“I do not understand “damned.” You are. And because you are, you can walk where you will, into peace, oblivion, or pits of fire, but you will always choose.”
― The Bear and the Nightingale
― The Bear and the Nightingale
“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that... there are many kinds of magic, after all.”
― The Night Circus
― The Night Circus
“The past stays on you the way powdered sugar stays on your fingers. Some people can get rid of it but it’s still there, the events and things that pushed you to where you are now.”
― The Night Circus
― The Night Circus
“I gave everything for you, Vasilisa Petrovna.'
'Not everything,' said Vasya. 'Since clearly your pride is intact, as well as your illusions.”
― The Bear and the Nightingale
'Not everything,' said Vasya. 'Since clearly your pride is intact, as well as your illusions.”
― The Bear and the Nightingale
“All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me. Please. Please let me help you.”
― The Bear and the Nightingale
― The Bear and the Nightingale
Isabella’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Isabella’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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