The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“But a cocktail is not meant to be a mélange. It is not a potpourri or an Easter parade. At its best, a cocktail should be crisp, elegant, sincere—and limited to two ingredients.” “Just two?” “Yes. But they must be two ingredients that complement each other; that laugh at each other’s jokes and make allowances for each other’s faults; and that never shout over each other in conversation.” ~ Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“Because that is how one survives eternity,” I say, “or even a few years. Friends. Family. Moving with them. Moving forward.” ~ N.K. Jemisin, The Stone Sky ( Broken Earth #3)

If you are wondering why other worlds seem so brimful of magic compared to your own dreary Earth, consider how magical this world seems from another perspective. ~ Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside. ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“If you are so lenient with yourself as to insist on living with a woman, then for the sake of your soul you should make it a woman you really don’t like.” ~ Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

“...or I can forgive and forget...Oh, but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things...we always have a choice.” ~ M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans

All the winged, even fungus gnats, know that you cannot fly if you’re carrying too much weight with you. It’s a well-known adage, actually: “The light of heart is free to fly.” ~ Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

“It was like training yourself to live on the smell of an apple alone, when what you really wanted was to devour it, to sink your teeth into it and consume it, seeds, core, and all.” ― Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere

“I have no way to properly toast you, my Jane. The appropriate toast for a new Blood Master of a clan is from the jugular of a virgin boy or girl, with the words ‘Long undeath, prosperity, scions, blood, and cattle.’” I looked at my beer. “Yeah. Beer is better. And how about ‘Live long and prosper.’” ~ Faith Hunter, Dark Queen

Books keep stupidity at bay. And vain hopes. And vain men. They undress you with love, strength and knowledge. It’s love from within. Make your choice: book or ... ~ Nina George, The Little Paris Bookshop

The will to be polite, to maintain civility and normalcy, is fearfully strong. I wonder sometimes how much evil is permitted to run unchecked simply because it would be rude to interrupt it. ~ Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“...the tenure of friendships has never been governed by the passage of time.” ~ Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“It’s SpongeBob, Eleanor,” he said, speaking very slowly and clearly as though I were some sort of idiot. “SpongeBob SquarePants?” A semi-human bath sponge with protruding front teeth! On sale as if it were something completely unremarkable! For my entire life, people have said that I’m strange, but really, when I see things like this, I realize that I’m actually relatively normal. ~ Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Photo (c)Nickelodeon Network/Courtesy Everett Collection.

“It’s curious how we sometimes forget something as simple and as immediate as an appointment with the dentist or a birthday, yet never forget something as ephemeral as feeling a drop of cold rain bouncing and rolling on our faces for the first time.” ~ Sofía Segovia, The Murmur of Bees

Tyger might have thought of himself as a free spirit, but he wasn’t at all. He just defined the dimensions of his own cage. ~ Neal Shusterman, Thunderhead ( Arc of a Scythe #2)

Sometimes when the poop hits the fan we should block it and run, sometimes we should haul off and knock it for a loop back at the spinning blades. Wisdom is knowing two things. One is which time is which. The other is that no matter what you do you’re gonna get crap on your hand. ~ Faith Hunter, Blood Trade

Watching the sunrise ... what an act of beauty, of unwavering faith, something to look forward to each and every day. ~ Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom