Customer Reviews

Cry For Passion

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Cry for Passion is a love story about Jack's ambition, Rose's sorrow, and both their feelings of guilt and grief in finding love again. It has been several days since I finished reading this book, and it took me that long to decide what to write in the review. I have great admiration for Robin Schone's writing, and many of her books have made their way to my permanent keeper shelf, but her newest series The Men and Women's Club of which Cry for Passion is the third installment has not captured my interest as her previous endeavors.

I didn't know what it was that I have not liked as much... the writing is masterful, the characters are well developed, a tight and interesting plot with no loose ends, but I finally came to the conclusion that it was the style of her writing in these books and the conversational dialogue between characters that was different, and as a result was what I was not really liking. Ms. Schone dedicates this book to "justice and those who pursue it...", and after I realized it was the style of writing, and applied this dedication to her work, as well as all that was occurring during the Victorian period, things fell into place and I was more accepting of how she choose to write their stories.

Jack and Rose first met during a trial where he is the lawyer and she is being questioned on the witness stand. This beginning greatly influenced the style in which their story is told because much of their conversations (outside of the courtroom) have the feeling of interrogating each other and read much like a court transcript would. As their relationship progresses their dialogue slowly changes from lawyerly questioning to conversations between friends and lovers, but still remains sorrowful and reflective.

Rose's life is one of heart wrenching betrayal by all whom should protect her...father, brother husband, and ultimately the political justice system. The suffragette movement is at the heart of her story, as well as her right as a human, not a possession, to belong to the Men and Woman's Club, her rights to love and passion, and her rights over her own body and the choice not to have children. Rose's story seems more of a cry of sorrow than passion, as evidenced by this quote from the book:

"Happiness should not be painful..." p. 285 Cry for Passion

All of the Men and Women's Club are written in much of the same style, and I believe that it was a deliberate choice on Ms. Schone's part to write the books in this manner to reflect the character's struggles for the choices that they make, their independence against the rigid strictures of the Victorian period, and the sweeping changes as a result of the suffragette movement. At the end, I liked the story much more than I did at the beginning, and my only criticism would be the style of writing and the interrogatory dialogue. If you have not read Robin Schone before, I highly recommend The Lover, Gabriel's Woman, The Lady's Tutor, or my personal favorite, her novella in the anthology Captivated: A Lady's Pleasure. These are all on my keeper shelf, whereas Men and Women's Club series is more of an acquired taste.

Ratings:

Romance: 1.0
Passion: 2.75
Kleenex: 2.0
Overall: 3.0

If you have not read Scandalous Lovers, this is still going to take your breath away, but it will be so much more powerful if you read Scandalous Lovers, which is the back story for this book.

I have read every book by this author. Robin Schone is in a class all her own. This is far more a feminist historical novel than an erotic love story, but it is also an amazing erotic love story. This story is a must read if you have any interest in 19th century British legal history, especially as regards women, morals, and the sexual roles of men and women, how that relates to class, the rights and power (or lack thereof) of women in various strata of society.

Like it's predecessor, Scandalous Lovers, I put it in a category of it's own, and something akin to A Handmaids Tale in the feminist power it has. It also presents the awakening understanding of men to the need for change in how women are treated and the need for women to have power over their lives in society. This story is rich in history and presenting one the incredible social, political and personal evolution of an incredible woman's (Rose)sensual, sexual, and over all life awakening after being married for 12 years to a man who has ignored her for 11 of those years because he has become steril. She realizes he has relegated her to role of a breeder whose services he no longer requires. She challanges the prosecuting attorney who, in the court proceeding in Scandalous Lovers, ruthlessly but inadvertently makes her a person sconed by society, to help her obtain a divorce. She wants to experience passion and not be viewed as having the limited role in life as a procreator. Like Scandalous Lovers, this love story takes my breath away, not only from a sensual or sexual standpoint, although there is ample heat in that department, but rather from the heart wrenching personal and private and shared perspectives of both a man and a woman trying to find a passionate, close relationship, in Victorian England, and the awakening to their sensual selves, and their true needs, desires, and inner selves. The heart and gut wrenching realization, that there is no way they can legally pursue their relationship without serious consequences, including destroying both Rose's and Jack's positions in society.

