Tuesday, September 4, 2018

First Chapter Tuesday: The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington & Hild by Nicola Griffi


First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

As excited as I was about this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic, I just didn't have the time to sort through TV shows and set up that post, so I opted to share a bit about one book I'm currently reading and one that I plan to read soon!

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

Excerpt:

"Davian's eyes snapped open. The young man sat there for some time, heart pounding, breathing deeply to calm himself. Eventually he stirred from where he'd dozed off at his desk and rubbed at his face, absently tracing the raised scar that ran from the corner of his left eye down to his chin. It was pinkish white now, had healed years earlier. It still ached whenever the old memories threatened to surface, though. 

He stood, stretching muscles stiff from disuse and grimacing as he looked outside. His small room in the North Tower overlooked most of the school, and the windows below had al fallen dark. The courtyard torches flared and sputtered in their sockets, too, only barely clinging to life. 

Another evening gone, then. He was running out of those much faster than he would like."

Goodreads
This intro is interesting, but it doesn't stand out all that much to me, personally. I've actually just started The Shadow of What Was Lost, though, and I'm ~100 pages in and loving it! This has so much classic fantasy feel to it and I'm already interested in the plot and the characters.

Buy the book: Amazon Book Depository


Hild by Nicola Griffith

Excerpt:

"THE CHILD'S WORLD CHANGED late one afternoon, though she didn't know it. She lay at the edge of the hazel coppice, one cheek pressed to the moss that smelt of worm cast and the last of the sun, listening: to the wind in the elms, rushing away from the day, to the jackdaws changing their calls from "Outward! Outward!" to "Home now! Home!," to the rustle of the last frightened shrews scuttling under the layers of leaf fall before the owls began their hunt. From far away came the indignant honking of geese as the goosegirl herded them back inside the wattle fence, and the child knew, in the wordless way that three-year-olds reckon time, that soon Onnen would come and find her and Cian and hurry them back.

Onnen, some leftwise cousin of Ceredig king, always hurried, but the child, Hild, did not. She liked the rhythm of her days: time alone (Cian didn't count) and time by the fire listening to the murmur of British and Anglisc and even Irish. She liked time at the edges of things—the edge of the crowd, the edge of the pool, the edge of the wood—where all must pass but none quite belonged."


I just picked this one up from my library and I can't wait to read it! I don't see Hild mentioned around all that much, but it seems like it's going to be a fantastic book. It's set during Medieval England and tells the story of St. Hilda of Whitby, so I'm in!

Buy the book: Amazon Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 




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*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

13 comments:

  1. Both are very descriptive. I hope you enjoy them. This week I am featuring Read and Gone by Allison Brook. Happy reading!

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    1. They really are! Thanks! I'll be sure to check out your excerpt as well. :)

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  2. I do love a descriptive opening...and I am eager to learn more. Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “HUNGRY HEART”

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  3. Not a genres I read but I hope you enjoy them.

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  4. Oh i could dive into The Shadow of What Was Lost!!!

    Here's my Tuesday post. Enjoy your day!

    Sassy x

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    1. The book is SO good so far, I totally recommend it! I'll be stopping by to see yours as well. :)

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  5. The Shadow of What Was Lost sounds really interesting so I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it so much.

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  6. This is the first time I'm seeing these books but it always helps when I can read a little bit of the beginning first so thanks for sharing!

    ~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles

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  7. Both of these look good! I especially like the opening to Hild–it feels very nostalgic to me.

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  8. Oh I have The Shadow of What Was Lost on my wishlist but hadn't really heard anything about it on the blogosphere. I'm glad you're enjoying it!!

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  9. Very descriptive openings. MK shares a ghost story at Girl Who Reads

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