firewhiskeyreader

So, y’all may not know that I’ve been playing The Ripped Bodice’s Summer Bingo Board because I didn’t actually make a specific post about it. But for the first time since they started, I’ve actually been really successful and only have three squares to go as of August 20th at 4:18 pm EST. So fingers crossed I get through those last three squares! Anyway, that was a long intro to get to my point, which is that I was having a lot of fun with this and wanted someone else to make me one for Fall. But Dani convinced me that we could do it and then I asked my sister, very nicely, if she would illustrate our board for us. And because she’s a gem, she did! I’m so excited to show you what we’ve made!

Real quick, some other things you might want to know is that we plan to use this board from September 1st through November 30th. We want to encourage you all to read diversely, keeping in mind that Latinx Heritage Month is from September 15th to October 15th and November is Native American Heritage Month. Additionally, please use this in conjunction with any other readathons you’re participating in. For example, I’m really excited about Latinx Book Bingo! And now I want to provide y’all with some recommendations. Since there are 25 prompts, I’m not really going to give you too much of a description and I’ll just go ahead and link to Goodreads so you can easily find more information! (If there is a star beside a book, it means it’s one of my TBR books not a book I’ve read quite yet.)

Makes You Hungry

• American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera
• Marriage by Arrangement by Sophia Singh Sasson
• Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (for real, have either cake or pie on hand OR all the ingredients you need to make them)
• Small Change by Roan Parrish
• The Opposite of You by Rachel Higginson
• The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

Pining

• Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai
• Heartland by Sarina Bowen
• The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite
• The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron
• Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian
• Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath

Black Love

Quick reminder that Black Love specifically means that both or all members of a couple/throuple/menage are Black and that it’s written by a Black author.

• A Cowboy to Remember and (I think) If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon
• A Reunion of Rivals by Reese Ryan
• Forbidden Promises and Scandalous Secrets by Synithia Williams
• Go Deep by Rilzy Adams (will I ever stop talking about this book? NO)
• One Last Chance by Therese Beharrie
• Whispers of Shadow & Flame and Cry of Metal & Bone by L. Penelope

Non-Regency Historical

• Destiny’s Embrace, Destiny’s Surrender, and Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins
• An Extraordinary Union, A Hope Divided, and An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole
• The Rogue of Fifth Avenue, The Prince of Broadway, and The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe
• A Summer for Scandal by Lydia San Andres*
• The Flapper’s Fake Fiancé by Lauri Robinson*
• Pharaoh’s Bed by Mukami Ngari*

Set in Another World

• Consortium Rebellion trilogy by Jessie Mihalik
• Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha
• Earthsinger Chronicles by L. Penelope
• A Gathering of Dragons Series by Milla Vane
• Psy-Changeling/Trinity Series by Nalini Singh (I mean, how can I not make this rec???)
• Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews (Again… You knew it was coming.)

Somewhere You’ve Never Been

I can’t really provide you with recommendations because I don’t know where you’ve been. But I hope you come up with some really fun books for this prompt! I love traveling to places I’ve never been in books. Currently, the place I most want to go is Toronto because of Jackie Lau and Farah Heron!

Hockey Romance

• Good Guy by Kate Meader
• Hearts on Ice by Janae Keys*
• Him and Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
• My Fair Puck Bunny by Xavier Neal*
• The Nordic Lightning by Camilla Stevens*
• Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

Older Heroine

• 40-Love by Olivia Dade
• A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha Harrison*
• Gray Hair, Don’t Care by Karen Booth* (out 2/8/21 but mostly I just want you to go see the cover if you haven’t yet!)
• Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan
• New Girl in Town by Rebel Carter*
• The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

Librarian/Bookseller Main Character

• American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera
• Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
• Desire and the Deep Blue Sea by Olivia Dade
• Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon*
• Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh
• This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan

Banter

• A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
• I Think I Might Want You by Christina C. Jones
• Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan

New to You Author

Let’s talk about some debuts from this year:

• Just a Heartbeat Away by Cara Bastone
• One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London (straddles WF line hard)
• The Roommate by Rosie Danan* (out 9/15)
• Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
• Temporary Wife Temptation by Jacyi Lee (the follow up, Secret Crush Seduction* is out 9/1)
• The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel*
• Written in the Stars by Alexandra Bellefleur (out 11/10)

Royalty

• How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole if you’ve been blessed with an ARC, but otherwise, A Princess in Theory, A Duke by Default, or A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
• A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday* (out 9/15)
• The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert
• The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman*
• Princess of Estoria by Delaney Diamond*

HEA

Whatever you want! This is your free space. Have so much fun!

Series Following a Big Family

• Hard Play series by Nalini Singh (plus, Rock Hard)
• True North series by Sarina Bowen
• Christina C. Jones has The Wright Brothers whose cousins are in the Love Sisters
• Bourbon Brothers series by Reese Ryan
• Malory-Anderson Family by Johanna Lindsey (Old School)
• The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas

Crafts or Puzzles

• Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
• Duchess by Design by Maya Rodale*
• Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman
• The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar*
• Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim*
• The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
• The Craft of Love by EE Ottoman*

A Beautiful Outfit

Beauty is entirely subjective and I think you will have an easy time with this, so all I will say is that I asked Sarah to draw a dress that looked something like the one on the cover of The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe, which is one of my favorite outfits!

Grumpy & Sunshine

• The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai (my loves!)
• Act Like It by Lucy Parker
• Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (my precious loves)
• A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert (look, Talia just does this so well, okay???)
• The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
• A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane

STEM Heroine

• Trade Me by Courtney Milan
• The Boyfriend Project by Farah Rochon
• Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn
• A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
• Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions by Six de los Reyes
• The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan (or Talk Sweetly to Me)
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Twitter Rec

Another square I’m going to let you find your own way on, but the last book I picked up because of twitter specifically was Go Deep by Rilzy Adams and I have ZERO regrets.

Rainy

So I definitely just searched random books on my kindle app until I found the word rain more than once so here are a selection of unread books on my kindle that involve rain.

• How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne* (I think I’ve heard there are big CWs needed for this book, so maybe check for those)
• The Sweetest Escape by Rilzy Adams*
• Love Notes by Christina C. Jones*
• Ice Cream Lover by Jackie Lau*
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender*
• Lakota Dreaming by Constance Gillam*

Punny Title

• Do You Want to Start a Scandal? by Tessa Dare
• If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon* (out 10/27)
• All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne* (out 9/29)
• Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian
• Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter
• The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean

Quintessential Fall Activity

• Here to Stay by Adriana Herrera
• Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen
• Teach Me by Olivia Dade (because the first day back to school is a quintessential fall activity!)
• Scoring Off the Field by Naima Simone (I mean, football counts, right?)
• Love Spells for the End of the World by Alys Murray* (this sounds amazing and would also count for crafts!)
• Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade*

Pet(s)

• A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
• Better Than People by Roan Parrish
• Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
• Here to Stay by Adrana Herrera
• Just a Heartbeat Away by Cara Bastone
• Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Plus-Sized Heroine on the Cover

Quick disclaimer that I know publishing sucks and cover representation is not something authors always get to have a ton of control over. I also know this challenge might be hard if this is a type of representation you’re already seeking out. But hopefully I can provide you with at least a few options!

• 40-Love, Teach Me, & Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade* (out 10/6)
• Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
• From Scratch by Katrina Jackson
• Get a Life, Chloe Brown & Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
• Misadventures of a Curvy Girl by Sierra Simone*
• One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Romance Author Writing in a Different Genre

So, for me, I wanted this category to encompass either a romance author writing an entirely different genre or writing in a new subgenre. So here are my recommendations and some I hope to read:

• (Im)perfectly Happy by Sharina Harris
• A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
• When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole* (out 9/1)
• Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone*
• The House of the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune*
• A Duke Worth Falling For by Sarah MacLean in the Naughty Brits anthology out 9/15*
• Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
• Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert*

Alright, y’all, this was quite the lengthy post. I hope you will participate because I think these things are fun! And if you needed help picking out books, hopefully you found some that seem appealing. Let me know if you have any recommendations for me!

xx