Ten Opening Lines From Books On My Keeper Shelf (Part 2)

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Who doesn't love a good opening line? It is a truth universally acknowledged that first lines should draw you in right away and set the tone for your story. They're supposed to make you want to dig in and find out more.

In order to choose which to showcase today, I looked through my keeper shelves and did a random selection. Let me know which ones make you want to keep reading!

"Authentically, Izzy" by Pepper Basham
Izzy, you know I love you. I want to begin with that.

"The Joy of Falling" by Lindsay Harrel
Once upon a time, color had dominated Eva Jamison's days.

"Engaging Deception" by Regina Jennings
Oh, the indignities of death.

"Shadows of Swanford Abbey" by Julie Klassen
Miss Rebecca Lane quaked at the thought of returning to Swanford after more than a year's absence, even though her heart had never really left.

"Where the Blue Sky Begins" by Katie Powner
Eric Larson had never seen such a sorry excuse for a town.

"Until Leaves Fall in Paris" by Sarah Sundin
As long as she kept dancing, Lucille Girard could pretend the world wasn't falling apart.

"Enchanted: A Christmas Collection" by Melissa Tagg
Once upon a time—specifically, last December—author Maren Grant had what she thought might be the most perfect night of her life.

"Let It Be Me" by Becky Wade
Mom and Dad are not my biological parents.

"The Songs That Could Have Been" by Amanda Wen
Carter Douglas hated running out of makeup.

"More Than Words Can Say" by Karen Witemeyer
"The council has denied your appeal, Miss Kemp."

You can find a previous version of this post I did in 2020 if you click here.

Find more Top Ten Tuesday posts at That Artsy Reader Girl.

"An Inconvenient Beauty" by Kristi Ann Hunter

Griffith, Duke of Riverton, has waited to get married until all his siblings were paired off. Now he must do his duty and provide an heir for his title, but he wishes to make a love match as his siblings did. He's been scrupulous over the years so that his name has never been linked with any young lady, which means any overtures on his part will practically be a declaration of marriage. He studies the field and picks out the woman he intends to court: Miss Frederica St. Claire.

It seems, however, that Miss St. Claire's affections might be otherwise engaged. And Griffith can never see her without seeing her beautiful debutante cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge. Miss Breckenridge is nothing like the woman Griffith is looking for. But why isn't his heart listening to his head?

Isabella came to London under every false pretense. Her scheming uncle is assuring her family's future in exchange for a few months of her time lighting up high society's ballrooms. She's actually twenty-four years old, but she's pretending to be several years younger than Frederica. A few months of pretending and then she can go back to the farm she loves.

I enjoyed the first half of this book. It had some great scenes that forced Griffith and Isabella to spend time together with their masks and roles dropped. The second half of the story grew too convoluted, too political, and unfortunately the characters' choices no longer made sense to me. 

My favorite book in this Hawthorne House series was An Elegant Facade. That one is a gem! I hope if you read any of these books, that will be the one you select.