Category: First Line Friday

10 March 2023

First Line Friday #275 | Spring Rain by Gayle Roper

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from Spring Rain by Gayle Roper, a book I bought and enjoyed in paperback many years ago, which I have just bought again as an ebook.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Sprint Rain

In this first book of the Seaside Seasons series, Leigh Spenser, a young teacher and the single mother of ten-year-old Billy, is thrown into conflict. Clay Wharton, the boy’s estranged father, comes home to Seaside, New Jersey, to await his twin brother’s death from AIDS.

Threats against Billy’s life ratchet the tension tighter, as Leigh wrestles with both tough and tender feelings for her old flame. Clay’s own conflict, as he seeks to come to grips with his brother’s lifestyle choices and the needs of the boy he fathered, underline the issue of God’s forgiveness in the hearts — and lives — of this modern-day family. An emotionally gripping read!

Find Spring Rain online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

3 March 2023

First Line Friday #274 | In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer, the second book in her fabulous Timeless series.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About In This Moment

Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever.

In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.

While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?

Find In This Moment online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

24 February 2023

First Line Friday #273 | Never Find Another You by Narelle Atkins

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from Never Find Another You by Australian author Narelle Atkins.

This is the first book in the new Trinity Lakes Romance series, set in the small Washington of Trinity Lakes.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Never Find Another You

Her heart belongs in Trinity Lakes.

Hannah Gilbertson has deep roots in her small East Washington home town, including a lake named after her family. Sporty and hard working, she loves running the rowing club and supporting the town’s water recreation tourism. She’s determined to avoid dating and becoming entangled in her mother’s matchmaking schemes, and she wants to prove to her successful father that she’s worthy of carrying on his legacy.

Joel Manning left behind his life in Sydney, Australia, and a broken heart, to start over in Trinity Lakes. A tiler by trade, he’s embarking on a year long working vacation adventure, and he’s not looking for love.

The handsome Aussie captures Hannah’s interest when she hires him to do repair work at her rowing club. Joel is drawn to the beautiful American, and values spending time with her. Their shared faith and love for kayaking lays the foundation for their friendship to become something more.

A shocking secret combined with family upheaval leads to more questions than answers, and threatens to push Joel and Hannah apart to faraway shores. Can their love overcome the miles between them?

A fish out of water, opposites attract, small town contemporary Christian romance. Visit Trinity Lakes and meet the fun and quirky characters who value family, faith, and happily-ever-after.

Find Never Find Another You online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

17 February 2023

First Line Friday #272 | The Broken Hearts Bakery by Carla Laureano

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’ve just downloaded my review copy of a book I’ve been looking forward to reading for ages, The Broken Hearts Bakery, the April 2023 release from Carla Laureano:

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About The Broken Heart Bakery

Fifteen years ago, the town of Haven Ridge failed its most important mandate—to be a sanctuary for heartbroken citizens in need. Now it’s getting a second chance to set things right …

When Gemma left her hometown of Haven Ridge, Colorado, years ago in a cloud of controversy, she swore she would never return. And she’s kept that promise, instead building her reputation as one of LA’s preeminent family law attorneys. But when her lifelong best friend begs her to come stay with her teen stepdaughter, Taylor, while she’s on a business trip, Gemma doesn’t have the heart to refuse. She’ll simply keep a low profile, do her honorary aunt duties, and be gone before anyone knows the difference.

But Haven Ridge seems to have a mind of its own, dragging Gemma unwillingly back into the community she’s tried so hard to leave behind and she soon finds herself caught up with new friends and old rivalries. When Taylor is the object of an ugly bit of teen bullying, Gemma does the only thing she knows how to do: ply her honorary niece with baked goods and words of affirmation. Soon, her temporary digs are ground zero for teenage girls seeking sugar and consolation for shockingly adult problems—which the girls soon dub The Broken Hearts Bakery.

Complicating matters is an unexpected reunion with Gemma’s high school sweetheart, Stephen, who is determined to change her mind about him, the town, and the nature of love itself. Because as it turns out, her niece isn’t the only one nursing a broken heart…

Find The Broken Heart Bakery online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

14 February 2023

Bookish Question #265 | Do you have a favourite “I couldn’t put this down” book?

Good question.

I don’t re-read books as often as I used to (back in the days before I had a Kindle, and relied on new stock arriving at my local bookstore or library). Now I always have an embarrassingly large number of unread books on my Kindle.

But if I think back to my pre-Kindle days and the book or books I used to read and re-read, then what book was so compelling that I couldn’t put it down?

The answer will be An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers.

It’s the middle book in her Mark of the Lion trilogy, which is probably the only trilogy I know where the middle book is my favorite. I think that’s because of the structure of the series : the first book (A Voice in the Wind) introduces several characters and ends on a less-than-happy note for one of those characters.

An Echo in the Darkness book picks up where A Voice in the Wind leaves off, and gives my favourite character the happy-ever-after she deserves.

The third book, As Sure as the Dawn, takes place in the same timeframe as An Echo in the Darkness, but follows a different set of characters. While I enjoyed their story, An Echo in the Darkness remains my favorite.

What about you? Do you have a favourite “I couldn’t put this down” book?

About The Mark of the Lion

Travel to first-century Rome in this classic series and discover what has inspired millions of readers worldwide. The three books in the Mark of the Lion series are packaged in a giftable boxed set.

A Voice in the Wind, the first book in the trilogy, introduces readers to Hadassah, a young Jewish girl captured and sold into slavery but still holding firm to her faith in God. Though torn by her love for a handsome aristocrat, Hadassah becomes a shining beacon of light in the darkness and depravity around her.

In An Echo in the Darkness, Marcus, a wealthy Roman aristocrat touched by Hadassah’s sincere belief, begins to wonder if there’s more to this life. As he continues to search for meaning and faith, he is led by a whispering voice from the past that could set him free from the darkness of his soul.

The trilogy concludes with As Sure as the Dawn, which follows Atretes, the high chief of a Germanic tribe who fought as a gladiator and won his freedom. As Atretes sets out to return home with his infant son, only one thing stands in his way: Rizpah, a Christian widow who has cared for the baby since his birth.

10 February 2023

First Line Friday #271 | Fatal Illusions by Adam Blumer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Fatal Illusions by Adam Blumer, which I recently picked up on sale on Amazon.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Fatal Illusions

Who Will Escape Alive?

An Amateur Magician, an Unassuming Family . . . a Fatal Illusion

Haydon Owens wants to be the next Houdini. He has been practicing his craft and has already made four women disappear. All it took was a bit of rope and his two bare hands.

The Thayer family has come to the north woods of Newberry, Michigan, looking for refuge, a peaceful sanctuary from a shattered past. But they are not alone. Little do they know that they are about to become part of Haydon’s next act.

Time is running out and already the killer has spotted his next victim. Who will escape alive?

Find Fatal Illusions online at:

Amazon | BookBub| Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

27 January 2023

First Line Friday #270 | The Hearts of New Cheltenham by Chautona Havig

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line.

Today I’m sharing from The Hearts of New Cheltenham by Chautona Havig, part of the Destination Christmas novella collection.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About The Hearts of New Cheltenham

♥ The only way not to break her best friend’s heart is to get someone else to steal it. ♥

It wasn’t a marriage pact exactly, but Crystal and Jarod had agreed to discuss the idea if neither of them had found anyone during the ten years post-college graduation. Just a conversation—no pressure or obligation.

But as the discussion date looms, Crystal knows she wants more from life than a nice existence with a best friend she isn’t in love with. Begin “Operation Find Jarod a Girl.” Phase one—well, she owes his boss thanks for that. A month off work should just about do it…if she can get him to agree to a month in New Cheltenham.

Jarod doesn’t see the point, but he’s willing to make the trip if it keeps him away from his family’s drama this Christmas. He didn’t expect to find someone like Ellie there, and he definitely didn’t expect to fall for her.

