Daniela > Recent Status Updates

"The grasses had been laid flat by more than one game played there, but in the center of it all, a single wildflower caught my attention. It was bright purple and stood erect, where a hundred others around it had been smashed. I wonder if it had somehow escaped harm, or if it had been stepped on before it refused to lie down." Pgs.149-50

Love this story of organic morality & the simplicity of difficult...TBC

"Do you know what the difference is between bravery and courage? ... Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid, but strong enough to do it anyway."

" What a daft little bitch!"

"Greedy men collect what they cannot understand
& weak men destroy what they cannot control.

A man who is both will attempt to recreate that which is beyond his comprehension, obliterating the original in the process."

Oh, Deonn- you just scored brownie points with me for using BCE (before common era) instead of BC (before Christ.) Mad respect🙏🏼

"What did it mean to be a *good person* in a system built on such a fundamental *bad?* Could the best intentions & noble ends ever justify reprehensible means?" (Pg. 656)

[We] "created a culture all our own - a vibrant one, full of music & art & rich storytelling, a close-knit community that loved & lost together, fought & died together. We found pockets of beauty & humor in our suffering, & when we couldn't find them, we *created* them as both an act of defiance & an act of survival." (Pg. 638-9)

WOW, this saga is GOOD !!

"Let us seek virtue in all things." (pg. 586)

"A culture of their own - a vibrant one, full of music, & art & rich storytelling, a close-knit community that loved & lost together, fought & died together. We found pockets of beauty & humor in our suffering, & when we couldn't find them, we *created* them both an act of defiance & an act of survival." (Pg 638-9)

"Being with ♡ never felt like a sacrifice. He'd go to hell & back to help me achieve my dreams - & not just because he loved me, but because they were his dreams, too. Because we were the same in deeply fundamental ways that were etched in our bones & dyed in our blood." (Pg. 565)

IDK how to describe what it's like to read one's own love/partner/dedication story within an epic fantasy saga. Magic = too on the nose

"Do you think they'll stop there? They wish death on anyone they deem *different.* What happens when they find you different because of your gender, your skin color, or your realm? Or the gods you worship or the people you love?....

ISN'T INJUSTICE OUR **REAL** ENEMY - IN WHATEVER FORM IT TAKES & WHOEVER IT COMES FROM?" (pg 532-3)

"An ember given is a flame received." (Pg 129)

"I'm not leaving the fate of the country in the hands of someone who thinks shrimp heads are romantic."

I can tell this book will send me into a frenzy for the next one!

"Don't you dare mistake compassion for lack of courage. Anyone can slaughter their enemies. Hate is easy - it's mercy that requires the greater strength." Pg.105

*Moment of appreciation*
"Even in the midst of his own inner unrest, he was always protecting me, always thinking of me, even in the smallest of ways."

Surveillance Capitalism! Term for the epidemic the world is suffering from.

Some fear AI & robots taking over the world. What everyone ignores is the very true fact that they're already wreaking havoc: algorithms. They're woven through every app we use, including browsers. The business model to collect people's data, track what takes their attention to exploit for ads is disrupting natural flow. /end soapbox

Coincidence that I report on love for this book on page 143.

"Men are especially prone to quitting as a matter of pride; to them, asking for help is the same as begging. That's why it takes 500,000 sperm cells to fertilize one egg: men are too proud to ask for directions." - pg. 136

Couldn't wait for the re-release in Nov. Folks, get your to-read list in order because this series is timely, empowering, entertaining, & a true page turner. While the theme is very literally fire/flame, it is appropriately mild in the spicy dept. if you're like me & prefer more overall action, adventure, plot/story than explicit details.

"Don't provoke a fight unless you intend to see ot through."

"This crisis is human made and it can be unmade by us too"

Verna has a great way of introducing interactions every person has faced. Reading this could help people develop social skills or insights to be a stronger supporter of openness & morality without polarization.

Hail the nonbinary representation! I appreciate the diversity. Another quote that stood out to me:

"But remember you are a phoenix, too. We do not fear the flames, for the hotter we burn, the higher we fly. " -pg. 540

"Because in this world of injustice and cruelty, where innocents died every day while people in power turned a blind eye and hid in the comfort of their privilege, doing something and failing was better than doing nothing at all." -pg. 472

"Everyone says this phoenix represents dying and coming back as something new, but I disagree. I think it's a symbol of surviving when the world burns down around us. It's a reminder that no challenge can destroy the parts of us that truly matter. We're not reborn in flames. *We're revealed.*" -pg. 357

WOW PENN COLE- this is a serious page-turner. I think I'll be finishing it tonight!

--> need. To. KNOW! <--

"Rosa Brooks, author of 'Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City' told... we give cops too many jobs. We expect them to be social workers and medics and mediators and mentors and warriors and counselors and no one can be all of those things. Without proper assistance in place for those weak and vulnerable around us, cops are set up to fail." - Copaganda & Me

"This world already has enough monsters, enough people who want to take advantage of me or hurt me or take away my rights. I don't need to know there's a whole *other* world full of monsters." -pg.32

"Every day I draw breath is as much a curse as a gift. I've been living on borrowed time for longer than you imagine. If you're the way my fate finally catches up to me, I can't fathom a more beautiful end."

"As Autumn gave way to winter, and the jewel-toned leaves of the Lumnos forests curled, withered, and absorbed into the cold-hardened soil, the frosty air carried with it a sense that something was coming. It was a quiet, dangerous thing, like the crackle in the air that warned of a lightening bolt preparing to strike."

"It's never the enemy who attacks outright who will strike your killing blow... It's the one who hides in the shadows and waits. The one who strikes when you've finally looked away. Those are the true predators to fear." (pg 9)

"Let's have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies."