Friday Fun - August 28, 2026

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with four different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays, the Friday 56, First Line Friday, and Book Blogger Hop.

This week I don't have a new book to share with you. I am trying to get through the last three books I shared about, but we've had a lot going on. But, I thought I would share some First Line Friday graphics for these recently released books, plus the one that will be released in a week and a half.

The One I Never Forgot by Mandy Boerma releases on September 8th.

Braving Red Waters by Sarah Hanks released on August 26th.

Everlasting Love by Latisha Sexton released on August 25th.

        Book Beginnings on Friday    

 

(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.)

and

First Line Friday

(Please join Carrie for First Line Friday.)

Here are my Book Beginnings/First Line Friday selections:

 The One I Never Forgot by Mandy Boerma:

"Tilly Langston's mother had always said someone could put lipstick on a pig, but it would still be a pig."

Braving Red Waters by Sarah Hanks:

"Miles Sutton stuck to the shadows as he crept around the brick town house."

Everlasting Love by Latisha Sexton:

"I was only four years old when Mama died, leaving me with nothing but pictures, faded memories, and a stack of handwritten letters addressed to me."

Now for:

The Friday 56 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Anne from My Head is Full of Books. 

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:

The One I Never Forgot by Mandy Boerma:

"A warmth spread through Tilly. Her family was pretty great. Large. Loud. All very different, but the fact they loved each other was obvious.

And it was fun to see Ethan stepping into a protective role. He'd make someone a good husband. . . someday."

Braving Red Waters by Sarah Hanks:

"'She should be helping more. With nursing duties, I mean.'

'Do you know why I specifically requested her to come on board as a nurse on the Red Rover?'

She'd asked herself that very question several times. 'I'm sure she's an excellent nurse when she puts her mind to it.'

'I've never met a more compassionate, beautiful soul.'

'Yes, she's very kind. I don't mean to negate that, it's just --'

'You efficient. But you lack what these poor patients need most.'

She blinked back at him. Lacked what they needed most?

'Compassion, Miss Bristow. You're sorely lacking in that area.'"

Everlasting Love by Latisha Sexton:

"The silence was louder than artillery rounds being fired at me on the battlefield. I stared at the ceiling, wondering where Haley had gone. I shouldn't have yelled at her like that. I shouldn't have sent her away when she was drunk and high.

A weary sigh bled out of me as I glanced at my phone. I'd texted her and even called several times, with no response. Not that I expected her to answer, but I was worried about her."

Book Blogger Hop.

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Billy over at Ranblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer. The hop occurs weekly, starting on Friday and ending the following Thursday, featuring a specific book-related prompt each week. The main goal is to connect bloggers, encouraging them to follow each other, discover new titles, and grow their audience.

This week's question is: What grabs you and keeps you hooked in a book?

My answer:  Well, I love suspense, so definitely if the book gets right into the suspense and it doesn't let up. But also, if there is a wrong that needs to be made right. Someone being falsely accused of something. Stuff like that.