First Lines I Couldn’t Resist

Hi guys! Do you believe in love at first line? Can an author capture your imagination with just one sentence? For me the answer is: YES! If that very first sparks something in me, a sense of wonder or curiosity or intrigue, I just have to keep on reading. I’ve bought a lot of books because I was so enamored by their opening lines, and these are a few of my favorite ones.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

“Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, tough he may claim otherwise.”

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley”

The Graces by Laure Eve

“Everyone said they were witches. I desperately wanted to believe it”

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

“My mother was raised on fairytales, but I was raised on highways”

 

The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night by Jen Campbell

“These days you can find anything you need at the click of a button. That’s why I bought her heart online.”

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.”

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

“Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you’ve ever heard. The boy and the girl are far from innocent. Dear lives are lost. And good doesn’t win”

The Painter by Peter Heller

“I never imagined I would shoot a man. Or be a father. Or live so far from the sea”

I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman

“When I was a child, I knew that my mother was a fairy. Not the kind of fairy with gauzy wings and a magic wand, but one with a thrift-store fur coat and ink-stained fingers.”

We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen 

“Many years ago there lived a man called Laurids Madsen, who went up to heaven and came down again, thanks to his boots.”

Everless by Sara Holland

“Most people find the forest frightening, believeing the old tales of fairies who will freeze the time in your blood, or witches who can spill your years out over the snow with only a whisper”

Let’s talk! Have you ever bought a book because of the first line? Would you want to read an of these books based on the first line? Which one is your favorite?