Daily Check-In

Jan. 21st, 2026 06:02 pm
starwatcher: Western windmill, clouds in background, trees around base. (Default)
[personal profile] starwatcher posting in [community profile] fandom_checkin
 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday, January 21, to midnight on Thursday, January 22. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34105 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 8

How are you doing?

I am OK.
5 (62.5%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
3 (37.5%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
4 (50.0%)

One other person.
3 (37.5%)

More than one other person.
1 (12.5%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

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

Firstly, thank you all for your flu commiserations! Breathing is better, but definitely not at 100%, plus a little cough as started to make an appearance.

I’m full steam ahead on cozy activities, like gaming in bed, nudging my partner to help figure out how our propane fireplace works, making warm salads like this one. (Highly recommend this whole channel for easy meals that are packed with veggies and protein.)

But my biggest gripe is that there aren’t enough hours in the day for maximum lounging and loafing. What do you mean I have to go to work and can’t just play my Switch amidst a nest of blankets?!

This link comes from EC Spurlock. It’s a pay-what-you-can fundraiser for cross stitch patterns that supports Minnesota nonprofits and mutual aid organizations.

Are you in the New England area and have no plans on February 25th? I’ll be talking with Amy Spalding about her latest release, In Her Spotlight at All She Wrote Books. Come say hi!

Lore Olympus is getting an animated show through Prime Video and the Jim Henson Company. I’m curious!

Any Dropout fans in the audience? I remember back when it was CollegeHumor and how founder Sam Reich pivoted to a wildly successful subscription model for Dropout.

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!

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Partners in Crime

RECOMMENDED: Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai is $1.99! Lara read this one and gave it an A- in a Lightning Review:

Because of my absolute abhorrence of a Big Misunderstanding plot, I nearly didn’t come back to this book, so if that turns you off, too, don’t make my mistake. You’ll be rewarded with a fun, emotionally nuanced, and surprising heist adventure – a very memorable one!

Indian Matchmaking meets Date Night in this fun, romantic adventure by Alisha Rai — “One of the very brightest romance writers working right now.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Mira Patel’s got a solid accounting career, good friends, and a whole lot of distance between her and her dysfunctional family. All that’s missing is a stable romantic relationship. Armed with a spreadsheet and professional help, she sets out to find her partner in only legal activities, but much to her matchmaker’s dismay, no one is quite right.

Including Naveen Desai, the very first match she unceremoniously rejected.

Lately Naveen’s been too focused on keeping his sick grandfather’s law firm afloat to think about love, and he’s stunned when Mira walks back into his life to settle her aunt’s affairs. He’s determined to keep things professional…though it’s impossible not to be intrigued by all of the secrets piling up around Mira.

If getting back together with an ex is a bad idea, getting kidnapped with one is even worse.

Suddenly, Naveen and Mira find themselves in a mad dash through Las Vegas to escape jewel thieves, evade crime bosses, and follow the clues to untangle the mess her family left behind. As her past comes back to haunt her, Mira despairs of ever finding someone who might understand her…but maybe, over the course of one wild night, she’ll find that he’s right by her side.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Conventionally Yours

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert is 99c and a KDD! This is a gay and geeky romance set at a convention (I miss those!). It was also a summer release that Elyse picked for Hide Your Wallet. Have you read this one?

When two “big name fans” go head-to-head at a convention, love isn’t the only thing at stake.

Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all…but in reality, he’s scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.

Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection…but even he can’t help but feel a little broken inside.

When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura is $1.99! I mentioned this on Get Rec’d for those who like magical realism, or who have been enjoying books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

A suspenseful magical realism novel about a mysterious teenage “Go-Between” who arranges meetings between the living and the dead, from multimillion copy Japanese bestselling author Mizuki Tsujimura.

I bring together the living and the departed. I am the Go-Between.

When a young woman from Tokyo contacts the Go-Between to request a meeting with a deceased TV star who once helped her, she doesn’t expect a teenage boy to show up. Dressed in a designer duffel coat and carrying a tattered notebook, Ayumi Shibuya, our mysterious intermediary, offers an extraordinary he reunites the living with their dearly departed. Meeting his clients at a luxury hotel, Ayumi lays down the ground each reunion is a one-time arrangement that the dead can refuse; the service is entirely free, and the meeting must take place during a full moon.

As Ayumi arranges these reunions, we encounter a resentful eldest son who wants to ask his mother to unearth the deeds to a plot of land; a teenage girl who blames herself for her best friend’s death; and a weary businessman seeking answers about his fiancée’s disappearance days after he proposed. With each rendezvous, clues begin to surface, leading readers to unravel the mystery of the boy in the duffel coat, whose own story is eventually revealed.

A runaway, multimillion copy bestseller in Japan, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is storytelling at its finest, from an international sensation whose work has been hailed as “strange and beautiful” (The Guardian). With an artful balance of heart and mystery, Mizuki Tsujimura creates an unforgettable page-turner in which the living and the dead are given one last chance for closure.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Next Year in Havana

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton is $1.99! This book has dual timelines: 2017 Miami and 1958 Havana and was mentioned in a Rec League for Dual Timeline books. Have you read this one?

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest–until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Scourge of the Spaceways

Jan. 21st, 2026 11:27 am
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
Scourge of the Spaceways by John C. Wright

Starquest book 5. And it is seriously a running story. Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.

Read more... )

WIP Wednesday

Jan. 21st, 2026 10:01 pm
paradisedinermod: (Default)
[personal profile] paradisedinermod posting in [community profile] paradisediner
What are you working on? Stuck on a plot point and want to talk it out? Have a canon question or looking for a resource? Anything and everything about your WIPs is welcome. Any kind of WIP counts, including fic, fanart, graphics, meta, icons, etc.

Optional questions are below. If there's something else you want to say about your WIP, please add it and we can update the meme.

You can contribute to the post until we put up the next WIP Wednesday! We are embracing the slower pace of Dreamwidth.



[ New Music Monday | Rec Something Wednesday | Monthly General Chat | Comment Fest ]
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

We’re only a few weeks into 2026 (?!!) and I’m curious about the books you’re most looking forward to that are releasing between January 1 and June 30, 2026.

There are MANY on our lists, and I limited folks to only a few – which means I know you have titles to suggest, too.

One that I couldn’t format for our database: Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire, Vol. 3 by Priest, translated by Yog and SassyStrawberry. This hardcover will be released in March 2026.

And if you want to mention your own book, please feel welcome!

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Author: Heather Fawcett
Released: February 17, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: , , ,

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .

This book is out February 3, and I want to dive into the cover and roll around in it. I also love everything about this concept, especially the cats.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Ex-Perimento

The Ex-Perimento by Maria J. Morillo

Author: Maria J. Morillo
Released: February 17, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: ,

A woman enlists the help of her favorite musician to win her ex-boyfriend back in this sparkling romantic comedy set in Venezuela by debut author Maria J. Morillo.

Maria “Marianto” Camacho is a planner. At twenty-seven, she has her life perfectly mapped out. Her long-term boyfriend, Alejandro, is perfect on paper, and she’s expecting a proposal any day now. She has a stable job as a lifestyle columnist at Ellas, one of Latin America’s biggest digital magazines. Her future is set; she’s sure of it.

Until everything falls apart overnight: Marianto loses her boyfriend and her job. But she’s determined to get them both back with an idea that is either delusional or ingenious—a juicy new article for Ellas that documents a series of romantic experiments to get her ex back. Thus begins The Ex-Perimento. With her bank account dwindling, however, Marianto lands a temporary gig on Venezuela’s hottest new singing competition show. Her job? Personal assistant to Simón Arreaza, the lead singer of her favorite indie band.

It’s only her second day on the job when Simón discovers Marianto’s list of romantic experiments, striking her ideas and replacing them with his own better ones. Out of desperation, she offers a proposition: Help her win back Alejandro, and she’ll give Simón’s band a profile in the magazine once she returns to Ellas. But between the close quarters on set and the blurred lines of a budding friendship, Marianto and Simón find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other, caught in a whirlwind of unexpected romance.

The Ex-Perimento is out on February 17, and takes place in Caracas, Venezuela, which is both a setting for a contemporary romance I’ve not read before, and a little uncanny in the current political mess. This book is a mix of tropes I love, too: celebrity romance, behind-the-scenes, and “I’ll coach you to get your ex back and we all know that will workout exactly as we planned.”

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

And Now, Back to You

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison

Author: B.K. Borison
Released: February 24, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , ,
Series: Heartstrings #2

Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison.

Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover a historic snowstorm, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together.

Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal: If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With unexplored chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship.

But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains stay in the mountains?

February 24th is the day for Borison fans! I have heard so many enthusiastic recommendations for Borison, and I’m starting with this one because I love the idea of rival meterologists.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

A Ghastly Catastrophe

A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Released: March 3, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , ,
Series: Veronica Speedwell Mysteries #10

Veronica and Stoker are practically dying for a new adventure, but when their wish is granted, they find themselves up against a secret society and a darkly seductive duo in this landmark historical mystery from beloved New York Times bestselling and Edgar® Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronica’s interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide—and Veronica and her intrepid beau Stoker know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.

Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Romany boy may know more about their first victim, and the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stoker’s, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear that the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.

The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover they’ve gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . .

Can you believe this is book 10 in the Veronica Speedwell series? TEN! I’m shocked. I’m also enamored of this series because sometimes mystery series make me tense and anxious before I even start it – bad things keep happening to the protagonists I like! – but not this one. Veronica is so competent, unflappable, and confident that I am more curious to see what absolute bullshit displays itself in front of her, and what she’ll say about it. Release date: March 3.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Fox and the Devil

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

Author: Kiersten White
Released: March 10, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: , , , ,

Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to the study of vampires—until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night.

Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn’t the only inexplicable dead body. There’s a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they’re all connected.

But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola.

The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn’t a madman after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer . . . and much harder to destroy. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body.

A heart that beats for Anneke alone.

The Fox and the Devil arrives on March 10, and Elyse says, “I love this author and this a sapphic vampire/ vampire hunter Romantasy.” I know many folks here are fans of all of White’s books, so happy new book to all of you!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Yesteryear

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Author: Caro Claire Burke
Released: April 7, 2026 by Knopf Doubleday
Genre:

A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

“A bold and biting satire, Yesteryear…will have you cackling and gasping right to the final page.”
—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid series

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.

Elyse says, “a trad wife influencer wakes up on an actual homestead in the 1800’s” to which I reply with ALL the wide-eye emoji. Yesteryear is out on April 7, and I’m so ready for more fiction skewering the layers of deceit behind trad wife influencers.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Enemies to Lovers

Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai

Author: Alisha Rai
Released: April 7, 2026 by Avon
Genre: ,

From the author of Partners in Crime, comes a sparkling new adventure rom-com where a con woman and a lawman team up on an epic cross-country road trip to save their families…and each other.

Sejal Chaudhary inherited her mama’s calculating brain, her daddy’s quick fingers, and the boatload of trauma that comes with being the eldest daughter of criminals. Although Sejal has never claimed to be a good girl, she’s spent the last couple years laying low and going (mostly) straight. That is, until a con gone wrong sends her into the arms of a handsome stranger who’s set on dragging her back into her messy family drama.

Krish Anand never mastered the fine art of being a bad boy…he would take a book over bullets any day. But when his FBI agent brother goes missing, he has no choice but to suit up for the adventure of a lifetime. Certain that someone in Sejal’s little crime family is behind the disappearance, a desperate Krish manages to convince the beautiful thief that his brother’s badge is actually his.

The deal is simple: help him find his brother, and Krish and the law will leave Sejal be. With an up-to-no-good ex also hot on her trail, Sejal reluctantly agrees. As they wind their way across the country on planes, buses, and automobiles, sparks ignite, and what began as a fragile temporary truce starts to look more and more like a partnership.

