“Whoever had designed her loved ships and knew the sea: he had designed her with his heart.”

“Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw.It was its tendency to bend at the knees.”

“Gabriel Squeezed His Eyes Shut. In the distance He Heard shay Screaming His Nam. What Had he done.?The answer Slammed Into His Mind. He Had Fallen in Love with Her. It had Clouded His Judgment.He LOVED Her, HEART, SOUL, And BODY. And He Had Sentenced Her To Death.”

“Tessa had lain down beside him and slid her arm beneath his head, and put her head on his chest,listening to the ever-weakening beat of his heart. And in the shadows they'd whispered, reminding each other of the stories only they knew. Of the girl who had hit over the head with a water jug the boy who had come to rescue her, and how he had fallen in love with her in that instant. Of a ballroom and a balcony and the moon sailing like a ship untethered through the sky. Of the flutter of the wings of the clockwork Angel. Of holy water and blood.”

“These houses had been plunked down with an alarming randomness -- unevenly spaced, on crooked lines, like whoever had designed the place had said, "We'll just follow this cat, and wherever he sits down, we'll build something.”

“He lifted his gaze to the framed photograph of Tanya and him taken on their wedding day. God, she had been lovely. Her smile had come through her eyes straight from her heart. He had known unequivocally that she loved him. He believed to this day that she had died knowing that he loved her. How could she not know? He had dedicated his life to never letting her doubt it.”