Book Beginnings: In The Ravenous Dark by A. M. Strickland

For Book Beginnings, Rose City Reader invites us 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.

For Friday 56, Freda's Voice asks you to turn to Page 56 in your book or 56% on your e-reader and pick a sentence.

I am currently reading In The Ravenous Dark by A. M. Strickland.

There wasn't much warning the day they came for Rovan's father.

I got this book in an Illumicrate box earlier this year, and while I was in the mood for something dark I decided to pick it up. And isn't it pretty?

The cover is stunning. I love the colours and the details, the way the flowers create an abstract skull behind the character design. My copy also has really pretty floral sprayed edges.

I like this first line. There's something about the tone, the succinctness of it. It doesn't give much away but immediately prompts questions. Who are they? Why are they coming for Rovan's father?

I found it so easy to pick this book up and almost impossible to put it down - this is an excellent start to an excellent story.

After a second, the dead man sighs and answers me. "Only those who resist. I don't advise making a habit of it."

This is from page 56 in my hardback copy.

I am much further through than this! I'm over 300 pages through and picking up that line for this post has me like woah. So much has happened, is it even the same story?

This line comes in a pretty intense scene, a lot has happened in a small amount of time and Rovan has a lot of adjusting to do - and quickly.

I don't want to put this down, and I know by the end I'll want more.

About the Book

A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead, in this dark YA fantasy by A.M. Strickland, author of Beyond the Black Door, whom Richard Kadrey calls "a storyteller of both grace and power."

In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them--and control them. Ever since Rovan's father died trying to keep her from this fate, she's hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she's bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception.

Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can't fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul.

Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld, and find a way to trust the princess and spirit battling for her heart--if she doesn't betray them first.

What are you reading this week?