The Saucy Wenches Book Club

The Witcher on Netflix “He knows this law [of Surprise] better than anyone else,” Mousesack said in a hoarse voice, “because it applied to him once. He was taken from his home because he was what his father hadn’t expected to find on his return. Because he was destined for other things. And by the power of destiny he became what he is.” “And what is he?” “A witcher.” ~ Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish   ( The Witcher #0.5)

Many odes have been composed to Queen Orlagh’s beauty, although, if she’s anything like her daughter, not to her personality. ~ Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“What do you want?” “You,” he said, his voice lowering an octave. “I want you, Dutch, body and soul. I want you in my bed every night. I want you there when I wake up in the morning. I want your clothes strung across my apartment and your scent on my skin.” ~ Darynda Jones, Fifth Grave Past the Light

And if it happened to be a Christmas-night when the great bell seemed to rattle in its throat as it called the faithful to the midnight mass, there was such an indescribable air of life spread over the sombre facade that the great door-way looked as if it were swallowing the entire crowd, and the rose-window staring at them. —Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

With a certain amount of forethought, Mrs. Bug, Brianna, Marsali, Lizzie, and I had made up an enormous quantity of molasses toffee, which we had distributed as a Christmas treat to all the children within earshot. Whatever it might do to their teeth, it had the beneficial effect of gluing their mouths shut for long periods, and in consequence, the adults had enjoyed a peaceful Christmas. ~ Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross

“People”—Geralt turned his head—“like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves.” ~ Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish ( The Witcher #0.5)

“I fell so fast, so hard, and so completely. Not because love is blind, but because . . . it’s not. Love isn’t blind, it’s blinding. Glaring. I looked at you, and from the very first day, I knew you.” Amy Harmon, What the Wind Knows

“We did not ask for this room or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room or this music. But because we are here, let us dance.” ― Stephen King, 11/22/63

This city sometimes made one feel as if an endlessly full mug of coffee were being held to one’s lips, and could not be pushed away. ~ Dexter Palmer, Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen: A Novel

“My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There’s no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that.” ~ Neal Shusterman, Scythe

“But minds find ways to protect themselves, build fortifications, and some of those walls become traps.” ― Jeff VanderMeer, Borne

How fitting, that the most terrifying time in my life should require me to do what I do best: escape into a book. ~ Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“Being a professional hockey player in Chicago is like being Britney Spears in Vegas.” A Lie for a Lie , Helena Hunting

The way things were—the comfort of the addiction of modern, normal life—had drastically fucked off to places unknown. It would, Pete suspected, never return. ~ Chuck Wendig, Wanderers

“With her dying breath, she restored the joy of a dragon and, in doing so, restored the world. Is there a more honorable thing to do with a life?” ~ Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree

King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land. A Dance With Dragons , George R. R. Martin

“I wonder how many people don’t get the one they want, but end up with the one they’re supposed to be with.” ~ Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

“ ... happiness is an expression of gratitude. And it’s never wrong to be grateful.” Amy Harmon, What the Wind Knows

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. ― Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist

There was greatness in them. But with that greatness came arrogance, and with that arrogance corruption, and with that corruption downfall. ~ Fireborne , Rosaria Munda

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it harmonizes, and what it usually makes is the devil’s music.” ― Stephen King, 11/22/63

“Trust, it turned out, was a very beautiful and fragile thing with a taste like wild raspberries and experienced only by the very brave.” ~ Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

Any movement ahead of us?” “Nothing on this level.” “Anything above?” His motors whirred. “Maybe.” I had fallen into the dreams. It was easier there. Nothing made any sense in reality. And it hurt. Everywhere I looked it hurt. Dreams didn’t hurt. Compared to the new world, dreams were old friends that didn’t die, unlike real ones. I rolled my eyes. “Can you be more specific?” “No, something is blocking my sensors beyond twenty meters.” “Activate stealth,” I ordered. “Really?” His motors whined. “Do we have to go through this every time?” “It’s a terrible drain on my batteri—” Sota received the look I reserved for assholes and disobedient drones everywhere. Shoot the Messenger , Pippa DaCosta

“Tell me again what you said at the revel,” he says, climbing over me, his body against mine. “What?” I can barely think. “That you hate me,” he says, his voice hoarse. “Tell me that you hate me.” “I hate you,” I say, the words coming out like a caress. I say it again, over and over. A litany. An enchantment. A ward against what I really feel. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” He kisses me harder. “I hate you,” I breathe into his mouth. “I hate you so much that sometimes I can’t think of anything else.” ― Holly Black, The Wicked King

“Now it’s not just my lip you’ll be needing to kiss if you’re wishing to make amends with me, Irish.” ― Karen Marie Moning, The Immortal Highlander

“We must always be vigilant, because power comes infected with the only disease left to us: the virus called human nature.” ~ Neal Shusterman, Scythe

But far more intense was the utter, ineffable tenderness he felt, and the solemnity. As though he had been entrusted with something infinitely precious. As though he had taken an oath, and his very life stood surety to it. He would recognize this later as the moment his center of gravity shifted: from being one of one—a pillar alone, apart—to being half of something that would fall if either side were cut away. ~ Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer

Words are wind, but wind can fan fire. My father and my uncle fought words with steel and flame. We shall fight words with words, and put out the fires before they start. Fire & Blood , George R. R. Martin

If you want to get Child Protective Services called fast, just start talking about ghost dick. ~ Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

His breath warmed the shell of my ear. “You killed me.” The dark power in his voice rushed over my skin. “With iron. Fucking... shot me.” Animal rage imbued his words. ~ Dark King , C. N. Crawford

When she opens her eyes, they are standing on the quarterdeck of a ship in the middle of the ocean. Only the ship is made of books, its sails thousands of overlapping pages, and the sea it floats upon is dark black ink. Tiny lights hang across the sky, like tightly packed stars bright as sun. ~ Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

“Tragedy makes for great stories, but I’d much rather your story—the one you live, not the ones you write—be filled with joy. Don’t revel in tragedy, Annie. Rejoice in love. And once you find it, don’t let it go. In the end, it is the one thing you won’t regret.” Amy Harmon, What the Wind Knows

It was hard enough to lose Bowie and Prince. When they died, everything went to hot shit, didn’t it? For the record, I blame their deaths for all of this. ~ Chuck Wendig, Wanderers

He watches the woman and her dog walk back down the alley. She stops and draws her finger through the air, as if she were writing something on the sky. The mist swirls and snakes around her like a great pale cat. It draws itself into a shape like an archway or a door. She steps through it, and is gone. ~ Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the worlds is whisper-thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it. ~ Once a Witch , Carolyn MacCullough

“She is all the great heroines of the world in one. She is more than an individual. I love her, and I must make her love me. I want to make Romeo jealous. I want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter, and grow sad. I want a breath of our passion to stir dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“The three of you have one solution to every problem. Murder. No key fits every lock.” ... “Someone tries to betray the High King, murder . Someone gives you a harsh look, murder . Someone disrespects you, murder . Someone ruins your laundry, murder .” [snip] “Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me. “We would be surprised to find that,” I call back. ― Holly Black, The Wicked King

That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you’d been before life took away your belief in the possible. ~ Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

“It’s not an obstacle course,” he said. “You can’t go around it—you have to go through it. Walk with your head up no matter what they throw at you.” ~ Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys

“To be kin to a dragon, you must not only have a soul of water. You must have the blood of the sea, and the sea is not always pure. It is not any one thing. There is darkness in it, and danger, and cruelty. It can raze great cities with its rage. Its depths are unknowable; they do not see the touch of the sun. To be a Miduchi is not to be pure, Tané. It is to be the living sea. That is why I chose you. You have a dragon’s heart.” ~ Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree

Only in Faerieland is a giant toad the less conspicuous choice. ~ Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

What does it taste like when you are so free you can follow the sun until it dips down into the ocean? ~ Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

Ya need some girlfriends, hon, ‘cause they’re furever. Without a vow. A clutch of women’s the most tender, most tough place on Earth. ~ Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

“It’s a very special couch,” I told her. “Mad Rogan once fell asleep on it. We’re thinking of having it gold-plated and donated to a museum . . .” ― Ilona Andrews,  Sapphire Flames ( Hidden Legacy #4)

This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it. ~ Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

“Might that attitude be a form of self-protection?” “You mean am I deluding myself?” “That’s another way to put it.” “If I say yes, then I’m not deluded. And if I say no, it’s further evidence of delusion.” ~ Leni Zumas, Red Clocks

She accumulated the dust of other worlds on her skin like ten thousand perfumes, and left constellations of wistful men and impossible tales in her wake. ~ Alix E. Harrow, The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“If she was gone, this was it for him. He had lived over a thousand five hundred years. It was enough. If Lijuan had risen monstrous while he and Elena slept, he’d do what he could to burn out that scourge because Elena would want him to do that, but he would not live thousands of years without her. He could not live another day without her.” – Nalini Singh, Archangel’s War

“S-word,” she muttered, sliding out of the car. “Bloody F-wording S-word!” This was small relief to her feelings of anxiety and oppression. It really wasn’t fair. Who needed the relief of occasional bad language more than a mother of small children? Maybe she should start using her mother’s “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!” instead. Jem had incorporated that one into his own collection of expletives before he turned four and had long since taught it to Mandy; they wouldn’t be warped by hearing it. ~ Diana Gabaldon, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood

“In darkness, we are naked. Our truest selves. Night is when fear comes to us at its fullest, when we have no way to fight it,” Ead continued. “It will do everything it can to seep inside you. Sometimes it may succeed — but never think that you are the night.” ~ Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree