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Posted by SB Sarah

A Soul to Keep
A | BN
Every now and again, I get to do a crossover episode with the Heaving Bosoms podcast. We pick a truly bonkers sexy book, and recap it across two shows. In this case – it’s three shows.

Hi Heaving Bosoms listeners! I’m so happy you’re here!

This time, Melody asked if I had any suggestions for a title. YES I DID. A Soul to Keep: Duskwalker Brides: Book One by Opal Reyne ( A | BN ) was taking up a LOT of room in my brain and I needed to discuss it with someone. Thank goodness Melody emailed me.

So, first, THIS IS SO NSFW. Seriously.

Second, if you want the full recap, check out Heaving Bosoms part 1 and 2 this week, and join us for part three here.

 

 

 

Listen to the podcast →
Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

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What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

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Posted by Jesse Kessenheimer

Parades are a fun way for humans to gather as a community and celebrate positivity. It's pride month here in the U S of A, so that means pride parades are cropping up in every major city as the LGBTQ+ community gathers in droves. Iconic, fabulous paraders make their way down the streets clad in feathers, glitter, and every color of the rainbow, but none are as dazzling or charismatic as an orange cat named Selkirk. 

Spokane-born and a current resident of a local firehouse, Selkirk became a viral sensation over the weekend at the Washington parade, simply by being the cutest, most adorable attendee on the docket. His cattitude was unrivaled, his esteem was clear, and the crowd went absolutely wild to see just a corner of his orange Dorito-shaped ears. See for yourself the adorable legend that was born, becoming the clear hero of the day and outshining the firefighters he accompanied with his unmatched charms.

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Posted by Sarah Brown

We all know that feeling. You open your eyes, the world is blurry, and before that first magical sip of coffee, you're basically a grumpy cat. Full of cattitude and silently judging everything in sight. The sun is too bright, people are too loud, and even your favorite cozy spot isn't quite right. Without coffee, mornings are just a parade of annoyances, and you're perched there like a fluffy little menace, ready to unleash your hissterical disapproval on anyone who dares speak to you.

Coffee is the magic that transforms us from catastrophically cranky to purrfectly pleasant. One sip, and suddenly the world seems a little less offensive. Your inner judgy kitty retreats (at least a bit), and you might even manage a slow blink of tolerance at those around you.

So whether it's your first cup or your third, just remember: it's completely normal to feel like a sassy, side-eyeing furball until the coffee kicks in. Now paws what you're doing and go refill that mug. Because the world deserves your caffeinated best, not your unfiltered cattitude!

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Posted by Sarah Brown

Anxiety can creep up like a cat at 3 a.m., knocking things over when you least expect it. One minute you're fine, the next your brain's doing zoomies, chasing worries around like a kitty after a red dot. And don't even get us started on social anxiety. That special kind of panic when you realize you have to open your mouth and form actual words. Suddenly, saying "hello" feels like trying to herd a room full of cats.

Even the simplest chat can make your heart thump like a cat spotting a vacuum cleaner. Your thoughts scatter like startled mice, and suddenly you're just trying to hide the invisible ear flicks and whisker twitches of panic.

But here's the good mews: you're not alone. That's why we have cat memes to help us laugh at the chaos. Because sometimes the best way to handle life's anxiety is with a little humor and a lot of whiskered wisdom. 

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Posted by Laurent Shinar

Look, to be straight up with you, everyone can be at the point of being one email away from a break-down, even at the beginning of the work week. But when you are dangling your toes over the edge looking off into the weekend, the chances that an email will make you lose your mind are exponentially higher. So we wanted to make sure that you had some support to keep you from losing your mind and likely your job before the work week is out.

And as you will know very well by know, one of the best ways to soothe the hooman mind is with cat memes. But we have not just any ordinary cat memes lined up for you today. We have the kind of cat memes that come from a cat who has been so deep inside of his own mind any time he talks he looks like the Cheshire Cat. Demonic, full of intrusive thoughts, and completely unpredictable. You know, to match your vibe right now.

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Posted by Laurent Shinar

You know that voice in the back of your head. The one that comes around when you are meant to be working but instead you are doing literally anything else. Well, believe it or not, that voice is not actually your own. It belongs to a cat, whether near or far, who has been staring silently at you, judging you for not working. And the voice comes as a result of the cat getting so fed up that they communicate with you telepathically to get your butt back to work. It is a centuries old system that cats developed to make sure that they and all their friends are properly cared for by their pawrents.

And one of the most important parts of that is their pawrents earning enough to bring home the bacon, and tuna, and chinkem. Now scroll through this list, learn your lesson and get back to work, otherwise there will be a very menacing cat who will follow you home from work.

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Posted by SB Sarah

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you!

Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun!

If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.

Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.

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Posted by Ayala Sorotsky

Some weeks feel like they're stuck on an endless Monday loop. The coffee's not strong enough, the deadlines keep multiplying, and the weekend is nowhere in sight. When life starts dragging its paws, there's only one thing to do: turn to the one constant in this chaotic world. We're talking about funny cat memes, of course.

Yes, fellow feline fanatic fans, this is your official prescription for a case of midweek monotony. Because if there's anything that can snap us out of a work loop or make us forget how many unread emails we've got, it's a long, luxurious scroll through the comedic gold that is cats being absolutely ridiculous.

So go ahead, pause whatever Very Important Task you're pretending to care about, and dive into the glorious absurdity that is the world of cats. Your brain deserves a break, and your soul deserves a good, long laugh (with extra toe beans). Getting through the week with some feline funnies is the way to go about it.

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Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, & More

Jun. 19th, 2025 03:30 pm
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Posted by Amanda

An Immense World

An Immense World by Ed Yong is $2.99! I believe Aarya mentioned this on a previous Hide Your Wallet and I’ve heard it’s wonderful on audio. Did any of you pick this one up?

Enter a new dimension—the world as it is truly perceived by other animals—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of I Contain Multitudes.

“A stunning achievement, steeped in science but suffused with magic.”—Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Gene

The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world.

In An Immense World, author and Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.

Funny, rigorous, and suffused with the joy of discovery, An Immense World takes us on what Marcel Proust called “the only true voyage . . . not to visit strange lands, but to possess other eyes.”

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Poppy War

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is $1.99! I will warn that this fantasy novel is very graphic; please check triggers. This was Kuang’s debut and it sold really well.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Not In My Book

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is $1.99! This came out in December and was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet. This is an enemies to lovers romance with aspiring writers.

**Rosie writes romance novels and listens to Taylor Swift on loop. Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings. They’re about to write a book together—what could go wrong?

The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.**

Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre or for Rosie.

Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must cowrite a novel that blends their genres.

The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings—and explore their attraction toward each other.

When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved—unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Starlight Heir

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard is $2.99! I believe this is Howard’s first fantasy romance. It released earlier this year. Have any of you read this one?

A bladesmith blessed by the stars. A prince with a dangerous secret. A god bound in shadows. From USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard comes a scorching new romantasy that will leave you spellbound.

“His Imperial Majesty King Zarek requests your presence as his esteemed guest.”

When the gold-dusted court invitation arrives at Suraya Saab’s forge, she believes it’s a joke. Nobles might seek her skills as a bladesmith—one of few who can imbue her work with precious jadu, the last source of magic in the realm—but she has no qualifications as a potential bride for the crown prince. Still, the invitation is the chance at adventure, and the means to finally visit the capital city her late mother loved.

But what awaits her in Kaldari is nothing she could have imagined—and fraught with danger. It’s not the crown prince, but his impossibly handsome, illegitimate half-brother, Roshan, who captures her interest…and her ire. The invitation isn’t a quest to find a suitable bride, but a veiled hunt for the Starkeeper—a girl rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood. And across the city, unrest is brewing between the noble houses and the rebel militia.

When the rebels attack, Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run, trying to deny their simmering attraction and the knowledge that Suraya herself might be the Starkeeper. But Roshan is guarding secrets of his own. And with no control over the power stirring within her, Suraya has drawn the attention of a dark god, an immortal whose interest might be the biggest threat of all.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

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Posted by Mariel Ruvinsky

The thing is… we know that we talk to our cats a little too much sometimes. We're aware. We just… don't care. Having conversations with our cats is fun. And yes, we do mean having conversations. Yes, full-blown conversations with them. Because cats talk back to us all the time, and just because we don't understand exactly what they are saying, and they don't fully understand what we are saying, does not mean that we should be impolite and ignore them. 

