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:
Out in the countryside it doesn’t matter how loud you scream.
Do you recognize the lines?
Here’s a hint:
It’s a recent YA fantasy release.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s written by Chloe Gong.
The First Lines Friday book is:
Foul Lady Fortune
About the Book:
Title: Foul Lady Fortune
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: Foul Lady Fortune #1
Page Length: 528
Publication Date: Sept. 27, 2022
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Synopsis: It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.
Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.
Code name: Fortune.
But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.
To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
Have you read Foul Lady Fortune? What do you think of the first lines? Comment below!
I did not get this one! Great pick today. It’s a good first line!
Definitely hooked me. 🙂
That is a good line and 100% true (yes, I tried it out a few times when I was in the countryside XD).
Nice! I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking i should! lol
It is very freeing to just be able to let out a shout!
That is definitely a great first line!
Whoa whoa whoaaaaa. What fantastic first lines! 😍 I absolutely love it!
Great first line! It’s on my TBR. Not sure I’ll get to it until the end of the year, though. 🙈
It’s so good! Definitely worth checking out when you get a chance.