Dystopian Romance Quotes & Sayings

Our choices in these next few moments could only change how we suffered.
Not if.
From everything I could see, that was already decided. — Lola Dodge

The Suitors Ball is fast approaching and it's a nasty reminder that my suitor will be chosen shortly. I feel sorry for the poor unfortunate guy, whichever one of them it happens to be. — Siobhan Davis

She'd found that holding on to him was the easiest and simplest thing to do, not thinking about the bomb, not thinking about the people it killed, not thinking about her family, and not thinking about whether or not she would die. Instead, she'd held tightly around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. She'd thought the entire world was coming to an end and holding on to him seemed to be the only thing she wanted to acknowledge as real. — Jettie Necole

But my father goes on.And I've noticed other things,too.I think you're in love with Ky Markham.I think you want to find him,wherever he's gone. — Ally Condie

What's your name?" I ask again.
"Chris," he says. "Chris Young."
I exhale dramatically, blowing my bangs out of my eyes.
"I can take you," I reply. "But if you try anything, I'll shoot you right between the eyes. Seriously."
He almost smiles.
"Yes, ma'am. — Summer Lane

You're easy to read, Ivy, but the whole book of you is complicated. — Amy Engel

I've never been on a bike," I say. "I mean, I've been on a bike but not a motorcycle."
"And why is that?" he asks.
"Bugs. They get in your mouth, right? That's just gross."
Chris makes a face.
"If you ride around with your mouth hanging open, I assume that could be a possibility. — Summer Lane

You're going to castrate them if they give me a sideways glance?"
He looked at the ground. "I'm not bringing you to the safest place and you're beautiful, so I needed to warn them."
"I'm beautiful?" I repeated trying not to smile.
"Don't let it go to your head, darling." He said holding his hand out for me.
"You're not too bad yourself."
"I know. I saw the way you stared at me when I took my shirt off." Hunter said. — Cassandra Giovanni

Landon drops the bloody knife and stares at Summer like he doesn't even know her anymore. The truth is, she'll never be the girl she was seven months ago. Too much has happened. Too much has changed.
"Why'd you do that?" Summer cries.
"To save you," he says.
But there's nothing left to save. — Laura Kreitzer

What's a Laster? A dead man. — L.E. Sterling

Shunting closer, I snuggle into his chest, soaking up his fresh woodsy scent. His arms encircle me and pull me close. "You always smell like home," I whisper under my breath. Smooth, soft fingers tilt my chin upward, and I'm startled when my face meets his. Tears glisten in his eyes as he looks at me adoringly. Pressing his forehead to mine, he kisses me sweetly, his lips making brisk tantalizing sweeps across my mouth.
"My heart is your home," he whispers, his voice breathless. "It always will be. — Siobhan Davis

You didn't tell Summer about it, did you?"
"What?" Gage scoffs. "Yeah, telling your girlfriend the Angel of Death might visit her if some switch is flipped is normal pillow talk. — Laura Kreitzer

A loud peel of laughter travels up my throat. Something out of the ordinary has finally happened, and it sends a spark of electricity directly to the dull lump in my chest. — Siobhan Davis

Dammit, Gage. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I wasn't," he shouts. "I was upset she wanted to stay, and I lost it."
Ethan scoffs. "Yeah, you did."
"I'm an idiot."
"Yeah, you are."
"Shut up. — Laura Kreitzer

When you stop being owned by your emotions you'll stop feeling vulnerable to people. ~ Remiel — Aria J. Wolfe

Why won't you look at me?" she murmurs.
He doesn't speak, seemingly at a loss for words.
"It's my scars." It comes out as barely a whisper.
Horror spasms across his face. "What? No," he says, a bit breathless. "You're beautiful. All of you. — Laura Kreitzer

He's a lovely guy, but there's no spark between us whatsoever. It just goes to show, that even with all their fancy assessment tools, the government can't legislate for chemistry. — Siobhan Davis

Everyone is dangerous in here, can't you see that?" he warned. — Jettie Necole

It's taken me all this time, all this loss, to realize what really matters is now. — Suzanne Young

He places a hand on either side of the bar, locking me in. 'And why won't you admit it?' he asks.
I'm so startled by his new, gentler tone that I hazard a glance. My breath catches in my throat. Jared's eyes have changed to that sumptuous green, huge and mesmerizing, the pupils dilating like a cat's. I can't see to look away as he inches forward, until he's standing all but a hair's breadth away from me. — L.E. Sterling

Everyone has to die at some point, so the thought of passing on together while holding hands with my one true love has always sounded like an amazing fairy tale. It reminds me of the old Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, and of the powerful love they shared. — Shannon Duffy

I just want to be with you. Walk next to you, Ivy, wherever you're headed. That's all. — Amy Engel

Olivia responded with confidence, "You're the military. You're in charge. Why would I be scared? — Jettie Necole

As I ran a few blades of grass between my fingers, enjoying the breeze as it caressed my face, I contemplated the cycle of life. As this year would host the long anticipated arrival of the Mayan Doomsday, marking the end of their long count calendar, I wasn't alone in my ponderings. The whole world was focused on the potential that we would be the last generation; the witnesses of the world's end. — J.M. Northup

Time keeps ticking away, unaware of the suffering each second generates. Time doesn't care, because if it did, it would've reversed. — Laura Kreitzer

A layer of fine powder coats his skin.
"My lungs are turning to concrete," Rob wheezes, hacking and spitting.
"So are my eyes. How do I always get roped into these things?" Avery coughs and pats Rob's back in sympathy. A poof of dust billows from the contact. — Laura Kreitzer

A lie of obsession is still a lie — Veronica Roth

Evangeline," he sighed. "It ain't ever goan to be easy with you, is it? — Kresley Cole

I concentrate on the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other and continue moving forward even as part of me is left behind, beyond a fence I cannot breach. — Amy Engel

Hello, dinner. It's me, I'm starving. And I know where you live. — Lauren Hammond

No one survives beyond the fence. At least that's what my father always told me when I was a child. But I'm not a little girl anymore, and I no longer believe in the words of my father. He told me the Lattimers were cruel and deserved to die. He told me my only choice was to kill the boy I loved. He has been wrong about so many things. And I'm determined that he's going to be wrong about my survival as well. — Amy Engel

I won't pressure you, Ari, but I'm not opposed to subtle acts of persuasion. — Siobhan Davis

inspirational adult romance author under the pen name of Liz Isaacson, her work includes the young adult dystopian romance series Possession, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), Elevated, the Elemental series, the Redwood Bay romance series, and the Amazon bestselling Three Rivers Ranch — Elana Johnson

She reaches into the unknown and claims his hand, clasping it as if he might evaporate into the night. She's petrified. Not of the monstrosities prowling the island, but of the demon inside herself. The one about to rip apart her heart and mind to attain a selfish freedom. And it might all be a lie, placed there by the Society. — Laura Kreitzer

It's time, Perry. He let her go. She took a step back, taking in his face one last time. His green eyes. The bend in his nose and the scars on his cheek. All the tiny inperfections that made him beautiful. Without a word, she turned and made her way downhill. — Veronica Rossi

For the first time, with complete clarity and absolute conviction, I know I love him entirely with all that I have, everything I am, and who I'm going to be. Of course, I've told him before, but not like this, not with the fierce swelling of love and fervent determination that I feel ebbing and flowing inside me, as vital as the air I breathe. Before - when I said it - it was borne out of immaturity, or necessity, or maybe just plain old lust. Now I radiate with the veracity of my love and this newfound truth that we really are meant to be. — Siobhan Davis

Her mum is leaning against the wall, arms crossed, when Summer exits. "Gage left from here a few minutes ago," she says, tone neutral. "His hair was ruffled." She gestures with her hand above her head.
The haze Gage left Summer in vanishes. She frowns.
Her mum sighs and steps forward. Smooths her daughter's hair. "If he hurts you," she says in a mild tone, "I'll kill him. — Laura Kreitzer

She bends over, whispering in my ear. "Have you ever been with a guy?"
"Yes," I say, even though that quick fumble with Luca Parry in the factory closet doesn't count for much. He was all grabby hands, sloppy mouth, and slimy tongue. It's an experience I'm in no hurry to repeat. Ugh. A severe shiver travels up my spine with the memory. — Siobhan Davis

You look exhausted," Logan says, his eyes raking over me. "Why don't you try and catch some sleep."
"All your nocturnal activities must be taking a toll," Haydn mutters not too discreetly under his breath.
"The same could be said for you," I retort, in no mood to ignore his renewed mean streak.
"That's rich coming from you."
"Haydn." How Logan can manage to convey such potent meaning with one word is sheer talent. And I'm eternally grateful, because it shuts Haydn up. — Siobhan Davis

He licks his lips as his head tilts down toward me. My body goes wild. Frissons of electricity travel up and down my spine as the True Born leans down. His voice is silk in my ear. 'You're not with your parents now. No restrictions. How does that make you feel? — L.E. Sterling

By your eighteenth birthday you're supposed to know. They're supposed to tell you. Splicer. True Born. Laster. — L.E. Sterling

Haydn snorts. "Only gullible, lovesick fools spout that mushy crap." Thank the stars that his tone is teasing, because I can sense Logan's patience waning.
"When you find the right girl, I'm so going to make you eat your words. And I'm going to thoroughly enjoy rubbing your nose in it. — Siobhan Davis

Haydn's instructions are imprinted on my brain much the same way Logan's face is imprinted on my heart. — Siobhan Davis

It doesn't matter where I am, or who I'm with ... God, Caspar. I've dreamed about being with you. — Rie Warren

The old fire pit was ancient. I couldn't say how many of my ancestors warmed themselves at this outdoor hearth. Sitting around it was rather affecting, especially when you thought about the countless people who had occupied your very spot in some distant past. It was kind of surreal. — J.M. Northup

I would cry if I could, but instead I just feel my heart rip apart. — Siobhan Davis

Returning my voice to a conversational level, I called back, "Nora, I'm not
attempting to embarrass you or single you out. I know you're capable. But stay behind Chas, okay? You die, you d i e permanently, and for various reasons that we've already gotten angsty about together, I don't want that to happen."
"Okay, okay," she sighed.
"Angsty?" Chas asked. "Ooh! Later, details!"
"Yes, later." With that, I waved the team forward. — Lia Habel

Seconds ebb and wane. She's not afraid of her voice anymore, but she's not entirely sure she trusts it. She's seen the damage caused with a single word. Right now, each one is a weapon, a conduit of war, and she won't just throw them out there all willy-nilly. — Laura Kreitzer

You cannot thrive under the wrong stars, Kricket ... the stars here are in opposition to you ... can't you feel it? ... Let us take you home. — Amy A. Bartol

I can't - won't do that to him," Summer says sharply. "Or to myself. Besides, your feelings for me aren't real. The Society did this to you. And if they did it to you, they probably scrambled my brain too. I can't trust that any of this is real. — Laura Kreitzer

He's focused on something - or someone - over her shoulder.
The harmonious warbling of the rainforest morphs into organized disarray, as if a primitive maestro has thrown conducting to the wind and let Mother Nature take over. Birds trill a warning as the breeze rustles the plant life. Wings flutter overhead. A crescendo of stridulation changes tempo, the insects seemingly performing a sonata as the rhythm shifts yet again.
"What - who is it?" Summer asks in a strained whisper.
His gaze lands on her, his brows furrowing. "The Forsaken. — Laura Kreitzer

A craving to crawl out of my skin hits me like a bullet to the chest. It's not a new sentiment. It's an urge I feel at least once every hour. A potent desire to be anyone but myself. To live any life but this one. — Siobhan Davis

Why aren't you smiling?" Cameron asks. She picks up the Astropad and stops the video.
"Because this is the beginning, not the end. — Laura Kreitzer

I wouldn't change a thing. I want you. I'll always want you. — Siobhan Davis

Death and his scythe do not come. No sweeping black capes or ethereal escapes. There's no pearly gate, no prisms of colors as his soul slips away. The stillness is cold steel. The silence is empty with no memory to mend it. — Laura Kreitzer

You're an assignment, not an assignation. Soon as I get your pretty boy ass through the Wilderness and deliver you to the Outpost, you're no more than a stain to spit-shine off my boots. — Rie Warren

I'm thinking ahead, imagining what our lives together would be like once we're free from this hell and allowed to live and let go. You know? Really let go of our pain and finally enjoy each other ... you and me. — Leslie Lee Sanders

In the afternoon, they stopped to eat on a rocky outcrop. Perry brushed a kiss on her cheek while she was chewing, and she learned that it was the loveliest thing to be kissed for no reason, even while chewing food. It brightened the woods, and the never sky, and everything. — Veronica Rossi

Darian murdered them in cold blood. That's a crime punishable with life in the Terrorscape, where you experience the worst nightmares imaginable. — Shannon Duffy

As he plods behind Cameron and Summer, he can't help but stare at Summer's exposed, glistening skin. His thoughts aren't depraved or even mildly in the splasher. In fact, he focuses on the marks of cruelty crisscrossing her back, stomach, and shoulders. He trudges along, drenched, feet swollen, constantly searching for even a hint of a breeze, all while being forced to stare at the alarming network of burns traversing Summer's delicate skin. This latticework of hate reveals a brutal truth - one he can scarcely comprehend. Yes, he's glimpsed and felt her scars before, but this is the first time he's really, truly seen the severity and extent of her life as a slave. With each step, he must digest the monstrosities of her past, leaving him utterly devastated. — Laura Kreitzer

Logan owns my heart, and he always will. Whether he is aware or not. Whether he wants it or not. That much I know with absolute conviction. — Siobhan Davis

He holds her for an eternity. Time cascades into the void of the past. She inhales his scent. Full of man and strength and yearning. And she wonders why she ever doubted their relationship. Why she let Julian's soothing touch coax her into loving him too. Gage is everything. Gage is hers. — Laura Kreitzer

I'm sorry, he says. No two words were ever truer.
Still, she says nothing. Once a shield, now her taciturnity is brandished like a blade, carving away his sanity. She's the flaw in the paragon of life - the reason angels choose to dive to their downfalls in fiery comets of stardust. — Laura Kreitzer

Maybe the Society was right all along. From the very beginning, that's what they called her. A time bomb.
Tick, tick, tick. — Laura Kreitzer

I'm wondering how long I have to deal with this bullshit before I can brief my troops. Oh, and I gotta feed my goldfish. Let's get this straight, Blondie - "
"Blondie?"
"That's an insult, not a pet name. — Rie Warren

She feels him scoot closer, the heat of him radiating off his chest and absorbing into her skin. His legs straddle her from behind, and he places delicate kisses along her shoulder, her back, the very center of her spine. Each time is like an electric current surging through her, soul stirring and lovely. — Laura Kreitzer

A giant grin, accompanied by a slight chuckle, had been the grand finale to any of his most successful jokes, while the less impressive resulted in a raise of both his brows, which he followed with a semi-satisfied smirk. The least entertaining attempt at humor would get a shrug and a short grimace that reflected he too understood he'd just bombed. Olivia was acquainted with them all now, considering all the time they'd spent together, the most she'd spent with any other individual inside the vault. Olivia had become accustomed to his infectious humor, though it hadn't always been so. Especially, when they'd first met. — Jettie Necole

He didn't save me, though. He allowed me the freedom to save myself, which is the very best type of rescue. — Amy Engel

Thanks, for saving me."
"I didn't have a choice," he said softly.
"Everyone has a choice."
"Then mine was easy."
"Easy?"
He chuckled. "Olivia, my choice will always be simple when it comes to you... — Jettie Necole

Ignoring the pain is more desirable than confronting it. And that's survival one-oh-one. — Siobhan Davis

I wish I was more experienced with boys, so that I could understand his intentions more clearly. I grimace inwardly when I think of much of an expert I'll be in a few months time. — Siobhan Davis

Avery slides on his glasses and opens his eyes again. "Dammit!" he says again with more feeling. "Why does stuff like this keep happening?"
"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Rob says, smirking. — Laura Kreitzer

You should've told me," she repeats. "Because here's a news flash: You might've wanted to shelter me, but there's nowhere you can hide me that'll keep me safe from what's inside my head. — Laura Kreitzer

I fell silent after that. I didn't want to talk about such things anymore, at least today. My chest already hurt and I was trying to keep my mind calm. I didn't want to think of a future so bleak and dark. I had plans for my future and they didn't involve the world ending or society collapsing. — J.M. Northup

Frown deepening, Jared bounces a hand off the chair arm. 'You know you're different, Princess. And it's not just because you're some fancy, spoiled rich girl. Hell, you don't smell like anyone else. Money can't buy that smell.' I assume he wasn't talking about my expensive perfume, which money did in fact buy. — L.E. Sterling

I want to see you naked. I want to touch you. I want you to touch me. I just...want. — Amy Engel

Refusing to listen to him any longer, Julian backs up. "Whenever you realize working together is in Summer's best interest, come find me, Boy Scout. Until then, I'll just pretend you don't exist." Then he walks away.
Gage glares at Julian's retreating form. His hand scrapes through his hair as he fumes. A guttural roar of rage crawls up his throat, and he kicks the sand.
Damn him and his stupid logic. He's right. And Gage knows he's right. But that doesn't mean he has to like it. — Laura Kreitzer

IT IS SAID that time is unrelated to everything else. It goes on and on, unnoticing of our actions, our falls, our triumphs. Who's to care then, if time does not remember us? It flies by, fleeting, inattentive and disinterested in any occupants of this earth. What are we, then, if time thinks so little of everyone it passes? Time is truly apathetic to the many to whom a little empathy would mean so much.
~April~
Disarming Reign of Blood — Alexia Purdy

Are you in any pain? (Ariana Skyee)
Only my heart. (Cal Remus) — Siobhan Davis

They filled our world with weapons aimed at foreheads and smiled as they shot 16 candles right through our future. They killed those strong enough to fight back and locked up the freaks who failed to live up to their utopian expectations. — Tahereh Mafi

There's a part of me that recognizes him on a cellular level, a part that seeks his comfort and solace, that feels more than comfortable in his arms. And when he stares at me with that deep penetrating gaze of his, my body reacts in all the right, and wrong, ways. — Siobhan Davis

Prince Maxon surveyed the room and found me. Our eye met for a moment, and he smiled. — Kiera Cass

Time is a thief. A killer. Time is killing him. — Laura Kreitzer

My mind wanders and I drift off into La-La Land. I dream about Thalassic City. About opportunity. And second chances. About actually living. — Siobhan Davis

If this is my final moment," she says, "then I can die happy."
"Is that why you're saying all this? Because you think we're going to die?"
"I don't know," she admits.
"Dammit, Summer." He clings to her waist, grip desperate, eyes heavy with torment. "You're saying everything I want to hear, but I don't know if I can trust it. — Laura Kreitzer

Just in case you're wondering," Gage says, breaking the silence, "this alliance of ours doesn't mean I like you."
"Feeling's mutual." Julian tosses him a disdainful look. — Laura Kreitzer

Shock? More like shellshock at this point. Blondie knew I was gay, yet he was a Company Exec or else he wouldn't be here. I was his butt boy in the worst possible way.
When I squinted at him, he gave nothing up. Neither did I. I had shit on this newly minted man too.
Double fucking jeopardy, jackass. — Rie Warren

Relax," the girl says. She holds out a hand but doesn't touch me. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Yet," the man in the doorway says with a smirk. — Amy Engel

One kiss wouldn't be so bad, but
No. That was the problem right there. It would be a gateway kiss. Then there'd be tongue and heavy breathing and feelings. I needed to nip that right in the bud. Because after the kissing came all the dying. — Lola Dodge

What if the Devil doesn't know he's the Devil? — Cathrine Goldstein

No, we'll live. I promise you that." He'd said it in a way that she couldn't doubt, the same way he'd snapped his soldiers back into their rank on the helicopter. His words had been soft yet firm, and she wanted to believe in him as his men had, with confidence. — Jettie Necole

I'm not much of a liar. A hoarder, a hider: most definitely, yes, and sometimes I'm dishonest by default because I find it difficult to share that innermost part of myself with others. But never a conscious liar. I don't think I have it within me to deliberately mislead anyone. — Siobhan Davis

So damn pigheaded. I've studied you, not to report you, Caspar, but because I want a relationship with you. — Rie Warren

Love's sharp teeth sink into her. She surrenders to his possessive arms. They anchor her to his body and to this strange, new reality. With her ear situated against his chest, she listens to his steady heartbeat. It's strong and reassuring. Her own is jarring in comparison, a rapid rhythm crashing its way through her. — Laura Kreitzer

My mission is not to make him happy and bear his children and be his wife. My mission is to kill him. — Amy Engel

We're in an underground vault, and here's my first order: You're going to do everything I tell you to do. — Jettie Necole

My romantic history since arriving on Novo has been non-existent, but I don't know what, if anything, came before; thanks to the government's cerebral pilfering. — Siobhan Davis

Remember what I said when I led to Omar and the queen?" I bobbed my head, unable to look away from his jewel-like eyed, shining in the darkness...so much like Chorda's. "That was the lie. Good-bye, Lane," he said and then crept into the darkness. — Kat Falls

It's degrading being routinely subjected to a battery of medical tests to ensure I continue to deserve a place in this new world. — Siobhan Davis

Even if I did feel bad for Darian, I wouldn't admit it. Siding with anyone who violates The Protectorate would make me Noncompliant. That would make me almost as corrupt as him. To side with those who violate The Protectorate is strictly forbidden and punishable by a week in the Terrorscape. — Shannon Duffy