The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio + 50/50 Friday

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.

This week I'm spotlighting one of my upcoming reads, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio.  I've been highly anticipating this April release and my hold at the library finally came in!  If you haven't already added this to your tbr, what are you waiting for?  It sounds perfect.  By the way, M.L. Rio, the author is also the Duke of Bookingham!

Beginning:

I sit with my wrists cuffed to the table and I think, But that I am forbid / To tell the secrets of my prison-house, / I could a tale unfold whose lightest word / Would harrow up they soul.  The guard stands by the door watching me, like he's waiting for something to happen.

Enter Joseph Colborne.  He is a graying man now, almost fifty.  It's a surprise, every few weeks, to see how much he's aged - and he's aged  little more, ever few weeks, for ten years.  He sits across from me, folds his hands, and says, "Oliver."

"Joe."

"Heard the parole hearing went your way.  Congratulations."

"I'd thank you if I thought you meant it."

56:

James inhaled suddenly, like he'd forgotten to breath before, and steeped out into the light.  "So foul and fair a day I have not seen," he said, and ever head turned toward us.  I walked close behind him, not afraid of stumbling now.

This week I'm also taking part in a linkup called 50/50 Friday, which is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books.  Every week they'll have a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - this week the topic is Most Deep / Most Shallow Book in X Genre.  Since I don't talk about YA contemporary all that often, this week I'll focus my topic on that particular genre.

Most Deep:

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis - This must read targets plenty of tough subjects and doesn't pull any punches.

Most Shallow:

Biggest Flirts (Superlatives #1) by Jennifer Echols - Tia's a girl who pretends to be an airhead to get the boys and be popular - yeah, no thanks.  I think I was just too old to put up with Tia's nonsense.