Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/freya-marske-sports-romance-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143874

A Letter to the Luminous Deep

RECOMMENDED: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvia Cathrall is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Elyse read this one and gave it an A:

If you are looking for a cozy fantasy read with excellent romance and worldbuilding, I highly recommend Letters to the Luminous Deep.

A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light, Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faeries and The House in the Cerulean Sea.

“An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things I adore: nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity.” —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.

Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery, piecing together the letters, sketches and field notes left behind—and learn what their siblings’ disappearance might mean for life as they know it.

Inspired, immersive, and full of heart, this charming epistolary tale is an adventure into the depths of a magical sea and the limits of the imagination from a marvelous debut voice.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Swordcrossed

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is $2.99! Many of us were very excited for this release. Sarah also had Marske on the podcast to talk about it.

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel.

The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

“There’s nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can’t do.”—Sarah Rees Brennan

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Dream Girl Drama

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey is $1.99! This is book three in the Big Shots series, which are sports romances. I believe Elyse has enjoyed these! Fingers crossed this deal doesn’t poof!

A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged—in an all-new rom-com by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down and his phone dies, he treks into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters the alluring Chloe Clifford, the manic pixie dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure and penchant for stealing champagne.

Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the enamored pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Oh, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister.

Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Master of Djinn

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark is $2.99! I picked this one for a previous Hide Your Wallet. Historical fantasy mystery with a badass main character and a supportive girlfriend.

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city – or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

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Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/hide-your-wallet-april-22nd-release-week/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143849

Welcome back!

It’s another short and sweet release week for us! However, the last week of April promises to be much beefier.

Is there anything you’re excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!

Anywhere You Go

Author: Bridget Morrissey
Released: April 22, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

A small-town waitress and a big-city Broadway press agent swap homes to escape the messiness of their personal lives, only to find new purpose—and new love.

Tatum Ward and Eleanor Chapman lead totally opposite lives. Tatum’s never left her Midwestern hometown. She resides in a quaint guest cottage on her parents’ property while working part-time as a waitress, where she spends most shifts ignoring her feelings for a beautiful regular named June. Eleanor dedicates every waking hour to her high-profile press career, sacrificing personal relationships for professional success, save for the occasional hookup to fight off her loneliness. When both women’s lives unexpectedly blow up at the exact same time, they each need an escape, and fast.

In Tatum’s hometown, Eleanor expects a quiet hideaway where she can recharge. Instead she gets wrapped up in the family drama that Tatum left town to avoid, pulled in by Tatum’s charismatic older sibling, Carson, who charms Eleanor at every turn. Tatum ends up in Eleanor’s New York high-rise apartment with June. One week together in the big city might make it impossible for Tatum to avoid not just her true feelings for June, but her real dreams for her life.

Amid a friendship with a reclusive Hollywood actress and a complicated family reunion, Tatum and Eleanor each discover much more than they bargained for away from home. Their house swap won’t last forever, but it might be just long enough for both women to surrender their defenses and finally fight for the life—and love—they deserve.

Sarah: Aside from having one of the most beautiful covers, I have a quiet weakness for house-swap romances.

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

 

 

 

Bold Moves

Author: Emma Barry
Released: April 22, 2025 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

From the author of Bad Reputation comes a smart and sexy second-chance romance, where exes reunite to adapt a memoir, only to discover that after a decade apart, they might finally be ready for more.

Working with your ex isn’t that bad an idea—not with artistic integrity on the line. Jaime Croft is determined to prove his directorial range, and Scarlett Arbuthnot’s biography is the perfect project. He once thought Scarlett was his perfect match too, but it’s been seventeen years. Surely he’s over it by now.

Or maybe not.

Scarlett is a grand master taking the chess world by storm. If she can handle that pressure, she can handle Jaime Croft. Even if that means working together in close quarters…and constant reminders of how she broke his heart. She didn’t do it without reason, but if he knew the details, he would despise her even more.

