Review: Uncommon Passion by Anne Calhoun

Uncommon Passion by Anne Calhoun
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Beautifully Erotic Stars

My God, he was broken. So broken, this frightening vulnerability protected only by pieces of bulletproof vest held together with razor wire, attitude, and a smile that broke her heart every time he flashed it.

He was in too deep, she was too deep for a man like him, and he didn’t have anything left inside to give her.

Anne Calhoun has this way with writing that is captivating yet understated. It’s erotic and beautifully passionate. The book draws you in from the first page, and the words will weave their way all around you, making sure you experience everything along with the characters; every smell, every feeling, every sound, every passionately erotic moment. Anne doesn’t write simple erotic romances.

I have fallen in love with her writing since reading Liberating Lacey, my first book by her. And I have been singing her praises every book since. I have yet to read a book by Miss Calhoun that I haven’t enjoyed, and this one was no exception. Dare I say this was her best book yet? Well it was definitely a favorite of mine.

I loved everything about this book; the story, the characters, the writing.

What I have grown to love most about Anne’s writing, is the way that she is able to write a heroine that strong, but in this incredibly endearing and understated way. This is how Rachel was.

Rachel has recently left the only life she has ever known inside a restrictive religious community. She may be sheltered and a virgin, but she knows what she wants and she goes after it. She wants to experience life without limitations, she wants to feel. She’s was like this butterfly taking flight after leaving the strict cocoon that was her upbringing.

The first thing she wants to experience is passion. When she meets the sexy Swat Officer Ben Harris at a bachelor auction, she knows that he is the perfect man to give her what she wants.

Ben is a broken and jaded man, trying to bury his pain in an endless haze of adrenaline jags at work, drinking, and sex.

He’s not looking for forever, he’s not even looking for next week. All he cares about is the here and the now. But when he learns that Rachel is a virgin after their one night together, he sets out to make amends. He knows he can’t offer her much, but what he can offer her is a no string attached sexual education and not lose her heart in the process.

Everyone was worried Rachel would get her heart broken if she didn’t get a ring and a vow and a happily ever after right out of a movie. But Rachel needed something more, something he didn’t know if he could give her. She had no shields whatsoever to protect her from anything.
Including him. The only thing he could teach her was how to harden her heart.

Rachel never imagined that this is what she was missing; this lust, this burning hot passion that sets them both on fire.

Ben may have been detached in his life and relationships, but he was certainly not detached when it came to teaching Rachel the darker parts of passion.

Just say cock.”
“I don’t use language like that.” He paused as if he were going to pull out, but then didn’t. Ensnared in need, she moaned and squirmed again. “Try ride me. Pound into me. Make me scream. Or go for the one that means all three. Try fuck me.”

The sex scenes in this book, while beautifully written, were also scorching hot.

Ben was definitely rough around the edges and loved things dirty and hot.

You should have…” she began, but that finger circled again and the words trailed off.
“Should have what, Rachel? Should have fucked you on the steps while they stumbled around? Should have made you be quiet while you took my cock deep inside?” She shook her head, as much response to the tumultuous cascade of sensation his words set off as negating his interpretation.
“Should have stopped?” The whisper was dark, taunting. “Not gonna stop, Rachel.” Two fingers slid inside her when he spoke, and a breathless little cry escaped her lips. “I want it right now, right the fuck now, against this wall now.”

All Ben wanted to do was to teach Rachel about sex, and have a little fun with her while staying his jaded and detached self. But he begins to see that she is not quite what he expected

People assumed virgin meant weak, naïve, insecure, even ashamed. Not Rachel. She was aware, thinking about what she did and why she did it, and strong enough to ask questions, plan, execute a course of action that left her alone in the world.

Rachel may have been sheltered, but she was not your typical virgin that you might read in a book. She had a backbone, she stood up for what she believed. But the way she went about doing it is what made her so endearing to the reader. She had a quite intensity to her. She didn’t scream, she didn’t cry, she didn’t make stupid decisions. She remained true to herself and her desires for life throughout the whole story, and I absolutely loved that about her.

Ben begins to see that there is a whole lot more to Rachel then the naive virgin he first thought her to be.

Rachel was wrong with him. Rachel and her dark hair and golden eyes and her ability to shine a light on the protective shield he held up between himself and the world. Just showing him it was there, let alone what it meant, or how thin it really was. Making him feel things he didn’t want to feel.

Can Rachel get past his defenses to the beautifully broken man inside? But will Ben allow her past his walls and into his heart without breaking hers in the process?

Loved, absolutely loved this book. If you have never read a book by this author, this is the perfect one to start with. You will fall in love with the characters and the story.

Purchase Uncommon Passion here: Amazon