Cats like it when we talk with them, and we like it too, so what's the harm, right? Well, usually, there isn't. When you are alone in your house, having even one of those full-blown conversations with your cats is completely fine. But if someone hears you two… well, then things might get a little awakward. Especially if some of the nicknames that you have for your cats might be a little bit weird, and the phone receptionist at customer service doesn't realize it's the cat that you are talking to.

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Posted by Blake Seidel

Howdy, friends, felines, and everyone else on the internet with a passion for cute cats. If you're here, you're probably a feline fanatic, like us. We wear it as a symbol of pride, a badge of honor, and it is 100% our entire purrsonality. There are worse purrsonalities to have, like being a purrson who always puts kale in their smoothies. Yuck. But today, we're celebrating one of the most meowjestic, the most meowrvelous, and certainly one of the floofiest cat breeds in all of existence - the maine coon.

These cats are large and in charge, but they also look like they have some cloud or feather duster DNA in their ancient feline lineage. These regal beauties have the spirit of a lion but the fluff of a cute cloud - meaning that they will rule your living room and then shed all over it. It's okay, we're used to it by this point. We hope you enjoy these purrfectly regal cats that look like they're also part marshmallow!

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Posted by Blake Seidel

We joke all the time about being a millennial cat dad because if you can't make fun of yourself, you're taking life too seriously. Recently, it was Father's Day, and we sent a sarcastic, yet silly, note in our family group chat accusing everyone of not wishing us a happy Father's Day. Our parents responded with, "But you're not a father!", to which we said, "How dare you! Mr. Whiskers is our child!" We weren't really upset that nobody wished us a happy Father's Day (even Mr. Whiskers), but the sentiment remains true: he is our literal cat child.

And he's way more purrfect than any of your hooman children, anyway. He's clean, only cries when he's hungry or we haven't paid enough attention to him, and we haven't once had to change his diaper (he doesn't even have a diaper). So, if you're like us and you treat your cats like your fur babies, welcome. This is a safe space for you. And better yet, we've got a bunch of cat memes that just make sense for us pawrents. Enjoy!

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Posted by Mariel Ruvinsky

Anybody out there who thinks that being a momma cat is easy because cats are "independent" is wrong. Being a cat momma is hard work. Because before your kittens get all independent… well, they need to be taught how to be independent. Kittens need to learn how to drink water from a bowl without getting it all up in their noses. Kittens need to learn how to communicate properly - so that they know exactly how to demand everything that they need from their human servants. 

Being a cat mom to one kitten is enough work. Hard work. But most momma cats don't give birth to just one kitten. It's usually around four kittens per litter, maybe six, depending on the breed of the cat. Eight is the most that we have heard of before. And yet, this momma cat has broken the record. The human who had rescued her thought that, after hours and hours of delivery, seven was going to be the end of it, but the next morning… they got a couple more surprises. 

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What is Your Current Crafty Focus?

Jun. 19th, 2025 06:00 am
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Posted by SB Sarah

I’m curious about your crafting and hobbies and what you’re up to! What are you doing lately to support and recharge yourself?

(I’m very nosy this week. )

  Tara: I’m playing Hades again and have also been playing Balatro on my Nintendo Switch for months.

Sarah: Hades! There is a lot of Balatro happening in Casa Wendell amongst my offspring.

Tara: I think I’ve played almost 400 hours of Balatro since December :face_with_peeking_eye: .

It’s a perfect game to play while listening to podcasts!

Sneezy: Pencil crayons!

A pencil image by Sneezy of a deep blue background with floating gold and rose orbs, with a large spotted whale swimming through and a bunny sitting on top
Original art by Sneezy

Sometimes we collect stuff for hobbies and feel guilty about not using them. And sometimes we really want to make stuff and Past Us is all, “WE GOT YOU SHINIES!!!!” and we say, “YEAH!!!!” and definitely didn’t use misuse our Bad Decisions Book Club card.

This was a prompt from my friend! “A bunny riding on a whale shark, swimming through a river of stars”

Who can resist a prompt like that?

Claudia: I am continuing with my ceramics education (really, I need summer school!! It does not come to me ‘naturally’ or whatever that’s supposed to mean.)

At the behest of a dear friend I am also taking a six-week flower arrangement class this summer!

Shana: Please share what you learn, Claudia! I went to a flowering arranging event recently and discovered it’s not a skill that comes naturally to me.

Claudia: I will! I feel I do not have a “good eye” so I am looking forward to learning more about composition etc

Shana:  I’ve been knitting again recently and I love the repetitive math. It’s very relaxing.

