First Line Friday and a Review!

Posted by abakersp in Contemporary, First Line Friday / 38 Comments

Happy Friday friends! I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but where I am it is miserably cold. It’s been in the negatives for over a week with the wind chill. Today and Saturday are supposed to be the worst (we’re talking in the -20’s!), and there is not a sign of seeing it warm up for over a week! Good time to read right? If only work didn’t get in the way!

This week I am happy to present the first line and my review from a sweet contemporary romance I’ve read this week. It comes to you from Melanie Snitker, and is the sixth book in her Love’s Compass series, called Finding Grace. I’m going to give you a little bit more then the first line because it’s so short šŸ˜‰

Finding Grace (Love's Compass Book 6) by [Snitker, Melanie D.]
ClickĀ hereĀ toĀ purchase

 

“Look, Daddy!”
Tyler Martin instinctively reached for the back of his young daughter’s shirt to steady her. Megan stood on the lower rung of the railing, completely oblivious to the eight-foot drop the railing was protecting her from.

About the Book

Single dad Tyler Martin can’t be more grateful to the woman who finds his missing daughter. Even though he feels a spark between them, falling in love is a risk he shouldn’t take. Too bad chance encounters and his stubborn heart keep trying to convince him otherwise.

After escaping a nightmarish relationship, Beth Davenport is content with her safe and blessedly normal life. Yet something about Tyler and his adorable daughter makes her wish for more. With the walls around her heart finally starting to crumble, she’s afraid of a future she can’t predict.

Can they let go of their fear and trust God to lead them to the love they desperately need?

My Perspective

I don’t know if I can say this out loud, but I’m going to anyways. Book boyfriends, beware. Tyler Martin has just swept in all compassionate, caring and smooth, and absolutely ruined it for all of you! Now, as an avid reader, you develop quite a list of book boyfriends for different reasons. But Tyler? I’m pretty sure he is at the top of the list. Ms. Snitker, you have created a monster. And by monster, I mean a character that no man will ever be able to live up to. Ever.

Tyler and Beth’s story was so sweet, romantic, and perfectly written. Beth’s character came out of a harsh relationship, and you start to see pieces of that as you read on. To be honest, I preferred it that way. I felt like I was learning about her like a friend would, a little at a time. It was going to take a lot to get her to come out of her shell, and grow to be the heroine we want her to be.

Enter Tyler Martin. First, he’s a single dad who simply adores his daughter. When she gets lost in the very first chapter, what does he do first? He prays my friends. Yes, you heard me right, prays! He had me right there in that very moment. What a testimony of faith. Nowhere in this story did I feel that the author was trying to preach to you. Instead, she chose moments like this to showcase the strong faith that Tyler had. I think that in itself is a way to share the gospel my friends.

Continuing on about our hero Tyler….. he was so very patient. Never did he get angry, upset, yell at, or demoralize Beth for needing time, even when he had no idea what was going on with her! Instead, he was there, like a best friend. He kept the mood light and allowed their relationship to blossom naturally and on Beth’s time table. Like I said, real-live men don’t stand a chance! Dreaming aside, it was an absolute delight to read. I especially like the addition of the adoption storyline in Beth’s family. What happened in this storyline is something that you don’t hear about too much, but certainly can happen, and it was a great reminder to pray for those types of situations.

This book is not going away from my mind anytime soon I can promise you that. And although there is closure at the end of this book, I kind of hope we see more from Tyler and Beth in the future, evenĀ if it’s just a glimpse! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

And now itā€™s your turn to share your first line! Grab the book nearest to you and share the first line in the comments. Donā€™t forgetĀ  to check out what everyone else is readingĀ at Hoarding Books!

grab button for First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

38 responses to “First Line Friday and a Review!

  1. Two people are sharing this for First Line Friday this week, so it must be good. I’ll have to check it out!

    I’m sharing the first line from The View from Rainshadow Bay by Colleen Coble on my blog, and I’m currently reading Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse. It’s her debut novel, and it’s brilliant! Here’s the first line:

    A sleepy purple twilight wrapped around the farmhouse, its tall windows glowing with warmth from somewhere inside.

  2. Happy Friday!

    My First Line Friday comes from a book Iā€™m reading now, Any Day Now by Robyn Carr.

