
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 blade could have sliced at my head with the way it ached. It hurt so much I might not even fight a weapon aimed at me. Not that a blade could kill me.
Do you recognize the lines?

Hint: It’s a retelling based on Greek mythology.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s written by Nicole Bailey.

The First Lines Friday book is:
A Veil of Gods and Kings
I adored the Apollo-Hyacinth retelling, and I just received the second book in the series. Squeee!! I’m super excited to start it this weekend.
About the Book:

Title: A Veil of Gods and Kings
Author: Nicole Bailey
Series: Apollo Ascending #1
Page Length: 347
Publication Date: April 27, 2022
Synopsis: A god fighting his fate. A prince burdened with secrets. And a romance that could end in flames.
Apollo is a deity… almost. Half mortal and refusing to take his position as god of the sun, he spends his nights drowning out haunting memories and his days avoiding responsibilities.
Until his father forces him into an ultimatum:
Ascend immediately.
Or spend the year mentoring under the obnoxious Prince Hyacinth.
Forced together, Apollo and Hyacinth grapple with their mutual disdain for each other.
But what starts as a kindling of irritation begins to burn into something new. A spark that, if it turns to flame, could incinerate everything they’ve always protected.
A reimagining of the Greek myth of Apollo and Prince Hyacinth, this NA, enemies-to-lovers fantasy series is a whirlwind journey full of romance, intrigue, and enthralling characters.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | My Review
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.
Ooh, hadn’t heard of this one before. This sounds good 😍 Great first lines!
It’s soooooo good!!