#blood rites

[dreamsandstars24]

So, during the infernal training ring where the Illyrians saw how my three amazing Valkyries killed it, it is mentioned how Azriel stared them down until they left.

And I just have the feeling that the sole reason of this was because he needed to make sure that they didn't gave the Valkyries a bad glance. I am sure that if any of them had look at either of the Valkyries with murder in their eyes, Azriel would have killed them right there and then.

And if they had even sneered towards Gwyn, Emerie or Nesta?

They would have wished for death.

#gwynriel #azriel shadowsinger #gwyneth berdara #pro gwyn #pro azriel #pro gwynriel #pro nesta #nesta archeron #lady death #pro emerie #emerie acosf #emerie of illyria #cassian #blood rites #acotar #acosf #sjm #sjmaas #valkyries #I am the rock against which the surf crashes #nothing can break me

[sisterprocrastinator]

MUSHY MAY 2024

Day 15 of @forlorn-crows' Mushy May challenge:

Painting on Each Other

Secondo and his Prime Mover perform a Beltane fertility ritual

843 words

NSFW

18+ content

Mention of animal sacrifice and blood

Thanks once again to @forlorn-crows for setting this up, and to @ghuleh-recs for the divider 🖤

Read below or on AO3

Secondo trailed his fingertips lazily over the skin of Ruby’s belly, his touch agonisingly gentle. Passion swollen lips peppered delicate kisses along her jaw and she tipped her head back to encourage him.

Her skin broke out in gooseflesh and she sighed contentedly, already sated from his attentions over the past few hours and well aware that he was nowhere near done with her yet.

“Are you ready for this, Red?” he murmured against her throat, closing his lips around the tendon of her neck and gently nipping it.

“Mmmhmmm,” she hummed, shivering at the delicious feel of teeth on skin.

“È magnifico,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Then we shall begin.” Secondo pulled away from her, rolling over and sitting up. He reached for the small pile of supplies laid out next to them in the woodland clearing and picked up the pewter goblet of blood that they had collected earlier. “Let us hope that we will gain his Unholy Majesty’s favour tonight.”

Tradition dictated that every quarter of a century, a new Emeritus should be conceived. The fertility ritual that Ruby and Secondo were undertaking would no doubt ensure that the bloodline was preserved and continued.

They had performed an animal sacrifice, as required, and the necessary two copulations had already happened.

The third time would mark the completion of the ritual and hopefully the result would be a spark of life in the Prime Mover's womb.

The fertility rite was always performed in the Abbey’s woods, under the light of the full moon at Beltane and never once in all of the years since the Emeritus line had come to power had it failed. Secondo himself was the product of such a union. They couldn’t afford to fail, lest their Unholy Majesty be displeased.

Ruby lay back on the blanket amidst the carpet of leaves on the ground and Secondo knelt beside her. He smiled down, adoration in his mismatched eyes, and dipped his thumb into the blood that had been drained from the sacrifice.

Secondo left a dot of blood at each of her temples and one between her brows. He ran his thumb along her cheekbones, smearing a deep red line on each.

He gathered more blood on his forefinger and used it to paint symbols on her abdomen, swirling and stroking along her pale skin, taking extra care that the sigil that sat over Ruby’s lower belly, right above her womb, was accurate.

He mumbled an incantation as he worked. The low rasp of his voice sent chills over Ruby’s exposed flesh and she shivered as she felt the sting of magic in his words.

Secondo sat back on his heels and admired his work, eyes roaming her body with ever present hunger. Even after all of these years together, he still craved her and he still looked at her as though she were the most precious thing in the world to him.

Those chills turned to heat as the thrum of magic got to work. Languid tendrils of pleasure uncoiled at her core and Ruby let out a low moan, hips rolling of their own volition.

“Belissimo,” Secondo whispered. “Now it is your turn, little one.”

He put down the goblet and moved to kneel between her parted thighs. He skimmed his palms along her flesh, opening her up further to him.

Ruby reached up and cupped his cheek, smiling up at him. She dipped her index finger into the goblet next to her and wet her fingertip with blood. She echoed Secondo’s attentions, dotting his temples, his forehead and smearing blood along the sharp lines of his cheekbones.

He was fearsome.

The moonlight bathed his skin in a pale glow and the blood appeared stark black on his face. He smiled down at her, his white eye glowing and she felt the blunt head of him nudging at her as he poised himself. She tilted her hips and Secondo planted his hands either side of her head, looming above her. He stilled completely as he waited for her to paint the last of the symbols on his skin.

Ruby gathered some more blood and she smirked, drawing out the symbols – one in the centre of his chest, one above his navel and the final one over his pubis.

When she was done, she met Secondo’s gaze and held it for a few heartbeats. Both held completely still, holding their breaths. Neither dared move until they felt the connection, as they hoped and prayed that it would work.

It started as a burn at Ruby's centre and radiated outwards. Secondo’s sharp intake of breath sent delicious shocks of pleasure skittering down her spine at the promise of what was to come.

The fertility magic burned through them both, setting fire to their blood and snapping them out of the stasis they’d found themselves in.

Secondo bared his teeth in a feral smile that was filled with all kinds of sinful promise.

Ruby gave herself up to the ritual; gave herself up to Secondo.

#mushy may 2024 #mushy may #secondo #secondo emeritus #prime mover #blood rites #the band ghost #ao3 #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #ghost fanfiction #ghost bc #ghost band #sister procrastinator #bone daddy

[bookfirstlinetourney]

Round 1

The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.

-Blood Rites, Jim Butcher

Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king.

-The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

All this happened, more or less.

-Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

#polls #books #reading #round 1 #tournament poll #blood rites #jim butcher #the way of kings #brandon sanderson #slaughterhouse five #kurt vonnegut

[geraniums-red]

Jim Butcher - Blood Rites

Book 5 in the Dresden Files series. 

Sometimes the heroes in this series are a bit morally grey. It makes up for this by making the villains dramatically evil, and the villains in this book are no exception. Harry is written as a noir PI, with all the biases that involves, but by this point in the series he has learned to over-rule his instincts more often than not. In Discworld terms, he has learned to have Second Thoughts.

In this book, Harry Dresden is simultaneously fighting the Black Court (normal Dracula type vampires), the White Court (sexy mind-control vampires), and whoever is using magic to kill actresses working on a particular adult film.

It's a fun book in an 'action film' sort of way. Monsters are killed, crises are narrowly averted, and Harry accidentally acquires a dog. There are also some revelations which change the way Harry sees some of his allies, and I'm looking forward to finding out how they change the character dynamics in later books.

#review #spoilers #jim butcher #dresden files #blood rites

[thedragion]

I am re-reading(listening) Blood Rites and now I want a puppy to carry around in my pocket

#the dresden files #blood rites #spoilers for the dresden files #Mouse is perfect and I love him

[checkoutmybookshelf]

The One That Takes Place on an Adult Film Set

So if Grave Peril was where we really got to know the Red Court and really dig into one type of vampire, this is where we get the rest of the vampires. This book is a weird amalgamation of Harry breaking an entropy curse on a porn set and Harry LARP-ing the fast few chapters of Dracula. There is just so much weird mirroring in this book too, everything from Harry learning about the real nature of his relationship to Thomas, which mirrors Lara and Inari's relationship to Harry's "porn stars are people too" stance that gets really contradicted by the fact that the only non-Ex-Mrs.-Genosa casualty is the single mother of two who keeps a roof over their heads and food on the table by starring in porn films. Like...For all Harry's protestations of open-mindedness, the entire *premise* of the adult film chunks of this book are "we are punishing porn stars for being porn stars." So let's talk Blood Rites.

This is your SPOILER WARNING and also your CONTENT WARNING for discussions of sex, pornography, and mental assault.

There are three main thrusts to this book (pun sort of intended, but I feel bad about it). There's Harry's Family Stuff and the White Court, there is the Black Court, and there is Arturo Genosa and the adult film. Let's take those in reverse order, because that just feels easiest.

The thing that pulls Harry into this book is Thomas Wraith showing up and asking Harry to help a buddy of his who is cursed. Arturo Genosa apparently really likes sticking his dick in crazy, because he has three ex-wives who have banded together after finding out that he's planning to marry again, but the new bride does not have to sign the same prenup they did, which will screw them out of their shares of Genosa's estate when he dies. Unfortunately, because fax machines are not great, the name of the new bride is smudged to hell and back, so rather than trying to decipher it and target just one person, the ex-wife brigade adopts a spray-and-pray method (double entendre also intended, and I feel less bad about this one). So they basically curse the studio and every woman around Genosa is in the firing line, which is what Harry has been hired to stop.

This gets WEIRDLY slapstick at times, since someone tries to take Harry out with a blowgun, and a frozen turkey quite literally falls from the sky. What is decidedly not slapstick is the sheer level of catty woman-on-woman violence, pettiness, and vitriol. Like, yes, this bullying and violence dynamic exists and deserves page time, but the point is WILDLY undercut when you drop the whole conflict into a highly sexually charged environment and trip into classic horror tropes like the final girl, the brides of Dracula (which is absolutely the vibe in the Wraith Deeps), and punishing sex workers for sex work. You've just basically undercut any other point you're trying to make, because you haven't subverted jack shit and you are so buried in tropes and heteronormative sex that any sense beyond "women are literal monsters" gets completely eclipsed. Like, I'm genuinely shocked that Butcher didn't somehow work a vagina dentata or a sarlacc joke into this book.

Now, running in the background of Harry and the Porn Film is Mavra, a Black Court vampire who is full-on coming for Harry and working to rebuild her court. Harry decides that the best course of action here is to go old school: Find the nest and burn it out before the baby vamps can hurt anyone else. Which, frankly? I support. The Black Court can and should get wiped off the face of the earth. And for the most part, this section is just fun to read. Harry, Murphy, and Kincaid--with Ebenezer McCoy as their wheelman--track the scourge of vampires to their lair in a homeless shelter and proceed to wreck shop on them. Harry even manages to get a group of captured kids out of there in one piece. Well, the kids are in one piece. Harry gets his hand dry-roasted because his shields aren't designed for thermal regulation. That's going to be extremely relevant in terms of lore and character building for the next few books, until Butcher basically forgets about it. But in general, it's a kickass quest and is largely successful.

My only real beef with this scene is the five or so minutes where Murphy is traversing a set of lasers wired to claymore mines and Kincaid has to take her pants off to buy her a quarter inch of space. Which like, is fair enough in practical terms, but Kincaid, Harry, and the book itself sexualize this in a way that is just absolutely gross and unnecessary, and I'm pretty sure it was 100% just so that Harry could smirk about Murphy gunfighting in panties with a little bow on them. Which made me want to take his staff and clock him across the jaw. Multiple times. This was not required, and it just keeps adding to the pattern of sexualizing women in deadly situations...holy crap, did we accidentally wander into a Joss Whedon project?

This scene does set up Murphy and Kincaid's relationship though, which will be relevant for like...maybe one other book? So fine. It also highlights that Kincaid and the White Council DO NOT get along, since he and McCoy draw on each other on sight and Harry almost doesn't manage to talk them down. So we do get some interesting insight into who the White Council does and does not approve of.

I suppose I have to stop stalling now, and actually address the White Court and the Family Stuff.

For any of this book to make sense, we need to know a little bit of history. Mostly that Lord Wraith, Thomas, Lara, and Inari's father, had just the biggest boner for Harry's mother, Margaret Le Fay. Margaret spent a lot of time in the White Court, gave birth to Thomas, and then peaced out. On her way out the door though, she cursed Lord Wraith so that his hunger--the demon that makes him a White Court vampire--couldn't feed. So he hasn't been able to feed since before Harry was born, is dangerously weak--but somehow still strong enough to be STRONGLY implied to be grooming and assaulting his children--and is losing power internally. So yes, Daddy Wraith is a piece of utter garbage, and when we start the book, Inari and Lara are both working for Genosa. Thomas is trying to spare Inari from ever becoming a White Court vampire, while Lara is actively yeeting her AT HARRY to try to awaken her hunger. This is just a bad situation all around.

That said though, this is the book where Harry starts to really gather family--blood family--around him, because in addition to leaving a curse for Lord Wraith, Margaret left mental messages for both her sons that they unlock in this book, so they would know who and what they are to each other in case she wasn't there to connect them.

And as much as I hate to admit feels for anything in this book, the messages she left and the emotional rollercoaster of discovering that you HAVE a brother and that you actually LIKE that brother gave me feels. Harry and Thomas desperately need each other, and now they have each other, and they can trust each other. That's huge for both of them. They both have to play that information very close to the chest, but THEY know, and that's kind of the important thing.

