Mundie Moms

Friday, July 6, 2012

Book Review: The Temptation by Alisa Valdes


Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: April 24th, 2012
Source: ARC received from publisher for review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Series: Kindred #1

His touch was electric. 
His eyes were magnetic. 
His lips were a temptation.... 
But was he real? 

After crashing her car on an empty highway, Shane is miraculously saved by Travis, a mysterious cowboy who walks out of nowhere. She is instantly attracted to him, and for the first time, she believes in “soul mates.” But Shane soon discovers that Travis is dead and that strict rules from the Underworld govern kindred spirits of different dimensions. Breaking these rules could destroy both their souls. And while Travis is almost impossible to resist, temptation proves to be the kindest enemy they encounter. Can true love surpass the power of pure evil? Part love story, part supernatural thriller, this first book in the Kindred trilogy will leave readers lusting for more! -quoted from Goodreads


A haunting ghost story mixed with romance, redemption and danger. The Temptation is a beautifully told story about a kindred who's trying to right the wrongs he did before his death and the beautiful mortal who's life he saves.

Before you think this is just another love story, there's so much more to it than that. I mean, yet it is one part love story, and another part paranormal thriller with an intriguing good vs evil plot line. This story has a paranormal twist that encompasses romance, and has a well developed relationship between the two main characters/love interests and plenty of evil that will cause your adrenaline to spike a bit during the course of reading this book. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this book! I don't know what I was excepting, but what I got was a fabulous read, and I wish I had picked up sooner than I did.

Shane and Travis's paths cross in an unlikely way and I loved being able to sit back and watch their relationship grow, their romance blossom, and see how these two characters change and grow over the course of this fast paced read. Shane is more than just a beautiful rich girl, with an incredible musical talent. She's genuine, down to earth and I loved getting to know her as her story unfolded. It was nice getting to see glimpses of who she was before her accident and how she changed after. Travis is the hero with a painful past and an uncertain future. The fact that his soul is currently in limbo puts him in a hard place when it comes to his feelings for Shane. There's definitely more to him that his south western cowboy manners and pretty boy looks. He's a genuinely nice guy and I think a lot of YA readers are going to fall in love with him. 

 I quickly fell in love with this story's setting! I don't know what it is about the rugged New Mexico desert, but there's something I found fascinating about it in The Temptation. It was the perfect setting for all that happens in this book, and I felt like it added something unique to the story. Though I've not yet been to NM in person, I felt like I was able to envision what it looked like based on Alisa's vivid details. Thanks to Alisa, I now want to take a road trip out to New Mexico to see her setting for myself.

The Temptation has an incredibly engaging plot line that not only flows smoothly, but offers a variety of different elements that kept me turning it's pages. I loved that Alisa wasn't quick to reveal everything at once, but instead carefully crafts a story that builds up at the right moments, allowing her to reveal bits and pieces of her plot at the right moment. This allowed me as a reader to really get into her story, and kept me invested with everything that was going on. I love it when an author captures my attention like that. I was hooked with this story. I wanted to know more about the world, the paranormal elements and the different characters that make up this story. 

If you're looking for an exciting read with a well craft paranormal twist,  a beautiful love story, and plenty of danger, I highly recommend picking this book up! Now if only the movie and the rest of this trilogy would hurry up and be out.....

7 comments:

  1. I was on the fence whether to read this book or not, but since I love the setting of the book . . . I'm definitely giving this one a go. Fab review!

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    1. Aw, thank you Erin! I hope it's one you enjoy as much as I did. ;)

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  2. Thank you for the review. I will definitely give the book a try.

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    1. You're welcome Elli! Thank you for reading my review. I hope you enjoy it!

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  3. This does sound pretty great, but I won't even pretend that the whole boy name for a girl doesn't irritate me a little.

    Anyways.

    I'll have to shove this more closer to the top of my TBR!

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