And then, there&#39;s a bearded fetus.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/sbtb-2026-summer-romance-bingo/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173601

Our Summer Romance Bingo is back!

Beginning on the Summer Solstice, which falls on June 21st in the US and ending on September 21st, right before the Autumnal Equinox, we invite you to play our 2026 Summer Romance Bingo.

Please save the image to use on your own! You can also click on the image or here for a larger version to look at. If you’d like to share on social media, please use the hashtag #SBTBingo so we can see how your card is coming along! Participants who complete at least one bingo are eligible for prizes, including stickers, swag, and a big ol’ box o’ books for one lucky winner or two.

The middle space is a free space, meaning any book will qualify there. Also, please use one book per space. No double dipping!

A couple things – Con Tempo Rary is Contemporary Romance. I just couldn’t fit in the space.

Wrong Sibling: Character thinks they’re marrying, talking to, one sibling, but it’s actually the other. An example is a historical romance where the hero thinks he’s marrying one sister, but the twin shows up in her place.

If you need any more clarifications, just leave your questions in the comments. Most of these categories came from the community, so big thank you to everyone who made suggestions!

To submit your card, please fill out this form. Maximum of five entries per person!

Standard disclaimers apply: Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read some excellent books. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law.

The entry form will close September 22.

If you need clarification on any of the categories or want to crowdsource reading recommendations, feel free to ask or brainstorm in the comments section! Remember that bingo doesn’t kick off until June 21st, so don’t start reading qualifying books until then.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/sbtb-2026-summer-romance-bingo/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173601

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Tags:

meme,
music monday

case posting in

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-special-feature-the-mirror-cakes-of-olga-noskova-2026

⌈ Secret Post #7093 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 30 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1013.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

The shiny "mirror cakes" of Olga Noskova have been going viral the past few weeks, and today I am jumping on that shiny, shiny bandwagon, you guys, because LOOKIE:

When I first saw this cake my jaw literally dropped. And that's coming from someone whose JOB is to look at the world's most beautiful cakes.

I thought I'd seen it all.

I WAS WRONG.

Check out this marbling:

And this funky-cool fluting:

Incredibly, Noskova's cakes even look as beautiful inside as they do out:

So how does she do it?

Here's a short video from Noskova's brand new Youtube channel to illustrate:

The "mirror glaze" is a poured on gelatin mixture, and is apparently an old French technique that just isn't used very often. (Although I bet it's about to get a LOT more popular. Ha!)

And while everyone is focusing on that incredible shine, it turns out Nokova has perfected another incredible cake texture:

A velvety matte speckle, which she achieves with a powered sprayer.

Both of her signature textures together:

This is cake art in every sense of the word, but as John pointed out to me, it's cake art that you still want to eat. Somehow Noskova has managed to make her cakes look as delicious as they are beautiful - and we all know that's no small task in the modern cake world.

Head over to Olga's Instagram for sooo much more (it wasn't easy to narrow down my favs!), and then watch her new Youtube channel for hopefully more instructional vids to come.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

*****

P.S. Need a cool gift for the person who has everything? Then how about a card that transforms into a bouquet:

Fresh Cut Paper Pop-Up Flowers

I sent this one to my Mom for her birthday last month, and it looks just like this! Even better, it ships free with Prime, so no extra postage needed.

Or you could stock up with the three-pack!

There are more flower styles and colors at the link.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-special-feature-the-mirror-cakes-of-olga-noskova-2026

summerstorm

Wrapped up Hades 2 -- not sure if they'll add more stuff or when, but I got every piece of decor, every rank, and every familiar form (which I initially forgot about; I booted up Hades, did a couple runs and then went back). I had a great time and it really made me feel like I've gotten significantly better at videogames since 2020. Hades is also making me feel that way, considering I got out of the underworld on attempt #12 and last time it took me like... 100? Possibly? It does still feel slightly harder than Hades 2, especially the lava and the hands and the poison, and I just don't enjoy the last two boss fights that much, but then again I didn't enjoy Prometheus much in Hades 2, either, and Cerberus was easy but kind of boring. I love the bone hydra and the Furies, though. Scylla and the Sirens were by far my favorite boss fight in Hades 2, and not just because the songs are bangers and I more than once got to use the thing where you resurrect the last foe you killed to fight against the rest. Breaking up the band indeed.

Currently calmly making my way through Hades. I haven't unlocked all the secret aspects of the weapons yet, and I have a long way to go with the social stuff, I think. I'm also unlikely to let go before I fulfill all the prophecies. Or discover all the fish. Where the hell are all the fish? Persephone is down in Hell and has been for a while, and I have nowhere near enough of anything to get all the Stygian mirror abilities or decorations. Not sure how far I'll get in that regard, but I'm not stopping yet.

The Burning Shores DLC was on sale -- and so is everything else I want, but all the big games are still ridiculously expensive even then -- so I will probably replay Horizon: Forbidden West when I decide I'm done with Hades.

Feel free to ask for like, Hades/2 top 5s, I would love an excuse to rank so much of this shit lmao.

Tags:

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-116/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173596

Welcome back!

We have a mix of non-fiction and fiction today with a lot of variety in content: cooking, dark academia, a thriller, and some history. Something for everyone!

Any recommendations you want to pass along? Leave them in the comments!

An Arcane Inheritance

Diverse dark academia for fans of R.F. Kuang and Olivie Blake. I’m also grateful it’s a standalone because I’m find a series is way too demanding of my attention right now.

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, praised by the The New York Times and perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones—and forbidden magic—of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can’t convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

“Draws readers into its spell before asking readers to consider who pays the true price of power—and what it means to refuse to let the powerful win.” — Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Cooking the Borderlands

Mexican is my favorite, so this cookbook is high on my to-buy list. There are fusion recipes, a whole chapter on salsas, and Zepeda’s family staples. Also, the family and historical photos the author includes are just a lovely addition.

A culinary journey along the Mexican American border, telling the story of its intertwined cultures and communities with more than 100 vibrant, flavor-packed recipes from Top Chef star, Iron Chef Mexico finalist, and Tijuana-San Diego border kid Claudette Zepeda.

The Mexican American border has been an inflamed political focal point within the US; at the same time, Mexican food has long been the most popular “ethnic” cuisine in America. A child of the border herself, Claudette Zepeda grew up in both California and Mexico and sees the border as a vibrant, vital, and unique cultural and culinary place. A gifted storyteller and chef, Claudette’s recipes and ruminations humanize border culture through 100 accessible and beloved dishes such

• Coahuila’s Esquites (Street Corn)
• Las Calandrias Caballitos (Chicken Sopes)
• Arroz Poblano (Poblano Pepper Creamy Rice)
• Camarones al Ajillo (Baja Style Garlic Shrimp)
• Capirotada (Bread Pudding)

This is a story of a personal and culinary identity that formed betwixt two cultures, told through recipes, anecdotes, and an irreverent sense of humor. Borderlands details the Mexican dishes Claudette grew up eating and loves, their American counterparts, and how the fluidity and flexibility between the two nations shows us a way of being in the world. With her sophisticated, first-hand perspective of the Mexican American border, immigration, and the feet-in-many-worlds attitude of Border Kid culture, Claudette shines a human light on the imaginary line stretching from California through Texas and shows how vital this place is in American culture.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Decoding the Devil

There’s so much fiction and non-fiction about the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. If you want more history with similar themes, this new release might be up your alley.

As groundbreaking as Code Girls and Hidden Figures, this is the shocking true story of two segregated codebreaking units racing to unlock Stalin’s atomic secrets in the face of a rapidly expanding Soviet nuclear threat at the dawn of the Cold War.

Facing the global threat of a rising Communist world power in the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. employed hundreds of Black Americans to speed read Russian communications and gather essential information on the US’s most dangerous nuclear rival.

The result was the creation of a segregated civilian codebreaking unit known as the Traffic Processing Division—The Plantation. Despite wage discrimination, grueling hours, strict quotas, and harsh conditions, the Plantation’s 100 college-educated Black women made invaluable breakthroughs in United States’ Soviet intelligence even as the Red Scare and the backlash against civil rights eroded their democratic freedoms at home. Their underappreciated top-secret work led directly to victory over the USSR and the end of the Cold War thirty years later.

In this thrilling history, Sarah Valentine tells their remarkable story in full for the first time. Decoding the Devil pays long overdue tribute to these little-known Black cryptologists’ critical contributions to national security during the civil rights era, and offers a fresh perspective on the Cold War and American heroes of color.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Five

Five complicated people wait on a train platform. When the train arrives, one of them will be dead. A pretty tense setup. Another great recommendation from my friend Jamie and her newsletter Multitudes Contained. It’s a great resource for book and media recs, and I read it every time it hits my inbox.

Welcome to Five—once this train has left, there’s no stopping it.

“Razor-sharp, wickedly funny, and darkly thrilling, Five asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

Someone will die here this morning, at this suburban train station. It will happen in the next five minutes when the 7:06 to London Victoria arrives.

On a train platform, five strangers unknowingly face a chilling countdown. As the clock ticks away, we fall in love with a beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. We pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. We look away from the child throwing a tantrum. We judge his mother, who must surely be to blame? And we are curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman, orbiting around them all.

These are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune but they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist judging who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live. Minute by minute, the train gets closer, as we delve into each of their stories to learn what brought them right here, to this moment, to this station, to the very edge of life and death.

A child, a mother, a businessman, an old woman, and a gambler—who would you choose to save? Or die?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-116/

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173596

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/sunday-sale-digest-all-freebie-edition-2/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173561

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

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

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

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

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/sunday-sale-digest-all-freebie-edition-2/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173561

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Tags:

case posting in

⌈ Secret Post #7092 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 36 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1013.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

case posting in

[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #1014 ]

The first secret from this batch will be posted on Jun 13th.

RULES:
1. One secret link per comment.
2. 750x750 px or smaller.
3. Link directly to the image.

More details on how to send a secret in!

Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is.

Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret.

Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/kickass-women-in-history-carlota-and-fermina/

Posted by Carrie S

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173365

TW/CW:

TW: slavery, shackles, torture, violence

The stories of rebellion by enslaved peoples has been largely erased or occluded from history, and when these stories are told, they usually center men. In Cuba, however, two women became legends because of the leadership roles they took in rebellion. Carlota and Fermina were decisive, brave, and brutal. Both women were kidnapped from the Yoruba Nation and given the last name ‘Lucumí’, a word which refers to Afro-Cubans of Yoruba descent.

The Triunvirato sugar plantation was a fucking hellscape. By the 1840s, one third of Cuba’s population consisted of enslaved persons, almost all of whom worked in the sugar trade in some capacity. The 1840s saw Cuba utilizing steam-powered mails and railroads and engaging in massive deforestation as the economy became reliant on sugar. The Triunvirato Plantation was one of many that subjected enslaved people to a starvation diet and horrific working and living conditions.

We know very little about Carlota and Fermina. We do know, however, that on November 6, 1843, Carlota and others launched the Triunvirato Rebellion, the last in a series of uprisings across Cuba. Carlota used talking drums to communicate with other plantations, bringing the neighboring Acaná plantation, where Fermina was enslaved, as well as several others into the plan.

brightly colored painting shows a Black woman in a yellow dress, breasts exposed, wielding a machete — Carlota Leading the People (after Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People by Lili Bernard, 2011

Fermina had recently escaped from Acaná and may have planned a June rebellion, but it didn’t happen. She was recaptured and shackled for months. Her tormentors released her from the shackles just a few days before the Triunvirato Rebellion, which she helped lead on the Acaná Plantation. In all, the enslaved people on five plantations rose up against their oppressors on or near November 6.

Here is a good overview of what we know about Carlota:

Watch on YouTube

The series of rebellions that took place in 1843 (including uprisings in March and May, as well as a thwarted uprising in December) were collectively referred to as La Escalera. In response, slavers tortured and murdered so many people that 1844 became known as “The Year of the Lash”. Fermina was tortured and then killed by a firing squad. Carlota died at some point during the Trinuvirato Rebellion. Slavery in Cuba wasn’t abolished until 1886.

