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Which of these look interesting?
Queen of Foxes by Jennifer Estep (March 2027)
0 (0.0%)
The Two of Us at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher (August 2026)
2 (14.3%)
Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella (October 2026)
6 (42.9%)
The Book of Lost Chances by Jennifer Lundquist (March 2027)
3 (21.4%)
Voidwalker by S. A. Maclean (August 2025)
2 (14.3%)
Sunsplitter by S. A. MacLean (August 2026)
1 (7.1%)
The Faerie Handmaid by Louisa Morgan (September 2026)
1 (7.1%)
The Wrath Gods Reap by Abigail Owen (November 2026)
0 (0.0%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
14 (100.0%)
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This month we honor a very beloved Kickass Woman, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean. Dolly Parton was beloved by people across America for her music, her personality, and her philanthropy. The greatness of Dolly Parton is one of the few things that almost everyone, regardless of political affiliation, seems to agree upon.
Dolly’s origin story has been told and retold so often as to make it a modern American legend. She was born 1946 in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, one of twelve children. Her father sharecropped until he was able to buy and work his own small farm. He also worked in construction. Dolly has credited her father for her skill with business and her mother for her skills in music and entertaining.
Performing her song “Jolene” with her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
Dolly started performing as a young child and performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time at the age of 13. She became a successful songwriter for others and had her own first country music hit with “Dumb Blonde” in 1966. Decades came and went and her career had ups and downs, but she was consistently writing, performing, recording, and acting from then until her death on August 25, 2026 at the age of eighty.
She wrote over 3000 songs. Her musical legacy of original songs includes “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5,” “Yellow Roses,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “Jolene.”
Above: video of the first performance of Coat of Many Colors, performed on the Porter Wagoner Show in 1970
Dolly is remembered for her musical legacy, but she was even more beloved for her status as a protector of marginalized people. She was especially beloved by the LGBTQIA+ community, who she vocally and visibly supported LGBT people as early as the 1980s. Her production company (which produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer!) co-produced Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt in 1989, and she contributed the song “Travelin’ Through” to the 2005 movie Transamerica. She supported gay marriage legalization and transgender rights.
“Travelin’ Through” at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006
She also kept her childhood poverty in mind and supported those in her region and across the nation who struggled with poverty. One example lies in her creation of Dollywood, a theme park in her home town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
She purchased and created Dollywood because:
“I always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area.”
Currently Dollywood employs 4000 people. As of 2022, employees of Dollywood who choose to attend college have their tuition, fees, and books paid for by Dollywood.
Probably the project that is most near and dear to the hearts of the Smart Bitch community is her founding of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Dolly founded this program in 1995 and dedicated it to her father, who never learned to read or write. Under this program, the Dollywood Foundation partners with local organizations to provide one free age-appropriate book a month to children from birth until their fifth birthday at no cost to families. The program was launched in Parton’s home county (Sevier County) and is now active across the U.S. as well as Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. As of 2026, 120 million children received books through this program.
The Muppet Show 1987, performing Everyday People written by Sly Stone
Since our feelings about Dolly Parton tend to be personal, I hope you’ll indulge me in a personal story. One day, when I was maybe around ten years old, my auntie came over to help my mom with something or other and they put on a Dolly Parton record. I had just learned a new word so I felt very sophisticated and clever when I said, “Ugh, I hate Dolly Parton, she’s such a bimbo!”
Well, my friends, my auntie’s head whipped around and she fixed me with a look I’ve never seen before or since and said, and I quote her exactly because it’s forever engraved in my brain, “Oh no, she is not! She is a very shrewd business woman!”
Video for Backwoods Barbie, 2009
The ensuing conversation permanently altered my brain chemistry and challenged my young ideas about femininity for the better.
She was candid about her fashion and her plastic surgeries, and when discussing them she somehow managed to convey a consistent message of loving yourself for exactly who you are.
Video for “After the Gold Rush” from 1999, written by Neil Young, performed by lifelong friends and collaborators Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. These women were the country music holy trinity of my youth. As I grew older I learned from their commitments to collaborating with and lifting up other artists as well as themselves. I also loved their refusal to be pigeon-holed into any one musical category, and their advocacy of new music and very very old music alike.
I could never enumerate all of the ways that Dolly Parton made life better. Picking videos for this post feels impossible given not only her own songwriting achievements but also her covers and collaborations. In terms of philanthropy – well, it’s difficult to properly do justice to the life of someone who gave us things as varied as the Covid vaccine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Here’s a few articles that highlight her advocacy and philanthropy:
Supporting LGBTQIA+ Causes: “10 times Dolly Parton cemented her status as an LGBTQ+ icon” by Christopher Wiggins and Neal Broverman, The Advocate
Saving Bald Eagles: “Dolly Parton helped save endangered bald eagles” by Sophie Ellis, Discover Wildlife
Support Black Lives Matter: “‘Of Course Black Lives Matter,’ Dolly Parton Tells Billboard” by Camila Domonoske, NPR
Protecting animals: “Dolly Parton Had a Big Heart for Lonely and Neglected Dogs,” PETA
Supporting Healthcare: “Dolly Parton’s health care legacy: Two decades of giving,” by Austin Littrell. Fact checked by: Keith A. Reynolds, AC Baltz, Medical Economics
Innovative giving after the Smokey Mountain wildfires: “Dolly Parton Provides Fire Victims ‘Shoulder To Lean On'” by Andrew Flanagan, NPR
Encouraging Tennessee kids to stay in school: “How Dolly Parton Helped Lower Dropout Rates by Nearly 30% In Her Area: “Our Patron Saint’” by Rosie Colosi, Today.com
What could possibly close us out but the video for “9 to 5” from 1980?
What are your
austin_dern This time, my second and bunnyhugger's third KennyKon, we got to more of the Informal Take Over Times. These are planned meetups at various rides, over the day, where everyone who wants tries to get in line at the same time and, like, fill up the Grand Carousel with people wearing the ride shirts of obscure and distant parks. This particularly was one of the times we got a bunch of comments about my shirt and none for bunnyhugger's. If I remember right our group either mistimed things or was bigger than could all fit on a single ride, which, when you remember that their carousel has 62 animals (less renovations) plus chariots is quite a bunch. It did give bunnyhugger the chance to ride what she's heard somewhere is the lead horse.
Our next Informal Take Over Time was on the Old Mill, celebrating its 125th year in operation. The digital sign estimating the ride time was badly off, owing to it not anticipating that so many dozens of KennyKon attendees coming in at once. Also that they were putting only two or three people into boats that could handle six or so. It was a chance to roast a little in the midday sun and get into a couple of interrupted-and-resumed conversations as we approached the correct people in the queue.
Old Mill's current theming is based around the comically criminal life of a skeleton whose name I can't recall and the skunk and opossum he pulls into various mishaps. You know, pointing a skunk at the banker and warning ``this is a stink-up!'' It's good fun, albeit not as good as the old mill ride at Rye Playland.
Also somewhere along the way here I changed my camera into a sepia-tone I had no idea existed. I got that sorted out on our way to the Kangaroo ride, which we could hardly go to Kennywood without riding. They seem to have removed the part of the ride that automatically plays a ``boing'' sound effect, but if it's still something the ride operator can trigger manually we didn't hear it. On a similar note the Turtle ride doesn't seem to be automatically accompanied by sound clips from The Master of Disguise, but we didn't ride enough times to really know what took its place.
And before we knew it it was dinner time, so we sought out Pavilions six and seven to join the group dinner. This was also supposed to be time for photographs with Kenny Kangaroo --- dressed up for Mardis Gras Fall Fantasy --- but we were just a bit late. Missed our chance for yet another picture with him, and with Parker The Arrow, and also Jitters, the pre-Kenny ``We have Sid and Marty Krofft at Home'' mascot that's been brought back for the nostalgia value. That's all right; we were in time for the fountain drinks to be open and filled our drink cups about 54 times each.
After I ate so much macaroni and cheese came time for a couple speeches none of which I was asked to make. Mostly about thanking ACE organizers and Kennywood staff for all the work in this, and some things about how many people there were (over three hundred, making it comparable in size to the good old days of Morphicon) and who came from farthest away and trying to congratulate people at their first KennyKon or first ACE event, that sort of thing. Also they were able to return bunnyhugger's attendee badge; her original one had disappeared somewhere, somehow, and while getting a replacement was not a big deal once we found the correct person to ask, this got her the original, like, typeset and not handwritten identification.
We had a little time between the dinner and the parade, so we went over to get our Turtle ride in. But we did have to pause a bit because of the live show we caught a part of. This was a stunt dog act, with the dogs doing things like high jumps or leaping into a tank of water. You do love to see it, even if it's from a great distance and partly obscured because we were behind the bleacher seating. But we got some of the experience, and weren't even too late for the Turtle, last of the tumble bug rides, before we had to head back to the pavilion and be ready for the parade.
Back to pictures we're back at Santa's Village and finishing off the antique autos ride. You really see how I picked these photographs before looking how they'd divide across days.
More scenery spotted during the Antique Autos ride. Uh ... Should we be concerned about the crashed-up sleigh?
Look at that, a car wash! We haven't seen this gimmick before. Later in the day we'd see it had a misting spray turned on so you actually got a little bit wet from it. No idea if the rollers spun any for it but wouldn't that be great?
Couple of figures on rocking horses along the ride that look better when you're seeing them while you drive on past. Also in the background, whatever's across the highway from Santa's Village.
Statue outside the water park that charmed me with its goofiness.
They had a small stage and a couple chicken statues set up to promote this event.
We got back to the pond and noticed there's all kinds of frogs hanging out there.
Trivia: One rock near the footpad of Viking 2's lander in its first transmitted photograph appeared to have been moved by the landing. Source: On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet, Edward Clinton Ezell, Linda Neuman Ezell. NASA SP-4212.
Currently Reading: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach.
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austin_dernI had a rich week on my humor blog, what with a MiSTing, some kvetching about the neighborhood, and starting to review a cartoon someone has been asking me about for years. Here's the recap:
And now for pictures. We'll continue now with things from Santa's Village as of three months ago:
bunnyhugger pauses to look at and probably photograph Buttons with someone else.
And here's the Snowball Ride, which we got on as we wouldn't want to miss a signature ride.
bunnyhugger being all cool and posing for a picture in the photo-op car outside the ride.
For a while in the 2010s the park tried taking on secondary billing as the A-zoo-sment Park and had maybe more animals than they could really responsibly handle. Fortunately that era's passed and there are only a few remnants like this old sign showing Kevin J Dog from the Newshounds web comic.
Back to that ice cream stand; got a detailed photo of the rabbit cookie that looked like Penelope the Californian rabbit.
Tri-Nado was their Troika ride, and stands out from the Cedar Point Troika by its platform being sloped, which you do not expect in an anything.
Past the Tri-Nado we get to Super Cyclone, second-oldest of their extant roller coasters.
The ride is not the same model as used to be at Kokomo's, but you can see the family relationship.
The Wacky Worm was the third and final roller coaster of the day and I was surprised to be allowed to ride it. The ride operator stopped us after our ride to ask about our shirts and other parks we'd been to and I worried he was making the next people wait on us.
Near the Wacky Worm is this large pond that was quite peaceful apart from the sound of frogs.
Antique Autos ride here. As traditional, bunnyhugger drove.
Here's the part where we have to ford a river in the car. Neat touch, huh?
Trivia: The Viking 2 lander's celestial reference point, after landing, was spotting the star Vega, after which it transmitted the first two pictures taken on the surface. Source: On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet, Edward Clinton Ezell, Linda Neuman Ezell. NASA SP-4212.
Currently Reading: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach.
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The Library of Flowers by L.C. Chu is $1.99! This one came out in May and be a leftover deal from the weekend. Hopefully it’s not! This is the pen name for romance author Lily Chu and is a magical realism title.
Rooted in memory and steeped in magic, The Library of Flowers is a radiant exploration of family, identity, and the expectations we inherit, perfect for anyone who has ever carried the weight of a legacy—and dared to make it their own.
