The Saucy Wenches Book Club

The Persistence of Memory , Salvador Dalí “You can't save time. You can only spend it, but you can spend it wisely or foolishly.” ~ Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

"He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it. The room had been full of books before, now it was full of him. About thirty, six foot two or three, he had dark hair, golden skin, and dark eyes. His features were strong, chiseled. I couldn't pinpoint his nationality any more than I could his accent; some kind of European crossed with Old World Mediterranean or maybe an ancestor with dark Gypsy blood. He wore an elegant, dark gray Italian suit, a crisp white shirt, and a muted patterned tie. He wasn't handsome. That was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual, He attracted. There was an omnipresent carnality about him, in his dark eyes, in his full mouth, in the way he stood. He was the kind of man I wouldn't flirt with in a million years."

Head lowered, Al looked at his bare hands, folded in his lap. “I knew you could, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you get into that position. But now everyone knows it, too. I wasn’t expecting how vulnerable you would be, and word gets around. It is too easy for..." He hesitated. "You’re so damn helpless...” he tried again, his words cutting off once more. “How am I supposed to keep them off you now that they know?” — Kim Harrison, Pale Demon ( Rachel Morgan #9)

I have a confession. I have a crush on a demon. He goes by the lordly name of Algaliarept. Al for short. Thank goodness Rachel Morgan gave him a nickname, as Algaliarept is a bit of a mouthful.  Now the Wenches all know I'm a bit of a sucker for the bad guy turned into the grey guy. I don't know why, but give me a story with a hint of redemption and I am panting for more.  Well I wouldn't necessarily say Al's story is one of redemption, I would say that sometimes it pays not to judge characters on first impressions. Algaliarept is a character in the popular The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. Centred around Rachel Morgan navigating her witchy way around the usual supernatural cast of vampires, weres, elves, and in this instance, demons.  The series has captivated my attention, and Al is one of the reasons I keep coming back for another serving. Thanks, Wench Donna, you know how to recommend a riveting series. Spoilers after the jump up for the ending of P...

Source

Classic Gems from a Golden Era Masterpiece Theater’s Poldark , 1975–77 After months of longing for the lazy days of summer, it has been rather a rude awakening that by the time I can steal away some reading time, I am too tired. Focusing on all those words is just too strenuous, and I find myself nodding off as soon as my popcorn is gone. So I’ve migrated to the television, looking for things that satisfy some of the same cravings without quite so much eye strain. What have I found? The many marvelous literary adaptions that I have loved on Masterpiece Theater over the years! I owe a lot of my current reading tastes to Masterpiece Theater . (Also to Star Trek , but that’s a different post!) In the early 1970s, I was camped out every Sunday night in front of our single black-and-white television, watching another installment of high-quality British costume dramas. I remember those years as a golden age for book geeks like me. My life was enriched tremendously by these sto...

“So you traded up?” I asked, walking toward the car and opening the door. “Do you treat your relationships in the same way?” “Yes,” Ethan gravely said. “And I spent four hundred years shopping before I met you.”  ~ Chloe Neill, House Rules

It has been a slow week for the Wenches. But most of us still managed to get a little reading in. Some of us linger in our favorite realms from last week, some are continuing with the magical world of The Hollows or the heartbreaking kingdoms of Westeros, some are revisiting beloved places, like the Chicagoland Vampires universe and the whimsical world of Gaiman, and some are trying something new! And as always, a few of the Wenches are getting around to checking out each other’s recommendations! We’ll let you know if the new ones are worth visiting soon enough!  Click through to find out what we've been up to! 

Enjoy the wedding. ( Source ) I have listened to wailing, hair pulling, and general shock about a little event called The Red Wedding , shown recently on a certain TV show called Game of Thrones . Actively followed by a lot of my friends. Dare I say, with a certain amount of glee and evil cackling, that I have been enjoying their comments and reactions immensely? *ducks head* We book lovers read about this event in A Storm of Swords in, wait for it..........the year 2000. Even Jon Stewart appears to be a fan of the books, and spoofs the Red Wedding on The Daily Show . Yes, I do mean 13 very long years ago!! So we've known for some time that this little pearler was going to happen on the show. Bookies were dying to know how it would translate onto the screen, since reading the scene had been pretty horrific for this fan. I mean, I might have slapped the book down a few times and cried, "How could George R.R. Martin do this to me?" Yet as I have continued to ...

Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down today. Nothing gold can stay.  ― Robert Frost

 The car was full of unhappy people heading west. It was the Great American Family Road Trip, all right. Whaaahoo! Kim Harrison, Pale Demon

"Left," Syrio sang out. "Low." His sword was a blur, and the Small Hall echoed to the clack clack clack . "Left. Left. High. Left. Right. Left. Low. Left !" The wooden blade caught her high in the breast, a sudden stinging blow that hurt all the more because it came from the wrong side. "Ow," she cried out. She would have a fresh bruise there by the time she went to sleep, somewhere out at sea. A bruise is a lesson , she told herself, and each lesson makes us better . Syrio stepped back. "You are dead now." Arya made a face. "You cheated," she said hotly. "You said left and you went right." "Just so. And now you are a dead girl." "But you lied!" "My words lied. My eyes and my arm shouted out the truth, but you were not seeing." "I was so," Arya said. "I watched you every second!" "Watching is not seeing, dead girl..." "Just so. Opening your eyes is a...

"I knew I wasn't making sense, yet my mind was whirling with joy, shock, and disbelief. At the same time, the rational part of me snapped, get a grip, Leila! One more sputter and I'd magically transform into a nineteenth century Southern belle, fanning myself while gasping, "This is all so sudden!" ~ Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

We’ve been fangirling every Friday over book characters, writers, singers, actors, etc. for several weeks now, so our regular readers know that our fangirling days aren’t about making, as Urban Dictionary describes it: “loud high pitched noises (this includes squealing, yelling, or talking so quickly that it doesn’t sound like they are actual [sic] speaking a real language) or show their excitement for the object of their obsession through movement (this includes jumping glomping, running in circles, etc.).” Don’t get me wrong — we fan ourselves, squee, and sigh often when we fangirl, but we do try to put it into actual words, so our readers can see that we speak “a real language” and can read about our many reasons why we love our favorites so much. It’s sometimes really hard to put it into words, but we’d do anything for you, Saucy Readers!! Today is yet another Friday, so it’s time for a little more fangirling. And the “girl on fire,” the young-but-brilliantly-talented act...

Source While Ricardo scrutinized the three-way mirror to determine which sparkly gold briefs made his butt look shapelier, it occurred to him that he'd presumed he would only don such a costume while lounging beside a serene, blue in-ground pool. The word "Mansion" in the show's title was no doubt to blame for his misconception that anything in his reality TV experience would actually be glamorous. Then again, some things you just can't anticipate. Like painted grass. Or giant vats of pudding. ~ Jordan Castillo Price, Magic Mansion

Drawing by Natalie “I like everything about you,” he said huskily. “You look wonderful by candlelight, you know. Your eyes are like sherry in crystal, and your skin glows like ivory. A candlelight witch, you are. Perhaps I should disconnect the lamps permanently.” ~ Diana Gabaldon,  Outlander

Who's Who and What's What in...   Immortals After Dark  by Kresley Cole They live in our world, hidden. Their world is called The Lore. The Lore consists of Valkyries, Vampires, Lykae, Demons, Fey, Witches, Sorcerai, Furies and many more creatures. There are 13 books so far and the 14 th is going to be released soon. I’ve been in love with these books for a long, long time. Some installments more than others but, all in all, I REALLY like them. After the jump, I'll tell you some of the reasons why and introduce you to the fascinating characters.

“Physical beauty is passing. A transitory possession. But beauty of the mind and richness of the spirit and tenderness of the heart…aren’t taken away, but grow! Increase with the years!” ~ Tennessee Williams,      A Streetcar Named Desire

It seems like this week some of the Wenches are all about rereading a few old favorites. And some of us might be a little distracted because of that pesky thing called Real Life. (Or maybe an addictive game!) But there are a couple of new releases we’ve been waiting for, and some books from our TBR lists we’ve finally gotten around to! Click through to see what we’ve been up to this week! And let us know what you’ve been reading, and whether or not we might be rendezvousing in the same fictional universe! 

He understands evil better than any other person I’ve ever known.  We disagree in how to eliminate it, but we do not disagree that it exists. ~ Nalini Singh, Heart of Obsidian

A Review of Entwined with You (Crossfire #3) by Sylvia Day From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn't resist. I also saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside—so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat. No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I'd been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become. Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession... After reading the first two Crossfire novels last Fall, and being left with quite a revelation at the end of Reflected in You , I was eager to get my hands on the third book, and was excited that it was going to be released on New Year's Eve. Happy New Year to me! Then the new year approached, I went to pre-order the Nook Book, and discovered that the publication date...

I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us. They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind. — Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

“You’ll never be just anything. A tsunami can never be ‘just’ a wave.” “Get off my chin.”   “I like that about you. Waves are banal. Tsunamis reshape the Earth. Under the right circumstances, even entire civilizations.”   I blink.   “You’re going to be one hell of a woman one day, Dani.” ~ Karen Marie Moning, Iced

"This place stinks." "Did the guards forget to spray Febreeze?" Vlad asked in mock indignation. Then he gave me a jaded look. "It's a dungeon, Leila. They're supposed to smell." ~ Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

Thanks For The Memories The Wenches are in mourning. Sort of. This is a bittersweet moment for all of us. While we were devastated to hear that our home away from home,  Sookieverseblog , was going to be closing up shop now that the book series that brought us together has ended, it became all too real when our favorite mods announced the forum was closing on the 15th.  We're fine... really.

Jeaniene Frost is a favorite here at the Saucy Wenches Book Club for many reasons. Her Night Huntress , Night Huntress World , and Night Prince series have introduced us to her beloved characters Cat and Bones, Spade and Denise, Vlad and Leila, Mencheres and Kira, and Ian. Some of us have even been lucky enough to meet her in person (read about it here ), although I haven’t had the privilege. From following her blog posts, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, as well as reading all of her books, I admit I’ve become quite a fangirl. Keep reading after the jump to find out why she is so wonderful...

Snidley Whiplash, dastardly villain, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show My Favorite Villains! The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines antagonist as: One who contends with or opposes another: an adversary, opponent. Anyone who enjoys reading fiction knows that, in order to have a great story, you need a great antagonist. The protagonist—the main character, the hero or heroine, the good guy, the one you root for—is nothing without a fitting adversary. After the jump, I'll share some of my favorite unforgettable villains.

"I despise flowery speech since those who use it are usually guilty of the worst betrayals later. That and the type of life I've lived have made me incapable of saying the pretty words you deserve to hear, yet if I made you a vampire, you'd feel my emotions as clearly as I hear your thoughts now." Then he drew my hand to his chest, placing it over his heart. "I never turned any of my previous lovers because I didn't want them to feel how little I cared. You I loved, yet you left me because I wouldn't verbalize my emotions. That will probably happen again, but if you could feel what you mean to me, Leila" — his voice deepened — "words wouldn't matter." ~ Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

Source As we settle into summer — or winter for those “down under” — our reading is beginning to pick back up. This week most of the Wenches are trying out new (or new-to-us) books by some of our (or other Wenches’) favorite authors. We seem to be pretty happy with what we’ve found! What about you? Have you discovered something new and exciting to keep you on the edge of your seat? An old favorite with which to revisit fond memories? We hope you’ll let us know in the comments below!

He loved Ty Grady with all there was to give of his heart, and in the end, all it had taken was one wink for Zane to finally come to terms with it. Source ~ Divide & Conquer , Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban

Apple Polisher is the first book in the Rear Entrance Video series by Heidi Belleau. Some of the Wenches might know Belleau as the co-author of the Flesh Cartel , a gritty and dark series about sex trafficking. If one were to compare the two series, Apple Polisher takes a left turn, buys a black market passport from a shady back room, then rapidly flees from the country that is the Flesh Cartel . In Apple Polisher , set in Vancouver, Christian is in school to become a teacher. As such, he's on something of a probationary period, where he must show that he is of upstanding moral character, which includes dressing as a teacher would dress on a day-to-day basis, excelling in his schoolwork, never being late to class, and any number of other things determined at the whim of his teachers and advisor. And so Christian makes the decision to stay in the closet; being a teacher is important to him, and he won't do anything to risk this opportunity. Christian moves into a house ...

"This is bullshit." This time, Chip wasn’t the only one to be distracted. There was no mistaking that creepy falsetto. And it wasn’t Charity they were looking at, either. It was Oscar. "We weren’t told about no elimination round. This ain’t fair." Faye blushed to the roots of her flaming auburn hair, and said, "Any of us can get eliminated at any time. Deal with it." She was talking to Oscar, too. "This is BULLSHIT." In a very good Elvis-like Tennessee drawl, Chip said, "Now if we can all just calm down a minute." "BULLSHIT!" Faye held up her hand as if to shield herself from Charity, and said, "You think having a puppet in your hand gives you the right to act like a spoiled little brat?" "It’s not me," Charity said in a quavery voice, a completely different voice from Oscar’s, and an actual tear rolled down her cheek. "THIS - IS - BULLSHIT!" Oscar’s head popped up...

He sat high upon the immense ancient seat of Aegon the Conqueror, an ironwork monstrosity of spikes and jagged edges and grotesquely twisted metal. It was, as Robert had warned him, a hellishly uncomfortable chair, and never more so than now, with his shattered leg throbbing more sharply every minute. The metal beneath him had grown harder by the hour, and the fanged steel behind made it impossible to lean back. A king should never sit easy, Aegon the Conqueror had said, when he commanded his armorers to forge a great seat from the swords laid down by his enemies... Ned could feel cold steel against his fingers as he leaned forward. Between each finger was a blade, the points of twisted swords fanning out like talons from arms of the throne. Even after three centuries, some were still sharp enough to cut. The Iron Throne was full of traps for the unwary. The songs said it had taken a thousand blades to make it, heated white-hot in the furnace breath of Balerion the Black Dread. T...

Knowing what you need doesn't always mean you know how to get it, though. I'd spent a long time hiding in my cave. No matter how much I might want to come out into the light, I knew it would hurt my eyes. I was a fool. A fool, but nevertheless too smart not to know I was the architect of my own demise, that it was time to put my past behind me. It was time to stop allowing the white elephants to stand unspoken of in my living room. ~ Megan Hart, DIRTY

Source I’m questioning the wisdom of writing a fangirl blog post about a character I barely know. I am new to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. As I write this, I am only 55% of the way through book 1, A Game of Thrones , and I have never even seen the television show. I’m sure many of you who have read all the books are laughing at me right now. You know Tyrion much better than I, and maybe he turns out to be a heinous villain. That’s okay, because really, that’s part of the thrill of reading! I’ll just keep on loving Tyrion and reading this awesome series and letting it manipulate my emotions! Tyrion is of the powerful Lannister Clan. His father is Lord Tywin Lannister, and he is younger brother to twins Ser Jaime and Queen Cersei. Jaime is tall, gorgeous, and an excellent swordsman with a hot temper and a deep affection for his younger brother, Tyrion. Queen Cersei, wife of King Robert, married for power, not love. She is a nasty, self-serving ...

Vlad gave me an assessing, unmerciful rake of the eyes as he listened to my internal struggle. "So then, what are you?" Since I was sixteen and my mother told me about my father, I'd wrestled with that same question. The sound of my heartbeat seemed to mock me. Each breath I took was a taunt. . . . But I wasn't human. I hadn't been since the day I was born, and I couldn't let myself pretend to be human now. "Well?" Vlad asked with more emphasis. I gave one last regretful glance at the ravine's rocky bottom before meeting Vlad's eyes. "I am a vampire," I said, and backed away from the ledge. ~ Jeaniene Frost, At Grave's End

Source She did not think herself a genius by any means, but when the writing fit came on, she gave herself up to it with entire abandon, and led a blissful life, unconscious of want, care, or bad weather, while she sat safe and happy in an imaginary world, full of friends almost as real and dear to her as any in the flesh. Sleep forsook her eyes, meals stood untasted, day and night were all too short to enjoy the happiness which blessed her only at such times, and made these hours worth living, even if they bore no other fruit. The divine afflatus usually lasted a week or two, and then she emerged from her ‘vortex’, hungry, sleepy, cross, or despondent. ~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

My Date with a Movie, a Book, and a Box of Tissues If I know a movie that is based on a book will be coming out, I try to read the book before I see the movie. Still, from time to time the reverse occurs, and the movie encourages me to read the book. Being a semi out-of-the-closet Twi-Hard, I was watching the latest Twilight installment on DVD and a preview of a movie about wallflowers caught my attention. I filed it away in my memory under “Yeah I’d like to see that one. It’s about unconventional high school students in the 90s. Like me!” I went to high school in the 90s, and the preview included a clip of the characters watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show , so my mind was made up that The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a must-watch movie. Click through for my thoughts on both the movie and the book by Stephen Chbosky. See whether you think that you might enjoy them, too!