s opportunity and access. But when Alyssa snags a date with the team’s head coach, Mark Eriksson—after stalking him for weeks, shh!—access to the team may no longer be a barrier to entry. At least, not if she can convince Mark she’s serious about him.

When hockey players start dropping like flies and Mark becomes increasingly suspicious, Alyssa has to decide if it’s just great sex that makes her want to trust Mark or if her feelings for him have outlived the long con and evolved into something more than a means to an end.

Amanda: This sounds batshit and I’m here for it.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

The Scoundrel and the Siren

Author: Christy Carlyle
Released: March 31, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Princes of London #2

In the next installment of the swoon-worthy Princes of London series, Christy Carlyle takes readers on a heart-pounding hunt through Norfolk where a legendary treasure hunter and a fierce local woman battle over a Viking hoard, each determined to claim it for their own—and neither willing to lose their heart in the process…

Dominic Prince is passionate, tenacious, and determined to carve out a legendary name for himself—just like his famous treasure-hunting father. When an American tycoon funds his expedition to uncover a Viking hoard in Norfolk and ship it across the Atlantic, Dominic sees his chance to claim glory. If he can unearth a treasure trove so magnificent it lands him on the front pages of newspapers in both England and America, his success will finally be undeniable.

Tess Hawthorne doesn’t quite know what to make of the entirely too handsome scoundrel who shows up in her village seeking the very treasure she’s been hoping to find all her life. When he asks to employ her knowledge and familiarity with the locals to assist on the dig, she accepts.

But she doesn’t want whatever treasure they find to leave England, and she certainly doesn’t want to lose her heart to the man determined to claim it…

A treasure hunting historical romance!

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This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

Author: Ilona Andrews
Released: March 31, 2026 by Tor Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Maggie the Undying #1

Outlander meets Game of Thrones in this blockbuster new epic fantasy series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews.

When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes—and attentions—of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.

For fans of Samantha Shannon, Danielle L. Jensen, Sarah J. Maas, and isekai and portal fantasy, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse author duo Ilona Andrews.

Amanda: Portal fantasy is having a moment and I’m here for it. (I’ve also been consuming a lot of a isekai webtoons.)

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Romance author Sandra Hill passed away on 26 March, surrounded by loved ones, per her obituary. She was 86 years old, and is survived by her four sons, her sister, and four grandchildren. May her memory be a blessing.

Because y’all, Sandra Hill was a gift to romance, and I shall not have it any other way. Amanda and I talk a lot about how romance in the late 90s and the 00s was often zany. Outlandish, absurd plots? Yes. Unexpected characters? Oh yes.

A | BN | K | AB

Sandra Hill was a treasure, dependable for a truly off the walls reading experience with campy, fun, and often endearing characters.

Please note that every word of this is very high praise. I’m genuinely sad to have lost one of the writers who I think made romance as great as it is.

The finest element to Sandra Hill’s writing was that you could kind of tell she was having a great time. You know how when you watch a show or a movie, and there’s a special kind of chemistry between the actors, a vibe that there’s a little something extra in their performance, because you can visibly tell they’re really enjoying themselves? That’s a Sandra Hill romance: the books are so unhinged they are barn doors, and she did not seem to be taking herself too seriously.

I mean, consider The Very Virile Viking.

Look, when don’t I consider The Very Virile Viking? I talk about this book all the time! I remember where I was when I read it (on a family cruise, where I had packed a suitcase that was just books because ereading wasn’t a thing). I remember a particular scene so clearly, I can picture where I was when I read it.

I don’t know why this scene stuck with me. Probably because it’s demonstrating real and caring parental attention to this collection of children, and also because it’s so on the nose it’s hilarious. 

He’s a viking. (A very virile one!) And he and all his kids start out in 999, and end up in 2014 Hollywood. Because of course they do. This is a Sandra Hill book.

I mean, this is the author of the book we dubbed “The Pull My Finger Viking.” Better known as The Bewitched Viking.

Perhaps her publisher is who gave us the Pull My Finger Viking, but we know it was Sandra Hill’s work that inspired a cover this wonderful, this absurd. Truly majestic.

In addition to virile vikings, you know what else Sandra Hill gave us?

Immortal Viking Vampire Angel Navy SEALs.

AKA “The VVangels.”

Just…just gaze upon that sentence

A | BN | K | AB

Is he really a Viking with a vampire’s bite?

An angel with the body of a thunder god?

A lone wolf with love on his mind?

D: All of the above?!

Yes, indeed, the answer is D. (The answer is always D, especially when the viking vampire angels are involved.)

Then there’s book 7 in the Deadly Angels (that’s their proper series name. Immortal Viking Vampire Angel Navy SEALs takes way too long to say): The Angel Wore Fangs. 

This book is TUMBLR FAMOUS. Look at the range of Sandra Hill. TUMBLR famous.

A | BN | K | AB

Well. Let me tell you.

Once guilty of the deadly sin of gluttony, thousand-year-old Viking vampire angel Cnut Sigurdsson is now a lean, mean, vampire-devil fighting machine. His new side-job? No biggie: just ridding the world of a threat called ISIS while keeping the evil Lucipires (demon vampires) at bay.

I need to stop and catch my breath. A thousand year old Viking Vampire Angel named Cnut is going to fight ISIS. And demon vampires but also ISIS.

Let us continue:

So when chef Andrea Stewart hires him to rescue her sister from a cult recruiting terrorists at a Montana dude ranch, vangel turns cowboy. Yeehaw!

The too-tempting mortal insists on accompanying him, surprising Cnut with her bravery at every turn. But with terrorists stalking the ranch in demonoid form, Cnut teletransports Andrea and himself out of danger—accidentally into the tenth-century Norselands. Suddenly, they have to find their way back to the future to save her family and the world . . . and to satisfy their insatiable attraction.

Cnut and Chef Andrea end up in the 10th century. WAIT. Did they take over the Very Virile Viking’s home? I imagine it was spacious; he had 10 kids and he didn’t need a home in the tenth century anymore, now, did he?

The delight that I found in Sandra Hill titles is not measurable. Her books remain one of my favorite examples of what happens when truly unlimited imagination and fluency in romance meets high-grade silliness and camp.

Sandra Hill’s contributions to the genre are truly unique. They are masterpieces of the elements of romance fiction that we celebrate unreservedly. SHE EVEN HAS HER OWN TV TROPES PAGE. Y’all, no greater honor is possible.

I have said many times that  I do take some things very seriously – the comment space here, for example – but I do not take myself seriously at all. And I read Sandra Hill’s books with the suspicion that she didn’t take herself seriously, either. Which is probably one of my very favorite traits in a person.

Thank you, Sandra Hill, for making romance what it is. The genre would not have been the same, and certainly not as a fun and zany, without you.

So in lieu of a lot of rippling ads like packs of King Hawaiian rolls ( Amanda) and really jacked, dehydrated men staring at their junk, and floating alien babies affixed with bad Photoshop – you can almost see the covers in your mind, can’t you?! – I’m going to ask:

How you doing?

It’s been A Morning for me: on top of having no images on the site and a lack of Man Titty,  had my second shingles shot today, so I’m prepared to feel Extra Crappy tomorrow.  Plus I got a parking ticket despite having bought parking for said shot appointment, and I have to fight with my health insurance, too. I’m logged into like six portals right now trying to connect to the right people.

Administrivia is exhausting! And the site of my vaccine is ITCHY.

But, aside from it being A Morning, this week is Passover, and so there will be Big Feasting this week. And I have sweet potato tacos in the fridge for lunch. So life isn’t entirely annoying, just mostly annoying.

So how are you today? What’s up with you? DOTH THOU NEEDEST TO VENTE! Or CELEBRATE WINS? Please feel welcome to do so in the comments. 

And please allow me to share the meme (fingers crossed the image loads correctly!) that has caused me to almost say, “I’m here for my shongles shit” at the doctor’s office.

Sweet Filthy Boy

One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.

But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.

When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.

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The Devil She Knows

The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur is $1.99! This release was featured on Dahlia’s monthly queer romances post and I think in a deep dive on comic-style covers.

“A fantasy-tinged sapphic romance with perfect banter.”—People

A down-on-her-luck woman makes a deal with a crafty demon to win back her ex-girlfriend after a proposal gone awry, only to discover the girl of her dreams might be the devil she knows, from nationally bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.

Samantha Cooper is having a day from hell.

In less than 24 hours, her life has unraveled, leaving her single and with nowhere to live. Adding insult to injury, she’s trapped in an elevator with a gorgeous woman claiming to be a demon.

Daphne is not at all what Samantha expected from someone claiming to be an evil supernatural entity. She’s pretty, witty, dressed in pink, and smells nice. And she’s here to offer Samantha a deal she can’t refuse. Six wishes in exchange for one tiny trade—Samantha’s soul. There’s a glaring loophole in their contract, one Samantha fully intends to exploit so she doesn’t fork over her soul. After all, she only needs one wish to win her ex back.

Hell-bent to gather the last of the one thousand souls she needs so that she can be free of her own devilish deal, Daphne grants each of Samantha’s wishes . . . with a twist, so that Samantha is forced to make another.

As Samantha’s wishes dwindle and Daphne offers her glimpses into the life she thought she wanted, the unlikely pair grows close. Perhaps the girl of Samantha’s dreams is actually the stuff of nightmares, but Samantha and Daphne will have to outsmart the Devil himself if they want a chance at happily ever after.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Never Trust a Rogue

Never Trust a Rogue by Olivia Drake is $2.99! This is book two in The Heiress in London series. This one seems to have a fake engagement and mystery elements.

A pretend engagement is filled with very real desire in the midst of a dangerous undercover investigation in this Regency romance from the RITA Award winner.

The wealthiest heiress of the season, Miss Lindsey Crompton finds detective work far more fascinating than social engagements—at least until she meets Thane Parker, the Earl of Mansfield. Thane is a paradox: a war hero and a cad, a wicked scoundrel and an indulgent guardian of his young ward. When Lindsey sneaks into his house to investigate his role in a series of murders, he blackmails her into a betrothal.

Thane has a secret life he keeps hidden from everyone, especially the infernally curious—and curiously alluring—Miss Crompton. Working with the Bow Street Runners, Thane is tracking a killer who may be one of Lindsey’s suitors. Even if their engagement is a ruse, the heat between Thane and Lindsey is undeniably real. And with a murderer on the loose, desire has never been so dangerous . . .

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Water Moon

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yamboa is $2.99! This released January 2025. Elyse mentioned it on Hide Your Wallet because it sounded cozy and magical.

A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical journey when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel.

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.

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Welcome back to Cover Snark!

From Karen H: I actually like this cover since I generally like men with muscles and the color scheme is different and pretty. But, the model’s left shoulder just looks like it has a weird growth. It’s probably the lighting but didn’t anybody look at it beforehand? Or does it look normal to everybody but me?

Sarah: I didn’t think so at first glance, but the more I look, the more the shoulder/pec/deltoid? sequence on the right looks…weird. Anyone familiar with anatomy want to correct me?

Dear god did he tear his pec and build up both parts?!

I asked my older child, who lifts, and he thinks the shoulder/deltoid area is normal, but that crease in the pec is concerning.

And folks, if you haven’t gotten your mammogram, Mr. Hero is here to remind you to have your regularly scheduled exam if possible!

From Nico: Because there I was, mindlessly scrolling through Copperfield’s, hot buttered rum in hand, when I had to double-check at what looked like a cover featuring a man pushing an axe handle through his head.

(I know he was supposed to be holding it behind his head, but something about the editing and angle looks like he’d pooled a Fooly Cooly and was pushing it through the extradimensional space in his forehead)

Sarah: I read the email from Nico first and thought, really? Then I looked at the cover.

Yup. That axe is coming right out of his left temple. This does not seem like a mountain boss move.

He has mountain bossed too close to the woodpile.

Elyse: That’s a tumor, sir.

Another from Karen H: I simply cannot recognize what the hero is holding in his right hand (actually, he’s not really holding it in my opinion but anyway) and I was hoping someone could identify it for me. Is it a tie, or a sock filled with sand, or what exactly? And what about the dirt or whatever on his left arm? Not to mention the strangely sharp, flat tattoo on his leg.

Sarah: Why does he have arm fungus?

Susan: I’m more worried about his other arm being a black hole that appears to be eating his shirt.

And if Disney sees that woman’s face they’re gonna sue.

Elyse: What is going on with his shorts? The legs are two different lengths.

Did the team order their gear from Temu?

Sarah: Wait, is that a…neck tie? What is happening?

Also she looks like a child and that gives me the creeps.

From Caroline: This cover raised some questions for me.

Sarah: Is Magenta even holding the baby? Or is the baby floating?

Amanda: That baby looks positively boneless.

Sarah: I am all for really good, long lasting sleep for all babies, and for their parents, but I have serious concerns about his caretaking skills. That baby won’t float in mid air forever!

Most of today’s edition comes with new releases! I think these are all 2026 release, if memory serves from when I put them in the SBTB repo. There are two romances and two non-fiction titles.

Want to pass along any recommendations? Leave them in the comments!

A Woman’s Work

If you are at all interested in the history of midwifery or how pregnancy has evolved over time, this is the book for you. I will not that “mothering” is a bit of a misclassification, as the content skews more toward birthing rather than parenthood. 

From the author of Unwell Women comes a powerful and groundbreaking new narrative history of motherhood and mothering.

Mothers make history. But what it has meant for mothers to do the physical and emotional work of mothering has, for centuries, been neglected in the stories of the past. Patriarchal control of motherhood has relegated the acts of growing, birthing, nurturing, and loving to the sidelines, and deemed it unimportant, women’s work. Now, through the voices of women themselves, Elinor Cleghorn reclaims and retells the history of motherhood, showcasing the mothers, othermothers, midwives, activists, community leaders, and more who have shaped the course of history.

Beginning in the ancient world, we encounter a figurine made for a childbirth ritual over three thousand years ago. We meet extraordinary writers and poets, like Anne Bradstreet and Elizabeth Jocelin, who were expressing their innermost feelings about motherhood. During the seventeenth century, in the streets of London, we encounter unmarried mothers struggling against stigma and shame, and the women who strove to help them. Later, pioneers like Mary Wollstonecraft laid the intellectual foundation for the liberation of motherhood from male control, and the abhorrent treatment of enslaved mothers was brought to public attention by courageous activists like Sojourner Truth. These and many other brave characters lobbied for mothers of all classes and circumstances to be valued, respected, and supported–not as reproductive vessels, but as people.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Eat Your Heart Out

I was hunting around for some new dark romances and I came across this novella. I immediately added it to my TBR pile. It’s showing up as $2.99 right now, so I may just buy a digital copy because it sounds wild.

I didn’t eat people. Just men. First of all, I’d like to set the record straight. I wasn’t a cannibal, ʼkay?

I didn’t eat people. Just men. I ate their hearts out before they ever saw me coming. Figuratively, of course. Most of the time.

Sometimes a girl had to do what a girl had to do. And sometimes what I had to do was fry those suckers up with a little bit of buttermilk and enough shortening to give ya coronary.

I wouldn’t ever apologize for it.

Which was something else you should know about me. I was unapologetic. Then again, so was he. Else the hotshot with a blade bigger than his d*ck wouldn’t have barged his way into my little apartment without so much as a “my bad, sorry for disturbing you, ma’am.”

And I wouldn’t have been forced to tie him to a chair and teach him some manners. But here we are, ain’t we?

Just a sweet little Southern girl and the big bad pickle-diddler who thought he was about to get his rocks off.

Guess it wasn’t his lucky day. Sure was mine, though.

Eat Your Heart Out is a dark standalone novella with a HEA. Please heed the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Law Maker

Big shoutout to C and Deborah, whose discussion on a previous Whatcha Reading, made me add this to my personal TBR pile. I love finding new reads from y’all!

Clara
Invisibility has been my go-to survival skill since childhood. So I hide behind my thick glasses and heavy fringe, working as a teaching assistant at the exclusive Molton Prep, happy with my seven-year-old pupils and studiously avoiding their posh parents. My one secret indulgence? Watching the gorgeous but wildly intimidating Lord Sterling sweep into school to collect his son.

I’m ridiculous. Not only is Rafe completely terrifying, but he’s a high-profile barrister destined to be the UK’s youngest ever judge. A girl with a background like mine should stay out of his way.

Rafe
How dare the school insist that I can’t meet the Miss Clara, who told my son his brain “works differently”? Nobody refuses a meeting with me. But when I bulldoze my way past the school rules to confront her, I’m shocked by how much this shy woman affects me. She might be too scared to make eye contact, but when it comes to defending my son, she’s surprisingly fierce. And after I convince her to work as my son’s tutor and she gradually stops flinching in my presence, my obsession with her only grows.

As a rule, I get what I want, and after seeing glimpses of her humour, kind heart and surprising strength, I want Clara Morris with an intensity I’ve never felt before. But I should be careful what I wish for, because Clara Morris is not who she says she is.

In my arrogance, I push her away, not realising that her fear runs deeper than simple shyness, not seeing the danger she’s in until it’s too late…

LAW MAKER is an opposites attract, billionaire, single father, contemporary romance, perfect for fans of intense, protective heroes and heroines overcoming trauma to find their happily ever after.

Content warning: this book features scenes of domestic violence.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Rebel of the Regency

I’ve enjoyed Foster’s Vulgar History Podcast, and I’m so happy to see she got herself a book deal from all of her hard and very entertaining work!

The dramatic, absolutely outrageous story of Caroline of Brunswick, a beloved icon of the Regency era, who uplifted the voice of the public and unabashedly defied society’s expectations, yet was shockingly robbed of her crown, from the host of the Vulgar History podcast.

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth, Princess of Brunswick, was born in the northern German town of Braunschweig. Her mother and father, the duke and duchess, instantly knew one there was something irrefutably untamable about their daughter. She grew up a wild child, sequestered from others to protect her family’s reputation—a Regency-era Rapunzel.

She was freed from this gilded cage by an unexpected marriage proposal from George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales and the eldest son of George III and Queen Charlotte. Caroline was entirely unprepared for the backstabbing mean girls of the royal court. Always staying true to herself, she stepped into her role of queen-to-be without compromising her character, showing off her affinity for fashion, her many eccentric hobbies, and ultimately, her infallible spirit, despite being ostracized as an outsider by her in-laws.

And so Caroline became the unlikely figurehead of the anti-monarchists, aided by the just-emerging tabloid press. Yet, despite her status as a revolutionary heroine, Caroline’s name faded away following her death. Until now.

For fans of Normal Women, Ann Foster brings us the riveting story of Caroline of Brunswick, Britain’s uncrowned queen, through an empowering examination of womanhood and autonomy that feels just as relevant today.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lara: I’ve just started The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas from 2013! It’s my first historical romance of hers so I’m excited for it. So far I’m enjoying it but I’m only one chapter in!

Claudia: I just finished A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour ( A | BN | K | AB ) and really liked it, except the ending felt very rushed. Great working-class hero.

Sarah: I am reading Here for All the Reasons: Why we Watch the Bachelor, ( A | BN | K | AB ) an anthology edited by Ilana Masad, and Stevie K Seibert Desjarlais

A | BN

One essay by Jeanna Kadlec examines the way the franchise is Evangelical coded and “peddles conservative fantasy.” And she wrote something I cannot stop thinking about: “The contestants are in an open relationship with the lead while professing traditional values.”

Amanda: I’m reading Binding the Baron by Charlie Lane. It’s historical fantasy and I recent featured it in the After Dark Sunday Sales because it was FREE! I’m enjoying it so far but it does have a sexist and classist magical structure.

Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!

A Lady Awakened

In Cecilia Grant’s emotionally rich and deeply passionate Regency romance debut, a deal with a rumored rogue turns a proper young woman into . . . A Lady Awakened.

Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate and beloved servants from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes . . . for a fee.

Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh—only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all . . . love?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Warrior Princess Assassin

Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer is $1.99 and a KDD! I mentioned this in a previous Hide Your Wallet. I remember wondering with this is more of a love triangle or a Why Choose romance. Goodreads now shows that the Why Choose tag is showing up, but I know it’s an imperfect system.

New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer makes her adult debut with this irresistible and steamy fantasy about three characters whose paths will collide in surprising ways – two royals pushed into a political engagement, and the assassin tasked with hunting them down.

WARRIOR. King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation on the battlefield, but now his kingdom is slowly burning. Ky’s only chance to save his people is to enter a marriage alliance with the neighboring nation of Astranza, and hope that the royal family’s power to manipulate the weather will help his land flourish once more. He just needs to ensure no one finds out how the blaze began.

PRINCESS. With war looming on the horizon, Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king, but she is hiding a dangerous her family’s magic is fading. Tempting as it is to reject her duties and run away with her childhood friend, Asher, Jory knows that she is the kingdom’s last hope. When she meets her intended, Jory is surprised to discover that beneath Ky’s daunting exterior is a compassionate and sharp-witted man who sets her heart aflame. But what will he do when he realizes she’s deceiving him?

ASSASSIN. Asher’s done what he must to survive, even if that means getting his hands dirty. Once a young nobleman in Astranza’s palace, where he and Jory caused mischief together, now he’s part of the Hunter’s Guild, employing much darker skills. When a lucrative job comes his way, Asher can’t say no—until he discovers the targets. Someone wants Ky and Jory dead. With the Guild watching, Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves.

A tale of three complex characters torn between chasing, betraying, and falling in love with each other, Warrior Princess Assassin marks the beginning of a thrilling new fantasy trilogy filled with enchantment, adventure, and passionate romance.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

With Love from London

With Love from London by Sarah Jio is $2.99! In this book, a librarian inherits a bookstore in London from her estranged mother. I believe there are romantic elements, but the description makes it seems that there’s more of a focus on the heroine and her experiences.

A librarian inherits a bookshop from her estranged mother, leading her halfway across the world on a journey of self-discovery that transcends time and honors the unbreakable bonds of love and family.

When librarian Valentina Baker was a teenager, her mother, Eloise, unexpectedly fled to her native London, leaving Val and her father on their own. Now in her thirties and fresh out of a failed marriage, Val feels a nagging disenchantment with her life–and knows she is still heartbroken over her mother’s abandonment.

In a bittersweet twist of fate, Val receives word that Eloise has passed away, leaving Val her Primrose Hill apartment and the deed to a bookshop Val never knew she’d owned. Though the news is devastating, Val finds herself more determined than ever to discover who her mother truly was. She jets across the Atlantic, departing Seattle for a new life in charming London.

Slowly but surely, Val begins to piece together Eloise’s life in the UK, falling in love with her pastel-colored flat, cozy neighborhood, and tucked-away storefront. But when she discovers that The Book Garden is in danger of going under, Val must work with its eccentric staff to get it in working order. In the process, she learns more about Eloise than she ever thought possible. And as Val races to save the shop, Eloise’s own story unfolds, leading both mother and daughter to unearth revelatory truths.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Lovers

The Lovers by Kristin Cast is $1.99! This is book two in the Towerfall series, which (from my understanding) involves people being thrown into a fantasy world based on the tarot. I’m unsure if this is a love triangle or a Why Choose. Have you read it?

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the House of Night series Kristin Cast comes a spicy and spellbinding light romantasy filled with tarot, banter, steamy tension, and a heroine caught between her toxic ex and a dangerously charming king who may not be who he seems.

Gemma Summers is broke, burnt out, and about three weeks from moving back in with her parents. Her career has imploded, her confidence is circling the drain, and the last thing she needs is a run in with Alder Hawke—the dangerously charming ex who still haunts her dreams and could buy her a new life with just his pocket change.

When a magickal tarot card sends them spiraling—literally—into another realm and they land in the steampunk inspired Kingdom of Cups, Gemma is forced to rely on the man who shattered her trust, broke her heart, and somehow still makes her weak in the knees.

But survival in the world of Towerfall is anything but simple, especially when she’s caught between the ex who wants to own her and a roguish former king who sees through every one of her defenses.

With secrets mounting, identities unraveling, and her heart very much on the line, Gemma must decide: will she cling to the version of herself she built in the real world… or risk everything to become the woman she was always meant to be?

One enchanted tarot card. Two infuriatingly hot men. And a modern woman who refuses to be anyone’s damsel.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Do I remember what I was wearing yesterday, or what I did? Ha, not at all.

Do I know without having to think about it what day or year it is? Absolutely not.

Do I remember random lines from random ass trailers for movies I didn’t see?

OF COURSE I DO.

Today’s Friday Videos: random ass movie trailers that are still quotable.

True story: I remembered this video. I could even picture it. I can QUOTE WHOLE ASS PARTS OF IT. Do I remember what movie it was?

Please. I do not. So a-hunting I will go!

Now, the first part is a dude saying, “In a world…” so I searched for that but there’s an entire other movie by that name. For crying out loud. My memory is foggy enough. Foggy isn’t even the right word. Like what’s worse than fog? Smog? Visual soup? My memory is clam chowder?

BUT THEN! I found it!

This is the trailer for a movie called Comedian that’s connected to Jerry Seinfeld (who, forgive me Seinfeld fans, I never thought was funny. He gives me a mighty ick) that I have never seen.

But do I quote the trailer? YES I DO.

In a land…before time! 

The voice actor is Hal Douglas, who died in March 2014, and was probably the voice over for more than half the television promos I saw as a kid (This Thursday on a very special episode of…). Linda Holmes at NPR wrote about him when he died, saying, “The lines were so cheesy, and the delivery was so satisfying.” The Guardian even rounded up some of his most iconic trailers and tv spots. 

In a world! 

What movie trailers do you still remember? Got favorite quotes? 

We’re going to talk about Geocities websites, author research, and Hands.

Lots of Hands.

This one is a little spicy, y’all! At about 45 minutes in there’s an extended discussion of anal in romance fiction (as you do) and at about 50 minutes in, we discuss death, mortuary science, and make some allusions to decomposition.

That’s right. Dead bodies and anal sex. This episode is a banger.

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

We also mentioned:

• Julianne MacLean’s Book Page: a visual history of cover trends over a long career (well done!)
• Virginia Henley’s Geocities page (Archive.org link – may be pokey)
• Tam O’ Shanters
• Adib Khorram on Culture Study
• My review of Private Sessions by Tori Carrington
• Love Has Won: the Cult of the Mother God

Are you ready for the Visuals? Here we go!

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

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What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Podcast Sponsor

Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series by Evie Mitchell!

If you are looking for a body-positive slow burn romance with very spicy scenes, knotting, an emotional support glory hole, and shared psychic orgasms, listen up.

A gritty, paranormal shifter romance, Savage Bonds follows Lithia, the first female Beta of the Shadowmist Pack, after she is betrayed and imprisoned in a silver-lined torture facility.

Her only lifeline is a voice from the next cell: Kier, a nomad who has been held in isolation for three years. His sanity has been eroded after years of psychic assault, but when he connects with Lithia though a small hole in their shared prison wall, he finds an ally, and a reason to endure.

Together, they must navigate a brutal escape through a burning wilderness to the safety of her pack. And as the pack prepares to dismantle the organisation that imprisoned them, Lithia and Kier must decide if they are brave enough to claim a future built on more than just shared trauma.

While Savage Bonds is the second in the Shadowmist Pack series, it can be read as a near-standalone. One reviewer on Goodreads says, “I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series! Lithia is my favorite. She’s such a baddie and I love her for it! The world building in this one is awesome too. If you like werewolf romance, this series is for you.”

And I think you need to know about the dedication from author E.V. Mitchell:

To the readers who saw a hole in a prison wall and immediately thought, “…yeah, I’d fist that.” You brave, horny disasters. You trauma-bonded, violence-inclined little gremlins. This book is for you.

Savage Bonds and the Shadowmist Pack series by E.V. Mitchell are available now in Kindle Unlimited, and in print on the author’s website, or in your local library – woohoo! Audiobooks are coming soon.

 

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Winterblaze

Once blissfully in love…

Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy’s secrets are revealed, leaving Winston’s trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do anything to win back his affections…

Their relationship is now put to the ultimate test…

Winston Lane soon regains his physical strength but his face and heart still bear the scars of the vicious attack. Drawn into the darkest depths of London, Winston must fight an evil demon that wants to take away the last hope of reconciliation with his wife. As a former police inspector, Winston has intelligence and logic on his side. But it will take the strength of Poppy’s love for him to defeat the forces that threaten to tear them apart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Mystique

Mystique by Amanda Quick is $1.99! This is a standalone historical romance with a temporary betrothal. This was originally published in the mid-nineties.

A tantalizing tale of a legendary knight and a headstrong lady whose daring quest for a mysterious crystal will draw them into a whirlwind of treachery–and desire.

When the fearsome knight called Hugh the Relentless swept into Lingwood Manor like a storm, everyone cowered–except Lady Alice. Sharp-tongued and unrepentant, the flame haired beauty believed Sir Hugh was not someone to dread but the answer to her dreams. She knew he had come for the dazzling green crystal, knew he would be displeased to find that it was no longer in her possession. Yet Alice had a proposition for the dark and forbidding knight: In return for a dowry that would free Alice and her brother from their uncle’s grasp, she would lend her powers of detection to his warrior’s skills and together they would recover his treasured stone.

But even as Hugh accepted her terms, he added a condition of his own: Lady Alice must agree to a temporary betrothal–one that would soon draw her deep into Hugh’s great stone fortress, and into a battle that could threaten their lives…and their only chance at love.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Deep Sky

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei is $2.99! This is a sci-fi mystery title. I’ve heard good things about Kitasei’s sci-fi books. Have you read any?

Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew.

To save humanity, they left everything behind—except their differences.

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.

Asuka already felt like an impostor before the explosion. She was the last picked for the mission, she struggled during training back on Earth, and she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.

With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission—or worse, the bomber strikes again. Now, in order to survive, she must burn brighter than the stars that surround her.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Crown of Ivy and Glass

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand is $1.99! This is book one in The Middlemist Trilogy series. This came out a couple years ago, right as the romantasy trend started kicking up.

Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists.

Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.

Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families’ blood feud—slay the demon, end the feud.

But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This month: Elyse suggested a collection of tools we use for our own chronic illness support.

Take a look:

Want to see? Just click that image above or click right here, and come shop with us!

And if you’d like to browse some more, we have a complete Stuff We Like archive, including past Gift Guides and other posts of our favorite items.

Harlequin is releasing a hardcover of Heated Rivalry in September – a special edition of a book that is doing moderately well right now in terms of sales and borrows. LOL.

This is the cover.

Y’all.

Y’all, what is this.

Are those…robots? Robots and some hockey sticks?

I ranted about this on Bluesky because my own blood pressure was about to max out and my Losartan was about to rise up out of the bottle and slap me into next week.

My head is tilted so far my cranium is about to bounce down the hall like a macabre cat toy.

This is embarrassing. The secondhand embarrassment is measurable on multiple scales, including the one in my bathroom. WAHT IS THIS.

Is this an AI textbook? Heated Rivalry: AI vs. Humanity? 

Why are they robots? Which one is Ilya?

Why is this the cover image? Why is one of the hottest properties adapted into one of The Hottest Shows Ever being released in hardcover with…line robots?

I cannot get over the TRON of it all.

My nature is of course to question myself: maybe I’m not the intended audience? Maybe this doesn’t appeal to me for reasons I won’t understand.

But for WHOMST is this? To what readership does this appeal?

And, again, how is there not a tie-in cover? You know, just one image featuring those two people who portrayed two random bland ass characters that absolutely no one is writing Tumblr posts and AO3 fic by the metric ton about?

What is happening?!?!?!

If I had to sum up in one image:

So I ask you: what genre do you think this is? If you’d never heard of Heated Rivalry, what kind of book would you think this was? 

Nonfiction? Corporate spy thriller? AI textbook?

Simply Unforgettable

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh invites us into an intoxicating world — a select academy for young ladies — and introduces two unlikely lovers: a truly marvelous heroine, music teacher Frances Allard, and the man who seduces her with a passion no woman could possibly forget …

They meet in a ferocious snowstorm. She is a young teacher with a secret past. He is the black-caped stranger who comes to her rescue. Stranded together in a country inn, Lucius Marshall and Frances Allard share a night of glorious, unforgettable passion. But Frances knows her place. Due to begin her teaching position at Miss Martin’s School in Bath, Frances must try to forget that one extraordinary night. But when fate once again throws them together, Lucius’s passionate, single-minded pursuit will force Frances to give up all her secrets — except one — to win the heart of the man she already loves.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

My Big Fat Fake Marriage

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is $2.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance with a fake marriage and some forced proximity. I feel like Stein’s recent contemporaries aren’t hitting the same as her spicier, earlier work.

A fake marriage at a writer’s retreat goes awry when two people fall in love for real in Charlotte Stein’s next sexy and laugh out loud novel!

Connie Evans has always distrusted nice guys. In her experience, they’re just waiting to reveal some horrible secret. And then she meets big, adorable, Henry Samuel Beckett—lover of bow ties, sweet as a superhero who wears his underpants over his tights, and so cheery she struggles to believe he’s real.

Until Henry Samuel Beckett—or Beck, as he’s known to most—tells her what truly lurks underneath his sunny surface. He’s been single all his life. But somehow seems to have told everyone he works with that he’s married. And when Connie can’t help defending him, she ends up being the wife he doesn’t have.

And now they’re on a writing retreat together, surrounded by people convinced this can’t be real, both of them sure that those people are right. Until they have to share their first kiss, their first touch, their first time in only one bed. Side by side, every night, as the simmering tension builds…something has to give.

The only question for Connie is—could it be her heart?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Murder on Sex Island

Murder on Sex Island by Jo Firestone is $1.99! This is book one in the Luella van Horn Mysteries. It was recommended in the comments and I was honestly really tickled by the title.

A sexy reality show. A missing contestant. A one-of-a-kind detective.

“Bless Jo Firestone’s quiet, mad genius. . . . Hilarious and completely brilliant, [a] bloodstained love-letter to reality-dating television.”—Vulture

When a cast member goes missing from the hit reality show Sex Island, producers hire detective Luella van Horn to go undercover as a contestant and solve the case. What the producers don’t know is that the enigmatic Luella van Horn is actually a woman named Marie Jones, a divorced ex–social worker from Staten Island attempting to lead a double life as a private eye. The local press couldn’t get enough of Luella . . . until she horribly bungled her last case and a murderer went free.

Unable to resist the opportunity to be a part of her favorite trashy TV show, travel to a remote island, and embark on a journey for redemption, Marie-as-Luella takes the case. But the more she learns about Sex Island’s dark underbelly, the harder it gets to make it out alive. She encounters shady producers, sleazy directors, contestants willing to do whatever it takes to win the $100,000 grand prize—and the dead body of the show’s missing fan-favorite in her bathtub.

Will she find the killer? Will she find herself? Will she find . . . love?

Find out now, in Sex Island’s most dramatic season yet.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lab Girl

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren is $1.99! Many readers loved this memoir, though wouldn’t recommend it on audio. Have you read this one?

An illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime friendship; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see the natural world

Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more.

Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s remarkable stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.

Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.

Jahren’s probing look at plants, her astonishing tenacity of spirit, and her acute insights on nature enliven every page of this extraordinary book. Lab Girl opens your eyes to the beautiful, sophisticated mechanisms within every leaf, blade of grass, and flower petal. Here is an eloquent demonstration of what can happen when you find the stamina, passion, and sense of sacrifice needed to make a life out of what you truly love, as you discover along the way the person you were meant to be.

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New England was definitely hit with “false spring” last week because there was sleet yesterday. And it’s still so damn windy.

Definitely struggling with lots of competing interests. I think it was LML last week that brought it up. I have video games I want to play and books I want to read. I would just love like a second or third set of eyeballs.

What’s demanding your attention right now?

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It’s the Steam Spring Sale! If you’re into visual novels or otome games, the reddit community has a big ol’ list of sale prices.

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Christy sent in this link! A woman in Ontario is looking to sell her collection of 2000 Harlequin romances. What a collection! Anyone interested in buying?

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The new Bonkers Romance collection is set to launch in about two weeks. The theme this time is Bluebeard. You can get a sneak peek here and sign up to be notified when it the Kickstarter opens.

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Season 5 of Bridgerton is officially underway!

 

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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

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The Switch

RECOMMENDED: The Switch by Beth O’Leary is $2.99! Catherine read this one and gave it an A:

It’s a very gentle, wholesome sort of book. I read it last week when I was sick, and it was really the perfect book to curl up with if one is under the weather.

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena’s tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it’s time they swapped places…

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn’t as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

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Circe

Circe by Madeline Miller is $2.99! This is a big bestseller and I love hearing the convos over reader favorites: Song of Achilles or Circe. Sound off in the comments!

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child–not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power–the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.

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The Seventh Bride

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher is 99c at Amazon! This is a Bluebeard retelling and is just shy of 250 pages. Last time this was on sale, comments mentioned that this isn’t a YA book and while it isn’t their favorite work by Kingfisher, it’s still pretty damn good.

Young Rhea is a miller’s daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don’t turn down lords—no matter how sinister they may seem—Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.

Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat “Come back before dawn, or else I’ll marry you.”

With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.

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Amanda, co-pilot of the SS Smart Bitches, got married today and THE KVELLING that is happening. If you haven’t met Amanda’s partner, please meet Brian (they/them)!

Congratulations, you two!

Want to just expire from cute? Today is also the anniversary of their first date four years ago.

I knew they’d been planning an elopement, but recently they realized that they can just…get married. Right now. So they did!

I mean, why wait for happy times if you can make them happen sooner?

I’m seriously so happy for them both, and wanted to share the celebration with all of you.

Please share your wishes and advice for a happy future! Let’s shower them both with love and support.

Thanks for sharing your marvelous day, Amanda and Brian – congratulations!

Marriage in trouble with husband having an affair with the mother of one of his son’s classmates. There’s a graduation (high school) party for the son where the mistress attends with her daughter (the son’s classmate.) I think there may be the discovery of the affair or a confrontation of some sort at the party. At some point the husband leaves to live with the mistress in somewhat cramped circumstances with the mistress and her child.

There may be a scene where all parties to the drama are at the same restaurant and the mistress smirks at the wife.

For sure there is some kind of accident that puts the wife in the hospital. By this time the cheating husband has realized that he has made a mistake and wishes to return home. He tells his mother in law that he will spend the night in the hospital so his wife won’t be alone. For some reason he returns to the mistress and the wife wakes up alone and has to call someone else to pick her up when she is released.

Somehow the book ends with the couple reunited. There may be a second book that focuses on the mistress who mends her ways and has her own HEA or HFN.

Not sure how the “hero” is gonna get out of this pickle and feel fully redeemed.

Happy Tuesday!

March is nearly over. I can’t believe it! A short release week for us, but then things really start to ramp up. April is already looking bonkers.

What’s on your TBR pile? Let us know in the comments!

Aicha

Author: Soraya Bouazzaoui
Released: March 24, 2026 by Orbit
Genre: Historical: Other, Science Fiction/Fantasy

TEMPTRESS. MONSTER. WARRIOR.

Aicha is the story of Morocco’s warrior goddess, her strange magic, fierce rebellion, and devastating romance. Debut author Soraya Bouazzaoui weaves an epic tale of female rage and hidden myths, perfect for fans of The City of Brass and The Stardust Thief.

The Portuguese flag has been planted across Morocco, its empire ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.

Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright, and speaks to Aicha’s soul.

Only Aicha’s secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco’s freedom reaches its violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha’s skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.

Look at this gorgeous cover!

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The Beheading Game

Author: Rebecca Lehmann
Released: March 24, 2026 by Crown
Genre: Historical: European, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge . . .

We all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice?

“Fabulous! A marvelously inventive and mythic reworking of the story of Anne Boleyn. I loved it.”—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love

“Nobody was surprised at Anne’s conviction. The world loves to put a woman in her place.”

The Beheading Game begins in the hours after Anne Boleyn’s beheading, when she wakes to find herself unceremoniously laid to rest in a makeshift coffin, her head wrapped in linen at her knees. Discarded by King Henry VIII for being unable to give him a male heir and reviled by Cromwell for being too smart for her own good, she was ultimately executed based on trumped-up charges of adultery, incest, and high treason.

Anne escapes the Tower of London, sews her head back on, then sets out on a quest to kill Henry VIII before he can marry her own lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. The stakes are high—if Jane gives birth to a rival heir, Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth, will lose her claim to the throne. Traveling the streets of London in the guise of a commoner, with the help of a prostitute who becomes a trusted friend (and perhaps something more), Anne soon realizes how little she knew about life in the real world.

A fantastical journey through the wilds of England and Tudor history, filled with danger and magic and steeped in Arthurian legend, The Beheading Game is a prescient reminder that “mouthy” women have always been punished. Now, thanks to debut novelist Rebecca Lehmann, nearly five hundred years after Anne Boleyn’s death, one of history’s most maligned women finally has the chance to tell her story.

Amanda: This is getting a lot of buzz and I’m curious!

Elyse: I am low key obsessed with the Tudors.

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Someone to Daydream About

Author: Sydney Langford
Released: March 24, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance, Young Adult

For fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and Alice Oseman, this swoony, fast-paced romance stars a teen who falls in love with the lead singer of America’s most popular boy band during a whirlwind summer tour.

This is what dreams are made of.

Every teenager in America knows eighteen-year-old Felix Song, the lead singer of the most popular boy band since One Direction. Unfortunately, Natalie Nielsen is no exception. Though she thinks of him more as an annoying rich kid from her hometown than a heartthrob.

Uninterested in stardom, Natalie dreams of honoring her late dad’s legacy and making a positive impact on her beloved Deaf community by revamping her family’s run-down Deaf Center. The issue? She has no money. When Felix’s little sister’s hearing loss begins to accelerate, he gives Natalie a generous job offer that would help secure the Center’s future: but she must accompany him on tour this summer to teach him ASL.

What begins as a professional arrangement soon morphs into stolen kisses and late-night rendezvous. But as their connection deepens, so do the risks—and when their relationship suddenly takes center stage, it’s not only their hearts, but Felix’s career on the line. Between relentless public scrutiny, contractual obligations, and meddling band members, Natalie must decide if their dreams can co-exist in the spotlight.

Elyse: A heartthrob from a boyband helps a teenage create a center for the Deaf.

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Wolf Worm

Author: T. Kingfisher
Released: March 24, 2026 by Tor Nightfire
Genre: Gothic, Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in Wolf Worm, a new gothic masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher

“I saw the devil in these woods.”

Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects, or hope.

So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use.

Once there though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light, like what happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?”

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road. His ground-breaking discoveries come with a cost—one that Halder is paying with human flesh.

If Sonia can’t find a way to stop the monstrosity, she may be next under the knife.

The latest from T. Kingfisher!

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All Superheroes Need Photo Ops

A swooning photographer and a double-crossing superhero come together with electrifying chemistry in an out-of-this-world romantic comedy by the author of All Superheroes Need PR.

From the moment forty-eight alien superheroes crash-landed on Earth, photographer Monika Neumann had a favorite. She’s been crushing on the literally electrifying Taranis ever since she saw the cutie crawling out of his pod. Unfortunately, his popularity isn’t exactly crackling these days. He could use an image boost.

Monika is in. One right photo op and she’ll put her ridiculously hot lightning-bolt-wielding hero back in the public’s favor. The best part is, the mission will bring her closer to Taranis. She’s already looking forward to the sparks. Monika never imagined there’d be a worst an accidental recording that reveals Taranis could be more villain than hero. In fact, her pretty golden boy can get kind of ugly.

Going all 007 and spying on Taranis isn’t the adventure in romance and derring-do she expected. Can she trust him? Doubtful. Can she resist him? No way. Is she ready to risk everything on a shimmering Champion with the power to zap her heart in two? Well, yeah.

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No More Secrets

No More Secrets by Lucy Score is $2.99! This is a small town romance with a veteran hero. Score’s romances don’t often work for me, but if you love them, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

“I can’t wait anymore.” His mouth claimed hers in a storm of heat and power.

Carter Pierce is a man who believes in signs. He just doesn’t know what to do with this one.

In the small town of Blue Moon Bend, where everybody is a matchmaker, Carter wants to be left alone to tend the family farm. After returning from Afghanistan with scars, his only goal is recovery. He doesn’t need any distractions, and definitely not one with silver-blonde hair and lips that beg to be kissed.

Summer Lentz is a journalist from the city sent to interview Carter and his family. She’s out of place in the small town, with her designer wardrobe and workaholic lifestyle. She asks too many questions and doesn’t take no for an answer, threatening to destroy the peace and balance that Carter has been working towards. She thwarts every attempt Carter makes to retreat back inside himself, somehow bringing him closer to being whole again.

Summer has secrets of her own, but she never planned to open up to anyone – let alone the scowling, secretive farm owner whose story she’s after. But as she gets drawn into the community, she starts to realize that she can’t stay closed off forever.

And what’s more, she doesn’t want to.

As Carter and Summer grow closer, will they be able to push past the secrets that are holding both of them back?

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The Earl Next Door

The Earl Next Door by Amelia Grey is $1.99! This historical romance is the first book in the First Comes Love series. Readers loved how the heroine creates a strong friendship with a group of widows, though others thought the romance could have been stronger.

What does a fiercely independent young widow really want? One determined suitor is about to find out. . .

When Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake, learns of her husband’s sudden death, she realizes she’s free. At last, she can do, go, and be as she pleases. Finally, she can have the life she has always dreamed of. She doesn’t need, or want, to remarry. Especially not the supremely dashing future Marquis of Marksworth, who makes Adeline yearn for his desire. . .

Lord Lyonwood, son of a philandering marquis, will not be like his father. He wants to run his estates and watch them flourish—and find a wife who brings love to his life. When he meets spirited and self-reliant Adeline in a case of near-scandalous mistaken identity, Lyon feels he’s met his match. But Adeline isn’t interested in a marriage proposal. She will only accept becoming his lover—and Lyon finds it hard to refuse. Unless the fire of his passion can melt Adeline’s resolve. . .

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Unwritten Rules

Unwritten Rules by KD Casey is $1.99! This is a m/m sports romance and it’s the first book in a series. Have you read this one?

Zach Glasser has put up with a lot for the sport he loves. Endless days on the road, playing half-decent baseball in front of half-full stadiums and endless nights alone, pretending this is the life he’s always wanted.

The thing is, it could have been everything he ever wanted—if only he’d had the guts to tell his family, tell the club, that he was in love with his teammate Eugenio Morales. Well, ex-teammate now. When Zach wouldn’t—couldn’t—come out, Eugenio made the devastating choice to move on, demanding a trade away from Oakland. Away from Zach.

Three years and countless regrets later, Zach still can’t get Eugenio out of his head. Or his heart. And when they both get selected to play in the league’s All-Star Classic, those feelings and that chemistry come roaring back.

Zach wants a second chance. Eugenio wants a relationship he doesn’t have to hide. Maybe it’s finally time they both get what they want.

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This post is sponsored by E.V. Mitchell, author of the upcoming Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series!

If you’re craving fated mates and protective alphas, these five paranormal romance books are essential additions to your TBR. This list is a curated journey through everything I love about paranormal romance.

I chose them because they each highlight a different “flavor” of the fated bond:

• Ali Hazelwood brings the modern, witty banter
• Nalini Singh provides the world-building gold standard
• N.E. Davenport delivers the gritty, feminine rage
• Katrina Kwan offers a beautiful, mythic soulmate connection
• Christina Warren is the pure, spicy nostalgia that reminds me why I fell in love with shifters in the first place

Together, they capture the primal, protective, and deeply emotional “us-against-the-world” energy that embodies my favourite paranormal romance reads.

Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood
Released: October 7, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Bride #2

A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.

Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Why I recommend it: This is the heavyweight champion of contemporary paranormal romance right now.

Set in the same universe as Bride, it follows the “forbidden” tension between a human-werewolf hybrid and a powerful North-West pack leader. I adored the will-they-won’t-they tension, and I have a thing for forced proximity and banter as foreplay.

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Slave to Sensation

Author: Nalini Singh
Released: September 5, 2006 by Berkley
Genre: Romance, Paranormal
Series: Psy-Changeling #1

THE FIRST PSY/CHANGELING NOVEL from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian…The book that Christine Feehan called “a must-read for all of my fans.”

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”–the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was…

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy coexistence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion–and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities–or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

Why I recommend it: Nalini Singh is my queen of paranormal romance.

This book is a staple of my bookshelf, and one of my TOP READS of all time, featuring a hero who gives ultimate alpha energy and a heroine who has been taught to feel nothing. I’m in love with the lore and world building, and if you love political plot elements, then this is for you!

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Our Vicious Oaths

Author: N.E. Davenport
Released: October 28, 2025 by Harper Voyager
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Enter a new world of romantic fantasy from award-winning author N.E. Davenport—a journey of powerful magic, enemies-to-lovers, and political intrigue—as a warrior-princess and a vengeful king from rival fae courts form a fierce alliance to take down a merciless despot.

Princess of the Aether Dominion, Kadeesha wants nothing to do with fae politics. She is a warrior, first and foremost, and believes her greatest strength is leading her squadron of elite winged serpent flyers to protect her homeland. But bound since infancy to be betrothed to the Hyperion High King, ruler of all Dominions, she has no choice but to do what men have chosen for her.

Repulsed by the idea, she decides to spend one last night of freedom—in the arms of a dangerous stranger who takes her to sexual heights she’s never experienced before…but who is only using Kadeesha to set a trap for the High King.

For the High King and the kings of his six Dominions were responsible for the decimation of the Apollyon Court, and its new king, Malachi, wants his pounds of flesh.

On Kadeesha’s wedding day, Malachi and his special forces attack. Her father is killed, and Malachi wounds the High King, ultimately taking Kadeesha as hostage back to his land.

But she is no true hostage. The two form a she will help lure the High King so Malachi can kill him once and for all, and he in turn will not harm Kadeesha or the Aether people. And as much as Kadeesha hates politics, she is now the Queen of her folk. Fae bonds are unbreakable…and so, perhaps, is the attraction Kadeesha and Malachi feel for each other. For even as they must publicly display their connection to provoke the High King’s jealousy, they struggle to resist the powerful allure between them in order to achieve their ultimate goals.

Why I recommend it: This book BLEW ME AWAY!

I’m a huge lover of grit and danger in my romantasy reads, and Davenport delivers. The “touch her and die” energy is pure perfection. While this one leans into high-stakes fantasy, the central romance is built on loyalty, protection, and a deep desire with spicy payoff (that throne scene, anyone??). Also, feminine rage.

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The Last Dragon of the East

Author: Katrina Kwan
Released: October 8, 2024 by S&S/Saga Press
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan’s dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten.

At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line.

Why I recommend it: Kwan’s writing reads almost like a fairy tale, it’s so beautiful.

The way Sai, the hero, talks and thinks about his fated mate is just *chefs kiss*. I also appreciated how funny he is and found myself giggling quite often. It’s not super steamy, and while the sex scenes are open door, it’s not as graphic as other books on this list. At its heart, it’s a gorgeous love story steeped in Chinese mythology—highly recommend!

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Wolf at the Door

Author: Christine Warren
Released: April 1, 2007 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: The Others #9

Sullivan Quinn didn’t travel 3,000 miles from his native Ireland and his wolf pack just to chase rabidly after the most delectable quarry he’s ever seen. Quinn is in America on a mission—to warn his Other brethren of a shadowy group willing to use murder and mayhem to bring them down. But one whiff of this Foxwoman’s delicious honeysuckle fragrance and he knows that she is more than a colleague or a conquest…she is his mate.

Anthropologist Cassidy Poe is a world-renowned authority on social interaction, but the overpowering desire she feels around Quinn defies every ounce of her expertise. Working by his side to uncover The Others’ enemies poses risks she never expected—to her own safety, to those she loves, and to her heart, as every encounter with Quinn proves more blissfully erotic than the last…Now, with no one to trust but each other, Quinn and Cassidy face a foe that’s edging closer every day, threatening to destroy the life they’ve always known, and the passion they’ve just discovered…

Why I recommend it: First published on Ellora’s Cave, then republished in 2009 by St. Martin’s, this was my gateway into wolf shifter romances. It’s light-hearted, spicy, and the two main characters are entirely gone for each other. It’s trope-tastic and, for me, a deliciously nostalgic reread.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Savage Bonds

Author: E.V. Mitchell
Released: March 15, 2026 by Thunder Thighs Publishing
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Shadowmist Pack #2

Never cage a wolf you can’t control…
Every captive breaks.
Every secret is revealed.
There are no rescues.
No escape. No exceptions.

Lithia is no stranger to pain.
She’s fought for her place, bled for her pack, and carved out respect as Shadowmist’s first female beta. But when betrayal lands her in an underground prison, silver-bound and isolated, it’s not pain that threatens to undo her.

It’s the silence.

Until he speaks.

In a place built to shatter her, the broken, sarcastic nomad in the next cell becomes her anchor.

To escape their prison and expose the war brewing in the shadows, Lithia must face the ghosts of her past and decide if she can trust the one wolf with the power to save her soul… or destroy it completely.

Revenge is best served bloody.

Savage Bonds is a dark monster wolf shifter romance featuring:

• Emotional Support Glory Hole
• Grumpy vs Grumpier
• Fighting as Foreplay
• Psychic Sex Connection
• He Thinks She’s a Hallucination
• Sarcasm as a Love Language
• Fated Mates
• Morally grey hero hiding dangerous secrets
• Only One Bed
• Forced proximity
• Slow burn to explosive
• “Touch her and die”
• Charming rogue who’d burn the world for her
• He falls first and devastatingly hard
• Emotional vulnerability wrapped in steam
• The Self-Appointed Prison Den Mother

Perfect for readers who love dark romantasy and paranormal romance with real stakes, morally grey heroes who’d kill without hesitation, heroines who refuse to be anyone’s prisoner, and high-stakes thrills where she saves her own damn self. Caution, this includes dark themes.

This book is also available from the author’s website.

Savage Bonds and the Shadowmist Pack series by E.V. Mitchell are available now in Kindle Unlimited, and in print on the author’s website, or in your local library – woohoo! Audiobooks are coming soon.

Which paranormal fated mates romances are your essential reads?

Would you like to sponsor a post to promote your latest, and share your favorites in a personal Hide Your Wallet? Reach out to Sarah for more info!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

1. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang Amazon | B&N | Kobo
2. The Librarians by Sherry Thomas Amazon | B&N | Kobo
3. Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade Amazon | B&N | Kobo
4. Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
5. To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt Amazon | B&N | Kobo
6. Heir by Sabaa Tahir Amazon | B&N | Kobo
7. Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau Amazon | B&N | Kobo
8. Apples Dipped in Gold by Scarlett St. Clair Amazon | B&N | Kobo
9. House of the Beast by Michelle Wong Amazon | B&N | Kobo
10. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Roazkis Amazon | B&N | Kobo

I hope your weekend reading was lovely!

Participants who completed at least one bingo were eligible to win a box of books. The winners are:

• Nicolette W.
• Stasi A.

Winners, please be sure to check your emails. We’ll see you back for our annual Summer Romance Bingo!

If you have suggestions about future square categories, please drop them in the comments. 

Thanks for playing!

Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.

City of Others

Author: Jared Poon
Released: January 13, 2026 by Orbit
Genre: LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Dive into a world where magic lies hidden just below the surface in this charming urban fantasy full of workplace found family, queer romance, and supernatural creatures straight out of Southeast Asian lore, from debut author Jared Poon. 

In the sunny city of Singapore, the government takes care of everything—even the weird stuff.

Benjamin Toh is a middle manager in the Division for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders (DEUS), and his job is keep the supernatural inhabitants of Singapore happy and keep them out of sight. That is, don’t bother the good, normal citizens, and certainly don’t bother the bosses. Sure, he’s overworked and understaffed, but usually, people (and senior management) don’t see what they don’t want to see.

But when an entire housing estate glitches out of existence on what was meant to be a routine check-in, Ben has to scramble to keep things under control and stop the rest of the city from disappearing. He may not have the budget or the bandwidth, but he has the best—if highly irregular and supernaturally inclined—team to help him. Together, they’ll traverse secret shadow markets, scale skyscrapers, and maybe even go to the stars, all so they can just do their goddamn job.

A debut urban fantasy novel set in Singapore! 

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Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

The Secret Book Society

Author: Madeline Martin
Released: August 26, 2025 by Hanover Square Press
Genre: Historical: European, Literary Fiction

A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
 
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…

London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.

Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.

As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.

I think Victorian London and secret book clubs are a special blend of catnip here. 

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Send Flowers

Author: Emily Buchanan
Released: July 1, 2025 by Park Row
Genre: Literary Fiction

A heartfelt debut about a “greenfluencer” who becomes convinced that her late boyfriend has been reincarnated as a houseplant, perfect for fans of Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Fiona, better known as eco-influencer @FoliageFifi, hasn’t left her apartment since her boyfriend, Ed, died. It’s easy to self-isolate when your heart’s shattered and the planet you’ve spent your whole life trying to save is dying right outside your window. But when a houseplant randomly appears on her doorstep with an anonymous note, Fiona feels a flicker of hope—it’s not just any plant; it’s Ed’s favorite. Thinking it’s a sign, Fiona pours Ed’s ashes into the soil, only to wake up to find the plant has vibrantly flowered. And can…talk? There’s only one logical Ed is back. This time as a houseplant.

