The SMULYMPICS
Goooooooooood Morning World!!!!!!!
Can you smell that?
That is the smell of chlorine mixed with astroturf and chalk, also known as victory! As I wake up on this August 12th, I am surrounded by winners. Team USA won 126 medals (35 more than any other country) and the characters of these books won countless times in bed. It's been a good month and a half! Both the Olympics and SMULYMPICS had us all in the mood to win.
Now, if you are reading this and you are confused about what I am talking about, let me clarify: 1) The Olympics are a sacred tradition where every four years the world’s best athletes come together to compete to see who can become an Olympian and 2) I am a girl who reads dirty books and comes up with excuses to read more, and then makes people listen to me yapp about them! So this year, in honor of the Olympics, I created the SMULYMPICS. This is where I read sports/olympic-related romance books for a month and some change to fully immerse myself in the Olympics in the most “me” way possible.
“How was it?” you may ask.
FREAKIN’ INCREDIBLE! Every day I read about sexy athletes doing sexy things and then once the games started, I got to see said sexy athletes do sexy things. Pretty much… I have been living the dream!!!
I feel like I should also mention that I would not classify myself as a lover of sports. I am one of the least competitive people you will ever meet and I've never understood why people wear matching outfits and run around for hours, unless it is done with music and a plot. However, with age comes maturity, and with every day I age I see more value in the hard work and dedication these athletes put into their work. Through these books I’ve learned about their perseverance and I see their struggles. Oh… and have I mentioned yet that it's sexy? Yes? Okay! Well yeah, good Lord, thank you to Speedo and the work they are doing. All jokes aside, reading these books that put me in the mind of the athletes has given me a deep respect for sports and the athletes themselves. Give me a story and some character development and I will be content!
I read books that centered around my favorite sports (F1 and Baseball) but also branched out to books about sports which I couldn't care less about (Golf). I said: “I will broaden my horizons, if it's the last thing I do”. Where did that get me? Well, after reading the Stroked Series I will now be shelling out hundreds to thousands of dollars in 2028 to watch swimming at the Olympics in LA. But more shockingly (especially to my BFF and my step-dad), I am golf's newest fan. You heard me. Tessa Bailey's masterpiece Fangirl Down has me obsessed with all things PGA tour related and with the Netflix documentary Full Swing . I don't recognize the words that come out of my mouth anymore. I cry watching medal ceremonies. I am a changed woman.
And, at the end of the day, that's why I do SMUNTH. SMUNTH was created to take something I already love, i.e. romance novels, and use them to learn new things and grow. As silly as it always sounds, these books have pushed me to change my way of thinking and become a more inquisitive and thoughtful person. I would have watched the Olympics regardless, but because of these books, this year was the first year I cared deeply about the athletes and their journeys to get them there. I fell in love with characters like Resse King, Ryan Shaye, Andie Foster, and Black Stone. I cried through their books and viscerally experienced their journeys. This year, the Olympians in Paris were humans who experience life as well and so when Katie Ledikey won the same event for the fourth time, I cried like a baby.
I am sure this doesn't come as a surprise but once again I will say I believe in SMUNTH. Not only does reading romance novels fill you with positive affirmations of love but they also instill a healthy dialogue about sex. They unlock your emotions and broaden your horizons. As always, I am not forcing anyone to go on the journey with me if they don't want to, but if you do, I will hold your hand through it. Remember, I come up with themes and do challenges for myself but you get to decide what the rules are for you, what you want to explore and what your boundaries are. I hope to see you all along my journey and I hope to chat with you @its.smunth on instagram and TikTok. So let's leave Paris and head out West. Let's get Wild.
Lots of Love,
Liv
My SMUNTH Reads
Plus honorable mentions
Rating system: (this is based on price, just try and come between me and my kindle)
⭐️Library, ⭐️⭐️kindle, ⭐️⭐️⭐️paperback, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️hard cover,
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ special edition
Spice level:
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Oh my God, I didn’t know you could do that!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Not suitable to read at work
🌶️🌶️🌶️Good Lord
🌶️🌶️HOT
🌶️ hot
FMC= Female Main Character and MMC= Male Main Character
Lights Out: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ahhhh… when you read a book about a sport and they get the sport right! What an amazing feeling. This book understood F1, while also understanding us F1-girls who love the sport. Kayla James also did something exciting with this by making our FMC a race driver.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard Cover
Fangirl Down: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Holy shit! Golf is sexy! Like… why did no one tell me??? I feel lied to. Okay, maybe that is a bit dramatic. But this book had me gagged. Tessa Bailey has a way with words that leaves me a bit overcome. This story follows a golf superfan. Josephine happens to be the number one fan (and at this point, only fan) of the PGA tour’s bad boy Wells Whitaker. He never smiles, yells and he sure as shit does not appreciate Josephine’s support. Once he has pushed her away completely, he finds that he has no one. So to make it up to her, he hires her as his caddie. Lets just say that if you want to sleep with your caddie, those 18 holes of golf can feel excruciatingly long, I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole damn time!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Special Edition
Stroked: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Okay, so this extremely sexy book about Olympic swimmer Reese King was a ride. This is a book of instant lust to love. These two see each other and want to boink immediately. The problem is Paisley, our FMC, is the assistant to Reese’s fake girlfriend, who is the scum of the earth. One of the very interesting things about this book that I have never seen done before is that this romance was written from a triple POV. So not only do we get chapters from Reese and Pasley’s POV, but we also get chapters from Bellini, our villain. At first I hated it. I didn't want to be in her POV. I was frustrated, but then…. OMG, I ate it up. Bellini is the dumbest bitch around and getting to be in her brain was hilarious. It made the story really funny. As far as plot, it was pretty much just a fun sluty book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Paperback
Stroked Long: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Stroked Lond maybe one of the most shocking books I have ever read but not for the reasons you think. When I sat down to read this book, I expected it to be the book where we find out the quiet guy is a freak and we go on that journey. I mean it's called Stroked Long, for Pete's sake! AND my assumption was partially accurate. BUT, what we really did was go on a beautiful journey about grief and trauma induced OCD. When I tell you I was moved to tears, I was truly surprised. Bodi and Ruby have my whole heart!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Hard Cover
Stroked Hard: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
So, Stroked was sexy, Stroked Long was moving, and Stroked Hard was fucking funny! Hollis Knightly was hilarious. For my ACOTAR girlies, the best way to explain this, is to imagine Cassian as an Olympic Diver. This book gave us MALE YEARNING!!! God, he was so totally down bad for her and she wanted nothing to do with him. But how can you resist a funny, sex god who is also hella romantic! You can't! Honestly it's a must “beach read”.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard Cover
Mile High WCS 1: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
God, Stevie doesn't want to want him… but look at Zanders! And he is a Dick! Or wait, is he? AND she for sure is not allowed to socialize with any of the hockey players on her plane. It has to be a strictly flight attendant-client relationship. But he keeps looking at her like that, messing with her, and making her resolve slip. And God, the more she learns about him, the more she likes him. Ahhhhh, I ate it up. Was it my favorite book ever? No. Would I read it again? Hell, yes! Is it a must read? Yes, because it is the backbone for the rest of the series!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Paperback
The Right Move WCS 2: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Okay, so that flight attendant that we just talked about in the other book… well, her best friend needs a place to live. Her sexy NBA star brother has a room since said flight attendant moved out. Indy and Ryan are opposite in every way. She is the sun and he will lay down his life in order for that sun to never go out. Men need to take notes on Mister Ryan Shay! IF HE WANTED TO, HE WOULD!!! Beautiful representation of infertility and CODA families.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard Cover
Caught Up WCS 3: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sexy single “Baseball daddy” with a 16-month old baby meets award-winning pastry chef. Sign me up! Kai needs help raising Max, but no nanny is good enough. So his coach hires his daughter who is taking the summer off of baking to come travel with the team as Max’s nanny. What's the worst that could happen? Love? Or is that exactly what they all need? This book will give you baby fever and make you crave a sweet treat like nothing else. This is the third book in the series and the previous couples and characters are all in it too. It's amazing!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hard Cover
Settling the Score SGS 1: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This book is all about how sluty the Olympics are. Andie Foster is the goalie for USA’s women’s soccer team, and the new star of the sport. She is young and free and looking to experience all that the Olympic village has to offer. (Wink! Wink!) What she doesn't expect is to build a connection with the swim team’s golden boy, (or should i say golden DUKE?). That's right! Not only is Freddie Archabaled a literal duke, he is team Great Britain’s gold medal swimming champ. Is he engaged to some fancy pants lady back in London? Well, the media sure thinks so. But the only girl Freddie can think about is the fun American goalie. This book is fun, hot, and peak Olympic vibes!
⭐️⭐️⭐ Paperback
Out of Bounds SGS 2: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This forbidden romance takes place at the Rio Olympics but this story starts at training camp a month before. Brie, a 20-year old gymnast, meets her new 29-year old coach, Erik. Do they hate each other? Yes. Do they want to fuck each other? Also, yes! This book shocked me! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Did I like the book? I genuinely don't know. But could I put the book down? Absolutely not. If you are looking for a very steamy book that will keep you guessing the whole time, definitely give this book a read. But be warned about some of the questionable behavior that happens in this book. It will be a journey, to say the list!
⭐️⭐️Kindle
Collide: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This college hockey romance was fun. The first thing I have to say before we can keep going is that it is very similar to Icebreaker! But besides that, it was a very entertaining college hockey romance book with a sweet and engaging plot. Aidan and Summer were very cute together and helped each other grow. The cast of characters was probably my favorite part of the book. I had fun with it but it was definitely a debut novel so, I am looking forward to her second book Spiral coming out next January.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Paperback
BONUS BOOK
Play Along WCS 4: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sooooo… Liz Tomforde blessed us with book 4 of the Windy City Series while I was doing SMULYMPICS, so, obviously, I had to read it. Ahhh! It was so funnnnn! The main characters get drunk in Vegas and get married, but this is not the fuck up of two strangers. No, these two work together. Book 4 is about Kai's brother Isaiah who is also a baseball player for Chicago. Kennedy is one of the team trainers and Isaiah's long-time crush. But in the sexist environment of the medical team, the two have to stay married so she can keep her job. What will happen when this girl, who struggles with physical touch and intimacy, is in a forced marriage with the sexy Isaiah Rhodes who gets on his knees and begs for her? I guess you have to read to find out. But I PROMISE you will LOVE IT!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Special Edition
