Fake Dating, a Mystery, & More

Oct. 9th, 2025 03:30 pm
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Posted by Amanda

Into the Drowning Deep

RECOMMENDED: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is $2.99! Elyse & I really enjoyed this horror/sci-fi novel. We jointly reviewed the book and ultimately decided on a B. We loved the cast of characters, but found the ending anticlimactic.

New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant, author of the renowned Newsflesh series, returns with a novel that takes us to a new world of ancient mysteries and mythological dangers come to life. 

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

An American in London

An American in London by Louise Bay is $1.99! Elyse mentioned this in a previous Hide Your Wallet and was tempted by the fake dating plot.

For a people-pleasing New Yorker and a disagreeable (if seriously hot) Brit, it’s love at fourth sight in a funny and emotional romantic comedy by a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author.

Tuesday Reynolds’s dreamy life in Manhattan has gone belly-up. Ditched by her college sweetheart and with her Wall Street banking job at risk, she’s off to London to prove herself to a new CEO. Plans change when Tuesday meets Ben Kelley, a wealthy, scowly, and movie-star-handsome stranger. He’s just missing one thing to make his professional dreams come true.

What does Ben need? Oh, just a fake fiancée to impress a duke and duchess. What’s in it for Tuesday? Enough money to put a down payment on an apartment back in New York, a new wardrobe, and a weekend in the country at the stately home of the duke and duchess. The Bridgerton vibes are absolutely off the charts.

Everything between Ben and Tuesday is completely professional, until the rehearsals for their weekend romance start to feel…almost authentic.

It’s official. Tuesday’s life has been hijacked by a rom-com scriptwriter. But the best love stories aren’t the ones on the big screen. Maybe they’re the real ones that sneak up on you when you least expect it.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Drop Dead Sisters

Drop Dead Sisters by Amelia Diane Coombs is 2.99! I know we’ve mentioned this on the site, but I can’t remember in what capacity. Three estranged sisters reunite on a camping trip, only for the night to end in murder!

“Compulsively readable, Drop Dead Sisters is perfect for readers who love shows like Bad Sisters and Dead to Me. A mystery about three estranged sisters who accidentally kill someone? Yes, please.” —Mindy Kaling

Three sisters reunite on a family vacation and rekindle their relationship the only way they know how—by covering each other’s tracks in a real-life murder mystery not even they can figure out.

Remi Finch has spent the better part of her adult life avoiding family—especially her sisters. They just don’t click. Besides, her unconventional upbringing and major anxiety have convinced Remi that she can’t build a relationship with anyone. Period.

When her parents plan a family reunion camping trip to celebrate their anniversary, Remi’s willing to reconnect, if only because she doesn’t have a choice. But then a dead body turns up at their campsite, and their sisterly bonding kicks into high gear.

No one knows the whole story, but the Finch women are prepared to cover up the pieces before anyone tries to put them together. It’s a precautionary measure, probably unnecessary. Nobody else was there, so how could they have seen anything?

Between old grudges and new dynamics, a handsome park ranger, and a body that won’t stay hidden, Remi is about to learn that nothing strengthens family ties quite like crime.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

More Than Words

More Than Words by Mia Sheridan is $2.99! This is a friends to lovers romance between childhood friends who haven’t seen each other in years. I read this one and liked it, but it’s high on drama and angst. There’s also some Joan of Arc nerdery. Content warning for abuse in the hero’s backstory.

No one lays open the heart and soul quite like New York Timesbestselling author Mia Sheridan.

The moment she met Callen Hayes, eleven-year-old Jessica Creswell knew he was a broken prince. Her prince. They became each other’s refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed herJessica’s first real, dreamy kissand then disappeared from her life without a word.

Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen’s music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It’s only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence . . . even as she sets his blood on fire.

But they don’t belong in each other’s worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that needand something that looks dangerously like love.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

[personal profile] tcampbell1000 posting in [community profile] scans_daily
As of Fantastic Four #407, after a two-year presumed-dead absence, Reed Richards was finally back. But the question running through the next half-year of comics was, “How ‘back’ IS he, really?”

