Charlie

“Victor smiled at the challenge. A quick step forward, and Eli tried to step back on instinct but met the wall and Victor met him. The knife slid in. It was easier than he imagined. Like a vanishing act, one moment the metal glinted and the next it was gone, buried in Eli’s stomach to the hilt.”
― Victoria E. Schwab, Vicious

“We seldom admit the seductive comfort of hopelessness. It saves us from ambiguity. It has an answer for every question: “There’s just no point. It’s just not worth the effort.” Hope, on the other hand, is messy. If a good outcome is possible, then we have things to do. We must weather the possibility of happiness. We must hush shame and doubt and participate in the art of living because we are needed to usher good into the world, for others and ourselves.”
― Jarod K. Anderson, Something in the Woods Loves You

“For which you blame my gender,” he finished. “Who else? It is men who have kept women downtrodden and poorly educated”
― Deanna Raybourn, A Curious Beginning

“He carefully pulled back to gaze down at her. For the first time”
― Jacquelyn Benson, Tomb of the Sun King