Falling for the enemy? So cliche, but so good…if only they can survive long enough to chance a happily ever after.

April 7 is going to be an EXPENSIVE day, y’all: the long-awaited sequel to Partners in Crime is out, and it’s got a nifty Bonus Trope Title: Enemies to Lovers: A Romantic Adventure of a Jewel Thief and a Lawman on a Cross-Country Journey. Also the hero is a pretend lawman, if cop heroes are not your bag right now: he lies and says his brother’s FBI badge is his. It’s in the cover copy.

So maybe that should read: Enemies to Lovers: The title is already a Trope Tag but here are a few more for this Romantic Adventure of a Jewel Thief and a Pretend FBI Agent on a Cross-Country Journey. 

I’ll workshop it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

More Like Enemigas

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope

Author: Stephanie Hope
Released: April 7, 2026 by Carina Adores
Genre: , ,

“This heartfelt sapphic romance is loaded with laugh-out-loud humor and the high-drama hijinks of a splashy telenovela.” —Camille Perri, author of When Katie Met Cassidy

One wedding, two rivals and a whole lot of secrets…

As the daughter of Cuban immigrants, Isabella Valdes knows three things for certain:
her late father’s restaurant is thriving
she owns lots of designer things
both of those statements are absolute lies to make her mother happy

Isabella would do anything to keep her father’s legacy alive, including attending her estranged cousin’s weeklong wedding extravaganza. Because once Sofia’s wealthy fiancé tastes the recipes Isa prepares from her father’s cherished journal, he’s sure to invest.

To Isa’s annoyance, she’ll be sharing a cabin with Valentina, the former friend turned rival who ruined her quinceañera. But Val is offering an unexpected deal—she’ll help Isa unravel an old family secret found in her father’s journal in return for help sabotaging the wedding and winning the heart of the bride.

Saying yes is a bad idea. Isa’s perfectionism meets its match in Val’s carefree demeanor, but as they work together, the usually responsible Isa can’t seem to say no to Val’s shenanigans. There’s no hiding from Val, no ignoring this complicated but undeniable connection that’s changing Isa’s beliefs about love, loyalty and just how much she owes to her family—and to herself…

Another April 7 title, More Like Enemigas is my favorite title. ENEMIGAS. Perfect word is perfect. And my goodness, the cover copy is offering some incredible messy mess – my favorite kind.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Platform Decay

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Author: Martha Wells
Released: May 5, 2026 by Tor
Genre: ,
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #8

A most-anticipated title from USA Today, Goodreads, BookPage, BookRiot, Seattle Times, and The Nerd Daily!

Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells’ bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn’t know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for… eye contact!

(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)

System System: NEW MURDERBOT OUT MAY 5! NEW MURDERBOT OUT MAY 5!

I’m sure I won’t devote myself to a weeks long re-read or disappear into the series again. It’ll be fine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Tapestry of Fate

The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty

Author: Shannon Chakraborty
Released: May 12, 2026 by Harper Voyager
Genre:

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Chakraborty sets sail into the second adventure of pirate Amina al-Sirafi as her quest to track down magical artifacts brings her to the island lair of a sorceress whose woven enchantments are impossible to flee.

Amina al-Sirafi thinks she’s struck gold. Tasked with hunting down arcane artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savor the occasional rollicking adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter, Marjana. But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council’s wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape.

Forced to leave Marjana—who is increasingly frustrated at being peddled what are clearly lies about her mother’s life and her own past—Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris’ story is unraveling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced.

A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.

Clear your calendars for May 12, because the sequel to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is arriving, and the cover is luscious and many of us are very excited. Elyse says, “I loved the first book so so much.”

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Score

Score by Kennedy Ryan

Author: Kennedy Ryan
Released: May 19, 2026 by Forever
Genre: ,
Series: Hollywood Renaissance #2

​You never forget your first love. Isn’t that what they say? Verity Hill knows this truth intimately. She didn’t simply miss Wright “Monk” Bellamy when they parted ways in college. She’s haunted by his touch. Every kiss, any lover since—it’s a shadow of what they had.