As Fiona knows all too well, plants have needs—sunlight, water and fresh air—all of which she can’t adequately provide from her dark, stuffy apartment. Intent on keeping Ed alive, Fiona slowly ventures back out into the world, the plant’s voice and budding flowers her guiding compass. But when Ed becomes more demanding in his botanical needs, urging her toward the people and places that left her scarred, Fiona realizes that preserving Ed’s life could mean risking her own. How far will she go to keep him blooming?

Whip-smart and inspiring, Send Flowers is a poignant exploration of the human spirit, the importance of community in weathering life’s storms, and love’s enduring presence, even in the wake of profound loss.

A woman believes her her late boyfriend has been reincarnated as a houseplant. This one sounds equal parts heartbreaking and quirky.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

You Will Never Be Me

Author: Jesse Sutanto
Released: August 20, 2024 by Berkley
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

When cracks start forming in an influencer’s curated life, she finds out that jealousy is just as viral as a video in this riveting suspense novel by bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.

Then Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now she has access to the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers.

Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. But what everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive.

When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

With the latest MomTok/influencer shit show, this one has been popping up in my book feeds lately. 

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Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

 

 

 

These Violet Delights

Passion engulfs an aspiring painter and her old childhood friend in this stunning Regency romance from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux. But can the star-crossed pair overcome a simmering family feud for a chance at love?

Violet Arden is a burgeoning painter who insists on a life of passion and vivid colors, but scandal is heaped on humiliation at her artistic debut in London. It would be one thing to withstand withering critiques, but the night goes from bad to worse when an illicit affair with her art instructor is exposed. She flees the London limelight to recover from her humiliation at her cousin Emilia Graddock’s country estate, where she plans to continue honing her art under a new mentor and leave all thoughts of love and heartbreak in the past where they belong. That is, until she comes face-to-face with the man who scorned her paintings in front of her friends and family. . . her new next-door neighbor, Alasdair Kerr.

Alasdair Kerr has recently set aside his life of art and travel to return to Clafton, his family’s estate and the site of a tragic fire that claimed his cherished father’s life. Now, he’s ready to finally rebuild the home that was lost and step into his role as man of the house. But his rakish younger brother Freddie can’t seem to leave the off-limits Graddock woman alone, and his mother has brought an overbearing clergyman into their home who appears keen to fill his spot as the favored son.

Violet is determined to ignore Alasdair, which shouldn’t be hard to do considering their families have been in a long-standing feud. . . if only their attempts to end Emilia and Freddie’s secret relationship would stop bringing them together. And when new fires threaten their homes and lives, Violet and Alasdair reluctantly join forces to uncover the identity of the arsonist once and for all. But can they ignore the feelings kindling between them that are but an ember away from igniting into a full blaze?

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Happy Medium

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler is $1.99! Hoping this is a lasting deal. Lara gave this one a B:

I really enjoyed my time with this book and recommend it for anyone who enjoys a contemporary with a touch of the paranormal and a big dose of growth.

“A sincere and sincerely funny romance.”—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

A clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property’s resident real-life ghost if she’s to save them all from a fate worse than death, in this delightful new novel from the author of Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.

Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn is happy to help when her best (read: wealthiest) client hires her to investigate the unexplained phenomena preventing the sale of her bridge partner’s struggling goat farm. Gretchen may be a fraud, but she’d like to think she’s a beneficentone. So if “cleansing” the property will help a nice old man finally retire and put some much-needed cash in her pockets at the same time, who’s she to say no?

Of course, it turns out said bridge partner isn’t the kindly AARP member Gretchen imagined—Charlie Waybill is young, hot as hell, and extremely unconvinced that Gretchen can communicate with the dead. (Which, fair.) Except, to her surprise, Gretchen finds herself face-to-face with Everett: the very real, very chatty ghost that’s been wreaking havoc during every open house. And he wants her to help ensure Charlie avoids the same family curse that’s had Everett haunting Gilded Creek since the 1920s.

Now, Gretchen has one month to convince Charlie he can’t sell the property. Unfortunately, hard work and honesty seem to be the way to win over the stubborn farmer—not exactly Gretchen’s strengths. But trust isn’t the only thing growing between them, and the risk of losing Charlie to the spirit realm looms over Gretchen almost as annoyingly as Everett himself. To save the goat farm, its friendly phantom, and the man she’s beginning to love, Gretchen will need to pull off the greatest con of her life: being fully, genuinely herself.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Witch of Wild Things

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is $1.99! This is book one in the Wild Magic series. Carrie reviewed this and it earned a B:

This book desperately needed to be streamlined, but within all the plot threads is a sharp, painful portrait of a grieving family as well as a lovely story of magic and nature. The romance is fine, especially if you like grumpy/sunshine dynamics. But Sage’s struggle to mature, to become a person who is not solely defined by her mistakes and by responsibilities she never should have had, is the real center of the story. In that light, I enjoyed the book very much.

Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.

Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

History Lessons

History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook is $3.99! This was a debut mystery with a hint of romance. I mentioned it on Get Rec’d last August.

A college history professor must solve her superstar colleague’s murder before she becomes the next target in this funny, romantic debut mystery, perfect for readers of Janet Evanovich, Kellye Garrett, and Ali Hazelwood.

As a newly minted junior professor, Daphne Ouverture spends her days giving lectures on French colonialism, working on her next academic book, and going on atrocious dates. Her small world suits her just fine. Until Sam Taylor dies.

The rising star of Harrison University’s anthropology department was never one of Daphne’s favorites, despite his popularity. But that doesn’t prevent Sam’s killer from believing Daphne has something that belonged to Sam—something the killer will stop at nothing to get.

Between grading papers and navigating her disastrous love life, Daphne embarks on her own investigation to find out what connects her to Sam’s murder. With the help of an alluring former-detective-turned-bookseller, she unravels a deadly cover-up on campus.

This well-crafted, voice-driven mystery introduces an unforgettable crime fiction heroine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

But don’t worry, that is NOT this week’s Friday Video.

HOWEVER. This week we are talking SONGS.

Specifically, what is your earliest favorite song that you can remember? 

My earliest favorite song that I heard on the radio when I was with my friends and beginning to define my own taste was very 80s: “Into the Groove” by Madonna.

I was obsessed with this stupid movie, and boy, is it dumb and mostly a way for Madonna to pose and look terminally cool. I remember dancing my arms and legs off in the front yard of the church where we were holding a car wash fundraiser. I was probably 11.

But my earliest favorite song?

“Don’t It Make my Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle

This song came out when I was about 3 or so, but it is the earliest song I remember LOVING. Full body adoration, similar to my incredible dance moves to “Into the Groove.”

What about you? What was your first favorite song? Do you remember?

Happy weekend, everybody!

Recently in the podcast Discord community, Jfhobbit was giving a thorough and very thoughtful explanation of Omegaverse and its variations, and I asked her to expand on those thoughts for anyone who has heard of but isn’t super well-versed in Omegaverse fiction, its tropes, and its history. Plus, she offers recommendations of some of her faves.

Jfhobbit is a long-time reader, writer, and English teacher. She reads in almost every romance genre under the sun, plus Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Historical Fiction. She lives in Germany with her spouse and two very spoiled cats, and spends her time reading, playing cozy video games, and walking around her area marveling at the layers of history in the architecture. She loves all sorts of romance, from sweet contemporaries to the knottiest monster books she can find. She got into Omegaverse stories via DeviantArt and soon after KU was introduced she dove headfirst into the cornucopia of different Omegaverse takes.

An educator by training, she often finds herself in the role of teaching people about the Omegaverse and other weird and wild romance trends that they may have only vaguely heard of.

What is Omegaverse?

“Omegaverse” is an umbrella term for any setting that includes characters who have a secondary sexual distinction that influences attraction, relationship roles, and fertility compatibility. The primary sexual distinction spectrum is still male/female and the secondary spectrum is most commonly spread across the three categories of Alpha, Beta, and Omega (AKA A/B/O).

Anyone who is an Alpha can sire children.

Anyone who is an Omega can bear children, so yes, this will be talking about male pregnancy, or mpreg for short.

Betas have the potential to do both but only as determined by their primary sexual distinction (male or female), and the roles they play (or whether or not they exist in the world) vary based on fics.

Where did it come from?

Short answer, fanfic.

Longer answer: The Supernatural fandom who turned to Real Person Fiction because they desired a way to ship the two main characters without crossing the incest line + an early 2000s TV show that Jensen Ackles was in that featured heats + bad wolf science* as popularized by werewolf/wolf shifter fiction + desire for a M/M pairing to be able to have children without a third party involved = Omegaverse, which then quickly got picked up by many, many other fandoms and jumped the fanfic barrier into (mostly indie) published novels by the early 2010s.

A | BN

One of the best known Omegaverse authors is Kathryn Moon (Baby & the Late Night Howlers).

*Bad wolf science refers to the studies done on captive wolf populations between 1950-1980s that observed the behavior of unrelated wolves forced to exist in the same space over long periods of time, which first introduced the idea of Alpha, Beta, and Omega roles in a wolf pack. Behavioral studies done in the decades since on wild wolf populations have conclusively disproven this as being “the natural order of things.”

Terms:

Alpha

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Omega

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Beta

Betas occupy the vast middle ground between the comparatively rigid Alpha and Omega roles. Some Omegaverse stories cut them out entirely, while others put them in a societal role that essentially boils down to “the ones who make sure society doesn’t come crashing down while the Alphas and Omegas fall prey to their hormones.” Often worlds will make Alphas and Omegas more rare designations, while the bulk of the population are Betas. Betas tend to be either fully infertile, or a normal amount of fertile (as opposed to Alphas and Omegas who are almost always hyperfertile during the heat/rut).

Mates/Fated Mates

This concept is not unique to the Omegaverse, but it is very prevalent in most Omegaverse stories. With the hormones and pheromones present in the A/B/O system, “mating” is often portrayed as their scents melding or matching perfectly. Generally, a person will prefer the scent of their mate over any other, and be able to smell them better than any other person they encounter.

Scent glands

The main places from which the unique personal scents are produced. These are usually located at the base of the neck and sometimes also on the inside of wrists. These are also the source of the Alpha/Omega pheromones.

Claiming Bites

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Knotting

A key feature of an Alpha’s hyperfertility. The base of the penis swells just before orgasm, and locks them together with their partner to help ensure conception. Takes between 15-45 minutes to deflate. Only Alphas can knot someone, and Omegas typically have more flexible corresponding holes to accommodate the knot. Betas can almost always take it though, albeit less easily. Alphas can sometimes knot another Alpha if the author so desires.

Heats

Heats are based on the heats that wolves or some other mammal species experience, and refer to a period of 1-5 days where Omegas are insatiably horny, specifically for Alpha knots, and experience a feverish hypersensitivity that heightens the experience to the point of pain if their needs are not met. Often depicted as Omegas being out of their minds with need, or unable to consent to anything not agreed to ahead of time with their partner.

Omegas are either only fertile during heats or are hyperfertile during heats. The amount of time between heats is usually no shorter than three months, but can be up to a year or more. Sometimes heats are only triggered by the proximity of their mate. Other times, the intensity and satisfaction of fulfillment are just heightened with a mate as opposed to a random partner.

Ruts

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Nesting

A behavior associated with Omegas, particularly those in heat or approaching a heat. They will start to build an area of soft blankets, pillows, and other comforting items that serve as their home base during a heat since their skin is often too hot and/or sensitive during a heat to handle wearing clothes.

Mpreg

A

Why did it skyrocket in popularity?

This one is harder to answer, but my personal theory is that people tend to like things that mirror the strictures of the roles they’re forced into but with some extra bonuses. These roles both define the society of the world and allow for ways to explore different dynamics between partners. Theoretically, the protective instincts of the Alphas are a guarantee against intimate partner violence, which can also be played up as a story point.

A

Men who are omegas are put automatically into caretaker roles, women who are alphas gravitate towards high-powered business or military positions, betas try to find the middle ground somewhere between those two. And similarly, they are looked down upon for trying to find jobs outside of the norm. A male alpha working at a daycare would be notable. A male omega scientist or politician is sneered at. It shines a light on how gender still plays such an outsized role in how we perceive how qualified a person is for a career.

Perhaps most importantly, Omegaverse presents a new way to have sex and often leans into so-called “primal” instincts, where the characters shake off the inhibitions of modern life to bow to their biology.

FAQs:

Do all Omegaverse stories feature all these elements?

Not at all. These are the broadest of broad generalizations. Basically every author will have their own take on how this system works, and lore for how it came into existence. Often, you will find a brief note about how their particular system works as a foreword in books, or in the Notes of fics. Other times, they will just explain it all through world building. A lot of times the elements authors use in their particular flavor of Omegaverse are tailored to the other tropes or kinks that exist in the story.

Is Omegaverse always shifters?

No, though many are. But it has expanded far beyond that and can be found in everything from fantasy/sci-fi to modern AU to post-apocalyptic settings.

Is Omegaverse always focused on the procreation goals of the system?

Not always. The concept of birth control exists in many Omegaverse stories. There are also medications known as heat blockers or heat suppressants that function as a way to minimize disruptions.

Is there Omegaverse Lite?

Yes. Omegaverse as a concept has been used by so many different authors across fandoms and genres that the variations are bordering on infinite. Omegaverse Lite is my term for stories (often contemporary AUs) that use the Alpha and Omega role to indicate biology and sexual preferences, but otherwise don’t use many of the more “extreme” things like heats, fated mates, claiming bites, and extreme social roles.

Wasn’t there a lawsuit about this in the news a while back?

Yes, and it was more than a little ridiculous. You can learn more about it in this excellent video by Lindsey Ellis.

How common are female Alphas?

A | BN | K | AB

Doesn’t this system create some serious consent issues?

It absolutely can, especially when writing heats where the Omega is very needy. How icky that feels to you depends deeply on both your personal preferences and on how the author handles it. Many authors will include a conversation before the heat takes over with boundaries being set ahead of time. Others feature Alphas who are just so protective that the idea of hurting their partner/mate is anathema to them. And some stories on the darker side will lean into the dubious consent or blow straight past the dubious and go right to noncon.

Sources/Further information:

• Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs by L. David Mech (PDF)
• Fated Mates podcast: “Omegaversity”

And, one of my favorite posts:

Do you have any recommendations?

Yes! A few of my favorities are already featured above, but here is a handy list.

Authors I’ve read with Omegaverse concepts I like:

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Nora Phoenix – Alpha’s Sacrifice (Irresistible Omegas #1, my top favorite Omegaverse series bar none)

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A

A

Susi Hawke:

The Pumpkin Spiced Omega (The Hollydale Omega #1, Omegaverse lite)
The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1, shifter romance)
Grabbed (Team A.L.P.H.A. #1, collab with Crista Crown)

A | BN | K | AB

L.L. Raand – The Midnight Hunt (Midnight Hunters #1, not strictly Omegaverse but it has a rare female alpha)

A	A | BN | K | AB

Crista Crown:

Pride and Pregnancy (mpreg Pride and Prejudice remix)
Freedom for His Omega (The Outcast Chronicles #1, collab with Harper B. Cole)

A

Vera Valentine – Planet Oster: Fertility Fusion

A

A

Lily X (sapphic Omegaverse author):

Let Me Be Yours (Seventh Star #1)
Ice Queen Alpha

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Lexa Luthor (sapphic Omegaverse author) – The Iron Edge

A

Amy Bellows – A Pebble for Lewis (Alaskan Pebble Gifters #1)

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Lorelei M. Hart – The Grumpy Grizzly’s Omega (Mail-Order Mates #1)

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Anna Wineheart – Weight of Everything (Meadow Street Brothers #1)

Thank you JFHobbit! 

What about you? Are you an Omegaverse fan? What are your favorite recs? 

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There is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of restaurants to try if we’re ever in Providence, Rhode Island. And Riss even expands my theory about which foods are the universal expression of human love.

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Riss M. Neilson on her website, RissMNeilson.com,  Substack, and on Instagram.

We also mentioned:

• “I was Prince’s Private Chef” – The Iconic Prince
• Episode 690. Disability in Romance with Lux Raven
• Ivy Wolk Reacts to Viral Selena Pictures – Reddit

And if you’re in Providence, Rhode Island, Riss recommends:

• Carolina’s Family Restaurant – Dominican cuisine
• Cap’t Loui – Seafood
• Ebisu – Ramen
• Ten Prime Steak and Sushi – don’t miss the bread pudding
• Baja’s Restaurant – fresh Mexican buffet

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

Thanks to our sponsors:

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Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series by Evie Mitchell!

If you are looking for a body-positive slow burn romance with very spicy scenes, knotting, an emotional support glory hole, and shared psychic orgasms, listen up.

A gritty, paranormal shifter romance, Savage Bonds follows Lithia, the first female Beta of the Shadowmist Pack, after she is betrayed and imprisoned in a silver-lined torture facility.

Her only lifeline is a voice from the next cell: Kier, a nomad who has been held in isolation for three years. His sanity has been eroded after years of psychic assault, but when he connects with Lithia though a small hole in their shared prison wall, he finds an ally, and a reason to endure.

Together, they must navigate a brutal escape through a burning wilderness to the safety of her pack. And as the pack prepares to dismantle the organisation that imprisoned them, Lithia and Kier must decide if they are brave enough to claim a future built on more than just shared trauma.

While Savage Bonds is the second in the Shadowmist Pack series, it can be read as a near-standalone. One reviewer on Goodreads says, “I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series! Lithia is my favorite. She’s such a baddie and I love her for it! The world building in this one is awesome too. If you like werewolf romance, this series is for you.”

And I think you need to know about the dedication from author E.V. Mitchell:

To the readers who saw a hole in a prison wall and immediately thought, “…yeah, I’d fist that.” You brave, horny disasters. You trauma-bonded, violence-inclined little gremlins. This book is for you.

Savage Bonds and the Shadowmist Pack series by E.V. Mitchell are available now in Kindle Unlimited, and in print on the author’s website, or in your local library – woohoo! Audiobooks are coming soon.

 

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Heir

Prepare for a ruthless and romantic new fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author Sabaa Tahir that introduces a new generation of characters set in the same world as the unforgettable An Ember in the Ashes series.

An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she’s willing to give up.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he’s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives—and their hearts. Literally.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

House of the Beast

House of the Beast by Michelle Wong is $1.99! I mentioned this on Hide Your Wallet and even purchased a physical copy. It’s currently resting atop TBR mountain.

Step into the House of the Beast in this dark fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong, about a young woman who strikes a deal with a mysterious and alluring god to seek revenge on her aristocratic family—featuring illustrations throughout by the author.

Born out of wedlock and shunned by society, Alma learned to make her peace with solitude, so long as she had her mother by her side. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Alma discovers a clue about her estranged father and writes a message begging for help. Little does she know that she is a bastard of House Avera, one of the four noble families that serve the gods and are imbued with their powers—and her father is a vessel of the Dread Beast, the most frightening god of all, a harbinger of death.

In a desperate exchange for her mother’s medicine, Alma agrees to sacrifice her left arm to the Beast in a ceremony that will bind her forever to the House and its deity. Regardless, her mother soon passes, leaving Alma trapped inside the Avera’s grand estate, despised by her relatives and nothing but a pawn in her father’s schemes.

