firewhiskeyreader

Hello friends! I am so thrilled to let you know that Aarya, Dani, and I are back with another seasonal bingo board! I hope that you’ll love our board and prompts and will have fun reading. As always, I love hearing what you would choose (and do choose!) for these prompts! If you’d like to participate on Storygraph, here is the link for that.

The “rules” are that this seasonal bingo takes place from September 1 to November 30th and we ask that you do your best to make any content that you share about #FallInLoveBingo accessible. Image descriptions and capitalizing each letter in the hashtag are the main things. Additionally, a reminder here and another later than Black Love means a romance where the love interests are Black and so is the author. And now, let’s get to what we all want to see… The board!

Row One

New to You Author

Of course, I cannot really provide you with personalized recommendations here because I don’t know who new to you authors might be, but I have read a few debut romances recently. So I’ll drop a quick note here that I enjoyed Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It, though it’s much more a woman’s journey than a romance, imo, and I really liked Abby Offsides, but would say the same about it. The debut romance that I plan to read for this though is Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson, which is on my radar mostly because of Emily Henry, so chances are I’ll say the same thing about it when I’m finished.

Safe

There are several ways to take this prompt, but the way I am hoping to take it is to find a book where one of the love interests makes a comment or thinks about how they feel safe with the other person. You could also go with a town that seems safe or that the main character thinks is safe. One of my favorite parts of interconnected standalones is that you become so familiar with the world that there is a level of safeness for you, the reader. I would recommend for someone looking for a small town that gives safe vibes, The Cozy Nook Bookshop by Jeannie Chin, which is set in such a delightfully charming town. For me, I think for this TBR, I am tempted to go with The Matchmaker’s Cottage by Kat Sloane on the sole basis that the cover of it is so darling that it makes me feel like it would give the correct vibe in the story, but maybe it would be better to go with A Study in Sparkling by Jodi McAlister, which is the second book in an interconnected standalone series that I’ve enjoyed. Either way, I think ultimately this will be a book where I slot it in once I’ve found the one I want and probably neither of the above two options.

Family Tree

I started the Cynster series this year and really need to continue it. I stalled out when I got to book eight, but I think I’m ready to pick them back up. Anyway, family tree is exactly what it suggests. I think if you don’t want a literal family tree in the book you’re picking up, you could stretch this to something with a family related plot line, preferably beyond just being an interconnected book about siblings, but stretch it as you need!

Volume

Volume certainly lends itself to a story told in parts. My mind went directly to the very popular on my part of the internet at the moment Emma M. Lion series, which literally has each installment titled Volume X. If you read manga or graphic works, this also seems like it would lend itself to your reading. If you need to stretch this to books told in parts, I support you.

Gender Bent

You can go with this where you’d like, but I immediately thought of gender bent or flipped retellings, but of course, there are also the typical gendered stereotypes that you can flip. (Age gap, for example, we usually think of it as the man being the older, but lately we’ve seen a few more books with this trope where the woman is older.) I have picked out Wake Me Most Wickedly by Felicia Grossman, which is a Snow White retelling, where I believe the MMC is in the position of Snow White. I shall read it and report back.

Row Two

High Concept

You, Me, & The Conspiracy by Emma Barry is giving National Treasure, which meant I was immediately in. There are, realistically, so many high concept books these days and sometimes the concept is better than the actual book, so cross your fingers for me and Emma Barry that I don’t feel that way about this one. In the meantime, please share your favorite high concept books that actually deliver on the concept. (I will also note that this seems incredibly subjective and for proof look at the discourse surrounding Yesteryear.)

Curses

Such an excellent trope in some of the paranormal contemporary feeling books in the last few years, but also, some really great books with a more fantastical leaning and even people who just feel cursed but aren’t in contemporary romances. I’m going to (try to) pick up Meet Cute Magic by Morgan Elizabeth, where there is a curse about something bad happens if she falls in love. I look forward to it!

2026 Release

Pick any 2026 release! The good news is that if you share my taste in books, I will be posting my second Tier Ranking 2026 Releases post in early September, but you can find the first one here. I’m looking forward to so many more 2026 releases, but I picked Too Cold for Comfort by Nisha J. Tuli because I really enjoyed her first foray into contemporary romance last year.

Fall Vibes

Fall Vibes is broad. Cover gives Fall? Perfect. That’s what I’m going with. But it could be the content. Maybe for you Fall means paranormal type things and you want to pick up a darker cozy read. Go forth and be happy. For me, I should have already read The Matchmaker’s Cottage by Kat Sloane, but I just haven’t quite gotten around to doing that yet. But look at this cover? Does it not look so perfectly autumn? I am so excited to read it, but in central North Carolina, it keeps feeling like/being 100 degrees. I find myself missing the mountains.

Forced Proximity

Forced proximity is really such a great trope, but not one that I usually specifically seek out. There are just so many reasons to force proximity, you know? I’m going to be reading If Not You, wherein they’re forced together for work reasons despite being rivals. Sounds like a delightful time for me.

Row Three

Shares Your Hobby

Okay, very technically, in Headliners Sabrina is a knitter not a crocheter, but close enough for our purposes here. Anyway, you can pick any shared hobby that you have with a main character, including reading. I just went with a fiber art for purposes of looking up a book that would work. Of course, I also embroider so that sometimes shows up in historical romances, often with the FMC not enjoying embroidery… But sometimes they do! Like in The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite for example.

Reread

I feel like many people are probably rereading something in the lead up to so many series installments being released. I’ll be rereading Crescent City out of obligation, but I think I’m going to start sneaking in a Throne of Glass reread for fun. (My favorite of the three series without any competition, tbh.) Of course, I also need to reread Ninth House and Hell Bent before Dead Beat, but I don’t feel like those belong on this bingo…

HEA

I cannot believe that I will almost definitely not have time to actually read my most anticipated August release, Let’s Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard, before the month runs out, but it’s fine because that means I can plop it here on HEA when I do finally get to it.

Audiobook/Graphic Novel

I read so many audiobooks that choosing what to put here was very challenging. However, I have set myself the goal of reading every overdue ALC from Netgalley as soon as humanly possible because I need to get a new phone. The one that jumped out at me was I Did Something Bad. It just looks like it will be a fun time.

Academia

It really is too bad that Dead Beat doesn’t really go with this bingo because that is the obvious choice for this prompt. But I do have several books that have an academia setting in the romantasy genre, including Cursed City, the sequel to Half City. And, I almost forgot, I have Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller, a contemporary romance about a professor and a “visiting scholar” on my TBR. I think there are many options for this, honestly, so we’ll see what I read first.

Row Four

Buzzy

I feel like B.K. Borison is always buzzy, but especially with Grim Tidings. Maybe it’s just because I follow Borison, but there was a pre-publication event in NYC and that feels like a special event that many books don’t get. I’m ready to participate in the buzz though! I really enjoyed Good Spirits last year and Grim Tidings coming out during the Fall season feels like the perfect vibes.

Black Love

Black love is a romance novel written by a Black author featuring Black love interests. I’m currently leaning toward reading The Princess and the P.I. because despite owning it, I’m just letting it languish on my shelves, which honestly, I do a lot. Anyway, that’s the one I’m currently leaning toward.

Beloved Author

There are plenty of options for me and beloved author, but Ally Carter, who I’ve loved since I was a teenager, has a new book coming out so that’s who I’m going with. Her new on is It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, which I imagine I will want to read closer to November, but we shall see.

Island

You can take this literally or metaphorically, but it’s easier to do a literal interpretation when you’re making a TBR so I’m tentatively putting Desire by Amanda Quick down because she lives on an island in the British Isles, I believe.

Fun Fact

Listen, I’m just guessing that I will find fun facts in Chloe Liese’s Better Hate than Never on the basis that I feel like she does frequently include fun facts, but I make no promises. Regardless at some point, I will read a romance novel that teaches me something interesting in the next three months and can slot it in here.

Row Five

Adapted

If you need to stretch this for adaptations that are announced but haven’t happened yet, feel free, but for me, I haven’t read Game Changer yet and they really did include this story in season one of Heated Rivalry so catch me picking this one up hopefully!

Take a Chance

Listen, I haven’t read Victoria Aveyard since Red Queen and didn’t even continue in the series. But for some reason I have decided I want to try this pirate romantasy. So cross your fingers for me that I enjoy it.

Y2K

The Backtrack features a character who is summoned back to her hometown where her childhood bedroom remains a time capsule to the early 2000s, which sounds like a delightful time. Hopefully I’ll really enjoy it. If you haven’t already read The MASH Up though, allow me to recommend that for both a high concept book and a fun nostalgic read.

Genre Blend

I know that I could do a romantasy here, but I read those so regularly that it felt boring to choose another for this slot. Instead I’m pushing my boundaries and trying How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, which is a slasher romance. Will I like this? I am… very wary, but we’ll find out!

Stationery

This does not have to mean that the characters write letters to one another, but it can. In Tropesick, for example, there is an important side character who leaves these fancy notes and signs her initials. I think that would count. (I do not, however, recommend the book. It’s just a good and timely example.) I am going with the letter writing option though and will hopefully finally read Dear Aaron, which I’ve owned for entirely too many years.

Closing Thoughts

I really hope y’all like the prompts! I think we have a good mix of easy and challenging ones, but there’s nothing that I feel like I’m definitely not going to be able to complete so that’s what I like to see. Let me know your favorite and any recommendations you have!

xx