patknuth

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/when-javi-dumped-mari-by-mia-sosa/

Posted by Guest Reviewer

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=148515

B-

When Javi Dumped Mari

by Mari Sosa
June 24, 2025 · G.P. Putnam's Sons

PamG is a long time fan of Smart Bitches Trashy Books. A former library worker at her alma mater (hs), she is now retired and devoting her time to reading and occasionally commenting on same. She also enjoys memorizing songs and poetry, spontaneously bursting into song, playing with the Merlin app on her phone, and writing the occasional poem.

…

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve begun a sentence with “I don’t generally like multiple timelines, BUT. . . .”

Sadly, when it comes to When Javi Dumped Mari, I have no buts left to give. Don’t get me wrong. This book is extremely well written and works exactly as it’s intended to. WJDM is an excellent example of a perfectly executed story that simply doesn’t work for a given reader, i. e., moi. I intend to explore the many excellencies of this book first before I tackle the elements that troubled me.

When Javi Dumped Mari opens with Javi and Mari, best friends since college, meeting up for one of their semi regular dinners to catch up with each other. Javi has good news to share, but is a bit nervous, and when Mari arrives, she also has news–and a new-minted fiance to share. (Not that way!) Javi is understandably shocked, since he and Mari have a pact in which each gets veto power over the other’s incipient relationships. Not only are Mari and Alex getting married, they’re doing it in six weeks!

This awkward restaurant meet-up is described over two chapters from first Javi’s, then Mari’s point of view. From there, the story segues to their first meeting during their second year of college when Javi catches Mari swiping a stack of school newspapers to protest their offensively sexist content. Their first few encounters are humorously antagonistic, but it isn’t long before mutual respect and friendship blossoms.

The story continues in dual viewpoints over almost a twelve year span with irregularly spaced chapters punctuated by random text and voice messages. There are three larger sections: The Seed, The Weed, and The Bloom. Each is populated by chapters that take place “Now” and chapters that take place beginning at “11 years, 7 months before the wedding,” when the protagonists first met. Basically both the present chapters and the flashbacks count down to the wedding weekend through the first two sections of the book.

Section three, The Bloom, takes place in the immediate run-up to the wedding, except for a single flashback chapter. Amazingly, all this complex structure actually works. I never really found it confusing, and it did a great job of explaining how Mari and Javi arrived at the “Now.”

One of the big things that this structure does very well is define the differences between present and past Mari and Javi. I’m always impressed when a book using dual first person POV manages to consistently differentiate between the storytellers’ unique voices, and in this case, there are four distinct voices for two characters. There are the brash, shiny college age MCs and there are the mature, muted adult MCs. The reader slowly understands the gradual transition between them as their story unfolds.

Most importantly, Mari and Javi are beautifully drawn characters, well worth understanding both individually and as two parts of a pair. College aged Mari is a brilliant, dynamic, extroverted young woman, the cynosure of all eyes in whatever room she occupies. Young Javi is more introverted but equally bright with an artistic sensibility and a gift for outside the box problem solving. Below the surface, sparks fly, but neither is willing to risk their friendship in the face of their very different futures. So UST and pining are major features in this story.

Both protagonists are active in the Latinx community on campus. From the time that Mari and Javi meet, their family and cultural backgrounds feature prominently in their interactions. Mari is Brazilian American, and Javi defines himself as Nuyorican. This is foundational to their identities, and permeates the entire story. Heritage provides both common ground and cultural difference.

Class is another source of difference, if not conflict. Mari comes from money, while Javi’s parents are the sort of middle class that tend to have five figure salaries. Dad is a clerk and mom is a teacher. This gap is not an issue for them in college, but looms larger through the years. Economic class creates blind spots for both of them that neither their friendship nor their attraction can fully eliminate, and that eventually becomes a major problem.

As adults, their personalities show a certain amount of wear and tear, some of it caused by lapses in their friendship that are revealed during flashbacks. Their voices are calmer and perhaps a little less certain, though their bond is still strong. And that pesky attraction never goes away.

Supporting characters are drawn with the same sharp, perceptive eye for detail. Mari’s bridal party consists of her two best friends since college, a close friend from work, and, of course, Javi. The women are terminally badassed–blunt, hilarious, and loyal to a fault. As characters, they are entertaining as hell. Both Javi’s and Mari’s families play a part in this story, but their portrayals are considerably less detailed. Mari’s father and Javi’s brothers are a major presence in their lives–and not in a good way–yet they are not a strong presence in the book. Mari’s mother and Javi’s college friend Jeremy are barely sketched in for the roles they play and I would have welcomed seeing more of them. But the real triumph is the portrayal of Mari’s fiance.

Alex is introduced in chapter one, but he never gets a chance to tell his story. We only know him from the protagonists’ observations and conversations. Mari’s interactions with Alex are tinted with her adult need for calm and stability, while Javi views Alex with tightly leashed antagonism. I was constantly asking myself whether something was a red flag or a slanted viewpoint. Alex was not a sympathetic character for me, but I didn’t truly expect him to be. I never knew whether I was reading about a villain or a perfectly normal guy feeling twinges of jealousy for his fiancé’s male best friend. I was ok with this; I thought it was fair. One of the upsides of first person POV is the way it turns character development into unraveling a mystery. Some people dislike it. I consider it a feature not a bug.

While I fully appreciate the skill and creativity that went into this story, I do have some serious reservations. These are based in my personal responses rather than some abstract “standard.”

First of all, as my reading progressed, I kept having to take little breaks to alleviate mental discomfort. It took awhile for me to identify my discomfort as anxious feelings. I don’t want to call it anxiety because it wasn’t a diagnosis but rather an amorphous irritation. Some of the plot elements made me really uncomfortable. I felt like the Jaws theme was pounding in the back of my mind, and I kept looking for the Big Bad or evidence of conspiracies.

I was also bothered by the way neither protagonist was able to get their strongest feelings out into the open, how they both made assumptions about the other’s needs and about their inability to fulfill those needs. All this happened over years. I was actively worried about how they would achieve their HEA with their integrity intact.

Another aspect of my mental discomfort was the feeling that the elaborate structure of the book was kind of manipulative. There was a whole lot of hinting going on before information was revealed. The timelines are wicked convoluted and I had to break it down before I could even attempt this review. All storytellers manipulate their audience to some degree, but I didn’t like seeing the wires.

Finally, the biggest dealbreaker for me was the use of humiliation humor.

Show Spoiler

There is some really ugly bullying/hazing at a couple of points in the story that I deeply hated.

Aside from my dislike of this type of humor, it really didn’t make a lot of sense to me in context. It was deliberate and premeditated, but also irrational, with the ability to upend the culprit’s intent. I feel like all of my reservations about WJDM are somewhat connected, but the humiliation humor guarantees that I won’t reread this book even though I loved the main characters.

Show Spoiler

And yes, the HEA happens, and it is good.

So, read this book for the solid writing, excellent characterization, frequent humor, and emotional story, or read it for your Bingo card. Friends to lovers, class differences, or a third unnamed category that might spoil the ending. Overall, I’m glad I read it, reservations and all.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/when-javi-dumped-mari-by-mia-sosa/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=148515

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/podcast-678-your-transcript-is-ready/

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149770

The transcript for Podcast 678. The Osmanification of Fiction Covers with Kayleigh Donaldson has been posted!

