Books: First Lines Fridays 4th September 2026
Ready for another First Lines Friday? It's that time of the week when we judge a book not by it's cover or even by it's blurb. Instead we will be judging it's ability to hook us from the opening lines. Let's see if this week's pick will have you adding it to your TBR list or not.
Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full
disclosure about all the legal stuff here.
I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves.
What is First Lines Fridays?
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?
- 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
- Finally… reveal the book!
My Pick For This Week
The first lines of the book:
Ryan stands in front of the house where his mother raised her other children, while he grew up in a home among strangers. Kind people. Mostly. But strangers all the same, who didn’t know how to love a child that wasn’t theirs. The red gloss door should have been his front door. Number eighteen. The same age as him.
Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!
And the book is...
Book synopsis for Not My Child by Jane E. James
Looking out at my dead wife’s family in the pews, I know I’m meant to read the eulogy that’s tucked into my pocket. The one that tells a story of the life I built with my wonderful wife before she was tragically killed in a hit-and-run.
But I decide to tell the truth. ‘I was married to two women. One I knew. And one I didn’t.’ Shocked murmurs echo around the church.
‘My wife left me a letter. She told me to destroy it once I’d read it and not reveal its contents to anyone.’
I grip the pulpit, my knuckles white. I see our two beautiful children sitting with their grandparents. ‘You might think me disloyal for going against Tara’s wishes, but I’ve decided to share this letter anyway.’
‘Starting with lie number one.’
Where to find Not My Child by Jane E. James online:
Have you read this book? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do these opening lines make you want to read the book?
What would you like to explore next?
Are you looking for your next favourite read, blogging tips, or a new challenge? Click a button below to dive in!
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Books: First Lines Fridays 28th August 2026
Time for another First Lines Friday! It's that time of the week when we judge a book not by it's cover or even by it's blurb. Instead we will be judging it's ability to hook us from the opening lines. Let's see if this week's pick will have you adding it to your TBR list or not.
Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full
disclosure about all the legal stuff here.
I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves.
What is First Lines Fridays?
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?
- 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
- Finally… reveal the book!
My Pick For This Week
The first lines of the book:
Nothing was going to ruin Ruth Davenport’s night tonight. Not even her leg. It was a good omen that it didn’t ache. If she could whistle, she would, and if her limbs were more reliable, she’d skip and hop up and click her heels together in a Julie Andrews, Sound of Music kind of way.
Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!
And the book is...
Book synopsis for A Match Made in Ireland by Michele Brouder
Have you ever wanted to press the escape button on your life?
Ruth Davenport writes about romance and happily ever after. But not from experience. After a heartbreaking rejection, she decides a change of scenery is needed. On a whim, she thinks Ireland is the place to go to write her next book. But when she arrives, everything that can go wrong, does. In the middle of the night, she lands on the doorstep of an Irish pub in the middle of nowhere belonging to an enigmatic Irishman.
Sean Hughes needs a woman under his roof like he needs a hole in the head. His policy is to steer clear of all women in general. Besides, he’s too busy running a pub and getting his dream business up off the ground. He has no time to be helping pretty tourists. But he needs some quick cash and she needs accommodation and a driver.
A deal is struck that suits them both. As they spend more time together, they begin to see the other in a different light. Can they overcome their fears and take a chance on happiness?
Each book in the Escape to Ireland series is a standalone novel and can be read in any order.
Where to find A Match Made in Ireland by Michele Brouder online:
Have you read this book? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do these opening lines make you want to read the book?
What would you like to explore next?
Are you looking for your next favourite read, blogging tips, or a new challenge? Click a button below to dive in!
If you'd like to support me, donating goes a long way to helping with the running of this blog. Thanks for your support 💗
Donate now
Books: First Lines Fridays 21st August 2026
I haven't done one of these for a while... are you ready for First Lines Friday? It's that time of the week when we judge a book not by it's cover or even by it's blurb. Instead we will be judging it's ability to hook us from the opening lines. Let's see if this week's pick will have you adding it to your TBR list or not.
Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full
disclosure about all the legal stuff here.
I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves.
What is First Lines Fridays?
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?
- 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
- Finally… reveal the book!
My Pick For This Week
The first lines of the book:
May 2020 Sims Chapel, TN They say our lives are written in the stars, that our fate is predetermined. But after the life I’ve lived, I believe that we are the authors of our own destiny, endowed by the Almighty with the power to choose our own paths, and, when necessary, to rewrite the stars.
Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!
And the book is...
Book synopsis for The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner
Who says you can’t rewrite the stars?
It’s 1962 when Tennessee-native Jack Bennett meets out-of-towner Ellie Spencer. He quickly falls head-over-heels for the young woman whose greatest love has always been the stars...until Jack. As their summer romance blooms, so does their determination to be together despite the circumstances that threaten to keep them apart. But just when Jack thinks their future is certain, their romance is cut short by forces beyond their control.
Twelve years later, Dr. Elizabeth Spencer, now a renowned professor of astronomy, receives a mysterious package. Inside is a novel about a young man and woman who meet at the water’s edge and fall madly in love over one magical summer. As she immerses herself in the pages, Ellie realizes this is no ordinary story—it’s their story. And hidden among the tales of star-gazing and stolen kisses is a detail that has her questioning everything. Seeking the truth, Ellie returns to the water’s edge. But is it too late, or can the love story Jack penned bring them back together in time to rewrite the stars?
Where to find The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner online:
Have you read this book? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do these opening lines make you want to read the book?
What would you like to explore next?
Are you looking for your next favourite read, blogging tips, or a new challenge? Click a button below to dive in!
If you'd like to support me, donating goes a long way to helping with the running of this blog. Thanks for your support 💗
Donate now
Books: First Lines Fridays 10th July 2026
Ready for another First Lines Friday? It's that time of the week when we judge a book not by it's cover or even by it's blurb. Instead we will be judging it's ability to hook us from the opening lines. Let's see if this week's pick will have you adding it to your TBR list or not.
Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full
disclosure about all the legal stuff here.
I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves.
What is First Lines Fridays?
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?
- 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
- Finally… reveal the book!
My Pick For This Week
The first lines of the book:
She sat, cross-legged on a worn oriental rug. Eyes closed. Palms up, a hand resting on each knee. Deep breath in. Long slow exhale. And another. And again. Nam myo ho ren ge kyo. Chanting these words until each melted into the next. Nam myo horen gekyo. Namyo-horengekyo. Concentrating, beginning to get in the rhythm of it, to recede into a darkness at the back of her mind when the sound of the buzzer broke through. “Shit,” she said, opening her eyes. “Shit.”
Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!
And the book is...
- ASIN : B0DCGJ5D5S
- Publisher : Porter Street Press
- Publication date : August 15, 2024
- Print length : 356 pages
Book synopsis for The Art Collector by Susan Bacon
A Warhol protégé, a Manhattan murder and a long-hidden truth
It is February 1987. Seal Larsen is a photographer, denizen of New York’s downtown scene and the subject of one of Andy Warhol’s short films. When she dies in a suspicious fall from the 15th floor of her Manhattan apartment building, her friend and neighbor, Emma Quinn, is determined to find out what happened.
A history professor at Columbia University with connections to the intelligence community, Emma soon realizes how little she really knows about her friend. Exploring Seal’s life, her work, her past, Emma makes her way down to Memphis and to rural Tennessee, putting herself at risk. It’s there, on an isolated 2,000-acre farm, that she begins to grasp the tragedy that defined Seal’s life and the truth about her death.
A sequel to The History Teacher, Susan Bacon's award-winning political mystery, The Art Collector is an intrigue, a puzzle, a plot-twister. It is also an exploration of the value of art and the people who make it and of the culture that fueled Manhattan's art boom in the second half of the twentieth century.
Where to find The Art Collector by Susan Bacon online:
Have you read this book? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do these opening lines make you want to read the book?
What would you like to explore next?
Are you looking for your next favourite read, blogging tips, or a new challenge? Click a button below to dive in!
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