Passion [Mass Market Paperback]

A chance meeting between a widow and a strange man leads to sex behind a screen in a... museum? (hey, I wasn't paying all that close attention to the setting--believe me, you wouldn't either. <g> suffice to say it was public) And that's just the beginning.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it wasn't what I got. With all the explicit sex scenes, you might expect it to be erotica, but there's a depth of emotion in this book that makes it more than that.

The good:

Explicit sex scenes that don't make you cringe, giggle, or skim.

Three-dimensional characters, including the secondary characters.

A no-way-out plot that was solved honestly.

The bad:

If you're at all squeamish about explicit sex scenes or graphic language, this book isn't for you.

I didn't expect I'd be needing the Kleenex, and I had to go hunt for some. *sniff*

The excellent:

The in-depth emotional portrayal of a couple whose passion unlocks the needs and feelings they've kept hidden.

The verdict:

I've been recommending this to everyone, and Lisa Valdez has shot straight to my must-buy list on the strength of one single book.

I must admit I was a bit wary of this book. The cover art was so "Cheryl Holt", I was worried that the book would be a series of sex scenes with little or no story. While the sex is both frequent and explicit, it is also very erotic (though this is always a matter of taste). This book also contains explicit language with a very liberal use of the F-word (among others) so those offended by such language should take note. It's the story of two strangers who form an immediate, electric, sexual bond and all the complications that follow.

Passion Elizabeth Dare Redington (I know, her name made me cringe in the beginning) is a widow of two years. She has come to London from her home in the country to spend time with her aunt and cousin in her first forays into Society as she comes out of mourning. Her marriage was not a happy one as her husband did not love her (nor she him) and treated her with total indifference. Passion has been numb for years allowing herself to be lead by duty and obligation. But when she is pulled from the path of a falling palm tree at the Crystal Palace by a handsome stranger, Passion's numbness takes flight. When this man looks at her, he actually sees her and he awakens in her all the need she has suppressed for years. She is drawn to him in a way that she has never experienced before and they play a sort of cat and mouse game as he follows her from exhibit to exhibit. They share glances, touches and conversation until they are desperate for one another and find themselves behind a screen where they give in to their mutual lust. Though she knows that it is wrong, she agrees to see him again though they only exchange first names.

Mark Randolph Hawkmore, earl of Langley was supposed to be meeting the woman his mother expects him to marry at the Crystal Palace. But instead he meets the most sensual, intriguing and alluring woman he's seen in a long time and he just cannot resist having her. Mark does not like women much and one could hardly blame him after meeting his loathesome mother. She made her first born son miserable just because he was his father's son - a man she never wanted to marry in the first place. She takes out her resentment of her husband on his son and man, is she hateful! She adores her second son, her beloved Matthew, but she also has a secret. One that leads to a blackmail scheme requiring Mark to marry the daughter of her former friend, now her sworn enemy. Mark has no intention of marrying after watching the disaster of his own parents' marriage, but if he cannot find another way out, his brother and best friend Matthew will be harmed and Mark can't have that. Besides all Mark wants is to spend as much time with Passion as he possibly can until she leaves London to return to the country.

Of course at first it's just sex, but the more time they spend together, the more attached they become to one another. Unfortunately, circumstances are forcing Mark to do something he does not want to do and, unbeknownst to either one of them, they are more entangled in one another's lives than either can know. For once they discover each other's identities heartbreak is sure to follow. And it does. Will Mark and Passion be forced to part forever because of two mean and cruel women?

I must say that the last quarter of the book was quite emotional, poignant and romantic which I did not entirely expect. I even shed a few tears! I liked Passion's character all the way through and I was glad to the see the growth in Mark's character. Though he is essentially a selfish man (except where his brother is concerned) with little regard or respect for women, his experience with Passion shows him that he is capable of much more than just sex when it comes to women. At least with one very special woman. This is a highly sensual read with a couple you will want to see together in the end.

There will be stories for Passion's two dear sisters, Patience and Primrose as well as one for cousin Charlotte in the future. Matthew will also feature in one as well as John Crossman who is seen in this book. So, we've got a Matthew, Mark and John - can this mean that Prim's hero will be named Luke? ;-) Looking forward to reading more from Ms Valdez.

I read this book three times just to make sure that I understood

what the author was trying to get across.

I didn't summarize the plot here (there is plenty of reviews with

those), just some details of what I love/hate about this book.

First the good stuff. I thought the romance aspect was excellent and

a real tear jerker. Valdez really was able to flesh out her

characters and make a deep emotional connection. This may sound

cheesy, but I really felt that they were two lost souls that were

only complete when they found each other. And the end was a killer!

You want romantic? THIS IS IT! When they both realized that they

could never be together ever again.....I almost died! Sheesh! Bring

out the kleenex! The declarations and the circumstances were just

heart-breaking. And the ending? ~SUPER SIGH~ who doesn't love an

ending like that?!

And now the bad or is it weird? First of all, let me say that I'm

not at all averse to descriptive love scenes (the more the merrier!)

but some of these had me thinking waaaaaay to much -not a good sign.

I know most heroes are described as 'above' average in size (well no

one wants a guy with a **** the size of a pinky), but Geeze is this

man a man or a HORSE? Valdez I think went a little overboard with

this. Ok, so he's big but it doesn't stop there. He's soooo big that

he hasn't been able to find a woman that can *accept* his entire

size into her body, until (lo and behold!) he finds the heroine! And

the love scenes beat this point to DEATH! He's got to shift her here

and there and just a little bit like that and then tilt her up like

this.....AND scream at her to *open* more for him -UGGGG! that was

just toooo much. It turned several excellent love scenes into a bad

bio class. And really do I need to know that the man can fill a shot

glass? Does that make him sexier? Not for me.

And then there was the cursing. I don't mind a few words throw in

here and there but again I thought that Valdez got a little bit

crazy. I don't need F or C words repeated over and over again during

love scenes to turn me on. Yeah, some people like that dirty talk,

but to me it doesn't fit in a historical romance. Say it once or

twice and be done with it. Otherwise your characters sound like

common street people and not the nobility you portray them to be.

So those parts I just wanted to take a sharpie pen to and cross out.

Pretend that they were never written. If they weren't, this could

have possibly been one of my favorite romances.

That being said, I think a lot of romance readers will like this

one. The trend seems to be that authors are adding more and more

explicit love scenes (which I'm all for -if they are written well).

And while I didn't like some parts, that didn't change the fact that

I overall loved the characters and deep emotional romance of the

book. If your not easily offended you'll like this one too. A great

romance that leave you fulfilled (LOL! pun intended!) in the end.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 175 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars