The Saucy Wenches Book Club

"But - I'm still breaking an inviolate social rule." "Which one?" Sebastian asked with interest. "The one that says women should not think of certain things, should not discuss them in public." She swallowed. “Ah, the rule that says that women aren’t allowed to be intelligent.” He brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Burn that one to the ground, Violet, and dance on the ashes. And damn anyone who tells you it’s selfish to do so.”  She couldn't help herself. She smiled at him. His hands slid down her shoulders, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in their wake. "Burn it all, sweetheart." {snip} "And what do you think?" she whispered. "I'll douse the lot in paraffin oil." His breath was warm against her lips; her hands hot, resting against her hips. "I'd tell you to fetch a match, but you have always had your own spark."   Courtney Milan's The Countess Conspiracy (Brothers Si...

The ladder of success in Hollywood is usually a press agent, actor, director, producer, leading man; and you are a star if you sleep with each of them in that order. Crude, but true.   ~ Hedy Lamarr The year is ending, and I think we can definitely call it a Women’s Year. Not because of Feminism, not because of great achievements by women, but because of all the courageous women who bravely stepped up and condemned abusive behavior. Strong women who pointed a finger at men who bullied them and would not back down, who called out the indignities they went through to get a job or promotion that they were already entitled to because of their talent and qualifications, but that would be given to them only if they succumbed to humiliating and disgraceful activities. Selma Hayek’s recent story in the New York Times is only the latest “flag” in Harvey Weinstein’s now-notorious black list. I was horrified. Weinstein is only one in a growing list of monsters. Sometimes t...

I'm no poet. I'm a soldier. So, I'll just tell you the way it is, as clumsy as it sounds. When I first saw you, it was like bing thrown from a shuttle before it touched the ground. I fell and when I landed, I felt it in every cell of my body. You disturbed me. You too away my inner peace. You left me drifting. I wanted you right there. Then as I learned more of you, I wanted you even more. You want me , too. I've seen it in your eyes. You taught me the meaning of loneliness, because when I don't see you, I feel alone. You may reject me, you may deny yourself, and if you choose to not accept me, I will abide by your decision. But know that there will never be another one like you for me and one like me for you. We both waited years so we could meet. - One Fell Sweep , Ilona Andrews

The Wenches have been able to sneak in some reading time between everything else we had to do this Holiday season. We hope you had a lovely Christmas, Saucy readers! Happy Holidays & happy reading from the Wenches!  Source.

“I’ve always been a fan of science fiction. I grew up watching Star Trek. Now I get to live it!” “Star Trek?” Trond asked. “Seriously? That’s like a hundred years old.” “Quality is quality,” Jin said. “Age is irrelevant. No one bitches about Shakespeare fans.” ~ Andy Weir, Artemis

“I don't know what to do!" cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoön of himself with his stockings. "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world!” ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Another year is drawing to a close and another few dozen books have been read by the Wenches. As usual some aren't worth mentioning, but some rocked our worlds. While we've drifted away a bit from the halcyon days when we were reading and loving the same things, we are all still reading and talking about books as much as we can.  While the control freaks among us love a Top Ten list, this year there were just too many great books, and we're left with fifteen, although three pairs of those fifteen are successive novels in the same series. So we have a Top Twelve List this year. Or a Top Fifteen. Whatever. Either way, come through the jump as we share the best books we read in 2017. And here's a toast to more wonderful stories in 2018. 

Wenches Angela and Kathi at the Oregon Coast Say what you will about 2017 (mostly not fit for tender ears), this has been a fabulous year for meeting Wenches face to face! I started the year at the Feversong release party in New Orleans with Barb, Anne, Donna, Zee, Merit, Chloe Jane, and Kat. And I ended the year with a visit from Wench Angela’s family, all the way from New Zealand! Because hey, it’s the week before Christmas, cats are partying in the wrapping paper, and my living room looks like a UPS truck exploded, so no one will notice if five more people squeeze in... The time flew by too quickly and now I miss having them around. So I’ll share some highlights of our adventures as I search for my missing motivation to finish the holiday preparations.

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books." Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~~J.K. Rowling 

With the holidays upon us our reading time has drastically shrunk, but there are a few gems on our list. Click through to see what we're reading!  

“Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them.”

Do you know what it's like to have the world turn its back on you, to turn a blind eye to your existence, like you never even mattered? Do you know what it's like to scream until your throat is raw only to realize everyone tuned you out long ago and nobody heard a single word? Because I do. I know. Menace (Scarlet Scars #1) J.M. Darhower

          Recipes for Love and Murder               Sally Andrew Last week I found a book recommendation on my Facebook wall. Something in the book’s name called to me, so I read the sample and fell in love with Tannie Maria: her life, her mind, and her superb cooking abilities. The story — which combines a murder mystery and suspense with life in a rural town, strong friendships, a lot of delicious cooking, and a dash of romance — takes place in Klein Karoo. This is an area in South Africa ( klein means small in Afrikaans), situated between majestic mountains, not far from Cape Town. I invite you to join me in visiting what is for me a new corner of our world, while trying to solve this murder and salivating over mouthwatering descriptions of food.

"Marlie knew Lace was trying to make her feel better but she felt worse, wondering what Lace and Tobias and all the other Negroes forced into slavery or servitude might have done with their lives if given a choice. It hit her hard and all at once, this thing she had always known but never allowed herself to feel :     Slavery didn't just take away a person's freedom; it took away an entire people's future.  Alyssa Cole's A Hope Divided : The Loyal League II

Come Through the jump and check out five authors Wench Shau recommends we all check out right away!

“People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons.                             From within.”  The Wave in the Mind,Ursula Le Guin

“Occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile."..' Opportunity is fleeting, experiment dangerous, and judgement difficult.”  - Deborah Harkness, Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #3)

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

Nothing like old-fashioned misogyny to make the ignorant turn down good advice. ~ Jane Harper, The Dry

"Where's Mac?" Barrons says, soft, making my gaze dart back to him. Soft from him is a surgical knife poised above your jugular. "Has the bitch hurt her?" If looks could kill! Someday somebody's gonna look at somebody about me like that.  Dreamfever ~~Karen Marie Moning

We were so excited to get a Netgalley ARC of Alyssa Cole's   A Hope Divided ,  the second installment of The Loyal League series set in Civil War Era America. Another gorgeous cover, another brilliant heroine, and another hero you're rooting for. We couldn't wait to crack it open and disappear into another brilliant adventure Ms.Cole had in store for us. Click through to read the review!

Before Shiloh, Grant had nursed hopes for a titanic battle that would triumphantly crush the rebellion. Now, stunned by the combative spirit of his foes, he knew there would be many more bloodbaths in a long, grinding war of attrition. This began his conversion to a theory of total warfare in which all of the southern society would have to be defeated.  Grant ~~Ron Chernow 

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Click through to see what the Wenches are reading this week! 

“You've a good heart. Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go. But mostly, it's not.”

Despite the atrocities they committed against her people, she knew that a Southern man was just as human as she; they were the ones who had trouble coming to terms with that reality.  An Extraordinary Union ~~Alyssa Cole

Two things made me pick up this book: so many authors I love were raving about it on twitter, and that cover. *heart eyes* I fell in love with that cover before I even opened the book. I am so very glad I did trust the recommendations and buy it immediately, and I am now going to tell you, Saucy Readers, why you should be reading this beautiful book by this amazing author and recommend it to everyone you know. Trust me! Click through to read more.

  “Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires, as if one shouldn't trust the evidence of one's eyes watching the destruction and the misery and death brought by the latest mission civilizatrice .”   Edward Said's Orientalism .

I am stubborn. I don't often follow trends, choosing instead to avoid the things that everyone else is loving. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. But in my advanced age I've found myself relaxing that stubbornness and checking out things, because maybe everyone loves these things because they're great. Such is my love of Stranger Things , the Netflix sensation. I thoroughly enjoyed the first season last year, and devoured the second within two weeks of its release. And, like much of the rest of the world, I'm now impatiently waiting for the further adventures, of Eleven, Mike, Hopper, and the gang. Come with me through the jump as I share just a few of the reasons that Stranger Things lives up to the hype, why if you're like me and stubbornly refusing to check out what everyone else loves, you should give it a shot. It's superb.