First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers 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?

The Rules:

• 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!

First Lines:

Romance novels don’t talk about what happens when the heroine and hero go off to different colleges. Of course, this is usually because both people are gainfully employed adults.

Valid point, and I’ve often wondered what happens during the “happily ever after” part of the story, especially for young adult romances.

Do you recognize the lines?

Here’s a hint:

It’s a new romance.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:

It’s written by an author I love, Rachel Lynn Solomon.

The First Lines Friday book is:

Past Present Future.

About the Book:

• Title: Past Present Future
• Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
• Series: Rowan & Neil #2
• Page Length: 384 pages
• Publication Date: June 4, 2024
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: 

When longtime rivals Rowan Roth and Neil McNair confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple of months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to make their relationship work as they begin school in different states.

In Boston, Rowan is eager to be among other aspiring novelists, learning from a creative writing professor she adores. She’s just not sure why she suddenly can’t seem to find her voice.

In New York, Neil embraces the chaos of the city, clicking with a new friend group more easily than he anticipated. But when his past refuses to leave him alone, he doesn’t know how to handle his rapidly changing mental health—or how to talk about it with the girl he loves.

Over a year of late-night phone calls, weekend visits, and East Coast adventures, Rowan and Neil fall for each other again and again as they grapple with the uncertainty of their new lives. They’ve spent so many years at odds with each other—now that they’re finally on the same team, what does the future hold for them?

Links: Goodreads     |     Amazon