Love Quotes for V Day

A little snippet of love quotes for Valentine's Day:


“Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches.” 
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride


“Your face is my heart Sassenach, and the love of you is my soul” 
― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn


“Come grow old with me. The best is yet to be.” 
― Robert Browning


“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ” 
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.”
 ~Alfred Lord Tennyson


“You were made perfectly to be loved and surely I have loved you in the idea of you my whole life long. ” 
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning


“Then let amourous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A Thousand and a Hundred score
A Hundred and a Thousand more” 
― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber



“You have been the last dream of my soul.” 
― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities


“If there is love, smallpox scars are as pretty as dimples. I'll love your face no matter what is looks like. Because it's yours” 
― Stephen King, 11/22/63


“It’s dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.” 
― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife


“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” 
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights


“When the day shall come that we do part," he said softly, and turned to look at me, "if my last words are not 'I love you'-ye'll ken it was because I didna have time.” 
― Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross


If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.
- Anonymous

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you. ~ A. A. Milne

“You are my courage, as I am your conscience," he whispered. "You are my heart---and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone. Do ye not know that, Sassenach?” 
― Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

The Painted Girls

Paris. 1878. Following their father’s sudden death, the van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where for a scant seventy francs a month, she will be trained to enter the famous ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work—and the love of a dangerous
young man—as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir.

Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modelling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her
image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer
Aged Fourteen. Antoinette, meanwhile, descends
lower and lower in society, and must make the choice between a life of honest labor and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde—that is, unless her love affair derails her completely.

Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural,
and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of “civilized society.”

Loved, loved, loved this book! I have a feeling The Painted Girls is going to make my list of favorite reads in 2013. Blending history and fiction together, Ms. Buchanan has brought the van Goethem girls to life and they leap of the pages of her latest historical fiction.

I read The Day the Falls Stood Still when it came out a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so when I saw Buchanan had a new novel and it was getting really good reviews, I snatched it right up. There are times when a novel seems to just fall in your lap and beg to be read and there is a feeling of giddy anticipation, knowing this book is going to live up to the hype. The Painted Girls did just that.

The Painted Girls is a fictionalized account of Degas’ real life model for his Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Intertwined into the lives of the van Goethem girls, Buchanan also blends the fictionalized account of a murder trial that occurred in the same time period.

Aside from the interesting historical aspect, The Painted Girls tackles issues such as destiny, family and love and asks the question is it possible to become something more than what you were born to or will poor always be poor and rich always rich.

The plot unfolds in the shifting perspectives of Marie and Antoinette. I really liked Marie in the beginning but Antoinette was hard for me to like at first. Somewhere along the way, I found my sympathies switching to Antoinette and disapproving of Marie. Questions were raised along with way that changed my view, what lengths do you go for love or family, security and success.

The historical aspects were just as engaging. The seedy streets of Paris circa 1873 come alive and as you read, are walking the same streets as Marie and Antoinette.  It was really intriguing to read about a murder trial that took place over a century ago and to glimpse the inside of the Paris Opera.

Overall, I think this was a fantastic read and one I would recommend to anyone looking for the next great read. It would make a really interesting book club discussion as well. 

Quote of the Day

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Day

I've posted this in the past but I'm feeling nostalgic today:

“If there is love, smallpox scars are as pretty as dimples. I'll love your face no matter what is looks like. Because it's yours” 
― Stephen King, 11/22/63

To re-read or not...

So I finished The Painted Girls last week and I absolutely loved it. Since then I've been staring at my bookshelves waiting for my next suck me in, can't eat, can't sleep because all I think about is you book and I'm coming up blank so I've resorted to the old stand by of reading romance novels. They've been good, but it's not what I'm looking for. Now I'm debating re-reading and re-capturing that feeling with an old favorite.

I'm planning a trip to the bookstore at some point to pick up the new Lisa Kleypas, Crystal Cove and I've been eyeing up a debut, Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell which sounds really interesting especially since I have been on a historical kick for awhile (when I wasn't reading romance) but neither are calling to me right now.

The re-reads I'm eyeing are: 11/22/63, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or the Fever series.  I could always read an Outlander book but I'm trying to build the anticipation for another month or two to get me by until book eight is released later this year.

So does anyone have that suck me in, change your life book or should I just go with a re-read?

What are your favorite re-reads?

Outlander Challenge - February Link-up

Hi Outlander Fans!

Here is the February Link-up for the 2013 Outlander Challenge.
I'll post a link to this post on the Outlander Challenge page.

Thanks everyone and happy reading!

New fan of Downton Abbey

Yesterday I was recovering from a fantastic bachelorette party with my favorite girls in the world and I decided to check out Downton Abbey. I've been seeing it on Facebook all the time and it now pops up on demand as it's own tab, so I decided to give it a try. Loving it! I still have two more episodes in the first season to watch, not to mention getting to the second season, but I'm hooked. I can't wait until tonight to watch more!

Any other Downton Abbey fans out there? (No spoilers please :)

In other news, what's everyone reading lately? I finished The Painted Girls, last week and it was excellent! I'm slacking on reviews so far this month but I should have some up this week. I'll also be posting about new releases I'm looking forward to tomorrow!