I’m really pleased to be here today to recommend some books for the less unique to you prompts (and the universal ones) on our #SpringIntoLoveBingo board! I hope these recommendations may help you as you read for the next three months! (Or in general if you just happen to love one of these prompts!)

Row One

Prompt: Set in the Southern Hemisphere

While you can read any Therese Beharrie book because they’re all* set in South Africa, I’ve shared two of my personal favorites here, One Last Chance and A Marriage Worth Saving. If you like a marriage in trouble story, read both of these. Just saying. And then, y’all already know Nalini Singh is my favorite author, and Cherish Hard and Rebel Hard are both very much standalones that you could pick up with no other knowledge of Nalini’s contemporary worlds and hopefully fall in love with them and then read the rest of the… Idk what the series is called. Anyway, just read these. Oh, they’re set in New Zealand. Then finally, we have Whiteout by Adriana Anders, which is mostly set in Antarctica, which is a very interesting setting. If a survival sounds good to you, I would recommend.

*All that I’ve read and as far as I know. 🙂

Prompt: Smuggling

Other than White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter, these books are all historical. If anyone has other contemporary smuggling books, please let me know. I would recommend all of these though, obviously, and have ARC reviews of three of them, which I will link below.

• A Turn of the Tide by Kelley Armstrong
• The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles (ARC Review forthcoming)
• A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman

Prompt: No Wedding

These five books are all ones I would highly recommend. While none of them have a wedding and kids ending, I wouldn’t say that they are all books where that isn’t something in the future for these couples. If you want something where that is definitely not in the cards… Erm. Well, you may have to ask someone else because my mind is blank. (I had to pull out my yellow/orange stack of physical books to get you this list.)

Prompt: Competence Porn

These are all characters who are competent in different ways, but all five are really great and I highly recommend each of them.

Prompt: Scandal

I went with three books where the word “scandal” actually appears and then two books that just involve a scandal. Feel free to take this whatever direction you feel, but I five starred all five of these books.

Row Two

Prompt: Yearning

I went with four books that have a bit of pining, though Take the Lead also has the actual word yearning in the book as well.

Prompt: Enchanted

So, the first two books are self-explanatory. The Chocolate Kiss by Laura Florand is one I picked because of the absolutely brilliant hot chocolate “wishes.” I love this book. And then Midnight Duet and Kiss Her Once for Me both encompass “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift vibes with the immediate intrigue and “please don’t be in love with someone else” vibes. And the way that works in Kiss Her Once for Me is honestly amusing me.

Prompt: Mental Health Representation

I love this prompt so much and I have books that I’ve definitely talked about multiple times to tell you about. Please share with me your favorite mental health rep books!

• Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter – anxiety
• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan – depression
• The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary – eating disorder (maintaining recovery)
• Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai – panic attacks
• The Wedding Ringer by Kerry Rea – depression/anxiety

Prompt: Meddling

Honestly, all of these books are great and have really fun meddling of different kinds. Part of Your World has a town that meddles, like the literal town entity basically. Amazing. A Proposal They Can’t Refuse and Terms and Conditions have meddling grandparents. Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison has meddling townspeople and Built to Last by Erin Hahn has some Hollywood style meddling.

Row Three

Prompt: Food Word in the Title

I fully support an expansive view of this prompt if you need to, hence my inclusion of the word “sweet.” That said, if you haven’t already tried Laura Florand, I am begging you to give her books a try! They’re so wonderful. Also, I decided that food word and drink words are basically the same, hence whiskey. Just have fun with this prompt!!

Other than Food Word in the Title, I feel quite confident y’all likely have books on your TBR that would fit the other prompts, particularly since some of them are so personal to you! That said, if you need suggestions for green books, let me know!

Row Four

Prompt: Spring Debut

All of these books are the author’s first book or adult debut and were all published in North American Spring. Most likely you can find a bajillion others if you don’t want to pick up a 2023 Spring Debut! If you are looking to read a Spring Debut, look back at my TBR if you need some ideas.

Prompt: Learn Some History

These books all taught me something about a part of history I didn’t know a ton about and I would definitely recommend each of them.

Note: The other three prompts in this row are either ones I think you can definitely find easily or ones that are personal to you.

Row Five

Prompt: Anti-Hero

These books range from being actual anti-hero behavior (like in another book they would be the villain) to feeling like “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me.” And they’re all books I’ve read this year.

Prompt: Queer Small Town Romance

Hi, these books are great and I would highly recommend you read them all. But also, please recommend me all of your favorite Queer small town romances.

Prompt: No Third Act Break Up

I’m going to be honest with you all. I know that I read books that fit this prompt, but I wound up returning to the Goodreads list I referenced in my TBR post and asking Aarya and Dani for assistance. Aarya recommended both The Secret Life of Country Gentlemen (which I literally just read so should have thought of) and The Playing Game by Ainsley Booth. The only one I knew off the top of my head was Courtney Milan’s, so as for the other two, I really liked them both, but my memory is awful. Per the list, they qualify.

Prompt: Starchy

So, technically, I haven’t even finished Hotel of Secrets quite yet, but a) I’m loving it and b) I assure you starchy does apply. Also, here’s a Goodreads list I used to refresh my memory called Starchy Hero Gets Un-Starched and shout out to Aarya for reminding me of He’s Come Undone and Her Best Worst Mistake.

If you still need some help finding books to fit some prompts, feel free to reach out on Twitter! Or Instagram.

xx