Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Tempt Me with Diamonds by Jane Feather.  The excerpts shared are from a paperback version borrowed from the library.

  

Beginning:  Chapter One - London, August 1902

Rupert Lacey, as his habit, moved from sleep to wakefulness in a matter of seconds.  He opened his eyes abruptly, aware of the faint gray light of dawn showing between a gap in the curtains and the unmistakable sense that something was happening in the house.  There was nothing specific to give him this feeling, no particular sound, just a stirring of the air, a sense of motion.  He sat up, reaching for the bellpull on the wall beside him.

It was answered within minutes.  Davis, his batman, came into the bedroom carrying a tea tray.  "Good morning, Colonel."  He set the tray by the bed and went to draw back the curtains.

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Page 56:  No one spoke again while Barlow set down the sherry decanter and filled their glasses.  "Mrs. Harris said luncheon will be served in half an hour, Miss Diana.  Will that be satisfactory?"

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My thoughts:  It's been a long time since I've read a historical romance, and this first book in the new London Jewels series caught my eye when I saw it on several websites and blogs.  I like the way the excerpts transport the reader to England in the early part of the twentieth century.

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From Goodreads:  Three friends who met at an elite English boarding school take on the town—and the ton—one by one, in this sparkling new series about love, loss, and lustrous gemstones, from New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather...

A FINE ROMANCE…

Diana Sommerville seems to have it all—beauty, brains, and vast wealth, thanks to her family's ownership of a diamond mine abroad. But when her beloved brother dies in battle and leaves a lion's share of his estate to his best friend, Diana finds herself in a situation that seems scripted for the stage: Sharing her family home with the man she used to love—and now loathes. Worse, her unfaithful former fiancé has already moved in.

OR AN EXCELLENT FAKE?

Rupert Lacey didn't expect Diana to take the news without a fight. Still, he didn't expect her to bring the battle directly to their newly shared doorstep—complete with a full set of trunks, and a full set of orders to the staff. Yet there she is, bold, regal...magnificent as ever. Now they would face a formidable challenge: to ignore each other—and the unanswered questions that stood between them. The only sure thing is their still blazing desire. But with a woman like Diana, it will take nothing less than a momentous misunderstanding, a missing prized mare, and a shocking revelation to restore a love that hasn't lost its shine.

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.     

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading as soon as they're published.. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

  

Publication Date:  March 5, 2019

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

From Goodreads:  Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger,” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favourite literature. 

To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her closest confidant, her diary, the only outlet she has for her darkest suspicions and fears about the case. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary: "Hallo, Clare. You don’t know me." 

Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?

My thoughts:  I'm well aware of the praise for Griffith's popular Ruth Galloway series, which is on my must-start someday list.  Since the series is now eleven books strong, I will first sample Griffith's work when this stand-alone novel is released.  I've already placed a hold request for a copy at the library. 

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated. 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon. 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Suspect by Fiona Barton.  The excerpt shared is from the hardcover edition I borrowed from the library.  

 

Part One

The Job

One

The Reporter

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The call comes at three a.m.  The jagged ring of the bedside telephone tearing a hole in our sleep.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

It's never a good thing for the phone to ring in the dead of night--and my curiosity compels me to read on.  Who is calling and why does it warrant a call at 3 a.m.?

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring my current read, The Temp by Michelle Frances.  The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  Part One - Carrie

Sunday, May 14

"Eight's your lucky number," murmured Carrie in Adrian's ear, making sure her lips were hidden from the TV camera that was pointing at them.  She kept her expression humble and nonchalant while she gazed up at the screens showing clips from the shows nominated for Best Screenplay.  

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Page 56:  "My job won't be temporary forever," she said brightly to her small audience, privately thinking: why can't they just be pleased for me?

 

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My thoughts:  This story drew me in immediately.  Carrie and Adrian, a married couple who work in television, appear to have it all: successful careers, an expensive sports car, and homes in London and on the British coast.  But their seemingly perfect world is suddenly threatened by the arrival of Emma, an office temp.

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From Goodreads:  Wanted: Assistant to provide maternity cover for high-powered TV producer. Must be bright, creative, with killer instincts.

Emma would do anything to work for the woman who has the job she wants. Carrie is at the top of her game, with a dream career, a baby on the way, and a handsome screenwriter husband. For Emma, with parents who don't understand her ambition and a serious misstep behind her, this temp position might be her last chance.

Carrie has given up more than anyone knows to get to the top of a ruthless business. She won't give up this baby too. But with Emma filling in for her at the office, her perfect life starts to unravel. Her bank account is inexplicably overdrawn, her husband seems strangely distant and colleagues are all too happy to take Emma's creative direction. Carrie finds herself dying to get back to work . . . until a letter left at her door changes everything.

Trust and fear trade places in a love triangle that defies readers' expectations at every turn.  

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.  

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading as soon as they're published.. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Publication Date:  May 7, 2019

Publisher:  Ecco Press

From Goodreads:  In this stunning debut novel, a young woman tells the story behind two elderly sisters’ estrangement, unraveling family secrets stretching back a century and across the Atlantic to early 20th century Italy.

For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents—moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted.

In her rugged Italian village, Stella is considered an oddity—beautiful and smart, insolent and cold. Stella uses her peculiar toughness to protect her slower, plainer baby sister Tina from life’s harshest realities. But she also provokes the ire of her father Antonio: a man who demands subservience from women and whose greatest gift to his family is his absence.

When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and Tina must come of age side-by-side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them. Soon Stella learns that her survival is worthless without the one thing her family will deny her at any cost: her independence.

In present-day Connecticut, one family member tells this heartrending story, determined to understand the persisting rift between the now-elderly Stella and Tina. A richly told debut, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a tale of family transgressions as ancient and twisted as the olive branch that could heal them.

My thoughts:  Family sagas are one of my favorite types of reads, and this one sounds like a captivating story of family secrets, drama, passion, cultural detail, and multi-generational characters.

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated   

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux.  The excerpt shared is from the hardcover edition I borrowed from the library.  

 

Prologue

Lachlan, Florida

5 September, 1997

He was wearing the clothes he'd found in the back of the old truck.  Filthy, with pieces of grass clinging to them, they smelled bad and scratched his skin.  The baggy pants had fresh oil on them and stuck to him in places

Chapter One

Lachlan, Florida

Spring 2017

Sara was sitting in Jack's dry, sunless apartment on an old chair someone had given him.  She let her shoulders droop and her head sag in an attempt to show every minute of her sixty-plus years of life.  It wasn't  helping that she'd been in boxing class at 6:00 a.m.  When she moved her arm, she gave an involuntary gasp.  She was sore from all those uppercuts her trainer had made her do.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?
I've been meaning to get to this book for a while now, having renewed it several times at the library.  The opening excerpts aren't particularly catchy, but I'm intrigued by the author's first foray into the mystery genre.  As you probably know, she is quite popular in the romance category.




This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz.  This is the third book in the Cutler, Sutter & Salinas series.

 

Beginning:  Fifteen years earlier . . .
She was fourteen years old and sleeping in yet another bed.  The little house on Marigold Lane looked cozy and welcoming from the street--lots of curb appeal, as the real estate agents liked to say--but she had decided that she would not be there for long.

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Page 56:  The storm had made landfall.  That was probably what had awakened her. But for some reason that didn't feel like the right explanation.

 

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My thoughts:  I'm looking forward to starting this latest book by Jayne Ann Krantz. She is a masterful suspense writer who has never disappointed me with her talent and imagination.

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From Goodreads:  A man's quest to find answers for those who are haunted by the past leads him deeper into the shadows in this electrifying novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Promise Not to Tell.

Quinton Zane is back.

Jack Lancaster, consultant to the FBI, has always been drawn to the coldest of cold cases, the kind that law enforcement either considers unsolvable or else has chalked up to accidents or suicides. As a survivor of a fire, he finds himself uniquely compelled by arson cases. His almost preternatural ability to get inside the killer's head has garnered him a reputation in some circles--and complicated his personal life. The more cases Jack solves, the closer he slips into the darkness. His only solace is Winter Meadows, a meditation therapist. After particularly grisly cases, Winter can lead Jack back to peace. 

But as long as Quinton Zane is alive, Jack will not be at peace for long. Having solidified his position as the power behind the throne of his biological family's hedge fund, Zane sets out to get rid of Anson Salinas's foster sons, starting with Jack.

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.  

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.   

Today I'm featuring my current read, Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller.  

 

One

They must think I don't have long left because today they allow the vicar in.  Perhaps they are right, although this day feels no different from yesterday, and I imagine tomorrow will go on much the same.  The vicar--no, not vicar, he has a different title, I forget--is older than me by a good few years, his hair is grey, and his skin is flaky and red, sore-looking.  I didn't ask for him; what faith I once had was tested and found lacking at Lyntons, and before that, my church attendance was a habit, a routine for Mother and me to arrange our week around.  I know all about routine and habit in this place.  It is what we live, and what we die, by.  

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

I am intrigued by the opening paragraph because it conjures up questions and mystery for me.  Who is the narrator, the person who is reflecting back on the past?  Who is the vicar?  What is Lyntons?  It is enough to keep me reading on.

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring a current read, Fly Girls by Keith O'Brien.  The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.  It's this month's selection for one of my book clubs.

 

Beginning:  The Miracle of Wichita

The coal peddlers west of town, on the banks of the Arkansas River, took note of the new saleswoman from the moment she appeared outside the plate-glass window.  It was hard not to notice Louise McPhetridge.

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Page 56:  The engine quit--and that's when McPhetridge made her mistake.  Instead of landing straight ahead on whatever ground she could find, she tried to turn back for the airport.

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My thoughts:  This true story of five American women from all walks of life (and all relatively unknown except for Amelia Earhart) is a fascinating read.  O'Brien shares biographical information on each and recounts the obstacles they faced in entering the male-dominated field of aviation.  Their bravery and determination was incredible.

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From Goodreads:  The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s — and won.

Between the world wars, no sport was more popular, or more dangerous, than airplane racing. Thousands of fans flocked to multi‑day events, and cities vied with one another to host them. The pilots themselves were hailed as dashing heroes who cheerfully stared death in the face. Well, the men were hailed. Female pilots were more often ridiculed than praised for what the press portrayed as silly efforts to horn in on a manly, and deadly, pursuit. Fly Girls recounts how a cadre of women banded together to break the original glass ceiling: the entrenched prejudice that conspired to keep them out of the sky.

O’Brien weaves together the stories of five remarkable women: Florence Klingensmith, a high‑school dropout who worked for a dry cleaner in Fargo, North Dakota; Ruth Elder, an Alabama divorcee; Amelia Earhart, the most famous, but not necessarily the most skilled; Ruth Nichols, who chafed at the constraints of her blue‑blood family’s expectations; and Louise Thaden, the mother of two young kids who got her start selling coal in Wichita. Together, they fought for the chance to race against the men — and in 1936 one of them would triumph in the toughest race of all.

Like Hidden Figures and Girls of Atomic City, Fly Girls celebrates a little-known slice of history in which tenacious, trail-blazing women braved all obstacles to achieve greatness. 

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.