Friday 19 July 2013

Book Beginnings on Fridays...



Hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader

Book Beginnings on Fridays as stated by the host was started:

 "to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires."

You can share on Google + and social media , please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings
and there's also a Mr Linky on the host's blog.


Book Beginning : The Silent Tide by Rachel Hore

The Silent Tide


Prologue

Isabel
East Suffolk Coast, 31 January 1953

She couldn't say at first what woke her.
It was dark, very dark - and cold, a penetrating icy cold. Even under the bedclothes she shivered. Something was different; all her senses told her this. Outside, the wind was up, scuffling about under the eaves of her wooden beach house, shaking the glass in the window  setting off strange creaks and sighs around her,  as though the house was shifting in its sleep. There was an odd smell, too, of something dank and salty,  and  trickling sound like rain in the gutters. She threw back the blankets and swung her feet to the floor - only to snatch them back as they met several inches of water.

**

I am intrigued by this opening sentence, with just a few words I am drawn into the story and want to discover just what is happening. I want to know more about the wooden beach house, and why there is water seeping inside. Who is Isabel and what is she doing at the beach house in the penetrating cold and wet.....


Rachel Hore is one of my favourite dual time narrators - she commands your attention from the beginning and creates a seamless transition between past and present. I'm looking forward to reading this book - it's her latest, published by Simon and Schuster in June 2013.



A bit of book blurb thanks to Amazon.co.uk

When Emily Gordon, editor at a London publishing house, commissions an account of great English novelist Hugh Morton, she finds herself steering a tricky path between Morton's formidable widow, Jacqueline, who's determined to protect his secrets, and the biographer, charming and ambitious Joel Richards. But someone is sending Emily mysterious missives about Hugh Morton's past and she discovers a buried story that simply has to be told… One winter's day in 1948, nineteen year old Isabel Barber arrives at her Aunt Penelope's house in Earl's Court having run away from home to follow her star. A chance meeting with an East European refugee poet leads to a job with his publisher, McKinnon & Holt, and a fascinating career beckons. But when she develops a close editorial relationship with charismatic young debut novelist Hugh Morton and the professional becomes passionately personal, not only are all her plans put to flight, but she finds herself in a struggle for her very survival. Rachel Hore's intriguing and suspenseful new novel magnificently evokes the milieux of London publishing past and present and connects the very different worlds of two young women, Emily and Isabel, who through their individual quests for truth, love and happiness become inextricably linked.

**

Do let me know what you think , does the story sound appealing to you?

You can read my review of  The Secret Tide here

15 comments:

  1. Yeah...that's not a great way to be woken up. I would hate having to step on water right out of bed.

    My Friday Hops

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    1. Hi Vonnie - not keen on water in the house either ! Thanks for visiting my Friday Book Beginnings :)

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  2. I like opening lines that show us a character waking up, with all that surrounds them. Mine is kind of like that, too, here at MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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    1. Hi Laurel - Thanks for visiting and reading my Friday Book Beginnings :)

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  3. I love this opening...it is so descriptive and makes me feel like I am there in the cottage. Thanks for sharing. Here's my Friday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2013/07/friday-focus-friday-56-and-book_19.html

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    1. Hi Catherine - I agree - it is a great opening. Thanks for reading my Friday Book Beginnings:)

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  4. That's a fab opening, very atmospheric! I've read one Rachel Hore, I think it was The Dream House, and enjoyed it. I'd like to read more in fact I'm sure there is at least one on the tbr somewhere...! Thanks for commeninting on my post too! :)

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    1. Hi Lindsay - Do give Rachel Hore a try - she writes very well :)

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  5. Ooh, that is an eerie opening. I may have to give this one a try.

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    1. HI pictureperfectcooking - welcome to my Friday book beginnings - thanks for visiting:)

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  6. Great opening. I like the premise of the book. For the description, it sounds like it will be an intriguing read. Have a great weekend!
    Happy Reading,
    Rebecca @ The Key to the Gate

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    1. Hi Rebecca - thanks for visiting and reading my Friday Book Beginnings :)
      Have a lovely weekend too !

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  7. Wonderful beginning. I would pick it up!

    Here is my post

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  8. Wonderful beginning. I would pick it up!

    Here is my post

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    1. Hi gautami - thanks for visiting - I agree it's a great beginning and the rest of the story was also excellent...

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Thanks for taking the time to comment - Jaffareadstoo appreciates your interest.