Quotes from The Rose Society

“Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, so she destroyed them all.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“The irony of life is that those who wear masks often tell us more truths than those with open faces.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“But true rulers are not born. We are made.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“We are drawn to stories,” he says in a soft voice, “and every scar carries one.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“In the silence, I sit alone on my throne and wait eagerly for all the satisfaction and triumph to hit me. I wait, and wait, and wait.

But it doesn't come.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“It is better to have an enemy who will fight you in an open field then a lover who will kill you in your sleep.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“What is so great about being good?”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“What is the point of searching for love, when love is nothing but an illusion?”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Fear motivates, more than love or ambition or joy. Fear is more powerful than anything else in the world. I have spent so long yearning for things—for love, for acceptance—that I do not really need. I need nothing except the submission that comes with fear. I do not know why it took me so long to learn this.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Why feel guilty for something that isn't your fault?
Because I loved him. And now he is gone.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Someday, when I am nothing but dust and wind, what tale will they tell about me? Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Why do you look?” I mutter.

I half expect Magiano to tease me, spitting back one of his sarcastic phrases. But he doesn’t smile. “We are drawn to stories," he says in a soft voice, “and every scar carries one.” He lifts a hand and places his palm gently against the ruined side of my face, covering the scar.

I look down, embarrassed now. Instinctively, I reach up to brush some of my hair over my face—only to remember that I no longer have long locks.

“Hiding it makes you more beautiful,” Magiano says. Then he takes his hand away, exposing my scar again. “But revealing it makes you you.” He nods at me. “So wear it proudly.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Why can’t I be like that? Why can’t I be the father who just shrugs off the love of his daughter? Why can’t I be the Lead Inquisitor who enjoys watching his pleading victims burn at the stake? Why can’t I be the one who befriends a lonely, lost girl and then casts her out? Why can’t I be the one to strike first, to hit so early and with such fury that my enemies cower before they can ever think of turning on me? What is so great about being good?”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Why so surprised, White Wolf?” he murmurs, smiling a little. There is something in the way he says my Elite name, a secret sweetness.
Why so surprised that you are worthy?”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“None of it was your fault, the whispers in my head argue. You didn't kill him, after all -- it was not your blade that ended his life. So why are you the one cast out? You didn't have to return to the Daggers -- you didn't need to help them rescue Raffaele. And still they turned on you. Why does everyone forget your good intentions, Adelina?”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“When you’re all alone in a world that hates and fears you, you want to find others like yourself. New friends. Elite friends.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“I will do everything in my power to destroy all who stand in my way.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“For a fleeting moment, I imagine that if I were queen, I could make the act of hurting malfettos a crime. I could execute this boy's pursuers with a single command.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“They were the flash of light in a stormy sky, the fleeting darkness before dawn. Never have they existed before, nor shall they ever exist again.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“The world’s deadliest mercenaries choose to serve you, the whispers say, because they have yet to meet me.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“A cruel queen does not mean an unsuccessful one. Under her guidance, Kenettra changed from a glittering gem into a clouded stone, and her empire became one to rule all others, a darkness that stretched from sun, to sea, to sky.

- The Empire of the Wolf, translation by Tarsa Mehani”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“I have always done the best I could, and yet, somehow, it has never been enough. No one cared what I did. They always turned their backs on me.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“I looked into those eyes and I saw nothing. It was like staring straight into the Underworld. Like he aches to return to where he came from.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“In this moment, I am a god.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Hiding it makes you more beautiful," Magiano says. Then he takes his hand away, exposing my scar again. "But revealing it makes you you." He nods at me. "So wear it proudly.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Once every ten years, the three moons all fall under the world’s shadow and turn scarlet, bleeding with the blood of our fallen warriors. —The New Atlas to the Moons, by Liu Xue You”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“He is not Enzo, I remind myself. But I don't want him to be. With Enzo, my energy yearned for his power and ambition, all too happy to let him take me into the darkness. But with Magiano... I am able to smile, even to laugh. I am able to sit here and lean back and point out the constellations.”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“Now, are you happy? Have you finally achieved all you set out to do? What will you do next, little assassin, with no one left to see you?"

- One Thousand Journeys of Al Akhar, various authors”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“He wanted to live in a house built on delusion, would rather believe in a million lies than face one truth.
- Seven circles around the sea, by Mordove Senia”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

“They waged war for decades, never realizing that they were fighting for the same cause."

-Campaigns East and West Tamoura, 1152-1180 by Scholar Tennan”
― Marie Lu, quote from The Rose Society

About the author

Popular quotes

“No reality has the power to dispel a dream”
― Lemony Snicket, quote from When Did You See Her Last?

“like a good wine without iocane powder, it seems to get better with time.”
― Cary Elwes, quote from As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

“You’re very clever, aren’t you, Mr. Neyt Nash?” she said. “I came here to cry on your shoulder, to tell you about my mission against you, to tell you I helped you.”
“I am grateful for all that,” said Nate, not wanting to show how scandalously relieved he was.
Dominika could see it in his face nonetheless. “But you’re not asking me to work with you to avenge Marta, nor to get back at my uncle, or Volontov, or the rest of them, nor to try to reform my beloved country.”
“I don’t have to tell you any of that,” he said.
“Of course you don’t,” she said. “You’re too careful for that.” Nate looked at her without saying anything. “All you do is ask me what I want to do.”
“That’s right,” said Nate.
“Instead, suppose you tell me what you want me to do.”
“I think we should begin working together. Stealing secrets,” Nate said immediately, his heart in his mouth.
“For revenge, for Marta, for Rodina, for—”
“No, none of those,” interrupted Nate. Gable’s words came into his head. Dominika looked at him. His purple halo had spread like the rays of a rising sun. “Because you need it, Dominika Egorova, because it helps you feed that temper of yours, because it’ll be something you own, for once in your life.”
― Jason Matthews, quote from Red Sparrow

“Some souls eventually let go of their pain and find their own way out,” she said, slowly turning her attention from me to Aunt Iris. “Others stay trapped. The demonic faces you saw there—they aren’t demons. They are humans who have been in Gehenna too long. Gehenna has twisted them. Squeezed every last drop of humanity out of them. They grow so dense, so dark, so heavy that sometimes one will drop out of Gehenna and back into our reality. Their perversion causes them to tempt others into doing things that may land them in Gehenna too.” Maisie shuddered. “You’ve seen them,” she said addressing Abby. “The shadow people who always seem to be flitting at the corner of your eye. They crave the light you carry.”
― J.D. Horn, quote from The Void

“Love can sneak up on you in a heartbeat, even when you aren’t looking for it.”
― Meredith Wild, quote from Hardwired

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

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.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.