Happy Friday, friends! 🙂 The book I’m featuring for today’s edition of First Line Friday is the perfect summer read. The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse is set in Florida, and her descriptions of the people and places will put you in a summer state of mind. Here’s the first line – keep reading for my review!
April 1947
“Though he couldn’t have known, nor ever guessed, Peyton Cabot had just witnessed a bittersweet kiss goodbye.”
The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse
The Basics
Title: The Key to Everything
Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Rating: 5 Stars
From the Back Cover: Peyton Cabot’s fifteenth year will be a painful and transformative one. His father, the heroic but reluctant head of a moneyed Savannah family, has come home from WWII a troubled vet, drowning his demons in bourbon and distancing himself from his son. A tragic accident shows Peyton the depths of his parents’ devotion to each other but interrupts his own budding romance with the girl of his dreams, Lisa Wallace.
Struggling to cope with a young life upended, Peyton makes a daring decision: He will retrace a journey his father took at fifteen, riding his bicycle all the way to Key West, Florida. Part declaration of independence, part search for self, Peyton’s journey will bring him more than he ever could have imagined–namely, the key to his unknowable father, a reunion with Lisa, and a calling that will shape the rest of his life.
Through poignant prose and characters so real you’ll be sure you know them, Valerie Fraser Luesse transports you to the storied Atlantic coast for a unique coming-of-age story you won’t soon forget.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed Valerie Fraser Luesse’s last book, Almost Home, but I didn’t expect to love this one as much as I did! The Key to Everything is a captivating story, full of rich and compelling characters, especially Peyton. I felt myself rooting for him from the first page, and his story of growth and transformation is one I think we can all relate to.
The setting of this story is unique, from the time period – just after WWII – to the location – the coast of Florida, all the way to Key West. The war’s effects are experienced secondhand, as Peyton’s life is forever changed by the way the war haunts his father. His bike ride down the coast of Florida forces him to come to terms with the tragedy he’s faced and start to determine the kind of man he will be, outside his family’s shadow. It is a coming of age story, but also a story of transformation, healing, and purpose. I think fans of Charles Martin’s The Water Keeper would enjoy this one!
Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Revell!
Happy Friday!
This book sounds heartwarming, and what a beautiful first line!
On my blog today, I’m sharing the first line from Smitten by Denise Hunter, Colleen Coble, Kristen Billerbeck, and Diann Hunt:
“Natalie Mansfield’s heart swelled as she stood on the perimeter of the town square and watched her niece and the other children decorate the town for Easter.”
I hope you have a lovely weekend 🙂
That sounds like a good one! I love all four of those authors 😊 Hope you have a great weekend!
That sounds like a wonderful book!
My first line is from A RECKLESS LOVE by Beth White
Prologue: April 22, 1865 North of Memphis, Tennessee
Zane’s first thought when he came to was that the world was coming to an end.
Great ending to the series!
That’s a great first line! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Happy Friday! My current read is A Cowboy at Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove, Book 3). Here’s the first line: “The first fingers of sunlight danced across the tips of tender wheat plants that had poked through the rich Kansas soil only two weeks before.” Have a great weekend!
That line paints a beautiful picture! Thanks for sharing 😊
Happy Friday! 🙂
Today, I’m sharing the first line from Line by Line by Jennifer Delamere. I’m currently reading The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper, so I’ll share a line from there:
“Stefan pushed open the doors to the Berkeley deep in thought.”
Hope you have an excellent weekend! 🙂❤📚
Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend! 😊
Awh, what a heart wrenching line!
I’m sharing the first line from Meet the Moms by Laurie Larsen on my blog today: “The alarm shrieked in the darkness and Lily Adams jolted awake, gasping. ” I hope you have a great weekend!
Happy Friday!
Over on my blog I shared the first line from The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden
“The stately houses of Winslow Street looked utterly safe and respectable in the hot summer evening. Mikhail knew all that was about to change.”
https://www.musingsofasassybookishmama.com/2020/06/first-line-friday-rose-of-winslow-street.html
Oh that book was so good! I loved it as well!
Have a lovely weekend!
That’s an amazing first line! Thanks for sharing! 😊 So far I’ve only read Elizabeth Camden’s Hope and Glory series, but I might have to go back and read her other books!