2017 First Sentences of Books Read

Below you will find the first sentences of books I read in 2017.

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"No coincidence, no story," my a-ma recites, and that seems to settle everything, as it usually does, after First Brother finishes telling us about the dream he had last night. ~ The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy,would have supposed her born to be an heroine. ~ Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. ~ Uprooted by Naomi Novik


Mrs. Land worked as a computer out of Langley," my father said, taking a right turn out of the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia. ~ Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly


It took three years to find a name. ~ Monstress, Volume One: Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

Standing onstage at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, surrounded by cast members and some of the crew, many of whom I've not seen in years, I feel an almost overwhelming sense of gratitude and nostalgia. ~ As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, Joe Layden

Singh,

For the love of God, can't you give me anything  challenging? ~ The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

At the end of the hunting season, before the winter set in, the Earl of Clarendon hosted a soiree at his London home for families of Quality that had come to town. ~ The Devil Takes a Bride by Julia London

Coming home after a holiday is almost as enjoyable as the holiday itself, Edith Jackson surveyed the familiar comfort of her bedroom and parlor, her eyes lingering over beloved objects that she had collected over the years. ~ A Death By Any Other Name by Tessa Arlen

We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. ~ The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I was in fourth grade and in trouble. ~ Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

In the parking lot of the Read 'Em and Eat Cafe and Book Corner, I stood by the side of a sky blue van with oversized white letters advertising the "Gulf Coast Cab and Van" etched on the center door panel.  ~ Read to Death by Terrie Farley Moran


This day was stomping on her last nerve, and it wasn't even ten o'clock. ~ The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel

I remember being pestered by a sense of dread as I walked to my car that day, pressed down by a wave of foreboding that swirled around my head and broke against the evening in small ripples. ~ The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens


Thousands of years ago, Radomis, the dragon king of the North, took flight on the last full moon of winter. ~ Soulfire by Juliette Cross


Yeah. ~ Windburn by Juliette Cross


"Would you like to hear the story about tragic Princess Morga and the dreadful dragon king of the North again?" ~ Nightbloom by Juliette Cross


I fidgeted, tapping my thumbs against my pant leg while watching the numbers on the elevator panel. ~ Dragon Heartstrings by Juliette Cross


Tick. ~ Waking the Dragon by Juliette Cross


Strobe lights pulsed in time to the house music--aloud, hard beat, intoxicating the throng into a sensual rhythm. ~ Dragon in the Blood by Juliette Cross


Once upon a time, humans lived in peace across the land of Varis. ~ The Black Lily by Juliette Cross


Have you ever wanted something so much, it's not a desire so much as a beacon? ~ Etched On Me by Jenn Crowell


Katie Trent dragged her feet as she walked down the street towards the park. ~ The Girls Next Door by Mel Sherratt


"You are absolutely not selling William Dobson, Rupert!" ~ A Killer Ball At the Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison


The night before his imprisonment,
after a truly Russian feast,
toasting each course with vodka, 
he danced and sang all night.
~ WTF: Poems by Laura Foley


Where the reservation boundary invisibly bisected a stand of deep brush--chokecherry, popple, stunted oak--Landreaux waited. ~ LaRose by Louise Erdrich


Every time I come down here I think about my mother. ~ Planetfall by Emma Newman


She ran, weaving in and out of the startled pedestrians, but her pursuer was still close on her heels. ~ Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford


The Ellsworths of Long Parkmead had the regard of their neighbours in every respect. ~ Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal


I remember, in no particular order:

- a shiny inner wrist; 

- steam rising from a wet sink as a hot frying pan is laughingly tossed into it; 

- gouts of sperm circling a plughole, before being sluiced down the full length of a tall house; 

- a river rushing nonsensically upstream, its wave and wash lit by half a dozen chasing torchbeams; 

- another river, broad and grey, the direction of its flow disguised by a stiff wind exciting the surface; 

- bathwater long gone cold behind a locked door. 

  ~ The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes


The body lay naked and facedown, a deathly gray, spatters of blood staining the snow around it. ~ Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie


Like any Chicago tavern in deep summer, Joe Mulligan's stank. ~ Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister


The corpse opened his eyes. ~ The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi


The funeral is well attended, the New Heidelburg Lutheran Church packed to capacity with farms and their families who have come to bid farewell to one of their own. ~ Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum


Before I became a mom, I used to hear people say that having a kid is hard. ~ I Want My Epidural Back: Adventures in Mediocre Parenting by Karen Alpert


I was in a coffee shop looking through the want ads when I read, "Macy's Herald Square, the largest store in the world, has big opportunities for out-going, fun-loving people of all shapes and sizes who want more than just a holiday job!" ~ Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris


I shouldn't have come to this party. ~ The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas


When Allan Pinkerton founded the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1850, he not only became the world's first "private eye," he also established an organization that would set the global standard for investigative and security excellence for generations to come. ~ The Pinks: The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies With the Pinkerton National Detective Agency by Chris Enss


Her name is Melanie. ~ The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey


Shortly before his eightieth birthday, my father fell in love. ~ The Ice-Cream Makers by Ernest Van der Kwast

She is plucking her bird of paradise of its dead branches, leaning around the plant every time she hears a car. ~ In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez


It was dusk, but as he turned onto the rutted driveway he could make out the perimeter of yellow tape that still circled the property. ~ The Girl With a Clock For a Heart by Peter Swanson


SEALs liked to say the only easy day was yesterday. ~ Going Dark by Monica McCarty


"Above all else, I charge ye with the task of keepin' yer mother safe." ~ Sadie's Highlander by Maeve Grayson


A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories. ~ Brave New World by Aldous Huxley


The body lay motionless. ~ Sworn Virgin by Kristopher Dukes


I cannot believe that I, Lola Woodby, am saying this, but there is only so much ornamental ham, puff pastry, and pink fondant icing one can stomach. ~ Gin and Panic by Maia Chance


Montgomery, Alabama. ~ Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain


I hate potholes. ~ Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish


The main problem was her hands. ~ The Fire By Night by Teresa Messineo


You would not think someone so afflicted would or could be cheerful, not prone to melancholy or miseries. ~ Miss Jane by Brad Watson


Life is forever changed without her; without the sense of her somewhere near. ~ The Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb


In 2001, a reprint of the first edition of my book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was made available to Muggle readers. ~ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and J.K. Rowling


September in New England was about as perfect a season as there was on earth. ~ Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay


The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. ~ Cinder by Marissa Meyer


All Emma had to do was open the car door. ~ Bitten by Deceit by Shawntelle Madison


Rafe had thought he'd be past it by now. ~ Forbidden by Elle Thorne


On that unseasonably warm November day at One Devenshire Terrace, Christmas was not in his head at all. ~ Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva


Just when I broke my sobriety and started drinking again in moderate and controlled measure exactly like a normal person, I met this guy who wasn't just a guy but a writer, and not just a writer but the author of one of my favorite books. ~ Lust and Wonder by Augusten Burroughs


The champagne bottle knocks against the marble kitchen counter, making me jump. ~ Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris


She really needed to learn how to say no once in a while. ~ Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne


This story is about one particular Christmas, but it actually starts with a very Bad Thing happening the previous spring. ~ Christmas At Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan


You do not enter a race to lose. ~ Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo


He is looking for me. ~ Shadowed by Karen E. Olson


Warm August sunlight slanted across the dusty windshield of Cameron McLendon's blue Ford pickup as he drove south on Highway 93. ~ The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson


The twins were at it again. ~ The Rancher's Christmas Song by RaeAnne Thayne


This was going to be a disaster. ~ Sugar Pine Trail by RaeAnne Thayne


If you look up Santa Claus the top Google result is Wikipedia (because of course it is). ~ Mrs. Claus: Not the Fairy Tale They Say edited by Rhonda Parrish


"What is the point of a high school reunion when you can already see who got fat and bald on Facebook?" ~ These Violent Delights by Victoria Namkung


I had not been long at my post in Mount Street, Mayfair, when my employer's sister came to some calamity. ~ Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

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© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.