~ First Lines Friday – #17 (September 24, 2021) ~

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words.

What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

“Not all magic is good magic.

Few people can use it, even fewer are born to it. Since the closing of Zarose Gate, our world has toyed with the magic that poured into the air generations ago, turning the insignificant into the extraordinary. The human into the divine.”

Do you recognize the lines?

Hint: This is part of a duology that features a richly textured theatrical world of backstage intrigue and dangerous performances of magicians.

Hint 2: This is the first novel in the series with its sequel releasing in October.

This week’s book is:

Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles!

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

I actually received this ARC from the publisher for the sequel, When Night Breaks. Since I prefer to read series in order, my goal is to read both novels back to back. The concept of the duology sounds very intriguing, so I hope that it will turn out well!