The Saucy Wenches Book Club

It is a moral failure to miss the profound beauty of the world, said the voice in her mind. Yes, she said aloud, for now she did see the sin in full. ~ Lauren Groff, The Vaster Wilds

“Light matters just as much as darkness. Play matters as much as work, and kindness matters as much as cruelty, and hope matters as much as despair. More so, even. Because tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice.” ~ Katherine Center, Hello Stranger

“What if none of this is real? What if there was never a Transition, and this is one big quantum simulation to see what would’ve happened if the world had rallied together to overcome the worst of the Crisis?” ~ Nick Fuller Googins, The Great Transition

“Now I don’t fucking care who you are, so long as you’re mine.” Her eyes shot to his, again full of surprise. “Because I’m yours, Day. I’m fucking yours.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow

Winter is when I reorganise my bookshelves and read all the books I acquired in the previous year and failed to actually read. It is also the time when I reread beloved novels, for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with old friends. ~ Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

“It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall. And I know you will. It might not be right now, but I know you. Sooner or later, you’ll fly.” ~ Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Ruth had learned only one thing from the current reality, and it was that everything held together by tacit agreement that it would. All it took to unravel something was one party deciding to do just that. There was no real structure to prevent chaos. There was only a collective faith in order. ~ Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

“What a stupid melodramatic thing for her to do. What a goddamn Danielle Steel move, Nic! If this were a novel, I’d stop reading right now. I’d throw it across the room.” ~ Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

“Strength—real strength—is not doing what someone asks you, necessarily. Strength is turning up every day to a situation that is intolerable, unbearable even, just to support the people you love.” ~ Jojo Moyes, Someone Else’s Shoes

“Be warned, a heart is not like the battery you used to have. It’s stong, but fragile. It will lift you up. It will ache without reason. You’ll find yourself feeling things you never thought possible. A heart changes everything.” ~ T.J. Klune, In the Lives of Puppets

“Dad always tried to tell us.” Brennan’s voice softens. “In a world of dragon riders, gryphon fliers, and dark wielders...” “It’s the scribes who hold all the power.” ~ Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve wanted to break every rule.” Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. “You’ll become the centre of someone’s world one day. And he’ll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth.” ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout, Pure

Trouble has smelled like a lot of things in my life. A job gone wrong. A one-way street I never should have turned down. A man in faded Levi’s with a smile that broke my heart half a dozen times and loved it back together again. ~ Deanna Raybourn, Killers of a Certain Age

“The gods know what would happen if all us females were unsupervised. Absolute anarchy. Cities would crumble.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow

“Ah, but that’s the most important challenge of them all,” Jack said as he set his mug aside on the fireplace mantel. “You can’t win until you face your fears. Until you face your fears, your fears are winning.” ~ Meg Shaffer, The Wishing Game

“It’s okay if we turned entire cities full of people into nuclear ash, but the idea of monsters having a nibble afterward was just too much.” ~ John Scalzi, The Kaiju Preservation Society

“You can’t make people love you. But you can give the love you long for out to the world. You can be the love you wish you had. That’s the way to be okay. Because giving love to other people is a way of giving it to yourself.” ~ Katherine Center, The Bodyguard