The Saucy Wenches Book Club

Last year, I devoured BA Paris's Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown. I was lucky enough to be given access to her new book, Bring Me Back. I JUST finished it. At work. Don't tell my boss, but I only had 20 pages left and I couldn't wait. Now I'm writing this review, because these thoughts will not wait. Again, please don't tell! I needed to get these thoughts out while they were fresh. This book isn't out yet, or is just out now, depending on when lovely Head Wench Barb decides to post this. So I will keep the spoilers out of the equation. Join me after the break to hear what I thought of BA Paris's Bring Me Back.

Well, Readers, it's time to check in and see what we thought of our January Book of the Month: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Wench Angela started off our 2018 with this post about the book, and a lot of us took the plunge into the often muddled mind of Anna Fox! (PS- Did you know A.J.Finn is a total fox? Wench Anne accidentally stumbled upon a picture and HELLO! Authors are already rock stars for us, but it's always a welcome surprise when they look like they could be on a magazine cover just because they're pretty!)

Click through to see what we though!

I’m looking forward to a busy and exciting year of reading in 2018. First, I’m intrigued by some of the Wench Books of the Month scheduled throughout the year. I’m halfway through the first one as I write this — The Woman in the Window — and riveted by the mystery and suspense. I am a complete sucker for a good thriller with an unreliable narrator!

There’s also an assortment of books awaiting my attention on my e-reader, and I’d like to tell you about the ones I’m most interested in right now. The list is still heavy with my last-year’s favorite dystopian, post-apocalyptic themes and complex fantasy worlds. But there’s room for the occasional thriller or literary work completely unrelated to my usual fare, and some rereads of old favorites, and I’m delighted that PNR/UF is making a bit of a comeback for me!

As excited as I am about this list, I should mention that I can’t promise I’ll stick strictly to it. Because I can be a bit fickle, easily distracted, and shamelessly susceptible…

So, how did my must-read list for 2017 pan out? I had 11 books planned that I wanted to read this year and I managed to strike 7 off my list. Not, a bad year all up when you think it's easy to get distracted by other books that catch your eye. So let's look through each book and see why I finally managed to get them read or not read as the case may be.

Angela's Must Read List 2017

Welcome to our new section where each month the Wenches are going to select a book to group read. We've got a varied selection planned and there's sure to be something for everyone over the course of the year. We hope you can join us for some of the reads on our Facebook page.






Our selection for January Book of the Month is The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn.  We selected this book as many of the Wenches have read Gone Girl and loved it.  What a great way to start off the year with a murder, thriller, that we hope will capture our attention. There seems to be a bit of buzz around this debut novel from A.J. Finn, where isn't already been optioned to be made into a movie. Thanks to Wench Anne for selecting this one.

Check after the jump for the book details.

I know, it's crazy right? I have a tentative reading plan for 2018 and the list already comprises 23 books and 2 novellas. Plus, did I mention I'm going back to university next year? Yeah, I need my head examined. I'm blaming this need for a plan on the fact that I've decided that I have to finish the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series next year. Plus, once you throw in a few new releases, the list suddenly starts to pile up.

Let's check after the jump for 2018 's reading plan!

More of my five star reads from 2017. It's been an amazing year book quality wise.  I'm putting the explosion of great reading firmly on the doorstep of two of my groups on Goodreads, Fantasy Buddy Reads and 2-3-4 Challenge. They've both really broadened my horizons this year on the books I've selected to read. Thank you to both groups. The books below have all be read as buddy reads in both groups.

Here's a look at my five star reads since June. Check after the jump.

Wow the year is racing by and already I've read some amazing books. 9 books have just blown me away this year that I can't stop thinking about them. April was a particularly crazy month where I read four books that were fantastic. It's been a great year of reading fantasy and mystery books. Some new treasures have been uncovered and some favourite series have been advanced.

Let's check below for the five star reads!

2017 has meant a whole lot of new series to discover. Heavy on the fantasy side of book genres, it's been a great year for uncovering so gems and other series that felt more so-so.  A couple of series Incryptid by Seanan McGuire and Lady Julia Grey by Deanna Raybourn are books I've been meaning to try for years. Others, such as Cork O'Connor by William Kent Krueger and Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan weren't even on my radar until this year.

What new series have I discovered this year?

“This is no time for refusing to look facts in the face.” 
Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

“I don't know. I don't know at all. And that's what's frightening the life out of me. To have no idea....” 
Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None

“The things that ask the most of us are the things most worth having.”

What books have I prioritised for this year?

In the last couple of years I've made myself a must read list of books for the coming year. Sometimes they're books that I've been putting off reading for a while. Other times they are new releases that are just begging to be read as soon as they come out. Let's look after the jump to see what I have on my list for this coming year.

What have I got left to read before the end of the year? I'm trying to do my Goodreads challenge of reading 65 books this year, but I've started falling behind. I blame it on reading too many books which are long! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So what do I have on my list to read before the end of the year? I wonder if I can make it through my list below?

“Real evidence is usually vague and unsatisfactory. It has to be examined---sifted. But here the whole thing is cut and dried. No, my friend, this evidence has been very cleverly manufactured---so cleverly that it has defeated its own ends.”

(I’m writing a review instead of the usual Fangirl Fridays post this time around, but there’s also a bit of fangirling in here — about finding the perfect series to complement my wannabe-laid-back summer lifestyle!)

I didn’t plan to read Southern Comfort. I picked up the first book impulsively as a treat after trudging through a good-but-interminable tome, before tackling another time-consuming commitment on my TBR list. It was supposed to be a momentary distraction, a literary palate cleanser.

Instead, this series took over my entire summer reading schedule! It turned out to be highly diverting, and hilarious, and so much fun to read that I haven’t put it down since!

This is not entirely because I’m avoiding my TBR list. Or yard and garden chores, though it might have started out that way. These books are like that single chocolate truffle I indulge in late at night and then wind up eating the entire box. I couldn’t read just one.

Set in and around Savannah, Georgia, and Charlest…

“The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.”

The Sebastian St Cyr's continues its reign as one of the top mystery series for me. The mysteries continue to be intriguing and mind baffling. Once again I had no clue who the murderer was, but when all the pieces were laid out before me, it made sense. When Falcons Fall is the eleventh instalment in the Sebastian St Cyr series and once again it lives up to the books which have gone before. I often get series fatigue in many book series after book 5. That's never been the case here. I wait with anticipation for the next book to be out in 2017.

A couple of spoilers for other books in the series after the jump.

"Let me enjoy my fan-wanking."
"Your what?"
"Let me arrange the story to meet my own personal needs."

The Gems of Vice and Greed is an absolute gem of a book (sorry, but it really is!) that serves as the latest installment in Colleen Gleason’s contemporary Gothic romance series. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC, and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share.

As it turns out, this fast-paced paranormal mystery was just what I needed. I’d recently persevered through three books that seemed to take forever, and this fun, sexy romp was a fabulous antidote.

In some ways, it reminded me of the Nancy Drew books I devoured in my youth, but with sexy times. And a hunky blacksmith who makes housecalls and likes to work shirtless. And a celebrated ex-CEO who moves to a small rural town to renovate a historic inn. And an elusive hidden treasure. And a decades-old murder mystery. And a real live (?!) ghost!

So please join me after the jump for a spoiler-free closer look. I won’t keep you in suspense about my rating: I liked it!