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.
I stared into the demon’s obsidian eyes.
Uh-oh. We’re only on the first line, and the main character is already in tons of trouble. I can’t imagine staring into a demon’s eyes is a good thing–unless this is a paranormal romance, anyway.
Scroll down for more.
I stared into the demon’s obsidian eyes.
Wet blood cooled on my skin, but I felt no pain. Not yet. I was sure I would feel it before I died. Sprawled on my stomach, one arm pinned under me, I craned my neck to keep my gaze on the demon.
Not a paranormal romance, then. At least, no romance at this point. We don’t know how the main character got into this situation or even exactly what the situation is, but we know they’re in danger. Definitely an intriguing opening, IMO.
Does anyone recognize it?
It’s from Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie.
Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.
When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.
Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.
My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.
Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.
All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.
But I did, and now it’s too late.
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Anybody else read this one? What do you think of the first line? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The Shadow Journals 