Short review of Tempted by Megan Hart

Megan Hart
Tempted
Harlequin Spice, 2007

Genre & Keywords:
Contemporary Romance, M/F, Ménage, M/F/M, Alcohol abuse, Nerving MIL, Addiction, Unwanted pregnancy

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Heat level: 2.5 of 3 flames

Back Blurb
I had everything a woman could want.
My husband James. The house on the lake. My life. Our perfect life. And then Alex came to visit.
The first time I saw my husband's best friend, I didn't like him. Didn't like how James changed when he was around, didn't like how his penetrating eyes followed me everywhere. But that didn't stop me from wanting him. And surprisingly, James didn't seem to mind.
It was meant to be fun. Something the three of us shared for those hot summer weeks Alex stayed with us. Nobody was supposed to fall in or out of love. I didn't need another man, not even one who oozed sex like honey and knew all the secrets I didn't know, the secrets my husband hadn't shared. After all, we had a perfect life. I loved my husband.
But I wasn't the only one.

Tempted is told in first person from Anne's point of view. She's married to James whom she loves fondly. It's not an earth-shattering love but a calm, solid one. Then Alex comes into their lives. James and Alex have a history together and Anne immediately feels attracted to Alex. Soon they all three end up in bed together, which makes for some pretty hot sex scenes. Always straight m/f/m scenes, not a hint of m/m action though. Of course things become complicated when emotions get involved.

To be honest, I didn't like Anne that much. This feeling grew stronger and stronger in the second half of the book and her last scene with Alex sealed the deal for me - no chance left for her to redeem herself. The fact that the story is only told from her POV and we never learn about James' or Alex's feelings doesn't help. Eventually I even found the secondary storylines about Anne and her family taking too much pages. My worries for Alex (and James) kept me from enjoying these.

I usually can appreciate a flawed character, really, but Anne's idea of an (unprotected) solution just goes beyond flawed imo. In the end it's hard for me to love a book when I find the heroine selfish and unpleasant, even though I can see that it's written very well with great skill. I still look forward to reading Alex's story in Naked, because of Megan Hart's beautiful and compelling style of writing. Let's just hope I like the heroine in that story better...

Mondays Hot Couple Inspired by Megan Harts Tempted

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This week’s Hot Couple is actually a threesome. :) It’s inspired by the novel I was reading this weekend from Megan Hart: Tempted.

That romance is about the married couple Anne and James. When an old friend of James comes over for a visit there’s an instant attraction between Anne and the houseguest Alex. After awhile it seems only natural for the couple to invite Alex into their bed… The three of them scorch the sheets, but what does this mean for Anne’s and James’s marriage and James’s and Alex’s friendship?

I haven’t finished the novel yet, but think I will soon because I’m at a point now where it’s hard to put the book down. It did cost me some time to get there, but now I find Ms. Hart’s writing very addictive. Tempted is sort of a prequel to Ms Hart’s novel Naked in which Alex is the main character and finds his own HEA. So there’s no happy ending for the threesome as such in Tempted. I’m actually relieved about that, because I adore Alex and he deserves his own Love with a capital L. ;)

Are you a fan of Megan Hart’s books? Which one is your absolute favorite?

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*Promo*
I’m usually not one to tell you about new releases or that you should buy a book that I haven’t read yet myself, but today I like to make an exception for a gay romance from Kim Dare, called Gay Friendly, that I’m going to buy, not only because she writes fun, kinky stories, but also because all the royalties the author receives for this book are being donated to a good cause - the Ty Hafan Children's Hospice.
Gay Friendly releases today at Total E-Bound and can be purchased here.

Backblurb

Ellis is gay and out - technically at least. Unfortunately the only other gay man he's acquainted with is his cousin Harry. When he suddenly gets the chance to visit a gay friendly hotel with his cousin, in exchange for paying his share of the petrol money, he assumes the impromptu holiday will be a nice gentle way to ease his way into gay society before he starts university in September.
Dominant Mitchell Thompson has fond memories of the hotel where he came out almost two decades ago. He returns there every year, and always finds it to be exactly the same unashamedly kinky hook-up party it has always been. When he stumbles across a sweet little novice who's obviously way out of his depth at the resort, his trip down memory lane suddenly becomes far more interesting.

Have a good Monday!