Image: Max Pixel
If the word ‘tremble’ came up during a word association game, my first answer would be ‘romance novels’. But if anyone really gave me the time to come up with one single word, it would be ‘containment’. That’s what I always have felt trembling results from – the inability to contain. Whether describing earthquakes or human emotions, trembling essentially describes something that is ready to burst, that which cannot remain hidden.
No one brings out this better than romance novelists. And here are sixteen quick quotes from some of my favorite books:
“He leaned forward and kissed her softly, his mouth fitting hers so perfectly that she trembled. She tasted the heat of him and licked the chocolate off his lip and felt his tongue against hers, hot and devastating, and when he broke the kiss, she was breathless and dizzy and aching for more. He held her eyes, looking as dazed as she felt, but she wasn’t deceived at all, she knew what he was.
She just didn’t care.”
~Jennifer Crusie, 2004, Bet Me, Chapter 05
“He trembled. She loved that she could make him tremble.”
~ Julia Quinn, 2013, The Sum of All Kisses, Chapter 15
“He looked well. Truly well. Not just handsome, but vigorous and strong. After feeling him groan and tremble beside her last night, this came as profound relief.”
~ Tessa Dare, 2012, A Week to Be Wicked, Chapter 09
“The scarlet hibiscus bloom on the front of her T-shirt trembled with indignation.”
~Sandra Brown, 1988, Adam’s Fall, Chapter 02
“She trembled as his searing lips pressed against her throat and beneath her breasts her heart thumped wildly.”
~ Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 1972, The Flame and the Flower, Chapter 01
“Her hand on him trembled. She had never done this to a man, but suddenly her hand wasn’t enough. It was too distant from her heart.”
~ Susan Elizabeth Phillips, 2000, It Had to Be You, Chapter 17
“Her lip trembled, darkening to a deeper pink, a sign that his strategy was working.”
~ Laura Lee Guhrke, 2015, Catch a Falling Princess, Chapter 12
“Her insides trembled as she recalled how he’d leaned down and she’d thought, nay, she’d wished with everything she possessed that he would kiss her again. Leave her so breathless and insensible that he’d pick up the reins and steal her away, take her far from London before she ever gained the wits to protest.”
~ Elizabeth Boyle, 2012, Along Came a Duke, Chapter 13
“Then she trembled, and he forgot to be amused at both of them. When he eased back he saw that she was still pale, her eyes dark and clouded. Testing, he pressed light kisses on either side of her mouth and watched her lashes flutter.”
~ Nora Robert, 1996, Holding the Dream, Chapter 07
“When she looked up into his steel blue eyes and saw the promise of just how she’s pay, she trembled with anticipation.”
~ Jenna McKnight, 2007, Witch in the House, Chapter 13
“‘You came,’ she said simply, and he recalled that as she had coughed up water and trembled with relief in the moments after he’d rescued her, she’d whispered the same words. You came.”
~Sarah MacLean, 2011, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart, Chapter 06
“He glanced up then, his eyes dark and hidden. She tried to smile, tried to look back at him alluringly, but her lips trembled imperceptibly. His gaze dropped to her mouth and stayed there, his face brooding. She caught her breath. She did not know this man. Not really.”
~Elizabeth Hoyt, 2013, Lord of Darkness, Chapter 03
“She had trembled when he touched her. And for one moment, she’d thought his hand trembled, too.”
~ Sophie Jordan, 2014, A Good Debutante’s Guide to Ruin, Chapter 14
“Afterward Paul kissed her briefly. Although his mouth had barely grazed hers, a riot of sensations came rushing at Leah. She trembled in his arms and prayed he hadn’t guessed how strong her response had been.”
~Debbie Macomber, 1995, Stand-In Wife, Chapter 07
“It seems his wife had truly mourned the death of her father. Vander didn’t like how much her tears had affected him. Mia’s soft mouth had quivered, and he’d wanted to kiss her until she trembled all over for a different reason. The moment he’d realized she was crying, he had wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her until she cheered up.”
~Eloise James, 2015, Four Nights With the Duke, Chapter 16
“She wanted to run to him. She wanted to touch him. The effort of standing motionless caused her muscles to tremble in protest.”
~ Lisa Kleypas, 2010, Love in the Afternoon, Chapter 07
The Romantic Quill 