Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-107/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=165826

Welcome back!

It feels like it’s been forever. I have a couple romances for this round, plus an epistolary and some non-fiction. I really love this selection!

Do you have any recommendations to share? Let us know in the comments!

A Holy Maiden’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

I saw this while shopping at Lovestruck a week ago. I was super tempted to grab it and the leads are both sort of morally gray, which I love. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I was after at the time and I was trying to limit myself to only two purchases!

A Holy Maiden should never drink, get kidnapped, nor kiss a Dark Lord, but Ysabel is breaking all the rules to escape her fate as a human sacrifice.

In a world where magical powers are commonplace, Holy Maiden Ysabel is revered as a goddess among her people. She’s the only one able to heal the sick and injured with a simple touch. But her spectacular gift comes at a steep price. For each person she saves, she loses a day of her own conscripted life. To add insult to injury, she’s supposed to maintain a pure image even though she’d rather drink and play dominatrix until her sorrows fade away.

After the corrupt Head Cardinal Jiang abuses her gift, forbids her from leaving the city, and takes her brother hostage, Ysabel doesn’t dare drag anyone else into her problems—especially since it won’t change her fate. But when Dark Lord Kaine arrives at her clinic doorstep grievously wounded, she’s touched by his refusal to accept her healing lest it cost her another day of her life.

The mysterious and sexy Dark Lord awakens forbidden desires in Ysabel, and the nagging survival instinct she tried to drown with booze and drugs comes back with a vengeance. She’s less impressed, however, when he threatens to sack her city in return for his injuries. Fortunately, she can flirt her way to an alliance against the Head Cardinal instead.

Armed with only a ferociously loyal female bodyguard named Alzira, Ysabel attempts to make the most of her mere months left to live, protect the refugees around her city, prevent a war, and hide her face blindness. But before her life flickers to its sad end, she must either die a proper Holy Maiden or risk it all to run off with Kaine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Against a Wall

Shout out to Katie! While giving Katie quarterly recs as part of After Dark, she mentioned she loves Cate C. Wells in her survey. As someone who wasn’t sure where to start, I asked her for some suggestions. I blew through The Tyrant Alpha’s Rejected Mate, but she also put this one on my radar with a few caveats about the hero. I immediately bought it, though haven’t started it just yet.

My high school bully is now my fake boyfriend.

Cash Wall has been messing with me since junior high.

Nuisance stuff, mostly. Name calling. Pranks.

Honestly, he’s nowhere near the worst of my problems. Back in school, I had bigger fish to fry, and now, I’ve got a “scarlet letter” situation going on. The whole town hates me.

For some reason, Cash offers himself up as my knight in shining armor.

So now my former bully is my fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?

Cash

Glenna Dobbs thinks I’m an idiot, and she’s mostly right.

I hunt. Fish. Go mudding. I’m not a “brain” type. I’m not really a “thinker.”

But I ain’t stupid. When I see that Glenna needs a rescue, I’m in.

‘Cause what Glenna doesn’t know? I’ve been in this whole time, and once I’ve got her, I’m not letting her go.

Against a Wall is a small-town, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is the second book in the Stonecut County series, but it can be read as a standalone. Intended for adult readers.

HEA guaranteed.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Examiner

If you love mysteries that feel more like a puzzle, this one makes clever use of epistolary elements.

Told in emails, text messages, and essays, this innovative pause-resister follows a group of students in an art master’s program that goes dangerously awry.

Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one.

There’s Jem, a talented sculptor recently graduated from her university program and eager to make her mark as an artist at any cost. Jonathan, who has little experience in art practice aside from running his family’s gallery. Patrick runs an art supply store, but can barely operate his phone, much less design software. Ludya is a single mother and graphic designer more interested in a paycheck than homework. Cameron is a marketing executive in search of a hobby or a career change. And Alyson, already a successful artist, seems to be overqualified. Finally, there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final works—an art installation for a local cloud-based solutions company that may have an ulterior agenda—and who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger…or already dead. And nothing about this course has been left up to chance.

With her trademark “unique and exhilarating” (Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot) voice, Janice Hallett weaves a fresh and mind-bending mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

My Parents are Dead: What Now?

I honestly wish I had this when my bio dad died (I was his only surviving relative). My partner’s mom unexpectedly passed in the fall and has had to take the lead on making arrangements, handling things that come up, etc. It’s never a good time to think about these things, but I can’t overstate the need to be prepared.

An approachable, expert-fueled guide to dealing with the legal, financial, and logistical hurdles of parent death—without losing your sense of humor.

Whether you’ve recently lost a parent or are just trying to plan for the toughest day of your life so far, you’re probably experiencing a lot of dizzying emotions. Unfortunately, our legal and financial systems don’t care about your feelings. Whether you’re holding it together or falling apart, you are going to need to enter an overwhelming labyrinth of paperwork and bureaucracy.

But you don’t have to do it alone.

After losing both parents, Becky Robison devoted herself to making death and post-death logistics easier on others—reading up on estate law, becoming a trained death doula, and starting her website DeadParentsWhatNow.com. She draws on her own experience, plus interviews with experts from monument makers to morticians, to hold your hand through:

– Asking your parents about their end-of-life wishes while you can
– Getting a body buried, cremated, or donated to science
– Planning a funeral
– Securing a death certificate
– Dealing with your parents’ property—or debt
– Handling even more tricky issues you never wanted to be in charge of
– And still being able to laugh, a little, sometimes

Nothing about this is easy. The good news is, you have someone on your side.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/get-recd-with-amanda-volume-107/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=165826

Posted by Guest Reviewer

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/bookstore-trip-report-tropes-and-trifles-minneapolis-mn/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=165705

This Bookstore Trip Report is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project.

…

I have visited quite a few bookselling establishments over my 30-ish years, but this was my first opportunity to check out a genre-specific bookshop. I follow a number of romance bookshops on social media and as my appreciation for the genre has deepened, I’ve looked forward to patronizing one of these niche shops. Tropes and Trifles in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a great introduction to what a romance bookseller has to offer.

When I think “romance bookstore,” I envision pastels (especially pink), hearts, and an overall coquette aesthetic. This is not Tropes and Trifles, which boasts high ceilings, white walls, and dark wooden shelving. There’s a cute accent wall behind the register where staff have hung garlands of origami hearts and birds in a rainbow of colors. In one corner you’ll find a comfy purple and white couch with some funky purple wooden chairs, perfect for a bookclub gathering.

I really liked the minimalist approach to design, because it really allows the books to shine. The store is also very neat, with orderly shelves and thoughtfully stocked displays. Overstuffed shelves can be overwhelming to shoppers (especially if you were once a librarian and have to stop yourself from instinctively pushing spines out so they all align against the edge of the shelf).

The majority of titles are from within the last five-to-ten years and they sell exclusively new books – no used titles here. You’re not going to find, say, Lynsay Sand’s entire backlist here, or that one Nora Roberts you read back in 2005, though I am sure if you spoke with store employees they could obtain it for you easily. There’s a lot of BookTok and indie rep. None of this is bad — it’s a smart way of stocking, given the current publishing market, and similar to how Barnes and Noble stocks their own shelves. It’s clear the staff knows the market and is working with it rather than against it.

As an example, just below the registers there is a Heated Rivalry display. Given the publisher’s head-scratching decision not to amp up printing ahead of the show’s debut, it’s difficult to find a hard copy of the now highly-sought-after title. Therefore, there were no copies of Heated Rivalry to be had but a great selection of other hockey romances.

Their stock reflects the market today — big walls of dark romance, romantasy and paranormal, and an especially large contemporary section. YA, historical, and classics all had smaller, but well-stocked sections. In addition to the expected subgenres, there was a “not-quite-romance” shelf full of titles that might feature romance but weren’t romances per say, and a selection of graphic novels. I was delighted to also find non-fiction titles, covering subjects like pleasure, anatomy, civil rights, and abortion. Up front you can find a “MN-Related” shelf, full of books with some connection to the state, and the “Local Authors” section.

My one tiny criticism of Tropes and Trifle’s set-up is the number of staff recommendation cards they have on some of the shelving. There were some sections where there were so many it made browsing difficult, as in hard to see the books themselves. It’s wonderful to have booksellers who are so excited about the titles they have to offer, but the number of shelf talkers on display could be scaled back a pinch.

I’m very much a trinkets girlie, so I had fun browsing the non-book offerings. Beyond the branded totes, tees, and mugs, Tropes and Trifles filled displays with scented candles made by local vendors, themed to certain genres or popular characters. There were fancy locally-made chocolates, handmade book sleeves, coloring books, puzzles, book annotation supplies, cards, and my biggest weakness — stickers. My favorite sticker of the bunch was a cute “Girls just wanna have guillotines.” That was the first thing I picked up to purchase.

I like shopping for books in person, precisely because I can be exposed to titles beyond what my algorithm serves. It can be hard for me to sometimes look past reviews when choosing to pick up a title. I find walking aisles, devoid of the stars and commentary of Goodreads/BookTok/reading influencers, can help me find unexpected treasures. With a neat, diverse, and genrefied collection, Tropes and Trifles is a great place to find a hidden gem.

Books and trinkets aside, I want to address how Tropes and Trifles shows up for their neighbors. Because if there’s one metric by which I judge a small business, it’s by how it supports its community. And the community Tropes and Trifles inhabits is currently under attack by our federal government.

The day I visited, ICE agents had been especially active in their neighborhood, which sits only a few blocks away from George Floyd Square. Almost every storefront I passed featured a red and yellow sign, indicating that ICE was prohibited from entering that establishment. Citizens stood on street corners, keeping an eye out for ICE activity, whistles and phones at the ready. Tensions are high everywhere in the Twin Cities, but particularly in the neighborhoods where members of the community are being snatched or assaulted by ICE agents.

Tropes and Trifles have a yellow and red sign at the front. On the display beside the register, there is a bowl of whistles, flyers outlining your rights and how to be an observer, bumper stickers, and buttons. While I browsed the shelves, I noted small mutual aid posters beside the Historical section. And as I was checking out, the store clerk quickly offered me a whistle and the other resources they were offering for free. They told me grimly that they’d gotten a lot of experience in being an observer and using their whistle in the last few days.

Last night, while browsing my socials, I saw a post on the store’s Instagram that they will be closed for sales this coming Friday, January 23rd, in solidarity with the strike calling for an end to ICE’s occupation of the state. However, they will be open as a community resource station with coffee, charging station, and a place to warm up.

Now more than ever, we need to stand up for one another. It’s especially heartening to see a business make the effort to support their neighbors, particularly in light of the harassment other stores have faced as a result of their anti-ICE stance. I was excited to visit a romance bookstore, and now I’m excited to continue supporting a local business that has a proven record of lifting up their community.

…

Thank you for the trip report, Danielle! If you’d like to write a trip report about your visit to a romance-focused bookstore, I would LOVE to hear from you.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/02/bookstore-trip-report-tropes-and-trifles-minneapolis-mn/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=165705