The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“My brothers have my measure when it comes to fighting and dancing and thinking and reading books, but none of them is half my equal at lying insensible in the mud.” ~ George R.R. Martin, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

“The snail may leave a trail of slime behind him, but a little slime will do a man no harm, while if you dance with dragons, you must expect to burn.” ~ George R.R. Martin, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

“The Queen Who Never Was; what did Viserys ever have that she did not? A little sausage? Is that all it takes to be a king? Let Mushroom rule, then. My sausage is thrice the size of his.” ~ George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood ( A Targaryen History #1)

“Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle.” ~ George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood ( A Targaryen History #1)

“I fed my last husband to my dragon. If you make me take another, I may eat him myself.” ~ George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood ( A Targaryen History #1)

“A ruler needs a good head and a true heart,” she famously told the king. “A cock is not essential.” ~ George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood ( A Targaryen History #1)

“A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf.” George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

I don't know about you, Saucy Readers, but I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones and it's book equivalent, A Song of Ice and Fire . I am also a fan of hot men. So, for this Fangirl Friday, I am combining the two. I actually had so many men listed from this show, that I had to break it into two different parts. This one features characters that are still alive. Still alive on the show, I should clarify. None of us know, yet, what will happen in the last two books. Did you hear that George RR Martin? We don't have the last two books yet! Keep writing! Anyway, stay with me after the break to see some delicious Game of Thrones actors. And, here is your obligatory spoiler warning. This post will reveal some details of this past season! Wench Angela, you've been warned.

“The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid.”  A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin Source

The Fangirl Friday where I write a very tongue in cheek letter to George R.R. Martin for a book lovers amusement. It's a perilous position trying to remain a spoiler avoider / flirt when it comes to Brienne and Jaime Lannister in Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire . The television show  Game of Thrones  keeps trying to spoil me.  So in jest, I decided to write a note about some of the perils of being a book lover first and a TV viewer second. Well in regards to this one series. Spoiler avoiders please don't read this post if you haven't read the books and plan to. 

www.goodreads.com I've been re-reading A Game of Thrones . I think this is probably the sixth time I've read the novel. As I read the words, the story comes back to me as familiar as always. I'm re reading in the vain hope that Winds of Winter might actually come out in 2016. At one point I had optimistically hoped that the book would be out before the next season of the show. Of course that plan has since been scuttled due to George R.R. Martin's Not A Blog post on January 2nd. My originally aim was to read one book a month from now until I'm up to date again. (This intention went out the window quickly as real life took over). On the plus side I now have plenty of time to finish my reread.  I've also found that actually I don't mind that much when Winds of Winter comes out. I know GRRM will do a great job and I can wait for that to occur. I'm also crazily thinking of trying to read A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons in tandem this time...

Picking seven isn’t much easier 2015 was an interesting reading year for me. Alarmed by the amount of time I’d disappeared into Outlander books over the last few years — not that there’s anything wrong with that! — in 2015 I vowed to read a few other things. I was determined to check some books off my TBR list, surprise myself from time to time, let my intuition guide me to stories that would resonate with Real Life, and last but not least, reward myself by revisiting my other favorite fictional world, the one in Dublin rather than the Scottish Highlands. As I look back at my literary year, I’m delighted to realize that I accomplished all these goals and enjoyed every single book along the way! Except more time to indulge in them I actually survived reading no Outlander books the entire year!! (I’m not going to say how many times I watched the Outlander TV episodes. Or what percentage of my Facebook news feed is Outlander . Or that I plan to reread AT LEAST the first ...

We have survived another year of book releases. You can see our top ten 2015 releases here , in case you missed it! Now, that we are into 2016, the Wenches are gearing up for this year's crop of new books. There are a lot of new books being added to some of our favorite series' that we are just dying for, and one or two new non-series books as well. A new book in a series is like catching up with an old friend. It is such a delight. Plus, it gives us an excuse to revisit the whole series! Not that any of us really needs an excuse for a re-read. Anyway, keep reading after the break to see which 2016 releases the Wenches are looking forward to!

There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin Source

Once a man has seen a dragon in flight, let him stay home and tend his garden in content, someone had written once, for this wide world has no greater wonder. ~ A Dance with Dragons , George R. R. Martin Source

Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin. Well it looks like Winds of Winter isn't going to be out in 2015 with Martin's publisher saying at least 2016 as per the UK paper The Independent   . I'm all for a writer writing whatever they want. I don't really care how long it takes as long as it's a great book. I have very few book series I read as soon as they hit the shelves. This is one of them. I regularly check GRRM's This is not a Blog  in my fervent wish that a release date is announced there. Plus I know GRRM isn't going to spoil the readers. Of course for the 1000's of times I've checked there and the multiple of other projects GRRM is involved in, it became clear that Book #6 wasn't going to be out anytime soon.

What do we know of George R.R. Martin? He writes brilliant, epic, fantasy novels. He takes *forevah* to write a new release in the series. ( A Song of Ice and Fire series has been around since the publication of A Game of Thrones , in 1996!) Oh, and he will kill off the characters we love, as well as the characters we love to hate. No one is safe in his world! Yet, still, like the idealistic, hopeful fools we are, we believe that he can't shock us *again*! Oh, yes, he can. If this intrigues you, I urge you to read this series. It is not a super easy and quick read, especially with the average book being approximately 1,000+ pages. I promise you though, it is SO worth it.   A Song of Ice and Fire series order of books: A Game of Thrones (1996) A Clash of Kings (1998) A Storm of Swords (2000) A Feast for Crows (2005) A Dance with Dragons (2011)   HALT! Go no further unless you have read ALL the books in the series or have been spoiled through book #5, A Da...