First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

And here’s the line:

There’s a certain sound the human head makes when it hits the trunk of a tree.

I love this line because it grabs your attention right away. Whose head hit the tree? How can the narrator be so blase about it? This novel does not waste time with a slow opening.

Do you recognize the book? Scroll down for a little more.

There’s a certain sound the human head makes when it hits the trunk of a tree. Meatier than a “crack”; not quite as hollow as a “thunk”—it’s unmistakable. And when it’s my head, I tend to take offense.

I leaned against said tree and glared at my opponent until my double vision returned to single and the world swam back into focus. “That one’s gonna cost you, Crabby.” If looks could kill… well, first off, my life would be a lot easier.

Again, this is such a good opening paragraph. Right away you’ve got a feel for the main character’s sense of humor, and you know you’re in for a story with a lot of action.

Have you read these lines before? It’s from an older urban fantasy book that’s one of my favorites on my shelf.

It’s A Devil in the Details by K.A. Stewart.

When it comes to demons, always read the fine print.

Jesse James Dawson was an ordinary guy (well, an ordinary guy with a black belt in karate) until one day he learned his brother had made a bargain with a demon. Jesse discovered there was only one way to save his brother: put up his own soul as collateral, and fight the demon to the death.

Jesse lived to free his brother-and became part of a loose organization of Champions who put their own souls on the line to help those who get in over their heads with demons. But now experienced Champions are losing battles at a much higher rate than usual. Someone has changed the game. And if Jesse can’t figure out the new rules, his next battle may be his last…

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A Devil in the Details an oldie but a goodie with a lovable everyman hero and plenty of sword-on-demon action. Has anybody else read this one? What do you think of the first lines? Share your thoughts in the comments!