Category: First Line Friday

31 March 2023

First Line Friday #278 | The Ocean Between Us by Meredith Resce

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 The Ocean Between Us by Australian author Meredith Resce.

This is the second book in the new Trinity Lakes Romance series, set in the small Washington of Trinity Lakes, and featuring an Australian heroine.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

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

About The Ocean Between Us

Alanah has set off on a trip of a lifetime.

Her best friend from high school, Sasha Kennedy, has invited her to Trinity Lakes, Washington State, to be part of her wedding party.

South Australia to Trinity Lakes is literally the other side of the world, so Alanah has a full schedule of adventure planned while she’s away. A summer camp counsellor; a trip to Canada; Sight-seeing in New York and Boston; and avoiding Sasha’s twin-brother, Caleb.

But a silly accident puts Sasha out of commission for all the planned adventures, and Caleb is sent to retrieve his former high school sweetheart from the airport. Eleven years should be enough time to have cooled the love Alanah and Caleb once shared. Should be, but apparently not. This is not a great thing to acknowledge considering Caleb has just announced his engagement to someone else.

Six months of avoiding Caleb—worse—avoiding feelings about Caleb—is going to be a long time.

Find The Ocean Between Us 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!

24 March 2023

First Line Friday #277 | Holding onto Hope by Janet W Ferguson

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 Holding onto Hope by Janet W Ferguson, the latest release in her wonderful Coastal Hearts series.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

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

About Holding onto Hope

A fun road trip romance to the Grand Tetons! Always the wedding planner, never the bride.

Hope Rodriguez loves planning weddings. There’s nothing more special than helping a bride become a princess for a day, but she’s not sure that’s her calling in life anymore.

If only she had her own special someone. Her only current prospect leaves her with more questions than answers about where she falls in his list of priorities.

Yet, when a lifelong friend asks her to plan a destination wedding across the country in only two weeks, she’ll have to figure out how to pull off the impossible…alone.

After being burned as a child and deserted by his family, Caleb Donnelly has an intimate relationship with pain. Despite all he’s endured, one ache refuses to leave him—the throbbing in his heart where Hope is concerned.

So when Hope needs help with their friend’s wedding, he can’t stop himself from volunteering to travel two thousand miles to Jackson, Wyoming.

As long as he keeps his feelings in check, he might not ruin their friendship. Because a beautiful woman like Hope could never love a scarred man like him. There’s no way their longtime friendship could ever become more.

When Hope and Caleb’s plans go up in flames, it’s their hearts that might never recover.

Find Holding onto Hope online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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

17 March 2023

First Line Friday #276 | Between the Two of Us by Emily Conrad

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 Between the Two of Us by Emily Conrad, the prequel novella to her fabulous Rhythms of Redemption Romance series.

It’s here to tempt you, because it’s available free from her website 🙂

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

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

About Between the Two of Us

He hates drama—but it sure seems to love him.

Food trailer owner Asher has seen too many tears he couldn’t dry. Determined to be part of the solution, he avoids romance and all the heartbreaking drama that goes with it.

At least, that’s the plan until he falls for one of the Warren twins—and not the Warren twin who declared her feelings for him. He’ll have to proceed carefully or he’ll break not one, but two women’s hearts. And, perhaps, his own.

Welcome to Lakeshore, Wisconsin! In this prequel novella to the Rhythms of Redemption Romance series, you’ll meet Asher, the food trailer owner who appears in each of the novels in the series. His lovely assistant, Adeline, is the heroine in the first book in the series, To Bring You Back.

Get acquainted with the town and enjoy a glimpse of Adeline’s life before a certain rock star looks her up and changes everything.

Find Between the Two of us free online at Emily’s website:

Goodreads | Website

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!

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.