firewhiskeyreader

I did just turn on the air conditioner last night, but it still seems weird to be talking about Spring when I look outside my window and still just see brown. I’m very much looking forward to things coming back to life. But setting that aside, I’m glad to be bringing y’all #SpringIntoLoveBingo! I hope you all like this board and the prompts. Dani, Aarya, and I put this together based on a mixture of what we’ve been reading and how we’ve been feeling about the world. I hope you all find some books that you love and I hope you’ll share your own recommendations as we go! So without further rambling, here is the board!

The “rules” are that this Bingo takes place from March 1, 2026 through May 31, 2026 (but also time is a construct). If you share about your progress on social media, a) thank you, but also b) please make sure your content is as accessible as possible by capitalizing each word in the hashtag (#SpringIntoLoveBingo) and using alt text. Finally, Black Love has a specific definition, which is that a book must be written by a Black author and feature Black love interests. We love interracial relationships, but that’s not the point of the Black Love prompt. And finally, have fun! Stretch the prompts as you need! Now to dive into more detail about each of the prompts.

Row One

Multiple Proposals

While I used a proposal for marriage vibe here in the pictures, technically, you can absolutely stretch this prompt to a variety of proposals. Or maybe the initial proposal is to fake a relationship and then there’s a real proposal later. It is up to you. Stretch this prompt to your heart’s content. My problem is I can think of exactly nothing where I already know this exists. So I guess this is one that I’ll be finding as I go along! Please feel free to drop your recommendations down below.

Jealousy

Another book that I will likely be finding as I go along, but jealousy is certainly something that’s multi-faceted. Perhaps The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann would work, actually, because the synopsis contains the sentence, “He proposes they pretend to fall for each other on the weekend trip to make Malcolm jealous.” So that feels like it’s pretty perfect for this prompt. And maybe that will be enough for me to finally actually read it.

Gender

Gender is a very broad prompt that you could take a myriad of directions. Maybe there’s misogyny being explored. Maybe there’s a book about the first female playing on a professional men’s hockey team (Face Off by Chelsea Curto). Or maybe it’s got a love interest who is nonbinary, like in The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish, which is a book I’m seriously overdue in reading. I am trying to prioritize the books on my physical TBR and this one feels like a perfect choice.

Hurt/Comfort

I am so excited for this prompt because there is genuinely nothing I love more than the sickbed/injury/who did this to you type of vibes I get from hurt/comfort. The problem is, I feel like I don’t tend to know if a book has this when I start it. So please feel free to recommend me some options down below. But this Goodreads list recommends Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish and I do really like Parrish’s writing. It also includes Tough Guy by Rachel Reid. So that’s at least two options.

Rivalry

I think this prompt is pretty self-explanatory and while I could probably go with a sports romance here, I actually have two books that I think are good options. First is You’re the Problem, It’s You by Emma R. Alban, which may be less rivals and more just people who don’t like one another. But the good news is that if I don’t feel like it fits rivals, I can sub it in for green cover. So all is well, regardless. Next up is Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood, which is a novella that I will absolutely be reading so it’s just a matter of where I plug it in.

Row Two

How It’s Done

Technically, there are a lot of ways to interpret this prompt. However, I’m fairly confident Dani meant for this prompt to specifically reference Kpop Demon Hunters and the song “How it’s Done.” To me, the song represents the women being really good at their job and showing us that they are, in fact, fantastic at said jobs. I’ve come up with too many options for my TBR. First is Change of Heart by Kate Canterbary because Whitney is a superstar surgeon so clearly she would fit and the book is a workplace romance setting because she’s accidentally already hooked up with one of her residents at a wedding and is now trying to resist doing it again. Another option I’ve been really wanting to read is If Not for My Baby by Kate Golden, which I think would work because Clementine is such a good singer that she’s become a backing vocalist for Halloran. Or there’s Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt where Farley Jones is taking her next step in her stand up comedy career. And then finally, a book that I’ve accidentally DNF’d once, King of Sloth by Ana Huang, which would work because Sloane is actually an incredible publicist. So many options.

Latinx Representation

Once again, I have several options for this, but I’m currently leaning toward Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova because I really need to actually read these Meant to Be novels instead of just collecting them and not reading them. Oops. But I’ve also got When the Tides Held the Moon by Vanessa Vida Kelly, which a lot of people really enjoyed last year and one that I meant to read. The illustrations in the book are fantastic so that makes me even more intrigued. I mean, I also have about a dozen more options, but these two are top of mind.

Published Pre-2016

Speaking of prompts I have about a dozen (or a hundred) options for, books published pre-2016 are obviously plentiful, but I’m on a Cynster read through so All About Passion is next up if I don’t manage to get to it in the next week, which realistically, I will not. But I also really want to read A Lady Awakened by Cecelia Grant so that’s on my list as well. And the first book in Kennedy Ryan’s Bennett series, When You are Mine has been on my list for absolute ages. So definitely plenty of options.

AAPI Representation

I certainly have plenty of Asian American authored books on my TBR, but fewer Pacific Islander books, so please share with me any that you have so I can expand my TBR. At the top of my list are The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan and The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin because they’ve been at the top of my TBR for like five years. It’s getting annoying. I would really love if I would just READ them. But we shall see. Other options for me are It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram and Adam and Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen. Ooh, and I also have ARCs of Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai, The Fortune Flip by Lauren Kung Jessen, and Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar. So lots of options really.

Reincarnation

Unfortunately, I’ve already reread Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh, which is clearly the best book option for this prompt. By which I mean, I love Guild Hunters and so I think everyone should read the series. But there are other options! Including My Favorite Lost Cause by Elizabeth O’Roark, which I did not know. I haven’t read an Elizabeth O’Roark title in ages even though I really love her writing so I’m looking forward to giving this one a shot. I’ve also been meaning to try Daughter of Smoke and Bone again, which is also apparently a reincarnation story. But what are your favorite reincarnation books? I would love to know!

Row Three

Anticipated Release

The amount of books I’m looking forward to that hit between March and May is actually wild. I’ve already pre-ordered a couple of May releases, Furybound and Archangel’s Eternity so those are two at the top of my list. But we’ve also got the new Abby Jimenez, The Night We Met, coming in March, along with This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews. In April, Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry and The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn are hitting. And in May, besides the two I’ve already mentioned, Score by Kennedy Ryan and Fever Dream by Elsie Silver are coming. So many great options for me and this square. Also, I haven’t read B.K. Borison’s new book, And Now, Back to You, yet because it drops on Tuesday and I don’t have an early copy. So that would be a way to get this square done early.

Reread

In the lead up to Archangel’s Eternity, I’ve been working on rereading Guild Hunters so I will be reading all of the books from Archangel’s Viper to whatever the last book was before the one from last year, which will be my first read. I hope that sentence makes sense. Regardless, I’m starting with Venom’s book and will be rereading many books in the next three months to get prepared for Archangel’s Eternity.

HEA

Our free for all square! Obviously I listed a ton of books that I’m anticipating coming out in the next three months and I have several books I’ll be rereading so there are certainly plenty of options for this one. For now, I’m going to plug in Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian because I’m looking forward to it and I have an ARC so I actually need to read it sooner than later.

Audiobook/Graphic Novel

I’ll probably plug in Archangel’s Prophecy or something here because I love reading this series on audio. But if not, I read so many books on audio so there are definitely plenty of options. Actually, for purposes of saying something different, I’m going to put This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews here because somehow I have the ALC of this book. I have been so fortunate. So I’ll definitely be reading this one sooner than later.

Green Cover

I didn’t really have an amount in mind for how green a cover needs to be in order for you to use it for this prompt. Just you know, green as a predominant cover. If colors aren’t something that’s easy or accessible for you, feel free to make this something different. Like green in the title or author’s name, for example. Or if you want to message me for some options, please feel free! In the event that I don’t finish Last First Kiss by Julian Winters in the next week, that is a cover with a very green background so I think it would work well for this prompt. So would No Place Like You by Jillian Meadows, which has the most gorgeous cover with an A Frame house in the background. I love it. otherwise, I also have Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler, which is extremely green. Several options available to me, but those are top of mind. (By which I mean, easy for me to spot around my room and in my reading journal.)

Row Four

Slavic

Can you tell some of these prompts were inspired by Heated Rivalry? It’s enough to make me think I should read The Long Game by Rachel Reid, but I have the other books to read before I get to that one, so I’m not sure that’s a good idea. So options… For me, I’m leaning toward a reread of The Professional or The Master by Kresley Cole. I’ve been tempted to do that for a really long time. The problem? I haven’t been in a spicy romance mood for such a long time and that is 100% what those books are. Next option is a reread of Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews, which I really should do because I should have done it when I was in my Kate Daniels reread last year and didn’t. Otherwise, I’m not really sure, so please leave me some of your recommendations below.

Black Love

Another reminder that this prompt is for books by Black authors with Black love interests. On my physical shelf we have The Princess and the P.I. by Nikki Payne, which is a book where Fiona finds herself accused of murder and I… am going to find that so stressful. So here’s hoping I can actually enjoy it. Additionally, I have Our Vicious Hearts by N.E. Davenport, which I really should have already read. But it starts out with a hookup and again, I’ve been struggling with that. So I haven’t made it very far. The book I really want to read right now is The Love Simulation by Etta Easton solely because of how much I loved The Kiss Countdown. I don’t even own The Love Simulation is the problem. But it’s what I want to read! Honestly, I really do have so many books that work for this prompt so we’ll see which I wind up slotting in here.

