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The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake


Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.


I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.




This week I'm spotlighting my current read, Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1) by Brenda Drake.  You may remember that this made my Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Debut Novels That I'm Looking Forward To from December 1st.  The concept of this novel is completely awesome - magical knights jumping into libraries around the world to protect humans from the supernatural world.  Doesn't that sound great?  I'm about a third of the way through it and I think I'm liking the sound of that concept quite a bit more than the execution of it.  It's really, really similar to City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare, but doesn't manage to be as interesting - probably because it seems so familiar.  It isn't all bad, but I'm really hoping it picks up, the characters come into themselves and that it starts to do its own thing.  We'll see.

Book Beginnings:

Only God and the vendors at Haymarket wake early on Saturday mornings.  The bloated clouds spattered rain against my faded red umbrella.  I strangled the wobbly handle and dodged shoppers along the tiny makeshift aisle of Boston's famous outdoor produce market.  The site, just off the North End, was totally packed and stinky.  The fruits and vegetables for sale were rejects from nearby supermarkets - basically, they were cheap and somewhat edible.  The briny smell of flesh wafted in the air around the fishmongers.

56:

"I came to get you.  Get dressed.  Pack a change of clothes and anything else you may need."  He skulked to the window, turned, and winked at me.  "Me me in the cafe down the street."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you in the cafe."

My hand flew to my chest.  "Am I in danger?  Is Pop?"

"Not if you do as I ask."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I said sourly.

He straddled the windowsill.  "Just hurry."

"You know, that window was locked."

"Yes, it was."  He grinned and ducked through the open window, barely making a sound as he went down the fire escape.  

Comments

  1. Hmm...I hate it when books are so similar to other books which aren't even as good. Not sure if I would finish it, but easier said than done. I always have the hardest time ditching books even if I am not liking them.

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    Replies
    1. This actually got better about halfway through when it began to do its own thing.

      Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

      Delete
  2. I hope you enjoy this one. I haven't heard of it before, but it seems like it could be good. Thanks for sharing. :D

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  3. I'm with Anne. But then I haven't read Cassandra Clare, so I could read this one ;-) I think the writing sounds entertaining enough to persevere. Here's my Friday Book Hour

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    Replies
    1. I think it would be more enjoyable if you weren't already familiar with Cassandra Clare's work. Thanks for sharing. :)

      Delete
  4. I love Cassandra Clare but I'm not sure how I'd feel about something that's too similar without being as good! This was one of my most anticipated reads as well - hopefully you will enjoy it more later in the book!
    http://dualreads.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/friday-reads-11th-march-2016.html

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    Replies
    1. It did get better the more I read into the story. I hope you'll enjoy it when you get to it. I'm definitely interested in hearing what you think.

      Thanks for visiting my blog. :

      Delete
  5. As soon as I read the blurb, I thought of the TV show The Librarians. Have you seen it?
    sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes

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    Replies
    1. Now that's a show I've been wanting to watch - it sounds so cool. :)

      Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
  6. The concept sounds cool but comparing it to City of Bones deters me a bit. I didn't enjoy that one. But maybe this will be different!
    Here's my Friday Meme --> MIND GAMES

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    Replies
    1. The concept is so cool - I hope you will enjoy it. :)

      Thanks for visiting my blog.

      Delete
  7. Sounds interesting. I hope it picks up for you. This week I am featuring Uprooted by Naomi Novik which I thought was amazing. Happy reading!

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  8. Sounds unique...and fascinating. Love the dialogue in the 56. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely piqued my interested. Thanks for visiting mine, too. :)

      Delete
    2. Definitely piqued my interested. Thanks for visiting mine, too. :)

      Delete
    3. Definitely piqued my interested. Thanks for visiting mine, too. :)

      Delete
  9. This actually sounds really good. I love the cover aswell.

    Pop over and check out my Friday 56 this week

    Shubba @ Wee Shubba's World.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It definitely isn't bad, and like you said the cover is pretty cool. :)

      Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
  10. Sounds good to me. Similar to The Mortal Instruments or not. :-)
    Happy weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting, Freda! I hope you had a good weekend. :)

      Delete
  11. I've heard of this one recently and the author has been recommended to me. I need to give her a try.

    My 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2016/03/11/the-friday-56-97-forest-of-memory-authenticities-and-captures/

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    Replies
    1. I would definitely like to know what you think of her - I'd like to see what else she can do. :)

      Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  12. I've heard so many good things about this book! I hope you start liking it more! Great post! :D

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    Replies
    1. The further I went the more it was able to stand under it's own power and it did get better. :) Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  13. This series sounds like so much fun! Magical jumpers ... to libraries! Love the concept ...!

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    Replies
    1. The concept alone totally hooked me! :)

      Thanks for commenting.

      Delete
  14. Wow! From everything you've posted here, the book sounds great! I'm sorry you're not enjoying it. I hope it picks up for you.
    I, however, am totally intrigued and will be looking for this book soon.

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  15. Wow! From everything you've posted here, the book sounds great! I'm sorry you're not enjoying it. I hope it picks up for you.
    I, however, am totally intrigued and will be looking for this book soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It definitely picked up somewhere around halfway through. I hope you'll enjoy it - the concept is pretty amazing. :)

      Thanks for visiting.

      Delete

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