Now vengeance is the only thing that keeps Alma going. That, and the strange connection she has with her god—a monster who is constantly by her side, an eldritch being taking the form of a beautiful prince with starlit hair that only she can see. He tells Alma that she has been chosen to bring change upon their world, and with his help, Alma plots a perilous journey to destroy the House that stole everything from her.

A gripping fantasy novel marked by divine rituals, intense combat, and twisted romance, House of the Beast is a tale of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Good Girl Complex

Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy is $2.99! I mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet, as I was a fan of Kennedy’s early new adult romances. Did any one you read this one?

She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Mac’s had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozarkis is $1.99! Rozarkis’s debut Dreadful comes highly recommended. This sophomore novel released last spring.

From the NYT-bestselling author of Dreadful, Big Little Lies goes to magic school, cozy fantasy perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater and Heather Fawcett. Featuring orange sprayed and stencilled edges, with magic symbols, unicorns and baked goods from the book.

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys, and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors to demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society—shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.

And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I don’t know if this is appropriate for a Rec League, but I have a rather persnickety request. I really like books set in academia, but I have problems with student/professor match-ups. The issue isn’t necessarily the relationship if it’s consensual and the author addresses the power (or age) imbalance between student and teacher in a serious way. However, I really have an issue with the following things:

1) Grown assed adults who cannot keep their pants on for a lousy semester when the wellbeing of their career and/or lover is at stake,

2) Draconian HR or fraternization policies used to threaten “true love” and imply that protecting students is somehow unfair or unnecessary,

3) Protagonists who lie primarily to protect their own interests,

4) Academic environments that seem unrelated to reality.

To sum up, I like protagonists with some self-control, common sense, and a modicum of integrity. I like fictional higher education that feels authentic and has reasonable and realistic policies and procedures regarding student/teacher relationships.

Maybe there are no books with this trope that will ever satisfy me, but also, maybe there are readers who have found some decent books with this trope. I would really love to find something where the professor in this situation is a woman.

Sarah: Celia Lake, 10000% I can hear Catherine hollering from the great library in the sky. She LOVED Celia Lake’s books and they’re full of grown ass adults who are thoughtful and mature, and Eclipse is set at Schola, one of the institutions of magic in that world. There are several series, too.

The Academy of the Dead by Vermilion H. Baine ( A ) might also fit – they’re necromancers trying to decipher a page from a dangerous book.

Amanda: Regardless of the request, The Academy of the Dead sounds fun, so I bought it. Whoops!

What books would you recommend? Drop them in the comments!

I got my hopes up too high for this novel. Strategic fail. You see, I had been trying to find a copy for review purposes for months, but it was never available in South Africa. When the book finally was available, I grabbed it with both hands. It’s a rare book that can live up to months and months of anticipation and sadly this one did not.

Lydia is rich thanks to the wool processing factories her family owns. Her social climbing aunt and uncle force her into an engagement with Ashford, who will become a duke when his father dies. They’re keeping the engagement a secret until the ball that will be held at his cousin’s house party. Then the duke will make the big announcement. Lydia decides that the only way out of this engagement is for him to jilt her so she decides to be terrible for the duration of the house party.

Disclaimer: I last watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days when it was first released in 2003. I remember precisely none of the plot. This story is inspired by the movie’s plot, but for the purposes of this review, I’m pretending I’ve never even heard of the movie (because I remember none of it)

The first 30% of the book was torture for me. One of the primary reasons I don’t watch reality TV is because I am extraordinarily sensitive to secondhand embarrassment. Lydia makes a scene, makes a fool of herself, insults people around her with her rude behaviour. It’s awful. The only thing that made it bearable was that she had a moment or two of feeling bad about how her behaviour made others feel. Not enough to curb her actions mind you.

Í will say that a lot of her actions are centred around playing up the ‘new money’ caricatures that people assume she’ll fulfill. So she’s not, like, telling people they’re assholes. But you do see the strain that it puts on the hostess to always be smoothing over waters that have been troubled by Lydia’s behaviour.

Eventually, Ashford cottons on to Lydia’s scheme and the two then engage in bickering and childish schemes to make the other look bad. Some of this is enjoyable, but mostly it’s just tiresome. This might be a me problem. I have no appetite for pranks.

Finally, they start to really talk to each other like human beings and those parts are delightful! I wish they took up more real estate in the book.

The lack of historical detail bothered me. As with many historicals there is blithe disregard for any of the less salubrious parts of that time period. These people are rich because they exploit poor people across the globe. Sometimes in books I can stomach that erasure, but I couldn’t in this one, maybe because they already included unpleasant things (see CW).

Mention is made of the Dutch East India Company and of one of the characters becoming a colonial governor of Mauritius and one of the characters ‘getting’ jewels from India. The mention without context or awareness decreased my enjoyment because each example is steeped in hideous context, but all of that context is ignored. The easy excuse would be that ‘the characters wouldn’t be thinking about all that,’ and because one cannot prove or disprove awareness, I disregard that argument. By mentioning specificities like the above, the book is forcing me to confront the source of this wealth, one that I know is appalling. The characters may be blithe about it, but I am not. Context, and the lack thereof, matters. And so the cruel machinery of commerce and the colonialist state are mentioned but not explored in any meaningful way, and I am left thinking about it while the characters dance and sparkle. Anyway, I digress.

My chief complaint is around the ending. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that it’s a HFN, but for more detail on why that bothered me, click below.

I can’t give this book too poor a grade because I did, in fact, want to finish it. It left me disappointed and it irritated me but I wanted to see how it ended. I can’t say I recommend this book to the Bitchery. Maybe if I hadn’t anticipated this book so hotly, I would appreciate it more. But no, it’s not for me.

The Princess and the P.I.

An amateur online sleuth must enlist the help of a jaded PI to clear her name while taking down a shady tech start-up in this exhilarating romantic suspense novel.

Fiona Addai is ready to set her plan in motion. To honor the anniversary of her brother’s death, she’s going to steal back his brilliant invention from the ruthless corporation that stole and claimed it as their own. As a famed Reddit detective known as @Princess_PI, Fiona has used her online connections and sleuthing skills to time every step down to the minute. But with one disastrous misstep, instead of getting justice, Fiona finds herself accused of murder.

Maurice Bennett is no stranger to insomnia. These days, he’s not losing sleep over the cases he’s solving—but running from the one he couldn’t. Instead, he’s been settling for small-time scandals that don’t stir up the guilt he’s buried. But when he spots Fiona Addai at the center of a murder investigation, something clicks. And for the first time in a long while, Maurice feels that old spark of intrigue.

However, Fiona is not the helpless damsel she appears to be. Sure, she needs Maurice’s help to clear her name, but she’s got conditions of her she wants a crash course in real-world detective work. Maurice isn’t exactly thrilled. With every late-night stakeout and tension-filled interrogation, their partnership, rife with tension and unexpected chemistry, unravels a dangerous web of corporate crime and familial secrets. To bring the real killer to light, they’ll need to trust each other and that might be the most dangerous gamble of all.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Never Rescue a Rogue

Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath is $1.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! This is book two in The Merriwell Sisters series. I believe I’ve seen some good comments about this series, but for the most part, it seems to have flown under the radar.

In this Regency rom-com, when a Duke and a reporter team up to uncover his family’s secrets, their search brings up more than they bargained for—including their feelings for each other.

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.

When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son’s birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…

Never Rescue a Rogue, the next book in the Merriwell Sisters series, is filled with whip-smart banter, swoony romance, hilarious mishaps, and twisty reveals that will make you gasp and laugh in delight; Virginia Heath’s latest is one you won’t want to miss.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Throne of the Fallen

RECOMMENDED: Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco is $3.99! I enjoyed this one and it reminded me a lot of sexy, early 2000s paranormal romances (which may or may not be your thing). I gave it a B+:

Throne of the Fallen is a “yes, and…” sort of book that you just have to lean into, which I happily did. It’s extremely cliched and tropey, and I’d eat this nonsense for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The adult debut of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco, Throne of the Fallen is a seductive new standalone novel set within her fan-favorite Kingdom of the Wicked world, perfect for readers of fantasy, romance, and mystery alike.

Sinner. Villain. Ruthless.

These are wicked names the Prince of Envy welcomes. They remind him what he isn’t: a saint. And when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows he’ll be called much worse before it ends. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way. With a powerful artifact and his own future at stake, Envy is determined to win, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin—and passion—like no other…

Talented. Darling. Liar.

The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows notorious rake—and satire sheet legend—Lord Phillip Vexley to blackmail her. And now it seems Vexley isn’t the only scoundrel interested in securing her unique talents as a painter. To avoid Vexley’s clutches and a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Waverly Green’s newest arrival, enigmatic Lord Ashford ‘Syn’ Synton, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature . . .

Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Shifting Isles—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm, and encounters with exiled Fae—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Y’all, I am tired. This week has been so weird and we’re only halfway through it. Anyone else feeling off-kilter?

At the very least, it’s Cadbury Creme Egg season. My favorite time of the year. However, I’ve heard that the Cadbury chocolates, in general, are of better quality across the bond. Maybe one day I’ll get to taste test!

…

This link was sent in by EC Spurlock:

This is a virtual tour company I have been following since COVID. It’s a great way to tour the world without leaving home! All tours are free to zoom, they just recommend that you tip the guide at the end. The guides can be hit or miss sometimes, and sometimes they can’t fit everything they want to in the hour format, but most of the guides I have seen have been very good and informative. All in all a worthwhile experience for $10-$20 depending on the guide and what you get to see.

If you sign up and can’t make it, most all of the tours are recorded now and they will send you a link to watch the recording at your convenience. You do have to sign up in advance the day before so be sure to spread the word!

…

If you love and miss bonkers vintage romance reviews, I highly recommend the Tattered Pages newsletter. They wrote a review on reddit and I was dying.

…

For those looking for more whimsy in their lives, check out this artist who draws/paints some wonderfully plump birds. The hummingbird has been my favorite thus far. I believe he does sell them as prints.

…

Not a link, per se, but Sarah and I are kicking around ideas to revitalize the Smart Bitches Book Club. It’d be more like a read-along where people can engage as they read rather than trying to wrangle a Zoom or virtual chat across so many time zones and schedules. The tentative idea would be to run them quarterly and offer them for four different subgenres: historical, contemporary, SFF/paranormal, and dark/romantic suspense. Readers can participate in as little or as many as they’d like.

…

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

Katabasis

Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

We Could Be So Good

RECOMMENDED: We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian is $1.99! This is book on in the Midcentury NYC series. Lara gave this one an A:

TL;DR: Read this book if you’d like to be swept along safely in a rising tide of emotion, predominantly love.

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.

Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.

Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Secrets of a Summer Night

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas is $1.99! This is the first book in the much-loved Wallflower Quartet. Coincidentally, I’ve been getting the urge to reread this series. There’s also no time like the present to start your Kleypas reading journey!

Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband.So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.

Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle’s most intriguing—and persistent—admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition . . . but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.

Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon—and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon’s passionate embrace and tempting kisses . . . and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Nine Month Contract

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws is $2.99! This is a grumpy/sunshine romance with a hero wanting to be a dad. I haven’t read this one, but I feel like not involving a surrogacy agency can lead to a lot of trouble. Last time this was on sale, commenters mention this one requires some suspension of disbelief.

Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.

Perfect for fans of:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Small Town Romance
Age Gap
Curvy FMC
Meghan Quinn and Tessa Bailey

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I’m looking for a book from Kindle, but I can’t remember the cover, title, or any of the character names.

There’s this one scene that I remember very vividly, which is what sparked my interest in finding this book because I remember it being so hot. I can’t remember if this book was part of a series or not.

But basically the heroine and hero are in a sauna or steam room and then their friend walks in. I know the friend hadn’t been with a woman in awhile, which he had talked about with the heroine previously. I don’t think it’s a why choose book because I remember the hero was torn up about sharing her with other guys and I remember that heroine sleeping with the friend was the first and last time it happened. The heroine wanted to make the friend feel good because he was going through a lot and so she hooks up with both hero and the friend at the same time. I remember the hero handed his friend a condom before it happened and I remember the hero finishing first and the friend pulling her body away from hero so that he could finish afterwards. I remember someone walking in and hero yelling at the stranger to get the fuck out.

It’s bothering me so much that I can’t remember this because I need to read it again immediately.

Anyone recognize this one?

Happy Tuesday!

It’s a brief release week for us with two fantasy titles and a contemporary romance. However, things will pick up for the rest of March.

Which new releases are you excited for this week? Tell us in the comments!

Innamorata

Author: Ava Reid
Released: March 17, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: Gothic, Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The House of Teeth Duology #1

The next exciting novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid.

A visionary and atmospheric gothic fantasy about necromancy, vengeance, and soul-consuming love, the first in a duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth

Once there was an island where the dead walked the earth, and seven noble houses ruled by the arcane secrets of necromancy.

A conqueror’s blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.

But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.

Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the House’s legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family’s fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conqueror’s throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.

Revenge burns in Agnes’s heart but so do stranger passions—and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdom’s roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.

For Agnes’s final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.

Amanda: Reid does a great job crafting dark, fantasy settings. This is also labeled romance on Goodreads, but many people (including the author) have stated it’s not. It’s very much a Gothic horror fantasy. There is a romantic relationship, but given what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t expect an HEA.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

Love Song

Author: Elle Kennedy
Released: March 17, 2026 by Elle Kennedy Inc.
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Romance

A Briar universe standalone romance featuring the next generation Off-Campus characters—where one unforgettable summer changes everything

After a brutal breakup, college junior Blake Logan escapes to her family’s lake house in Tahoe, determined to shut out the world. Her plan is simple: no men, no drama. Until Wyatt Graham shows up. Four years older and far too good at getting under her skin, Wyatt is the living embodiment of a “bad idea,” and the guy who shattered her pride when she confessed her crush at sixteen.

With his music career stalled, Wyatt has come to Tahoe for inspiration. The last thing he expects is to find it with Blake. He’s spent years keeping his distance, convinced he’s all wrong for her, but she’s no longer the innocent girl he once knew. She’s confident, captivating, and impossible to ignore. And the slow-burning tension between them? It’s catching fire fast.

They both know this can’t last, but one reckless kiss turns into another, and soon they’re tangled in something that feels dangerously like more. Just as they finally give in to the pull, tragedy tears them apart, leaving their hearts in pieces.

But forgetting that one, nearly perfect summer? Not a chance. And when fate brings them together again, Blake and Wyatt must decide if this is a second chance…or the final verse.

A new standalone romance from Elle Kennedy, loosely related to her Briar U series. 

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Mayhem and the Mortal

Author: Shanora Williams
Released: March 17, 2026 by Entangled: Red Tower Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

One mission. One curse. No escape.

Zaira doesn’t want a hero. She needs a weapon.

To save her sister from a soul-devouring curse, she has to cross The Shallows—a nightmare landscape of ruined magic, shifting paths, and vicious creatures that eat people alive.

Her guide? Thane Valkor: sorcerer, assassin, walking red flag. His name clears rooms. His magic kills quietly. And whatever he’s really after, it’s not salvation.

He promises to help. He might even mean it.

But Zaira knows better than to trust a liar with a blade and ice in his veins.

She just doesn’t have a choice.

Amanda: You had me at “walking red flag.”

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Find buy links for this book here..

 

 

 

No Mistress of Mine

USA Today bestselling author Laura Lee Guhrke is back with the latest in her dazzling An American Heiress in London series, in which a reformed rogue finds all his honorable resolutions tested by the only woman who ever broke his heart…

After spending his youth as one of the wildest rakes in the ton, Lord Denys Somerton has devoted the past six years to putting his past behind him. He is determined to fulfill his duties, find a suitable wife, and start a family, but that plan changes when Lola Valentine—the red-haired temptress from his past—returns to London, sparking the same irresistible desires that almost ruined his life once before.

Lola is a woman with no romantic illusions. She knew love would never be enough for a British lord and an American girl from the wrong side of the tracks. For Denys’s sake, she walked away from him and the glittering life he offered. But when an unexpected inheritance brings her back to London, Lola discovers the passion between them is as hot as ever. Can they vanquish it, or will it burn out of control again and destroy them both?

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I Dared the Duke

I Dared the Duke by Anna Bennett is $1.99! This is book two in the Wayward Wallflowers series and features a grumpy hero and some forced proximity. Readers say this is a great light read, but at times requires some suspension of disbelief.

DARE TO FALL IN LOVE

Alexander Savage, the Duke of Blackshire, is known throughout the ton for three things: the burn scars on his neck, his ornery disposition, and the trail of broken hearts behind him. None of which would concern Miss Elizabeth Lacey in the least—if she weren’t living under his roof. As his grandmother’s companion, Beth is all too concerned with the moody and compelling duke. Incensed by his plans to banish the sweet dowager duchess to the country, Beth refuses to do his bidding. If Alex wants her help, he’s going to have to take her dare…and grant her three wishes.

Alex adores his grandmother, which is precisely why she must leave. A string of unfortunate incidents has him worried for the safety of everyone around him—including the dowager’s loyal and lovely companion, Beth. But the notorious wallflower isn’t as meek as she appears, and as their battle of wills heats up, so does Alex’s desire. He’s dangerously close to falling in love with her…and revealing secrets he’d rather keep hidden. How can he convince her that his darkest days are behind him—and that, for the first time in forever, his heart is true?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Spilling the Tea

Spilling the Tea by Brenda Jackson is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance, with main characters healing from trauma. Have you read this one?

Ninetysomething Mama Laverne is determined to find all of her great-grandchildren their perfect match before going home to glory. So far, her success rate is 100 percent—and she intends to keep it that way.

After sustaining injuries in Iraq, Chancellor Madaris was told he’d never walk again. Chance credits his great-grandmother Mama Laverne with giving him the will to heal and prove the doctors wrong. He has a healthy respect for her meddling ways and knows he’ll eventually end up next on her matchmaking list.

When Zoey Pritchard was eight, she survived a car accident that took the lives of her mother and father, and was sent to live with her great-aunt who refused to speak about her parents. Zoey has no memory from before the crash, but she’s been having the same dream over and over…

Searching for answers, Zoey travels to Houston, where she uncovers a scandal involving her parents and the wealthy and powerful Madaris family. Her trail leads her straight to Chance’s door. The dislike and intense attraction are instant and simultaneous. But to help Zoey restore her memory, he grudgingly introduces her to his great-grandmother…

Was it chance, or Mama Laverne’s plan, that threw this pair together?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Apples Dipped in Gold

Apples Dipped in Gold by Scarlett St. Clair is $1.99! This is book two in the Fairy Tale Retellings series, though I can’t quite place which fairy tale it’s based on or just an amalgamation of a few.

Orphaned at a young age, Samara is left under the care of her three, horrible brothers. Just when she thinks she cannot take another day of their abuse, a handsome prince offers for her hand in marriage.

Samara’s brothers agree in exchange for a large dowery but on her way to her new kingdom, her carriage is ambushed by Lore, the wicked Prince of Nightshade.

Samara believes that the fae has snatched away her chance at freedom to punish her for her crimes against his kind but punishment is only half of Lore’s plan.

