As someone who is a mood reader and slightly obsessive with books, I find myself falling into slumps periodically. There are numerous methods out there to get out of a reading slump, but a particularly fun one is to try a reading challenge! As I am currently in a bit of a slump, I’m going to be trying a “First Chapter Frenzy.”
Introducing: The First Chapter Frenzy
To complete the First Chapter Frenzy Challenge, you pick five books that you’re interested in reading, read only the first chapter, and then choose a single book to continue with. It forces you to give books a chance to engage you without the pressure of commitment, so I think it’s just what I need!
In no particular order, these are the books that I’ve chosen for this challenge:
- The Only One Left by Riley Sager: I’ve read five of his books so far and enjoyed each one, so he’s become an auto-buy author for me. That being said, I haven’t been in the mood for a thriller lately, so I’m a bit behind on his new releases. This book seems to lean more towards horror, following a home-health aide as she takes care of a woman rumored to have murdered her family as a teenager. Definitely my cup of tea, so I have high hopes!
- Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas: This is my first time reading a book by this author, but I’ve seen nothing but good things about her books. This book is supposed to be an interesting mash-up of a historical romance and vampire horror, following two star-crossed lovers in the 1840s as they are brought together by the US invasion of Mexico in 1846 with the added complication of vampires. The movie Sinners made me realize that I am a really big fan of combining historical fiction and vampires, so I’m looking forward to it!
- The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst: I’ve only read The Lake House by this author so far; it was a bit middle-of-the-road for me as a young adult thriller novel. This book looks really promising, though, as it’s a cozy romantic fantasy novel following a former librarian as she opens a forbidden spell shop to help the people in her hometown. And, naturally, there’s a handsome neighbor added to the mix. It sounds like an adorable read, so I’m excited to give it a shot!
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: This author’s debut novel really blew up with its release, and I’ve seen so many raving reviews about it – particularly from Haley Pham, who is one of my favorite book content creators. This book follows a civil servant in a near future when time travel becomes possible, as she’s tasked to be a “bridge” for a Commander from the 1800s – living with him and helping him adjust to the future. Romance, politics, and comedy ensue, as they do. I think this will be a good one!
- Ring by Koji Suzuki: A lot of people have heard of the 2002 movie The Ring, even if they haven’t seen it. Despite having watched it as a kid myself, I had no idea that it was inspired by a Japanese novel until I saw the special edition released by Barnes & Noble in late 2024. Admittedly, I am a sucker for sprayed edges, but I’m also really interested in the plot. This book follows a journalist as he investigates his niece’s mysterious death and the even more mysterious tape that seems to be responsible. It definitely has me intrigued!
At some point in the past year, I started looking up Spotify playlists to listen to while I read, and if music doesn’t distract you, it’s a perfect way to set the ambiance. With the rain pouring outside, a playlist set, and a cup of tea on my nightstand, it’s time to dive in – starting with The Only One Left.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Riley Sager often starts his novels with a snippet of a later scene, enough to get that anxiety building in your chest, knowing that the only relief is to keep reading. It’s almost jarring when the first chapter officially starts, jumping from the typed words of a woman reminiscing on the night her family died as she stands outside in the rain to a woman named Kit as she’s getting a new assignment from a home-health aide agency. It’s set in Maineand the stage is set for a dark mansion on the cliffs, a fitting setting for a book like this. Only a chapter in, we don’t know exactly what happened, but it’s clear that she was almost held responsible for the death of her previous client. Naturally, this makes her the perfect person to care for the infamous Lenora Hope and, because Kit really needs the money, she accepts the assignment. It’s a live-in position, so Kit will be staying in the very mansion the murders took place – with the person accused (but not convicted) of the crimes.
My interest is definitely piqued, but it’s on to the next one!
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Vampires of El Norte opens with Nena as she sneaks out of her home to find buried silver with Néstor. She reflects on events that led her there, the Anglo men that showed up to her family’s ranch in Mexico looking to buy it. They were turned away, but the rumors of rancheros being taken by force pushed the family into action. Nena eavesdropped as the men of the family met to try and come up with solutions. She heard their intentions to marry her off once she’s older, to someone with more money and more power, providing more protection. She’s hoping that the buried silver will be enough to protect the ranch and provide her with the freedom to marry who she wants – Néstor. They grew up together, best friends with the promise of something more growing with them. They are only 13 at this point, but Néstor already has hopes to buy his own ranch and someday live there with Nena as his wife. Guided by stories from his abuela and coworkers, they find a piece of land to start digging for silver – only for Nena to be attacked by some sort of monster. The chapter ends abruptly with her being bitten; I was really tempted to keep reading, which is a great sign.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Spellshop is a drastic change from the previous two books, which has me curious on whether that will help or hurt its chances. After jumping in, I don’t know if it helped, but it definitely didn’t hurt! It opens with Kiela, a librarian of The Great Library of Alyssium, escaping with her assistant Caz (who happens to be a spider plant) as the library is ransacked by rebels. There’s a level of anxiety and heartache there, because they’re just able to escape as the library is burning, but there’s still something cozy and endearing about the bantering between Caz and Kiela, and Kiela’s overall thoughts. It’s well-balanced and delightful in a way that, if I’m being fully honest, I wasn’t expecting. They’re able to escape the city by boat, though they have to watch as it burns, death and destruction being left behind. Again, a surprising balance between the darkness and the light fluffiness. I feel like I’ve already fallen in love with the characters, and I really wanted to carry on with the book. I was immediately pulled in by the plot and the characters, and it feels like a low-commitment book because it’s so easy to read and understand.
Every single book has been great so far, and I don’t see that changing, which is both exciting and worrying as I have to pick one to continue with…
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley opens with a brief entry from a man adventuring in the Arctic, who is inevitably the main male character. He seems to be an odd mix of high spirit and resignation to his potential death, which probably go hand-in-hand. The first official chapter is a quick jump to modern times with a woman interviewing for a mysterious job. Time travel is quickly introduced without fanfare and confusion, which I’m thankful for. (As much as I love certain superhero franchises, the time travel and multiple universes hurt my brain.) The first chapter is about 30 pages and a lot of plot happens in that time. A lot. The woman and Commander Gore are quickly introduced and moved into a home in London together. Time passes in short, dialogue-heavy scenes as the woman works to teach him about the modern world, and it ends on a slight cliff-hanger where they find out that all of the expats (people pulled from history) are finally able to meet. I was definitely intrigued, and I would like to continue, but I don’t think that it grabbed my interest as much as the others. It moved incredibly fast, and while it was well-written and I do enjoy the characters, it might have leaned a bit too fast and too much for me comparatively.
Last, but not least, on my list is Ring by Koji Suzuki!
Ring by Koji Suzuki
It opens with a beautiful yet eerie description of a location in Yokohama, then narrows in to a teenage girl named Tomoko. She’s home alone and trying to focus on studying for a test that she has the next day, struggling because of the humidity. Suddenly, though, the night takes a creepy turn, and Tomoko finds herself unsettled and wishing for her parents to arrive. Right before it seems like she’s about to turn around and see something terrifying, it cuts to the point of view of a cab driver in Tokyo named Kimura. A motorcycle rider falls over at a stoplight and damages his cab in the process. When Kimura goes to check on him, he finds the rider convulsing and trying to rip off his helmet. It’s clear that the man dies, but the cause definitely isn’t obvious. The first chapter sets the mood and throws the reader right into the story, which caught me a little off guard. I’ve gotten very used to exposition and explanation making up a lot of the first chapter – even when it throws you right in, like in The Spellshop, it still weaves in a lot of explanation. That being said, I don’t think that the story is lacking because of it. This book does a really great job of creating an eerie, creepy tone and grabbing attention, which bodes well for the rest of the story.
First Chapter Frenzy Results
These five books have me torn – on one hand it’s really hard to decide on a single book to continue with, but on the other hand, now I know for sure that I own 5 really great books. Each stands out because of their individual story lines and writing styles, but there was one that won my heart the most…
I’m going to choose Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas as my single book to continue with!
As I suspected, my love for Sinners definitely put me in the mood for a historical vampire story, but it’s more than that. I really enjoyed the lyrical writing, and I think that it balanced action and exposition really well in the first chapter. The relationship between Nena and Néstor has me eager to see how they end up, even though I am mentally preparing myself for emotional damage. On a deeper note, though, I know very little about Mexican history and I think this will be a perfect launching point. I’m looking forward to researching some of the history to see how it compares to the fiction in this book. I did a similar thing while reading through The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and it was a bit mind-boggling how historically accurate it was and how much I learned because of that.
A very strong honorable mention has to go to The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, though. I’m not sure if it was because I wasn’t expecting a lot from it, but it really caught me off guard. I had such a fun time with the first chapter, and that made for a really awesome experience. I can see myself picking it back up pretty soon!
This challenge cemented in my cranium that you can tell a lot about a book from its first chapter. You don’t get everything, obviously, but a lot of the overall reading experience is made up by the author’s writing style, the personalities of the main characters, and the pacing of the book – all of which you get a good idea of in the first chapter.
I plan to make a new rule for myself when buying new books: I must read the first chapter before purchasing. That will double as a first line of defense against a book I won’t enjoy and an encouragement to read the book right away instead of letting it waste away on my infinite TBR. We’ll see how I do about actually enforcing said rule, but here’s hoping!
Thank you for exploring with us! Until next time, may the pages and paths ahead of you be great.
