Passion’s Pleasure by Valerie Giscard is a 1982 historical romance novel set in Paris and Louisiana. It features a turbulent love story marked by violence and dramatic twists.
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Passion’s Pleasure by Valerie Giscard
Rating: 
Published: 1982
Illustrator: Walter Popp
Book Series: Zebra Historical Romance
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Antebellum Southern Romance, Historical Romance, Bodice Ripper, Forced Seduction, Romance with Rape Element
Pages: 380
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon
TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
This review is of Passion’s Pleasure by Valerie Giscard, a 1982 Zebra-ripper historical romance.
Valerie Giscard also wrote two Harlequin Superromances under the name Emily Mesta. Coincidentally, Giscard has the same name as the late French President, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who also wrote a couple of romantic novels.
Also sharing the name is the President’s daughter, Valérie-Anne Giscard d’Estaing, another author. However, in the latter’s case, in her case, of non-fiction.
Were any of them the same person? I do not know.
The Plot
A Shotgun Wedding
Passion’s Pleasure opens in Paris, where this book’s heroine, Chantele Daladier, and the so-called “hero,” Colin Marquandt, meet at a party. Chantele lives in the city of lights with her parents, Antoine and Veronique; her hateful, spiteful sister, Noelle; and an unseen brother, Claude.
The Daladiers are in severe financial straits and pin all their hopes on Noelle to make a good marriage to save them from poverty. Colin is an American visiting Paris on holiday. He and his family own a plantation, L’Esperance, outside of New Orleans.
Shortly after meeting, Chantele and Colin became lovers.
Then our hero has the bright idea of raping Chantele, which causes her to become pregnant. Her father, Antoine, demands Colin do “the honorable thing” and marry Chantele.
He does so unwillingly, and later, Colin takes his bride to Louisiana to be with his family. At L’Esperance, they live with Colin’s father, Leon, who is gravely ill, his adoptive brother, Robert, and their stepmother, Annette.
Chantele’s and Colin’s marriage is problematic. Adding to that, she suffers a miscarriage and loses her child. Her loss was not a mere tragic accident. A sinister plan has been set in motion by an unseen puppetmaster. This will have a significant impact on both Chantele’s and Colin’s lives.
Heartache and Amnesia
After the miscarriage, Colin sends Chantele to New Orleans to recover. This doesn’t help matters, as their marital issues get worse.
Chantele suffers many misfortunes in this book. She is beaten, raped again, and nearly killed on multiple occasions.
The final blow literally causes her to lose her memory. Fortunately, a kind doctor finds her and nurses her back to health, although her memory does not return. In time, she flourishes and becomes a famous actress.
Chantele, now using the stage names and aliases Victoria Page and Ariane Bentley, also finds passion in the arms of another man. She becomes the mistress of a powerful businessman, Michael Lawrence, who is not entirely above board.
Eventually, Colin finds his long-lost wife. Chantele soon regains her memory.
Ultimately, she finally forgives Colin for all the bad things he has done to her. So the two reunite and have their happily ever after.
The Upside
Chantele is a likable character, and a strong one, to deal with all she deals with.
The Downside
The first half of Passion’s Pleasure is okay. The second half is a hot mess.
Like in way too many books published in the early 1980s, Chantele deals with brutal violence and misogyny. It seems that the unspoken industry rule in 80’s historical romance novels is heroines must experience at least two instances of physical abuse and sexual assault throughout their stories.
In addition, there is a ridiculous storyline where Chantele becomes a famous actress. I found it to be completely illogical. That would have been more suited for a contemporary romance than a historical one.
Furthermore, there was zero setup for this plot.
And to top it all off, none of the male characters are likable. I found it hard to believe that Chantelle loved Colin, let alone forgive him for all the evil things he did to her.
Sex
The sex scenes are relatively mild. The author, Valerie Giscard, does her best, I suppose, to steam them up. Lamentably, her efforts result in mostly hot air.
Heat Factor
The steam in Passion’s Pleasure might be hot enough to press the wrinkles out of a silk shirt. However, as far as romance novels go, that only registers as warm on our heat level scale
Violence
Chantele is raped twice in this book and is almost raped a third time. She went through several violent moments at the hands of men. First, she was beaten very badly. Later, Colin assaulted her. Of course, it wouldn’t be a hat trick without the villain trying to murder her.
In the book’s finale, Colin and Michael fight to the death—only Michael’s, unfortunately.
Bottom Line on Passion’s Pleasure
Like with many Zebra romances, the title, Passion’s Pleasure, has nothing to do with the book. There was no passion, nor was it a pleasure to read. The only mildly saving grace about this tedious slog of a story is the heroine, Chantele.
When I read Passion’s Pleasure, used copies were available on Amazon for $36.00. However, nearly new copies were priced at $250.00! Valerie Giscard only published two books under that name, and both were 1-star stinkers.
Good thing I am no fool, as I only paid $4 for the book.
And I still feel like I overpaid for it!
| Rating Report Card | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
0.5 |
| Characters |
1.5 |
| Writing |
1.5 |
| Chemistry |
1 |
| Fun Factor |
0.5 |
| Cover |
4.5 |
| Overall: | 1.6 |
coVER POINTS DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS FINAL RATING!
Synopsis
Everything ceased to exist that first moment when Colin claimed the lovely Chantele on the dance floor. She was like a fragile flower in his arms–so delicate, so innocent and so very desirable. The passion she stirred within him burned a fiery path through his limbs. Somehow he’d have to make this rapturous beauty his own…
Abandoning all morals to the wind, Chantele secretly met her beloved each day. He branded her body and mind with his fierce, skillful caressess…
Passion’s Pleasure by Valerie Giscard
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