Thursday, July 13, 2017

First Line Friday - Templars Edition



Happy Friday!

This week's book is extra special because it is a book I have been dying to read for months - and it is not even being published until September. I am posting both covers because I am partial the UK one (white) over the US one (black and red).

34448972 34747904

Note: The first lines are taken from an advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley.

"The Templars were holy soldiers. Men of religion and men of the sword, pilgrims and warriors, paupers and bankers. Their uniforms were emblazoned with a red cross, symbolizing the blood Christ had shed for mankind and that they themselves were prepared to spill in the Lord's service."

Okay, I am about to fangirl pretty hard, and brag a little too. Be prepared.

It is no secret that Dan Jones is one of my most favorite authors, and definitely my favorite historian. He's intelligent and hilarious, which is almost always a winning combo. The last few weeks he has been doing various giveaways using Facebook Live on his page. He posts the giveaway and participants only needed to comment on the post to be in the mix to win, which he announces live on Fridays. Sadly, I had yet to win and was not very happy about that by last week, which involved a giveaway of an autographed ARC of The Templars. I had also been watching NetGalley for The Templars to be posted in that time. I requested it as soon as it was up but was very upset when I was declined. It was pretty traumatic - my profile even says that Jones is my fave.

Naturally I took my whiny self right on over to Dan's Facebook post about the Templars giveaway and lamented the fact that I had been declined by Viking on NetGalley, and thus deserved the autographed ARC.

That did not happen.

But that is okay, because guess what happened instead?

Dan Jones SENT ME A MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK saying that because I had been such a loyal supporter, he asked Viking to get me a galley! You can imagine my surprise and absolute giddiness that not only was Dan Jones TALKING TO ME, I was going to get my hands on a book that I thought I would be waiting on until September. I received an email from Viking on Monday with a link to download my copy, and am pleased to say it is exactly as great as I expected it to be and I am a very happy history nerd right now.

Now, you might be wondering why I would rather have a digital galley instead of a signed one, and the truth is I wouldn't. However, Jones will be doing a US tour to promote the book in the fall and you can bet I will be in St Louis to ugly-cry and tell him how much I adore him. It's going to be great. In the meantime I get to read a great book and think about which of the zillion Plantagenet questions I will ask him in the brief moment we will have to chat while he signs my book. For the record, I want him to sign my copy of The Plantagenets, because that is the book that introduced me to Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Let me know what you think of the line, and/or leave a line of your own. Then, visit my fellow First-Liners to see what they have this week.


Rachel - Bookworm Mama




Lauraine - Lauraine's Notes

Andi - Radiant Light


Robin - Robin's Nest

(Sydney is currently on hiatus but her previous FLF posts will still be available)

Kathleen - Kathleen Denly



Jeanette - CJaneReads

Christina - Moments Dipped in Ink



If you want to join in on First Line Friday, let Carrie know!

Happy Reading!
Sarah

29 comments:

  1. Happy Friday!! My first line us from A Matter of Trust by Susan May Warren: "Gage Watson blamed the trouble on the bright, sunny day."

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    1. Hi Becky, thank you for sharing your line with me. Have a great weekend!

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  2. I like the U.K. Cover best too!!
    Just started Cara Putnam's Beyond Justice. "If he didn't find that flash drive now, he would have to disappear."

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    1. I think part of it is because the Templar outfit was white with the red cross, not black with a red cross. But I love the weathered kind of look it has to it, too. Have a great weekend!

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  3. How exciting for you! I followed CH5 baseball for years and I went mad at 4am when my email was read out! Pretty exciting but everyone I knew was sleeping when it happened!

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    1. I just about died! DAN JONES! TALKING TO ME! IN REAL TIME! *sigh* And very cool about your email, but bummer about the time. Have you pinked up any of his books yet??

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  4. That is a great first line and an even better story of how you got the netgalley copy! Hope you have a nice weekend!

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    1. Hey Trisha, it was SO COOL! Thanks for coming by, have a great weekend!

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  5. I was holding my breath reading about your fangirl moment! WOOHOO how exciting! You've sold me on this series!

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    1. Hi Debra, thank you for coming by! Jones is a fantastic historian and he is easily the first author I recommend when someone says they are interest in medieval history. Have a great weekend!

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  6. You have Dan Jones' book on the Templars! I did see this version on Netgalley, but they don't seem to approve requests from outside the USA.

    Might now have to seethe with jealousy for the rest of the day, but I shall probably forget to do so.

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    1. Hey, thanks for coming by! I was SO SAD when my request was declined. No joke, I almost cried. I have been waiting and waiting, but I think I was declined because my ratio right now is 75% instead of 80%. It seems like a lot of the bigger publishing houses only look at the ratio and don't read anything else if you aren't 80% or higher. Odd that they wouldn't approve UK requests, maybe because it is only under Viking as the US edition?

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    2. Yes it is. Its a different Publisher in the UK, and they often approve my requests, but with so many books.

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  7. Happy Friday!

    My first line comes from Julian Fellowes's Belgravia.

    The past, as we have been told so many times, is a foreign country where things are done differently.

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    1. Happy Friday Caryl, thank you for coming by. Hope you have a great weekend!

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    2. I just read Belgravia recently and loved it!
      If you miss Downton Abbey then definitely check it out.

      Dinh @Arlene's Book Club

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  8. What a cool story! You go girl! That is so interesting that there is a different cover for the American book and the UK book. I wonder if covers of other books are like that too? Happy Friday!

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    1. I know right?! I am in a group on Facebook that is based in Australia that is a buy/sell group for Baby-Sitters Club/Fear Street/Sweet Valley, etc and a lot of the Fear Street covers are different from the US to the UK. It seems pretty common - but I never knew until I started using Goodreads more extensively and saw, incidentally, how many different covers/titles there are for Jones' books! Happy Friday!

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    2. That is so interesting--happy Friday!

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  9. Mr.-----. I glanced down at my seating chart, heart drumming in my ears. From Playing by Heart by Anne Mateer. Great read!

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  10. My first line is from Anne Love’s “The Gardener’s Daughter” in the Of Rags and Riches romance collection.
    Thump, Thump. She could plant herself in a library world such as this one forever.

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    1. Hi Andrea, happy Friday! Thank you for sharing your line this week!

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  11. Prologue
    January 25, 1980, midnight
    The first execution I attended wasn’t by lethal injection but by Old Sparky. ~A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman
    Happy Reading!
    Dinh @ Arlene's Book Club

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  12. Fangirling with you!!!! I love this!!!!

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