The truth is that the Elven Prince has pined after Samara for seven long years. She is all he can think about—a toxin in his blood. Can the Prince of Nightshade, whose power over poisons rivals none in The Enchanted Forest, manage to find a remedy or will he succumb to her love?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

This book is ludicrous and not in a fun way.

Before I let my rant get away with me, the blurb:

Eoin Aucourte, the newly minted Duke of Foxglen, always played by his grandfather’s rules. But now that the old man is dead, Eoin’s first decision is to track down his long-lost mother. The only problem? He’ll have to visit the infamous Black Sheep Coffeehouse to begin his search. Rumor has it that the owner, Miss Hannah Wick, knows all the gossip from the dingiest St. Giles alleyways to the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair. But the whip-smart daughter of a pirate also has a way of making Eoin forget all the lessons on propriety that his grandfather ruthlessly instilled in him.

The Duke of Foxglen represents everything Hannah disdains about the nobility. Even worse, his grandfather exiled her papa from England, setting her father on the course of piracy and endangering her entire family. Seeing an opportunity to seek vengeance on his family, Hannah pretends to “help” the shy, surprisingly handsome duke—but soon realizes Eoin may be the first truly honorable noble she’s ever met.

With every clue they uncover, their search intensifies … and so does their attraction. But with so many secrets between them, does love even stand a chance?

I was already on the back foot when I started this book because I haven’t read the others in this series. Usually with historical romance, that’s no big deal. In this case, it’s quite a big deal. I reached 66% and I still didn’t understand the back story and how all these characters connected to one another.

So yes, that made me grumpy. Fine, I admit it.

As stated in the cover copy, yes, Hannah is a pirate’s daughter and co-owns a coffee house. She has a vendetta against the Aucourte family because they impoverished her father and grandfather through the enclosures of the 18th century. So when Eoin shows up asking for help tracking down his mother, Hannah sees a chance for retribution and agrees to help him in order to better facilitate her revenge.

I realise this is a common plot structure.

I’ve read books that do it well.

I’ve read books that mess it up.

This one was downright painful. Hannah wrings her hands and frets and feels guilty constantly from around 40% in. Yet she doesn’t speak up about any of it. It’s beyond tiresome. It’s particularly tiresome because it is clear from Eoin’s behaviour that he would not actually be upset about her ulterior motives as he has no love for his father’s family.

Oh and that mystery they need to solve – finding Eoin’s mother and sister?

Speaking of ridiculous …

It is not just the bear that’s ridiculous. There’s an equally ridiculous parrot and a cuter, but still bananas, gosling. Neither of these two are abused but they do also form ridiculous plot points.

I was also annoyed by how Eoin’s body was spoken of. He’s described as huge and looking like a prizefighter. Only, he can’t fight at all. His tremendous size is mentioned ALL THE TIME. I would argue it’s brought up even more than his character. It felt like the only thing that mattered about him was how he looked and I found it nauseating.

I am all for some wild escapism in my romances, especially historical ones. There is a quagmire of shit in English history and I understand not wanting to stare it in the face while trying to engage with some dopamine. But a plot has to be at least a little bit plausible, in my opinion. This book is not even remotely plausible and because it felt insulting to me as the reader, I found it hard to enjoy.

Is there anyone that would enjoy this book? I think someone who is interested in substantial whimsy in their romances might have an easier time of it. Someone who has read the prior books in the series. Someone who hasn’t read the ‘ulterior motives’ trope a million times, too. And I’ll be honest: someone who isn’t a middle-aged grouch like me.

This round of recs came from the bookish people and communities in my life. I love finding new books through friends and colleagues, and it really solidifies the importance of readers to connect with other readers.

Do you have any recommendations you’d like to share? Drop them in the comments?

The Art of a Lie

A historical mystery with some added food history knowledge! This recommendation came from my bookish friend Jamie and her newsletter Multitudes Contained. She’s a great resource if you want mystery, thriller, and horror recs, though she does read very widely. 

“Astonishing. The Art of a Lie is Laura Shepherd-Robinson at the height of her considerable powers. Of course it’s beautifully written and richly detailed, but it’s also fiendishly twisting and properly thrilling. A rare and wonderful story.” —Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author

In 18th-century England, a widowed confectioner is drawn into a web of love, betrayal, intrigue, and a battle of wits in this “twisty” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) historical novel from the author of the USA TODAY bestseller The Square of Sevens.

London 1749: Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to turn a profit at her confectionary shop on Piccadilly as her suppliers conspire to put her out of business.

So when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account, the surprise is, at first, extremely welcome. But her financial windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who believes the money might have been acquired through ill-gotten means and seeks to confiscate it.

Endeavoring to prove otherwise, Hannah enlists the help of William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, who also tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream,” which she believes might transform the fortunes of her shop. As she and Devereux delve into the mysteries of her husband’s double life in Georgian London’s gambling dens, Hannah unravels secrets even more devastating than his murder.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Best Dog in the World

This is a new release! Edited by Alice Hoffman, and containing over a dozen authors, this is a collection of essays about dogs and the bond between pet and owner. Tuck this away for any dog lovers in your life.  

Fourteen beloved authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in this heartwarming essay collection edited by New York Times bestselling author and lifelong dog lover Alice Hoffman.

Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to share their life with a dog knows the experience is both profound and transformative. Here, in this charming collection of essays, fifteen celebrated authors share unforgettable tales of the dogs who left their pawprints on their hearts.

With contributions from Isabel Allende, Chris Bohjalian, Bonnie Garmus, Roxane Gay, Emily Henry, Ann Leary, Tova Mirvis, Jodi Picoult, Elizabeth Strout, Amy Tan, Adriana Trigiani, Nick Trout, Paul Yoon, and Laura Zigman, The Best Dog in the World captures the full range of the canine-human connection, from the joy of welcoming a new puppy to the heartache of saying goodbye to a beloved friend.

A love letter to the loyal companions who enrich our lives and teach us about empathy, joy, and unconditional love, this anthology is the perfect gift for dog lovers everywhere, offering a blend of laughter, tears, and inspiration that will resonate with anyone who has been fur-ever touched by the love of a dog.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Incandescent

I have a wonderful coworker who shares a similar taste in books. Every Thursday, we wind up yapping about what we’re reading or trading recs. We recently talked about dark academia settings with main characters who aren’t students, and she loved this one. 

Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

“Look at you, eating magic like you’re one of us.”

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job—no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from—is herself.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Invitation to a Banquet

Shoutout to my colleague Jane for this one! She recommended this particular piece of food writing and warned everyone to not read while hungry.

The world’s most sophisticated gastronomic culture, brilliantly presented through a banquet of thirty Chinese dishes.

Chinese was the earliest truly global cuisine. When the first Chinese laborers began to settle abroad, restaurants appeared in their wake. Yet Chinese has the curious distinction of being both one of the world’s best-loved culinary traditions and one of the least understood. For more than a century, the overwhelming dominance of a simplified form of Cantonese cooking ensured that few foreigners experienced anything of its richness and sophistication—but today that is beginning to change.

In Invitation to a Banquet, award-winning cook and writer Fuchsia Dunlop explores the history, philosophy, and techniques of Chinese culinary culture. In each chapter, she examines a classic dish, from mapo tofu to Dongpo pork, knife-scraped noodles to braised pomelo pith, to reveal a distinctive aspect of Chinese gastronomy, whether it’s the importance of the soybean, the lure of exotic ingredients, or the history of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Meeting food producers, chefs, gourmets, and home cooks as she tastes her way across the country, Fuchsia invites listeners to join her on an unforgettable journey into Chinese food as it is cooked, eaten, and considered in its homeland.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lara:  I’m reading The Name Game by Beth O’Leary. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s a mixture of diary entries, emails and flashbacks. It’s still early days, but it’s giving me the kind of feeling that Bridget Jones’ Diary did a million years ago. Will report back!

Sarah: I’m reading Royal Gambit by Daniel O’Malley ( A | BN | K | AB ) because Adam recommended it to me after he finished it. I’ve recommended dozens of books to him over the years but I think this was the first time he finished a book and said, “I think you’ll like this.”

A | BN | K | AB

Elyse: Forensic quokka!

Shana: I just started All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It feels too sunny outside for a gothic story, but I’m still enjoying it because how can I not like a Charles book. I’m also reading the suburban horror novel We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado. It’s about a lesbian couple that moves into a gated community and it’s so deliciously creepy.

Elyse: I’m reading The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White. ( A | BN | K | AB )

Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!

Judson Laipply, a motivational speaker and dancer whose belt is doing so much work in this performance.

So much work.

Srsly. So much.

But then, there’s only one dance video online, right?

There can really only be one dance video to rule them all.

Mazel tov to Zendaya and Tom Holland for allegedly getting married with literally actually factually absolutely positively no leaks. Truly a wonderful and impressive feat. (Any images you see are AI. There are none. None images. I remain enthralled by this achievement!)

Have a very dancey weekend! 

The Librarians

Murder disrupts the routine for four quirky librarians who hide among books to keep their secrets in this mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas.

Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge….

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won’t be enough anymore.

When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together….

All in a day’s work.

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Tempt Me at Twilight

Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas is 99c! This is book three in The Hathaways series. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Hathaways book, but I feel like this series in particular is very high in pining and yearning. Thoughts?

He was everything she’d sworn to avoid.

Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life. When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal—only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.

And she was everything he needed.

Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy—except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm’s length…but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of body and soul, once and for all…

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau is $1.99! This one came out in May and Sarah picked it for Hide Your Wallet. Have you read it?

A charming and clever rom-com about a young woman’s desperate attempts to fend off her meddling mother…only to find that maybe mother does know best.

Mark Chan this. Mark Chan that.

Writer and barista Emily Hung is tired of hearing about the great Mark Chan, the son of her parents’ friends. You’d think he single-handedly stopped climate change and ended child poverty from the way her mother raves about him. But in reality, he’s just a boring, sweater-vest-wearing engineer, and when they’re forced together at Emily’s sister’s wedding, it’s obvious he thinks he’s too good for her.

But now that Emily is her family’s last single daughter, her mother is fixated on getting her married and she has her sights on Mark. There’s only one solution, clearly: convince Mark to be in a fake relationship with her long enough to put an end to her mom’s meddling. He reluctantly agrees.

Unfortunately, lying isn’t enough. Family friends keep popping up at their supposed dates—including a bubble tea shop and cake-decorating class—so they’ll have to spend more time together to make their relationship look real. With each fake date, though, Emily realizes that Mark’s not quite what she assumed and maybe that argyle sweater isn’t so ugly after all… all…

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Kill the Beast

Kill the Beast by Serra Swift is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! This is a standalone fantasy novel. Goodreads has it labeled as a romance, but many reviews say this is a platonic pairing between two unlikely friends.

The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this debut original faerie tale of revenge, redemption, and friendship—for fans of T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, and cozy fantasy with a dash of gritty adventure.

The night Lyssa Cadogan’s brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and—even more surprising—retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

Alderic is ill-equipped for a hunt and almost guaranteed to get himself killed. But as the two of them search for the rest of the materials that will be the Beast’s undoing, Alderic reveals hidden dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa’s better judgment, an unlikely friendship begins to bloom—one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa’s quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

We’ve got:

• Anthologies
• Carpathians
• Several books where we’re pretty sure the happy ending is to throw the entire man away

We also debate who is possessed by demons because it’s a valid question for several of the books we talk about.

A mild warning that when we discuss Mystery & Thriller there is a truly gross plot. It’s a doozy.

You can watch the episode on YouTube, if you like!

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

We also mentioned:

• My review for Judy Christenberry’s Who’s the Daddy?
• The Goodreads review for Lady Jane’s Nemesis

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

When She Dreams

Return to 1930s Burning Cove, California, the glamorous seaside playground for Hollywood stars, mobsters, spies, and a host of others who find more than they bargain for in this mysterious town.

Maggie Lodge, assistant to the reclusive advice columnist known only as Dear Aunt Cornelia to her readers, hires down-but-not-quite-out private eye Sam Sage to help track down the person who is blackmailing her employer. Maggie and Sam are a mismatched pair. As far as Sam is concerned, Maggie is reckless and in over her head. She is not what he had in mind for a client, but he can’t afford to be choosy. Maggie, on the other hand, is convinced that Sam is badly in need of guidance and good advice. She does not hesitate to give him both.

In spite of the verbal fireworks between them, they are fiercely attracted to each other, but each is convinced it would be a mistake to let passion take over. They are, after all, keeping secrets from each other. Sam is haunted by his past, which includes a marriage shattered by betrayal and violence. Maggie is troubled by intense and vivid dreams—dreams that she can sometimes control. There are those who want to run experiments on her and use her for their own purposes, while others think she should be committed to an asylum.

When the pair discovers someone is impersonating Aunt Cornelia at a conference on psychic dreaming and a woman dies at the conference, the door is opened to a dangerous web of blackmail and murder. Secrets from the past are revealed, leaving Maggie and Sam in the path of a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to exact vengeance.

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Til Death Do Us Bard

Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black is 99c! This was mentioned in a previous Hide You Wallet. Comparisons to Legends and Lattes might perk up some readers!

Marriage isn’t always sunshine and unicorns… sometimes it’s monsters and necromancy.

It’s been almost a year since Logan ‘The Bear’ Theaker hung up his axe and settled down with his sunshiny bard husband, Pie. But when Pie disappears, Logan is forced back into a world he thought he’d left behind.

Logan quickly discovers that Pie has been blackmailed into stealing a powerful artifact capable of creating an undead army. With the help of an old adversary and a ghost from his past, Logan sets out to rescue his husband.

But the further the quest takes him, the more secrets Logan uncovers. He’ll need all his strength to rescue his husband – but can he save their marriage?

Til Death Do Us Bard is a charming queer fantasy, perfect for fans of Legends and Lattes and Nettle and Bone.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire

I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire by Jessica Cage is $3.99 at Amazon! This is book two in the Accidents Happen series, which features a heroine whose life is turned upside down after a night with a vampire.

Bills don’t bite… but vampires do!

Who needs a job when you just signed a new mortgage?When Whitney Harris loses her dream job as an art broker, she drowns her sorrows in a few too many cocktails. But her night takes a turn for the bizarre when she accidentally hooks up with Domino, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire with a flair for the dramatic and a taste for trouble.

Now, instead of just worrying about her next paycheck, Whitney finds herself in a world where Domino’s vampire affiliates have their sights set on her—because she’s special. Duh!

As she navigates this unexpected romance, she discovers her friends have their own supernatural spells and daggers anyone?

With danger lurking in every shadow, Whitney must figure out how to survive this new chaotic reality. Can she embrace her wild side, save her heart (and neck), and turn the tables on fate before she becomes a vampire’s main course?

Get ready for a laugh-out-loud adventure filled with love, friendship, and a whole lot of supernatural shenanigans!

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Perfect Hero

A Perfect Hero by Samantha James is $1.99! This is a historical romance where the heroine has been jilted on her wedding day. It’s book three in the Sterling Trilogy. If you’re familiar with the series, can this be read as a standalone?

Can a perfect scoundrel be the perfect hero?

Since she was cruelly left at the altar at the age of twenty-two, Lady Julianna Sterling has resolved to have nothing to do with men. So she is shocked to discover she has unwelcome feelings for the very worst of the breed — a dangerous, unbearably handsome highwayman who has set upon her coach in the countryside and taken her captive. Worse still, her righteous ire turns quickly to disappointment when the irresistible outlaw sets her free.

Viscount Dane Granville knows he should not have revealed his face to the enchanting Lady Julianna — for he has compromised the secret mission he has undertaken for the Crown in the guise of the notorious Magpie. Now their paths are crossing once more, and Dane aches to taste again the sweetness of her kiss. But he must resist what his heart demands, for their passion can only lead to perils beyond imagining …

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I just finished reading the first book in this series, Murder by Memory, and I immediately picked up the second in the series – this one.

To summarise the premise of this series, Dorothy is a ship’s detective on board the Fairweather, a massive space ship travelling for 1000 years to a new planet with 10 000 people on board. Everyone on the ship has a body and also a book in the Library. The book is for storing their memories so when their body gets old and dies, they can get reembodied in Medical and their memories restored from the Library.

A few decades after the events of Murder by Memory, this book opens with something that should be impossible on the Fairweather: a baby appears. When all the inhabitants embarked on the ship, their fertility was paused by a mysterious process making it impossible to procreate. But one couple did and now there’s a baby.

The baby has been left on the doorstep of Dorothy’s nephew, Rutherford (nicknamed Ruthie). No note, no name, no nothing. Ruthie calls Dorothy for help. While Ruthie’s husband, John is deeply unsure, Ruthie falls instantly in love with the baby. But where did this baby come from? Dorothy gets to work unravelling this mystery.

As with many crime procedurals, the full truth, including guilty parties, comes out during a hearing of the Fairweather Board (like a trial). It was immensely satisfying to read the hearing sections.

Similar to the first book, a lot of characters are jammed into this story. It can be a little tricky to keep track of who is who because in terms of word count, you spend comparatively little time with each one, as it is a novella.

I was in a distracted state of mind when I read this and the prior book, Murder by Memory, which likely affected my experience with the ending. One aspect of the resolution went right over my head, or, at least, it didn’t make sense to me why Dorothy would take that step, but again, it could be my fault for not paying enough attention. Even with my incomplete understanding, though, I enjoyed the novella overall.

One similarity between the two novellas that I really appreciated is the quality (as in feeling) of the writing. For example there is this little ode to the significance of knitting, as Dorothy knits a baby blanket:

After a good dinner and with a glass of port to hand, I cozied up in my bedroom window seat on the upper story, casting on the first row while the neighborhood all around me enjoyed its evening.

One stitch for the young woman playing violin on the corner, the echoes singing up and down the decks. One stitch each for the two young men strolling arm in arm out of the restaurant. Trios and groups, friends and families, I counted them all out beneath my hands as the solar lamps dimmed and the storefronts spilled gold light onto the retromatted wood planks.

One stitch each, every stitch a second, a single moment in time frozen in fiber. To give to an infant – because time was the real gift, passed from one generation to the next.

This gentle book with its lovely happy ending was a delight to read and I happily recommend this book, and the preceding one, to anyone in the Bitchery in need of some cosy sci-fi.

I try not to pigeonhole myself too much as a reader. While cosy as a descriptor in general tends to make me feral with irritation, there are exceptions and this book is definitely an exception. I was delighted when my library hold for this book arrived, even though I couldn’t remember what led me to place that hold. Perhaps it’s the combination of sci fi, mystery, and cosy that made me curious.

Dorothy Gentleman is a detective onboard the Fairweather – a massive space ship travelling for a 1000 years to a new planet from Old Earth, with 10 000 people on board. They have a nifty system of storing a back up of your mind in the Library and so when your body dies, you can upload your mind to a new body. This system has worked for 300 years at least so far.

The Library is sacrosanct and it’s supposed to be impossible to erase someone’s mind-book. Only Dorothy wakes up in someone else’s body only two years after she retired because someone destroyed her book in the library and her back up was sent to a body immediately. You’re not supposed to wake up in the wrong body so something has gone wrong. It all happened during a magnetic storm which has been known to impact the ship’s system (nicknamed Ferry). So Dorothy has a mystery to solve. There is another death to solve, too. Is it related? How? Dorothy intends to find out.

There is some whimsy in the story but it’s never cloying or overly sweet. For example, Ferry can appear drunk during magnetic storms, which complicates the investigation while also being funny. In contrast to drunk Ferry, Dorothy is pretty matter of fact and the contrast was charming.

The mystery element is very cleverly constructed and required a bit of concentration on my part to make sure I kept the story straight in my head. This might be because what feels like a full-size mystery plays out in a novella. So every word counts. It might also be because I read this book on a day when I’d been distracted by some very bad news, so I wasn’t at my mental peak.

All the characters who you meet in a meaningful sense are gay. Dorothy is a lesbian who not so recently lost her partner and is coming to terms with that. Dorothy’s nephew lives with a man. The prime suspects in the case are lesbians too. It was a delight!

There is also something exciting about the ending:

On top of all of this, I really enjoyed the writing style. There is an economical use of words that still plumb the depths of human emotion, and human experience.

Here is an excerpt from when Dorothy first wakes up in a stranger’s body:

My skin – someone’s skin – broke out in gooseflesh. Of course every human body was a horrifying collection of juices and tissues, acids and effluvia poured into a bag with a bunch of long rocks, a shambling accident of biology that made its own mysterious and often frustrating decisions without reference to the mind. They were disgusting miracles, every one. It was always a bit unsettling to wake up in a fresh form, until habit made a home of it.

But someone else’s home, and my self inside it! A nightmare.

The second book in this series is out now and I shall definitely be reading it. I’m so happy to have found another sleuth with granny vibes and a hard eye for the truth.

Starting next week, Links will be popping up in the mornings instead of the afternoons. Change can be scary, so I wanted to give a heads up.

Spring is starting to spring in New England, but let’s not get too comfortable. I’ve experienced snowfalls in April on several occasions. Let’s all stay strong, folks!

How’s your weather? Are you read for the some sun? Gearing up for winter?

…

Worlds are colliding! There is now a Bridgerton Polly Pocket set. 

…

For all my knitters out there, I stumbled across this YouTube account: EngineeringKnits. There are lots of videos that touch on historical practices and patterns.

…

Build-a-Bear is doing some marketing to adults, given that they have a romantasy-themed gift set now. I loved Build-a-Bear as a kid. It was my grandparents go-to activity for me.

…

I’m sure many of you have heard already that there will be a new Pride & Prejudice adaptation this year on Netflix. What do you think? Will it dethrone you favorite?

…

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

Second Chance Romance

In the second installment of USA Today bestselling author Olivia Dade’s Harlot’s Bay series, a mistaken obituary leads to the reunion of two former high school crushes. Sparks fly in this hilarious grumpy/grumpy romance, packed with Dade’s signature body positivity and a delicious amount of spice.

Karl and Molly were never together. There was a time, right after high school, where it seemed like they might finally cross the line from friends to lovers…but instead, a foolish misunderstanding meant they never spoke again. Molly went to LA and got married. Karl stayed in Harlot’s Bay and bought a bakery.

The only connection the pair has shared over the years is painfully one-sided: Now divorced, Molly narrates monster romance audiobooks, and Karl is an ever-diligent listener, clinging to his only piece of the one that got away.

Still, Molly hasn’t totally left Harlot’s Bay behind. When she hears that Karl’s obituary has run in the local paper, unexpected grief prompts her to hop on the next flight to Maryland…where she finds Karl very much alive, the victim of nothing but an accidental obituary.

As the pair reunite, they finally hash out their missed connection. True, Molly isn’t quite ready to trust again, but Karl is determined to prove himself worthy of her faith and devotion. And as her remaining time in Harlot’s Bay ticks down, Molly, the habitual cynic, just might find that Karl, the cranky town curmudgeon, is impossible to leave behind a second time.

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Business or Pleasure

RECOMMENDED: Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon is $1.99! Apologies if this is a leftover deal from yesterday. Elyse reviewed this one and gave it an A:

Business or Pleasure is a sex-positive, low-conflict celebrity rom com that worked out great for me. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book (especially the sex positivity!), but it won’t work for anyone looking for angst.

Chandler Cohen has never felt more like the ghost in “ghostwriter” until she attends a signing for a book she wrote—and the author doesn’t even recognize her. The evening turns more promising when she meets a charming man at the bar and immediately connects with him. But when all their sexual tension culminates in a spectacularly awkward hookup, she decides this is one night better off forgotten.

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Her next project is ghostwriting a memoir for Finn Walsh, a C-list actor best known for playing a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show who now makes a living appearing at fan conventions across the country. But Chandler knows him better from their one-night stand of hilarious mishaps.

Chandler’s determined to keep their partnership as professional as possible, but when she admits to Finn their night together wasn’t as mind-blowing as he thought it was, he’s distraught. He intrigues her enough that they strike a deal: when they’re not working on his book, Chandler will school Finn in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer both in and out of the bedroom, they must figure out which is more important, business or pleasure—or if there’s a way for them to have both.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Voidwalker

Voidwalker by S.A. Maclean is $2.99! This one is a Kindle Daily Deal. It released in August and I mentioned it on Hide Your Wallet.

From the author of The Phoenix Keeper comes an era-defining new fantasy universe where spicy romantasy meets the Cosmere, unmissable for fans of the world-building scale of Sarah J. Maas and the world-shifting stakes of Rebecca Yarros. Voidwalker will be your next romantasy obsession, a deliciously feral story that starts with just two “bite me.”

Fionamara is a smuggler. Antal is the reason her people fear the dark. Fi ferries contraband between worlds, stockpiling funds and stolen magic to keep her village self-sufficient – free from the blood sacrifices humans have paid to Antal’s immortal species for centuries.

Only legends whispered through the pine forests recall a time when things were different, before one world shattered into many, and the flesh-devouring beasts crept from the cracks between realities, with their sable antlers and slender tails, lethal claws and gleaming fangs. Now, mortal lives are food to pacify their carnivorous overlords, exchanged for feudal protection, and the precious silver energy that fuels everything from transport to weaponry.

When Fi gets planted with a stash of smuggled energy, a long-lost flame recruits her for a reckless heist that escalates into a terrorist bombing – and a coup against the reigning immortals, with Fi’s home caught in the crossfire.

She’s always known the dangers of her trade – and of the power she’s wielded since childhood, allowing her to see the secret doors between dimensions, to walk the Void itself. But nothing could have prepared her for crossing paths with Antal. For the deal she’ll have to make with him, a forced partnership to reclaim his city that begins as a desperate bid for survival, only to grow into something far more dangerous.

A revolution. And a temptation – for how sweet the monster’s fangs might feel.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Fuzz

Fuzz by Mary Roach is $3.99! I love Roach’s niche non-fiction titles where she focuses on one, sometimes quirky, topic. Do you have a favorite Roach book?

What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. The answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.

Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and “danger tree” faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.

Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to “problem” wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I am always delighted to find new-to-me historical romance authors and this one is a treat. I started mid-series, which isn’t ideal, but I followed the story with glee. I will, however, be going back and starting with the first book because this series has so much Lara catnip.

You all know I’m a bit of a blurb hater at this point, but this one did a good job, so I’ll share it here:

Ivy Bennett has escaped the marriage mart once already—by becoming a governess to the new Lord Brackley’s unruly little sisters. Spending her days in the schoolroom and her nights running a secret self-defense class for women, she has absolutely no interest in a husband. So when Ivy is handed a secret assignment by the spymaster known as the Dove, she sees an opportunity: fake a courtship with the enigmatic Owen Brackley to avoid her conniving father’s attempts to marry her off, complete the mission, and finally secure her freedom. Simple. Until it’s not.

Women across London are succumbing to a strange madness, and they all share a connection to Brackley—the same man who looks at Ivy like he sees right through her and is none too bothered by her lack of ladylike charm. As Ivy gathers gossip like breadcrumbs and dodges increasingly dangerous attempts on Brackley’s life, she realizes two things: someone wants the viscount gone, and the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to tell what’s real and what’s just part of the game.

Okay fine, you got me, I do have one tiny gripe with the blurb: it made the mystery plot seem bigger than it is. This is definitely a ROMANCE-FORWARD plot, which delighted me. The mystery plot was fine, but the falling in love plot was SUPER.

Ivy and Owen both have traumatic pasts due in large part to their terrible, abusive fathers. Ivy is the youngest of seven – all her other siblings being brothers and until the oldest of them was able to physically stand up to and chase away their abusive father, Ivy lived in fear. So she studied her brothers during their various fencing, etc. classes. She would sometimes taunt the younger ones into sparring with her. And she got really good at self-defence, so much so that, during a late night encounter it is …

This brings up one of the things I love most about this book: It is slowly revealed that Owen is fully accepting of Ivy exactly as she is and he is secure enough in his masculinity that …

With each reveal of an aspect of Ivy’s personality, Owen meets her with full-bodied, whole-hearted acceptance. It’s such a lovely thing to read (and feel!).

I have been so swept away that I’ve forgotten to lead with the most obvious information: this is a grumpy x sunshine romance, but both characters have depth and neither conform to caricatures. Yes, Owen is quite surly, but it’s made refreshing by Ivy’s insistence at making fun of his surliness. It’s also only a skin-deep grump. Very close to the surface is a kind-hearted man. Ivy is sunshine, but that sunshine takes delight in teasing Owen into the grumps. The two really do complement each other in that respect.

So, the mystery. It’s kind of fragmented and only comes together right near the end. Characters who I can only assume had their moment in the sun in previous books do play a key role in the mystery plot. The mystery is fine. Nothing particularly special about it, but it does a good job of building non-romance tension.

While I was underwhelmed by the mystery plot and found those sections a little plodding, I really loved the dynamic between Owen and Ivy, especially their acceptance of one another as allies, then more. I just had a really good time reading this book. I found it to be immersive escapism – just what I need at the moment. If you’re looking for the same, then I recommend Never Spar with a Viscount.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin

In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

To most of Regency high society, forty-two-year-old Lady Augusta Colebrook, or Gus, and her twin sister, Julia, are just unmarried ladies of a certain age. But the Colebrook twins are far from useless old maids. They are secretly protecting women and children ignored by society and the law.

When Lord Evan—a charming escaped convict who has won Gus’s heart—needs to hide his sister, Hester, from their vindictive brother, Gus and Julia take Hester and her lover into their home. But Lord Evan’s complicated past puts them all in danger. Gus knows they must clear his name of murder if he is to survive the thieftakers who hunt him. No easy task—the fatal duel was twenty years ago and a key witness is nowhere to be found.

In a deadly cat-and-mouse game, Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan must dodge their pursuers and investigate Lord Evan’s past. They will be thrust into the ugly underworld of Georgian gentlemen’s clubs, spies, and ruthless bounty hunters, not to mention the everyday threat of narrow-minded brothers. Will the truth be found in time, or will dangerous secrets from the past destroy family bonds and rip new love and lives apart?

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Rules for Ruin

RECOMMENDED: Rules for Ruin, the first book in Mimi Matthews’ The Crinoline Academy series, is $2.99!Lara reviewed this book and gave it an A (!!) saying, “This is my first Bad Decisions Book Club of 2025. Sleep became a distant memory with this book. For context, I have a newborn. I had the opportunity to sleep, but chose not to because this book was much more important.”

Lara’s review also made our Best of 2025 list!

No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician’s systematic attack on women’s rights, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel’s underworld empire from government interference. He’s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise—no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that’s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it’s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It’s the danger to her heart.

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Copper Script

Copper Script by KJ Charles is $3.99! This is a m/m historical mystery and romance. Lara gave it a B-:

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely I do. It is good, but it doesn’t reach the heights of KJ Charles’ other books.

Do you agree with her assessment? Or did you enjoy this one a bit more?

Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.

Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?

But when Joel looks at a powerful man’s handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost–unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.

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The Resurrectionist

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap is $3.99! Carrie read this one and gave it a B-:

This book was gripping from beginning to end. The sense of place and atmosphere were fantastic. I was certainly entertained. However, the story raises some huge questions, both personal ones for the characters and more overarching philosophical and ethical ones, and then never really unpacks them. It was a light book with a heavier story trapped inside it that never quite made it out.

In the tradition of The Alienist and A Love Story, a decadently macabre, dark and twisty gothic debut set in 19th century Scotland – when real-life serial killers Burke and Hare terrorized the streets of Edinburgh – as a young medical student is lured into the illicit underworld of body snatching.

Historical fiction, true crime, and dark academia intertwine in a harrowing tale of murder, greed, and the grisly origins of modern medicine for readers of Lydia Kang, ML Rio, Sarah Perry, and C.E. McGill.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city’s university offers everything James desires—except the chance to work on a human cadaver. For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin “Nye” MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist’s eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves—but it doesn’t take long for James to realize he’s made a devil’s bargain . . .

Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice. Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists—the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige.

James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it’s cold-blooded murder . . .

Exquisitely macabre and delightfully entertaining, The Resurrectionist combines fact and fiction in a rollicking tale of the risks and rewards of scientific pursuit, the passions of its boldest pioneers, and the anatomy of human desire.

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I read this medical romance as a young and sheltered teenager in the 1980s(!), but can’t for the life of me recall the title or the author. It was a Harlequin or Mills & Boon romance set in south India, which was different enough that it stuck with me over the years.

The nurse (can’t remember her name) was of Indian origin but had been adopted by a white American couple – she wanted to reclaim her roots so she comes to work in a small town in south India (the “big city” was Madras, but she didn’t work there). The new doctor (Dr. Selvam?) at her clinic is Indian, but has just returned from living in America for several years, so his big move to impress her on a date is to quote Ogden Nash, specifically “candy is dandy but liquor is quicker”.

I tried Google but no joy, so I humbly submit my request to the Great Collective Wisdom.

I know we can solve this one!

Happy Tuesday!

This month is a little spooky, with a couple horror titles on deck. There’s also historical romance and nonfiction. Can you believe there are no contemporaries or romantasies on our list this week?!

What are you excited for? Let us know in the comments!

A Lady for All Seasons

Author: TJ Alexander
Released: March 10, 2026 by Vintage
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the acclaimed author of Chef’s Kiss and A Gentleman’s Gentleman comes a riotous Regency romp, featuring a charming and unforgettable genderfluid lead.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip.

When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend Étienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal—for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And—unexpectedly—be charmed by her.

Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don’t allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fiancé, Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society’s constraints to find true happiness.

Elyse: A trans romance with the ticking clock of a marriage of convenience.

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Adult Braces

Author: Lindy West
Released: March 10, 2026 by Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Nonfiction

In bestselling author Lindy West’s most ambitious book yet, she takes readers along on an uproarious cross-country road trip as she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage in the process.

Through Shrill, the book and then the Hulu series, Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to the categories deemed acceptable—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change.

In ADULT BRACES, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom, and of the solo cross-country road trip she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster excursions and campground epiphanies. The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life.

Lindy West’s newest nonfiction!

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The Fox and the Devil

Author: Kiersten White
Released: March 10, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Horror, LGBTQIA, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to the study of vampires—until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night.

Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn’t the only inexplicable dead body. There’s a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they’re all connected.

But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola.

The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn’t a madman after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer . . . and much harder to destroy. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body.

A heart that beats for Anneke alone.

Elyse: The cover alone sold me on this book.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Hell’s Heart

Author: Alexis Hall
Released: March 10, 2026 by Tor Books
Genre: Horror, LGBTQIA, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Gideon the Ninth meets Moby Dick in USA Today bestselling author Alexis Hall’s science fiction debut, Hell’s Heart!

Earth is a ruin, and the scattered remnants of humanity scavenge what they can from the stars under the watchful auspices of a grab-bag of collectives, corporations, and churches which are all that remains of what we once called society. Having long exhausted any conventional sources of energy, life in the solar system is now sustained by a volatile, hallucinogenic substance called spermaceti, which is harvested from the brains of vast cetacean-like Leviathans that swim the atmospheric currents of Jupiter.

Finding herself with no money and little to occupy her groundside, the narrator (“I”) takes a commission aboard the hunter-barque Pequod as it sets out in pursuit of precious spermaceti. Once aboard, however, she finds herself pulled inexorably into the orbit of the barque’s captain, a charismatic but fanatically driven woman who the narrator names only as “A”. As the Pequod plunges ever deeper into the turbulent, monster-haunted atmosphere of the gas giant, the narrator begins to lose herself in the eerie word of Leviathan-hunting and the captain’s increasingly insistent delusions; the only thing that might keep her grounded is the bond she develops with Q, a woman from the wreck of Old Earth whose skin is marked with holographic light and who remembers things otherwise lost.

Alexis Hall has a queer horror release!

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Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel

Author: Elizabeth Everett
Released: March 10, 2026 by Ace
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

When a magical hotel appears smack-dab in the middle of the most unmagical of worlds, the last thing the residents expect is to fall in love.

Manager of the Number Five Wayside Inn and World Travel Hub, Pax Nomen has one of the easiest jobs in all the known universes, unless you count the occasional plumbing disaster. When Number Five Wayside gets stranded on a non-magical world, even Pax’s trusty Wayside Handbook can’t help him. How is he going to “reboot” the hotel and keep it on its magical journey?

Josie LaChusia is a single mom experiencing debt, having parenting doubts, and tipping dangerously toward depression when an ad pops up on her phone that an apartment is available in a building she’s never seen before.

Pax needs a new guest to restart his hotel, and Josie needs a nudge to restart her life. In a building occupied by faeries, gargoyles, and a gnome with a bad attitude, two souls from very different places come together to create a home like no other.

The first book in a new series that combines historical romance and the fantastical. 

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Never Spar with a Viscount

Author: Lindsay Lovise
Released: March 10, 2026 by Forever
Genre: Historical: European, Mystery/Thriller, Romance
Series: Secret Society of Governess Spies #3

The rules are fake a relationship and solve a mystery. That should be easy … right?

Ivy Bennett has escaped the marriage mart once already—by becoming a governess to the new Lord Brackley’s unruly little sisters. Spending her days in the schoolroom and her nights running a secret self-defense class for women, she has absolutely no interest in a husband. So when Ivy is handed a secret assignment by the spymaster known as the Dove, she sees an fake a courtship with the enigmatic Owen Brackley to avoid her conniving father’s attempts to marry her off, complete the mission, and finally secure her freedom. Simple. Until it’s not.

Women across London are succumbing to a strange madness, and they all share a connection to Brackley—the same man who looks at Ivy like he sees right through her and is none too bothered by her lack of ladylike charm. As Ivy gathers gossip like breadcrumbs and dodges increasingly dangerous attempts on Brackley’s life, she realizes two someone wants the viscount gone, and the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to tell what’s real and what’s just part of the game.

Lara: With historical romance disappearing from traditional publishing, I am always delighted to read new-to-me authors in this genre. I really enjoyed this book and there’s a full review coming!

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You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom

Author: Vincent Tirado
Released: March 10, 2026 by William Morrow
Genre: Gothic, Horror, Mystery/Thriller

Demons clash with inheritance claims as secrets unfold and violence is unleashed over twelve harrowing hours trapped in a house with the worst thing imaginable: family.

When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.

While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations…and murder.

Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.

And the clock is ticking…

Amanda: I’m getting Ready or Not vibes from this and I’m into it. (Also if you haven’t seen the Ready or Not movie, you should! A sequel with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood is coming out this month!)

