Magical Realism, Mystery, & More
Mar. 20th, 2026 03:30 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
smartbitches_feedThese Violet Delights
These Violet Delights by Madeleine Roux is $1.99! This is a standalone historical romance with a pair of star-crossed lovers. Have you read this one?
Passion engulfs an aspiring painter and her old childhood friend in this stunning Regency romance from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux. But can the star-crossed pair overcome a simmering family feud for a chance at love?
Violet Arden is a burgeoning painter who insists on a life of passion and vivid colors, but scandal is heaped on humiliation at her artistic debut in London. It would be one thing to withstand withering critiques, but the night goes from bad to worse when an illicit affair with her art instructor is exposed. She flees the London limelight to recover from her humiliation at her cousin Emilia Graddock’s country estate, where she plans to continue honing her art under a new mentor and leave all thoughts of love and heartbreak in the past where they belong. That is, until she comes face-to-face with the man who scorned her paintings in front of her friends and family. . . her new next-door neighbor, Alasdair Kerr.
Alasdair Kerr has recently set aside his life of art and travel to return to Clafton, his family’s estate and the site of a tragic fire that claimed his cherished father’s life. Now, he’s ready to finally rebuild the home that was lost and step into his role as man of the house. But his rakish younger brother Freddie can’t seem to leave the off-limits Graddock woman alone, and his mother has brought an overbearing clergyman into their home who appears keen to fill his spot as the favored son.
Violet is determined to ignore Alasdair, which shouldn’t be hard to do considering their families have been in a long-standing feud. . . if only their attempts to end Emilia and Freddie’s secret relationship would stop bringing them together. And when new fires threaten their homes and lives, Violet and Alasdair reluctantly join forces to uncover the identity of the arsonist once and for all. But can they ignore the feelings kindling between them that are but an ember away from igniting into a full blaze?
Happy Medium
Happy Medium by Sarah Adler is $1.99! Hoping this is a lasting deal. Lara gave this one a B:
I really enjoyed my time with this book and recommend it for anyone who enjoys a contemporary with a touch of the paranormal and a big dose of growth.
“A sincere and sincerely funny romance.”—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House
A clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property’s resident real-life ghost if she’s to save them all from a fate worse than death, in this delightful new novel from the author of Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.
Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn is happy to help when her best (read: wealthiest) client hires her to investigate the unexplained phenomena preventing the sale of her bridge partner’s struggling goat farm. Gretchen may be a fraud, but she’d like to think she’s a beneficentone. So if “cleansing” the property will help a nice old man finally retire and put some much-needed cash in her pockets at the same time, who’s she to say no?
Of course, it turns out said bridge partner isn’t the kindly AARP member Gretchen imagined—Charlie Waybill is young, hot as hell, and extremely unconvinced that Gretchen can communicate with the dead. (Which, fair.) Except, to her surprise, Gretchen finds herself face-to-face with Everett: the very real, very chatty ghost that’s been wreaking havoc during every open house. And he wants her to help ensure Charlie avoids the same family curse that’s had Everett haunting Gilded Creek since the 1920s.
Now, Gretchen has one month to convince Charlie he can’t sell the property. Unfortunately, hard work and honesty seem to be the way to win over the stubborn farmer—not exactly Gretchen’s strengths. But trust isn’t the only thing growing between them, and the risk of losing Charlie to the spirit realm looms over Gretchen almost as annoyingly as Everett himself. To save the goat farm, its friendly phantom, and the man she’s beginning to love, Gretchen will need to pull off the greatest con of her life: being fully, genuinely herself.
Witch of Wild Things
Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is $1.99! This is book one in the Wild Magic series. Carrie reviewed this and it earned a B:
This book desperately needed to be streamlined, but within all the plot threads is a sharp, painful portrait of a grieving family as well as a lovely story of magic and nature. The romance is fine, especially if you like grumpy/sunshine dynamics. But Sage’s struggle to mature, to become a person who is not solely defined by her mistakes and by responsibilities she never should have had, is the real center of the story. In that light, I enjoyed the book very much.
Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.
Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.
What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.
With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.
History Lessons
History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook is $3.99! This was a debut mystery with a hint of romance. I mentioned it on Get Rec’d last August.
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.
Viola come il mare: Fanfic: Undercover
Mar. 20th, 2026 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veronyxk84 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fan_flashworksFandom: Viola come il mare (category: tv)
Author:
veronyxk84Pairing: Viola Vitale/Francesco Demir
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 100 (Ellipsus)
Spoilers/Setting: Set some time during S1.
Summary: Viola goes undercover for a fake job interview to plant a bug for Francesco.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.
Challenge: #509 - Plant
—
( READ: Undercover )
☙ ☙ ☙
Friday Videos Love Old Songs
Mar. 20th, 2026 12:00 pmsmartbitches_feed
It’s FRIDAY FRIDAY GOT TO GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!
But don’t worry, that is NOT this week’s Friday Video.
HOWEVER. This week we are talking SONGS.
Specifically, what is your earliest favorite song that you can remember?
My earliest favorite song that I heard on the radio when I was with my friends and beginning to define my own taste was very 80s: “Into the Groove” by Madonna.
I was obsessed with this stupid movie, and boy, is it dumb and mostly a way for Madonna to pose and look terminally cool. I remember dancing my arms and legs off in the front yard of the church where we were holding a car wash fundraiser. I was probably 11.
But my earliest favorite song?
“Don’t It Make my Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle
This song came out when I was about 3 or so, but it is the earliest song I remember LOVING. Full body adoration, similar to my incredible dance moves to “Into the Groove.”
What about you? What was your first favorite song? Do you remember?
Happy weekend, everybody!
A Reader’s Guide to the Omegaverse
Mar. 20th, 2026 09:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Recently in the podcast Discord community, Jfhobbit was giving a thorough and very thoughtful explanation of Omegaverse and its variations, and I asked her to expand on those thoughts for anyone who has heard of but isn’t super well-versed in Omegaverse fiction, its tropes, and its history. Plus, she offers recommendations of some of her faves.
Jfhobbit is a long-time reader, writer, and English teacher. She reads in almost every romance genre under the sun, plus Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Historical Fiction. She lives in Germany with her spouse and two very spoiled cats, and spends her time reading, playing cozy video games, and walking around her area marveling at the layers of history in the architecture. She loves all sorts of romance, from sweet contemporaries to the knottiest monster books she can find. She got into Omegaverse stories via DeviantArt and soon after KU was introduced she dove headfirst into the cornucopia of different Omegaverse takes.
An educator by training, she often finds herself in the role of teaching people about the Omegaverse and other weird and wild romance trends that they may have only vaguely heard of.
What is Omegaverse?
“Omegaverse” is an umbrella term for any setting that includes characters who have a secondary sexual distinction that influences attraction, relationship roles, and fertility compatibility. The primary sexual distinction spectrum is still male/female and the secondary spectrum is most commonly spread across the three categories of Alpha, Beta, and Omega (AKA A/B/O).
Anyone who is an Alpha can sire children.
Anyone who is an Omega can bear children, so yes, this will be talking about male pregnancy, or mpreg for short.
Betas have the potential to do both but only as determined by their primary sexual distinction (male or female), and the roles they play (or whether or not they exist in the world) vary based on fics.
Where did it come from?
Short answer, fanfic.
Longer answer: The Supernatural fandom who turned to Real Person Fiction because they desired a way to ship the two main characters without crossing the incest line + an early 2000s TV show that Jensen Ackles was in that featured heats + bad wolf science* as popularized by werewolf/wolf shifter fiction + desire for a M/M pairing to be able to have children without a third party involved = Omegaverse, which then quickly got picked up by many, many other fandoms and jumped the fanfic barrier into (mostly indie) published novels by the early 2010s.
Omegaverse stories have been a staple of AO3 and KU alike. Many people point to Bride by Ali Hazelwood as one of the first Omegaverse novels published by an established big name, but in my opinion it was actually just paranormal with knotting.
One of the best known Omegaverse authors is Kathryn Moon (Baby & the Late Night Howlers).
*Bad wolf science refers to the studies done on captive wolf populations between 1950-1980s that observed the behavior of unrelated wolves forced to exist in the same space over long periods of time, which first introduced the idea of Alpha, Beta, and Omega roles in a wolf pack. Behavioral studies done in the decades since on wild wolf populations have conclusively disproven this as being “the natural order of things.”
Terms:
Alpha
Alphas tend to be physically larger and stronger, and are often brash and aggressive, but also have very strong protective drives particularly when it comes to their mate(s). Alphas can always sire children, with female Alphas developing either an extended/engorged clitoris that functions as a cock or an Extendo-Cock that emerges from that general area when they are aroused or in a rut. Alphas often have a semi-mystical ability to use Alpha compulsion to enforce their will, usually through a mixture of pheromones. Other times, they can use the same pheromones or a “purr” to comfort or calm someone down (especially a mate).
Omega
Omegas can always bear children, and are typically smaller in stature and less aggressive. Omegas are usually cast as the nurturer, homemaker, and generally submissive. How far those roles go and how much characters have to adhere to them depends on the author. Male Omegas cannot impregnate anyone. They usually experience semi-regular heats, which often triggers an Alpha’s rut.
Beta
Betas occupy the vast middle ground between the comparatively rigid Alpha and Omega roles. Some Omegaverse stories cut them out entirely, while others put them in a societal role that essentially boils down to “the ones who make sure society doesn’t come crashing down while the Alphas and Omegas fall prey to their hormones.” Often worlds will make Alphas and Omegas more rare designations, while the bulk of the population are Betas. Betas tend to be either fully infertile, or a normal amount of fertile (as opposed to Alphas and Omegas who are almost always hyperfertile during the heat/rut).
Mates/Fated Mates
This concept is not unique to the Omegaverse, but it is very prevalent in most Omegaverse stories. With the hormones and pheromones present in the A/B/O system, “mating” is often portrayed as their scents melding or matching perfectly. Generally, a person will prefer the scent of their mate over any other, and be able to smell them better than any other person they encounter.
Scent glands
The main places from which the unique personal scents are produced. These are usually located at the base of the neck and sometimes also on the inside of wrists. These are also the source of the Alpha/Omega pheromones.
Claiming Bites
Part of a mating ritual, these are specifically very deep bites over one of the scent gland locations to meld their scents and mark their claim. They are permanent and lifelong, and will scar over to be visible to others. Alphas are most likely to be the one giving the bite, though many stories have mutual biting as a key feature. A mated polycule will sometimes have multiple bites spread out across the different scent glands.
Knotting
A key feature of an Alpha’s hyperfertility. The base of the penis swells just before orgasm, and locks them together with their partner to help ensure conception. Takes between 15-45 minutes to deflate. Only Alphas can knot someone, and Omegas typically have more flexible corresponding holes to accommodate the knot. Betas can almost always take it though, albeit less easily. Alphas can sometimes knot another Alpha if the author so desires.
Heats
Heats are based on the heats that wolves or some other mammal species experience, and refer to a period of 1-5 days where Omegas are insatiably horny, specifically for Alpha knots, and experience a feverish hypersensitivity that heightens the experience to the point of pain if their needs are not met. Often depicted as Omegas being out of their minds with need, or unable to consent to anything not agreed to ahead of time with their partner.
Omegas are either only fertile during heats or are hyperfertile during heats. The amount of time between heats is usually no shorter than three months, but can be up to a year or more. Sometimes heats are only triggered by the proximity of their mate. Other times, the intensity and satisfaction of fulfillment are just heightened with a mate as opposed to a random partner.
