The Saucy Wenches Book Club

"You should've come on me,"he said. I don't know how he can look me in the eye and just say that. Even with the drugs, it wasn't anything I could speak out loud."You'd look hot, really hot." I didn't feel like talking about the reason why I hadn't, so I threw the tissue into the wastebasket and snuggled up beside him instead. Even though it was three in the morning and Jacob had to be exhausted, he didn't let it go. "Do it next time, okay? I want to see it, shooting all over my chest." I sighed. "Okay?" I rolled over, pulled a pillow against my face and spoke into it. "I have this hangup about the laundry room," I said. Good thing the pillow was there. It sounds dumber aloud than it had in my head. No wonder I worried about taking dirty; talking in general seemed to escape me. Jacob pressed himself into my back. His body was much warner than min...

They didn't know Zane like he did.  Ty knew his partner had to take the issue from every angle, analyze it to death, resurrect it, and then study its dead, rotting body to see the results.  Yeah, it might take Zane four months to decide if he loved someone, and then more to decide if that was a good idea . Ty didn't mind waiting. ~Ty's analysis on how Zane thinks Divide & Conquer by Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban

“When we hold each other, in the darkness, it doesn't make the darkness go away. The bad things are still out there. The nightmares still walking. When we hold each other we feel not safe, but better. "It's all right" we whisper, "I'm here, I love you." and we lie: "I'll never leave you." For just a moment or two the darkness doesn't seem so bad.”        Neil Gaiman      Midnight Days

I love angst in my books.  The drama keeps the books interesting, IMO.  I especially love the heart racing, eye popping thrill of it.  That all changed when I met Ty & Zane.  Special Agent B. Tyler Grady is a wise-cracking, fun-loving, fidgety, flirtatious guy.  Special Agent Zane Garrett is a low-key, number-crunching, "punny" guy.  Together, they are my favorite literary couple to date.  Spoilers and shameless speculation ahead…

Sugar, it's no parade but you'll get down the street one way or another, so you'd just as well throw your shoulders back and pick up your pace.      ~ The Poisonwood Bible , Barbara Kingsolver

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."  ~Sylvia Plath Diana Gabaldon's road to writing Outlander is one of the most entertaining stories I ever read, almost as entertaining as her books. Ms. Gabaldon knew she was meant to be a novelist from an early age (about 8 years old). She used to tell stories to her sister while they were growing up, complicated stories with lots of characters and story lines. But she never wrote them down. And because of her financially conservative background, she thought she needed a more dependable source of income. 

Amanda: I just finished Hot Head by Damon Suede. This was a great, quick m/m read. It's about two firefighters who are best friends. Due to circumstances, they become more than friends. I really loved the plot, and the sex scenes were smokin hot. I usually read series, rather than single books, and for a single book, I grew to care about Griff and Dante quite a bit. I can see why this book is a favorite among friends, and why they often re-read this book. I look forward to re-reading it myself!   Anne : I'm just about done reading Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. And still listening to A Clash of Kings . Angela : Finished Veterans and wanted to throw it across the room as well. Oh well, at least I can say I finished it. This week I am reading a Clash of Kings to get ready for my blog post which of course I am loving. Also reading Amanda Hocking's Switched . The book is about changelings and so far so good as I don't normally read YA. It was recomme...

* Picture by Zecuy at DeviantART

Our Favorite Chicagoland Vampires Quotes by Barbara Bones and Zee the Terrible We're still in a tizzy after our long awaited Biting Cold release day, and just not quite ready to let Merit, Ethan, and Chicago go until House Rules in February. We know that Chloe Neill has had us in a thrall since the first few pages of Some Girls Bite . So we thought, what better way to celebrate our Chicagoland Vampires love than to revisit some of our most memorable scenes, with quotes that gave us chills and brought tears to our eyes, or just made us smile or sigh. Here are just some of our favorites from the series. (Not all of them of course, we'd need a lot more than one post to cover them all.) Keep reading to see if our favorites are also yours.

Jamie had come to stand beside me at the window. Staring absently out at the driving rain, he said, “There was another reason. The main one.”   “Reason?” I said stupidly.   “Why I married you.”   “Which was?” I don't know what I expected him to say, perhaps some further revelation of his family’s contorted affairs. What he did say was more of a shock, in its way.   “Because I wanted you.” He turned from the window to face me. “More than I ever wanted anything in my life,” he added softly.

From Dead to Worse ~~Charlaine Harris Original Artwork By: http://kittrose.deviantart.com/gallery/3992073?offset=24#/d2aasn4  

When she smirked, another Valkyrie passed in front of her, marching up to him, raking her gaze over him. "Hubba, hubba," she growled with a wink. "Emma caught herself a wolf." Her eyes zeroed in on his neck where Emma had drunk earlier, and she tilted her head. "Hmmm. You wear her bite like a badge you've earned." "And you must be the soothsayer--"  "I prefer predeterminationally abled, thank you." Her hand shot out, ripping a button from his shirt, so fast it was a blur. She'd taken the one closest to his heart, and for a moment her face turned very cold. She'd made a point-she could have gone for his heart. Then she opened her hand and gasped in surprise. "A button!" She smiled delightedly. "You can never have enough of these!" -Nix and Lachlain A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark series) -Kresley Cole

I've never given much thought to this, but even as I type I realize I've been a spoiler whore since the very first book I picked up to read by myself. And from that moment it would all be the same, should we talk books, TV shows or movies. I guess I've always been intrigue d to know what lies ahead of me. I'd love to get some spoilers about my life. Too bad  Goodreads  or  Wikipedia   aren't good for that too.

There are many things I don't know! But quite a few I do. I know you can't be lost if you know where you are. I know that life is full of precious and fragile things, and not all of them are pretty. I know that the sun follows the moon and makes days, one after another. Time passes. The world turns, and we turn with it, and though we can never go back to the beginning, sometimes, we can start again. ~~Broken Megan Hart

Marry, Fuck, Kill As it often happens in books series, especially those wonderful ones that enthrall you completely, characters stir strong feelings in you. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative, sometimes meh. It frustrates me to no end when there's a character I can't stand that the author insists on keeping around (they know their story better of course, but I can't help the way I feel), and sometimes it's overwhelming how much you can adore a character. Or, in some cases, just how attracted you are to one. Of course, it blows that you'll never really be able to fulfill all these fantasies when it comes to these characters. So here's a little game the Wenches have participated in.  Just for fun, who would you Marry, Fuck, Kill in Chloe Neill's brilliant Chicagoland Vampires series? A game where the rules don't matter and every character is fair game! After much deliberation (and being pretty much forced to make choices), let us take a...

"You hold the ones you love close and fight the battles that you can win, and that , Kitten, is how it is." Halfway to the Grave ~~Jeaniene Frost

Welcome to our new weekly feature, where we share what books have caught or fancy this week. Old favorites? New discoveries? Where are we this week? Let's find out....

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not.  Make it your strength.  Then it can never be your weakness.  Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”   ― George R.R. Martin,  A Game of Thrones

My name is different every month—Brandy, Honey, Amy…sometimes Joe doesn't even bother to ask—but he never fails to arouse me with his body, his mouth, his touch, no matter what I'm called or where he picks me up. The sex is always amazing, always leaves me itching for more in those long weeks until I see him again. My real name is Sadie, and once a month over lunch Joe tells me about his latest conquest. But what Joe doesn't know is that, in my mind, I'm the star of every X-rated one-night stand he has revealed to me, or that I'm practically obsessed with our imaginary sex life. I know it's wrong. I know my husband wouldn't understand. But I can't stop. Not yet. Broken is an erotic novel by Megan Hart. You may have seen it in a bookstore, found it from an internet search engine if you requested books to read after the phenomenon called Fifty Shades of Grey , or had it recommended by a likeminded internet friend. First of all, Broken is much m...

Special Forces - Soldiers (1980-1989) by Aleksandr Voinov / Vashtan and Marquesate “No, Vadim. No.” Dan’s dark eyes were unforgivingly intense. “You must not die for me, not ever. You must live for me, you understand?” His fingertips rested on Vadim’s face. “Give me your word, you will live for me, whatever happens. Even if I never see you again. I need to believe that somewhere, out there, you are alive.” ***Image used from www.aleksandrvoinov.com

The Saucy Wenches have been sharing our book, and man candy, love for just over two weeks now.  We have had a new post every day, and have loved every day, every minute. We have followers, subscribers, new Facebook friends and Twitter followers, have begun reading our first Book Club selection, have shared some favorites and reviewed new releases. We have been retweeted by authors on both Twitter and Tumblr--heck, we HAVE a new Twitter and Tumblr! It's been an amazing two weeks! We are so thrilled that so many of you have joined us in the fun. We hope you'll keep coming back, that we'll keep entertaining you, that you'll keep telling your friends about us, and that you'll keep talking to us about your book (and other!) obsessions.  And the fun is just getting started!  Look for weekly features like What the Wenches are Reading, and something a little less tame. We have more reviews coming up as well as some Wench advice, and maybe some differences of opinion. Ke...

"To answer your question, yes, you may kiss my ass. Normally I prefer to maintain my personal space, but you're a Friend of the Pack and your services have proven useful once or twice.  I strive to accommodate the wishes of persons friendly to my people.  My only question is, would your kissing my ass be obeisance, grooming, or foreplay?" ~Curran to Kate Daniels Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

Wow, has it been a week already!? How time flies when having fun! Making these posts has been quite the challenge I must say. Why? Well, picture this scenario, starring yours truly: "There she was, a woman on a heavenly delicious mission. She had a plan to whip out two eye candy posts and the only thing she had to do was a little online research to gather up some evidence of man candy, add them to the posts and maybe write down a few words here and there and voila! Simple enough she thought but soon found out it wasn't. There was this one little problem and it wasn't making two posts ...the problem was that there were just too darn many hotties out there which made it really hard to pick out the ones who should receive this questionable honor of being apart of the Man Candy of the week and who should be left out" And that's why. Plus lets face it, we can't have them all in only two posts, that would surely bring out some massive spontaneous combustion al...

He smiled faintly.  "I don't think you understand Ms. Lane.  I won't let it kill you.  No matter what."  He stood and walked across the room.  As he opened the door, he shot over his shoulder, "And one day you will thank me for it." Darkfever ~~Karen Marie Moning

As you can see by our cool widget over there -----> (maybe down there a little) we are just over six weeks away from the release of Iced by Karen Marie Moning. Iced is going to be the first in a triolgy of Dani O'Malley books, but we think it's important to understand how we got to Dani's story. Oh, who're we kidding?  Iced is just an excuse to reread the Fever Series! We know that Ms. Moning is going to knock our socks off with Dani's trilogy, but we love Fever so much, that a reason to read them (yes, again!) is always welcome. And what better way to christen our new blog, and emphasize the Book Club part, than with a Fever reread? Now, we know that not everyone is ready to jump in just yet, and some of you may not have read them yet (but you should; you really, really should!), so we'll keep spoilery discussion to our new Goodreads group . Meet us there with your copy of Darkfever and a glass of wine, and let's chat about Mac, Barrons, Du...

"The Ghost had only ever seen Judd in another context, and though intellectually he'd understood the former Arrow had a life beyond the rebellion, seeing it in reality made him take a risk, remain longer.  For this, too, he could offer no rational reason.  This was not a life he would ever have.  It may as well have been an alien wilderness. Yet...he continued to watch." ~ The Ghost's POV at Hawke and Sienna's mating ceremony Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh 

A Review of Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changeling #11) Release Date: May 29, 2012 Purchase:   Amazon    Barnes and Noble   Synopsis:  Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past.  For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal.  For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual.  It consumes her.  It terrifies her.  It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle. Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, and no bonds.  Only pleasure.  Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both. What can the...

"Marines either know how to use an iron or they get married," Ty advised through a mouthful of Cheetos.  "The iron is less dangerous." Divide and Conquer , Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux  

The Cut & Run minions were anxiously awaiting August 11, 2012.  The  moment Stars & Stripes released, so many of us descended upon Riptide Publishing's website to download the eagerly awaited 6th book in the Cut & Run series that the site crashed about 10 minutes after the book was released. The fandom went radio silent while we read. The minions who read quickly were quiet, waiting for the others to catch up (we are a respectful lot). But it didn't take long for one particular scene in Stars & Stripes to start getting attention.  And questions.  And angst-filled pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth. Warning: Spoilers after the jump.

They'd connected in a way she never had with any lover. But he'd taken a chunk of her heart... and then moved on. That's who he was, and she'd be a fool to think that she - or even Seth - was going to change him. "You want me to back off, keep my hands to myself?" Even the thought of his hands on her made her belly flip. "Yes." Tyler turned to her as the empty road flew past and the sun crawled up the sky. His green eyes gleamed. He sent her a cocky grin. "Don't hold your breath, angel."                                                                                   ...

Yep, you read that right...totally erotic! As the sixth book in the Wicked Lovers series by Shayla Black, this was one hell of a sexual ride. Shayla Black's WL books seem to get better with each story, so I was stoked to read her latest one. The story starts with Tyler Murphy, an ex-LAPD detective, now working at a strip club as bouncer and bodyguard to Alyssa, the strip club owner. We met Tyler in Delicious , as he was fighting for the affections of Alyssa, who was enamored and in love with Luc, much to Tyler's chagrin. It all opens with the ladies of the previous WL books, all content and married to the hunky, hot sex gods of the series, some with children and a couple preggers. They're all giving Tyler a sex intervention, with Alyssa complaining about his "hit 'em and leave 'em" status with the club's strippers. While all this was going on, Tyler's former fling, Delaney is hiding out, eavesdropping on the whole conversation. Why is she t...

"I mean . . . what the hell?" Ty laughed. "What brought this on?" Zane sighed in satisfaction, stepped close, and kissed Ty soundly. "Must be the Old Spice." Stars & Stripes ~~Abigail Roux

A Review of Stars and Stripes by Abigail Roux. (Book 6 Cut and Run Series) by Angela Lannister Release Date : 13 th August 2012. Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have managed the impossible: a few months of peace and quiet. After nearly a year of personal and professional turmoil, they're living together conflict-free, work is going smoothly, and they're both happy, healthy, and home every night before dark. But anyone who knows them knows that can’t possibly last. When an emergency call from home upsets the balance of their carefully arranged world, Ty and Zane must juggle family drama with a perplexing crime to save a helpless victim before time runs out. From the mountains of West Virginia to a remote Texas horse ranch harbouring more than just livestock and childhood memories, Ty and Zane must face their fears—and their families—to overcome an unlikely enemy and bring peace back into their newly shared world. Book Summary from Goodreads ...

  "Before I could blink he was on his knees in front of me. pushing my legs apart, leaning in to kiss me. 'I think you know how I feel,' he said, in a whisper. 'We are bonded. Can you believe I’m not thinking of you while I work? When my eyes open, I think of you, of every part of you.' His fingers got busy, and I gasped. This was direct, even for Eric. 'Do you love me?' he asked, his eyes fixing mine." Eric Northman Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

MY TOP 3 KICK ASS FEMALE LEADS I'm a huge fan of fantasy novels, horror, and mystery thrillers.  Therefore, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that strong, likable, kick ass female leads didn't come along very often. Sure, some of the books had strong, awesome female characters (the Wheel of Time series), but it wasn't like they were the main characters. They were either love interests, sages of wisdom, or some bump on the road to greatness for the male lead. So imagine my surprise, and pleasure, at finding a strong, kick ass, female lead in the first set of Urban Fantasy books I was forced to read recommended. I was more than reluctant to start them, since I had no reason to think that a "fantasy" novel by a female author would be any good and, honestly, did not expect to get past 50 pages, let alone a whole book. Since then, I have realized that some of these contemporary female authors are amazing, and there is NO ONE better to write the kin...

„I've been looking so long at these pictures of you  That I almost believe that they're real“                                                                  ~ The Cure   Who doesn‘t know that feeling when looking at one‘s favorite man candy?  And speaking of man candy did you know that you can actually find a description on M.C. in a dictionary? I kid you not, I wouldn‘t make up stuff like that... I wouldn‘t! ... Well ok,  maybe I would but this time I‘m not, just ask Urban Dictionary. According to them a man candy is:  „n. A delicious, delectable, scrumptious little niblet of happiness which tickles one's fancy and satisfies one's sweet tooth while bringing a flavorful abundance of zing to one's lips and appearing as a Greek god descending from the heavens of the male specimen.“...

__________________________________________________________________ "There are few things in the world that he loves more than this House, Merit.  Possibly only one."  At the knowing gaze in his eyes, my cheeks flushed.  "And in all the world, he entrusted one girl, one scholar, with the right to defend it." _________________________________________________ Biting Cold ~~Chloe Neill

Biting Cold by Chloe Neill: A Very Spoilery Review With major spoilers about Hard Bitten , Drink Deep , AND Biting Cold Review by Zee the Terrible and Barbara Bones We've been waiting a long time for this one. It seems like forever! This was either going to be IT, or a disappointment. Why you ask? Because Ethan is back, baby! And this time, well, this time he means business. Merit and Ethan's journey has been progressing at some rate or another from the very first book. Even though sometimes it seemed like they were taking one step forward and two steps back, I had faith. I wholeheartedly agreed with Ethan when he told Merit that she was...: “Procrastinating,” he said. “Avoiding the inevitability of you and me.” So I waited.   Patiently.   I knew the heartache would be worth it.   But then came the STAKING. And seriously... the world (CLV world) came crashing down around me. I made it through, with a lot of therapy. I didn't want to continue but I d...

“ I will find you, ”  he whispered in my ear.  “ I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you - then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest. ” His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me. “ Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well. ” Dragonfly in Amber Diana Gabaldon * Picture from Captivated2 at deviantART:   http://captivated2.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d3eqji9

"Not many people had the nerve to step into his reach and touch him without his permission or some sort of forewarning.  Either Zane really didn't give a shit--which was contrary to his demeanor and actions--or he had no clue how dangerous Ty really was.  The third option was the most frightening; that he knew what Ty could do to him and he wasn't concerned." Cut and Run , Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux  

If someone had suggested an m/m romance to me, I would have politely declined. Not because of the m/m, but because I'm just not that into romances. Too predictable. Okay, fine. Reality check, m/m never really appealed to me, either. The idea of two men getting it on didn't do anything for me. Not my kink. But the Saucy Wenches are a bad influence, I tell you! They kept sharing quote after sexy quote after steamy quote from these Cut & Run books until my curiosity got the better of me.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

"This blend," he murmured, bending his head, "is about sex."  She put her hands on his chest but it wasn't a protest.  After the blood, the fear, she needed to touch him, to know this glorious creature existed.   "Another form of mind control?"  He shook his head, his mouth a hairbreadth from hers.   "It is only fair."   "Fair?"  She flicked her tongue along his lower lip.  It made his hands clench on her hips.   "If I licked you between your thighs, your taste would have the same aphrodisiac effect on me." Angels' Blood ~~Nalini Singh 

Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh Archangel's Storm, the fifth book in the Guild Hunter series, is being released this week. Read on to find out why you should catch up on the first 4, and then read about Jason in book 5!

 "I understand now why Barrons was always insisting I stop asking him questions and judge him by his actions alone. It's so easy to lie. What's even worse is how we cling to those lies. We beg for the illusion so we don't have to face the truth, don't have to feel alone."   ~~Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

My Three Favorite Urban Fantasy Series I love urban fantasy. When I think about it I realize I always have, ever since my first Fear Street book and all of the wonderful paranormal books that consumed my teenage reading list. But I moved away from U/F for a long while since I didn't have a lot of extra time for reading. That all changed when I bought my e-reader in early 2011. I dove back into the U/F waters, and have been swimming there ever since. I've read dozens of U/F books in the past year-and-a-half, but three of those series stand above the rest for me. These are series that I have read repeatedly, attempted to convince friends and family to try, discussed endlessly, and highlighted extensively. I love these series beyond reason. I hope that you will try them and fall in love them as well! In no particular order (mostly because I can't decide which I love the most!)....