First Lines Friday is a weekly feature hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Here’s how it works!

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

When Elizabeth Somers tugged open the gate to her aunt and uncle’s yard and saw an envelope duct-taped to the front door of the shabby house she shared with them, she knew it was bad news.

Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

Winterhouse was the February pick for the Middle Grade Marvels book club, and it was amazing! The mystery was interesting, it was full of wordplay, and I loved the characters. It’s one of my favourite reads of the year so far and I cannot wait to get my hands on the second and third book in this trilogy!

From Goodreads: An enchanting urban fantasy middle-grade debut―the first book in a trilogy―set in a magical hotel full of secrets.

Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself?

Mystery, adventure, and beautiful writing combine in this exciting debut richly set in a hotel full of secrets.

If you’re interested, you can purchase a copy of Winterhouse from Amazon* here.

Disclaimer: Some of my posts made on my blog will include affiliate links, which will be marked with an asterisk (*). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This comes at no additional cost to you. 

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