Ruts
The corresponding heightening of fertility, sensitivity, and stamina for Alphas, almost always triggered by the proximity of an Omega in heat, especially when they are mated. Alphas will be even more aggressively protective of their partner during this time, and will usually take on a highly focused caretaking role by making sure that all partners involved eat and drink during their rare refractory periods. Occasionally, Alphas will go into rut on a semi-regular basis similar to the Omega heat cycle. Sometimes Alphas can only knot a partner during a rut, but more often they can control the knot in any sexual encounter.
Nesting
A behavior associated with Omegas, particularly those in heat or approaching a heat. They will start to build an area of soft blankets, pillows, and other comforting items that serve as their home base during a heat since their skin is often too hot and/or sensitive during a heat to handle wearing clothes.
Mpreg
Short for male pregnancy, a key feature of M/M Omegaverse stories. How that works anatomically is a hotly debated topic, and often involves anal births through a cloaca-esque mechanism. Plenty of authors have handwaved a birth canal into the perineum to avoid that. Otherwise, mpreg typically progresses the same way all pregnancies do, unless you have a shifter story where the gestation times are adjusted for verisimilitude…because that’s clearly a primary concern here.
Why did it skyrocket in popularity?
This one is harder to answer, but my personal theory is that people tend to like things that mirror the strictures of the roles they’re forced into but with some extra bonuses. These roles both define the society of the world and allow for ways to explore different dynamics between partners. Theoretically, the protective instincts of the Alphas are a guarantee against intimate partner violence, which can also be played up as a story point.
Socially, Alphas are typically the ones in positions of power, and their Alpha status is used as a reason why they’re better than Betas or Omegas. A/B/O designation, more than gender, is used to determine how characters are viewed by society and the jobs and social roles they are considered for, opening the door for people to write people in roles that might seem out of the ordinary to the reader.
Men who are omegas are put automatically into caretaker roles, women who are alphas gravitate towards high-powered business or military positions, betas try to find the middle ground somewhere between those two. And similarly, they are looked down upon for trying to find jobs outside of the norm. A male alpha working at a daycare would be notable. A male omega scientist or politician is sneered at. It shines a light on how gender still plays such an outsized role in how we perceive how qualified a person is for a career.
Perhaps most importantly, Omegaverse presents a new way to have sex and often leans into so-called “primal” instincts, where the characters shake off the inhibitions of modern life to bow to their biology.
FAQs:
Do all Omegaverse stories feature all these elements?
Not at all. These are the broadest of broad generalizations. Basically every author will have their own take on how this system works, and lore for how it came into existence. Often, you will find a brief note about how their particular system works as a foreword in books, or in the Notes of fics. Other times, they will just explain it all through world building. A lot of times the elements authors use in their particular flavor of Omegaverse are tailored to the other tropes or kinks that exist in the story.
Is Omegaverse always shifters?
No, though many are. But it has expanded far beyond that and can be found in everything from fantasy/sci-fi to modern AU to post-apocalyptic settings.
Is Omegaverse always focused on the procreation goals of the system?
Not always. The concept of birth control exists in many Omegaverse stories. There are also medications known as heat blockers or heat suppressants that function as a way to minimize disruptions.
Is there Omegaverse Lite?
Yes. Omegaverse as a concept has been used by so many different authors across fandoms and genres that the variations are bordering on infinite. Omegaverse Lite is my term for stories (often contemporary AUs) that use the Alpha and Omega role to indicate biology and sexual preferences, but otherwise don’t use many of the more “extreme” things like heats, fated mates, claiming bites, and extreme social roles.
Wasn’t there a lawsuit about this in the news a while back?
Yes, and it was more than a little ridiculous. You can learn more about it in this excellent video by Lindsey Ellis.
How common are female Alphas?
Sadly, they’re not very common. Some stories feature them as background characters, with their existence mentioned, but the stories that feature female alphas are thin on the ground. There are more now, particularly with F/F pairings written by sapphic authors. Heterosexual female alpha stories are probably the least common of the whole subgenre.
