Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-17 07:01 am

Holiday Gift Guide 2025: Jewelry, Puzzles and More!

Posted by SB Sarah

It’s time for another edition of Stuff We Like, and our final 2025 Holiday Gift Guides!

This week: gifts for folks into tarot, astrology, the stars, puzzles, and more!

Take a look:

Stuff We Like - Jewelry, puzzles and more!

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

Remember, if you have requests for your holiday shopping, please let us know! 

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.

rocky41_7: (Default)
rocky41_7 ([personal profile] rocky41_7) wrote in [community profile] books2025-12-16 08:58 pm

Recent Reading: The Tomb of Dragons

Time and circumstance conspired to keep me from reviewing the second book in the Cemeteries of Amalo book, The Grief of Stones, but today I finished the third book, Tomb of the Dragons and I do have time to review this third and final book in the trilogy.

This is NOT a spoiler-free review.

Tomb of the Dragons retains much of what I loved about the first two books, including Thara’s character and his investigations into the underbelly of Amalo, with a healthy helping of Ethuveraz politics.

Thara is having to adjust to the events at the end of the last book, and here, I feel, is where we truly see how important his calling is to him—how he handles losing it. It gives some good perspective to why he is so dogged in pursuing his work goals—his calling really is his sense of purpose, his life. Watching Thara grapple with this change and its indefinite consequences was fascinating.

However, it also retains in greater measure some of the things that I didn’t love about the earlier books, including Addison’s obsession with minutiae. I can only read about the characters traveling on this or that tram line so many times before my eyes start skipping lines to the things that really matter. This would bother me less if it didn’t feel like it came at the expense of more important things.

Read more... )
musesfool: gold star christmas ornament (follow that star)
i did it all for the robins ([personal profile] musesfool) wrote2025-12-16 08:26 pm
Entry tags:

but I really look at the bench of this team

So I packed up my jars of candied pecans and my bag of "prizes" and schlepped into the office today for our big huge holiday party - it was 5 departments' worth of people, so like 90 of us, so instead of everyone sitting in a room and eating together, we mostly stayed in our little departmental groups, but the beer-free beer pong was INCREDIBLY popular, Name That Tune also had a good turnout, and the food was excellent. Assistant J did a bang-up job organizing various game stations for people to play - there was also Jenga and Uno available, and a couple of gaming consoles he brought in so people could play Fortnite. *hands* I commended him and told him everybody loved it. And I did not have to lift a finger (except to bring the bag of prizes, aka, my stash of small gifts I've accumulated across the year but haven't given anyone yet, so there was a couple of packs of playing cards still in their wrapper, a couple of candles, 2 cute notebooks, some mini puzzles, and some holiday soaps. I also had a travel mug and a bigger candle to use as extra gifts for the secret gift exchange in case someone didn't show up, and it turned out my boss had given her secret exchange gift to someone else, so she ended up using the mug, and I gave the candle to a co-worker who tried to sign up for the exchange a week after I'd sent the assignments out. I felt bad about telling her no, but there was no way to make it work, except for me giving her the extra gift in the moment - she seemed really touched by it. And of course, several people asked me why I hadn't gotten a gift and I was like, I know who everyone is giving to, so it doesn't feel right to participate, but they didn't seem to buy that logic. *hands* I stand by it though.

I did get some lovely gifts though - a Calamityware mug from my boss, a couple of candles (one apple-and-cinnamon scented and one Frasier fir scented), a bottle of mango jalapeno hot sauce, and some Korean snacks from the co-worker who recently went to Seoul on vacation. And I got to leave at 3:30, so I was home by 4:45, which is truly a blessing. I also got to see and hug a lot of people I haven't seen in months, so that was also great. I truly do like most of the people that I work with, and I do miss seeing them, but ugh, it is so not worth going into the office more frequently to do so, imo, because so much less work gets done (even on days when there isn't a party). I probably won't go back until March if I can help it. *g*

Oh, and most importantly, my candied pecans were a hit! One of my attorneys basically ate the whole jar while he sat at his desk and the others all seemed genuinely excited about getting into them. So that worked out well.

Two more days and then I am on vacation for the rest of the year! I can't wait!

*
Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-16 04:30 pm

More KDDs!

Posted by Amanda

Wilde in Love

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James is $1.99 and a KDD! This is the first book in The Wildes of Lindow Castle. Some readers DNF-ed this on Goodreads citing lack of chemistry between the characters or boredom. Several other James romances are also in today’s daily deals.

Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father’s castle, but just as he grasps that he’s not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty, Miss Willa Ffynche.

Willa presents the façade of a serene young lady to the world. Her love of books and bawdy jokes is purely for the delight of her intimate friends. She wants nothing to do with a man whose private life is splashed over every newspaper.

