One of our reading goals is working on our Netgalley feedback ratio. Eventually we want to get it to 80%. And to help motivate us we decided to do this new post every week. We pick three of our eARC’s and based on the first line, paragraph, or page we decide which one we’ll read next. Let’s take a look at today’s picks!

I Am Margaret Moore – Hannah Capin

Hannah Capin’s I Am Margaret Moore is a paranormal thriller that tests the hold of sisterhood and truth.

I am a girl. I am a monster, too.

Each summer the girls of Deck Five come back to Marshall Naval School. They sail on jewel-blue waters; they march on green drill-fields; they earn sunburns and honors. They push until they break apart and heal again, stronger.

Each summer Margaret and Rose and Flor and Nisreen come back to the place where they are girls, safe away from the world: sisters bound by something more than blood.

But this summer everything has changed. Girls are missing and a boy is dead. It’s because of Margaret Moore, the boys say. It’s because of what happened that night in the storm.

Margaret’s friends vanish one by one, swallowed up into the lies she has told about what happened between her and a boy with the world at his feet. Can she unravel the secrets of this summer and last, or will she be pulled under by the place she once called home?

It is summer again and we are alive. All year we are ordinary girls. We trudge through snowbanks under gray skies. We study trigonometry late into the night. We right horses and play piano; we put on new dresses for the homecoming dance; we give good-night kisses on bright doorsteps while our mothers peek through the curtains. We exist, all apart from each other, in our own small corners of the world. But today it is summer again and we are a thousand times more than that.

I loved loved loved Hannah Capin’s previous book so I was super excited for this one. This first paragraph doesn’t necessarily interest me that much to be honest. It’s not bad but it also doesn’t grab me. I don’t feel like I want to keep on reading right away. The book still sounds interesting and I will give it a chance but I’m curious about the other two.

Bullet Train – Kotaro Isaka

A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins—soon to be a major film from Sony

Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird—the self-proclaimed “unluckiest assassin in the world”—boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase—and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, “the Prince,” with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciously cunning psychopath, is also in the mix and has history with some of the others. Risk fuels him as does a good philosophical debate . . . like, is killing really wrong? Chasing the Prince is another assassin with a score to settle for the time the Prince casually pushed a young boy off of a roof, leaving him comatose.

When the five assassins discover they are all on the same train, they realize their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.

A massive bestseller in Japan, Bullet Train is an original and propulsive thriller that fizzes with an incredible energy and surprising humor as its complex net of double-crosses and twists unwind. Award-winning author Kotaro Isaka takes readers on a tension packed journey as the bullet train hurtles toward its final destination. Who will make it off the train alive—and what awaits them at the last stop?

Tokyo station is packed. It’s been a while since Yuichi Kimura was here last, so he isn’t sure if it’s always this crowded. He’d believe it if someone told hm there was a special event going on. The throngs of people coming and going press in on him, reminding him of the TV show he and Wataru had watched together, the one about penguins, all jammed in tight together. At least the penguins have an excuse, thinks Kimura. It’s freezing where they live.

The premise of this one really grabbed me, but this first paragraph isn’t anything special yet. I think I would have to keep on going a bit longer to hopefully be grabbed by the story. My expectations are still pretty high but based on this first paragraph I wouldn’t pick it up right away.

Three Kisses, One Midnight – Evelyn Skye, Roshani Chokshi & Sandhya Menon

New York Times bestselling authors Roshani Chokshi, Evelyn Skye, and Sandhya Menon craft a spellbinding novel about discovering the magic of true love on one fateful, magical night in Three Kisses, One Midnight.

The town of Moon Ridge was founded 400 years ago and everyone born and raised there knows the legend of the young woman who perished at the stroke of twelve that very same night, losing the life she was set to embark on with her dearest love. Every century since, one day a year, the Lady of Moon Ridge descends from the stars to walk among the townsfolk, conjuring an aura upon those willing to follow their hearts’ desires.

“To summon joy and love in another’s soul
For a connection that makes two people whole
For laughter and a smile that one can never miss
Sealed before midnight with a truehearted kiss.”

This year at Moon Ridge High, a group of friends known as The Coven will weave art, science, and magic during a masquerade ball unlike any other. Onny, True, and Ash believe everything is in alignment to bring them the affection, acceptance, and healing that can only come from romance—with a little help from Onny’s grandmother’s love potion.

But nothing is as simple as it first seems. And as midnight approaches, The Coven learn that it will take more than a spell to recognize those who offer their love and to embrace all the magic that follows.

Apollonia “Onny” Diamante walked into fifth-period biology with magic tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. Carrying around magic was nothing new to Onny. At Moon Ridge High, she was voted “Most Likely to End Up as Your Friendly Neighborhood Witch.” This was … fair.

This started differently from what I expected! And it also made me realise I didn’t read the synopsis haha. Since this first paragraph grabbed my attention, I don’t want to read the synopsis. Based on these first sentences, I definitely want to keep on going. I’m assuming there will be three separate stories that are somewhat connected and I’m interested to see what the connection will be. Definitely a contender!

Before reading the first paragraphs of these three books I had some expectations about which book I would probably pick. But these books surprised me! Some not in a good way, another one definitely in a good way. So based on these first paragraphs I want to pick up Three Kisses, One Midnight first. It also has less than 300 pages so I’m expecting to read it pretty quickly! Which one would you pick based on these first paragraphs? Let me know down below!