Grim Tidings Quotes
by B.K. Borison
This page gathers some of the sharpest lines from Grim Tidings. You will find banter between characters, quieter narrative passages, and a lot of inner monologue from someone who is trying very hard to make sense of a job, a fate, and a feeling they did not expect.
What makes the novel quotable is the way it mixes dark humor with real longing. The voice can be dry and clever one moment, then painfully honest the next. Even when the subject is death, redemption, or wanting someone you should not want, the lines stay personal and easy to remember.
Top Quotes from Grim Tidings
“I don’t want to be there at the final moments. I want—I want the middle ones. Lazy mornings in bed and cups of coffee gone cold. Flowers in bloom and lipstick smudged on the edge of a glass. A single candle wedged crooked in buttercream icing. Towels fresh from the dryer and junk mail shoved through a crack in the door.”
— Darcy
Darcy reflects on being tired of death and longing for ordinary, living moments instead.
The lyrical catalog of small joys makes her weariness deeply human. It turns the mundane into something achingly precious.
“I won’t be shut out of my own redemption arc. I need to be the one to save this soul. I need to know that I'm capable of something that isn’t death.”
— Darcy
As she negotiates with Gabriel, Darcy resolves to keep control of saving the soul herself.
It reveals Darcy's deepest need: to prove she can create life rather than only death.
“It's one of the trickier aspects of being immortal. How humanity clings to us in the quiet moments. I don't need to sleep, but I crave it. The same way I crave cigarettes and slices of cake and the attention of the man standing across from me. Dangerous. All of it.”
— Darcy
As Gabriel waits in Frank's shop, Darcy reflects on her immortal cravings and her dangerous attraction to him.
It captures the ache of immortality—human longings linger even when needs do not. The final line makes desire feel both tempting and perilous.
“It's not a crush. It’s a goddamned fixation. It’s damnation with long legs and thick eyelashes and skin that tastes like salt and tequila and bad fucking choices.”
— Gabriel
While arguing with Nate about Darcy, Gabriel internally rejects the idea that his feelings are just a crush.
It turns attraction into something dangerous and all-consuming, making Gabriel's obsession vivid and memorable.
“For so long, protecting others is how I’ve defined myself. I don't know what I'll do with myself without that. Without my wings.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel considers the consequences of one more strike: losing his wings and his Guardian role.
It reveals how deeply Gabriel's identity depends on protecting others, raising the emotional stakes of his possible fall.
“The first time I died, there was no great white light. No gently trilling harp music. No golden gates. There was just a corporate hallway with tacky carpet and a busted fluorescent light.”
— Darcy
Darcy reflects on her first death and how it was nothing like she expected.
The plain, bureaucratic afterlife contrasts with the emotional stakes of her second near-death moment, making her undeath feel both absurd and poignant.
“Now, though. Now there's calloused hands against my face, holding me carefully like I’m made of spun glass. Arough voice calling my name, and a low pulse of warmth that starts in my palms and vibrates out. If I had to choose a death experience, it would be this one. Every time.”
— Darcy
After being hit by a car, Darcy lies in the street as Gabriel holds her and calls her name.
It captures how tenderness can transform even pain and death into something she would choose again.
Themes Behind the Quotes
These lines keep circling the tension between fate and choice. A character is assigned a role they did not ask for, judged for what they are, and left wondering whether duty can ever be rewritten. Death is not just an event here. It is a job, a weight, and a constant reminder of what it means to cause harm instead of comfort.
Running alongside that is a deep hunger for ordinary life. Small rituals, remembered kindness, and quiet moments matter because they make immortality feel human. The quotes also explore identity when protection or purpose is stripped away, and the dangerous pull of connection with someone who should be off limits. Redemption, loneliness, and the fear of being seen as only one thing all thread through the collection.
Quotes by Chapter
Part 1 - Chapters 1 to 3
“I remember thinking it was especially cruel, how I could hear life creeping forward, even when mine was coming to a close.”
— Darcy
Darcy recalls the moment of her death, hearing the sounds of life outside her hospital window.
It captures the cruel contrast between ordinary life and imminent death. The sensory detail makes her passing feel intimate and bittersweet.
“I like holding on to these simple things. They make me feel human in a way I haven't been for a very, very long time.”
— Darcy
Darcy reflects on why she still keeps mortal habits like drinking water and eating doughnuts in the afterlife.
It shows how small rituals anchor her to a lost humanity. The line makes immortality feel less like power and more like grief.
“They say that those who become Reapers are the souls with the greatest potential for darkness. It doesn’t matter that I had no say in my designation. I’m treated like the second coming of the bubonic plague everywhere I go.”
— Darcy
Darcy thinks about how other spirits view Reapers and how she is treated because of her role.
It conveys the unfair stigma and isolation forced on her. The bubonic plague comparison is darkly funny and painfully lonely.
Part 2 - Chapters 4 to 6
“The one time I let myself deviate from the plan, and it’s with the worst possible choice. A Guardian Angel. Of course.”
— Darcy
Darcy realizes the man she kissed in the bar is a Guardian Angel.
It captures her self-recrimination and the ironic collision of desire and duty.
“What would it be like, I wonder, for someone to see the best in me?”
— Darcy
After Gabriel accuses her of seduction, Darcy wonders if anyone could see her positively.
It lays bare her loneliness and longing for basic human kindness.
“You have no idea what it's like, watching person after person after person die. To bear the weight of their pain and disappointment. I can’t offer them comfort. I can’t offer them anything.”
— Darcy
During their alley confrontation, Darcy tells Gabriel what it is like to reap souls.
It reveals the emotional burden of death work and makes her vulnerability feel earned.
“With his heavy stare at my back and his kisses still burning against my mouth.”
Darcy walks away from Gabriel after their confrontation, his stare and kisses lingering.
It leaves the reader with the ache of an almost-romance that ended in misunderstanding.
Part 3 - Chapters 7 to 8
“They say you shouldn't make a deal with the devil, but they never said anything about Guardian Angels. I smile serenely. A perfectly laid trap. “Yes, Gabriel. We have a deal.””
— Darcy
Darcy gets Gabriel to agree to help with her list in exchange for clues about her vision.
It captures the chapter's central bargain with a wry, dangerous irony.
“It's easy enough to adopt mortal customs when you embed yourself in their world. And things don’t ever change quickly, do they? The great temples were built brick by brick. So were the skyscrapers. It’s hard to notice everything changing around you when you're changing with it.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel explains how he has adapted to mortal customs despite his ancient age.
It makes immortality feel less like spectacle and more like slow, invisible accumulation.
“The department has existed for millennia, Darcy. There is no changing the script. You don’t get a do-over. When they find out you're deceiving them, they will find you, and they will punish you.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel warns Darcy that the department will punish her if she deceives them.
It raises the stakes of Darcy's rebellion with an ominous, absolute warning.
Part 4 - Chapters 9 to 11
“It’s him, my shadows sing, thankfully still hidden. I clench my fists tight and tuck them behind my back to make sure they stay that way. Him, him, him. This is the soul I was sent to collect.”
— Darcy
At the bar, Darcy recognizes Nate as the soul she is meant to collect.
The repeated Him, him, him makes her recognition feel inescapable. It captures both her Reaper duty and her immediate fear of what it means.
“I can’t tell him. He literally just got done telling me I'm the root of all evil. If I let him know I've found the soul I'm meant to collect, he'll shut me out and keep me at arm's length, determined to protect this man on his own.”
— Darcy
After Nate leaves, Darcy decides to keep her assignment secret from Gabriel because he already distrusts her.
Her decision to hide the truth comes from fear and a desperate wish to protect, not malice. It reveals how Gabriel’s mistrust has already boxed her in.
“All of it is dandelion seeds in the wind. Death comes for us all. This time, I’d very much like to change it.”
— Darcy
Watching Nate at the bar, Darcy reflects on fate and her desire to alter his coming death.
It distills mortality into a lyrical image and then lets Darcy voice a small, defiant hope. The line lingers because it is both resignation and resolve.
“I am cruel. I am suited to the end of things. I just came face-to-face with the man whose life I'm meant to claim, and I didn’t say a word.”
— Darcy
After Gabriel apologizes, Darcy silently acknowledges why she cannot accept absolution: she has hidden the truth about Nate.
This is a stark self-indictment that exposes the guilt beneath Darcy’s secrecy. It shows that she cannot accept Gabriel’s apology while she is still lying to him.
Part 5 - Chapters 12 to 14
“But I don’t think she realized the only reason I ever loved flowers is because she did.”
— Frank
While fixing Darcy's bouquet, Frank explains why he first started making bouquets, revealing how his wife inspired his love of flowers.
It distills love and grief into a single image: his flowers were never the passion, she was. The line is quiet and devastating.
“I wanted to create something beautiful, and it crumbled to dust beneath my touch instead.”
— Darcy
After her magic accidentally kills the flowers she was arranging, Darcy tries to clean up and fears her own power.
It is a haunting metaphor for creation turning to destruction under her touch. It shows her fear that her power is becoming uncontrollable.
“I don’t tolerate bullies, and there will be no reindeer games in my shop. Do you understand?”
— Frank
Frank scolds Gabriel for knocking over Darcy's bouquet and defends her hard work.
It is a funny, fierce defense that reveals Frank's protective heart and old-fashioned charm. The line lands as both comic relief and genuine kindness.
Part 6 - Chapters 15 to 17
“I almost kissed Darcy last night. If I'm being honest with myself, I almost did more than kiss Darcy last night. I wanted to.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel wakes on the office pullout couch after a tequila-fueled night and admits his desire for Darcy.
It captures the raw, self-aware pull of forbidden attraction and the regret of almost crossing a line.
“He listened to me. He remembered. He brought me here. I'm not alone.”
— Darcy
At the lighthouse, Darcy reflects on Gabriel remembering her fear of being alone and bringing her to see the boats gather.
It is a tender payoff to their earlier conversation about loneliness, showing how much Gabriel's attention means to her.
Part 7 - Chapters 18 to 20
“I did it. I saved a soul. I can be more than my cloak and scythe.”
— Darcy
Darcy lies injured after stepping into the street to save Nate from the destined car.
It crystallizes her longing to be more than her grim reaper role and to choose her own path.
“He's still alive because of you. I don’t really care why you did it.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel reassures Darcy after she admits she saved Nate for selfish reasons.
It offers unconditional grace, valuing the life saved over the motive that saved it.
Part 8 - Chapters 21 to 23
“If you don't, I'm going to be selfish with you. There won’t be anything left for anyone else.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel warns Darcy to tell him to stop as he becomes possessive during an intimate moment in his office.
It captures his intensity and fear of losing her, framing desire as both selfish and protective.
“She never asks for anything, but she's asking me for this.”
— Gabriel
Gabriel reflects after Darcy whispers a plea during their intimate encounter.
It highlights the rarity of Darcy's vulnerability and how much her request means to him.