Category: First Line Friday

4 July 2025

First Line Friday #398 | Faithfully Devoted, Jacob (Scripted Love #6) by Emily Dana Botrous

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m sharing from Faithfully Devoted, Jacob by Emily Dana Botrous, the final book in her Scripted Love contemporary Christian romance series.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About Faithfully Devoted, Jacob

He has no memories. She fears the things he can’t remember. Can a lost past become the key to their future?

When Jacob Halverson wakes up in the hospital, he doesn’t know where he is. Worse yet, he doesn’t know who he is—or the woman claiming to be his wife of forty-two years. But when she’s at his side, he feels like everything will be okay.

Arlene Halverson never imagined her husband could forget her. Now she is tasked with filling in the blanks of an entire lifetime for Jacob, reminding him of their life together, the family they built, and the love they share.

With the help of old love letters, Arlene journeys through time at Jacob’s bedside, visiting memories both painful and poignant. Together they search to find the reason Jacob hid his illness from her while Arlene finds the courage to share her greatest mistake in hopes Jacob can forgive her a second time.

Will Jacob choose to trust God with an uncertain future? And can Arlene trust Jacob with the past—again

Find Faithfully Devoted, Jacob 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 June 2025

First Line Friday #397 | His Surprise Return by Kayla Tirrell

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 His Surprise Return by Kayla Tirrell, a new-to-me author. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About His Surprise Return

Ever since her husband died, Erin’s been doing her best to make ends meet and provide a normal life for her children. She thinks she might be getting close until a familiar face from her past shows up and sends everything crashing back down.

Logan ran away from his hometown years ago with no intention of ever returning. Now, he’s back to fix up the house he grew up in and get it ready to sell before leaving for good. He never thought he’d find Erin living there—a shell of the woman she used to be.

Spending time together for the first time in years, Erin and Logan reminisce on happy memories while creating new ones. They both feel a pull toward one another but with such different plans for their futures, can they find one together?

His Surprise Return is a faith-filled romance that will make you believe in second chances and remind you of God’s faithfulness even in the darkest of storms.

Originally published under the title Their Second Chance at Love.

Find His Surprise Return 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 June 2025

First Line Friday #396 | The Billionaire’s Nanny by Elizabeth Maddrey

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 The Billionaire’s Nanny by Elizabeth Maddrey, the first book in her Billionaire Next Door series. I’ve read (and loved) most of the others, so don’t know how I managed to miss this one …

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About The Billionaire’s Nanny

When I convinced my friends to join me in a scheme to play the stock market, it paid off beyond our expectations. Honestly, most days I don’t even remember that I’m a billionaire. But it was big news for my family. In fact, my cousin made me guardian of her son in the event something happened to her.

At face value, it sounds kind of nice.

But I never really knew my cousin.

And I only found out about her decision a week before the kid showed up on my doorstep.

Thankfully, the woman who brought the boy out to me on the plane is willing to stay and be his nanny.

Since all the local daycares have a waiting list, I don’t have the luxury of being picky. Maybe I have reservations about sharing my home with a beautiful woman, but it’s a completely professional relationship.

She’s going to look after the kid.

I’m going to look after my heart.

Find The Billionaire’s Nanny 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 June 2025

First Line Friday #395 |The Backpack Bride by Dulcie Dameron

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 Backpack Bride, a modern marriage of convenience story by new-to-me author Dulcie Dameron. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About The Backpack Bride

Marry a stranger, adopt my nephew. Sounds easy enough…right?

Roxy:

After my brother’s untimely death, I’m left brokenhearted and fighting for a teenage nephew who doesn’t seem to care whether he’s out on the streets or tucked into bed at night.

Maybe I’m not the most responsible person to raise Axel, but I’m all he has left. I would do anything, even sacrifice my future, in order to gain permanent custody of him. Which is why I take Christian Price up on his crazy offer.

But I never could have known that agreeing to a marriage of convenience with my hot billionaire boss would also satisfy my year-long crush on the biker boy of my dreams.

Christian:

Aside from my online alter ego, all I’ve ever wanted to do was take over the family business. So why, when that goal is finally within reach, does my dad slap me with some manipulative bogus contract?

No loving father in his right mind would tell his overqualified son that he can’t inherit their family’s legacy until he’s settled down with a wife and gives proof that he’s committed to providing an heir to pass the company on to someday.

Then I find the solution herself crying in the supply room at work, and everything falls into place. There’s just one complication: my contractual marriage to Roxy quickly turns into way more than I bargained for…and something I don’t think I can give up.

Find The Backpack Bride 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!

6 June 2025

First Line Friday #394 | How to Kiss a Guy in Ten Days by Liwen Y Ho

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 How to Kiss a Guy in Ten Days by Liwen Y Ho. It’s the first book in her Young Adult Edenvale Arts Academy series … which apparently released in 2020, yet I’ve only just discovered it.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About How to Kiss a Guy in Ten Days

I never expected a fake relationship to give me a chance to be loved for who I really am.

Hannah

When my family went broke, I lost everything. My friends. My school. Even my “perfect” boyfriend suddenly decided that now was the perfect time to take a break.

But I have the ultimate opportunity to show him just what he’s been missing. And maybe even win him back.

I just need a little help from the cute new guy at school.

Seth

When Hannah Mitchell asks me to be her fake boyfriend, it’s impossible to say no. Yes, she’s the most beautiful girl at Edenvale, but this could also be my chance to leave my past behind and make a new name for myself.

I’m going to do everything possible to help her forget about her ex—because she deserves so much better.

Ten days. Two secrets. And one chance to turn a fake relationship into something real.

Find How to Kiss a Guy in Ten Days 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!

30 May 2025

First Line Friday #393 | My Achy Broken Heart by Meredith Resce

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m currently writing my third Trinity Lakes romance, which means I’m reading some of the earlier books to remind myself what the other inhabitants of Trinity Lakes have been up to. It’s called research, right?

Today I’m sharing from My Achy Broken Heart by Meredith Resce, which released this week. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About My Achy Broken Heart

How quickly things can change.

Last week Lucy was full of joy and hope, having finally met a Christian man who seemed to be crazy about her. One minute, she is full of heady passion and hope that a proposal is imminent—the next she is coming to terms with being alone, pregnant, and not understanding where he’s gone.

Her ‘dream’ man has turned into a nightmare, hiding behind his status as a worship pastor in a large church and his influential parents, denying he’s ever had anything to do with Lucy. And she’s fully aware that she’s stepped way outside her own moral boundaries—a fact that is being ruthlessly thrown in her face from some of the people she’d expect to have supported her. Only her close family are willing to stand by her in this difficult time. But the pressure is so great she decides to fly Downunder to visit her brother in Australia.

Will Phillips has finally found some hope after having lost the family farm and his long-term relationship. The small-town pastor, Caleb Kennedy, is proving himself to be not only a spiritual mentor, but a good mate. And then his sister arrives from the States. She’s attractive and seems nice, but he’s not interested in starting a new relationship—still smarting from the last one.

But she seems sad, and Will’s caring side wonders why, despite himself. When he finds Lucy on the side of the road after an accident, he finds out her secret and all of his intentions to stay distant seem to have disappeared.

A small town, romance that spans to both sides of the globe. Reconnect with Caleb and Alanah, and Matt and Arianne from earlier stories in the Trinity Lakes Romance series.

Find My Achy Broken Heart 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!

23 May 2025

First Line Friday #392 | The Dating Game by Heather Miekstyn

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 The Dating Game by new-to-me author Heather Miekstyn. I’ve just downloaded the sample after seeing it recommended in an author newsletter, and if the rest of the sample is like this opening line, it’s going to be a one-click buy (and devour).

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About The Dating Game

Love does not dishonor others … supposedly.

Brooke Garza only made a dating bet in an effort to help her widowed best friend Sydney find love again. All she had to do was prove that she could date the same guy for three months, then bam! Sydney would have to go on three first dates of Brooke’s choosing. But when a karaoke duet with a near stranger gets out of hand, her boyfriend—and the subject of the aforementioned bet—breaks up with her, leaving her at the mercy of Sydney. In a faux display of magnanimity, Sydney offers her a bet redo— on one condition: she gets to pick Brooke’s next boyfriend.

