Happy Friday everyone! You know what that means…it’s time for First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books. Grab the book nearest to you and share the first line!
Today we are featuring the first line of A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley, which released this summer on June 30, 2020. It is the first book in her new Rogues & Remarkable Women series. If you enjoy historical regency fiction, definitely check this book out!

and the first line is…
” It was a universal truth that no matter her background, face, or charms, a widow in possession of a fortune would be targeted for theft. In my circumstance, I’d been cheated of everything, even my greatest gift. Now was the time to defy authority, to strike and win.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband’s mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune—and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child—until The Widow’s Grace gets her hired as her own son’s nanny. But working for his unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honor—and unexpected passion . . .
A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin’s dangerous financial dealings for Lionel’s sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she’s breaking his rules, and sweeping past his defenses. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust—but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fascinated by the Regency and early Victorian eras, Vanessa Riley made time for renaissance fairs, and period novels and films while obtaining her Ph.D in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Specialty RWA Chapters: The Beaumonde, and the Georgia Chapters, as well as the Historical Novel Society. Vanessa also juggles her military hubby, mothering a teen, and speaking at women’s events. Visit her at http://www.vanessariley.com.
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Let us know the first line of the book closest to you & then head over to Hoarding Books to see who else is participating!
Happy Friday! On my blog I’m sharing from a non-fiction text called Just Show Up by Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn. I’m just beginning chapter 3 so I’ll share a line from there.
“Years ago, the pastor who baptized our daughter was diagnosed with ALS.”
Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂❤📚
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My first line is from The Haunting At Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright:
Life was not unlike the wisp of fog that curled around the base of a grave marker, softly caressing the marble before dissolving into the violet shadow of the night.
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