I’m doing all the bookish things this week! I’m adding First Line Fridays, hosted by Hoarding Books, to my blog schedule. I’ve always wanted to participate but never made the time, but as you can see that has changed. I’m going to enjoy sharing first lines each Friday from a book I’m currently reading, one from my TBR, or finding an oldie but goodie from my bookshelves. Hope you will join in the fun and pick up a book close at hand and share the first line in the comments below.
This week I’m featuring Elizabeth Camden’s latest, A Desperate Hope, releasing next week. Elizabeth pens stellar historical romance novels and I’ve loved each one that I’ve read. I’m sure this one will be no exception!
First Line
Intriguing and a little ominous! You can’t help wonder what’s in store for Alex and whether Eloise is avoiding him, or she’s been prevented from appearing against her will! The cover and title all combine to exude an air of mystery and urgency.
Giveaway
With thanks to Bethany House, I’m thrilled to be giving away a copy of A Desperate Hope. I’m going to keep things simple and dispense with the Rafflecopter form. To enter, simply add the first line of a book within your reach in the comments below by midnight on 29th January. A winner will be selected at random on 30th January.
Eloise Drake’s prim demeanor hides the turbulent past she’s finally put behind her–or so she thinks. A mathematical genius, she’s now a successful accountant for the largest engineering project in 1908 New York. But to her dismay, her new position puts her back in the path of the man responsible for her deepest heartbreak.
Alex Duval is the mayor of a town about to be wiped off the map. The state plans to flood the entire valley where his town sits in order to build a new reservoir, and Alex is stunned to discover the woman he once loved on the team charged with the demolition. With his world crumbling around him, Alex devises a risky plan to save his town–but he needs Eloise’s help to succeed.
Alex is determined to win back the woman he thought he’d lost forever, but even their combined ingenuity may not be enough to overcome the odds against them before it’s too late.
Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.
Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Camden @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Elizabeth’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: A Desperate Hope or Koorong
January 26, 2019 at 9:35 am
REL! Welcome to FLF!!! We are so delighted to have you joining us, my friend! Great pick for your debut btw, this is on my tbr as well!
January 26, 2019 at 9:52 am
Awww…thank you, friend. I’ve had good intentions for YEARS! Finally getting my act together 😉
January 26, 2019 at 9:58 am
Love her books; thanks for your giveaway.
January 26, 2019 at 10:01 am
Forgot to list first line…book I am reading now..Tripp Walker sensed it the moment he drove around the bend (Tina Radcliffe’s Her Last Chance Cowboy).
January 26, 2019 at 10:08 am
Ooo, also intriguing! What’s around the bend?! Thanks for sharing, Jackie.
January 26, 2019 at 10:56 am
Intriguing cover & I definitely want to read it! Happy Friday! My first line is from “Yesterday’s Promises” by Kimberly Rae Jordan:
“Danica Callaghan sank down on the lowest of the wide, built-in, carpeted risers and surveyed her handiwork.”
January 26, 2019 at 10:56 am
Bitter winds whipped through the valley and down the
January 26, 2019 at 11:41 am
My first lines are from When You Look At Me by Pepper Basham:
Chapter Six:
The mountains carried thier own song. A melody beginning with soft brass, perhaps a stray violin solo- or even more accurate to the history of these hills- an Irish flute, grew in his thoughts to a full orchestral explosion as vast as the blue horizon.
I am reading Elizabeth’s book as soon as the mailman brings it!
January 26, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Happy Friday!
I shared the first couple of lines from Melanie Dickerson’s 9th book for her Hagenheim series “The Warrior Maiden” on my blog. I enjoyed reading that book and will be reviewing it soon.
Here, though, I will be sharing the first few lines from my current read “Carve the Mark” by Veronica Roth.
“Hushflowers always bloomed when the night was longest. The whole city celebrated the day the bundle of petals peeled apart into rich red – partly because hushflowers were their nation’s lifeblood, and partly, Akos thought, to keep them all from going crazy in the cold.”
Carve the Mark has long been on my TBR and I’m happy that I finally get to read it. I’m enjoying it so far, and I hope you enjoyed those lines as well.
May your weekend be filled with great books! 😀
January 26, 2019 at 2:04 pm
I am only about a year behind in reading this book, my first line is from The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz…
Elizabeth took a breath, breaking an intense bout of concentration.
January 26, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Oh yay, I love hearing first lines!
Mine is from A Daring Escape by Tricia Goyer.
“Condensation dripped from stone-hewn walls as Charles lowered himself down into the dry well, seeking the treasure his grandfather had tucked away just days before the Allies sacrificed the Sudetenland to Hitler’s death squad like a lamb to the slaughter.”
January 26, 2019 at 2:10 pm
Happy Friday! I’m sharing the first lines from One Mind’s Eye by Kathy Tyers today, here are the lines that follow:
“Llyn Torfinn stood at an i-net station, listening nervously, clasping her thin left arm with her right hand. Not much muscle padded the bones.”
Hope you have a good weekend.
January 26, 2019 at 2:33 pm
Happy Friday!
On my blog today I shared the first line from The Forgiving Jar by Wanda E Brunstetter but I’m currently about to start Breach of Trust by Rachel Dylan so I’ll share the first line from that book here: “Mia Shaw gripped a bundle of brightly colored helium balloons with the word congratulations splashed all over them.” Hope you have a great weekend with plenty of quality reading time!
January 26, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Mercy Grove could no longer put off the painful task. From “The Bride of Ivy Green” by Julie Klassen.
Always enjoy books by Elizabeth Camden. Really looking forward to reading this one !
January 26, 2019 at 9:54 pm
MARINE SERGAENT CHAD CORALLIS pressed his shoulder against the crumbling clay wall that ran along the outskirts of the remote village. The Marine’s Return by Rula Sinara
January 27, 2019 at 1:51 am
“I don’t think this is my bed.” from Denton Little’s Death Date.
January 27, 2019 at 1:54 am
“And this children, is a drawing of the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Which is a long way from Franklin, Tennessee.” From “With This Pledge ” by Tamera Alexander, an excellent book I’m currently reading.
January 27, 2019 at 4:13 am
Yay! So glad you are joining in on the fun. I love the cover of this book. And I am sure the insides are great as well ;). Camden is such a talented author.
January 27, 2019 at 5:10 am
“Eerie feelings are rarely something to ignore, and hostage negotiator Special Agent April Ramos feared her arrival at a critical scene might be too late.” From “Burden of Proof” by Diann Mills which I just started today 🙂
Thanks for this giveaway opportunity!
January 27, 2019 at 8:00 am
“It is on those mist-filled nights, when the wind is strong and curious, when the air is alive with something unseen but felt, that you finally believe…oh, yes, you finally believe what your heart has always known: magic is real and it is everywhere.” from J.R.Rain’s book The Witch and the Gentleman.
January 27, 2019 at 8:46 am
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you set the bar way too high with a remarkable Christmas gift one year, you will begin perspiring in panic in mid-October every subsequent year wondering how to possibly top it.”
~ from the book ‘OF MOZART AND MAGI: A Rose in Three Quarter Time Christmas Tale (Three Quarter Time series)’ by Rachel McMillan
Thanks for the chance to win a copy of ‘A Desperate Hope’ by Elizabeth Camden!!!
January 27, 2019 at 8:47 am
Melissa Tagg’s “A Place to Belong”–
Maybe one of these days, she’d stop carrying the Christmas card around with her.
January 27, 2019 at 9:02 am
“Melancholy was a condition go the spirit and the soul, but also of the mind.”
The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright.
January 27, 2019 at 2:01 pm
“‘Jessica?’ Her mother’s voice seemed to come from a great distance.” From Who I Am With You by Robin Lee Hatcher.
January 27, 2019 at 3:02 pm
You could argue that it started thirty-four years ago when twenty-year-old Frank Kettle, a tall, fair, hyperactive ex–altar boy, fell madly in lust with Maxine Leonard, a long-legged languid redhead just a few days short of her nineteenth birthday.
From Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
January 27, 2019 at 3:57 pm
There Is something terribly wrong with Mr. Augustus T. Percevil.
January 27, 2019 at 5:50 pm
Welcome to First Line Friday! This is on my to-read list – I’m a big Elizabeth Cammden fan.
But next on my list is Out of the Cages by Australian author Penny Jaye. It’s a little more raw and edgy than most Christian fiction, but it’s real. Here’s the first line:
Nepal. Three years ago …
Two girls squat by the bank of a river. Their brown hands plunge sudsy clothes into water, and out again.
January 28, 2019 at 8:07 am
I love all her books! Thanks so much for the chance to win!
January 28, 2019 at 11:23 am
REL, I’m so happy you have joined #FLF!
President Donald Trump’s stated aspiration to strengthen the US-Israel relationship places him in good company, not only with peers like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Ted Cruz and former Governor Mike Huckabee, but with other great Americans who lived a long time ago. Trump and the Jews by David Rubin
January 28, 2019 at 2:29 pm
“Desperation undermines wisdom…. Her grandfather’s legendary words crash-landed in the space between Rayne Shelby’s heart and head, though they did nothing to combat her frantic thoughts.” from “The Promise of Rayne” by Nicole Deese – – – just finished this GREAT book – LOVED it!!!! And I also love this “First Line Friday” blog – thanks Rel!!
February 5, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Pam – you are the winner of A Desperate Hope! Shoot me an email with your postal addy within 2 days to claim your book 🙂
February 6, 2019 at 1:11 pm
OH WOW!!! How blessed am I!!!! Winner, Winner – Chicken Dinner! – or in my case – Winner, Winner “A Desperate Hope” winner!! Wow – THANK YOU Rel!!
Pam Broyles
6337 Antlers Run Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32234
THANK YOU !!!!!
January 29, 2019 at 4:41 am
“I hope this is worth it,” Reagan muttered to herself as she sipped the last of her lukewarm coffee. -Karyn’s Memory Box by Stephanie Grace Whitson
January 29, 2019 at 4:57 am
Davina McKie dropped to her knees on the grassy hillock, letting her shawl slip past her shoulders despite the sharp chill in the air. Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs
January 29, 2019 at 6:57 am
“Cancel your classes or your computer isn’t the only thing that will be DOA”.
From the book, “Cold Case” by Susan Sleeman.
There are 6 books in the series and they are very hard to put down.
January 30, 2019 at 3:14 am
From Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep:
“Pretend I am courageous. Pretend my heart still beats.”
January 30, 2019 at 4:15 am
I love Elizabeth Camden’s books so much. I’m always waiting for her next release. My first line is from Fawkes, which I am FINALLY getting around to reading.
“I wasn’t ready to turn to stone.”
January 30, 2019 at 12:18 pm
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and am looking forward to the other two books! My first line is from The Christmas Heirloom novella collection by Karen Witemeyer, Kristi Ann Hunter, Sarah Loudin Thomas and Becky Wade
“From a purely rational standpoint, Sarah Gooding should have been ecstatic with her present position.”
February 2, 2019 at 9:44 am
“It was late winter in northern Rus’, the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow.” -The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.
I know I’m late, but I wanted to share the starting words from this mythical novel set in medieval Russia.