Fall Into Romance Hop!

Fall Into Romance! Share the romances that had you falling in love with the genre!

Or the ones that keep you smitten! Stop by each blog for new recommendations and giveaways!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love Autumn, and I love romance, so what better way to celebrate the two than with a Fall-Romance themed blog hop? Not to mention a giveaway!

The book that made me fall in love with romance was...well, probably not a romance by my standards now. Goodreads tells me it's a historical romance, but I think it's probably more accurately a "saga." I'm talking about The Girl, by Catherine Cookson.

My grandparents used to live in a farmhouse and whenever we'd go to visit them, I'd sleep in what had been my uncle's room. He was a voracious reader and the room was stuffed with floor to ceiling bookcases, and those bookcases were stuffed with books of every genre. I used to spend hours searching the shelves for something new to read, and some of those books would become treasured favourites. I found The Girl when I was around fourteen or fifteen, and I must have read it dozens of times over the next five or six years. I loved it. I still love it. The story of Hannah, her unhappy childhood, her awful marriage, and her constant, unwavering love for the man she truly belonged with was captivating for me. Parts of the book are harrowing, parts were wonderfully tender, and it all felt so real. Looking back now, I can see that some elements of the plot were a bit questionable (Hannah's one true love had been obsessed with her since meeting her when she was six, which...yeah, is questionable), but the passion and raw emotion of The Girl hooked me as a teenager and made me seek out more romance novels. Without The Girl, I think it would have taken me a lot longer to discover the genre.

So that's how I fell in love with romance! Now tell me how you did - what was your first love in the romance genre?

To get you talking, I'm offering an e-copy of my first published romance, SHADOW CURSED!

Released from Ottevar Asylum after eight hard years, Lady Emmeline returns to Nachtholm Manor to reclaim her birthright. But she has a battle on her hands - Rainart Eckhard refuses to give up his position as lord of manor, and whilst his cold attitude enrages Emmeline, his smouldering kisses leave her weak at the knees. Who is this dangerous, enticing stranger, and what secrets does he hide? Caught in a web of desire, curses, and self-doubt, Emmeline is not only fighting Rainart for Nachtholm Manor, but for her own heart as well.

To be in with a chance of winning, just leave a comment telling me which romance novel you first fell in love with! And don't forget to visit the other blogs on the hop for more fun and prizes!