Review: Very Entertaining and Good Book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2012
After a worldwide economic crash, everybody is living in a lawless world where it's every man for himself to defend and survive.  Selena has been on her own for a few years after the death of her parents.  The effects of society and her environment dominate and distort her entire life including her relationships with other people.  She is distrustful of others with good cause, and she survives by avoiding and hiding from them.  While running away from a group of men who meant to harm her, Dan saves her, and Selena is taken unwillingly to Dan's small community hidden by trees and craters.  The community seems to be living in harmony and the people pooled their talents to a greater cause - their survival.  Selena's apprehension to stay with the group is complicated with her inner conflicts to maintain her independence, her ability to be able to survive on her own, her growing relationships with the people in a harmonious community and her building feelings for Dan.In looking at the plot of Surviving Passion, some of the details of later events bear questioning especially the hair-breadth escapes and last minute rescues which seems fortuitous but anything can happen in war.  One has to remember that Underwood was deliberately writing a romance and the plot is one of romantic action so I tacitly accept them as such rather than realism.  I appreciate Underwood's improvisation and creativity in developing a genuinely unpredictable story.One may arguably say that Selena sees herself as strong and independent woman surviving in a wilderness full of evil and malice.  However, I think she was lucky and very vulnerable.  Her means to survival was avoidance of people and trouble and in all likelihood, her luck would soon run out.  Because of her apprehensions and pensive nature, Selena is the only dynamic character from all of the personages.  She has undergone so much treachery and loss of belief and trust that the likelihood of total mental and spiritual reclamation seems slim. She has accepted her way of life because she doesn't know any other type of existence.  When she is introduced to a different way of life in Dan's community, she teeters on the brink of total acquiescence, a fact that haunts and terrifies her.  This makes her a complicated character and all the more interesting.Dan is depicted as the mythic hero, who fights all evil, protects the meek, and will right the wrongs.  He is the saint with a knife and his ability to kill with ease is a contrast to his reverence for life.  He could have been an interesting character but there is very little about him and his interaction with Selena was minimal.The other characters, while they generally act in keeping with their characters, are primarily static (including Dan). These characters are uncomplicated, some complacent, and one-dimensional. Because the majority of them do not change throughout the novel, we see only one part of their personalities -- their surface appearances and actions. The story is seen through Selena's eyes so this probably can't be helped but nevertheless, that's my only criticizm from an otherwise entertaining and good book.I look forward to reading the next book Surviving Seduction and more from Maia Underwood.