The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“They’d been afloat now without food, water, shelter, or sleep for over forty hours. Of the 1,196 crew members who’d set sail from Guam three days earlier, probably no more than 600 were still alive. In the previous twenty-four hours alone, at least 200 had likely slipped beneath the waves or been victims of shark attack. Since the sinking, each boy had been floating through the hours asking himself the same hard question: Will I live, or do I quit?”

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
by Doug Stanton

“It was actually pretty common for women not to scream or call the cops in rape cases I prosecuted,” Roe said, “at least partly because women aren’t wired to react that way. We are socialized to be likeable and not to create friction. We are brought up to be nice. Women are supposed to resolve problems without making a scene—to make bad things go away as if they never happened.”

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer

Where does a man go when there are no more corners to turn, when he's running out of hope, out of luck, out of time?
In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
by Doug Stanton

“How do you know if you can really trust someone?” I finally ask.

Noah raises his eyebrows and takes a sip of his drink.

Then he looks into my eyes and the expression in his is so earnest I feel like he’s answering from a deeply personal place.

“If you need to ask that question, then you probably already know the answer,” he says.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

“Everything is a game, Em. Whether you know it or not. Which means that sometimes a lie is more than just a lie. Sometimes it’s the only way to win.”
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

“Over-consumption is a universal human trait,” Orlu pointed out.
“And so is ignorance.”
Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor

The fact that my reading plate was full last year — proudly flaunting Marie Kondo’s 30-book rule without even taking my several bookcases into consideration — didn’t keep me from lurking about in various online book groups in hopes of adding more to the pile.

I stalked a lot of fantasy groups, especially a Karen Moning fans spinoff group that focuses on fae fantasy. A year ago, they inspired me to finally read all the Sarah J. Maas books that Wench Merit had been telling me to read. Since that was such a delightful experience for me, I’ve been taking notes about the other series that have inspired them to rave for weeks on end, and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to dive into a few of them.

So here’s the list of recommendations I’ve compiled from my lurking notes. Plus a few books I didn’t get to last year. These should work nicely for the categories Wench Angela has provided in the latest Saucy Wenches reading group challenge on Goodreads.

“The greatest achievement of the human race was not conquering death. It was ending government.”
Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Now that 2018 is behind us (and I hope the door SMACKED it on the way out), we can finally let out a big sigh of relief and reflect on some of the finer points of the year.

I don’t know about you, but I spent every single unscheduled minute with my nose buried deeply in a book, intent on escape into exotic realms or adventures. On the plus side, that means I read a lot of books that enthralled me. So I want to share four that I thought were particularly good, but never had time to review, before embarking on a new year of discoveries.

These books were deviations from the usual types of urban fantasy and dystopian sci-fi I read most of the year. They were from four different genres, led by strong but quite diverse female characters: an immortal witch goddess, a socially awkward orphan, an identity-swapping avenger, and backstabbing corporate ladder climbers. I wasn’t specifically looking for books about women, but isn’t it great that there are such a variety of female protagonists to…

Without the threat of suffering, we can’t experience true joy.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Everyone is guilty of something, and everyone still harbors a memory of childhood innocence, no matter how many layers of life wrap around it. Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.

~ Scythe by Neal Shusterman

When a girl cries, few things are more worthless than a boy.
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

There’s a lot of romance on our e-readers these last few weeks. Whether we’re basking at the beach, unwinding after work, or seeking solace from current events, most of us are diving into romance, with a bit of fantasy and mystery to round it out. Click to see what we're reading now! 

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.

Come through the jump and see what we're reading this week! 

Click through to see what we're reading this week!

Click through to see what we're reading this week. 

Tante Isabelle says it’s better to be bold than meek. She says if you jump off a cliff at least you’ll fly before you fall. 


The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Waiting for spring (and avoiding snow) is keeping us busy, but some of us are finding clever ways to enjoy a bit of reading nonetheless. Click through to see what we’ve discovered this week.

Click through to see what we're reading this week!