Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #10

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

This Friday I've started the following book:

The Shipbuilder

by Salina B. Baker

Synopsis:

In the summer of 1869, beleaguered for-hire killer Zach Dimitru arrives in Eastport, Maine, bearing an amulet and searching for absolution. His salvation is dependent on the Benoit Family, who are also pitiless and tormented. Zach's deliverance is reliant on Juliette Benoit. The young woman is grieving the loss of her soul mate, whom she believes has reincarnated without her. Miraculously, the amulet imparts messages to Juliette. The fate of both Zach and Juliette, as well as the town, depends upon her ability to learn and convey those lessons before the arrival of a hurricane--one with the force to devastate Eastport.


Book Beginning:

Prologue:

Shelby Rolle's hands shook as he threw his fishing net into the blue water.

Chapter one:

The storm pummeling Eastport, Maine moaned in sympathy as Helen Vickers struggled to give birth.

Children born during a storm tend to be strong ones. I hope this baby will be healthy.


The Friday 56: 

The amulet was her secret – her precious companion. She believed that its murmurings were an exclusive part of her psyche. Sissy's calim to hear the amulet felt like a betrayal.

Ahh, the mysterious amulet. I'm curious what 'murmurings' mean here. Do they hear what the amulet 'says' in their head? We'll see...

What are you reading at the moment? Please leave a link to your Friday post below!

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #9

 

Friday I'm in Love by The Cure is on repeat here at the moment. Welcome, Friday!!

 

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

 

Today I'm featuring my next read:

 

Hiding

by Jenny Morton Potts

 

 

Synopsis:

Keller Baye and Rebecca Brown live on different sides of the Atlantic. Until she falls in love with him, Rebecca knows nothing of Keller. But he’s known about her for a very long time, and now he wants to destroy her.

This is the story of two families. One living under the threat of execution in North Carolina. The other caught up in a dark mystery in the Scottish Highlands. The families’ paths are destined to cross. But why? And can anything save them when that happens?

 

Book Beginning:

 

They died, Rebecca Brown's mum and dad. 

 

It's not exactly a sunny start. I already wish a happy ending for Rebecca Brown in this book. It should end on a happy note if this is how the beginning looks like.

The Friday 56:

Rebecca went completely crazy. Everything to hand was used: books, a plastic alarm clock, a tiny framed fishing boat picture on her bedside table, a biro stabbing at his white shirt, a snowglobe which made its mark on his cheekbone, pillows desperately and fists finally.

Whoever the guy is that got the beating I have a feeling he deserved it.

 

 

Hiding will be my first thriller in a long time. Somehow I haven't crossed ways with this genre in the last couple of months. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Would you give this book a shot? 

Please leave your Friday links below so I can go and visit your blog to comment on your post.

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #8

It's that day of the week again!

Let's rock n' roll!

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

The book I bring to you today is:

The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant 

Synopsis:

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.

Book Beginning:

Prologue:

We have been lost to each other for so long. 

Chapter one:

Their stories began with the day that my father appeared.

In the prologue it is the reader the narrator addresses. I could feel an instant connection with Dinah, because she was talking directly to me right in the beginning. Then she starts telling her tale...

The Friday 56:

Whenever she saw running water, she lay down in it, hoping for the life of the river to inspire life within her.

Someone is very desperate for a baby :)

I have high hopes for this book to be good, so far it didn't disappoint.

What are you reading this Friday? Drop your Friday link in a comment below, please!

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #7

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

The book I chose for this week is:

Song of Blood & Stone

(Earthsinger Chronicles #1)

by L. Penelope

Synopsis:

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive--an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack's mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagrimar is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and its people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda's Earthsong to do it. They escape their vicious captors and together embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in thebalance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

Book Beginning:

 In the beginning, there was silence.

The book starts with an origin tale that describes how the world was created. I loved that bit.

The Friday 56:

"Jasminda, don't mistake me. You are like nothing I ever thought possible. Like no one else I have ever met. And I am glad of it. You are remarkable."

Jack is a caring guy. He admires Jasminda a lot, which I find adorable.

 

Song of Blood & Stone gets published on May 1st. I joined the blog tour therefore my review will arrive sometime around the end of April. I'm enjoying this novel immensely so far.

Do you think you would like Song of Blood & Stone? 

Please feel free to leave your Friday post links below.

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #6

 

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

 

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

My current read is:

Sawbones

by Melissa Lenhardt 

Synopsis:

Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest in this fast-paced historical debut.

When Dr. Catherine Bennett is wrongfully accused of murder, she knows her fate likely lies with a noose unless she can disappear. Fleeing with a bounty on her head, she escapes with her maid to the uncharted territories of Colorado to build a new life with a new name. Although the story of the murderess in New York is common gossip, Catherine's false identity serves her well as she fills in as a temporary army doctor. But in a land unknown, so large and yet so small, a female doctor can only hide for so long.

 

 

Book Beginning:

  

"I'll have some fresh ones on the morrow."

I pulled on my gloves and donned my slouch hat.

"I do not know when I will be back".

"No, no. O'course. Part of the job, idin't? Not knowin' where you'll be, what you'll be doin'. Hard on a woman."

"No harder than on a man, I assure you."

 

'Fresh ones' as fresh corpses. Our heroine uses her free time to widen her anatomical knowledge in a New York basement. It's clear even on the first page that men don't approve of her being a doctor.

The Friday 56:

"He was injured, my uncle, and Dr. Elliston saved him. Performed surgery out there on the plains with a storm coming. You should have heard Kindle's men sing her praises," Beau said.

Once she puts her skills to use, the hard men of the frontier start to appreciate her, of course.

I feel the author wants to make me like Laura a lot and that is exactly what keeps me from liking her. It is stated so many times that she is a brilliant physician, that she is doing the whole thing to save people, that she is tough... I'm not sure she has any flaws at all, and that makes her a bit too distant for me. 

 

Well, I'm still in the beginning of the novel, hopefully I'll see some charcter development here...

What are you reading this week? Drop a link to your Friday post below, if you like!

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #5

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

This week I'm reading:

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini 

Synopsis:

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.

Book Beginning:

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.

It is a foreboding beginning and it instantly creates an atmosphere, I like it a lot!

The Friday 56:

My legs ached and my neck was stiff. But with each defeated kite, hope grew in my heart, like snow collecting on a wall, one flake at a time. 

Such beautiful wording, isn't it? Mr Hosseini is a talented writer, indeed.

I'm curious about what you're reading at the moment, so please leave a link to your Friday post below! Happy reading! 

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #4

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

The book I'm currently reading is:

Pirate's Curse

Division 1: The Berkano Vampire Collection

by Leigh Anderson and Rebecca Hamilton

Synopsis:

In the Division of NOLA, Catheryn Beauregard fears her burgeoning magical powers. Hiding as just another slave in the home of the Hoodoo Queen, Catheryn hopes her simplistic powers will simply go unnoticed. And her plan seems to be working...until the Hoodoo House is attacked by a ruthless band of vampire pirates.

Captain Rainier Dulocke and his crew need humans to feed on. In an act of desperation, they beset the Hoodoo House and take ten slaves to sustain them. Rainier takes a girl named Catheryn for himself, but her blood is giving him terrible side effects. Still, he refuses to give her up. Even when the Hoodoo Queen demands her return.

The NOLA Division is in danger. The waters are rising. Food is running out. And the Hoodoo Queen is about to destroy everything that's left if the pirates don't meet her request. Now Catheryn must choose who will die: the humans who sold her, the witches who bought her, or the vampires who stole her. If she fails to decide, everyone could die.

Book beginning:

Don't breathe, Catheryn thought. If you breathe, you're dead.

I like a good in medias res start when we land right in the middle of a tough situation. The main character's – Catheryn's – life is already in danger at the beginning of the story. There is a good chance that the girl is a real trouble magnet.

The Friday 56:

Rainier kicked the body over the side of the ship but picked up the head by its hair and showed it to the crew. 

"Who's next?" he asked.

This vampire pirate captain isn't joking. That's just as well, because I expect the vampire pirates to be fearsome. Since they are vampires AND pirates anything less wouldn't do.

What do you think of these lines? Do you have a similar post? Please share it with me by leaving a link below.

Book Beginnings on Friday and the Friday 56 #3

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules:

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

Today the book on display is:

The Desert Spear (Demon Cycle #2)

by Peter V. Brett 

Synopsis:

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power.

Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not.

Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim.

But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure.

Once, the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before. 

Book beginning:

It was the night before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare silver had set.

Now this is a very unoriginal, generic beginning that the author can get away with only because this is the second book in the series. Partly it is forgivable, because he's already put something down on the table, but it still strikes me as lazy, not to try to hook the reader all over again with something more striking in the first line.

The Friday 56:

Neither boy had ever been so close to a demon, and while the sight filled Abban with obvious terror, Jardir felt only rage.

I like this line, because it reflects the oh so obvious differences between these two. Their story is one of the most interesting plotlines in this novel.


Read my review of the first book in the series, The Painted Man, by clicking on the image below!

Did you like these excerpts? What are you reading at the moment?  Please leave your comments and links below.

Book beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 #2

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules:

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

Today the book on display is:

Bohermore

by Jennifer Rose McMahon

Synopsis:

Like a punch in the face, eighteen-year-old Maeve O'Malley's visions knock her off her path. The pirate queen stalking Maeve in her dreams killed her mother years ago and now, the villain is coming for her. Maeve's decision to ditch Boston College takes everyone by surprise as she packs her bags, leaves America, and heads to the west coast of Ireland to chase her dreams – and end them.

Maeve uncovers an ancient family curse that refuses to remain silent until she accepts her predestined role in what many thought was only a legend. Her Irish history professor – a man she shouldn’t be falling for – is the only person who understands the origins of her torment.

Maeve's journey becomes a medieval treasure hunt through Ireland’s castles and ruins as she tracks the wrathful pirate queen who has her marked for vengeance.

Book beginning:

Clawing up the steep hill, slipping on loose gravel, I cursed the new rip in my favourite jeans as I vanished into the town cemetery.

The Friday 56:

"Did she attack yeh?" Paul's eyes were wide.

I rubbed my hands together to dry them. 

"No. It was only when she locked her eyes with mine that I knew she wasn't going to hurt me. But the feelings that shot through me – it was an overload of rage and grief, love and vengeance. It was everything. And then nothing."

Did you like these excerpts? What are you reading at the moment?  Please leave your comments and links below.

Book beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 #1

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules:

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56 % in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

The chosen book is my current read:

Penny White and the Temptation of Dragons

by Chrys Cymri

  

Synopsis:

Bishop Nigel smiled at me. ‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’

When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky.

As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires.

That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…

Book beginning:

Vicar arrested for drunk driving is not the sort of headline my bishop wants to read about his priests. 

Not indeed. This is an ambiguous start; this book could go down drama lane with a first line like this, but it does no such thing. So far it is laughing-out-loud hilarious.

The Friday 56:

'I'd better let you go.' Then he hesitated. 'I know this is bad timing, but I was wondering. The Odeon's showing the first Star Wars film next Tuesday.'

'Not The Phantom Menace?' I groaned. 'I can't stand Jar Jar Binks'.

'No, no the original first one. A New Hope. I was wondering... we could see it together.' 

There are lot of popular culture references scattered on the pages and I think that's totally cool.

What are you reading at the moment? What's your favourite humorous book?  Please leave your comments and links below.