firewhiskeyreader

It’s been an age since I’ve taken the time to actually put together a recommendations post for Bingo, but I just decided I really want to this time, so here’s hoping this post makes it out of the drafts and to the internet for you to read. I’m not going to recommend books for every prompt as some are too specific to you, but I will try and give recommendations for all the prompts that aren’t individualized!

Row One

Romance Classic

Some romance “classics” that I would highly recommend are Beverly Jenkins Indigo and Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. A year or two (or more, honestly, I’m not sure) ago, Aarya really recommended Desire by Amanda Quick. Or at least, talked about it enough to really put it on my radar. I think you could count it for romance classic! Dani is a really big historical romance reader and has been re-reading a lot of the books she loved as a kid in recent years. We actually were doing a reading project where we were trading my contemporary recommendations and her historical romance recommendations… We fell off when I couldn’t get an audiobook of A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss for way too long (really need to return to the project, tbh). Anyway, the other book we didn’t make it to was Slightly Married by Mary Balogh, which I know so many people love and I think it could qualify. My favorite of the ones we did read was probably Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey because it is just wild. (You will see this one mentioned again though in a while for bananas!) But please drop the books you would consider a romance classic in the comments!

Prickly

I believe I mentioned in my announcement and TBR that prickly heroines tend to be my favorite, so I had too many options for this prompt as far as recommendations go. I tried to just pick a few that I’ve read in 2024. We have For Never and Always by Helena Greer where Hannah is prickly because her ex is back in town and she can’t handle the overwhelming amount of emotions she’s experiencing. We’ve got The Other Side of Disappearing where Jess is so prickly because her little sister has gotten her embroiled in this true crime podcast situation that has led to them searching for her mother who abandoned them years and years ago. In Swift and Saddled, Ava is prickly because she’s trying to recover from a toxic marriage that really shattered her confidence in herself and she’s created a tough outer shell to try and keep herself safe. Similarly, in Do Me a Favor by Cathy Yardley, Willa is arguably more stand-offish than prickly, but I think it would work well for this, and it’s because she’s grieving her husband, but also… She’s got a lot going on and has grown used to relying only on herself and the idea that she may need to ask for help is not something that she’s really equipped to deal with. Then we’ve got If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia, which is a truly stunning book, but Michelle is SO prickly. She’s used to being the one who can do it all without assistance, but she’s thrust into a small town where everyone wants to be all up in her business and she does not know how to cope with that. I really loved this one so much. I’m going to cut myself off here, even though I think I could keep rattling off another five or so just from this year’s reads.

Wicked

If you are up to the point where you can read Heart of Obsidian in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series, then that’s the book for this prompt if you’re looking for a morally gray love interest. If you aren’t, have you tried Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco? I think it could count. It’s a fantasy romance from last year where the hero is the King of Envy and he essentially winds up deciding the FMC is going to be going along with him on an adventure whether she wants to or not. A Castle in the Air by Kelley Armstrong could really work too, but I can’t tell you why without giving you a spoiler. Ooh, but you should actually just ignore everything I said and read House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Menard because that duology is actually just everything. (But also, don’t forget all of my other interpretations! I just figured this one was the one that I need recs for so maybe you do too!)

Roman Empire

I’ve literally only got one recommendation for you here and that’s only because Jess reminded me of it on Discord and that is The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, where the characters are on an archeological dig where they’re uncovering a Roman settlement or something. I need to re-read this one. It was so good!

Row Two

Dreams

I love reading books where characters are chasing their dreams, metaphorical, and I do not have the memory to be able to tell you when characters are having literal dreams (actually, there are dreams in the Lexi Ryan series that starts with These Hollow Vows) so I’m focusing on the first interpretation! And I came up with too many right off the bat, so… Buckle up. In Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jeseen, Rooney is working so hard to get her art career to take off on her own merit, rather than riding on the coattails of her very successful mother. In Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn, Lorelei is trying to revive her musical career after being treated like The Chicks post-insulting George Bush comment. In A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, Ricki said I don’t want to be part of the family business and left to pursue her own dream of owning a flower shop in Harlem. In Love Unwritten, Ellie is trying to pretend like it’s too late for her to really pursue her dreams and the whole book sort of dances around that concept. It’s great. In Business Casual by B.K. Borison, Nova is about to open her own tattoo shop and this book touches on how absolutely terrifying it can be to actually accomplish something you’ve been working on forever. Similarly, in Only and Forever, Viggo avoids telling his parents he’s about to open a romance only bookstore for so long because he doesn’t want them to doubt him, but that is his dream. I really enjoyed all of these books and hope you will like whatever you pick up for this prompt!

Short n’ Sweet

I’m not always the biggest fan of novellas, but here are some that I read this year and loved. Maybe This Time by Christina C. Jones, which is a friends to lovers little novella that was a good time. Maybe This Time by Cara Bastone, which is an Audible original where this woman is trapped in the future and wants desperately to be returned to her original timeline but can only speak to one man from the past. And then finally, Coming Home by Kennedy Ryan, which I loved. Also an Audible original, this one is about two characters who had a will they/won’t they vibe in college and are back for homecoming. As for my interpretation of this prompt as a short time frame, I present to you the best book for this, Only for the Week by Natasha Bishop. It’s also fairly short, but not novella length, but more importantly, it’s fantastic and contains literally the most romantic gesture in the entire world.

Referential Title

Much Ado About Nada is a book about Nada being sort of pushed out of her comfort zone and then falling in love with a man that she didn’t necessarily have the best past with. It’s a Persuasion retelling as well. How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly is a really lovely sapphic romance between two former college basketball players, one of whom went on to play in the WNBA and one who didn’t. Both of them are kind of trying to figure out how to make their lives something they want. Honestly, there’s a lot going on in this one, but I loved it so very much. Here for the Wrong Reasons is one I’m slotting in here because I think it works, as it references a common accusation made on The Bachelor(ette). This is one where two contestants fall in love with each other and it is DRAMATIC. I really enjoyed it. Christmas is All Around is one I decided to call referential because of Love Actually. It’s about a bit of a grinch who winds up accidentally falling for a man who owns the estate that the Christmas film she was in was filmed. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is such a fun romp, I couldn’t not include it here. I definitely recommend if you want a bit of rivals (ish) to lovers. So fun.

Row Three

Bananas

Okay, so bananas is a prompt I came up with after determining that I needed to exit this plane of existence by way of a book and I picked up Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught, which I need to be so clear: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS BOOK. But if you are okay with an old school historical romance that is absolutely bonkers, be my guest. I definitely wasn’t thinking about the real work while reading it. Also, this is a great place to slot in Gentle Rogue, because it too, was absolutely wild. If you’re not as into old school historical, I have two different romances that I think would work. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren is just wild. The entire plot is bananas to me, because what do you mean you got married for housing? Like… The risks? Anyway, and then I was thinking about how the women in these books who get access to a black card never, ever act as excited as I would be to go shopping with an unlimited budget. But regardless, I think this book definitely qualifies as bananas, though perhaps less so (definitely) than Whitney, My Love. And then, I decided to suggest Assistant to the Villain because, let me tell you, this book is ABSURD. Okay? Like absolutely wild. Also, a series that fits this, but I haven’t read an installment this year would be Zodiac Academy. Everything about those books is wild. But they’re a fun escapist read! Fun being used… loosely.

Black Love

I’ve scattered some books that qualify as Black Love throughout these recommendations, but here are five more that I haven’t used anywhere else yet. All I’ve Wanted, All I’ve Needed is one I finished today and I loved it so much that it’s part of what convinced me to actually go ahead and make this recommendations post so I could tell y’all about it before the end of the month. It is a perfect book about a woman starting over after a “Champagne Problems” moment and then trying to find herself. The way this book moves through huge swaths of time so easily had me nervous at first, but ultimately, this book turns into an antagonists to best friends to lovers romance and it is stunning. The Hookup Plan is a book I read at the beginning of the year and is about two academic rivals who have since grown up and moved on and away from one another only now they’re back in close proximity and on opposite sides of a… merger? Takeover? Idk the business term. Anyway, it was tense and fun. Love and Sportsball is a sapphic Black love romance, which was delightful. I didn’t always understand our more closed off character (actually, she would work perfectly for Prickly as well), but ultimately, I did enjoy this one and am looking forward to the next. Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen is a sexy romance about a main character who is going on too many first dates and the bartender that is keeping an eye out on her while she has them. And then finally, This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan is a gorgeous book about a woman who post-divorce is trying to find her way back to herself and the man who helped send her ex-husband to prison for white collar crimes. It’s… quite the ride. I loved it. (Also, maybe this one could work for bananas, actually…)

