First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Patriot Number One by Lauren Hilgers & One Way by S.J. Morden

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

I always have endless books that I want to read, as most book lovers tend to have, but right now I feel like I have so many books that I want/need to read right now and it's a bit overwhelming. Thus, today First Chapter First Paragraph is a double feature, starring Patriot Number One and One Way. The first, Patriot Number One, is one of my current reads, and the second, One Way, is a book I hope to pick up next! 

Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown by Lauren Hilgers

"Chapter One: Escape | 逃逸/ Táoyì

Zhuang Liehong had made three plans to get from his village in CHina to New York. In the first, the American embassy would simply send someone to pick him up. He envisioned a midnight escape--cars waiting in the shadows along the uneven, trash-filled fields on the outskirts of his village. He felt sure, when he considered the plan, that the Amerians would be sympathetic to his situation. He was a lover of democracy trapped in a corrupt corner of Guangdong Province. If the plan were to work, it would have to be secret. His friends would wake the next morning to find him vanished. By the time the news spread, he would be on a plane, heading oward a new life.

In a second plan, Zhuang would flee by sea."

Patriot Number One is "a deeply reported look at the Chinese immigrant community in the United States, casting a new light on what it means to seek the American dream"

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

One Way by S.J. Morden

Chapter One

"'Put your hands on the table.' 

Frank's hands were already cuffed together, joined by three steel links. His feet were also shackled.The seat he sat on was bolted to the ground, and the table in front of him was the same. The room was all wipe-clean surfaces. The smell of bleach was an alkaline sting in the back of his throat and on the lids of his eyes. It wasn't as if he could go anywhere or do anything, but he still complied with the order. Slowly, he raised his hands from his lap, feeling the drag of metal biting in his skin, and lowered them onto the black vinyl covering the table. There was a large hole drilled in it. Another length of chain was run through the circle made by his cuffed arms and into the back. His guard put a padlock on it, and went to stand by the door they'd both entered through."

One Way: "When the small crew of ex cons working on Mars start getting murdered, everyone is a suspect in this terrifying science fiction thriller from bona fide rocket scientist and award winning-author S. J. Morden."

Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

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*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

I've been wanting to read Bird Box for a long time now, a desire which I recently shared that desire in my winter reading plans post. Well, I'm hoping to pick it up extremely soon from my library, so here is a sneak at the first paragraph(s)!

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

This excerpt can be found at Tor.com.

"Malorie stands in the kitchen, thinking. 

Her hands are damp. She is trembling. She taps her toe nervously on the cracked tile floor. It is early; the sun is probably only peeking above the horizon. She watches its meager light turn the heavy window drapes a softer shade of black and thinks, 

That was a fog. The children sleep under chicken wire draped in black cloth down the hall. Maybe they heard her moments ago on her knees in the yard. Whatever noise she made must have traveled through the microphones, then the amplifiers that sat beside their beds. 

She looks to her hands and detects the subtlest sheen in the candlelight. Yes, they are damp. The morning’s dew is still fresh upon them."

Buy the book!

What do you think? Would you keep reading this book? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

I've had my eye on this book since before I featured it for a Waiting on Wednesday post back in March, so I was beyond thrilled when I opened up a package the other day and this book was staring back at me! I'm already around almost 200 pages in and I'm loving it so far. Be sure to check out the excerpt and let me know what you think. :)

A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

This excerpt can be found at Penguin Random House.

Day 1:

The  Bard Begins

"When we encounter a voice that moves us on an emotional level, by turns wringing tears from our eyes and plucking laughs from our bellies, there is an ineffable quality to its power: all we know is that we like listening to it and want to hear more. But when we encounter voices we find loathsome, we usually can pinpoint why without difficulty: too nasal, too whiny, too steeped in anger or sodden with melancholy. 

The bard's voice the ineffable sort." 

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcet

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

I've had Even the Darkest Stars on my TBR for way too long now, so I am really hoping to get my hands on a copy and read it soon! All I'm hearing about this one are mountains, adventures, and an wonderfully unique premise. You can also find a synopsis over at Goodreads if this excerpt intrigues you! 

Even the Darkest Stars by  Heather Fawcett

Chapter One:

"I STRETCHED MY hands over the dragon eggs, focusing all my concentration on their indigo shells, and murmured the incantation. The air rippled and shimmered. 

I can do this. The thought was born of desperation rather than confidence. My fingers were frozen, my stomach growled, and my legs ached from hours sitting cross-legged. Behind me, the sheer slopes of Mount Azmiri, draped with cobweb clouds, rose to greet the gray sky. Beyond the narrow ledge I crouched on, the mountainside fell away as if hewn by an ax. The forest far below was hidden under waves of mist, with only a few treetops floating above the surface like skeletal ships. The wind stirred my hair and slid its long fingers down the collar of my chuba. I shivered. The faint light gathering over the eggs flickered and died." 

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Today's first chapter preview is from Sylvia Izzo Hunter's The Midnight Queen! I've had my eye on this lovely book for a while now and I  am so excited to find out if it is as lovely and magical as that cover is! I love that it sounds like this book will feature some time in a school setting - Oxford's Merlin College! I have provided an excerpt of both the prologue and first chapter to really give you a feel. Let me know your thoughts!

The Midnight Queen by Sylvia Izzo Hunter

Prologue 

"It was his own fault entirely, Gray reflected later. That morning in Merlin’s South Quad, when Taylor and Woodville had pressed him to join them in some not-quite-specified excursion, he ought to have known that no good would come of it; what good had ever come of Taylor and Woodville before?"

Chapter One
In Which Gray Meets Sophie

"Gray toiled in the midsummer sun, on his knees among the rhododendrons, through an afternoon that seemed to last a month. Beautiful, Callender Hall's gardens might be, but after only half a day he had already conceived a passionate hatred of them, and of flowering shrubs in particular. What was he doing in this distant corner of the kingdom, so far from all he knew? Why condemned to this sweaty, thirsty, apparently pointless labour? His eyes strung; his knees ached; his hands were scratched and sore. He missed his cramped, chaotic rooms at Merlin College with an unexpected intensity - and had even begun, in spite of everything, to miss the home of his childhood. 

He had just begun to think, implausible, how much pleasanter retiring to that home for the Long Vacation might have been -- as though any such course had been open to him -- when he saw the girl striding across the lawn."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Once and Future King by T.H. White

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Once a Future King by T.H. White! I'm int he mood to finally crack open this classic, and I am rather excited to do so. I feel like since I'm such a huge fantasy fan, I should go back to some of the classics that I've been wanting to read but haven't -- and no time like the present, right? I hope to start this one as soon as I finish up Gregory Maguire's upcoming book Hiddensee. 

(also, I chose to feature those two covers because they are some of my favorites! I own the yellow Penguin copy that is gorgeous, but I am also a huge fan of the other)

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

ONE

"On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology. The governess was always getting muddled with her astrolabe, and when she got specially muddled she would take it out of the Wart by rapping his knuckles. She did not rap Kay’s knuckles, because when Kay grew older he would be Sir Kay, the master of the estate. The Wart was called the Wart because it more or less rhymed with Art, which was short for his real name. Kay had given him the nickname. Kay was not called anything but Kay, as he was too dignified to have a nickname and would have flown into a passion if anybody had tried to give him one. The governess had red hair and some mysterious wound from which she derived a lot of prestige by showing it to all the women of the castle, behind closed doors. It was believed to be where she sat down, and to have been caused by sitting on some armour at a picnic by mistake. Eventually she offered to show it to Sir Ector, who was Kay’s father, had hysterics and was sent away. They found out afterwards that she had been in a lunatic hospital for three years."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Waking Land by Callie Bates

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Waking Land by Callie Bates! I was so thrilled when this ARC showed up in the mail because I have been seeing some fantastic things about this book, not to mention how interesting it sounds. Fortunately I am able to share an excerpt of this with you because there is already a a preview of the book up on the Penguin Random House website. So without further ado, I present to you the beginning of the Prologue from The Waking Land.

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

Prologue

"I felt safe that night in Laon, safer than I had any night before in the city. My nurse and I were eating dessert in the nursery. I never knew her name; I called her Nursie. Downstairs my parents were hosting a dinner party. It was the first time I had ever been in Laon, in the townhouse my family kept for state occasions, aired out only once every year or two. On the newly crowned king’s invitation, we’d come south for the Harvest Feast from our country house in the north, and every noise of the city still seemed foreign. So that must have been why we didn’t hear them at first: the screams, the clicks as the muskets caught.

I remember cradling my wooden doll, a Harvest Feast gift from my parents, made by a wood-carver in the city. I was feeding her pretend bites of the caramel pudding the servants had brought up earlier, baked in a dish until the sugar on top was crackling hot. Nursie drew the chintz curtains over the wide, sashed windows. My doll and I sat snug and certain in the glow of candlelight. Safe. We were supposed to go home the next day."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: China Dolls by Lisa See

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature China Dolls by Lisa See! I'm about three-quarters of the way through and have been really enjoying this book about three women set in 1940s San Francisco and the many struggles they face as Chinese American and Japanese American citizens. So far, I have found this entire book to be extremely difficult to put down and am really enjoying so far. 

China Dolls by Lisa See

Part One: The Sun

 October 1938–July 1940 

Grace

 A Measly Girl

"I traveled west—-alone—-on the cheapest bus routes I could find. Every mile took me farther from Plain City, Ohio, where I’d been a flyspeck on the wallpaper of small--town life. Each new state I passed through loosened another rope around my heart, my legs, my arms, yet my whole body ached and I couldn’t shake my vertigo. I lived on aspirin, crackers, and soda pop. I cried and cried and cried. On the eighth day, California. Many hours after crossing the boundary,I got off the bus and pulled my sweater a little more tightly around me. I expected sun and warmth, but on that October afternoon, fog hung over San Francisco, damp, and shockingly cold.

Picking up my suitcase, I left the bus station and started to walk. The receptionists at the cheap hotels I visited told me they were full. “Go to Chinatown,” they suggested. “You can get a room there.” I had no idea where Chinatown was, so that didn’t help me. And I’ll say this about San Francisco: lots of hills, water on practically every side, and, it seemed to me, not a single street ran purely in any one direction. Finally, a man at a fleabag took my money—adollar a day, in advance—and gave me a key to a room."

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

This week I've chosen to feature The Empire's Ghost by Isabella Steiger, which actually comes out today! I've just about finished my ARC and will actually have a review up for it next week. This is a brand new high fantasy series and I have been really enjoying it. 

The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

Prologue

The last time it snowed, Roger took a bundle of firewood and some biscuits to the Dragon’s Head.

The streets of Sheath Alleys were perpetually dank, as narrow and twisting as a guilty thought— and they inspired many, as Roger knew all too well. It was as if Valyanrend itself fled to Sheath to escape its past, to disappear into the shadows as so many of its citizens had done. For the city, at least, it was a lost cause. 

Chapter One

“You’re not feeding those birds again, are you?” Morgan called, and Seth started. He hadn’t realized she was awake. He tried to kick the crusts out of sight, but Morgan was already opening the door, squinting into the sun.

Valyanrend’s districts tended to be jumbled and haphazard more often than not, but the streets of Sheath seemed especially capricious, as if they’d been designed to make no sense.

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

Chapter 1

"Akari Sun Dragon had long since flown down beyond the horizon in search of his lost love, and the night unfurled velvet soft. A hundred girls and half again as many women had left Shahad at daybreak and traveled tot he Madraj, the meeting-places of all the prides.

Sulema stood tall among her yearmates, surrounded by Ja'Akari, warriors stern-faced and proud. When next the sun rose, she would be one of them. It was the fist day of spring in her seventeenth year, and the last day of her childhood."

I was finally able to start on this one a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it! It took me a little while to get into this one, simply because new epic fantasy books always take a bit of adjusting, but now I'm going strong

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Severina by Rodrigo Rey Rosa

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Severina by Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Chapter 1

What power has love but forgiveness? —William Carlos Williams, "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower,"  Book 3

 "I noticed her the first time she came in the store, and right from the start I picked her for a thief, although that day she didn't take anything. 

On Monday afternoons there were usually poetry readings at La Entretenida, the bookstore I'd recently opened with a group of friends. We didn't have anything better to do and we were tired of paying through the nose for books chosen by and for others, as "eccentrics" like us are forced to do in provincial cities. (There are far more serious problems here, but I don't want to talk about all that now.) So, to put an end to this annoyance, we decided to start our own store."*

Rodrigo Rey Rosa is a prominent Guatemalen writer, and since I don't believe I've ever read any literature from Guatemala, I thought this sounded like a great book to start! This is a short book, more of a novella, in which the narrator -- a bookseller -- tracks the novels a young woman steals and tries to figure out more about her based upon the books she takes. I am rather excited to finish this one up, it sounds wonderfully intriguing. 

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - A Fantasy Classic!

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time #1)

Chapter 1

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Born below the ever cloud-capped peaks that gave the mountains their name, the wind blew east, out across the Sand Hills, once the shore of a great ocean, before the Breaking of the World. Down it flailed into the Two Rivers, into the tangled forest called the Westwood, and beat at two men walking with a cart and horse down the rock-strewn track called the Quarry Road. For all that spring should have come a good month since, the wind carried an icy chill as if it would rather bear snow."

So, The Eye of the World is hardly a new book, but I've had it on my TBR for years now, and I am finally going to dive in. I have heard countless incredible things about the The Wheel of Time series, and so far I am really enjoying this book!

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Double Feature ft. Wolf in White Van by Josh Darnielle + The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

Chapter 1

"My father used to carry me down the hall to my room after I came home from the hospital. By then I could walk if I had to, but the risk of falling was too great, so he carried me like a child. It’s a cluster memory now: it consists of every time it happened and is recalled in a continuous loop. He did it every day, for a long time, from my first day back until what seemed like a hundred years later, and after a while, the scene blurred into innumerable interchangeable identical scenes layered one on top of the other like transparencies."

I'd had my eye on this book for quite a while before I finally decided to pick it, and I'm certainly glad I did! At this point, I'm not about 3/4 of the way in and I am just completely enraptured Darnielle's style and storytelling. This is a different sort of book, but it is right up my alley.

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Chapter 1

"This is how I kill someone.

I learn his habits, I know his schedule. It is not difficult. His life consists of quick stops to the dollar store for the bare minimum of things required to keep this ragged cycle going, his hat pulled down over his eyes so as not to be recognized.

But he is. It’s a small town.

I watch these little exchanges. They evolve in seconds, from I get paid to smile at you to the facial muscles going lax when recognition hits, the price scanner making a feeble attempt to break the silence by making a beep-beep when his food goes past."

I've always been reading this incredible book known as The Female of the Species and it is incredible, so I had to share it as well. 

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Prologue

"It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men.

From the forward aspect of the convent you can see both the northern ice and the southern, but the finer view is out across the plateau and over the narrow lands. On a clear day the coast may be glimpsed, the Sea of Marn a suggestion in blue. 

At some point in an achingly long history a people, now lost to knowledge, had built one thousand and twenty-four pillars on the plateau, Corinthian giants thicker than a thousand-year oak, taller than a long-pine. A forest of stone without order or pattern, covering the level ground from flank to flank such that no spot upon it lay more than twenty yards from a pillar. Sister Thorn waited amid this forest, alone and seeking her centre."

If you want to know about Red Sister, check out the synopsis on Goodreads!

I was so fortunate to receive an ARC of this highly anticipated beginning of Mark Lawrence's new fantasy trilogy, and I am loving it so far! I'm only ~150 pages in, but I am definitely hooked and can't wait to find out how the rest of the story ends.

I really wanted to post the beginning of the first chapter along with the prologue, but since it is an ARC and I haven't seen any chapter excerpts around the internet, I'll stick to what is already out there. :)

Red Sister will be published April 4th, 2017 by Ace Publishing.

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: What is the What by Dave Eggers

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

What is the What by Dave Eggers

Preface

"What is the What is the soulful account of my life: from the time I was separate from my family in Marial Bai to the thirteen years I spent in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps, to my encounter with vibrant Western cultures beginning in Atlanta, to the generosity and the challenges that I encountered elsewhere. As you read this book, you will learn about  me and my beloved people of Sudan. I was just a young boy when the twenty-two-year civil war began that pitted Sudan's government against the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army. As a helpless human, I survived by trekking across many punishing landscapes while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, while dodging land mines, while being preyed upon by wild beasts and human killers."

Chapter 1

"I have no reason not to answer the door so I answer the door. I have no tiny round window to inspect visitors so I open the door and before me is a tall, sturdily built African-American woman, a few years older than me, wearing a red nylon sweatsuit. She speaks to me loudly. "You have a phone, sir?"

She looks familiar. I am almost certain that I saw her in the parking lot an hour ago, when I returned from the convenience store. I saw her standing by the stairs, and I smiled at her. I tell her that I do have a phone.

"My car broke down on the street," she says. Behind her, it is nearly night. I have been studying most of the afternoon. "Can you let me use your phone to call the police?" she asks."

(Note: I decided to add a preview of the preface as well in order to give a bit of background to what this book is all about.)

I'm actually just wrapping this one up -- I'll probably finish today -- but I've been dying to share it with people! This is such a gripping story that is written in a really interesting way. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the style, but it's been working really well. I definitely recommend it! 

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

Chapter 1: In which a scientist visits hell and a deal is struck

"Walpurgisnacht, the Hexennacht. The last night of April. The night of witches, when evil walks abroad.

He stood at a desolate and lonely place where there would be no interruption, no prying eyes. The air smelled metallic with freshly spilt blood; the body of a decapitated virgin kid goat lay nearby. He had no alloyed metal about him but for a thin-bladed sword of fine steel he held in his right hand; that arm was naked, his shirt sleeve rolled up to the biceps. A silver coin wrapped in paper nestled in his waistcoat pocket. Before him burned a fire of white wood.

His name was Johannes Cabal, and he was summoning a demon."

I haven't officially started this one yet, but I'm thinking about it! It sounds delightfully quirky and entertaining, so I'm hoping to jump into it soon. :)

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser

Chapter 1

"High summer on the slopes of Mount Ida. Sweat trickling down his forehead, flies buzzing around his herd with their incessant thrumming, the stench of the goats thick in his nostrils mixed with the salt of the sea air from the north. He pushes the hair back from his brow and looks up to the sky. The sun, Apulunas' chariot, is at the height of its course.

The middle of the day.

He moves to the shade of an olive tree, his dog following at his heels. The cool darkness beneath the shimmering leaves envelops him and eases the heat on the back of his as he picks up a loaf of bread wrapped in stiff linen and his leather pouch, filled with wine."

This isn't the most action-packed introduction, but I think it really gives some hints at the style of the author's writing, and it makes me pretty intrigued to find out where she's going with everything. From what I can gather, For the Most Beautiful is a tale of the Trojan war told through the eyes of some women from the time period. I haven't started this book just yet, but I am about to do so as soon as I finish up a few that I am almost done with, and I am really excited for it! I believe this book came out last year in the UK, and it's U.S. debut is January 10, 2017! This copy is an ARC provided by NetGalley, so I hope to dive in soon. :)

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Possession by A.S. Byatt

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

Possession by A.S. Byatt

Chapter 1

"The book was thick and black and covered with dust. Its boards were bowed and creaking; it had been maltreated in its own time. Its spine was missing, or rather protruded from amongst the leaves like a bulky marker. It was bandaged about and about with dirty white tape, tied in a neat bow. The librarian handed it to Roland Michell, who was sitting waiting for it in the Reading Room of the London Library. It had been exhumed from Locked Safe no. 5 where it usually stood between Pranks of Priapus and The Grecian Way of Love. It was ten in the morning, one day in September 1986. Roland had the small single table he liked best, behind a square pillar, with the clock over the fireplace nevertheless in full view. To his right was a high sunny window, through which you could see the high green leaves of St. James's Square."*

It's about time I read this book, I think. I hear it mentioned quite often and it has always intrigued me, so I decided to request it from my library and finally give it a go. (Plus, this first paragraph is talking about books and a library.. and Priapus... and... it just seems like it's off to a great start.)

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: Pit Bull by Bronwen Dickey

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

So, I love dogs. Like, I really, really like dogs - I particularly love big dogs, but I still love them all.  They deserve nothing but love and perfection, and I intend to do my best to give every dog just that. Pit bulls are one of my favorite breeds, and it saddens me to see how they are often portrayed in the media. Pit bulls are incredibly loyal, sweet, and friendly, but due to many stereotypes and exaggerations, they are often viewed as vicious fighting dogs. I used to have a black lab/pit bull mix, and she was one of the best dogs ever -  she would  never hurt a fly. (Having a big black lab/pit mix running straight at people often frightened them, but all she wanted to do was tackle them with love and kisses.)

The book Pit Bull by Bronwen Dickey explores the history of pit bulls in America and the variety of roles they played and how there stereotype has evolved over the years. I am loving this book so far for its in-depth details and compelling writing.

Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon  by Bronwen Dickey

Chapter 1

"On a hot summer day a few years ago, my husband, Sean, brought home Nola, a slightly underweight thirty-eight pound pit bull with  caramel-and-white coat, a pink nose, and eye the color of honey. Pronounced cheek muscles and a cleft in the top of her head gave her face the shape of a small but eager heart. When Sean and I visited our city's animal shelter earlier that month, I had barely noticed her. "Wait a minute," he said as I cooed over a flashier and more extroverted candidate. "What about this one?" When she glued herself to Sean's leg in the shelter's play yard, we agreed to give her a home." *

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

Get more reviews and bookish fun in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.