Doesn’t this system create some serious consent issues?
It absolutely can, especially when writing heats where the Omega is very needy. How icky that feels to you depends deeply on both your personal preferences and on how the author handles it. Many authors will include a conversation before the heat takes over with boundaries being set ahead of time. Others feature Alphas who are just so protective that the idea of hurting their partner/mate is anathema to them. And some stories on the darker side will lean into the dubious consent or blow straight past the dubious and go right to noncon.
Sources/Further information:
- Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs by L. David Mech (PDF)
- Fated Mates podcast: “Omegaversity”
And, one of my favorite posts:
Do you have any recommendations?
Yes! A few of my favorities are already featured above, but here is a handy list.
Authors I’ve read with Omegaverse concepts I like:
Nora Phoenix – Alpha’s Sacrifice (Irresistible Omegas #1, my top favorite Omegaverse series bar none)
Susi Hawke:
The Pumpkin Spiced Omega (The Hollydale Omega #1, Omegaverse lite)
The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1, shifter romance)
Grabbed (Team A.L.P.H.A. #1, collab with Crista Crown)
L.L. Raand – The Midnight Hunt (Midnight Hunters #1, not strictly Omegaverse but it has a rare female alpha)
Crista Crown:
Pride and Pregnancy (mpreg Pride and Prejudice remix)
Freedom for His Omega (The Outcast Chronicles #1, collab with Harper B. Cole)
Vera Valentine – Planet Oster: Fertility Fusion
Lily X (sapphic Omegaverse author):
Let Me Be Yours (Seventh Star #1)
Ice Queen Alpha
Lexa Luthor (sapphic Omegaverse author) – The Iron Edge
Amy Bellows – A Pebble for Lewis (Alaskan Pebble Gifters #1)
Lorelei M. Hart – The Grumpy Grizzly’s Omega (Mail-Order Mates #1)
Anna Wineheart – Weight of Everything (Meadow Street Brothers #1)
Thank you JFHobbit!
What about you? Are you an Omegaverse fan? What are your favorite recs?
The Professionals: Fanfiction: Wondering Why?
Mar. 20th, 2026 02:07 pmlucy_roman posting in fan_flashworksAuthor:
lucy_romanRating: Teen and up
Summary: Spoilers for the episode Spy Probe. Doyle wonders where he went wrong.
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Word Count: 200
( Wondering Why? )
NCT Wish: Fanfic: the garden, as I grew
Mar. 20th, 2026 08:50 ambluedreaming posting in fan_flashworksMods please use the f: kpop rpf (category) tag
Rating: T
Length: 100 words
Content notes: cute anthropomorphic veggies or surrealist horror, take your pick
Author notes: The title is from THE FINAL FUTURE by Kim Yideum (translation credit missing).
Summary: Gardening is fun.
(other rambling notes)
I originally was going to use axe instead of shovel but I wasn’t sure if that was too horror? But with such a short story, horror can everything so maybe this is worse? Anyway, it’s funny because the Wishies are so cute (or rather, intentionally kawaii aesthetic) with Wichu and everything else so little cabbages both makes perfect sense on a cute level, but of course anything cute can be horror too when you look at it from the other side 😂( Read more... )
Torchwood: Fanfic: False trail
Mar. 20th, 2026 07:48 pmm_findlow posting in fan_flashworksFandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 915 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 509 - Plant
Summary: Jack knew there was a reason why everything felt slightly off.
( Read more... )
710. Writing Characters with Chronic Illness (Plus Restaurant Recs!!) with Riss M. Neilson
Mar. 20th, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feedThere is so much to discuss in this book: we talk about characters with chronic illnesses like endometriosis, or mental illnesses like OCD. We talk about the astrology of her characters and what insights she can gain from their charts, and then, she gives us a list of restaurants to try if we’re ever in Providence, Rhode Island. And Riss even expands my theory about which foods are the universal expression of human love.
Listen to the podcast →Read the transcript →
Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:
You can find Riss M. Neilson on her website, RissMNeilson.com, Substack, and on Instagram.
We also mentioned:
- “I was Prince’s Private Chef” – The Iconic Prince
- Episode 690. Disability in Romance with Lux Raven
- Ivy Wolk Reacts to Viral Selena Pictures – Reddit
And if you’re in Providence, Rhode Island, Riss recommends:
- Carolina’s Family Restaurant – Dominican cuisine
- Cap’t Loui – Seafood
- Ebisu – Ramen
- Ten Prime Steak and Sushi – don’t miss the bread pudding
- Baja’s Restaurant – fresh Mexican buffet
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.
Thanks to our sponsors:
More ways to sponsor:
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
Podcast Sponsor
Support for this episode comes from Savage Bonds, book two in the Shadowmist Pack series by Evie Mitchell!
If you are looking for a body-positive slow burn romance with very spicy scenes, knotting, an emotional support glory hole, and shared psychic orgasms, listen up.
A gritty, paranormal shifter romance, Savage Bonds follows Lithia, the first female Beta of the Shadowmist Pack, after she is betrayed and imprisoned in a silver-lined torture facility.
Her only lifeline is a voice from the next cell: Kier, a nomad who has been held in isolation for three years. His sanity has been eroded after years of psychic assault, but when he connects with Lithia though a small hole in their shared prison wall, he finds an ally, and a reason to endure.
Together, they must navigate a brutal escape through a burning wilderness to the safety of her pack. And as the pack prepares to dismantle the organisation that imprisoned them, Lithia and Kier must decide if they are brave enough to claim a future built on more than just shared trauma.
While Savage Bonds is the second in the Shadowmist Pack series, it can be read as a near-standalone. One reviewer on Goodreads says, “I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series! Lithia is my favorite. She’s such a baddie and I love her for it! The world building in this one is awesome too. If you like werewolf romance, this series is for you.”
And I think you need to know about the dedication from author E.V. Mitchell:
To the readers who saw a hole in a prison wall and immediately thought, “…yeah, I’d fist that.” You brave, horny disasters. You trauma-bonded, violence-inclined little gremlins. This book is for you.
Savage Bonds and the Shadowmist Pack series by E.V. Mitchell are available now in Kindle Unlimited, and in print on the author’s website, or in your local library – woohoo! Audiobooks are coming soon.
Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.
Daily Happiness
Mar. 19th, 2026 08:30 pmtorachan2. It was so hot today I could barely take a half mile walk today at lunch, but I did stop and get a delicious teriyaki beef sandwich and freshly made lilikoi malasada while I was out.
3. Chloe really loves relaxing on Carla's bed, especially on the top half. She's got this nice window there, too.
[ SECRET POST #7013 ]
Mar. 19th, 2026 06:55 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #7013 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 07 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1001.
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.
Gothic Fantasy, New Adult Romance, & More
Mar. 19th, 2026 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedHeir
RECOMMEDED: Heir by Sabaa Tahir is $1.99! We ran a guest review by Crystal Anne and she gave it an A:
This book is excellent, which is not a surprise, given that Tahir is an excellent writer. It would have been more surprising if it wasn’t.
But the more important thing to me is that this book was the right book at the right time, and it was there when I needed it to be. I dearly hope it could be that for others, because I know that right now, a lot of us need that, and we’re going to need it for a long time to come.
Prepare for a ruthless and romantic new fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author Sabaa Tahir that introduces a new generation of characters set in the same world as the unforgettable An Ember in the Ashes series.
An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.
Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.
Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she’s willing to give up.
QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he’s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.
Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives—and their hearts. Literally.
House of the Beast
House of the Beast by Michelle Wong is $1.99! I mentioned this on Hide Your Wallet and even purchased a physical copy. It’s currently resting atop TBR mountain.
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.
Good Girl Complex
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy is $2.99! I mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet, as I was a fan of Kennedy’s early new adult romances. Did any one you read this one?
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozarkis is $1.99! Rozarkis’s debut Dreadful comes highly recommended. This sophomore novel released last spring.
From the NYT-bestselling author of Dreadful, Big Little Lies goes to magic school, cozy fantasy perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater and Heather Fawcett. Featuring orange sprayed and stencilled edges, with magic symbols, unicorns and baked goods from the book.
Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.
When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys, and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.
As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors to demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society—shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.
And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…
How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin
Mar. 19th, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
C-
How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days
by Sophie Irwin
July 31, 2025 · HarperCollins
Historical: European
I got my hopes up too high for this novel. Strategic fail. You see, I had been trying to find a copy for review purposes for months, but it was never available in South Africa. When the book finally was available, I grabbed it with both hands. It’s a rare book that can live up to months and months of anticipation and sadly this one did not.
Lydia is rich thanks to the wool processing factories her family owns. Her social climbing aunt and uncle force her into an engagement with Ashford, who will become a duke when his father dies. They’re keeping the engagement a secret until the ball that will be held at his cousin’s house party. Then the duke will make the big announcement. Lydia decides that the only way out of this engagement is for him to jilt her so she decides to be terrible for the duration of the house party.
Disclaimer: I last watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days when it was first released in 2003. I remember precisely none of the plot. This story is inspired by the movie’s plot, but for the purposes of this review, I’m pretending I’ve never even heard of the movie (because I remember none of it)
The first 30% of the book was torture for me. One of the primary reasons I don’t watch reality TV is because I am extraordinarily sensitive to secondhand embarrassment. Lydia makes a scene, makes a fool of herself, insults people around her with her rude behaviour. It’s awful. The only thing that made it bearable was that she had a moment or two of feeling bad about how her behaviour made others feel. Not enough to curb her actions mind you.
Í will say that a lot of her actions are centred around playing up the ‘new money’ caricatures that people assume she’ll fulfill. So she’s not, like, telling people they’re assholes. But you do see the strain that it puts on the hostess to always be smoothing over waters that have been troubled by Lydia’s behaviour.
Eventually, Ashford cottons on to Lydia’s scheme and the two then engage in bickering and childish schemes to make the other look bad. Some of this is enjoyable, but mostly it’s just tiresome. This might be a me problem. I have no appetite for pranks.
Finally, they start to really talk to each other like human beings and those parts are delightful! I wish they took up more real estate in the book.
The lack of historical detail bothered me. As with many historicals there is blithe disregard for any of the less salubrious parts of that time period. These people are rich because they exploit poor people across the globe. Sometimes in books I can stomach that erasure, but I couldn’t in this one, maybe because they already included unpleasant things (see CW).
Mention is made of the Dutch East India Company and of one of the characters becoming a colonial governor of Mauritius and one of the characters ‘getting’ jewels from India. The mention without context or awareness decreased my enjoyment because each example is steeped in hideous context, but all of that context is ignored. The easy excuse would be that ‘the characters wouldn’t be thinking about all that,’ and because one cannot prove or disprove awareness, I disregard that argument. By mentioning specificities like the above, the book is forcing me to confront the source of this wealth, one that I know is appalling. The characters may be blithe about it, but I am not. Context, and the lack thereof, matters. And so the cruel machinery of commerce and the colonialist state are mentioned but not explored in any meaningful way, and I am left thinking about it while the characters dance and sparkle. Anyway, I digress.
My chief complaint is around the ending. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that it’s a HFN, but for more detail on why that bothered me, click below.
At the end of the ten days, just before the engagement is to be announced, Ashford jilts Lydia. I got the impression that Lydia had been hoping for the engagement to be announced. It wasn’t explicitly stated that Lydia had changed her mind and did, in fact, want to be engaged to Ashford for real, but based on her heartbreak when he jilts her, it was what she wanted after all.
Ten days later, Ashford finds Lydia and asks if he can court her. Lydia is furious. She had just been starting to feel better and he reentered the picture.
I don’t know about you but if it takes me only 10 days to get over a relationship that I had potentially wanted to continue for my entire life, I can’t have been that interested in the first place. Lydia then pipes up during this conversation saying that she doesn’t know if she wants to be a duchess. First time that’s been mentioned and it’s on the second last page of the book. So they agree to court for today and perhaps tomorrow and then they’ll just play it by ear.
HUH? I can’t with these shifting goalposts.
I can’t give this book too poor a grade because I did, in fact, want to finish it. It left me disappointed and it irritated me but I wanted to see how it ended. I can’t say I recommend this book to the Bitchery. Maybe if I hadn’t anticipated this book so hotly, I would appreciate it more. But no, it’s not for me.
Plant: Photos: Original: Umbrella Plant
Mar. 19th, 2026 02:59 pmsmallhobbit posting in fan_flashworksFandom: Original
Rating: G
Length: 5 photos and some text
Summary: Like its owners, our umbrella plant is unconventional
( Umbrella Plant )
Bucky Barnes | Aromantic Bucky Barnes presents: Aromantic Bucky Barnes Fest (2026)
Mar. 19th, 2026 09:17 pmThe Rec League: Academic Romances for Grown Ups
Mar. 19th, 2026 09:00 amsmartbitches_feed
This Rec League is from PamG, who is looking for some competence porn in academic settings:
I don’t know if this is appropriate for a Rec League, but I have a rather persnickety request. I really like books set in academia, but I have problems with student/professor match-ups. The issue isn’t necessarily the relationship if it’s consensual and the author addresses the power (or age) imbalance between student and teacher in a serious way. However, I really have an issue with the following things:
1) Grown assed adults who cannot keep their pants on for a lousy semester when the wellbeing of their career and/or lover is at stake,
2) Draconian HR or fraternization policies used to threaten “true love” and imply that protecting students is somehow unfair or unnecessary,
3) Protagonists who lie primarily to protect their own interests,
4) Academic environments that seem unrelated to reality.
To sum up, I like protagonists with some self-control, common sense, and a modicum of integrity. I like fictional higher education that feels authentic and has reasonable and realistic policies and procedures regarding student/teacher relationships.
Maybe there are no books with this trope that will ever satisfy me, but also, maybe there are readers who have found some decent books with this trope. I would really love to find something where the professor in this situation is a woman.
Sarah: Celia Lake, 10000% I can hear Catherine hollering from the great library in the sky. She LOVED Celia Lake’s books and they’re full of grown ass adults who are thoughtful and mature, and Eclipse is set at Schola, one of the institutions of magic in that world. There are several series, too.
The Academy of the Dead by Vermilion H. Baine ( A ) might also fit – they’re necromancers trying to decipher a page from a dangerous book.
Amanda: Regardless of the request, The Academy of the Dead sounds fun, so I bought it. Whoops!
What books would you recommend? Drop them in the comments!
Daily Happiness
Mar. 18th, 2026 09:43 pmtorachan2. Tomorrow I have a lot of meetings, but the first one isn't until 11, so I'm going to take my time in the morning to make up for how long today felt (I didn't even get home until after seven, and I left around 8:30 this morning).
3. Carla and I are not fans of the warm weather, but the cats sure love having the front windows open.
Water the Roses - Flavor Foley: Fanart: stuck within my head
Mar. 18th, 2026 09:12 pmx95 posting in fan_flashworksFandom: Water the Roses by Flavor Foley
Rating: G
Content notes: Embedded images. Bright colors were utilized, which may cause eyestrain.
Artist notes: Drawn with Krita, page/canvas templates via Electric Zine Maker. Drawn in around an hour, mainly to practice using the convert (linework) to alpha color filter. Title is derived from the song lyrics.
Summary: Fanart of the GUMI design from Flavor Foley's song, Water the Roses.
Challenge: 509 - Plant
( stuck within my head )