Would this beginning first couple of sentences grab your attention and persuade you to continue reading? Dreaming, Jess thrusts herself against his body, feeling his hands grip her curvaceous ass; she raises her muscular right thigh high above his hip grinding her mound against his denim covered mass. He drives himself hard against her, and she peals herself far enough away from him to ferociously rip and tear at his belt and jeans with the wild intensity of a starving lioness fighting for her prey."
You have not gotten me to care about your characters. I know what naked bodies look like. I know what happens during sexual intercourse. Describing naked bodies engaged in sexual intercourse does not attract my attention. There needs to be a reason for me to identify with the main character.
I do think it is important for a story to begin well. The first sentence should make the reader want to read the first paragraph. The first paragraph should make the reader want to read the first page. The first page should make the reader want to finish the story.
I totally agree with this statement. I would keep reading what you wrote because it's sex. LOL But what happens throughout the next few pages are more important in determining if I want to keep reading. When I start reading a book the first couple of sentences arent that important when it comes to hooking me into the story. I feel like the author's writing style and what happens in the first 3 to 4 chapters make me decide to keep reading. But for real, if something is poorly written and doesnt flow nicely I will put the story down and never pick it up again. I once bought three books by this author I had never read before because the back of the books sounded so good. Um...after like 5 or 6 chapters I had to stop. Her characters were shallow and I found myself irritated by her writing style and the overall tone of the work.