Best First Chapter Book Novels & Stories

Parenthood is hard. It's even harder when you're a single mother with a smart eight year old in your hand. Zoey Martinez has been doing well providing for both herself and her child. Things changed one day when she got a complaint from one of her son's teachers about him being disruptive. It has been eight years since that dreadful night. Almost a decade since they last saw each other. Eight years since Xavier Danvers rejected his own flesh and blood. What will happen when the universe brings them back together? Has their love survived after all these years?

Vanessa Archibald is heartbroken and ready for a fresh start. Escaping her cheating ex and small town, she gets admission to Yale and moves in with her dad's charming best friend, Antonio who is also a professor at Yale. Older, sophisticated, and devastatingly handsome, Antonio is everything Vanessa's ex wasn't. But their age difference and Antonio's upcoming wedding make their undeniable attraction forbidden.But what starts as a convenient arrangement explodes into a forbidden passion they can't deny.One drunken night ignites a spark they can't ignore, leading to a passionate encounter that binds them in a thrilling, yet terrifying, secret. All is well up until an anonymous emailer threatens to expose Vanessa’s secret, sending shivers down Vanessa's spine. Will she succumb to the blackmail, or will she risk everything for a taste of the forbidden?

Three years ago, Alicia Brown walked away from the only man who had ever made her feel undone. After a reckless one-night stand with a powerful stranger, she slipped out of his hotel suite, convinced that disappearing was the only way to protect her heart. No names or contact information were exchanged—only a connection so consuming it frightened her. She never imagined fate would bring her back to him. Until she steps into her best friend’s home for the holidays… and comes face-to-face with Rhys Connell. Her best friend’s father. The same man who gave her the most unforgettable night of her life. Wealthy. Controlled. Devastatingly composed. Rhys is a widowed billionaire with a reputation for discipline and emotional restraint, a man who would do anything to protect his daughter. The moment their eyes meet, the past ignites. He remembers the girl who trembled beneath his touch, the girl who vanished without a trace. And the only woman who has haunted him for three years. Now she is under his roof, laughing beside his daughter, and staying in the same house with him. Wanting her once was a secret. Wanting her now is betrayal. But Rhys has never been a man who forgets what belongs to him. And Alicia is about to learn that walking away from him once does not mean she was ever truly free.

In the wake of a tumultuous breakup, she finds an unexpected ally in her ex-boyfriend's wealthy and enigmatic uncle. As she navigates the complexities of post-relationship chaos, the uncle's incredible generosity thrusts her into a world of luxury and indulgence. Amidst the glittering façade, she must grapple with newfound desires, unanticipated challenges, and the blurry lines between gratitude and independence. In this tale of unexpected alliances, she discovers that the path to self-discovery is sometimes paved with surprises and silver spoons.

Varun, an 18-year-old introvert steps into college to fulfill his dreams with the hope of finding himself and making new memories. But his whole life turns upside down when he meets her, she who makes him a completely different person, she who brings out the best in him, she who treats him like he deserves to be. But does she love him?

Avery Nash had two lives and one rule. Keep them completely separate. By day she was the captain of the Crestwood University cheer squad and a Business Management student holding onto her scholarship by her fingernails. By night she was Scarlett, masked and wigged and untouchable, dancing at Velvet Underground to cover the gap between what her scholarship paid and what her mother's deadbeat boyfriend kept taking from them. On the night her boyfriend cheated on her with her biggest rival, Avery made one reckless decision. She followed a brooding stranger back to his motel room and gave him the one thing she had been saving. Her virginity. "Take off the mask. I want to see you." He had said. "A little mystery never hurt anyone, did it?" she replied. She slipped out before dawn, telling herself she would never see him again. Then she rang her best friend, Jade's doorbell and he answered the door. Liam Harrington was Jade's new stepbrother, who she hated, the transfer quarterback every girl on campus was already talking about, and the boy sitting three seats away from her in every Business Management lecture. He was also the only person in the world who knew what Avery felt like without her armour on. He just did not know her real face. Now Avery was living three lives at once. The captain, the stripper, and the girl quietly falling for the one man she was absolutely forbidden to want. And the secret that started as one reckless birthday night was growing into something big enough to burn everything she had built.

