I have a confession: I haven’t read the books from the last two posts I’m talking about, Dirty Play by Violet Paige and The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolber. I need to read the last one for sure since it’s this month’s climate book club pick, but I had planned one of the prompts for the Trick or Treat readathon, and I forgot which one. Plus, we are mid-month, and I’m still looking for books to fit the prompts. I picked up this book to hopefully remember that I need to ask Paula from Family and Books if she still wants to buddy read it with me. First Lines Friday is a weekly feature for book lovers, formerly hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
- Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
- Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
- Finally… reveal the book!
Note: The original host blog does not appear to be active any longer, but if anyone knows of a new host, please
First Lines:
The receptionist had been expecting a neurotypical.
Agnes Merchant was an all-girls establishment, with a strict uniform code and fees that could get up to six figures, once you factored in donations to the new alumni hall. This day was World Autism Day, and in a show of real inclusivity, the faculty had invited two speakers for a special assembly. The first, a representative from a charity, had already arrived. She was sitting in the green room – a slightly severe woman in her fifties who’d only met a handful of autistic people in her life, despite making them the sole focus of her career. She cast suspicious looks at the students as they passed by.
The second guest stood before the receptionist.
‘Can I help you?’ The guest smiled.
The date of birth she’d given when signing in set her age at twenty-eight but she looked younger. Her hair was long and blonde with streaks of pink, a soft cerise that happened to match the fluffy cowgirl boots she was wearing.
‘I’m Raina Lewis. The podcaster. You’re expecting me.’
Elle McNicoll
Goodreads Blurb:
An unapologetic celebration of love, relationships, and the women who have historically been shut out of such stories, until now . . . Elle McNicoll is about to become everyone’s favorite new name in new adult romance.
Enter Raina Lewis, London’s hottest It Girl – effortlessly cool, endlessly intriguing, and beloved for her smash-hit podcast spotlighting autistic women. But not everyone’s convinced by the hype. Investigative journalist and ‘King of Cancel Culture’, Tom Branimir is sure there’s more to Raina than meets the eye. He’s determined to uncover her secret. That is… if he can just manage not to fall for her first.
Goodreads Link Here
The StoryGraph Link Here
Alex