Alaric has never met a woman he wanted for his own . . . until he meets Willa. He’s never lost a battle.

But a spirited woman like Willa isn’t going to make it easy. . . .

The first book in Eloisa James’s dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and sexy charm—and introduces a large, eccentric family. Readers will love the Wildes of Lindow Castle!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Day of the Duchess

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean is $1.99 and a KDD! This is the third book in the Scandal & Scoundrel series. Elyse read this one and ultimately gave it C+, mainly because she couldn’t forgive the hero for his actions:

If you really like a good grovel, this book might be your catnip. As much as I loved Sera and her sisters, I just couldn’t buy the reconciliation

The one woman he will never forget…
Malcolm Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, has lived the last three years in self-imposed solitude, paying the price for a mistake he can never reverse and a love he lost forever. The dukedom does not wait, however, and Haven requires an heir, which means he must find himself a wife by summer’s end. There is only one problem—he already has one.

The one man she will never forgive…
After years in exile, Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, returns to London with a single goal—to reclaim the life she left and find happiness, unencumbered by the man who broke her heart. Haven offers her a deal; Sera can have her freedom, just as soon as she finds her replacement…which requires her to spend the summer in close quarters with the husband she does not want, but somehow cannot resist.

A love that neither can deny…
The duke has a single summer to woo his wife and convince her that, despite their broken past, he can give her forever, making every day The Day of the Duchess.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Ride of Her Life

The Ride of Her Life by Jennifer Dugan is $1.99 and a KDD! This is a f/f romance with some Western flair. Lots of tropes in this one like enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine. It came out last year. Did any of you read this one?

Molly McDaniel’s life is falling apart. Between her day job as a barista, her night job at a call center, and her crushing student loans, she’s barely getting by. And that dream she has of starting a wedding event planning business? The dream that led to all those student loan in the first place? She can feel it slipping farther and farther out of reach every day. So the absolute last thing she needs is to discover she’s inherited a run-down, struggling horse barn out of the blue, courtesy of her estranged late aunt.

Molly is so ill-equipped to run the barn, it’s laughable. She certainly doesn’t have the money, time or knowledge needed to save it, no matter how much faith everyone who loved her aunt has that she will. But the more Molly gets involved, the more she starts to wonder: maybe the barn is a blessing in disguise. If she can sell the land, the profits could be the small-business seed money miracle she’s been waiting for. So what if she’s starting to love everyone in the mismatched family she’s found here?

Well, everyone except Shani, the resident farrier and family friend who took care of Molly’s aunt in her last days. Judgmental, grouchy Shani, who refuses to give up on the barn; who walks around like she so much better than Molly; who’s actually really good with the horses…and kind of thoughtful. And obnoxiously hot. And unfailingly loyal.

And suddenly, Shani has become an entirely different kind of problem, one Molly can’t possibly solve, not without risking her whole future, no matter how much her heart wishes she could.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Immortal

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan is $1.99! This fantasy romance was released in January and was mentioned on Hide Your Wallet. Tan’s books always have beautiful covers. This is the only non-KDD here.

A stunning, standalone romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, of a young ruler who fights to protect her kingdom, from bestselling author Sue Lynn Tan and set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

“What the gods did not give us, I would take.”

As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia.

Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.

But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal… even if it means losing her heart.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-16 03:00 pm

HaBO: She Keeps a Portrait of Her Fortune-Hunting Late Husband

Posted by Amanda

This HaBO request is from Maureen, who is looking for this historical romance. Content warning for the description below:

I hope that you can help me identify this book. It is historical romance novel.

The heroine and hero have a marriage of convenience. The wife was married very young, briefly to a fortune hunter who died. She still keeps his portrait in her dressing room. The husband loves a married woman who gets pregnant and dies. He leaves his wife. She has lovers.

The husband returns and wants to consummate the marriage, but the wife does not want to. He is frustrated and goes to a former mistress, but decides not to have intercourse with her.

The husband and wife go to a house party. The wife’s brother is there. I think her current lover is also there. The husband’s former lover is there and sneaks into his bathroom. The wife kicks her out. The wife decides to leave with her brother. She finds him in his carriage with a young woman he is abducting.

They all go back to London, and eventually everything works out. I thought this was an Eloisa James book, such as This Duchess of Mine, but it is not that book. It is also not Sylvia Day’s The Stranger I Married.

I’m very curious how on earth the main couple resolves their differences.

icon_uk: (Mod Hat Christmas)
icon_uk ([personal profile] icon_uk) wrote in [community profile] scans_daily2025-12-16 08:33 am

Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than scans_daily. But please, no doomscrolling, for your own sake.

