Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Share the first lines or opening paragraph of the book/s you are currently reading.

Be sure to include title, author, genre, and stand-alone or series.

Once Upon Stilettos A Novel by Shanna Swendson

GENRE: urban fantasy chick lit

Series: Katie Chandler series Book 2

"It all began with the red shoes. I just didn't know it at the time.

I was out shopping with my roommate, Gemma on a Saturday afternoon. That wasn't unusual. The unusual part was that we were shopping for me. Even more unusual was the fact that we were shopping for something for me to wear on a date - a real date. Not a blind-date setup, but an honest-to-goodness date with a guy who'd asked me out for a second date after a first date that could have made the record books for weirdness."

Oh how fun!! I love this opening.

Storm Born by Richelle Mead

genre: urban fantasy

Series: Dark Swan series book 1

"I’d seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many.

The Nike Pegasus sat on the office’s desk, inoffensive, colored in shades of gray, white, and orange. Some of the laces were loosened, and a bit of dirt clung around the soles. It was the left shoe.

As for me, well…underneath my knee-length coat, I had a Glock .22 loaded with bullets carrying a higher-than-legal steel content. A cartridge of silver ones rested in the coat’s pocket. Two athames lay sheathed on my other hip, one silver-bladed and one iron. Stuck into my belt near them was a wand, hand-carved oak and loaded with enough charmed gems to probably blow up the desk in the corner if I wanted to.

To say I felt overdressed was something of an understatement."

Isn't it coincidental that the first two opening posts are about shoes?...LOL

Thanks, Jan.

My idea for this thread is to get a glimpse of books/authors style/genre etc. Sometimes a powerful beginning is all that is needed to push someone to try a new book.

LOL I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. too funny.
I think this is a great idea. I'm a sucker for a good opening.

Devil's Pact by Samantha Cruise

GENRE: Western/Erotica

Stand Alone

"When Devin first spotted the wanted poster, that peculiar feeling he dubbed his "best friend" crept up on him. What a man wouldn't do for that much gold. Ten thousand was a hell of a lot of reward for just one man.

Bemusedly, he patted the missive in the pocket of his buckskin jacket.

It would necessitate more backbone than brains to go after that bounty. He was half tempted himself.

Only problem, it was him the law wanted. The Devil's Spawn."

Tempestuous by Morgan Hawke

GENRE: Yaoi (a generic term for female-oriented manga, anime, dating sims, novels and dōjinshi featuring homosexual male relationships)

E THRASHED IN HIS SHEETS, DREAMING… Smooth skin moved under his palms, and hair swept across his bare skin. Silver hair… Long silver-blond hair spilled through his fingers. Arms closed around him and a hot mouth pressed against his chest. A skilled tongue circled and lapped across his nipple. “Do you want…?” Fire sparked and spilled downward, making his heart pound, his blood race and his cock fill. “Of course I want, idiot.” A pale exquisite face with high cheekbones looked at him from half-closed, red-gold, copper eyes under straight dark brows. “It will cost you.” Cost? A shiver broke across his skin. “What do you want, my soul?” Framed in black lashes, the red-gold gaze focused on him with feral heat. “And your heart. I want your heart and soul.” A lush mouth made for sin curved upward into a breathtaking smile. “Will you give them to me?” Long nails bit deliciously into his ass. “Sure.” He moaned shamelessly, clutching at the warm body that held him close. “It’s not like I’m using them.”

Wow..Lori..talk about an opening...LOL

Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire

Genre: romantic suspense

Series: Bullet Catcher #7

"Well look what we have here. The prettiest little suspect in Charleston County." The flourescent lights cast a sick, yellow shadow on the cheeks of the man who'd just entered the interrogation room.

Eileen Stafford straightened in the uncomfortable wooden chair and met his gaze. "Where's my lawyer?"

"He's coming sweetheart. He's coming. Mind if I sit down?" Across the table, he yanked out the other chair, flipped it around, and spread his legs around the back. "You remember me, don't you."

As if she could forget the man who tried to blind her with a flashlight, cut her with handcuffs, and insult her from the front seat of the squad car.

She sat silent. Because anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

I just realized the downside of this thread...Now I would like to read every book with an interesting beginning...LOL

I'll be strong and not give in..(*kids herself*) so keep sharing!

Yz wrote: "Devil's Pact by Samantha Cruise

GENRE: Western/Erotica

Stand Alone

"When Devin first spotted the wanted poster, that peculiar feeling he dubbed his "best friend" crept up on..."

OMG, that's the "Cannon"!:)

Auntee wrote: OMG, that's the "Cannon"!:) ..."

Oh, yes, it is...LOL!

Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath

Genre: Historical Western Romance

Series: Texas Trilogy #1

His was not a face that women carried with them into their dreams.

Houston Leigh skimmed his thumb over the black eye patch before tugging the brim of the left side of his hat down lower. The right side showed little wear, but the crumpled left side carried the oil and sweat from the constant caress of his hand. Although the day was warm he brought up the collar on his black duster.

Irritated with the world at large, his older brother in particular, Houston leaned against the wooden structure that had the dubious distinction of being Fort Worth's first railway station and gazed into the distance at the seemingly never-ending tracks.

He hated the railroad with a passion.

They Hunger by Scott Nicholson
Genre: horror

Shoulda ditched the bitch back in Marietta
Ace Goodall was tempted to open his fist and let her tumble down the ravine. She was dead weight, dragging him down, same as any woman. That's all they were good for, except for on those cold nights when they opened their legs and gave up their heat the way God intended. It was September, and the nights had definitely taken a turn toward chilly in the Southern Appalachian Mountians. So she might be worth keeping for a little while, despite being a bitch.

Lori wrote: "Tempestuous by Morgan Hawke

GENRE: Yaoi (a generic term for female-oriented manga, anime, dating sims, novels and dōjinshi featuring homosexual male relationships)

E THRASHED IN HIS..."

Sounds good =D

The Untamed One by Ronda Thompson

GENRE: Historical Paranormal Romance

Series - The Wild Wulfs of London Book 2

The musket ball had passed through his shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound, warm and sticky against Jackson Wulf's skin. The peasants of Whit Hurch were superstitious lunatics, the lot of them. They chased him now, voices raised in anger, eyes filled with bloodlust to kill him. The village folk believed that he was some kind of beast - a man during the daylight hours, a wolf when the moon sat round and plump in the night sky.

Damn the idiots...they were right.

Yz wrote: "The Untamed One by Ronda Thompson

GENRE: Historical Paranormal Romance

Series - The Wild Wulfs of London Book 2

The musket ball had passed through his shoulder. Blood seeped f..."

I liked this book. The whole series was well written. And worth hunting down the anthologies =D.

Yz wrote: "The Untamed One by Ronda Thompson

GENRE: Historical Paranormal Romance

Series - The Wild Wulfs of London Book 2

The musket ball had passed through his shoulder. Blood seeped f..."

That was funny. This series has been on TBR list forever. Someday I'll get around to it.

Title: Dragonswan
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: DarkHunter No.3 (Depends on the list, can be read as a stand alone).
Genre: Paranormal Romance

"Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy when roasted and taste good with ketchup."
Dr. Channon MacRae paused in her note-taking and arched a brow at the peculiar comment. She'd been staring at the famous Dragon Tapestry for hours, trying to decipher the Old English symbolism, and in all this time no one had disturbed her. Not until now.
With her most irritated look, she pulled her pen away from her notepad and turned. Then she gaped.
No annoying, irreverent little man here. He was a tall, mind-blowingly sexy god who dominated the small museum room with a presence so powerful that she
wondered how on earth he had entered the building without shaking it to its foundations.

It took me a while to chase down a copy of this, but I loved the opening line! to me, it was worth it :)

This is one of the few SK stories I've actually read. Definitely love the first line. Hilarious!

Michelle wrote: "Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy whe..."

I have seen this on t-shirts and other kitsch items. Is this something Kenyon came up with and popularized?

Drawn Together by Z.A. Maxfield


GENRE: M/M

It was a grim fact of life, Rory discovered as he wiped mustard off his hands with a napkin, that the further you disappeared into rural America, the less strange it seemed when you talked to your food. He’d just finished having a conversation with a gas station corn dog.

Rory returned to the driver’s seat with a package of crumb doughnuts and the grim determination of someone preparing to perform a complicated Cossack dance. It wasn’t easy folding his over-six-foot frame into the Corona, and after four or five hundred miles, it completely lost its charm. Eyes on the prize, old son, he said to himself. Destiny is something to be grabbed at with both hands. She would be in Long Beach waiting for him. If he had the faintest inkling that this might not be the sanest episode of his life, he dismissed it curtly.

Lori wrote: "Drawn Together by Z.A. Maxfield


GENRE: M/M

It was a grim fact of life, Rory discovered as he wiped mustard off his hands with a napkin, that the further you disappeared into rura..."

This is much more fun than reading just the blurb or an excerpt =D.

Kenjii wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy whe..."

I have seen this on t-shirts and other kitsch items. Is this something Kenyon came up with and popularized?"

I honestly have no idea where it originated. I'm curious now! :)

Michelle wrote: "Kenjii wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy whe..."

I have seen this on t-shirts and other kitsch items. Is this something Kenyon came up with and popularized?"

I've seen a cartoon of this... with a dragon picking his teeth with a knight's lance. lol

Title: A Bad Beginning
Author: Lemony Snicket
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events

If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle. This is because not very many happy things happened in the lives of the three Baudelaire youngesters. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire were intelligent children, and they were charming, and resourceful, and had pleasant facial features, but they were extremely unlucky, and most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery, and dispair. I'm sorry to tell you this, but that is how the story goes.

After reading that... not sure I want to keep reading. lol

Update: I shouldn't have! The book was downright awful.

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy it, Briansgirl.

Maybe its just me, but I actually read all 13 books of this series...LOL..I thought it was quirky in a morbid sense of way.

Lord, they made 13 of these. *shudders* Perhaps it would help if I was 13 years old reading them, lol, but I thought the first book was just hideous. My 12 year old tried reading book 7, as it's about all he could find at his father's to read this summer and said he couldn't understand any of it. I definetly have better stuff for them to choose from to read. Glad you liked it Yz but it definetly is not for me.

My son (13) read the first few books of the series earlier this year. He's a picky reader and kept reading them, so I know he liked them. My husband read the first couple of books, and although he didn't seem blown away by them, he was interested in continuing. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but from what I understand they are darkly satirical. In my experience, satire is pretty much an acquired taste.:-)

Everything in the book is dark and creepy. Perhaps that appeals to some young readers, but definetly not me. In book 1 the evil Count Olaf who has custody of the orphans takes the infant, puts tape over her mouth, binds her in ropes, puts her in a bird cage, and hangs her on a pole out the window of a tower room at least 30 feet (several stories) above the ground for at least 24 hours. If that's an example of the stuff in his books... then I'll happily read something else.

I actually started reading A Series of Unfortunate Events with my middle-school language class. The kids seemed to enjoy it and I picked it up, and got pulled into it.

Yes, its pretty dark, morbid and, I guess you have to like a certain manic exaggeration about it. Count Olaf is just evil, and the horrible things the Baudelaire kids have to go through....so yes, if you didn't like the first book, you probably won't like the series.

Tim Curry read the audiobook version and he sounded pretty good, especially when he does Olaf.

Now Tim Curry reading it would be interesting to listen too. Too bad they didn't let him star in the movie over Jim Carrey. Then again, nothing may have improved the movie. lol I could read the rest of the series... I just don't see why I should. lol I think I'd rather read something less creepy. Oh well, at least Violet Baudelaire works for my V character on A-Z character challenge. lol And I used it for my July YA book.

LOL..it's definitely not for everyone. Well, two challenge category is worth the time.

Off you go and find something more cheerful to read..LOL

I should have heeded the warnings. lol
And yes, it was at least a quick read and filled 2 categories. That's something I guess.

Red Fire A Gods of Midnight Novel by Deidre Knight
Series: Book 1
Genre: Paranormal Romance

More than two thousand, five hundred years ago, there was a land where the bravest, most valiant warriors were hammered like bronze, forged into human weapons by years of rigorous training and sacrifice. These men were noble, heroic, stalwart - they would willingly give their lives for their homeland and face down even the most terrifying enemy. Their home, called Sparta, lay nestled in the rocky heart of ancient Greece; its people were private and plainspoken, their lives austere. The men of Sparta made a life of war, always eager for the next battle.

[Book: Devil of the Highlands] by Lynsay Sands - Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Book 1.

"My lady!."
That anxious cry made Evelinde pause in what she was saying to Cook and glance around. Her maid was rushing across the kitchens toward her, expression both angry and worried. It was a combination usually only engendered b Edda's actions. Wondering what her stepmother had got up to now, Evelinde quickly promised Cook they would finish their discussion of menus later, and went to meet her maid.

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson
Series: Tairen Soul series Book #1
Genre: Fantasy


The tairen were dying.

Rain Tairen Soul, King of the Fey, could no longer deny the truth. Now, despite all his vast power and centuries of trying, could he figure a way to save either the creatures that were his soul-kin or the people who depended upon him to lead and defend them