As Jaime and Scarlett pore over her memoir, they unlock their own memories, and old feelings rise to the surface. But giving in means abandoning the walls they’ve built to protect themselves, and that’s a move neither one seems ready to make.

Emma Barry’s books have been recommended before and this one features a grand master chess player as the heroine!

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

 

 

 

Great Big Beautiful Life

Author: Emily Henry
Released: April 22, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Lara: I will read anything Emily Henry writes, even though it always makes me cry.

Elyse: I ordered the Afterlight special edition of this and I can’t wait to read it.

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Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

 

 

 

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Posted by Lara

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/great-big-beautiful-life-by-emily-henry/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=142660

I dithered for a week before starting this book. I had it in my possession, but couldn’t get past the first page. I’m not sure if this is unique to me, but when I’m really looking forward to something, it’s very difficult for me to start it. Then, one morning I bit the bullet and pushed through to page two. From there, I tore through the book, snatching reading time wherever I could until I finished it this evening.

Afterward, I think I felt every emotion there is to feel.

Alice and Hayden are writers who are in a small town in coastal Georgia to try out for the post of being Margaret Ives’ biographer. Margaret Ives now lives a reclusive life under a different name and works as a mosaic artist in said coastal town. She’s in her 80s and has lived an incredibly big life, much of it played out in the tabloids. She comes from a very wealthy media mogul family and she quickly became the ‘Tabloid Princess’. Now she is ready to tell her story, her way.

Margaret’s story takes up a big chunk of the book and it is an incredibly tragic one. A romance novel promises only a HEA for our main couple. There’s no promise for a HEA for her so I felt I was risking my heart a bit reading this book. The suffering in Margaret’s life made it tough going for me. I was very worried about what would happen to Margaret at the end. If, like me, you can only go through emotional turmoil in a book if you know that things will at least kind of work out, then click below to see whether it’s a HEA or not for Margaret.

Alice focuses on celebrity profiles mostly and other lighter pieces. This would be her first major biography, but she’s passionate about telling it because her dad (who passes away before the book begins) was curious about Margaret’s story. Losing her dad is not the only tragic event of Alice’s life. Her sister had health issues when she was younger and that deeply impacted Alice’s life. There’s also some baggage with her mom. So Alice has a lot going on. All of this is unpacked gradually for the reader, but the bare bones (like I’ve given you here) emerge early on in the book.

At the very start of the book, though, Alice is SUNSHINE PERSONIFIED and at the exact moment I had the thought, ‘She is irritating’, the backstory begins to be revealed and the depth to her personality emerges.

If Alice is sunshine, then Hayden is the grump (although these are such fully fleshed out characters that it feels odd to reduce them to a trope). He’s a taciturn journalist who started out writing about music and then won a Pulitzer when he wrote a biography about someone just as they were losing their memories to dementia. He is initially quite cold with Alice, but that changes, almost against his will.

It’s not that Alice charms him or that he warms up. It’s a bit of both, but it’s also more than that. There is a magnetism between these two that compels them into each other’s path. The repartee had me smiling at my Kindle like a goofball. There are some moments of humour too! These combine to really lift the book into something that’s readable for someone like me who takes ages to recover from books describing tragedies.

Alice and Hayden gradually fall in love and it’s phenomenal to read. The depth, the nuance, the insight. I felt like I knew these people as well as I know my friends. They’re thrown together initially because the first meeting they have with Margaret is a joint one where they find out the terms of this ‘audition’ to be her biographer. They’ll spend a month with Margaret (separately, on alternate days) and once the month is up, each writer must put together a proposal of how they would approach the book.

This coastal town is a tiny one, so they cross each other’s paths multiple times during that month, sometimes accidentally (neighbouring hotel rooms initially) and sometimes purposefully (Alice will sometimes seek Hayden out, wanting to be friends with him because she makes friends with everyone). The transition from competitors to friends to lovers is so gradual that I can’t identify a turning point in their relationship. There is a slow slide that as a reader I just sunk into like one would a hot bath. There is however a steady build in the tension. They both want this job and one of them is going to lose out in the end. What impact will that have on their budding relationship? As a source of conflict, it does the job.

