Thursday, June 5, 2025

Book Beginnings, First Line Friday, & Friday 56: Awakened by Roseanna M. White

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. I'm also linking up with Carrie at Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday. Friday 56 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. It was started by Freda at Freda's Voice, but Anne over at My Head is Full of Books has taken over for the time being.

This week I'm featuring Awakened by Roseanna M. White. I'm almost finished and am loving it! 

About the Book
Where sea and land meet, two worlds clash in a fury of wind and waves.

Arden Bleu has always known that her stepsister, Jade, was destined for great things. In a world where beauty follows magic, she has no doubt that their upcoming Awakening ceremony will reveal that gorgeous, kind, compelling Jade is far more than a mere mortal. But when Jade is kidnapped by a mysterious sect of mer on the eve of the newly-returned king’s ball, Arden will do anything to save her sister. Even face down the man she’s always dreaded meeting because of the power he holds over her family, the man to whom her father swore loyalty long before she was born. The Sea King.

Seidon, the Sea King of Daryatla, has grown only more powerful as the centuries have gone by, but lifetime after lifetime have failed to give him what he most yearns for: a family. He knows that it will take a woman of extraordinary power to match him enough to create a child, and no such woman seems to exist…until he feels her magic calling to his one day in the water. And when Arden Bleu, daughter of his most trusted official, arrives to tell him about her missing stepsister, he knows this Jade, with a new magic so coveted that the mer would risk war with his kingdom to steal her away, may be the one he’s waited centuries for. But how can he and the determined Arden ever hope to find one young woman trapped beneath the waves? Perhaps the Great Golden Sea Hawk who has guarded the sisters all their lives holds the key.

In a world on the brink of war between the mer and the land-dwellers, friendship, faith, and love demand the ultimate sacrifice as both kingdoms seek to unlock the prophesied magic waiting to spring forth: the magic of wind and sky. To the mer, it would mean the freedom to return to the land. To Seidon’s court, it would mean safety from every storm. But how can any human hand wield the wind?

Book Beginnings / First Line Friday
Arden Bleu stepped onto the weathered wood of the house's rooftop deck and scanned the horizon.

Friday 56
Not until an ache pulsed through her head did Arden realize she was frowning intensely enough that it was a wonder that furniture didn't splinter under the weight of it. She made an effort to smooth out her features, relax her muscles, but it did nothing to relax her tangled emotions.

What have you been reading lately?

9 comments:

  1. Merfolk and magic...sounds awesome! :D

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    1. Right? I loved it! Hope you have a wonderful week, Lark! :D

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  2. That cover! Wow! I think the Friday56 excerpt really shows the author's talent.

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    1. I think so too! Hope you have a great week, Anne! :D

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  3. This sounds right up my alley. Thanks for introducing me!

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    1. You're welcome! It's really good! Hope you have a great week, Lauren! :D

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