This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.

❤ Click here to subscribe to The Podcast →

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/podcast-678-your-transcript-is-ready/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149770

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/urban-fantasy-contemporary-romance-more-5/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149754

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton is $1.99! This is book three in the Dangerous Damsels series. I reviewed the first book and found it a little too silly for my tastes, but it’s a good book for turning your brain off.

Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.

Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case.

But she’s not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life— pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans.

Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Proposal Project

The Proposal Project by Donna Marchetti is 99c! This is an enemies to lovers, fake dating romance. I must say that all of the heroines Leni Kauffman designs for covers are so fashionable.

The Job

Event planner Priscilla Cain has been asked to plan her best friend Tina’s dream wedding proposal to her boyfriend, Ryan.

The Catch

It looks like groom-to-be Ryan might just beat her to it.

The Solution

Team up with Ryan’s obnoxious, but gorgeous, best friend Oliver to plan a joint proposal. Keeping their unlikely alliance a secret from both their friends.

But as Oliver and Priscilla work together to pull off the proposal of the year, could there be more than one happily ever after on the cards…

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Strange Practice

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw is $2.99! Readers love the heroine, who is described a “fast-talking doctor to the undead.” This is part of today’s Kindle Daily Deals, so snap this one up while you can.

Meet Greta Helsing, fast-talking doctor to the undead. Keeping the supernatural community not-alive and well in London has been her family’s specialty for generations.

Greta Helsing inherited the family’s highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills – vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta’s been groomed for since childhood.

Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Role Playing

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley is $2.49 on Amazon! Many of you were excited for this one and we had Yardley on the podcast to talk about it. Did any of you pick it up? What’d you think?

From Cathy Yardley, author of Love, Comment, Subscribe, comes an emotional rom-com about two middle-aged gamers who grow their online connection into an IRL love story.

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal―he’ll be more social if she does the same―she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face―after a rocky, shocking start―the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/urban-fantasy-contemporary-romance-more-5/

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149754

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/habo-grumpy-athlete-becomes-half-sisters-guardian/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149715

This HaBO request is from Anna, who wants to find this romance:

I’m looking for a book where the hero is a grumpy professional athlete, possibly named Will. He is taking temporary guardianship of his half-sister, who might be named Ruby. He treats the little girl with distance, but the heroine makes him realize that what he is doing is what his father did with him.

There was a scene where he has this epiphany. The little girl tried to do many things with him, but he rejected her. He told her to be quiet and go to sleep on your own or we won´t do ____ anymore (things like that, I think it was running in the mornings but I’m not sure ) and one time he entered her room and she was awake but making no sound.

I think the heroine was not from the city/town; she was on vacation or on business (her being there was only temporary).

Does this sound familiar?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/habo-grumpy-athlete-becomes-half-sisters-guardian/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149715

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/05/the-big-idea-stephen-p-kelner/

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56684

Leadership is something that looks different for everyone, and different situations require different types of leaders. Author Stephen P. Kelner brings us a book that guides you through all sorts of ways to lead, and how to be motivated to do so. Follow along in the Big Idea for his newest book, Where You Can Lead: The Pentad of Great Leadership, and see where it leads you.

STEPHEN P. KELNER:

I think about leadership a lot. I not only assess and develop leaders, but also help companies do the same, so I have to know about leadership and define it for others.

This makes me sensitive about fictional leaders. When Kimball Kinnison, Galactic Coordinator, dumps his job on his assistant so he can personally investigate a problem, I want to know what the other 137 billion Lensmen they graduate every freaking year are doing. When the top four officers on a major starship beam down to a dangerous planet, I want to scream at Kirk to delegate, dammit! I know the issue here is drama, or using the highest-paid star, but this ejects me right out of the story. (Shoutout to our host John Scalzi, who explores the nature of leadership and its development multiple times in the Interdependency trilogy, Starter Villain, and the Old Man’s War series.)

I mean, I did develop much of the methodology used to assess leaders at two of the top executive search firms in the world, meaning I am partly (and indirectly) responsible for hundreds of thousands of executives out there – assuming my colleagues and the clients used it well – so it’s not unreasonable for me to feel this way.

After decades of research, practice, training, and writing about leaders, I wanted to communicate what I have learned to a broader audience. Not with a technical manual – I’ve done that. I prefer translating the science into practical use. Besides, as my agent, Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky, suggested over lunch: “Who are you writing for – and how many people are in that potential audience?”

Which led to my Big Idea: What if I wrote a leadership book for nearly everyone?

All I needed to do is find a way to make it appealing and useful to everyone…

Many leadership books fatally assume there is one best way to lead. Not so! There’s a big difference between managing a startup, a major corporation undergoing change, or a stable nonprofit, for example. Why not write about multiple kinds of leadership, to apply to more people? And I could expand it further by showing how people grow within these different kinds of leadership, say, from a garage-based startup all the way to a giant multinational, so I could cover everyone from newbies to seasoned executives.

Having determined that, I still had to organize it in a manageable way: as a guidebook, not an encyclopedia. I already knew I would incorporate the concept of implicit motivation: the emotional drives that power us through life. As a PhD motivational psychologist and researcher myself, I knew only three such motives account for 85% of spontaneous thinking time, so that would cover a lot, especially since everyone has those three to some degree. As a bonus, research shows if you align your job, your motives, and your personal values, you will be happier.

I’ve counseled too many executives who were good at their jobs but hated them, because during their careers they grew from enjoyable work into a job not aligned with their implicit motives, which average very stable and hard to change. While not necessarily bad at their jobs, they had to work harder to do them and became less and less motivated to continue or to develop themselves. At worst, their own motives can derail their careers – one source of the famous Peter Principle: getting promoted to your level of incompetence. In one of my first consulting engagements, I provided such feedback to an outstanding but increasingly embittered executive in his late 50s, and I will never forget the shock and dismay on his face when he told me, “You’ve described my entire career.”

If I anchored the kinds of leadership in the motives, I killed two birds with one stone: First, help people identify their most satisfying career path (and/or help them understand what was going wrong sooner), and second, categorize different kinds of leadership based on a simple model.

Over 50 years ago, my mentor David McClelland, a giant of psychology (#15 most eminent of the 20th century), created the concept of the competency: any characteristic that differentiates performance in a specific job – like change leader. I could flip that concept over and instead look at which kinds of leaders benefit from having a specific motive. That kept the number of leadership roles down, and this thread could tie the book together.

I identified five kinds of leader, accounting for the vast majority of leadership roles I have seen in business: Entrepreneurial Leader, Thought Leader, Caring Leader, People Leader, and Change Leader. Each is rooted in one of the three main motives.

Now I had my hook for just about everybody: find out what drives you, and that determines what kind of leadership energizes you. Then follow these behavioral, competency-based steps to move up the right ladder. (Note my cover.)

And, finally, I could do something that too few in my business do: advise people on when to stop. Entrepreneurs famously sell their companies when they get too large (or too boring) and start a new one, but why limit this approach to them?

I don’t just want people productive; I want them happy. Remember that embittered executive I shocked with his own motives? The next day, he strode up to me and declared that if his company didn’t let him retire early (and they wouldn’t), he would quit.

It was my turn to be shocked – my client was going to hate this! – until he went on to say: “because I can’t live like this anymore.”

That’s when I knew I had done the right thing. With this book, I hope to reduce the number of those conversations. And helping people live satisfying lives, doing work they love, seems like an idea more than big enough to sustain a book.

Where You Can Lead: The Pentad of Great Leadership: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Indigo|Waterstone’s

Author socials: Facebook|LinkedIn|BlueSky

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/05/the-big-idea-stephen-p-kelner/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56684

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/hide-your-wallet-august-5th-release-week/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149720

Happy Tuesday!

Release weeks are looking pretty steady this month. There aren’t any huge blockbuster weeks. Holiday romances haven’t started showing up yet on our TBR piles, but I know they’ll creep up on us.

What new releases are you excited for this week?

A Tale of Mirth and Magic

Author: Kristen Vale
Released: August 5, 2025 by Forever
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

A maker of magical jewelry finds her life turned upside down when she ends up on the run with a half-giant in this spicy and cozy fantasy romance—perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes and The Spellshop.

Elikki may not have a family, but she has her fierce independence, boundless charm, and enough talent as a jewelry artisan to make a living on the road. Unfortunately for some, she also can’t yet manage to control her chaotic magic. . . and her temper. Sweet, soft Barra lives a quiet life with his mas and three sisters, managing the books for his family’s business. All he wants is to blend in and not make waves—a bit tricky, as a nearly eight-foot-tall purple half-giant.

When Elikki lands in hot water after dealing with a particularly rude customer, Barra finds himself helping her flee the constables. With a bounty on her back—and a severe crush forming on his end—they decide to travel together to the next town. So begins a journey filled with cozy inns, delicious meals, heaps of excellent sex, and a sprinkling of danger. As their adventures bring them closer together and the threat of capture rises they find themselves changing in surprising ways. He’s given up on finding love. She’s always refused to try. But traveling together, they may discover unexpected, powerful romance and stronger self-identities—if the bounty hunters don’t get them first.

Amanda: This cover is so cute, and I’m lured by both the road trip and “jewelry artisan” elements.

Elyse: Cozy fantasy is my jam right now. Also this cover is amazing.

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

Automatic Noodle

Author: Annalee Newtiz
Released: August 5, 2025 by Tor.com
Genre: Novella, Science Fiction/Fantasy

A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.

You don’t have to eat food to know the way to a city’s heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food—the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around—for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they’ll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other—and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t built for them.

Amanda: Noodle-bots!

Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold

Author: Ally Carter
Released: August 5, 2025 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Romance
Series: The Blonde Identity #2

Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.

Six years ago, he left the game.

Five years ago, they fell in love.

One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.

The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)

Book two in the Blonde Identity series.

Find buy links for this book here..

The Deathless One

Author: Emma Hamm
Released: August 5, 2025 by Gallery Books
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: The Gravesinger #1

A princess murdered at the altar makes a deal with the god of death for vengeance and to save her people in this first in a unique romantasy trilogy from USA TODAY bestselling author Emma Hamm.

Jessamine was raised to be a leader for her people, but when the land is overrun by an incurable plague, she must enter a political marriage to save them all. A union that should have brought hope only brings death as her new husband murders her at the wedding altar and seizes the throne.

But her death is just the beginning. Her spirit is met by the Deathless One, a god of death yearning to return to the mortal plane, and he needs her help. The two of them make a deal—her life and the return of her kingdom in exchange for his resurrection. But the Deathless One is a known trickster, and a deal with him is one made in blood.

Jessamine knows the Deathless One is a dangerous ally, but the longer they work together, the more she wants him and the less she can stay away. As their connection deepens, soon she wonders if she even wants this contract to end. Perhaps the more appealing throne is the one by his side, but she’d have to turn her back on her people to get it.

Amanda: A deal with death is my catnip.

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

House of the Beast

Author: Michelle Wong
Released: August 5, 2025 by Harper Voyager
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Gothic, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Step into the House of the Beast in this dark fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong, about a young woman who strikes a deal with a mysterious and alluring god to seek revenge on her aristocratic family—featuring illustrations throughout by the author.

Born out of wedlock and shunned by society, Alma learned to make her peace with solitude, so long as she had her mother by her side. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Alma discovers a clue about her estranged father and writes a message begging for help. Little does she know that she is a bastard of House Avera, one of the four noble families that serve the gods and are imbued with their powers—and her father is a vessel of the Dread Beast, the most frightening god of all, a harbinger of death.

In a desperate exchange for her mother’s medicine, Alma agrees to sacrifice her left arm to the Beast in a ceremony that will bind her forever to the House and its deity. Regardless, her mother soon passes, leaving Alma trapped inside the Avera’s grand estate, despised by her relatives and nothing but a pawn in her father’s schemes.

Now vengeance is the only thing that keeps Alma going. That, and the strange connection she has with her god—a monster who is constantly by her side, an eldritch being taking the form of a beautiful prince with starlit hair that only she can see. He tells Alma that she has been chosen to bring change upon their world, and with his help, Alma plots a perilous journey to destroy the House that stole everything from her.

A gripping fantasy novel marked by divine rituals, intense combat, and twisted romance, House of the Beast is a tale of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness.

Amanda: I just found this book when browsing new releases, but anything that is described as both a horror and a romance automatically makes me perk up.

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

Zomromcom

Author: Olivia Dade
Released: August 5, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Supernatural Engtanglements #1

Teaming up with your neighbor during a zombie outbreak is a no-brainer, but if it turns out he’s a vampire . . . the stakes couldn’t be higher, in this infectious new paranormal romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Spoiler Alert.

When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save her sweet, seemingly harmless human neighbor from the first major zombie breach in two decades, she’s stunned to be saved by him—and his ridiculously large sword—instead. As it turns out, he’s actually a super-old, super-surly vampire. But for all her neighbor’s newly revealed cynicism and lethality, Gaston “Max” Boucher (yes, Gaston) is unexpectedly protective. He wants her to stay in his safety bunker until the breach is resolved. Edie can’t risk more innocent people getting killed, though—and Max won’t let her save them alone.

As they unravel a sinister conspiracy to set zombies loose on the world (again), the duo meet a host of lovable allies and discover they’re not the only ones willing to fight for the future of humanity. Despite the awful timing, Edie finds herself falling for the vampire who’s helping her save the world . . . but all their dangerous plans could end their future before it even begins. As she and Max battle side by side, Edie must decide whether having a love worth living for also means having a love you’d die for—and, in a world that grows deadlier by the minute, whether that’s a risk she’s willing to take.

I know this is on so many readers’ radar!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/hide-your-wallet-august-5th-release-week/

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

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149720

elisem

Today I opened the front door to see if the mail had arrived, and found that the clump of sunflowers at the bottom of the first section of front steps was full of goldfinches, who exploded upward. They we unutterably beautiful, and so bright they seemed to shine with inner light.

It was a wonderful thing.

Seen anything wonderful lately?

