Welcome to First Line Fridays, hosted by Hoarding Books!!!
Happy Friday of a brand spanking new year! How’s everyone’s year going so far? It’s freezing here in Florida, bouncing between 20 and 30 degrees. There’s frost on the ground and flurries are in the forecast.
Since it’s Friday, it’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.
The book I’m featuring today is:
And the first line is:
May 1940
Lightning crackled, splitting the night sky over Paris, illuminating letters painted on the bookstore window across the street: La Maison de Amis Livres. Driving rain pounded the loose shutters of Shakespeare and Company, making them rattle so that Claire Stewart dropped the heavy blackout curtain into place.
Doesn’t that description of the weather make it feel as if you were there in Paris at Shakespeare and Company? I’m more than halfway through reading this fabulous World War II novel and I’m loving it! You get to see viewpoints through different characters that just give you a glimpse of what life must have been like.
It's Story Time With Van Daniker! 
It’s supposed to be summer here in New Zealand, but it’s rained for the last three days which isn’t very summer-like. On the plus side, it beats a drought and water restrictions.
Until We Reach Home is next on my to-read list … especially now I’ve read that evocative opening line!
I’m sharing the first line from The View from Rainshadow Bay by Colleen Coble on my blog – another great romantic suspense novel.
I’m currently reading Missing Isaac, the brilliant debut from Valerie Fraser Luesse. Here’s the first line:
A sleepy purple twilight wrapped around the farmhouse, its tall windows glowing with warmth from somewhere inside.
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Aww, hopefully, the sun will be out again soon so you can enjoy your beautiful summer days. That is a plus to not worry about water restrictions though. Hope you get the opportunity to read Until We Find Home. It’s quite captivating.
I want to read The View from Rainshadow Bay so bad. Hopefully, this year it’ll happen. I saw someone else post about Missing Isaac so it must be good! I saw it on a Goodreads giveaway the other day so I’ve been curious about it. I’m definitely adding that to my TBR now. Thanks for sharing and happy weekend Lola!
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It’s zero here this morning with a wind chill of thirty below! M staying in!! Lol
Happy Friday!
My First Line Friday comes from a book I’m reading now, Any Day Now by Robyn Carr.
So, this is what a new life looks like. Sierra Jones opened her eyes on a sunny Colorado morning to that thought.
Have a great weekend and stay warm!
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Oh goodness! That’s freezing! Definitely a good day to stay inside where it’s warm and cuddled up to a good book. Haha.
That’s a great first line. I’m definitely looking into that.
Thanks for sharing Susan and stay warm as well! 🙂
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I’m in Florida, too, and though the people I work with who have lived further north think it’s balmy, I’ve been freezing all week! 🙂
I love the cover of the book, and the first line has me wanting to read more.
My first line is from the Christian Young Adult book Bubbly Schnitzel by Meg Gonzales.
“Julia, this is a horrible idea.”
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Haha, I can definitely relate to that! It’s definitely unusual temperatures for Florida. I’m wishing that I’ve invested in some of those winter clothes that I thought we’d never need. Sometimes I forget that we do get some cold winters sometimes.
I want to read that book! It looks so interesting and I love the title! Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend, Phyllis!
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There are so many books I’m wanting to read and this is one of them! We are on day…. Oh, I don’t know… day 5 of snow, and more snow! I think we are nearing 3 feet of snow if not just over. After a foot, I kind of just quit measuring. I’m awfully tired of snow! I love spring!!! 🙂
Over on my blog this week, I’m featuring The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz (another amazing book!). My next book on the TBR stack just happens to be the feature book on Hoarding Books, so I won’t share an extra line in the comments this week. Have a wonderful weekend & keep warm!
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Yay! I hope you have the opportunity to read it! It’s really good.
Haha. My brother said the same thing because he just had the opportunity to see snow for the first time since he was a baby recently. My mom’s from New Jersey originally so she was teasing him. She was like, “He was so excited and when he finally saw it, he said it was overrated. He’s such a Florida boy.” Haha. Here, on the other, never flurried like they said it might. Mostly just freezing with frost and ice everywhere. So Florida is still a good place to avoid snow (just avoid North Florida because it’s snowing there). 🙂
Both The Lacemaker and A Song Unheard are on my TBR. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend. Stay warm!
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Adam Bryan pushed into the Magnolia Cafe and turned to wait for his younger sister Daisy. – Second Change Rose by Liz Talley (Christmas Roses by multiple authors)
Happy Friday!
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I need to look into this one. That’s a great first line. Thanks for sharing Caryl and have a great weekend!
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I’m looking forward to this one.
I’m featuring Valerie Fraser Luesse’s “Missing Isaac” over at my blog, but the first line of the book that is currently sitting in front of is:
“It was no surprise to me that I’d lost track of time.” (from A Song of Home by Susie Finkbeiner)
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Ooh, lost track of time doing what? Looks like I need to look into this one. Thanks for sharing Suzie! Have a great weekend! 🙂
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Happy Friday!
My first line(s) is from the Prologue in Susan May Warren’s new book Troubled Waters, which I finished last night:
“Oh, this was a bad idea. Epically, abysmally, horrendously bad.”
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That first line is quite gripping! Looking forward to reading this eventually. Happy Friday!
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I’ve heard a lot about this book. My TBR pile has become overwhelming at the moment, but I can add one more!!! 😁
Today, I’m hosting Oath of Honor on my site. I just started it, so I’m only at chapter 3. So, here I will share the first couple of lines from that chapter.
“‘Kevin!’ But with the doors shut and the windows up, he wouldn’t hear her whispered shout. She should have lied and said the place was covered in cameras.”
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Haha, I know the pains of a never-ending TBR! I thought it’s a pretty fun read. Hoping to have my review up by Monday. 🙂
Oooh, now I’m curious to know what that is about. That’s an intriguing first line. Thanks for sharing Nicole! Happy weekend!
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Happy weekend to you too!!! ☺
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I just started reading Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg and the first line is “Seven years shouldn’t feel like such a gaping span of time.” I hope you have a nice weekend!
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Love Melissa Tagg’s books. Enjoy! Happy weekend!
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This sounds like an amazing book. Let us know what you think of it. 🙂 Happy Friday!
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I thought it was pretty good. I’m hoping to have my review posted on Monday. Happy weekend! 🙂
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The description of the weather sends chill through me. It is awesome!
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It makes you feel as if you could feel it, doesn’t it? Happy Weekend Betty!
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Sounds so exciting. Love stories that take place in the 1940s, a very uncertain time period for many.
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I couldn’t agree with you more, Nancy. That’s one of the things that was fascinating about this novel. You have Jewish refugee children from France and Germany staying in England, all the while wondering what’s happened to their families they left behind, as well as praying not to be victims of the air raids going over England.
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I read a book a while back called “Ship of Brides” by JoJo Moyes that was base on true events. It took place right after WW11 and was about war brides traveling to England on an aircraft carrier. If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to check it out.
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That sounds interesting! I’ll have to look into that. Thanks! Is it clean?
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Meaning “unsmutty?” I don’t remember anything too risqué.
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I’m featuring Oath of Honor over on my blog, but I’ll share Life on The Porcelain Edge by C.E. Hilbert here — Tessa Tarrington’s life was in the toilet.
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I have that on my Kindle waiting for to read. Interesting first line. Thanks for sharing!
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Sounds like an interesting book – have a great weekend!
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It was pretty interesting. Have a great weekend, Sarah!
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Watching for your review, lady!
Death had a way of creeping up on a soul, and Ivy Thorpe was determined that when it visited her, she would not be surprised.
The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright
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Yay! I’m hoping to have it posted on the blog on Monday!
I want to read that book so bad! That first line gives chills. Thanks for sharing Beth! Have a great weekend. 🙂
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I love everything about this book from the cover to the blurb to that first line! I can’t wait to add it to my TBR pile! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Just take me to Paris right now….
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