After all, he’s a stretchy hero! What you think is his back could just be more of his FRONT! )

Love Nest by Yuu Minaduki

Oct. 9th, 2025 09:55 am
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[personal profile] reviews_and_ramblings
 

Masato just wants some peace and quiet on his day off, but the kids upstairs continue to make that impossible, so he escapes to his friend Naruse’s gay bar. Sympathetic to his ongoing plight, Naruse recommends Masato just move into his second home since he’s not using it. But upon his arrival, Masato find a gruff, untidy older man already living there. Does this real-life odd couple stand a chance as roomies…and perhaps something more?

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4oaaWJM)

Love Nest is a very comfortable series—warm and cute, without much drama. Masato and Asahi are perfect together, each filling the other’s voids. Asahi is older and more settled; he’s divorced but holds no resentment toward his ex-wife. He’s seemingly straight, but when Masato makes moves on him, he accepts them with an ease that might appear careless, though it’s really that for Asahi, gender doesn’t matter—if it’s love, that’s all that counts. Through Asahi, Masato learns that true love exists, and his past bad experiences weren’t genuine love. Despite seeming straight, Asahi never gives Masato any reason to worry that he might leave for a woman. Asahi is a safe harbor for Masato—a place where he can finally find happiness and rest.

Binary #1 (and bonus Imperial War)

Oct. 9th, 2025 01:36 am
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[personal profile] mastermahan posting in [community profile] scans_daily


Let's see how Carol Danvers is doing in the world of Revelation! Is she making wise, well-considered choices, or she is being an ineffectual authoritarian again?

Read more... )

Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer

Oct. 9th, 2025 06:00 am
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Posted by Carrie S

B+

Crafting for Sinners

by Jenny Kiefer
October 7, 2025 · Quirk Books
HorrorLGBTQIA

Hey, you guys, remember that time that Hobby Lobby stole ancient artifacts from Egypt and Iraq? Technically they bought stolen artifacts. They didn’t do the digging themselves. I like to imagine that someone walked up to one of the high-ups in a trenchcoat and said, “Saaaayy…ya wanna buy a Dead Sea Scroll?” and they said, “Sure, what could go wrong?”

This book is totally not about that.

This book is about Ruth, who lives in the small town of Kill Devil, Kentucky, with her girlfriend, Abigail. Abigail wants them to move to someplace where they don’t have to pretend to be platonic roommates, but they are having trouble saving money, especially since Ruth was fired from her job at the local craft store, New Creations, for, as the manager puts it, having “values that do not align with ours.” Ruth makes some money making and selling crafts to buyers online, and when she has to fill a rush order she has to visit New Creations in order to get (shoplift) more yarn.

New Creations is a craft store owned by the New Creationist church, a megachurch church that moved into Kill Devil several years ago and that attracts parishioners from all the nearby towns. When Ruth gets to the store, it seems as though no one is there – until she finds herself locked in and hunted through the aisles by New Creationists who say ominous things about sacrifice and a demon and needing her alive. With only the items on the shelves to use as weapons, Ruth must battle homophobic cultists (and her own blood sugar – she’s diabetic) through the night.

I’ve been more and more interested in horror over the last decade, but I was not equipped to handle some of the gore and nastier moments in this book. I may have skimmed a little bit. I can’t tell you about it without spoiling scary moments which would send me to horror hell (which, I assume, is an especially bad version of hell). I put general warnings at the top of the review.

However, in the interest of kindness, I will put some very specific alerts here in this spoiler tag – don’t click unless you really want to know what lies ahead which, I have to warn you, will spoil some of the horror and some of the fun of the book – there’s just a lot to be gained here from not knowing what will come next.

Show Spoiler

Ruth stabs a guy in the eye with a knitting needle. This is described in LAVISH detail. Globs of eyeball keep appearing for simply ages.