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How You Get the Girl

Chemistry sizzles in this workplace rom-com set in the world of high school basketball from the author of  Love & Other Disasters , named a “must-read” by  USA Today , PopSugar, SheReads, and Harper Bazaar.

When smart-mouthed Vanessa Lerner joins the high school basketball team Julie Parker coaches, Julie’s ready for the challenge. What she’s not ready for is Vanessa’s new foster parent, Elle Cochrane—former University of Tennessee basketball star. While star-struck at first, soon Julie persuades Elle to step into the unfilled position of assistant coach for the year.

Even though Elle has stayed out of the basketball world since an injury ended her short-lived WNBA career, the gig might be a way to become closer to Vanessa—and to spend more time with Julie, who makes Elle laugh. As the coaches grow closer, Elle has a hard time understanding how Julie is single. When Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes it was more like sports—being able to practice first—it sparks an intriguing idea. While Elle still doubts her abilities as a basketball coach, helping Julie figure out dating is definitely something she can do. But as the basketball season progresses, and lines grow increasingly blurred, Julie and Elle must decide to join the game—or retreat to the sidelines.

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Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle by Tessa Bailey is $1.99! This is book one in the Romancing the Clarksons series. While I don’t have strong feelings about illustrated covers (hey, whatever helps sell romance to new readers!), I kind of hate this one.

The first book in a brand new contemporary romance series from New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey!

When Rita Clarkson’s Suburban takes its last breath on a New Mexico roadside, rescue roars up on a Harley in the form of smooth-talking honkey tonk owner, Jasper Ellis, a man as mysterious as he is charming. Rita’s cross-country journey to New York City–with her three estranged siblings in tow–is only beginning, but now that Jasper has found Rita, his plans do not include her leaving.

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To Seduce a Sinner

To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt is $1.99! This is book two in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series. It features a marriage of convenience and the heroine has always had a major crush on the hero.

Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, has a problem: he needs to marry and produce an heir to the title. All Jasper wants is to find a lady who will put up with him long enough to wed so he can retreat to his life of debauchery—a life that keeps the haunting memories of his past at bay. Knowing that Jasper is under pressure to marry, Melisande Fleming grasps her fate with both hands and volunteers to wed him. Although Jasper is initially only interested in producing an heir, he soon becomes entranced by his wife—prim and proper by day, wanton by night—and vows to learn her secrets.

Melisande, however, is determined to keep her husband at a distance. She has loved and lost before, and will do anything to keep him from learning her terrible weakness: She’s secretly been in love with him for years. But to her chagrin, her husband pursues her, wooing her as if she were a paramour, not his lady wife. As Melisande and Jasper embark on a passionate game of cat and mouse, secrets from the past begin to resurface … threatening to tear them asunder.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Killing Moon

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin is $1.99! This is an earlier title of Jemisin’s and the first book in the Dreamblood series. How do you think it compares to the rest of her titles?

The city burned beneath the Dreaming Moon.

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers – the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe . . . and kill those judged corrupt.

But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh’s great temple, Ehiru – the most famous of the city’s Gatherers – must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is murdering dreamers in the goddess’ name, stalking its prey both in Gujaareh’s alleys and the realm of dreams. Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill – or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.

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From Elizabeth: I can’t. Just beyond bonkers. The antlers also seem to be a crown?!? Or a third eye and antlers?!?

And based on deer man, is the guy behind him a magic skunk with the white?

Cover has flowers, fire, shrubs, a cave, library shelves and books. Plus random mismatched fonts. Jeez.

Sarah: Left dude and Center dude have the same Cut and Paste face, right? RIGHT? (It’s freaking me out.)

Elyse: What is up with the dude on the right and his tattoos? What is that?

From Karen: Does no one look at their images before putting them on a book cover? I know this was probably built from other images but, good grief, did they look at the lines of the man’s shoulders in reference to the lines of the shirt/vest? Not only are there vertical lines indicating the top of his arms where there shouldn’t be, if you follow those then the width of the shoulders is less than the width of the waist. Or is it just me?

Sarah: I don’t believe in the position of her right arm unless she is trying to kill him, but I really, REALLY don’t believe in her feet.

(I typed, “I really don’t believe in her feet.” As a sentence. What is the world coming to.)

Amanda: That arm looks like it’s made of putty.

From PamG: Here’s an EMT with jazz hands of FIRE! Did his nitrile gloves spontaneously combust? Don’t you examine me with those things; I don’t need no burning sensation. Oh yeah, and WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIS EYES?

Sarah: In the winter my hands feel like that. Do I need extreme medical services?

Claudia: The size of the moon too. Scary!

Sarah: Maybe it’s a super beaver moon? We had one last November.

Elyse: Is that Kieran Culkin?

Amanda: I want to know more about these extreme medical services.

From Jen: I guess those are supposed to be wings on his back but to me it looks more like a flower. I just don’t understand.

Sarah: Why is the tree glowing? He seems to be concerned about it. Also, are those wings sufficient for takeoff and landing?

Amanda: The wings also look…very small for his body. Like little cherubic wings. Do you think he’s self-conscious about his wing size?

1. Love Interest by Clare Gilmore Amazon | B&N | Kobo
2. How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
3. Dom-Com by Adriana Anders Amazon | B&N | Kobo
4. Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop Amazon | B&N | Kobo
5. Ellie Hayes and the Himbos by Vanessa King Amazon | B&N | Kobo
6. Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher Amazon | B&N
7. Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin Amazon | B&N | Kobo
8. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
9. Highland Wolf by Lynsay Sands Amazon | B&N | Kobo
10. The Witch’s Cottage by Emberly Wyndham Amazon

I hope your weekend reading felt productive!

For this month’s kickass woman, we turn our attention to Japan and the legendary life of Queen Himiko, the first recorded ruler of ancient Japan – not only the first female ruler, but the first ruler, period. I’m going to do a little summarizing here, but I’m also going to be very link-heavy. So much legend surrounds Queen Himiko that I am waaay over my head in terms of describing her life, but I do want to give you some links to explore so that you can learn about this fascinating woman.

Once upon a time, before Japan was a country, in the Yayoi (300BC-300AD) and Kofun (250-538AD) periods, there were all these island city-states. Rulers were also religious figures, and female shamans were highly regarded.

The written records of this period come from Chinese historians, who referred to this region as “The Land of Wa”, home of the “Eastern Barbarians.” We also have writings from Korean historians. As summed up in the article “Queen Himiko: Badass Women in Japanese History” by Chelsea Bernard:

During the second half of the 2nd century (ca. 147-190 AD), the lack of a capable leader plunged the Land of Wa into political turmoil and violent upheaval. Finally, in 190 AD the unmarried shamaness was chosen by the people to rule. Installed in a palace with armed guards and watch towers, she was served by “1,000” female attendants while her “brother” acted as a medium of communication, transmitting her instructions and pronouncements to the outside world. After ascending to the throne, she went on to restore order and maintain peace like a boss for the next 50 or 60 years.

Queen Himiko pulled about 100 kingdoms and confederacies and clans together. She sent diplomatic missions to China, which formally recognized her rule. This video explains her role as a verifiable person in written record and archeology. It’s pretty dry but also very detailed.

This video gives a nice quick summary and is entertaining because it a) ties into the game Civilization and b) is narrated by a woman who is being eaten alive by deer – no really!

@civilization

Hide your deer snacks @SophieQuests heads to Nara, Japan to discover the history of Queen Himiko! civ7 strategygames gamingontiktok japan himiko

♬ original sound – Sid Meier’s Civilization

If you like the video game connection, you’ll enjoy this article from Medium which includes a discussion of her portrayal in Tomb Raider as well as a scholarly look at where exactly she might have lived.

The author, Frankie Webb, concludes:

The real Himiko’s legacy is a reminder of how historical women figures are often forgotten. She doesn’t feature prominently in the history of Japan, and recognition as a ruler didn’t come till the Edo period in the 1600s. It is likely that the Japanese adoption of Buddhism and Confucianism didn’t do much to elevate the status of women. Fortunately, she wasn’t permanently erased. Himiko represents the first notable ancestor of a strong tradition of female religious leaders and political leaders in Japan and serves as a representation of the unnamed women forgotten to history.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Himiko is that she was not unique as a powerful woman in Ancient Japan. Returning to the article by Chelsea Bernard:

In other words, Himiko was not an anomaly. She was merely the first notable ancestor of a strong tradition of female religious leaders (a la miko priestesses in Shinto) and political leaders (a la empresses) in Japanese history. Over time women’s roles may have devolved from active initiators to assistants in both spiritual and secular realms. But Himiko serves as a shining example that symbolically reflects the many other (now anonymous) women who were also leaders in their communities.

Currently, Himiko thrives in pop culture and celebration in Japan, where multiple cities claim to have been her home and celebrate her in festivals. Bernard notes that she pops up in novels, manga, movies, and yes, of course porn. Possibly the oddest use of her name is this:

As a role model the shamaness queen can symbolize female power, innate occult abilities, national origins, and even good eating habits. No kidding, she’s the poster girl for a school campaign that urges students “to chew your food as thoroughly Queen Himiko did” in order to improve digestion and tooth health.

I can’t speak to how historically accurate the claim is that Himiko was good at masticating, but she is a fascinating figure who teaches us about the history of women in power as well as how the written record can lift a figure up or erase it. Please check out Bernard’s article in its entirety, as it is fascinating and entertaining! Here’s one more video that has a bit of an overview and a photo of a statute of the Queen:

Breakout Year

A newly traded, newly out third baseman on the cusp of his first major contract hires a fake boyfriend—not expecting him to be the former player who ghosted him years before. But as their star ascends in public, their feelings burn hot in private…threatening to expose what’s for the cameras—and what’s for real.

Eitan Rivkin is used to being first. First generation born to Russian immigrant parents, first overall pick in the draft, now the first ballplayer to come out… before his first big contract. It’s lonely being the first, and it’s especially lonely in the inescapable eye of New York sports media.

So when he wants to practice dating openly for the first time, he hires a boyfriend—only for the cameras of course. But he never expected that boyfriend to be Akiva Goldfarb, a once-promising player who disappeared after he and Eitan played together way back when.

Akiva is used to being first too. The first—and only—Orthodox Jewish player drafted to play professional ball. The first to quit when things got rough. The first named in the acknowledgements of the books he freelance edits, because, hey, the rent’s due on the first of the month. Being hired as someone’s (fake) boyfriend is just another gig, right? Even if Akiva left baseball—and baseball players—behind for a reason.

What starts out as a brief arrangement gradually transforms into something more. But being the first openly gay active player in professional baseball comes with a heavy personal cost, one Eitan is less and less certain he’s willing to pay. And when an on-field incident threatens to disrupt Eitan’s free agency plans, they’ll have to figure out if the truth is better than fiction.

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Next to You

Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young is $1.99! This is a contemporary friends to lovers romance where the main characters are turning a bus into a cozy, movable tiny home.

Two friends battle feelings for each other as they work together to renovate a school bus into a home in this charming romance novel from the viral TikTok author of Next of Kin and Out on a Limb.

“Warm, sexy, and vulnerable . . . Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar.”—Hannah Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker

Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is heading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive a giant yellow forty-eight-passenger school bus that she intends to make her home.

With little-to-no renovation experience but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt—a mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.

While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt and Lane have silently agreed that a friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. Matt’s a total family guy with “settle down with me” tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment averse. It could never work . . . right?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Dirty Magic

Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells is $1.99! This is book one in the Propero’s War urban fantasy series. Some readers warn that they couldn’t put this book down, while others felt the action was bogged down by world building.

The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn’t expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.

The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she’s convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she’s been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she’d never use dirty magic again.

Kate Prospero’s about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.

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Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh is $1.99! I’ve been a fan of Brosh’s work for a long time and  gave this a B grade:

Everything is told with Brosh’s trademark self-deprecation and accentuated by her oftentimes hilarious art style. I love how mischievous and expressive cartoon Allie is. I can’t help but laugh at “the simple dog” and how the animal looks positively boneless and made of jello in every frame. It’s a book with personality in every aspect of its pages and I enjoyed taking my time with it.

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative–like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it–but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

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For whatever reason, March is one of the most packed months this year with regard to queer releases, and it’s got some of the best queer romances I’ve read in a while! Treat yourself to the kickoff of spring with one (or five!) of these delightful books!

Anderson in Bloom

Author: Jennifer Dugan
Released: March 3, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the author of Love at First Set, a hilariously sexy enemies-to-lovers, second-chance rom-com about a reclusive former child star turned florist whose quiet life is turned upside down when her annoyingly hot ex (and former costar) shows up in town, with plans to write a tell-all memoir.

Former child star Anderson “Andy” Ducharme is hiding—has been for a long time, if she’s honest with herself, which she isn’t.

When she suddenly cut off all ties and left LA six years earlier to work in a flower shop in coastal New England, she wasn’t just running away from toxic relationships, embezzling agents, and all the rest of her Hollywood life; she was running to something… sort of, if you squinted, and if you accepted that what she was running toward was little more than a vacation daydream she had made up with her (in)famous ex, and former costar, Nicole “Nikki” Price.

Then Nikki announces her plan to write a tell-all book about growing up in Hollywood and their tumultuous time on the Nik and Andy show, and Andy’s feelings of hurt and betrayal come rushing back. Emboldened by anger (and maybe one too many drinks), Andy does something very stupid: she texts her ex for the first time in years. No one’s more shocked than Andy when Nikki actually shows up to her small florist shop, looking for answers.

Andy is fully prepared to send Nikki away, but it seems Nikki has some unfinished business as well. Now that she finally knows where Andy’s been hiding, she’s not letting her go so easy. And with each passing encounter, Andy can’t deny the simmering physical attraction that threatens to boil over every time they get close.

But can the two of them really reunite without wrecking Andy’s carefully rebuilt life? Or is she setting herself up for a fresh heartbreak?

I am a die-hard Dugan fan, both YA and Adult, so hear me when I say this second-chance romance is her best one yet. Like, I took out a bookmark and didn’t even use it. The celebrity backstory element combines a fun, juicy gossip feel with one of my favorite things in a romance, which is “Let’s reconcile how you saw this thing going down vs. how I saw this thing going down,” and the way it works through toxicity in a romance is a lovely thing to behold.

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Star Shipped

Author: Cat Sebastian
Released: March 3, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

Cat Sebastian’s long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.

Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.

Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he finds he’s actually not having a terrible time.

The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything… right?

I don’t really think anyone has any doubts as to whether Cat Sebastian, mistress of historical m/m romance, can pull off her first contemporary, but if you did, lemme go ahead and put ’em to bed. All the fun, wit, and chemistry of her historicals is perfectly present, and this one’s got mental health and neurodivergence at the forefront of its Hollywood story too. It reminded me a bit of a grown-up version of one of my all-time favorite m/m YA Romances, How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by JC Lillis, and if that means anything to you, you’re gonna wanna nab this one ASAP.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Thirty Love

Author: Tom Vellner
Released: March 10, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

Things heat up on and off the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports rom-com, perfect for fans of TJ Alexander and Casey McQuiston.

American tennis star Leo Chambers is determined to win the US Open by thirty, the age when many players feel retirement looming. He’s just a year away from that dreaded birthday, but he can’t find his focus—considering he hasn’t told anyone he’s gay, he’s clashing with his strict coach (who also happens to be his dad), and he still can’t figure out how to beat his longtime nemesis on tour, Gabe Montoya, who, well, hits different. Gabe is playing better than ever, and Leo can’t seem to escape him—and maybe he doesn’t want to escape him.

Leo’s other obstacle is Sascha Volkov, a Russian legend who has such a powerful influence on the tennis world, he would destroy Leo’s career if he found out that he’s gay.

No distractions, Leo reminds himself. But when Gabe makes a shocking announcement, Leo is thrown off his game—in more ways than one. Ready? Play.

Thirty Love is a must-read for fans of queer sports romances.

Tennis is having a spectacular moment in queer romance right now for whatever reason (you’ll see at least two more featured in this very column in the next few months, and last year saw one of traditional publishing’s biggest deals ever for a debut Sapphic romance in Katie Chandler’s Backhanded Compliments), but in a sub-subgenre dominated by f/f pairings, I’m particularly excited to see what Vellner’s debut brings to the court.

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A Lady for All Seasons

Author: TJ Alexander
Released: March 10, 2026 by Vintage
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the acclaimed author of Chef’s Kiss and A Gentleman’s Gentleman comes a riotous Regency romp, featuring a charming and unforgettable genderfluid lead.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip.

When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend Étienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal—for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And—unexpectedly—be charmed by her.

Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don’t allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fiancé, Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society’s constraints to find true happiness.

Are you tired of hearing me gush about TJ Alexander yet? Don’t care! I’m obsessed with the delight they’re bringing to trans historical romance these days, and both the spirit and wit of their characters and the fact that there’s always a sweet found family aspect to it. This one’s got queer discovery, genderfluidity, yearning, and a plot fit for Shakespeare that’ll have you kicking your feet in the best kind of frustrated glee.

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Want to order this one? We’ve got the links you need!.

 

 

 

Shake Out the Ghosts

Author: Al Hess
Released: March 17, 2026 by Angry Robot
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance

Left with PTSD and facial scars after an attack 9 months ago, eccentric portrait artist Micah finds the sanctuary of his home disrupted by signs of a haunting. Between 80’s synth pop and motivational messages scrawled on his bathroom mirror, Micah is more charmed than frightened by Cosmo, the deceased previous resident of his apartment. But when Cosmo’s ghost suddenly disappears, Micah’s determined to lure him back.

Dramatic, unconventional and very much alive, sculpture artist Cosmo mourns his old self. His boyfriend’s a serial cheater, he’s continually passed over for a promotion at work, and he’s lost his best friend. To make matters worse, his apartment’s being haunted by a bespectacled man with an eye socket of scars. Seeking a new start, Cosmo moves out.

In a chance meeting, Cosmo and Micah’s paths cross again, and tentative sparks fly. But the phantoms of their pasts still linger. To find a future where they can be happy together, they must confront their trauma once and for all.

Hess has made his name is weird (complimentary) queer and trans speculative fiction of the Dystopian/Sci-Fi type, so it’s very cool to see him swing into Romance while balancing similarly unique and unconventional plot with very real human trauma and growth. Very curious to see what Hess will do next!

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Well, sort of. Specifically I remember to sing and dance to it across the kitchen at inopportune moments.

I also love silly videos featuring game characters and screen recordings. It’s one of my favorite subgenres, even if I have NO idea which game it is (I know which game this is).

Do you have any fave video game clips or parodies? Please do share in the comments – these threads are freaking delightful because we all have similar senses of humor. Which makes sense.

Happy Friday! PWN Your Weekend!

Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson did a multi-year study on the community of romance authors and I have never stopped thinking about it. In this conversation, we’re talking about that study, what they learned about romance as a community, especially about gender dynamics.

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find their published work based on this study in the following articles – these link to the abstract because I don’t have a membership to this academic database.

• Aspirational Emotion Work: Calling, Emotional Capital, and Becoming a “Real” Writer
• Sneers and Leers: Romance Writers and Gendered Sexual Stigma

The music in the original episode was provided by Sassy Outwater. This is the Peatbog Faeries album Blackhouse. This track is called “The Dragons Apprentice.” Dragons!

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