This is a magnificent book! The author has a sound and impressive knowledge of British history, especially of this time period, and of British Law of the time. I finished this book in one day and cannot stop thinking about it and Scandalous Lovers, which I reread just before this book. This is definitely NOT light escapist erotic fiction, but it is a page turner. I know this is a book I will read again, and again, and again. No one out there writes like this author!

I don't know if anyone else is aware, but if you email Robin Schone, she will reply to you personally. I found this out 2 years ago when I read "Scandolous Lovers", the first book in her Women and Mens Club series. She writes the most wonderfully descriptive love scenes I have ever read and I own all of her books. "Cry for Passion" continues the stories of the members of the club who have been subpoenaed to testify on Frances Hart's behalf. They lose families, jobs, and friends trying to do what was right. It details the relationship between Rose Clarring and Jack Lodoun (the prosecuter in Frances' case). She leaves her husband for Jack and the drama that ensues is pure Victorian Melodrama at its best. Ms. Schone once again draws our attention to the mistreatment of women during this period and entertains us with a really good love story.

Amazon should include a WOW! category. Cry for Passion was better than a five. I could feel Rose's frustration with her situation, being married to someone who had basically rejected her love, and yet she was powerless to do anything about it. I could feel Jack's grief at the loss of someone he loved, the helplessness he felt at not even being able to attend her funeral because theirs was an illicit affair. Ms. Schone's ability to draw the reader in to feel what her characters were feeling is incredible. Her ability to consistently weave a great story, great emotions...and still have incredibly steamy, spicy, tender love scenes is what puts her on my auto-buy list. Cry for Passion doesn't disappoint!!

One of Ms. Schone's best, Cry For Passion is the third story of a three part series, which unfortunately I did not realize.

Scandalous Lovers, introduces a small but diverse group of characters whom have formed a small weekly club, for the sole purpose of discussing a variety of "delicate subjects" deemed improper in Victorian England. Although intellectually adept, the members reveal very little of themselves. This begins to change when a vivacious widow, accidently interrupts their meeting, sharing a frankness they find intriguing and shocking. Scandalous Lovers can stand alone, but it's true richness is revealed as the next two stories unfold.

The second installment, The Men & Women's Club, is a short story in the collaborative book, Private Places. It is a transitional but essential link between Scandalous Lovers and Cry For Passion. The members of the Men & Women's Club must testify at a public trial, exposing the club and the members, changing each of their lives. The trial is a pivotal event and a must read story. Unfortunately, The Men & Women's Club is not a stand alone story and makes very little sense if you have not first read Scandalous Lovers.

Cry For Passion is the conclusion of the stories, beginning moments after the trial ends. It is a poignant story of a husband's unusual abuse and a wife's decision that she deserves more; her fight for freedom and the barrister who represents her. Loosely based on a true court case in 1891 that changed English law. The best of the three stories, Cry For Passion can stand alone, but the reader would miss many of the nuances of the characters established in the earlier segments.

Read all three books and read them in order.

Cry for Passion is definitely a departure from your run of the mill erotic romance novels. It is set in Victorian England and the strictness of the times, particularly regarding sexuality and women's rights, sets a very severe stage. There is much to learn here about how far women have come, and how far they still have to go.

Our heroine, Rose Clarring, is on a mission to save herself from a passionless and lonely marriage. Toward this end, she seeks out barrister Jack Lodoun to win her a divorce. Jack knows how futile such a venture would be, but nevertheless finds himself irrevocably drawn to Rose. Against his better judgment he challenges her to show him - personally - why passion and love should overrule matters of law, tradition and reputation.

In a world where erotic romance is often synonymous with werewolves, vampires, and fairies, Robin's vulnerable and flawed characters are undeniably human. She removes the stereotypical hero and heroine from the genre, and instead gives us complicated protagonists like Jack and Rose. Separately, they are simply a man and woman who struggle with grief and guilt, with despair and loneliness. Together, they embark on an intense intimate journey, one that teaches them that shared passion can bring healing and even victory.

And did I mention that this story is hot??? There is plenty of integrity to the storyline, but Robin did not sacrifice the reason we buy erotic romance novels in the first place. We are there to experience the passionate exploration between Jack and Rose and she takes us through every step of their intimate journey. Robin's books always contain scorching and unique sexual encounters and this book is no exception. In fact, some of the scenes they share are so intense and personal that the reader might almost feel they should look away. Almost...

If you like your erotic romances plenty hot, but also with a plot and purpose, Robin Schone's Cry for Passion will not disappoint you.

The idea for the storyline is very good. The reviewers that gave the book high scores describe the premise and social commentary very well. But the book does not describe why these characters would engage in an affair. For that reason the storyline about the lack of women's rights fell flat.

Be advised that I do not read romances for history lessons. I judge books based on the strength of the characters and the degree to which their decisions are understandable.

I did not understand Rose. I liked Rose but I did not understand why she chose Jack. Why would Rose become sexually involved with the hero after 11 years of celibacy? What connection did he establish to make him the person she chose to take as a lover? He did not appear to have anything to recommend him. It was as if she were sexually repressed and chose him as a sexual partner as recompense for being a "good girl" for 11 years. Okay, she needed to be touched. But why him?

I did not understand, like or respect Jack. Why would Jack throw away a position he had worked toward for 20 years for woman he did not know? Jack did not ask his previous married lover to withstand the wrath of the ton by being with him openly. He seemed to have more sense in his dealings with her than the heroine. He felt bad but was he discreet? No. I am led to ask, "How can that behavior be anything but selfish?"

The couple progresses to the sex too fast. Both characters were old enough to know society's rules and work within them. Why didn't they? What was so special about the "relationship" that the ensuing mayhem was justified?

The only person that I did understand was the antagonist. He was completely deluded, selfish, and determined to get what he wanted at any cost. He was horrible but he was smart enough to work within the system to acheive his goals.

The author is talented at describing sex but the story lacked depth in terms of really getting the reader to be involved with the romance or care about either of the characters. The description of the emotional vulnerability of the characters in "Awaken, My Love" was lost. If you appreciate characters who are well-developed, this is not the book for you. The book consisted of sex scenes with little connection and a hero and heroine that I could not respect. By the conclusion of the book, it became apparent that the protagonists were as selfish and self-involved as the antagonist.

At the Old Bailey courthouse, James Whitcox wins acquittal and freedom for his client, widow Frances Hart from her son's complaint. James and Frances are lovers who both belong to the Men and Women's Club. Jack Lodun loses the case. Afterward thirty three year old married Rose Clarring asks Jack to obtain her a divorce from her husband Jonathan of twelve years. He says that is impossible to obtain and besides she being a member of the club he raked her in court in the Hart case as a loose woman; everyone even her family believes she is a slut. She explains her spouse like her wanted kids, but he caught the mumps soon after they married and became sterile.

Rose leaves Jonathon a note that she is leaving him although she knows her husband can have her committed. A drunken Jack asks her to prove passion exists. She says no because she will humiliate her husband. She explains the last time she had sex was in 1875, eleven years ago. He asks why now and she says the look of love between Whitcox and Hart. Jack says he wants to have sex with her, but she says no and asks him how he felt when his lover, James' wife Cynthia died in an accident. Jack says he loved her but could not attend the funeral. As their attraction grows, neither knows what the future holds except in the long run not together as a married woman only has the rights her spouse grants her.

The nonexistent legal rights of women in Victorian England even with a queen ruling the country already for five decades are fascinating. The relationship between the lead couple is interesting as both know it can go nowhere while the erotic scenes are graphically described so sub-genre fans will enjoy them. However, a late abduction adds suspense to an already deep historical that did not need it. Still fans will enjoy the latest Men and Women's Club Victorian saga (see SCANDALOUS LOVERS).

Harriet Klausner

This was not one of Ms. Schone's better efforts. Her earlier works are all part of my permanent collection, so I came to this book with a good opinion about Ms. Schone's efforts.
We learn all about the two main character's sorrow, but the heroine's husband, who drives her actions, comes off as rather one dimensional. We never learn how he feels, why he made the decision he did, other than adhering to the chauvinistic mores of his time.

The dialog between the protagonists is very interrogatory, answering a lot of questions about the motivation for their current actions, but not revealing as much about their basic character as in her earlier works. All in all, it actually felt rather clinical and detached. At times the love scenes reminded me of anatomy lessons rather than conveying any sense of passion or desire.

I think my overall assessment would be that the underlying story is indeed very interesting, but that the relationship between the hero and heroine lacks warmth and affection until the very last pages. Perhaps that was her intention, but it really didn't leave me wanting to know what happens to them in the future, as her earlier books do.

i wasted my hard earn money on this book. it didnot make any sense to me i did not even finish the damm book that how bad i found it.