This Rec League came from our own Sarah! It was a tough one: What do you think about a Rec League of escape books: stories, esp romance, that are so absorbing, you disappear into the book for a long while. And the catch is, no one can rec a book they’ve rec’d before? Sarah: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, but this is not a cozy kind of fantasy. A young woman with cancer … Continue reading The Rec League: Pure Escapism
Hi! This Rec League request is from me (Amanda) and I thought it was a good tie-in for Halloween. I was thinking about how much I enjoyed Slouch Witch when we recently featured it on sale. I loved the flip of having a main character who felt mediocre in their magic or honestly was happy doing the bare minimum. It was a refreshing departure from the “chosen one” stories that I mainly see out there. … Continue reading The Rec League: Lazy Witches
Hello, everyone! We have a slightly different Rec League this week. On a bonus episode of the podcast, which we release for SBTB Podcast Patreon members, Sarah asked me to come up with some fall gaming recs. Well, I definitely overdid it and had twenty in a matter of ten minutes. Most of these are cozy games, with a couple of exceptions. If you are a fellow cozy gamer, allow me to plug Wholesome Games. … Continue reading The Rec League: Video Games for Fall
This Rec League came from Kim. Thanks, Kim! I just read Rachel Reid’s excellent m/m hockey romance Time to Shine, and am looking for more “golden retriever”-style MMCs. Can be any gender pairing, but my preference is m/f or m/m. If m/f, it should be a golden retriever MMC, not FMC. I think of the golden retriever hero as joyful/playful, extroverted, loyal, supportive of the other MC, physical/physically affectionate, and not especially book smart. I … Continue reading The Rec League: Golden Retriever Energy
This Rec League came from Babelfish. Thank you so much! Hi y’all – you did a wonderful post a while back on fat-positive historical romances, and generally y’all are super cool about calling out fatphobia where you see it. The book I’m looking for may not exist, but if it does, I thought you’d know. (I’m a librarian and I’m coming up empty, so I’m turning to the experts!) I’m looking for books for *partners* … Continue reading The Rec League: Supportive Through Body Dysmorphia
This Rec League comes from Elyse: Heroes with Glen Powell from Twisters vibes (kinda cocky cowboy with secret heart of gold). Bonus points for found family Shana: I haven’t seen Twisters but cowboys are my jam. I suggest The Cowboy Whisperer by Sabrina Sol and Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboys of California series. Beverly Jenkins’s has some cocky cowboys too: Something Like Love and her Old West series might work for this. Have any of you seen Twisters? … Continue reading The Rec League: Cocky Cowboys
We did a Rec League on Winter Olympics back in 2018, but some of y’all might be in the mood for an updated list with an inclusion of summer sports. Sarah: Cleat Cute! A lot of coach books are popping into my head, like Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein – former athletes not current. Elyse: Yeah, it’s about an Olympic gymnast hopeful who is trying to move on after not making the cut. Sarah: … Continue reading The Rec League: Olympics
This Rec League came from Rebecca in the SBTB Patreon Discord. The community there had some great suggestions but also wanted to open it up to y’all because I know you’ll have even more books to recommend and this might be someone’s mega-catnip: Can anyone rec books where the characters fall in love or at least bond on a journey ideally a historical fantasy type journey riding horses or similar. I’m noticing that some of … Continue reading The Rec League: Gentle Historical or Fantasy Road Trips
This Rec League comes from Katie! Hi, I am requesting this for a coworker who was lamenting that there are no adult closed door queer romances, as everything closed door is either YA or adult but not actually a romance because it is full of pain and struggles (no HEA). I brainstormed for a while and could only come up with YA titles. Help! Tara: Heather Rose Jones writes queer historical fantasy that fit the … Continue reading The Rec League: Closed Door Queer Romances
This Rec League request comes from Sunrayravine in our SBTB Patreon Discord: I’m looking for recs for m/f romances where both MCs are bi or pan. I’ve read and enjoyed: Caroline’s Heart by Austin Chant You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon and I have the following on my tbr: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian Trouble by Lex Croucher Radiant Sin by … Continue reading The Rec League: Bi and Pan Couples
This Rec League request is from SBTB reviewer, Kiki! I’ve been stuck in a loop of reading a lot of historicals that can be summarized as “this deeply emotionally traumatized man is actively saying that he is unable to love me/is not nice to me, BUT I love who he used to be/who I imagine him to be SO I’m just going to heal him with my love and there are no consequences for his … Continue reading The Rec League: Emotionally Competent Historical Romances
