TGIF, everyone! First Line Fridays is a fun way to share from books on your TBR.
Today my first line is from a book I am currently reading:
There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a day’s walk from the source. There were a great many inns along the upper reaches of the Thames at the time of this story and you could get drunk in all of them, but beyond the usual ale and cider each one had some particular pleasure to offer. The Red Lion at Kelmscot was musical: bargemen played their fiddles in the evening and cheesemakers sang plaintively of lost love. Inglesham had the Green Dragon, a tobacco-scented haven of contemplation. If you were a gambling man, the Stag at Eaton Hastings was the place for you, and if you preferred brawling, there was nowhere better than the Plough just outside Buscot. The Swan at Radcot had its own specialty. It was where you went for storytelling.
I’ve read wonderful things about Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, and I own it unread. I will absolutely get to it one day, and in the interim, I’m thoroughly engrossed in Once Upon a River!
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child.
Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.
Is it a miracle?
Is it magic?
Or can it be explained by science?
Replete with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
Please share with me the first line(s) of the book you are currently reading! I would love to read it! Have you read Once Upon a River, or do you plan to? Happy Friday reading! ~ Jenni THR
Happy to see you are liking the new Setterfield book, Jennifer. Happy Friday! My first line is…’So, 007 is dead.’ The book is Anthony Horowitz’s Forever And A Day.
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Thanks, Marialyce! It’s magical! I love the author you are reading- can’t wait for your thoughts one that one!
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Over on my blog, I’m sharing the first line from One Plus One Equals Trouble by Sondra Kraak! The book is FREE (limited time – this weekend only).
I’m currently reading Under the Same Sky by Cynthia Roemer. I’ll share the first line from chapter 23
“Where’d Mr. Bennett and Mr. Whelan go, Miss Becky?”
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Oh, that sounds so good! I really hope you have a great read with it, and that your weekend has been wonderful!
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I just started Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier but I couldn’t say what the first line is because I’m listening to it on audio.
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I hope you enjoy that! It sounds terrific, especially for an audio listen!
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Thanks!
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I really should have requested this! I loved her first book! Enjoy!💕💕
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Yes, you should have! I still need to read that one! 💜
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I am currently enjoying Manuscript for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land. The first line is “What’s the most fun you ever had killing someone?” Happy Reading this weekend.
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Thank you, Virginia! Oh, I loved that book, and I hope you are enjoying it too! So intriguing!
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Sounds good! I loved the thirteenth tale a lot!
On another note: The Red Lion pub in my borough is proper dodgy… nothing musical or magical about it 🙈😅
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I still need to read that one, but am so happy you loved it! And 😂 at your dodgy pub! ♥️
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So glad to hear you’re engrossed. I have a copy of this and I am excitement!
Lynn 😀
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Thanks, Lynn! I can’t wait to hear what you think of it too!
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Happy Friday!
Today, my first lines come from A Vineyard Christmas by Jean Stone…
The turnout was better than Annie had expected. It was, after all, a bitter, see-your-breath kind of morning, with a brisk December wind whirling around Vineyard Sound.
Have an awesome weekend and stay warm!😊💕
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That sounds terrific, Sus! How atmospheric! I’ll be watching for your thoughts on it! ♥️
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Happy Friday, Jennifer!!
My First Line Friday is….
NEVER LOOK BACK. That’s what Ben Blackwell’s grandfather, Big E, always said.
Taken from The Rancher’s Redemption by Melinda Curtis.
Have a great weekend. 😊
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Oh, that sounds good, Laurie! I’m looking forward to reading it! ♥️ I hope your weekend has been great and hope you are feeling well. Xoxo
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Thanks, Jennifer! 💕
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I LOVE that opening passage! I’ve been resisting this one, but I may have to ust acceot that resistance is futile! Waiting for your review… 😀
Here’s mine:
The vision of a tall-masted sip, at sail on the ocean, came to Deeti on an otherwise ordinary day, but she knew instantly that the apparition was a sign of destiny for she had never seen such a vessel before, not even in a dream: how could she have, living as she did in northern Bihar, four hundred miles from the coast? Her village was so far inland that the sea seemed as distant as the netherworld: it was the chasm of darkness where the holy Ganga disappeared into the Kala-Pani, ‘the black water’.
From The Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh.
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I’ll be happy to let you know! 😉 I think you’d like Elmet the book on Friday. Beautiful writing and full of tension. You may have already read the book, though, and I’m sorry if I’ve already asked you that. 😂 Oh, I’m intrigued by The Sea of Poppies and will definitely be looking forward to your thoughts. I hope you enjoy it!
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I haven’t read Elmet. I was intrigued by your review though, and stuck it on my wishlist. 😀 For some reason it sounded to me as though it was probably set in Scotland, but I see it’s actually Yorkshire – lots of similarities in culture between those two places.
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I love the opening to thirteenth tale!
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I need to read that one, too!
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Happy Friday!
Today on my blog, I am sharing the first line from Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson. So far, I am enjoying the book. I’m just starting chapter 4 in Gone Too Soon, so I will share it’s first line here.
“I don’t think anyone observed me sneak out the backdoor.”
Hope you have an excellent weekend!
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Oh, that sounds terrific! I’ll be watching for your thoughts! I hope your weekend has been good, too! ♥️
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Whoa! The synopsis is interesting. 😱
I’m reading Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor and here’s the first line:
“Kora and Nova had never seen a Mesarthim, but they knew all about them.”
😄
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Doesn’t it sound good, Marie? Oh, I can’t wait for your review of your book! I still need to read Strange the Dreamer! ♥️
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I’ll be getting to this in December and I’m so excited! It sounds like a PERFECT winter read.
I just finished A Lite Too Bright by Samuel Miller (it was a “current read” on Friday so it totally
counts! :D) and I’m just blown away by it. And the first line is a lovely poem!
“i always felt there was some Greater love waiting for me,
just around the bend of the orange horizon.
i’m learning now that the world is a circle, & what i thought
was ahead of me is actually behind.
but my eyes are open,
& i can see that i’m coming up on it again.”
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Yay, I hope we both love Once Upon a River, Kathy! And gorgeous first line as always. I won’t miss your review of that!
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oh I love that first line! It really draws you and makes you wonder about the world, the dwellers and all the potential stories that can sprout from them!
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Just in that little snippet, Daniela, it just makes your imagination go wild!
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I just finished reading this and absolutely loved it! It’s such a beautiful story! Really want to read The Thirteenth Tale after this 👏
https://eviejayne.co.uk
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That sounds wonderful, Evie! Thanks for stopping by, and I’m headed over to read your review! ♥️
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