The Saucy Wenches Book Club

We've had a lot of fun around here reading Abigail Roux's Cut & Run series, and a number of us count ourselves among the ranks of her Minion Army, interacting with Abi via Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, anywhere we can find her!  So, you can imagine my reaction when the opportunity to host not only a stop on the Ball & Chain blog tour - but to also have an interview with Abi - popped into my inbox.  I think I've been squeeing since January.  Just sayin'.  Anyway, follow me through the jump to see what's on the mind of Wench-favorite author Abi Roux!

He could feel the melting begin as she relaxed, that odd merging of his flesh with hers.


At first it had happened only when he took her, and only at the last. Then sooner and sooner, until her hand upon him was both invitation and completion, a surrender inevitable, offered and accepted. He had resisted now and then, only to be sure he could, suddenly fearful of the loss of himself. He had thought it a treacherous passion, like the one that swept a mob of men, linking them in mindless fury.

Now he trusted it was right, though. The Bible did say it, Thou shalt be one flesh, and What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

He had survived such a sundering once;
he could not stand it twice, and live.

~ Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

Click through to discover what the Wenches are reading this week! And share your choices in the comments below!

Declan laughed and pinned me up against the wall of the booth.  "Oh wait," he said evilly, "Is this a safe place for me to kiss you?"
"We're at an avant-garde film festival," I reminded him. "The only safer place would be Oxford Street during Mardi Gras."


Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

Whenever we have a opportunity to read a Megan Hart book, especially when it's before release day, we jump at the chance. So when we were offered the opportunity to read Ms. Hart's next project, an e-book serial being released in five parts, Zee and I were all over that. I had heard about e-book serials, but hadn't read any, so I thought this would be interesting. Turns out I don't follow directions very well, and my patience does not extend to reading good stories. 

Did I enjoy the story, despite my rule-breaking tendencies? Or did I find that breaking up the story impaired my enjoyment? Click through read my spoiler-free review and find out!

"I really am ruggedly handsome, aren’t I?"
~ Richard Castle, Heat Rises

I'm a bit shy when it comes to publicly fangirling over a real person. It's one thing swooning and sighing and talk fangirlish with your friends, who share your love and understand your inarticulate gibberish. But publicly, where he or she might actually see it — let alone READ it — *gasps*! There's a good chance that if that ever happens, I'll be the one hiding behind a couch totally embarrassed, hoping they'll know I'm not a crazy, stalkerish kind of person. Honestly, I'm not! *closes all the 15 tabs about her new person of interest with shifty eyes* I'm kidding! Fictional characters are so much easier when it comes to that, but nevertheless, I always seem to pick real people for our Fangirl Fridays, like Jennifer Lawrence, or a band, like OMAM, and today is no exception.
Today I want to gush about the actor Nathan Fillion. Many of you might know him as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly and/or the ever-so-charming and ruggedly-handsome Richard Cast…

"No, you will listen. For once, you're going to hear something that doesn't fit into your neat, compartmentalized world of order and logic and reason. Because this isn't reasonable. If you're terrified, believe me--this scares the hell out of me, too. You asked about Rose? I tried to be a better person for her--but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I'm around you, I want to be better because...well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you're like...like light made into flesh. I said it on Halloween and meant every word: you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth. And you don't even know it. You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine."


The Golden Lily
~~Richelle Mead

"It's an honor to meet you, Staff Sergeant Grady."
"Special Agent Grady," Ty corrected.
The Marine gave a curt shake of his head and stepped forward, handing Ty a blue packet of papers. "I'm here to inform you that you have been recalled to active duty, Staff Sergeant, by the special authority of the SOCOM initiative you agreed to when you were formerly released."
[snip]
Ty's hands moved to the small of his back and he held him tight, bending him just enough for Zane to have to wrap his arms around him to keep from falling. He kissed him again. In front of their coworkers. In front of King and Country and anyone who would watch. It was the first purely honest kiss they'd ever shared.
And it was a kiss goodbye. 

Touch & GeauxbyAbigail Roux

I've been a squeeing wreck for weeks. I got the opportunity to read and review Ball & Chain - book 8 in Abigail Roux's Cut & Run series - for the blog, and before it was released! You can imagine the joy in my little book-lover heart, right? Follow me trough the jump to see my thoughts on the latest installment of Cut & Run... Ball & Chain!

A smile graced Nick’s tanned face, and he braced himself at the last minute as Kelly leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. They disappeared from Zane’s sight briefly, and Zane hurried to join them. Kelly didn’t seem to care who saw them, or what anyone thought of his lack of decorum, or even what Nick thought. He hugged Nick hard. Nick flailed under him, trapped between Kelly and the seabag still on his back. He finally wrapped his arms around Kelly and stopped struggling, laughing instead.

“Jesus Christ, if that’s the welcome wagon, I think I’ll walk home,” Digger said as he approached. He shook Zane’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. Then he dumped his seabag at Zane’s feet and threw himself on top of Kelly. A moment later, Owen appeared from the sea of faces and launched himself at the other three, wrapping his arms around all of them as they formed a dog pile in the middle of the crowd. Zane almost felt sorry for Nick being on the bottom. Almost.

