He glares at her as she goes by, and she knows he is looking to find something wrong. ????? ??????????, ???í?. ?? ????, ???í?. ???? ???? ???????, ???í?. She smiles and curtsies as she passes, a gesture with all the flair of a curse.

😢😠 The contrast from the last quote I posted.

Book haul!!!

I have now finally read all of Rebecca Ross‘s books. I really enjoy her stories. Even though some elements appear in all her books, they always work for me.

I don‘t know why I keep reading Blake—her endings always leave me frustrated. 😆

"This is not about race."

"When white people say something's 'not about race,' it's usually because it is and they don't wanna talk about it."

Yoooooooooooo! That was so good!

On to the next one!

Going in blind but already bought the 3 books. 😅

Man or bear?

“Any idiot can squeeze the trigger. Smart one knows most of the time they don't need to."

𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,
𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸,
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱.
𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺.
The moment was done. It was already a quaint snapshot, ready to be discarded for more useful memory, stronger regrets.

😭😂🫣

…this is the history of our species, and the best we can do is win the tiny battles and hope for some sea change. The more I see, the more difficult it is to disagree with them. But a part of me still revolts against the notion that this is our basic nature; that we are, in essence, self-serving creatures. That love is an explainable construct and souls are a pretty feint to distract ourselves from our own cruel emptiness.

Sustainability is great in theory, where there are no humans involved.

Though [she] felt no particular affection for this woman, she did feel a responsibility to make some gesture of farewell now that the time had come. She kissed her mother on the cheek, the skin soft, tender, whiskered with fine hairs. [𝙎𝙝𝙚] 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙩.

It was a month like none other. Some mornings [she] could barely breathe because she felt so lucky. Her heart smiled with teeth. Skin electric and giggly when their hands met and their fingers twined. Stomach cradled in a basket of feathers.

“Yell loud enough and no one cares what you're actually saying; you're always right."

"They once called me cursed. Best not to listen to what they say. There's no end to the stories that cowards tell."

So, yep, finally reading my first Simon Jimenez. I‘ve heard great things about The Spear That Cuts Through Water, but I‘d be remiss if I didn‘t start with their first novel, The Vanished Birds.

Take my day, but give me the night.

But sometimes things must break before they can be made whole again, so that they can be forged into something stronger.

“When you said my name... the stone within me suffered a crack. And I don't regret that it did, because I had forgotten how vital it is to be known for who you are, and not for who you pretend to be. I had forgotten how good it is to be seen, even with flaws and scars. I wanted you to see me.”

"It will make you colder. But even the deepest of ice eventually gives way to fire, Clementine."

Hehe. Ulla was my childhood nickname.

She wants to read, too.

“If a hero is someone who will give up love to save the world, then a villain is the reverse. Someone who will give up the world to save love.”

And so, in the absence of any abiding religious convictions, this was the one blind faith I had: that love was a physical force, and it was never wasted. Once it was called out into the universe, it would echo back to us forever.

Taking a break from the Ember Quartet.

“Most people are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But [you] are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night—if you dare to let yourself burn."

My “because-I-was-stressed-from-work-today” book haul.

I went into the bookstore thinking I‘d buy one book to relieve stress.

Ended up with five. 😅

All the beauty of the stars means nothing when life here on earth is so ugly.

Finally got myself a page turner so I can read in bed. 😂

"I don't need to believe in the supernatural. Not when there's worse that roams the night."

I first read this almost 10 years ago when it was released. I think it‘s time to reread so I can finally get to the rest of the series.

I can‘t wait for Katabasis. 😩

What is a book you have more than one copy of but have not even read yet? This is mine—I just believe in the author that much.

Death, but make it cozy.

“What‘s your secret [to surviving]?”

“…nothing mattered. Not even the opinions of the greatest men in the world.”

Why not her?

My next read!

I‘ve been reading this on and off since last August, and I‘m still only at 13%. Breezed through books 1 and 2, but struggling with this one—maybe subconsciously, I don‘t want it to end? 😅🥲 I‘m not giving up, though!