Romance Goes on Vacation

I've got a vacation coming up, and like the type-A-hiding-in-a-laid-back person I am, I'm creating a list and a schedule of what I want to read on vacation. I have a normal reading schedule of what books come out in what month so I'm not reading too far ahead, but I also have a list of books I want to read for pleasure, and by "for pleasure" I mean without the self-imposed expectation of reviewing. I have them in a folder titled, “WHEE!”

As you might imagine, I read digitally almost exclusively. At no time is this ...

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Game On! Romance Novels for the Olympics

With the Olympics on television nonstop, even with the hours-long delay that NBC fictionalizes as a "live broadcast," there are a variety of sports to pick and choose from. I watched badminton with complete focus earlier. It never crossed my mind to be otherwise occupied. There was Olympic badminton on my computer live from London, and I wasn't moving from my desk. BADMINTON.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the magic of your first romance book.

There's also a host of sports we don't often see covered in the States like water polo. There are ...

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You Always Remember Your First Romance

I have a theory that everyone remembers the first romance they ever read, the one that made them realize how truly amazing romance storytelling can be and possibly changed a long-held negative opinion about the genre.

Often, not only do people remember which book, but also who gave it to them. It might have been their mother, aunt or grandmother, as a sort of rite of passage. It might have been a friend who issued a literary invitation to be as shocked and curious about all the explicit parts. Or, it might have been a totally chance discovery. Regardless of ...

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3 Must-Read Summer Romances

It's finally summer, officially speaking. School is done, temperatures are (mostly) up, and whether you're looking at hot days, or rainy days, or maybe a hurricane (piss off, Debby), the implication with "summer reading" is that there's more time for reading.

Oddly enough, I sometimes find I have less time to read in the summer because there's so much other stuff I want to do and I have to drive to get to it, which means I can't read on the way there. But I still latch on to that expectation of more time even ...

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Coffee Talk

I drink coffee every morning. I would describe myself very heartily as a "coffee person." I have a big ol’ mug of coffee every morning. It's wonderful.

Not once, neither before or after I add half and half, have I looked at my morning beverage, my glorious infusion of caffeine, and thought, "Oh, I know people who are that color."

My coffee does not ever make me immediately think of people of color. Ever. Mostly it makes me think, "I am so ready to be awake."

Yet all too often this is a default description for people of color ...

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Bad, Kirkus, Bad

I received an e-mail from a librarian this week regarding a review in this here publication, Kirkus Reviews. The e-mail read:

Hi Sarah,

I just finished what purports to be a review of Mary Balogh's The Proposal and was completely offended. For starters, the review is merely a plot summary. I could live with that laziness, if the author hadn't concluded with the following:

"Balogh contravenes the conventions of historical romance by introducing an ingredient the genre is not always known for: intelligence."

This complete dismissal of a genre and a lack of respect for its readers is ...

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5 Fun Contemporary Romances, $5 and Under

I've received a few requests this week from folks who are looking for contemporary romances to read for upcoming vacations—and lucky for them, and for me, I've read several great books and novellas in a row, plus I know several books I've enjoyed that are on sale right now.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on recommendations for fans of 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'

You'll be making all kinds of Good Book Noise and Happy Reading Sighs—and your credit card won't burst into tears either. So here's a roundup of some ...

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Fan of ‘Fifty Shades’? Get Ready for More Erotica…

If you have anything to do with books, whether you’re a librarian, a bookseller, an author, a reader or someone who likes to hang out sniffing the new-paper smell at the newsstand, you’ve probably heard of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on contemporary romance done right.

It started out as author E.L. James' fanfic about Twilight, was sent through a few rounds of “Find and Replace,” and published. Then, women started talking about it, publicly saying on the record with their names and the towns they lived in, “This book was ...

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Contemporary Romance Done Right

Recently, at Romantic Times Booklover's Convention (which, if you haven't attended, is a giant fiesta of awesomeness focused on romance readers and writers), I was part of a panel on contemporary romance and realized while I was listening to the contemporary romance authors on my panel WHY I like contemporary romance so much.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on how to find great romance.

Contemporary romance is easily one of my favorite types of romance, and I love it when it's wonderfully done. Conversely, when it is not well done, I get more upset as ...

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The Hunt is On: Finding Great Romance

It used to be, back before the Internet could satisfy any random question my brain asked in a stray moment, that I looked at book covers to choose which one to read.

Did I want teal or purple? Blonde or brunette heroine? Open-mouthed face of pseudo-ecstasy or closed mouth? Ermine cloaks or purple fields of unidentifiable flowers? Horse in the background or zebra? A stray llama perhaps?

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the importance of a great book cover.

I was—and am—terrible at remembering author names and titles, particularly the correct combinations thereof. I'd ...

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Strange Bedfellows: Photos and Historical Romance

Last time I wrote about covers, specifically the trend in historical covers to use photograph-like images of people, and how that threw me a bit because I know color photography didn't exist at the time the book is set. Clearly I am thinking WAY too much while I look at covers!

Read more of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on The Player's Club.

But a reader e-mailed me and asked for examples, as they didn't understand what I meant. I found two covers that illustrate (ha!) what I'm talking about.

Kate Noble is one of my favorite ...

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Judging—and Shopping—by the Cover

I get on reading kicks where all I want is one particular type of romance. It's almost like chasing an ice cream flavor, or recipes for all the soups made with barley, except that I get tired of a food type much faster than I get tired of a romance subgenre.

Read Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on late-night romance.

Right now I'm craving contemporary romance, and the funnier and sharper, the better. I'm amused at how much the cover art is influencing my shopping—even though I tell myself that I should absolutely know better than to ...

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OverDrive, digital lending and honey badgers, oh my…

In recent library news, Penguin pulled all their books from OverDrive digital lending, joining Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Hachette in blocking digital lending of book titles. HarperCollins still holds on to their bafflingly arbitrary 25 lend limit.

Sound familiar? I'm sure it's been a topic among many librarians the past few weeks—and readers have been discussing it as well, probably along the same terms—namely, "WTFBBQ?"

I totally understand why Penguin got pissed. I do. OverDrive event patrons who wanted to borrow books were sent to Amazon to complete the lending transaction. This was likely not within ...

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Late-Night Romance

I'll tell you a secret: I don't actually like going out on Valentine's Day. Everything is crowded, babysitters are expensive, and, here in the Northeast, it's COLD. I don't want to even go outside, much less put on fancy, potentially itchy clothing.

Have you checked out the Player's Club series?

But the best part is, my husband knows that. He and I both would rather cook dinner, drink wine, light a fire and read (me) and look at random sports news on the internet (him). And if you're reading this website, you're ...

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The Player’s Club: A Trio in Review

I just finished reading The Player's Club series by Cathy Yardley. I really liked the first one, couldn't get into the second, and the third was fun. So here you go: three reviews in one article!

Need more romance? Check out self-pubbed romance titles.

The first one, The Player's Club: Scott (Harlequin, January 2012), sets up the backdrop for the three-book series. Scott sees a bunch of men wandering down an alley at a weird hour of the night and climbs out on his apartment building’s fire escape to figure out what's going on. In ...

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The Beauty of the Self-Pubbed Romance

There are many benefits to being a romance reader. It's like multivitamins—romance should be part of everyone's daily regimen.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on reading physical vs. digital books.

My choice of reading makes me happy each and every time, and with over 300 different books published every month, I have a lot to choose from (though the choosing can be a daunting process). I can read books set in any time period and find books that fit my taste since romance receives influences from any type of fiction. I have, in short, a ...

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Physical vs. Digital? (P.S. Don’t Forget the Cover Art…)

It's December so it's time for end of year wrap-ups, reviews and best-of summaries. Which you'll get eventually from me, but I thought it would be more timely to share what I've been pondering the last few weeks.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the first must-read book of 2012.

What exactly is a book? 

You saw that coming right? Of course.

I don't mean, what's a book in terms of who wrote it and published it and what it means and what it does. I mean, what is a book NOW ...

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A Smart Bitches' Must-Read

The best book of 2011 isn't out yet. Sorry. But it's out next week! We'll start there.

Among the best historical romances I have ever read, and certainly one of my top books of 2011: Cecilia Grant's A Lady Awakened.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the joys of gifting.

Technically, the book release date is Dec. 27, but folks in the publishing world are calling it a January 2012 book. WHATEVER. People in publishing think it’s 2013 right now, so they are not to be trusted in matters of time and space ...

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Books About Dead People Make Great Gifts

If you're like me, despite the appearance of holiday decorations back in October—EARLY October—right about now you’re thinking of holiday gift giving. There are various sales and commercials exhorting the gifting potential of power tools, toys, games and, of course, cars. The cars-as-gifts commercials particularly make my eyes roll. I don’t think there are a lot of people who are going to surprise their loved ones with a Lexus in this economy.

Read about what goes into a Smart Bitches, Trashy Books' romance review.

In previous holiday seasons, I've seen advertisements suggesting that folks ...

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Behind a Smart Bitches' Review

I review books, so while I'm reading, I'm evaluating, unless I've told myself explicitly that I'm reading for pleasure and not for review.

Of course, whenever I do that, I end up having plenty to say about the book and will write a review, probably because I told myself I didn't have to.

Read the last Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the bevy of romance choices out there.

More and more, I find myself reading and making notes at the same time, especially if I'm reading something digitally where note taking is a simple ...

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