Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.
Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.
To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.
Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists! What a great way to spend a Friday.
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Today’s feature is Hour of the Witch, by Chris Bohjalian…
Book Beginning: (Prologue)
It was always possible that the Devil was present.
Certainly, God was watching. And their Savior.
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Friday 56:
Her last thought before sleep was that once the forks were back in the ground, she would look carefully at everyone around her, and she would remain at all times as alert as the sentries who stood watch atop Beacon Hill.
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Synopsis: Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary–a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony—soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary’s garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows. A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.
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What do you think? Does it grab you? Would you keep reading?
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SERENDIPITY 
Hi Laurel-Rain! Now I need to scratch my brain to try and figure out if it were you who shared this one somewhere last week as well… Why do I think not? Anyway, I know I saw it somewhere else and it does seem like a good read. A bit on the heavy side, but we need that every now and then too.
Hope you will have a good weekend!
Elza Reads
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Thanks, Mareli, and you may have seen it on my Weekly Updates post, as I had purchased it, along with three others, last week.
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Ok this book sounds absolutely perfect for me, from the opening to the F56 to the blurb! It’s racing its way to the top of my TBR asap! I hope you have a lovely weekend and do drop by my Friday post if you have the time! – Juli @ A Universe in Words
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Thanks, Juli, I am a big fan of this author!
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Not a time period that I’m usually into but the story sounds interesting enough! Happy weekend!
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Thanks, Freda, I feel the same about the time period, but I am a fan of the author.
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Sounds intriguing. I hope you are enjoying the book. This week I am spotlighting Amaryllis by Jayne Castle which is a “paranormal romantic suspense.” Happy reading!
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Thanks, Kathy, I hope to love it.
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I am really looking forward to reading this one too. Anything about witches–historical or fantasy, what have you–I want to read it! I hope you enjoy this one! Have a great weekend, Laurel-Rain.
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Thanks, Wendy, I hope so, too!
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Great excerpts! I love the sound of this book. Very intriguing.
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Thanks, Yvonne, I do, too!
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Bohjalian is such a versatile writer…and great story teller. Enjoy!
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I agree, Catherine! Can’t wait to dive in.
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