Category: First Line Friday

First Line Friday

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:

Dr. Max Jordan finished his dictation, clicked off the recorder, and slipped from behind the polished mahogany desk.

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!

First Line Friday

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:

The nature of secrets is that they long to be kept and long to be told all at the same time.

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!

First Line Friday

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:

Confession: I'm thirty-four years old, and I still make a Christmas list every year.

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.

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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #266 | Why I Still Believe by Mary Jo Sharp

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 Why I Still Believe: A Former Atheist’s Reckoning with the Bad Reputation Christians Give a Good God by Mary Jo Sharp. I’m not a big nonfiction reader, but picked this up because I’m always interested in understanding why people become Christians (especially as adults), and how we can deal with hypocrisy.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Have you ever zoomed out—I mean really zoomed out—from your life to wonder: what am I doing here?

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

 

About Why I Still Believe

For anyone who feels caught in the tension between the beauty of God’s story and the ugliness of human hypocrisy, Why I Still Believe offers a stirring story of hope.

Why would anyone be a Christian when there is so much hypocrisy in the church? Mary Jo Sharp shares her journey as a skeptical believer who still holds to a beautiful faith despite wounding experiences in the Christian community.

At a time when de-conversion stories have become all too common, this is an earnest response – the compelling conversion of an unlikely believer whose questions ultimately led her to irresistible hope. Sharp addresses her own struggle with the reality that God’s people repeatedly give God’s story a bad name and takes a careful look at how the current church often inadvertently produces atheists despite its life-giving message.

For those who feel the ever-present tension between the beauty of salvation and the dark side of human nature, Why I Still Believe is a candid and approachable case for believing in God when you really want to walk away. With fresh and thoughtful insights, this spiritual narrative presents relevant answers to haunting questions like:

  • Isn’t there too much pain and suffering to believe?
  • Is it okay to have doubt?
  • What if Jesus’ story is a copy of another story?
  • Is there any evidence for Jesus’ resurrection?
  • Does atheism explain the human experience better than Christianity can?  
  • How can the truth of Christianity matter when the behaviors of Christians are reprehensible?

At once logical and loving, Sharp reframes the gospel as it truly is: the good news of redemption. With firmly grounded truths, Why I Still Believe is an affirming reminder that the hypocrisy of Christians can never negate the transforming grace and truth of Christ.

Find Why I Still Believe online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #265 | Any Given Moment by TI Lowe

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 Any Given Moment by TI Lowe, an older book which I recently picked up on sale on Kindle.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Some girls need a fruity drink with a colorful umbrella and tropical blue waves to find their happy place. Not me.

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

 

About Any Given Moment

Previously titled The Reversal.

Life can change at any given moment. Good or bad, one must make the most of it. Samantha Shaw thought she was giving each moment of her life a fair shot until former pro-football quarterback Wiley Black saunters into her world and shows the sassy tomboy exactly what she’s been missing.

A sweet sports romance for fans of happily-ever-afters.

Find Any Given Moment 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week #264 | The Start of Us by Jill Lynn

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

I’m sharing today the first line of The Start of Us by Jill Lynn, a New Adult novella I found free on Kindle.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Could it get any worse? Not for me. It's Christmas break, and my mom arranged my ride home from school.

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

 

About The Start of Us

Janie Reardon is determined to get over her old high school crush Jack Smith. So when he asks her to help him find out if another woman is interested in him, she agrees, deciding it’s the best and fastest way to permanently remove him from her heart. But the more time they spend together, the more her crush grows. Can she really let Jack go once and for all?

Find The Start of 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #263 | All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese

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 All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese, a 2022 Christy Award and ACFW Carol Award winner.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

I used to marvel at the way my Great Mimi's arthritic fingers would pinch her eyeliner pencil and trace a perfect stroke of midnight black across her upper lash line.

The Kindle version is currently on sale for less than a dollar, so click here to check out the sample.

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

 

About All That Really Matters

Molly McKenzie’s bright personality and on-trend fashion and beauty advice have made her a major social media influencer. When her manager-turned-boyfriend tells her of an upcoming audition to host a makeover show for America’s underprivileged youth, all her dreams finally seem to be coming true. There’s just one catch: she has little experience interacting with people in need.

To gain an edge on her competitors, she plans to volunteer for the summer at a transitional program for aged-out foster kids, but the program’s director, Silas Whittaker, doesn’t find her as charming as her followers do. Despite his ridiculous rules and terms, Molly dives into mentoring, surprising herself with the genuine connections and concern she quickly develops for the girls–and Silas. But just as everything seems perfectly aligned for her professional future, it starts to crumble under the pressure. And as her once-narrow focus opens to the deep needs of those she’s come to know, she must face the ones she’s neglected inside herself for so long.

Find All That Really Matters online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week #262 | To Believe in You 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 sharing from To Believe in You by Emily Conrad, the fourth book in her Rhythms of Redemption Romance rock star romance collection (how’s that for alliteration?).

I’ve read and enjoyed the first three books in the series, and have no doubt I’ll enjoy this one just as much.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Lina didn't have a good track record for trusting the right people, but she did have some idea of who not to trust.

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

 

About To Believe in You

Can she trust her heart to a man who can’t trust himself?

Since his dismissal from the rock band Awestruck, former bassist and addict Matt Visser has been transformed by faith and a year of sobriety.

Betrayed by her fiancé, Lina Abbey surrenders her hopes of a family of her own. Instead, she focuses on her work as Awestruck’s social media manager and director of Key of Hope, a non-profit funded by the band to teach music lessons to kids from low-income families.

She would never hire a man with Matt’s track record as a bass guitar instructor, but her boss, a firm believer in God’s grace and second chances, overrules her objections. Matt takes the job to clear an old debt, but soon finds he can’t resist the challenge of winning the beautiful but cautious Lina’s trust.

When a new truth about his past reveals a wrong he can never right, he and Lina both need Someone more trustworthy than Matt to believe in. Otherwise, history will repeat itself in all the worst ways.

A meaningful Christian romance with a side of fame and fortune for readers who enjoy faith-filled escapes and happily-ever-afters where no one is beyond hope of redemption.

You can find To Believe in 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #261 | What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson

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 What Came Next by Christina Suzanne Nelson, a dual timeline novel with an intriguing mystery to solve.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Faith Byrne's carefully laid plans took advantage of unplanned distractions and skipped town, never to be seen again.

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

 

About What Happens Next

Popular podcaster and ex-reporter Faith Byrne has made a name for herself telling stories of greatness after tragedy–but her real life does not mirror the stories she tells. While her daughters spend the summer in Hawaii with her ex-husband and his new wife, she must manage life on her own. But all that changes when she’s asked to spotlight her childhood best friend’s missing person case on her podcast.

Dora Crane has never accepted that her younger daughter could be dead, keeping her home looking the same as when her daughter disappeared. But when her husband leaves her, and her older daughter intervenes, she agrees to counseling and to pack up her missing daughter’s belongings under one condition: Faith Byrne comes to Deep Valley and sheds light on the cold case.

As the investigation moves forward, the two women uncover desperate secrets, and Faith and Dora must face the long-hidden truth before they can begin to move forward.

Award-winning author Christina Suzann Nelson masterfully leads readers on a journey of discovery, healing, and friendship in this suspenseful and poignant tale.

Find What Happens Next online at:

Amazon | BookBub | 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!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #260 | Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham

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 Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham. It’s an epistolary novel, a genre I enjoy and would love to see more of.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

This is a cautionary tale. A tale of family, literary classics, podiatry, matchmaking, Shakespeare, and distance.

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

 

About Authentically Izzy

Dear Reader,

My name is Isabelle Louisa Edgewood—Izzy, for short. I live by blue-tinted mountains, where I find contentment in fresh air and books. Oh, and coffee and tea, of course. And occasionally in being accosted by the love of my family. (You’ll understand my verb choice in the phrase later.) I dream of opening my own bookstore, but my life, particularly my romantic history, has not been the stuff of fairy tales. Which is probably why my pregnant, misled, matchmaking cousin—who, really, is more like my sister—signed me up for an online dating community.

The trouble is . . . it worked. I’ve met my book-quoting Mr. Right, and our correspondence has been almost too good to be true. But Brodie lives across an ocean. And just the other day, a perfectly nice author and professor named Eli came into the library where I work and asked me out for a coffee. I feel a rom-com movie with a foreboding disaster nipping at my heels.

But I’ve played it safe for a long time. Maybe it’s time for me to be as brave as my favorite literary heroines. Maybe it’s time to take the adventures from the page to real life. Wish me luck.

Authentically,

Izzy

Find Authentically Izzy online at:

Amazon | BookBub | 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!