What the Wenches Are Reading

Bettie Page

It is quite a mix of tales that we are reading this week, with no two Wenches reading the same things. We’ve waited too long to get started on Angela’s idea of making each other read Wench-selected books, so a few of us are working on those choices. In addition we are reading old favorites, new books by beloved authors, books that have grabbed us refusing to let go, and books serving as palate cleansers.

Click through to see what has captured our attention this week, and be sure to tell us what you’re reading, in the comments below. Maybe you have recommendations for us!



Amanda: Finally finished A Clash of Kings! Woot! Up next, Water for Elephants, as recommended by Wench Anne. Stay tuned for the review!

Anne: Last week I finished Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost and, for now, left the Night Huntress world behind. I breezed through Hot Head by Damon Seude, which I really enjoyed. And I also flew through the fanfic version of Point Pleasant that Veronica reviewed last week. I LOVED IT! I can’t wait to read the published version. But first...., I’m eagerly awaiting the release of Stephen King’s new book Doctor Sleep, which comes out today!

Barbara: I’ve been completely consumed with the Sabina Kane series. I finished the second book, The Mage in Black, on Friday, moved right on to the novella between books 2 & 3, Violet Tendencies, finishing it in less than an hour, then proceeding on to book three, Green-Eyed Demon. I finished GED in about a day-and-a-half, and the only reason it took that long was because I forced myself to stop reading and go socialize with actual human beings for a while. However, I assure you that I was thinking about Sabina the whole time, wishing I were reading. I am now about halfway through book four, Silver-Tongued Devil, and I anticipate I’ll have it and the last one, Blue-Blooded Vamp, finished by the time I report in again.

Beta: Aside from being way too busy to make some proper time to read, I’ve been having a bit of a trouble with my e-reader, so I haven’t been able to continue with my Biting Bad reading. But when I have had an hour here and there, I’ve been reading Divergent by Veronica Roth, which I was asked to read by a special person whom I couldn’t say no to. I haven’t read all that much, so I still don’t know what I think about it, but so far I’m interested.

Donna: I’m still working on the Outlander audiobook. (It takes so much longer to read something aloud ― I have a feeling this will be my status for quite a while longer.)

Kathi: Read a couple of palate-cleansing books this week, for a complete change of pace, or two. First, Beautiful Disaster, a YA novel that I’d always heard good things about. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but after a while the YA aspects of the story became annoying to me, and as a pragmatic old fogey/parent of a daughter, I did not really get on board with the way it ended. I heard there is another book that tells the story from the male character’s POV, and I’m interested in reading that one day. So then I moved on to Megan Hart’s newest book, Tear You Apart. No YA stuff there! As always, she delivers a powerful book that completely absorbs and consumes me. I’m halfway through, and anxious to finish so I can talk to others who have read it and check out Zee’s recent review!

Merit: I reread one of my favorite books, Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood. This is Elaine Risley’s story. She is a painter who, at 50, returns to Toronto, the city of her childhood. She reflects upon her past in the city, of the different world and city then (mid-20th century). Meanwhile she thinks about her life and where she went with it, her role as a painter, wife, mother, and more. Simply one of the best novels for me. On a completely different note, I also read the Inside Out trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones. It was compared to Fifty Shades ― ah, now you probably cringe a little. Here we have Sara, who stumbles upon a stack of journals telling the personal story of a young woman and her “Master”. After reading a few parts of the journal, she is sure something bad happened to the woman and starts investigating. I was curious to find out what happened to Rebecca, the woman in the journals. There are ups and downs in the trilogy, overflowing emotions, sometimes too much for me, but no, it’s not Fifty.

Natalie: OMG where has the time gone!? I missed two weeks of posting what I am reading. Honestly, Wenchy readers, I did not read anything the last few weeks. September is a rather busy month in my family and life, with work, fall events, and Birthdays. This includes my Birthday, and thus I’ve been rather busy and will get back to reading once October rolls around. Maybe then I can get my reread of the Chicagoland Vampires done! Enjoy the change of seasons: Fall for us Northern Hemisphere folks and Spring for the Southern ones.

Veronica: I got my copy of Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls by Katherine Larsen and Lynn S. Zubernis on Friday. I read over half of it Friday night, but had to work all day Saturday, so I’ll probably finish it today (Sunday). I had the great opportunity to meet Lynn recently, and being a SPN fangirl myself, this book is hitting home in more ways than one. Also, it’s great to know that I’m not the only one out there feeling what I’m feeling, or doing the weird things I’m doing. (Anyone bought a perfect miniature replica of a 1967 Impala lately? Consider last minute trips halfway across the country? Anyone?)

Zee: I really want to start the Sabina Kane books and enjoy reading them with Barb (because reading something with Barb actually makes reading MORE fun!), but haven’t had a chance yet! This week, I hope!