For centuries, the Hua women have held sway over the courts of emperors and billionaires with their magical perfumes able to stir hearts and ensure fortunes. And in every fifth generation, an eldest daughter is born with the rarest gift of all: the ability to summon true love.
As a long-awaited fifth daughter, Lucy was supposed to be the miracle her exacting mother had been waiting for. But when her magic failed, Lucy fled Vancouver, her legacy, and the expectations that had nearly broken her. Now, years later, she runs a tiny perfume shop tucked away in Toronto’s Kensington Market—crafting beautiful, perfectly ordinary scents and keeping her extraordinary past firmly behind her. That is, until a death in the family brings her home…and saddles her with an unwelcome inheritance: the centuries-old Hua family register, brimming with secrets, formulas, and forgotten truths.
As Lucy unravels the stories of the women who came before her—including the mother whose complicated heart she never could understand—she must confront the tangled threads of love, power, and identity…and ask herself whether her magic was ever truly gone, or simply waiting for her to decide for herself what it means to be a daughter of the House of Hua.
The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland by Rachael Herron is $2.99 and a KDD! I mentioned this in an August Hide Your Wallet because it sounded like something the Bitchery might be interested in for the fall season.
Most visitors to Skerry Island see only its lush greenery, picturesque cemetery, and quaint downtown. Yet generations of local women know that on Skerry, their benevolent witchcraft is at its most powerful.
Beatrice Barnard doesn’t believe in magic. She definitely doesn’t believe the predictions of the celebrity psychic who claims that she will experience seven miracles and soon after she will die. When she discovers her husband is cheating on her, Bea flees to Skerry Island, off the Pacific Northwest coast, in desperate need of solitude—taking her husband’s birthday vacation by herself. Immediately upon arrival, she finds her life on the line as a rogue woodchopper blade almost kills her. Her survival feels like a miracle.
And then things get more miraculous when she discovers her twin sister, Cordelia, whom she never knew about, and her mother Astrid, who supposedly died when Beatrice was two years old. Astrid and Cordelia reveal that Beatrice (given name Beatrix) is an immensely powerful witch who can commune with the dead, like all the local Holland family witches. When their twin magic is joined, it shines like a beacon to the Velamen family, whose malevolent spirits are locked in an age-old struggle for magical dominance over the Hollands.
Beatrice doesn’t know what to believe, but she begins to fear that the seven predicted miracles may occur, and that her imminent death will rip her away from her rediscovered family. Beatrice resolves to learn everything she can about her own power, in the hope of saving herself. But when her niece, Minna, goes missing, Bea’s own life suddenly seems much less important. Beatrice must join her mother and her sister to save Minna even if she dies in the process.
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson is $1.99! Elyse gave this one a C:
Love in the Time of Serial Killers is an enjoyable book, but I struggle to classify it purely as a romance because so much of the novel is spent on the heroine overcoming her anxieties and struggling to move forward in her adult life.
Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn’t exactly conducive to modern dating—and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she’s used to suspecting the worst.
PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She’s even analyzing the genre in her dissertation—if she can manage to finish writing it. It’s hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn’t had a relationship with for years.
It doesn’t help that she’s low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he’s clearly up to something). But it’s not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier—a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.
Freeing the Wild by Paisley Hope is $1.99! This is book four in the Silver Pines Ranch series and features a romance between a country star and a cowboy.
A country music star finds inspiration in a ruggedly handsome cowboy while visiting Silver Pines Ranch, but being from two totally different worlds, is there even a chance at their budding love story becoming more than a one-hit wonder?
She’s a star on the rise. He just wants to see her shine.
Rising country star Cassie Spencer, otherwise known as the Princess of Bluegrass, is just kicking off her music career when tragedy strikes during her tour. Seeking solace, she retreats to Kentucky to visit her sister Ivy.
Haden Westbrook, the charming heartthrob of Laurel Creek, only wants one a peaceful life tending to the Silver Pines ranch and his beloved horses. So when the stunning, free-spirited Cassie arrives in town causing chaos, his world is turned upside down.
At first, Cassie and Haden seem worlds apart. Yet, as they explore the picturesque farmlands surrounding Sugarland Mountain, they discover first impressions can be deceiving and an undeniable chemistry soon ignites.
Cassie’s stay in Kentucky was only meant to be temporary. But when their spring fling begins to turn into something more, can Haden convince her to stay lost in the country with him?
Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia is $1.99! This is a road trip romance with a lot of nods to reading and writing romance. However, I have some hesitation on seeking out some dude who was the basis of a fictional character.
“Juicy, silly, delightful, hilarious, hot, heartfelt—all the things romance readers love best.” —Elle magazine
NAMED A BEST BOOK by Goodreads, Elle Magazine, Bustle, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and many more!
From Cosmopolitan’s Cosmo Reads imprint comes a love letter to romance readers that is in turns chaotic, sexy, and addictively joyful.
Joonie has two great loves. Writing fanfic about her favorite fantasy romance series and swooning over its hero, Ryke, a broody, impossibly perfect merman. No real-life boyfriend has ever come close. Why settle for ordinary when your fictional crush is…well, an impossibly hot, impossibly wonderful Ryke?
But then Joonie discovers a Ryke was inspired by a real man. And she’s determined to find him. Cue a whirlwind road trip, complete with her brother’s aggravatingly hot best friend at the wheel, clumsy kidnappers, psychics, and her fiercely loyal fanfic crew. He doesn’t believe in love. She refuses to believe in anything else. And neither is ready for the sparks that start flying.
Filled with crackling banter, laugh-out-loud chaos, and swoony heat, Female Fantasy is an unapologetic ode to the romance genre and the readers who love it. Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry, and B.K. Borison.
Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta is $2.99! This is a queer horror romance and I mentioned this on Get Rec’d. This writing duo’s debut was a contemporary romance, so I was pretty excited to see this change in genre.
For readers of Nightbitch and We Ride Upon Sticks, this strange and sexy novel of queer love in a small town is an unsettling reminder that the horrors of modern life are monsters ready to possess us all.
In the valley at the intersection of three towering mountains sits Cadenze, an ugly, remote town with little to its name. It’s filled with tourists in the summer and dead the rest of the year, when most of its residents surrender to a sleepier existence. Except, that is, for whatever is lurking in the caves…
Angelina Sicco was born and raised in Cadenze, and for many generations, so was every member of her family. Determined to be content with her lot in life, she walks her mongrel dog, attends her brother’s heavy metal concerts, holds court in the local dive bar, and does everything she can to bait hot, queer women to her sleepy, conservative hometown. But on the night of a family party much like every other, Angelina runs into Patrick’s ex, the sternly handsome Jagvi, who’s back in town for a spell. Perhaps enticed by Jagvi’s arrival, an ancient evil lying dormant in those caves is awakened, and soon Angelina’s small, contained world begins to shatter.
As the monstrous force grows bolder, it infiltrates Angelina’s life. It talks with her dog’s mouth; it guzzles on her memories; it controls Angelina from the inside. Only Jagvi’s touch repels it — the final trigger for a secret, passionate romance. But this monster feasts on all the passion, heartbreak, and mess that makes up a life, and Angelina Sicco’s life has never looked tastier. What will Angelina do to protect her future? And what will it cost her?
A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell is $4.99! This is book one in the Daughters of Genius Society series. It appears to have some steampunk elements, but is also labeled as “Christian fiction.”
Miss Clara Marie Stanton’s family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren’t insane.
London, England, 1860
When Clara’s ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it’s all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society’s prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara’s Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara’s dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer’s trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself–at any cost.
Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare is $1.99! This is a sapphic romance with two women in timelines that are five months apart. I also really like this cover.
A multiverse novel about two women who fall in love despite living in worlds that are five months apart, as they try to find a timeline that doesn’t end in disaster, in this debut novel by Annie Mare.
Tressa Fay Robeson has never been shy, which is how she’s made a name for herself as an in-demand hairstylist and social media star. So she can admit that spending her days at her hair salon and her nights with her tight-knit group of friends (and one grumpy cat) is not the kind of exciting life she’d hoped for.
When a misdirected text from a stranger leads to a flirty exchange, she surprises herself by suggesting an impulsive meetup. But the woman, Meryl, never shows. Tressa Fay brushes it off—until Meryl’s sister and friend show up at the salon demanding to know what’s going on. Because, you see, there’s no way Meryl could have texted her. Meryl has been missing for a month.
Tressa Fay and her tight-knit group of friends soon discover they aren’t dealing with a catfish, but a temporal paradox. As they come to terms with the idea of parallel universes, they realize how many times their paths have crossed like this before. But even as they understand the multiverse more and more, nothing keeps Meryl from vanishing.
As it draws closer to the moment of Meryl’s disappearance, there’s only one question Have they done enough to change the outcome, or have they done so much that none of them will make it past that fateful day in September?
cakewrecks_feed"Hi, I'd like to order a monkey cake for my son, but I want to make sure there won't be any mix-ups like what happened last week."
"Oh? What happened last week?"
"Well, I brought in a reference for my nephew's monkey cake - a paper party plate - and you guys just took a picture of it and glued the picture to the cake!"
"I see. And that's bad because....?"
"Because I just wanted the monkey! Not the paper plate!!"
"OH! Oh, yes! Of course. Sorry, I thought that was some kind of a pun."
[silence]
"So...look, this time, just to be extra clear, I brought you a picture of the actual cake I want you to make. Here:"
"So you want a cake that looks just like this?"
"That's right, a cake that looks JUST LIKE THAT."
[silence]
"I think we can do that."
"Good. Thank you. I'm so glad we got that cleared up."
****
Poor 2nd Devon. (Or is that 2rd Devon?) Although I guess it IS kind of fitting that the Devon copy gets a cake copy (complete with copied candles!). Hey, how much do you wanna bet his presents were all just pictures of toys? :D
Thanks for the monkey business, Kee & Erin M.
*****
P.S. It's never too early to start decorating for spooky season, and these stick-on bats were my biggest hit last year:
3D Halloween Bats, Exterior Grade, 60 pc set
They're made of sturdy plastic, come in 4 different sizes, and have adhesive pads to easily stick them up anywhere in or outside your home. (I put a whole belfry of them on our front door.) (I don't know if "belfry" is right, but I'm going with it. :D) Even better, the whole 60 piece set is only $8 Prime!
malada
james_davis_nicoll
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With fall nipping at our noses, everyone seems to be in the mood for the queer romance equivalent of a pumpkin spice latte this month, so let’s get to it and mix it up a bit!
Author: Isabel Sterling
Released: September 8, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance
A witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town B&B instead finds herself spellbound by her non-magical client in this cozy and enchanting sapphic romance.
Steadily losing clients to the new DIY-magic shop on the other side of town, Pippa Ainsley is getting desperate. Instead of hiring the witch to correct their magical maladies, local mundanes have been taking their chances with the cheaper—and unpredictable—crystals and herb blends. So when Pippa’s best friend hires her to inspect his newly acquired bed-and-breakfast for ghosts, she doesn’t think twice about it.
That is, until she learns that his unfairly attractive co-owner, Elle Thompson, doesn’t want Pippa to rid their business of spirits. She wants Pippa to give them an edge over the competition by haunting their B&B.
It’s the perfect challenge for Pippa’s experimental magic, but just because she could figure it out, doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe idea. But Elle is persistent, and the financial boost could save her own business if Pippa succeeds. Soon, Pippa finds herself testing the limits of her magic… and her ability to stop the growing attraction she feels toward Elle, a woman with a painful secret of her own.
Isabel Sterling’s These Witches Don’t Burn is maybe YA’s biggest Sapphic witch book, so we’re blessed to see her taking her talents to adult for the first time. Cozy, witchy, and perfectly playing on the concept of “haunting” in romance, this sweet and sexy PNR is the perfect pick to ring in autumn.
Author: Adib Khorram
Released: September 22, 2026 by Forever
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Love on the Vine #3
To deter his ex, a lovelorn cellist starts a fake relationship with his one-night stand in this steamy, swoony fake dating romance from USA Today bestselling author Adib Khorram.
Arya’s always been a “one-and-done” man when it comes to romance—but with his friends all pairing up and the big 4-0 creeping ever closer, he’s starting to question his life choices. Especially when he discovers his latest hookup is the new committee chair for the charity ball Arya’s company is planning.
Ben’s plan to start over in Kansas City isn’t going so great. And having to spend lots of time with the one-night stand who ghosted him isn’t helping. Worse yet, when his ex-boyfriend shows up looking for a reunion, a panicked Ben claims he’s already moved on—with Arya.
Torn between staying professional and helping the man he can’t forget, Arya agrees to give Ben a hand, in exchange for Ben’s help landing a big client. But when the lines start to blur, they’ll have to decide if it’s time to change their tunes about love.
If you ask me for my top m/m recs, I am always gonna come back shouting about Adib Khorram, who not only brings rare Persian rep but whose Love on the Vine series (of which this is the third book) is also heavy on food, wine, and spice. I can’t wait to see the whole gang again (and I love that male friendship is such a major element of this series), and fauxmances that start with one night stands just hit different for me in the best way.
Author: Timothy Janovsky
Released: September 29, 2026 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame ―not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant…
Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.
With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?
Janovsky is such a fun jack of all romance subgenres, and of course he had to go paranormal for fall. But my favorite thing about this premise is that our rock star MC is in a boy band of brothers a la the Jonases. It’s cute, it’s clever, and it culminates in Halloween. What more can a mood reader ask for?
Author: Bei Lin
Released: September 29, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
A candid exploration of identity and the love we deserve, this steamy rom-com will remind you that sometimes you have to get a little lost before you can find yourself.
Daniel Wu’s life in Amsterdam is far from spontaneous. When his boyfriend dumps him on the same day a work mishap lands him on leave, he breaks all his rules by impulsively escaping to Beijing to visit his best friend Poppy.
There’s just one hitch—Poppy isn’t there.
Alone in the foreign city his late father grew up in, Daniel wants nothing more than to fly home early. After all, running away is what he does best. But then Poppy signs him up for a tour of the Great Wall.
Enter Yang Li, the PhD student moonlighting as a tour guide. A transplant to Beijing, Yang has never felt at home in the bustling capital—or with himself. Cynical and disciplined, he isn’t the least impressed when Daniel shows up to their tour hours late. The tour is painful in more ways than one, but at least it’s a one-time ordeal.
Then life pushes them together again and again, until time spent together over stunning sights and mind-blowing eats feels less like vacation and more like finally finding home.
From Beijing, to Xi’an, to Tokyo, will they confront their own ghosts—past and present—to find their happily-ever-after?
Brimming with humor, wanderlust, and emotional vulnerability, this charming debut is perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall.
Moving off the Halloween path, I’m so excited for this debut gay whirlwind romance set in Beijing. A slow burn with food and travel across East Asia? This is exactly my jam, and the perfect way to soothe my post-summer wanderlust.
Author: Emma Alban
Released: September 29, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance
A hauntingly good sapphic paranormal romance from USA Today bestselling author Emma R. Alban.
A struggling writer falls for the hot ghost mom she meets in the iconic Dakota Building in a romance perfect for fans of The Dead Romantics.
Frannie’s awful boss, celebrated literary novelist Henry L. Olsen, just told her that her latest manuscript is a dud—again. Frustrated and lonely, Frannie stomps around the ninth floor of the famously haunted Dakota Building in Manhattan, desperate for something to change. And then, something does.
Bridgette, the ghost of a little girl from 1889, appears out of nowhere and asks Frannie to play catch. Shocked, and wildly curious, Frannie says yes to the ghostly invitation, and soon meets Bridgette’s ghost-brother, Michael . . . and the children’s exceedingly attractive and aloof 1960s ghost mom, Elsa.
Fascinated, and more than a little flustered, Frannie starts secretly writing a book about Elsa (a.k.a. Hot Ghost Mom). And while her boss is on book tour, through a mutual affection for musicals, banter, and the ghost children, Frannie and Elsa slowly become friends, until Frannie finds herself tumbling head over heels in love with a ghost tied to a building she couldn’t afford to live in over four lifetimes.
