First Line Friday – 9 June 2017 – Bread of Angels (Tessa Afshar)

First Line Friday is coming to you all the way from sunny/foggy/rainy Melbourne today. 🙂 For those of you not up on your Australian geography, that means I’m 1,000km (600 miles) from my home north of Sydney in the Hunter Valley.

Yesterday morning I had a wonderful time chatting with the lovely Rel from Relz Reviewz. And what better place for us to meet than at a Christian bookstore! It just so happens that I spied a copy of the novel I will be featuring today on the shelf! (A bit of a surprise since it’s only just released, and it usually takes a couple of months following release for the book to make it to Australian shelves.) Doesn’t it look good?

~ About the Book ~

Purple. The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men. One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit, and friendship. And along the way, she changes the world.

But before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant’s daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye. Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything.

With only her father’s secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances—along with her father’s precious dye—help her become one of the city’s preeminent merchants. But fear lingers in every shadow, until Lydia meets the apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Still, Lydia can’t outrun her secrets forever, and when past and present collide, she must either stand firm and trust in her fledgling faith or succumb to the fear that has ruled her life.

Amazon  //  Goodreads

~ First Line ~

I have never served as a soldier, yet I have the strange sense that most of my life I have stared down the blade of a sword, the face of my adversary haunting me.

I love a first line that hooks you straight in!

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Don’t forget to share your first line in the comments, and then hop on over and find out what the other First Liners have for you today:

Jessica ~ A Baker’s Perspective  //  Sarah ~ All The Book Blog Names Are Taken
Bree ~ Bibliophile Reviews  //  Rachel ~ Bookworm Mama  //  JaneReads ~ C Jane Read
Heather ~ Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen  //  Beth ~ Faithfully Bookish
Trisha ~ Joy of Reading  //  Kathleen ~ Kathleen Denly  //  Lauraine ~ Lauraine’s Notes
Molly ~ Cafinated Reads  //  CJ ~ Moments Dipped in Ink  //  Andi ~ Radiant Light
Carrie ~ Reading is my Superpower  //  Robin ~ Robin’s Nest  //  Sydney ~ Singing Librarian
Amanda ~ With a Joyful Noise

 If you would like to join us for First Line Friday, contact Carrie at Reading is my Superpower.