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Happy Friday, reader friends! I’m (more than) a little bit geeking out right now over a blogging meets real life moment! I’ll explain…
Today’s featured book is a novella that I read previously as part of a collection (and really enjoyed) which just recently released on its own to kick off a new series. Anyhow, the story has a major home improvement background AND (here’s the unplanned happy moment) we are picking up our new flooring this weekend!
YAY! It’s the little things that make me happy (although anyone who has tackled home improvement projects knows they are rarely little things)!!! We are ripping out our carpet, engineered flooring, and vinyl sheet flooring from our hallway, laundry, pantry, open concept living/dining/kitchen, and hall bathroom to install a wood-lookalike vinyl plank floor throughout!
Durability, baby! We compared brands and prices, saved up for months, then pounced on a sale to make this happen. I am one very happy mama! I might have to start taking my instagram book shots on our new pretty floor!
A Heart Restored by Elizabeth Maddrey

spotlight | goodreads | amazon
“‘You did what?’ Deidre McIntyre held the phone away from her ear as her best friend, Lisette, screeched.“
Can y’all say Rehab Addict meets Barnwood Builders?! (btw, those are home improvement type tv shows… I have a DIY network/HGTV infatuation) Be still, my renovating heart! Check out the excerpt in our book spotlight!
Go to Hoarding Books to find more FLF bloggers!
Happy floor-installing to you! And I LOVE barnwood builders!
PS this is an adorable cover! I must check it out.
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Thank you! I think we’ll probably just get it picked up this weekend. Hubby has to work Saturday so no time to really dig in.
YAY! You are a fellow Barnwood Builders fan!!! This doesn’t surprise me, you have excellent taste 😉
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Love the cover, and looking forward to your DIY pictures!
I’m about to start reading The Boy in the Hoodie, a young adult novel by debut Australian author Catriona McKewon. This is about two kids in detention, so not something I know about, lol! Here’s the first line:
Before I met him, there wasn’t much I knew about the boy in the hoodie.He seemed to live above the rules.
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I will try to get some before and after pictures up on Instagram, Iola, just for you!
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How very industrious of you! Hope it all goes smoothly. 🙂
I’m featuring the first line from the SECOND chapter of Mesu Andrews’ ‘Isaiah’s Daughter’ on my blog (since the first line of chapter one is on Hoarding Books this week), but right now I’m going to share the first line from ‘Fatal Mistake’ by Susan Sleeman:
“He was coming for her, and he was close.”
Have a great weekend!
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I’m so excited to get rid of our current flooring, it is only 6 years old but did not hold up well to life with kids! Hope you have a wonderful weekend as well, Katie!
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New flooring is not a “little thing” and your new flooring sounds like something I would pick out! 🙂
I haven’t read anything by Elizabeth Maddrey and I need to fix that!
My first line today (that I’m also sharing on my blog) is from Melissa Tagg’s From the Start. “How in the world had rain earned such a romantic rep?”
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Oh yes, Elizabeth has great stories! Melissa is a favorite of mine too, I have From the Start on my tbr shelf!
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Happy Friday!
Today, my First Line Friday comes from the next book on my TBR mountain, Coming Home to Island House by Erica James…..
There she is, the scarlet woman herself.’
‘She’s back then.’
‘Back to flaunt herself right under our noses. She’s no shame, that one.’
‘No shame at all.’
Have a great weekend!
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Scale that mountain, reader friend! Happy reading!
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Adam Bryan pushed into the Magnolia Café and turned to wait for his younger sister Daisy.
CHRISTMAS ROSES
By Lenora Worth
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I’m impressed that you aren’t burned out on Christmas stories this time of year 😉
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Over on my blog I’m sharing the first line from Heather Day Gilbert’s latest “Guilt by Association” It is the 3rd book in her Murder in the Mountains series. I’ll share here the first line from chapter 4.
“Without a doubt, the number five trailer is the prettiest place in Scots’ Hollow.”
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Thanks for sharing, Trisha! Happy reading!
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This book is on my TBR!!!
I’m sharing about The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma on my blog today, but I’ll share a first line from a book on my soon-to-read list here.
Your first thought upon picking up this book is probably: How can a person born without any limbs consider himself to to be the hands and feet of Jesus on this Earth?
-Be the Hands and Feet: Living Out God’s Love for All His Children by Nick Vujicic
Happy weekend!
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I’ve heard great things about that book! Enjoy!
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Every time I see this cover, I want to read it!
The snow in middle Tennessee melted enough that my mailman finally showed up with a few packages in hand (a few of the books I’ve been waiting on). I pulled the first line to share from one of those:
Her head throbbed and grogginess gripped her.
–Thread of Revenge by Elizabeth Goddard
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I like the style! I had a UPS delivery delayed a couple of days but everything is busy melting today, woo hoo!
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I like the title and the cover. The book I’m sharing on my blog this week is Runaway Bride by Mary Connealy. I will share here the first line from a children’s book I just finished reading by A. Lynn Basset called The Boy and The Clock Book. “Tick-tock, tick-tock. Only three minutes stood between Charlie Higgins and the best summer ever!” Have a great weekend!
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I haven’t read Runaway Bride yet but it is definitely on my tbr! Happy reading!
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It’s so much fun to get a new floor, even if it is a lot of work! I love Elizabeth Maddrey’s books!!
Happy Friday! My first line is from Callum’s Compass by Sara L. Foust:
“A persistent knock at the front door dragged Kat Williams awake.”
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Ooooo, new to me author! Thank you for sharing, Becky!
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ooo i love that cover! and YAY for new flooring 😀
My current first line is from The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright –
“Death had a way of creeping up on a soul, and Ivy Thorpe was determined that when it visited her, she would not be surprised.”
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Isn’t that story wonderful?!
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My first paragraph is from Melody of the Soul from Liz Tolsma:
Anna Zadokova held her mother’s tiny body close. If only she could imprint the feel of her on her skin. She breathed in her scent, a combination of rose water and fried onions. Everything she loved best about her. A light mist dampened them both.
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I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz about this book, I’ll have to check it out! Thanks for sharing, Paula!
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I LOVE that cover! It makes me want to read this one. 🙂
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It is such a fun story!
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Thanks to Hurricane Harvey, we’re getting new floors in our house. We chose a wood look plank tile.
PROLOGUE
Two Years Earlier
Renee huddled in the garden shed in her pajamas and tried to hear him over the pounding of her heart in her ears. – Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble
Happy Friday and happy reading!
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Waterproof is key! I hope your renovations go smoothly, Caryl!
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Love that first line! It definitely makes me want to read the book.
Happy Friday!
Over on my blog, I am featuring Brett Armstrong’s novel Destitutio Quod Remissio. It’s an interesting read so far. Here I will post the first lines from chapter four of this book.
“The streets were filled beyond the usual that day, or perhaps it only appeared so to Marcus. The market district was expansive enough to accommodate thousands. Over it looked the tall stone buildings surrounding the huge open Forum that was the city’s center for centuries. All of the grand structures were washed white by the noon’s radiance and loomed large over the transactions of Rome’s citizens.”
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*sigh* so many books, so little time!
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Yay for new flooring!
I’m sharing the first line of the second novella from an e-galley of The Mail-Order Brides Collection from Barbour Books (due out 2/1/18) on my blog, so here is the first line of the third novella, Train Ride to Heartbreak by Donna Schlachter:
“Groverton, Pennsylvania September 1895
Mary Johannson plunged reddened hands into the dishwater and scrubbed at a crusty spot on the chipped china plate.”
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Thank you, Yvette! I’m looking forward to reading that collection as well!
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Happy Friday Beth! How fun that you get to redo your floors. I like Elizabeth’s book. It’s a great one. 🙂
My first line is from The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma
Anna Zadokova held her mother’s tiny body close.
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Thanks for sharing! Liz Tolsma is definitely on my radar.
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I seldom read a romance as mysteries keep me busy. Today I am show casing one of my must read series, Mattie Winston.
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It’s so nice to know there are books for every reader ????
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Happy Friday or busy Friday! I love the cover of this beauty 😉
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It’s adorable, isn’t it!?
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