Rating: 
Summary: Just thrilling
Review: Although I have not yet read the book, "Hidden Passions", I'v already asked my friend who is travelling to the USA tonight to get one for me no matter the cost. I am an avid fan of Passions. I work in a bank and at night when I get home I rush for the TV to tune in to "Passions" 5 times a week. I have read the customer reviews online and I just can't wait to get a copy of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book I've ever read.
Review: This is entirely a formula book, perhaps a ploy to draw in viewers. It was like reading a regurgatated Harlequin romance.
A very, very disappointing read. This book is a disgrace to the publishing industry.
Rating: 
Summary: DEFINATELY a must read!!!!!
Review: if you are not yet a fan of the soap opera passions, ten minutes with this book, and you will be!!!!!!!!!! it concentrates on the lives of the characters many years before the soap actually took place, giving you backround info on all of them. it even devotes a chapter to the past lives of sheridan and luis. you will not be able to put it down!!!! i got it 6 months ago on hardback and i haven't read another book since!!!! it's brilliant!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Alistair Crane Alistair Crane Alistair Crane Alistair Crane.
Review: Up on my soapbox again. Soap operas intrigue me as an industry. They, I feel, are one of the few storytelling channels where it is possible to show an event, and the fallout from said event, for years. Some of the stories currently showing on daytime dramas today got their start more than a decade ago, and viewers have seen every step along the way! That's why it's frustrating that the people currently in charge of most soap operas today don't have a clue as to what they're doing, and are using gimmicks to draw in viewers rather than utilizing their show's rich histories and coming up with character-based storylines. (A primary example of this kind of storyline is ABC's lineup, which is a real mess right now.) And that's why it's exciting when a soap pauses to mine its heritage and tell storylines that will both draw in new viewership, and please people who've been tuning in since day one at the same time. (The shining example of this is currently CBS' "As the World Turns.") However, the soap that's really catching the eye of the entertainment industry right now is NBC's "Passions." Interesting that the show is doing everything I talked about above, when it only began to air in 1999. "Passions" has had a feature article in Entertainment Weekly magazine, and was on the cover of TV Guide in July, proof that it's taking off. Part of this, I will admit, is because of the bizarre stories the show is telling, what with trips to hell, angel girls and living dolls and all. But at its heart, all this hype just reflects the fact that "Passions" is using past history to enrich what's on screen right now, and fans are tuning in in droves. In the spring, NBC sought to cash in on the growing soap's mania and released a book, "Hidden Passions: Secrets from the Diaries of Tabitha Lenox." Written by romance novelist Alice Alfonsi and using "Passions" creator/head writer James E. Reilly's bible for the show, "Hidden Passions" is a window to the past so that eager readers can make sense of some of the current mysteries. The book is the diary of Tabitha (played by Juliet Mills on the soap), a 200-year-old witch who's been living for centuries in the show's setting, a New England town called Harmony (even though life in Harmony is anything but harmonious). Peppered with little comments from Tabitha's living doll, Timmy (Josh Ryan Evans), the book describes life in Harmony twenty years ago. Well-to-do Ivy (Kim Johnston Ulrich) loves middle class pizza boy Sam (James Hyde), but forces (namely, Tabitha) are working to keep them apart. Ivy is to be paired with town scoundrel Julian Crane (Ben Masters), at the wishes of her dad and of Julian's machinating father, Alistair (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, he of Skeletor-voicing fame). But Julian is intoxicated by jazz singer Eve (Tracey Ross), who is about to fall in love with Sam's best friend and Julian's tennis rival, T.C. (Rodney van Johnson) Fans of the show know that, ultimately, Sam and Ivy share one last night (right after she marries Julian!), which ultimately produces Ethan (Travis Shuldt), who was raised as a Crane heir until the eve of his marriage to Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald (Lindsey Korman), daughter of Ivy's maid Pilar (Eva Tamargo Lemus), while Julian and Eve's tryst may or may not have produced Chad (Donn Swaby), who is currently wooing both Eve's daughters. Confused? Try re-reading the last two paragraphs a couple of times. It'll all sink in eventually ... You see? Intricacies like this don't spring up over night! It takes planning, and sometimes decades of secrets to make something really viable, and only soaps have the power. "Hidden Passions" enhances the current fan's viewing, and will intrigue many more to start watching. (I know I'm tempted to set my VCR ...) I particularly like the idea that Tabitha has been a thorn in Harmony's side for quite some time. (As those in the know know, Tabitha and sidekick Timmy are the show's breakout characters and the biggest daytime draw since Luke and Laura.) Tabby's diary takes us back to the early settler years, and explains Tabitha's hatred for Grace Standish Bennett (Dana Sparks) and her niece Charity (Molly Stanton), as well as a long-standing grudge against the Cranes. We also get to see that current supercouple Sheridan Crane (Mackenzie Westmore) and Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald (Galen Gering) are meant to be, even they've spent several past lives trying to be together. But I'm happiest that "Hidden Passions" reveals a little bit of the motivation behind Alistair Crane. On the show, Alistair's face is never seen. All we see of the man is his hands, and body from the neck down, while he plots to kill daughter Sheridan and endulges in an assortment of odd hobbies and crafts. (Why kill Sheridan? Now we know ...) Alistair is intriguing, in part because he's never completely seen, and partly because of Oppenheimer, continuing my Skeletor fascination. That, and the fact that "Alistair Crane" is a really cool name and fun to say, although most of the characters' names roll off the tongue. Alistair Crane Alistair Crane Alistair Crane Alistair Crane... So check out the book and check out the show. Until they wise up, shows like "General Hospital" don't deserve your attention. Alistair Crane, and good night.
Rating:
Summary: I Liked it, Even Though I'm Not a Soap Opera Fan
Review: Even though I don't watch soap operas and wasn't familiar with "Passions," this book is great! Very hard to put down. I got so caught up in it, I missed an appointment!
Rating:
Summary: Webs of Lies, Secrets and Deceptions Thur the ages..
Review: This book was hard to put down!!! It is definatly a must read for fans of the soap opera Passions. It gives you a detailed story of the charcters we love today, how their, decendants/souls were of yesterday! I found it both intersting and informative! Told in the vocie of Tabby with inserts from Tim Tim
Rating:
Summary: If you watch Passions, you need this because.........
Review: If you watch the soap opera Passions, you NEED this book! It gives you much of the history that the show is based upon as well as helps you to figure out what the characters on the show are referring to as they make comments of things which happpened in the past. It is also a book in which anyone can enjoy whether they watch the show or not. This book is quite a unique concept as I do not believe this has ever been done with any other soap opera. There are rumors of upcoming new books and I can only hope they come true! This was a very enjoyable read for me!
Rating:
Summary: Passions Fan
Review: I am a huge Passions fan. I started watching the show in December before I went away to Australia. When I got to Australia I realized that they are waaayyy behind on the shows, so I could not even keep up on what was going on. I am back now, and have finally caught up. I decided now was a good time to get the book and read about the past. I found the book to be extremly romantic and full of information to really help you understand all the charachters in Harmony. If you watch the soap opera Passions, then you really need to invest in getting this book. You will be happy you did...what a treasure!!
Rating:
Summary: The Crane Empire
Review: I enjoyed learning about the head of the Crane family,'Allister'. I had never known before he was handsome. Mrs. Crane sounded like a wonderful, beautiful woman who adored her children. She had a special soft spot for Sheridan, and her blue eyes. This chapter made the town of Harmony sound so glorious. I could see the Crane mansion on a green hilltop, in my mind. I love how the town, and streets were described as rustic, and that Mrs. Crane began to love the town. She didn't want Sheridan to learn of their horrible past. Yet, she didn't seem to care if Jullian knew. I think from little on, Jullian was a little trouble maker. As he grew, he was probably a womanizer. I can see him with his pirate hat and eye patch on running after anything in a skirt. The men were selfish, wanting to take the town's people's land away; so they could have toys to play with. In all I did enjoy this first chapter. I had never heard much about Allistar's wife before. I don't even think I know how she died. Thank you, for letting me give my opinions.
Rating: 
Summary: All Past, hardly any Present
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and anyone who likes the soap passions will too. There is only one flaw. IT's mostly about the past, and more than anything I prefer ehar about the present, such as Julian and rebecca Hodgekiss being engaged. I for one think they are a fabulous couple, but becase this book is about the past it didn't mention a single thing about them, which was disapointing. If you are more interested in the couples that Passions has today, I wouldn't recommend this book, because half the couples it talks about are already split up.
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