First Line Friday 56 || Don’t Poke A Sleeping Dragon

Posted October 30, 2020 by Sammie in #5OnMyTBR, #amreading, Book Beginnings, chat with me, First Line Friday, Friday 56 / 5 Comments

It’s time to play “guess that book” and also watch our TBRs weep.

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and is all about the first line of a current/upcoming read. Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda’s Voice, where you turn to page 56 (or 56%) in what you’re reading a find a snippet that jumps out at you.

Queen Taifa stood at the bow of Targon, her beached warship, and looked out at the massacre on the sands. Her other ships were empty. The fighting men and women of the Chosen were already onshore, were already killing and dying.

One hundred eighty-six cycles later

Tau stumbled as he avoided the Petty Noble’s swing. He tried to regain his footing, but Jabari was on him and he had to hop backward to survive the larger man’s attack.

“They tell me that we’re winning the war. It’s not true. They tell me that the offspring of Nobles and Lessers die in childbirth. It’s not true. They tell me that we are Lessers, but I’m starting to think that’s also not true.”

“You won’t help your people if you don’t know your place.”

“I don’t think I like the place they’ve set for me.”

“It’s based on what you are.”

“They don’t know what I am,” Tau said, “but I can show you.”

Click To Reveal The Book

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

✿ Afro-inspired high fantasy world.
✿ DRAGONS! The fiery type.
✿ Demons and magic.
✿ Squad vibes and found family.
✿ Will make your feels hurt, but in a good way.
✿ Fast-paced action with lots of fighting.
✿ Protagonist hellbent on revenge who doesn’t need anyone.
✿ Only to discover, oops, I somehow made friends?
✿ How the heck did that happen? I just … stabbed things.

This is a weekly meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook meant to take place on Mondays, but since Fridays tend to be my TBR-focused post, I’ve decided to combine them here. Next Monday’s prompt is: death.

This one is almost too easy. I mean, pretty much everything on my shelf involves some kind of death because that’s what happens when you include gray characters or antiheroes who don’t care one whit and stabby/explody things. It’s just not a good combination. Or a really good combination? Hmm.

I absolutely had to have How to Make Friends with the Dark when it came out … but I haven’t read it yet. Yeah, if you figure out how that works, you tell me, because I’m at a loss. It still sounds like a heck of a good book! It’s just that I got it for Christmas 2019, and 2020 has been … not a great time to read a book about someone suffering depression after their mother dies. I still want to read it, but there’s gotta be a better time for it soon, I hope.

I can’t say 100% that The Unbroken will have death, but it’s a pretty safe bet, since the main character is a soldier. Also, it says “assassinations and murders” right in the summary, sooo … I mean, that’s how you know it’s a book I’m obviously going to read. Duh.

Considering that Magic Dark and Strong involves necromancy, it’s a safe bet that at least someone died at some point to make this possible. Also mentions a series of murders, AND it’s pitched as The Bone Witch meets Sherlock Holmes, and I can’t decide which part I’m more excited about.

My library just got in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, plus its sequel, which is exciting. I’ve been wanting to read it! Obviously this one deals with death, since it’s right there in the title and the first sentence of the blurb. More than that, though, I’ve just heard this one’s really good!

I actually meant to read Dread Pirate Arcanist awhile back, but things in my life just sort of imploded for a while there. I’d really like to get back to it and the series. If the first book is any indication, there will definitely be some deaths. Especially since part of the tagline is “a lost treasure worth dying for.” More death and mayhem! Yes, please.