Now, Frannie either has to give up her ambitions of becoming a novelist to remain Henry’s assistant in the Dakota forever, or somehow free her ghost family from their immortal home. With her career, future, and heart on the line, can Frannie find a way to write them all a happily ever after . . . life?
Emma R. Alban brings her signature swoon-worthy writing to another gorgeous sapphic love story that will have every reader yearning for their own Hot Ghost Mom.
Alban is best known for her Victorian romances (and don’t worry, she’s got one of those coming up in January, too), but she’s stepping out of the historical box for the first time with a PNR involving a hot ghost mom, an iconic NYC building, and a fabulous tagline. Bring on the boo babe!
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Jess Rothschild is a podcaster and journalist, one of the founding writers at Autostraddle, and her latest project is a documentary podcast called Finding Fire Island, about the history of Fire Island, Cherry Grove, and the Pines.
Her prior work includes The Cult of Body and Soul, about SoulCycle, and I love BOTH of these productions. Jess has been writing online longer than I have, and we talk about internet history, the process of making a podcast documentary, and what it’s like to have all your neighbors tell their most juicy, gossipy stories to you. For work.
Finding Fire Island is a unique historical record, and I hope you’ll listen or watch.
Please be advised that you can’t talk about gay history in the US without talking about the AIDS epidemic and the loss of so many people, so this episode is a little poignant at times.
Listen to the podcast →
You can find Jess Rothschild on Instagram @JessXNYC.
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Thanks for listening!
Picture this.
You left your hometown with a broken heart, a big dream, and every intention of never looking back. Then life starts lifeing. It laughs at your plans and sends you home.
That’s where A Hard Habit to Break begins.
Architect Rachel Johnson returns to the tiny mountain town of Service, West Virginia, for one reason: her father’s wedding. Two weeks. That’s all she has to survive. There’s just one tiny complication. The man she never quite got over still lives next door.
Firefighter Noah Calvary has spent years convincing himself that first loves belong in the past. Then Rachel pulls into town with a successful career, a designer wardrobe, and because the universe has an excellent sense of humor, another man.
Awkward?
Absolutely.
Over?
Not even close. In fact, they get roped into serving on the town’s redevelopment committee…together.
What follows is a delicious collision of professional rivalry, meddling family, small-town gossip, old memories, new secrets, and enough sparkling banter to make you grin when no one’s looking. Beneath every laugh is a question: what if the life you were chasing cost you the love you were meant to keep?
If you adore second chances, crackling chemistry, laugh-out-loud moments, swoony MMCs who know exactly when to stand their ground (and when to let a remarkable woman soar) it is the romance you’ve been waiting for.
Because sometimes the hardest habit to break isn’t going home. It’s pretending you stopped loving the person who always felt like home.
A Hard Habit to Break by Siera London is a story about choosing love without losing yourself, finding hope where you least expect it, and discovering that happily ever after deserves a second chance.
Come back to Service, West Virginia. Noah and Rachel are waiting for you.
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It seems hideously unfair to lose Dolly Parton and Tim Curry on same day, right? Like, what the hell?
There are a LOT of Tim Curry landmark performances, which makes for a whopper of a career retrospective.It’s like a giant game of “Yes, and…” over the course of 40+ years.
I’m really glad I’m not in charge of editing that video. Egads.
Curry, like Dolly, was an icon, which is a rather neat concept because I don’t think the adjective can be applied until after one’s work is done. Doing the thing doesn’t make someone an icon; having done the thing and then seeing the culture-renovating impact it had renders someone an icon. It’s a status that emerges from the past and stays in present and into the future.
While I do love Dr. Furter, and I love the fact that he was himself a Muppet, the role that truly introduced me to Curry was Clue. I remember when Clue was in theaters, and there were three possible endings, so depending on which theater and showing you went to, you saw one killer unveiled while other moviegoers saw a different ending.
Here’s a collection of some of his best scenes in Clue:
“I buttle, sir.”
What are your favorite Tim Curry performances?
And! If you have Friday Videosuggestions, please email me – I’d love to share your favorites.
Friday Videos wish you a very entertaining weekend!
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