    So, this is what a new life looks like. Sierra Jones opened her eyes on a sunny Colorado morning to that thought.

    Have a great weekend and stay warm!

  3. Hey Jessica! Happy Friday! Over on my blog this week, I’m featuring The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz (another amazing book!). My next book on the TBR stack just happens to be the feature book on Hoarding Books, so I won’t share an extra line in the comments this week. Have a wonderful weekend & keep warm!

  4. Another one for the TBR list! Can we make one day out of every week “Reading Day”?

    Iā€™m featuring Valerie Fraser Luesseā€™s ā€œMissing Isaacā€ over at my blog, but the first line of the book that is currently sitting in front of is:

    ā€œIt was no surprise to me that Iā€™d lost track of time.ā€ (from A Song of Home by Susie Finkbeiner)

  5. Man, and I thought Florida was freezing. The negatives are even worse.

    Iā€™m sharing about Until We Find Home by Cathy Gohlke on the blog today, but since itā€™s the closest book to me since itā€™s what Iā€™m currently reading, Iā€™ll share it here as well.

    May 1940

    Lightning crackled, splitting the night sky over Paris, illuminating letters painted on the bookstore window across the street: La Maison de Amis Livres. Driving rain pounded the loose shutters of Shakespeare and Company, making them rattle so that Claire Stewart dropped the heavy blackout curtain into place.

    Have a great weekend and stay warm!

  6. Kay Garrett

    They say revenge is a dish best served coldā€¦.a good thing to remember when youā€™re planning to murder a chef.

    ANOTHER ONE BITES THE CRUST
    By H. Y. Hanna

  7. Sounds good! My first line is from Karen Witemeyer’s The Love Knot. ā€œClaire Nevin frowned at the cheerful white clouds frolicking across the blue sky and tried to close her ears against the chipper melodies the birds insisted on singing in response to the deceptively fine morning. Ignorant creatures. Could they not sense that this day held no cause for celebration?ā€

  8. lelandandbecky

    Happy Friday!

    My first line(s) is from the Prologue in Susan May Warrenā€™s new book Troubled Waters, which I finished last night:

    ā€œOh, this was a bad idea. Epically, abysmally, horrendously bad.ā€

  9. Paula Shreckhise

    My first line is from A Song Unheard by Roseanna White:

    ā€œThe music seeped into her soul like a fog over the Thames.ā€

    Love Rosannaā€™s lyrical prose!

  10. Sounds like a good book!!!

    Today, I’m hosting Oath of Honor on my site. I just started it, so I’m only at chapter 3. So, here I will share the first couple of lines from that chapter.

    “‘Kevin!’ But with the doors shut and the windows up, he wouldn’t hear her whispered shout. She should have lied and said the place was covered in cameras.”

  11. Ah, Melanie Snitker! There’s an author I haven’t read yet that I should put on my “authors to read” list this year. šŸ™‚ I think I have some of her books on my Kindle even…

    I’ll grab a book nearest me to share a first line (it’s one I’m hoping to read this year). From “The Outlaw Takes a Bride” by Susan Page Davis:
    Johnny Paynter slung his saddle over his chestnut gelding’s back.

  12. Ellie

    I agree that Tyler was a great hero! Have you read the other books in this series? I haven’t, but after meeting the supporting characters in this book, I want to read their stories as well. Happy Friday!

    • Me too! The high tomorrow is in the twenties here with a wind chill of about 15. But to be honest, itā€™s going to feel like a heat wave after the past week weā€™ve had!

  13. Melanie D. Snitker

    Jessica – Thank you so much for not only reading Finding Grace, but choosing it for your First Line Friday post and writing up a review! I enjoyed reading all of it, and I’m so glad you like Tyler! šŸ˜€ Blessings!

  14. Oh goodness, that second line makes my mommy-nerve tingle! ?

    Death had a way of creeping up on a soul, and Ivy Thorpe was determined that when it visited her, she would not be surprised.
    The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright

  15. Whisper in Autumn (The Last Year Book 1) by Trisha Leigh

    “Before my eyelids crack open I know I’ve traveled again.” This is a sci-fi dystopia. Some bloody content, but otherwise a clean read. Scripture reference mentioned also.