Could You Repeat That? 179
Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo
"When everyone thinks you're a monster, you needn't waste time doing every monstrous thing."
Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo
"Other than Inej making a new pal, what the hell happened out there?"
"Let's see," said Nina. "Inej fell twenty stories."
"We put a serious hole in my father's dining room ceiling," Wylan offered.
"Nina can raise the dead," said Inej.
The Fated Sky, Mary Robinette Kowal
Of all the times to encounter a fan, I had not anticipated it happening at gunpoint.
The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo
This is the problem with making a thing forbidden. It does nothing but build an ache in the heart.
The Demon in the Wood, Leigh Bardugo
He shifted uncomfortably. "I know."
"I know, I know," she mimicked. "You sound like a crow cawing."
Summer Frost, Blake Crouch
"But what if consciousness isn't some gift accidentally bestowed upon humanity through eons of random evolution? What if it's a curse?"
Vicious, VE Schwab
Victor smelled pain the way a wolf smelled blood.
Descendant of the Crane, Joan He
The words came out polished, like bones picked clean by carrion birds. Hesina's voice didn't shake didn't tremble. Anger had cauterized her nerves.
The Diviners, Libba Bray
For once, Evie didn't know what to say. She hadn't really thought of her uncle as very human. He was more like a textbook who occasionally remembered to put on a tie.
Black Perspectives in Writing Program Administration, Staci M Perryman-Clark and Collin Lamont Craig, eds, x2
If you ain't gon bother to see me, you best make sure you don't ever need me.
A Reaper at the Gates, Sabaa Tahir
"You cannot walk in the shadows as long as I have and not become one."
Ghost Girl in the Corner, Daniel Jose Older
"Well, I, for one, am shocked that the white lady doesn't want us to write about any of the ills of gentrification."
The Everlasting Rose, Dhonielle Clayton
"You have my word."
"And it's worth a grain of sand."
"I know, but you have it nonetheless."
Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie
This was not grief. It was rage. It was his rage, the boy who allowed himself every emotion but rage, so it was the unfamiliar part of him, that was all he was allowing her now, it was all she had left of him. She held it to her breast, she fed it, she stroked its mane, she whispered love to it under the starless sky, and sharpened her teeth on its gleaming claws.
Lair of Dreams, Libba Bray
"Can you imagine me as a lawyer?"
"You'd make an awful lawyer. Absolutely terrible."
Henry grinned. "Thank you for your confidence in me."
"Terrible," Ling said again.
Olive, Again, Elizabeth Strout
She sat down across from Andrea, in spite of thinking she saw in the girl's face a wish not to be disturbed. But Olive was old, she had buried two husbands, what did she care; she did not care.
Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
What a strange thing, a lack of darkness. What a strange thing, for your job not to stress you out, for good things to make you happy and bad things to make you sad.
Before the Devil Breaks You, Libba Bray
Just because you loved somebody with your entire soul didn't mean they wouldn't break your heart. And just because somebody loved you didn't mean they'd be able to stop themselves from hurting you to get what they wanted.
Your House Will Pay, Steph Cha
He was tired of pretending Ava was a perfect child; he hated that perfection was what the world required to mourn her.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers
Nothing was ever enough on Mirabilis. Every discovery made, every hour spent in someone else's sheets, every conversation and collaboration and new vista taken in made me want more, more, more. We were alive on that world. We were kings without enemies, children removed from time. We should've known better, as students of the universe. There's no escaping entropy.
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Everisto
Amma, on the other hand, has waited three decades before being allowed in through the front door
although she hasn't exactly been hammering on the castle walls for the duration
in truth, girlfriend spent much of her early career slinging rocks at it
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K LeGuin
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next."
We Cast a Shadow, Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Africa wasn't home. For better or worse, this vicious hamlet--where I dreamed perchance of a bright future for my son--was home.
Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
"I know, I know, panic is fun, but sometimes revenge is better," she said. "Choose revenge. Choose better."
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood
Despite what you may have thought, my reader, there was beauty to be had in Gilead. Why would we not have wished for it. We were human after all.
I see I have spoken of us in the past tense.
The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang
Yes, she was lonely. Yes, she had a broken heart. But at least she had herself.
Saudade, Suneeta Peres da Costa
That I was not the cause of her disappointment was suddenly apparent to me, but when I turned my head back to see where it may have begun, it was indistinct, there was no clear picture of it.
King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo
"All fuels burn differently. Some faster, some hotter. Hate is one kind of fuel. But hate that began as devotion? That makes for another kind of flame."
White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
I repeat: stopping our racist patterns must be more important than working to convince others that we don't have them.
Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen, Dexter Palmer
In a man's eyes I am meant for motherhood, and that only; otherwise I may as well be mute. Tongue cut out; lips sewn shut.
"When everyone thinks you're a monster, you needn't waste time doing every monstrous thing."
Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo
"Other than Inej making a new pal, what the hell happened out there?"
"Let's see," said Nina. "Inej fell twenty stories."
"We put a serious hole in my father's dining room ceiling," Wylan offered.
"Nina can raise the dead," said Inej.
The Fated Sky, Mary Robinette Kowal
Of all the times to encounter a fan, I had not anticipated it happening at gunpoint.
The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo
This is the problem with making a thing forbidden. It does nothing but build an ache in the heart.
The Demon in the Wood, Leigh Bardugo
He shifted uncomfortably. "I know."
"I know, I know," she mimicked. "You sound like a crow cawing."
Summer Frost, Blake Crouch
"But what if consciousness isn't some gift accidentally bestowed upon humanity through eons of random evolution? What if it's a curse?"
Vicious, VE Schwab
Victor smelled pain the way a wolf smelled blood.
Descendant of the Crane, Joan He
The words came out polished, like bones picked clean by carrion birds. Hesina's voice didn't shake didn't tremble. Anger had cauterized her nerves.
The Diviners, Libba Bray
For once, Evie didn't know what to say. She hadn't really thought of her uncle as very human. He was more like a textbook who occasionally remembered to put on a tie.
Black Perspectives in Writing Program Administration, Staci M Perryman-Clark and Collin Lamont Craig, eds, x2
If you ain't gon bother to see me, you best make sure you don't ever need me.
A Reaper at the Gates, Sabaa Tahir
"You cannot walk in the shadows as long as I have and not become one."
Ghost Girl in the Corner, Daniel Jose Older
"Well, I, for one, am shocked that the white lady doesn't want us to write about any of the ills of gentrification."
The Everlasting Rose, Dhonielle Clayton
"You have my word."
"And it's worth a grain of sand."
"I know, but you have it nonetheless."
Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie
This was not grief. It was rage. It was his rage, the boy who allowed himself every emotion but rage, so it was the unfamiliar part of him, that was all he was allowing her now, it was all she had left of him. She held it to her breast, she fed it, she stroked its mane, she whispered love to it under the starless sky, and sharpened her teeth on its gleaming claws.
Lair of Dreams, Libba Bray
"Can you imagine me as a lawyer?"
"You'd make an awful lawyer. Absolutely terrible."
Henry grinned. "Thank you for your confidence in me."
"Terrible," Ling said again.
Olive, Again, Elizabeth Strout
She sat down across from Andrea, in spite of thinking she saw in the girl's face a wish not to be disturbed. But Olive was old, she had buried two husbands, what did she care; she did not care.
Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
What a strange thing, a lack of darkness. What a strange thing, for your job not to stress you out, for good things to make you happy and bad things to make you sad.
Before the Devil Breaks You, Libba Bray
Just because you loved somebody with your entire soul didn't mean they wouldn't break your heart. And just because somebody loved you didn't mean they'd be able to stop themselves from hurting you to get what they wanted.
Your House Will Pay, Steph Cha
He was tired of pretending Ava was a perfect child; he hated that perfection was what the world required to mourn her.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers
Nothing was ever enough on Mirabilis. Every discovery made, every hour spent in someone else's sheets, every conversation and collaboration and new vista taken in made me want more, more, more. We were alive on that world. We were kings without enemies, children removed from time. We should've known better, as students of the universe. There's no escaping entropy.
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Everisto
Amma, on the other hand, has waited three decades before being allowed in through the front door
although she hasn't exactly been hammering on the castle walls for the duration
in truth, girlfriend spent much of her early career slinging rocks at it
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K LeGuin
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next."
We Cast a Shadow, Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Africa wasn't home. For better or worse, this vicious hamlet--where I dreamed perchance of a bright future for my son--was home.
Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
"I know, I know, panic is fun, but sometimes revenge is better," she said. "Choose revenge. Choose better."
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood
Despite what you may have thought, my reader, there was beauty to be had in Gilead. Why would we not have wished for it. We were human after all.
I see I have spoken of us in the past tense.
The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang
Yes, she was lonely. Yes, she had a broken heart. But at least she had herself.
Saudade, Suneeta Peres da Costa
That I was not the cause of her disappointment was suddenly apparent to me, but when I turned my head back to see where it may have begun, it was indistinct, there was no clear picture of it.
King of Scars, Leigh Bardugo
"All fuels burn differently. Some faster, some hotter. Hate is one kind of fuel. But hate that began as devotion? That makes for another kind of flame."
White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
I repeat: stopping our racist patterns must be more important than working to convince others that we don't have them.
Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen, Dexter Palmer
In a man's eyes I am meant for motherhood, and that only; otherwise I may as well be mute. Tongue cut out; lips sewn shut.