Passion Play (River of Souls Series, #1)

Oct 28, 2010 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vaginal-fantasy, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mmm, I'm having a hard time rating this one. I feel like it's really a two star book, but on another level should get three because of being a first-time author. I feel like there's a ton of potential for the second book being AWESOME, this one kinda fell short of WOW for me.

THERE ARE SPOILERS SOME BELOW:

I enjoyed the heroine for the most part. The first third of the book had some brutal stuff in it (that judging from reviews put a lot of people off). I wasn't as offput by it, I thought it was q...more Mmm, I'm having a hard time rating this one. I feel like it's really a two star book, but on another level should get three because of being a first-time author. I feel like there's a ton of potential for the second book being AWESOME, this one kinda fell short of WOW for me.

THERE ARE SPOILERS SOME BELOW:

I enjoyed the heroine for the most part. The first third of the book had some brutal stuff in it (that judging from reviews put a lot of people off). I wasn't as offput by it, I thought it was quite interesting and well done actually, but there was a bit of false advertising here, because after some brutal sexual exploitation, the heroine ends up in a "pleasure house" working and THEN THERE IS ALMOST NO SEX! Seriously, practically no sexual stuff AT ALL regarding the people who work there, and only a tiny bit with the heroine later that was so "fade to black" it was ridiculous. I was puzzled as to why she would even set it in a pleasure house when it had little or nothing to do with the rest of the book. There was a TON to work emotionally in that location given the brutality the heroine faced, and what she would think of sex after such an experience being exploited. It felt like serious backpedaling to me, and a bit of false advertising because the promo blurbs had a lot of Jaqueline Carey comparisons. Don't get me wrong, I would have been fine without the sex in it, just felt like the ground was laid for a VERY different book.

Second, I was frustrated because the world the author built was EXTREMELY interesting, with magic and intrigue etc, but after the first third or so it turned into everyone TALKING about palace intrigue and we NEVER SAW ANY OF IT PRACTICALLY! So it turned into a bunch of talking about stuff, not DOING or SEEING stuff happen. Who cares about Baron whatsisface if we never see him?! Frustrating and made me skim a lot.

I thought the romantic lead guy (a castrato) was very interesting, and the relationship formed there had some intriguing stuff. The end twist with the two of them felt kinda weird and not natural, it only served to set up the sequel. At any rate, I'll definitely give the next book a shot, and I hope by book #2 the author will settle on a tone and setting and get more action going on so I care about the conflict a bit more.(less)

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Nov 04, 2010 Sherwood Smith added it

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Updated now that the book is out:

The short review? This is the story of how runaway Therez becomes Ilse; it's an exploration of the darker side of the human psyche and its emotional cost, set in a world where reincarnation is a fact, and magic works. It's a world where the powerless can become powerful, told in prose that evokes (sometimes grittily, sometimes tenderly) all the senses.

Longer review: I read this book through several drafts. Each time Beth Bernobich sent it back to me, I ended up a...more Updated now that the book is out:

The short review? This is the story of how runaway Therez becomes Ilse; it's an exploration of the darker side of the human psyche and its emotional cost, set in a world where reincarnation is a fact, and magic works. It's a world where the powerless can become powerful, told in prose that evokes (sometimes grittily, sometimes tenderly) all the senses.

Longer review: I read this book through several drafts. Each time Beth Bernobich sent it back to me, I ended up absorbed all over again. It's got an odd structure--the first half is action-fraught (almost too much to bear for a wimp like me) and the second half is reaction to the action, in a way that I found more convincing than many novels, fantasy or not, that purport to explore the darker side of human relations, sex in particular.

Pause for a meta-comment. Though I tend to resist "there are two kinds of . . ." it seems to me that fiction often falls into roughly two categories, the inward and the outward. The inward is fiction that delves deeply into the self. Outward fiction is what the characters do as seen from the outside. Dashiel Hammett is my extreme example of outward, with his camera-eye view that never gets inside of the characters' heads. Proust is who I think of for the inward view. Bernobich's fantasy is an inward book, set in a fantasy world: as soon as I recognized this, for me, the structure snapped into perspective.

Bernobich gives us the absorbing inward life of her protagonist, Therez, who is a typical teen, revelling in her own intelligence, sure she's figured out the world. Like many smart teens, when presented with her first big challenge (and it's a very big one) she cuts and runs, not really considering that there could be worse things out there than her problems at home. And she finds them. Bernobich manages to make the experience utterly real, yet at no time did I find that segment sensationalistic or gratuitous.

Therez escapes, and is taken in by elusive pleasure-house owner Raul Kosenmark, who is drawn to the trauma-shocked teen in that visceral way that many trauma-survivors connect with other survivors. He, too, was young and smart and thought he was taking the first step to power and influence when he voluntarily underwent castration. Though every reader is going to react to different aspects of stories, at no time did I ever look up the physical facts about castration and its effects. In a magic world, physiology and biology are going to be finessed to a greater or lesser extent--and sure enough, we learn that castration can be reversed by magic. My interest is in the psychological and emotional fallout, because even though Raul may physically recover what he surrendered so blithely, the psychological and emotional effects have reshaped him permanently. So Kosenmark's high voice is a reminder of what he went through, just as his choices and actions are more subtle reminders that this guy, brilliant and mercurial, is a survivor.

Therez reinvents herself the way many PTSD survivors do--she is now Ilse. This reinvention, this determination to write her own history in the world, is what drives the second half of the book. I loved it for the believable steps she takes to go from victim to hero. I believed in how Ilse first is tormented by the other servant girls, who are desperate to maintain their hierarchy in the small world of the kitchens, just as real people do. For the first time, Ilse makes that crucial step from ego to e pluribus unam in a way that I found more satisfying than if she'd marched back to the caravan and with her magic sword eviscerated all the bad guys. And the second step is to be willing to engage outside of the relatively safe kitchen world, and once again attempt to take her place in the world. Only this time, not by running, but by degrees, assembling her tools one by one.

Raul, ejected from his world, also is reinventing himself through his shadow court--a way for the powerless to engage the powerful. As Ilse begins to learn that world, the two of them are drawn together, emotionally paralleling in a real and fascinating complement.

My favorite kind of fantasy--the kind that lingers long after I close the book--involves characters who feel real, complex, conflicted, finding their way by convincing steps to competence and the fun kind of success that we can have in fantasy worlds. I love this book--this series--for being one of those fantasies.

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Oct 07, 2010 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, extended-reviews

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
This is a First Reads review.

The most important thing about telling a lie is to make certain its every detail is believable. If, under scrutiny, even a fragment of it breaks down, then the entire lie is exposed. Now, there is no 'lie' bigger than a work of fiction, especially a fantasy novel. Not only have the characters never existed, but their world does not, and has never, existed. But through the magic of suspended disbelief, we readily accept the validity of a novel's fictional world, and v...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: ages 16+

Shelves: strong-female-lead-character, fantasy

I really enjoyed this novel, with a few quibbles. First, I really like the magic system in this, and I love the fact that people can remember pieces of their past lives and that they have past and future lives is an accepted fact. Its very rare to see the concepts of past lives and reincarnation handled in such a matter-of-fact way. It's not mystical, it's not difficult, and it's not a secret or a big thrilling reveal. It's referenced several times throughout the book, and I really liked that as...more I really enjoyed this novel, with a few quibbles. First, I really like the magic system in this, and I love the fact that people can remember pieces of their past lives and that they have past and future lives is an accepted fact. Its very rare to see the concepts of past lives and reincarnation handled in such a matter-of-fact way. It's not mystical, it's not difficult, and it's not a secret or a big thrilling reveal. It's referenced several times throughout the book, and I really liked that aspect of the world. I liked the main character, she is a very strong person (and not in a She-Ra warrior woman way). She has core values and she holds to them, even if they are difficult or cause her pain. I'm not expressing this well, but I don't want to put a bunch of spoilers in here, so lets just say that I think she's a very strong character. I also just like the world she created here - there are all classes, there is a lot of political maneuvering, there is a level of gender egalitarianism and it seems to be a very tolerant society, both of which can probably be traced to the past-life aspect.

It might be hard to tell from quibbles listed below, but I did really enjoy this book. These things are pretty minor, overall to the entire plot, and I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series. This has the feel of another long journey, both personal and geographic, like that taken by Phèdre in the Kushiel's Dart series. Since I loved Phèdre, I'm really looking forward to reading the continuing adventures of Ilse/Therez.

My quibbles:
I don't find her father to be that intimidating of a person. I get that he is supposed to be very verbally abusive of the family, and I'm not discounting that that is very harmful, but I feel that this part of the plot is very lacking. We barely see her father and witness very few interactions, so I'm not feeling the hate, as it were. Now, granted, I've done some academic work on domestic violence, and served as a volunteer for a DV hotline and a multi-family shelter for several years, so I have witnessed some terrible things up close and personal. But I really didn't get any feel that her father was so absolutely terrible, (view spoiler)

I'm also not seeing the huge threat that her new fiance is, we get an inkling that something is up when the previous engagement he had is cancelled by the girl's father at huge penalty, but again, I'm just not seeing it. (view spoiler)
So, that part of her danger (father, fiance) feels very contrived. I'm also not liking the whole legend of the jewels thing. OK, I see that someone is going to go looking for them as we move along in the books, but the actual legend of what they do, and why anyone would want them, and what happened with them in the past feels like it doesn't quite fit. What's so great about them? All they seem to do is confer immortality - that's nice, but it doesn't win any wars. I liked the legend of how they were created, that had a very authentic ring to it, reminded me of the Greek/Roman myths of creation, but other than that, kinda fell flat. I'm hoping in future books that the author will fix this and really flesh the concept out well, and not just rely on mystical mumbo-jumbo about them.

A very little quibble is that the book flap refers to the main character of the book as 'Ilse', so for the first couple of pages, as we are introduced to 'Therez', I keep waiting for Ilse to be introduced. The reality is that the main character's name is Therez, and 'Ilse' is the name she takes when she runs away. This fault is all of the person writing the copy for the book jacket, however - they should have said her name is Therez and let us find out in the book that she changes her name to Ilse. I'm not marking this as a spoiler, because you figure this out in the first chapter of the book.

My final issue is with the maps in the front of the book. I love that the author took the time to provide us with maps, and normally they only add to the fun of the book for me, but in this particular case I found them to be very very frustrating. The characters kept referring to places and things that were not on the maps! I get that the maps will be the same for all the books, so they are a map of the 'important' places as viewed from the end of the series, BUT, some really major things happened on the way to some towns that they didn't bother to mark on the map. Other things were referenced in the book, (view spoiler), that weren't indicated at all on the map. They kept referencing an empire, and some neighboring countries - none noted on the map! I found it very frustrating, because while I'm reading I keep my bookmark on the map page, to make it easy to flip back to it to reference it - and 9/10ths of what was mentioned in the text was not on the map. And, it's not like the country map is so crowded with information that it would be hard to fit more in, no...half of the countryside in the map is blank. = ( Argh!(less)

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Oct 27, 2010 Laurie (Bitten by Paranormal Romance) rated it 1 of 5 stars

A teenaged Therez Zhalina is considered chattel by her wealthy, merchant father. Once she learns of her marriage contract her father has arranged, she decides to run away from home. She is able to join a caravan and changes her name to Ilse. Unfortunately, the caravan owner has his own agenda and takes advantage of 15 year-old Ilse. She escapes and ends up at a pleasure house owned by Raul Kosenmark, a duke.

This is one book where the title will fool you. I felt no passion from this one. Boring c...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gr-giveaways

I won this from a GR giveaway! YAY!

Passion Play is a story about Therez who is about to be sold into marriage by her father to an older, very cruel man. She tries to tell her father that she doesn't want to marry this man and why, but her father dismisses her concerns and tells her the wedding will happen whether she wills or no. After she reaches out to her brother and finds no help from him either she decides to run away. To live life on her own terms. This is the story of her adventure.

I th...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Alice Janell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, toberemo-dec-2010

When I first spotted this book back in October 2010, it caught my interest with its gorgeous cover. Then I found out that it was recommended for fans of Jacqueline Carey (who I absolutely love) --- I knew then that I had to read "Passion Play" by Beth Bernobich.

"Passion Play" is the story of Ilse Zharina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who chooses to run away rather than stay and marry a man she despises.

Along her journey away from her home she is robbed and made into a slave. Eventually, Il...more When I first spotted this book back in October 2010, it caught my interest with its gorgeous cover. Then I found out that it was recommended for fans of Jacqueline Carey (who I absolutely love) --- I knew then that I had to read "Passion Play" by Beth Bernobich.

"Passion Play" is the story of Ilse Zharina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who chooses to run away rather than stay and marry a man she despises.

Along her journey away from her home she is robbed and made into a slave. Eventually, Ilse escapes once more and finds herself at the mercy of Kosenmark, a puppet master of a notorious pleasure house.

"Passion Play" is lush with magic and political intrigue, however, it lacks passion and excitement.

There is a romance between Isle and Kosenmark, but it's dull and seems to just sort of happen out of the blue. There's no tension, no build up. The relationship itself is a bit weird and towards the end, I felt unsatisfied at were the relationship was at. I forgive this, since this is a series, but I would have loved more build up toward the romance.

The world building, at times, is phenomenal; rich cities, various characters and interesting concept of learning magic all lend themselves to the unique voice that Bernobich possesses. However, there are times when the world building disappears altogether, seemingly forgotten.What about the magic? Somewhere in the book the magic aspect seems to disappear --- does it come back later? Or was it just a side note?

Then there is Isle. She's strong -- and all that she endures throughout her journey shows it. But at the same time, the reader is offered little glimpse into Ilse's character. All we see is that she is a spoiled rich girl who runs away to live her own life and then is disheartened to see that life isn't as easy as she assumed it would be.

Still, Ilse does what she needs to do to survive and endures horrors and comes out stronger for them.

Kosenmark remains a bit of a mystery.

All in all, I'm on the fence with "Passion Play". There were moments of sparkling beauty; Bernobich definitely has a great voice, but there were moments where the story was confusing, flat and dull.

However, it's the first in a series, and I can only hope that "Passion Play", despite its lack of passion, is a set up for a fantastic new fantasy series.(less)

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Apr 18, 2013 M.E. Garber rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While the world-building was wonderful (loved the way we were dropped in and not told about stuff in a long, drawn-out way), and the magic system was lovely and mysterious, this book just didn't finish well for me. It started off good and fast, and then got dark as bad choices led to bad results. The characters are well-drawn and engaging all the way through and the main character, while sometimes 'thinking' too much on the page for my liking, is thoroughly sympathetic.

But somewhere along the wa...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of McKinley's Deerskin

Shelves: draíocht

Merchant daughter Therez Zhalina has lived her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth. She is deeply unhappy, but remains passive and silent, looking to a future of greater freedom. A future that is lost to her when her father's latest business deal promises her to a man who is, she fears, more cruel than even the man for whom she is not daughter, but another entry into his business ledger.

She flees. A brave choice, and a somewhat naive one. Better the devil you know, but with dreams of a l...more Merchant daughter Therez Zhalina has lived her life surrounded by the trappings of wealth. She is deeply unhappy, but remains passive and silent, looking to a future of greater freedom. A future that is lost to her when her father's latest business deal promises her to a man who is, she fears, more cruel than even the man for whom she is not daughter, but another entry into his business ledger.

She flees. A brave choice, and a somewhat naive one. Better the devil you know, but with dreams of a life brimming with opportunity in the city, she never really considers that there could be worse things waiting out there for her than an unhappy marriage.

If this were a different sort of fantasy novel, she would venture bravely forth, buy passage with a passing caravan, impress them all with her willingness to pitch in and lend a hand, and maybe make a few lifelong friends, or at the very least win back a bit of her passage fare..but it's not. Things go very wrong, very quickly. I won't say what happens, but I will say trigger warning, which will give you some idea.

However Therez is no longer passive, and hasn't been since she fled home. She escapes, and is taken in by elusive pleasure-house (view spoiler) owner Lord Raul Kosenmark.
Therez reinvents herself, becomes Ilse Zhalina, determined to be the force behind her own fate. It's a convincing transformation.

Lord Kosenmark, in order to serve in the last great king's court, voluntarily underwent castration as a young man. The relationship that forms between Ilse and Raul is intriguing and lovely, as we see them inextricably drawn to one another, survivor to survivor.

The world building is also very interesting, full of magic and intrigue. I was a bit disappointed that the intrigue of the first book was all talk, but I am ready to jump straight into the second, which I have high hopes for. Passion Play is Beth Bernobich's first novel, and she has managed to create a magical world, and characters who feel as real, and complex as the journeys they go on.(less)

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Dec 13, 2010 Yune rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was unimpressed: by the characters, by the world-building, by completely unnecessary elements that felt as though they were tossed in to make the book seem unusual.

You know the story -- a noble girl runs away to avoid marriage to an older man, arranged by a stern father. The part you probably won't recognize is where she gets caught by those with ill intent, and who ill-use her.

I didn't get a good sense of Therez before all this happened. I appreciated that the author was willing to provide su...more

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Dec 05, 2010 Lielabell rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'll admit I was a little skeptical at first. I mean, a book about a rich girl who runs away and ends up the second hand to a rich man who runs a brothel cum spy ring? That can go really wrong, really fast. And, for a little while in the middle, I was pretty sure it was. But I never should have doubted Bernobich. She pulled the whole thing off masterfully.

The book starts strong, with a fascinating look at Ilse's (Therez) world. There is a hint of intrigue in the way that her family interacts wi...more I'll admit I was a little skeptical at first. I mean, a book about a rich girl who runs away and ends up the second hand to a rich man who runs a brothel cum spy ring? That can go really wrong, really fast. And, for a little while in the middle, I was pretty sure it was. But I never should have doubted Bernobich. She pulled the whole thing off masterfully.

The book starts strong, with a fascinating look at Ilse's (Therez) world. There is a hint of intrigue in the way that her family interacts with their peers and I was sure that the book would be about the cut throat politics of the merchant class, but then Ilse makes her bid for freedom and the whole thing did a one hundred eighty degree turn.

First, that bid for freedom: Instead of the typical "poor little rich girl makes her escape with the aid of many selfless and noble friends" Bernobich went with the more honest, and quite frankly painful, "poor little rich girl gets slapped in the face with reality." Which I personally found to be extremely realistic take on what would quite likely happen to any naive, well bred girl who decided to strike out on her own.

With her dreams of an easy escape to the freedom of the capital city dashed, Ilse shows the first hints of the strong, unrelenting personality that characterizes the second half of the book. She faces down her mistakes and takes the hint of a chance provided to her to flee from a life that had become ten hundred times worse than the one she previously thought so terrible. Once again, in doing so Bernobich does not take the tried and true method. Ilse suffers horribly as she makes her way to her new destination. And when she reaches it, she isn't greeted by swarms of rosy-cheeked motherly types who just happened to be looking for a young companion or even helped by some kind hearted townsfolk. Instead Isle is viewed with suspicion and derision. In fact, when she finally does catch a break it is hard not to believe that the other shoe still hasn't dropped.

Which, of course, is because it hasn't. However, what does happen is yet again not the expected. And, while Isle does go on to a much happier, healthier life, it isn't until after proving that she is more than capable to deal with adversity and to persevere in the face of overwhelming odds.

Second, the love interest: Now remember how I said I had a Doubting Thomas moment? It was on account of the love interest. Raul is an exiled lord who has a tragic past. He's older, smarter and much more in tune with his sexuality than Isle. He's her mentor. Her protector. Her boss. And he has a sexy, powerful and attentive male lover. All of which had me frownie faced and thinking a lot about Kushiel's Dart.

But Bernobich played it well. She developed their romance in a way that was both believable and compelling. I found myself deeply invested in their relationship, to the point where I was as concerned as Ilse at the reappearance of Raul's estranged lover and reacted as badly as Raul when Isle made the painful, but necessary, choice to leave him.

Third, all that intrigue: A young, weak king. A powerful, manipulative mage as an advisor. The threat of war with nothing but the determined efforts of a loyal, but uninfluential, lord to stop it. Sounds like pretty standard fare, right? It's not. I mean, yes, there are the predictable moments where things go wrong and important letters are confiscated and friends and allies end up dead, but the way the plot unfolds in is no way bland or easily foreseeable.

Just like in everything else, Bernobich cuts through the tried and true and comes up with brilliant ways to twist the plot. Some much so that I hated to see this book end. And the end. OMG. Yes, it is the first in the series, so of course everything is left hanging. Ilse is in a new city with no idea who will be a friend or a for. There is her unwanted but unavoidable separation from Raul. The chance of developing her magical skills and the tantalizing promise of the hunt for a key item that might be able to force all sides to step back from war. SO MUCH FUN STUFF. To say I can't wait for the next book is putting it lightly.

A full five stars - and I would give more if I could. (less)

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Oct 25, 2010 Edward rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Passion Play is a strong start for a new fantasy series by Beth Bernobich. It kept me up to the wee hours of the night, compelling me to see how events turn out. As any first book in a series, it ended with some major plotlines open, making me wish that I could click “BUY NOW” and get book two right away. However, there was a measure of completion to one journey for the main character. Living a privileged life of a wealthy merchant’s daughter, Therez Zhalina finds herself suddenly a bargaining c...more Passion Play is a strong start for a new fantasy series by Beth Bernobich. It kept me up to the wee hours of the night, compelling me to see how events turn out. As any first book in a series, it ended with some major plotlines open, making me wish that I could click “BUY NOW” and get book two right away. However, there was a measure of completion to one journey for the main character. Living a privileged life of a wealthy merchant’s daughter, Therez Zhalina finds herself suddenly a bargaining chip in the hands of her severe, and demanding father. Set to be married off to an man she just met who sets off every intuition and instinct in her that there is something cruel and dangerous, she instead flees the situation. Taking on the name of Ilse, she joins up with a caravan leaving at first light, and lives through a harrowing set of experiences, distancing herself from her past. She manages to make her way into the service of Lord Raul Kosenmark, where she begins the process of rebuilding herself into someone new, amid a world of intrigue and court politics.

This introduction to the world of Erythandra doesn’t tread softly. Bernobich impressively gives her characters license to fail, and to suffer the consequences of their failures. These are not the members of a stereotypical fantasy cast, who sweep onto the stage, defeat their enemies at every turn and walk away bumped, and bruised, but none-the-worse for wear. This is a world where characters may find themselves beaten, raped, emasculated, or murdered because of the choices they have made, and the situations in which they’ve found themselves. Despite all obstacles, the heroine turns events to her favor and gains control of her destiny. No longer just running from her past, or managing to survive in her present, she eventually reconciles her two selves and goes forth as Ilse Zhalina.

The writing is both rich and exacting, the details make Erythandra at once both familiar enough that a reader doesn’t feel lost, and at the same time gives a strong sense of how much more there is out there in the world to explore, if only there is time and enough books to do it. The real magic in the tale is in the layer upon layer of intrigue and detail, it slowly unfolds before a reader, drawing them deeper and deeper within the realm of the story.

I can’t wait for book two.
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Oct 01, 2010 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

When most people think of passion, they think of strong love (or hate), or a great love for an activity (my passion for watching hockey, for example. GO CAPS!). Those who are religious, educated in theater history, or who just remember when The Passion of the Christ came out, know it is also a term for martyrdom. In different ways, beth_bernobich's novel encompasses all of these (though maybe not the strictest sense of the last).

Passion Play does not cover more of the adventures of Commander De...more When most people think of passion, they think of strong love (or hate), or a great love for an activity (my passion for watching hockey, for example. GO CAPS!). Those who are religious, educated in theater history, or who just remember when The Passion of the Christ came out, know it is also a term for martyrdom. In different ways, beth_bernobich's novel encompasses all of these (though maybe not the strictest sense of the last).

Passion Play does not cover more of the adventures of Commander Dee from Bernobich's novella Ars Memoriae. Instead, we are taken to a new world with new characters (though I hold out hopes that we'll revisit Commander Dee soon.) Therez Zhalina is a merchant's daughter whose life is not as grand as it may appear. When she (predictably) is betrothed against her will to an older, very unpleasant man (who rumor suggests may be so unpleasant his last fiancee's father broke off the engagement) and no one in her family will protect her, she choses to run away rather than submit. She changes her name to Ilse, endures great hardships and misery at the hands of her fellow man, but eventually finds a new home where she feels safe. But is she?

There are a number of moments where I thought "well of course!" when reading the events--Therez's betrothal was a surprise only to her. The events that occur when she travels for a time with a caravan are also well-worn tropes in the sub-genre of independent woman fantasy. However, that doesn't make them uninteresting or the emotions sparked unreal. As a fellow bookworm myself who has felt a lack of control over my own life, I identify with Ilse (I use the name she chose, in part because of that identification.) And while, as a bisexual woman, I wish that when romance comes into the picture she had gone with the offered less conventional choice, I have to say I was not displeased with the (again, predictable) choice she (and Bernobich) make.

The bottom line here is, this is a great debut novel (Patricia Briggs and Anne McCaffrey agree with me in their cover blurbs). A great main character and a compelling personal story for her with a backdrop of political intrigue (that slowly becomes part of Ilse's story), plus some great romance (and some steamy but not overly graphic sex scenes) that resulted in me staying up 5 hours past my self-enforced bedtime to finish the novel. The ending can stand on its own, but I hope to see a sequel so I might visit Raul and Ilse and Kathe and Nadine again.(less)

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Aug 26, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-f, romance

This one totally sucked me in from the first pages. Indeed, most of my rating is based on how readable I found it.
However, once I was through rushing to the end and actually started thinking about the story, I started having problems.
Ilse, our heroine, is approaching her 16th birthday at the start of the story. She a well-educated member of a rich merchant family. Her father is your standard cold, heartless dad who 'sells' her into marriage with an older merchant. Ilse decides to run far, far aw...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Candice Gilmer rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 05, 2011 Libby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

When I read the jacket blurb on Passion Play, I thought it would be the typical girl runs away from horrible marriage book. I can't begin to tell you how glad I was(and am!) to be wrong. This is supposed to be Beth Bernobich's first book. However, she handles her characters and plot elements with such skill and confidence that the reader is sucked into the story by the end of the first page. For those of you who enjoy world-building, the texture and detail of the setting of this book is unusuall...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Meghan R. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

I wanted to enjoy this book more. I ultimately found it an entirely unsatisfactory object, neither fish nor fowl, like a fishstick dipped in BBQ sauce.

It started out promising on both fronts. I liked the worldbuilding well enough, especially the mythological story of Lir and Toc. As a romance, it seemed fairly iconoclastic to make your heroine refreshingly sensible and your hero a bisexual eunuch (I don't spend a lot of time in romance fandom, so maybe I'm being unfair to them, but I think at le...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Mieneke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, fantasy

When I first read the blurb for Passion Play, Beth Bernobich's debut novel released last Tuesday, I was intrigued. I'd read some glowing praise for Ms. Bernobich's short story work on Fantasy Book Critic and Liviu cited Passion Play as one of his top five anticipated novels for 2010. So when the opportunity arose to win an ARC in a giveaway at the TOR/Forge blog, I jumped at it. And to my amazement and excitement I actually won. My first ARC ever, I was so excited I squee-ed all over the house!...more When I first read the blurb for Passion Play, Beth Bernobich's debut novel released last Tuesday, I was intrigued. I'd read some glowing praise for Ms. Bernobich's short story work on Fantasy Book Critic and Liviu cited Passion Play as one of his top five anticipated novels for 2010. So when the opportunity arose to win an ARC in a giveaway at the TOR/Forge blog, I jumped at it. And to my amazement and excitement I actually won. My first ARC ever, I was so excited I squee-ed all over the house! Monday morning I started reading and I couldn't put it down. Every time I had to, I grumbled and I stayed up late Tuesday night to finish it. And that hasn't happened in a while!

Suffice it to say there was plenty to draw me into the book. I loved the idea that in the Erythandra universe reincarnation is just a fact of life, or death depending how you look at it, and that past life memories often surface in dreams. There are also hints that they can be actively explored by people versed in magic. In this book these 'life-dreams' were fragmentary and mainly seemed to serve as a romantic link between Ilse and Kosenmark, but hopefully in the following books Bernobich will take time to explore these a little further as I found them really fascinating. The characters in the story are sympathetic and I wanted to know how they ended up. In the same vein, the villains in the book, large and small, are unsympathetic and it's good to see them get their comeuppance in the end. The only one for who this isn't true is the greatest villain of the book, the courtmage Lord Khandarr. His motivations, beyond wanting to be allpowerful, are unclear, which makes him a rather one-dimensional bad-guy.

For me the most problematic parts of the book were its beginning and the journey to Tirallien. The book begins with a scene between our protagonist and her best friend. The protagonist is called Therez, which confused me since the blurb talked about an Ilse. This kept throwing me out of the story until I flipped forward and realised she'd be changing her name. The other part which really bothered me is the passage where she sells herself for a chance at freedom. It felt really wrong and while it impresses Ilse's desperation to get away from home to the reader, I wish there would have been another way to stress this. However, once Ilse reaches Tirallien and Lord Kosenmark's household, the story really hits its stride and the combination of intrigue and romance sucked me in and made it almost impossible to put the book down.

The rather abrupt ending of the novel left me pretty baffled, so I went online to look at Ms. Bernobich's site to see whether it was part of a series. Fortunately, Passion Play is the first book in the Erythandra series. So we have at least three more installments to look forward too. It would have been nice, however, if this had been mentioned somewhere on the cover of the book. The discovery that there would be more books made me heave a sigh of relief, since there are several things I'd like to see explored in those future books. I'd love to see more of the life dreams and maybe visit the city of Duenne and explore its court. And I'd really like some more background on the workings of magic in this universe. The Anderswar, the magic realm, is important to the story, but at the same time its mechanics are very nebulous.

My favourite line of the book comes from the final page:

A future whose words I choose.

Being able to choose your own future and your own path is a gift many of us take for granted. And it's exactly that struggle to be free to choose her own path that is at the core of Ilse's journey. It'll be interesting to see where it takes her.

Despite some problems, Passion Play was a thoroughly engrossing read. Ms Bernobich's writing is lovely with at times a lovely, lyrical bent. The story she spins us is exciting, moving and beautiful. I for one look forward to the sequel to this solid first novel. Queen's Hunt is expected Fall 2011. Until that time the extra's you can find on Ms. Bernobich's site will have to satisfy your curiousity.(less)

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Oct 01, 2010 J.Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

My emotions ran the gamut with this book.

I found the book to be very enjoyable. The storyline was good. Therez/Isle runs away to escape being forced into marriage with an evil man. She buys space on a caravan headed to a far-away city, but she is taken advantage of and eventually, ends up poor, broken and near-death on the steps of a pleasure house. She is taken in, nursed back to health and given a job. Ultimately, she falls in the love with the pleasure house owner, a duke, and she becomes emb...more My emotions ran the gamut with this book.

I found the book to be very enjoyable. The storyline was good. Therez/Isle runs away to escape being forced into marriage with an evil man. She buys space on a caravan headed to a far-away city, but she is taken advantage of and eventually, ends up poor, broken and near-death on the steps of a pleasure house. She is taken in, nursed back to health and given a job. Ultimately, she falls in the love with the pleasure house owner, a duke, and she becomes embroiled in his political intrigues. It read like an adult version of a young adult magical adventure series. And if you've read my profile, you know I can't get enough of those YA books right now.

I also found the book to be horrifying. Isle had been the sheltered daughter of a rich merchant, so when she runs away, she is unprepared for the dangers and finds herself at the mercy of a caravan master who forces her to become the caravan whore. Rape is powerful and upsetting and it's all the more so when you don't see it coming and it's within the first 75 pages of a book. At the time, I thought, "what have I got myself into?" But I kept going. Luckily, things never got quite so violent again. But if you decide to read this, be forewarned.

And still, there were times it was boring. Reading about war bores me, as does reading about political intrigue, unless we're talking about the masterful The Other Boleyn Girl. And talk of intrigue got really heavy-handed in the latter half of this book. I admit to skimming so much of it that I'm not quite clear on how things ended in this arena. However, if you enjoy reading about this more than I do, you are going to love this book.

The book is well-written and at times, poignant. Like with this (my favorite quote from the book): "But then, I believe we all carry a book within our hearts. Our dispositions. Our ambitions. Our secrets. It takes great trust to let another person read that book." Despite the talk of war, I'll probably watch for the next book in the series.

But (there is always a but, isn't there) I had some trouble liking the hero, Raul Kosenmark. He was described as handsome with golden eyes. Okay, I'm following... And he was castrated as a youth when he was serving in the court. Um, okay, that's slightly unsettling, but "handsome with golden eyes", okay, still following. And because of the castration, his voice never changed and it's still a high contralto. WHAM. I'm done. All I could picture after that was the "high-talker" (watch the whole two minutes, he shows up at the very end) from "The Pledge" episode of Seinfeld. The vision of a handsome, masculine looking man was forever replaced with a short, balding, fat man. And so because of this, I wasn't heart-broken about the ending of the book. In fact, I hope book two of the series brings a new man onto the scene.

One last note: the magical elements of this book needed more description and clarity. The magic felt more like a side-note than anything else and an unclear, confusing one at that.

However, I still enjoyed the book. I was surprised at how good it was. And don't let the bodice-ripper looking cover deter you.

I almost forgot mention how pleased I was to win this book for free from the Goodreads First-Reads giveaway!(less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Karen Ireland-Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Passion Play, Beth Bernobich[return]This was one of two books I read this week which shared some underlying themes, including the effects of war, class conflict, personal growth, and the power of love. (Don't scoff at that last.) Despite some very dark moments, the protagonist grows and changes, on a journey that's worth your time to follow.[return]Our young heroine is a naive but not particularly spoiled merchant's daughter. When he summarily arranges her marriage to a man that she fears, she f...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Fade rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a terrible cover for such an excellent book.

So, the plot basics. It starts with what looks like a fairly standard fantasy trope: a young woman of a wealthy family runs away from an arranged marriage. But "running away" turns out to be much more complicated than it seems, and then it turns out that the story isn't really about the arranged marriage at all; that's merely the impetus for a whole cascade of complex events, in which our protagonist tumbles into, and then seriously starts acting...more What a terrible cover for such an excellent book.

So, the plot basics. It starts with what looks like a fairly standard fantasy trope: a young woman of a wealthy family runs away from an arranged marriage. But "running away" turns out to be much more complicated than it seems, and then it turns out that the story isn't really about the arranged marriage at all; that's merely the impetus for a whole cascade of complex events, in which our protagonist tumbles into, and then seriously starts acting proactively within, a much larger story. Politics abound; there is some magic, and some combat, but a great deal of this is highly plausible political work behind the scenes, where there's more paperwork and planning than sneaking and stabbing.

My caveats first: I found the politics confusing and difficult to follow, because I'm terrible at remembering names. This did, alas, occasionally leave me going "What? Who?" at some dramatic revelations, because I just didn't remember who the named people were. But that's my own poor memory for names, and shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the book itself. The book ends, if not on a cliffhanger, at least on what's clearly the close of one act in a play: the biggest plot threads are all deferred for later resolution.

There was also some serious, horrible rape within the book, which I did not know going in, and which was an unpleasant shock when it arrived.

But this is the best handling I've ever seen of rape in a work of fiction. (An awkward sort of sentence to write, but it's true.) There is no glamorizing, no dwelling on the details, no quick fixes, no cheap tropes for rescue or revenge that Solve The Problem. Horrible things happen, and they matter a great deal, but they do not define the protagonist.

Which gets to the heart of this book's strengths. Every character, however briefly appearing, is clearly a complex person with their own motivations, no matter how Good or Evil by the standards of the reader or the protagonist. The entire book deals with emotions and relationships--and the amazingly complex tangles they get into--with an unusual, breathtaking sensitivity and grace. Even the family relationships, which are so front-and-center in the first few chapters, and then off-screen for much of the rest of the story, are dealt with in a way that shows it's never so simple as the Cruel Parent and Nice Parent, or the Breach Of Family Trust, or...well, any of those usual cheap solutions.

I occasionally thought that this book was going to pull in one of the tired standard cliches. About recovery from rape, about the love of a good man, about showing up those who didn't believe in you, about revenge, about redemption. It did not. It has emotional depth that I cannot praise highly enough.(less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, interesting

This book was not that interesting at the beginning. I couldn't comprehend why a girl would run away just because she was promised in marriage and then she prostituted herself to stay free. Okay so now while typing that I begin to understand, while I was reading that I was thinking well she's giving her body away either way. Just the only difference it is that one way it was an uncomfortable ride and she gave herself to thirty men and another it was in a wealthy marriage. If I was put into that...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: benni

http://www.rantingdragon.com/passion-...

Passion Play is the first book in the Erythandra series. We are introduced to Therez Zhalina (later Ilse), the daughter of a well-to-do merchant. She lives a privileged life but is dependent on the continued vitality of her father’s business. To ensure the family’s continued wealth and station, Therez’s father promises her hand in marriage to an older man, Theodr Galt, who is poised to help the Zhalina family.

Based on the rumors she hears about Galt’s brok...more http://www.rantingdragon.com/passion-...

Passion Play is the first book in the Erythandra series. We are introduced to Therez Zhalina (later Ilse), the daughter of a well-to-do merchant. She lives a privileged life but is dependent on the continued vitality of her father’s business. To ensure the family’s continued wealth and station, Therez’s father promises her hand in marriage to an older man, Theodr Galt, who is poised to help the Zhalina family.

Based on the rumors she hears about Galt’s broken engagement with another woman from a prominent family, Therez deduces that Galt is cruel. Her fears are compounded when she intuits a deep-rooted anger from his mere touch. Frightened by the prospect of a life trapped in a gilded cage with a probable monster, Therez decides to run away and assume the name Ilse.

An admirable heroine
Passion Play starts off strong. I felt I was right next to Therez/Ilse as she attempts escape her impending marriage and is forced into harrowing experiences while bargaining for passage. (Warning: there are multiple rapes in succession.) I admired Ilse because no matter how hard things get for her, she never regrets her decision to leave—that was the one choice she did get to make. No one should ever have to suffer so much for freedom, but freedom isn’t free, and Ilse remains dedicated to forging her own path.

A troubling romance
Ilse remains jobless until Duke Raul offers her a position in the kitchen of his pleasure house. Raul is by no means a conventional love interest, and the author made a gutsy choice in selecting him, which I admire. I even understand why, given Ilse’s escape experience, she may be drawn to Raul; but after everything I went through with Ilse, I felt she deserved better. She may be physically safe with Raul, but I found him condescending, cold, and oppressive. Certainly, there is room to grow as a character, and Raul may grow to deserve Ilse.

Problems with pacing
While Ilse’s adventures begin with a swift pace, once Raul decides to elevate her to a secretarial position, the book slows to a crawl. Ilse learns of political plots and far-off events through letters that she has to deliver and subsequent conversations with Raul. If letters and conversations about far-off events sound dull, well, they are. Unfortunately, this letter reading and event discussing encompasses more than one-third of the book, and is ultimately my reason for a low rating. By the time Ilse’s personal adventures pick up, including her dabbles in magic, it is too little, too late.

Why should you read this book?
Despite the book’s problems, the prose in Passion Play is beautifully written, and Ilse holds immense promise as the heroine. If you think you can handle the slow pacing in the middle, you could do a lot worse than Passion Play.(less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Meagan added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 29, 2010 theDormouse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Disclaimer: I won a copy of the ARC for this title through a giveaway on goodreads sponsored by Tor, the publisher.

I’m no good at book reviews, and so I’ve been trying to figure out how to be insightful about this one, or at least amusing. In the interest of not taking another week to post, since it would be nice to have this up before the book comes out, I’ve decided to just do my best.

Passion Play, Beth Bernobich’s first novel, is a secondary world epic fantasy. My understanding is that it is...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Aubrey Maples-saus rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Disclaimer: I received a advanced reading copy of this book from the First Reads giveaway on Goodreads. The book was provided by Tor Publishing without charge.

There are very few occasions where rape needs to be described in a fiction/fantasy book - and when it is - there needs to be a "Trigger Warning" on the cover.

I can think of no circumstance when rape needs to be viscerally described in a book advertised as romantic fantasy.

One could argue (and many - unfortunately do) that rape is a fact...more Disclaimer: I received a advanced reading copy of this book from the First Reads giveaway on Goodreads. The book was provided by Tor Publishing without charge.

There are very few occasions where rape needs to be described in a fiction/fantasy book - and when it is - there needs to be a "Trigger Warning" on the cover.

I can think of no circumstance when rape needs to be viscerally described in a book advertised as romantic fantasy.

One could argue (and many - unfortunately do) that rape is a fact of life, and as such, it is something that can be discussed in books. I argue, however, that rape causes pain and scars long after the event has ended. It is a trigger for many audience members who often hide the fact they were raped due to social stigma. Many victims blame themselves for an act of violence beyond their control. To see rape actively used and described in a fiction/fantasy book that is advertised as "romance" is disgusting. One can use the device of rape, and its resulting trauma, without vicariously sharing in the fantasy of a rapist.

One could also argue that the main character "gave her consent," and therefore, this was not rape, but whoring - and ultimately, her choice. Making a free choice to sell one's body for money, profit, or[insert your economy of choice here], is only applicable in circumstances where there is also a choice NOT to participate. A 15 year-old child, traveling alone, without protection, food, money, shelter, or a means to survive is not in a position to make a free choice - therefore - it was rape. And the rape was blamed on the victim - because she "gave her consent."

That said, the main character does make stupid choices. One would like to think that most heroines would be clever, witty, and charming. The author does an excellent job of portraying a fairly typical teenage girl who has grown up in a sheltered environment. She does not grant the child knowledge beyond reasonable exceptions. She allows the character to make mistakes, and suffer the consequences of those mistakes. The result is a believable character that has to honestly work for the changes in her life. This is a refreshing change of pace - and the salvation of the book.

There were a few places in the book that seemed to have editing errors. Chunks of information were missing. In a book that relies a great deal on "tell" instead of "show" - the omissions are a distraction that left me flipping backward to see if there was something I missed. I think that this is more of a reflection on the editor than the author however.

I am interested in reading the next book. I will be getting it from the library though. I would like to review it before I make the decision to purchase it.(less)

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Jun 30, 2010 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010_release_read, review_fbc, genre-fantasy, read_2010, t1_recommended_2010, series_dropped

Passion play was my most expected debut of the second half of the year so i came to it with extremely, extremely high expectations; and they were mostly satisfied though the book was not quite what i expected it to be based on the pre-release blurb and other marketing material.

The comparison with Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel Dart debut is somewhat misleading because that novel was an epic saga with a large cast and with romantic and explicit elements on the side in some ways, while Passion play...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Jenne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

Ok, I started out absolutely loving this.
But then it did this thing where...okay--there are two main things that make books interesting, right? There is Plot, and there is Character.

And in a perfect world, both of these should be equally awesome, and you would have a book like, say, The Sparrow.

Or sometimes, one or the other is the main thing, so you might have a book that's all plot, e.g. Beau Geste, or one that's all character, e.g. Weetzie Bat.

And that's all well and good. The problem come...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Lexie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-fantasy, review-blog, genre-romance, autographed, book-type-arc

I read Passion Play through in one sitting. I saw the book advertised for an author signing at Book Expo and knew I had to have it. The cover is gorgeous, the synopsis sounds tailored for my interests and most importantly, I wanted to read it.

The book starts out giving us a a good sense of what home life is like for Ilse (and to avoid confusion, her name is originally Therez, but she changes it when she runs away). An imposing restrictive household, a society that doesn't leave young women many...more I read Passion Play through in one sitting. I saw the book advertised for an author signing at Book Expo and knew I had to have it. The cover is gorgeous, the synopsis sounds tailored for my interests and most importantly, I wanted to read it.

The book starts out giving us a a good sense of what home life is like for Ilse (and to avoid confusion, her name is originally Therez, but she changes it when she runs away). An imposing restrictive household, a society that doesn't leave young women many choices and a restlessness to leave and do something more. To find a path in life that she can be happy with. If her father hadn't pushed her hand, I truly believe Ilse would have run away regardless. Her father's ideals and her own were vastly different and with no allies to back her up, I still think she would have run away. Her plan may have been less hasty however and more thought out.

Ilse's journey from her city is...traumatizing to say the very least. She's young (not yet 16), sheltered and has no idea what the real world can be like. The stories she has heard from her father's friends and her brother don't prepare her and her naivety is almost painful to read about. Choices she makes haunt her throughout the rest of the novel; plaguing her dreams and making her fretful during waking hours. Bernobich's handling of the post-traumatic stress Ilse feels is subtle and heart-wrenching. Everyone she meets is suspect and she's scared of revealing too much lest they turn out to be like those before.

Kosenmark, and his household, is a unique place. A pleasure house for certain, but it seeks to pleasure not just the body, but the mind as well. His courtesans are singers, dancers, board game players and musicians. They tell stories and charm with more than their bodies. Raul himself is enigmatic for the better part of the book. Pieces of his backstory filter out, at times when the information is completely necessary for Ilse to know, but we don't see a true Raul until near the very end. Gaurded, clever and quick to judgments, he's also a paranoid man with good reason to fret for his life. His bantering with Ilse seem to bring him as much pleasure as the games he plays with his long time lover.

In the last third of the book something transpires between Raul and Ilse that I'm a little uncomfortable with. Its not their relationship, but accusations made that made me a little leery of the deepening affection between the two. I could just be a naturally suspicious person however.

The other characters are, for the most part, well developed. I wish we had learned more about some of the serving girls (Lys and Rosel, for example) and I hope we see more of the courtesan Nadine and certain misconceptions are remedied. The second book is due out in 2011 and the third is due out in 2012 (according to the author's website). I'm looking forward to learning more about Erythandra and the hinted at destiny for Ilse.(less)

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Mar 11, 2010 Aubrey rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Liz and Sonia

Recommended to Aubrey by: Claire Eddy

This was an adventure-filled book that brought me places, emotionally, that I hadn't been expecting. I really felt as though I could identify with the heroine.

Ilse, the main character, reminded me a lot of Phedre, from "Kushiel's Dart" except that she made all of the choices, these choices weren't imposed on her by some father figure type.

I can't wait for the 2nd book in the series!

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Passion Play (River of Souls #1)

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