My First Romance [novel]

My story. Your story. Our Story! Blogs bring people of a common interest, purpose or preference together in one place. The bond that connects me with all of you is my addiction to romance novels. But Julia Quinn didn't just knock on my door and say "Here, fall in love with my Bridgerton series." So how did it all come about? I know I have my story and I will attempt to paraphrase it below, but what about you? Have you ever thought about how you got to this point? Of hyperventilating in Barnes and Noble because they have a copy of 'Gentle Rouge' by Johanna Lindsey? Well we all have our beginning (and in the comments below, feel free to share yours). Here's mine.

   Before I get to romances I should really back track and talk about my relationships with books in general. I admit to a certain hate-loath relationship with books since pre-adolescents and on. Literally, I NEVER read a book for leisure, let alone a 23 chapter novel with words like 'beget' and 'beleaguer' and a score of other 'be-'s in them. T.V was a sanctuary and my Sony Viao laptop was my chapel. So how did I get to the point of leaving my local libraries (yes, I frequently visit more than one in a single day) with stacks of 5 or more books every other week?
  Well, it started with a sale at K-mart. For 30 bucks I could purchase a box set of the first five Harry Potter books. Before I cracked the spine, I just saw a deal/steal, but after...it became something more.
  To be honest, I didn't really read any of them. I just got them to have them and because I enjoyed the movies so much; But me being the stickler that I am, I had to complete the set! So I purchased Half-Blood Prince about 2 years after and THAT really got the key in the ignition. After finishing that one, I naturally had to read the last one. It took me about 3 months to finish each (I would read a page here and chapter there).
   Fast forward to the start of my Senior year of H.S. and this is where my story really picks up. A September assignment I thought I would hate; Read a whole chapter book within the month and prepare for various tests and essays all year long.
   Long story short; I opened the book during 7th period that day and finished it by 11pm that night. The book was called 'Snitch' by Allison Van Diepen, and was the first book I finished in a day that literally enthralled me.
  After seeing how enraptured a book could make me, I wanted to see if that interest could be repeated again and again. After some online perusal; for what? I didn't exactly know; I narrowed down my search to the English-Regency Romance category (at an early age I had a fascination with England I couldn't explain and for some reason I never out grew it). Tasha Alexander's titles held my interest and I soon found myself visiting the library down the street from my house and walking away with (my first library card and) 'And only to Deceive' by Tasha Alexander.
    Subsequently, it took a few days to find my groove, but I ended up finishing the book within the week and visiting another library to check out 'Mine till Midnight' by Lisa Kleypas and 'A Rouge of My Own' by Johanna Lindsey.
    The rest is history and here we are; months later and at least a hundred books read and returned.

Will this addiction ever abate? Probably not, because there are thousands upon thousands of novels and authors I have yet to discover....but at least, now you see where it began for me. I am excited to see where my journey with books lead me and to share my findings with all of you!

Until Next Post <3........