Teaser Tuesday: Tsarina, The Opposite of Loneliness, & The Gray Wolf Throne

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

I prepared myself for the worst - soldiers on horseback, men carrying banners, the sound of guns firing and clubs cracking against bodies. I'd slept through riots before - they were so common, now. Worse than waking to a riot, however, was waking to the aftermath of such an event: loose articles of clothing, bloodstains like roses in the fresh snow, the empty, quiet feeling in the streets...

~ Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick, pg. 19

Goodreads

On the backseat there was the June 3 issue of the New York Times that I couldn't bear to throw out. When we drove home together from the camping trip, he read it cover to cover while I played Simon and Garfunkel -- hoping he'd realize all the songs were about us. We didn't talk much during that ride. We didn't need to. He slid his hand into mine for the first time when we got off the highway; it was only after I made my exit that I realized I should have missed it. Above this newspaper are the fingernail marks I dug into the leather of my steering wheel on the night we decided to just be friends. My car listened to me cry for all twenty-two and a half miles home.

~ "Stability in Motion" from The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan, Kindle Location 1470-1475 (ARC)

Goodreads

It was so deadly quiet at night it was hard to fall asleep. Even with his shutters open, most nights all he could hear was the splashing of the fountain in the courtyard. It was almost a relief when lovers crept out there in the moonlight, breaking the silence with their whispers, laughter and sighs. Except it only made him ache for what he'd lost.

~ The Gray Wolf Throne (Seven Realms #3) by Cinda Williams Chima, pg. 370

Goodreads