Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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, Flowers Over the Inferno by Ilaria Tuti. It's the first book in the Teresa Battaglia trilogy. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  Austria, 1978

There was a legend that haunted that place, the kind that clings like a persistent odor. It was rumored that in late autumn every year--before the rain turned to snow--the mountain lake would begin to exhale sinister murmurs.

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Page 56:  She had always been entranced by the eternal battle between light and dark, but these days her fascination was mixed with the more pressing need to see the end of the winter (though it had barely begun), and with it the end of these premature evenings.

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My thoughts:  The opening lines are very atmospheric--and I wonder what secrets will be brought to light by "sinister murmurs."

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From GoodReads:  In this thrilling series debut set in the Italian Alps, an instinct-driven detective won't let her aging body and mind prevent her from tracking a brutal killer.

Superintendent Teresa Battaglia has fought for nearly four decades to earn rank and respect on a testosterone-heavy Italian police force. When she’s called to investigate a gruesome murder near a mountainside town, she’s paired with a young male inspector she’s not sure she trusts. But she has no choice—in this remote town full of secrets, eerie folktales and primal instincts, the killer seems drawn to a group of local children, who may be in grave danger.

As Teresa inches closer to the truth, she must confront the possibility that her faculties, no longer what they once were, may fail her before the chase is over.

 

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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. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.   

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black.  It's the first book in the Antique Bookshop mystery series. The excerpt shared is from an eBook borrowed from the library.

First Chapter:  I sat in my car, squinting into the darkened alleyway. The streetlamp my uncle had mentioned seemed to be burned out, as no light cut through the moonless night. He'd said we weren't supposed to park behind the businesses, but an eerie chill skittered up my spine at the thought of parking here in the assigned lot at the end of the street and walking up the alley in the dark with only a flashlight and a duffle bag to protect myself.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I find that opening quite ominous and am curious about what will happen next.

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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, And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  She had to do it.

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Page 56: Too loud, this city. The world's toilet, this city, where everybody came to take a dump and live their worst lives.

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My thoughts:  That first line is very compelling--it brings to mind so many questions: Who is she? What did she do? Why did she have to do it?
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From GoodReads: Isabel Lincoln is gone.

But is she missing?

It's up to Grayson Sykes to find her. Although she is reluctant to track down a woman who may not want to be found, Gray's search for Isabel Lincoln becomes more complicated and dangerous with every new revelation about the woman's secrets and the truth she's hidden from her friends and family.

Featuring two complicated women in a dangerous cat and mouse game, And Now She's Gone explores the nature of secrets -- and how violence and fear can lead you to abandon everything in order to survive.

 

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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. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

 

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

  It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

 

Today I'm featuring a recent read, Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing. It's the first book in the Colorado Wine mystery series. The excerpt shared is from an eBook version borrowed from the library.

First Chapter:  I arrange open bottles of wine behind the hard maple countertop from lightest to heaviest. A crisp white blend on the left, a jammy cabernet sauvignon on the right, and me a cluster of nerves, right smack in the middle.

Today is the grand opening of my winery--I still can't believe I'm saying that--my winery, Vino Valentine. The world will finally get to taste the fruits of my labor, which is equal parts exciting and panic-inducing.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

Launching Vino Valentine is Parker Valentine's hard-earned dream come true. But when influential Boulder food critic Gaskel Brown dies at the opening after tasting Parker's prized Chardonnay, her dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Someone poisoned the wine, which immediately sours Parker's business plans and chance at success. Afraid that the winery won't survive the #KillerChardonnay hashtag trending on social media, Parker has to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Gaskel's death if she is to restore her winery's reputation and salvage her dream.

Who killed Gaskel? As a brutally honest food critic, his reviews have ruined many restaurants over the years. Is it possible a disgruntled chef has exacted the ultimate revenge? Or is someone else responsible? Parker's investigation uncovers more details than the local police do, which puts her in the killer's crosshairs. Will Parker live to reclaim her reputation and winery, or die trying?

Filled with a cast of quirky characters, relationships old and new, and effective red herrings, Killer Chardonnay is a welcome entry to the cozy mystery genre and a solid start to the Colorado Wine Mystery Series.  

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission. 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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 recent read, What You Wish For by Katherine Center. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  I was the one dancing with Max when it happened.

No one ever remembers who it was now, but it was me.

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Page 56:  It felt like a great idea at the time.

It felt like a great idea the next morning, even, when I woke up by accident two hours before my alarm.

