23 January 2026 @ 07:00 am

Posted by SB Sarah

The show poster with shirtless Ilya and Shane in hockey pants and no shirts leaning in and about to kiss each otherCandy recapped Heated Rivalry, and is that enough? No, of course not. We had MANY things we wanted to exclaim at each other about, so why not podcast about it?

We’re going to talk about the show, the acting, the adaptation, and the fact that this show could never have been made in the US. Jacob Tierney is a genius, and we have many a rabbit hole of research to explore.

If you’ve been thinking about this show nonstop, come hang out.

Listen to the podcast →
Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find Candy Tan @beautifulduckweed on Bluesky and on Tumblr.

We also mentioned:

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.

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!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.
 
 
 
22 January 2026 @ 04:30 pm

Posted by Amanda

Libro.fm is launching an annual membership for audiobook fans looking for alternatives. The annual plan offers 12 credits up front, plus 30% off additional purchases including sales titles, and access to members-only sales, too. For a limited time, if you sign up now, you’ll receive a 13th credit free!

Big plus: when you register for Libro.fm, you can direct a portion of your purchase to a local independent bookshop.

The Roommate

RECOMMENDED: The Roommate by Rosie Danan is $2.99! I liked this one and gave it a B+. Ellen also read the follow-up and gave that on a similar grade.

House Rules:
Do your own dishes
Knock before entering the bathroom
Never look up your roommate online

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet…

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi is $2.99! This came out last March and was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet. Scalzi always comes up with some fun plots. Did any of you read this one?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Starter Villain comes an entirely serious take on a distinctly unserious subject: what would really happen if suddenly the moon were replaced by a giant wheel of cheese.

It’s a whole new moooooon.

One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters — schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians — as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Heiress Gets a Duke

RECOMMENDED: The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George is $1.99! Yes, yes, the names have already been debated in the comments of previous sales and the book review. I’m not much of a historical romance reader these days, but enjoyed this one:

I was charmed by this book. Completely.

Even a fortune forged in railroads and steel can’t buy entrance into the upper echelons of Victorian high society—for that you need a marriage of convenience.

American heiress August Crenshaw has aspirations. But unlike her peers, it isn’t some stuffy British Lord she wants wrapped around her finger—it’s Crenshaw Iron Works, the family business. When it’s clear that August’s outrageously progressive ways render her unsuitible for a respectable match, her parents offer up her younger sister to the highest entitled bidder instead. This simply will not do. August refuses to leave her sister to the mercy of a loveless marriage.

Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, has no intention of walking away from the marriage. He’s recently inherited the title only to find his coffers empty, and with countless lives depending on him, he can’t walk away from the fortune a Crenshaw heiress would bring him. But after meeting her fiery sister, he realizes Violet isn’t the heiress he wants. He wants August, and he always gets what he wants.

But August won’t go peacefully to her fate. She decides to show Rothschild that she’s no typical London wallflower. Little does she realize that every stunt she pulls to make him call off the wedding only makes him like her even more.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Build-a-Boyfriend Project

The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver is $1.99! Dahlia picked this one for her August 2025 Queer Romance Roundup. She mentioned that this is Deaver’s adult debut.

Bestselling and award-winning author Mason Deaver’s adult romance debut follows a journalist in a dead-end job who agrees to teach his disastrous blind date how to be a better boyfriend. Readers will delight in this sweet and steamy queer romance with trans representation!

Eli Francis is stuck. Stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer. Stuck with a boss who dangles a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Stuck working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving up at work…or moving on.

When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park. Tall, handsome, and unbelievably awkward. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it.

But Eli has other ideas…Eli plays along, pretending to write the article, while secretly interviewing Peter about growing up queer in the South and coming-of-age dating wise in adulthood. Eli hopes writing this sort of piece will finally get him the promotion he deserves. And in exchange, he will teach Peter how to be a better boyfriend.

But the more time Eli spends with Peter, the closer they become, and the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur. Before long Eli is forced to face his greatest fears to become the writer he wants to be and secure the love he’s always needed.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

 
 
 
Title: Overlap
Author: soricel/freevistas
Fandom: Sense8
Pairing/Characters: Nomi Marks & Lito Rodriguez
Rating/Category: G
Prompt: Closeness

On AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/78102826

 

Read more... )

 

 
 
 
Characters can only choose from the phrases available on their device:
Top
1. You're so good for me / 2. You were born for this ...
Bottom
Press here for: needy noise / keening / stutter pleading

What happens if you mash the keyboard?

