The Saucy Wenches Book Club

Though the sky was still cloudy, the rain had stopped hours ago, leaving a thin sheen of dampness that made the glade glisten silver in the lantern light.

"It's like something out of a fairy tale," John said. "Or a slasher film." He glanced around nervously. "Are there wolves nearby?"

"If by nearby, you mean Norway, yes."


Playing for Keeps by Avery Cockburn

It's not everyday that a book touches you right in the center of your being. We read to escape, to understand other people, to visit places we'll never see. And every so often a book comes along, that on the surface has no resemblance whatsoever to your life, yet tells a story that speaks your truth, that makes you stop and look around and wonder how they knew. How could a story so vastly different from your own just understand, just know what you know about the world?

Today, for me, that book was The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar. By categories this is a contemporary romance written and published by an independent author. But it's also so much more. The story is gripping, equal parts breathtaking and frustrating, hideous and beautiful, and always utterly captivating. I started the book late in the evening, read much later that I should have, then read before, during, and after work, finishing in mere hours. Because I couldn't stop, I had to know what happened!

Come with me…

I've done something this year I haven't done in a long, long time. I've been reading romances. Yes you know just contemporary romances. I can honestly say it's not something I've done since, well probably twenty or more years. Shock, horror I've actually been enjoying them. I know I shouldn't sound so surprised. After all, millions of romances are read around the world every year. What I've stumbled upon is one author that I just can't seem to get enough of - Jill Shalvis. Romance writer extraordinaire. 

"We fit the only way two fucked up people could possibly fit together. I saw darkness in her beauty, and she saw beauty in my darkness. Yin and yang. Black and white. Beauty and scars; fury and forgiveness. She should’ve been my nemesis, but in her, I found something I didn’t know I was looking for. I shouldn’t have wanted her."

Ricochet
~~Keri Lake

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

What do you consider to be "comfort food?" Maybe yours is mac & cheese, meatloaf or a tuna sandwich, like me. Whatever it is, it's what you go to when you need to feel warm, safe and comforted. Memories of home, family and friends are often tied to food because we experience them together.



Sometimes books feel the same way--comforting and satisfying. Come with me through the jump and I'll tell you about one of my comforting book series.