But with Ellie and Jarod hitting it off so well and Jarod becoming exactly what she’d been looking for, Crystal wonders if she’s made a colossal mistake.

A novella of love and friendship that defies a love triangle to interfere.

Find The Hearts of New Cheltenham online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

20 January 2023

First Line Friday #269 | Over the Waters by Deborah Raney

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m working through my to-read list, and the next book is Over the Waters by Deborah Raney, the 2019 reissue of a 2005 novel which I want to read because of the setting: Haiti.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Over the Waters

“Dr. Botox” to the bored rich women of Chicago, plastic surgeon Max Jordan is shocked by his son Joshua’s decision to focus his medical degree and talent on Haitian orphans. Embittered by Joshua’s sudden death, Max searches for resolution in the place his son called home—an orphanage outside of Port au Prince.

The selflessness of Joshua’s coworkers stuns Max. He is particularly taken with American volunteer Valerie Austin, whose dream of a tropical honeymoon has been crushed, replaced by a stint working in the impoverished orphanage. But Valerie’s view of Joshua’s sacrifice—and her own—challenges everything Max knows. Have the doors to his gilded cage finally opened to a freedom he’s never known?

Find Over the Waters online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

13 January 2023

First Line Friday #268 | Where Grace Appears (Orchard House #1) by Heidi Chiavaroli

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Where Grace Appears, which I recently purchased from a BookBub deal. I have read some of Heidi Chiavaroli’s previous books, so was thrilled to find she’d written a contemporary Christian romance … my favourite genre.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Where Grace Appears

Ashamed of being duped by her handsome psychology professor, Josie Martin returns to Maine too proud to admit her foolishness to those closest to her. As the one-year anniversary of her father’s death approaches, she seeks solace in an old friend, Tripp Colton, and a new business venture that will prove to herself and her loved ones that she is still capable of success despite her overwhelming failure.

When Josie announces she will not return to school to finish her graduate degree but wishes to remain in Camden to help her mother achieve a lifelong dream, the entire family gets behind her idea to open and run a bed and breakfast inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House. Even Tripp gets excited about restoring Josie’s great-aunt’s Victorian home for the purpose, but when Josie’s unexpected news is revealed, their friendship and the new feelings blooming between them are threatened.

As summer gives way to fall, Josie struggles with decisions regarding her family’s future, dealing with past mistakes she cannot run from, and her feelings for Tripp. When the opportunity for grace comes along, will she take it? Or will she continue to allow her failures to define her worth?

A contemporary twist on the well-loved classic, Little Women, readers will fall in love with the Martin family—Maggie, Josie, Lizzie, Bronson, Amie, and their mother Hannah—each trying to find their own way in the world and each discovering that love, home, and hope are closer than they appear.

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

6 January 2023

First Line Friday #267 | Kiss Me at Christmas by Sarah Monzon

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line.

Today I’m sharing the first line from Kiss Me at Christmas, a novella by Sarah Monzon. Yes, I know most people read Christmas novels and novellas in December, but they are the kind of lighthearted holiday reading that I prefer to read when I’m on holiday … and that’s after Christmas. So now I’m reading the Destination Christmas novella collection I bought in October (and which is currently on sale for around a dollar for the ebook version).

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Kiss Me on Christmas

Single mom Kaitlyn Stafford has never considered Christmas a balancing act, but when her sister calls with the news that she’s getting married in less than two weeks—on Christmas Day—that’s exactly what the holiday looks like becoming.

Helping with the out-of-state wedding will be fun. The challenge will be doing so while accommodating her neurodivergent son’s need to keep every single one of their Christmas traditions while they’re away from home. It’ll be tricky, but she can do it.

At least, that’s what she thinks before her son’s favorite YouTuber, Beckett Walsh, shows up on the scene, knocking her world off-kilter with his speaking glances and knowing smiles. How on earth is she supposed to pull off her balancing act when her world’s just tilted on its axis?

Find Kiss Me on Christmas online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.