Ruth superglues a guy in the face and he suffocates. It’s awesome, because Yay Ruth, but also awful. This is described in far more extravagant and lengthy detail than I would have expected. I had no idea a suffocation scene could be so drawn out and violent.

There are rats. I don’t do rats. I draw lines at creepy dolls, spiders, and rats. There are many, many, many rats. Biting, scratching, climbing rats. I had to skim.

And the cult’s evil plan involves cannibalism.

This book is scary and exciting and satisfying if you are carrying around a lot of rage. At times, it’s darkly humorous. It’s not subtle in its messaging, but lately I feel that subtly is overrated. Sometimes one wants a complex and deeply woven epic of Americana but at other times one just wants to see a cultist get threatened with the spiky bits of a “USA PROUD” lawn sign and this is one of those times.

Ruth is a wonderful character who goes from timidity to dogged fury in a plausible amount of time, fueled largely by her love for Abigail. Ruth’s emotional swings between empathy and ruthlessness are relatable and her ingenuity is admirable, but her biggest asset is probably sheer durability. This poor woman takes a tremendous amount of damage in the course of the book (there is no sexual assault). One reason I’m giving this book a B+ instead of an A is that it ends abruptly and frankly I needed at least a chapter of Ruth getting some freaking medical attention. I cannot overstress how violent the book is and how much injury Ruth suffers, although she gives considerably more than she gets. She doesn’t have superpowers or self defense training or any other advantages. She just does not stop, and I admire her so much for that.

I found this book to be exciting and cathartic and as heartwarming as a story about an evil cult can possibly be. Ruth’s use of the geography and objects in the store is inventive and fun. It’s a feminist and LGBTQIA positive story with a diabetic heroine who survives on her wits and her determination and her love for another woman. This rage-read had me glued (ahem) to the pages!

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Posted by Amanda

Workspace with computer, journal, books, coffee, and glasses.Welcome back!

For me, I think things are best described as busy, but boring. My wedding dress has officially been dropped off for alterations, our household is obsessed with Hades II, and I’m already eager for winter vacation.

The tourism in my area is about to hit its peak and I don’t love it.

That being said, October is absolutely flying. Does anyone else feel the same way? Anything exciting on your calendar or are you in the same camp as me?

Kresley Cole announced a new spinoff series! I’m pretty excited for it.

If you haven’t heard, book wholesaler Baker & Taylor has plans to shutdown following an unsuccessful attempt at acquisition. This is such a loss for libraries, on top of all the people who were recently laid off or will soon be without work.

Congratulations to Rob Stoll, who made this amazing romance-themed quilt.

Enjoy this cute browser game that my fiance shared with me!

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!

A Big Kindle Daily Deal Sale!

Oct. 8th, 2025 03:30 pm
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Posted by Amanda

Most of these are KDDs and as of right now, many of the deals are only available at Amazon.

Fan Service

RECOMMENDED: Fan Service by Rosie Danan is $2.99! Lara loved this one and gave it an A:

If you’re in the mood for some giddy happiness, then I humbly put forward Fan Service as a plentiful source of it.

The truth is stranger than fan fiction in the next sexy paranormal rom-com from the beloved author of The Roommate.

The only place small-town outcast Alex Lawson fits in is the online fan forum she built for The Arcane Files, a long-running werewolf detective show. Her dedication to archiving fictional supernatural lore made her Internet-famous, even if she harbors a secret disdain for the show’s star, Devin Ashwood. (Never meet your heroes—sometimes they turn out to be The Worst.)

Ever since his show went off the air, Devin and his career have spiraled, but waking up naked in the woods outside his LA home with no memory of the night before is a new low. It must have been a coincidence that the once-in-a-century Wolf Blood Moon crested last night. The claws, fangs, and howling are a little more difficult to explain away. Desperate for answers, Devin finds Alex—the closest thing to an expert that exists. If only he could convince her to stop hating his guts long enough to help….