Enter Will Barrett, her karaoke partner. Correction: her very attractive karaoke partner. Dating him for a couple of months might not be so bad…or will it?

Because Will doesn’t seem to be the same magnetic guy she danced and sang with onstage. He’s self-centered, inconsiderate, and sort of a slob. Brooke is no longer sure she can last a week as his girlfriend, let alone three months.

As for Will…well, he might just be playing a dating game of his own. Of course, games for two usually end with both players losing their hearts.

Find The Dating Game 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.

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!

16 May 2025

First Line Friday #391 | Emerald Windows by Terri Blackstock

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m sharing from an old favourite, Emerald Windows by Terri Blackstock, which I recently picked up on sale on Kindle. That must mean it’s time for a re-read!

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About Emerald Windows

Ten years ago, devastated by an ugly scandal, Brooke Martin fled the small town of Hayden to pursue a career as a stained glass artist. Now Brooke has returned on business to discover that some things never change. Her spotted reputation remains. Tongues still wag. And that makes what should be her dream assignment tough.

Brooke has been hired to design new stained glass windows at Hayden Bible Church. The job is a career windfall. But Nick Marcello is overseeing the project, and some in the church think Nick and Brooke’s relationship is not entirely professional–and as before, there is no convincing those people otherwise.

In the face of mounting rumors, the two set out to produce the masterpiece Nick has conceived: a brilliant set of windows displaying God’s covenants in the Bible. For Brooke, it is more than a project–it is a journey toward faith.

But opposition is heating up. A vicious battle of words and will is about to tax Brooke’s commitment to the limit. Only this time, she is determined not to run.

Find Muskoka Blue 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!

9 May 2025

First Line Friday #390 | If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair

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 If All Else Sails, a grumpy-sunshine hockey rom-com from marketing guru and indie author Emma St. Clair, her first traditionally published book.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About If All Else Sails

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, school nurse Josie and her brother’s best friend–hockey player Wyatt Jacobs–are tricked into spending a summer together that’s anything but smooth sailing.

When Josie’s brother sends her to a random address for their (sometimes) annual Super Summer Sibling Extravaganza, she finds neither siblings nor extravaganzas. Instead, ends up at a run-down cottage on the Northern Neck of Virginia occupied by a hockey player she knows and loathes.

A hockey player who isn’t just one of her sports agent brother’s clients. He’s also his best friend. And Josie’s sworn enemy.

Oh–and her brother wants Josie to help Wyatt recover from his injury.

Dragging grumpy hockey players to physical therapy is a far cry from bandaging skinned knees, but for the price her brother offers to pay, Josie is willing to try.

Even if it means sharing what she dubs the quaint little murder cottage with Wyatt.

Find If All Else Sails 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!

2 May 2025

First Line Friday #389 | Anything by Kristina Welch

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 Anything, from debut author Kristina Welch. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

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

About Anything

Two guarded hearts. He’s breaking down walls and she’s building them higher–

A match made in Heaven, or a blueprint for disaster?

After the fiery downward spiral of senior year, Kit Talbot crash-lands on a quirky college campus where traditions rule and dorm floors act more like family. It’s just weird enough to keep her mind off the wreckage she’s leaving behind.

Enter Levi Whitaker, known as the swooniest guy on campus. Magnetic, confident, and far too much like the ex who sent her life into that PTSD-tainted nosedive. Levi seems to be everywhere, focused on her like she’s the only girl in the world–even indulging her sugar addiction with delivered treats. But Kit’s self-preservation instincts are sharper than ever, and she deflects him like Wonder Woman blocking bullets.

That is, until Levi’s quiet faith and humble apology start to break down Kit’s defenses. He loves Jesus in the dreamiest way, looks like wow, and … somehow triggers the flashbacks she fights so hard to avoid. Every minute with him is a risk she isn’t sure she should take. Should she protect them both from the chaos of her life or learn a bravery that feels irresponsible?

As Kit fights to keep her life safe and manageable, she leans into her faith, clinging to the Bible verses God whispers to her heart. Clearly, he’s up to something, but the healing she prays for isn’t happening the way she wants.

Why is God silent on the prayer she needs most?

Find Anything 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.