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Dec. 9th, 2025 09:29 pm
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[personal profile] kalloway! Thank you for the card and stickers!
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Posted by Victor Mair

Sino-Platonic Papers is pleased to announce the publication of its three-hundred-and-seventieth issue:

“The Patriarch of Empty Lies,” by Wilt L. Idema. (free pdf)

INTRODUCTION

The Tale of Empty Lies (Tuokong zhuan 脫空傳) is a prosimetric narrative in four chapters that tells the story of the poor man Ma Pianliu 馬騙六   who, unable to pay back his creditors, leaves home to escape his troubles. After meeting with characters like Bai Lai 白賴 and Wu Pin 吳品      and traveling through a world of horrors, he eventually arrives at the abode of the Patriarch of Empty Lies (Tuokong zushi 脫空祖師), who teaches him never to repay any loan even if he would by a stroke of luck become a wealthy man. This text of this catalogue of low-lifes at the bottom of Chinese society has been preserved in a set of manuscripts, collectively titled Liaozhai waizhuan 聊齋外傳 (Additional tales by Liaozhai) and copied out in the years 1908–1915 by a certain Cao Rugui 曹汝貴, whose grandson Cao Juetian 曹厥田 donated them to the Pu Songling Museum. Most of the texts included in this collection are well-known “rustic songs” (liqu 俚曲) by Pu Songling 蒲松齡 (1640–1715), but The Tale of Empty Lies cannot have been written by him in its present form, as the text mentions the institution of “Nurturing Incorruptibility Silver” (yanglianyin 養聯銀), established in 1723 by the Yongzheng emperor. This would suggest that the text was originally composed (or rewritten) in the middle of the eighteenth century. As Tuokong zhuan was transmitted together with prosimetric writings by Pu Songling, it may not only have circulated in central Shandong but also have been composed there….


—–
All issues of Sino-Platonic Papers are available in full for no charge.
To view our catalog, visit http://www.sino-platonic.org/

——————–

From the author:

Many thanks for including Empty Lies in SPP. What gave me most trouble in translating this piece was the great number of puns, especially in the second chapter. I am quite sure I also missed the intended meaning of several colloquial expressions in that chapter. It would be wonderful if people with some knowledge of the local dialect of central Shandong would have a look at it. Even so I thought the text curious enough to merit publication, despite the mistakes it is bound to contain. The text very well illustrates the problems one encounters when performative texts are not just written in "standard vernacular" but also make use of any local dialect, especially its vulgar aspects. Corrections are welcome.

Empty Lies in its present shape cannot be by Pu Songling as it refers to changes in official salaries of the Yongzheng period. But as a popular prosimetric performance text it became mixed up with the "rustic songs" of Pu in at least one connection. As such it illustrates the problems in identifying the borders of Pu's vernacular corpus as discussed by Zhenzhen Lu. In this case we are "lucky" in that the text contains elements that allow one to date it, but in the majority of cases such elements are missing.

From Zhenhen Lu:

Tuokong zhuan is among a number of vernacular texts transmitted in central Shandong that has at one point or another gotten grouped with the liqu attributed to Pu Songling, which for me is much more interesting as a local corpus of vernacular writings than their often uncertain connections to Pu (as professor Idema has shown through specific terms like "yanglianyin," this particular text would have been from a later time). In its spirit of parody and mockery of conventional values, Tuokong zhuan certainly elicits comparison with other texts in that corpus, such as the pair of texts on the God of Poverty that I translated in my book (see chapter 3, pp.119-125; in chapter 2.5 I discuss vernacular texts, including Tuokong zhuan, transmitted in the Zichuan area and vicinity and the manuscripts they are found in). The language of the text can use further study–it's very colloquial, but I wonder how much of it is topolectal—it would be very interesting to study it alongside texts that belong to the so-called "Liaozhai liqu" today, which Chinese linguists have studied as established corpus seemingly without much attention to other locally transmitted vernacular texts. I attach a PDF of the article which contains the text prof. Idema translated, so you can take a look and get a feel for its language (the text starts on p. 12 of the PDF)—which I think is still quite different from the Qiangtou ji that you translated. It's a real feat that prof. Idema completed the translation, given the spectacular verbal acrobatics that it delights in (for example in chapters 2 and 4).

VHM:  If anyone is truly desirous of seeing the original text that Prof. Idema worked from, I can arrange to send the pdf Zhenzhen mentioned.  Even better, it would be great if someone were willing to post the pdf online so that everybody could see it at the click of a URL.

 

Selected readings

Daily Check-In

Dec. 9th, 2025 06:00 pm
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[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, December 09, to midnight on Wednesday, December 10. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33936 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 15

How are you doing?

I am OK.
9 (60.0%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
6 (40.0%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
6 (40.0%)

One other person.
6 (40.0%)

More than one other person.
3 (20.0%)




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.
 

LadiesBingo: Funerals and Wakes

Dec. 9th, 2025 06:31 pm
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[personal profile] senmut
AO3 Link | Useful Gathering (300 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Partners in Crime [TV - 1984]
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sydney Kovack & Carole Stanwyck [Partners in Crime]
Characters: Sydney Kovack [Partners in Crime], Carole Stanwyck [Partners in Crime]
Additional Tags: Triple Drabble, Event - Funeral, Community: ladiesbingo
Summary:

Sydney and Carole are holding a second funeral for their mutual ex, mostly to preserve their business.



Useful Gathering

Sydney carefully adjusted her skirt as she stood up, hand not holding the handkerchief going out to catch Carole's.

"Why did we agree to hold a wake for him?"

Carole gave a reserved smile to one of the businessmen here to pay respects.

"To help us keep the business running," Carole answered after she was certain no one else would be listening. "Besides, were you ever any good at saying 'no' to Jeanine?"

Sydney made an indelicate sound at that, and covered by bringing the handkerchief up to dab at her nose. "Were you?"

Carole had to bite back the unseemly laughter that came with it. "We need his contacts, to get the agency in the black, and start paying off that mortgage."

"Can't just ask some of your old polo pals to lend a hand, oh wait, you just take their pictures now."

That lit Carole's temper, but she gathered it back in check, and squeezed Sydney's hand. "One way or another, Sydney, we can make this work for us. Neither one of us is the woman he married any longer, but I think we can find a place for ourselves anyway."

Sydney took a deep breath, then smiled sadly at another pair of suits walking past them. "You're right, and I'm sorry for the dig. We'll get through the speeches, cut to the meat of promising to help them for standard fees going forward, and make the agency solvent.

"Just, don't leave me alone with any of them? I'll point out the fanny-patters and lewd ones as we mingle."

"And if they're the older ones, I'll tell you how Raymond got his hooks into them," Carole promised in turn, steeling her spine for the possibility of dealing with 'old friends' from the failed marriage.

"We have each other."

Mostly Historical Romances

Dec. 9th, 2025 04:30 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

The Lady He Lost

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour is $1.99! This is book one in the Lucky Ladies of London series and I mentioned it on a previous edition of Get Rec’d. Book three in the series is out this month.

Her only interest is in making her own way in the world. Luckily, he can help.

Lieutenant Eli Williams was supposed to be dead. In the two years since his shipwreck, his friends and family mourned him, his brother spent his savings, and his fiancée married someone else. So, when he turns up in the middle of the London social season, he quickly becomes the talk of the town. All Eli wants is to set his life back in order and reconnect with Jane Bishop, a friend who has always meant so much more to him, before returning to sea.

Jane refuses to waste any more of her life pining over Eli, who chose her cousin instead of her. She needs to focus on gaining her financial independence by establishing a ladies’ gambling club. Never mind that Eli keeps trying to atone for his past mistake by bringing in new members. He’s obviously keeping secrets about his disappearance, which means that she can’t trust him with her heart even if she did kiss him in a moment of weakness. Or three.

As Eli works to regain her trust, Jane’s defensive walls begin to crumble. But when Eli faces a court of inquiry on suspicion of desertion, Jane must decide if she can let go of the past to build a future with Eli, or risk losing him for good.

This charming and sexy friends to enemies to lovers historical romance romp is the perfect read for fans of Evie Dunmore and India Holton.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Prince of Air and Darkness

Prince of Air and Darkness by M.A. Grant is $1.99! This is a gay fantasy romance with a royal fae hero and a magical human. The next book in the series is also on sale. It seems like this is on the line of new adult and the magical school being more like a college, with the characters in their early twenties.

Phineas Smith has been cursed with a power no one could control.

Roark Lyne is his worst enemy and his only hope.

The only human student at Mather’s School of Magick, Phineas Smith has a target on his back. Born with the rare ability to tap into unlimited magick, he finds both Faerie Courts want his allegiance—and will do anything to get it.

They don’t realize he can’t levitate a feather, much less defend the Faerie Realm as it slips into civil war.

Unseelie Prince Roark Lyne, Phineas’s roommate—and self-proclaimed arch nemesis—is beautiful and brave and a pain in the ass. Phineas can’t begin to sort through their six years of sexual tension masquerading as mutual dislike. But Roark is also the only one able to help Finn tame his magick.

Trusting Roark’s mysterious motives may be foolish; not accepting his temporary protection would be deadly.

Caught in the middle of the impending war, Phineas and Roark forge a dangerous alliance. And as the walls between them crumble, Phineas realizes that Roark isn’t the monster he’d imagined. But their growing intimacy threatens to expose a secret that could either turn the tide of the war…or destroy them both.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

When a Duchess Says I Do

When a Duchess Says I Do by Grace Burrowes is $1.99! This is book two in the Rogues to Riches series. I thought we reviewed this one, but my memory has failed me. The cover model reminds me of Morena Baccarin.

An enchanting Regency romance with a fairy-tale twist from an always witty and delightful New York Times bestselling author who Tessa Dare calls “a romance treasure.”

Duncan Wentworth tried his hand at rescuing a damsel in distress once long ago, and he’s vowed he’ll never make that mistake again. Nonetheless, when he comes across Matilda Wakefield in the poacher-infested and far-from-enchanted woods of his estate, decency compels him to offer aid to a lady fallen on hard times. Matilda is whip-smart, she can read Duncan’s horrible penmanship, and when she wears his reading glasses, all Duncan can think about is naughty Latin poetry.

Matilda cannot entrust her secrets to Duncan without embroiling him in the problems that sent her fleeing from London, but neither can she ignore a man who’s honorable, a brilliant chess player, and maddeningly kissable. She needs to stay one step ahead of the enemies pursuing her, though she longs to fall into Duncan’s arms. Duncan swears he has traded in his shining armor for a country gentleman’s muddy boots, but to win the fair maid, he’ll have to ride into battle one more time.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Copper Valley Fireballs Complete Series

The Copper Valley Fireballs Complete Series by Pippa Grant is $4.99 at Amazon! This set contains four sports romance, plus a holiday novella.

Meet the Copper Valley Fireballs, baseball’s lovable losers whose hot heroes are determined to turn this team around and resisting finding love along the way! This box set includes four full-length romantic comedies and a bonus novella.

About the

Jock Blocked is a home run of a feel-good romantic comedy featuring the world’s most superstitious sports fan, baseball’s oldest virgin hero, a rogue meatball, an adorable puppy with a cussing problem, and a happily ever after more satisfying than a game-winning grand slam.

Real Fake Love is a line drive straight to the heart featuring a grumpy athlete, a jilted bride, a fake relationship, and the world’s laziest cat. It stands alone and comes complete with sibling rivalry, the world’s most awkward shower scene, and a sweetly satisfying happily ever after.

The Grumpy Player Next Door is a fun-filled enemies-to-lovers romcom featuring a ray of sunshine on a mission, an athlete who’s only grouchy around her, and an epic prank gone wrong. It stands alone and comes complete with small-town shenanigans, a goat who’s not nearly as wise as his name suggests, and proof that sometimes, love is the best kind of vengeance.

Irresistible Trouble is a hilarious grand slam of a romcom about a baseball player whose ego is catching up to him, a pop star who’s a bit of a hot mess when the cameras aren’t looking (and sometimes when they are), and the kind of family and teammates that everyone deserves… in small doses.

Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas is a hit of holiday sweetness featuring a grumpy retired baseball pitcher who hates the holidays, his best friend’s little sister, and a Christmas tree mishap.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

This HaBO comes from Marina, who wants to find this historical romance. Trigger warning for the description below:

I think this was a regency era setting.

The protagonist goes with stepmother and her daughter to a house party. She is not well treated by them. They secretly plan to entrap a titled rich guy into marriage. The daughter invited him to go to her room at night. He enters the protagonist’s room by mistake and starts making love to her, but since she was given laudanum she thinks it is a dream. (This was done to her so she would not hear what would go on next door.) When the stepmother goes to her daughter’s room – as planned – to find her daughter and “lover” in flagrante delicto, he’s not there but can hear them talking about their plan and is saved.

I can’t remember the rest and it’s making me crazy. I don’t even remember if I finished it. Can anyone help?

Wowza!

[syndicated profile] mangabookshelf_feed

Posted by Sean Gaffney

By mikawaghost and tomari. Released in Japan as “Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alexandra Owen-Burns.

It’s been well over two years since the last volume of this series, and that volume was a massive flashback, so it’s actually been almost three years since we were last dealing with Akiteru’s confrontation with Iroha’s mother. Since then an anime has been announced and is currently airing (I’m not watching it, but I don’t think it’s setting the world on fire). Also since then we’ve had just this book. The author apologizes for it taking so long (it was two and a half years between 10 and 11 in Japan). Fortunately, it’s a very solid volume, which mostly goes how I thought it would, but also contains a few surprises. The surprises are not related to Iroha, who honestly takes this a lot better than I’d expected. No, it’s something unrelated to the game or to Iroha’s voice acting, it’s Mashiro’s writing. In which we learn what happens when producers decide to adapt something into an anime without actually enjoying the work itself.

The confrontation between Iroha’s mother and Iroha’s crush ends pretty much as you’d expect. Amachi agrees to let Iroha continue to do her acting work… but she’ll be the one managing her career. He has to stay out of it. Possibly realizing that this is never going to work as long as he’s literally next door, Akiteru thus decides to vanish from everyone’s life… though in reality he asks for a temporary job at Canary’s book publisher, where he gains valuable experience at how deal making works in the land of adults. Unfortunately, only Canary knows he’s there, so the rest of the cast are feeling rather bereft. Iroha at least has a new job she’s doing providing multiple voices for a VTuber project… but when Mashiro is told that the anime team wants to change her anti-bullying revenge fantasy so there’s no revenge and the bullies don’t get harmed, she goes completely to pieces.

As I said, the most startling scene in this whole book for me was the fact that Mashiro showed up for the meeting with the anime team with a gun in her pocket. Yes, it was a model gun that doesn’t shoot, but still. Her yakuza fantasy may have helped her get through the meeting without breaking down, but it did not stop her breaking down after. Actually, “after” may be the biggest flaw with this volume – it feels like it was being written to a page count. There are several plot points (Mashiro, Akiteru’s schooling) where I wish we’d gotten a bit more closure than we did. We did get some great background on Canary, though, which reminds us that sometimes when you work in an industry where you promote others, and you screw up, you can destroy lives that are not yours. I also enjoyed Akiteru being reminded “your uncle is famous, so throw his name around a bit”. Sometimes being an adult means not being straight and narrow all the time.

This author loves to start new series, and start new series that get anime adaptations, so it may be a while before we get the 12th book. That said, with the new events here, I don’t think it’s wrapping up soon anymore.

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Happy Tuesday!

We’re combining this week and next week given how sparse things are in terms of new releases. And then skipping for the rest of December. If you have any releases you’d like to mention for the month, drop them in the comments!

Otherwise, we’ll be back with new releases in 2026.

Which books are on your TBR pile this month? Let us know!

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot by Alexis Hall

Author: Alexis Hall
Released: December 9, 2025 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: , ,
Series: Winner Bakes All #3

A charming new LGBTQIA+ romcom from the bestselling author of BOYFRIEND MATERIAL.

Audrey Lane is perfectly fine. Really. So what if she left her high-powered job as a Very Important Journalist—and her even higher-powered long-term girlfriend—to live a quiet life as a reporter for the second-biggest newspaper in Shropshire? And so what if she keeps hearing that same higher-powered long-term now-ex-girlfriend in her head night and day, constantly judging just how small Audrey’s allowed her life to become?

She’s fine. She’s happy. She’s perfectly within her groove. Do not-in-their-groove people get weekday drunk and impulsively apply for the UK’s most beloved baking show?

All right, so maybe she’s not completely fine, but being on Bake Expectations is opening her world again in ways she never anticipated. First through fellow contestant Doris, whose personal story of queer love during WW2 captures Audrey’s heart, imagination and journalistic interest like nothing has in ages. Then through Jennifer Hallet, the most foul-tempered (and fouler-mouthed) producer, woman, and menace Audrey has ever met. Jennifer should be off-limits, but her fire lights something unexpected inside of Audrey, making her want to burn back a million times brighter. A million times hotter. A million times more herself than she’s been in a long, long time.

Book three in the Winner Bakes All series!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton

Author: L.M. Chilton
Released: December 9, 2025 by Gallery/Scout Press
Genre:

A deliciously thrilling new novel about a mysterious threat that puts targets on the backs of a group of roommates, from the author behind the “darkly funny, hilariously twisty, and completely charming” (Jennifer Close, New York Times bestselling author) Swiped.

Kirby Cornell needs a break—particularly from her crumbling apartment in a sleepy town that is only known for serial killer in the ’90s, her dead-end job, her sleazy landlord, her sloppy housemates, and, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.

Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message in their old group chat pops up from ex-roommate “Everyone in the group chat will die.” The threat isn’t the most disconcerting part of this—it’s the fact that Esme died a year ago.

With his signature “plot twists and wicked” (Margarita Montimore, USA TODAY bestselling author) prose, L.M. Chilton proves that he is a wickedly entertaining author to look out for.

Sarah: The pitch says it’s a laugh-out-loud thriller and I feel like that’s a dare directed at me. WILL I LAUGH? Let’s find out!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Her Time Traveling Duke

Her Time Traveling Duke by Bryn Donovan

Author: Bryn Donovan
Released: December 9, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: , ,

Magic meets science and sunshine meets grumpy when a love spell whisks a Regency-era duke to modern times.

Rose Novak, a free-spirited museum employee who dabbles in magic, has had her share of disappointments. So when she tries a little spell for a romance with an “old-fashioned gentleman,” she doesn’t really expect it to work…especially literally. And yet, the duke from a painting she admired at the museum is now standing in her apartment, demanding to know who abducted him.

A man of science and truth, Henry Leighton-Lyons, the Duke of Beresford, has searched tirelessly for a way to turn back time and be with his late wife again. Instead, just as he’s about to pose for his portrait, he’s ripped centuries forward by a feckless, scantily dressed—and utterly bewitching—woman who believes in nonsense like magical crystals and astrology.

Unable to immediately reverse her spell, Rose vows to help Henry return to his own century, even though disguises and high jinks are required to get their hands on an enchanted astrolabe and master the art of time travel. But it’s hard not to fall for the irritable yet honorable duke.

Little does she know that he’s starting to did a reckless love spell get it right, after all?

A grumpy/sunshine romance with a time traveling hero. 

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

How to Grieve Like a Victorian

How to Grieve Like a Victorian by Amy Carol Reeves

Author: Amy Carol Reeves
Released: December 9, 2025 by Canary Street Press
Genre: ,

It’s fine. She’s fine. Really.

When life’s turned you into a big hot mess, there’s still love, laughs, and snark to be had…

Dr. Lizzie Wells, professor of British literature and bestselling author, is not okay. She wasn’t consulted when her beloved husband died unexpectedly, so she’s going to grieve however she damned well chooses. Keeping a lock of his hair in a choker around her neck and donning widow’s weeds. You bet. Notifying colleagues and students that she will only accept paper letters instead of email. Why not? Very nearly kissing her late husband’s best friend, Henry. Unfortunately, er…yes.

So when she’s offered a trip to London, Lizzie grabs it. What better place to escape, heal, and be reborn than in the same city where Queen Victoria famously mourned her beloved Prince Albert? Encouraged by new friends to be bold, have champagne and oysters before noon, and celebrate the beauty and the messiness of life, Lizzie begins to embrace it all.

Still, there’s that almost kiss with Henry she just can’t forget. Their cross-Atlantic ‘check-ins’ turn into FaceTime hangouts and their friendship evolves into something more. When Henry shows up in London, Lizzie fears she’s falling in love with him… Will she bravely embrace this second chance, too?

The title alone makes this seem like the Bitchery may be interested in this one.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Murder in Manhattan

Murder in Manhattan by Julie Mulhern

Author: Julie Mulhern
Released: December 9, 2025 by Forever
Genre: ,

Inspired by one of the first real-life female columnists at the New Yorker, this enticing historical mystery follows Freddie Archer as she solves crimes while reporting on the glamorous world of the rich and famous in 1920s Manhattan.

This writer just found her next scoop . . . and it’s deadly.

New York, 1925 – Freddie Archer frequents speakeasies and wild parties with her friends Dorothy Parker and Tallulah Bankhead. And the best part is that it’s all in a day’s work. Freddie loves her job writing the nightlife column for Gotham Magazine.

But Freddie’s latest piece just won her a bit more attention than she bargained for—from the police. A man mentioned in her column has been murdered. And Freddie is asked to keep an eye out for his fashionable female dinner companion. She’s told in no uncertain terms to stay out of the case herself.

So naturally, Freddie throws herself into an investigation that takes her from the elegant stores that line Fifth Avenue to the tenements south of Houston Street. Now between sipping gin rickeys with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and casting Broadway shows with Groucho Marx, she’s dodging bullets and dating a potentially dangerous bootlegger.