Once he makes her an offer she can’t refuse, these reluctant allies lower their guards trying to wrangle his inner beast. Unfortunately, getting up close and personal quickly comes back to bite them.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Dungeon Crawler Crawl by Matt Dinniman is 99c! This reminds me so much of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. After an alien invasion, a man and his ex-girlfriend’s cat are stuck competing on a deadly galactic reality TV show.

The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman—now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Oxford Year

RECOMMENDEDMy Oxford Year by Julia Whelan is $1.99! It also has a Netflix adaptation. Have any of you watched it yet? Sarah also had something to say:

I recorded a podcast with Julia Whelan when the book came out and I just recorded a follow up where we take a very, very deep dive in the structure and writing of the book. If you’d like to read it before we spoil the dickens out of it (No actual Dickens, though) this is an excellent opportunity to grab your copy!

Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of Oxford, this sparkling debut novel tells the unforgettable story about a determined young woman eager to make her mark in the world and the handsome man who introduces her to an incredible love that will irrevocably alter her future—perfect for fans of JoJo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks.

American Ella Durran has had the same plan for her life since she was thirteen: Study at Oxford. At 24, she’s finally made it to England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local who is too quick with his tongue and his car ruins her shirt and her first day.

When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by none other than that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks for the first time that Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a connection she wasn’t anticipating finding and what begins as a casual fling soon develops into something much more when Ella learns Jamie has a life-changing secret.

Immediately, Ella is faced with a seemingly impossible decision: turn her back on the man she’s falling in love with to follow her political dreams or be there for him during a trial neither are truly prepared for. As the end of her year in Oxford rapidly approaches, Ella must decide if the dreams she’s always wanted are the same ones she’s now yearning for.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Funny Demon Valentine

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher is $2.99! This is book one in the Hell Bent series. I’m super curious about this one! Have any of you read it?

From instant New York Times bestselling author Aurora Ascher, comes the first novel in a funny steamy, paranormal romance series about learning how to love—and what love is in the first place—complete with HEA, clothes-ripping-hot love scenes, a crew of devilish demon brothers who are supposed to be the bad guys—Love can be Hell.

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to make music. Jazz, specifically. Unfortunately, he’s a demon. And he’s supposed to be evil.

Clearly, for Ash, a career as a musician isn’t exactly an option. Plus, he’s cursed. Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his three brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth. But it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail . . .

The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught, the consequences will be dire. Yet everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but, no matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends . . . and, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least that’s what Eva tells herself when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a 7-foot-tall monster. Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever. Or maybe just doom it. Eva and Ash will learn the path to love can be complete Hell.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Three Bags Full

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann is $4.99! This deal is a little higher than what we normally feature, but I mentioned this on a previous Get Rec’d and so many of you were intrigued.

This funny, surprising, and internationally bestselling mystery features a new breed of detectives you’ve got to read to baaaaa-lieve.

The deluxe edition paperback will feature bonus content and hits shelves 20 years after its original release.

Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him on a hill outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George has cared for the sheep, reading them books every night, and now he lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep, set out to find George’s killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world).

Her team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” of the group; Mopple the Whale, a merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a thoughtful, if gloomy, ewe—just to name a few. Together, the sheep engage in nightlong discussions about the crime and their speculations vary wildly. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, they embark on furtive missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher; Rebecca, the secretive village newcomer; Gabriel, the shady shepherd of a strange flock; and Father Will, a sinister priest.

With wit and heart, this clever international bestseller is a mystery to chew on—and savor.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

RECOMMENDED: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen is still $2.99! Sarah loved this one and gave it an A-:

If you like fantasy with characters that might sound like your neighbors sometimes, in a world with big stakes and little stakes and magical talking animals who deliver the mail, and especially if you like epistolary novels that lead to characters becoming more of themselves, you’ll like this undertaking. (Bad dum bum.)

