My Intro to Romance

Someone asked me recently what the first romance novel I read was. I had to think back on it because there is a memory floating around in my head about it.
I must have been about 10 years old and was scrambling around under my parent’s bed looking for a book. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, as my mother frequently stashed books and magazines under there. Dusty copies of Good Housekeeping and Cook’s Illustrated, along with the odd fantasy and crime novel. On this particular instance I was on a mission to fill the gap in my bookshelf, as my copy of Jemima Puddle-Duck was missing and that was the last place I had seen it.
I did not find my missing Beatrix Potter, however. Instead I found a brand-new copy of Penny Jordan’s A Forbidden Loving. Somehow, I just knew I wasn’t supposed to read this book. But seeing as how my mother was downstairs overseeing Dearest Seester’s piano practice and would be for at least 30 minutes, I tucked myself behind the curtains and proceeded to read the entire book in one afternoon.
I had just read my first romance novel.
The book disappeared shortly after, as did my mother’s secret subscription to the book of the month club, and no new romances entered the home. They weren’t forbidden, but I wasn’t a brave child and felt embarrassed to know my parent knew what I was reading at such a young age.
For the longest time I couldn’t even remember the name of the book. All I could remember was the name of the Hero — Silas Jardines — and the basic plot of the story: shy single mom rents out a room in her house to her college-age daughter’s hunky professor. Sexy times ensue.
As I grew older, I reached for more adventurous books, sci-fi and fantasy and the like, and slowly turned into one of those people. You know, the ones who saw someone reading a romance novel and scoffed,”Who would read that trash?” I snickered at the covers and went back to whatever occupied my attention at the time.
I had become a stereotype.
But in 2011 my Dearest Seester bought me an e-reader. All my co-workers were avid romance readers, and with the anonymity of my nook, I felt comfortable enough to downloaded the free book offering for that month: Paula Quinn’s Laird of the Mist. It was my first foray into historical romance and I never looked back.
Tell me, what was the One Book you read that introduced you to your favorite genre?