Tempted by Megan Hart

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                                                                            Megan Hart

Summary on Goodreads:

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.

And I loved my husband.

But I wasn't the only one.

RATING: 

***REVIEW***

First of all, I want to thank my Boss With The Whip a.k.a Glass for inviting me to be a part of this blog and doing all the hard work considering my limited "hacker abilities". I have been racking my brains out for awhile while deciding which book should be my first 'opening' review on this blog dedicated to all way-too-hot books out there and finally I have decided that I should definitely start with a book of one of my favorite authors and that's one and only- Megan Hart.

“There are few times when we know with absolute certainty we are going to do something for the last time. 

Life has a way of moving in circles, bringing us back to places we didn’t expect and taking us away from those we do. 

There are too many times we don’t pay close enough attention, and moments are lost in our assumption we’ll have another chance.”

Everybody who met me or read one of my reviews on GR is very familiar with the fact that I'm a huge sucker for emotional books and No. 1 criteria when I'm rating a book and a bigger turn-on even than a hot male character is the author's writing style. Basically, if the writing style is good- meaning if it moves me, makes me feel all the character's emotions as if they were my own, if it makes me wanna crawl into the book and never leave- then I'm yours 4ever. So if you are an emotional book-junkie like me, you should definitely check this author out. When you look at the cover of this book, anyone who's not familiar with the work of this author will assume that this is probably just another erotic novel with lot of "ohhhh God & yesss" in it, but this book is so much more than that. There are some really way-too-hot scenes, but what really stands out in this book is the story and emotions beautifully described by Megan Hart's amazing writing style.

Boy does this woman know how to write!!! I just love her writing style- so honest, realistic and emotional and her ability to write about some really dark and "taboo" themes in such a beautiful way. I was a bit skeptic about this book at first, because I'm really not a fan of "love triangles, squares" etc. or infidelity and all that annoying drama and jealousy, but I should have known that it couldn't be that bad, because M. Hart wrote it. I love how at the beginning of her stories everything seems so perfect- the characters, their life etc., but the more you read, the more the story builds up and you get all these little clues and snippets and then BANG, you're like: "What? WTF did just happen?" Love the element of surprise and this story definitely surprised me a couple of times and just when I thought I got it all figured out.

"I waited for them to touch, but they didn’t. I waited for them to move apart, but they didn’t do that, either. They stayed there, two men standing too close to be just friends and not quite close enough to be lovers."

This book deals with a lot of not that pretty "issues" (abortion, sexuality, bisexuality, drugs, menage, alcoholism etc.) and you'll probably not be happy with how some of the characters dealt with those issues, I know I wanted to scream and hit some of them a couple of times. If you want to read about some"perfect", rich supermodels living their perfect, luxury life stay away from this book. The characters in this book may be good-looking, but they are far from perfect and have a lot of "issues" which are haunting them all their life. Don't be surprised when you find yourself liking them one moment and hating their guts the next one, especially when it comes to the main female character Anne and her husband James. At the beginning of the story they seem to be completely crazy about each other and to have a perfect marriage, but as the story progresses we see that it's far from true, especially when James' long lost bff & way-too-hot for this show bad boy Alex comes back in his life and irrevocably turns their lives upside down.

“What is it about him?” I whispered the question so he could pretend not to hear it. He heard me. He didn’t answer, but he heard. We looked at each other.I didn’t like the sudden distance between us, in a moment when we should have felt closer than ever."

When I think about it, James probably annoyed me the most, because one of the things I really can't stand, both in real life & books, are indifferent & monotonous people and this guy has a 'master degree' in those areas.

"James is an intense butterfly, flitting from focus to focus and giving each his undivided attention. It’s flattering when it’s you. Not so charming when it isn’t."

But don't worry Alex makes it all better, but at the same time he doesn't lack in the department "huge issues" as well. He's your typical hot & mysterious bad boy with a lot of mischievous teenage stories to tell and secrets to hide and btw. he is bisexual.

"What’s Alex like?” “He’s like the lake.” “Tell me.” James shifted, the bed dipping as he moved and tugged the covers with his feet. “Alex is… deep, Anne. But he’s shallow in places, too, when you don’t expect it. I guess that’s the only way to put it.”

Another great character was Anne's super-funny youngest sister Claire whom I would describe as a female version of Alex. She is very out-going and open-minded, especially about her sexuality, kind of a "black sheep" in the family. All in all, this is just one of those stories where IMO the supporting characters outshone the main (Alex & Claire in my case.) I highly recommend this book to everyone who isn't afraid of emotional, realistic, hot & steamy books dealing with some anything, but "prettified" issues. Actually, I highly recommend anything Megan Hart wrote, even if it's a cookbook :).

"I had the chance for things to stay the same. To choose perfection over change. I could've said no, and we all would have laughed and gone to sleep in separate beds. I could've saved us a lot of grief. But I wanted him, and unlike the absinthe, I didn't put him aside."

 

XOXO