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.


Give me a minute.
Wait, I'm still thinking!

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."

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.

A+