Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, we have one winner: Sarah Brentyn. Congratulations, Sarah, and I hope you enjoy your prize.

Sarah Brentyn’s Author Page can be found HERE.

And now, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love” is the opening line from Maggie Stiefvater’s wonderful 2012 novel, The Raven Boys. 

The Raven Cycle is a series of four contemporary fantasy novels written by American author Maggie Stiefvater. The first novel, The Raven Boys, was published by Scholastic in 2012, and the final book, The Raven King, was published on April 26, 2016. While categorized as a Young Adult novel, the book is far, far more than that–a beautifully written and well-imagined fantasy, with characters that pull readers in from the start.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them–until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Buy The Raven Boys HERE

That wraps it up for this week, folks. I hope you’ll give this one a try. Trust me. It’s worth it. Thanks again for taking part, and stay tuned for another #FirstLineFriday quiz next week. See you then!

And here we are, folks–one week closer to the release of Peace Talks, Book 16 in the Dresden Files series. If you’ve visited here in the last two weeks, you’ll know I am counting the days, and celebrating each passing week with a few Harry Dresden tidbits, pictures, and quotes. Obsessive? Yeah, maybe. BUT! We’re talking a SIX-year drought for Dresden fans, here! And now, with Peace Talks coming out on July 14 and Battle Ground on September 29, it’s suddenly MONSOON time. I think that’s worthy of great celebration, so here goes:

Dresden Files Cover of the Week

(May as well start with #1 and work our way up to #16!)

This is actually one of my favorite covers, featuring that determined jaw line Harry is famous for. I like the moody colors, too, and the hint of a gritty Chicago street in the background.

A Dresden Files Mini-Quiz

Last week, I mentioned three possible pets for Harry, but only two were correct, and even those, I reversed the names on, just to see if you were paying attention. The correct answer was that he lived with an enormous dog named Mouse and a long-haired cat named Mister. Now for today’s question. What breed of dog is Mouse? (No prizes here. Just a fun bit of trivia. Guess all you want in the comments.)

And Last …

Our Dresden Files Graphic of the Day

And that’s this weeks Countdown to Peace Talks post, folks! Hope you enjoyed it. And if you haven’t started reading this series yet, you really should. But just remember:

Do stop by Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord blog for her always-wonderful weekly round-up. This time, in addition to writers, books, food, jokes, music, and some wonderful videos, Sally shares a bit of news worthy of MUCH congratulatory applause! After you’ve enjoyed perusing this assortment of goodies, do remember to pass it along so others can enjoy, as well. Thanks, and thanks to Sally, as always! (She ROCKS, you know! 😀 ) ❤