Hart Ralston is a demigod and a marshal, tasked with patrolling the wasteland of Tanria. The realm the exiled old gods once called home is now a forsaken place where humans with no better options or no better sense come seeking adventure or spoils, but more often end up as drudges: reanimated corpses inhabited by the souls of those who’ve died in Tanria before. Hart tells himself that his job is simple: neutralize the drudges with a quick zap to the appendix and deliver them back to polite society at the nearest undertaker’s, leaving the whys and hows of the drudge problem for men without the complexities of a god in their family tree. But working alone, Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder exactly those questions he’d most like to avoid.

Too much time alone is the opposite of Mercy Birdsall’s problem. Since her father’s decline, she’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son undertakers afloat in small-town Eternity—despite definitely not being a son, and in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart Ralston, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. The work’s not the problem—Mercy’s good at it, better than any other Birdsall—but keeping all her family’s plates spinning singlehandedly, forever, isn’t how Mercy envisioned her future.

After yet another run-in with the sharp-tongued Mercy, Hart considers she might have a point about his utter loneliness being a bit of a liability. In a moment of sentimentality, he pens a letter addressed simply to “A Friend,” and entrusts it to a nimkilim, an anthropomorphic animal messenger with an uncanny connection to the gods, (and in Hart’s case, a bit of a drinking problem). Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most–Mercy. As the two unlikely pen pals grow closer, the truth about Hart’s parentage and the nature of the drudges creeps in. And suddenly their old animosity seems so small in comparison to what they might be able to do: end the drudges forever. But at what cost?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Tempting Olivia

Tempting Olivia by Clare Ashton is $1.49! This is book two in the f/f contemporary Oxford Romance series. Many of Ashton’s books have been mention and recommended on the site.

Olivia Sachdeva’s life is flawless. With a first from Oxford and as the youngest partner at Bentley lawyers, she expects high standards from everyone. Her only indulgences are eating iced desserts and repeat watching romcoms, especially those featuring Kate Laurence – pure escapism and cinematic perfection.

But, when the actor walks into Olivia’s office with a bag full of divorce and a messy personal life, that perfect bubble bursts. Kate seems nothing like the screen goddesses she plays, and Olivia must put aside her comfort viewing and handle the case like the true professional she is.

It requires secrecy, especially with indiscreet friends. Will best-friend Charlotte ever read the room? And will Millie, who instantly reads the room, ever stop commenting loudly?

And Kate? She doesn’t know what to think about this frosty lawyer. But she needs a quick divorce from a mistake of a marriage, which was over before it started, and Olivia Sachdeva is the best.

But little by little, Olivia and Kate glimpse behind the mask, to find someone they weren’t looking for, who may not even be perfect, but might be the right person for them.

Read as a stand-alone romance or book two of the Oxford Romance series.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

I Can’t Even

I Can’t Even by Jenn McKinlay is $1.99! This appears to be a standalone contemporary romance. This is a small town, second chance romance, but also has hints of complicated and/or toxic family dynamics.

Julia Blumer is called home to Gull’s Harbor, California, a hilly seaside community just north of San Diego, by her two sisters, Sophie and Emily, when it is clear that their domineering mother Babs Blumer is critically ill. Julia catches the first plane out of New York City, hoping to mend the rift between her and Babs that has existed since Julia left home after the fight to end all fights ten years ago. Much to her chagrin, Babs is not happy to see her and it’s not the reunion she hoped for.

Julia moves back into her old bedroom, the one that overlooks the neighbor’s house. While unpacking her few possessions and setting up a place to work at her the desk, she is shocked to see her old boyfriend, literally the boy next door, Liam Murphy in his old bedroom. She hides, hitting the floor and creeping back up to the windowsill to watch him as he works out in his room. The years have been good to Liam, very good, and Julia is alarmed by the attraction she still feels for the buff surfer boy, whose heart she smashed to bits when she ran away a decade ago.

While Babs’s condition deteriorates, family secrets are revealed and the past comes roaring back into the present. As the clock winds down on her time in Gull’s Harbor, Julia frantically tries to help her sisters, make peace with her mother, and win back the first love she has never gotten over.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed

Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed by Anna Campbell is $1.99! This is the first book in the Sons of Sin series and has some heavy Beauty and the Beast vibes. Some readers felt this was a beautiful, emotional romance, but some felt the second half was more interesting than the first.

Will a week of seduction…

Desperate to save her sister’s life, Sidonie Forsythe has agreed to submit herself to a terrible fate: Beyond the foreboding walls of Castle Craven, a notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel will take her virtue over the course of seven sinful nights. Yet instead of a monster, she encounters a man like no other. And during this week, she comes to care for Jonas Merrick in ways that defy all logic—even as a dark secret she carries threatens them both.

…Spark a lifetime of passionate surrender?

Ruthless loner Jonas knows exactly who he is. Should he forget, even for a moment, the curse he bears, a mere glance in the mirror serves as an agonizing reminder. So when the lovely Sidonie turns up on his doorstep, her seduction is an even more delicious prospect than he originally planned. But the hardened outcast is soon moved by her innocent beauty, sharp wit, and surprising courage. Now as dangerous enemies gather at the gate to destroy them, can their new, fragile love survive?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Dear Mr. Ridley

My Dear Mr. Ridley by Sandra Sookoo is 99c! This is book one in the Diamonds of London series. The heroine is a widower with a son and she’s enjoying being unattached in Italy. The hero is a grizzled and retired Bow Street Runner.

Sometimes, the road to romance is littered with intrigue, harrowing danger, and wild shock.

The year is 1818 and Theodosia Netherton—Lady Ballantyne—is wintering in the sunny climes of Italy in an effort to protect her health as well as to visit her brother. Widowed for three years, she has no interest in a new romance, but when a horrific emergency leads her to the doorstep of a handsome, former Bow Street Runner with wide shoulders and a mysterious scar, she might just change her mind.

Mr. Hudson Ridley is in Rome for the warmth and relative obscurity. Retired at the age of eight and thirty, the last thing he wants is to become embroiled in a kidnapping plot that involves an attractive widow and her missing son. Yet he was the best in the retrieval business in his prime, and she did have hauntingly unforgettable eyes as well as a smile that could make a man do wicked, stupid things.

In the quest to hunt the people who nabbed the boy and heir to a viscounty, Theodosia and Hudson dance about mutual desire until passion gets the better of them one star-lit evening amidst some of the country’s finest ruins. But tracking the criminals turns deadly when shots are fired at them. Time is running out to rescue the young heir, keep a valuable jewel safe, and somehow discover if love is the ultimate reward despite the risk.

Can two fearful hearts feel less broken together? Find out in My Dear Mr. Ridley , the first book in the exciting new Diamonds of London series.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

If the Duke Demands

If the Duke Demands by Anna Harrington is $2.99! This is the first book in the Capturing the Carlisles. Readers loved the mistaken identity element that kicks of the hero and heroines deal to help each other woo other people. Though readers warn that the hero does kiss another woman, which I know some readers don’t like.

A LESSON IN SEDUCTION . . .

Miranda Hodgkins has only ever wanted one thing: to marry Robert Carlisle. And she simply can’t wait a moment longer. During the Carlisle family masquerade ball, Miranda boldly sneaks into his bedchamber with seduction on her mind. Soon she’s swept into rock-hard arms for the most breathtaking kiss of her life. But when the masks come off, she’s horrified to find herself face-to-face with Sebastian, the Duke of Trent—Robert’s formidable older brother.

Shocked to find Miranda in his bed, Sebastian quickly offers her a deal to avoid scandal: He’ll help her win his brother’s heart if she’ll find him the perfect wife. But what begins as a simple negotiation soon spirals out of control. For the longer this reformed rake tries to make a match for Miranda, the more he wants to keep her all to himself.

