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Hello, reader friends!!! I apologize for being scarce this week, life has been a bit crazier than usual! I’ve been busy driving our kids to daily swimming lessons (forty minutes each way) and it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all of them so we spent an afternoon getting some extra practice in a friend’s pool, too.
Well, y’all can guess how often I spend that much time outdoors and I’m obviously out of practice because I forgot one important step… sunblock. Fortunately, the younger kids were fine but my oldest (bookworm) and I ended up with a sunburn on our faces, necks, and arms. As y’all can imagine, we’ve been taking extra precautions since then and all the kids are excited about more lessons next week.
Tell me all about your swim lesson or pool fun experiences, reader friends! Did y’all have swimming lessons as kids? Have you taken your own children? Do we have any self-taught sink-or-swimmers?
The Orphan’s Wish by Melanie Dickerson
goodreads | amazon | bookdepository | christianbook
Summer 1401
The Holy Land“Ala ad’din’s mother’s eyes were closed as she lay on her funeral bier.“
Melanie Dickerson authors one of the few young adult series that I personally enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, there are several authors who are creating quality Christian fiction within the young adult genre. It just isn’t my go-to happy place. If y’all are looking for some great YA recommendations, check out my friends at Reading Is My SuperPower, Bookworm Mama, and Fiction Afficiando.
Go to Hoarding Books to find more FLF bloggers (and don’t forget about the giveaway)!
Faithfully Bookish 
My first two took to the water like fish. The third cried in the bathtub. But a determination on his part not to miss the fun prevailed. His senior year of high school he was swim team captain. Enjoy your weekend!
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That is reassuring! My youngest isn’t having the easiest time. Thank you for sharing!
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Happy Friday!???? Ugh, sunburn is the worst! Feel better Beth!
My First Line Fridays comes from a book I’m planning on reading very soon, Shelter In Place by Nora Roberts.
On Friday, July 22, 2005, Simone Knox ordered a large Fanta – orange – to go with her popcorn and Swedish Fish. The choice, her standard night at the movies fare, changed her life, and very likely saved it. Still, she’d never drink Fanta again.
Have a great weekend and happy reading!????????????
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Sunburn is the worst! I got bit by a dog I was watching for a friend last week (it had to be on my dominant hand too). Thankfully, I’m healing and I pray you both are too!
I’m currently reading (listening to) Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks. Here’s the first line from Chapter 5:
By the time Murphy finished diagraming, it was raining again, the crowd had thinned to two people, and the bulk of the law enforcement and emergency vehicles were gone.
Happy Friday!
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Happy Friday! My first line is from La Risposta: The Answer (A Tuscan Legacy book 9) by Autumn Macarthur:
Prologue: “Instead of returning to her vegetable garden, Teresa Pellegrini rushed into the farmhouse.”
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Oh, Beth, I’m so sorry to hear about your sunburns! My inner child is a mermaid. I love to swim.
My first line comes from The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander
I raised the long, curved bow and with two fingers pulled back its string, all the while resisting the urge to remove one of the silver-shafted arrows nestled in the quiver slung over my shoulder.
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Happy Friday!
This book—I’m so excited to read it! Ooh, and I’m sorry about the sunburn. I know how awful that can be.
I’m reading The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket right now, so here’s the first line: “When my workday is over, and I have closed my notebook, hidden my pen, and sawed holes in my rented canoe so that it cannot be found, I often like to spend the evening in conversation with my few surviving friends.”
Hallie @ Book by Book
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Great minds!!! I’m currently reading this one now, and I shared on my blog too. ????
Happy Friday! Hope you have an excellent weekend filled with great reading. ❤????
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My kids are grown and we get to experience our first grandchild enjoying his first kiddie pool experience this year. Such joy! The book I’m featuring on on my blog is “My Sister’s Intended” by Rachael Anderson. It’s been on my TBR list for quite some time now, but I finally read it and am so glad I did. Truly an enjoyable read. I will share the first line from Chapter Eleven here. “”Would you care to go for a stroll with me in the gardens, Miss Gifford?” Brand asked, not sure whether or not he wanted her to accept.”
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Melanie Dickerson is one of my favorite Christian fiction authors. Can’t wait to read this book–it’s on my Kindle. 🙂
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Don’t worry Beth I know life can be hectic! Happy reading 😉
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Happy Friday!
Ouch, sunburns can…well, burn-pain. I hope you both are feeling better now Beth.
I just finished reading The Orphan’s Wish and enjoyed it very much.
I am reading the Victorian Christmas Brides Collection: 9 Women Dream of Perfect Christmases during the Victorian Era by Carrie Fancett Pagels, Erica Vetsch, C. J. Chase, Susanne Dietze, Rita Gerlach, Kathleen L. Maher, Gabrielle Meyers, Vanessa Riley and Lorna Seilstad.
My first line is from the second novella in this collection, Star of Wonder by Susanne Dietze…..
County Durham, England
December 20, 1875
They say it’s larger than a hen’s egg–the Star of Wonder, that is.
Blessings, Tina
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Popular book this week!
The book I shared on my blog this week is Her Place in Time by Stephenia H McGee but my next book is going to be The Baker’s secret by Stephen P Kiernan so I’ll share that first line here: “All through those years of war, the bread tasted of humiliation.” Hope you have happy weekend with plenty of reading! 🙂
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I actually have never learned to swim (but I’ve practiced drowning and I’m not a fan).
I’m sharing from a book that will be out early next month (I won an uncorrected proof on GoodReads) on my blog today, The Daisy Children by Sofia Grant, so here is the second line:
“It wasn’t the fault of the trousers, of course, but it was tempting to blame them nonetheless.”
Happy Reading!
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Sunburn is no fun 😦
I understand what you’re saying about YA. Some of the YA characters feel too childish for my grown-up taste. But others are great! (I’ve just finished Fawkes, which I really enjoyed.)
I’m sharing the first line from More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer on my blog. I’m a big Karen Witemeyer fan, and this did not disappoint.
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My First Line Fridays is from the book I’m currently reading, The Road to Paradise, by Karen Burnett:
“The promised view of the mountain peak waited, cloaked in mist like a tissue-wrapped gift not ready to be unveiled.”
It’s so good. It’s already Midnight and I’m still reading!
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I am about three quarters of the way done with this book and am loving it!!
Happy Reading 🙂
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Beautiful cover! thanks for sharing.
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