First Lines Friday: August 26, 2022

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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:

“Golden boy.”

I fluttered my eyes open and shifted towards Hyacinth. He swept his fingers down my arm, his head resting on his free palm, his elbow dipping against a pillow.

“Did I fall asleep?”

He grinned and my heart flew about like a bird loose from a cage.


Do you recognize the lines?

Hint: It’s the 3rd book in an Apollo & Hyacinth retelling.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint: 

It’s written by Nicole Bailey.


The First Lines Friday book is:

A Shield of Fate and Ruin


About the Book:

Title: A Shield of Fate and Ruin

Author: Nicole Bailey

Series: Apollo Ascending #3

Publication Date: Aug. 24, 2022

SynopsisWhen the world is at war.
No one is safe.
Not even the gods.

Apollo would hide with Hyacinth and hold him until the sun burned out.

But that is not their destiny.

When Ares arrives announcing a turn of the tides and war thundering towards Niria, Apollo and Hyacinth take on a journey to save everyone from Zeus’ wrath.

But when things don’t go as planned, they might destroy themselves instead.

In this third installment of the Apollo Ascending series, romance, fate, adventure, and tragedy intermingle into an exhilarating story of loyalty and sacrifice.

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.


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