firewhiskeyreader

Putting together this seasonal bingo truly feels like a labor of love sometimes more than others. I’ve been in such a weird headspace, which I think I’ve hammered home in my last several posts, that finding the ability to think creatively has been a challenge and I know that’s true for my sister as well, so I am so grateful she took the time to illustrate our bingo board for y’all! And as always, I’m immensely grateful to Aarya and Dani for being my co-conspirators in this endeavor.

#SnowInLoveBingo will take place from December 1st through February 28th. We do ask that if you participate and use graphics that you would kindly use alt text and make sure to capitalize each word in the hashtag to ensure accessibility. If you’re a Storygraph user and would like to participate in the reading challenge, here is the link to the challenge set up. And with that, let’s reveal the board, shall we?

Row One

Romance Classic

Listen, you can be expansive with this definition if you want or need to be. But if you want to dive into the history of the genre, there really is a lot to explore. For me, I’ve been wanting to re-read Lord of Scoundrels for such a long time and that is a book that I would consider a romance classic. I also read (re-read? Still not positive) Whitney, My Love not too long ago and that would also be a book I would consider a romance classic. If you want to go with something slightly more recent, maybe you could pick A Princess in Theory because Alyssa Cole should be considered one of the greats and I want that series to go down as a romance classic in the history books. Truly, just bend each of these prompts to suit you, unless there really is a specific definition.

Prickly

Prickly heroines are some of my favorites, but use prickly however you need to. Maybe a main character is cultivating a cactus or a prickly pear or a succulent that has prickles on it. Maybe any of the main characters are prickly as a personality trait. Maybe you’re just in a really prickly mood when you pick up the book you decide to use for this prompt. Again, be free! But also, if you do choose a book with a prickly main female character, please drop that book in my comments because I am truly always seeking those out. Thank you so much. As for me, I need to re-start and finally finish King of Sloth by Ana Huang. I know that I’m going to love this book, but for some reason, I’ve had a really hard time sinking into it so I need to just start over from the beginning and try again.

After Midnight

Again, a choose your own adventure type of prompt. Maybe you’re staying up late reading the book you slot into this spot or maybe the characters in your book are up well past their own bedtime and therefore you’re slipping that read into this slot. And then you have the “After Midnight” song from Chappell Roan that you could find a book that fits for those lyrics. Roan’s song lyrics to me represent being a woman who has decided to let go of the good girl image and just grab life by the horns, so to speak. But also, Eric Clapton has a song called “After Midnight” so you could do the same for his lyrics! Clapton’s song basically feels like a song about letting your hair down after a long night and just living life free of inhibitions, so if that’s your vibe, go for it. For me, the book I’m going to tentatively slot in here is going to be, The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce because it seems to be a book where Georgia is going to wind up letting go of her rules and hopefully going after what (who) she wants.

Wicked

Apparently my sister meant for this cute little raccoon to be for glasses not wicked, but um, well, I associate raccoons with the kind of wicked I’m going for here, which is to say, Wicked the musical. Now, could you go for one of those villainous romance interests? Yes, absolutely. Y’all who love the serial killer romances, have at it. This is your square. For those of you who are not quite ready to go down the dark romance rabbit hole, I’m thinking “Defying Gravity” or “For Good” vibes. And for that, my darling friends, I’m thinking a friends to lovers romance or a book with friendship sharing a key role. A little found family? Perfect for a romantasy, really. So as usual, I could throw out a number of books that I’m leaning toward, but I’m going to limit myself to one, A Lot Like the Sun by Riss M. Nielson, a friends to lovers, fake dating romance. It’s a debut and it sounds like it could be perfect for me, so that’s what I’m slotting in here for now. Probably should have read it during the summer though because that is when this is set, but you know, whatever. Maybe I need some summer books to balance out how early it gets dark.

Roman Empire (literal or metaphorical)

First of all, I don’t think I’ve read a single romance novel set during the Roman Empire and now I’m kind of curious. But secondly, this prompt is inspired by the fact that Gladiator II dropped like, this weekend, I think? Anyway, it’s also inspired by the trend/question, “what is your Roman Empire?” And, for me, that’s obviously Taylor Swift. I am never not thinking about her. But I also don’t think that’s me doing the trend correctly because everyone knows that about me. So if we’re talking about a Roman Empire interest that I can spin into a book prompt, it’s a re-read of Throne of Glass or Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing or maybe Boss in the Bedsheets. Those books that are never more than one thought away from my brain. The other things I’m always one thought away from thinking about are whales and whale watching, penguins (listen, I don’t know, I just find them fascinating), Italy, and generally speaking just water. So taking all of these interests into account, I think I could easily do a re-read of one of those books or I could go with a book set on/near the water like Heart Waves by Anita Kelly or The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan.