There's a whole lot of Bloodlines and Vampire Academy, and Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux goin on this week! More than half of the Wenches are reading one of these books this week, while the others are working their way through A Song of Ice and Fire, Outlander, Night Huntress, and the Jaz Parks series. I love it when some of us get on the same page--or at least the same book!

Click through to see which Wench is reading what. And be sure to share what you're reading this week, in the comments below!

Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back.

~George R. R. Martin, A Feast For Crows

​​Regular readers here ​k​now that some of us Wenches are rather obsessed with fond of a little series called Cut & Run by Abigail Roux (with Madeline Urban ​co-authoring the earlier books). We just can't get enough of Ty Grady, Zane Garrett, and the rest of the wonderful, crazy characters that Ms. Roux has created. I've read this series four times in the last year. ​But, on this last read through, I discovered quite a few quotes, thoughts and sentiments, mostly from Zane's perspective, in the earlier books that were repeated later on in the series​ or turned out to foreshadow upcoming events​. I love them so much that I wanted to compile those for you (but mostly me) as a sort of Cut & Run retrospective.
So, enjoy a healthy dose of Cut & Run quotes​ and a walk down memory lane with Ty & Zane​ after the jump.....

PS: I think a spoiler warning is implied by the nature of the post, but just in case: 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

He laughed lightly and squeezed her closer. "It gets better, babe. I promise you, it does."
"I want to believe you." Aidan was quiet for a few seconds. "I wouldn't lie to you." Simone looked at him, wondering when he'd ever felt pain this way. For everything she knew about him, maybe there would still always be secrets they hadn't shared. "I know you wouldn't, Aidan. But..." "It will get better," he told her firmly, "Eventually, every pain fades. Even the worst, even the ones that leave scars. And they fade too." "But they never go away," Simone said, touching one on the inside of her elbow where once, long ago, Aidan had miscalculated and left her with more than a bruise. "No," he admitted, "They never go away."
Every Part of You : Takes Me by Megan Hart.

"Not tonight, but soon. And when I do, you will come to crave my bite as much as my kiss." 

Once Burned
~~Jeaniene Frost

As I told you recently, I broke my Young Adult boycott by reading the entire Vampire Academy series in just a few weeks. There was enough left up in the air, and I enjoyed the world so much that I moved right on to the Bloodlines series, a spin-off of VA featuring characters that we had already met.

Having been spoiled, badly, for major VA plot points I was diligent about avoiding anything that might give me clues about the Bloodlines events. I knew which characters were moving into the next series, but that was about it--I didn't even know who the main pairing was going to be--and I was happy to be clueless. Richelle Mead did such a good job with VA, crafting a well fleshed-out world with interesting stories and wonderful touches, like a unique take on a typical UF plot line, that I was confident enough to go into Bloodlines blindly.

So after devouring all four available books, I absolutely loved this series, and I'm going to try and keep spoilery information to a minimum as I …

I dumped a layer of brown sugar on the honey and pressed the two pieces of bread together. “I have no idea how to track this shit.” I directed my scowl at the newly made honey and brown sugar sandwich, then flicked a burner on and set a skillet on it. I rummaged in the fridge, found the butter, dropped a quarter stick in the skillet. “It needs bacon on it,” Ryan offered. I turned a scathing look on him. “That’s a completely different unhealthy comfort food sandwich.”

Fury of the Demon, Diana Rowland

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could do a little Cartoon Network scene where I blew her up with TNT, dropped her off a mountain, ran her over with a steamroller, and catapulted her into the side of Rockefeller Center, after which she would get up, stumble around groggily for a few seconds, shake it off, and then impale herself on my lance-sized stake?

The Wenches are excited to welcome back the lovely & talented Megan Hart today! She's definitely a Wench favorite author and manages to write books that captivate us completely! She tells us her top ten quotes from her brand-spanking-new five-part serial Every Part Of You! And gives our Saucy readers a chance to win the first part of the serial! 

Click through to check out the sexy, sizzling, romantic quotes from the serial! And look for  Wench Barb's review of the entire series, coming soon! 

Our lovemaking was always risk and promise—for if he held my life in his hands when he lay with me, I held his soul, and knew it.

~ Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

New releases, amazing discoveries, and Wench favorites, oh my! Click through to see who's reading a sweeping epic, who's reading the penultimate installment in a favorite series, who got her hands on an early copy of a Wench favorite, and who insist you extend your TBR with an amazing series.

Be sure and share your recommendations in the comments below!

Zane squeezed her close, and nodded at Livi, who gave them a wave and smiled brilliantly. She was quite lovely in a robin’s egg sheath dress that matched her eyes and a wool coat that matched her dress, even though the wind plucked at her silvery blonde hair and gave her a disheveled appearance.
Zane was amused to see that she was wearing galoshes. No unwieldy heels for this one, fashion be damned.
Nick whistled when he stopped next to Zane. “Damn. Hate to say it Zane, but Deacon won this round.”
Zane gave that a hearty laugh.
“That’s not very nice,” Kelly muttered. “Zane could pull off that dress.”
“Not really my color.”


