First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers 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!
First Lines:
A huge spruce or fir or whatever it was called stood on the pier, swaying in the wind. It looked as miserable as she felt despite the blinking fairy lights.
Holly Greene dragged the suitcase behind her through the slush on the concrete pier. What looked like patches of snow was ice and half-melted sleet.
Do you recognize the lines?
Hint: It’s a new book by Natalie Normann.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s is a holiday romance.
The First Lines Friday book is:
Christmas Island by Natalie Normann
Title: Christmas Island
Author: Natalie Normann
Publication Date: Nov. 30, 2020
Publisher: One More Chapter
Synopsis: Cosy up in front of a fire and discover Christmas the Norwegian way…full of romance, cosy traditions and hygge!
In the bleak midwinter…
A really frosty wind is making Holly’s life absolutely miserable
After all the years of hard work it took Londoner Holly Greene to become a doctor, now it could all be taken away and she only has herself to blame. She’s retreating to her brother’s rustic home on an island off the coast of Norway to lick her wounds. Only, it’s the middle of winter and icy slush plus endless darkness isn’t exactly the cheery, festive getaway she had imagined.
Nearly stumbling off the edge of a cliff in the dark, Holly is saved by Frøy, a yellow-eyed cat of fearsome but fluffy proportions, and his owner – grouchy, bearded recluse, Tor. Tor has his own problems to face but the inexplicable desire to leave a bag of freshly baked gingerbread men on Holly’s doorstep is seriously getting in the way of his hermit routine.
Call it kindness, call it Christmas, but Holly’s arrival means midwinter has never looked less bleak.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase through my links.
This is such a charming holiday romance! Have you read it? Is it on your TBR? What do you think of the first lines? Comment below!
Have a happy holiday!
Haven’t heard of it