Looking at it more broadly, the characterisation and the deftness of the writing itself is what compelled me to read this book in a day. When I would take breaks to feed my daughter or get the breast pump out, my real life would feel strange and even foreign to me, such was the extent of my immersion in this book. The end of the book was incredibly fast paced as loose ends were wrapped up and at that stage I was helpless and just went where the book told me to go.

I loved this novel. As much as it put me through the emotional wringer, the quality of the writing forced me to keep reading it and I am so very glad that I did. I think the one caution I would add is that this is more women’s fiction than it is contemporary romance. Regardless of genre specifics, Great Big Beautiful Life echoed for days after I finished it. I’m not sure I’ll ever revisit it, but I will certainly remember it.

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Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/sunday-sale-digest-27/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143774

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/sunday-sale-digest-27/

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Posted by Elyse

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/only-yarn-in-the-building-mkal-clue-4/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143665

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/only-yarn-in-the-building-mkal-clue-4/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143665

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/663-rt-rewind-july-2000-ads-features/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=podcast&p=143486

The ads and features from the July 2000 issue of Romantic Times are a treasure trove of wtfery! It’s PEAK stepback era.

Readers have been introduced to Half.com for selling their old books, and they are very excited about it – to say nothing of People.com and EW.com.

We get a peek into the Romantic Times and Lady Barrow BookLover Tours – the prices made me very envious.

We also spend some time talking about Monica Jackson, who died in 2012, and is part of the reason why we started addressing the racism in romance many, many years ago.

Seriously, the visual aids are a feast this week. 

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

We’ve got links. SO many links.

• THE ROMANCE SWATCH Y’ALL – it’s on eBay!
• PEOPLE in the 90s podcast: Fabio
• Steve Sandalis naked on a cover, bathing in a volcano
  • You can buy a signed copy of this book on eBay
• There’s also the Viking Diaper stepback
• We mentioned the late Monica Jackson, and I read some of her writing at AAR, accessed via the Wayback Machine. You can also read her comments about being a Black romance author at TeachMeTonight.

Monica Jackson said:

It’s exciting when a writer gets The Call from an editor. In many ways the call is only the beginning of an angsty rollercoaster for any novelist. But if you’re a black, you have a special ride reserved just for you.

Writing romance while black means you get a sub-genre of your very own – no matter what the content of your novel. Your special niche is already measured and the boundaries are set on your readership. Your marketing will likely be different than the white author in your chapter, even where your books are shelved in some bookstores. If you decided to attend book signings and other events with your white colleagues, the difference of your reception and audience will be thrown into stark relief.

Because since you’re black, you’re a romance writer that the majority of romance readers will never read. Your readership is defined and limited to only black romance readers by a variety of circumstances outside your control, so your opportunities are far smaller than any white romance writer from the moment you were published, regardless of your talent and determination.

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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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!

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Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/fantasy-romance-julia-quinn/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143652

Consort of Fire

Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha is $1.99! This is book one in Bound to Fire and Steel fantasy romance series. Book two is also on sale. Have you read either book? What did you think?

From cult-favorite writing duo Kit Rocha comes a fiery novel set in a lush fantasy world brimming with ancient magic, dangerous secrets, and erotic connections.

For three thousand years, an ancient dragon god has protected the borders of the Sheltered Lands. In return, he makes only one demand: every one hundred years, the mortal ruler must send their heir to serve as his consort…for as long as they can survive.

Sachielle of House Roquebarre is the thirty-first consort to be sacrificed to the monster who guards the mountain passes. She is young, beautiful—and she has three secrets.

First: she’s a disposable orphan trained in seduction.

Second: her handmaid, Zanya, is an assassin and the only person she has ever loved.

Third—and most dangerous: she’s cursed. Sachi and Zanya have five weeks to murder the Dragon in his bed. If they fail, the mortal king’s curse will steal not just Sachi’s life, but her very soul.

The Dragon has only one secret: he is nothing like what they have been told. And he will do whatever it takes to possess them both.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

First Comes Scandal

First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn is $1.99! This is labeled as a Bridgerton prequel and Kiki gave it a B:

In the stress of the world right now, there is something extra reassuring in a book that, to put it plainly, isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. First Comes Scandal never makes you wonder if they’ll end up together (although I LOVE that kind of angst at the right time), and it doesn’t make the characters, or the reader, work too hard for the happily ever after. And honestly? Thank god.

She was given two choices…

Georgiana Bridgerton isn’t against the idea of marriage. She’d just thought she’d have some say in the matter. But with her reputation hanging by a thread after she’s abducted for her dowry, Georgie is given two options: live out her life as a spinster or marry the rogue who has ruined her life.

Enter Option #3

As the fourth son of an earl, Nicholas Rokesby is prepared to chart his own course. He has a life in Edinburgh, where he’s close to completing his medical studies, and he has no time—or interest—to find a wife. But when he discovers that Georgie Bridgerton—his literal girl-next-door—is facing ruin, he knows what he must do.

A Marriage of Convenience

It might not have been the most romantic of proposals, but Nicholas never thought she’d say no. Georgie doesn’t want to be anyone’s sacrifice, and besides, they could never think of each other as anything more than childhood friends… or could they?

But as they embark upon their unorthodox courtship, they discover a new twist to the age-old rhyme. First comes scandal, then comes marriage. But after that comes love…

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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.

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.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Song of the Forever Rains

Song of the Forever Rains by E.J. Mellow is $2.49! This one was published by Amazon, so it’s only available there. On Goodreads, there does seem to be some confusion on whether this falls into adult romance or young adult. Others say it splits the difference at new adult. You can grab all three books in the series for less than $10 right now!

From the award-winning author of the Dreamland series comes a new dark romantic fantasy about a young woman finding hope in her powers of destruction.

The Thief Kingdom is a place hidden within the world of Aadlior. Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.

Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it’s discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke. Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke’s potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan’s rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan—and themselves.

Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

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Posted by Carrie S

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/swordheart-by-t-kingfisher/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=142642

Swordheart was originally published in 2018. Luckily for me, Tor is republishing it with a gorgeous cover and pretty green edges, so I have an excuse to review it. I was charmed by the characters and the dialogue, but less so by the fact that the book Would. Not. End. for the longest time.

The book opens with Halla, our heroine, a 36-year-old, slightly stout widow, being locked in a room by her relatives, who want to force her into marriage with a man who Halla detests. It’s an inheritance thing. Her uncle (whose house she is locked in) was a collector of antiquities, so when Halla decides to end it all, she spots an old sword and considers how best to fall upon it (it’s harder than it sounds, apparently).

When she pulls the sword free of the scabbard, a man appears. His name is Sarkis, and he is trapped in the sword for all eternity and must serve whomever draws it. There was a magical curse long ago, it’s a whole thing. So now he is pledged to Halla’s service and rather confused as to how to help her solve the inheritance drama without killing all of her relatives (she’s against it).

Swordheart has a strong sense of place and exists in a clearly carefully built world, but the plot is fairly lightweight.

Will Halla get her inheritance back?

Will she have to marry that creepy guy with clammy hands?

Will Sarkis resolve his whole sword problem in some kind of satisfactory way?

Will Halla and Sarkis stop staring at each other and have sex already?

As a reader who has read T. Kingfisher’s horror novels, I’m aware that she is fully capable of wreaking havoc on her characters, but this book does not have a horror vibe. It is more of a “Everything will be fine, luv, why don’t you sit down and have a cuppa” vibe. This is not, overall, a high-stress or high-stakes book, despite having some stressful and violent scenes. I was never in doubt of a happy outcome.

