Larissa is blogging about reading comfort zones at WriteMinded. I was reading through some of the comments and it seems that reading a paranormal romance took a lot of people out of their comfort zone.
I remember the first paranormal I ever read. It was Dark Prince by Christine Feehan. Even though I’ve read a lot of negative things about book, it remains not only my favorite of her Carpathian series, but one of my favorite paranormals ever. Whenever I reread it I wonder if it’s only a favorites b/c it was my first paranormal.
So, what was the first paranormal you ever read? Do you still remember it fondly? Do you re-read it?
I believe my first paranormals were Maggie Shayne’s Twilight books. I keep mine, but haven’t reread them for a while. When she made Sarafina the heroine of Embrace the Twilight it threw me off, and can’t re read the first ones without getting angry. Hello, from sociopath to heroine? Didn’t buy it.
(Yeah, these are characters in a book, I know)
My first paranormal was Dark Lover by J.R. Ward. I’m not a big fan of the Brotherhood series any longer, but that book remains my favorite paranormals to date.
My first paranormal romance was Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight. Does that count? I loved it, but when I was finished, I thought “Hmm… I wonder if there are any books like this out there that are more adult?” I did a little research and WHOA BABY! I started reading romance. Dark Lover was my first adult paranromal romance novel. And the rest, they say . . . is history.
My first paranormal was also Dark Prince! And it was also my first romance too. I didn’t finish it the first time around. My comfort zone at the time was fantasy. I saw Dark Prince on the shelf and thought, “what the heck!” I couldn’t believe the sex in it! A few of my fantasy books had a little (Elizabeth Hayden and Anne Bishop) but nothing like in a romance. I ended up taking Dark Prince to the used bookstore. However, I tried another romance. Emma Holly, and didn’t finish that one either! I can’t even remember what romance I finally tried that hooked me. But since my original comfort zone was fantasy, I lean more toward fantasy, paranormal and historical romances. Very seldom do I pick up a contemporary.
Once I realized I was totally addicted to romance and stopped going to the fantasy section, I decided to pick up Dark Prince again, read the whole thing. I liked it. But I only made it half way through the third book in the series before I gave up again.
Probably “Fantasy Lover” by Sherrilyn Kenyon (have a bad memory so I’m not 100% sure). What I loved about it is that Kenyon made me see vamps as hot-blooded, sexy men instead of cold, undead creatures.
My first paranormal was Bitten, and it’s still my fave. Weird! I tried Dark Prince early on (such a great title!) but couldn’t get into it.
The first one I read that really sticks in my mind is Knight of a Trillion Stars by Dara Joy. That was a fun book. Rejar was wicked, and Mine to Take was dead sexy. That was a fun trilogy. I wish there had been more of those books.
Jess
My first paranormal was Night Pleasure by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I had read a couple of her Kinley MacGregor books and loved them. Up til then I only read historical romance, but decided WTF, her contemporary books might be as good. I was wrong…it was GREAT! Since then, I’ve read all her DH & LOA books.
Now I’m a full on paranormal fan and have broadened my horizons to include Gena Showalter’s series, BDB, Jacquelyn Frank, Lora Leigh, Lara Adrian, etc.
I rarely read historical these days, but still have a lot of them in my TBR pile.
I’ve been reading Paranormals since I was in grade school, but the first Paranormal Romance I read was Fantasy Lover by SK. Isabel sent me the first 5 in SK’s Dark Hunter series and I devoured them. FL wasn’t the best book I’d ever read, but it certainly opened me up to a whole new world.
Casee, you sent me the first 5 in CF’s Carpathian series. I still remember opening the brown paper bag you’d put them in (along with countless others) and kind of thinking..ugh. LOL That was the first time we met in person. Do you remember? We had dinner at my house, then went to Borders.
Awww, good times.
My first paranormal… wow I’ve been reading romances since I was in grade school too and I’ve always loved the ones with fantasy in them. I can’t completely remember my first one but it was had crystal in the title and dealt with space travel, other worlds yada yada. Can’t have liked it too much if I don’t remember it 😀 But the first hat I fully remember (And LOVED) was Linda Lael Millers paranormal (she also writes western type which aren’t my thing) Forever and the night. It got me into vamps and all that, sending me to devour everything that was out, which wasn’t much since it was before the boom.
I have been reading paranormals since elementary school. I have always loved reading fantasy books and magic and new/alternate realities. My first paranormal romance was a YA book I read in middle school called The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause Great book, I still love it.
AL,
I had a hard time reading Sarafina’s book, too. Way too weird.
I still remember when I read Dark Lover. I just wish that the subsequent books stayed w/ me as much as that one.
Holly, I do remember that. Wasn’t that the first time we went drunk book shopping?
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My first paranormal romance was Dead Until Dark By: Charlaine Harris. I hadn’t heard the term “paranormal romance” until I read that book. It’s still one of my favorites. I have re-read it several times. I just re-read it last month when True Blood started. I have three different copies of the book. LOL!
First paranormal??? Oh, jeez… this was so long ago! If I try to do a quick rewind of my reading history, I think it was probably an Anne Rice. As for which one…. probably either Pandora or the Vampire Lestat. Those are the two I remember were always available at the library. 🙂 Lots of water under the bridge since then!
I’m like Casee in that Christine Feehan was my first paranormal. I read Dark Fire and didn’t like it, however a couple of months later I tried another in that series and I was hooked, I think it was Lucien and Jaxon’s book. I then started reading them in order and I now love Dark Fire.
I am fairly picky about the paranormals that I read, and buy. I think that I have been spoiled by Feehan, Kenyon, Singh, and authors like that.
I’m relatively new to reading romance etc. Eight months and counting.
My introduction to romance was through Paranormals and it was Meljean Brooks’ Demon Night. Read it, loved it, never looked back. SO you can blame Meljean…it’s all her fault!