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:
“The night was pierced by a woman’s scream.
The sound, brief and raw, shot across the canopy and scraped down the hillside to bounce against the rock..”
Do you recognize the lines?
Here’s a hint:
It’s written by Charis Michaels.
Still not sure? Here’s another hint:
It’s a new historical romance.
The First Lines Friday book is:
The Prince’s Bride
Title: The Prince’s Bride
Author: Charis Michaels
Series: Hidden Royals #2
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Publisher: Avon
Synopsis: Lady Marrianne “Ryan” Daventry was betrothed to an obscure French prince when she was just a baby. Years later, the young prince entered exile and was never heard from again. Lady Ryan considers the betrothal off; she can hardly marry a dead man. Now another French royal has inherited the princedom and he claims the old betrothal still stands—with himself as the bridegroom. Rather than fight the cruel new prince, Lady Ryan sets out to reveal him as an imposter. She needs only to locate the original lost prince and prove he’s still alive.
Prince Gabriel d’Orleans is still living, but he’s very difficult to find. He goes by the name of Gabriel Reign and lives in the forest, working as a horse trainer for wealthy clients. He’s hardly a pauper, but he’s also not a prince. His life in the woods conceals his true identity and keeps him safe—but also alone.
Using an old childhood letter as her only guide, Lady Ryan sets out for Savernake Forest to find the missing prince. When danger thrusts them together unexpectedly, Lady Ryan is shocked at his rustic life and his commitment to his new identity. More shocking is her fierce attraction to the rugged horseman. Meanwhile, Gabriel never planned to be discovered and he certainly never planned on falling in love. But passion has a way of upending the most careful of plans, and even the strictest boundaries are no match for the transcendent power of love.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Review
Did you guess this one? What do you think of the first lines? Comment below!
It’s a very summery cover! So pretty!
Never heard of this one but I love that cover! 😍 Can’t wait to hear what you think of it.