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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!

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Hello, reader!

Happy Friday! Even though I’m working this weekend, I’m excited that the end of the week has finally arrived. Mostly because I’m one day closer to my oldest kiddo coming home from visiting her dad for the summer. The house just seems a little empty without her here. I’m also excited that it’s time for another First Lines Friday!

This week, I’m featuring a book in which I’ve found myself completely immersed! It has led to quite a few late reading nights and I suspect more will come before I’m finished. The first few lines certainly managed to pull me in. Now let’s see if they’ll spark your interest!

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The Line(s):

“Father told me I’m broken.

He didn’t speak this disappointment when I answered his question. But he said it with narrowed eyes, the way he sucked on his already hollow cheeks, the way the left side of his lips twitched a little bit down, the movement almost hidden by his beard.

He taught me how to read a person’s thoughts on their face. And he knew that I knew how to read these signs. So between us, it was as though he had spoken out loud.”

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The Hints:

This is the first book in a new fantasy series.

The magic system centers around bones.

It has one of the best animal companions I’ve read in awhile!

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The Reveal:

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Click the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page

Goodreads Synopsis

Magic. Revolution. Identity.

The Emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.

Lin is the Emperor’s daughter and she spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.

The Bone Shard Daughter is an unmissable fantasy debut – a captivating tale of magic, revolution and mystery, where a young woman’s sense of identity will make or break an empire.

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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!