Happy Friday & welcome to the First Line Friday link-up! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. Today, it is my absolute joy to share with you the first lines of all The Christy Award 2023 Winners! I love so many things about The Christy Award program, but one of my favorites is that they announce the winner of each category by reading the first line of the winning book… which makes First Line Friday the perfect way to announce them here too!
learn more about each book by clicking the cover
contemporary romance
and the first line is…
“Your Majesty, do you have a recommendation on the sentencing of Prince Ekon Diallo of the Etikun tribe?”
first novel (tie)
and the first line is…
Clara Kip had prayed repeatedly to die in São Paulo.
and the first line is…
On the morning of Eva Gordon’s escape, the sun sat crisply in the New England spring sky like a promising sign.
general fiction
and the first line is…
Eric Larson had never seen such a sorry excuse for a town.
historical (and Book of the year!!)
and the first line is…
The sun shone the day I married Ryszard Lewandowski.
historical romance
and the first line is…
Struck by sunlight, the sprawling château was a blinding, rose-hued white.
mystery/suspense/thriller
and the first line is…
I never should have come.
short form
and the first line is…
“A lady never refuses a dance unless she wishes to cause a great scandal or make a definitive statement, Mother.”
speculative
and the first line is…
“My dreams had whispered to me all my life, but lately they were shouting – shouting something urgent that I couldn’t discern.”
young adult
and the first line is…
What a strange feeling, being miraculously knit together, unwoven, and then made whole again.
amplify award
and the first line is…
“Pa promised he wouldn’t sail in shipwreck season anymore.”
congratulations to all the winners!!
Let me know the first line of the book closest to you & then click on the images below to visit more FLF participants!
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Congrats to the winners. I read The Rose and the Thistle and The Cold Light of Day and thoroughly enjoyed both.
Prologue
Hattie Schrock loved weddings.
When Hattie Finds Love by Amy Lillard
both of those are excellent books, yes!! I need to read that one by Amy – I always enjoy her books 🙂
Congratulations to all the winners! I have read 10 of the novels on the finalists list, which included 3 winners! Great reading all the way around!
Here’s the first line of the novel I’m reading:
“Prologue.” “Never open a locked door unless you’re certain death doesn’t lurk behind it.”
Italian Ballerina, Kristy Cambron
wonderful, Martha! you have great taste in books 🙂
All of these first lines are really intriguing! Especially the ones of To Win a Prince, Cold Light of Day and A Return to Hawthorne House. 🥰
they are all excellent books!
I’m reading the first book from the “Amish Hawaiian Adventures” (2 novels in 1) by Wanda E. Brunstetter and Jean Brunsetetter. It’s called “The Hawaiian Quilt”. It’s my first attempt at reading an Amish book! The first line is “Mandy Frey gazed at the travel brochures lying on the kitchen table.”
i hope you enjoy it! 🙂 If not, I have some other authors I can recommend!
Reading the first line is epic. Thank you for sharing these!!
i so love that they do that – and I love watching it play out in person when the author realizes it’s their first line!
I like the quote about the “sorry excuse for a town.” I’ve been there.
My review and quotes are from a very impactful book: Accountable
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, so many great books!
yes!!!
Bless you… it was weirdly difficult to find the winners this year!! Congrats to everyone. 🙂
you are most welcome! 😀
So many great books here!! Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you for sharing them here 🙂 I hope you are having a fabulous time this weekend!
you’re welcome, Cindy! We had such fun! Now for the long drive back home lol
Congrats to all the winners! There are some lovely first lines here, and looks like a few books to add to my TBR.
most definitely!
Awesome! Congratulations to the winners! They do sound good. Have a great weekend. 🙂
they’re all excellent!! hope you get to read some soon 🙂
Love this & you, Carrie💛 The Christy Award makes it extra classy by announcing the winner by first lines. Hearing the words you wrote spoken back to you is absolutely magical ✨ Thank you.
i love being in person and seeing an author realize it’s their first line being read – so fun!