Tempted by Trouble by Michelle Smart
Publication Date:March 11th 2013
Publisher:Entangled: Indulgence
ebook, 174 pages
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website
Tempted by Trouble is a rather difficult book for me to rate. And it's difficult because even though I really enjoyed reading it, there were some aspects of the story that made me want to bang my head on any available surface! And the main thing that made me feel that way was Marco, the main hero of the story.
But let's take things from the start. Tempted by Trouble is a typical romantic story about second chance in love. Pippa is a socialite, the golden girl who has everything right on her feet and chooses to throw them away and be a party animal and Marco, her step uncle, who is her first and only love but doesn't want to ever see her again because he believes she has destroyed his life, or does he?
The setting couldn't be more perfect for me, seeing that it takes place in the Caribbean, and the story, well, it's right up my alley. Add to that the fact that Michelle Smart did a wonderful job both with her writing and the way she developed her characters in such a small story and you get why I really enjoyed this story. I mean we're talking about a rather short story, but still, Smart managed to provide her characters with a solid past, to explore them throughout her story and make her readers care for them. That is a great accomplishment in my book! While I was reading this story I felt more than once my heart breaking for Pippa, the way everyone treated her and the way no one could understand that she was so messed up and all she needed was some love. All she needed was for someone to care about her. And maybe because I cared so much about Pippa, I hated so much Marco and his behavior towards her. Granted, maybe Marco's behavior was justified but still, you never get to treat someone in that way. No matter how much you believe you were wronged, being so short sighted speaks volumes of your own character. For the best part of the book I just wanted to slap both Marco and Pippa. Well, mostly Marco for treating Pippa that way and then I just wanted to slap some sense into Pippa for still dreaming of a man that treated her that way for no apparent reason. He was just horrible to her right until the end. And in case you're wondering, no, he didn't redeem himself by then. Even if he tried to protect Pippa and changed his behavior towards her, I still couldn't forgive him his previous horrible behavior. He was a man with such a huge ego and no matter what he did couldn't change that.
As you can guess, I got quite passionate with this book right? Which is a good thing because it means I got invested in the story, and that is where I find it difficult to rate this book. Because I loved it, but I really hated the main hero. One other thing that I quite didn't like also, were the sex scenes. While I found the whole writing style really good, the sex scenes were a failure. They were very cheesy and descriptions like:
"The first press of his lips on hers turned her bones into fondue." or
"All that mattered was being in his arms again and being kissed with such passion and hunger her whole being turned into noodles"
just killed my mood. Add to that some really unnecessary commands while in the act like "Take me." or "Kiss me." more than once and yeah, the sex scenes were definitely not my favorite part of this story.
Anyway, all in all, Tempted by Trouble is a decent story, well written for the most part of it, that I really enjoyed reading if not for the main hero. He was my main source of problems while reading this book, but Pippa just made up for him. She was one memorable character, so strong and so kind that I just loved her. And maybe because I loved her so much I hated Marco for the way he treated her. Michelle Smart did an incredible job and I just can't wait for her next story!
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website
Socialite Pippa Rowantree has always provided excellent fodder for the UK’s gossip rags. After another unfortunate scandal sends the gossips into a feeding frenzy, her shamed family retaliates by forcing her into hiding at old family friend Marco Capello’s lush Caribbean estate—literally the last place on earth she wants to be.As far as Marco’s concerned, wild child Pippa has ruined his life once and he’ll be damned if he lets her do it again. But it’s hard to reconcile the adolescent he knew with the mature, beautiful woman who stands before him. Soon he's questioning if everything the media is claiming about PIppa is the truth or if he should trust his heart.
Tempted by Trouble is a rather difficult book for me to rate. And it's difficult because even though I really enjoyed reading it, there were some aspects of the story that made me want to bang my head on any available surface! And the main thing that made me feel that way was Marco, the main hero of the story.
But let's take things from the start. Tempted by Trouble is a typical romantic story about second chance in love. Pippa is a socialite, the golden girl who has everything right on her feet and chooses to throw them away and be a party animal and Marco, her step uncle, who is her first and only love but doesn't want to ever see her again because he believes she has destroyed his life, or does he?
The setting couldn't be more perfect for me, seeing that it takes place in the Caribbean, and the story, well, it's right up my alley. Add to that the fact that Michelle Smart did a wonderful job both with her writing and the way she developed her characters in such a small story and you get why I really enjoyed this story. I mean we're talking about a rather short story, but still, Smart managed to provide her characters with a solid past, to explore them throughout her story and make her readers care for them. That is a great accomplishment in my book! While I was reading this story I felt more than once my heart breaking for Pippa, the way everyone treated her and the way no one could understand that she was so messed up and all she needed was some love. All she needed was for someone to care about her. And maybe because I cared so much about Pippa, I hated so much Marco and his behavior towards her. Granted, maybe Marco's behavior was justified but still, you never get to treat someone in that way. No matter how much you believe you were wronged, being so short sighted speaks volumes of your own character. For the best part of the book I just wanted to slap both Marco and Pippa. Well, mostly Marco for treating Pippa that way and then I just wanted to slap some sense into Pippa for still dreaming of a man that treated her that way for no apparent reason. He was just horrible to her right until the end. And in case you're wondering, no, he didn't redeem himself by then. Even if he tried to protect Pippa and changed his behavior towards her, I still couldn't forgive him his previous horrible behavior. He was a man with such a huge ego and no matter what he did couldn't change that.
As you can guess, I got quite passionate with this book right? Which is a good thing because it means I got invested in the story, and that is where I find it difficult to rate this book. Because I loved it, but I really hated the main hero. One other thing that I quite didn't like also, were the sex scenes. While I found the whole writing style really good, the sex scenes were a failure. They were very cheesy and descriptions like:
"The first press of his lips on hers turned her bones into fondue." or
"All that mattered was being in his arms again and being kissed with such passion and hunger her whole being turned into noodles"
just killed my mood. Add to that some really unnecessary commands while in the act like "Take me." or "Kiss me." more than once and yeah, the sex scenes were definitely not my favorite part of this story.
Anyway, all in all, Tempted by Trouble is a decent story, well written for the most part of it, that I really enjoyed reading if not for the main hero. He was my main source of problems while reading this book, but Pippa just made up for him. She was one memorable character, so strong and so kind that I just loved her. And maybe because I loved her so much I hated Marco for the way he treated her. Michelle Smart did an incredible job and I just can't wait for her next story!
* This tile was provided for review via NetGalley
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