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:
When ladyroses burn, they bleed.
“A Symbol of life,” Mother used to say when we would bend over the smoke together.
But now, as I hold flame to stem, as I watch hungry, glowing embers devour leaves and thorns, as floral perfume curdles to ribbons of soot in my nose, I know she was wrong.
Do you recognize the lines?
Hint: It’s a new YA fantasy.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s written by Jessica S. Olson.
The First Lines Friday book is:
A Forgery of Roses
About the Book:
Title: A Forgery of Roses
Author: Jessica S. Olson
Page Length: 368
Publication Date: March 1, 2021
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Synopsis: Myra Whitlock has a gift. One many would kill for.
She’s an artist whose portraits alter people’s real-life bodies, a talent she must hide from those who would kidnap, blackmail, and worse in order to control it. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone.
But one frigid night, the governor’s wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor’s dead son. Desperate, Myra ventures to his legendary stone mansion.
Once she arrives, however, it becomes clear the boy’s death was no accident. Someone dangerous lurks within these glittering halls. Someone harboring a disturbing obsession with portrait magic.
Myra cannot do the painting until she knows what really happened, so she turns to the governor’s older son, a captivating redheaded poet. Together, they delve into the family’s most shadowed affairs, racing to uncover the truth before the secret Myra spent her life concealing makes her the killer’s next victim.
Have you read this one? What do you think of the first lines? Comment below!
Yes, I definitely got this one!
I’m definitely looking forward to reading this one!
I really enjoyed it!
Great to hear!!
Had no clue but those are intriguing first lines! I’ve been seeing this cover around a fair bit lately and it’s making me curious!
I really liked it – definitely a unique read!
I didn’t guess it but it does sound interesting!