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Mostly Contemporary Romances
Apr. 27th, 2026 03:30 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
smartbitches_feedMine to Take
RECOMMENDED: Mine to Take by Jackie Ashenden is $1.99! In one of the RT Rewind episodes, Sarah and I discussed how Ashenden’s books felt like a precursor to today’s dark romance. Elyse read this and really enjoyed it. She gave the book an A-:
I immensely enjoyed the start of this series and am looking forward to the rest of the books. If you like sexy biker gang president CEO heroes who are bossy in the bedroom–and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?–then consider picking up Mine to Take.
First in a brand new series featuring the members of the Nine Circles Club—friends bound together by power, secrets, need…and the love they will find and stop at nothing to keep.
Passion always comes at a price.
Gabriel Woolf is unstoppable. A ruthless businessman, he has perfected the art of revenge. Ever since his mother’s death, Gabriel has harbored only one wish: To take down the man who ruined their lives. But all bets are off when he meets his father’s step-daughter, Honor St. James. Beautiful and innocent, she is everything Gabriel never knew he wanted—and now there’s no turning back…
Is her desire worth the risk?
Honor wasn’t born yesterday. She knows that Gabriel is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, willing to cross any line to get what he wants…herself included. But Gabriel’s passion for Honor—in spite of her connection to the man he hates the most—cannot be denied…and the feeling is utterly mutual. Can Gabriel be trusted? The only thing she knows for sure is how he makes her feel. And she can’t keep herself from coming back to him, over and over again…
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo is $2.99! This is a contemporary YA romance with a heroine who turns to K-dramas to give her tips for love. Readers found this to be super cute, but some reviews mentioned not being on board for the heroine’s romance tactics.
Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She’s for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.
Tempting Olivia
Tempting Olivia by Clare Ashton is $3.49! This is book two in the f/f contemporary Oxford Romance series. Many of Ashton’s books have been mentioned 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.
The Bone Raiders
The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford is $1.99! This released late last year and I remember thinking it sounded pretty fun. Book two in the series is out next month.
The start of an edge-of-your-seat, action‑packed epic fantasy series from the irreverent Jackson Ford, where a wild band known as the Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland.
“Awesome. Masterfully executed. Frequently hilarious.” — Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld
WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE . . . BUT OUR GIANT FIRE-BREATHING LIZARDS DID.
You don’t f*ck with the Rakada. The people living in the grasslands of the Tapestry call them the Bone Raiders, from their charming habit of displaying the bones of those they kill on their armour. But being a raider is tough these days. There’s a new Great Khan in the Tapestry. He plans to use his sizeable military to get rid of the raider clans. And then there are the huge fire-breathing lizards that are straying into the grasslands a little too often these days.
Sayana is a raider scout. She knows that to protect their way of life, she needs do something drastic. Like convincing her clan to ride those huge lizards, instead of horses. Sayana doesn’t know how to do it without being eaten and/or cooked alive, but she’d better figure it out fast – or she and her clan, along with every other raider in the Tapestry, will be wiped out.
How to Fake it in Society by KJ Charles
Apr. 27th, 2026 08:00 amsmartbitches_feed
A-
How to Fake It in Society
by KJ Charles
April 28, 2026 · Bramble
Historical: EuropeanLGBTQIARomance
This book brought me a tremendous amount of pleasure. It’s a KJ Charles book, so that’s probably stating the obvious, but this is KJ Charles at her best.
Nico is a French aristocrat with a painting to sell in order to pay off a terrifying moneylender on behalf of his cousin Evelyn (usually referred to as Eve). Nico is engaged to Miss Whitecross, a phenomenally wealthy old woman. He is not old – probably in his twenties, although it’s never stated. While he is out of town, Miss Whitecross’s (evil) nephew trips her going down the stairs and she is now on her deathbed.
Titus makes watercolours and oilpaints professionally. Miss Whitecross is one of his clients and he arrives on Miss Whitecross’s doorstep with her paint order. The butler, Mr Thorpe, sees an opportunity for Miss Whitecross to have her vengeance afterall. Long story short, Titus ends up marrying Miss Whitecross there and then so that her evil nephew doesn’t inherit her fortune – it all goes to Titus.
In a matter of hours, Titus goes from being a shopkeeper with an eviction notice hanging over his head to being fabulously wealthy. Nico returns to town in the days that follow and pays Titus a visit, initially planning to get some money out of Titus as compensation for losing out on a fortune, but he soon becomes Titus’s guide and protector.
One of my predominant thoughts when reading was that the narrator really loved her characters (It’s a third person narrator). This made it so easy to fall in love with the characters myself. I have an extended excerpt from Titus’ wedding to Miss Whitecross that made me squeal with delight.
“Titus planted a very awkward, exceedingly light kiss on her papery hand, rather than her torn and bruised cheek.
“Flatterer”, she said, in a thread of a voice but still with a gleam of satisfaction. “He has it all now, don’t he, Carnaby?”
“The Whitecross fortune passes absolutely to your husband in accordance with the provisions of your father’s bequest.”
“And my property too. Where’s the will? Read it.”
Mr Carnaby produced a document. “Mr Green, if you will confirm for me that I am giving a faithful reading.”
He waited for the Reverend Mr Green to stand by him, then read out the provisions. A generous sum to Thomas Thorpe, her faithful butler, and as much again to her housekeeper, Mrs Matilda Thorpe. Multiple small bequests to her other servants, and everything else of which she died possessed to –
“Titus Caesar Pilcrow? Caesar?” she croaked.
“My father was greatly interested in Roman imperial history”
“Imbecile. Go on, Carnaby.”
The rest of which she died possessed was bequeathed absolutely to her lawful husband, Titus Caesar Pilcrow, with the exception of one pound to Matthew Laxton, her sister’s son, in recognition of all the love Miss Whitecross bore him.
“In those words,” she said querulously, “And why must I leave him anything?”
“Only so he can’t claim he was forgotten,” Mr Carnaby said in soothing tones. “Are these your wishes Mrs Pilcrow?”
“Mrs – ha. Seventy-eight years without a dratted man in my life and now this tomfoolery. Yes, that’s my wish. Everyone hear me? Pilcrow has it all.”
The reverend, the curate, the lawyer, the doctor and the butler all nodded.
I adored Miss Whitecross. I cared for Titus. And this is all in the opening pages. Imagine how much more love there is to be felt for these characters! And I felt it all!
Titus proves himself to be a respectful, reserved man with a passion for art (and Nico). Nico, as I mentioned, becomes Titus’s protector and support, genuinely. Titus is bewildered by the acquaintances and strangers now asking him for money, either as a gift or a loan. He’s overwhelmed by the Society mothers who now see him as a fitting suitor for their daughters. He has no knowledge of Society rules and expectations. He doesn’t know what to wear or how to behave. Nico helps him with all of this.
For all that it is clear that Nico is up to no good from the start, his care and consideration for Titus are genuine. He guides and encourages and supports as Titus works out for himself what exactly it is that he wants to do now that he is wealthy. There is something unutterably tender about the growing connection between the two. Titus is learning to shed baggage from a previous (emotionally abusive) relationship and stand up for what he wants. Nico is his patient, caring, supportive guide in this new world he finds himself in. Nico himself is starting to dream that maybe things can be different for him too, that a genuine partnership is possible. Maybe he doesn’t need to live “on a combination of his wits and the skin of his teeth” always in service of his next goal. Although there are some very big hurdles that need to be cleared first.
It’s clear from the start what the bleak moment will be. It’s so clear that even Titus knows it. Nico needs money and Titus has it. I won’t spell the details out here as things unfold in a way I did not predict even if the crux of the conflict was written on the wall.
The historical detail is fantastically compelling. A particular favourite of mine was the way that money was put in perspective. There are multiple references throughout to how much money would be required to do certain things. For example, I learnt that an aristocratic household at the time would need £2000 to run for a year. Titus inherits capital that gives him an income of £8000 a year. FABULOUSLY wealthy!
In terms of representation, Evelyn’s gender remains ambiguous for much of the book. If I understand correctly, Evelyn is AFAB but living as a man mostly. When Titus brings it up at the end…
Nico says, “Eve is best understood to be simply Eve … ‘He’ suffices where necessary.”
I had only one tiny disappointment: for me the HEA didn’t feel long enough. I would have liked a glimpse into the future, showing how this found family made a home together. Otherwise, yes, I’m saying it with my full chest, it is nearly a perfect book. I think KJ Charles fans will be as delighted as I was.
Cover Snark: Detective Stabler, Is That You?
Apr. 27th, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feedWelcome back to Cover Snark!
Elyse: The artist was sick the day the learned to draw the lower body.
Sneezy: Never skip leg day.
Amanda: Her dress reminds me of those Barbie dress cakes.
Sarah: That is just So Much Dress.
Also, are his trousers open in the front?! My word!
From Syntha: I don’t even know where to start with this one.
Sarah: He looks like someone. Who does he look like. It’s going to bug me until I figure it out.
Elyse: It’s orange Detective Stabler.
Sarah: YES I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT.
Elyse: Doink Doink!
Sarah: Syntha also sent this and I have to say, I respect the attempt:
Syntha: The giraffe neck just looks so silly rising out of the jacket.
Amanda: Honestly, this one is perfect.
No notes.
Elyse: His center of gravity is just so fucked up.
Can you imagine the orthopedic issues that guy has?
Sarah: I really can’t fault any of it.
Sarah: This was a suggestion while I was looking at the Neckromancer (I see what was done there) and in icon size it looks like he is drooling.
Amanda: You can just tell this man has an overinflated ego.
Sarah: He is his own Chosen Champion, huh? Yeah, I see it.
The Transcript for Episode 715 with Claire Trottier is Ready!
Apr. 26th, 2026 03:32 pmsmartbitches_feed
The transcript for Podcast 715. Books, Wine & Nachos at Joie de Livres: A Conversation with Claire Trottier has been posted!
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
Get Rec’d with Amanda – Volume 113
Apr. 26th, 2026 09:00 amsmartbitches_feedHello and welcome back!
In this edition, we have two very different mystery options. There’s also some cozy fantasy and non-fiction.
Have any book recommendations you’d like to pass along? Drop them in the comments!
The Gardeners’ Club
This certainly feels like Thursday Murder Club, but with a gardening club instead. It has an ensemble cast and is a standalone (for now!).
Gardening is dirty work—but should it be deadly? When a corpse turns up in the community greenhouse, Gill Swanley discovers her new hobby might be more dangerous than she imagined.
When Gill Swanley decides to take up gardening to fight a bad case of midlife malaise, she never expected it to become quite such a dangerous hobby.
Pushing herself to “get out there,” Gill picks herself up the secateurs and joins the Bromley Botanists. Here she finds a seven-strong group whose main agenda is how to win the coveted Golden Trowel for best community club of the year.
But when a dead body turns up in the community greenhouse, they suddenly have more serious matters to consider than victory. They must uncover whether their arch-rivals, Croydon, are taking things to another level or whether someone more dangerous is targeting their rag tag group.
Can they dig up the truth before someone else is left pushing up the daisies?
The Halfling’s Harvest
I saw this on a list of books for Stardew Valley fans. It’s a cozy fantasy and, while I love Stardew Valley and have sunk hundreds of hours into the game, I also know cozy fantasies aren’t quite for me. But they might be for you!
When pumpkins glow and cider flows, behold the harvest’s magic.
For most halflings, the annual harvest festival is a time to revel in life’s simple pleasures—hearty feasts, flowing wine, and warm hospitality. But for Marigold Bramblefoot, owner of the Dew Drop Inn and Vineyard, it’s the busiest—and most stressful—time of the year.
Juggling an inn full of quirky guests, preparing for the bustling festivities, and managing her vineyard would be enough to overwhelm anyone. But Marigold has her sights set on something bigger: winning first place in the annual wine competition and finally stepping out of her father’s shadow.
The only problem? Her rival, Darkroot Cellars, has dominated the competition for a decade thanks to the druidic magic behind their wines.
With her hands full and her heart set on success, Marigold must balance the chaos of the festival, a budding romance, and unraveling the vineyard’s hidden mysteries, all while discovering what it truly means to craft her own legacy. Because in Willowbrook, the harvest festival is more than a celebration—it’s a season for transformation, and Marigold’s is long overdue.
About the Welcome to the enchanting world of Tales of Aedrea, where small-scale stories, low-stakes adventure, and cozy fantasy come to life within an epic, high-fantasy realm.
The Iron Garden Sutra
I love scifi horror/mystery so much. It also doesn’t hurt that the marketing copy references two of my favorite scifi titles with “S. A. Barnes’s Dead Silence with a touch of Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built.”
Klara and the Sun meets S. A. Barnes’s Dead Silence with a touch of Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built in Nebula Award-winning author A.D. Sui’s darkly philosophical murder mystery, as a death monk and a team of researchers trapped onboard a spaceship of the dead encounter something beyond human understanding…
Vessel Iris has devoted himself to the Starlit Order, performing funeral rites for the dead across the galaxy, guiding souls back into the Infinite Light. Despite the comfort he wants to believe he brings to the dead, his relationships with his fellow Vessels are distant at best, leaving him reliant on his AI implant for companionship.
The spaceship Counsel of Nicaea has been lost for more than a thousand years. A relic of Earth’s dying past, humanity took the ship to the stars on a multi-generation journey to find another habitable planet yet never reached its destination. Its sudden appearance has attracted a team of academics eager to investigate its archeological history. And Iris has been assigned to bring peace to the crew’s long departed souls.
Carpeted in moss and intertwined with vines, Nicaea is more forest than ship. Skeletons are all that remain of the crew, and Iris’ religious rituals are met with bemusement by the scientists—and outright hostility by the engineer Yan Fukui. Determined to be more than just the curator of the dead, Iris tries to make himself useful to the team, desperate to form friendships.
But Nicaea’s plant life isn’t the only sentience to have survived in the past millennia. Something onboard is stalking the explorers one by one. And Iris with his AI enhancement may be their only hope for survival. . .
You’re So Strong
This is the only non-fiction title in the bunch and deals with grief, young widowhood, and suddenly becoming a single parent. She also has a great instagram account where she talks to and seeks advice from other widows.
“Vulnerable and slyly funny.”–Publishers Weekly
“You’re doing so well,” they tell you. “You’re so strong.”
Meanwhile, you’re standing in the middle of your living room, staring at a mountain of grown-man Legos, wondering if it’s disrespectful to donate them or insane to keep them.
You’re on hold with AT&T for the third time this week, trying to explain to a stranger that the account holder doesn’t need unlimited data anymore because he’s dead. You are holding it together on the outside, but on the inside, you are navigating a map that no one gave you, for a terrain you never wanted to visit.
Leslie Harter-Berg knows too well the absurdity of the “admin of death”–the paperwork, the passwords, the phone calls that punctuate the grief. She knows what it’s like to have a life that was “pretty darn good” implode into a reality of solo parenting and widowhood at the age of thirty. She knows exactly what it feels like to have to do school drop-off when simply getting out of bed seems insurmountable.
In this relatable, poignant, and funny memoir-meets-grief-guide, Leslie shares her many attempts at conquering the stages of grief and her ultimate acceptance that no one is actually grading her in Coping 101. In this deeply honest account of life after loss, Leslie learns the hard way that surviving is often more profound and beautiful than thriving.
If you’re exhausted by the well-meaning but empty promises that this is a “blessing in disguise,” that “now you have a guardian angel” or “everything happens for a reason,” come sit next to Leslie as she discovers that there’s not a magic prayer for moving on, and that it’s time to lay down the mantle of “doing grief right.”
Whatcha Reading? April 2026, Part Two
Apr. 25th, 2026 07:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Welcome back! Here’s what we’re reading right now:
Carrie: I just finished the Trembling Hand, ( A | BN | K | AB ) a nonfiction that I read slowly, and am starting The Chamber, ( A | BN | K | AB ) a thriller which I hope to speed through since it’s all plot
Lara: I just started a cosy mystery by an author that (from what I can tell) started as an influencer. The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m only a couple pages in but I’m intrigued!
Amanda: I started The Fey Hotel, but my brain is all over the place and was having some issues latching onto the world building. I was not aware it took place in a fantasy Seattle based on the cover.
Sarah: I finished Fair Game by Patricia Briggs, ( A | BN | K | AB ) part of the Alpha & Omega series, and am debating whether to move to the next book or take a break. I love the relationship development and the exploration of ethics, justice, and acceptance, but woo damn are they violent AF. I mean, for me. There are probably more violent books out there.
Elyse: I just finished the entire ACOTAR series ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and went from my cynical self to a die hard fan. I took off 10/27. There is something addicting in those pages…
Shana: I just started Key Lime Sky by Al Hess. So far there’s pie, queers, and alien invasions.
Susan: I’m reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, ( A | BN ) which is very dramatic and somehow is not m/m romance, despite reading exactly like Global Examination.
Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!
Non-Fiction, a Boxed Set, & More
Apr. 24th, 2026 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedThe One You Can’t Forget
RECOMMENDED: The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren is $1.99 and a KDD! I love this series and highly recommend any of the books in it. However, please be warned that it deals with the aftermath of a school shooting.
Most days Rebecca Lindt feels like an imposter…
The world admires her as a survivor. But that impression would crumble if people knew her secret. She didn’t deserve to be the one who got away. But nothing can change the past, so she’s thrown herself into her work. She can’t dwell if she never slows down.
Wes Garrett is trying to get back on his feet after losing his dream restaurant, his money, and half his damn mind in a vicious divorce. But when he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca―the attorney who helped his ex ruin him―his simple life gets complicated.
Their attraction is inconvenient and neither wants more than a fling. But when Rebecca’s secret is put at risk, both discover they could lose everything, including what they never realized they needed: each other
She laughed and kissed him. This morning she’d melted down. But somehow this man had her laughing and turned on only a few hours later. Everything inside her felt buoyed.
She felt…light.
She’d forgotten what that felt like.
The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women
The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women by Rosalie Gilbert is $2.99 and another KDD! I mentioned this non-fiction in a previous Get Rec’d. I love a niche history deep dive.
A “wickedly entertaining, informative and thought-provoking” look at romance, courtship, and other intimacies behind closed Medieval doors (Dr. Markus Kerr, PhD, MDR).
Were medieval women slaves to their husband’s desires, jealously secured in a chastity belt in his absence? Was sex a duty or could it be a pleasure? Did a woman have a say about her own female sexuality, body, and who did or didn’t get up close and personal with it? No. And yes. It’s complicated.
The intimate lives of medieval women were as complex as for modern women. They loved and lost, hoped and schemed, were lifted up and cast down. They were hopeful and lovelorn. Some had it forced upon them, others made aphrodisiacs and dressed for success. Some were chaste and some were lusty. Having sex was complicated. Not having sex, was even more so.
Inside The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women, a fascinating book about life during medieval times, you will discover tantalizing true stories about medieval women and a myriad of historical facts. Learn about:
- The true experiences of women from all classes, including women who made history
- The dos and don’ts in the bedroom
- Sexy foods and how to have them
- All you need to know for your wedding night, and well as insider medical advice
- How to get pregnant (and how not to), and more
“Quite compelling and hilariously funny. I have been chuckling out loud and my husband says he thinks he ought to read it if it’s such a tonic. God forbid!” —Susanna Newstead, author of the Savernake Novels
Change of Plans
Change of Plans by Dylan Newton is $1.99! This is book three in the Matthew Brothers series and features a hero with a below‑the‑knee amputation and a chef heroine raising her three nieces. I’ve heard good things about Newton’s contemporaries, but they seem to fly under the radar.
In this charming romantic comedy, a hometown hero comes to the rescue of a chef unexpectedly left to care for three little girls—who may end up saving him too.
When disaster strikes and chef Bryce Weatherford is given guardianship of her three young nieces, her life goes from cooking with fire…to controlling a dumpster fire. Five‑year‑old Addison refuses to remove her fairy wings, eight‑year‑old Cecily won’t bathe, and tween June is majoring in belligerence. With all this chaos, Bryce jettisons hope for a life outside of managing her family and her new job.
It’s been years since Ryker Matthews had his below‑the‑knee amputation, yet the phantom pain for his lost limb and Marine career haunts him. To cope, he focuses on his vehicle restoration business. He knows he’s lucky to be alive. Yet, “lucky” feels more like “cursed” to his lonely heart.
When Ryker literally sweeps Bryce off her feet in the grocery store’s baby aisle, they both feel sparks. But falling in love would be one more curveball neither is ready to deal with… or is it exactly the change of plans they need?
Kitty Norville Box Set: Books 1-3
Kitty Norville Box Set by Carrie Vaugn is $6.99! This set collects books 1-3 in the urban fantasy series. Did any of you read these books? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Kitty Norville isn’t just a radio DJ, she’s a werewolf and despite her best efforts, keeping that a secret is harder than you would expect in this bind-up of three complete books that are “fresh, hip, [and] fantastic” (L. A. Banks, author of the Vampire Huntress Legends series).
KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR: Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew.
KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON: Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen, but when she’s invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of the country’s supernaturals, her face gets plastered all over national TV. Before long Kitty’s inherited a brand-new set of friends and enemies. Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone’s itching for a fight — and she’s about to be caught in the middle.
KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY: After getting caught turning into a wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O’Farrell, Kitty’s lawyer, slung over his shoulder, and a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing around the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of these woods alive…
Friday Videos Love Vintage Videos
Apr. 24th, 2026 10:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Happy Friday!
I have been watching a lot of old, excuse me, vintage You Tube videos.
I still quote these all the TIME.
And I miss the period of time when a new Homestar Runner update was Very Exciting. Internet cartoon shows – done originally, I think, in Adobe Flash?
Oh, Flash. You were everywhere.
I did NOT expect that to be so…prescient.
And of course, this 23 (?) year old moment:
I know someone who, about a week or so after this video appeared, ordered a birthday cake for a co-worker that said, “HAPPY BURNINATOR TROGDOR” and the number of times they had to spell it out for the poor bakery clerk was significant.
Can you imagine? This bakery person has been elbows deep in rolls and cookies for hours, and here comes the weirdest cake writing assignment ever.
Happy Friday! May your Le Naps be wonderful, and your burnination effective!
715. Books, Wine & Nachos at Joie de Livres: A Conversation with Claire Trottier
Apr. 24th, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Thanks for Geoffroy in the podcast Patreon (merci, Geoffrey!) my guest this week is Claire Trottier, owner of Joie de Livres, a romance and speculative fiction bookshop in Montreal, Canada. Hi Neighbors!
We’re going to talk about:
- Opening a romance and speculative fiction book store
- Wealth disparity!
- Seeing the world premiere of episode 1 of Heated Rivalry at the Image+National queer film festival in Montreal
- The effect of Heated Rivalry on Joie de Livres
Then we trade book recs and you get the scoop on the big event happening at Joie de Livres this September.
Listen to the podcast →Read the transcript →
Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:
You can find Joie de Livres at their website, and on Instagram @joie.de.libres.mtl!
Claire Trottier is on IG as @docreads and @clairetrottier_.
We also mentioned:
- Patriotic Millionaires Canada
- Patriotic Millionaires US
- Resource Generation
- Resource Movement
- Bookclub Bar, NY
- Image+Nation Film Festival
Music: purple-planet.com
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.
Thanks to our sponsors:
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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!
Podcast Sponsor
Support for this episode comes from The Awkward Agenda, an open-door romance featuring friends-to-lovers, found family, and pirate cosplay, from author Beth Morton.
Cali Barton is sick of playing a background character in her own life. Her plan to rock the world at her new job falls flat after she overhears her co-workers gossiping about her for being standoffish and her boss decides to coach her on her “approachability.” Turns out that for Cali, being quiet and thoughtful somehow translates to “wrong.”
Enter Simon Goldberg, her upstairs neighbor. While Cali spent her childhood flying under the radar, Simon’s Tourette syndrome taught him to roll with the punches. Simon believed he had made peace with his diagnosis. But when the company publishing his graphic novel wants him to go on tour to promote his work, Simon is panicked at the prospect. Television appearances? He’ll either make a fool of himself or become, ewww, an “inspiring story.”
When Simon comes across Cali, he offers to help her dismantle her social anxiety by taking her on a tour of the kind of awkward experiences she’s avoided. Helping her makes him realize just how closed off his own life has become, and having someone to laugh with makes opening up far easier. They learn to see one another for who they really are – but trusting themselves doesn’t come easy, and letting go is the hardest trick of all.
Reviewers are raving about the quiet depth of this romance:
“The emotional core of the book rests in the small moments: shared laughter after something mortifying, quiet late-night conversations, the realization that someone is choosing you—not because you’re polished, but because you’re you.
This is a romance about reclaiming your narrative. About realizing you were never a background character. And about how love can be the safest place to practice being seen.
It’s soft, hopeful, and quietly empowering.”
And one reader said, “I wish I had a bigger audience so I could tell more people about this book. It feels criminally under-reviewed. I’m really hoping it gets the attention it deserves, because it truly is fantastic.”
The Awkward Agenda by Beth Morton is available now digitally in Kindle Unlimited, and in print from retailers everywhere.
Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.
Dukes, Hockey Romance, & More
Apr. 23rd, 2026 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedStarter Villain
Starter Villain by John Scalzi is $4.99! I thought we ran a review of this one, but perhaps I’m just getting mixed up with Carrie mentioning she was reading it. Have you read this one?
Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.
Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.
Making a Play
Making a Play by Victoria Denault is $1.99! This is a hockey romance set in a small, isolated town. Some readers mentioned that the last quarter of the book seems rather abrupt, while many loved the “former crush” trope of the plot. This is book two in the Hometown Players series.
He’ll do whatever it takes to win—on and off the ice.
Luc Richard is the hottest player in the NHL—and it has nothing to do with hockey. His racy relationship with his supermodel ex set the tabloids on fire but nearly put his career on ice. To avoid being traded, Luc agrees to take a break from the spotlight—and from women—and spend the off-season at home in Silver Bay, Maine. It’s the perfect plan… until he reconnects with Rose.
Rose Caplan is tired of being shy, sweet, and safe. She’s ready for passion, romance—and Luc. Having loved him longer than she can remember, she’s finally ready to prove she’s not the same innocent little girl he once knew. Off the ice Luc doesn’t do games, but this new Rose makes him feel like playing a little dirty. If he’s really got a shot at her heart then he’s not just playing to win. He’s playing for keeps.
Dukes Are Forever
Dukes Are Forever by Anna Harrington is $1.99! This is a historical romance with what seems to be an enemies to lovers plot. It’s the first book in the Secret Life of Scoundrels series. Some readers found the heroine a bit TSTL, but others really loved the hero and his quest for revenge.
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE
Battlefields and barrooms hold much more interest for Edward Westover, Duke of Strathmore, than a little girl’s fondness for dolls and lace. When he takes possession of his enemy’s estate, everything that villain held dear-including his daughter-belongs to Edward. Hire a governess, arrange a dowry, give a few reassurances, and be off on his way-that’s Edward’s plan. But he’s in for the shock of his life. For his new ward is a beautiful, impetuous, and utterly irresistible woman . . .
. . . AND WAR
Kate Benton is stunned. Who is this arrogant, infuriating man who’s invited himself into her home and taken over her life? Her vow: to do everything in her power to convince him to leave her-and Brambly House-alone. Yet as chilly days melt into sultry nights, Kate sees glimpses of kindness underneath Edward’s cool façade . . . and a passionate nature that takes her breath away. There’s so much she doesn’t know about this man. But does she dare trust this devilish duke with her heart?
Useless Etymology
Useless Etymology by Jess Zaffaris is $1.99! Calling all my word nerds! This non-fiction title may be of interest to you, especially if you like word facts or adding more to your random knowledge bank.
Did you know that an “astronaut” is literally a “star sailor,” that a thesaurus is, in fact, a “treasure trove” of words, and that someone who is “sinister” is actually just “left-handed”?
Have you ever wondered why English isn’t considered a Romance language if 60% of our
words are Latin-derived?
Did Shakespeare really invent 1,700 words, and if not, why the heck do we say that he did?
Why is the English language stuffed with so many synonyms?
Let’s be real: English can seem pretty bonkers. And, well, sometimes it is. But through thorough thought and a pinch of curiosity, method can be found within the madness of our modern tongue-even within the disparate pronunciation of the words “through,” “thorough,” and “thought.”
Derived from Germanic, Romance, Hellenic, Semitic, African and Native American languages, English contains multitudes. It has been (and continues to be) transformed by war and conquest, art and literature, science and technology, love and hate, wit and whim.
Useless Etymology takes readers on a time-traveling adventure to unlock the beauty, wonder, and absurdity within our everyday words, how they came to be, and the unexpected ways their origins weave a global, cross-cultural labyrinth of meaning.
Filled with fun facts and delightful discoveries, this is an enlightening read for anyone who wants to know more about why the English language works the way that it does.
May 1 General Strike: The Very Best Reason to Stay Home and Read
Apr. 23rd, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feedNB: originally this post was published under Sarah’s byline. This post is by CarrieS.
On May 1, you can fight fascism by staying home with a good book. A coalition of organizations across the country is calling for a general strike. This strike calls for no school, no work, and no shopping.
May Day Strong is made up of a coalition including but not limited to Indivisible, 50501, Sunrise Movement, and MoveOn. Many of the coalitions joining May Day Strong are local, so in addition to visiting the May Day Strong website, you should also keep an eye on your local groups.
In addition to withdrawing your labor and your commerce, you can join your community to make the strike even more visible. There will be a lot of demonstrations around the country and local sources are often the best places to get information about them. Because this is a one-day strike, it’s important to be as visible as possible and demonstrate just how many workers, students, and shoppers are on the side of democracy.
Here’s what the strike demands (taken from the main webpage):
- That we tax the rich so our families, not their fortunes, come first,
- No ICE. No war. No private army serving authoritarian power.
- Expand democracy. Hands off our vote.
How is this relevant to the SBTB community? In addition to the fact that we support the causes that this strike promotes, strikes are an important part of feminist history. Women have been crucial in the success of the labor movement in the U.S.A., as leaders, strikers, volunteers, and educators. Here a just a few examples:
- I’ve previously written about Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers Association.
- Our Kickass Woman coming up in May will be Emma Tenayuca, a Mexican-American woman from Texas, who led a strike of 12,000 pecan shellers in 1938.
- The Mink Brigade was the name given to wealthy society women who supported the
Lucy Parsons garment workers’ strikes in the early 1900’s. By marching and picketing along with workers, they lent prestige and respectability to the cause, and their presence tended to reduce violence from police.
- Lucy Parsons led a march of 80,000 people in 1886 in the first May Day Parade. Among other causes, she championed the 8-hour workday.
- Ai-jen Poo has been organizing domestic workers since 1996 and is currently the president of National Domestic Workers Alliance and the director of Caring Across Generations. Domestic workers had been considered too difficult to organize, making Ai-jen Poo’s success all the more remarkable.
- My personal favorite, Emma Goldman, was a Russian Jewish immigrant who was described as “The most dangerous woman in America.” Despite dedicating her life to her work, she always prioritized joy. She is credited as saying, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution,” but what she actually said was:
I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from conventions and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. . . If it meant that, I did not want it.
The Zinn Education Project has a wonderful list of women in the U.S.A. labor movement. You can also find stories of women in the labor movement at the National Park Service website.
I’m closing with my favorite version of “Bread and Roses,” performed by Judy Collins and choir. In 1911, Helen Todd, a suffragist and labor rights activist, used the phrase “Bread and roses” in one of her speeches:
Not at once; but woman is the mothering element in the world and her vote will go toward helping forward the time when life’s Bread, which is home, shelter and security, and the Roses of life, music, education, nature and books, shall be the heritage of every child that is born in the country, in the government of which she has a voice.
Rose Schneiderman, a remarkable woman who was born in Poland, came to America as a child, and campaigned for suffrage as well as improved safety condition for workers, used the phrase in her speeches, including this one from 1912:
What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply exist — the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life, and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too. Help, you women of privilege, give her the ballot to fight with.
In 1911, James Oppenheim wrote a poem inspired by the slogan. Mimi Farina set to music in 1974. The song will forever be associated with the Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, of 1912. This strike was largely organized and conducted by women, who, along with children, made up the majority of the workforce in the mills.
Women have always been crucial to the success of strikes in America and worldwide. Why stop now? On May 1, protest, march, or stay home and read, but if you are able, join the strike.
No work, no school, and no shopping: by ceasing these three actions, we honor our past and our future.
Search maintenance
Apr. 22nd, 2026 09:19 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHappy Wednesday!
I'm taking search offline sometime today to upgrade the server to a new instance type. It should be down for a day or so -- sorry for the inconvenience. If you're curious, the existing search machine is over 10 years old and was starting to accumulate a decade of cruft...!
Also, apparently these older machines cost more than twice what the newer ones cost, on top of being slower. Trying to save a bit of maintenance and cost, and hopefully a Wednesday is okay!
Edited: The other cool thing is that this also means that the search index will be effectively realtime afterwards... no more waiting a few minutes for the indexer to catch new content.
Vampires, Historical Romance, & More
Apr. 22nd, 2026 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedNinth House
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo is $4.99! This is Bardugo’s first adult fantasy novel and I want to warn of some graphic depictions of violence and body horror. The first chapter or so should give you a good picture on whether it’s for you. Book two, Hell Bent, is also on sale!
The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.
The Last True Vampire
The Last True Vampire by Kate Baxter is $2.99! This is a paranormal romance that got a romantasy cover upgrade for a rerelease (which I think is an odd choice). I read this one when it was first release and it’s very much of its time in terms of pop culture references.
As Michael’s eyes lit on a female not twenty feet away, he knew without a doubt that it was her blood that called to him and her scent that had awakened him. This female had tethered his soul and returned it to him.
Soul Survivor
He is the last of his race. The one true king of the vampires. Michael Aristov roams the nightclubs of L.A. after dark, haunted by his past and driven by his hunger. The last of the Ancient Ones, he alone has survived the destruction of his race at the hands of the slayers. Now he is forced to hunt and feed like a common vampire, a creature of lust. Nothing in this world can fulfill his needs…until he meets a woman who’s everything he’s ever wanted. And more.
Sweet Salvation
Her name is Claire Thompson. Her blood is so sweet, so intoxicating—the smell alone draws Michael to her like a moth to the flame. Sly, sexy, and seductive, Claire seems to be the only mortal who can satisfy his craving and seal his fate…forever. Can she be trusted? From their very first kiss, the last true vampire sweeps Claire into a world in which darkness rules desire—and where falling in love is the greatest danger of all…
Love on a Bookshelf
Love on a Bookshelf by Kiah Thomas is 99c! This is a standalone contemporary romance between a bookseller and an author. Reviews mention that this is a slow burn, but I also saw some readers say this felt more like a YA romance.
A deliciously bookish romance about finding what you need in the place you least expect…
What if a gorgeous, grumpy author dedicated his new bestseller to the stranger who inspired him – and that stranger was you…?
Clarrie Brooks isn’t just having a bad day – her life seems to be falling apart. She’s struggling to keep her beloved grandmother’s bookshop afloat, her boyfriend has just dumped her and now it’s, quite literally, raining inside her run-down apartment.
To top it off, the bookshop loses power for the tenth time this week . . . just as new author Declan Archer walks in to sign stock. Declan advises Clarrie to invest in better lighting. Clarrie suggests to him that he write a better book…
Two years later, Declan’s new book is on its way to becoming a bestselling cult classic – and he’s dedicated it to the bookseller who told him to write a better one. As speculation builds over the identity of the bookseller, Clarrie finds herself thrown into the spotlight. Could it be time to open her heart and draft a brand-new love story?
A Study in Scoundrels
A Study in Scoundrels by Christy Carlyle is $1.99! I don’t like this cover; the dress color washes the model out. In this one, the heroine is a secret author and the hero is an actor. This is the second book in the Romancing the Rules series, but can be read as a standalone.
