The Saucy Wenches Book Club

I understand something now:that which we fear, we somehow beckon near and engage in a dance, as toxically intimate as a pair of suspicious lovers. Perhaps it's because deep down we want to face it. Perhaps it's just the way the universe works; we're magnetized waltzers and our hopes and fears emit some kind of electrical impulses that attract all that we dream, and all that we dread, We live and die on a dance floor of our own making. FEVERSONG, Karen Marie Moning

“I love you,” he said, his eyes locked with hers. “From the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. From yesterday to tomorrow and every tomorrow we will ever see. From this moment to the mystery beyond death. Every part of you, slow or fast, small or big, strong or weak. I love you, Holly.” - Nalini Singh, Archangel's Viper

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I try to imagine what she sees in her world without music, without Chimes. I want to ask her where her happiness comes from. The trees are budding their new leaves and a thought comes into my head. They have a kind of rhythm in their upright trunks and their branches that start thick and then divide and get narrower and lighter and faster till they quiver in the air like breath past a clarionet reed. That is a rhythm you can see, not hear. Perhaps music happens elsewhere than in ears. ~ Anna Smaill, The Chimes

His present career had led him to many a conversation with Southern men, and not a one of them knew what they were really fighting for. Pride, or states' rights, or to show them Northmen what for were the reasons generally provided to him in some form or another, but as he watched the slaves bustle around the table unacknowledged, he knew the real reason. And that was why he wouldn't rest until the abomination was routed from the country he now called home.  An Extraordinary Union ~~Alyssa Cole 

I know, it's crazy right? I have a tentative reading plan for 2018 and the list already comprises 23 books and 2 novellas. Plus, did I mention I'm going back to university next year? Yeah, I need my head examined. I'm blaming this need for a plan on the fact that I've decided that I have to finish the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series next year. Plus, once you throw in a few new releases, the list suddenly starts to pile up. Let's check after the jump for 2018 's reading plan!

There are a lot of choices available for your viewing entertainment, and it's easier than over to find something to pique your interest. Back when my kids were young, we would head over to the video store on Friday afternoons after school. They always looked forward to choosing DVDs and video games for the weekend. The biggest challenge was getting there before the good ones were all snapped up. That's no longer an issue. Streaming services such as Netflix are an amazing concept: you can watch all the films and television shows in their vast catalogue any time, as often as you want for just a few dollars a month. Video stores couldn't compete, and within a few years, they were almost completely obliterated.  I still like going to the movies, especially for those blockbusters and cinematic masterpieces. These days I order tickets online and pick them up at the cinema. I can even choose my seat beforehand. Checking through my history this ye...

Fake news now carries as much weight as real news. Origin by Dan Brown

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“There are times when our victories have a cost that we did not foresee, when winning brings us loss.”

He leans down, and I've got about a three second warning, long enough to inhale sharply, before he kisses me. His lips are the softest things about him, warm and gentle, like a slice of heaven wrapped in hell, so worth battling the flames to feel his fire.  Menace (Scarlet Scars #1) J.M. Darhower 

Bitter Night (Horngate Witches #1)  was picked as Book of the Month in our Goodreads group . I had never heard of the author, but was looking forward to reading an urban fantasy book. While I've been reading a lot of fantasy books this year. I've been very light on reading urban fantasy. Diana Pharaoh Francis has written an intriguing world of witches, Shadowblades and a sprinking of fairies, angels and guardians.  A kick-ass heroine, who some may call a tad reckless at times, has her heart in the right place and needs to navigate a world that she never wanted to be a part of. Check after the jump for my review.

Avoiding any show of celebration, he refused to shame defeated soldiers and vetoed any ceremony in which they marched out of Fort Donelson and stacked their arms. "Why should we go through with vain forms and mortify and injure the spirit of brave men, who, after all, are our own countrymen," he asked. In treating the sick and wounded, he made no distinction between federal and Confederate troops and prevented the indignity of having souvenir hunters scavenge trophies from the battlefield.  Grant ~~Ron Chernow

More of my five star reads from 2017. It's been an amazing year book quality wise.  I'm putting the explosion of great reading firmly on the doorstep of two of my groups on Goodreads, Fantasy Buddy Reads and 2-3-4 Challenge . They've both really broadened my horizons this year on the books I've selected to read. Thank you to both groups. The books below have all be read as buddy reads in both groups. Here's a look at my five star reads since June. Check after the jump.

“Aren’t you afraid of dying?” he asked Lila now. She looked at him as if it were a strange question. And then she shook her head. “Death comes for everyone,” she said simply. “I’m not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of dying here.” She swept her hand over the room, the tavern, the city. “I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”  A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E Schwab

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“Written words,” she says, as if she’s lonely for them, “Coded ideas. Nobody understands them now.” “What were they for?” I ask. “Code as a way of keeping thoughts still. Of helping them stay in formation. Everybody used to understand it, and they could write in it too. It meant that you could return to the ideas when you wanted. Code is a kind of memory.” [snip] When Chimes came, the birds died. When the birds died, words died. When words died, memory died. ~ Anna Smaill, The Chimes

I did know that it was more noble to love openly and honestly than to hide out of fear, I knew that loving takes courage and vulnerability, and if I had to expose my beating heart for Embry to scorn a thousand times to earn his love, then I'd do it, it would be worth it. A million times. A billion.  American King ~~Sierra Simone 

Regular readers will recall that many of us were blown away by Sierra Simone's Priest , which led me to her fabulous romp, P*rn Star (review here), and the first installment in what would become her New Camelot series, American Queen (review here ). American Queen so thoroughly captivated me that I devoured the second book, American Prince (review here ) and had to wait impatiently for the final installment, American King , which finally released on Halloween, and I read as quickly as I could. Come with me through the jump and I'll tell you why you should definitely pick up the New Camelot trilogy now that it's wrapped up with a strong, dominant, triangle-shaped bow. I'll keep King spoilers to a minimum, but I assume you've read Queen and Prince . 

Happy Friday Saucy Readers! This Fangirl Friday, I am here to share with you some delicious man candy. Given the nature of our blog, we don't discuss our favorite TV shows very often, but quite a few of us love emotional powerhouse, This Is Us. I've actually already shared some of my favorite man candy from the show here . Today, I am going to focus on my favorite character on the show, Randall Pearson aka Sterling K Brown. Keep reading after the break to see some goodies and read some of me gushing about this talented, gorgeous man.

No man can keep the whole world forever, after all. Which is why it's better to burn it down before it slips away. American King ~~Sierra Simone

McCoy looked at him with true regret and sighed heavily. "You're management now, Garrett. There's no going back. And you can't have your....your boyfriend working under you." Ty opened his mouth, and McCoy held up his hand. "If you make a joke, I'll shoot you." "Yes, sir," Ty grumbled, slumping further into his chair. Ball & Chain by Abigail Roux

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“Just because you start out as one thing, it doesn't mean you can't grow into something else.”

The real tragedy of your life, Maxen, is that you will never stop having faith in the people around you, even when they hurt you over and over again. American King ~~Sierra Simone

Hey Saucy Readers! I'm back, this time with a short one this time, Lucky Break . This is one of the short stories within the series. It's a little less than 100 pages, so this will be a short post. Keep reading after the break for my questions!

“Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety. And at such a moment, unable to see and not daring to imagine what the future will now bring forth, one clings to what one knew, or dreamed that one possessed. Yet, it is only when a man is able, without bitterness or self-pity, to surrender a dream he has long possessed that he is set free - he has set himself free - for higher dreams, for greater privileges.”    James Baldwin's Nobody Knows My Name

No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. ~ They Might Be Giants I’ve never been interested in video games and Dungeons and Dragons quests, nor have I played any (except maybe Packman once). So I was a bit hesitant to pick up this book about video games and virtual realities, but then I read reviews that prompted me to take a bite: a dystopian future tale with characters who look like refugees from the movies Total Recall or The Fifth Element , and instead of worrying about it we have some fun. I found myself enjoying it very much. I thought it would be a book for geeks, full of computer programming jargon and the likes, but I was wrong. I found myself enjoying the story, the ideas behind the story, the action, and especially the 1980s references, which are an integral part of the plot. I’ve learned quite a lot — and a bit more than is necessary for me — about video games, their makers, and their “inner secrets” (aka the technical background...

"He had never been able to understand the assumption of intimacy fans felt with those they had never met." Robert Galbraith - The Cuckoo's Calling

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