First Line Fridays

There’s a reason the saying “judge a book by it’s cover” exists. But what about judging by a book’s opening lines? First Lines Fridays aims to get readers hooked on the first lines of a book BEFORE its details are revealed. It’s a fun way to step out of your comfort zone and discover new genres and authors.

First Lines Fridays is a feature hosted by Wandering Words. If you want to make your own post, feel free to use Wandering Words’ banner or make your own, and follow the rules below:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read, an old favorite, 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.
• Finally… reveal the book!

Don’t forget to tag your post with #FirstLinesFridays! Share a link to your post below, or just tell me if this first line makes you want to try out the book!

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When Elena told people she was a vampire hunter, their first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by, “You go around sticking those sharp stakes in their evil putrid hearts?”

Okay, maybe the actual words varied but the feel was the same. It made her want to track down and exterminate the idiot fifteenth-century storyteller who’d made up that tale in the first place.

Curious what book it’s from? Keep reading to find out…

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Age of Myth

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Bay of Sighs

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Allegiance of Honor

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: The Long Game

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: The Obsession

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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The Obsession by Nora Roberts

Hardcover, 453 pages
Publication Date: Apr. 12th, 2016
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 9780399175169
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

The riveting new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Liar.

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Happy dance for a new Nora Roberts romantic suspense story!! In general I usually like her series books better, but recently I’ve been feeling ready for a bit of a thriller vibe. But I’m also a scaredy cat so this will be good enough for me. LOL It’s like thriller-light. I really like the description of this story too. I’m really curious as to what these crimes are and what this little town is all about. Nora Roberts always writes the best small towns and makes me want to live in these places she creates. Can’t wait to get started on it!

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What are you waiting for this week?

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Flamecaster

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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Flamecaster (Shattered Realms, #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

Hardcover, 535 pages
Publication Date: Apr. 5th, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780062380944
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

A burning vengeance.

Adrian sul’Han, known as Ash, is a trained healer with a powerful gift of magic—and a thirst for revenge. The son of the queen of the Fells, Ash is forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos. Now Ash is closer than he’s ever been to killing the man responsible, the cruel king of Arden. As a healer, can Ash use his powers not to save a life but to take it?

A blood-based curse.

Abandoned at birth, Jenna Bandelow was told the mysterious magemark on the back of her neck would make her a target. But when the King’s Guard launches a relentless search for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna assumes that it has more to do with her role as a saboteur than any birth-based curse. Though Jenna doesn’t know why she’s being hunted, she knows that she can’t get caught.

Destiny’s fiery hand.

Eventually, Ash’s and Jenna’s paths will collide in Arden. Thrown together by chance and joined by their hatred of the king, they will come to rescue each other in ways they cannot yet imagine.

Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series a generation later, this is a thrilling story of dark magic, chilling threats, and two unforgettable characters walking a knife-sharp line between life and death.

Okay y’all I’ve been waiting for Cinda Williams Chima’s new series for like… 2 years. I can’t do it much longer!!! First, it is set in the Seven Realms world (my favorite of hers) and picks up 25 years from the end of the 1st series. Yay!!! I’m SO looking forward to seeing Han and Raisa again! Next, this new series feels similar in that it’s two major character viewpoints, and I loved the way she split the story the first time around. Things (plot-wise) also seem like they are going to get crazy really quick with these murders, and Jenna being hunted. Then there’s the fact that Chima’s just an AMAZING writer. She sucks me into her stories so quickly and holds me there with a death grip. And I love her for it!

Plus, have you looked at this cover?? Go on, I’ll give you a minute to stare at the pretty… *Deep breath and… Le sigh.* You know, I think I’ll just leave it at that.

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What are you waiting for this week?

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Rebel of the Sands and The Great Hunt

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Hardcover, 400 pages

Publication Date: Mar. 8th, 2016
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780451477538
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

“You will cheer for Amani the whole way as she escapes the bonds of oppression and finds her own power, and you will mark your calendar for the sequel.”—Rae Carson, bestselling author of the Fire & Thorns trilogy

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three.  She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power.

Mythical beasts, djinn, gunslingers, and a rebellion? Sign me up please! I’m really excited to find out more about the heroine, Amani. A girl embracing her power… and the setting sounds fantastic. I’m such a sucker for great world-building and I really hope this story can deliver the way it sounds.

And now, since there are so many wonderful books out there, here’s a second book I’m waiting for…

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The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

Hardcover, 416 pages

Publication Date: Mar. 8th, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780062381330
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.

I’m deeply interested in this story, especially the fact that it’s inspired by a fairy tale (my favorite!) And I like the fact that this seems to be a lesser-known one, instead of one of the biggies. It sounds so dramatic and full of magic and I’m already a fan.

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What are you waiting for this week?

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Truthwitch

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard

Hardcover, 416 pages
Publication Date: Jan. 5th, 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
ISBN: 9780765379283
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

(This WoW is coming out a little late in the day today, guys, but that’s only because I just got to play with the CUTEST baby on the planet! My little ‘nephew’ Will! Yay!)

Okay, so the first reason that I want to read Truthwitch is, honestly, because Sarah J. Maas (one of my favorite writers) has highly recommended it, and I will give most anything she recommends a try. But second, the blurb about the story sounds fantastic! I like the idea that this fantasy might be focusing on the friendship of these two girls, which is cool and a little different for the genre. I also like the idea of the “witchery” and that magic comes in all different kinds of forms and abilities. It reminds me in a good way of Graceling, and how people had various graces that gave them a variety of special gifts. Add in that dash of war and revenge, and I’m sold! Can’t wait to get started on this!

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What are you waiting for this week?

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“Waiting On” Wednesdays: Last Days

Waiting on Wednesdays is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we are excited for.

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Last Days (Ms. Marvel, #4) by G. Willow Wilson

Paperback, 120 pages
Publication Date: Dec. 1st, 2015
Publisher: Marvel
ISBN: 9780785197362
Add it: To your TBR Pile or your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads.

When the world is about to end, do you still keep fighting? From the moment, Kamala put on her costume, she’s been challenged, but nothing has prepared her for this: the Last Days of the Marvel Universe. Fists up, let’s do this, Jersey City. Plus a VERY special guest appearance fans have been clamoring for!

COLLECTING: MS. MARVEL #16-19, MATERIAL FROM AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7-8

I don’t know how many people who do the weekly WoW’s are comic book fans, but I have to say, I think the new Ms. Marvel is someone that all fiction readers can relate to and enjoy. Kamala Khan is the perfect heroine for our society, and I think she’s a wonderful representation of teens and Americans today. She’s got such a weight on her shoulders, yet she is written with so much grace and humor. The illustrations are phenomenal and I’m so excited to see what challenge she is going to face next. The premise gives me quite a bit of pause though… the last days of the Marvel Universe???? Noooooo, please, noooo!!! I want many more adventures with this awesome heroine! Also, that special guest… come on, it HAS to be my other girl Carol Danvers!?! Right? She’s only Kamala’s idol, and you know that’s who everyone wants it to be… You better make me happy Marvel!

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What are you waiting for this week?

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