Friday Fun - April 22nd, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

I read The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck. This was such a great dual-timeline book. I'm really beginning to enjoy this type of book. 

I'm in the middle of reading Then Sings My Soul by Amy K. Sorrells.

I also decided to start Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck after I realized it would fulfill one of my challenges for this month as it was made into a movie. 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck.

"This should be her night of triumph. To be the queen of her world. An acclaimed, bestselling, award-winning author with the literati bowing at her feet.

But tears snuck along the rims of her eyes, blurring the Manhattan scene slowly passing beyond the limousine's window."

Well Tenley wasn't having a great day it appeared. Feeling a bit of heartache here. 

Here is my book beginnings for Then Sings My Soul by Amy K. Sorrells

"Josef Maevski's calloused fingers pressed the brilliant-blue stone against the grit of the turntable as he tried not to rush. 

Just the other day, he'd held a half-polished piece of garnet the size of a small strawberry and as crimson red as wine. He had spent hours peering through the loupe, exploring and creating mental maps of the stone's grain, minuscule fractures, and ancient bubbles trapped as the forces of nature formed them."

It was like, oh-oh, sounds like he's getting ready to possibly ruin this stone like he did a previous one. I sure hope not. I was also thinking, I am hoping there isn't too much detail when it comes to the stone work in the book as it might get tedious.

And here is my book beginnings for Once Upon a Prince, also by Rachel Hauck

"What did he say? The storm gusts moving over the Atlantic must have garbled his words.
'I can't marry you'?"

Well that was cutting straight to the chase. From the back cover of the book, I knew this was going to happen, but didn't realize it would be the opening scene.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections.

The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck

"The guests offered slight head bows and practiced curtsies. Eli greeted each one. Alfonse was right, the lasses were beautiful. But he desired to see only one. Birdie."

The Sings My Soul by Amy K. Sorrells

"Jakob had grown weak, feverish, and even more scrawny than he had been when they left Europe. He could not move as fast as Peter, nor could he help but yelp as Mrs. McGafney pulled him by the ear to get him going."

Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

"'Angioplasty in the morning. I'll be as good as new. Too stubborn to die. Only forty-eight. Planning on walking you down the aisle.' In that moment, Daddy's eyes met hers with a clear focus. 'I'm sorry about Adam, kitten. You always wanted the one true love, didn't you?'"

Friday Fun- April 15th, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

I finally finished Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green.

And even though Dust by Kara Swanson wasn't one I needed to read for April's challenges, I needed to read it as it is way overdue at the library. I zinged right through it. Such a great book. 

Book two of the Heirs of Neverland duology is titled Shadow

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green.

"Meg's father was gone. Again. 

She stood in his empty room for only a moment, summoning her wits."

Okay, so this sounded like it was a common occurrence, perhaps Alzheimer's or something. I wasn't sure. But where was he and what could have happened. I know from the description on the back of the book that he was accused of murder at some point in the book, so I was curious about what was happening this early in the book.

Here is my book beginnings for Dust by Kara Swanson

"When did this fairy tale become a nightmare?
I slide my fingers over the worn little book, and the question surfaces again. Each textured hollow in the cover is as familiar as my own lightly freckled skin and chipped nail polish. How many times have I searched this storybook for answers?"

At this point I was assuming that the answers Claire was looking for had to do with her missing brother, Conner. What did she know about the story Peter Pan? Which is what I assumed was the book she was referring to. 

And here is my book beginnings for Shadow, also by Kara Swanson

"Falling out of the sky is far less fun than it sounds. 
One minute I'm soaring past the stars, barreling through a veil of color and magic and snatches of children's voices and whispered dreams-and then there it is. It spreads out below me in familiar rugged rugged curves that I know better than my own shadow."

I sort of chuckled at the simple truth of that first sentence.

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection.

Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

"Perhaps she only imagined it, but it seemed to her that her words brought a grounding to his restless spirit and a softening to the hard edges of his face. He looked directly into her eyes as if seeing her in truth for the first time in years. 'I'm here for you, daughter. I'm here for both of you.'"

Dust by Kara Swanson

"The pixie's wings beat feverishly, her body coiled to flee-and then her eyes flit up to my face and her tiny lips pinch to the side in recognition. She waggles her tiny finger at me, the soft tinkling sound filling the underbrush as she tells me off."

Shadow by Kara Swanson

"I take his hand and close my eyes and reach deep into the swell of light and air and hum of magic that beats deep in my chest like a second heart. The tether that I instinctively know how to find. The same pulse that tells me just how sick this island is. How exhausted and twisted and broken it is."

Friday Fun- April 8th, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

This week I discovered that the Seeking Justice series by C.C. Warrens was a continuation of the Holly series. The books are in third person point of view, from various viewpoints. The first is Injustice for All. 

Then there is the Christmas novella, Holly Jolly Christmas that takes place between book one and book two of the Seeking Justice series. 

Book two is titled Imperfect Justice

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Injustice for All by C.C. Warrens.

"He slid down the wall to the floor and stared at his bloody hands, horrified by what he had done. There hadn't been any other way, and he knew that, but the terrified look in the man's eyes was an image he would never be able to purge from his mind."

Well, that was an intense beginning from the viewpoint of a new killer. 

Here is my book beginnings for Holly Jolly Christmas by C.C. Warrens.

"Rain flowed down the truck's windshield in rivulets, causing the gray street ahead to ripple. Gus squinted, straining to see the edges of the road."

I wasn't sure who this was focusing on, but it is a scene from "Then," and I was wondering what was going to happen during this rainstorm and how it would play into the remainder of the story in present day.

And here is my book beginnings for Imperfect Justice.

"The bloody footprints materialized on the sidewalk as the rising sun crept slowly over the city-small, feminine, and uncoordinated. 

Liam's blue eyes lingered on the gruesome trail that had led him to the front door of a rundown duplex, his mind drawing details from the photograph in his pocket to paint the scene."

Well, I was completed confused about who this Liam was. I figured there was a new killer, just like in Injustice for All, but there had never been a cop by the name of Liam before, so I wasn't sure how it was going to play into the rest of the Holly books. 

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection.

Injustice for All by C.C. Warrens

"'Nobody's gonna hurt you,' Marx assured her. 'But if you don't settle down, we're gonna have this conversation with you in a jail cell.'

She spat curses that would make a nun faint, as if she thought screeching profanity would scare them off, but she stopped resisting."

Holly Jolly Christmas by C.C. Warrens

"She couldn't let him throw this opportunity away, especially not because of her. It was obvious that her presence was a point of contention. Mr. Gus didn't want her here."

Imperfect Justice by C.C. Warrens

"For the longest time, Holly was angry with her for her part in everything that happened. But she had to let that anger go, because she knew how it felt to be so desperate to feel safe that you would do almost anything."

Reading Challenges 2022 March Update

Here is what I read for my reading challenges in March:

For March, I read Hidden Current by Sharon Hinck. This is the first book in the Dancing Realms series. I shared my thoughts on Goodreads.

I was going to read a different book, but I realized Cross Fire by C.C. Warrens, which I was partway through, had a police car on the cover. Boom! Mode of transportation. You can read my thoughts on Goodreads.

I read Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren. This is the first book in the Sugar Baron's Daughter series.

I'm a bit behind on my March challenges, so I am only a few chapters into Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

Plus someone in my Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group came up with this challenge:

Pick which level you want to do and choose from these prompts! Happy reading!

Level 1: 12 books

Level 2: 25 books

Level 3: 50 books

Level 4: All 75!

I read 7 books in January for this challenge.

I read 7 books in February for this challenge. 

I read 9 books in March for this challenge (I can't count Keturah or Veiled in Smoke yet as I haven't finished them.)

Red: No clue

Blue: Have a book in mind 

Green: Read

Orange: Can be for more than one, need to choose

Read a book...

1. With a verb in the title

2. With an infant or child on the cover

3. With a tree on the cover: Forsaken Island by Sharon Hinck (my thoughts)

4. With a pink cover

5. Set in the mountains: Woman in Shadow by Carrie Stuart Parks (my thoughts)

6. Set during your favorite season

7. That includes your favorite holiday

8. With a building on the cover: Captives by Jill Williamson (my thoughts)

9. Published the month you were born: Bookshop by the Sea

10. That has a dual timeline: The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jamie Jo Wright (my thoughts)

11. Recommended by an author you enjoy

12. With little to no romance: Crossed Off by C.C. Warrens (my thoughts)

13. Published in 2022

14. That is a debut novel

15. Written in first person POV: Luminary by Krista McGee (my thoughts)

16. By a male author

17. Written by multiple authors

18. By an author who writes with a pen name

19. By an author who has multiple award winning books Relative Silence by Carrie Stuart Parks (my thoughts)

20. That is also a movie or tv series: Hidden Places by Lynn Austin

21. That you choose because of the cover: Daisy Chain

22. Reread a favorite

23. That makes you laugh

24. A genre outside your comfort zone

25. That has been on your tbr list for a long time

26. A book with multiple POV: The Tinderbox by Beverly Lewis (my thoughts)

27. Less than 250 pages long

28. Written before the year 2000.

29. That has a number in the title

30. Set in Asia or Africa: Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry (my thoughts)

31. Based on a true story or event

32. That is part of a series: Revolutionary by Krista McGee (my thoughts)

33. With a title that doesn't include the word "the"

34. Set during WWII

35. That is considered fantasy

36. A novella of a series you enjoyed

37. With a main character that is a POC

38. Set somewhere you've been: A Mosaic of Wings (first part set in Ithaca NY) (my thoughts)

39. Over 400 pages long

40. Featuring a teacher or principle

41. With a main character over the age of 50

42. A book that could be considered scary or intimidating

43. That features a game (chess, tag, board game, etc) or sport

44. By an indie author

45. With a title or story element that relates to the ocean

46. Featuring a coffee shop or cafe

47. With a musician, singer, or songwriter

48. With a dystopian or utopian theme or element: Anomaly by Krista McGee (my thoughts)

49. That is historical fiction: A Name Unknown by Roseanna M White (my thoughts)

50. With a main character that has red hair: Criss Cross by C.C. Warrens (my thoughts)

51. With a character that has a mental or physical disability: Cross Fire by C.C. Warrens (my thoughts)

52. A feel good book

53. A beach read

54. By an author who shares your last initial: Outcasts (my thoughts)

55. Featuring an artist, writer, or photographer: Fragments of Fear by Carrie Stuart Parks (my thoughts)

56. That includes dance: Hidden Current by Sharon Hinck (my thoughts)

57. That has your favorite color on the cover

58. With a rainbow or multicolored cover

59. Set at a tavern, inn, or hotel: A Stranger’s Game by Colleen Coble (my thoughts)

60. By an author you’ve never read before: Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren (my thoughts)

61.That is a graphic novel or has illustrations

62. A book that involves a fortune or treasure

63. With a fruit or vegetable on the cover

64. That involves a family feud

65. With the enemies to lovers trope

66. A book that is a best seller

67. With royal or noble characters: 

68. By an author who is no longer writing

69. That is considered women’s fiction

70. That is a tearjerker

71. Featuring a character that is in politics: Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren (my thoughts)

72. With a women in a STEM career field: Cascade by Lisa T. Bergren (my thoughts)

73. With a sun or moon on the cover: Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren

74. A book with a one word title: Rebels by Jill Williamson (my thoughts)

75. Written by a European author

Friday Fun- April 1st, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

This week I finished the third Holly novel by C.C. Warrens titled Crossed Off. Oh my what an intense book, but very very good. 

And I am currently trying to finish Keturah, the first book in The Sugar Baron's Daughters series by Lisa T. Bergren. 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Crossed Off by C.C. Warrens.

"Ash drifted down around me like snowflakes from the night sky as I watched the women’s shelter smolder. It has been my safe haven for nearly a year after I fled to New York-a place for my body and spirit to heal-and now it was gone."

After the ending of book two, and the cliffhanger, I just had to start this book as soon as I could, even though I still had other books I needed to read for various challenges, and because I have books due back at the library. When I read this opening, it was like it had gone from one chapter to the next as opposed to another book. Starting off right after another chilling, devastating event in Holly's life. I felt so hollow for her, knowing what she had lost and wondering what all she would have to endure in this book. 

Here is my book beginnings for Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren.

"In the hopes that at least one would get through, their father had sent three copies of his last letter from the West Indies; as it happened, his daughters received them all."

From the back cover, I knew their father had passed away as the book was going to be about them going to the West Indies to save their heritage. I wasn't aware the book was going to start with them receiving word of his passing at the same time they were receiving his letters. 

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here is my Friday 56 selection.

Crossed Off by C.C. Warrens

"Marx held up a hand. 'That’s close enough. You need to keep your distance.' His tone was bland, like he was just going through the motions even though he didn’t expect the man to obey."

Keturah by Lisa T. Bergren

"She paused beside the captain. 'I refuse to dine with a man who threatens me and mine. Either you have control of your crew or you do not. Do you?' This she directed to the captain."