All About Books Friday: Friday Book Snippets
It’s been a while since I shared anything bookish on a Friday—or joined in on any of the fabulous Friday book blog link-ups. Truthfully, I think part of that was because I was still deciding what I wanted to do with this little corner of the internet and whether I wanted to keep the blog at all.
Ultimately, I decided I do.
As much as I love Instagram—and it’s where I share most of my reviews these days—there’s something about the blog that gives me room to linger a little longer. I can go deeper into a book, talk about what worked (or didn’t), and share all those thoughts that simply don’t fit neatly into an Instagram caption.
So, I’m keeping the blog. And I think it’s time I started showing up for a few Friday bookish conversations again, too.
So here we are on a beautiful Friday, ready to jump into Friday Book Snippets. Which is wonderful, since today is the first week Friday Book Snippets— a combine link-up of the former Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday56.
Directions: Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from a) the book's opening and b) page 56 (or another page) from the book you are currently reading. No spoilers, please.
Book Title: Sea and Stars by Kelly Jarvis (Incantation Press) / Pub Date: July 7, 2026 / Category: Women’s Fantasy Fiction / Rating: 5/5 stars
Book Opening: In the growing shadows of the Cuillin Mountains, the lonely stone cottage looked like it was breathing. The cold March sky had been crowned with the light of a thousand stars, but now, as the dying night entered its darkest hours, sea mist curled around the cottage like wraiths.
Page 56: A sheet of lightning illuminated the sky, and, in the momentary flash Arabella saw the man who held her as though he had aged twenty years, his black hair and beard peppered with gray. Then the sound of distant voices broke the spell, and the man, his face as young as it had been before, returned both hands to his gun, once again placing himself between her and whatever danger he imagined was lurking behind the trees.
Summary (from Publisher): When Arabella Porter, a lonely healer gifted with fairy magic, receives a mysterious letter from the past, she journeys to Mystic, Connecticut in search of the father she has never known. There she crosses paths with James Alden, a handsome shipbuilder whose shadowy history hides secrets of its own.
Both thrown together and kept apart by circumstances beyond their control, James and Arabella must reconcile their forbidden desires for each other with their loyalty to their families, their longing for choice, and their need for freedom. When Arabella’s independence stirs town gossip and suspicion, James must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to protect her from a past far more dangerous than it seems.
Filled with Gothic imagery and Celtic folklore, Sea and Stars is a slow burn but sensual Beauty and the Beast retelling set in the real world. It is for all those who believe in the transformative power of true love.
My thoughts: I absolutely adored this book. You can read my complete review HERE— Sea and Stars by Kelly Jarvis: A Beautiful Story of Love, Belonging, and Yearning.
