I started reading Harlequins in middle school.  Don’t hate on my mom, she took me to the library and let me rent books, even bought me some.  I just always read through them faster than she could keep me in them.   And when there was nothing else in the house, I reached for my mom’s Harlequins.  It was that or stereo instructions.  I’m sure you agree that Harlequins are a much better option.

Around the end of eighth grade, I picked up my first long historical.  And though I’d been reading romance for a while, I’ll still always remember this as my “first romance” because it’s the first one I can remember clearly.

It was The Gift by Julie Garwood. 

First of all, if you’ve never read Garwood, you should.  She’s witty and light but still has the emotional weight I love in my romances. 

Instead of getting into the details of the plot, as that’s not the real purpose of this post, I wanted to talk more about the experience of reading it. 

I remember laughing repeatedly; Garwood is the master of the one liner.  I remember there were pirates; even then I loved the adventure and suspense of pirating, but as it was longer than anything else I’d read, I really had a feel for the details.  I remember that the heroine, the very spunky Sara, was doing her best to make everyone love her, despite a knack for creating mayhem.  And I remember, as it was the longest one I’d ever read, feeling like I really cared about the characters so much that I didn’t want to leave them.  It was a grand, sweeping story and I knew I was smitten with romance on the spot.

From there, I started grilling my mother for other authors like Garwood.  I read Garwood’s entire backlist and then moved onto other big leaguers; Deveraux, Woodiwiss, Gabaldon, and fell in love with Judith McNaught. 

But, that first long historical is the novel that really got me into reading romance and therefore, it holds a special place in my heart.

How about you?  What romance novel was your “first,” the one to get you into reading romance voraciously, and why do you remember it so clearly?  Or, is there a novel that introduced you to a new subgenre?