Freddie wanted adventure and excitement. But will she survive it?

Lara: Start of a series!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

A Most Worthy Husband

A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour

Author: Faye Delacour
Released: December 16, 2025 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: ,
Series: The Lucky Ladies of London #3

When she picks the most unsuitable bachelor in London to ruin her reputation with a kiss, neither of them counted on her mother making a gentleman out of him….

Perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton and Bridgerton .

Hannah Williams would never want a marriage like her parents’. She’d be perfectly happy to spend her life as a spinster and support herself by helping to run her sister-in-law’s gambling club. But no matter how many schemes Hannah hatches to repel suitors, her mother won’t accept defeat. To wrest back control of her life once and for all, Hannah takes drastic measures. She’ll ruin herself with a man so unsuitable that no one will force them to the altar, making her unmarriageable forever. What could possibly go wrong?

Silas Corbyn is nothing but trouble. Disinherited by his family and dishonorably discharged from the Navy over a fight with his sadistic superior, the ton has dismissed him without hearing his side of the story. When an old friend from the Navy gives him work as a dealer at a lady’s gambling club, Silas doesn’t intend to repay the favor by compromising the man’s little sister on his first night, but Hannah offers him an obscene amount of money for just one kiss. Money that he could use to build a new life for himself.

Neither of them counted on Hannah’s mother deciding to salvage her daughter’s reputation with a hasty marriage. Now they need to find a way to call off their engagement before it’s too late. Unless they lose their hearts first.

Given the current state of historical romances, we try to spotlight new releases where we can!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

No Love in L.A.

No Love in L.A. by Katta Kis

Author: Katta Kis
Released: December 17, 2025
Genre: , ,
Series: Pagans & Pop Stars #3

A heavy metal goddess with a crush on…

The stern goth who hates her…

The spark that ignites them both.

Recovering from a breakdown, metal superstar Angela Alice is clawing her way to self-improvement. Except she’s got writer’s block, touring freaks her out, and her mother is getting out of prison.

Oh, and she keeps running into her ex’s best friend: the beautiful goth control freak she’s crushed on for years. Too bad they can’t stand her.

Too bad they can’t stand her.

Benji Nakamura understands mental health meltdowns, a breakdown ended their old band and remade their life. Now, they’re running an indie label, writing songs, renovating their house, and helping their mom reboot her punk band.

They have it under control—if a certain chaotic singer would stop tilting Benji’s world on its axis. And if they didn’t secretly enjoy it.

When Angela is attacked by bigots, Benji spirits her away to their probably-not-haunted Sacramento mansion. Hidden away, the mutual attraction is too strong to resist.

But it’s not all black roses and orgasms. For two people with scarred pasts and sharp edges, love is a four-letter curse.

Benji and Angie might fit together better than they ever expected, but can this spark survive or will it be just another regret?

No Love in LA is a standalone (though it doesn’t hurt to read the first two books) angsty contemporary rock star romance with an HEA and no cheating.

Shana: I hated this heroine in the earlier books so I’m excited to see her redemption arc.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

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Episode 2711: Order Gave Each Thing View

Information is something that can be either extremely difficult to come by, or be essentially free for the taking. In the modern age, and for non-dystopian future science fiction settings, you can pretty much find anything online and download whatever you want. If you want to keep things unknown, you need to come up with reasons why the knowledge wouldn't already be widely spread. It can be top secret, guarded by governments or other institutions, or perhaps lost to civilisation and only recoverable through a perilous expedition.

In historical or fantasy settings, information can be a lot harder to find. Great quests must be made to learn precious trickles of fact. Perhaps only wizened old sages have the knowledge you need, hidden away in dusty tomes of yore. Or it can be magically concealed or erased from people's minds.

Either way, a quest for information can be just as good a goal as a quest for riches.

aurilee writes:

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

Oh, well, there we go. One set of coordinates, ready to use. And we're definitely heading there next judging by Chewie's comment. I'll bet the planet's major feature is city ruins. I think we've covered just about every other kind of planet, even with some repeats. Imagine the Resistance having to explore a place like Coruscant that's empty of people or visibly in disrepair? It might even be that industrial mirror place the Falcon accidentally jumped into!

And of course Poe causes the next problem. No surprise there. What is interesting is that Kylo appears to have been entranced by the wall pipes. Is there something on display just out of the panel? Was Kylo trying to use the Force for tracing the protagonists? Is he finally losing his mind and/or has run out of minions to vent his anger at? Who can say!

Transcript

Anti-we

Dec. 9th, 2025 01:46 am
[syndicated profile] languagelog_feed

Posted by Victor Mair

"Against We", by Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution (11/28/25)

Quoting the author:

    The excellent Hollis Robbins:

I propose a moratorium on the generalized first-person plural for all blog posts, social media comments, opinion writing, headline writers, for all of December. No “we, “us,” or “our,” unless the “we” is made explicit.

No more “we’re living in a golden age,” “we need to talk about,” “we can’t stop talking about,” “we need to wise up.” They’re endless. “We’ve never seen numbers like this.” “We are not likely to forget.” “We need not mourn for the past.” “What exactly are we trying to fix?” “How are we raising our children?” “I hate that these are our choices.”

…“We” is what linguists call a deictic word. It has no meaning without context. It is a pointer. If I say “here,” it means nothing unless you can see where I am standing. If I say “we,” it means nothing unless you know who is standing next to me.

…in a headline like “Do we need to ban phones in schools?” the “we” is slippery. The linguist Norman Fairclough called this way of speaking to a mass audience as if they were close friends synthetic personalization. The “we” creates fake intimacy and fake equality.

Nietzsche thought a lot about how language is psychology. He would look askance at the “we” in posts like “should we ban ugly buildings?” He might ask: who are you that you do not put yourself in the role of the doer or the doing? Are you a lion or a lamb?

Perhaps you are simply a coward hiding in the herd, Martin Heidegger might say, with das Man. Don’t be an LLM. Be like Carol!

Hannah Arendt would say you’re dodging the blame. “Where all are guilty, nobody is.” Did you have a hand in the policy you are now critiquing? Own up to your role.

Perhaps you are confusing your privileged perch with the broader human condition. Roland Barthes called this ex-nomination. You don’t really want to admit that you are in a distinct pundit class, so you see your views as universal laws.

Adorno would say you are selling a fake membership with your “jargon of authenticity,” offering the reader membership in your club. As E. Nelson Bridwell in the old Mad Magazine had it: What do you mean We?

…If you are speaking for a very specific we, then say so. As Mark Twain is said to have said, “only presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms ought to have the right to use we.”

I could go on. But you get the drift. The bottom line is that “we” is squishy. I is the brave pronoun. I is the hardier pronoun. I is the—dare I say it—manly pronoun.

I agree.

So much for the "royal we" among the Decembrists — the novel, not the band.

The Decembrists (Russian: Декабристы, Dekabristy) is an unfinished novel by Leo Tolstoy, who finished three chapters. Its hero was to have been a participant in the abortive Decembrist Uprising of 1825, released from Siberian exile after 1856. It was intended as a sequel to War and Peace, and the second part of a planned trilogy, whose third part would be set in 1856. 

(Wiktionary)

The band's name refers to the Decembrist revolt, an 1825 insurrection in Imperial Russia. Meloy has stated that the name is also meant to invoke the "drama and melancholy" of the month of December.

(Wiktionary)

As I have stated elsewhere, my wife (Li-ching Chang) would do anything to avoid the use of the first-person singular pronoun ("I" / "Wǒ 我").  However, she was not averse to the second-person pronoun, whether singular or plural.

 

Selected readings

[h.t. Leslie Katz]

Daily Check-In

Dec. 8th, 2025 06:04 pm
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[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 Monday, December 08, to midnight on Tuesday, December 09. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33934 Daily Check-in
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 24

How are you doing?

I am OK.
14 (58.3%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
10 (41.7%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
10 (41.7%)

One other person.
8 (33.3%)

More than one other person.
6 (25.0%)




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] mangabookshelf_feed

Posted by Sean Gaffney

SEAN: This one may be a bit more angsty than I usually like, but I don’t care, I absolutely have to read Love Bullet to see what the buzz is about!

MICHELLE: I find that I’m in the mood for exploring haunted sites, so it’s The Ghostly Darkness of Kanata for me, this week.

ASH: I am definitely interested in both of those series, but I can’t help but add The Magnificent Bastard into the mix, too; I simply can’t miss Tetsuo Hara’s version of Maeda Keiji.

KATE: The Ghostly Darkness of Kanata seems like something I might dig, so that’s my PoTW!

Fantasy, a Recommended Read, & More

Dec. 8th, 2025 04:30 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Not Safe for Work

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli is $2.99! This is a standalone contemporary romance with workplace rivals. I really like this cover too!