Ball & Chain, by Abigail Roux

It's no secret to our regular readers that I adore the Mercy Thompson books. So, I was over the moon when we were approached by Penguin Publishing with an advanced copy. The other Wenches were gracious enough to let me be the one to review Night Broken. And, I am glad they did. This was a great addition to the Mercy collection. There was everything you could ask for: appearances by most of the Mercy characters, a new monster to defeat and plenty of mercy and Adam time.
Keep reading after the jump for a spoiler light review!!

"Courage has nothing to do with winning," I quietly said. "Courage is about fighting the good fight. Stepping forward, even when stepping forward is the crappiest of all possible options."

I didn’t generally object to public displays of affection, but we were surrounded by hard-bitten shifters, and embarrassment bloomed in my cheeks.
Ethan pressed a hard kiss to my lips, leaving little doubt of the ravishment he intended at a more appropriate time. He released me, saw the pink in my cheeks, and smiled.

"Let them see, Sentinel. I’ve no interest in hiding my affections."


~ Chloe Neill, Wild Things

Fresh off the heels of reading an entire book about kickass Dangerous Women, I was surfing the interwebs for photos to add to a book review. (Amazing how differently I pictured “kickass women” in my head than what showed up in my online search.) And then suddenly there she was, in stark contrast to all those undistinctive, interchangeable faces. Fierce, mesmerizing, and regally poised to take on the world: the Vikings’ most dangerous woman, Lagertha. And I fell in love with her all over again.

If you haven’t met Lagertha Lothbrok, let me take this opportunity to introduce her to you. She is the ultimate kickass woman. A Shield Maiden of The Far North. Tales of her bravery and passion have been told through the ages round the fires of plunder and immortalized in Nordic myth.

She can do it all: fight alongside the men, stay home and defend the farm, raise the kids, and still keep her love life smoking hot. You know, all the stuff modern women do—without the luxury of electricity, runnin…

“Ah, my daughter,ʺ he said. ʺEighteen, and already you've been accused of murder, aided felons, and acquired a death count higher than most guardians will ever see.ʺ He paused. ʺI couldn't be prouder.”

― Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice

“What are you trying to do? Kill mosquitoes?” Adam was too mad to be aware of my reaction to his anger. “I’m a werewolf. I’m trying to kill you— and you smack me open-handed on my butt?”
[snip]
“It’s a cute butt,” I said.
He rolled his eyes, relaxed the stance, and took a step nearer to me.
“As for my hand on your cute butt,” I continued, letting my shoulders relax against the mat, “I was cleverly trying to distract you.” He frowned at me.
“Distract me from what? Your awesome, sneaky attack that left you lying on the floor?”
I twisted, catching him in front of the ankle with one foot as I put my whole weight behind the shin I slammed into the back of his knee. He started to lose his balance, and I rolled up with an elbow strike that hit the big muscle that ran up the back of his upper leg with charley-horse-causing force and, as he went all the way down to hands and knees, I swung the wrench I’d snagged on my original fall and touched him on the back of the head with it.
“Exactly,” I said...

…

Or: How I Learned that "Young Adult" Does Not Mean Annoying ChildrenSometimes you go into a book certain that you will love it. Sometimes you know nothing about a book, with no notion of what to expect. And sometimes you start a book reluctantly, certain that you won't like it, but wanting to give it a try because your sister, your niece, and your favorite author love it. This is a story about the last kind of book.

I started reading Urban Fantasy, almost exclusively, in 2011, and since then I've read lots of UF series. But I avoided picking up any Young Adult series, wanting to only read adult books. I wasn't interested in reading about teens--I wanted adult themes, adult behaviors, and adult language. I've had a few YA series recommended to me, and I've seen interesting suggestions pop up in my Goodreads feed, but if I saw the "YA" tag, I marked it off of my list. But Vampire Academy was recommended one too many times, and a movie was coming ou…

“If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you.”

Some of the Wenches are having slow reading weeks, and haven't been able to dedicate much time to our favorite pastime. While the rest of us have been indulging in rereads or slowly but surely making our way through new series, or the latest installments of others that we've been following for a while. A Game of Thrones, The Hollows, Bloodlines, & Outlander are just some of the worlds we're completely enthralled by this week!  

Click through to see exactly what we've been up to!

"Oh? Is this something I'm allowed to know, or should I leave so you can discuss it with yourself?"
~Tyrion Lannister to Lord Tywin Lannister George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

The Luminaries might just be the best book I've ever read. The Luminaries won the 2013 Man Booker Prize and while I'm not normally one to be caught up in the hype of a book that's won awards, my friend gave it to me for my birthday and suggested we read it together. However my birthday was in October and I was finally "allowed" to crack open the book after Christmas and boy am I glad I did. The story is both beautifully and intelligently constructed so that the reader is drawn into the story chapter by chapter. Before you know it, you are barreling headfirst into a world long since relegated to the history books. English majors, this might be just the book for you. So, just be warned, you need your thinking caps on while reading.



From Goodreads:

It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss…