The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“Someone needs to tell those tales.... There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose.... That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that.” He takes another sip of his wine. “There are many kinds of magic, after all.” ~ Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

“I wasn’t destined for greatness; I knew this. But I was figuring out how to steal it from someone stupid enough to relax their grip on it.” ~ Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here

“We’re the ones who’ve figured out just how amazing our kind can be, if we learn how to refine the gift we’re born with.” “It’s a curse, not a gift.” Syenite closes her eyes. But she doesn’t push away the bundle. “It’s a gift if it makes us better. It’s a curse if we let it destroy us. You decide that—not the instructors, or the Guardians, or anyone else.” ~ N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season

“That’s the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Earth and Blood , ( Crescent City #1)

“I’ll tell you what is convenient,” he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka—and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.” ~ Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

I want to live to grow old, Alex thought as she pulled the curtains closed. I want to sit on my porch and drink foul-smelling tea and yell at passersby. I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me. ~ Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

While freedom gives rise to growth and enlightenment, permission allows evil to flourish in a light of day that would otherwise destroy it. A self-important dictator gives permission for his subjects to blame the world’s ills on those least able to defend themselves. ~ Neal Shusterman, Thunderhead ( Arc of a Scythe #2)

“We’re at the creek catching fish with a holey net. Understandably, this may take some time. Come join us if you enjoy frustration.” ~ Glendy Vanderah, Where the Forest Meets the Stars

“You still want the fairytale, but it’s mine to give you, and I can’t give it to you if you’re with the wrong fucking prince.” ~ Kate Stewart, Drive

“...the taste of the honey sweetening her coffee ... became such a part of her ritual that, with the simple act of pouring a fine trickle into her cup, she found some peace, renewed spirits, and the energy to continue with the strange routine of that place.” ~ Sofía Segovia, The Murmur of Bees

“Rules existed for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn't, you might burn the world to the ground.” ― Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere

“It’s just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn’t it? It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal.” ~ John Grogan, Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

Lehabah had been guardian of the gallery’s library for decades. Logic insisted that ordering a fire sprite to watch over a library was a poor idea, but when a third of the books in the place would like nothing more than to escape, kill someone, or eat them — in varying orders — having a living flame keeping them in line was worth any risk. ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Earth and Blood , ( Crescent City #1)

“People who try hard to do the right thing always seem mad.” ~ Stephen King, The Stand

Over these many years, I have observed both profound folly and breathtaking wisdom among humankind. They balance each other like dancers in the throes of a passionate tango. It is only when the brutality of the dance overwhelms the beauty that the future is threatened. ~ Neal Shusterman, Thunderhead ( Arc of a Scythe #2)

“And everyone on earth knows if you have the respect of a cat it means your soul is worth being around.” ~ Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

“Home is what you take with you, not what you leave behind.” ~ N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. ~ Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless