Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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?Here are the rules:
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!
First lines:
“This house was made for someone without a soul. So I guess it makes sense that my mother wanted it so badly.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The House in the Cerulean Sea Publisher: Tor Books Publication date: 17 March 2020 Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy Panda Rating:
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
Note: The quotes below are taken from an advanced/unfinished copy and are subject to change in the final version.
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
Since last week, I’ve managed to finish 6 books! Three of these were novella length books in a series so they were pretty fast reads. I also finally managed to tick off a highly anticipated romcom from my TBR and it was every bit as wonderful as everyone said it would be!
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie ★★★★½ This was such a powerful and fantastic debut from Medie. I didn’t have any expectations going into it but Medie reeled me in with her witty prose and wowed me with how she brought Ghana to life. I felt so much emotion while reading this book and I became so invested in Afi’s story. This is one you shouldn’t let slip past your radar! Read my review
Fable (Fable #1) by Adrienne Young ★★★★★ Fable has been one of my most anticipated 2020 releases and it did not disappoint! Young paints a gritty cut-throat pirate ruled world and she doesn’t pull any punches. Fable is such a tough MC with a resilient spirit who I became so invested in. Unsurprisingly, I loved the found-family vibes with the crew + the romance was a satisfying slow burn. I’d definitely recommend it! Read my review
Empire of Lies Series by Whitney G. ★★★☆☆ It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Whitney G. and while this had her touch of steaminess, it was also a big departure from her usual–which she does state at the start of each book. It was a much darker read but I did enjoy the ‘big twist’ in book one as it did surprise me! Following that though, everything became predictable. While we learn a lot more about our MCs separately, we don’t get to see how their relationship grows so quickly, so I felt their romance was more “insta” and sadly underdeveloped. Overall though, I appreciated the concept and it was the palate cleanser I needed before my next read!
Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert ★★★★☆ Your eyes are not deceiving you, friends. I have finally read this book and it was just as wonderful as everyone said it was! I loved getting to know Chloe and Red. Their awkward and hilarious internal dialogues, their cheeky banter and the sexual tension between these two were absolute fire! They both had painful pasts that made them wary of any happiness they might find in the present but I loved seeing them grow and heal together. As has been mentioned by many reviewers, the chronic illness rep in this book is pretty great and I really appreciated reading a romance about such realistic characters. Review coming soon!
So, we’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is:Books that Make Me Hungry (They could have food items on the cover, foods in the title, be about foodies or have food as a main plot point… they could be cookbooks or memoirs, etc.)
Ooh, this is an interesting prompt and it’s one that I don’t think I’ve ever done for any of my weekly memes, so yay for something new! I’m a big foodie and can wax poetic about my favourite foods but I don’t think I’ve ever searched out a book because of food. Though I’ll admit that when there’s food on covers (especially if they’re bold/colourful illustrations/images) I’m much more likely to pause and read the blurb 😂
The books I chose aren’t 100% about food but they all made me hungry at some point, whether it’s craving something specific that a character eats or makes in the story, or other random dishes from the same cuisine. Just writing this out now and thinking about the scenes in the books I chose is actually making me quite hungry (and I’m now really looking forward to my next snack/meal) 😂
that secret crush – our hero is a chef who’s opening his own restaurant. he cooks for the girl he wants to woo. i was swooning and hungry while reading this book.
soudrough – yes, this book is about sourdough but it does go beyond that. the cravings for sourdough and delicious soup was so strong i think i ate this combo for a few days after i finished reading! so good.
wicked as you wish – the big scene with the filipino feast did me in. of the countries we’ve lived, we stayed in the philippines the longest (9 years) and for me, comfort food is synonymous to filipino food. the food scenes in this book are guaranteed to make you just as hungry as i am now!
pumpkinheads – this whole book was a big adventure through a pumpkin patch and it was chock full of delicious fall foods that had me literally drooling. i also blame the amazing artwork by faith for making the food look even MORE delicious. i swear i could taste and smell everything!
summer at swallowtail bay – there’s a lovely summer food fest in this book and reading about the various (food and drink) vendors really had me craving some of my favourite comfort foods from when i lived in the UK. Like pork pies, scotch eggs, bacon butties, pork baps with apple sauce… 😭
the ingredients of us – this was a bittersweet story that really tore at my heart. but the baking/food was a definite bright point of the story and well, it kind of made me want to eat my feelings 😂 i loved that recipes were included in this one!
the astonishing color of after – the descriptions of the food in taiwan were so drool worthy and made me incredibly hungry. i’m pretty sure that i ordered my favourite taiwanese street food snacks (thank goodness it’s a popular thing here) immediately after i finished bawling at the end of this book.
the particular sadness of lemon cake – yes this starts with cake and there are plenty of food mentions in the story but the lemon cake at the start got me. i love lemon everything!
the little wedding shop by the sea – this one had me craving the rich decadence of wedding cakes. the really fluffy, buttercream covered wedding cake goodness that i love.
harry potter – i know, i know… but i can’t not mention this book because the feasts! the feasts were mind-blowing. i still remember how awed and a lottle envious (and hungry) i felt about all the delicious foods that would pop up during the school feasts. just… UGH. i still want it! 😂
Well it has certainly been a hot minute since I did one of these (April was my last one)! But since it’s already the end of August and I’m actually remembering to do a monthly wrap up on time, I thought I might as well do it. I don’t know about you but August passed in a literal blink for me! I definitely don’t think that I did anything noteworthy this month on both the work and personal life front, and to be honest, if you asked me what I did yesterday I don’t think I’d be able to tell you. It’s been that kind of brain foggy month and well, I’m just trying to keep my head above water and keep moving forward.
On a more positive note, I completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge to read 100 books this past Saturday and I honestly didn’t think I’d do it because my reading has been iffy at best this year. Thank goodness for the blog tours I’ve been on because they’ve been keeping me motivated and have given me the push I need to stay reading. Not that I haven’t wanted to read, it’s just that my moods have been all over the show lately and as a mood reader, books don’t usually get read very quickly, if at all, in my current state of mind.
Saying that, this month I managed to read a total of 15 books, not counting the second book I’ve DNF’d this year! Yes, you read that right, the infamous ‘non-DNFer’ has DNF’d not one, but two books in 2020. Like I’ve said before, I’m taking baby steps to DNF-ing more books and well, it’s two more than I DNF’d last year so, yay progress? 😬
Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fable (Fable #1) Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Publication date: 01 September 2020 Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Panda Rating:
As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.
But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.
Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.
Note: The quotes below are taken from an advanced/unfinished copy and are subject to change in the final version.
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I’m finally doing it friends. This book has been on my TBR for what feels like forever and I’ve seen it hyped left, right, and centre and I’ve been so excited to read it but also scared that I won’t love it as much as everyone but my fears were unfounded.
This Sunday I’ve spent the majority of the day attached to my lazy-boy chair and my Kindle reading Get A Life, Chloe Brown. My heart can’t handle the feels. Chloe’s sass is amazing but RED. Red has won my heart ❤️ Started the book this morning but I’m already near to finishing it tonight. Now the question is: should I pick up Dani Brown immediately after?
Welcome back to another Top 5 Saturday! Just in case you don’t know Top 5 Saturday is a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and it’s where we list the top five books (they can be books on your TBR, favourite books, books you loved/hated) based on the week’s topic. You can see the upcoming schedule at the end of my post 🙂 This week’s topic is actually: detective books but I really wanted to do last week’s topic on Young Adult Books and I’m sad that I missed it. So I decided that I would combine the two topics this week to share: Young Adult Detective Books!
After making the decision to focus on YA Detective Books I realised that I wasn’t even sure I had (m)any on my TBR in the first place! Luckily, after a quick sweep through my Kindle shelves and my Goodreads TBR, I’ve managed to find a few. A lot of these are pretty hyped and popular titles although one is a much older release from 2014 but I only added it to my TBR last year. I’ve had the majority of these on my shelf for at least one year? So I’m hoping that I can get to at least a few at some point this year!
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly featurefor 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?Here are the rules:
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!
First lines:
“Ebenezer Tweezer was a terrible man with a wonderful life.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
dinipandareads 