That also makes the end of this book, in the Wraith Deeps, even more complicated because family plus politics is never NOT messy. Lara full-on stages a coup to take control of the White Court, thanks to Harry outing Lord Wraith's curse and utter disregard for any of his children to her. The way it shakes out though, is with Lara in charge, Inari free, and Thomas living with Harry because Lara banished his ass.

Again though, we have Murphy being mentally and physically assaulted in the Deeps, and no, Butcher, him being "the lord of the freaking nation of sexual predators" (p. 330) does not go any distance to excusing or defending it. Like...Perhaps we could STAHP assaulting women everywhere? For five minutes?

Overall, I think this is one of the more forgettable early Dresden Files books, and it falls into horror and vampire tropes way too easily, even when Harry himself is trying to insist that he's open-minded or chivalrous. Clearing out the Black Court hideout was fun, and Harry and Thomas knowing about each other was lovely, but honestly the rest of this book is SO WEIRD about sex and consent and lust that it really did out me off.

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT MOUSE!!! Mouse is the goodest boi, and the best thing to come out of the book. He is a Foo Dog who adopts Harry, and that's basically it in this book, but keep an eye out, because Mouse is the BEST.

#blood rites #the dresden files #harry dresden #thomas wraith #karrin murphy #the white court #the black court #vampires #urban fantasy

[friendly-books]

Dresden files Blood Rites live blog

Blood Rites live blog

“The building was on fire and it wasn’t my fault” pg. 11 Ha and I highly doubt that 

Puppies!

Thomas!

“If so, it's a sloppy one. But strong as hell.” pg. 24 Ha Harry being critical of other people doing magic 

“Thomas was an annoying wiseass who tended to make everyone he met want to kill him, and when I have that much in common with someone, I can’t help but like him a little” pg. 30 Ha

“He was at Bianca’s masquerade. Only he was alive back then.” pg. 42 It all comes back to that party

Justine! 

“Since I’d stolen him from Justin DuMorne, my own personal Darth Vader” pg. 62 So Bob belonged to Justin before Harry?

“I don’t expect you to under-“ pg. 77 Ouch Murph 

“He was tall and built like a statue of Hercules” pg. 86 Bi Harry 15

“His face didn’t match the Olympian body” pg. 86 Bi Harry 16

“You always a wiseass?” “No sometimes I’m sleep” pg. 86 Ha

I like Jake 

I like Joan Dallas 

Harry you’re broke, how are you going to pay Kincaid?

“Every time I thought I had gotten through my orphan baggage, something like this came up” pg. 137  aw Harry :( 

I like Inari 

“The next time I saw Thomas, I was going to punch him right in the nose” pg. 153 Ha

“I hit him solidly in the nose with my right fist” pg. 173 Ha

“Empty Night,” she murmured, her tone one of someone speaking an oath” pg. 177 Strange curse word. Why are the first two words capitalized? None of the other curse words are. And none are described as speaking an oath there’s something here 

“Don’t feel bad. I cleverly concealed my identity as Harry the Production Assistant” pg. 177 Ha 

Thomas and Lara casually discussing patricide 

Why would Lara shoot Thomas? they’re siblings 

“So that the next time you start talking I can shoot your wise ass” pg. 186 Ha 

Inari why did you attack Harry he’s trying to help

Inari doesn’t know?!? What a rude awakening to the supernatural with Black Court vampires

“By an entire frozen turkey. A twenty ponder”

“For my next trick anvils” pg. 200 Ha 

Cool that Harry is using his amulet as a symbol of faith 

 “Thomas writhed sinuously” pg. 201 Bi Harry 17

“He was better looking than Thomas” pg. 218 Bi Harry 18

“He didn’t have Thomas beat when it came to smiles. Thomas’s grin had so much life to it was practically sentient” pg. 222 Bi Harry 19

Inari you ok there? Maybe back away from Harry 

“Our mother” pg. 247 Way to drop that bombshell Thomas

“Sank my teeth into his arm” pg. 248 Ha

“You mean he feeds his own” pg. 250 Papa Raith just as bad as Nic. Why was Margaret friends with these people? Did she know what  they did to their kids? Margret needed better friends. This circle of friends is a bad influence 

“I never celebrated Christmas as a kid, after my dad died. It hurt too much. Hell it still hurt too much. But if I had a real family, then maybe things could change” pg. 254 Don’t worry Harry you’ll get a brother and two kids 

Harry’s mom?!?

“He took it, and I drew my brother to his feet” pg. 265 Aw 

Are Bob and Harry friends? I can’t tell with Harry threatening to smash Bob’s skull

“Not now kitten” pg. 276 Well it was nice knowing you Kincaid 

“I took a small but prudent step back from them” pg. 277 Ha Glad to see Harry have some self preservation 

Kincaid keeps digging his grave deeper and deeper 

“It doesn’t count as chivalrous courtesy if you’re only doing it to a wiseass” pg. 279 Ha

Why can’t Harry do the sunshine handkerchief? 

 “Turns out that you’ve got to be genuinely happy to be able to fold sunshine into a hankie” pg. 287 Sobbing 

So the three ex wives did it for the money

“I have a bad habit of turning into a real wiseass when someone makes me nervous. It’s just a reflex” pg. 300 Ha 

No Emma :( 

“That talent had been refined by the harsh lessons of life and even harsher lessons of Justin DeMorne” pg. 331 Justin sucks! Boo hiss 

Ebenezar! 

I love that Ebenezar calls Harry “Hoss”

“You in over your head? It’s as if you’re too stubborn to know when to run” pg. 332 Ha

I love Ebenezar and Harry’s relationship it’s nice that Harry has at least one person he looks up to, respects, and cares about him

Aw Harry made his staff similar to Ebenezar’s

“Look, buddy, you’re scaring the kids” pg. 339 aw Harry :(

Murph in a dress :)

“I must have been feeling suicidal, because I took a step forward and placed myself in the middle of anger stares” pg. 346 At least Harry acknowledges his less than normal self preservation intentions 

“And this is Rich. My second husband” pg. 347 No! :0

Why is Rich married to Murph younger sister? He’s seriously older than her and why would he marry his ex-wife’s sister? Just why?

“Will you take care of my daughter?” “Yes, ma’ am. Of course I will” pg. 356 Sobbing 

“Murphy’s gym bag thumped onto the ground and she stared at me with her mouth open” “What?” I asked “Sir?” she said her voice incredulously” pg. 358 Ha 

“I sort of like him” pg. 372 Yay? Kincaid likes Harry 

“Justin DuMorne had taught me how to do magic. But it was Ebenezar who had taught me why” pg. 376 Cool 

Harry really respects Ebenezar. He stands up to Kincaid 

“Blazing anger had gotten me into way too many bad situations” pg. 375 Ha 

“Be vewy vewy quiet. We’re hunting vampires” pg. 378 Ha

“My dick is bigger than your dick” pg. 379 Ha

“Why do they sell hotdogs in packages of ten but hot dog buns come in packages of eight” pg. 382 Ha 

Well the vampires made the mistake of in-dangering kids 

 “I had already met my quota for burning down public infrastructure this week” pg. 403 Ha

Oh no the bad guys have flamethrowers 

Oh no Harry’s hand 

“I was sending it back to the kitchen anyway. I ordered it medium well” pg. 415 Ha

Ebenezar and Harry fighting :(

Justine’s alive!

Cool that Harry used his staff as a lance

Oh no Murph 

“I’d been in a few caves that were headquarters for dark magic and those who trafficked in it. None of them had been warm. None of them had been pleasant. And none of them had been professionally decorated. Until now” pg. 493 Ha

“Leave me alone, Mister Dresden” pg. 502 oh Murph isn’t mind controlled 

“What can I say, inspiring anger is my gift” pg. 504 Ha

He Who Walks Behind is here 

“Hell’s holy stars and freaking stones shit bells” pg. 514 My thoughts exactly 

Cool that Harry used keys to attack Raith

Awesome that Harry used Lara as a cat’s paw

“Clearly I underestimated you” I said  “Don’t feel bad I mean I look stupid” pg. 525 Ha 

Ivy mention! 

Lash mention I was wondering if she’d show up in this book

“Hey, why did you get large breed Puppy Chow?” pg. 551 Ha 

Final thoughts 

I thought this book was funny. There was so much Bi Harry in this book even without Marcone. Up to 19 on the Bi Harry counter. Sadly no Marcone, why is there so little of him in books. I’m sad that Harry and Ebenezar fought, hopefully they can make up. Nicky, Papa Raith, and Justin DuMorne can all go jump off a cliff in my opinion. I love Thomas and Harry’s relationship. I liked Kincaid and the Ivy mention. I hope to see more of Lash in the next book. I loved Mouse. Rich needs to back up and I’d like to meet him in the parking lot for a chat. I thought the fights were cool. Can’t wait to see what He Who Walks Behind brings to the story. On to the next book.

#dresden files #harry dresden is bi #Blood Rites

[books-in-a-storm]

Currently Reading 💛

Storm Cursed & Blood Rites

#currently reading #to read #reading #read #booklr #books #bookblr #patricia briggs #storm cursed #blood rites #jim butcher #urban fantasy #april 2024

[fiercefauna]

Nate: You’re not even a member.

6684: I still wanna see it. 

Nate: I’ll need blood. 

6684: How’s this? 

Nate: Holy sh- shiitake mushrooms! 

6684: Turned my merch into blood, that enough? 

Nate: Now I’ll have to use it all. 

6684: Let’s get to work then. 

6684 is not hard to handle and lives off-site so I’m not sure It would come in contact with a level 3 operative. It is a history related object though. Hope I’m not too off-cannon or out of character.

@NolanRyan - twitter is below.

#scp 6684 #scp foundation #scp #blood #ritual #blood rites

[noxs-mun]

Still my favorite opening sentence In any book ever.

#The Dresden files #blood rites #book 6

[rhbrand]

I need to do a reread of the Dresden Files. All of them

#harry dresden #The Dresden Files #Blood Rites #Love Harry Dresden #Go Harry go #Kill it with fire

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Barry Nazarian - Blood Rites - Signet - 1980

#witches #bloodthirsty #occult #vintage #blood rites #signet books #1980s horror #barry nazarian

[rnainframe]

cats

#p0key's art #p0key's ocs #clangen #warriors #birchstar #deepshadow #crowstar #inkyshade #duskspots #littlestar #blackdapple #autarch #pearleaf #paleshriek #heartflank #hazefrost #twilightpaw #something's in the water #saltclan #blood rites #voidclan

[margysmusings]

An errand is getting a tank of gas or picking up a carton of milk or something. It is not getting chased by flying purple pyromaniac gorillas hurling incendiary poo!

Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

#quote #book quote #jim butcher #harry dresden #blood rites

[titletobedetermined]

Our side of the equation was bigger than theirs.

—Harry Dresden, Math Understander

#dresden files #harry dresden #math #blood rites

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: Dresden Files First Lines

I tend to give a book a few pages or even the first chapter to catch me, but for some readers, you get one line. Despite my complicated feelings about the Dresden Files as a series, Jim Butcher is a bit of an evil genius for first lines (note the plural on that). Here are the first lines of every book (excluding the short stories because that's a whole other kettle of dragons).

"I heard the mailman approach my office door, half hour earlier than usual."

--Storm Front

"I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon."

--Fool Moon

"There are reasons I hate to drive fast."

--Grave Peril

"It raned toads the day the White Council came to town."

--Summer Knight

"Some things just aren't meant to go together. Things like oil and water. Orange juice and toothpaste. Wizards and television."

--Death Masks

"The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault."

--Blood Rites

"On the whole, we're a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratecide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to moral parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain's brother Abel probably never saw it coming."

--Dead Beat

"Blood leaves no stain on a Warden's grey cloak."

--Proven Guilty

"Many things are not what they seem: The worst things in life enever are."

--White Night

"Winter came early that year; it should have been a tip-off."

--Small Favor

"The summer sun was busy broiling the asphalt from Chicago's streets, the agony in my head had kept me horizontal for hald a day, and some idiot was pounding on my apartment door."

--Turn Coat

"I answered the phone, and Susan Rodriguez said, 'They've taken our daughter.'"

--Changes

"Life is hard. Dying's easy."

--Ghost Story

"Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, has unique ideas regarding physical therapy."

--Cold Days

"There was a ticking time bomb inside my head and the one person I ttrusted to go in and get it out hadn't shown up or spoken to me for more than a year."

--Skin Game

"My brother ruined a perfectly good run by saying 'Justine is pregnant.'"

--Peace Talks

"Apocalypses always kick off at the witching hour. That's something you know now."

--Battle Ground

#dresden files #the dresden files #harry dresden #first lines #storm front #fool moon #grave peril #summer knight #dead beat #death masks #blood rites #proven guilty #white night #small favor #turn coat #changes #skin game #peace talks #battle ground #books #books and novels #books and reading #books & libraries #fiction #fantasy #urban fantasy #book recommendations