Row Four

Couple with Multiple Books

Okay, so actually there truly are so many books for this depending on what you’re interested in and probably I should have dug deeper for recommendations instead of just going with the obvious ones for me to recommend. Although, actually, the fact that I didn’t throw in Hidden Legacy or Kate Daniels shows pretty decent restraint. But I went with Angels’ Blood in case you aren’t caught up on Guild Hunters to remind you that any Elena x Raphael focused book would work and then also Archangel’s Light follows characters who are going to be the focus on her 2025 GH release and I need to re-read this one so maybe you do too? Similarly, I want to re-read Fourth Wing or at least Iron Flame before Onyx Storm drops toward the end of January. And then, my 2024 obsession has been Daisy Haites and Magnolia Parks, so either of the mini-series within the series would work. But, here’s some more contemporary romances in case you’re really struggling and don’t want to go the romantasy type route:

Battle of Wills

Quicksilver by Callie Hart is a book I just read and counted under No Guilt, All Pleasure, but I think I could have just as easily slotted it into this one. Saeris and Kingfisher have both literal and metaphorical battle of wills in this one. They’re so fun. I love their dynamic. I just actually am obsessed with this book and highly recommend you try it via audio. Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage is a perfect choice for this one. I’m maybe interpreting this more as banter type battle of wills here, but I think it works really well! Teddy and Gus “hate” each other and their arguments are so fun and also funny. Historical romance wise, I think you could go with The Duke Identity by Grace Callaway because Harry and Tessa certainly disagree about how Tessa should be involved in this investigation situation. And then, if you’re ready to read the sequel to What the River Knows, Where the Library Hides is a perfect selection for battle of wills! (Actually, you could also read What the River Knows and count it too…)

Healing

I’m going to split this prompt into two different sections. First, I’m going to give you a smattering of books with at least one main character who is a literal doctor. Most of these are books I read this year, but I may have snuck in a couple that I didn’t read this year. I’m not going to go into much detail here because that would take absolute ages, but for the record, I definitely recommend these books!

My second section is going to be about books where metaphorical healing is the focus of the book. Healing from heartbreak or grief or… Just something.

In The Art of Scandal, Rachel discovers her husband has been cheating on her and the rest of the book is really an exploration of her finding her way back to herself while falling in love with a much younger man, Nathan. It’s very juicy. In You, with a View, our main character is grieving the loss of her grandmother and winds up going on this adventure to feel closer to her. In You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, one of our love interests is dealing with grief of a partner. In Always Mine by Laura Pavlov, our male main character is trying to heal his childhood trauma because his dad was an abusive asshole. In Morbidly Yours, Lark is trying to heal from the death of her husband.

Then we have this third section, where a character is going through some more literal healing. I’m going to not actually give any details on Stars in Your Eyes though because I don’t want to spoil anything. In A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver, Cole is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he now has a prosthetic leg due to an injury sustained while serving in the military overseas. I’m also going to throw in Boss in the Bedsheets because one of the first things that happens is that Ash separates his shoulder and a lot of really good stuff comes from that. In Pointe of Pride, Carly is working on physical therapy exercises to deal with vaginismus. I know there are so many more I could throw in here, but I think four feels sufficient!

Row Five

Snow

The first five books up there either have snow on the cover or involve snow in the story line, while the second set of five all have Snow in the title. You can go with any of these interpretations. I’m not going to go into detail about each of these, but essentially, Ashes of You is a romantic suspense. Sunlight, Snow Place Like LA, and Snow-Kissed are all contemporary romances (with some element of the holidays in them, but not, in my mind, the focus). Wrapped with a Beau, Cruel Winter with You, Big Nick Energy, and Snowed In are all holiday romances. And then Kiss of Snow and A Touch of Stone and Snow are both more fantasy romance vibes.

Chocolate

I’m going to be so honest, I can think of exactly one series for y’all on this, so I don’t know that I’m super helpful, but I do think this series is incredible so… I think you can read my favorite in the series, The Chocolate Kiss, as a standalone and I would absolutely recommend you do that!

Glasses

And here are a small section of books where I was able to verify glasses wearing. 🙂

Closing Thoughts

I hope these recommendations may prove helpful to you, but either way, I had fun compiling a list like this again! My taste has obviously been leaning more and more toward contemporary romance year over year, so if you have any historical romance recommendations for any of these prompts, please feel free to drop them below! Also, if you think I left out some fantasy romance recommendations, drop those below, because that is definitely a sub-genre I’m reading more of right now!

xx