Book #1 : The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

A sequel to The Wrath and The Dawn

"And I should take from you these lives, a thousandfold."

"Some secrets are safer behind lock and key."

"Moments spent in idleness were moments left to thought. Moments left to memory."

"I love her. I think I want to marry her."
"You think? Or you know?"
"I think I know."
"Don't equivocate, Jalal. It's insulting. To me and to her."
"It's not meant to be insulting. It's my attempt at honesty- a trait I know you hold in high esteem. At present- with no knowledge of her true feelings on the matter- it's the most I can manage. I love her. I think I want to be with her. Don't be an ass. I mean them."
"When did you mean them?"
"I mean them now. Isn't that what matters?"
"Now is easy. It's easy to say what you want in a passing moment."
"Then what is the right answer, sayyidi? What should I have said?"
"Always."
"Always?'
"And don't speak to me of this again until it is!"

"And it's lovely to be remembered as warm and perfectly imperfect."

"Cut the strings, Shazi. Fly."

"You deserve someone who will feel you at her side without needing to see you."

"What can I do to spare him any more pain?"

"He had made mistakes. This he knew beyond all doubt. Mistakes in judgment. Mistakes in planning. Mistakes in understanding. Perhaps it could be said that he was guilty of mistaken pride."

"I cannot make her smile. Not anymore."
"It is too soon to pass judgment on the matter."

"What you said earlier? You have nothing to worry about."
"What do you mean?"
"You're better than beautiful. You're interesting. Never forget that."

"We are as a rose unfurling, becoming more clearly ourselves."

"If you loved her, it was your responsibility to marry her. Your responsibility to care for her. Your responsibility to tell her you loved her."

"The darker the sky, the brighter the stars."

"For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of you."

"Had always felt but never managed to say with quite such simple eloquence."

"He saw a boy. Who loved a girl. More than anything in the world. And he hated him all the more for it."

"You are boundless. There is nothing you can't do."

"But there are times I forget what being safe feels like."

"Your future is not set in stone, my dearest star. A coin turns on itself a number of times before it lands."