Mental Health Representation

Did you know that May is mental health awareness month? It is, which I love, so to celebrate, I picked mental health representation. As an anxiety girlie, I do so love reading a book with anxiety representation, but I’m up for reading whatever mental health representation I can get. I did my usual google to figure out what books I already own have this that I didn’t know about and discovered that The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel has anxiety representation apparently. I could also pick up Tough Guy by Rachel Reid to make progress on the series… Or Come as You Are by Jess K. Hardy, which has some addiction representation, as well as other stuff, I think? I’ve had it on my TBR for such a long time.

Established Relationship

Established relationships can be harder to come by in romance, but aren’t the hardest if you’re willing to look to urban fantasy like for example, Archangel’s Eternity. Somehow this TBR has turned into me just pushing everyone to read Guild Hunters. But for real, I have plenty of Elena x Raphael books to read between Archangel’s Viper and Archangel’s Eternity. So I may as well take advantage of that. But there are also established relationships in historical romances where the couple married ages ago and thens something happens to make them actually take their relationship seriously. There’s a really good Sherry Thomas one like this, Ravishing the Bride, which is genuinely fantastic. There’s also the whole marriage in trouble trope, which is one that I love. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey? A masterpiece. Oh, right, I’m supposed to be coming up with my own TBR not just naming books that I love with this trope. Oops. Okay, on my TBR is Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka. Also, I do love Cate C. Wells and Return to Monte Carlo is sounding really appealing. Two others on my Kindle TBR are Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas and A Captain’s Midwinter Bride by Liana de la Rosa.

Hookup

I mentioned Change of Heart by Kate Canterbary earlier, which starts with a hookup between Whitney and her future resident. But I also have pulled Unromance by Erin Connor, which also features a FMC who has rules about no repeats, but she’s finding herself tempted to break her rules. Now, a hookup can happen at any point in the book to work for this prompt, but I went with using that as the basis for the two characters to be brought together.

Row Five

Field

So for field, I’m really leaning toward doing The Jewel of the Isle because it sounds really fun and here’s my basis: it’s about an ER physician who is trying to fulfill her late father’s national park bucket list and so she goes to this island, which okay, is not the same thing as a field, but field = nature?? Okay, also field can mean like a baseball field, and I could use it for The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson, which is a baseball romance. Or there’s a field on the cover of No Place Like You by Jillian Michaels. And I’m sure there are a million more options for me to use. But those are the three currently topping the list of my contenders.

Immigrant Main Character

On the one hand, I really don’t feel like this should be as challenging as it is to find a book with an immigrant main character and I do have books that I’ve read with an immigrant main character. In The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, the main character is from Canada, but living and studying in California. In The Rommies or whatever it’s called by Christina Lauren and in The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata, the male lead is an immigrant who needs assistance staying in the country. And then we have The Dreamers series by Adriana Herrera, but I’ve read all of those. So I’m actually struggling to come up with a book I haven’t read to use here. This Fated Mates episode suggests that Flashed by Zoey Castille may work, which would be great because I’ve had that on my TBR for years at this point. So I’ve tentatively put that on my list. I also think King of Sloth would work here because Sloane is originally from England, but is living and working in NYC. So theoretically she’s an immigrant. I doubt the book really talks about being an immigrant though, so if you can think of other options, please feel free to leave them down below. I would be so grateful.

Local

This prompt is as broad as it is specific. Maybe you’re participating in your local bookstore’s book club (A Vow of Vengeance for me in March) or maybe you’ve picked up a local author’s book. Maybe you’ve read a book that’s set in your town or city or even state if you need to get more expansive. Whatever local means to you. And if you really need to expand this in some way, pick a book where the main character leans in to being involved in her community in some way.

No Marriage

Jess asked that we include No Marriage as a prompt and for me this is like when we did the No Kids HEA. Our definition of happily ever after should be as expansive as our lived experiences so let’s find a book where the HEA doesn’t include getting married, whatever that looks like for our main characters. This isn’t something that I could figure out how to google, so I guess I’ll just have to stumble into this, which shouldn’t be too hard! Hopefully. Or you can leave your favorites in a comment!

Jock

I picked up two books off my physical shelves for this one, The Rule Book by Sarah Adams about a football player his college ex-girlfriend who wind up accidentally married in Vegas, and The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson, which is a baseball romance about a player and a woman who was heckling him during a game. Both sound delightful. I also have a very long list of sports romances on my kindle so it’s not like I’m in need of more books that would work for this prompt, but I could use about a million years and an attention span to make an actual dent in my sports romance TBR.

Closing Thoughts

I’ve asked for so many of your recommendations along the way, but truly, please feel free to leave me whatever recommendations you have. I’ll try and get the Storygraph Challenge posted sometime this week and come back and update this post with the link once I have done that. If there’s anything else I’ve forgotten or if you have a question, please don’t hesitate to message me and ask. And if you have prompts you would like in the future, feel free to reach out!

xx