The Passion

Rating:
Summary: The Best, Most Gripping Novel I have read in a long time...
Review: This novel was utterly captivating! I couldn't put it down! The story really did have the feel of an Anne Rice novel with a werewolf twist to it. I was so emotianally involved with the characters that by the end of the book I had to pace myself for fear of not receiving my copy of this books sequel, THE PROMISE, in the mail by the time I had finished it. The story is about a young human girl named Tessa, who enters the lives of the superior race of creatures known as werewolves. She seeks vengeance for the death of her father only to discover that her father had embraced all things werewolf and had been highly loved by the powerful and rich Alexander Devoncroix. Ultimately, Tessa falls in love with this charming werewolf as he takes her under his care and she soon becomes the "pet" of the "pack". This book becomes fast paced and suspenseful when Alexander's rebellious and human-hating brother Denis enters the picture, with hopes of over-throwing the packs' leader Elise-whom has chosen Alexander as her mate. Tessa becomes involved in a conspiracy which unfortunatly leads to sad events that will change the history of werewolves forever. This book was powerful, sad, erotic and beautifully detailed. This was one of the first times I have ever cried at the end of a book. I would highly reccomend this to fans of romance/suspense/horror/fantasy novels. If you like Anne Rice or werewolves than this book is probably excellent for you.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: I was not prepared to find such a treasure in this book. Being a fan of Anne Rice's books (all of them) and knowing her upcoming book is the last one on her supernatural series of witches and vampires, I was looking for something to read on the genere of the supernatural and the occult. I happened to be roaming around Amazon, reading reviews, and I found this newcomer, Donna Boyd. I bought "The Passion". And this, my friends is what I think of this story.

First of all her writing style is beautiful. She takes you from one scene to the other flawlessly. The book is well written and very organized, you don't feel lost in the world of this creatures. She does not bombard you with many characters and keeps the storyline straight all the time.

About the story itself, all I can say is that it is the only story about supernatural characters that has made me cry.

Alexander Devoncroix's character is charming, smart and arrogant; but you are able to forgive the arrogance, for he makes it up with a very human heart even though he's a werewolf. He meets his dead human best friend's daughter, Tessa, in a very peculiar situation. Needless to say they become inseparable. He is bent on "educatin her" just for his amusement and to repay all the kindness his old best friend showed him during the time they spent together. Tessa's character is kind of slow, weak and simple in the begining, very predictable, but as the story develops you find Tessa's soul is very strong; stronger I think than Alexander's.

Tessa is regarded as a pet, an amusement to all werewolves who meet her and Alexander shows her off with pride. Tessa doesn't mind for as predictable as her character is in the beginning, she falls in love with her werewolf friend.

Into the picture comes Denis, Alexander's renegade brother and Elise, Alexander's love interest. Denis is bent of forwarding his position in the pack through a plan that involves marrying the new pack leader, Elise. Alexander of course does not want this for he is, even though he doesn't know it at first, in love with Elise.

Denis' only great characteristic is his ambitiousness. Other than that he's not a complicated character, but as with Tessa's character, Denis' development and evolution will leave you breathless.

Elise is the pack leader, a smart, strong and levelheaded female werewolf with a heart. Elise as the leader has plans of her own and this human girl, Tessa, is just the tool she neeeds to push her cause. Denis, on the other hand, has plans for Tessa too.

The outcome of this story is absolutely unpredictable and completely heart wrenching. I loved every detail and every emotion felt by Alexander, Denis, Elise and Tessa.

If you want a story where werewolfs are portrayed in a very different manner to that which they have been subject throughout history, this is your story. It's a must read. I highly recommend it.

I don't usually take the time to sit down and write a review for every book I read, for then I would be sitting at the computer almost daily. But I think that Donna Boyd has done a tremendous job of this story and I wanted to tell anyone who gets to read this review "BUY IT".

Rating:
Summary: Only wish she hadn't stopped!
Review: Many people have told you of the story of the Devencroix werewolf family, so I won't go there. What I will tell you is I read these books and I was transported to the world where werewolves live among us unsuspecting humans without knowing they were ever apart of our world.
Donna Boyd stopped with only two books in this series this one The Passion and The Promise. I only wished she'd continued. These books are so much more than I had expected going in.

We are led on a roller coaster of emotions as you read these two stories. The characters are well drawn and you will either fall strongly toward loving them or hating them. The passionate tale draws you in and takes hold of you.

The Passion and The Promise both tore at my heart. Remembering aspects of this book even now is an emotional experience. The books will leave you crying out your emotions whether you are for or against the characters. Donna Boyd has done such a wonderful job of creating a world of werewolves that aren't just horror stories. I don't want to give any of either of the stories away because as you are reading them you will be so eager to find out what is going to happen next you'll want to flip through to get glimpses of what happens, but don't do it.

These books aren't for the faint hearted they have some graphic moments and very adult material. They also have a sweeping story that carried me through this world where superior werewolves run expansive empires without humans being the wiser. At times I caught myself holding my breath as I sat devouring each page.

The only thing I have bad to say about the Devencroix series is that I can't believe they ended at 2 books. This series cries out for at least a 3rd book. However, I understand the pressures authors face, so maybe she just tired of the series after two books. I haven't and I still love to read both of these books but I never pick them up until I am prepared to sit and read them both.

Rating:
Summary: This book took my Saturday away!
Review: I read this book with a bit of hesitation because of the comparisons to Anne Rice. While I love paranormal novels, particularly with werewolves (L.K. Hamilton rocks!), I'm not very fond of Anne Rice's works (Interview with a Vampire was enough for me). Anyway, the novel took a bit to get into, and it isnt one that you can just skim though either. However, once I was in, I was completely hooked.

The story of Tessa, Alexander, Denis, and Elise was wonderful, emotional, and tragic. I'm glad that Donna Boyd didn't feel that she had to give a pat happy ending. Although, admittedly, my romantic soul longed for everyone to live happily ever after. I can honestly say that I thought that my favorite character was Denis. To me, he was the tragic hero. While many of his actions were not commendable, he was one that stood by his beliefs. He was one, when committed, committed everything in his being to that belief or feeling.

One has to remember when reading this book that this is a novel about a parallel Earth where werewolves and humans coexist, and werewolves are the creatures with all of the superior abilities. I don't think that the author was intending to be anti-human. In fact, I think that she was showing that even when one begins to think that humans are just becoming more and more worthless as time goes by, one special person proves that the human race is worth keeping around. I think that that she was showing how people tend to be blinded by their prejudices and refuse to see what's right in front of them unless it's shoved in their face.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable!
Review: Werewolves are one of my favorite subjects to read about and I've come to despise books where they are solely portrayed as the "bad guys". "The Passion" paints them as extraordinary creatures and I loved the author for that. They have faults, tempers, and an unbelievably arrogant attitude but are also capable of great compassion and undying love.

The story opens upon a grisly scene. Three werewolves have been brutally slain and werewolf Nicholas Devoncroix intends to destroy the human responsible. This forces his father Alexander to share with Nicholas a painful secret from his past. The story than jumps back in time to Paris 1897 and the story of Alexander and Tessa begins.

The first half of the "The Passion" reads a lot like a light-hearted regency romance between an innocent but "feisty" heroine and an arrogant hero. Human Tessa LeGuerre carries out her plans to murder Alexander Devoncroix while he sleeps. But her plans are foiled when the gorgeous man's wounds begin to heal right before her eyes. Alexander is a bit peeved but mostly amused by her failed attempt at murder and begins to interrogate her. When he learns the source of her pain the two form an emotional bond that brought me to tears. Alexander then introduces Tessa into the mysterious world of the werewolf and it causes all sorts of messy consequences and power struggles within the werewolf community. This portion of the book is often humorous and witty but then it takes a drastic turn and becomes a compelling and painful adventure/horror story filled with heartbreak, survival, and strength. The world the author creates is vivid and carefully drawn and her characters are people you come to love despite their faults.

This isn't a book that ties up everything in a nifty little bow because it is the first in a series. I also can't stress strongly enough that "The Passion" is an _extremely_ emotionally draining book and is at times terribly bleak. However, it is hands down the best werewolf book that I've read and I can't recommend highly enough. If you are a werewolf fan you absolutely do not want to miss this reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable!
Review: Werewolves are one of my favorite subjects to read about and I've come to despise books where they are solely portrayed as the "bad guys". "The Passion" paints them as extraordinary creatures and I loved the author for that. They have faults, tempers, and an unbelievably arrogant attitude but are also capable of great compassion and undying love.