"Ffjodbvsiej," the slighter man mewled.


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22 January 2026 @ 07:00 am

Posted by SB Sarah

A stack of books with an ereader on top with the words Classic Romance Which One First written on the screenBack by popular demand, it’s Which One First,  where we recommend where new readers should start with an author’s considerable backlist.

And also by request: it’s Which One First? Alice Coldbreath Edition!

Alice Coldbreath, if you aren’t familiar, is a massively popular author of historical romances, specifically medievals and some Victorian stories.

I love the entire existence of Coldbreath’s career. In a time where historical romance is not as dominant as it once was, and the more popular genres in romance are contemporary and Rrrrrrrrrromantasy, Alice Coldbreath is killing it writing medievals. Medievals! A subgenre of romance I hadn’t thought of until Coldbreath started dominating Reddit threads. I love this. I love it so much. It’s so great!

I also love her “about” page on her website: a portrait of (I presume) Alice herself with a very handsome dog, done in a medieval style.

And, after a three sentence bio, the page reads:

Alice Coldbreath’s books promise you…

    • A guaranteed Happily Ever After for the hero and heroine.
    • Categorically NO cheating by the central characters within their pages.
    • To be stand-alone romances that will never end on a cliff-hanger or require the purchase of another book to complete the central story.

Reader warning, Alice Coldbreath’s books also contain:

    • ​Jealous heroes
    • Strong language.
    • Scenes of a sexual nature.

 

I kinda like this forthright authorial guarantee. It’s very satisfying!

Lara has reviewed Wed by Proxy and gave it an A, in part because she loved how the book gave her the flavor of “tempestuous novels with slammed doors and groveling and intense feelings” (a la Jilly Cooper) but didn’t “make me cringe or rage because of dubious consent, controlling behaviour, and the like.” Lara also loved An Inconvenient Vow, and gave it an A-.

Love Potion for the Alpha
A | BN | K | AB
But where do you think a new reader should start with Coldbreath’s novels?

She has, if I understand correctly, three main groups of novels:

  • medievals set in the fictional kingdom of Karadok
  • Victorian novels set in the actual-factual Victorian era in England
  • And! A paranormal – it’s a medieval with shifters called Love Potion for the Alpha

Folks who love Coldbreath’s novels like that she writes slow burn love stories that frequently start with arranged marriages, but also feature heroes who become completely besotted with their partners. There also seem to be a lot of Deeply Shitty Parents.

With several series, it makes sense, as Lara advised when we discussed this internally, to start “at the beginning of whatever series you’re interested in. I should have started with the Vaudrey brothers series.”

Amanda says, “My first and only Coldbreath was Her Baseborn Bridegroom and I found it underwhelming, probably because I set my expectations too high. I have friends who squee about her books a lot. I think it’s a fine entry, but I don’t know if it’s the best entry, if that makes sense.”

Claudia agrees: “I started with that one too, Amanda — then never picked up more of her books.”

I personally don’t start at the beginning of a series if I don’t want to. (I realize this is truly unfathomable behavior to many of you!) I’ll start with book 6 if that’s the one I want to read.

His Forsaken Bride
A | BN | K | AB
Kiki agrees: “For the medieval inspired books, I actually think you should skip Her Baseborn Bridegroom and read His Forsaken Bride first—it’s the set up for the rest of the Karadok series and gives a better vision of the whole court, although I know some folks don’t love the hero.

“For the Victorian series, I LOVED A Substitute Wife for the Prizefighter (again, the second book in the series).”

So please help your fellow readers, Alice Coldbreath fans!  Between the Brides of Karadok series and the Victorian Prizefighter and Victorian Reversal of Fortune series, which books do you recommend a new reader start with?

And if possible, please try to explain why you’re recommending that book as a starting place. Y’all make wonderful recommendations.

 
 
21 January 2026 @ 07:00 pm

Posted by Amanda

Workspace with computer, journal, books, coffee, and glasses.Welcome back!

Firstly, thank you all for your flu commiserations! Breathing is better, but definitely not at 100%, plus a little cough as started to make an appearance.

I’m full steam ahead on cozy activities, like gaming in bed, nudging my partner to help figure out how our propane fireplace works, making warm salads like this one. (Highly recommend this whole channel for easy meals that are packed with veggies and protein.)

But my biggest gripe is that there aren’t enough hours in the day for maximum lounging and loafing. What do you mean I have to go to work and can’t just play my Switch amidst a nest of blankets?!

This link comes from EC Spurlock. It’s a pay-what-you-can fundraiser for cross stitch patterns that supports Minnesota nonprofits and mutual aid organizations.

Are you in the New England area and have no plans on February 25th? I’ll be talking with Amy Spalding about her latest release, In Her Spotlight at All She Wrote Books. Come say hi!

Lore Olympus is getting an animated show through Prime Video and the Jim Henson Company. I’m curious!

Any Dropout fans in the audience? I remember back when it was CollegeHumor and how founder Sam Reich pivoted to a wildly successful subscription model for Dropout.

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

 
 
 
21 January 2026 @ 04:30 pm

Posted by Amanda

Partners in Crime

RECOMMENDED: Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai is $1.99! Lara read this one and gave it an A- in a Lightning Review:

Because of my absolute abhorrence of a Big Misunderstanding plot, I nearly didn’t come back to this book, so if that turns you off, too, don’t make my mistake. You’ll be rewarded with a fun, emotionally nuanced, and surprising heist adventure – a very memorable one!

Indian Matchmaking meets Date Night in this fun, romantic adventure by Alisha Rai — “One of the very brightest romance writers working right now.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Mira Patel’s got a solid accounting career, good friends, and a whole lot of distance between her and her dysfunctional family. All that’s missing is a stable romantic relationship. Armed with a spreadsheet and professional help, she sets out to find her partner in only legal activities, but much to her matchmaker’s dismay, no one is quite right.

Including Naveen Desai, the very first match she unceremoniously rejected.

Lately Naveen’s been too focused on keeping his sick grandfather’s law firm afloat to think about love, and he’s stunned when Mira walks back into his life to settle her aunt’s affairs. He’s determined to keep things professional…though it’s impossible not to be intrigued by all of the secrets piling up around Mira.

If getting back together with an ex is a bad idea, getting kidnapped with one is even worse.

Suddenly, Naveen and Mira find themselves in a mad dash through Las Vegas to escape jewel thieves, evade crime bosses, and follow the clues to untangle the mess her family left behind. As her past comes back to haunt her, Mira despairs of ever finding someone who might understand her…but maybe, over the course of one wild night, she’ll find that he’s right by her side.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Conventionally Yours

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert is 99c and a KDD! This is a gay and geeky romance set at a convention (I miss those!). It was also a summer release that Elyse picked for Hide Your Wallet. Have you read this one?

When two “big name fans” go head-to-head at a convention, love isn’t the only thing at stake.

Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all…but in reality, he’s scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.

Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection…but even he can’t help but feel a little broken inside.

When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura is $1.99! I mentioned this on Get Rec’d for those who like magical realism, or who have been enjoying books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

A suspenseful magical realism novel about a mysterious teenage “Go-Between” who arranges meetings between the living and the dead, from multimillion copy Japanese bestselling author Mizuki Tsujimura.

I bring together the living and the departed. I am the Go-Between.

When a young woman from Tokyo contacts the Go-Between to request a meeting with a deceased TV star who once helped her, she doesn’t expect a teenage boy to show up. Dressed in a designer duffel coat and carrying a tattered notebook, Ayumi Shibuya, our mysterious intermediary, offers an extraordinary he reunites the living with their dearly departed. Meeting his clients at a luxury hotel, Ayumi lays down the ground each reunion is a one-time arrangement that the dead can refuse; the service is entirely free, and the meeting must take place during a full moon.

As Ayumi arranges these reunions, we encounter a resentful eldest son who wants to ask his mother to unearth the deeds to a plot of land; a teenage girl who blames herself for her best friend’s death; and a weary businessman seeking answers about his fiancée’s disappearance days after he proposed. With each rendezvous, clues begin to surface, leading readers to unravel the mystery of the boy in the duffel coat, whose own story is eventually revealed.

A runaway, multimillion copy bestseller in Japan, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is storytelling at its finest, from an international sensation whose work has been hailed as “strange and beautiful” (The Guardian). With an artful balance of heart and mystery, Mizuki Tsujimura creates an unforgettable page-turner in which the living and the dead are given one last chance for closure.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Next Year in Havana

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton is $1.99! This book has dual timelines: 2017 Miami and 1958 Havana and was mentioned in a Rec League for Dual Timeline books. Have you read this one?

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest–until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.