Hello my darling friends! I’m so pleased to bring you #SnowInLoveBingo with the help and assistance of Aarya again! (And honestly, a shout out to Jess for providing at least two of these prompts!) Oh, and thank you Canva for your services. Sorry to my sister for once again waiting until the absolute LAST minute to put this together so I couldn’t have her perfect illustrations. Regardless, let us dive into telling you all about the prompts and the books I’m hoping to read to fulfill them!
Rules: As always, we’re really just asking y’all to help us make this Bingo as accessible as possible and to that end, please capitalize the first letter in each word of the hashtag. The other accessibility feature we ask of y’all is to please use alt text whenever possible on images that you use as you participate in this Bingo. Finally, not a rule, but a definition, Black Love means a book that features Black love interests (whether two or three or however many) that is written by a Black author.
And now, let’s dive into walking through the board, shall we?
Row One
Cat on the Cover
This prompt is fairly self-explanatory, please read a book with a cat on the cover. Some of the books that I am considering for this prompt are The Ex Curse by Erin Sterling, Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare, Heartwood by J.H. Croix.
Queernorm Setting
A Queernorm Setting can be defined as “a book set in a world where queerness is normalized, accepted, and prevalent within communities. Characters are not othered, ostracized, or particularly remarkable in any way for their queerness.” (Definition taken from r/fantasy book bingo 2023.) Some books I am considering for this are A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell, and A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I’ve been meaning to read each of those books for quite some time, so maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll manage to pick up all three.
I Miss Sparkling
This prompt is frankly quite versatile, so I’m going to start with what I was thinking and then hit a couple of other interpretations I can think of. That said, you’re more than welcome to come up with other prompts! I was thinking, of course, of the song “Bejeweled” by Taylor Swift because November 24th’s performance of this song was all over my timeline when I woke up this morning. Essentially, I love books about someone leaving a toxic situation and just finding their way back to themselves. Of course, the line “I miss sparkling” isn’t necessarily about leaving something toxic, so it also works for something where a person is recovering from a depressive episode or just lost touch with something they love and now they’re finding their way back to it. But also, I’m not sure if I’m the only person who does this, but sometimes I wander away from my comfort zone in reading and then when I find my way back to it, I’m like WOW, BOOKS ARE AMAZING. (Obviously, Jenica…) Anyway, the reason I mention that interpretation is because maybe you’ve been there or you’ll experience something similar in the next few months. But also, maybe you find a book that has some sparkle to it and you want to read that. Truly, interpret this prompt how you feel. I support you!
As for me, the books that I’m considering are King of Greed by Ana Huang (if I don’t read it before December 1st), Come as You Are by Jess K Hardy, and Role Playing by Cathy Yardley. This concept is a favorite though, so if you have any of your favorites you think fit, please let me know in the comments!!
Murder
This comes from a Jess request and it made me giggle a lot. First of all, I’ve been in a romantic suspense mood so that’s where my mind went immediately, but also, how often do you hear a phrase like, “it murdered my emotions”? Also, maybe there’s a murder of crows. I mean, this can work for a few different interpretations as well and I look forward to seeing how y’all interpret it. As for me, I’m hoping to use this as a chance to get to Nalini Singh’s latest thriller, honestly, called There Should be Eight. But if I do choose to go in a romance-y direction, here are a few books I’m considering: Night Magic by Karen Robards, The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin (seriously, someone tell me why this is the 85th time I’ve put this book on a TBR without reading it???), and Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells.
Love Letters
Even though there aren’t love letters, per se, I feel like I should be able to re-read Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn for this prompt. Just saying. But realistically, while this can be about actual love letters or an epistolary novel, please keep in mind sometimes love letters can be emails! Or text messages. Get as versatile as you need. Aarya’s tentative TBR reminded me that I still need to read You with a View by Jessica Joyce and that it would work for this prompt so that’s toward the top of my list. Also on my list though are My Favorite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren, Layover by Katrina Jackson, and Big Bad Cowboy by Carly Bloom.
Row Two
Spellbinding
This is another prompt with multiple interpretations. One is, of course, that there is magic in the book. But another is that the book itself is spellbinding. It grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. For me, the perfect book for this prompt, though it would be a reread would be Nora Roberts Inheritance. That book is so engaging for me. I loved it so, so much. Anyway, some books I’m considering for this prompt are A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft because I have an ARC, A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft because I’d heard good things about this one, which is why I requested an ARC, and The Coven by Harper L. Woods. Please send any other books you think I would enjoy with magic!
Muslim Representation
Somehow I still haven’t read Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, despite enjoying Jalaluddin’s other work. I think it’s because I’m scared of Pride and Prejudice retellings because of my intense attachment to the original story. On the theme of retellings, I also have Sofia Kahn is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik, which many people have indicated gives off vibes of Bridget Jones Diary so that one is likely to work out better for me as I have no attachment to that movie. And finally, I started The Chai Factor by Farah Heron, but never finished it. I really need to go back and do that because I do like Heron’s writing quite a bit. Also, I have just discovered that I missed Jalaluddin’s 2023 release, Much Ado About Nada, so let’s add that one to the list too.
Out of Comfort Zone
I can’t answer what is out of your comfort zone for you, of course, but for me, there’s honestly a good bit. There’s dark romance, which shoves me off the ledge of my comfort zone, sci-fi romance featuring aliens, and, of course, there’s monster romance. I don’t really read any of these often, but I’ve at least dipped my toes into the first two, but so far, I have largely avoided monster romance. Maybe it’s time for that to change? The four that I have on my owned TBR are A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon, Sweet Berries by CM Nacosta, The Orc From the Office by Kate Prior, and That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming. So maybe I should finally read one of these. Maybe. We shall see.
Disability Representation
Disability Representation can be a whole host of things, including both visible and invisible disabilities. I am really, really excited to see what y’all come up with to read for this category. Some of the books on my TBR with disability representation are Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonham-Young, Love Flushed by Evie Mitchell, and If Only You by Chloe Liese.
2024 Release
I am so hopefully for 2024 releases and so excited for some that hit shelves in January, including the next book in Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series!!! But in addition, here are a few other January and February 2024 releases I’m looking forward to: Ready or Not by Cara Bastone, At First Spite by Olivia Dade, and How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly, which are all February 13th releases, and Wild Life by Opal Wei, which releases January 23rd. I’ll have a full Winter Releases I’m most looking forward to up soon as well, which will have another too many books that are on my TBR/radar.
Row Three
A Favorite’s Favorite
This is another prompt that has a few different paths to travel. One path is that you could find your favorite author’s favorite books and try one of those. Talia Hibbert usually shouts some out in her newsletter, as does Katee Robert, and several other authors. But the path that I was really thinking of is that you could read one of your favorite reviewers or content creators favorites, especially after their 2023 favorites lists are posted. The end of the year content is always my absolute, well, favorite, because I get so many great, fantastic recommendations and I just really want to be able to follow through on some of those. Now, you do not have to wait until the end of the year to fulfill this square, because if we’re being honest, most content creators are screaming about some of their favorites all the time anyway. For example, I know Mel loves Forever Your Rogue by Erin Langston so much because she just did a thread on twitter talking about re-experiencing the book via audio. And is Forever Your Rogue on my tbr already because of Mel? It sure is! So definitely check out your favorite people’s end of year posts, whether or not you save this square until then, and get those recommendations! And don’t forget to share your love for the book with them!! (If you hate it… Maybe let’s pretend you didn’t read it because of them. Lol)
Book You’re Excited About
While this can be a highly anticipated book that comes out in 2024, it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes bookish media causes a resurgance of hype for a book that came out a while ago and reinvigorates my desire to read a book. But sometimes, I’m just really looking forward to a book that is and has been sitting on my shelf that I just haven’t picked up yet. I’m currently doing that with Daisy Haites and I cannot seem to stop. I own all four books that are currently released, but can’t seem to bring myself to read book two despite being SO excited. So whatever that book is, however you want to interpret this prompt, please know I’m crossing all of my fingers that it will live up to the excitement you have for it.
Happy Holidays
This is generally our Happily Ever After square, but given how many holidays are jam packed into these next three months, we like to do a Happy Holidays prompt instead. That does not mean you’re limited to holidays occurring in December – February, of course, instead choose whatever you feel like. I also like to think that birthdays count as holidays if you would prefer to celebrate a character’s birthday. Some of the books that I have to choose from for this prompt are Wrapped in a Beau by Lillie Vale, Valentines for the Rancher by Kathy Douglass, and A Christmas Affair to Remember by Mia Vincy. Honestly, I have way more than this, but we’ll both get overwhelmed if I listed them all for you. I need to stop hoarding my holiday books, honestly.
Favorite Author
Again, a prompt I can’t help you with, but I do love this prompt. It was one of Aarya’s and it’s brilliant because you could use it to re-read or dive into a backlist title or a brand new release of one of your favorite authors. I’ve already mentioned one Nalini Singh title in this very long post, which is one I could use for this, but I could also go a different route and stop hoarding two Courtney Milan books that I now own and haven’t read. Or give up my last Talia Hibbert, which I still refused to break down and read during #FallInLoveBingo. The options are plentiful for me, is the point and I hope that they are for you as well.
Gift
I don’t know about you, but my mother refuses to buy me books for Christmas because she is adamant that is boring. For obvious reasons, I disagree profusely. But when thinking through whether or not it was okay to put this prompt on the board because not all of us are lucky enough to receive books as a gift, I decided yes, because a) many people do, b) if you didn’t, buy one for yourself or borrow it from the library and call it a gift, or c) choose a book where at some point a character receives or gives a gift. Now, as for me and what I’m thinking I’ll read, I just bought myself Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher as a gift to myself (anything purchased between now and Christmas for myself counts as a gift to myself), or my best friend finished my Taylor Jenkins Reid collection for Christmas a few years ago and I’ve been hoarding Forever, Interrupted for when I think I’m ready to cry. So probably one of those two books. (Or whatever I buy between now and Christmas because, again, anything I buy between now and then is a gift to myself.)
Row Four
Author Alliteration
This is a prompt to help you get to those authors whose first and last names start with the same letter. Some examples from my own TBR include, Delaney Diamond, Reese Ryan, Catherine Cowles, Sabrina Sol, Allison Ashley, Simone Stark, Michelle Major, Shannon Stacey, Chanel Cleeton, Jadesola James, Mimi Matthews, Sierra Simone, Sophia Singh Sasson, Mhairi McFarlane, Bethany Bennett… And the list goes on. But that seems like a solid starting point.
A Big Family
I don’t think this is the first time I’m saying this, but I really, really do love romance series that follow the kids of the same family, one person at a time. I have so many recommendations for this, but I’m struggling to come up with books on my own TBR that fall into the category, except that I believe the Mary Balogh Bedwyn series qualifies and I have Slightly Married on my shelf and have been meaning to read it for quite some time. Also, since I haven’t finished the latest Chloe Liese, that one definitely qualifies. But if I don’t feel like doing either of those, I trust that I will be able to find plenty of others that will fit the bill. Drop your own favorites down below though just in case I need help, please!!!!
Bottom of the TBR
Bottom of the TBR is for the books that just keep slipping down (and off) that priority pile, probably over and over again. The one that you aren’t uninterested enough in to get rid of, but the one that you need a little extra motivation to pick up. (Or, if you have multiple shelves of your TBR, a book off the bottom shelf would totally qualify!!) For me, given the length of my TBR, my options feel legitimately endless and if I start looking now, we’ll be here for a long time. Let’s just leave it at I have PLENTY to choose from.
Black Love
As I mentioned above, Black Love means that all love interests are Black and that the book is written by a Black author. I’ve recently picked up Leslie’s Curl and Dye by DL White, The Rival Bid by Reese Ryan, and Renovation of Love by Meka James that I believe are all Black romances and are the most recent additions to my TBR. I’d like to try out all three!
Southern Hemisphere
This is a very Northern Hemisphere seasonal bingo that we put on, so sometimes I like to just make sure the people in the Southern Hemisphere know that I haven’t forgotten that their seasons are different than ours. Some of the books on my list include One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie, Artistic License by Elle Piersen, and Pharaoh’s Bed by Mukami Ngari.
Row Five
Style
Another Jess request, style is another versatile prompt! First of all, feel free to borrow any and all lyrics from “Style” by Taylor Swift to choose your book, including but not limited to “I’ve got that good girl classic thing that you like” line, that always makes me think of the good girl/bad boy trope, which is always fun. Secondly, maybe you want to read a book about a fashion designer (The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, for example) or a book about an interior designer or stager (The Shaadi Set Up by Lillie Vale, for example). Third, maybe you just want to read a book that you feel is a classic that never goes out of style to read. And fourth, maybe you just think the book packaging is stylish. Whatever you choose, know that we support you. As for me, I’ve had Under Locke by Mariana Zapata on my TBR for literal years so that’s one of my possibilities, as are Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco and Where I Belong by J. Daniels.
Fewer than 5000 Ratings
I recently posted a list of some romance novels that came out this year that are under-hyped based on the amount of ratings they have on Goodreads. That post definitely can serve as a list of recommendations and, for that matter, my own TBR for this particular prompt on the board. But in the spirit of keeping things contained to one place, let me list a couple of books here too: Lizards Hold the Sun by Dani Trujillo, Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman, and Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian. Please always feel free to scream at me about your favorite underhyped romances because I would love to listen!
Author with Multiple Pseudonyms
As far as I’m concerned, multiple gets to mean more than one, which means if I feel like re-reading Inheritance by Nora Roberts, I totally can. But on a more serious note, here are a few authors who have more than one pen name that I am fairly certain is not a secret. Jayne Ann Krentz writes also as Amanda Quick and several other names; Noelle Adams also writes as Claire Kent; Milla Vane is the newer pen name for Meljean Brook; Zoe York also writes under Ainsley Booth (and several others); Katrina Jackson also writes erotic books under Brandy Bush; Joanna Shupe also writes as Mila Finelli. I have a couple of Meljean Brook, Katrina Jackson, and Amanda Quick titles on my TBR so they are all distinct possibilities.
Resolutions
One of my favorite things about the New Year is this idea that in the new year we can become a better version of ourselves. For me, I am terrible at sticking to a New Years resolution and honestly have more or less stopped bothering because it’s just disheartening to constantly be like, “I’m going to start [x] habit in the New Year!” and then not even do two days of it. But the reason that I wanted to include this prompt on this list is because books generally will have an inciting incident and for many characters, this involves going on a journey of personal growth in some way. For some, there’s an actual list to follow (Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, for example), but for some, it’s just, “I want to achieve this goal so I’m going to pursue it.” (Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey, for example.) But you could also use this prompt to just read a New Years Eve/Day book because that would also definitely count! If you have any books to recommend me, please drop them down below because it turns out, this is a hard prompt for me to Google.
First Fall of Snow
This is a very subtle Taylor Swift reference, just saying, which means that if a book breaks your heart like All Too Well (Ten Minute Version), you get to count it! But also, this works perfectly for any book that captures that first snowfall of the year. Preferably in terms of being magical, but also in terms of ah, darn, we’re snowed in. I mean, whatever it takes, you know? There’s snow in The Christmas Cottage by Michelle Major so I think that is the most likely candidate for me for this prompt, but who knows. We all know I never follow this tbr anyway.
Closing Thoughts
The fact that I managed to write this post from start to finish in one day is a holiday miracle in and of itself! I really hope you like these prompts, the board, and that your TBR is inspiring you. I can’t wait to see all the books that you read, and for that matter, all of the books that I will read. Wishing you the best,
xx
firewhiskeyreader 