I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Twin Passions
by
Lora Leigh
erotica, fantasy in eBook edition that was published by Ellora's Cave on October 30, 2012 and has 198 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Styx's Storm, Moving Violations, Cops and Cowboys, B.O.B.'s Fall, Manaconda, A Wish a Kiss a Dream, "Dragon Prime", Primal, Live Wire, Navarro's Promise, Forbidden Pleasure, Beyond the Dark, Black Jack, Tempting the Beast, Dangerous Pleasure, Maverick, Man Within, Midnight Sins, Wild Card, Tied with a Bow, Lawe's Justice, Legally Hot, Deadly Sins, Stygian's Honor, Surrender to Fire, Nauti Temptress, Submission & Seduction, Wicked Sacrifice, Secret Sins, Nautier and Wilder, Shameless Embraces, Wicked Pleasure, Only Pleasure, Guilty Pleasure, Wicked Lies, Nauti Enchantress, Shattered Legacy, Intense Pleasure, Knight Stalker, Enthralled, Secret Pleasure, Rule Breaker, "The One", Nauti Angel, Nauti Seductress, Wake a Sleeping Tiger, Collision Point, Cross Breed, One Tough Cowboy, Hot for the Holidays, Dawn's Awakening, "Night Hawk"
Third in the Wizard Twins erotica fantasy series and revolving around a fantastical world in which a Sorceress must join with her Twins, the men destined to join her in her power to strengthen the planet of Sentmar. The trio focus in Twin Passions is on Astra Al’Madere and Torran and Rhydan Delmari.
My Take
The overall conflict is Princess Serena’s inability to accept her abilities to do magick.
The first two books in this series, Ménage a Magick, 1, and When Wizards Rule, 2, were fun and introduced an unexpected premise for a story that Leigh very nicely used to give a structure for all the erotica enjoyed by the characters. Sure, it was melodramatic, but like I said, fun, and I was interested in the storyline. I wanted to know the back history of how the women fled, if they were humans who got transplanted to Sentmar, the identity of the dragon, and what happened to the queen and princess, among other questions. My curiosity was satisfied with yet more questions popping up.…
…but Twin Passions is so dorkily melodramatic, that my brain get dizzy what with all the eye-rollin’. It didn’t help that Leigh drove me nuts with her constant use of Consortors and Consortress and the silly capitalization she used.
I don’t remember the first two books spending so much time on explaining the problems this world has. Maybe Leigh is more incensed about what we’re doing to the environment. There also seems to be a parallel between how poorly our government does in taking care of the country and the greed displayed by the Wizard Twins. That they’re more interested in lining their own pockets. She goes on about the Sidhe and how they’ve messed things up. Where did they come from? Why doesn’t the One talk to them?
She does use an interesting sentence structure to heighten the idea of Sentmar being another world as well as giving the storyline a medieval feel. It also makes most of it difficult to figure out. Don’t bother trying. One example is the tale about the Pixie. It could have been cute, if I could have figured out what it was about.
Why didn’t Astra approach the Twins if she knew they were supposed to Join with her? If she knows that the Griffons can sense evil and yet are cozying up to the traitor Twins, why doesn’t she just tell Marina about the situation? Yeah, I know. Then Leigh would have to exercise her mind and come up with another way to create conflict, but at least it might make better sense.
When all is said and done…don’t bother. It’s annoying as hell to read.
The Story
Queen Amoria and her heir, the Princess Serena have been kidnapped and the Sorceresses are on high alert. And looking for the traitor Twins.
The Characters
Astra Al’madere is Keeper heir to the Mystic Forests. Her mother, Alisante Al’madere, is the Keeper and absolutely hates Astra. Anja is Astra’s half-sister. Kalont Vander is the loving father who was killed; his ancestors were Veressi.
Torran and Rhydan Delmari are the traitor Wizard Twins fated to Join with Astra. They rule the Talagaria province in Cauldaran.
Sentmar is…
…the planet on which they all live. The Sentarians have Seers who see the future and Keepers who bond with an area of land and its magick and help keep that land strong, center and soothe its magick, give it purpose (Royal Forests of Covenant is one such).
Covenan has…
…twelve Provinces and is a land with feminine magick to which the Sorceresses fled. Amoria Sellane is the Sorceress Queen. Princess Serena is her heir. Princess Marina is the Guardian Keeper of Covenan and the heir-in-waiting who Joined with the Wizard Twins Caise and Kai’el Sashtain (When Wizards Rule, 2). She also leads the Covenan Sorceress Brigade of twelve warrior Sorceresses. Aerin Longrieve is the Keeper heir of the Whispering Mountains; she is presently a guard. Camry is another Sorceress guard.
Garron is a wizard who shapeshifted into a dragon who looks after the Sorceresses of Covenan. Azeron is an old man who is the new stable caretaker. Tripelli is the Unicorn Astra rides.
The Griffons were…
…created to carry the Sorceresses and to destroy black magick. Candler is a half-grown male while Tambor is but an infant Griffon; both were turned to stone in When Wizards Rule, 2. Mustafa and Malosa are grown males. Manuela is Mustafa’s mate. The Sorceress sisters Selectra and Solara are their usual caretakers.
Cauldaran is…
… the land now ruled by the Wizard Twins Raize and Ruine Veressi, who are also, technically, the Guardians of Sentmar, but without its additional power. (It was the Veressi all those millennia ago who caused the Sorceresses to flee all Wizards.) Andrell Veressi. Maxum.
Justice Layel is the Sorceress who betrayed her fellow Sorceresses in When Wizards Rule.
Snow Owls carry Wizards around. A Consortress is a Sorceress who has joined with her Twins. A Consort is a Wizard who has joined with a Sorceress. He will be one of a pair of Twins. If it is the fated joining, then he is considered a Natural Consort. A Convenant of Power is an unnatural joining of Wizards and Sorceresses who were not supposed to be joined. Guardian Keepers oversee and aid the Keepers. Justices can “seer” the truth. Shadow walking is a “bridge” that allows the walker to instantly move from one center of power to another.
The Abysmal Causeway separates the lands which still retain their magick from the lands occupied by the humans, who were placed there by the Sidhe.
The Select are…
…the magick trio the One, the head god for Sentmar, turned into a goddess and gods: Musera, a Sorceress, and her Wizard Twins, Augurin and Pherdan. They had two children: Dar’el, the dark one who turned to evil and was imprisoned in the Shadow Hell, and Dal’el, the brother he tried to hurt.
The Cover and Title
The cover is an odd cross between dreamy and suicidal. Well, Astra looks like she’s about to cut her throat with that sword. The dreamy is in the background with the misty meadow and the unicorn looking on. As for Astra, besides the sword at her neck, her long blonde hair is flowing down one side of her front while she’s wearing a short leather bustier that is held together mostly by crisscross lacing.
The title is rather obvious. There are Twins involved and the whole series is about the sex, so yep, there are Twin Passions, although I suppose it could mean that Astra and her Twins each have their passions. Or it could also refer to the one-on-two individual passions combined with the passion the Veressi Twins bring in wanting to end this millennia-old cycle of wrong.
