Tag: 2023 Release

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #357 | Snow Globe Secrets by Laura Thomas

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 Snow Globe Secrets by Laura Thomas, a new-to-me author.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Merry Christmas to me. Alexis James smoothed the cherry-red ribbon on the Christmas gift - the one she always purchased for herself - and her heart thawed for the briefest of moments.

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

 

About Snow Globe Secrets

Shootings. Snow globes. Secrets.

When successful realtor, Alexis James, witnesses a shooting outside the bookstore in her hometown of Hollybrook, she soon realizes the perpetrator has unfinished business, and now she is caught in the crossfire.

Tom Harrington is a British, best-selling author who needs to honor a promise and find some answers in this Canadian winter wonderland—but trouble follows him across the ocean.

He read her like a book from the beginning…

As Alexis is swept up in a festive whirlwind of danger and love, Tom attempts to break through her ice queen persona. But when chilling walls close in, they both have to decide: can they share their truth, rekindle their faith, and risk their lives if they have any hope for a Happily Ever After?

Find Snow Globe Secrets 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!

My name is Sephone Winter. I am a slave, but one day I will be free.

Book Review | Lumen (Nightingale #2) by JJ Fischer

Lumen is the second book in JJ Fischer’s Nightingale trilogy, based on the Hans Christian Anderson story (which I’ve never read, which means the entire story is new to me).

I read and enjoyed the first book, Calor, which introduced us to Sephone, a slave with a gift for changing (and healing) people’s memories. Calor shows her meeting a ragtag group of characters, who she falls in with as they search for a rumoured Reliquary that will help Dorian forget his past, and perhaps heal their broken world.

Calor introduced Sephone’s strange world – and the people with their strange gifts – gradually.

Lumen, as the second book, can’t and doesn’t. Instead, we’re immediately introduced to Sephone, Dorian, Cass, Bear, Bas, and Jewel, a wolf who seems to have strange powers of her own. It’s a lot to take in.

As Dorian leads the travellers through the land in his search for the Reliquary, we meet other characters. Lots of other characters. There is also a lot of politics which I found hard to follow the first time I read Lumen, and no easier when I re-read it.

It could be that I found it difficult because it’s more than a year since I read Calor, because I’m not normally an epic fantasy reader, or because I don’t know the source story (I’ve considered reading it, but that might give the plot away, and I don’t want that).

Maybe this is a series best read back-to-back (which means now is a great time to start reading).

Lumen is well-written with a fascinating premise (a world with people with strange gifts), and the story has some clear Christian images, like life beginning in a Garden (with a capital G), a mysterious group called the Three, and a possible saviour figure. I am definitely engaged in the story.

While I found parts of the story confusing, with too many characters and too much politics, this isn’t the first trilogy I’ve read where the second story was weaker than the first. The end did leave me wanting to read the final book to see how the story ends. Memoria releases in December, and I’m looking forward to it.

Recommended for young adult fantasy fans, especially those who like to see the Christian links in the story.

Thanks to Enclave Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About J J Fischer

J. J. Fischer’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals she painstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five, to rather limited acclaim. Thankfully, her writing (but not her drawing) has improved since then. She is a clinically-trained psychologist but no, she cannot read your mind. When she isn’t killing defenseless house plants, pretending she can play the piano, eating peanut butter out of the jar, or memorizing funny film quotes, she and her husband David are attempting to prevent their warring pet chickens from forming factions and re-enacting Divergent. Honestly, it’s a miracle she finds the time to write any books.

Find J J Fischer online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About Lumen

What if erasing the past cost more than you were willing to pay?

Having narrowly escaped their enemies, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass continue their search for the elusive Silvertongue, the only one with knowledge of the Reliquary’s whereabouts. But time is running out for Sephone, and with Dorian accused of high treason, the quest takes on a new urgency.

As secrets from each of their pasts drive a wedge between them, Sephone invests all her hopes in finding her homeland, Lethe—where her family may yet be alive. But nothing about Lethe is as she expects, and disappointment, betrayal, and danger await her at every turn.

When the truth about the Reliquary’s curse comes to light, the fragile bonds between the unlikely companions are tested like never before. Meanwhile, Dorian faces a terrible choice: to save the life of one who is beginning to mean more to him than the past he’s so desperate to forget, or to save his beloved Caldera from dangers outside and within.

Find Lumen online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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 #355 | Lumen (Nightingale #2) by JJ Fischer

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 Lumen, the second book in JJ Fischer’s Nightingale trilogy.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

It was early morning, and I stood on a beach of broken glass.

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

 

About Lumen

What if erasing the past cost more than you were willing to pay?

Having narrowly escaped their enemies, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass continue their search for the elusive Silvertongue, the only one with knowledge of the Reliquary’s whereabouts. But time is running out for Sephone, and with Dorian accused of high treason, the quest takes on a new urgency.

As secrets from each of their pasts drive a wedge between them, Sephone invests all her hopes in finding her homeland, Lethe—where her family may yet be alive. But nothing about Lethe is as she expects, and disappointment, betrayal, and danger await her at every turn.

When the truth about the Reliquary’s curse comes to light, the fragile bonds between the unlikely companions are tested like never before. Meanwhile, Dorian faces a terrible choice: to save the life of one who is beginning to mean more to him than the past he’s so desperate to forget, or to save his beloved Caldera from dangers outside and within.

Find Lumen 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!

Book Review | The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence by Scott Allender

I’ve read several books on the Enneagram, so the early part of this book didn’t really add anything to my previous knowledge. Anyone with even basic familiarity of the Enneagram could probably skip this section.

For those who are unfamiliar, here is the potted version: there are nine Enneagram “types”, numbered one to nine. Each type has a motivation and a wound. We each have a dominant type, and will gravitate toward another type when we are in healthy growth patterns, but will gravitate toward a different type when we are in an unhealthy stress pattern.

My biggest issue with the Enneagram as a principle isn’t that we can never expect to reach perfection on Earth (which lines up with Jesus’s teaching and—if we’re honest—with what we know about ourselves), but that the whole premise is circular: a healthy One will become a Seven, and an unhealthy Seven will become a One. That implies One is better than Seven, right? But no. A healthy Seven becomes a Five. A healthy Five becomes an Eight. A healthy Eight becomes a Two, a healthy Two becomes a Four, and a healthy Four becomes a One. And you’re back at the beginning.

All this reads like humanity striving toward evolution rather than seeking God-driven transformation (which makes sense, given the author apparently has a podcast called The Evolving Leader). As I read through my notes, I realised the author might have been trying to say that an emotionally healthy person won’t have a single Enneagram type: they will exhibit strengths from all the types. I guess that means they have evolved? Either way, this idea was not explored in this book, or even mentioned in any of the previous Enneagram titles I’ve read.

I didn’t think the book made sufficient case for why we should change.

It assumed the reader wanted to change, wanted to become a “better” person, but spent more time using the Enneagram to explain how someone can move from Type A to Type B rather than asking why someone might want to change. Perhaps the author felt that was unnecessary.

Perhaps they assumed someone reading a self-help book already wants to change?

In contrast, the next book I picked up was Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. This immediately tackled the “why”  of change:

To be human is to change. To grow. To evolve. This is by God's design. The question is ... Who or what am I becoming?

Comer’s one short paragraph did more to explain the “why” we should seek to change than this entire book.

After introducing the concept of the Enneagram, the author then introduces emotional intelligence, a concept popularised (but not invented by) psychologist and writer Daniel Goleman. The premise of emotional intelligence (aka EI) is that EI is the best predictor of success, not “regular” intelligence.

There are five essential skills of emotional intelligence:

  1. Self-perception
  2. Self-expression
  3. Interpersonal relationships
  4. Decision-making
  5. Stress management

Scott Allender does a good job of explaining each of these essential skills from both a personal and professional context, making the valuable point that an emotionally intelligent organisation creates better working conditions that allow people do to their best work.

However, the book then got bogged down by Allender trying to explain how each of the nine Enneagram Types might react in growth and in stress with each of these five essential skills. Five times nine is forty-five, which meant there was lots of information but insufficient detail on any specific skill or type. This discourse also assumed the reader knew their Enneagram type and their EI strengths or growth areas.

Despite the fact this book is published by Baker Books (an imprint of evangelical publisher Baker Publishing Group), the underlying message seemed to imply we’re all aiming for self-awareness but can never achieve it, and that we’re all doing it under our own efforts, as if there is no Jesus, no saviour.

It all felt more Buddhist than Christian.

For example, Allender says:

Fours, for example, are prone to feelings of shame because of the false belief that they are flawed in some way (emphasis mine).

Yes, we are flawed. John 3:16 teaches us that we are all sinners. Allender also says:

I believe that somewhere in each of us is a sense that something’s not quite right.

Isn’t that the Jesus-shaped hole in each of us that the Holy Spirit wants to fill?

And:

The Enneagram has been my vehicle for releasing my false narratives and stepping into a truer story.

Really? I suggest he try reading the Bible.

Despite these issues, The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence was a worthwhile read: it has convinced me there is nothing even vaguely Christian about the Enneagram, despite its growing popularity in parts of the church. It has also convinced me that I need to read Daniel Goleman’s original book on Emotional Intelligence if I want to understand the topic.

Thanks to Baker Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is one of the biggest predictors of personal and professional success, and the key to effectively developing your EQ is tying it to your own personality type. In this book, certified EQ coach and Enneagram teacher Scott Allender helps you chart a personality-specific path toward lasting emotional intelligence and health.

Allender uses the popular Enneagram framework to illuminate how each of the nine personality types aligns with the five essential skills of emotional intelligence: self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal relationships, decision making, and stress management. You’ll discover how to:

  • break free from the hidden fears that dictate your choices
  • make more intentional decisions
  • better understand the emotional dynamics of colleagues, friends, and family
  • and more.

In this journey toward radical self-awareness, you’ll learn how to combat the self-limiting beliefs that keep you from living the life you were meant to live all along.

Find The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Book Review | Broker of Lies (Travis Brock #1) by Steven James

Travis Brock is a redactor for the US Department of Defence, which means he works in the depths of the Pentagon, reading endless documents in response to official information requests, and deciding what information can safely be released to the public without endangering the security of the USA and her citizens … and what can’t.

Brock has an unusual gift (which could also be seen as a curse).

He has an eidetic memory—better known as a photographic memory—which means he never forgets anything he sees or reads. That comes in handy in his job as a redactor, because he can link odd facts from different documents he’s read. It’s less good when it comes to forgetting his dead wife, or the pain of the injuries he sustained trying to save her.

Brock gets a new request for information that is dated 18 months earlier—the date of the first that killed his wife. What looks at first to be a fairly routine request has some unusual aspects …

And we’re neck-deep in action.

Brock is a fascinating character both because of his gift and his job. He’s an odd character—as one would expect—and his scenes are written in first person point of view, which enables us to really get inside his mind. The other characters are written in more traditional third person, and add to the suspense as the reader is made aware of information Brock and his colleagues don’t yet know.

Broker of Lies is a fast-paced thriller that reminds me of the TV show “24” in terms of the cleverly woven plot where every detail is potentially critical, the seemingly unrelated characters, and where the suspense starts on page one and doesn’t let up until the end.

But Broker of Lies is more than just a fast-paced well-plotted thriller.

It asks some serious questions about the nature of justice in our broken world, and how far is too far to go in search of justice. It also challenges readers to think about the concept of justice, and our role in creating a just world (spoiler: we have a God-given role).

You couldn’t objectively read the Bible and not come away with the idea that God hates injustice and the oppression of the weak by the strong.

Broker of Lies is only the second Steven James novel I’ve read, with the first being Synapse, his first and only venture into science fiction. Both novels are definitely Christian fiction, but with a twist: instead of merely showing us Christian characters, James challenges readers to examine some of the tough questions of faith ourselves.

Overall, Broker of Lies is an excellent thriller that introduces a fascinating character and asks big questions, questions without easy answers.

Thanks to Tyndale Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Steven James

Steven JamesSteven James is the critically acclaimed, national bestselling author of sixteen novels.

His work has been optioned by ABC Studios and praised by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, the New York Journal of Books, and many others. His pulse-pounding, award-winning thrillers are known for their intricate storylines and insightful explorations of good and evil.

When he’s not working on his next book, he’s either teaching master classes on writing throughout the country, trail running, or sneaking off to catch a matinee.

Find Steven James online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Broker of Lies

The man who knows all our secrets has a secret of his own.

Broker of Lies by Steven JamesWhen Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory, finds a clue to solving the tragic arson that took his wife from him, he risks everything to find the truth—and chances losing himself in the process.

With a terror attack looming on the horizon and a pair of assassins on his tail, Brock drops off the grid and joins forces with a disavowed Homeland Security operative. Together they race to stop the attack before Brock is neutralized by the people he trusts the most.

Find Broker of Lies online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click her to find Broker of Lies and other great Christian fiction at my Amazon shop.

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #320 | Muskoka Hearts by Carolyn Miller

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m currently reading Muskoka Hearts, the third book in Carolyn Miller’s Muskoka Shores series. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love you, and hope to share the rest of my life with you. Please, say you’ll marry me.

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

 

About Muskoka Hearts

Toni Wakefield may be a talented artist, but past choices means this single mother never feels the equal of those around her—especially her brother’s best friend, investment funds manager Matt.

Matt long ago fell in love with his best friend’s younger sister, and try as he might, he just can’t fall out of it. And between his crazy working hours and the fact she’s now settled two hours away in beautiful Muskoka it seems they never have any time together.

How can he persuade her to consider to give him a chance, when she’s sworn the only man she can care about is her baby boy?

Find Muskoka Hearts 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 #318 | The Road Home by Carol J Post

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

The black Silverado sat nestled amongst a copse of birch trees, easily overlooked.

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

 

About The Road Home

She was just one of the guys…everybody’s friend but nobody’s girlfriend.

Cover image - The Road Home by Carol J PostWhen his father has a stroke, bad-boy Kyle Worthington drags himself back to Murphy, North Carolina, where his one-time best friend accused him of starting the fire that left her scarred. Though he sees the accusation in everyone’s eyes, he’ll be there for his mother, but he has no intention of visiting his harsh, demanding father…or renewing the relationship he once had with his former best friend.

In spite of Kyle’s denials, Samantha Atkinson knows what she saw, and nothing will convince her otherwise. As circumstances force them together, they struggle their way back to a tentative friendship. Although Samantha has always been attracted to Kyle, she doesn’t have any delusions. She’s seen the kind of women he dates, and she’s not it.

Soon, Sam finds what she has wholeheartedly believed cast in doubt, and Kyle has to take a hard look at his priorities. Together, they just might learn that home really is where the heart is—a place of healing, forgiveness, reconciliation…and love.

Find The Road Home 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!

What were the top ten books you read in 2023?

Bookish Question #309 | What were the top ten books you read in 2023?

We’re almost at the end of 2023, and I must be getting older because I am sure the years are going faster. Yet again, I’ve read a lot of books (and published one, which was a first!). Some were excellent, some were fun but forgettable, and some were unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

But today it’s time to share the books I enjoyed most in 2023. Most are contemporary Christian fiction, because that’s the genre I read most. But one is Biblical fiction (Plagues and Papyrus), one is multi-timeline (In This Moment), and one is perhaps more women’s fiction than romance (The Words We Lost).

So here’s my list, most of which I have already reviewed or featured on the blog:

  1. With All my Heart by Emily Dana Botrous
  2. Now or Never by Emily Conrad
  3. The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese
  4. Plagues and Papyrus by Christine Dillon
  5. Where Our Hearts Lie by Jenny Glazebrook
  6. His Runaway Crush by Heather Gray
  7. The Billionaire’s Teacher by Elizabeth Maddrey
  8. In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer
  9. In Spite of Ourselves by Jennifer Rodewald
  10. Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K Vogt

What were the top five (or ten) books you read in 2023?

The summer of '77 still defined her. Maybe because the summer of '77 had broken her.

Book Review | The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

High school graduates Spring Duval, Summer Wilde, Margaret “Snow” Snowden, and Autumn Child are the Four Seasons, best friends from kindergarten who are now spending the summer of 1977 together as camp counsellors in Tumbleweed, Oklahoma.

It’s going to be the best summer of their lives.

But The Best Summer of Our Lives is a dual timeline novel, and 1977 is the past timeline. In the more recent 1997 timeline, Summer has just arrived back in Tumbleweed for the first time since the summer that broke their “forever” friendship.

The Best Summer of our Lives moves between both timelines to show the story of the summer of 1977 from the perspectives of each of the four teenage girls, then moving to 1997 to show where they are now, and how the secrets of 1977 moulded them into their 1997 selves.

I did find the story a little hard to get into because we were moving between four points of view and two timelines, which felt like eight different characters to keep track of mentally (and I imagine it would be even harder with an audiobook).

But I persevered, and the results were worth the effort.

There were hints of secrets and withheld information from the get-go. Spring’s secret was relatively easy to figure out, as was part of the underlying conflict between the friends. Other information was harder to figure out, perhaps because it was more important to the teenager characters than to the reader. (Although that still felt realistic, given teenage girls and our/their habit of misinterpreting motive and over-dramatizing events.)

But there were times when I mixed up the characters, forgetting their histories, and that did mean the Big Reveal of one secret fell flat, because I’d lost track of the character. There were also times when I wasn’t sure who the main character was, or even if there was supposed to be a main character.

There is: Summer Wilde.

In 1977, Summer is an opinionated and impetuous teenager with father issues. In 1997, Summer is a wannabe country music composer and singer who has never achieved the success she dreamed of (and who still has father issues). The beginning of the story belonged to Summer, and the end did as well. But, like Summer, it kind of got lost in the middle.

Despite the hormones of four teenage girls, The Best Summer of Our Lives in Christian women’s fiction rather than romance. The Christian element grows as the novel progresses … which potentially makes this a good novel to loan to non-Christian friends who are seeking God in the midst of their hurts, past and present.

The Four Seasons are excellent characters, and will remind many readers of the friendships and insecurities of their own teenage years (I’ll leave it to you to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing).

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck is a strong coming-of-age story that builds in some of the wisdom that only comes with the passing of time. #BookReview #WomensFiction Share on X

Overall, The Best Summer of Our Lives is a strong coming-of-age story that builds in some of the wisdom that only comes with the passing of time.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Rachel Hauck

Author Photo Rachel HauckRachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times. She is a double RITA finalist, a Christy and Carol Award Winner.

Rachel sits on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers, and is the comical sidekick to Susan May Warren at the amazing My Book Therapy. She is a worship leader and speaker.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel is a devoted Ohio State football fan. She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.

Find Rachel Hauck online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About The Best Summer of Our Lives

Twenty years ago, the summer of ’77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde’s life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow–the Four Seasons–had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, “Nowhere,” Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.

Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It’s a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love’s voice.

Find The Best Summer of Our Lives online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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 #316 | Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer

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 Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer, a dual timeline romance which released this week. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Alessandra Appiani walked with a quickened pace toward the front door of the Vatican, her footsteps echoing on the marble floor and the fateful words echoing through her mind.

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

 

About Trust the Stars

Olivia Garza, a woman committed to making a difference in the world, thrives in her unconventional, service-oriented life. By day, she helps troubled teens in inner-city Little Rock. By night, she creates a viral docu-series in an attempt to better understand her mother’s desperate decisions by retracing her steps with a camera. So far, Olivia has always been the anonymous narrator, but she’s promised to reveal herself in the last stop on her documentary: Kenya.

Prince Louis, heir to the throne of the small European kingdom of Alloria, is in Kenya to run away from a broken heart—and the media circus that comes with it. When he meets Olivia, he recognizes her voice right away from the docu-series that has stirred his heart. Though they share a magical day on safari, any dreams of happily ever after come crashing down with the flash of the paparazzi cameras when Olivia realizes that he represents everything she most despises in the world.

In World War II Rome, another royal, however, has her own life-changing choices to make. Princess Alessandra Appiani could have chosen quiet safety within the walls of the Vatican, but instead she risks her life—and her family—to save the Jewish children so in need of someone to show them the love of God.

When Olivia is hired to help create a documentary about Alessandra, learning about the sacrifice of a royal who goes from palace to prison forces her to face the hardest questions of all: Should she continue on the path she’s carved for herself or trust God to give her the future she never thought she wanted?

Find Trust the Stars 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!