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 Friiiiidaaaay and, as you might be able to tell, I am very excited about it. It’s been a long week at work and I am tired. I’m ready for a bit of laziness and, most importantly, tons of reading time. Speaking of which, this week’s featured book for First Lines Friday is one I’m planning on picking up this weekend! Funny story with this one, I saw the author tweet about it on release day and thought “Huh, that sounds interesting.” The very next day, I went to the library to pick up a hold and happened to find this book on the New Releases shelf! Felt like a sign, ya know?

Now, let’s see if the first few lines make me happy with my random library find!

---

The Line(s):

“The scent of death is sweet. A cologne of something chilling and saccharine – like spoiled figs, and honey, and mud. I know this because all my memories of Arrow’s Edge will forever be tainted with it.”

---

The Hints:

This recently released thriller is set in Boston.

It has a morally grey MC bent on revenge.

There is promise of gothic vibes aplenty!

---

The Reveal:

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist

Click the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page

Goodreads Synopsis

From debut author Kit Mayquist, a propulsive and atmospheric modern Gothic with all the splendor of The Great Gatsby . . . and all the secrets, lies, and darkness that opulence can hide.

Med school dropout Lena is desperate for a job, any job, to help her parents, who are approaching bankruptcy after her father was injured and laid off nearly simultaneously. So when she is offered a position, against all odds, working for one of Boston’s most elite families, the illustrious and secretive Verdeaus, she knows she must accept it—no matter how bizarre the interview or how vague the job description.

By day, she is assistant to the family doctor and his charge, Jonathan, the sickly, poetic, drunken heir to the family empire, who is as difficult as his illness is mysterious. By night, Lena discovers the more sinister side of the family, as she works overtime at their lavish parties, helping to hide their self-destructive tendencies . . . and trying not to fall for Jonathan’s alluring sister, Audrey. But when she stumbles upon the knowledge that the Verdeau patriarch is the one responsible for the ruin of her own family, Lena vows to get revenge—a poison-filled quest that leads her further into this hedonistic world than she ever bargained for, forcing her to decide how much—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice for payback.

The perfect next read for fans of Mexican Gothic, Tripping Arcadia is a page-turning and shocking tale with an unforgettable protagonist that explores family legacy and inheritance, the sacrifices we must make to get by in today’s world, and the intoxicating, dangerous power of wealth.

---

Did that first line capture your attention? Did it make you want to read the rest of the story? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!