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Past Passion

Penny Jordan

288 pages

A high-angst, emotionally breathless romance where a hidden past and simmering workplace tension collide.

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What it feels like

Reading this classic category romance feels like stepping into a pressure cooker of unspoken desire and long-held secrets. The narrative moves at a brisk, emotionally driven pace, anchored entirely by the heroine's internal turmoil and the suffocating tension of workplace proximity. The prose is characteristically heightened and breathless, lingering on every racing pulse, flushed cheek, and moment of dread as the inevitable revelation looms. The mood is intensely fraught, wrapping the reader in a claustrophobic yet deliciously angsty atmosphere where past mistakes cast long shadows over present passions. It is a perfect fit for readers who love vintage romance tropes, craving the specific thrill of a hidden identity, an intense boss, and a dramatic, emotionally explosive happily-ever-after.

Mood
  • tense
  • emotionally fraught
  • simmering
  • claustrophobic
Tone
  • angsty
  • earnest
  • melodramatic
  • intense
Pace
brisk
Themes
the burden of secrets · inescapable pasts · workplace proximity · consuming desire · self-forgiveness
The writing
Emotionally heightened and breathless, focusing heavily on internal turmoil, physical reactions, and unspoken longing.
The arc
Moves from suffocating guilt and fearful anticipation to explosive revelation and passionate reconciliation.
Who it's for
Readers who devour vintage category romance and crave high-stakes emotional drama, secret pasts, and intense workplace proximity.
Content notes
  • power imbalance
  • workplace romance dynamics
  • feelings of shame and guilt

About the book

At eighteen, Nicola had made a terrible mistake and eight years later is still punishing herself for her folly. But her shameful secret comes full circle when Matt Hunt walks back into her life -- as her new boss. Not that Matt recognizes the assured, controlled businesswoman as the girl who had shared his bed for one brief night.

Her dread of discovery attacks her frail self-control. But so does Nicola's consuming need for the man who has haunted her dreams for so long. What will she do when Matt, inevitably, recognizes her...?

Description from Open Library.

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