American Royals (American Royals, #1) QUOTES

1 " That evening, Samantha headed toward a nondescript door that was tucked into the downstairs hallway like an architect's afterthought. It might not look impressive, but this was the Door of Sighs, the royal family's private entrance to the grand ballroom: so named because generations of princesses had lingered there when they were too young to attend, and sighed romantically as they watched the dancing. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

2 " When she finally lifted herself up, she was Princess Beatrice no longer. She had become Her Majesty Beatrice Regina, Queen of America, and long may she reign. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

3 " There was a nebulous, infectious energy to her, as if she were somehow more *alive* than everyone else. As if all her nerves were sparking at once, just below the surface. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

4 " Daphne had known for years that she would marry the prince. That was the only word for it: known. Not hoped to marry, or dreamed of marrying, or even felt destined to marry. Those words involved an element of chance, of uncertainty. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

5 " Beatrice is going to be queen someday.” Samantha didn’t sound resentful, just pensive.
“And what are you going to be?” Nina asked, curious.
Samantha grinned. “Everything else. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

6 " She felt, for the first time in years, like herself. Not the public, painted-on Daphne that she showed the world, but the real seventeen-year-old girl she kept carefully hidden beneath. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

7 " Malgré deux cents ans de paix avec l’Angleterre, boire du thé était toujours considéré par les Américains comme un acte de haute trahison, à tel point que le palais refusait d’en servir. On n’y trouvait que du café, pourtant lui aussi importé. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

8 " Writers got to pick the endings of their novels, but Beatrice wasn’t living a story. She was living history, and history went on forever. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

9 " Elect the king or queen—what a funny concept. Everyone knew that elections only worked for judges and Congress. Making the executive branch pander to the people, go out begging for votes—that could only end in disaster. That structure would attract the wrong sort of people: power-hungry people with twisted agendas. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

10 " Despite how progressive America claimed to be, there was still a sexist double standard quietly underpinning everything. She and Jeff were proof of it, like in those scientific studies where they treated twin babies the same except for one key variable, then tracked how it affected them.

The variable here was that Jeff was a boy and Sam was a girl, and even when they did the exact same thing, people reacted to them differently.

If the paparazzi caught Jeff on an expensive shopping spree, he was splurging for a special occasion, while Samantha was spoiled.

If pictures surfaced of Jeff visibly drunk and stumbling out of a bar, he was blowing off some much-needed steam. Samantha was a wild party girl.

If Jeff talked back to the paparazzi, he was simply being firm, protecting his privacy. Samantha was a ruthless bitch. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

11 " Who said anything about forgetting? The point of forgiveness is to recognize that someone has hurt you, and to still love them in spite of it. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

12 " That was the thing about success, it could be even more draining than failure. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

13 " All she knew was that one day she woke up and her love for him was simply there, like newly fallen snow. Maybe it had been there all along. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

14 " At the mention of children, Connor halted his steps. For a moment Beatrice thought he was going to storm off, turn away from her and never look back.
Instead he fell to one knee before her. Time went momentarily still. In some dazed part of her mind Beatrice remembered Teddy, kneeling stiffly at her feet as he swore to be her liege man. This felt utterly different. Even kneeling, Connor looked like a warrior, every line of his body radiating a tensed power and strength.
"It kills me that I don't have more to offer you," he said roughly. "I have no lands, no fortune, no title. All I can give you is my honor, and my heart. Which already belongs to you."
She would have fallen in love with him right then, if she didn't already love him so fiercely that every cell of her body burned with it.
"I love you, Bee. I've loved you for so long I've forgotten what it felt like not to love you."
"I love you, too." Her eyes stung with tears.
"I get that you have to marry someone before your dad dies. But you can't marry Teddy Eaton."
She watched as he fumbled in his jacket for something - had he bought a ring? She thought wildly - but what he pulled out instead was a black Sharpie. Still kneeling before her, he slid the diamond engagement ring off Beatrice's finger and tucked it in the pocket of her jacket. Using the Sharpie, he traced a thin loop around the skin of Beatrice's finger, where the ring had been.
"I'm sorry it isn't a real ring, but I'm improvising here." There was a nervous catch to Connor's voice that Beatrice hadn't heard before. But when he looked up and spoke his next words, his face glowed with a fierce, fervent hope.
"Marry me. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

15 " The point of forgiveness is to recognize that someone has hurt you, and to still love them in spite of it. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

16 " Real love comes from creating a family together, from facing life together -- with all its messes and surprises and joys. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

17 " Tell no one your secrets, Daphne's mom always said, but make them think that you have. It creates the illusion of intimacy. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

18 " She could smile until the bitter end, no matter what it cost her--because she was a Washington and had been trained to smile through anything.
Even through her own heartbreak. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

19 " Sam had long ago resolved that if she couldn't be beautiful, she should at the very least be interesting. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)

20 " What are we doing?” she wanted to ask, except she already knew the answer.
They were being reckless and foolish; they were tempting fate; they were breaking the rules; they were falling in love.
But they both knew that last wasn't true. They had already fallen in love, a long time ago. "

― Katharine McGee , American Royals (American Royals, #1)