Elyse: Every year Westknits does a Yarn a Long Craft Camp. You can buy the kits from Stephen and Penelope and they release three shawl patterns over the course of the summer.

I’m working on the first shawl right now and I’m enjoying all the new techniques I’m learning, but it’s definitely “pay attention knitting” and not TV knitting.

Lara: I desperately want to craft more. I miss it a lot. I have so many projects planned out in my head but finding the time to action them is proving tricky with a baby in the house.

I do have one craft going at the moment. I’m knitting a baby jersey. So much quicker than a jersey for adults!

Amanda: Not crafting, but a lot of mobile games or gaming on handheld systems in bed. It’s what I do as a nighttime wind down routine to help combat doomscrolling. So something a bit mindless and repetitive like the games Tara mentioned have been great. Brian also plays a lot of Balatro as wind down time.

Sarah: Agatha Andrews of the She Wore Black podcast recommended sticker by number books and I am intrigued:

One unexpected treat for me recently is I’ve discovered a mild addiction to Sticker by Number books with vintage imagery.

I’ve been doing these while listening to audiobooks and it’s done a lot to decrease my stress after some really difficult days. Here are two I suggest if you want to give it a try.

Brain Games - Sticker by Number - Vintage: Birds Bird illustrations against a cream background Brain Games - Sticker by Number - Vintage: Flowers An arrangement of flowers against a black background

Sticker books seem to be a very trendy hobby, which makes my elder heart very happy since I had a sticker scrapbook I adored when I was a kid.

I just got a pitch yesterday about Fall in Love & Save the World, a Rrrrrrrrrrrromantasy sticker book with illustrations by Catarine Cruz: 

a pink and peach background with illustrations related to romantasy around the outside like hearts, daggers, ravens, etc. the center title and author are on slanted ribbons of cream and green

I wanted a closer look and Noelle Brown at S&S sent me some sample images – some of these I want, like, right now, and so does my 8 year old self, despite not knowing what rrrrrrromantasy is.

A sample page of stickers including a magician with a yellow cape and a green gown, a sword, dragon, rose, bag of gold, stickers that say grumpy/sunshine, meet cute, and slow burn, a doorway leading to afantasy land with a river and mountain, a wolf, dove, and some images of people and couples
Illustrations from “Fall In Love & Save The World” by Catarina Cruz. Copyright © 2025 by Simon & Schuster, LLC. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

I typically cross stitch and listen to audiobooks, but I could get into sticker books. I could get into them very easily, she said ominously. What a perfect marriage of low-stakes craft and high-grade nostalgia.

Currently my cross stitch project is this tarot card:

A cross stitch of a tarot card called The Reader, with a book open and a deep blue sky with rainbows, stars hearts and moons rising from the pages

But I also have added shelving to my sewing area in the basement because I wanted to see all of my fabric instead of digging through different storage bins.

my sewing area: a white sewing table with a fold-down leaf, a chair, and some ikea kallax shelves with bins, drawers, and storage containers on shelves containing diferent sized fabric. There's a red hardware organizer on top, which is also filled with scrap squares and my sewing tools There's also a dresser to the left with a cutting mat on top.

That’s a quilt I’m working on right now – I finished the top and am working on piecing the back.

Because of the weirdness of prices, especially on imported goods, I am determined to shop my own stash, given that I have a solid number of fat quarter bundles and yardage I bought on sale. And as we all know: acquiring the supplies and using the supplies are two different hobbies.

What about you? What crafts or hobbies or activities are you spending time with lately?

NB: I’ve enabled images in the comments so you can share pictures if you wish! 

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Posted by Lana DeGaetano

The cat distribution system knows exactly how to work itself out, even in a homeowners' association. More like hoMEOWners, am I right?

In true feline fashion, this story touches on the rather curious and persistent nature of the feline friends who live amongst us. They will do anything for some cuddles, pets, and Churus, so it only makes sense that the star of this story, Blue the cat, makes himself as known as possible to one homeowning family.

An HOA board explains that the "community cat" should be released back into the HOA's neighborhood. Fine. Once the cat claims a family to be their home base and takes walks with the dog pawrents and their canines, it's apparently a problem. Well, if they want to enforce a strict leash rule, they never said the dog parent had to be holding the leash. Scroll below to read about the howlarious meowlicious compliance that ensues…

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