Sweet Temptation – Maya Banks

Sweet Temptation by Maya Banks

* I received this ARC free from the author in exchange for an honest review*

He was a by-the-book cop who broke the rules in the bedroom…
Micah Hudson has painful secrets he’s run hard from. He has new friends, a new life, but he’s about to be confronted with the one person who reminds him of all he’s tried to forget–Angelina, the sister of his oldest friend David. She knows everything about his past, including how he and David fell in love with the same woman, and how they decided the best way to prevent her from tearing them apart was to share her between them. But then a terrible accident left Micah alone…

She was willing to do anything to make him see the woman she’d become…
Micah lost the two people who meant the most in the world to him. Angelina lost her only family. And she kept her deepest secret close to her heart, her love for Micah. No longer willing to wait, she decides it’s time to go after him and bring him to his knees. She knows his secrets, his desires, his kinks and fetishes, and she’ll use whatever it takes to reel him in. Behind the easygoing, loves women exterior lies a man with dark needs and passions. She can give him what he wants. But will he decide she’s what he needs?

This is the 4^th book in the Sweet series by Maya Banks and it is definitely worth the wait.  Micah and Angelina’s story is compelling and draws you in.  I would sit down to read and didn’t want to put the book down.

Both the main characters are strong willed and comfortable within their own skin.  Angelina is a strong female lead, which I love.  She knows what she wants and goes after it.  She is determined to show Micah that it is ok to let his guard down and love again.  She was raised by a cop and taught to take care of herself.  She proves she knows how to do that when captured by her stalker.  Her ability to keep a level head is the only thing that saves her life.

Micah lost everything when David and Hannah were killed in a car wreck.  He left Miami and all the reminders of them and fled to Houston.  He has a good life and good friends but he doesn’t realize what he’s missing until Angelina walks back into his life.  The first time he sees her she is wearing a mask and he doesn’t know it’s her; she draws him like no other woman has.  Throughout the book he fights his attraction and growing love for her, until it’s almost too late.

I loved the story building up to Micah finally losing his heart.  You see how much he is struggling with losing David and Hannah, while leaving Angelina on her own.  He’s afraid to let anyone see his vulnerabilities because he is supposed to be the “strong one” and take care of everyone else.

The suspense of the stalker was a nice added piece to the puzzle.  Angelina has dealing with the stalker for a year and thought she had left him behind in Miami but she was wrong.  The best surprise was I didn’t have a clue of who the stalker was until it was revealed.  I like that in a book.  It wasn’t predictable.

The cast of secondary characters is equally good.  They have all appeared in the other books in the Sweet Series.  This book can be read as a standalone but if you haven’t read the other’s you are definitely going to want to pick them up.  I am now waiting anxiously for Conner’s book.

I loved this book and highly recommend you pick it up when it is released April 6th.  I give this book 4 flaming hearts.   

Other Sweet Books:

Sweet Surrender

Sweet Persuasion

Sweet Seduction

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Nauti Deceptions – Lora Leigh

This is book 6 of the Nauti Series and takes us back to the small town of Somerset, Kentucky where there are no secrets.

Caitlyn Rogue Walker attracts the attention of Dayle MacKay and Nadine Grace when she stands up for Shane, the local sheriff’s son.  She is caught in a compromising situation and forced to resign as a school teacher.  She refused to let them run her off, shed her sweet, innocent persona and became Rogue.  She runs her dad’s bar with the help of Danny “Jonesy” Jones and works with Alex and Janey at the restaurant.

 Zeke Mayes is the local sheriff that returned to Somerset after his father died.  His father was part of the Freedom League and Zeke has had to contend with consequences of that for the last 10 years.  He lost both his mother and his wife due to the Freedom League.  Because of the past he doesn’t believe in relationships.  He keeps his affairs regulated to the night but Rogue makes him desire more.

I loved this story.  The characters are both strong alpha characters.  Rogue has had to grow up and become tough after what happened with Dayle and Nadine.  She refused to let them get the better of her.  She is outspoken, tough as nails and loves to stir up trouble.  The bar is her home but she is starting to feel restless there, she would rather be at the restaurant with Janey and Alex.  She has been in love with Zeke for as long as she can remember but can’t get him to see her as anything other than “too young”.

Zeke is all alpha male.  He believes it’s his right to protect what is “his” and he considers Rogue his.  He has a dark past that he is worried will catch up with him and cause her harm.  He has even darker desires that he is afraid to unleash on the innocence that is Rogue.

The sexual tension between these two characters is great.  You know they will end up together eventually and when they do it’s going to be HOT!!  Rogue trusts Zeke with the one thing she never given anyone else, her innocence.  She wants him to lose control with her like he never has before.  She wants to capture not only his heart but his soul, just like he holds hers.  Loved the kitchen scene!!

The story flows well, is a fast easy read that draws you in from the start.  My only complaint is that it is fairly predictable.  I figured out who the bad guy was about halfway through the book but it didn’t stop me from wanting to finish it and see how everything played out.  I was even surprised at a couple of the things that tied the story together.  I loved that we got to see Janey and Alex again and the other Nauti boys were mentioned.  I was even glad to see Cranston still around, maybe he will have his own story to tell.

Overall, I think it was a great read and would definitely recommend it (and anything else Lora Leigh writes).  I give this book 4 ½ Flaming Hearts.

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