I know I’ve seen post similar to this around the web. I was thinking about how the first line/paragraph of a book can really set the tone of the reading experience.

I read a book last week and the opening paragraph tickled me.

Julian
Even watching him from a distance, Asia Callahan could feel the off-the-charts testosterone roiling off the man. It actually had nothing to do with the fact that he was everything “tall, dark and handsome,” like something a lame romance writer might stuff into some dopey story about rakes and swooning or whatever.

This is from Hunting Julian by Jacquelyn Frank. The premise is kind of strange and I had some issues with the actions of the heroine, but it wasn’t a bad book.

Another first paragraph, this time from Happy Endings by Katherine Stone.

Love you, Raven? Love you? Loving you would be like loving ice. No, that’s wrong, because given time ice would melt. And you never do…

This sets the tone for the book perfectly. Happy Endings is one of my favorite Stone novels. It has a fairytale-like quality that draws me in. The characters are tortured, and I think this first paragraph really expresses that.

What are some of your most favorite first lines/paragraphs?