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:

“The client was too focused on Gloria to even look at me as I settled into my spot in the small conference room. I couldn’t blame her. Gloria was tall and eye-catching and wore a suit that cost more than my yearly stipend, and I’d spent basically my entire life trying to be as invisible as possible. Still, in my experience, not paying attention to your surroundings often led to sudden, painful death. Our clients were usually at least a little self-centered, but I was always amazed at their lack of survival instint.”

Initially that seemed like a normal scene at the office. But sudden, painful death? Count me in on this ride.

Do you recognize the lines?

Here’s a hint:

This is a debut novel that is a cozy fantasy featuring some romance as well.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:

It is written by Reena McCarty.

The First Lines Friday book is:

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty.

About the Book:

• Title: The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains
• Author: Reena McCarty
• Page Length: 382 pages
• Publication Date: April 7, 2026
• Publisher: Orbit

Synopsis:

Discover a delightful debut packed full of wit, charm, adventure, and heart, with a dash of magical bureaucracy and a sprinkling of romance.

When Poppy Hill was a child, she was stolen from her family’s Montana homestead and taken Otherside to the land of the fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King’s castle. Now back in the human world, Poppy works for a company that brokers faerie bargains, checking for loopholes in their contracts.

But when a bargain Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong, she must return to the fae world to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue, and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.

Links: Goodreads     

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