Quotes from A Spy in the House

Y.S. Lee ·  335 pages

Rating: (12.5K votes)


“He laughed, then became serious once more. "Mary............"
The expression in his eyes set her heart pounding. "Yes?"
Twice he began to frame a sentence, and twice his voice seemed to fail him.
And she thought she understood. What could he possibly say to her now, when he was on the verge of leaving forever? Even something as simple as asking her to write to him carried a distinct sort of promis, the type of promise he was ten years and a half a world removed from being able to make.
She forced a polite smile and held out her hand. "Good luck, James."
Regret-and relief-flooded his eyes. he took her hand, cradling it for a long moment. "And to you."
It was foolish to linger. She slid her fingers from his grasp, turned, and began to walk away in the direction of the Academy. She'd gone about thirty paces when she heard his voice.
"Mary!"
She spun about. "What is it?"
"Stay out of wardrobes!"
She laughed, shook her head, and began to walk again. She was smiling this time.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“It's terrifying, to be on the verge of finally getting what you want.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“Calmly, slowly, she reached behind with her left hand and came up against — yes, fabric. Fine linen, to be precise. So far, so good: she was inside a wardrobe, after all. The only problem was that this linen was oddly warm. Body warm. Beneath the tentative pressure of her palm, it seemed to be moving...

With terrifying suddenness, an ungloved hand clamped roughly over her nose and mouth. A long arm pinned her arms against her sides. She was held tightly against a hard, warm surface.

"Hush," whispered a pair of lips pressed to her left ear. "If you scream, we are both lost.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“For several moments, Mary couldn't hear anything over the violent pounding of her pulse.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“She hesitated for a moment longer, then tentatively placed her fingers in his. Her hand was hot and dry and so fragile-seeming that James cradled it gingerly. The next moment, she squeezed so hard his eyes widened.
Fragile lady be damned. He squeezed back spitefully. "Vicious minx.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House



“It's terrifying to be on the verge of finally getting what you want.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“¿Por qué la modestia nunca es uno de los atributos del héroe?”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-¿No sabes qué decir? -parecía divertirse con la confusión que se reflejaba en su rostro.
-Sospecho que eres tú quien trata de dejarme sin nada que decir.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-¿Me deseas suerte para mi último día?
-Si utilizas la cabeza, no la necesitarás.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-No me lo prometas a mí, Cass. Prométetelo a ti misma.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House



“He stopped in a seedy alley in Holborn where he jumped down from the carriage, held a muttered conference with a dirty, one-eyed old woman, and climbed back in, his arms full of grubby cloth.
She wrinkled her nose. "Phew. What the devil is all that?"
"It's a dress."
"Oh, no. I'm not putting that on. It stinks of last week's washing up."
"It smells of the people.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


About the author

Popular quotes

“Just once I'd like to see you be wrong about something."

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“I leveled a scowl at him. “Is there
anything in our agreement that says I can’t
call you names?”
He crouched and added a few touches
to the diagram. A very faint smile curved
his mouth. “No.”
My own mouth twitched. “So,
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with an innocent look. “Hypothetically, of
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Idris glanced up sharply, then hissed
and drew back his hand as the sigil he was
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I chuckled under my breath. “I think
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He glanced over at me with a raised
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Mzatal straightened, turned fully to me,
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slightly, and still with the faint hint of a
smile. “There could be consequences.”
I shrugged, still smiling. “What fun
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Mzatal lifted his head. “None
whatsoever,” he said, his face betraying a
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― Diana Rowland, quote from Touch of the Demon


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Things have had time to get complicated,
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This is the thick of things.
So much is crowded into the middle—
...too much to name, too much to think about.”
― Billy Collins, quote from Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems


“Travis took a deep breath. He turned to Matt and put his hand behind Matt’s neck, pulling his face to his own. Their lips met and Travis relaxed into the kiss. He hadn’t realized how much he had needed to kiss Matt all night. Their faces pressed together, their tongues met and slipped against one another, and Travis felt the familiar crunch of the facial hair around Matt’s mouth pressing into him. Inside him, the hot ember burned brighter and hotter, its warmth spreading out through his entire body. Travis pulled back, his face only an inch away from Matt’s. He could see the orange firelight dancing in Matt’s eyes. He ran his hand along the back of Matt’s head. Matt grinned and said, “I love you, Trav.” Travis nodded and said, “I love you, too, Matty.”
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― Lydia Michaels, quote from Coming Home


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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

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