Continue reading “BOOK REVIEW | The Cousins by Karen M. McManus”
// “A light, honest scent. Natural and unforced. Some of the roses seem faded and overblown.” “That fate awaits all roses, Sire.” ”Continue, madam.” “All roses are open to the elements, Your Majesty. They bud, bloom and fade.” “Is that so, madam?” “The rose grows entirely unaware, changing naturally from one state to another and although the elements may treat her cruelly, she knows nothing of it and continues to her end without judgement on her beauty. Alas, 'tis not the same for us.” “If such a rose could speak...what would she say?” “‘Yes, I am here and gave service under nature's eye, and after me my children will be. Is there any greater contribution or more graceful end?’” “A wise rose. And what protection can the gardener afford this rose from the harsh elements of change?” “Patience, care and a little warmth from the sun are our best hope, Your Majesty.” —Le Roi Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) and Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet), A Little Chaos (2014)
// ‘I can see he's not in your good books,’ said the messenger. ‘No, and if he were I would burn my library.’ —Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
// “The future came and went in the mildly discouraging way that futures do.” —Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
// “Outside the Emporium, he stops and gazes up, but this is not the first time he has been enchanted by these lights, so he steps through the door to be met by the whirlwind smells of cinnamon and star anise.” —The Toymakers, by Robert Dinsdale
// “She wished she could fill herself up like this. She wished she could press mounds of rich soil into the gaps of her heart, occupying the space until flowers could take root and grow roses.” —These Violent Delights, by Chloe Gong
// “I'm not going to die,” she said. “Not till I've seen it.” “Seen what?” Her smile widened. “Everything.” —A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab
// “You need to make some noise if you want to be heard.” —Eudoria Holmes, played by Helena Bonham Carter, Enola Holmes (2020)
// “What he knew, he knew from books, and books lied, they made things prettier.” —A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
// “What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one's self. To be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.” —The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab
