Primitive Passion

by Shara Lanel

Sylvia Radcliff likes her men fast talking, fast moving and gone by the second date. At least, she thought she did until she meets the brooding and sexy Heath Williams while on vacation in Mexico. Heath is the polar opposite of every man Sylvia has ever dated ... only they aren't exactly dating? Heath unwittingly came to Sylvia's rescue when her cabby turned into a thief, stealing her money and leaving her stranded in the midst of the Mexican jungle. Due to a chronic phobia, Heath, who calls the jungle his home, has avoided the bulk of humanity for nearly a decade. But something about Sylvia is too tempting to ignore. He not only wants the beautiful stranger, he needs her for the sake of his sanity. Sylvia, a city girl through and through, is desperate to get back to civilization. So desperate she finds herself striking a devil's bargain with the enigmatic Heath. She agrees to spend three days complying with his every carnal demand in exchange for his leading her to the nearest town at the end of that time. What Sylvia doesn't plan on is the thrill that comes from giving in to Heath or that at the end of those three days, she won't want to leave the isolated stranger, who suddenly doesn't seem like a stranger at all, but like a man who has taken up permanent residence in her heart.

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

At age ten, Shara Lanel thought research meant hopping aboard the local steam engine and writing the equivalent of The Great Train Robbery. Nowadays as a multi-published, award-winning author, she gets hands-on research at her local Citizens’ Police and Fire Academies. She’s much better at walking down the side of a building than she is at firing a gun, but she swears her characters are great shots, hitting the bulls-eye with the villains and the heart. Don’t put her in the kitchen unless you want to burn it down, and her green thumb is hit-or-miss, but she excels as a bibliophile, hoping she never has to pack up and move, since her hubby might see just how many volumes she really has.

Reviews

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just okay for me. The reason I say this is because it just didn't seem realistic that someone would agree to a total stranger's every demand for the course of 3 days just so that she could be taken back to "civilization" after being stranded by her cab driver/robber.

Having said that, Heath Williams was a surprise given that we were told what caused this man to be a recluse and abandon just about all human contact due to a condition caused by a few traumatic experiences in his life. This was believable and caused me to feel for him. @ least understand him. The fact that he felt immediately drawn to Sylvia and that for some reason she caused him to come out of his shell was believable given the short amount of time they spent together. But it did not excuse his demands upon her. I did not like how he clearly used the fact that she was totally @ his mercy. Not just for protection, but getting back to her life to his advantage. It kinda took the "Hero" out of his role. Their physical interactions were.. lack of a better word HOT! And there was some emotional depth that came with that, but I just didn't see nor feel how they could have loved so deeply as they claimed to over the course of those 4 days together. Not saying it's not possible cuz I've read plenty of stories where the H/H have fallin hard for one another in less time and it was totally convincing. But sorry just wasn't feelin it in this short "Novella".

So if you are looking for a short story with hot very explicit "Love" scenes with a few pinches of emotion in the mix, then this is the story for you.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primitive Passion was the type of romantic story that tugged at your heartstrings. From the very beginning, you felt for the characters and empathized with them. That doesn't mean that you would necessarily agree with all of their decisions, but you could understand what was going on in their minds and hearts.

A definitive city girl, lost and alone in the jungle. A reclusive 'mountain man (jungle man?)' who doesn't like people. Of course, their paths are going to intersect. And intersect they did.
Parts of the book were so steamy, that a break was called for, but for the most part, this was a hard book, to put down. The reader didn't know until the very end how it was going to go, if the characters were going to stay in the jungle or go back to New York. It really could have gone either way and been fine, but I am glad that it ended the way it did. Although, I half expected her to end up pregnant.

This is a great book for those lonely nights when you don't have anyone else to *entertain* you, or to 'keep you warm' on a winter's night. I wouldn't put it firmly in the erotic category, but it is on the boundaries looking in.

What made this book good, though, was that there was enough background and plot to keep the story going and the other events that brought the characters close, not just the sex they were having.

I look forward to reading more by Shara Lanel.