First Lines Friday #35

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open 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 (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
  • Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!


Hello, reader!

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! This week, I’ve picked a classic that I’ve just started reading as part of a buddy read. So far, I’m quite enjoying it, which is unsurprising as it’s part of a series of novels featuring one of my favorite characters. I went into this expecting to enjoy it at least a little bit.

But let’s see if the first few lines can pull you in and make you want to read it, as well!


The Line(s):

“Linnet Ridgeway!”

“That’s her!” said Mr. Burnaby, the landlord of the Three Crowns.

He nudged his companion.

The two men stared with round bucolic eyes and slightly open mouths.

A big scarlet Rolls-Royce had just stopped in front of the local post office.

A girl jumped out, a girl without a hat and wearing a frock that looked (but only looked) simple. A girl with golden hair and straight autocratic features – a girl with a lovely shape – a girl such as was seldom seen in Malton-under-Wode.


The Hints:

This is a classic mystery novel that is part of a series.

There is a new movie based on this book that just came out.

It features one of my favorite fictional detectives.


The Reveal:

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BBNYA Finalist Blog Tour: Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire

Hello, reader!

Today on the blog, I’m participating in another BBNYA blog tour hosted by The Write Reads! And this one is featuring one of my favorite reads as a panelist, a complex and humorous fantasy that I ate up: Shadows of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire! First, let me tell you a bit more about the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where Book Bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website www.bbnya.com or twitter @bbnya_official.

The sign-ups will soon be open for the 2022 BBNYA competition, be it for authors to enter their books, or for bloggers wanting to be part of the new panel, so keep your eyes peeled!!

As a note, I received this book to read and review as part of the 2021 BBNYA competition and the BBNYA tours organised by the TWR Tour team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest. Now, let’s get into the post!


Book Details


  • Title: Shadow of a Dead God
  • Author: Patrick Samphire
  • Publication date: May 27th, 2020
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Age group: Adult
  • Content/Trigger Warnings: For a list of potential content and trigger warnings, check out this book’s page on BookTriggerWarnings.com

Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

Synopsis


It was only supposed to be one little job – a simple curse-breaking for Mennik Thorn to pay back a favour to his oldest friend. But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?

Mennik has no choice if he wants to get out of this: he is going to have to throw himself into the corrupt world of the city’s high mages, a world he fled years ago. Faced by supernatural beasts, the mage-killing Ash Guard, and a ruthless, unknown adversary, it’s going to take every trick Mennik can summon just to keep him and his friend alive.

But a new, dark power is rising in Agatos, and all that stands in its way is one damaged mage…

Third place in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off 2020 (SPFBO6)

Finalist in the Book Bloggers’ Book of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2021

Shortlisted for the Booknest Fantasy Award Best Self-published Novel 2020

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WWW Wednesday: Feb 16, 2022

It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.


Current Reads

  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Yes, I’m finally reading one of the darlings of the bookish community. So far, I have to say I’m glad I jumped on the hype train! This is such an incredible read, with complex characters and a peek into the glamour and awfulness of Old Hollywood. I’m swiftly learning that I really enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing because this book has absolutely captivated me.
  • The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri: Speaking of captivating, this book is just phenomenal! The setting is so vivid and lush, the characters are nuanced and intriguing, and the politics are capturing my interest. I’m loving everything about this story, so far, and have been thoroughly pulled into the tale. It’s a real struggle when I sit down to read on which book I want to pick up more!
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Top 5 Tuesday: Series I Need To Complete

Top 5 Tuesday is a fun, weekly meme that asks you to pick 5 books that fit that week’s theme. It was created by Bionic Bookworm and is currently being hosted by Meeghan Reads. You should check out their wonderful blog for more details and the list of prompts!


Hello, reader!

It’s time for another Top 5 Tuesday! And this one is calling me out. Why? Because I’ll be talking about the top five series I haven’t finished and I am spoiled for choice 😅 I’ve found that I am excellent at starting series and… not so great at actually completing them. I partly blame this on having to wait for new installments in ongoing series. Mostly, though, it’s because I get distracted very easily!

But enough excuses. Here are my top five series that I haven’t finished but really want to complete.


#1. The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Before we begin, I know that there is a complete separate trilogy that is technically part of the Mistborn series. I am choosing to ignore it for now! Mostly because I finished the second book in this series years ago and still haven’t picked up the last one. I don’t know why, either! I love Vin and the world of Mistborn! And every time I pick up a Brandon Sanderson book, I get completely sucked in. I’m gonna finish it this year, I swear, and I just know I’m gonna love it.


#2. The Great Library series by Rachel Caine

This entry is actually quite embarrassing because I absolutely adore this series and recommend it all the time. Yet I haven’t even finished it! For this series, I think I’m just not ready for it to be over. I love the characters in this series, I love the world, and I’m not ready to say goodbye! Still, finishing this series is one of my goals for 2022, so it’s getting done this year. I know I’m going to love it ❤

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Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Publisher: Berkley Books

Genre: Romance

Content/Trigger Warnings: For a list of potential content and trigger warnings, check out this book’s page on BookTriggerWarnings.com

Rating: ★★★★

Book Links:
Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding… six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

My Review


“Did you… Did you just kiss me?” He sounded puzzled, and maybe a little out of breath. His lips were full and plump and… God. Kissed. There was simply no way Olive could get away with denying what she had just done.

Still, it was worth a try.

“Nope.”

As you may or may not know, I’m still a relative newbie when it comes to the romance genre. I’m still trying to figure out which tropes do and don’t work for me. So I went into this fake dating rom-com with an open mind and, happily, it didn’t not disappoint!

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Down the TBR Hole #24

It’s time for a new round of Down the TBR Hole! This is where I go through my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf and do a bit of cleaning up. If you want to see the full description of what this post is all about, check out my first round HERE.


Hello, reader!

It’s time for another Down the TBR Hole, where I try and trim down my Want to Read shelf to something that is more reflective of books I actually want to read. We’ve all been there where we add books to our TBR and then completely forget that they exist, right? I’m choosing to believe so 😂 I’ve been doing these posts for awhile and, every round, I stumble across books that I don’t even remember adding. And this is why I do it! Nothing wrong with losing interest in a book, after all. No matter how much I wish I could, there’s no way I can read all the books that ever caught my fancy within my short lifespan.

That being said, last round I ended on the nice, round number of 730 books. And, shock of all shocks, my TBR is currently sitting at the same amount! Color me surprised! Let’s see what this round brings us and if I can continue to pare it down a little.


Stiff by Mary Roach

This non-fiction about what can happen to our bodies after we die sounds like something I would thoroughly enjoy. I love science, I love forensics, and I’m intrigued why this is also tagged as ‘Humor’ 👀 If I’m gonna like a non-fiction book, it’ll probably be something like this!

Verdict: Keep


The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

And here we have another book about dead bodies! Was I okay in May of 2017? This is more of a true crime non-fiction as opposed to focusing on the science, but it sounds fascinating. I’m curious how a true crime book from the view of a lawyer will read, so it gets to stick around for now.

Verdict: Keep


If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Oh, this one is definitely staying. It has Shakespeare and repellent characters and it’s a thriller! It sounds like it would absolutely be my jam. It’s also got dark academia going for it, so you know my interest is piqued. I’m honestly surprised that I haven’t read it yet!

Verdict: Keep

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Book Blogger Hop: Feb 11 – 17

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!


This Week’s Question

On average, how long does it take you to write a review?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

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First Lines Friday #34

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open 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 (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
  • Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!


Hello, reader!

We’ve made it through another week, which means it’s time for another First Lines Friday! This week, I’m gonna cut out the hints because I’m featuring a pretty heavy-hitter. It’s a bookish community darling that I’ve been wanting to read for A G E S. I’ve put it off for so long because I think I was afraid it wouldn’t stand up to all the hype. I finally picked it up to buddy read it with a bunch of bookish friends and, so far, I’m glad I jumped on the hype train!

So I’m definitely loving this book, but let’s see if the first few lines can make you want to read it, as well!


The Line(s):

“Can you come into my office?
I look around at the desks beside me and then back at Frankie, trying to confirm to whom, exactly, she’s talking. I point to myself. “Do you mean me?
Frankie has very little patience. “Yes, Monique, you. That’s why I said, ‘Monique, can you come into my office?'”
“Sorry, I just heard the last part.”
Frankie turns. I grab my notepad and follow her.


The No Hints!:


The Reveal:

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Book Review: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

Title: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

Author: Hallie Rubenhold

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Non-fiction

Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence against women, poverty, homelessness, murder

Rating: ★★★★

Book Links:
Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis

Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London – the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.

Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.

For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that ‘the Ripper’ preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time – but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.

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Blog Tour Spotlight: The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins

Hello, reader!

Today, I’m bringing you another The Write Reads blog tour spotlight! This time, I’ll be featuring a fantasy novel that sounds truly epic. Do you like your fantasy with knights and dark secrets, you should stick around and learn more about The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins!

I want to thank Dave @ The Write Reads and the author for providing me a free e-ARC in exchange for participation in this tour. It is, as always, much appreciated. Now, let’s get to the spotlight!


Book Details


  • Title: The Broken Heart of Arelium
  • Series: War of the Twelve #1
  • Author: Alex Robins
  • Publication date: March 16th, 2021
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Age group: Adult

Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

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