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:
The hardest part about this job isn’t the stealing. It’s the escaping.
Do you recognize the lines?
Hint: It’s the first book in a new fantasy series.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s written by Brigid Kemmerer.
The First Lines Friday book is:
Defy the Night
About the Book:
Series: Defy the Night #1
Page Length: 496
Publication Date: Sept. 14, 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer comes a blockbuster fantasy series about a kingdom divided by corruption, the prince desperately holding it together, and the girl who will risk everything to bring it crashing down.
The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.
King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents’ shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King’s Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion–it’s the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.
Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most–but it’s still not enough.
As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King’s Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it’s even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.
Set in a richly imaginative world with striking similarities to our own, Brigid Kemmerer’s captivating new series is about those with power and those without . . . and what happens when someone is brave enough to imagine a new future.
Have you read Defy the Night? What do you think of the first lines? Comment below!
Great first line! <3 Never read the book, but who knows, maybe one day!
It sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it! I enjoyed this book. 😍
For once I did recognise the lines and it’s such a great feeling! Happy holidays ❤❤❤
Hahaha – I know exactly how you feel! Happy holidays to you too!
This is on my shelf too and I can’t wait to read it.
It sounds so good! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!