Two workplace enemies find themselves in close proximity on a tropical company retreat that challenges their assumptions—and just might make them to fall for each other—in this romcom by a beloved TikTok author.

Engineer Trishara Malik once dreamed of being the first woman of color to smash the glass ceiling at WMC Purcell, but after years of dealing with white male privilege and blatant nepotism, she watches her hard-earned promotion go to her nemesis, Rafe Gallagher—the boss’s son. Teetering on the edge of burnout, Tris is stunned when she’s picked to attend WMC’s corporate leadership retreat in Hawaii. It’s a chance to revive her stalled career and compete for a coveted spot in an executive training program—plus, three weeks in paradise! The only downside? Rafe is her co-attendee.

Tris plans to avoid Rafe entirely, but when she arrives in Maui, a booking error has them stuck sharing the honeymoon suite. Sure, it’s not all torture. Rafe is a smoldering ten—okay fine, an eleven—but after years of competition, they can barely stand being in the same time zone. As they vie against each other during aptitude tests and team-building exercises, Tris begins to realize Rafe might not be the villain after all. With her dreams at stake, can she learn to trust the man who might have been standing in her corner all along?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Loving You Always

Loving You Always by Kennedy Ryan is $1.99! This is book two in The Bennett Series. This was released in 2014, but I believe is having a resurgence from the publisher due to new cover designs.

Secrets emerge and romance sparks in this irresistible suburban romance from the USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan.

The man she can never have . . .

Kerris Moreton should be the happiest woman in the world: She has a successful business and is about to start the family she’s always wanted. But the man of her dreams-the one whose green eyes see straight into her soul and whose gentle hands make her body hum with pleasure-is not hers.

Each secret moment with Walsh Bennett serves to remind Kerris of what she’s missing. And every stolen hour makes it harder to see her future without him. But being with Walsh would betray a sacred promise and upend her perfect life. When tragedy strikes, the razor’s edge between love and loyalty grows sharper than ever. And Kerris must decide where her heart will fall . . .

Don’t miss the first installment in The Bennett’s Series…When You Are Mine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Woman from the Waves

RECOMMENDED: The Woman from the Waves by Roslyn Sinclair is $3.99! Tara reviewed this one and gave it an A:

This is a book that got under my skin and left me flailing for a few days after I finished it. As much as I loved and believed in the romance, the character arcs and exploration of religious trauma stole the show for me.

Love and hunger are not the same.

Six years ago, on a remote Scottish island, a mysterious woman saved Sister Madeleine Laurent from drowning. Now, after leaving her convent, Madeleine crosses the ocean again to find the rescuer who changed her life. Instead, her search is disrupted by Hæra North, a brazen, provocative local who stirs Madeleine’s repressed desires—and keeps a secret out of legend.

Hæra has one dream: to become the first female Stormhorse, a powerful leader in her clan of fearsome ocean horse spirits. To do so, she must capture, drown, and eat a worthy human. When she first saw Madeleine, she knew she’d found the one. So why did Hæra save her instead?

Now Madeleine’s back. All Hæra has to do is remain in human form, earn her woman’s trust, then devour her.

But Madeleine is awakening another kind of appetite…

The Woman from the Waves is an epic sapphic romantasy about the power of unleashed desire, the courage it takes to change, and a love so vast it spans the sea, earth, and sky.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Kings of the Wyld

RECOMMENDEDKings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames is $2.99! Queen Beverly Jenkins recommended this one on a previous podcast:

The book is amazing! It’s laugh-out-loud funny in some parts. The writing is wonderful.

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best — the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk – or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay’s door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It’s time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

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Posted by SB Sarah

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

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

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

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

New Music Monday - 8 December 2025

Dec. 8th, 2025 10:48 pm
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[personal profile] paradisedinermod posting in [community profile] paradisediner
The regular weekly post for us to talk about any and all of our thoughts about the week's new releases.

WayV - Eternal White
Allday Project - Look At Me
KIIRAS - Kiirasmas
Doyoung - Promise
Daesung - 한도초과
Jinyoung - Christmas Fever
Sorn and Minnie
Kang Daniel

New MVs are also added to an ongoing youtube playlist.

Last week's MVs: 1 December

Feel free to add new comments in the replies for songs/MVs we missed.

[ Rec Something Wednesday | WIP Wednesday | Monthly General Chat | Comment Fest ]

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