Tag: First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday – 27/12/2024

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Happy final Friday of 2024, readers; welcome to my last First Lines Friday feature of the year as well! Hasn’t it gone fast?!

For this final First Lines Friday post of the year, I decided to look back at the books. I have really enjoyed this year and was one to feature. In the end, I decided to feature one I’ve read quite recently. I devoured this book when I picked it up, which is testament to just how much I enjoyed it!

Here’s today’s First Lines Friday introduction, then I’ll follow with the details and my thoughts on the book:


The three sisters, Cibi, Magda and Livi, sit in a tight circle with their father in the small backyard of their home. The oleander bush their mother has tried so hard to coax back to life droops disconsolately in one corner of the small garden.

Livi, the youngest, at three years old, leaps to her feet: sitting still is not in her nature.

‘Livi, please, will you sit down?’ Cibi tells her. At seven years old, she is the eldest of the siblings, and it is her responsibility to chastise them when they misbehave. ‘You know Father wants to talk to us.’

 


Three Sisters  – Heather Morris

Genre:  Historical fiction

Pages: 417

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Zaffre

Publication Date: 14 Oct 2021

 

Goodreads – Three Sisters

When they are little girls, Cibi, Magda, and Livia make a promise to their father – that they will stay together, no matter what. Years later, at just 15, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her. Together, they fight to survive through unimaginable cruelty and hardship.

Magda, only 17, stays with her mother and grandfather, hiding out in a neighbour’s attic or in the forest when the Nazi militia come to round up friends, neighbours and family. She escapes for a time, but eventually she too is captured and transported to the death camp.

In Auschwitz-Birkenau the three sisters are reunited and, remembering their father, they make a new promise, this time to each other: That they will survive.


My Thoughts…

I absolutely loved Three Sisters and its conclusion to Heather Morris‘s The Tattooist of Auschwitz series. I read this book pretty fast overall, but especially so given that it’s an audiobook format. It’s the format I use the least, and typically I struggle to find time to listen. However, I was actively making time to listen to Three Sisters.

Another element I enjoyed is how these books do somewhat tie together even though they are independent stories. Characters that come up in previous books make their way into the later ones, even if it is a passing mention. That’s great because readers have the flexibility of reading the whole series or being able to pick up on these little things, or equally, readers can pick up just one book and read it standalone.

Three Sisters is set in one of my favourite historical fiction settings of all time. Call me morbid, but I have a fascination with reading stories set in the concentration camps and learning what really happened to people there.  If you are a World War II fiction fan, then Three Sisters will be right up your street.

Do you enjoy World War II fiction? Have you read Three Sisters or any of the other books published by Heather Morris to date?

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First Lines Friday – 13/12/2024

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Happy Friday 13th folks and welcome to today’s First Lines Friday feature.

I didn’t explicitly set myself a challenge when I talked about posting this First Lines Friday in my Sunday Summary. However, given it’s been a little while since I did, I want to set myself one. More often than not, I’ve been forward-looking in these posts and sharing books I’m looking to read soon. Instead, I want to use today’s post to feature a book I recommend to you fellow readers!

So, without any more preamble, here’s today’s First Lines Friday introduction, then details of the book:-


ASH FELL FROM THE SKY. Vin watched the downy flakes drift through the air. Leisurely. Careless. Free. The puffs of soot fell like black snowflakes, descending upon the dark city of Luthadel. They drifted in corners, blowing in the breeze and curling in tiny whirlwinds over the cobblestones. They seemed so uncaring. What would that be like?

Vin sat quietly in one of the crew’s watch-holes—a hidden alcove built into the bricks on the side of the safe house. From within it, a crewmember could watch the street for signs of danger. Vin wasn’t on duty; the watch-hole was simply one of the few places where she could find solitude.

And Vin liked solitude. When you’re alone, no one can betray you. Reen’s words. Her brother had taught her so many things, then had reinforced them by doing what he’d always promised he would—by betraying her himself. It’s the only way you’ll learn. Anyone will betray you, Vin. Anyone.

