A Ruling Passion

by Judith Michael

Judith Michael creates unforgettable characters and a vivid, richly textured world -- where passions can be stronger than love -- in this splendid bestseller. Pampered socialite Valerie Sterling is shattered by her husband's death and the mysterious loss of her wealth. But she finds within herself the will to build a new life, and rekindles a romance with television network head Nicholas Fielding. Valerie is utterly unaware of the dangerous passions she is stirring up in Sybille Enderby, her childhood friend and daughter of a seamstress on one of Valerie's estates. Clawing her way up in the television industry, Sybille has always longed to possess all that Valerie has. Yet success, marriage, and the glittering whirl of society cannot quench Sybille's envy of her friend...an envy that grows into a powerful obsession: to destroy Valerie.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Drama

640 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Judith Michael is the pen name of husband/wife team Judith Barnard (b. 1934) and Michael Fain (b. 1937).

Reviews

[Anne Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very long, drawn out saga that was dated (copyright 1990) but I trudged through, wanting to see what happened. Basically this was the story of two women, Valerie, rich and experienced with worldly travel experience and luxuries; and Sybille, growing up as the daughter of Valerie’s dress maker and receiving Valerie’s hand-me-downs. Sybille made it a point (greatly due to revenge) to want to be better and richer than Valerie. She succeeds, but turns out to be uncaring, villainous, greedy, willing to take lives and get money illegally.
Highlights of the story include background on Valerie and Sybille’s college lives. Valerie dates Nick, but they break up because she isn’t ready for marriage. Sybille comes in the picture distraught for being expelled due to Valerie telling the V-P of Stanford about an exaggerated, untrue story that Sybille wrote. Sybille and Nick marry. They have a son, Chad, but Sybille has a one track mind of getting ahead in television. So Nick raises Chad, and gets full custody when they divorce.
Sybille remarries an older man, Quentin Enderby, an owner of a cable company. Sybille writes and tries to host television news programs. Quentin collapses outside their apartment. A preacher, Rudy Dominus, and his assistant, Lilith Grace, come to his side, and from then on stay with Quentin, starting a God program. Quentin dies three years later. Sybille is enraged that he only left her one million dollars while Rudy gets five million.
Valerie is on her second marriage to Carl. Throughout this book, Sybille is always reminded that Valerie is always ahead of her, even getting a house where Sybille has always dreamed of having with horses.
Sybille starts her own production company: Sybille Morgan Productions. She brings Lily Grace to preach on her own TV show.
Nick, in the meantime, was successful in forming a new computer company, Omega. After years of success in the computer industry, Nick buys Sybille’s old cable company, renaming it E&N. Sybille is busy building Lily a cathedral, building a town around the cathedral, Graceville, and making sure she gets a hefty percentage of all the donations brought in by Lily. Sybille is rich, sleeping with Valerie’s husband Carl, as well as Floyd Bassington, VP of the Lily Grace Foundation. Then Carl loses Valerie’s money as well as her mother’s in the stock market. Sybille finds a way he could get the money back by buying and selling back at a profit land to be used for the town of Graceville. During this time, Carl, Valerie, friends Alex and Betsy Tarrant, and later Lily and Sybille go to Lake Placid to Carl’s vacation home. Sybille leaves early but we later learn she told the pilot of her plane to do something to Carl’s plane to make him delayed getting back home. Little did anyone know Carl would not do a pre-flight check, so not realizing there was water put in the gas tanks, the plane crashes, killing him.
With Carl dead, Valerie and her mother have lost all of their money. Valerie gets a job working for Sybille which does not work out and it leaves Sybille and Valerie more like enemies than friends. Valerie is then hired by Nick for his cable company. This is how Valerie and Nick’s relationship starts over. Eventually Valerie finds out that Sybille and the foundation she works for are illegally profiting from donations. Lily Grace is taken advantage of by an employee of the foundation, but Valerie and her mother take care of her.
Sybille will be going to jail for her illegal money dealings and Nick and Valerie will live happily ever after with Chad.

[Kelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an opus. Good lord. That was a lengthy haul. Sybelle was one of the most vile characters I have ever read. I put the book down several times because of the loathing I felt. However, the criticism I DO have is that the book was long on loathing build, and short on vengeance. The beginning of her undoing was anti-climatic. I guess I like to see punishment/karma meted out after enduring endless wrongdoings. Maybe because I am a Scorpio. :-O

[Sarath Krishnan]

The novel discusses many issues. Basically it is a novel about two characters Valerie and Sybille and the clashes between both. But in a deeper analysis we can see that the novelist is throwing some intricate questions to the society. When the people think that money matters everything and to acquire money do anything the basic values of the human society will collapse. The loss of these humanitarian values is very well discussed in the novel.
Another crucial issue the novelist trying to discuss is the marketization of religion.In this world of globalization even religious ideals becomes another commodity and while selling the commodity only profit matters. The clash between religious values and market values goes back to Middle Ages itself. The influence of money corrupted even the established churches itself. The God-men and religious preachers are subjected to so many corruption nowadays.
The influence of mass medias and other technologies on society and how it discards social values, all discussed in this novel.
In the last part of the novel the author tried to give a psychological explanation to the bad deeds of the central 'negative' character, Sybille but failed.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book by Michael. It is interesting to me that two people can write a book, and such a good book. This book covers a fairly short period of time, from college friendships to ten to fifteen years of marriages etc. It shows how these friendships can mature or not, depending upon the person and how they handle experiences. Good characters, good plot, good reading.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell me about the United Methodist Church"

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book as an "airplane book", one that wouldn't require much thought, but keep my attention. It exceeded those expectations. The characters were well developed and it had a good, solid storyline, if a bit predictable at times.

[neva j francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read!

The storyline was long, but I carried my kindle everywhere so I could steal a few minutes to read. The love story was powerful, but the themes about being satisfied with critical choices, living with integrity, and working hard were paramount.

[Juanita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not incredibly engaging, but bearable if you've nothing better to do.

[Jill Mccamey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. I did not like the people. Too many details. Too many words.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't too exciting. It had the stereotypical potboiler characters...one evil, one good, one weird religious person, one handsome hero. The evil character screws over the good one, the religious one faces a crisis of faith, the handsome hero saves the day. I think I read this a long time ago and wasn't too impressed with it.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't finish this book. I was stale and boring.

[Marlene Bessette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story! A rivalry between good and evil, rich and poor, luck and life. Was a bit tedious to get into but the story is worth reading

[Elizabeth Bennet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a retro novel I liked more than I thought I would. The story telling is good and I got caught up with it pretty early. Recommended if you are into something escapist.

[Delight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably 2.5? It was weird. Enough to keep my attention but seemed a bit jumbled? Hard to explain but it was ok.

[Ruby Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read deception

[Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t like it

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pampered socialite Valerie Sterling is shattered by her husband's death and the mysterious loss of her wealth. But she somehow finds within herself the will to build a new life, and rekindles a romance with television network head Nicholas Fielding - an old college flame. Valerie is totally unaware of the dangerous passions she is stirring up in Sybille Enderby, her childhood friend and the daughter of a seamstress on one of Valerie's estates.

Clawing her way up in the television industry, Sybille has always coveted all that Valerie has. Yet success, marriage, and the glittering whirl of society cannot quench Sybille's envy of her friend...an envy that grows into one blinding obsession: to destroy Valerie Sterling.

I liked this book very much. The characters were sympathetically drawn - even though they were wealthy, and moved within elite social circles, they ultimately faced the exact same personal problems and struggles as everyone else in the world. I give this book an A+! and I am eagerly trying to locate A Ruling Passion: Volume 2 by Judith Michael to see how the rest of the story turns out.

[The Devine Ms Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes, 600+ pages of young people being dis-satisfied with their lives and always looking for more. Actually only 580 pages of unhappiness until things started to turn around. I didn't miss the underlying morale but it was a lot of slogging to get there. It must have been a really depressing book to write. I gave it 3 stars only because there is nothing in between I didn't like it and I did. We need another star for it was just okay.

[Bj Hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book gripping as most Judith Michael's stories are. It was fastinating in the character development. I am dismayed by their ability to find such evil in the hearts of many people!! It makes for an exciting read, but disturbing in the sense that such people are out there! Their books are built on such a dire premise, but entertaining in how good triumps.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining but I found it a bit predictable. It was not an easy read. The edition that I had (Pocket Books)had the smallest words ever. The protagonist goes on a hero's journey like that of the epic poems. I found it a bit trite but for what it was, I liked it.

[Donna Mcnab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This team of husband and wife (Judith Barnard and Michael Fain) writes a really good book with interesting plots and characters. This book of love, intrigue and murder lives up to Judith Michael's reputation as a very good storyteller.

[Partridge Public]

Michael, Judith

[Valynda]

sold 2009

[Manuela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dimenticabile.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

So glad this book is over. I had such a tough time with it. Started off well and drew me in. Then lost me.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storyline. Keeps you guessing til the very end. But still romantic enough to satisfy that beach read craving.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good easy read

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a heavy but a great summer read.

[Mcatmay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable, solid beach read.