
Sunday Smut Book Club
Featured Book

A Very Merry Detour
Set against the twinkling lights of a snowbound Utah ski town, this warm and witty queer holiday romance follows a heartbroken woman whose quest to reclaim her past leads her straight into a future she didn’t know was possible.
Sometimes the route to love is the one you never planned.
It’s the holidays, and Alaina has just been dumped. Determined to have the romantic Christmas she’s always wanted, she sets out on a cross-country road trip to surprise her ex-boyfriend and convince him she’s the one. But her grand plans are derailed when she drives straight into a snowbank in the middle of nowhere, Utah. She’s rescued by Priscilla, a terse, unsmiling bookstore owner with zero interest in holiday cheer. Stranded in the ski town of Brooks with her car out of commission, Alaina makes a bucket list of festive adventures to prove she’s fun and adventurous enough to love—and to her surprise, Priscilla offers to join her.
Between tree-cutting misadventures, ice-skating lessons, and a night beneath the stars, Alaina’s plan goes off without a hitch—except that the longer she spends with Priscilla, the less she’s sure of what, or who, she really wants. All throughout Brooks, the two run into locals who adore Priscilla—from the mechanic to the owner of the diner—and soon, it’s clear that Priscilla’s hard exterior masks a tender heart, one that’s just as afraid as Alaina that she’s not worth loving. It may just take a Christmas miracle to show them that true love might be closer than you think.
A heartwarming sapphic romance packed with small-town cheer, A Very Merry Detour is about how opening ourselves up to love—whether it’s for friends, family, or home—always makes room for our most authentic selves.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
Special! Join us for the last Sunday Smut book club of the year! We'll of course trade thoughts on the book, but we will additionally share treats potluck style, and talk about our favorite reads of 2026!
Bookseller Alicia hosts our Sunday Smut Book Club on the last Sunday of the month (most months!) at 3:30pm. Sunday Smut reads are the latest in romance novels with a range of subgenres, sexual and gender identities, and spice levels. Questions? Email alicia@bookedevanston.com.
In Conversation With
Alicia Ross
Alicia (she/her) is the intrepid leader of the Sunday Smut adult romance book club and bookworm wrangler for the Adventurers Guild middle grade book club at Booked in Evanston. Born and raised in the south, she arrived in Chicagoland by way of Northwestern and hasn’t left since becoming a regular at her local coffee shop. Alicia enjoys romances both weird and devastating, adventures both cozy and treacherous, talking about books of all kinds.
About the Venue

Booked
Booked is an independent bookstore located at 506 Main St. in Evanston, Illinois, that carries a diverse selection of books for children and adults. In fact, it is our favorite independent bookstore, but we are biased, because we own it. We host author events, story times, book clubs, crafting events, birthday parties, just-because parties, and more.
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