Tempted

Megan Hart continues to blow me away with her combination of characterization and chemistry. Certainly the best menage book I've ever read, her characters don't skim through life without consequences. Good and bad, but always passionate, Alex and Jamie and Anne are flawed but charismatic. I felt invested in their lives, which makes their romance all the more compelling. Poor Alex... I read his story out of order, I am looking forward to reading it with a new perspective on what happened at the lake that summer.

3.5 Stars

Ok.. I really liked the erotic scenes in this novel, but to be honest I skipped through the rest of the scenes. I really don't care to read about family/sibling drama right after a 3-way. But the relationship and scenes between the main characters was special. I found myself loving both men and not wanting to let them go. I think Megan Heart is a wonderful writer, but this one just fell short for me.

Loved this book! I think Megan Hart has a new follower! I can't wait to get my hands on a couple more of her books. This was just a little different than Deeper, and though I loved this one, it still wasn't as good as Deeper.

This book was also so much more than I expected. It wasn't just threesome smut, but it had feelings and meaning. There was so much going on between Anne and James, but also between James and Alex, and Alex and Anne. The triangle had so much sensuality! It was classy and well written for this type of book.

I loved Alex. He was the bad boy that every girl wants. I would have liked to have had him even more developed than he was, but as it was, it kept him as the mystery partner. The one with the shadows in his eyes show more and soul. So, while not developed as much as I wanted, it actually worked well and was most likely done on purpose.

Anne and James have an amazing marriage. Even though there is some tension and they bring another man into the relationship, it's one that I'm sure most people dream of. They communicate very well and are able to share their feelings with each other while not hurting the other. It was awesome to read about.

Can't wait to pick my next Hart book! show less

Based on other erotica novels I'd read lately, I expected this to be more explicit that it turned out to be. As it was, there was quite a bit of story with no more explicit sex that I would expect to see in other best-seller, chick-lit type novels. I don't read a lot of popular fiction so I was rather engaged with the heroine's struggles with her family (involving addiction, secrets, and family dynamics.) I'm also not used to reading fiction that is set in my own environment (smallish-city/community in the Midwest) and I found the author's regional awareness very well done and a bit of a novelty for me. The author is actually a good writer and I was throughly engaged, not distracted by artless, clichéd writing you often have to suffer show more through in romance/erotica novels.

SPOILERS

As far as the relationship(s) in the story go... I enjoyed the story. I really wish there hadn't had to have been a choice at the end and the three of them could have actually walked off into the sunset together. But that's not the story the author was telling and with that in mind, I very much liked how she ended all the relationships - I kind of dig angst and it worked well for me.

I'd consider recommending this book to people I might not consider telling other erotica/romance books about - As I said, it's more of a novel with adult concepts and graphic sex than hard-core erotica. And I think the main story and setting might appeal to a lot of people who read popular "Oprah Club" style fiction. show less

Tempted is the first novel in the Alex Kennedy series. Tempted is good on so many stirring levels. Willing voyeurism, exhibitionism and ménage a trois, though it’s more about consequences, responsiveness, and enthralling ties.

Anne and James have what is a good marriage. James and Alex have been best friends since they were young. Alex and Anne have never met due to a falling out that Alex and James had in college and the fact that Alex has lived in Singapore all these years. Then on day, when Alex calls James, he invites him to stay for the summer. Then one night the three of them decide to take their relationship to the next level and give into the sexual tension that has been filling the air. The three of them take each other to show more bed, one night then turns into the whole summer. They choose to let fantasy become reality. But what is supposed to be a summer of mindless passion, no strings attached, gets complicated as emotions and hearts become involved and feelings change.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, it was very entertaining and I could not put it down, I stayed up late to read it, I just had to know what happened next! I highly recommend it.

Happy Reading!

-Ana @SoManyBooksSoLittleTime

Also Posted on So Many Books, So Little Time show less

So I have to say the blurb for this book and it's sequel, Naked, which I read via Netgalley and will be reviewing soon, are both kinda off the mark. When I read this novel I didn't get the feeling that Anne didn't like Alex the first time she saw him, yes she appeared uncomfortable about this long lost friend of her husband's that she knew so little about and with the way James changed around him. But I NEVER got the impression she didn't like Alex, in fact I thought she was pretty much immediately attracted to him. Anyway, that's my little quibble with the blurb.Tempted is my first foray into erotica. I was a little apprehensive, I wasn't sure what to expect or how I would like it. It was afraid it would be a literary version of porn: show more all sex, no plot. I've read some reviews of Hart's other books and was intrigued. They sounded like really gripping, intense reads. When I saw Naked available on NetGalley I wanted to read it but knew this book came first and had Alex in it. It's not necessary to read Tempted first to enjoy Naked but Tempted really gives you a background on what happened between Alex, James and Anne and helps the reader understand Alex better in Naked. So I would highly recommend picking this up before reading Naked.I'm really glad I gave Tempted a chance. It's hot, it's sexually and emotionally intense. It's sweet and sad all at the same time. It's not a light read, which, I gather, not many of Hart's books are. However, I'm now a bona fide Hart fangirl and have also picked up Deeper and Stranger and intend to get her entire backlist! Yay for trying something out of my comfort zone and finding an amazing new-to-me author!Grade: BOne side note: there was a small conversation between Alex and Anne that really disturbed me because of it's perceived (at least by me) glamorization, or at the very least acceptance of, child sex slavery. However, I intend to discuss/analyze this very brief conversation in the novel in a separate post. You can read that post here.

Disclosure: I checked this book out from the library. I did not receive any compensation for this review. show less