Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted each week by Rose City Reader. It’s a chance to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading this week. You can check out others’ book beginnings here. I’m also going to link up with Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower for First Line Friday.
This week’s book beginning:
Synopsis:
A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.
Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.
But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.
The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.
Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.
Saturday, October 23rd Morning
Half an hour before the alarm will be sounded for the first time in decades—drawing four frantic old women and a geriatric crow from all corners of the sprawling manor—Ursula is awoken by insistent knocking, like giant knuckles rapping against glass. It’s an ominous sign, to be sure. The first of many.
I’m not going to give much away yet, but I am really digging this book. Sisterhood, family, the beauty to be found in aging – it’s good stuff! After seeing this beginning, would you keep reading?
Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. It starts each Friday and runs through the following Thursday. Each week, there’s a new prompt featuring a book-related question. It’s designed to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, make new blogging friends, and gain followers. See what others have to say on this topic and link up your own post here.
This week’s prompt:
Do you run your reviews through editing software before posting?
(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
Nope. I read over it a couple of times and hopefully catch any glaring errors (since I call myself a proofreader). I’ll check the SEO plugin on the blog, and I may or may not work on anything it suggests as being in need of modification. But I don’t use editing software on my reviews. Honestly, it’s never occurred to me to do that.
What about you? Do you use editing software?
My first line is from Deception by Patricia Bradley:
Today was not a good day to die.
No I edit them myself and sometimes miss a few typos.
I have got to read Deception! I keep seeing people talking about it.
Thank you for visiting!
I’m on the Blog Tour for that book. I am excited to start it!
It never occurred to me to use anything other than Microsoft Word for my reviews. I read them through a few times, but that’s all. I used to be a Legal Secretary (before becoming a full time mum) and for one of my exams I had to do proofreading so I should be pretty ok at it!
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/08/19/book-blogger-hop-do-you-run-your-reviews-through-editing-software-before-posting/
Your reviews have always looked good to me! I expect you got lots of proofreading practice in the legal profession.
Happy weekend to you, too!
Glad you are enjoying your book. I hope you have a great weekend. I am sharing from Whispers from the Shadows by Roseanna M. White on my blog.
Happy weekend to you, Cindy! I’m off to check out your book.
The book description made me really want to read this one. Two words jumped out: funny and aging. I’ll look for it. Thanks. This week I gave quotes from four books, so I deviated from the standard
The older I get, the more I like funny and aging! The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is proving quite good so far. It isn’t all fun and games. Some of it is sad. And there are challenges. But there’s humor, too.
The excerpts, description and cover really look enticing. I’ll have to check this one out.
Happy Friday!
I’m just beginning Harvest Moon by Denise Hunter.
“It was not the sort of day when bad things happened. Eighty degrees. September breeze. Sky expanding, wide and blue, above a canopy of trees. Air thick with the fresh smell of pine and the loamy scent of earth. It was a perfect Saturday.”
That does sound like a perfect day! I hope you have an excellent weekend.
Ooh, your book beginning sounds intriguing. I’d read it!
Happy weekend to you, too!
The fact that it mentions a magical heist-gone-wrong has me intrigued. And I LOVE that cover! Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Happy weekend to you, too! Now that I’ve finished, the heist is only a part of it. An important part, to be sure. But it’s so much more. I loved the book.
Absolutely loving that cover. Might have to give this one a try.
I’ve finished it now, and my review will be up next week. I highly recommend it!
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor sounds amazing!
As for editing software? I just type directly into the ‘create post’ window. I’ve thought about writing in Word to check for spelling and grammar, but I’m pretty confident in my writing so I write, read, post.
I guess if I was doing more than a simple blog post, I’d probably want to check it over slightly more thoroughly.
I’m with you. I just type it in as a new post and let it fly!
I’m currently reading A Refuge of Convenience by Kathy Geary Anderson and the first line is: Jonas was dead.
Hope you’ve had a great weekend!
That’s a quick and compelling start to a book! Who’s Jonas? Why is he dead? I’d want to know!
Thank you for stopping by!
Hope you enjoyed it! Happy reading.
I did enjoy it! My review will be up soon.