First Lines Friday 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:
“Death was a greedy bitch. Taking one life- two, even – could not satisfy her.”
Do you recognize the lines?
Here’s a hint:
It’s a new romantasy.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s written by Vanessa Rasanen
The First Lines Friday book is:
Once the Skies Fade
Title: Once the Skies Fall
Author: Vanessa Rasanen
Series: Immortal Reveries #2
Page Length: 600
Pub. Date: March 14, 2025
Publisher: Crab Apple Books
Synopsis: The law is clear: remarry or lose the throne.
But it says nothing about love.
My husband is dead, and I’m the prime suspect. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the law requires I marry by the end of the season, or I lose my kingdom.
I followed my heart the first time; I won’t do it again.
The old tournament tradition could help me select our next king while protecting my broken heart, but I never expected a close friend of my husband’s family to show up to compete.
I don’t know if he believes the rumors and suspects me of murder, but it’s clear someone wants him out of the competition and me off the throne.
Caught in a tangled web of political games and deadly secrets, I must choose between following my wounded heart and keeping my crown…before more end up dead.
Once the Skies Fade is the second in a fantasy romance collection of interconnected stand-alones set in a magical war-torn world, where secrets have power and allies are few. This tale of love lost and fated mates brings a morally grey queen with shadowy secrets and the sarcastic general who could mend her heart…if he doesn’t put a dagger in it first.
