YvonneTHIS IS A MEME FOR ALL YOU ‘FIRST PAGE BROWSERS’
ORCHIDS AND STONE by LISA PRESTON
BOOK BEGINNINGS / FIRST LINES
CHAPTER ONE
“Daphne didn’t quit college to become a roofer. When the first day of spring break became the night her father killed himself in a hotel room, she drove his car the two-plus hours back to the university the next morning. Gathering her clothes, photos, and a shoebox of desk items, she abandoned her textbooks and extra school supplies in the quad atrium, free to any takers.
College was supposed to be more than escape from her half-empty bedroom and stymied parents, but she left Western Washington University thinking she’d always been a poser there, never a good fit with dorm life. Finishing part of a semester more than her dead big sister counted, like all half measures, for nothing.
No solace waited at home. For the first time since she was eleven, her father wouldn’t be there in the evening, burning. No restive three-word chant or even his less common complaint, “Nobody makes an effort,” would burst from him after the hours whiled away and he slumped up the stairs.
Quiet and comfort were not the same thing. In the wake of her impulse to drop out of school, she dreaded surreal days and evenings to be passed at home. Her trembling mother offered no answers”
So, you have taken a look, would you read the book?
Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Just to give you an extra helping hand, here is the book’s premise.
ORCHIDS AND STONE by LISA PRESTON
They’re trying to take me. Help! Help me, please.
Daphne Mayfield sought a moment of quiet in a park—a break from city life, a tense relationship, and chronic overwork—but then an elderly woman makes a desperate plea. Daphne is reluctant to get involved when she’s not sure what’s happening, but she wants to help the stranger. Is the rambling old lady the victim of a crime or a victim of dementia?
As her unease grows, Daphne can’t let go of the encounter. No matter what her boyfriend or her friends say. No matter what the retired homicide detective warns. Though she knows she’s meddling in other people’s lives, her instincts scream that the danger is real.
With each increasingly bold intervention, Daphne involves herself in someone else’s crisis until she’s in too deep to turn back. She’s not just fighting for a stranger’s life…she’s fighting for her own.
WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN ?
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click here and visit your host, Gilion @ Rose City Reader
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time?
I can’t wait to do a little blog hopping myself and check out all the great Book Beginnings you have!
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There are so many things in there that I want to know more about. I hope you are enjoying the book. I am spotlighting Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben this week. Happy reading!
Hi Kathy,
There are plenty of questions which need answers and personal issues which need to be resolved, and that’s just from the first paragraph.
There’s no messing around with a cozy, descriptive opening scene, in this story!
I shan’t be reading ‘Orchids And Stone’ just yet, but I am looking forward to it getting to the top of my TBR pile. I have enjoyed quite an extensive run of thrillers of late, yet all have been so very different in their storyline and writing style.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I always appreciate it 🙂
Blimey, I wonder where this one is going? It sounds like an intriging read.
Hi Nikki,
A dead sister and father, and having to drop out of University!
I wonder if there are more siblings, or if Daphne is going to have to cope with her mother alone … I can’t wait to discover what kind of personal issues Daphne has to deal with!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope that all is well with you and that you enjoy your weekend 🙂
This is a great start to a book! It makes me want to delve into Daphne’s past and also her plans for the future. A roofer? Even without knowing the full premise, it makes me want to read it!
I’ve just begun The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
“Howard Roark laughed.
He stood naked at the edge of a cliff. The lake lay far below him.”
Hi Kelly,
I’m not certain where the ‘roofer’ comes into the equation, but then I don’t know any of Daphne’s circumstances, either personally or financially.
Ratings and reviews have been very mixed and overall, not particularly outstanding. However as a debut novel, I am willing to give it a fighting chance, as I am intrigued by the premise and the potential outcome.
Lisa already has an established career in non-fiction writing, so I don’t think I shall be too impressed if the standard of writing and grammar, is what lets the whole thing down!
Thanks for the interesting comment and your own first lines. I have never come across the writing of Ayn Rand before and ‘The Fountainhead’ certainly has an intriguing premise, with some quite strong messaging already in evidence. I am wondering if Howard is about to dive into the lake for a dare, simply for a swim, or whether he is planning to jump rather than dive, to his death! The fact that he is laughing doesn’t help me decide one way or the other, as his laughter may be more hysterical than anything else!
Enjoy your Sunday 🙂
That opening is definitely intriguing, if a little depressing. I think it would keep me reading, though. Hope you enjoy the book. Thanks for sharing, and happy reading this week!
Hi Joy,
I read quite of lot of suspense thrillers / psychological thrillers and I have to agree with you, that just recently, I have come across some very disturbing and depressing storylines.
It appears that authors are willing to push the boundaries of the genre more and more, in an effort to capture that unique and interesting premise, which is going to be a crowd puller.
At the moment I am okay with that, but it is something to bear in mind for the future.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I always appreciate and enjoy comments 🙂
Sounds quite good and tense.
Some dislike between the sisters?
ENJOY, Yvonne.
You always have books I have never heard of and ones that sound so good.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Book Beginnings
Hi Elizabeth,
I was wondering more about why the father had committed suicide, especially in a hotel room!
But you are right, there might well have been some disagreement going on between Daphne and her sister, which resulted in her sister’s death and then went on to result in her father’s suicide!
Plenty of intrigue in store, of that I’m sure – watch this space 🙂
This opening makes me torn between wanting to know more and wanting to avoid it for fear of being overwhelmed.
Hi Hila,
I love a good mystery, so these few lines, together with the synopsis, had me hooked instantly.
When there is a line in the synopsis … “With each increasingly bold intervention, Daphne involves herself in someone else’s crisis until she’s in too deep to turn back. She’s not just fighting for a stranger’s life…she’s fighting for her own.” … I’m already anticipating an engrossing read!
On the other hand, the book I have recently finished, ‘Beside Myself’ by Ann Morgan, almost did threaten to overwhelm me at one stage. However I am so pleased that I carried on reading, as the twists towards the end of the story, I definitely never saw coming … https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25517205-beside-myself?from_new_nav=true&ac=1&from_search=true
I hope you are enjoying your Easter so far and thanks for taking the time to stop by 🙂