First Line Fridays: “Before We Were Strangers” by Brenda Novak

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature hosted by Hording Books.

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Hey there, you! Happy Friday!

I know I haven’t been around much the past handful of weeks. I have no other reason than life just generally kicking me in the behind, making it necessary for me to ease off of blogging in the meantime so I can go trade back punches.

That analogy aside, I’m happy to say that I haven’t stopped reading. I slowed down, yes, but I never stopped reading. It kept me sane.

I recently finished Elizabeth Tammi’s Outrun the Wind, a story inspired by the Greek myth of Atalanta. Today though, I will be sharing the first line of my brand new read.

Bayside Cemetery
Queens, New York

As far back as Sloan McBride could remember, she’d been told she was an ice queen. Even the people closest to her, especially the people closest to her, complained about her reserve. Her height, her physical appearance and her vocation didn’t make her any more approachable, so what served her well professionally worked against her personally. She heard people mutter words like stuck-up, aloof or distant – and knew they were referring to her. No one seemed to understand that she hadn’t chosen to be standoffish. That was simply a byproduct of what she’d been through.

I love mystery and suspense stories. Throw in a bit of romance in there, and I’m sold. Brenda Novak’s Before We Were Strangers is right up my alley. I’m enjoying it so far. I read 3 chapters in one sitting (well, technically I was standing in line waiting for a ride home during rush hour traffic in Manila and if you work or live in the city, you’ll know how long that could take.) It was that good! I’m excited to get to know all these characters and to find out if a certain flame could be rekindled again (I know the book has been out for a few weeks now, but please don’t spoil it for me.)

If you read this book, come talk to me in a few days. You’ll know when because I’ll probably be a mess on Twitter. If you haven’t started it yet, come on and read it with me.

I know this season could be really crazy – extended family visiting, asking totally invasive and inappropriate questions, never-ending dinners, last minute gift hunting – so, here’ s me telling you to hold on. The relatives are bound to go home eventually (haha!) I’m just here if you want an ear to listen to you.

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