TOUCH OF PASSION

Author: Susan Spencer Paul ISBN: 0312933886 12/2005 HISTORICAL/PARANORMAL Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS
Time Period: London 1811 & 1821

My Dearest Reader, When you hear my story, perhaps you will think me a man unable to control his own hungers...his own temptations. But I warn you that I am no such thing. I am simply a man who knows what he wants, and what he can’t live without. It is only fair to tell you that my clan is one descended from magic. I have learned these powers are both a blessing and a curse—for the magic that flows through my blood controls my fate utterly and completely. When I first saw the beautiful Loris, I knew she was my unoliaeth, my oneness, the woman I am destined to unite with for all eternity. At that moment, I allowed my passion to lead me to do the unthinkable: I employed a forbidden magic to win Loris’s heart. How did I know that my error would lead to a black curse that still haunts me today? How could I have known that the curse would irrevocably cast Loris’ affection for me to another man? Now I am left to ponder how I might win Loris back—black curse be damned. I believe there must be a way. For while it is the darkest realms of magic that keeps Loris from becoming mine, there is another power at play: the undying, unending love of one man for one woman. And I pray that in the end, that will be enough... Your obedient servant, Kian Seymour, Castle Tylluan, London

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

TOUCH OF PASSION, the sequel to A TOUCH OF NIGHT, has a exactly that, a touch of passion. It's not due to the author's lack of including steamy scenes in the story, but to the hero and heroine's unfortunate storyline that makes that the case. But, don't assume that just because there is the littlest bit of passion that this isn't a decent read. That touch of passion is what is intriguing.

When you include a bit of magic and sorcery in a historical romance during a time when such a thing would have most certainly been frowned upon by the ton, I find I have to read it. There are plenty of fae stories set in medieval times, and contemporary paranormals all around, so when you find a gem of a series like this, you take notice. Add in a blood curse, where the hero cannot touch the heroine without causing her pain because he broke a rule of the Guardians, and you get that touch of passion I was referring to.

Though I have to mention it's a bit slow going at times, so much so that I confess to a bit of struggling through a chapter or two, it's worth reading to the end only to see if the hero and heroine finally fully unite. Oh, and to learn about the probability of another book in the series.

Shannon Johnson