Book Beginnings, First Line Friday, & Friday 56: Tea and Empathy (Tales of Rydding Village #1) by Shanna Swendson

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two. I'm also linking up with Carrie at Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday. (Friday 56 is on hiatus right now, but I'll still be participating.)

This week I'm featuring Tea and Empathy (Tales of Rydding Village #1) by Shanna Swendson. I've just started this cozy fantasy and am loving it so far. 

About the Book

Welcome to Rydding, the hidden village you might stumble across if you need a home and a fresh start.

For Elwyn Howell, the village is a lifesaver when she finds it just as she’s run out of strength and hope while running for her life. The abandoned healer’s cottage welcomes her, even though she’s given up on that calling. She opens a tea shop instead, using her knowledge of herbs and her empathic gift that allows her to select the perfect tea for each customer. Soon, she’s feeling at home in the village community.

She’s afraid it’s too good to last, a fear that’s confirmed when she finds a wounded man unconscious in her garden. Was he sent by the people who are hunting her? Not even he knows, since he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. As she nurses him back to health, they develop a close bond, but the specter of both their pasts—the one she’s fleeing and the one he doesn’t remember—gets in the way. He doesn’t know what life he may have left behind, and she lives in constant fear that her old life will catch up with her and she’ll end up convicted of a murder she’s not entirely sure she didn’t commit.

They can’t hide forever, not even in Rydding, and if they want to have a future, they’ll have to confront their pasts.

Book Beginnings / First Line Friday

Elwyn Howell was certain she didn't have long to live, which meant she needed to find a good place to die.

Friday 56

Back in the sitting room, she found that her patient had finished his tea. "If you're hungry, there's soup for supper," she said.

"That sounds nice. At least, I think it does. I know what soup is, but I don't know if I like it. That's so odd."

What have you been reading lately?