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3124/

We should have you at the gate in just under two hours--two and a half if we get pulled over.

https://xkcd.com/3124/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/04/fantastic-four-more-like-4-10-because-its-not-that-good-amiright/

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56660

Last week I saw The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and while my expectations were not incredibly high to begin with, I was still somehow disappointed by this film. I had only seen the trailer once, as I try to avoid spoilers and everyone knows trailers give away everything these days, and the trailer had looked very promising. There was something about the look of the film that caught my attention. The aesthetic they were going for, the costuming, it was unique and really stood out in my mind.

This aspect of the movie ended u`p being my favorite thing about the film, and is genuinely the only thing I think they did a great job on. The wardrobe department hit it out of the park with this retro vibe, and I loved the worldbuilding, set designs, and aesthetic of Earth-828. The fact that it was retro and futuristic reminded me a lot of Fallout, which I’ve always loved the vibe of.

In every other category of this movie, whether it be the plot, the villain, the acting, or the humor (especially the humor), they failed. While I have never read the comics, I did watch Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2006) when I was a kid and enjoyed it. I did not watch the predecessor of that one, nor did I watch Fantastic Four (2015) (aka: Fan4stic), so beyond playing as Sue Storm in Marvel Rivals sometimes, I’m not that well versed on the lore of the Fantastic Four.

All that being said, let’s dive in to why this movie is not that great, and here is your OFFICIAL SPOILER WARNING.

I will say that unlike my opinion on Superman, I actually liked that the Fantastic Four were already an established superhero team who have been protecting Earth for a couple years, and we didn’t have to go through seeing them get their powers and learn to use them. The way they gave us the exposition of their origin worked for me. Showing us them going to space and getting absolutely boned by cosmic rays via a sort of talk-show-tribute to these well-loved heroes was actually a decent delivery method of flashbacks and lore.

Moving on from the opening setup, there’s so much about this movie that I don’t understand. The writing choices made very little sense, yet somehow it was extremely predictable overall.

I don’t understand why any of them thought it was a good idea to go find Galactus and try to talk to him. They wasted so much time making the journey out there and back when they could’ve been using that time to develop other ideas on how to save the planet. It seems to me like the worst possible plan and usage of time. I can understand if one of them was like, “let’s just go talk to him!” but I am surprised that all four of them collectively decided that that was the best course of action. It would make more sense to try to talk to the Silver Surfer at least, but why bother trying to talk to an entity that has already destroyed multiple planets? He’s clearly an enemy you can’t reason with.

One specific thing that bothered me about the outer space/ship scene is when they’re fleeing from the Silver Surfer, and Ben is piloting while Johnny shoots at the Silver Surfer, and obviously Reed and Sue are busy trying to deliver the baby. During this part, Ben keeps shouting “Reed!” as if he expects him to do something? Like, when there’s an issue (and there are a lot of issues happening), Ben just keeps saying “Reed” with increasing desperation. I found this annoying and a cheap way to make the scene appear more tense than it already was. It felt like it was trying to instill a sense of urgency in the audience that should’ve already been instilled from literally everything else happening in the scene.

I truly did not understand why when Galactus came to Earth, the Fantastic Four thought it was a good idea to evacuate everyone to directly underground of where the fight was happening. Yes, it’s a good idea to evacuate everyone. Yes, after all the damage is done to the city and people are left homeless because of it, it’s a good idea to have them live temporarily in Subterranea while the city gets rebuilt. However, that does not mean you put everyone there while the fight is going on! Y’all should’ve evacuated the surface dwellers and Subterranea civilians far away from the location of the fight. Having them be underground is not safe, as we’re shown when the literal giant space god is stomping around in his chunky ass boots!

Speaking of Galactus, his design is pretty ugly, and I don’t think he looks cool or interesting. Also, why is he so small? With a name like Galactus, seeing him be the same size as the buildings in the city felt very underwhelming. This entity is supposed to be devouring planets, yet looks like he wears a size 12 sneaker. I talked about this with my friend who is much more of a Fantastic Four expert, and he said that Galactus is capable of changing size. I don’t remember the movie mentioning that at all, so obviously they did not make that factoid clear to the audience. Even if that was the case, and he just made himself smaller for the fight, why would he do that?

The conflict and messaging of this movie read as very conservative-coded to me. Sue’s entire character was just being pregnant, and then being a mother. I truly feel like Sue was the most empty character, devoid of anything beyond “I’m a mother now” and protecting her baby. It’s especially bothersome because she’s the only woman on the team, so to have her be pregnant and become a mom is like oh good I’m glad the only girl superhero scientist’s character is just that she’s pregnant now. Like that’s her whole thing. Because what else are women good for other than having a baby?

Plus, the entire conflict of not giving up the baby, and everyone in the whole world being mad at them that they won’t sacrifice their kid, and wanting her to essentially “kill her baby” feels like shadow-boxing conservatives at the helm making a statement on how the woke leftists would rather see babies die and the real heroes are people who wouldn’t dare forfeit the lives of their baby.

Me saying all this is not me saying that Sue should have given up her baby to Galactus, by the way. I think Sue bringing Franklin out for everyone to see and saying “I’m not going to sacrifice my son, but I also won’t let all of you die,” is kind of best case, actually. I appreciate that she values the life of her child over everyone else because, who wouldn’t? But also isn’t just calling it a day and washing her hands of any responsibility. She is still committed to saving everyone, it just so happens that “everyone” includes her son.

Aside from Sue’s character, my biggest issue with the movie is literally Johnny. This is because he’s used as the comic relief, and the humor is so horrifically bad that it makes me hate Johnny purely based on his “jokes.” At no point did any of the jokes land for me. Nothing was funny in this film. Every attempt at humor reminded me that this was, in fact, a Marvel movie, and Marvel has a severe comedy issue.

The real issue I have with the “comedy” involving Johnny is his jokes about how hot the Silver Surfer is. I understand it to a certain level (I am partial to Norrin Radd, myself), and they even say in the movie “Johnny loves women, and now there’s a hot space lady,” but the extent to which this joke is played out is absurd.

In the scene where the Silver Surfer is chasing their spaceship and is trying to abduct Sue’s baby from OUT OF HER FUCKING BODY, Johnny is still making jokes about how attractive she is. My guy, she is trying to kidnap your nephew from out of your own sister’s stomach. Does that not matter to you at all? Does the idea that this is an extremely serious situation even occur to you? I truly don’t believe that anyone, even if they are a comic relief character, would realistically be going through this situation and still find it in their heart to make time for sexualizing the enemy. I think it is a disservice to Johnny’s character to have him be that fucking obsessed with how hot she is, rather than vowing to murder her if she so much as touches his sister, or his nephew. It was just gross all around.

Another thing that bothered me immensely about Johnny and the Silver Surfer is how he “Rosetta Stoned” her language just from three words. There is no flipping way that Johnny is “reverse engineering” her language just from three words she said to him. Like actually no fucking way. I do believe that he could at least know the transmissions they’d been receiving from space were the same language as what she spoke to him, but he’s sure as hell not figuring out her entire language from their brief interaction. And he sure as hell is not managing to actually speak her own language to her.

I didn’t like the acting all that much, none of the performances were really memorable or special, but I do like some of the cast in other stuff so I know it’s not so much them as it is the directing.

I really didn’t like this film’s writing, plot, dialogue, or humor, but I did like that they attempted something different with the Fantastic Four and the movie had good aesthetics. I really can’t give it more than a 4/10.

Have you seen The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters yet? What did you think? Are you a big fan of Fan4stic? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/04/fantastic-four-more-like-4-10-because-its-not-that-good-amiright/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56660

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/witches-historical-romance-more-2/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149670

Earls Trip

RECOMMENDED: Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday is $3.99! This is a standalone historical romance and was described as Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton for a 19th century spin on The Hangover. We ran a guest review of this one and it earned a B+.

Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie’s childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green.

This…complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising—and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.

Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Dark Water Daughter

Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long is $2.99! This is book one in The Winter Sea series. I remember liking the adventure and mystery aspects, but was meh on the romance. I thought the love interest was just okay.

A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas.

Launching the Winter Sea series, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young, R. J. Barker and Naomi Novik.

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.

Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.

Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.

Come sail the Winter Sea, for action-packed, high-stakes adventures, rich characterisation and epic plots full of intrigue and betrayal.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Reputation at Risk

Reputation at Risk by Martha Keyes is $2.49! This is an enemies to lovers historical with fake dating. It’s also the first book in a series.

Their choice? Scandal or mutual salvation.

Determined to support her mother and sisters after her father’s untimely death, Charlotte Mandeville covertly crafts satirical caricatures of high society. It not only puts money in her family’s bare pockets but ensures the haut-ton cannot guard all the power and the secrets.

Anthony Yorke has a guilty conscience and a brother to exonerate. When the key piece of evidence to clear his brother’s name falls into the hands of a headstrong young woman, he is willing to do whatever is required to obtain it from her.

But Charlotte is not easily persuaded, and while the thing she demands in return for the evidence is reasonable enough, it leads to the unthinkable: a forced engagement between them.

Can the ruse they must craft and maintain survive their mutual dislike, or will it crumble, bringing them and their families along with it?

Reputation at Risk is the first in a new series of Regency romances, full of banter, a touch of suspense, and all the swoon without the steam.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Crescent Moon Tearoom

The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski is $1.99! This is a cozy fantasy mystery with three witchy sisters. Have any of you read thi sone?

A cozy and uplifting debut novel about three clairvoyant sisters who face an unexpected twist of Fate at the bottom of their own delicate porcelain cups.

Ever since the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that rest in the swirls of ginger, cloves, and cardamom at the bottom of their customers’ cups. Their days at the teashop are filled with talk of butterflies and good fortune intertwined with the sound of cinnamon shortbread being snapped by laced fingers.

That is, until the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, and the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne’s magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters’, Beatrix’s writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of the circus—and perhaps a mischievous trapeze artist threatening to sweep her off her feet. It seems a family curse that threatens to separate the sisters is taking effect.

With dwindling time to rewrite their future and help three other witches challenge their own destinies, the Quigleys set out to bargain with Fate. But in focusing so closely on saving each other, will they lose sight of themselves?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/witches-historical-romance-more-2/

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149670

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/one-cursed-rose-by-rebecca-zanetti/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=149473

D

One Cursed Rose

by Rebecca Zanetti
June 25, 2024 · Kensington
Contemporary RomanceRomance

TW/CW

mentions of CSA, violence (especially against women), dubious consent, rape, murder, torture, knife play, stalking, kidnapping, child trafficking, addiction

What a fever dream of a book, I tell ya hwat. To shelve it into a category, this is a dark fairytale (Beauty and the Beast) romance with dystopian elements.

Set in a sort of futuristic Silicon Valley, four families run the world’s most prominent social media conglomerates. Those conglomerates are run on different gemstones, with each family having an affinity for specific stones (garnets, diamonds, etc.). Their company’s power (I think? I’m honestly still confused by this part of the plot) hinges on people within the families being able to charge their stones with their own energies, and through social media reach. Each company also has a specialty in terms of how they reach their audience (i.e. emotional connection, mental connection, etc.).

Still following? No? Me either!

The heroine Alana is now the heir to Aquarius Social after the mysterious death of her brother. Aquarius is currently ranked fourth out of the four major conglomerates and Alana’s dad doesn’t love that. He thinks a merger with the heir of one of the other ranking companies would be beneficial and decides to marry her off to a man named Cal.

Thorn is the CEO of Malice Media, which is the most powerful of the companies. He’s been stalking Alana for months and isn’t too pleased to learn about this arranged marriage. What’s a man to do? Well, kidnap her, of course!

He’s scarred and cursed (obviously). Someone infected the garnet that powers his algorithm and that virus then infected him during a charging session. He’s slowly freezing to death with ice filling his organs.

The book is full of your classic “I know your body better than you do, even if you’re saying no.”

In fact, Thorn’s entire personality can be summed up in this quote from Alana:

Everything I know about Thorn tells me he would never respect a boundary he himself hadn’t set.

It gets old pretty quickly and I found myself frustrated that the heroine’s snarky responses had no follow through in her actions. Her boundaries were the consistency of a wet paper bag. She was dickmatized.

This also applies in a non-sexual capacity. There’s a scene where she’s attacked by a prominent figure but refuses to say anything publicly because she says she waited too long to say something to the police and blasting him on social media would turn into a he said/she said scenario that wouldn’t end well for her. I honestly would rather not see our reality of women reporting violence reflected in my romances, particularly in a romance featuring some wild fantastical elements like social media power crystals..

After finishing it, I honestly don’t know if I liked it. The social media and gemstone concept was interesting, but confusing. I thought the first half was decent and I breezed through the entirety of the book in a matter of hours. But the violence against women and the constant overruling of the heroine’s wants and needs by literally every man she encounters was exhausting. I feel like if it weren’t for that element, this book could have been more campy, off the wall, and fun – it could have been more of an F+. That being said, book two seems to have much better reviews on Goodreads and I already own it. I’ll continue the series, though probably not right away.

The whole thing felt like an SNL Stefon sketch because there’s so much going on.

This book has everything:

– social media powered by crystals
– being scared and horny
– a knife hilt in the hoo-ha
– serial killers
– twitching and fiery balls
– a type of synesthesia where you can taste people’s words
– a phobia of argyle patterns

You name it. It’s in there.

It’s honestly all too much to go into each of the above individually because we’d be here for the entire week. I will say, the hero’s balls twitched and were “on fire” so much that I had to stop and ask my partner if that was a thing. Their answer: not really. Myth busted.

To really end this one of a kind reading experience on a high note, the back of the book included a Spotify playlist. I knew maybe a quarter of the artists featured, but once I saw a particular track, I completely lost my mind. Like I’m talking 10pm fit of giggles and snorts.

So let’s cap things off together, as we listen to track eight from the One Cursed Rose playlist.

Watch on YouTube

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/one-cursed-rose-by-rebecca-zanetti/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=149473

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/cover-awe-forest-green-and-something-creepy/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149673

Welcome back to Cover Awe! There’s something slightly new in how we do Cover Awe – the title will be bolded with a link to its SBTB info page where you can find buy links to several retailers.

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh. In green is the outline of a man kissing a woman's forehead. Within that shape is a jungle with a prowling jaguar. Outside of that outline is dark green leaves and foliage texture.

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh

Cover art by Tony Mauro

Sarah: I think this is really alluring. The silhouettes are evocative and intimate, and the solitary animal inside his image says so much – this is lush and gorgeous.

Amanda: I’m a sucker for an image within an image and and the forest green goes well with the setting on the cover.

Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage. An illustrated cover that looks like an old pulp comic. There's a cotton candy sunset. A cowboy wraps his arms around a black-haired woman in overalls. He's kissing her cheek while she leans into him.

Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage

Cover art by Austin Drake

Maya: So fun! And such a nice break from what has become standard romance cover art

Amanda: I know! It reminds me of like Bettie Page tattoos in that American traditional style.

Maya: Yes!! And some comic strips that I absolutely don’t know the names of

Sarah: I’ve started collecting these in a file. The vintage printed comics style with updated elements – her sleeve, for example – is brilliant and innovative.

Blank Paige by Ashley Griffin. A robin's egg blue cover with pastel yellow trees with bare branches and bird shapes on each side. The bottom right corner is designed to look like it's been ripped, revealing words underneath and a paper cutout off a woman with brown hair.

Blank Paige by Ashley Griffin

Cover art by Na Kim

From PamG: I can’t believe I’m sending you awesome instead of awful for the second time in a row. I love the simple color scheme, the delicate design, and the clever way that the cover relates to the actual story. Also, this has the distinction of being the only cover I’ve ever seen with a blank faced figure that actually fits the book description and doesn’t squick me out.

Sarah: That. Is. Gorgeous. Whoever designed that hit it out of the park. Look at the words on the hem of the skirt!

Lara: It’s exhilarating seeing an original cover!

Sarah: YES! My eyes got all wide and I actually grinned as I noticed all the little pieces – her dress, the shadow, the key, the cat – this is marvelous.

Lucy Undying by Kiersten White. A pale woman in a red dress with thick blonde hair. She's looking over her shoulder with red lips and a bleeding bite marks on her neck. Black bats fly across the bottom of the cover. The image of wolf heads with snarling teeth blend into her thick hair.

Lucy Undying by Kiersten White

Cover art by Audrey Benjaminsen

Amanda: Now this is the kind of creepy illustrated cover I’ve been waiting for.

Sarah: Whoaa that’s … A lot going on in a wow kind of way.

Amanda: I like how the hairpin blends in with the wolf eyes.

Carrie: Ummm Lucy, I read Dracula many times and you ain’t gonna like what you get transformed into at all.

Sarah: It looks like Dracula’s transformation of her included a really great conditioning regimen for her hair – or maybe it now naturally grows like that, which is a pretty strong argument for vampirism. Gorgeous, silky hair WITH WOLVES in it? I’m in.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/cover-awe-forest-green-and-something-creepy/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149673

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/sunday-sale-digest-42/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149598

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!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/sunday-sale-digest-42/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149598

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-95/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149635

Welcome back!

We’re almost to 100 of these! This time, I have two non-fiction titles, a mystery with some romance, and some YA horror. These are all relatively new releases, so I’m sending all the positive vibes to your public libraries and wishing you short holds.

Do you have any recommendations you’d like to share? Drop them in the comments!

Everything is Tuberculosis

I don’t think anything John Green does could be called “underrated,” but it certainly doesn’t seem as buzzy as some of his previous books. Green always does a good job of distilling topics down in a fun and interesting way.

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! • #1 Washington Post bestseller! • #1 Indie Bestseller! • USA Today Bestseller!

John Green, acclaimed author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Signed edition

“The real magic of Green’s writing is the deeply considerate, human touch that goes into every word.” –The Associated Press

″Told with the intelligence, wit, and tragedy that have become hallmarks of the author’s work…. This is the story of us.” –Slate

“Earnest and empathetic.” –The New York Times

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

History Lessons

An academic investigates the death of her colleague with a dash of romance. This was a pretty good debut!

A college history professor must solve her superstar colleague’s murder before she becomes the next target in this funny, romantic debut mystery, perfect for readers of Janet Evanovich, Kellye Garrett, and Ali Hazelwood.

As a newly minted junior professor, Daphne Ouverture spends her days giving lectures on French colonialism, working on her next academic book, and going on atrocious dates. Her small world suits her just fine. Until Sam Taylor dies.

The rising star of Harrison University’s anthropology department was never one of Daphne’s favorites, despite his popularity. But that doesn’t prevent Sam’s killer from believing Daphne has something that belonged to Sam—something the killer will stop at nothing to get.

Between grading papers and navigating her disastrous love life, Daphne embarks on her own investigation to find out what connects her to Sam’s murder. With the help of an alluring former-detective-turned-bookseller, she unravels a deadly cover-up on campus.

This well-crafted, voice-driven mystery introduces an unforgettable crime fiction heroine.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

If We Survive This

The Yellowjackets comparison is pretty spot-on. Grab this one if you’re all caught up on the show and want something similar.

The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.

Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike “rabids,” she and her older brother Cain are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.

The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful memories of the family’s final time making this trip last year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Killer Story

For true crime fans who want a more “how the sausage is made” perspective when it comes to TV.

Follow a journalist and TV producer from 48 Hours and 60 Minutes as she carves out a career in the ruthless, knives-out world of true crime television . . . one killer story at a time.

Serial killers. Homicidal spouses. Sociopathic criminals. Claire St. Amant has met them all.

She spent nearly a decade in network television chasing the biggest true crime stories in the country, including the murder of Chris Kyle, plastic-surgeon-turned-murder-for-hire suspect Thomas Michael Dixon, the Parkland high school mass shooting, the disappearance of Christina Morris, and serial killer Samuel Little.

Bringing a true crime story to network television requires quick thinking and tenacious stamina, and in her debut memoir, Claire offers true crime fans a rare in-depth look from the other side of the yellow tape.

In Killer Story, readers will learn what it really takes to get these gripping cases on the air with insights such as:

How it feels to share space with a dead-eyed murderer
Which TV show has a reputation for “eating their young”
How reporters win over skeptical cops and reluctant lawyers
Why TV journalists are always racing against the clock—and competitor sabotage
What happens when a district attorney decides journalists have committed a felony
The unresolved crimes that still haunt Claire to this day

This eye-opening look behind the scenes of true crime television offers an unforgettable read—and a window into the daily reality of investigative journalism.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-95/

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149635

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/02/the-shattering-peace-gets-a-starred-review-at-kirkus/

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56642

A pretty great way to wake up on a Saturday is with a starred review of your upcoming book waiting from you. This one is from Kirkus. Here’s a link with to the full review, with the caveat that there are some mild spoilers in it, but the summation line seen above is almost certainly the pull quote that will go on all our messaging: “Classic Scalzi space opera at its wisecracking, politically pointed, and, somehow, fiercely optimistic finest.” Hey! I’ve done what I’ve been doing long enough for it to be “classic”! This is fantastic and also a real “If you’ve been reading Scalzi from the beginning, please schedule a colonoscopy” moment, if you ask me.

For those keeping score at home, this is the second starred review for The Shattering Peace, the first having come from Library Journal, with an additional positive review from Publishers Weekly. We’re in a good place with this one, I’m happy today, at least with the trade magazines. We’ll see what actual readers think of it soon.

More Shattering Peace news, including an official tour schedule, soon —

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/02/the-shattering-peace-gets-a-starred-review-at-kirkus/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56642

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/qz-liz-shipton-and-amy-zed/

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149367

Ed note: I’ve embedded a few TikTok videos in this post, which autoplay for NO GOOD REASON but the audio should be off.

…

Hi again Smart Bitches! Amy Zed here with an extra special Q & A. Today I’m chatting with viral Booktoker and author Liz Shipton.

We’re going to get into some fun stuff—including magical parts, and we’ll dive into more serious subjects, too—like how Liz’s upcoming urban fantasy romance tackles AI’s impact on marginalized communities.

Honestly, getting to chat with the authors I admire has been one of the hugest highlights that’s come out of self-publishing my cyberpunk romantasy, A Symphony of Starlight, and I’m especially excited to chat with Liz because she started out in self-pub just like me!

With the seven-book seafaring Thalassic Series under her belt and Booktok content getting millions of views, Liz is in the midst of tackling a new adventure—her trad pub debut. Dot Slash Magic, and urban fantasy romance with a techie twist, releases on August 15th!

Amy: Liz, I’m so excited to talk about Dot Slash Magic, but before we get going on books, I just have to say, your life sounds like an adventure novel in itself! What’s it like living on a sailboat?

Liz: You know, you would be surprised how quickly it becomes normal! I think when people hear “sailboat life” they automatically assume “living the dream” but to be honest, after four years, it’s really just “living.”

Don’t get me wrong – some days are definitely an adventure. We anchor in some of the most beautiful places in the world, and we’ve seen some truly amazing things (the bioluminescence in Costa Rica is stunning, and some remote parts of Panama feel like something straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean.) But there’s also a lot of just…buying your groceries, working on the computer, figuring out how to get around without a car, taking the dog to the vet, etc. And then there are days when it’s raining and you accidentally leave the hatches open so your bed gets soaked, and you question why you are even doing this with your life at all, LOL.

Amy: Now, I first encountered you through your videos. I’m a romantasy reader through and through, but I’ve always found certain aspects of romantasy… questionable… so when your “Enemies to Lovers Fantasy Romance” video popped up in my feed, I found myself nodding along emphatically and yelling, “EXACTLY!”

The way you poke loving fun at our favourite genre is pure gold. What inspired you to start posting these videos?

Liz: I think those videos came, first and foremost, from a place of me realizing that I wasn’t quite the writer I wanted to be when I started out. I had visions of myself crafting these mind-bendingly unique, poetic sentences that would leave people speechless.

But the reality was that I found myself writing “she narrowed her eyes” a lot. And then I started reading other books in the genre, and realized that…everyone was kind of doing that. So it was a combination of me poking fun at my own writing, and also poking a bit of fun at the genre.

It was also, to be honest, a way to vent my frustration at the way books are marketed these days, particularly on places like Booktok. When you’re on the app a lot, you start to feel like everything is just tropes, and as someone who’s striving to write something a bit different, it can start to feel a little aggravating.

@lizshiptonauthor Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers? #womenwritingmen #bookboyfriends #bookboyfriendsdoitbetter #fictionalmen #enemiestolovers #fantasyromance #lizshipton ♬ In The Forest (Acoustic Indie No Copyright) – Instrumental – Lesfm & Olexy

Amy: Liz, I feel that in my bones. My combo of cyberpunk and romance is definitely not the norm. It’s hard to market! And I can see how a seafaring dystopian romance series like Thalassic would be tough to market in the world of Fae Kings and Shadow Daddies as well. But it sounds like your videos worked!

You had The Thalassic Series, you gained a big following with your Booktok content, and now you’ve got your first trad pub deal. How did it all go down?

Liz: I originally got on social media to promote The Thalassic Series back when it was just 3 YA books with very little romance. I got “corrupted” by Booktok and decided to create an aged-up version of the series with more romance and spice. During that time, I was learning a lot about the tropes and expectations of the genre, which is what led to me putting up those videos.

Those videos landed my face in front of an agent – Amy Collins – who reached out to me via DM. I was skeptical, because I’d never heard of that happening, but I’m very much a person who thinks you should throw lots of things against the wall and see what sticks, so I did some due diligence to learn more about her (turns out, she’s awesome!) and said yes. We pitched Dot Slash Magic as three chapters and a synopsis, and it was picked up quite quickly by Angry Robot Books.

My social media presence was definitely instrumental in me landing that deal, but I do also want to give my writing some credit: the book is awesome!

A | BN | K | AB

Amy: Absolutely. I’m so excited about Dot Slash Magic. Based on the blurb, it’s got everything I love—banter, magic, tech, spice. Can you share a little more about the story?

Liz: It’s about a self-taught coder in her mid-twenties, who never went to college and has been bumming around Europe since high school. She’s kind of a deadbeat and very cynical, and after she gets dumped by her boyfriend, her mom is basically like “You need to get your shit together” and convinces her to come back to San Diego to go to community college. At school, she stumbles into an underground magic society, discovers she has magic, and then uses her coding skills to build an artificially intelligent assistant powered by sorcery. Hijinx and hilarity (and murder) ensue when monsters show up and start hunting her friends. Everyone blames her magic AI, but she’s convinced someone is trying to frame her.

It’s kind of a satirical take on the tech industry, wrapped in an urban romantasy. It’s funny, a bit spicy, and very bonkers, but it also tries to dig into some fairly deep questions surrounding the current state of AI, particularly its impact on artists and marginalized communities.

@lizshiptonauthor When the relationship should really be disclosed to HR #womenwritingmen #womenwritingwomen #fictionalmen #bookboyfriend #dystopianromance #fantasyromance ♬ Dark horror, vampire, vampire, bizarre(1146217) – G-axis sound music

Amy: You have such a great sense of humour that I knew your book would be bursting with fantastic lines. Then I saw this quote:

And then his dick began to grow. Not get harder. Literally grow. Seven’s eyes went wholly wide as she looked down between them. “No.”
He grinned. “Yes.”

I squealed when I read that. Clearly you’ve outdone yourself. I HAVE to know, what’s the deal with the MMC and his member?

Liz: Hahahaha! Well, as I’ve said, I spend a fair amount of time on Booktok, so I guess I wrote that for them, LOL. I think I was striving for something a bit different from the standard “shadow daddy.” Because to be totally honest, I don’t really get the whole “shadows” thing. Are they actually shadows? Or are they more like smoke? He can pick stuff up with them? HOW??? It never made sense to me, and it seems like a hugely missed opportunity to have a dude with magic in a book and not make his dick magic. Like….why is everyone not doing that??? Who gives a fuck about shadows when you can literally have a magic peepee???

Amy: And speaking of magical peepees, your video “Women writing *ahem* MEN” has over one hundred thousand views on Instagram and that’s not even counting all the views over on TikTok and YouTube.

@lizshiptonauthor The ML of Dot Slash Magic has a magic ding d0ng and if THAT doesn’t make you want to pre-order it, I honestly don’t know what will ‍ #womenwritingmen #fictionalmen #bookboyfriend #romantasy #fantasyromance #urbanfantasy #bookish #booktok ♬ Carmen Habanera, classical opera(1283412) – perfectpanda

But every new account starts with low views and zero followers. I’d love to know how your social media journey progressed. Did you always create such bold content, or did it take a while to discover what grabbed viewers’ attention?

Liz: I do need to take a moment here to credit A.L. Brody/Jason Pinter (author of Dating & Dismemberment) with inventing that style of video. It was after seeing one of his TikToks that I decided to take a stab at putting my own spin on it, and to be honest, I didn’t expect it to go anywhere. Posting to TikTok, you get really used to seeing someone else’s video and thinking “That looks fun! I’ll jump on that trend,” only to put up your own version of the thing and get less than 200 views. So when it took off, I was very surprised.

I was also really worried when it took off, because I assumed Jason would be pissed that I stole his idea, but fortunately, he is extremely cool and has been nothing but supportive. His videos do really well too, and we even made a video together. The Booktok community is really great in that way – there is space for everyone, and it feels more like a collaborative space than a competitive one.

Amy: And speaking of collaboration, I was also intrigued when I saw your vibrator ad come through my feed. My brother is a gaming Youtuber and he gets sponsorships to show off computer gear and gaming chairs. But I’d never thought about what kind of sponsors might approach a booktoker until I saw that ad. How did the sponsorship come about (no pun intended)? And are there any other kinds of sponsors you can see yourself working with in the future?

Liz: That was a surprise to me too, actually, and not something I ever saw myself doing – but then, writing spicy books isn’t something I ever saw myself doing either! People might be surprised that I actually identify as asexual and outside of my books, sex is not something that is super on my radar. But even though I’m not the most sexual person, I am very supportive of other people being as sexual (or unsexual) as they want to be, and normalizing all types of orientations, sexualities, drives, kinks, etc. So when the company reached out, I figured “Why not?!”

Amy: Sponsorships aside, I’m sure right now you’re busy using most of your time to promote Dot Slash Magic. I seriously can’t wait. I’ve already preordered so I can start reading the minute the book releases. For readers who don’t have Dot Slash Magic locked down yet, where’s the best place to preorder?

Liz: That’s so wonderful to hear you’re excited and THANK YOU for pre-ordering For other folks who are interested, you can read a blurb and some reviews (the book just got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly!) and see some of the art I had made, plus find a pre-order link for various outlets.

Amy: Thanks again for chatting with me, Liz! I’m sure anyone who’s hearing about your content for the first time is racing over to their socials to hit the follow button, but how else can we keep in touch? Do you have a newsletter readers can sign up for so we’re sure to hear about your next release?

Liz: Yes! Right now when you sign up for my newsletter you get the first 3 chapters of Dot Slash Magic

A | BN | K | AB

for free!

And I’m always on socials (I’m reading Dot Slash Magic Live on Insta every M-F at 4PM EST up until the launch) or you can find me at my website lizshipton.com. I’m on Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, and have a Patreon.

Or come to the Caribbean some time and we can hang on the beach.

…

About the interviewer: Amy Zed’s debut novel A Symphony of Starlight combines elements of cyberpunk and rockstar romance to bring you a fast-paced action adventure that received 4 ½ stars from The Paranormal Romance Guild. It’s available to read FREE with your KU membership, or you can buy it for $3.97 on Amazon.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/qz-liz-shipton-and-amy-zed/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149367

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/01/what-the-hell-indianapolis/

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56637

This sculpture? Terrifying. I understand it’s meant to be a celebration of famed basketball coach John Wooden, but what I see is a man driven to the ground in confusion as the upper bodies of the people around him are vaporized, possibly by aliens, possibly by inimical laser-wielding robots. It’s just deeply confusing and concerning, if you ask me, Indianapolis. And you just put it out in public like that.

Questionable sculpture aside, Indianapolis and GenCon have been lovely so far. Tomorrow is the big day for me, programming-wise, so this evening I will probably take it easy. I hope your first weekend of August will be delightful.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/08/01/what-the-hell-indianapolis/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56637

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3123/

Achilles was a mighty warrior, but his Achilles' heel was his heel.

https://xkcd.com/3123/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/08/historical-and-sci-fi-romances/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=149477

A Tempest of Desire

A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath is $1.99! This released last December and we’ve heard good things about the crazysauce plot. Did any of you pick this one up?

New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath returns to the fan favorite series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, with the story of a viscount who has retreated to a small, secluded island only to have a mysterious and beautiful woman wash up on shore.

After surviving a horrific railway accident, Viscount Langdon retreats to his private island to recover and conquer the nightmarish memories that continue to haunt him. The very last thing he wants—or expects—is for London’s most infamous courtesan to wash up on his beach.

Marlowe is known for her bold flirtations, but her most daring exploits involve flying in her hot air balloon. When a storm blows her off course, she discovers herself alone with the isle’s only inhabitant. The gorgeous, seductive lord tempts her beyond reason, but giving into temptation would lead to her ruination because the all-consuming liaison would demand complete surrender. And she has secrets to protect.

Langdon finds the captivating beauty near impossible to resist, but he can’t risk her learning the true reason behind his isolation. However, a powerful tempest of desire is swirling wildly between them, urging them to give in to the perilous passion that could destroy them . . . or perhaps show them the way to love.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Eclipse the Moon

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik is $1.99! This is book two in the Starlight’s Shadow series. I remember reading this one, though found it heavier on action that romance.

Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy’s two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.

Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race.

Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic. But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone.

Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Not That Duke

Not That Duke by Eloisa James is $1.99! This is book three in the Would-Be Wallflowers series. I feel like I don’t hear much about new James releases these days.

The Duke of Huntington has no interest in an eccentric redhead who frowns at him over her spectacles…until he realizes that she is the only possible duchess for him. A new enemies-to-lovers romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James.

Bespeckled and freckled, Lady Stella Corsham at least has a dowry that has attracted a crowd of fortune-hunting suitors–which definitely doesn’t include the sinfully handsome Silvester Parnell, Duke of Huntington, who laughingly calls her “Specs” as he chases after elegant rivals.

And then–

The worst happens. Marriage.

To the duke. To a man marrying her for all the wrong reasons.

How can Silvester possibly convince Stella that he’s fallen in love with the quirky woman he married? Especially after she laughingly announces that she’s in love–but not with that duke.

Not with her husband.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Other Lady Vanishes

The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick is $1.99! This is the second book in the Burning Cove series. This is a historical mystery set in 1930s California and has a romance. It can be read on its own. Have you read this one or any other books in the series?

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Knew Too Much sweeps readers back to 1930s California–where the most dazzling of illusions can’t hide the darkest secrets…

After escaping from a private sanitarium, Adelaide Blake arrives in Burning Cove, California, desperate to start over.

Working at an herbal tea shop puts her on the radar of those who frequent the seaside resort town: Hollywood movers and shakers always in need of hangover cures and tonics. One such customer is Jake Truett, a recently widowed businessman in town for a therapeutic rest. But unbeknownst to Adelaide, his exhaustion is just a cover.

In Burning Cove, no one is who they seem. Behind facades of glamour and power hide drug dealers, gangsters, and grifters. Into this make-believe world comes psychic to the stars Madame Zolanda. Adelaide and Jake know better than to fall for her kind of con. But when the medium becomes a victim of her own dire prediction and is killed, they’ll be drawn into a murky world of duplicity and misdirection.

Neither Adelaide or Jake can predict that in the shadowy underground they’ll find connections to the woman Adelaide used to be–and uncover the specter of a killer who’s been real all along…