FRIDAY POTPOURRI — BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — JULY 1

 

 

 

Welcome to another Friday and to a brand new month!  Wow, Fourth of July is right around the corner.  Hope you have a fabulous holiday.

Today we’re gathering to talk about books.  Book Beginnings, hosted by A Few More Pages, shines a light on the opening moments in a book and how they grab us.  The Friday 56, hosted by Freda’s Voice, spotlights excerpts from p. 56 of our current (or soon to read) books.

Today I’m sharing from Blood Brothers, by Nora Roberts (Book One of the Sign of Seven Trilogy), which has been on my TBR stacks for awhile.

 

After three boys accidentally awaken an ancient evil near their small Maryland town, the tight-knit community finds itself lost to a Stephen King–style plague of madness and destruction for a week every seven years. Twenty-one years later, those three boys, now grown, are hoping to find a way to stop the evil before its third return, which may mean the end of the town; they don’t know much about the anomalies, but they do know that [e]very time it gets stronger. This time, the town is graced by author Quinn Black, eager to document the paranormal mystery. When two more women arrive—one an associate of Quinn’s, the other led to town by strange visions—the circle of six decide to face the oncoming apocalypse together. Hyperprolific bestseller Roberts frontloads her story with drama and endearing characters (especially in Quinn and bowling alley owner Caleb Hawkins), but an abundance of exposition and domestic concerns (protagonists decorate a house, trade banter and pair off predictably) slow the plot significantly. Though future volumes are sure to pick up, this trilogy kickoff suffers from a dearth of twists and little payoff; fans of the brisk, colorful Roberts style will enjoy the ride, though probably not as much as they’d expect…

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Beginning:

Prologue – Hawkins Hollow, Maryland Province, 1652

It crawled along the air that hung heavy as wet wool over the glade.  Through the snakes of fog that slid silent over the ground, its hate crept.  It came for him through the heat-smothered night.

 

Okay, that sounds scary and a little bit creepy…I certainly want to know more!

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56:

Fox snorted, shifted his eyes to sneer at Cal.  “Dude, it’s not about who saw her first, it’s who she sees.  I pull out the full power of my sexual charm, and you’ll be the Invisible Man.”

 

Tempting?  I hope to find out more this week.  What did you decide to showcase today?  I hope you’ll stop by and share.