Quotes from The Shadow and the Star

“She hadn't ascribed to this modern notion of equality between the sexes. Woman were patently superior.”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from The Shadow and the Star

“If you’re not a criminal, then what are you doing stealing all these swords and things?” For a moment he was silent. Then he rubbed his chin and said, “There’s no name for it in English.” “Oh, is there not? ‘Burglary’ seems descriptive enough.” “Kyojitsu.” He looked levelly into her eyes, not wavering. “False-true.”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from The Shadow and the Star

“To try to let go was to hold more tightly.”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from The Shadow and the Star

“I enjoy Mr. Verne’s work,” she went on brightly. “He writes of such exotic places. But you’ve seen all that sort of thing in person. I suppose it’s nothing to you.”
“Of course. Giant squids. Cannibals. Every day.”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from The Shadow and the Star

“Just—let me hold you. That’s all. Hold you and go to sleep.” He smoothed his thumbs over the back of her hands. “You can tell me everything about tableware.”
She was silent a moment, gazing down at their hands. Then she said, “Would you like to know about holloware or flatware?”
“Flatware. Naturally, flatware.”
“I shall certainly put you to sleep with that. I venture to say you’ll be snoring by the time I get to the runcible spoon.”
“My God. Do I snore?”
“You were decidedly snoring last night, as I was enlightening you upon the nature and arrangement of sideboards. I’m rather a connoisseur of sideboards, but I suppose not everyone enters into my own enthusiasm. Kindly refrain from swearing, if you please.”
“I beg your pardon.” He kissed her nose...”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from The Shadow and the Star

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“He groped about for several minutes, growling like a bear and stamping his feet at anyone who ventured too close. Isabella rushed at him and retreated several times, giggling each time he missed. Then before Adelaide quite knew what had happened, the little mischief-maker shoved her from behind and launched her directly into Gideon’s path. Adelaide trod on his foot and banged into his chest, but Gideon wrapped his arms about her and somehow kept them upright. “Well, who do I have here?” His voice remained jovial, but she could feel his heartbeat accelerate under her palm. Did he know? Gideon’s hand moved up her back and lingered at the base of her neck. “Definitely feels like a member of the female persuasion.” His fingers toyed with the loose tendrils at her nape. Adelaide closed her eyes against the sensations assaulting her. His touch traveled to her shoulder, and she forced her eyes open. If he knew it was her, why was he taking so long to claim his victory? “Let me see …” He traced one of the rosettes on the edge of her sleeve. “I don’t recall Mrs. Chalmers wearing a flower like this.” Warmth from his hand shocked her momentarily as he quickly passed over the small section of her arm covered by neither gown nor glove. Calluses grazed her skin, leaving tingles in their wake. “Too tall to be Bella.” He explored her elbow, her wrist, and finally clasped her hand where it lay pressed against his shirtfront. “Mrs. Garrett’s dress had long sleeves, I believe, so this gloved arm must belong to …” His thumb drew a small circle against her palm. “Miss Proctor.” He’d known all along, the scoundrel.”
― Karen Witemeyer, quote from Head in the Clouds

“First rule of seduction. At least one of us has to get naked. Preferably you,” he murmured.
Nervous apprehension replaced some of the excitement. It was silly. He’d seen her naked. Many times. They’d made love before. But for her it was like the first time all over again.
“Hey,” he said softly. He drew away and tucked a finger under her chin, prompting her to look up at him. “We’ll take this as slow as you need. If I could make love to you with you fully clothed, I’d do it, but I think we both know that’s not an option.”
She giggled and felt some of her unease leave her.
“Let’s not take it too slow or we’ll both be old and decrepit before we ever make love.”
“Mmm, I plan to make love to you until they put me in the grave. That’s what they make Viagra for.”
She leaned into him and hugged him fiercely as another laugh escaped.
“Make you a deal. We undress together. Last one naked is a rotten egg.”
She yanked away as she said the last and immediately began peeling her clothes off.
“Oh hell no,” he sputtered. “Maybe you don’t remember what a competitive family you married into.”
“While you’re talking, I’m getting naked,” she taunted.
A wicked glint sparked in his eyes. “I fail to see how I lose either way.”
― Maya Banks, quote from The Darkest Hour

“Only this actual moment is life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, quote from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“The terminal was filled to capacity, crowded with tourists coming in from evacuated safari camps. The air buzzed with fear and nervous excitement. The tourists looked scared and confused, though I was glad to see that many of them were texting”
― James Patterson, quote from Zoo

“I’d never been religious, but he told us that religion is important whether or not we believed in one, in the same way that historical events are important whether or not you personally lived through them.”
― John Green, quote from Looking for Alaska / An Abundance of Katherines / Paper Towns / The Fault in Our Stars

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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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