Favourite First Lines from Books

What makes a great first line in a book? My personal opinion is that the best first lines are the ones that immediately raise questions. If you don't understand what I mean, you most likely will in a minute. Here are some of my favourite first lines from books.

"First the colors. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try."
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

"Aliens are stupid."
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy

"She'd never killed before tonight."
- Falling Kingdoms

"My mother thinks I'm dead."
- Legend

"Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day."
-Daughter of Smoke and Bone

"Look, I didn't want to be a demigod."
- The Lighting Thief

"I remember being born."
-Seraphina

"Just before the start of Summer Half, in April 1883, a very minor event took place at Eton college, the venerable and illustrious English public school for boys. A sixteen-year-old pupil names Archer Fairfax returned from a three-month absence, caused by a fractured femur, to resume his education. Almost every word in the preceding sentence is false. Archer Fairfax had not suffered a broken limb. He had never before set foot in Eton. His name was not Archer Fairfax. And he was not, in fact, even a he. This is the story of a girl who fooled a thousand boys, a boy who fooled an entire country, a partnership that would change the fate of realms and a power to challenge the greatest tyrant the world has ever known. Expect magic."
-The Burning Sky

(That last one was kind of cheating, as it was ten sentences instead of one. It's just that it's my favourite beginning of any book, so I had to include the whole thing.)

The Fantasy Book Post Part 2

Here is my first Fantasy Book Post. In it, I rambled for a while about fantasy and gave some book recommendations. In this post, I'll be giving some more recommendations. For each book recommendation, I have included a (very short) description of the book, a rating in five different categories (characters, plot, setting, writing and overall) and my opinion on which fantasy category it fits into (high, medium or low fantasy).

The Falling Kingdoms series (6 books, 3 books published) by Morgan Rhodes
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Falling Kingdoms, Rebel Spring, Gathering Darkness (and three unpublished books)
Short Description: This series has been said to be like a young adult version of Game of Thrones. I don't know whether or not that's true, since I haven't read Game of Thrones, but I can tell you that literally everyone except the four main characters dies. Unlike many other epic fantasy series, this one has a fast-paced plot, so it's fairly easy to get into.

The Inheritance Cycle (4 books) by Christopher Paolini
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance
Short Description: This series is really long, and the plot is pretty slow, so if that bothers you, do not read this book. This is a dragon book, which means that it's about dragons (obviously). It's kind of similar to the Lord of the Rings. You know, lots of walking around a kingdom and epic battles.

The Graceling series (3 books) by Kristin Cashore
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 7/10
Setting: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 7/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue
Short Description: This isn't really a series, it's just three novels that are in the same world. The books do connect to each other, however. I would suggest reading them in publishing order (Graceling, then Fire, then Bitterblue). You might find this series a little boring because the plot is pretty slow. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't suggest it to those who are new to fantasy.

The Elemental Trilogy (3 books, 2 books published) by Sherry Thomas
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 9/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: I have no idea
Books in Series: The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea and a third unpublished book
Short Description:I have no idea what this series is, but I like it. It is basically made up of magic and questions. I don't really know how to explain it. It's unlike anything else I've read. Is it historical fantasy? Parallel universe fantasy? I have no idea. It has romance and a pretty fast plot.

The Grisha Trilogy (3 books) by Leigh Bardugo
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 7/10
My Overall Rating: 7/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising
Short Description: This series is very plot focused. It's pretty fast paced and easy to get into. Magic is a big part of this series. I would recommend it to those who haven't read much high fantasy. It's a pretty good introduction to the genre.

The Seraphina series (1 book published and a sequel coming soon) by Rachel Hartman
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Seraphina, Shadow Scale
Short Description: Dragons. That's all there is to say. Seraphina is great, but I would not recommend it for people who don't read a lot of fantasy. This book is interesting and engaging, but I would only recommend it to those who are big fans of high fantasy or dragons.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy (3 books) by Laini Taylor
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Books in Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Days of Blood & Starlight, Dreams of Gods & Monsters
Short Description: Angels and demons and parallel universes. I really enjoyed this series. Some people say that it's confusing, but I don't agree. The plot is a little slow at times, but it's pretty easy to get into. This series is kind of a bridge between low and high fantasy. I would recommend it for fans of either genre.

Eon series (2 books) by Alison Goodman
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 10/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Eon, Eona
Short Description: A girl dresses as a boy and there are dragons. It was a little bit hard to get into the first few chapters, but after that I got hooked. Engaging plot and writing. I highly recommend it to fans of high fantasy.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Short Description: This book is about racing water horses. I enjoyed it, but not as much as The Raven Cycle (a series by the same author). I found the book interesting, but I can see how other people might find it a bit boring.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Short Description: This is a fairy book. I haven't read many books with fairies in them, but I really enjoyed this one. It's a fun, quick read and I suggest it for anyone is likes urban fantasy.

January 2015 Updates

Here is what I've been reading and watching in January:

• I watched series 2 part 1 of the 100 TV show and I am currently watching series 2 part 2. The 100 is heartbreaking and I wish I'd never started watching this show. Unfortunately, it's too late. I'm hooked. I loved series 1 of the 100, but series 2 is even better.
• I am currently watching Elementary series 3. Series 3 is not as good as the first two series, but I like Kitty.
• I watched Broadchurch series 1 which was AMAZING. I am currently watching season 2. This show is really well done and it's British, so why aren't you watching it?
• I randomly started watching Avatar: the Last Airbender. I thought I was just going to watch the first episode and see what it was, but I accidentally watched the whole first season and I couldn't just stop there. I am now watching the Legend of Korra, the sequel show to The Last Airbender. Avatar is great. I love the world and the characters. This is not the type of show I normally watch, but I don't regret watching nine episodes in one day in the slightest.
• In the very end of December I watched The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. I really enjoyed it. It's probably my favourite of the Hobbit movies. I'm also just really glad Tauriel didn't die. When The Battle of the Five Armies comes out on DVD I'm going to marathon all the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies.
• I read The Infinite Sea, sequel to the 5th Wave. The Infinite Sea was even better than the first book, if that's possible. I love the writing style in this series and the characters and everything and I need the final book right now. WHY CAN'T I HAVE IT RIGHT NOW?
• I finished reading The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. The Bane Chronicles is a book of short stories about the best character in the Mortal Instruments: Magnus Bane. This book made me really happy, and it also made me laugh a lot. I would definitely recommend it for fans of the Mortal Instruments.
• I read the entire Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and it was really good. I can not understand why I did not read this series earlier. I really like the writing style and the characters. I usually hate angel/demon books, but this one was good.
• I randomly read the first book in s series that came out last year, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. I honestly didn't like it very much. I almost didn't finish it, but I ended up reading the whole thing. I just couldn't really get into it. The world didn't seem real, the plot didn't make a lot of sense and the characters seemed like really awkward cardboard cut-outs. I'm a little disappointed, the description of the book sounded good. I don't plan on continuing the series.
• I read the third book in the Falling Kingdoms series: Gathering Darkness. It was pretty good. Literally everyone dies in this series. I will continue to read the series as it comes out. It's not my absolute favourite, but it's good enough to keep reading.
• I read We Were Liars, which is a realistic fiction book. I actually read a realistic book! I mostly read it because it won a Goodreads choice award last year. I actually really enjoyed it. It's really short, so it didn't take me long to read and the ending is mindblowing. I'd definitely recommend it. 
• I read the first book in the Eon duology. It's called Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. I really enjoyed it and i want to read the sequel. The main character is awesome and this is the first book I've read the has a transgender character in it.
• I read To all the Boys I've Loved Before which is another realistic fiction book. I wanted to try to read some more diverse books this year. I liked it, but it's realistic, so I didn't love it. I will read the sequel when it comes out.