The story opens upon a grisly scene. Three werewolves have been brutally slain and werewolf Nicholas Devoncroix intends to destroy the human responsible. This forces his father Alexander to share with Nicholas a painful secret from his past. The story than jumps back in time to Paris 1897 and the story of Alexander and Tessa begins.

The first half of the "The Passion" reads a lot like a light-hearted regency romance between an innocent but "feisty" heroine and an arrogant hero. Human Tessa LeGuerre carries out her plans to murder Alexander Devoncroix while he sleeps. But her plans are foiled when the gorgeous man's wounds begin to heal right before her eyes. Alexander is a bit peeved but mostly amused by her failed attempt at murder and begins to interrogate her. When he learns the source of her pain the two form an emotional bond that brought me to tears. Alexander then introduces Tessa into the mysterious world of the werewolf and it causes all sorts of messy consequences and power struggles within the werewolf community. This portion of the book is often humorous and witty but then it takes a drastic turn and becomes a compelling and painful adventure/horror story filled with heartbreak, survival, and strength. The world the author creates is vivid and carefully drawn and her characters are people you come to love despite their faults.

This isn't a book that ties up everything in a nifty little bow because it is the first in a series. I also can't stress strongly enough that "The Passion" is an _extremely_ emotionally draining book and is at times terribly bleak. However, it is hands down the best werewolf book that I've read and I can't recommend highly enough. If you are a werewolf fan you absolutely do not want to miss this reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: UNBEARABLY BRILLAINT!!!
Review: Wow. I had only read about 2 sentences of the first paragraph when it hit me that this book was going to be different. My God was I right. Im so GLAD that I was. While experiencing this story, it became quite clear to me that this was an author who truly ADORED writing. Her wording was gorgeous. There was very little dialogue in this book. It was all about detail and getting into the characters heads to REALLY KNOW THEM. What well fleshed out characters!!.....This story went in a direction I did not expect..with a h/h that I never would have guessed would have come together..I was misled for so long!! Oh, but even though the outcome was inevitably bittersweet..I would have had it no other way. The way that this was written, after you are over your intial outrage at the outcome of certain events, you will see that things could have ended in no other way and that all is ultimately as it should be.
I cannot say enough this beautifully and brilliantly written love story. It is DEFINITELY one that I wont soon forget. A genuine keeper.

Rating:
Summary: torn
Review: Boyd had a good idea for her novel. Overall she seems to be a good writer and her novel had direction as far as the topic, scenery, motion of action. Her flaw seemed to be a lack of good character development. Every character in the story seemed to be flat/one dementional. All the werewolves were elite and confident. All the humans were gullible and predictable. The characters in the book were incapable of making mistakes. They knew what they did was right and if something went wrong, it was not his/her fault, but had to be an external cause. It is amazing just how important character development can be for a novel, even when the author has a supurb idea for conflict and direction in a book.

I will read the next one, for the simple hope that she might improve in her writing, but for this one, my feelings at the end of the novel were disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Okay book, character development was weak....
Review: This is the story of a Werewolf named Alexander, and his "attachment" to a human female named Tessa. It is more of a study of werewolf behavior than a novel of feelings and emotions.

In her book, werewolves are extremely vain, and humans are all stupid. Tessa, the human character, does not seem to do anything to negate this theory. She is gullible and sickeningly sweet. Alexander, the main character, is pompous, arrogant, and shallow. You never seem to "feel" anything for him but annoyance.

I got so sick of hearing how great werewolves are, and how low humans are. It must have been repeated about a hundred times. It nauseated me to the point were I would call it "racist."

The end of the story is the only reason I would give this two stars. It was a twist of an ending. A twist which wasn't great enough to redeem reading the entire book, but just enough to make it worth buying second hand (very cheaply).

Rating:
Summary: Drama, more than horror
Review: This book is an amazing read but also extremely distressing(at least for me). Part of the book made me cry for half an hour. It is not a romance at all. In fact, if you're expecting romance, don't read this. The book was well-written and caught hold of my emotions with a strangling grip. The characters were flawed, as all of us are, which somehow made the book better. It is an engrossing story and you will not be able to put it down until you're done. Wonderful thing to have when you want to ignore the outside world for a time(like perhaps in a noisy situation with nothing to do--schools, airports).

I must say this, I tend to be sensitive to rape situations in books. For those like me, it might be a good idea to skip over this as the author does a fairly graphic and horrifying description of it at one point. If I'd known of this before I read the book, I'd have still read it(it's that great) but...I know better than to think others would do the same.