Row Two

Dreams

Another prompt that you could use in a lot of ways. For one, you could go with literal dreams. For another, you could go with metaphorical dreams. Okay, so those are the only two ways I can think of, but you get my meaning, right? I’m leaning toward Return to Cherry Blossom Way by Jeannie Chin because it’s honestly ridiculous I haven’t read the other two books in this trilogy given my love of the third book. It’s a small town North Carolina set series following three sisters and their respective love interests. In this one, it appears that our main female lead did follow her dreams, while her male love interest had to set his aside in deference to his familial obligations. I’m excited to read this one!

No Guilt, All Pleasure

I have no idea what kind of things people have tried to make you feel guilty about, but let’s be honest, we all need to carve out some time to just take care of ourselves without guilt. So whatever this prompt means for you, go for it. Also, you could use it less for you and more for the characters in your book. Maybe a forbidden love type of vibe? Whatever works for you. For me, I’m thinking a book that I have zero obligation to read, it’s just something I want to read. For example, Quicksilver by Callie Hart, which I’ve been putting off because I have so many obligation reads to pick up but I really want to read that one.

Short ‘n’ Sweet

When I decided I wanted to have this be a prompt because of my obsession with Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album, I figured I would just do a novella. The problem is, I don’t tend to love novellas. So now I’m debating between reading one of the many novellas I have or reading a book where the relationship was only meant to last for a short period of time… Options. Anyway, if I go with a novella, I’m leaning toward finally continuing in Denise Williams airport novellas with The Missed Connection. If I go with the second option that has occurred to me, I could perhaps go with Out of Office by A.H. Cunningham.

Sapphic

Sapphic, aka, women loving women, though technically, this could also apply to a bisexual woman in a relationship with a man (trans or otherwise) and I want to be clear that we are not about biphobia here. That said, I’m ashamed of myself for still not having read Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer, although I did read the first two books in the series in December/January of last year/this year so maybe this is just the best timing for me to read these books. Regardless, I have loved this series and cannot wait to finally devour this one as well.

Referential Title

By referential title, I mean a title that has taken its name directly or indirectly from a song title/lyric, movie, tv show, etc. For example, Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend is a line from the song “Dress” by Taylor Swift. Personally, because it’s an ARC, I intend to read the second book in that series, You’re the Problem, It’s You. But there are honestly so, so many books that have a referential title, so I think you’ll be fine finding one that you’ll enjoy.

Row Three

Bananas

I’m using bananas to talk about an absolutely wild plot, something out there and over the top. I said a couple weeks ago that I would like to disassociate for the next four years and for me, a bananas book is what I’m going to need to be able to do that. Johanna Lindsey seems to be a good vibe for me to give me a bonkers plot, so I’m leaning toward Beautiful Tempest by her (mostly because it’s the only one I physically own on my shelves). But if you have other banana pants books, please drop them in the comments because I’m pretty desperate.

Graphic Novel or Audiobook

I still really need to read Ruined by Sarah Vaughn and illustrated by Sarah Winifred Searle and Niki Smith, which is a graphic novel that I’ve had on my radar before its 2023 release. I also found I Shall Never Fall in Love by Harry Conner the other day while browsing Libby, which looks like a really cute young adult graphic novel. But then, of course, I read audiobooks all the time, so I could also always take the easy way out for myself and just read anything on audio.

Happy Holidays

This could be a book set at any holiday but I am specifically trying to get through a few of my physical books and I have three Christmas/Christmas adjacent romances that I want to clear off the shelf this year. So for this prompt, I’m likely going to slot in A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. I do want to be able to do #SnowInLoveBingo twice, so a second time through would likely be to read Every New Year by Katrina Jackson or His Only Valentine by Katrina Jackson.

ReRead

I love to reread so much. I’m most interested at the moment in rereading Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing but also, I just reread Gild because the series is finally finished so I should continue with my reread and pick up Glint.

Black Love

As always, Black Love is a very specific prompt in that there is an actual definition of Black Love that you have to choose a book where it meets that definition. Black love is used for books written by Black authors that feature only Black love interests. I always have so many choices for Black Love romances that I’m struggling to pick what to slot in here. I still haven’t read The Partner Plot, which I pre-ordered and have had on my Libro.fm library since its release this year, so I should probably go with that one.

Row Four

Couple with Multiple Books

This prompt is for you to pick up a book where the story for one couple spans across multiple books. Maybe, for you, this could include continuing a series that you’ve read before but haven’t picked up in a while. Or, maybe, you need a push to finally read a book that you’re a little nervous about like When You are Mine by Kennedy Ryan, which appears to be the first of two books about Kerris and Walsh and involves a love triangle. I’m a little nervous about this one. Or, I’ve also been dragging my feet on reading J.L. Seegers Revive Me: Part One even though I really, really want to read the series. Or I could go the safe route for me and pick up the next Kate Daniels graphic audio. I think I’m up to Magic Rises.

Battle of Wills

Y’all, I discovered today that an ARC I requested largely because I love the title is a Sweet Home Alabama inspired book and now I’m so excited to read it, I sort of want to drop everything now to do so. That book is Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar and, let’s be clear, if there’s one thing Sweet Home Alabama is besides an absolute banger, it’s a battle of wills. So I definitely think Flirting with Disaster will fit this prompt. The only thing I’m a little nervous about is if I’ll find the hurricane aftermath triggering because I’m in Western North Carolina and… well, y’all know how Hurricane Helene went. But I’m very optimistic. Also, though, please leave any of your recommendations for a battle of wills book down below because I think this is such a fun dynamic.

Unmet Expectations

Dani chose this prompt and initially she was thinking specifically of a book where the first sexual encounter doesn’t go particularly well. This interpretation has me leaning toward Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which I really should have read by now. But you could really use this in a lot of ways. For example, if you read a disappointing book, reward yourself by at least checking off a prompt. If you read a book where the blurb doesn’t match what’s inside? Reward yourself throwing that read in here. Share any other interpretations you can think of in the comments below!

Healing

Healing is once again a concept that you could spin in a few different directions. One direction would be that you read a book with a character who is a healer (or a doctor). But the direction I want to go with is a book about a character who is healing from some measure of trauma. I have an ARC of Gold Coast Dilemma by Nana Malone, which doesn’t come out until April so should I read it this early? No. But, honestly, y’all, it sounds so perfect for this prompt and so very up my alley that I may just do it. Another option though is a book I also have as an ARC, but it came out in 2023 so I really should have read it already and that is The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnight. We’ll see what I actually wind up reading, but I know I’ve definitely got some options.

Holiday Romance

Similar to happy holidays, any holiday could work, but the romance specifically needs to be centered around the holiday of your choice here. As I mentioned earlier, I am very specifically trying to get through the holiday romances on my physical TBR in December so I will be slotting in The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer here.

Row Five

Beautiful Gowns

Another prompt where there are at least two interpretations. I was thinking of someone from the internet (Jess, I think?) who made a comment about so many books having a beautiful gown (aka cover) but the insides being not so beautiful and so I was thinking this prompt could be for a gorgeous cover. Hopefully you won’t be disappointed by the insides though. But also, you could go with a book that has a beautiful gown on the cover or a book with a beautiful gown in the text of the books. I’m leaning toward doing Forget Me Not by Julie Soto because I really do love that cover and it’s one that I own physically so I need to get to it sooner than later.

Snow

Snow on the ground or in the text of the book works for this prompt. Again, I’m trying to get through the physical holiday books that I own in December, so I’ll be working on The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score, which has snowflakes on the cover.

Sale

I don’t know about you, but I’ve picked up so many books on sale that then just linger on my kindle or my audio apps and this prompt is the time to finally get to them. If you don’t purchase your own books, try and find a book where the characters inside go shopping maybe? Or the book that you would buy if you were going to buy one. I think one of the last books I purchased on sale was actually when Roan Parrish made her books free in the aftermath of the election (*sobs*) so I should probably continue on in the series and read Out of Nowhere.

Chocolate

Chocolate could mean reading a book about chocolate (seriously, pick up a Laura Florand book, you won’t regret it) or it could be a book that has a chocolate colored cover (which could also mean a cream colored cover because white chocolate is actually cream) or chocolate on the cover or is about a baker or, or, or. You get it, yeah? Use this however you need to. I am obviously going to be picking up the next book in Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series, The Chocolate Temptation. I’ve been procrastinating reading her books all year because I don’t want to run out of her books, but I still have several left so I need to stop being such a hoarder.

Glasses

A book about a character who wears glasses, especially secret spectacles, is the vibe we’re going for here. I’m going with Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese, which will be another book off my physical TBR. Say a prayer/cross your fingers for me I manage to actually read all these. My shelves will be doing so well if I manage all of these goal reads.

Closing Thoughts

I am really looking forward to challenging myself to read all of these books in the next month and then starting again in the New Year. Will I manage that? Probably not, but here’s hoping! I like a good challenge. What prompts are you most excited for? Let me know!

xx