Sara Bennett, $2.99, ISBN 978-0-6456101-2-3
Historical Romance, 2022
Would you fall for a man that tried to actively ruin your reputation? Sure, Lord Garrett Rathven is hot and sexy, but still. That is the question posed to Lady Mary Trevanen, the heroine of Sara Bennett’s Temptation.
Mind you, the ruining part isn’t particularly fun, as it’s just a bet to kiss her during her debut in Polite Society, and she’d told him off when they met again during her second Season. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s much ado about nothing, considering some of the activities that led to the ruination of other heroines in this genre.
Anyway, cut to the present day and our hero is now being suspiciously nice to and even sweet on Mary. Is he sincere, or is he up to something shady again? Meanwhile, his best friend Toby seems to be wooing her too.
So who will Mary marry? Garrett or Toby? In case some people may have a heart attack as a result of the suspense, let me share that the official back cover synopsis clearly states that Garrett is the hero, so okay, people, exhale deeply and relax.
Therein lies my biggest issue with this one: were not for Garrett being designated clearly as the hero, I have no idea why he is the one for Mary. To be fair, I’m not sure why Toby could be the one either, but Mary seems to have a better time when she’s with Toby, so I have a bit more idea as to why he may be right for Mary compared to, say, why Garrett is the one for her.
This is because machinations and manipulations by secondary characters are the name of the game here. This is the first entry that I’ve read in the author’s Mockingbird Square Series 2 series, and it’s the third entry in what seems to be a spin-off of a successful series. Hence, I can only wonder whether those stories are similarly heavy on various secondary characters’ machinations to bring the hero and the heroine together.
These machinations intrude too heavily in this story, making it very difficult for me to view the happily ever after between Mary and Garrett as a natural progression of an organically formed relationship. This issue is compounded by the fact that this story is on the short side, hence there is not enough room for their relationship to develop more fully. The whole thing is too much like a social experiment by the nosy people around our hero and heroine.
I actually enjoy reading this story, believe it or not. This one will qualify as a clean read, as there are no diddling or fiddling around, but there is an attractive cadence to the narrative and dialogues that makes the reading experience an enjoyable one—it’s like having tea with a hot guy that also has a sexy accent.
The characters are also pretty likable and sensible for the most part, and they certainly communicate well enough to make their romance believable… if the relationship had been given room to develop organically, that is.
In the end, the romance is more akin to a crowd of people doing their best to shoo their favorite bull to mount the preferred cow in the farm. I can’t fault the technical aspects of the narrative—in fact, I’d argue that this is actually one of the most enjoyable works I’ve read from this author—but I wish the author had put more faith in her characters to fall in love all by themselves.
