First Line Friday | Seconds to Live

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a great week! Are you ready for Christmas yet? 🙂 I think I’m just about done with my shopping… if you’re still shopping for any book lovers in your life, Hoarding Books’ First Line Friday linkup is a great place to look for ideas! Today I’m sharing the first line from Seconds to Live by Susan Sleeman:

“One mistake. That was all it took to put Dustee’s life on the line — death right on her heels.”

Seconds to Live by Susan Sleeman

The Basics

Title: Seconds to Live by Susan Sleeman

Series: Homeland Heroes (Book 1)

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

From the Back Cover: When cybercriminals hack into the US Marshals’ Witness Protection database and auction off witnesses’ personal details to the highest bidders, the RED Team led by FBI Agent Sean Nichols begins a high-stakes chase to find the hacker. But before he can even get started, the first witness is targeted and barely escapes with her life. Sean believes Phantom, an obsessed hacker who previously outwitted the top minds in the field, is behind the attack, and Sean needs this witness’s help, as she’s the person who has come closest to discovering Phantom’s identity.

Trouble is, she’s a witness under the care of US Marshal Taylor Mills, and Sean is reluctant to work with the captivating marshal who knows his deepest secrets. But Phantom claims he knows where the witness is hiding and will kill her, so to stop the hacker, Sean and Taylor must work through their personal pain and learn to trust each other. . . . The seconds are ticking down before someone dies.

My Thoughts

This is the first of Susan Sleeman’s books I’ve read, and I have to admit, the cover was a big part of why I wanted to read it 🙂 I enjoyed some parts of the story; the focus on the RED team and on cyber crime was really interesting and unique. The hack of the WITSEC database provided plenty of action and suspense with a surprising twist at the end, but I just couldn’t connect with the two main characters. Some of Taylor and Sean’s interactions, both personal and professional, were awkward and unnatural, and the romance seemed a little forced. The other members of the team seemed a little more interesting, and I’m looking forward to giving the next book in the series a try when it comes out next year!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

7 thoughts on “First Line Friday | Seconds to Live

  1. On my blog, I’m sharing a Regency Romance Christmas novel: A Rule for Christmas by Kate Harper. Here I’ll share the first line in Chapter 3 of that same book. “Jemima was prepared to allow that her interview with Lord Rule could have gone better than it did.”

  2. Today on my blog I’m sharing the first two lines from The Earl’s Betrothal by Karen Tuft. This book is SO good. If you love Regency I highly recommend this story. I’m currently on chapter 10, so I’ll share from there:

    “Amelia slept until noon, so exhausted she was from the events of the day and night before.”

    Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂❤📖

  3. Happy Friday! Today I’m sharing the first lines from Courage to See: Daily Inspiration from Great Literature by Greg Garrett and Sabrina Fountain: “When I was a child, I wanted to sleep with my books, something my mom wouldn’t allow because I slept on the top bunk, and she didn’t want them falling down and hitting my sister.”

    https://moments-of-beauty.blogspot.com/2019/12/first-line-fridays-courage-to-see-daily.html

  4. My first line is from the debut novel Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel.

    March 10, 1922 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    Soot-stained windows filtered the morning light, casting an ashen shadow on the crowded courtroom and darkening the sting of judgment.

    Susan’s book is next up for me.

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