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Highland Crown

Highland Crown by May McGoldrick is 99c! Elyse read this one and gave it a C, but notes:

If you like historicals with a lot of fast-paced action and don’t mind insta-love, then this book may work nicely for you.

Inverness, 1820
Perched on the North Sea, this port town―by turns legendary and mythological―is a place where Highland rebels and English authorities clash in a mortal struggle for survival and dominance. Among the fray is a lovely young widow who possesses rare and special gifts.

WANTED: Isabella Drummond
A true beauty and trained physician, Isabella has inspired longing and mystery―and fury―in a great many men. Hunted by both the British government and Scottish rebels, she came to the Highlands in search of survival. But a dying ship’s captain will steer her fate into even stormier waters. . .and her heart into flames.

FOUND: Cinaed Mackintosh
Cast from his home as a child, Cinaed is a fierce soul whose allegiance is only to himself. . .until Isabella saved his life―and added more risk to her own. Now, the only way Cinaed can keep her safe to seek refuge at Dalmigavie Castle, the Mackintosh family seat. But when the scandalous truth of his past comes out, any chance of Cinaed having a bright future with Isabella is thrown into complete darkness. What will these two ill-fated lovers have to sacrifice to be together…for eternity?

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is it a comic, or is it... homework

Oct. 8th, 2025 12:00 am
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October 8th, 2025next

October 8th, 2025: If you scroll allll they way down to the bottom of the site (and you're not on the mobile site!) you can see we have switched to our FALL FOOTER! It truly is the marker of the season: the leaves change colour, and so too does the png at the bottom of this webzone!!

– Ryan

Change World by Yuu Minaduki

Oct. 8th, 2025 02:59 pm
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Yosuke had a crush on Arimura—an upperclassman from his high school baseball team—for years before he finally confessed his feelings. And even after a year of being his boyfriend, every day still feels like a dream. But when Yosuke is hit on by a work colleague who is unknowingly Arimura’s former college upperclassman, the subsequent reunion of the classmates casts a shadow over Yosuke’s dream relationship.

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4h5g5AG)

Sayonara Game and Change World are essentially the same series—I’m not sure why they changed the names. Yosuke and Arimura are now a couple, but they’re still living much the same lives as before: Arimura stays at home with his parents, while Yosuke has the classic single B apartment that many young Japanese men live in. In a way, I think Arimura needs to grow up a bit, becoming more independent from his family and building a new home with Yosuke. These stories also explore Arimura’s bisexuality, which brings some insecurity about their future—Yosuke sometimes worries they won’t be able to make their relationship official and fears Arimura might ultimately choose a conventional family life. The sexual chemistry between them is quite good; Yosuke is still more innocent and adorable than Arimura, but they work well together as a couple on that level.
[personal profile] tcampbell1000 posting in [community profile] scans_daily


Reputation would suggest the 1980s' Suicide Squad offered a grim brand of super-action: among regular comic-book series, it was notorious for its high number of protagonist fatalities. And we're talking permadeath here, not just "everybody dies right before the reboot."

Though it might come in fifth now, after RISING STARS, STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI, Marvel’s TRANSFORMERS, and maybe 100 BULLETS. I’m probably forgetting at least one. )
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Posted by Carrie S

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you!

Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun!

If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.

Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.

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Posted by Guest Reviewer

B-

Look Before You Leap

by Virginia Heath
June 24, 2025 · St. Martin's Griffin
HorrorLGBTQIA

This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @‌thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.

Virginia Heath has crafted plenty of A-level, Squee-laden reads over the course of her historical romance writing career, and I’ve ranked her among my favorite historical authors of all time more than once. Her latest series, Miss Prentice’s Protegees, had been solid up until now, but Look Before You Leap is a weaker entry than the previous book in the line-up, All’s Fair in Love and War. I still like it more than her Meriwell Sisters trilogy, which was all right but didn’t work for me, but I found this book a small step down and a bit of a disappointment from the introductory chapter.

