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!
“Even though my throat was as dry as the stone walls of the castle, a silvery ray of hope kept me anchored in the center of the crowded dining hall. Courtiers pressed in all around me, a sea of golden hair and sharp smiles. But not one of them was my brother. And not one of them was his best friend.”
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I actually won this book in a giveaway! I hardly win anything so it’s always exciting when I do. Have you read this book? Did you guess right?
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies (submitted by Nushu @ Not A Prima Donna Girl)
I’ll Be the One by. Lyla Lee – this would be so cute as a movie. I think Skye makes a fun main character and it’s an uplifting story.
Fable by. Adrienne Young – with the right director, this one could be amazing as a movie.
Color Me In by. Natasha Diaz – Harlem, Black Lives Movement, identity – it’s the kind of movie we actually need right now.
Legendborn by. Tracy Deonn – this has the race issues but add in the King Arthur legend, mage magic, plus black girl ancestor magic and the South? YES.
The Black Kids by. Christina Hammonds Reed – The L.A. Riots and being black in Los Angeles are at the forefront at this book. I also want to see this as a movie because I grew up in the 90’s and it would be nostalgic.
The Unhoneymooners by. Christina Lauren – where have all the rom com movies have gone?! Seriously, I lived for watching rom coms and now there aren’t many being made. This would make a really good movie!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by. Sarah J. Maas – make it into a series that I can indulge in for a few years please? Haha! I want to see the Fae come to life. And see who they would pick to play Rhys.
The Cruel Prince by. Holly Black – I want it dark, with all the political chess games. Yes…definitely a series I can binge on.
The Bone Houses by. Emily Lloyd-Jones – zombies? Yes! This would be perfect for a Halloween release.
American Royals by. Katharine McGee – I would like to see some American royalty! And this story has so much drama, it would make a good series.
Patron Saints of Nothing by. Randy Ribay – would love to see some filipino actors on screen!
What’s on your TTT today? Leave me your link so I can check it out!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
“Hot, heartwarming, and hilarious…This is a knockout.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Award-winning, highly-acclaimed author Adriana Herrera delivers the sexy, modern enemies-to-lovers romance you’ve been waiting for.
Starting over is more about who you’re with than where you live…
Julia del Mar Ortiz is not having the best year.
She moved to Dallas with her boyfriend, who ended up ditching her and running back to New York after only a few weeks. Left with a massive—by NYC standards, anyway—apartment and a car lease in the scorching Texas heat, Julia is struggling…except that’s not completely true. Running the charitable foundation of one of the most iconic high fashion department stores in the world is serious #lifegoals.
It’s more than enough to make her want to stick it out down South.
The only monkey wrench in Julia’s plans is the blue-eyed, smart-mouthed consultant the store hired to take them public. Fellow New Yorker Rocco Quinn’s first order of business? Putting Julia’s job on the chopping block.
When Julia is tasked with making sure Rocco sees how valuable the programs she runs are, she’s caught between a rock and a very hard set of abs. Because Rocco Quinn is almost impossible to hate—and even harder to resist.
Thank you to Carina Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Reactions:
My Attention: it’s a quick read
World Building: Dallas, Texas with New York City nostalgia
Writing Style: flowed nicely, except for some typos (but this is an arc copy)
Bringing the Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Crazy in Love: Julia and Rocco are crazy for one another
Creativity: I like the Dominican representation
Mood: content
Triggers: abuse
My Takeaway: You can find love and make your own family in a new place away from home.
Julia is a confident, Dominican woman who is focused on the work she does with immigrant and refugee children. I liked her NYC pride even while living in Dallas. She’s doing her best to move on from her ex and making the most of life in a new city.
Rocco is trying to make a life in Dallas as an expat from NYC as well. He has a troubled past but he’s determined to live a good life and help his sister and niece as well. He and Julia connect on that level of being expats and for their love of family and friends.
Julia and Rocco are hot together. I mean their sex scenes were on fire! Their relationship grows steadily from co-workers, to friends, to lovers and more.
I like the Dominican culture representation because I don’t know much about it. But the author brought Dominican food to life and I was wanting to try everything they were eating in the book!
This copy is an arc so I hope the errors are fixed, but there were some typos that I had to reread to make sure and understand what the author was trying to convey.
This was a quick read and I wished I could connect to the characters more. I think I was hoping for more an enemies to lovers interaction but from the beginning they seemed like fast friends and not enemies at all. They are co-workers with Rocco being the person to evaluate her work, but still…they were friendly. I’d have love more tension between them.
This is a cute, workplace romance story between a sexy and smart Dominican woman and her co-worker. Seeing them get to know each other and flirt was fun and their sex scenes were hot! I love that they both valued family and friendship plus we get treated to Dominican and Latinx culture. Julia and Rocco are perfect for each other and they get their happy ending, as they should.
Check out this EXCERPT from Here to Stay:
Julia
I stepped into the elevator and shoved my phone into the pocket of my dress, took a moment to send a prayer to the employee discount that let me buy bomb clothes on a nonprofit worker budget, and did some mental math of what could be going on.
Was the program really in trouble? Could we actually get shut down?
Nope, I would not go there. I would not think about what it would be like to get on a plane back to New York dumped and unemployed. Not happening.
A distraction. That’s what I needed. Just as the door to the elevator was about to close, someone got in. The fact that I was eye level with the base of his throat was a good clue as to who it was, but when he opened his mouth and the now familiar knee-weakening baritone echoed off the walls of the elevator, I got my confirmation.
“Morning, Ms. Ortiz.” That voice could be used for interrogation tactics. Every muscle in my body loosened at the same time whenever I heard it.
I squeaked out a “Morning” and took my time lifting my head all the way up to look at the last person in the world I wanted overhearing my conversation with my mother.
Him.
Rocco Fucking Quinn, otherwise known as the “Team Leader” for the consulting firm looking to bag my job. The guy with the New York City-est name on the planet. I hadn’t exactly gotten personal with Mr. Quinn, but I picked up on that accent the first time we met.
“What’s good?” I really tried to sound polite, but my Queens jumped out in situations like this. I did not gulp, because I could not let this fucker see me sweat. I managed not to cut my eyes at him, but it was a close call.
I took him in, ramrod straight, every hair in its place, not a wrinkle in sight, and decided he could not be the proprietor of the laugh-choke from before. The man seemed to be completely lacking a sense of humor. I knew he must have teeth but I’d never seen them.
Yeah, definitely not him. That fact rallied my spirits a little bit as I stood close enough to pick up on how he smelled. Like the ocean and something woodsy. That was not helpful information.
Without saying another word, I ran my eyes over him. It struck me that he was not wearing something bespoke like pretty much everyone here. Don’t get me wrong, he still looked good enough to eat, but he was clearly on a budget. And at a place where everyone looked like they were heading to a New York Fashion Week photo shoot, it was sort of jarring. Still, the suit fit him well. And there was no question, this guy could wear the fuck out of a suit. I held back a whimper when I envisioned him in a Brioni or a Zegna. They’d have to put out a heat advisory for the building if that ever happened.
“I thought I could detect a familiar accent when I was coming down the hall.” His perfectly blue eyes twinkled at what I was certain was an expression of utter mortification on my face. He sounded pleasant enough, but he was also alluding to the fact that I was yapping on my phone. This wasn’t the first time he tried to be cute. Rocco Quinn seemed to like fucking with me. And it was only a matter of time before he stepped on my last nerve and I reamed him out.
Thankfully, just as I was scrambling to respond to his comment, the elevator got to my floor. I was planning to just leave him hanging and run off, but he was hot on my heels.
Dammit.
“Sounds like your mom misses you.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why did he have to act all fake nice?
I nodded without looking at him. “She does. Listen, Mr. Quinn—”
“You can call me Rocco.”
Nope, that was not happening. I was not letting this sexy bastard talk me into getting all chummy with him. I was already on thin ice as it was. He could keep his pheromones and his slick-as-fuck expressions to his damn self. I came to a dead stop a few feet away from the conference room door where my boss—and whatever shitty news she was about to give me—was waiting.
When I turned around, Rocco was looking down at me with an expectant smile. God he was handsome, that jet-black hair so dark it almost had a tinge of blue and those eyes, piercing. And I guess he had teeth after all, and of course they were perfect. Asshole. I shook my head hard when my traitorous brain started wondering what Pantone color his eyes would be.
Get your head in the game, Julia del Mar.
I straightened my back, determined to fight off the debilitating effects of those gleaming teeth and perfectly pink lips. I had to remember this niceness was probably his way of getting us to let our guard down. He was here to find ways to cut jobs. I was not about to mouth off and get myself fired, but I needed to get some things clear.
“Look.” I was proud of myself for not rolling my neck or pointing at his face. “I know you’re trying to be nice, but you make me nervous.” I pulled on the hem of my blue polka-dot dress and smoothed my yellow cardigan, avoiding eye contact at all costs.
“Why do I make you nervous?”
Uh, maybe because you’re here to close down as much of the foundation as you can.
I refrained from actually saying that because I had not been raised by a Puerto Rican man and Dominican woman just so I could act like I had no home training with the guy who could get me fired. But it was a close call.
“I’m sorry for saying that. You don’t make me nervous.”
Lies.
Rocco Quinn didn’t just make me nervous. He made me want to run my hands all over that big-ass body and moon over his almost but not quite curly hair and blue eyes, in spite of the fact that I knew he was out here gunning for my entire program. And yet, I still wanted to kiss the hell out of him while I climbed him like a sequoia.
Adriana was born and raised in the Caribbean, but for the last fifteen years has let her job (and her spouse) take her all over the world. She loves writing stories about people who look and sound like her people, getting unapologetic happy endings.
When she’s not dreaming up love stories, planning logistically complex vacations with her family or hunting for discount Broadway tickets, she’s a trauma therapist in New York City, working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Her Dreamers series has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and has been featured in The TODAY Show on NBC, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Library Journal and The WashingtonPost. Her debut, American Dreamer, was selected as one of Booklist’s ‘Best Romance Debuts of 2019’, and one of the ‘Top 10 Romances of 2019’ by Entertainment Weekly. Her third novel, American LoveStory, was one of the winners in the first annual Ripped Bodice Award for Excellence in Romantic Fiction. Adriana is an outspoken advocate for diversity in romance and has written for Remezcla and Bustle about Own Voices in the genre. She’s one of the co-creators of the Queer Romance PoC Collective. Represented by Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary.
Last week was rough. 😞 My daughter and I got into a fender bender – we are FINE thank goodness, but my car is not fine. I got rear ended from behind and then my car hit the car in front of me…so my fender and bumper got damaged among other things. My daughter crying freaked me out a lot…but I’m so glad we are okay. I had some tightness all over my body the next day but the next day I felt pretty normal – so I think I’m good. I’m just without a car until the insurance claim goes through and it’s a pandemic…so things are SLOW GOING.
And speaking of pandemic…
Our numbers in Hawaii went from 0 positive cases in the beginning of May…to a daily of 200+ this past week, our highest was 355! A lot of these cases are in the city where my parents, sister (and her fam), and friends live – it’s where I grew up. And my anxiety has been through the roof with the accident but then I had a friend (negative result thank goodness) exposed to someone with COVID and then my own family have been exposed this week also. It’s a stressful waiting game to see if symptoms appear or when they can take the test.
We need another lockdown in out state – people here got too complacent when we had 0 cases. We were so happy, we did a good job staying home then we started opening the state and cases exploded. Also school was pushed back a few weeks but we start this week. I signed my son up for online instruction and I’m glad I did.
It’s a stressful time and I just want to protect my friends and family. Put them in a protective bubble sigh…so no one gets sick. Hopefully we get that stay at home order soon. And I hope that guy’s insurance company calls me back soon saying they ready to cover damages – because I need my car. I don’t go out a lot, but just going to do something normal like buy groceries…KEEPS ME SANE. I only go to the grocery store anyways these days or to buy take out to support local restaurants. 😒
Please stay safe out there fellow bloggers and readers! Positive vibes to you all.
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!
“It was the feverish gossip of the palace maids that got Aidan’s attention. He was bent over the rubbish bin, just outside the kitchen. Straightening up, he flicked a vegetable peel from the collar of his uniform and stood in the back doorway, concentrating on the girls’ whispers.”
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And the book is…
Yes…the cover was what made me buy this book haha. It was on sale on Book Outlet and I just loved it. We shall see if I enjoy it! Have you heard of this book?
Categories: Vampires, Young Adult, New Orleans, Romance, Historical Fantasy
Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien.
Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn.
Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.
My Attention: struggled to stay interested
World Building: lovely world building of New Orleans
Writing Style: slow…writing is lovely, but to slow paced for me
Bringing the Heat: 🔥 – I was expecting more
Crazy in Love: not much of a love triangle because it’s clear who Celine wants
Creativity: I did enjoy the supernaturals and in this book more of the fey world is explained
Mood: mixed feelings
Triggers: blood, violence
My Takeaway: Family can betray you.
The reason I enjoyed the first book in the series was the lush setting of New Orleans. Once again, the setting is enjoyable plus we get to travel to another world, that of the Lady of the Vale (the fey).
We learn more about the past – we find out how vampires were made. We are introduced to the fey and we get to know backstories about a few characters.
I like knowing more about Celine’s past and makes me wonder about her future.
The secondary characters like Odette, Jae and Arjun stand out in this volume more than Bastien and Celine. I really got into Jae’s story.
I like the diversity in the book with the characters whether it be their ethnicity or sexual preferences.
I was expecting way more from this book (like WAY more action) but was disappointed with the slow pace of the beginning.
Bastien and Celine’s relationship was what was enticing about The Beautiful but in this one they are mostly apart…or try to stay apart. It left me with mild feelings and I was expecting a burning longing between them. There were some moments between them…but again, my expectations were high.
As much as I did enjoy learning about the fey…I think it took away from the whole vampire element – at least for me. It took off in a direction that was unexpected…and I’m not sure if it was a good surprise, at least to me. Maybe I’m still processing…
There are SO many questions still -Emilie for one hasn’t been dealt with at all. Also there is a cliffhanger…one that was shocking but, does it make want to read book three? Right now…I’d say no. But who knows how I will feel next year?
The world building is still lush, the cast of characters is diverse, and it’s a world of supernaturals from vampires, werewolves and fey. The romance is predictable since we obviously can see Michael has no chance in hell with Celine if Bastien’s around. There is a lot here to keep readers entertained but for me it fell short of my expectations.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Books I Loved but Never Reviewed
So many books come under this topic haha – I only started reviewing books last year and I’ve been reading book since I was eleven-ish? 🤔 I’m going to have to go into my Goodreads history for this one!
So I remember buying this book in Barnes & Noble just because it was about vampires and that cover just had me from the start. Black, red and white…yesss…haha. I don’t think I loved it right away because I wasn’t a teen anymore, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. I found myself waiting for the sequel…and then it just kind of took over the world huh? I remember buying the whole series and letting friends and family borrow all of them when they finally heard about this book. I didn’t even know some of these people read books, that was the reach of this series. I let someone borrow the series and it never came back to me.
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More vampires! I was so addicted to this series! There are so many kindle unlimited “academy” fast-release books out there from indie authors but for me it started with this series right here. Bummed the movie flopped but I think it would make a good television show.
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And my other obsession after Vampire Academy was Bloodlines! Alchemist unite…Sydney and Adrian were my faves.
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I mean what can I say about it – I’ve read it multiple times because I love the world building and world of the Fae.
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I love the whole dystopian, sci-fi aspect of this series and I gave the third one high marks because it had the romantic conclusion I wanted but the more I thought about and re-read it…I’m bummed about book three. It’s one of the reviews I have to mark down after reading it again. But the first books in the series had my heart.
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I’ve read this book multiple times. I love Edie and see what she goes through after a traumatic event.
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There is something about this contemporary YA book that I love – the whole pop star falls in love with regular girl trope is so much fun! It just made me feel like a teen in love with her favorite star…I mean, haven’t we all had one pop star crush in our lifetime?!
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Mafia love story – YES. One of my fave’s.
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Another book I’ve read multiple times but never reviewed and now it’s everywhere because of the Netflix movies.
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I’m not a big fan of pirate stories but this series totally got me into the whole trope!
In conclusion, there are a LOT of books I haven’t reviewed on this blog or Goodreads. I left star ratings but never bothered to input a written review. Maybe I should challenge myself to reread some of these. Except my TBR is long as it is…anyway what was on your TTT?
The first novel written for an adult audience by the mega-selling author of the Divergent franchise: five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons–and reconsider what it means to be a hero . . . by destiny or by choice.
A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.
Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.
Thank you to John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
My Attention: struggled
World Building: urban fantasy, Chicago
Writing Style: writing flows well, I just thought the beginning was hard to get into because it takes the form of an investigation/reports and that usually kills my interest
Bringing the Heat: 🔥
Crazy in Love: nope
Creativity: ten years ago, there were 5 chosen ones who fought of the Dark One…here they are on the anniversary still dealing with the PTSD of what took place in that fight
Mood: not feeling it
Triggers: violence, PTSD, suicide
My Takeaway: Heroes can come out scarred.
Sloane is an interesting, morally grey, character – she is spunky, blunt and angry. She’s dealing with a lot of stuff and mostly because she was one of the chosen ones 10 years who fought the Dark One. And it messed her up. She knows it messed her up even though her boyfriend Matt says this side of her, is “not” her. I’m glad we got into her head and thoughts.
The premise about what happens to the heroes after they defeat the bad guy, is an awesome topic to explore. Some of them move on, some of them suffer from PTSD and don’t know how to accept who they are after what happened. I really liked how mental health issues were on display in this story.
On top of the PTSD, these chosen ones became “celebrities” whether they wanted to be or not. They saved the world and was thrown into the spotlight. Matt navigated fame expertly, but Sloane despises it. I like how the author brought to light the issues heroes would have to deal with after saving the world.
This story is imaginative and different. I appreciate that the story is thought-provoking.
This is an adult fiction book but for me it reads like NA (New Adult) or even could pass for YA at times.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy is a challenging genre for me to delve into especially when there are a lot of flashbacks. It didn’t help me that the story unraveled slowly. The writing is good but it just didn’t hook me with the flashbacks.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.
Definitely a mood read kind of book for me – and I think I was in the wrong mood for this.
Overall, this wasn’t for me. I’m a fan of the author’s previous work but this one was too slow for me and the flashbacks didn’t engage me. I did enjoy how the story explored how heroes deal with the aftermath of saving the world. I think fans of sci-fi will enjoy this one a lot.
