Vanessa Johnson

“No, I mean it. You balance each other. He helps you lighten up, and you help him focus. He boosts your confidence, and you keep his ego in check. You both dive headfirst into danger, but somehow you’re able to help each other play it a little smarter. And you both act more like yourselves when you’re together.”
― Shannon Messenger, Stellarlune

“The Fate gave the queen a look more vicious than any curse. 'There is nothing of equal value to me.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“On the other side of the door, bookshelves, thick and study and packed with ancient tomes, lined the rounded walls, all the way up to a ceiling so high one would need several ladders to reach it. Thankfully, there were indeed multiple ladders of aged rosewood, as well as a number of small balconies that dotted the upper shelves like iron stars.

The air shifted as Evangeline entered, redolent of old paper pages that called to her like a siren's song. Like all admirers of fairytales, she'd always loved the scent of books. She loved the paper dust in the air, the way it swirled in the light like little sprinkles of magic. And most of all, she loved the way that fairytales always made her think of her mother and endless possibilities.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Everything about the whimsical inn inspired curiosity instead of fear. In a third-floor bathing room, Evangeline found the most delightful copper tub, reminiscent of the clock in the hall. It had lovely jewelled handles and a faucet that could pout out different-coloured waters in a variety of scents:

Pink honeysuckle.
Lavender rose.
Green pine needle.
Silver rain.

She'd mixed the rain and honeysuckle, and now she smelled like a sweet and stormy day.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After