Time heals all wounds. Isn’t that what they say? Monk doesn’t believe that for a second. He wasn’t simply betrayed when he and Verity split. He was devastated, with parts of him left behind in the ruins of all that was destroyed.

More than a decade after their disastrous breakup, Verity and Monk must work together on the set of an epic Harlem Renaissance biopic. With Monk, now a world-class musician, creating the score, and Verity, an award-winning screenwriter, penning the script, there’s Oscar buzz before shooting even begins. This once-in-a-lifetime project could catapult them both to new heights, but can they can put the past behind them for the sake of the film…for the sake of something more?

The only thing better than a new Kennedy Ryan book (out May 19) is watching how media outlets and book people react to a new Kennedy Ryan book. She’s such a powerhouse, and it’s so fun to watch more people discover that.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Game of Rogues

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

Author: Julie Anne Long
Released: June 2, 2026 by Avon
Genre: ,
Series: The Palace of Rogues #9

In this sexy regency romance by USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long, a lady on the edge of ruin must plead with the king of London’s underworld to save her family, only to find herself instead caught in his web…and unable to resist him.

One disastrous night. One devastating man. One diabolical proposition.
Gabriel Marchand ruthlessly fought his way up from the gutters of St. Giles to preside over London’s most exclusive gaming hell. Few dare cross him. But when a young earl gambles away his inheritance, Marchand makes an enemy: a woman with wit like a dagger and the softest eyes he’s ever seen.

Spend a night in his bed, and he’ll call off the debt. This is the offer he makes Guinevere Woodville, the earl’s sister, when she blames him for her brother’s disaster. She’d rather die, of course. But when their seething enmity gives way to sizzling attraction at The Grand Palace on the Thames, his offer haunts them. Soon it seems a matter of not if, but when.
It’s not long before Ginny is facing two stark truths: the so-called worst man in London is the best man she’s ever known….and keeping him would mean losing everything and everyone else she loves. But Marchand has one final card to play…and losing everything is a risk he’s willing to take if it means a chance to love her forever.

A sexy, witty, and heartwarming tale, Game of Rogues has everything readers love about Julie Anne Long.

Considering we just snarked on earlier covers in this series, this new cover is jaw-dropping gorgeous. Game of Rogues is book 9 of the Palace of Rogues series, it’s out on June 2, AND the title is kind of a pun. Maybe. Either way, Lara cannot wait for this one.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Romantic Hero

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

Author: Kirsty Greenwood
Released: June 16, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , , ,

A heartbroken romance novelist is forced to address her writer’s block when the villainous cowboy character from her books shows up in the real world, desperately in need of his own Happily Ever After. . . from the bestselling author of GMA book club pick The Love of My Afterlife.

Gertie Bickerstaff writes happily-ever-afters for a living. . . . Or she did, until her own love life fell apart. Now her ex is thriving, her deadline is looming, and she can’t write a single word.

The last thing Gertie needs is more drama—like waking up to find a confused and rugged cowboy on her sofa. And not just any cowboy, but River Oakley, the villain from her unfinished novel. Somehow very real . . . and very shirtless.

River wants to go home. Gertie wants her life back. So they strike a deal: he’ll use his cunning ways to help her win back her ex, she’ll finish the novel, and, surely, he’ll return to whatever world he rode in from.

But as River Oakley proves to be so much more than just the bad guy, Gertie has to choose: the ending she thought she wanted . . . or the plot twist she never saw coming.

Since I read The Love of My Afterlife, and interviewed the author in Episode 622, I’ve been curious to see what Greenwood’s next book would be. I was not expecting a story about a romance novelist whose villain comes to life and agrees to help her scheme to get her ex back (never a great idea in real life, but fun to read about) if she will help him return to his book/world. I’m in!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Scandal of the Summer

Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti

Author: Alexandra Vasti
Released: June 23, 2026 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: ,

A desperate debutante meets a ragtag smuggler in this sexy Regency romp by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.

Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met.

Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.

But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.

Several of us are looking forward to this one, including Claudia, Lara, and me, and alas we have to wait until June 23.

I cannot get over her shoe, though. What is happening with her shoe. Since titles don’t tend to hang out in my brain, this book is now “the purple shoe book” in my head. Sorry.

What books are you most looking forward to from now until June 30? And yes, you can mention your own if you wish. 

It’s TBR Destruction Time!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

[syndicated profile] languagelog_feed

Posted by Victor Mair

We've been discussing the oracle bone form (late 2nd millennium BC) of nǚ女 ("woman; female"):

  •  

(WP)

I've always felt that it shows the profile of a submissive, kneeling female figure with her arms crossed in front of her (I say this after examining scores of variants of OB forms of 女).

Lately, however, some scholars have interpreted the oracle bone graph in radically different ways, e.g., the figure is a slave with arms bound in front of or behind him.

If that is the case, how do we get to "woman; female", which nǚ 女 (during the last three millennia), both by itself and as the radical (Kangxi no. 38) of hundreds (681) of other graphs having to do with women or feminine affairs / characteristics as it has indubitably signified during the last three millennia?

So I asked Axel Schuessler, the foremost etymologist of Old Sinitic, how he would interpret the oracle bone forms of nǚ 女.  He replied:

Chinese writing is sometimes like a Rorschach-test, everyone can see something different in the characters.
 
Here is my take: the OB graph shows a figure seen from the side. The figure is kneeling. This breast interpretation has never convinced me. What I see is a shoulder with arms, elbows extended to the sides. The top line of this ‘breast’ configuration shows the shoulder (with the stroke starting at top right) with the woman’s right arm curving down around her torso, the bottom line shows the left arm curving around the torso (again: from a side perspective). The arms/hands meet in front of the figure. This is exactly the pose found in theater performances when a woman is facing a person of authority showing respect, kneeling, arms extended with elbows out, hands coming together in front of her. In these gestures the hands wind up on top of each other or curled together like fists, if memory serves. Perhaps one can  also find this position in paintings. I don’t see any hint of bound hands or slavery. 
 
The graph for ‘mother’ 母, with the two dots that are really supposed to prove the breast theory. Again, I see this completely differently. Sometimes, a graph is created by using an existing one and then adding a dot or dots, strokes as diacritic for distinction. Sometimes the dot has the purpose of filling an area, like in 日, 月, 本. So 母 has the dots to indicate that 女 ‘woman is not intended, but ‘mother’. 
 
Anyway, this is a good Rorschach test.

—–

PS: à propos graphs being like Rorschach tests: the interpretation says sometimes more about the viewer that the graph itself. This graph meaning ‘woman’ makes people (naturally) look for anatomical markers, i.e. breasts; those living in a modern left ideology look for oppression of women everywhere and promptly find it, hence woman as slave.

I wish I could find paintings or photographs where you see a woman in exactly this kneeling pose with elbow pointed outward, hands joined, that made me immediately think that this is exactly what the OB have captured with a few strokes.

I think this is the sort of painting Axel had in mind:

(source)

Selected readings

 

Daily Check-In

Jan. 20th, 2026 05:59 pm
starwatcher: Western windmill, clouds in background, trees around base. (Default)
[personal profile] starwatcher posting in [community profile] fandom_checkin
 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Tuesday, January 20, to midnight on Wednesday, January 21. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34103 Daily Check-in
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 28

How are you doing?

I am OK.
18 (64.3%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
10 (35.7%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
10 (35.7%)

One other person.
14 (50.0%)

More than one other person.
4 (14.3%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 

Website Updates

Jan. 20th, 2026 05:33 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] crowdfunding
Thanks to a lot of work by [personal profile] fuzzyred, you can now read A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows on its own landing page. :D This series of linguistic poetry uses novel words presented in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

Newsletter Update: We’re Back!

Jan. 20th, 2026 05:48 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

Misdirected Male by Cassidy Lish. A male torso in jeans. A white mail box, with letters spilling out is positioned right by his crotch and the mail flag is up.THANK YOU to the many of you who emailed me to let me know that the SBTB Daily newsletter wasn’t arriving in your inboxes as expected.

In a nutshell, I’m in a low-key battle with bots that are scraping the site at a high volume and making the server unhappy, and one of the settings that we changed to try to keep the site online inadvertently blocked the newsletter – OOPS.

So that’s all fixed, and today at or shortly after 1pm ET, you should be receiving a newsletter.

Will it contain five days of content? IT MIGHT. But that will be the only behemoth email this week. After today it’ll go back to being the past 24 hours.

Again – sorry about the delay, and THANK YOU for alerting me to let me know. It really means a lot to me that you care enough about the site and your connection to it that you’d email me when something isn’t right.  (Also: this is how you know I’m not AI.)

And if you’d like to have the latest content delivered to your inbox each day, you can sign up right here:

Subscribe to the SBTB Daily!

* indicates required

 

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Spells for Forgetting

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young is $2.99! This is Young’s adult debut and is a fantastical and dark, small town mystery with a hint of romance. Have any of you read this one?

A rural island community steeped in the mystical superstitions of its founders and haunted by an unsolved murder is upended by the return of the suspected killer in this deeply atmospheric novel.

Emery Blackwood’s life was forever changed on the eve of her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her best friend, Lily. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence among the community that fractured her world in two. She’d once longed to run away with August, eager to escape the misty, remote shores of Saiorse Island and chase new dreams; now, she maintains her late mother’s tea shop and cares for her ailing father. But just as the island, rooted in folklore and tradition, begins to show signs of strange happenings, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that no one wants to remember.

August Salt knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night that changed everything. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from the past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises that span generations threatens to reveal the truth behind Lily’s death once and for all.

Evocative and compelling, Spells for Forgetting is a vivid exploration of lost love and the unraveling of a small town and its many secrets.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore is 99c! This is book one in the small town romance Dream Harbor series. Have you read any of the books?

A spicy small-town romance and TikTok phenomenon, perfect for fans of Hannah Grace and Stephanie Archer.

When Jeanie’s aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.

Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor’s gossip at all costs. But Jeanie’s arrival disrupts Logan’s routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.

Will Jeanie’s happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won’t fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes…

The Pumpkin Spice Café is a cozy romantic mystery for fans of Gilmore Girls, with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Forgery of Fate

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim is $1.99! This is a YA fantasy romance with Beauty and the Beast vibes. I feel like Lim always gets beautiful covers.

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms…

A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Made in Manhattan

Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne is $1.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance. My Fair Lady/Pygmalion elements are some of my favorite tropes, so I might pick this one up for myself.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Central Park Pact comes a reverse My Fair Lady for the modern era about a pampered and privileged Manhattan socialite who must teach an unpolished and denim-loving nobody from the Louisiana Bayou how to fit in with the upper crust of New York City. Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne.

Violet Townsend has always been a people pleaser. Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, she always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. Violet would do anything for the people closest to her, especially her beloved grandmother. So when she asks Violet to teach the newly-discovered grandson of her friend how to fit in with New York City’s elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her goal? To get Cain Stone ready to take his place as heir to his family company…but to say he’s not exactly an eager student is an understatement.

Born and raised in rural Louisiana and now making his own way in New Orleans, Cain Stone is only playing along for the paycheck at the end. He has no use for the grandmother he didn’t know existed and no patience for the uppity Violet’s attempts to turn him into a suit-wearing, museum-attending gentleman.

But somewhere amidst antagonistic dinner parties and tortured tux fittings, Cain and Violet come to a begrudging understanding—and the uptight Violet realizes she’s not the only one doing the teaching. As she and Cain begin to find mutual respect for one another (and maybe even something more), Violet learns that blindly following society’s rules doesn’t lead to happiness…and that sometimes the best things in life come from the most unexpected places.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Profile

jaebility: (Default)
a jar of jae

November 2016

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930   

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios