A Girl Always Remembers Her First

When I was a child, every Christmas, many of my family members would send me books. Usually, they were classics like HEIDI, BLACK BEAUTY and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (still a favorite). But around the time I turned ten, my grandmother sent me four romance novels. I don't remember what the reasoning was at the time, but it was definitely memorable to be in fifth grade and receiving books with heaving bosoms on the cover.

A quick search through my bookcase found three of those books, as well as a slew of favorites from my early explorations into romance. The books my grandmother gave me were DESERT SLAVE by Miranda North, YANKEE MISTRESS by Ashley Snow and A TEMPTING MISS by Janice Bennett. I didn't know contemporary romance novels even existed - historicals such as these were what I had always heard about.

All four books were similar in theme - strong-willed woman gets herself into a jam and the hard-headed (but handsome) man uses sexual tension to get her to do his bidding. I loved these books and while my grandmother's idea of appropriate reading for a precocious ten-year-old might not have been her best, I am still grateful to her for the experience.

I also found some of my other favorite first romances - THE RAINBOW PROMISE by Lisa Gregory (still need to find the other book that goes with it, THE RAINBOW SEASON), TO TASTE THE WINE by Fern Michaels (of whom I am still a huge fan) and my first Johanna Lindsey, PRISONER OF MY DESIRE. All of these books will stay on my bookshelves as long as they are in one piece.

Nicole