Review: The Passion by L.J. Smith

Title: The Passion (Dark Visions #3) 

Author: L.J. Smith 

Rating: 4/5 Stars 

The Passion is such a fitting name for this last novel in L.J. Smith's Dark Visions Trilogy. In this installment, Kaitlyn is forced to travel to the Institute, take advantage of Gabriel's feelings for her, and destroy Mr. Z's evil plans. Having convinced Gabriel, Joyce, and most of the warped up members of the Institute of her loyalty, Kaitlyn must somehow plan to destroy the crystal and keep the shard of the Fellowship's pure crystal from falling into Mr. Z's power. However, little does Kaitlyn realize that it isn't just Gabriel's feelings she's playing with, it could be her own as well...

I absolutely loved this stunning conclusion to this brilliant trilogy. Although I definitely enjoyed The Forbidden Game more than this trilogy and appreciate the horror, despair, and creepiness of that series, I also found myself enjoying the wit, snarkiness, and complex relationships within this trilogy. Dark Visions is a lighter mix of paranormal, with more emphasis given on the blooming romances between Gabriel and Kaitlyn (I can hardly call what Kaitlyn and Rob had a romance) and the budding friendships between these five unlikely psychics. The Passion really puts this all to the test, strengthening the bonds between these friends and making them realize what they have.

Yet, what I loved the most about this installment was the romance. I have been a loyal Team Gabriel shipper since the first novel and although I hated that Kaitlyn was taking advantage of his feelings, I was thrilled seeing her changes in character as well. Furthermore, I think the relationship Kaitlyn formed with the other members of the Institute this time around were not only important, but they were also imperative to her growth and their development as characters as well. In addition, although we didn't see Rob, Anna, and Lewis as much in this installment, I think the changes that Rob and Anna went through were also remarkable and I was glad to see so much character development in this one. As with the previous two novels however, Gabriel steals the show in terms of personality growth. I loved his complex personality and only wished we could see even more of him.

Nevertheless, although I enjoyed this conclusion, I have to admit that I was expecting a little more of an earth-shattering finale. I felt as if the manner in which this situation was solved was a little too easy and I only wish it could have been dragged on a little longer to add an element of suspense to it. Yet, as far as last-books-of-a-trilogy go, this was a pretty darn good one. Thus, I would heartily recommend this series to fans of L.J. Smith, but I'd recommend starting with The Forbidden Game first. It may increase your expectations of this series to unnatural highs, but it'll definitely force you to keep reading to find the excellent writing quality that Smith's novels possess.