Sophia Ruthven is the epitome of proper behavior. On paper at least, as long as that paper isn’t from one of the lady detective stories she secretly pens. She certainly isn’t interested in associating with the dashing Jasper Grey, the wayward heir to the Earl of Stanhope, and one of the stage’s leading men. But when she learns Grey’s younger sister Liddy has gone missing, she can’t deny her desire to solve the mystery…or her attraction to the incorrigible scoundrel.
Responsibility isn’t something Grey is very familiar with. On the boards and in the bedroom, he lives exactly how he wants to, shunning all the trappings of respectability and society. Grey knows he should avoid the bewitching Sophia, but he’s never been able to say no to what he wants. And having Sophia in his arms and his bed is quickly becoming the thing he wants the most.
As Sophia and Grey’s search for Liddy continues across the English countryside, can this scoundrel convince a proper lady that he’s actually perfect for her or will their adventure leave them both heartbroken?
Links: Quilting, Podcasts, & More
Apr. 22nd, 2026 08:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Happy Wednesday!
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. It was a very chill day. My partner bought me one of those Kindle/phone/gaming stands, that will prop your device up in front of your face, leaving you with the ability to snuggle under the blankets with your controller or page turner.
Also how did April go by so quickly?
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Sarah: I was a guest on the Reading Smut podcast, a new romance-focused show from the hosts of Reading Glasses.
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Last year’s Cherrywood Quilting Challenge was themed “the abyss.” They have a virtual gallery of all the amazing entries, and a calendar for the traveling exhibit. Some beautiful work on display! The 2026 challenge has started and the theme is “storytime.”
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Pam G. sent in this link on “Labyrinth: Muppets, Bowie, and the Pain of Impending Adulthood.” It’s very much in our house of wheels.
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Lastly, Sarah and I were having a similar discussion about reading levels and romance, AND LO AND BEHOLD, this popped into my Reddit feed. It’s such an interesting convo around historical romances and anti-intellectualism.
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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!
Witches, a Historical Mystery, & More
Apr. 21st, 2026 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedI Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming is $4.99! This is book one in the Comic Chaos series and came out last February. Book two is due out in August of this year.
A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.
Dorothy Valentine is close to getting her PhD in wildlife biology when she’s attacked by a lion. On the bright side, she’s saved! On the not-so-bright side, it’s because they’re abducted by aliens. In her scramble to escape, Dory and the lion commandeer an escape pod and crash-land on an alien planet that has…dinosaurs?
Dory and her new lion bestie, Toto, are saved in the nick of time by a mysterious and sexy alien, Sol. On their new adventure, they team up with the equally hot, equally dangerous Lok, who may or may not be a war criminal. Whether it be trauma, fate, or intrigue, Dory can’t resist the attraction that’s developing in their trio….
As this ragtag group of misfits explore their new planet, Dory learns more about how and why they’ve all ended up together, battles more prehistoric creatures than she imagined (she imagined…zero), and questions if she even wants to go back home to Earth in this hilarious and steamy alien romance adventure comedy romp.
The Once and Future Witches
RECOMMENDED: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is $1.99! Carrie reviewed this one and gave it a B+:
Overall I loved reading this book. I literally gasped and clapped my hands over my mouth periodically, like a silent movie star. It’s so gripping, so beautifully written, and such a powerful homage to women’s voices and the need to unify against a common enemy.
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
Silent in the Grave
RECOMMENDED: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn is $1.99! This book and series has been mentioned quite a bit on the site. Elyse recommended it if you like historical mysteries. Reader StacieH4 mentioned it for those who prefer their romance light on sex, and Reader Tina Chaney said on a podcast that the book has one of her favorite opening lines. Have you read it?
“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.”
These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
Prepared to accept that Edward’s death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth.
Determined to bring her husband’s murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward’s demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.
A Fine Scottish Time
A Fine Scottish Time by Maeve Greyson is $2.99 at Amazon! This is time travel romance and it’s the first book in the The Magical Matchmakers of Seven Cairns series.
Time Travel, Tarot, and Fated Love in the Highlands
Jessa Tamson desperately needs a win. Her three-year relationship ended in heartbreak, her dream job evaporated, her car was stolen, and her rent just skyrocketed. She’s about ready to tell the universe exactly where to go—until a strange tarot card dating app starts popping up on her phone. It’s persistent, mysterious, and downright annoying, but when it promises an escape from her current mess of a life, she decides to take a leap of faith—and a flight to Scotland.
Grant MacAlester has no time for love—or meddling witches. It’s been forty years since his clan barely survived the Jacobite uprising in 1746, and between smuggling runs and keeping the peace, he’s got his hands full. The last thing he needs is old Mairwen and her apprentice scheming to marry him off again. His first marriage taught him one women bring trouble.
But when Jessa suddenly lands in Grant’s 18th-century Highlands—quite literally—everything changes. Their meeting isn’t just a coincidence; it’s the work of the immortals of Seven Cairns, who have declared them fated mates. Together, they hold the key to strengthening the Highland Veil, a mystical barrier protecting all creation from chaos.
—Magic, time travel, and destiny can lead to wonderful things—if a person’s brave enough to embrace them.