A Happy Hannukah to those who celebrate it. Given recent events in Australia it may not seem like a time to celebrate anything, but that is perhaps the time we most need to.

Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday, so a happy Centenary to him!

However, we lost Rob Reiner, creative genius behind too many memorable films to start to mention (Oh, the hell with it: The Princess Bride, Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, The Sure Thing, A Few Good Men and Stand by Me, amongst others) and his wife Michele.

(I did not think my opinion of the current US President could sink any lower, but his social media post on the Reiner killer was so lacking in sympathy, good taste or even basic human decency that I initially assumed it had to be a fake because no one could be THAT toxically graceless, alas, it was real)

In contrast, today is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth today so let us acknowledge one of literature's most brilliant and witty wordsmiths.

In slightly lowerbrow news, I found out that season 2 of "LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy" had already come out, and caught up on that because I know I needed something to make me smile, which it achieved.
Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-15 04:30 pm

KDD Highlights

Posted by Amanda

The Blighted Stars

RECOMMENDED: The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe is $2.99 and a KDD! Elyse loved this scifi with romantic elements and gave it an A, but gave a warning:

The Blighted Stars is the first book in a series, so we don’t get a ton of resolution in this novel, romantic or otherwise. If you’re looking for a complete romantic arc, don’t start this book.

When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.

She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

August Lane

August Lane by Regina Black is $2.99 and a KDD! This is a standalone contemporary with a second chance romance and a backdrop of country music. It released over the summer.

For fans of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a Southern small-town romance about the visibility of Black women’s voices in country music, and “the best romance I’ve read all year.” (The New York Times).

Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own.

August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother’s shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.

When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin is $ 2.99 and a KDD! This is a fantasy novel with a bit of romance and a strong, fierce heroine who is MUCH loved by readers. This book was nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and won the Locus for Best First Novel.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had.

As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate – and gods and mortals – are bound inseparably together.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Drop Dead Sisters

Drop Dead Sisters by Amelia Diane Coombs is $2.99 and the only non-KDD out of the bunch! 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.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-15 07:00 am

Cover Snark: A Big Hat Special!

Posted by Amanda

Welcome back to Cover Snark!

My Cowboy Groom by Zoey Grant. A shirtless, bearded man in jeans with his arms crossed. He's standing in front of a sparse forest and a big jagged mountain. A very smooth western style hat is on his head.

From Karen H, who sourced this cover set: “I noticed My Cowboy Groom has a cowboy hat that is not oriented properly (he’s looking to his right but the hat is straight on plus it sits too high.

Sarah: This is too big and photoshopped on, right?

Wait, none of the guys on the covers of this series know how to wear a hat.

My Cowboy Kiss by Zoey Grant. A shirtless man in denim. His chest is very tan, like two or three shades darker than his face. He's looking off to the side and is wearing a western style hat. The background is a lush forest and snowy mountain range.

Karen H: then I noticed My Cowboy Kiss has the same hat in the same orientation. It just looks almost okay because the model is looking to his left where the hat brim sticks up. But I think that is a side flare and not the actual front of the hat.

Sarah: LOL the Cowboy Kiss hat is on straight while he’s looking to the side

Elyse: That is not the right hat for this genre, sir.

 

My Cowboy Boss by Zoey Grant. A shirtless man in jeans standing in front of a flowery field and a mountain. It looks like a western style hat has been photoshopped on.

Karen H: And on My Cowboy Boss the inner lining of the hat looks visible.

Amanda: It looks like there’s a hat within the hat. Hat-ception

Sarah: It is FLOATING on his head. Is he the boss of gravity?

Maybe if he takes off his hat there’s another hat, and another, and another.

 

marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
marycatelli ([personal profile] marycatelli) wrote in [community profile] books2025-12-15 12:33 am

The Emperor's Caretaker 01

The Emperor's Caretaker 01 by Haruki Yoshimura

The first in a series, mostly set-up apparently.

Read more... )
tcampbell1000 ([personal profile] tcampbell1000) wrote in [community profile] scans_daily2025-12-14 10:43 pm

French Hiss: JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #1-2 (JLI 37)



From here to issue #27, series art is by Bart Sears over Keith Giffen layouts until otherwise noted. All plots and layouts by Giffen, though DeMatteis will only script through #8.

The idea of a “Justice League Europe” was a natural extension of the “Justice League International” concept, but it has an intrinsic problem: almost any high-profile or mid-profile characters it could use were always going to be Americans. Giffen and DeMatteis leaned into that as an inherent source of conflict from the get-go.

If this were a TV pilot, it would probably play ‘‘American Idiot’’ over the opening credits. )
musesfool: red and white christmas wrapping paper (deck those halls trim those trees)
i did it all for the robins ([personal profile] musesfool) wrote2025-12-14 05:48 pm

do you think i can afford to give you my love?

Humble Bundle's got a bunch of Adrian Tchaikovksy's books on offer here, if you are interested. I haven't read any of these ones, so I got them all (for $18) but I have liked sci-fi stuff I've read by him (even if he is way too into bugs for me).

I am attempting to clear out my fridge and freezer in order to lay in baking supplies for all the Christmas baking, so today I used up 2/3 of a bag of blueberries and made this blueberry muffin cake. It's very good, and very easy. I still have about a pound and a half of cranberries in there that need to get used up, so I'll probably be trying some orange cranberry rolls or make those scones again, or possibly both. *g*

Today I packed up my gifts for my co-workers (jars of candied pecans, as there were no nut allergies when I polled them) and also a bag of "prizes" for whatever games are happening at this party on Tuesday (a couple of candles, a cute notebook, a little book of pasta recipes, some holiday soaps) and a couple of extra gifts in case someone bails on the secret gift exchange (another candle, a travel mug), so we'll see how it goes.

It actually did snow last night and this morning, and if it does that again on Tuesday, I'm staying home, but for now the weather looks clear.

*
rocky41_7: (Default)
rocky41_7 ([personal profile] rocky41_7) wrote in [community profile] books2025-12-14 10:49 am
Entry tags:

Recent Reading: Martyr!

It took over a month for my hold on this book to come up, but Friday night I finished Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. If you look into online book recommendations like on New York Times or NPR, you've probably seen this title come up. This book is about a young poet who sobers up after years of severe addiction and is now looking for meaning and purpose.

Martyr! is a beautiful book about the very human search for meaning in our lives, but it also is not afraid to shy away from the ugliness of that search. It juxtaposes eloquently-worded paragraphs of generational grief with Cyrus waking up having pissed the bed because he went to sleep so drunk the night before. Neither of these things cancels the other out. 

Everyone in Martyr! is flawed, often deeply, but they're all also very real, and they're trying their best; they aren't trying to hurt anyone, but they cause hurt anyway, and then they and those around them just have to deal with that. Martyr! weighs the search for personal meaning against the duty owed to others and doesn't come up with a clean answer. What responsibility did Orkideh have to her family as opposed to herself? What responsibility did Ali have to Cyrus as opposed to himself? What responsibility does Cyrus have to Zee, as opposed to his search for a meaningful death? 

Cyrus' story is mainly the post-sobriety story: He's doing what he's supposed to, he's not drinking or doing drugs, he's going to his AA meetings, he's working (after a fashion)...and what's the reward? He still can't sleep at night and he feels directionless and alone and now he doesn't even have the ecstasy of a good high to look forward to. This is the "so what now?" part of the sobriety journey.

It's also in many ways a family story. Cyrus lost his mother when he was young and his father shortly after he left for college, and he spends the book trying to reckon with these things and with the people his parents were. Roya is the mother Cyrus never knew, whose shape he could only vaguely sketch out from his father's grief and his unstable uncle's recollections. Ali is the father who supported Cyrus in all practical ways, and sacrificed mightily to do it, but did not really have the emotional bandwidth to be there for his son. And there are parallels between Cyrus and Roya arising later in the book that tugged quite hard on my heartstrings, but I won't spoil anything here.

Cyrus wants to find meaning, but seems only able to grasp it in the idea of a meaningful death--hence his obsession with martyrs. The idea of a life with meaning seems beyond him. He struggles throughout the book with this and with the people trying to suggest that dying is not the only way to have lived. 

I really enjoyed this book and I think it deserves the praise it's gotten. I've tried to sum up here what the book is "about," but it's a story driven by emotion more than plot. It's Cyrus' journey and his steps and stumbles along the way, and I think Akbar did a wonderful job with it.
Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-14 10:00 am

SBTB Bestsellers: November 29 – December 12

Posted by Amanda

The latest bestseller list is brought to you by heating pads, mugs of your hot beverage of choice, and our affiliate sales data.

  1. These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  2. Good Spirits by B.K. Borison Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  3. Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  4. Hitwoman by Elsie Marks Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  5. The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  6. Birding with Benefits by Sarah Dubb Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  7. Copper Script by KJ Charles Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  8. A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay
  9. The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood Amazon | B&N | Kobo
  10. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones Amazon | B&N | Kobo | GooglePlay

I hope your weekend reading was cozy!

Smart Bitches, Trashy BooksSmart Bitches, Trashy Books ([syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed) wrote2025-12-14 08:00 am

Sunday Sale Digest!

Posted by Amanda

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.