 


The Final Empire  – Brandon Sanderson

Genre:  Fantasy

Pages: 541

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: 17 Jul 2006

 

Goodreads – The Final Empire

 

What if the Dark Lord won?

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on a criminal no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy – the magic that lies in all metals.

 

My Thoughts…

It’s almost a shame that I read the early Mistborn books before I started my blog. I absolutely love this series by Brandon Sanderson. He is an absolute legend of a man anyway, but he very quickly became one of my favourite authors of all-time.

He’s in the bookish socials lately for encouraging readers of all genres not to discriminate against others for sub-genres they read (particularly romantasy). I’m all for that even though it’s not a genre I read. It doesn’t matter. I don’t discriminate – if that’s what you like to read, I’m all for you enjoying whatever books you like. I’m just glad people are finding joy in reading.

A part of me wants to revisit these early Mistborn books and review them on my blog in time. They are what I recommend as a starting point to new readers of Brandon Sanderson. In fact, I recommended them on Threads to readers interested in trying his books very recently. Shameless plug – I’m on Threads – pretty please follow me, you know… if you want…

It means that I’ll also have the whole series reviewed on my blog eventually. Plus, I remembers loving these books. I read the first at the age of 21, so maybe I can schedule in a revisit as it’ll be nearly 10 years ago since I first read the books.

Have you read any of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series? What do you think of it?

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First Lines Friday – 22/11/2024

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Today’s First Lines Friday feature is on theme with my Top Ten Tuesday post I shared a few days ago. It also features one of the books I shared in that post. For a different reason, admittedly.

I recently purchased a copy of this book and the first line especially caught my attention. I’m looking forward to reading this soon. It’s been recommended to me by two different individuals recently. It’ll also be nice to read something a little ‘older’ on the TBR.

Here are today’s First Lines Friday opening lines, followed by details of the book:-

 

The small boys came early to the hanging.

It was still dark when the first three or four of them sidled out of the hovels, quiet as cats in their felt boots. A thin layer of fresh snow covered the little town like a new coat of paint, and theirs were the first footprints to blemish its perfect surface. They picked their way through the huddled wooden huts and along the streets of frozen mud to the silent market-place, where the gallows stood waiting.

 


Pillars of the Earth  – Ken Follett

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Pages: 1090

Audience: Adult

Publisher: MacMillan London

Publication Date: 1989

 

Goodreads – Pillars of the Earth

 

A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth is Ken Follett’s classic historical masterpiece.

A MASON WITH A DREAM

1135 and civil war, famine and religious strife abound. With his family on the verge of starvation, mason Tom Builder dreams of the day that he can use his talents to create and build a cathedral like no other.

A MONK WITH A BURNING MISSION

Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, is resourceful, but with money scarce he knows that for his town to survive it must find a way to thrive, and so he makes the decision to build within it the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

A WORLD OF HIGH IDEALS AND SAVAGE CRUELTY

As Tom and Philip meet so begins an epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power. In a world beset by strife and enemies that would thwart their plans, they will stop at nothing to achieve their ambitions in a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother . . .


My Thoughts…

That intro really caught my attention. What are small children doing attending a hanging? What kind of life and existence is this?

I’ve been recommended this book twice by people I trust pretty well when it comes to book recommendations. It’s an epic, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by the page I’ve shared above. However, that doesn’t intimidate me. I love me a good chunky book now and then and as a fan of historical fiction, the combo should work well for me.

I’ve read books set around similar time periods and in terms of setting before, so I’m pretty confident this is something I can get on with. Otherwise, I’m pretty oblivious as to the content of the book other than that alluded to in the synopsis.

Have you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or any of the other books in the series?

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First Lines Friday – 26/07/2024

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Happy Friday folks and welcome to the next instalment of my First Lines Friday series! In my Sunday Summary post last week, I set myself the challenge to feature a non-fiction book with you in this post. I think I found a great one! The introduction is exciting, and this book is on my Summer TBR so it helps psyche me up to read it soon.

Let’s take a look at today’s First Lines Friday feature, shall we?


Hundreds of men are screaming.

The armoured soldiers charge forward, howling with rage, their swords and shields clashing, their boots struggling for purchase in the thick mud. Slowly, agonisingly, some of the fighters are pushed back against a looming tower of corpses. The body pile is a mixture of slain men and horses, gorily intertwined like some gothic rendition of hell. In the distance, flayed men burn on crucifixes.

“You are dying!” yells an assistant director. “That’s the main thing to remember, you are dying!”

 


Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon  – James Hibberd

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 464

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Transworld

Publication Date: 06 Oct 2020


Goodreads – Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

 

The official, definitive oral history of the blockbuster show from Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd, endorsed by George R. R. Martin himself (who calls it “an amazing read”), reveals the one Game of Thrones tale that has yet to be told: the thirteen-year behind-the-scenes struggle to make the show.

 Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon shares the incredible, thrilling, uncensored story of Game of Thrones, from the creators’ first meetings with George R. R. Martin and HBO through the series finale, including all the on-camera battles, off-camera efforts, and the many controversies in between. The book also features more than fifty candid new interviews, rare and stunning photos, and unprecedented access to the producers, cast, and crew who took an impossible idea and made it into the biggest show in the world.

 

My Thoughts…

As a huge Game of Thrones fan, I was always going to pick this up at some point! I’ve read all the books in digital and paperback format, as well as started listening to the audiobooks. I’ve also watched the TV show, some episodes multiple times. Now, I get to read about that too!

The opening lines introduce the filming of the Battle of the B*stards, which is one of my favourite parts of the TV series. It must have been a logistical nightmare, but on screen it was fantastic.

I’m looking forward to reading more about the overall production of the series. I (not so) secretly hope that it touches on how the TV series overtakes the books and how decisions were made on how to proceed (and how closely it stuck to GRRM’s intentions).

Have you read Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon? Are you as much a fan of the series as I am?

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First Lines Friday – 28/06/2024

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Welcome to another First Lines Friday post! In my Sunday Summary post last week, I shared that I was keeping the subject of this First Lines Friday feature open to a decision nearer the time.

I’ve decided for this post to share an upcoming read. As of this post, I have read three out of the four books in the series, with just this last one to catch up on until I can mark the series as complete!

So, without further ado, let’s get into this First Lines Friday feature shall we?


I floated in a void of nothing.

And felt like I belonged there.

So strange. I was a creature of flesh and blood. I knew that. Yet my soul – part of it at least – felt more at home here. In a vast void of meaningless time. The nowhere.

 


Defiant- Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Science fiction

Pages: 415

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 21 Nov 2023

Goodreads – Defiant

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes the final book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.

Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts. 

The Superiority didn’t stop in it’s fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls. 

Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.


My Thoughts…

Defiant is on this year‘s Summer TBR as I want to catch up with and finish this last instalment of the series.

For just a couple of months last year, I was up-to-date until Defiant was released in November. I’m not mad though! I am really enjoying this series to date even though I’m older than the target audience. Angsty teenager is a difficult character type to get right and for me to get on with. I’ve always been a bit of an old soul so I’ve struggled to relate to this kind of character before.

Not Spensa though. Is she incredibly feisty, spontaneous and a little bit reckless? Absolutely. Is this kind of person I would normally jive with? Not really. However, she works really well for me.

To be fair, there isn’t a Brandon Sanderson novel yet that I’ve not loved. I hope I haven’t jinxed it, but I’m quietly confident this will be another fantastic read.


Thanks for reading today’s First Lines Friday post! Have you read Defiant yet?

 

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First Lines Friday – 14/06/2024

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Last time I shared a First Lines Friday post I featured a non-fiction novel coming up on my TBR. For this post, I deliberately wanted to feature a recent fiction book I purchased by an author I’ve enjoyed re-reading recently.

I found this book at Waterstones unintentionally, but I loved the synopsis and I’m confident I’ll really enjoy the story. The opening lines below only reinforce that.

Let me share that with you now –


They kill my father first.

Shiny boots ring on the stairs as they march into our cell, four of them all in a pretty row. Blank faces and perfect skin, matte grey pistols in red, red hands. A beautiful man with golden hair says they’re here to execute us. No explanations. No apologies.

Father turns towards us, and the terror in his eyes breaks my heart to splinters. I open my mouth to speak to him, but I don’t know what I’ll say.

The bullets catch him in his back, and bloody flowers bloom on his chest. My sisters scream as the muzzles flash and the shadows dance, and the noise is so loud, I’m afraid I’ll never hear anything ever again.

 


Lifel1k3 – Jay Kristoff

Genre: Post apocalyptic fantasy

Pages: 417

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 01 Jun 2018


Goodreads – LIfel1k3

It’s just another day on the Scrap: lose the last of your credits at the WarDome, dodge the gangs and religious fanatics, discover you can destroy electronics with your mind, stumble upon the deadliest robot ever built…

When Eve finds the ruins of an android boy named Ezekiel in the scrap pile she calls home, her entire world comes crashing down. With her best friend and her robotic sidekick in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, battle cyborg assassins, and scour abandoned megacities to save the ones she loves…and learn the dark secrets of her past.


My Thoughts…

I picked up this book entirely because it is written by Jay Kristoff and I have confidence in his writing. After looking at it for content for this First Lines Friday post, I may end up picking it up soon for a refreshing change.  

I’m intrigued by the post apocalyptic setting as this is something I have read in the past, but admittedly, I don’t read a lot of. Combine this with the evident tech that has a place in this world, and we’re in for an interesting mashup!

If I go onto enjoy this first because as much as I think I will, then what a shame that it’s the first part of a trilogy. I’ll just have to conclude the series, right?!

Do you like the sound of Lifel1k3? Have you enjoyed this First Lines Friday post?

 

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First Lines Friday – 12/04/2024

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Hello readers and welcome to my next instalment in the First Lines Friday regular series I feature on my blog.

This week’s feature is an upcoming read I’m looking forward to. Full disclosure here – it’s a book that takes an eye-opening view of the pandemic and how the NHS were left to handle the worldwide crisis on our shores. If it’s a topic you don’t want to read about right now, then this post (and book) isn’t for you.

I, however, am interested in the subject. If you’ve watched a Covid-19 related documentary on ITV lately then you may have an inkling of what is coming up.

If you’re ready, let’s take a look!

 

He lies on hospital sheets, but he’s drowning. Behind closed doors, with neither fanfare nor drama, he’s been quietly drowning all night. The act of voicing distress – alerting another human being to his plight – takes spare air he no longer possesses.

Wide mouth, wide eyes, face stunned and stricken. The mask clamps down on skin slick with sweat. His lips are grey, fingertips the colour of bruises. And though the oxygen roars, the highest flow we can manage, it’s still not enough, not remotely.


Breathtaking – Rachel Clarke

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 240

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Publication Date: 28 Jan 2021

 


Goodreads – Breathtaking

How does it feel to confront a pandemic from the inside, one patient at a time? To bridge the gulf between a perilously unwell patient in quarantine and their distraught family outside? To be uncertain whether the protective equipment you wear fits the science or the size of the government stockpile? To strive your utmost to maintain your humanity even while barricaded behind visors and masks?

Rachel is a palliative care doctor who looked after the most gravely unwell patients on the Covid-19 wards of her hospital. Amid the tensions, fatigue and rising death toll, she witnessed the courage of patients and NHS staff alike in conditions of unprecedented adversity. For all the bleakness and fear, she found that moments that could stop you in your tracks abounded. People who rose to their best, upon facing the worst, as a microbe laid waste to the population.


My Thoughts…

The ITV drama of the same name was based on revelations in this book. It was a heart-breaking watch, but I don’t want that to deter me from reading the source material.

It’s hard to stomach, but the stories and people within are real, even if their identities are protected under pseudonyms. Many undoubtedly suffered in the pandemic for a lot of reasons, and I think a lot of the detail was downplayed during the pandemic to avoid scaring the public. Now that the trauma isn’t so fresh, I want to read those stories. Understand what really happened. Pay my own respects to those who tragically lost their lives because we had no idea what hit us.

I appreciate this book isn’t going to be everybody’s taste, and that’s okay. There are many who will find this kind of book painful. I’m not one to shy away from a tricky subject though.

If you’re still here, thanks for taking the time to read today’s First Lines Friday post! Have you read or watched Breathtaking? What did you think?

 

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First Lines Friday – 08/03/2024

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Welcome to the next instalment of my First Lines Friday regular feature series.

As soon as I started planning today’s First Lines Friday post, I knew I wanted to feature today’s book. It’s a book I recently obtained a copy of, and it’s the one and only pre-order I have been waiting on for a good few months now.

It’s not very often I pre-order books I must admit, but this was an exceptional case! Let’s see if you can guess the book from the introduction.

 

The dead boy opened his eyes.

All was still and silent, he among it, and most of all. A statue he was, his only movement in the yawning of his pupils, the soft parting of his bloodless lips. There was no quickening of breath as waking claimed him, no deeping drumbeat beneath his porcelain skin. He lay there in darkness, angelic and bare, staring at the timeworn velvet canopy above, and wondering what had woke him.

 

 

 

Empire of the Damned – Jay Kristoff

Genre: Gothic Fantasy

Pages: 756

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 29 Feb 2024

 

 

Goodreads – Empire of the Damned

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE.

From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost. Drawn into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious vampire Liathe, Gabriel must now deliver the Grail to ancients of the Blood Esani, and learn the truth of how Daysdeath might be finally undone.

But the Last Silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by terrors of the Blood Voss, drawn into warfare between the Blood Dyvok and duskdancers of the frozen Highlands, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the Grail learn her truth.

And that truth may be too awful for any to imagine.

 

My Thoughts…

My original plan was to re-read Empire of the Vampire in February so that I was in a position to pick up Empire of The Damned this month. That’s not worked out, but Empire of the Vampire is high on my upcoming reading list. Technically it is not on my March reading list as I’ve changed the way I’m structuring those. However, it is very likely to be the next book I pick up after I complete March’s reading.

I am very excited to pick up this sequel, even if I wholly admit that I need to go back to the first book as a refresher. I read this book in 2022, but I also had covid at the time. I may have been on holiday, but the circumstances of reading this when I was ill has definitely impacted my recollection of events… if not how the book made me feel overall.

It would also be very rude of me not to pick up and read my special edition copy of Empire of the Vampire that my sister kindly gifted me…

Have you read Empire of the Vampire or any other books by Jay Kristoff? Do either of these books appeal to you for their dark and gritty nature? I would love to talk about these books, so let me know in the comments!

Thanks for checking out today’s First Lines Friday feature and I’ll see you again soon!

 

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First Lines Friday – 16/02/2024

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Happy Friday fellow readers and welcome to another First Lines Friday feature post!

When I decided to share this feature, I kept my options open as to the book I could feature in today’s post. I’m glad I did that, as conversations within my family this week inspired today’s choice.

I’m not going to give you too much ramble here because I am keen to get stuck in. However, one thing I will say in the interest of transparency is that today’s First Lines Friday introduction contains swearing.

Read on at your discretion…

 

‘It’s an unfortunate situation.’

Bishop John Durkin smiles, benevolently.

I’m pretty sure that Bishop John Durkin does everything benevolently, even taking a shit.

The youngest Bishop to preside over the North Notts diocese, he’s a skilled orator, author of several acclaimed theological papers, and, if he hadn’t at least tried to walk on water, I’d be amazed.

He’s also a wanker.

I know it. His colleagues know it. His staff know it. Secretly, I think, even he knows it.

 

 

The Burning Girls – C. J. Tudor

 

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Pages: 396

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 23 Nov 2021

 

 

Goodreads – The Burning Girls

An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present–and intent on keeping its dark secrets–in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor.

Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and her daughter Flo get acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

But uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village where everyone has something to protect, everyone has links with the village’s bloody past, and no one trusts an outsider.

 

My Thoughts…

The Burning Girls, and CJ Tudor, have been topics of conversation amongst my family in the last week. It’s this inspiration that led to The Burning Girls being featured in today’s First Lines Friday post.

Mum has been reading The Chalk Man, CJ Tudor’s debut novel and we’ve been chatting about it. I’m pleased to say that Mum enjoyed this debut just as much as I did, and she is very quickly moving on to The Taking of Annie Thorne.

The recommendations have also gone the other way. Mum and Dad have been watching the TV drama based on the featured book in this post, The Burning Girls. Mum recommended this to me to watch last weekend as they thoroughly enjoyed it. I do intend to watch the TV series, but it’s also making me think about picking up the book. Shock horror, you say?

I picked up a copy of this in paperback format fairly recently, even though the book has been on my TBR since December 2022. Part of the reason I wanted to pick this up and physical format was because that’s how I’ve read CJ Tudor’s other books to date. I also bought it in this format so I could pass it on to Mum to read if she wants to after me. I did the same thing with The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne. Although in practice, Mum does the majority of her reading at lunchtime and so purchased kindle copies for ease. And why not!

Either way, I hope I enjoy The Burning Girls as much as I did her other books, and that I can pass on this copy as a recommendation once I’ve read it to somebody I think will love it!

Have you read The Burning Girls, watched the TV series, or any other books by CJ Tudor? Have you enjoyed this First Lines Friday feature? As always, I would love to hear from you!

 

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First Lines Friday – 26/01/2024

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Welcome to my first First Lines Friday post of 2024 readers, and I have a great feature for you today!

More often than not, I find myself looking forward in these posts and featuring upcoming books on my reading list. Whilst I didn’t explicitly set myself a challenge this time, I decided tonight that instead I was going to look back in today’s First Lines Friday. I feature a five-star read from last year that I’m sure you will love too. Particularly, if you are a fan of Brandon Sanderson and read any of his young adult works.

Can you guess the book from the clues in the introduction?

 

A dark sphere appeared before me in the centre of the room. Scud. Was I really going to do this? In my hand, Doomslug fluted nervously.

The sterile, whitewashed, walls, enormous one-way mirror, and metal tables marked this as some kind of scientific facility. I was on Starsight: the massive space station that housed the regional offices of the Superiority. Up until this past year, I’d never even heard of the Superiority, let alone understood the nuances of how it – as a Galactic government – ruled hundreds of different planets and species.

To be honest, I still didn’t understand those nuances. I’m not exactly a “there are nuances to this situation” type of girl. I’m more of an “if it’s still moving, you didn’t use enough ammunition” type of girl.

 

 

 

Cytonic – Brandon Sanderson

 

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 23 Nov 2021

 

Goodreads – Cytonic

Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home.

Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa has seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.

The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.

To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying.

 

My Thoughts…

I have dual motives for featuring Cytonic as today’s First Lines Friday feature. Firstly, it is a book I wholeheartedly recommend and a series that I will press into almost anyone’s hands. Whilst I haven’t officially published reviews of any books in the series, as yet, you can find a summary of my thoughts for Skyward, Starsight, and Cytonic in my Sunday Summary posts around the time I finished the books.

Secondly, I’m also featuring the book today as a reminder that the fourth book in the series was released at the end of last year. I need to read it! It’s not very often that I keep up with series as they come out. Indeed, so far, I haven’t been keeping up with this one at all. But, that is my intention in future. With this in mind, I hope to pick up Defiant soon.

I enjoy reading from the perspective of the main character, Spensa. She is young, feisty, and angsty. She has a chip on her shoulder and everything to prove. Her temperament makes her a bit of a loose cannon and this keeps us as readers guessing as to what she’ll come up with next!

If you like science fiction full of action and a fighting scenes then this will definitely appeal to you. I thoroughly enjoy how these scenes are written and how Spencer‘s personality adds a little spice.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s First Lines Friday feature!

Have you read Cytonic or any of the books in the Skyward series so far?

 

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