The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil, #1)

by Gena Showalter

Your heart will find its way home.”

Unfortunately, the only way to turn a lump of coal into a diamond is to apply heat and pressure. The only way to help a tree bear more fruit is to prune unnecessary branches. To soar, a butterfly must fight free of the chrysalis. The only way—”

Violence is not the answer. Sometimes it is, Mom.

You rocked my favorite vision. Autograph my chest?

“There are three things you should know about me straightaway,”

“I’m good with my hands, I’m good with my mouth, but I’m not very good at resisting temptation.”

The way I would've folded so fast

“Actually, there’s a fourth. He has zero boundaries.”

“He’s good at everything, except modesty,”

“A tigress when facing a troll. A kitten when facing a spider thing,”

“If you tell me you can’t bear to look at me...”

“I would be lying,”

He moved a hand into my hair and sifted a lock between his fingers. “Like moonlight,”

Need a snarky comeback? I’m your gal! Hire me, Princess Everly Morrow, and I’ll reduce your foes to tears. But wait, there’s more! Call now, and I’ll throw in a second snarky comeback FREE.

Enchantia—the Candy Land of Nightmares.

“Well, yeah. This beautiful baby has got to be the champagne of unicorns, and you’re treating her like beer.”

“May your star always shine.”

“In Sevón we say ‘May you find gold.’”

“And Fleur?”

“May your roses forever bloom.” “Azul?” “May you...

“Teasing, only teasing,”

“In Azul, they say ‘May the water wash you.’”

While my mane of hair was as white as snow...snow white... hers possessed a yellow tint. My eyes—slate gray. Hers—navy blue. We were both tallish and slender, but she had more noticeable curves.

What made me so disposable that my own mother didn’t want me? What made me so unworthy? Never good enough.

“When you do not work for answers, you dismiss the truth.”

Forest nymphs lived for fun and games and were extremely curious. Their male counterparts were goblins, beings able to morph into dark mist.

Diamonds are made with pressure and heat, trees are pruned to bear more fruit, and butterflies cannot fly without a fight. For you, the worst is yet to come.”

I smelled like apple blossoms?

Distraction always came with a price.

“Apparently, the fate of Enchantia rests in your dainty hands,”

“Or,”

“perhaps I hoped to receive another of your infamous tongue-lashings—without words.”

The way he just casually delivered this line??? Got me blushing and giggling🤭

“If you think this skill is impressive, you should see what I can do with the iron in my pa—”

Vikander is so funny and for what😭😭😭

I might as well be a spare tire; the crappy doughnut you used only when a good tire went flat. Handy to have around in case of an emergency, never good enough for daily use.

In both versions written by the Brothers Grimm, the Evil Queen ended up in shackles... And burned alive.

“The day Father announced my engagement, I visited Noel to inquire about the union. She said I had asked the wrong questions, but I would find the right answers beneath the moonlight.”

I recalled the way he’d pinched a lock of my hair and murmured, Like moonlight. The words had sounded like a prayer. Now I gulped.

Secrets are armor. They protect you when enemies lurk around every corner.”

“I want to look at a girl and know she’s mine and mine alone. That I am hers. That we belong to each other, body and soul. I want the world to stop when we’re together. I want to dream about her at night and wake for her every morning. I want to put her first, and know she does the same for me. I want...everything.”

Roth🤭

Want what you shouldn’t, and you will pay a price.

“Let me die as I lived. By choice. With honor.”

Fight the good fight with everything you’ve got, or even your smallest efforts will be for naught.

Evil wears many faces, and if you aren’t careful, it will wear yours.

“Death has lost its sting. The grave has lost its bite. May you forever abide in the peace of the hereafter.”

Let your heart return to earth.

Even with sweat-dampened hair and dirt-streaked cheeks, he remained the fairest of them all. The most beautiful being ever to live.

Nicolas, brother to Stephan and Edwin...my legit uncle?

His cinnamon and nutmeg scent had a piney layer, crisp and clean, and well within the Christmas wheelhouse. My new favorite smell.

“How can I want one, when I crave another?”

“I want you safe, Everly. Always.”

If a warning sounds deep in your soul, pay it heed or pay the toll.