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By Desire Bound
A PASSION FOR ADVENTURE
The world thought Connack Pengellis, oldest son of the powerful Pengellis-Becarre family, was dead. But he was alive and well, on a secret mission to find the Eye of God, a legendary white diamond many would kill to possess. Instead, he found a jewel far more enticing and dangerous - Darcie Boulton, a dazzling beauty with hair the color of midnight and eyes as blue as the sea.
His arrogant family had killed her father, and now sweet-talking conniver Darcie Boulton would use Connack for revenge. Yet she never expected to find herself in the arms of this seductive man who incited a restless passion deep within her. As they join forces to find the Eye of God, Darcie is faced with her greatest challenge: betraying Connack or embracing a forbidden, searing desire that no other man could fulfill...
The world thought Connack Pengellis, oldest son of the powerful Pengellis-Becarre family, was dead. But he was alive and well, on a secret mission to find the Eye of God, a legendary white diamond many would kill to possess. Instead, he found a jewel far more enticing and dangerous - Darcie Boulton, a dazzling beauty with hair the color of midnight and eyes as blue as the sea.
His arrogant family had killed her father, and now sweet-talking conniver Darcie Boulton would use Connack for revenge. Yet she never expected to find herself in the arms of this seductive man who incited a restless passion deep within her. As they join forces to find the Eye of God, Darcie is faced with her greatest challenge: betraying Connack or embracing a forbidden, searing desire that no other man could fulfill...
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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67 people want to read
About the author
Thea Devine
59 books69 followersThea Devine is the author of eighteen historical romances and four novellas, including her contributions to the Brava anthologies Captivated, Fascinated, and, most recently, All Through the Night. Devine lives with her husband of 35 years in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 30, 2021
After reading Passion earlier this year, I started looking up "erotic historical romance" to see what else I could find. Thea Devine's name popped up in several forums, and I later found out that she was one of the very first authors to get tagged as erotic historical romance. In an interview with Rachelle Chase on her show Chatting with Chase, Thea Devine said that her work was referred to as erotic historical romance for the first time in 1993 by the critic Cathy Robbins.
By Desire Bound starts off seeming like an adventure romance. Darcie Boulton wants to get her hands on a diamond called The Eye of God, and she enlists a reluctant Connack Pengellis, the brother of her dead husband, to help her. Connack has amnesia and was recently blinded, but the back of the book describes Darcie as a "dazzling beauty with hair the color of midnight and eyes as blue as the sea" so I knew that Connack wouldn't stay blind, else why would that matter?
The villain, Connack's mother Lavinia, is also searching for the Eye of God and wants to kill Darcie and use Connack to find it. Weirdly, Lavinia is mostly absent throughout the book. Instead, Darcie and Connack are chased by one omniscient villainous henchman with "burning eyes," a T-2 like being that never gives up.
The slip into fantasy was so slow that I was starting to think this book was embracing surrealist elements, but then all of the sudden I got slapped with straight-up magic in the last quarter of the book. Interestingly, this is also where the sex scenes intensified. By Desire Bound was published in 1998, so the couplings are an almost jarring combination of flowery metaphor and lewd acts. This can be explained by the interview with Rachelle Chase, where Thea said that as a romance writer she would have to get creative with her word choice because publishers wouldn't allow her to use certain words.
The plot is more of a vibe then a traceable story: Lavinia, Darcie's dead husband Roger, and Darcie's father all play major roles in Darcie's motivations, but they are mostly alluded to or mentioned off-hand. Connack, feeling vulnerable because he doesn't remember his old life and he's newly blind, mistrusts Darcie and thinks she might pulling one over on him. Because of this, he's rather cruel to her and at one point even calls her a whore. This doesn't get resolved either: we never see Connack coming to terms with the fact that he was wrong, and we also don't get any type of apology or grovel. It just stays as a conflict for the majority of the book and... disappears. The magic in the book also seems to come out of nowhere, tied to the people of Kashmir, Budapest, and the other settings that Darcie and Connack travel. It's a bit of offensive stereotyping that awkwardly tries to patch up the plot holes.
All that said, I would like to refer to one (1) of my items of jewelry as The Eye of God from here on out.
By Desire Bound starts off seeming like an adventure romance. Darcie Boulton wants to get her hands on a diamond called The Eye of God, and she enlists a reluctant Connack Pengellis, the brother of her dead husband, to help her. Connack has amnesia and was recently blinded, but the back of the book describes Darcie as a "dazzling beauty with hair the color of midnight and eyes as blue as the sea" so I knew that Connack wouldn't stay blind, else why would that matter?
The villain, Connack's mother Lavinia, is also searching for the Eye of God and wants to kill Darcie and use Connack to find it. Weirdly, Lavinia is mostly absent throughout the book. Instead, Darcie and Connack are chased by one omniscient villainous henchman with "burning eyes," a T-2 like being that never gives up.
The slip into fantasy was so slow that I was starting to think this book was embracing surrealist elements, but then all of the sudden I got slapped with straight-up magic in the last quarter of the book. Interestingly, this is also where the sex scenes intensified. By Desire Bound was published in 1998, so the couplings are an almost jarring combination of flowery metaphor and lewd acts. This can be explained by the interview with Rachelle Chase, where Thea said that as a romance writer she would have to get creative with her word choice because publishers wouldn't allow her to use certain words.
The plot is more of a vibe then a traceable story: Lavinia, Darcie's dead husband Roger, and Darcie's father all play major roles in Darcie's motivations, but they are mostly alluded to or mentioned off-hand. Connack, feeling vulnerable because he doesn't remember his old life and he's newly blind, mistrusts Darcie and thinks she might pulling one over on him. Because of this, he's rather cruel to her and at one point even calls her a whore. This doesn't get resolved either: we never see Connack coming to terms with the fact that he was wrong, and we also don't get any type of apology or grovel. It just stays as a conflict for the majority of the book and... disappears. The magic in the book also seems to come out of nowhere, tied to the people of Kashmir, Budapest, and the other settings that Darcie and Connack travel. It's a bit of offensive stereotyping that awkwardly tries to patch up the plot holes.
All that said, I would like to refer to one (1) of my items of jewelry as The Eye of God from here on out.
November 23, 2013
I am a major Devine fan although that doesn't mean that some of her books are better then others. I liked this one in particular because it actually ended with the characters in love. A few of her books are all sex and no romance. This one had romance, and whooo-weee the sex scenes were HOT! I am starting to reads some of Devine's earlier books, when I can find them, and this one was way better the Tempted by Fire. At least it has a romantic ending. The sexual tension in this book was palpable, and the journey made the book even better. It has good against evil, it has love, the search for diamonds. Who could want more?
April 22, 2024
Bought a paperback of this in a sale. Thought it was like Linda Howard's Heart of Fire but make it Victorian.
It's not.
It's even weirder than that.
It involves Rasputin. And murder on a train. And possession.
I don't even know how to group this one. Even the smut was awkward. The word penis is used a lot in their lovemaking. Penis this. Penis that.
My eyes. They burn.
It's not.
It's even weirder than that.
It involves Rasputin. And murder on a train. And possession.
I don't even know how to group this one. Even the smut was awkward. The word penis is used a lot in their lovemaking. Penis this. Penis that.
My eyes. They burn.
January 29, 2015
What an unusual plot for Thea Devine, whose plots are always intricate, satisfying, rewarding and surprising. Darcie is widowed but held imprisoned by her mother in law, Lavinia. Darcie's days are numbered but she has told Lavinia she is pregnant, and buys herself some time. She manages to escape and finds her brother-in-law Con, unconscious in a bordello. Confusing plot in some ways, but hang with it. The fantasy part comes in when the "Eye of God" diamond Con has been searching for, reveals some innate qualities. Hard to explain this story without spoiling it, but you will find this worth finishing. I never know what to expect with this author, and not disappointed this time either.
Read
January 6, 2008I know I read this, recall it being steamy but beyond that I can't remember what it was about.
October 12, 2014
an enjoyable read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews