Temptation ~ Karen Ann Hopkins review

Stop back Wednesday, May 8th:

Belonging (Temptation #2) tour stop

w/ review, guest blog + giveaway

Temptation (Temptation #1)
Harlequin Teen
June 26, 2012
383 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

Your heart misleads you.
That's what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah.
And he loves me.

We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms.

It should be

ROSE & NOAH

forever, easy.

But it won't be.

Because he's Amish.
And I'm not.

Sixteen-year-old Rose, her older brother Sam, younger brother Justin and their father, now a doctor at the local hospital have moved to Meadowview following the death of the children's mother. Vastly different from the suburban Cincinnati life they left behind, the Cameron family's new neighbors are Amish.

Expecting to have nothing in common with them, Rose is surprised when one of the boys doing work at her house, Noah, catches her eye. Are there just too many differences between them, or can love find a way?


I'll admit that in several ways, Temptation didn't really work as a romance for me. Rose and Noah were star -- or rather, society -- crossed lovers, struggling to find a way. She was 'English' and he was Amish, each with more than enough preconceived notions and biases about the other.

The beginning of their interactions worked well, with the hesitancy, the pull and then their drawing back . . . but then it felt as if things clicked over into 'Noah and Rose' too quickly. That, or the way Rose just didn't click for me may be why the romance didn't quite do it for me, either.  Despite that, the book worked. Not being sure that their relationship was actually a good, healthy thing gave me another reason to keep turning those pages, to see how things would work out. It may or may not have been something the author was hoping for, but it works, regardless.

The portrayal of the Amish community isn't sugarcoated here. It's especially truthful feeling when it comes to the treatment/place of women in their society. This lead to several points where I really wanted Rose to speak up for herself, to, well, toughen up. If that was in her, was her character, though, she wouldn't have fit with Noah and there wouldn't have been a story.

I'll be interested to see if this does play a part, or perhaps even more of a part in the second book, Belonging.

Rose's relationships with her brothers, especially towards the end of the novel, are great. As the story is focused mostly on Rose and Noah and their relationship, we don't always see a lot of Justin and Sam and, at first, they really are just the annoying brothers. As things progress, however, we get to see the deeper, more caring bond they have with their sister. It feels like a very real sibling relationship.


Rating: 7/10



thank you to the author for my copy of the book for review


Don't forget about next Wednesday's tour stop!