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The Book Review Bulletin, a monthly link-up for review posts, is open and I'd like to invite you to stop by and share a review or two. Find it here: Book Review Bulletin for July
And now for some First Lines:
This book just arrived yesterday so I haven't had a chance to read much more than these opening lines, but I'm very excited about it. Especially because the author will be at the Columbus Book Festival this weekend, so I'm planning to get my book signed.
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MAY 8, 1801
When I was a little girl, my father would often come to my bedside after my screams wakened him in the night. He would smooth back my damp ringlets, the mere feel of his callused and strong hand inspiring an instantaneous calm.
~From the beginning of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright
A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.
In 1870, orphaned Daisy François takes a position as housemaid at a Wisconsin castle to escape the horrors of her past life. There she finds a reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress who hides tales more harrowing than the ones in her novels. As women disappear from the area and the eerie circumstances seem to parallel a local legend, Daisy is thrust into a web that could ultimately steal her sanity, if not her life.
In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman's stash of collectibles, a century-old mystery and the dust of the old castle's curse threaten to rise again . . . this time to leave no one alive to tell the sordid tale.
Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly weaves a dual-time tale of two women who must do all they can to seek the light amid the darkness shrouding Castle Moreau.
Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.
*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.
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First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower
*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.
*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.
*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.
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She sucked in a sob, pushing back the thoughts that threatened to be remembered. Memories buried under layers of the dirt of life, grinding them into the ground and determining to lock them in a coffin that shouldn't ever be exhumed.
~from page 56 of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.
*Find a snippet, short and sweet.
*Post it, and share in the Linky.
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And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
This Week's Question: What are your thoughts on "happily ever after" endings?
My Answer: In general, I like a "happily ever after" as long as it feels like the major plot questions have been appropriately resolved. Not everything has to wrapped up in a neat bow, especially if it's a series, but the mystery should be solved, and the conflict for the couple (or lead characters) should be reconciled. And in a believable way. I've read a few books that gave me the impression that the author was coming to a deadline or the maximum number of pages for the book, so they quickly had the characters kiss and make up while seeming to leave the conflicts as elephants in the room. That's not satisfying.
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I don't really read too many HEA. However, a good happily ever after makes for a good change once in awhile. Have a wonderful weekend, Kym ☕☔📚💜
ReplyDeleteI don't like when it seems that it was rushed at the end of a book either. I agree that the conflicts need resolved unless it is a series. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a highly emotional read! Happy weekend!
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