The Saucy Wenches Book Club

"Is that all you bought?" 
His eyes shot to the left. "Um." 
I clenched my teeth. "What else?" 
"A SuperMega Juicer," he said quickly. "But, Sabina, seriously that juice is a miracle machine." 
"I'm a vampire, Giguhl. The only liquids I drink are blood and alcohol. I don't do juice."
~ Jaye Wells, Red-Headed Stepchild

...Rusted Veins, Close To You, & "High Stakes"!by: Zee the Terrible and Barbara Bones
We have been pretty lucky in our reading this year. Not only have we been getting more of (some of) our fave characters, we've even discovered some new ones! And most of our favorite authors have been kind enough to help us pass time between releases with short stories and/or novellas! Or in one case, help ease the ending of a brilliant series! We thoroughly enjoyed these forays into our favorite worlds, and being reminded of why we absolutely adore both the authors and the books. 



So we picked three of the best ones, and reviewed them just for you! Just in case you needed a reason to pick them up! 

My Top Ten Anti-HeroesIn the nearly three years that my reading list has been filled to overflowing with urban fantasy titles, I have learned several things about myself and my worldview that I didn't realize or think about before. Like my deep love of kick-ass heroines, my joy in reading profanity sprinkled in books, and how much I adore sharing a reading experience with friends. But nothing has been so crystal clear as realizing how much I love a great anti-hero.

Humans are flawed creatures, each of us containing good and bad all packaged within the same unstable wrapping, and that's what I like to see in my heroes. I don't want heroes who always know what the right thing to do is, and always do exactly that. I don't want to read about characters who have no struggle with inner demons, who always follow social norms exactly, who are always virtuous, idolize their mothers unconditionally and have equal room in their hearts for both cats and dogs. Those characters alway…

"The point isn't knowing what will happen, it's being aware that everything we do affects the whole. All of us--mages, vampires, humans, and the rest--affect the balance of life."

"If you start singing, 'Kum Ba Yah' I'm out of here."

Red-Headed Stepchild
~~Jaye Wells

"In the grand scheme of things, dying seemed like an easy way to balance the scales. Easier than the constant struggle to make the right choices and battle my doubts and navigate through the labyrinth mire of dark races politics. Easier than living." 
~ Jaye Wells "Blue-Blooded Vamp"

The Sabina Kane Series by Jaye Wells Many months ago now, Wench Angela challenged the Wenches to recommend books for each other. Many accepted the challenge, but as the year has flown by only a few of us have finished our challenge books, and even fewer have taken the time to write the review on their books. But as summer wound down and my most anticipated new releases of the year have come and gone, I've finally had a break in my reading schedule to pick up the first book in Wench Shau's recommendation, the Sabina Kane series by Jaye Wells, beginning with Red-Headed Stepchild.

Why Sabina Kane for Barb?
Well, I wanted Barb to read something that has a story that’s rounded up in one book in case she doesn’t want to read the whole series, but also something that I really really liked. I loved Sabina and her story of finding out who she is and what she’s capable of. I knew Barb likes complex heroines, the unappreciated underdogs who have a chip on their shoulder, and Sabina is jus…