The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn't quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.” ~ Kristin Hannah, The Women

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein

“No oath is worth your life. No amount of vengeance is worth your happiness. I’ll let the past burn to ash, Freya, because you are my present. My future. My destiny.” He lifted his other hand to cup my face. “I love you.” ~ Danielle L. Jensen, A Fate Inked in Blood

“Anyone questioning whether god exists need only consider the brevity of a dog’s life span. If there was a god, let alone a benevolent one, dogs would have life spans similar to parrots.” ~ Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland

It had taken her a long time to realize that a prison sometimes isn’t a prison at all. Sometimes, it’s simply a door you assume is locked because you’ve never tried to open it. ~ Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost

“The world’s ending but it’s not over yet. What’re you planning to do with the freedom you still got?” ~ Nick Fuller Googins, The Great Transition

“You’re brave, strong, and resilient. You don’t need anyone to fight your battles. You never have. You don’t now.” My chest rose and fell rapidly as I listened to him. “But I will fight for you.” ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Fire in the Flesh

History is not a series of causes and effects which may be changed like switching trains on a track. It is a narrative agreement about what has happened and what is happening. ~ Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time

“Think of it! We could have gone on longing for one another and pretending not to notice forever. This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if you let it.” ~ Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

We are all alive together in this sliver of time in which the human race decides whether or not it will come to an end. As the poet says, We must love one another, or die. ~ Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

“By the end of this night, if I have not stabbed Suzette with one of these forks, it will only be because I’m not sure which one to use to do it.” ~ Freida McFadden, The Housemaid Is Watching

“All those moments throughout the days, weeks, months that don’t get marked on calendars with hand-drawn stars or little stickers. Those are the moments that make a life. Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house. The things that matter. The things I can’t stop longing for.” ~ Emily Henry, Funny Story

“At that moment the power of reading made itself clear and real to me. If I could see the words, then no one could control them or what I got from them. They couldn’t even know if I was merely seeing them or reading them, sounding them out or comprehending them. It was a completely private affair and completely free and, therefore, completely subversive.” ~ Percival Everett, James

My only wish is that we leave room for hope. There is good and bad in all things. We find what we expect to find. We see what we expect to see. I have learned that if I tilt my head just right and squint, the world outside is beautiful. The future is bright. There are good things to come. ~ Hugh Howey, Dust ( Silo #3)

“So I told him his bread was ugly, and he called me a dough diva. A dough diva. Of all the nerve! We’re going out on Saturday.” ~ Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost

“Iris,” said Roman, “you are worthy of love. You are worthy to feel joy right now, even in the darkness. And just in case you’re wondering ... I’m not going anywhere, unless you tell me to leave, and even then, we might need to negotiate.” ~ Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals

“Words are one way we leave tracks in the world, Sol. Maybe one day you will write a book, like Olaus did, or Molly Thorn. And people will read it, like I've been reading to you. And they will know that you were here, and a little about what you were like.” ~ Leif Enger, I Cheerfully Refuse

“Happiness is not something you sit and wait for. You have to choose it and pursue it in spite of everything else. It’s not going to be given to you.” ~ Gareth Brown, The Book of Doors