First Sentences of Book Read 2022

Opening sentences are our first step inside a story. Some hook us right away while others ease us in. I started keeping track of first sentences years ago. I enjoy looking back on these opening lines and seeing what memories they stir up. 

Below you will find the first sentences of books I read in 2022.

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The East River smelled distinctly of death. ~ The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith

The bloody handprint was gone, wiped from Kisten's window but not from my memory and it ticked me off that someone had cleaned it, as if they were tying to steal what little recollection I retained about the night he'd died. ~ White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. ~ Circe by Madeline Miller

I am well aware that my name is ridiculous. ~ The Maid by Nita Prose

Feminism has a long and complex relationship with fashion. ~ Dressed for Freedom by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox 

This morning, Papa call me inside the parlor. ~ The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Wait, Dani! ~ Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur

Christopher was dead. ~ Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

Fraser Henley had fought against a blustering gale to arrive at the rendezvous point just in time. ~ Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose by T.A. Willberg

In the dim light of her desk's single bulb lamp, the map nearly glowed. ~ The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

There is a curse in my family.  ~ Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

So, we've come back for more stories about Moth Hush, the Okay Witch? ~ The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

Unstable footing . . . ~ Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 5 by Kamome Shirahama

The Greer mansion sat high on a hill, overlooking the town and the ocean. ~ The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Tucking my hair back, I squinted at the parchment, trying to form the strange angular letters as smoothly as I could. ~ Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

"Brown or green for the drapes, Rache?" ~ A Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon. ~ A Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

The Miss Chinatown contestants were clustered together behind a canvas screen near the stage. ~ Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

I would ask . . . that you please accompany me to the hall. ~ Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 6 by Kamome Shirahama

I try not to breathe at the last corset hook is yanked into place. ~ Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Pink and peach clouds, fiery in the sun's dying rays, rolled slowly across the baby blue sky. ~ When the Crow's Away by Auralee Wallace

A bank robbery. ~ Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Everyone has a secret self they don't show to other people.  ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo

Eden Academy, Admissions Announcement Day ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 2 by Tatsuya Endo

There was a reason Gavin Scott rarely drank. ~ The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

I wake up, get out of bed, say good morning to my plant, unwrap a protein bar, and drink a liter of bottled water. ~ The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Signor Giovannino Speranza, self-appointed mayor of the diminishing village of Prometto, population 212, knew from his sixty-two years of experience in this world that, in dealing with plumbers, one must never show even a hint of weakness. ~ The Patron Saint of Second Chances by Christine Simon

"You smell like smoke," my mother said to me. ~ A Burning by Megha Majumdar

Over a decade after the Iron Curtain severed the East from the West . . . ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 3 by Tatsuya Endo

Moving on to international news . . . ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 4 by Tatsuya Endo

Matilda Pages pushed open the door of Pages & Co. and breathed in deeply, taking in the familiar scent of just-blown-out candles, dark chocolate, and, of course, books. ~ Page & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James

It's often a man's mouth that breaks his nose, my uncle Mick was fond of saying, and the bloke in front of me was doing his best to test the theory. ~ The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver

Very early one Sunday in March 2020, I parked my crimson EMS truck outside a brick house in Sheepshead Bay. ~ Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic by Anthony Almojera

Light poured from the windows of the grand house, illuminating the front steps and graveled drive. ~ Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

There was no possibility of walking to the library that day. ~ The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

Yor sure has been coming home late these past few days. ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 5 by Tatsuya Endo

Twilight, my mentor, you've changed. ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 6 by Tatsuya Endo

Council Secretary Byron. ~ Spy x Family, Vol. 7 by Tatsuya Endo

The woman across from me barely sniffed when I slammed the pen down on the counter. ~ A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

My head is throbbing again, a white-hot line of pain from the back of my skull down to the right side of my jaw, and a dead man is signaling me from across the common room. ~ Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

This is close enough. ~ Ever After by Kim Harrison

Leda Foley of Leda Foley's Far-Fletched Flights of Fancy cringed at her phone screen. ~ Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

My uncle, who was hit by a truck when he was seventeen and spent seventeen years in a coma, woke up. ~ Uncle From Another World Vol. 1 by Hotondoshindeiru

I scanned the passing countryside in vain for signs of life. ~ Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders

~ Uncle From Another World Vol. 2 by Hotondoshindeiru

Welcome to this book. ~ Sex is  Funny Word by Cory Silverberg

Betsy Bunderoo was used to seeing cats, but not ones who walked upright or spoke. ~ The Splendid City by Karen Heuler

"I can't let you do this." ~ Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

A wise man once said, "A human mind is the place where emotion and reason are locked in perpetual combat." ~ White Hot by Ilona Andrews

When life hits you in the gut, it's always a sucker punch. ~ Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

Oh, speaking of the internet . . .  ~ Uncle From Another World Vol. 3 by Hotondoshindeiru

Heh Heh! ~ Uncle From Another World Vol. 4 by Hotondoshindeiru

I'm sitting in the principal's office. ~ Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

"Franklin!" ~ Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal

The Very Secret Society of Witches met on the third Thursday of every third month, but that was about the only thing that never changed.  ~ The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Mandanna Sangu

On Feburary 14, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples. ~ The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Still catching her breath, Mrs. Garlington plopped herself on a stool at the counter of Darla's Café ~ Seven-Year Witch by Angela M. Sanders

It's got a pool! ~ Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo

I dragged two wing chairs to the front of the New Release shelf. ~ Witch and Famous by Angela Sanders

Half an hour before the alarm will be sounded for the first time in decades--drawing four frantic old women and a geriatric crow from all corners of the sprawling manor--Ursula is awoken by insistent knocking, like giant knuckles rapping against glass. ~ The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais

The seaside town of Freya Grove, New Jersey, was founded in 1871 during the boom of the nationwide spiritualist movement. ~ Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

How does that man make checkered shirts and pastels look good? ~ The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Sophie had waited all her life to be kidnapped. ~ The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Time for the first lesson of the days, my daughters. ~ The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

Immortality required expecting the unexpected. ~ Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill

The man in the red plaid shirt fought to get away. ~ Flight Risk by Cherie Priest

The crows were back. ~ A Gathering of Crones by Lydia M. Hawke

There were no more crows. ~ Game of Crones by Lydia M. Hawke

Fell-fire, huh!!? ~ Uncle From Another World Vol. 5 by Hotondoshindeiru

Water is the worst. ~ Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 7 by Kamome Shirahama

I was wondering if . . . you wanted to help run a stall at the Silver Eve? ~ Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 8 by Kamome Shirahama

A return, you say? ~ Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 9 by Kamome Shirahama

My Dear Irene,

What on earth is going on? ~ Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman

It took three statues to plant doubt in my mind. ~ The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

One Double-Back Combo, one Cheese-Back with Fries, a Double Napoleon Shake . . . ~ Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Charlie Goodwin drew a shaky breath and tapped furiously on her phone, the screen illuminating her face in the otherwise dark storeroom. ~ The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" ~ Chaos and Cranberries by Joann Keder

Who decided the Prince should be with the Princess? ~ Kiss Him, Not Me! Vol. 1 by Junko

The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex. ~ Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Well then . . . ~ Kiss Him, Not Me! Vol. 2 by Junko

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