First Line Friday #59
Today’s First Line Friday was a new release this past July. It is the debut of Riley Sager, which is a pseudonym of a previously published author. I recently received this as an add on with Book of the Month. I had been wanting to get this one and the additional book was $9.99 for a hardback, which is cheaper than getting it on Amazon. So I grabbed it!!!!
My hands are covered in frosting when Jeff calls.
FIRST THERE WERE THREE.
III
THEN THERE WERE TWO.
II
CAN THERE ONLY EVER BE ONE FINAL GIRL?
I
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.
Release Day Review of The One by John Marrs and a US Giveaway!
Author: John Marrs
Published: Today, February 20, 2018
416 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: February 11-18, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description from Amazon:
How far would you go to find The One?
A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner—the one you’re genetically made for.
That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.
Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…
A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.
Jessica’s Review:
Holy. Crap…. Words cannot begin to describe The One by John Marrs. This is Science Fiction that could possibly one day become science fact. (But, isn’t that what all Science Fiction is?: Fiction until the time comes where it is reality?????) John Marrs, where did you come up with this idea? You are brilliant and I loved this novel!
This book has been released in the United Kingdom for some time and it is FINALLY released here in the States! It seems like I have been anticipating this novel forever; So much so I began to worry that it would fail my high expectations, but Marrs exceeded them. The One had been previously titled as A Thousand Small Explosions and there are references to the former title in the novel. I prefer the title of The One to the previous title.
The One makes you think and will cause debate… Could this become a reality and would you take the test? What could be the results of taking the test? We experience the stories of five extremely different individuals who take the test and the positive and negative consequences they all face. These stories all have very different results in their relationships as the test only takes into account DNA, and not race, religion, gender, or even location in the world.
This is a very compelling and addictive novel and you just want to keep turning those pages! Marrs is brilliant with his short chapters that have you in disbelief as you reach each conclusion. The stories go back and forth between each of the five persons and you don’t know what is going to happen next. (Or you think you know and you are wrong!) I found myself saying, “I must keep reading!” The short chapters make The One a quick and compulsive read.
The question still remains: Would YOU take the test?????
***Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an e-arc via NetGalley and also John Marrs as I won a signed copy via GoodReads. I really enjoyed this novel and will treasure my signed copy. Please note that I also purchased a copy via Book Depository that I will be giving away to one lucky US resident!
Here is my signed copy!
For some fun go to this website: http://matchyourdna.co.uk/ You can find out which character is your match. Who did you get? I’ll share my results:
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
GIVEAWAY!!!
It’s time for a giveaway! This one will be for US only and will run until Saturday 2/24 at midnight Eastern. You are entering to win a new UK edition of The One. I bought it from Book Depository before you could get it in the US. Once I won my signed copy from Goodreads I knew I would give this one away. Good luck everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Alone
Author: Cyn Balog
Published: November 7, 2017
277 pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate―which means they’re not going back to the city…or Seda’s friends and school. As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her. Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion―and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…
Kim’s Review:
Holy. Crap. I was speechless after closing this book. And I’ve been procrastinating writing this review because I really don’t know what to say. All the things I want to say will give away too much so I can’t say any of it! There are so many twists and turns in this book, the atmosphere is creepy, yet again I had to turn lights on while reading it . . . I mean dang! I really have nothing bad to say about this book. I read it in one day and I had the shivers after finishing it.
My husband is a horror freak. His DVD shelf is filled with horror movies that range from classic Dracula and Frankenstein to Nightmare on Elm Street to random old-time movies that no one but other horror freaks have ever heard of. As soon as I was done with Alone, I told Ivan that he needs to read it.
I really wish I could say more in this review and it feels so incomplete, but all I can say is that this is a great book and you should read it. Ok, let me try: Seda is a character I enjoyed, the twins were funny, Mom sounds cool, and the story was fascinating and page-turning. That’s it, I can’t say anymore! This is the perfect book for that teen that you’re trying to get into books. Horror freaks will love this book. I would recommend Alone to pretty much everybody!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
