Temptation’s Edge by Eve Berlin
Erotic Contemporary Romance
August 7, 2012
Berkley

Reviewed by Helyce

Mischa Kennon is a beautiful, talented woman who learned at a very young age that if she wanted to survive, the only person she could count on was herself. She’s proud of her accomplishments; her tattoo shop, Thirteen Roses is successful and she’s also an erotica author. She’s thinking about expanding her shop and heads up to Seattle to meet with her friend Greyson who she is planning to partner with. While in Seattle she also plans to spend time with her friend Dylan and help her with wedding plans.

On the night she arrives in Seattle, she joins Dylan and her fiancé Alec, along with their friends for dinner. At the dinner she meets Connor Galloway, Alec’s best friend. Their attraction is immediate and they spend dinner flirting and getting to know each other. Mischa feels the dominant pull that Connor has right at the start and knowing that he’s a friend of Dylan and Alec she correctly assumes that Connor is a Dominant. Connor is extremely suggestive and honest about his attraction to Mischa. At the end of the evening, they share a cab home, only Mischa ends up at Connor’s place and a very smexy evening ensues.

But when Mischa wakes up early the next morning, she panics and leaves. While the sex was definitely hot, Mischa doesn’t see herself as a submissive, even though she seemed to easily fall into the role with Connor. She’s dabbled with bdsm a bit, but she’s not in the lifestyle; she thrives on her self control. It’s all she has and it’s what has made her a successful woman. She counts on no one but herself. She’s confused about her reaction to Connor and she doesn’t like it, better to keep it just about sex. But as she and Connor spend more time together, the lines they’ve drawn start to blur and they both come to realize that some rules are meant to be broken.

I had a difficult time getting into this story. I was about 30% in when I finally found myself a bit more drawn into the story and felt more of a connection with the characters. But they continued to frustrate me to no end. I felt there was more focus on Mischa and not so much on Connor. We do get back story on both of them, though. We learn that they both had very difficult childhoods and while you’d think having something similar in common would draw them together, it’s the thing that actually keeps them apart. The constant reminding the author did about their pasts and why they shied away from relationships was tiresome and repetitive.

I liked Mischa’s character. Strong, intelligent-a self made woman. She took the lessons learned very early in life and made sure that she would not repeat her mother’s mistakes and never depend on a man. Until Connor Galloway steps into her life. The author does a good job with these two. I could really feel the tension and turmoil that they felt with each other; their confusion with their feelings for each other, their sexual connection obvious. In this, I really liked how the author portrayed Connor. Clearly a dominant, he seemed to be conflicted whenever he and Mischa were together. While there was always that hint of dominance about him, on many occasions it seemed to me that they just made love and there was no bdsm involved. I liked that he seemed to experience this “change” when he was with Mischa and I would have like to have seen him embrace this side of him more. Instead the author chooses another direction and while I should have known better, I was disappointed all the same.

The conflict toward the end was no surprise and the only way the story could have gone, really. In that, the ending was a bit rushed and extremely predictable. I really would have liked it if Connor and Mischa had found more of a “middle ground” in exploring their relationship. I should not have been surprised by Mischa’s actions in the end, considering the type of story this was, but I was. Because of this, the book ended on a sour note.

Rating: C-

Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – C
Fiction Vixen – C-
Happily Ever After – 3/5
Love to Read for Fun – B
Goodreads

Author’s Website

Amazon l B&N