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My thoughts: School librarian Samantha (Sam) Casey moves to Galveston Island, Texas to start a new life, where she find a supportive community at a new school with a progressive environment that nurtures faculty and students alike. When beloved school founder and principal Max Kempner dies suddenly, the community is grief-stricken. While it seems impossible that anyone can fill Max's shoes, outsider Duncan Carpenter is selected as Max's successor, and the teachers are skeptical but hopeful that the school will continue to follow Max's philosophy under new leadership. As it turns out, Sam worked with Duncan at her previous school, and she reassures her colleagues that he is a good fit based on his past performance.

However, the teachers are soon concerned about the future of the school and their own careers, as the once carefree and gifted Duncan is now the complete opposite of his former self. Where Duncan was once a fun-loving and engaged teacher, he is now a serious rules- and security-focused administrator with radical plans to change the school in ways that will make it unrecognizable. What could possibly explain Duncan's radical shift, and can the school community survive intact?

What You Wish For is an engaging story about the effects of fear and trauma on ordinary people and the resilience of the human spirit. It is filled with characters who have experienced life's ups and downs, yet find the courage to change. Both Sam and Duncan are privately dealing with the circumstances that have shaped their lives and made them wary of relationships and life in general. Over time, and with the support of their Galveston Island community, will they overcome the obstacles preventing them from finding joy and living life to its fullest?

Katherine Center's heartfelt story is a very relatable tale about what it means to be human, and how one's vulnerabilities, fears, and strengths define and determine one's destiny.

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From GoodReads: Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living. But she wasn’t always that way.

Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen. But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school—and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love—which is the riskiest move of all.

With Katherine Center’s sparkling dialogue, unforgettable characters, heart, hope, and humanity, What You Wish For is the author at her most compelling best.

 

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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.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Shiver by Allie Reynolds.  I picked this book up at the library last week.

Prologue:  It's that time of year again. The time the glacier gives up bodies.

First Chapter:  "Hello?" My shout echoes around the concrete cavern.

The familiar red-and-white cable car sits in the bay, but there's nobody in the operator booth. The sun has disappeared behind the Alps, the sky is pink, yet there isn't a single light on in the building. Where is everyone?

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

As if we haven't gotten enough snow over the past week, and despite more in the forecast for this week, I'm still looking forward to starting this book that centers on a reunion weekend in the French Alps in which five friends are stranded at a remote mountain resort during a snowstorm. I think I'll start it this coming weekend.

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.   

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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 recent read, Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent.  The excerpts shared are from an eBook borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning: All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral, although one of us was in a coffin.

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Page 56: It's just more PC bulls**t. I know women.

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My thoughts: This is a devastating story about the effects of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and ongoing betrayals. The miserable circumstances that created the Drumm family of Dublin and pervades the lives of the three brothers from childhood through adulthood is astounding, and is fueled by the many cruelties they visit on each other beginning in their formative years.

Nugent has captured the appalling tragedy of family dysfunction in the pages of Little Cruelties. Her insight into the complexities that motivate the behavior of the characters and their interactions with each other is powerful and palpable. This is a story that lays bare the influence family members wield on each other for better or worse and the destructive consequences that ensue.
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From GoodReads: This story begins with a funeral. One of three brothers is dead, mourned by his siblings. But which one? And how? And, most importantly: why?

William, Brian, and Luke are each born a year apart in a lower middle class Catholic family in 1960s Dublin. William, the eldest, rises to the top of the heap in the film industry as a successful movie producer. Luke, the baby of the family, surprises everyone by morphing into a worldwide pop star. Brian, the compliant middle son, is the eternal adult in the room: the helpful, steady one, the manager of finances and careers.

But none of them is actually quite what he seems. Wounded by childhood, they have betrayed one another in myriad ways, hiding behind little lies that have developed into full blown treachery. With an unnerving eye for the complexities of families, Nugent delves into the secret life of a deeply troubled household and provides stunning insights into the many forces that shape us from childhood.

Liz Nugent’s new work of fiction follows three working class Irish brothers, and delves into the many ways families can wreak emotional havoc across generations.

 

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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.

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

 It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

 

Happy book publication day to Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano.  It's the first book in a new humorous mystery series.  The excerpt shared is from an advance reader copy received from the publisher.

First Chapter:  It's a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by eight thirty A.M. on any given morning. On the particular morning of Tuesday, October eighth, I was ready by seven forty-five. If you've never had to wrestle a two-year-old slathered in maple syrup into a diaper while your four-year-old decides to give herself a haircut in time for preschool, all while trying to track down the where about of your missing nanny as you sop up coffee grounds from an overflowing pot because in your sleep-deprived fog you forgot to put in the filter, let me spell it out for you.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

True, that. I remember similar days years ago, but I didn't have a nanny to help out. Good times.

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.