First Line Friday #8

Still on a roll with participating in this post! Today has been kinda rough, for various reasons, but it was bearable, and posting has honestly made me feel a little better. On with the post!

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

The island of Gont, A single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards.

Any guesses? Here’s some books to admire while you consider…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin!

(Did you guess it??)

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Series: The Earthsea Cycle (Book #1)

Length: 264 pages

Genres: Fantasy, YA, Fiction

Publisher: Clarion Books; Reissue edition

Release Date: 11 September 2012

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world.

This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance.

With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings—but also unlike anything but themselves—Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature. They have received accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike.

Thanks so much for reading, and have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday #7

I’m on a roll with posting for First Line Fridays! One might even call it a (small) streak at this point. I’m not sure why I’ve been so consistent with this post, but I’m gonna keep at it nonetheless.

And, also: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! ☘️🇮🇪💚🍻

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Here are the first lines:

There is blood under my fingernails. I wonder how many of my people I’ve killed this

Any guesses? I’ll let you look at some books, while you think about it…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer!

(Didja guess it??)

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Series: The Cursebreaker (Book #1)

Length: 496 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Release Date: January 29, 2019

Book Description:

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

Have you read this book? (I have. It was okay. Will probably do a review eventually.) Have you read any of the sequels? What did you think of the book(s), if you have?

Thanks so much for reading, and have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday #6

I’m back, and it’s only been a week since my last First Line Friday post! Yay! A reasonable amount of time!

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Here’re the first lines:

The blade traced a slow line of fire down his face.

He desperately tried to cry out, to jerk away, but the hand over his mouth prevented both. Steel filled his vision, gray and dirty. Warm blood trickled down the left side of his face, onto his neck, under his shirt.

There were only fragments after that.

Laughter. The hot stink of wine on his attacker’s breath. A lessening of the pain, and screams – not his own.

Voices, high-pitched with fear, begging. Then silence. Darkness.

Do you know what book it is? I’ll give you a moment to think about it… (and admire some books)

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington!

(Were you able to guess it??)

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

Series: The Licanius Trilogy (Book #1)

Length: 736 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: May 9, 2017

Book Description:

A young man with forbidden magic finds himself drawn into an ancient war against a dangerous enemy in book one of the Licanius Trilogy, the series that fans are heralding as the next Wheel of Time.

As destiny calls, a journey begins.

It has been twenty years since the godlike Augurs were overthrown and killed. Now, those who once served them — the Gifted — are spared only because they have accepted the rebellion’s Four Tenets, vastly limiting their powers.

As a Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war lost before he was even born. He and others like him are despised. But when Davian discovers he wields the forbidden power of the Augurs, he and his friends Wirr and Asha set into motion a chain of events that will change everything.

To the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is. . .

And in the far north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir.

Have you read this book? The rest of the trilogy? What did you think of it (them), if you have?

Thank you for reading, and have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday #5

I know, I know – it’s been two weeks since I did a First Line Friday post. But hey, I was sick for the latter half of last week and the first part of this week, so it isn’t my fault.

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Here’re the first lines:

Down a path worn into the woods, past a stream and a hollowed-out log full of pill bugs and termites, was a glass coffin. It rested right on the ground, and in it slept a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives.

Any guesses? I’ll give you a sec to think about it…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black!

(Did you get it right??)

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Length: 337 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQIA+, YA, Fiction

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: January 13, 2015

Book Description:

A girl makes a secret sacrifice to the faerie king in this lush New York Times bestselling fantasy by author Holly Black. Set in the same world as The Cruel Prince!

In the woods is a glass coffin. It rests on the ground, and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives….

Hazel and her brother, Ben, live in Fairfold, where humans and the Folk exist side by side. Since they were children, Hazel and Ben have been telling each other stories about the boy in the glass coffin, that he is a prince and they are valiant knights, pretending their prince would be different from the other faeries, the ones who made cruel bargains, lurked in the shadows of trees, and doomed tourists. But as Hazel grows up, she puts aside those stories. Hazel knows the horned boy will never wake.

Until one day, he does….

As the world turns upside down, Hazel has to become the knight she once pretended to be.

Have you read this book? What did you think about it?

Thanks for reading and have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday #4

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last participated in this, but eh, life happens sometimes. (Like when your chronic illness acts up. Ugh.) But yay, it’s time for First Line Friday post #4!

First Line Friday is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by it’s content? It’s first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Here’s the first lines:

In the bloody decades before the year 174 of the Human Era, the Kyprish Isles were locked in strife. Rival branches of the royal house traded the throne on a number of occasions. In turn the crown had lost control over the warring houses of the raka, or native, nobility. Scholars said of those years that only the jungles prospered, for the trees and vines fed on the blood of the raka. During this time the Isles exported more slaves than imported them: victors sold their enemies into the Eastern and Southern Lands, only to enter slavery in their own turn when they lost the next battle.

…So, what book do you think it is? Any guesses? I’ll give you a moment to think about it. (And to look at beautiful pictures of books while you do.)

I lovely picture of an open book to admire while you try to parse the book the first line is from.

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce!

(Did you get it right?)

Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce

Series: Daughter of the Lioness Duology (#1)

Length: 448 pages

Genres: Fantasy, YA, Fiction

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: September 23, 2003

Book Description:

WHEN YOU GAMBLE WITH KINGDOMS, ALL BETS ARE OFF.

Aly is from a family known for great deeds. She is the daughter of Alanna, the famed knight and King’s Champion of Tortall. Even though she is bold and brave, like her mother, her true talents lie on her father’s side, in the art of spying.

When Aly is captured by pirates and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Isles, she strikes a bargain with the trickster god. If she can keep young noblewomen Sarai and Dove safe for the summer, then he will return Aly to her family. The task should be simple, but Sarai and Dove are anything but.

It’s a time of murderous plotting at court, and Aly will need to rely on her training and the insights of a strange young man named Nawat to survive in a world where trust can cost you your life.

First Line Friday #3

I started participating in First Line Fridays a couple of weeks ago, and I’m really enjoying it. So I’m going to continue with it, and really try to do it every week.

In case you don’t know, First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers that was (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by it’s content? It’s first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page

📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first

📖 Finally… reveal the book!

Here’re the first lines…

The Magician stood on the edge of his world and took one last look at the city. The spires of churches rose like jagged teeth, and the nightless windows of tumbled buildings flashed in the rising sun. He’d loved it once. In those lawless streets, a boy could become anything – and he had. But in the end, the city had been nothing but a prison. It has borne him and made him and now it would kill him just the same.

…So, what book do you think it is? Any guesses? I’ll give you a moment to think about it. (And to look at beautiful pictures of books while you do.)

another gorgeous book, this time focusing on what's in between the covers in one book only

beautiful contrast with some light and shadow, with one book's pages splayed open

a book and some coffee, can you think of a more perfect combination??

Annnd the book is… The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell!!

(Did you get it right??)

Series: The Last Magician (Book #1)

Length: 512 pages

Genres: Fantasy, YA, Fiction

Release Date: July 18, 2017

Book Description:

Stop the Magician.
Steal the book.
Save the future.

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Have you read The Last Magician, or any of the rest of its sequels? What did you think, if you did?

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day/night! As always, tune in next time for more bookish stuff.

See ya ~Mar

LINKS: Goodreads | Instagram

First Lines Friday #2

Good [insert your time of day here]!! I started partaking in a new weekly feature last week and I really liked it, so here it is again for week two! First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers that I saw over at One Book More, but it was formerly hosted by Wandering Words.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by it’s content? It’s first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Take a book off your shelf and open it to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Here’s the first line…

Dear Evangeline,

Eventually you will see him again, and when you do, do not be fooled by him.

Ooh, what book could it be…? Here’s some pictures of lovely books to stare at while you think.

And the book is… The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber!

(Did you get it right?)

first lines friday - the ballad of never after

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart (Book #2)

Length: 403 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

Release Date: September 13, 2022

Book Description:

Stephanie Garber’s The Ballad of Never After is the fiercely-anticipated sequel to the Once Upon a Broken Heart, starring Evangeline Fox and the Prince of Hearts on a new journey of magic, mystery, and heartbreak

Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she’ll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can….

I’ve been looking forward to reading this since I read the first one a year ago. Now, I haven’t ever read the Caraval trilogy, but this new spin-off intrigued me. It really seemed like my type of book, even though I’ve never had any interest in Caraval or its sequels.

And I ended up really, really liking Once Upon a Broken Heart. It just hit a lot of the stuff that I like in romance. It also had a relatively unlikable protagonist, but she grew bit by bit as a character throughout the novel. And I love it when characters are like that, and I don’t see it that often because it’s hard to pull off well.

But yeah, I’m pretty freaking excited to read the sequel, but I kinda pushed it back on my TBR because of other stuff. But I’m definitely still planning to read it and soon – hopefully in time for a Valentine’s Day post or before!

As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I’ll see y’all on the flip side for more bookish things! (As well as another First Lines Friday next week!)

~ Mar ~

First Line Friday #1

I was looking for a fun Friday post to do, and after discovering First Lines Fridays, I knew it was the one. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words (I don’t know why I posted the link, it’s defunct… 😳😣), but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by it’s content? It’s first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Here’s the first line…

Her satellite made one full orbit around planet Earth every sixteen hours. It was a prison that came with endlessly breathtaking views – vast blue oceans and swirling clouds and sunrises that set half the world on fire.

Can you guess what book it is?

(Here’s some pictures of books to stare at while you think.)

And the book is… Cress by Marissa Meyer!

(Did you get it right?)

Title & Author: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book #3)

Length: 552 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, YA, Fiction

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Description:

In this third book in Marissa Meyer’s bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she’s just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she’d ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

I’ve been trying to finish this book for years. Like, the first time I tried to read it, there was a personal life issue that came up, and the second time (last year) life just kinda got in the way (in a different way than the first time).

This time I’m 66% of the way through it, and I’m determined to finish it. It’s one of the three books I’ve marked as Currently Reading (the other two being A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik) on Goodreads and The StoryGraph. Let’s hope that I can finally finish it, cuz I really want to finish The Lunar Chronicles and see how the series ends.

What book are you currently reading, or looking to read next? What are your favorite first lines, and from which book? Thanks for reading and have an amazing day/night!

~ Mar ~