 Contemporary Romance |
SECRET PASSION Layle Giusto Arabesque October 1999 (4+) Melanie Schuster |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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Losing control is the thing that many of us fear the most. The idea that someone or something can invade your life and turn it upside down is so repellant that we can’t even comprehend that kind of horror. Suppose, though, it did happen to you. Suppose you had to leave your family, your friends, your home…you had to change your identity and trust no one. In Layle Giusto’s SECRET PASSION,
that’s what Julia Smalls has had to do for ten years.
To escape a stalker, who has destroyed her normal life, Julia has had to
flee New Jersey for Chicago where she hopes to be able to resume a normal life.
But normal is a relative term, as she soon finds out.
Her new employment lands her in an office full of eccentrics, all with
their own bizarre agendas—and a mesmerizingly handsome owner. David Martell senses something odd about Julia. He
can’t shake the feeling that there is a mystery surrounding her; he is
convinced that she is hiding something. But
those suspicions are secondary to the powerful attraction that he feels every
time she enters a room. Almost
against his will he is drawn to her and he quickly realizes that mystery or no,
this is the woman that is meant for him. Julia and David gradually give in to their passion but
it can’t protect them from the destructive element that seems to be trailing
Julia. Is it someone out of her past or her present that has put her
in jeopardy—and can David’s love keep her from harm? I must say that any Layle Giusto is a delight.
One of my very favorite books is SILVER LOVE
by Ms. Giusto, simply because she writes so well and has an unconventional
voice. She follows the framework
but not the formula and her results are always unusual and intriguing.
She has a knack for getting into a character and baring their soul.
You become so familiar with the people she creates that you could pick
them out of a crowded room. Ms. Giusto is also willing to push the envelope and
let her characters do and say things that are rare in genre romance.
She is never afraid to let a character give full vent to feelings that
are not neat, tidy and easily resolved. Her dialogue is fresh, her characters are real and
consistent and her plot is carefully constructed.
I also applaud her plot for realism.
I believed that this was actually happening to this character and I am
not an easy one to convince. At no
point does the reader have to say “Okay, wait a minute—who did what?”
And she does this with an economy of language that is enviable.
In a few sentences she can give you a description of a character that
makes you know the essence of that person; this is why her writing is so vivid.
This book grabbed me from the very first line and I was
happy to follow where it led. SECRET
PASSION is a tightly constructed, fast-moving book that was suspenseful
from beginning to end and had a lively cast of characters.
If you have never read anything by Ms Giusto, by all means this is a
great introduction. If you are
already a fan, your wait for another good read is over. |
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9th September 1999 |
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