However, Carlota’s memory was preserved in oral legend. She became a famous symbol of resistance in Cuba. In 1975, when Cuba sent troops to support the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), they called the operation ‘Operation Carlota.’

a monument showing three figures, two men with a woman in the center, brandishing weapons — Monument to Carlota’s Rebellion, located at Triumvirato, erected in 1991

Writing about history is a messy business. For one thing, many historical figures, especially women, and most especially women of color, have been so systematically erased that the stories we still have of them are murky. This is certainly true of Carlota and Fermina. We don’t even know their real names – only the names their slavers forced them to bear. We know for sure that they existed, and everything else is a matter of sifting various stories together and trying to figure out where they overlap.

In this column, there is also the matter of who to choose as ‘Kickass.’ Carlota and Fermina were both said to have done terrible, violent things.

CW/TW

In Carlota’s case, she is accused of having killed or tried to kill a child.

Their story can be seen as one in which brutality begets brutality, and it can also be seen as a human being refusing to break or to become passive with despair in the face of massive crushing forces. Carlota and Fermina were clever, resourceful, determined leaders. I only wish I knew their real names.

Sources:

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/kickass-women-in-history-carlota-and-fermina/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173365

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/it-happened-one-murder-by-liz-lawson/

Posted by Lara

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=173380

Rant

It Happened One Murder

by Liz Lawson
May 26, 2026 · Sourcebooks Landmark
Contemporary/OtherMystery/Thriller

I persisted through this book for one reason: I NEEDED to know who the killer was. That’s it. That’s the only reason. As a mystery, it is compelling, twisty and enjoyable. As a romance, it made me want to throw my e-reader against a wall.

So many of the secondary characters are total assholes. Truly. Even our heroine is a selfish dickwad. Across the characters, sometimes that asshole-ness is because they’re just assholes. For example, Harriet’s mother is a selfish, snobby, uncaring woman and treats her daughter abominably. And our heroine, Harriet? When Harriet presents the idea of her article to Nic, she positions it as a way to help Nic’s sister’s case. That’s why Nic says yes to working with Harriet. Harriet doesn’t tell him that she’s possibly going to get her old job back off the back of this article. Which I guess, everyone needs to benefit, but at least be upfront about it.

Meanwhile, the whole time Nic’s sister’s case is presented as really super urgent and action must be taken immediately to help her, but days will go by with no action taken by Harriet in the investigation for the article. Instead, Harriet just mopes. Nic’s sister is also annoying: she’s aggressive, short-tempered and can’t be relied on to be professional in professional settings. Yes, some of it is the kind of nonsense that young, angsty people get up to before their frontal cortex is fully developed, but it drove me scatty.

I sometimes forget that I was young and dumb once. I didn’t communicate clearly or make the brave choice. Perhaps because my twenties are now distant history, I find myself getting frustrated by poor communication between Harriet and Nic. Things are so fraught and they never tell each other the full truth. It’s all assumptions and miscommunication which I find tiresome.

There is one particular instance that I just couldn’t wrap my head around, but it happens really late in the book, so I’ve hidden it behind spoiler tags.

Show Spoiler

When Harriet and her entourage confront the bad guy and a gun goes off, it is a completely innocent, lovely secondary character that gets shot in the leg. A secondary character that Harriet has been horrible to because she’s jealous of what she assumes is going on between Nic and this person. Why on earth does she need to be shot??

Up to this point, Harriet has been MEGA deceptive in her motives and actions. She does so many shitty things, it’s hard to think of her as a romantic lead. So it won’t be shocking to you that I didn’t buy the HEA. It just made Nic look like a chump for taking her back. Did I mention it’s a second chance romance?

The mystery worked for me because I was genuinely invested in the puzzle of who did it and why, even if the people solving that puzzle were awful. But the romance did not work for me because I didn’t much like the leads as people so I didn’t care about their HEA, such as it is.

If you’re going to read this book, I strongly recommend focusing only on the mystery and just skimming the romance parts. I’m so irritated by it, I could spit because the mystery is interesting (not groundbreaking or anything, but interesting to read nonetheless) and with more likeable leads being kinder, the romance could have been amazing.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/it-happened-one-murder-by-liz-lawson/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=173380

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Tags:

case posting in

⌈ Secret Post #7091 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

[The Young Ones (1980s britcom)]

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1012.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

calystarose

I'm still alive. Somehow, despite everything, I'm alive.

I did not, could not, conceive of having a future. At most there were only weeks or months ahead that I could conceptualize as being real. So I just sort of sleepwalked through my life, waiting for the end.

Eventually, when my material circumstances improved and when I was finally freed from the hormonal roller coaster of menstruation, I woke up.

I had never done anything because there was no point, because I was going to die. Any day now. But I'm still alive. And the time passed anyway.

So I'm gonna give it a shot, living intentionally. Making long-term goals. Trying to exist in more than just this moment and the next. We'll see how it goes.

Current Mood: calm

Tags:

about me,
real life

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/three-historicals-and-a-demon/

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173537

The Bride

RECOMMENDED: The Bride by Julie Garwood is $1.99! This is one of my favorite historical romances and was one of my gateway reads to the genre, if you’ve listened to the What Made Us Romance Readers podcast episode.

By edict of the king, the mighty Scottish laird Alec Kincaid must take an English bride. His choice was Jamie, youngest daughter of Baron Jamison…a feisty, violet-eyed beauty. Alec ached to touch her, to tame her, to possess her…forever. But Jamie vowed never to surrender to this highland barbarian.

He was everything her heart warned against—an arrogant scoundrel whose rough good looks spoke of savage pleasures. And thought Kincaid’s scorching kisses fired her blood, she brazenly resisted him…until one rapturous moment quelled their clash of wills, and something far more dangerous than desire threatened to conquer her senses…

You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Highwayman

RECOMMENDED: The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne is $2.99! Redheadedgirl grabbed this at RT 2015 when it was held in Dallas. She reviewed it and gave it an A-:

What I liked best about this book was the liberal use of crazysauce. It’s a melodramatic tale of a broken man healed by the love of a good woman, and the good woman that’s strong enough to love this man and bring him back into the world.

They’re rebels, scoundrels, and blackguards-dark, dashing men on the wrong side of the law. But for the women who love them, a hint of danger only makes the heart beat faster, in the stunning debut historical romance The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne.

STEALING BEAUTY

Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of Victorian London’s wealthiest, most influential men who will stop at nothing to wreak vengeance on those who’ve wronged him…and will fight to the death to seize what he wants. The lovely, still innocent widow Farah Leigh Mackenzie is no exception-and soon Dorian whisks the beautiful lass away to his sanctuary in the wild Highlands…

COURTING DESIRE

But Farah is no one’s puppet. She possesses a powerful secret-one that threatens her very life. When being held captive by Dorian proves to be the only way to keep Farah safe from those who would see her dead, Dorian makes Farah a scandalous proposition: marry him for protection in exchange for using her secret to help him exact revenge on his enemies. But what the Blackheart of Ben More never could have imagined is that Farah has terms of her own, igniting a tempestuous desire that consumes them both. Could it be that the woman he captured is the only one who can touch the black heart he’d long thought dead?

You can find ordering info for this book here.

My Funny Demon Valentine

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher is $2.99! This is book one in the Hell Bent series. I’m super curious about this one! Have any of you read it?

From instant New York Times bestselling author Aurora Ascher, comes the first novel in a funny steamy, paranormal romance series about learning how to love—and what love is in the first place—complete with HEA, clothes-ripping-hot love scenes, a crew of devilish demon brothers who are supposed to be the bad guys—Love can be Hell.

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to make music. Jazz, specifically. Unfortunately, he’s a demon. And he’s supposed to be evil.

Clearly, for Ash, a career as a musician isn’t exactly an option. Plus, he’s cursed. Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his three brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth. But it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail . . .

The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught, the consequences will be dire. Yet everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but, no matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends . . . and, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least that’s what Eva tells herself when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a 7-foot-tall monster. Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever. Or maybe just doom it. Eva and Ash will learn the path to love can be complete Hell.

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Susana and the Scot

Susana and the Scot by Sabrina York is $3.99! This was a RITA finalist in the Long Historical category. We’ve had two reviews of this book come in.

Reviewer HeatherT gave it a B-:

Everyone fulfills their role exactly as expected. They show up and play their parts while Isobel zips about climbing on roofs and practicing archery in the library. It’s fine.

Reviewer Robin R. gave it a B:

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with an exciting plot and the sparks really flew between the two main characters.

Scotland, 1813.

A SCANDALOUS TEMPTATION
Andrew Lochlannach is famous for his conquests, on and off the battlefield. When a fellow warrior challenges him to a kissing contest, he wastes no time in planting his lips on ninety-nine lovely lasses-an impressive feat of seduction that gets him banished to the hinterlands. Still, Andrew has no regrets about his exploits-especially his embrace with the most beguiling woman he’s ever met…

AN UNDENIABLE PASSION
With flaming red hair and a temper to match, Susana is not some innocent farmgirl who gives herself over easily to a man, even one as ruggedly handsome as Andrew. The wicked Scot may have won a kiss from the headstrong beauty in a moment of mutual desire, but Susana refuses to be just another one of his conquests. Andrew must convince the fiery lass that even though he is not playing a game, losing her is not an option…

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/three-historicals-and-a-demon/

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173537

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/confessions-of-a-master-baker-2026

Welcome to another installment of...

Confessions of a Master Baker!

"Ordinary bakers. Extraordinary feats of bad judgment."

[baker's silhouette speaking in disguised voice]
"I guess I got a bit carried away with the chocolate drizzle -- you know, it's always a bit of a crap shoot..."

"I made my mother-in-law deliver it."

[whispered]

Confessions...

"...and then I found myself smashing a disco ball on top of it."

[small sob] "I figured the lights would blind anyone who got too close!"

[whispered]

Revelations...

"They loved skiing. Nothing says 'skiing' like giant plastic pickles and shredded Parmesan, right?" [hiccups]

"I didn't realize how bad it was 'til the bride threw it at me."

[whispered]

Disclosures...

"They said they wanted 'steampunk,' so I googled it. Gears, tentacles, balloons - I was all, 'Hey, I got this.'"

"And, boy, did I get it."

[sound of pages flipping]
Uh... ah!
[whispering]

Formal professions of guilt...

"So then I said, 'hey, you know what'd be cute? Camouflage butterflies."

"But the bride just didn't see it."

Next week... on Confessions of a Master Baker:

"So I figured, put the babies ON the carrots..."

[light behind figures fades to black]

Thanks to Jessica W., Michelle B., Melanie J., Stella P., & Natalie S. for the delicious divulgences.

*****

P.S. Quick Butterfly Chaser to remind you they CAN be super lovely:

I made this rainbow wreath for John's room using this 84-pc butterfly set, which I know you crafters are gonna love:

(3D Butterfly Wall Magnet Set)

They're double-sided and come with both magnets and stickers. Definitely browse the projects in the reviews, there are so many cool ideas - and the set is on sale right now for $9.99!

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/confessions-of-a-master-baker-2026

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/friday-videos-love-big-butts/

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173476

As spoken by the elders, one should always trust those who like big butts, for they cannot lie.

And truthfulness is as honorable as having a big back porch, as my college friend would say.

I freaking love the edit compilations of a zillion different properties or media clips assembled to form something else. Sometimes it’s a supercut of one person’s speeches and sometimes it’s so many disparate sources I’m dizzy by the end.

This is one such edit:

Watch on YouTube

I wonder where they started. Was it “stuffed” as said by Priscilla Presley in The Naked Gun? Also, my heart is so happy to see Tuffnut and Snotlout from How to Train Your Dragon.

Do you have Friday videos to suggest? Please email me! Favorite song? Old movie clip? Absurd meme? Please, share your faves so I might share them with everyone!

Friday Videos hope your weekend is full of all the things you like, and we cannot lie about that!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/friday-videos-love-big-butts/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173476

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/june-2026-queer-romances/

Posted by Dahlia Adler

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=173435

Happy Pride Month, one and all! As usual, June is packed to the gills with queer romance, so selecting just five titles felt a nigh impossible task. While I’ve done it, I definitely encourage you to seek out the many more excellent-looking books gracing shelves this month and support as many queer creators as possible!

For the Bride

Author: Becca Grischow
Released: June 2, 2026 by Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the author of I’ll Get Back To You, a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance that follows a Type-A maid of honor setting out to do the most and a Type-B bridesmaid with her life only just put-together, who must put aside their animosity to plan the wedding of the summer

On the surface, Alice has her life together. She’s got a job in music she loves; she’s firmly sober; and she’s grateful to be back in the good graces of her ex-girlfriend-once-best-friend-now-literal-only-friend Gin. Just in time, too, because Gin’s getting married this summer! And Alice gets to be a bridesmaid.

If only the maid-of-honor wasn’t Renee Type-A, the opposite of her in every way, and a long-time Alice-hater who’s clung to her animosity like a leech. Every second Alice spends around Renee makes her feel like who she used to be, rather than the person she’s spent years trying to make herself into—and she doesn’t want to be reminded of her younger self any more than she wants to be thinking, more constantly than she wants to admit, about her hair, her lips, her wit…. No, Alice has her own stuff to figure out. She still loves music, but her career feels directionless. She’s grieving the loss of her father just a year ago, to alcohol. And then she finds out that her mother’s started to date her father’s ex-bandmate, which sends her reeling…and with the wedding just around the corner, she doesn’t want to bother Gin about any of it.

It’s pure chance that Renee runs into Alice, just when she needs someone the most—and suddenly, everything shifts. Neither of them are what they assumed the other to be. Over the days and nights they’re spending helping Gin throw a DIY summer wedding of epic proportions, Alice and Renee discover that though they have nothing in common—that might be precisely what each of them need. Heartfelt and hopeful, For the Bride is a banter-filled sapphic romance with deep emotional resonance about found family, second chances, and finding love in the unexpected.

Grischow’s sophomore romance revolves around bridal party hijinks, which is already one of my all-time favorite tropes, but this one gave me alllll the feels. Protagonist Alice is still grieving not just the loss of her father but his seeming unwillingness to even try to live for her, and while she herself has reformed from her hard-partying ways, she’s grappling with the visions and memories of her other people can’t seem to shake. It’s a really lovely coming-of-age story alongside a chemistry-filled opposites attract romance, and one of my favorite romantic reads of the year so far.

Find buy links for this book here..

The Open Era

Author: Edward Schmit
Released: June 2, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

Love evens the score between two tennis players in this stunning debut romance.

Recently-turned-pro tennis player Austin Hardy has been out since high school and it’s never been a big deal. That is, until he becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam tournament. Suddenly, being gay is a huge deal, with headlines to prove it.

Unprepared for this new spotlight, Austin’s anxiety disorder hits a breaking point, and he trips and falls at practice. Right next to the very attractive, very talented, and probably straight Diego Cruz, ranked second in the world.

The two professional rivals start a friendship off the court. But between their flirty banter, mixed signals, and looming showdown, Austin is thrown further off his game by Diego.

With the eyes of the world on Austin, the weight of history on his shoulders, and Diego across the net, he must decide whether love means nothing or if it means everything as he battles for the trophy during an electric two weeks at the US Open.

Look, I know everyone’s tired of “If you love Heated Rivalry, check out X,” but hear me out. Sports Romance. Rivals. Secretly getting to know each other and developing a physical attraction. Professional athletes of significant talent facing each other in a major competition. This is a debut that’s earned its comp to the series of the moment while also very much being its own thing, starring an already out tennis player who’s quickly rising in the ranks and being spread out over the considerably shorter time span of the US Open. I was a fan of this one from chapter one, and I’ll definitely be picking up whatever Schmit puts out next.

Find buy links for this book here..

Puck

Author: Samantha Allen
Released: June 2, 2026 by Zando
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

In this A Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired romcom, Puck is a reality show producer and agent of chaos with a talent for bringing people together . . . and tearing them apart.

Meet the nonbinary, thirty-year-old mastermind behind Homewreckers, a dating show that puts troubled couples through hell—with a little help from their exes. Used to being the one pulling the strings, it shocks Puck when their life undergoes a plot twist of its own and their college roommate Mia announces her engagement to her ex’s best friend, Damon. Having only recently broken up with longtime-boyfriend Zander, and never having had much in common with Damon (who lovesick Lena has always pined after), Mia’s news leaves her friend group reeling—and Puck’s mind whirling.

When they arrive for a week of wedding festivities at an upscale resort in the Appalachian forest, Puck immediately sees that Mia’s marriage will lead to misery, and takes it upon themself to save their friends by rearranging the couples—without anyone finding out. But as Puck comes up against a type-A maid of honor hell-bent on making this wedding happen, it becomes clear that they will have to deliver the greatest stunt of their career. If only they can take their eyes off the bridesmaid. After all, the course of true love never did run smooth…

Written with Samantha Allen’s signature charm, wit, and an irresistible dose of Shakespearian mischief, Puck is the ultimate romcom for our chaotic era, and a celebration of the friendships that carry us through it all.

I love never knowing what Allen will do next, especially because she got on my radar with a most serious-sounding nonfic called Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, and then promptly went on to write some of the weirdest (extremely complimentary) fiction in the queer space. I am deeply ready for a nonbinary wedding-y rom-com that sounds steeped in Shakespeare-worthy chaos!

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

Dearly Departed

Author: Chip Pons
Released: June 16, 2026 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance

For fans of MM romances like Heated Rivalry and The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, a sexy Hades-inspired gay rom-com, in which the former god of the Underworld turned grumpy funeral director must find a loophole in the Immortal Retirement Act that banished him to Earth, until the florist next door begins to unravel all his carefully laid plans.

Hope is a dangerous thing for gods. Even former ones.

Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home—a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost. Still, he’s determined to claw his way back…if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him.

Enter Levi a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi’s shop to complain about a bouquet of sunflowers—an offensive choice for a funeral, in his opinion—their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.

As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he’s kept in place all these years—and it’s not just his heart on the line. Because in the threads of fate, one choice can change everything.

Winging it With You was one of my favorite m/m romances of last year, so I’m excited to see Pons returning with something equally fun and even more spicy, bringing a Greek God down (up?) to Earth for a dalliance-turned-more with a charming florist that takes black cat-golden retriever to the extreme.

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

Love is a Contact Sport

Author: Frederick Smith
Released: June 16, 2026 by Bold Strokes Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

After a rough breakup, gay romance author Renny Ross heads to the Bay Area for a fresh start. His new gig writing the anniversary story for a local university is supposed to be a fresh chapter (thanks to university president Dr. Taylor James). But Renny didn’t expect to run into a familiar face from his past.

After dropping off his youngest child at college, recently divorced Brent D. King DuPree, is on a journey to freedom, liberation, and living the life he put on hold for over twenty years to raise his family. Figuring out life as a newly out and newly single man, Brent is hesitant about stepping into the Bay Area gay scene until a chance reunion with his first real crush, and the guy he never quite forgot, his peer mentor and tutor in college: Renny Ross.

Neither man expected a second chance. But working together at the same university stirs up feelings that never really faded. Their love doesn’t have to be a secret anymore, but will they get it right this time?

Frederick Smith is one of very few authors holding it down for Black men in m/m romance right now, and I’m obsessed with the fact that one of the protagonists in his newest is doing the very same thing. Add in a newly out grown-up having a second sort of coming of age and the potential for a second chance under very different circumstances and you have my dream novel in one tidy package.