This request comes from Shana: I’ve been rewatching Last Tango in Halifax and craving small town older adult romcoms with a similar whimsical vibe. Amanda: I think Megan Bannen’s fantasy books have a small town feel and older characters. Sarah: Would BK Borison’s books work for this? I think the Lovelight series might fit very well. Amanda: I don’t know if the characters are older than 20s? Someone please let us know in the comments! … Continue reading The Rec League: Whimsical, Small Town Romances with Older Couples →

This Rec League comes from S. Thanks! Hello! I’ve recently read a bunch of heterosexual historical romances featuring distressingly tall heroines who inevitably end up with heroes happily taller than them. Yawn. Do you have any recommendations for books with short kings instead? I’m open to contemporaries and fantasy as well. Amanda: Tangentially, we had a tall heroines rec league back in 2017. Lara: Judging by the cover image (if I’m remembering right) the hero … Continue reading The Rec League: Short Kings →

This Rec League is from Rebecca from our podcast Patreon Discord: So I’m really enjoying the Below Stairs mysteries and wondered if anyone has any recs for other historical cosy mystery series. What I like about them is they generally resolve well and have that cosy mystery feel, but they also acknowledge some of the social justice issues of the time. I don’t really like high society stuff, so I like that they’re about working … Continue reading The Rec League: Cozy Historical Mysteries →

This Rec League was sent in by Anne: I’ve been re-reading Susanna Kearsley’s books about the Jacobites was reminded about how very unlucky the Stuarts were in their efforts to regain the throne in England. I am interested in books about what might have happened in the Stuarts were successful or if Queen Anne had named her half-brother as her successor instead of her German cousin. On a similar note, I’m also interested in books … Continue reading The Rec League: Alternate History →

This Rec League came from our staff reviewer Shana: Have we done a Rec League on books where the couple’s first time having sex is awkward or bad and they had to learn how to give each other pleasure? I feel like I remember us talking about those romances but I’m not sure what we might have called the Rec League. I love historical married couple romances, and this trope feels somewhat adjacent. Carrie: Jennifer … Continue reading The Rec League: Awkward Sex →

This Rec League was sent in from Cassidy: I’m looking for a book recommendation (recommendations if I’m being honest) for a book with a reverse grumpy x sunshine relationship. As much as I appreciate the brooding, cold, grumpy hero, I prefer romance where it’s the woman who is the grumpy or closed off one while the guy is social, pleasant to be around, funny, and an overall ball of sunshine/ a golden retriever—but books with … Continue reading The Rec League: Grumpy/Sunshine with Grumpy Heroines →

This request came from Vicki. Thanks, Vicki! I was chatting with someone in India who is unhappy with their cricket team and remembering playing cricket as a kid. I’m wondering if there are any good cricket romances. Sarah: I am stumped! Amanda: Same! If any exist, they’re most certainly indie pubbed or not readily available in the US, given that Jodi McAlister’s reality TV romances were Aussie-only for a while, given that her publisher wasn’t … Continue reading The Rec League: Cricket Romances →

It appears that several of our SBTB Podcast Patreon Discord are planning for a vacay. In preparation, we’d like to compile some great vacation reading suggestions for the occasion. Sarah: On one memorable vacation, this book gave me an absurd good time: The Very Virile Viking by Sandra Hill Carrie: If you haven’t read The Windflower by Laura London on the beach then you haven’t lived. Lara: During my last holiday, my best friend introduced … Continue reading The Rec League: Vacation Reading →

This Rec League came in from Liz. Thanks, Liz! I’ve been on a romantic fantasy and sci-fi marathon lately and I’m looking for some recs, please. So, you know how in many fantasy novels, particularly urban/modern fantasy, there’s a lot of MC’s that go through a culture shock, fish out of water, “ZOMG! Vampires and shifters and magic!?!” phase that’s often at the start of a series? I would like the opposite of that. I’m … Continue reading The Rec League: Self-Aware Fantasy Main Characters →