Miss Prentice’s School is a finishing school where young girls of good breeding go to get training for respectable occupations – in the Regency era, this means as a ladies’ companion or a governess. Horse-mad, pants-wearing Lottie Travers has just failed at being the latter twice over and is set upon being the former when a dash through Hyde Park on horseback causes her to bump into the hero – literally, and, thankfully for him, not fatally. She scolds him for not looking out, runs out and delivers his horse back to him, and leaves the man in a thunderous mood.

Said hero is Guy Harrowby, Viscount Wennington, and he’s just as horse-mad as Lottie but has the whole Viscountency riding on his shoulders. Guy is unmarried as he approaches thirty, and is being pressured by his mother and great aunt, the Dowager Lady Frinton, to get wed and pop out some kids for the estate, already. He just wants to be left alone to ride and is gunshy about romance after being hurt by his first love years ago. He tries to talk his mother into putting together a simple house party for thirty people to celebrate his birthday. But she and her sister have begun to conspire, and plot a birthday week during which they hope Guy will find the girl of his dreams. When his aunt arrives at the estate, who should be with her but Lottie, her new companion, whom she has already taken a shine to?

Guy and Lottie had immediate chemistry, and now that they’re together again something just might spark up between them. But can Guy get over his past heartbreak so that they can finally be together?

For all of the sparkle and life that Heath’s romances bring with them, there were too many running issues going on in Look Before You Leap. Chief among them was how simply ordinary the narrative is. You’ve met this sunshine-and-grumpy pairing before. Guy is a thundercloud who broods; Lottie is fiery and outspoken with a lust for life. Sometimes they kiss, sometimes they fight. Eventually they get it together, but there’s not enough attention put on the later phase of their relationship, making it feel half-mature and failing to show us they’re growing beyond the slap-slap-kiss phase of the union. The book is an endless pattern of them fighting and making up, interspersed eventually with sex scenes.

Mild spoilers for the ending

This repetition ends up getting double-underlined in the third act, where their temporary breakup is effected by Guy and his lingering fear of being publicly humiliated and he acts ridiculously. She tries to hold his feet to the fire, and he progresses as a character, but it absolutely should never have happened in the first place and ends up feeling very abrupt.

And yet I really liked Lottie in particular. She left home at sixteen to gain employment and send money back to her family in Kent, where she has four brothers. They owned a horse farm and being raised there has shaped her into the girl she is. Their mother died young and that left a mark on Lottie. She is not gently bred or weak-willed, and she is quite the delight overall. She’s the kind of girl who gets fired for stealing her employer’s horse, after all; she had spunk and spirit. The book’s worth reading for her alone, not to mention her growing connection with Lady Frinton.

But Guy? Eh. He’s the typical grump, mourning a long-ago humiliation that shouldn’t matter this much after nine years. While what was done to him was cruel, it’s been so much time that his intense focus on his own humiliation is almost cartoonish. Thus, he often comes off as self-centered and immature.

I did like a lot of the minor supporting characters, though for a chunk of the book, Guy’s mother and great aunt fall into that kind of pushy elderly matchmaker trope that I kind of hate. His father, too, is dead, which helps explain why his mother’s so baby mad. But utterly flawless was Lottie’s friendship with Lady Frinton, which was filled with vinegar and fire. I wish I could say Look Before You Leap was equally without flaws, but the heroine makes this worth reading, even if the romance runs as hot and cold as Lottie and Guy do.

Spy X Family Season 3- No Spoilers

Oct. 7th, 2025 03:44 pm
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[personal profile] fennectik posting in [community profile] anime_manga
Watched the first episode of the series on its third season and so far, so good. Anya seeks to protect the world without letting her foster parents know about her telepathic powers, Loid and Yor try keeping the family appearances without revealing their identity to each other, and Agent Nightfall seems to have more to go on around. The episode didn't show much about Loid's current task at hand, but being the first episode, I'm sure that will change. No word on Yor's obsessive brother yet either.

Hope any reading this has been able to watch it as well. I'm sure it won't disappoint.

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