First Lines is a series of blog articles posted during the first week of the month. My idea was to inspire my writing with these examples. I also hoped to inspire other writers and point readers to books they might enjoy.
For June, a month of weddings and romance, these lines are from books listed as one of the speculative fiction subgenres in romance.
The hooky-ness of a first line is in the eyes of the beholder. I hope you enjoy these.
Erasing Time
Erasing Time Series Book 1, C. J. Hill
It was as good a day as any to plan treason.
Echo’s hands moved over the computer control panels in a quick rhythm until an aerial picture of Traventon appeared on the screen. He enlarged the wilderness that bordered the domed city, searching for any sign of a path. In order to escape from the city, he needed to find a safe route—the route others took when they fled.”
Freezing Reign
The Reign Series Book 1, L.A. Goff
Prologue
Red Headed Woman
12 years after the Pathogen
Rose stood in front of the examination table wearing stiletto heels and nothing else. White silk puddled around her feet like snow. She was comfortable with her nudity and the engineer knew it. She wasn’t comfortable with leaving her gown on the dirty tile floor. The engineer should’ve know this, too. He’d built her to crave cleanliness.”
The Firetongue Heir
Mages of Oblivion, Elise Thomson
Darius was not a well-loved prince.
Being the youngest son of a despised tyrant, and the one responsible for the unenviable task of recruiting nobles for the war effort, meant few were willing to do more than respectfully get out of his way. It was why, though he stood between the ever-popular gram and spiced meat vendors, the spit and hiss of oil crackling all the while, every would-be patron had given him wide berth.”
Alien Son
Sons of Aran, G.S. Kenney
Reverend Guide Salvatore advanced the hologram frame by frame. His long manicured forefinger stabbed the control button as if to keep it in its place. There was silence in the darkened conference room as the members of Aiana Kim’s thesis committee leaned forward, studying each frame, barely breathing.
Between one frame and the next, a young red-haired woman appeared in the holo.”
Ruthless Game
Ghostwalker Book 9, Christine Feehan
The lone coyote trotted across the desert on the outskirts of the city. Bold, he knows closer to the trash scattered along the edges of the sand. The night was cool, but the sand was still warm from the hot days sun. He padded along, nose to the ground, sniffing around the back of a long structure until he came to an alleyway. Someone coughed, and a bottle smashed against the side of the building. The coyote whirled and ran. He’d been shot at many times coming in too close to these particular buildings, but the food was unusually plentiful. Still, he didn’t want to take a chance, not when there were so many men walking around so late at night.”
Powerless
Powerless Trilogy, Lauren Roberts
Thick, hot liquid runs down my arm.
Blood.
Funny, I don’t remember the guard nicking me with his sword before my fist connected with his face. Despite being a Flash, he apparently couldn’t manage to move faster than my right hook to his jaw.
The smell of soot stings my nose, forcing me to clamp a grimy hand over it to stop a sneeze from slipping out.
That would be a very pathetic way to get caught.”
Great Divide
The Great series Book 1, Vanessa Kramer
Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today to celebrate the joining in marriage of these two people.”
I look at my dad standing next to me and smiling. I am holding a beautiful bouquet of white and red roses. The church is filled with people who are watching me. My brother and mom are sitting in the front row.
“Who here gives this bride away,” the priest asks.
“Her mother and I do,” my dad replies, tearing up.
He kisses my cheek and walks away. I turn to my groom and feel myself beaming. I am marrying Matt Kinsely, the lead singer of the Broken Chandeliers, my favorite band. I had every single album they ever made and thought he was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen. And now I’m getting to marry him! I remove the veil from my face and pull it over my head. Matt smiles at me and I can see every one of his blinding white teeth.”
Clarification
There are no affiliate links in this post. I don’t make a cent off of the books listed on this page. Usually I pull these titles at random. They are from Amazon, my personal library, my area public library, or other online booksellers.
Do You Want to Read More?
Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more? They are here for your enjoyment. And to entice you to buy more books.
If you liked these you might want to check out:
First Lines of Science Fiction Love Stories or
First Line Friday full of SFF Love.
And if you want to celebrate pride month (also in June), check out these first lines from LBGTQ+ fiction:
First Lines Celebrating Pride Month
Proud to Celebrate Pride Month with First Lines
No matter what you celebrate in June. No matter what you like to read, remember to leave a starred review or a review comment sharing what you loved about the book. Most of all, read for fun!