15 April 2010

Review: Passion by Lisa Valdez


BACK COVER BLURB:

A woman called Passion. A man who would make her true to her name.

In her second year of mourning, lovely young widow Passion Elizabeth Dare never dreamed she would be with a man again - and certainly not a complete stranger. But amidst the crowds of London's Crystal Palace, Passion finds herself discreetly, yet insistently, pursued by a sensual gentleman who awakens her long-suppressed desires. After a loveless marriage of restrained propriety, Passion abandons herself to true bliss for the first time.

Intoxicated by his encounter with the beautiful stranger, Mark Randolph Hawkmore, Earl of Langley, cannot wait to have her again. As a series of rapturous rendezvous follows, he and his mystery lover find something rare and wonderful blossoming between them. But a blackmail scheme against the Earl threatens to destroy everything. As a scandal brews, each will have to choose between duty and desire . . . their love for their families - and their love for each other.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

One of the many current furors in romance land is about the long-awaited release of Patience by Lisa Valdez. Apparently her fans have been waiting five years for her to write a sequel to Passion. From what I scanned (I'm by no means an aficionado), people either love the sequel or hate it. Frankly, I didn't see what the big deal was either way, but all the talk did make me curious enough to request Passion (the first release) from my local library.

Umm . . .. Wow! Where the heck have I been, hiding under a rock or something? Why didn't I know about this book, this author?

I opened Passion when I got home last night. I was up all night. I fell asleep with the book still open in my hands. This morning, I was running late for work, got in my car, pulled out my driveway, and realized I had left my copy of Passion in the house. I turned around and ran back into my house to grab it. I read Passion while driving on my way to work. I had Passion open under my desk while I worked. And now that I'm on my lunch break, I just finished it and had to immediately write my review.

Umm . . . I'm trying to think of something negative to say about Passion.

Give me a minute.

Wait, I'm still thinking!

Okay, I wish that Mark wasn't so mean to Charlotte about the engagement because it's obvious she knew nothing about the blackmail and what was going on.

I did it. I found something negative to say. Aren't you proud of me!

Passion embodies what every erotic romance author aspires to be and fails. Passion is about well passion, emotion, love, with well thought out motivation and conflict. I'm even a little hesitant to call passion an erotic romance. Yes, it's very sensual, but that sensuality is so engrained in the psyche of the characters that it feels second nature instead of forced. Passion has an old school romance feel -- you know, it's that feeling you felt when you first started reading romance. That feeling of satisfaction you get when you close the book and just want more.

I wanted more.

Now that I read Passion, I totally understand the annoyance over Ms. Valdez's fans for having to wait five years for a sequel. Of course, I have no idea what might have been going on in her personal life. Personally, I would have been willing to sit at her bedside with my laptop open transcribing her next work for her.

It was that good.

Okay, I'm getting kinda corny here. Let me stop.

Back to my review. . . .

Basically, Passion and Mark meet. Have a very umm . . . passionate (you getting the theme here) encounter. One encounter leads to several, passion turns into love. People are blackmailing the hero's family. Our lovers are separated, all hope is lost, lost love is found.

Yada, Yada, Yada.

Sounds simple doesn't it. You've read it before haven't you? Trust me, you haven't!

Anyhoo . . .. Mark's mother is a jerk. (I would use other words but I'm trying not to have one of those thingy's on my blog that says click if you're over eighteen.) She's ignored Mark all his life and pushed him aside for his younger brother.

BTW, Passion does a great job of weaving all that back-story in. It's so subtle, you don't know how the layers came in until they literally hit you upside the head. Mark has been rejected so much, and due to circumstances the heroine had to reject him. He understands why, but he's heart-broken. Then he then comes and does this . . . .



He drew in a shuddering breath and forced out his last hope on a ragged whisper. "Please . . . Please, don't go."
She froze, and her gown dropped to her feet.
Tears that had belonged to a boy welled in him. "Please, Passion, don't run away from me."

She turned and gripped the doorframe. Her lips trembled. "I won't. I'll stay."

His sore eyes shut for a moment in relief, and he closed the small distance between them.

She was so close.

His heart thundered in his chest.

If he didn't say the words now, he would never say them.

Yet old fears and old pains burned with a new intensity.

His head swam. He looked into her beautiful eyes – eyes that regarded him with tenderness, pain, longing, and hope.

Hope – his only hope. "I came to tell you – I came to tell you that I love you."
Passion's face crumbled, and with a sob, she turned her face against the jamb and wept.
"I love you," he repeated.

With a choked cry, Passion threw herself in his arms.

Oh God! His heart burst and his legs buckled. He dropped to his knees and clung to her. "Please don't cry," he murmured, pressing his cheek to the curve of her waist. He felt his tears on his face, but his voice was unwavering. "Once, long ago, I begged for love. I swore I would never do it again. But I'm begging you now, Passion. Please love me." Her hands slipped through his hair, and he pressed his face against her. "Please. For, I love you. I love you with all that I am and all that I will ever be. I love you in this life and the next. I love you. I love you."




















SWOON. SWOON. SWOON.

And just so you know, this isn't the end of the book. Stuff isn't resolved yet.

Anyhoo. Please ignore all the typos. This is probably the worst review ever, but I hope you can feel my passion (I'm on a roll today, aren't I) for the story.

BTW, I'm so pissed that Patience isn't available on Kindle. WTF. I immediately went to Amazon to try and download Patience but it wasn't there.

Rant's over, so is my lunch break. Back to work!

WHERE PURCHASED:
Borrowed from my local library.

RATING:
You have to ask?
A+

post signature


 

10 people posted their 2 cents:

Marq said...

I loved your review! I now want to read the book. I will be heading to the library Saturday to get it. So your review did its job. My reviews are like yours when I have such strong feelings (good or bad) towards a book. It's jumbled, probably doesn't make sense but you can feel how much you liked the book through your words.

5 years to wait for the sequel?!?! That is beyond torture!!

Jill Sorenson said...

LOL. I have a friend sending this one to me. Can't wait to read it! Great review.

Pearl said...

Passion was my first 5-star (10/10 rated) book! I LOVED it and it has a special place on my keeper's shelf. I've read Patience, the long-awaited sequel, and although I loved Patience for me it definitely didn't have the impact Passion had.

Leontine said...

To only read that quote makes my heart swoon too Lynette. And your review, I think many ditto the sentiment and state of mind after they read PASSION. I know I was, so you made perfect sense to me :)

UniquelyMoi said...

I LOVED this book!!! For me, it wasn't just a romance novel, it was a true love story.

I've also read Patience and am now looking forward to Primrose!

Mandi said...

This author seems to really bring out the emotions in people - and it is always love or hate. Nice review..I'm definitely intrigued.

Sarah said...

Are you going to review Patience next? I'll definitely like to hear what you think about that one. It seems to be getting panned everywhere I read.

Lynette said...

Sarah check on Leontine's blog. She just did a review on Patience and loved it. http://www.leontine1976.blogspot.com/

I'm so mad it's not on the Kindle. As soon as I make it to a book store, I'm getting a copy!

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

Awesome review!! I have seen all the hubbub online about Patience too, I wasn't aware of this author before that. You've convinced me to go out and buy this one!!

Spcialt said...

I just found your blog. Great review of one of my favorite books. I read it when it came out and it was one of those rare books that required an immediate re-read.
I'm jealous that you didn't have to suffer the 5 year wait for the second book Patience. Its received very mixed reviews - folks love it or hate it. No middle ground.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

MY POSTS 2 YOUR EMAIL

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MY FAVORITE QUOTES


"Do you see, Solange, that you are the only woman in my world? The one woman who can choose life or death for me. You are the center of my world and you always will be. When I tell you that your pleasure is mine, I mean that literally"— Christine Feehan

POPULAR POSTS

BLOG ARCHIVE

Powered by Blogger.

ALL ABOUT ME!

My Photo
Lynette
Mother, wife, aspiring romance writer, blogger, Army vet, book addict
View my complete profile

Blog Rating

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

AWESOME FOLLOWERS

Blog Contest Fund

MY BLOG BUTTON (Use it)

Lynette’s Two Cents

I'm Doing This

I'm Doing This

I LOVE THESE BLOGS

MY BLOG HITS

IF YOU SEE HER Blog Tour

IF YOU SEE HER Blog Tour
Powered By Blogger