What makes this book delightful is the attention to fine characterization and dry, witty dialogue. Halla, Sarkis, and their companions Zale and Brindle are finely realized and developed characters who are given time and space to develop their relationships with each other. Every new plot development shines because of the authenticity that the characters bring to each challenge. Every conversation is a delight.

I especially enjoyed the attention paid to Halla’s survival tactic of befuddling her enemies by appearing to be foolish and/or ‘emotional.’ This tactic is fully validated and is highly entertaining to see in action. Indeed, for every time that Sarkis is forced to save the day through violence, there are many more in which Halla and Zale accomplish goals and avoid confrontation by using their wits. It’s not just fun to read, it’s also gratifying to see how a woman with very little resources is able to weaponize her opponents’ assumptions. Halla isn’t the first woman to do so and won’t be the last and it’s lovely to see these kinds of tactics get some recognition.

The romance between Halla and Sarkis is lovely, but honestly I felt that Sarkis and Halla were so clearly established to be perfect for each other with their very first conversation that I never worried about them. If not for literary convention they could have been married by Chapter Three and I’d not have batted an eye. Halla’s optimism and matter-of-fact approach to the world balances nicely with Sarkis’s “kill it with fire” jaded and cynical approach to life, and he does a good job of keeping her focused and not dead. If you are looking for steamy sex, you won’t get much of it – I’d say this book is around a PG-13, maybe a soft R at one point.

This book did lose a lot of points with me for having a completely out-of-character fight towards the end. We’ve been leading up to a big secret, but honestly it’s not that terrible of a secret and it refers to something that happened centuries ago. I do not believe that Halla would be upset by this revelation. We have to waste many, many, many chapters on the repercussions of Halla’s out-of-character and illogical reaction to this secret.

For most of the book, Halla and Sarkis travel in a cart pulled by an ox. We are frequently reminded that “An ox is slow.” So is the pace of the book. I was fine with that for much of the journey. All of the characters got to know one another, romance had a chance to develop, and enough things happened along the way to keep me entertained. I regret to inform you, however, that this book has a terrible case of ending fatigue, as referenced above. Even I, patient as an ox, felt that maybe the book could have ended several chapters before it actually does.

I went into this book blind and didn’t realize that it is part of a larger series. I thought it worked fine as a stand-alone, although I can see that some additional world-building would have been useful. For T. Kingfisher completists, it sits between the Clockwork Boys Duology and the Paladin series in the world of the Temple of the White Rat. Whether you enjoy this as an audio, an ebook, or a shiny new copy with pretty edges, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. I try not to guess at the author’s motives when writing on this site, but perhaps I can get away with it just once. I like to think that the book is too long simply because the author enjoyed the characters as much as I did and did not want to say goodbye.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/swordheart-by-t-kingfisher/

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Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/links-cozy-fiction-trading-cards-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143655

Welcome back to Wednesday Links!

It doesn’t feel like a Wednesday and time seems to be going painfully slow this week. Last night, I had a bridal dress consultation with Alysia Cole, a bridal stylist I found on Instagram. It was a wonderful half hour call and I’m eager to see her suggestions on where to shop locally and what designers might work for the style I envision. I’m especially prioritizing dresses that allow me to wear a standard bra.

If you underwent a dress hunt, how’d it go? Any advice you’d like to dispense?

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This link comes from my colleague Jane (hi, Jane!). We had a great discussion about cozy fiction, what the label means, and what might be the key to successful cozy fiction. This piece is a very good representation of that convo.

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From EditChief:

Here’s a card game that uses pulp magazines & novels from the 1930s and “finding your true love” as the game focus. I’ve backed this Kickstarter creator in the past so it feels like a reliable option to share.

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Japanese teens have made trading cards of the older men in their local community. Everything about it is just delightful.

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Lastly, let’s partake in more public library goodness.

 

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A post shared by Columbus Library (@columbuslibrary)

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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!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/links-cozy-fiction-trading-cards-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143655

Posted by Carrie S

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/tarot-after-dark-road-trip/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143060

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/04/tarot-after-dark-road-trip/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=143060