The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear? Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods."
- George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

"You can...call me Da," he said. His voice was husky; he stopped and cleared his throat. "If--if ye want to, I mean," he added diffidently.
"Da," she said, and felt the smile bloom easily this time, unmarred by tears.

"Da. Is that Gaelic?"

He smiled back, the corners of his mouth trembling slightly. "No. It’s only...simple."

And suddenly it was all simple. He held out his arms to her. She stepped into them and found that she had been wrong; he was as big as she’d imagined--and his arms were as strong about her as she had ever dared to hope.

~ Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

At the start of 2013, the Wenches shared our hopes and dreams for the year to come. Well, maybe not our deepest hopes and dreams. We shared a few of the books that were on our To-Be-Read (TBR) lists, the ones we hoped to read over the next 12 months.

Many of us have TBR lists longer than the Great Wall, to be sure. But back in January, the Wenches singled out those special few that we were going to push to the top of the list. Those books that held the most promise and excitement, those books we hoped would carry us away to far off lands, or far off times, those books that would introduce us to new characters who would take over our imaginations, those books we were sure would sneak into our consciousness as we went about our real life business, counting down the hours or minutes until we could get back to our newest adventure.

Okay, maybe I got a little carried away. How carried away? Wellll... you'll have to click through the jump to find out, now won't you?

He stopped walking and kissed her. Hard. Hard enough for her to forget the cold wind and the stupid song in the background. Hard enough for her to practically forget her own name. She wrapped her arms around his neck and strained on her tiptoes, afraid she'd fall over if he let go of her.

Except he wouldn't . He never would. That was Fact and Truth, and she believe it, trusted it, more than she'd ever trusted anything in her entire life.

Close to You: A Downside Ghosts Story
~~Stacia Kane

As the holidays creep ever closer the Wenches are fighting to fit some reading time into our busy schedules, thankful that our latest new releases are novellas letting us visit our favorite worlds without having to make long-term commitments. Dangerous Women and Kicking It appear on our list more than once this week, along with a couple of old favorites and new-found treasures.

Click through to find out what we're reading (or watching!) this week, and tell us what you're reading in the comments below.

Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Source

My Top Ten Anti-HeroesIn the nearly three years that my reading list has been filled to overflowing with urban fantasy titles, I have learned several things about myself and my worldview that I didn't realize or think about before. Like my deep love of kick-ass heroines, my joy in reading profanity sprinkled in books, and how much I adore sharing a reading experience with friends. But nothing has been so crystal clear as realizing how much I love a great anti-hero.

Humans are flawed creatures, each of us containing good and bad all packaged within the same unstable wrapping, and that's what I like to see in my heroes. I don't want heroes who always know what the right thing to do is, and always do exactly that. I don't want to read about characters who have no struggle with inner demons, who always follow social norms exactly, who are always virtuous, idolize their mothers unconditionally and have equal room in their hearts for both cats and dogs. Those characters alway…

“He isn't what he's pretending to be with her. I watch him all the time. I'm going to be there when he stops pretending. I'm going to be her bulletproof vest, her shield, her fallen fucking angel, whether she wants one or not. He's pretending he's almost human. He's no more human than me.” - Christian MacKeltar

Karen Marie Moning,Iced.

Kelly looked up when he spoke. He stood and wrapped Ty up in a hug, holding on to him with the same kind of anguish he'd held on to Nick with last night. Nick met Zane's eyes, nodding at him. There really wasn't anything they could say. Nick stood to shake his hand, though, but Zane surprised him by stepping closer to hug him.

"Please bring him back alive," Zane whispered as he clung to Nick.

Nick nodded jerkily.  "I promise."

~Abigail Roux, Shock & Awe (A Sidewinder Story)

"Books are the way that we communicate with the dead. The way that we learn lessons from those who are no longer with us, that humanity has built on itself, progressed, made knowledge incremental rather than something that has to be relearned, over and over. There are tales that are older than most countries, tales that have long outlasted the cultures and the buildings in which they were first told."

Neil Gaiman, for the Guardian. 

Lorelei Gilmore was one of the most iconic TV mothers in history (at least from my perspective). Lorelei would not have been such an iconic role with just anyone portraying her. Lauren Graham gave that character a life and personality that few could have accomplished. That role is the one that introduced most of us to Lauren Graham. And, I for one, am forever grateful. Lauren Graham is an amazing actress and woman. She's someone I aspire to be when I grow up, regardless of the fact that I just turned 30. So, for my turn on Fangirl Friday, right after the jump, I'll be flailing about Ms. Graham and hopefully convincing you to love her too! I mean really, who wouldn't?

He pushed a red and black shoebox toward me, containing my very own pair of heavy black steel-toed shoes. I hadn't been so happy to put on a pair of shoes since I found a pair of peep-toed Manolo Blahniks at a sample sale for fifty dollars. These beauties were solid and held the promise of strength. I loved them instantly. I handed back those canvas slippers with a huge smile on my face. Now I was a for-real hardened con. I felt infinitely better.

~~Piper Kerman, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison

“There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. Now she understood those rereaders differently ... she realized it was not the rereading that led to fresh insights. It was the rereader-- because when a person is changing inside, there are inevitably new things to see.” 

----Rachel Simon
The Story of Beautiful Girl

This year I started serving as a moderator in our Goodreads book club. It's been a crazy, fun ride. I've learnt a lot and can't wait to continue in 2014. What it has rewarded me with is a whole bundle of new series/books, heroines, heroes and new worlds to discover. Because, as you all know, your to be read list can never be too long. So, I've been on the urban fantasy ride this year. A couple of the Goodreads group members kept mentioning this series called October Daye. In my head I was thinking "October Daye who?" and "What's so great about this Tybalt guy?" So I decided to give the series a go and I am so glad I did.

Check after the jump for why this series is so good and why I think the October Daye series is worth checking out. Mildly spoilery.

I GIVE humble and hearty thanks for the safe return of this book which having endured the perils of my friend's bookcase, and the bookcases of my friend's friends, now returns to me in reasonably good condition.

I GIVE humble and hearty thanks that my friend did not see fit to give this book to his infant as a plaything, nor use it as an ash-tray for his burning cigar, nor as a teething-ring for his mastiff.

WHEN I lent this book I deemed it as lost: I was resigned to the bitterness of the long parting: I never thought to look upon its pages again.

BUT NOW that my book is come back to me, I rejoice and am exceeding glad! Bring hither the fatted morocco and let us rebind the volume and set it on the shelf of honour: for this my book was lent, and is returned again.

PRESENTLY, therefore, I may return some of the books that I myself have borrowed.”
―Christopher Morley, The Haunted Bookshop

Most of the Wenches have had a  long weekend with family and friends! (Which I'm sure our readers understand) But most of us did make some time to read. Naked werewolves, sexy Master vampires, dangerous women and an assortment of other characters, old and new, have been keeping us occupied. 

Click through to see what books we've been reading this week!

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
When this challenge came up I became a bit anxious, what if I get a book I can’t read? Or one I won’t like? I hate it when I have to be negative. After all, someone invested time, engaged a mind and did his/her best to bring a story to life, who am I to judge it? I have not been able to write a story (yet). Life went on and I confess I forgot this post idea, until about a month ago when we got a reminder that this year is about to end. Hesitantly I asked Barb for her book recommendation and she came up with this one, and I knew I had a real challenge on my hands.
This story centers on 35 year old spinster Ave Marie Mulligan, her life story and fight to find a sense of self amid life in a small Virginia coal town.
From Goodreads: Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old p…