His face was inches from mine. His breath ghosted over my lips—warm, whiskey-scented from dinner and my body remembered him instantly: the way he’d pinned my wrists, the slow grind of his hips, the filthy things he’d growled in my ear while I came apart beneath him. He leaned in. I felt the pull—like gravity, like hunger. My lips parted on instinct. Just one more inch and we’d be kissing again, messy and desperate, right here in his car like teenagers who couldn’t wait. But reality crashed in. I jerked back, pressing myself against the door. “We can’t.” His jaw ticked. “Why not?” "Because I practically raised you.” My voice shook. “Because your mom is my best friend and I'm way older than you..." "I don't care" he bit out, shocking me even further. "I’ve wanted you since I was old enough to know what wanting meant. And don’t pretend like you don't feel something too." Sophie helped raise him. She was there for homework, school runs, and the lonely years when his parents were too busy. To her, he was just her best friend’s son. Years later, she catches her husband cheating on their anniversary and loses her unborn child due to the shock, Sophie spends the night with a stranger that she never expects to see again. But the stranger is Antonio — the boy she once helped raise. Now he’s all grown up. Powerful. Successful. And off limits. She manages to escape from him — so she thinks — until days later, she gets hired in a fashion company where Antonio is the CEO.

When my sister, Amelia, and I are waiting to be adopted at the orphanage, a man and a woman come to visit. Ambitious as ever, Amelia instantly sets her sights on the elegantly dressed woman named Charlotte Evans, while I end up being chosen by the man in plain, unremarkable clothes. But to my surprise, the man turns out to be a discreet billionaire. After adopting me, he publicly announces my identity for everyone to see. Meanwhile, Amelia is taken in by Charlotte, who's so harsh it borders on cruel. She constantly scolds and punishes her. Moreover, Amelia is bullied at school and even gets doused in dirty water by her classmates. While she stands there trembling and humiliated, I walk away with friends crowding around me. Consumed by jealousy and resentment, Amelia waits for the perfect moment and pushes me off a tall building when I least expect it. The next time I open my eyes, I find myself back on the day we are supposed to be adopted. I watch as Amelia chooses the man without the slightest hesitation. It's obvious she's come back to this day, just like I have. On the day we part ways, Amelia gives me a knowing smile. "From now on, I'm going to live the high life. If you ever go hungry, maybe I'll spare you a bite or two." Outwardly, I look angry, but inside I am over the moon. In this life, Amelia can enjoy her luxurious life, even if it means living comfortably in a gilded cage.

Two years after the accident, my husband Derek can no longer touch me. His love hasn't changed. But his body has. He says he wants me happy. He just never said happy with someone else. Then his two best friends move in to help. Luca is all sharp suits and sharper smirks. He looks at me like I am already his. Eli is quiet, intense, his touch lingering a heartbeat too long. I swore to honor my vows. But Derek keeps pushing us together. A dinner meant for two becomes four. A goodnight kiss on my forehead from him. Last night, Luca caught me alone in the kitchen. His hand on my waist. His whisper against my ear. He asked if I was shaking from fear or want. I did not push him away. Now my husband has proposed the unthinkable. He wants me to share myself with them. He wants to watch. Three men under one roof. One forbidden wife. And I am terrified of how much I want to say yes. Shared by My Husband's Best Friends is a steamy first-person forbidden romance with a why choose ending. No cheating. My husband asked for it.

She was supposed to heal him, not crave him. Olivia Carter, a divorced physical therapist, thought her new job with the Chicago Blizzard hockey team would be simple—treat injuries, keep her head down, and cheer for her son on the ice. But when the team’s arrogant and devastatingly handsome captain, Xander Hayes, lands in her care, everything spirals out of control. He’s engaged. He’s her son’s best friend. And he’s forbidden. What begins as teasing flirtation turns into stolen touches, midnight encounters, and a dangerous obsession neither of them can resist. But secrets never stay buried—especially in the world of fame, fortune, and ruthless tabloids. When their affair explodes into the public eye, Olivia risks not only her career and reputation, but the one bond she can’t afford to lose: her son’s trust. Will Xander choose his fiancée, his career, and his best friend… or the woman he should never want?