FAR TOO TEMPTING by LAUREN BLAKELY

Reviewed by Jenny and Gitte

Jenny & Gitte: 4.5 Stars

Jenny:  Sometimes a story can capture you so completely that it allows the world around you to dissolves while you escape into its pages simply provides you with the perfect balance of everything you love. That was Far Too Tempting for me. It wasn’t overly angsty, overly dramatic, overly erotic or overly frustrating. Nope, this book had a bit of everything and the balance was just right.  It was the perfect escape and I loved it.

‘There comes a time when healing is simply a choice, when moving forward is a choice. You choose to love, you choose to commit, and you choose to be faithful.’

Lauren Blakely enveloped me in the journey of Jane and Matthew and in doing so she gave me the opportunity to spend time enjoying some wonderfully sexy, witty, beautiful emotional and flirty moments that I treasured. Yep, I really did enjoy this one G, what about you?

Gitte: I loved Far Too Tempting. It was a fresh, romantic and musical easy to read story that hit all the right buttons. It was beautifully written and the characters were sexy and lovable. The emotions I felt reading were intense at times and I thought this Author got the heartbreak, cynicism and romance just right…it flowed beautifully!

‘I’d come so close to giving in, giving up, moving on, because I just wasn’t making it at all. Then I was kicked to the curb….’ – Jane

Jenny:  Jane has had her confidence rocked to its foundation following the breakdown of her marriage with the father of her little boy.  Her marriage ended under circumstances that would bring any woman to her knees and Jane, quite understandably feels the need to protect her heart and finds it difficult to even comprehend opening up and trusting again.

‘Secrets can be alluring. But secrets can be devastating too.’

She feels betrayed and slighted and wonders just how she will cope and move on.  Well, one way is to put your feelings down in song and in doing so Jane inadvertently creates a kick arse album that goes on to become the break up anthem for so many and a runaway success..

‘Pain has a funny way of subsiding, eventually, so you can survive. It has this way of not suffocating you every single day. Sure, some days you’re still blindsided by a memory, a feeling, a song.’

Jane was down to earth and forthright and I really did like her because there was no diva behaviour from this girl. Jane had to put up with having her unhappiness and her rather humiliating marriage split become the thing of tabloid ridicule and that couldn’t have been easy. She was who she was and was understandably a bit guarded. What about you G.  How did you find Jane?

Gitte: How unique to get a complete snapshot of a female rock star who’s a Mum to boot. It felt so different and I really connected with her character.

“Her man did her wrong, so she went to the studio for closure….”

We all love those heart breaking songs that make us feel and cry. For me Adele gets to me every single time and no matter how many times I hear her songs I cry! Well, Jane wrote an album full of those after a devastating life event. My heart broke for her. To find your life was a ruse for five years, where your heart belonged to a man who was living a lie. How do you even try and work through something for which you have no control over and that makes you feel like a farce? Makes you feel like your identity is in question? I can’t imagine but the whole situation broke my heart. I completely understood her insecurities, her self-doubts and her struggles. Then when the fact that your heart is broken and your life changes, to be celebrated and recognised for this fact how do you go from there?

‘That is the secret of my success, the bittersweet reminder that you can write a break-up album and it can be great…but you’re only here because you are the biggest idiot in the world. Because you loved a man wildly, crazily, passionately. …’ – Jane

The journey Jane had to go through both musically and healing her heart…trusting to love without breaking all over again was emotional for sure. But it was funny and sexy too!

 Jenny:  Matthew is the gorgeous English music journo who works for Beat Magazine and who wants to do an exclusive on Jane.  He wants access to a behind the scenes look at the process Janes goes through in writing and recording her next album.  Jane has always had a thing for Matthew and is eager to do the expose but there’s one hitch.  Jane has a creative block and thinks she can only produce her best work when she suffering and heartbroken, when she starts experiencing happiness her creative juices dry up causing Jane to question everything in her life. What if she can only produce quality work if she’s unhappy? Where does that leave her?

‘Success is temporal. Fame is mercurial. Tomorrow, I could be nobody again.’

Jane and Matthew have an instant attraction and the chemistry between them is tangible.  I loved the flirty banter between them and the sexual tension and innuendos that hung in the air were delicious fun.  These two were sizzling! Matthew was a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and I absolutely LOVED this man! He was hot and his background knowledge of the music industry gave him extra swoonie stars.  But….I have to admit to having this nervous feeling throughout that there was something sinister behind Matthew and that he had an ulterior motive for what he was doing. My heart and stomach were on constant alert as their relationship began to take off.   How about you G, did you feel the same?

“Please don’t fuck with my heart,” I say in a voice that threatens to break.
“I won’t,” he says.

Gitte:  LOVED Matthew. Again, an intelligent, cheeky and sexy male character, who in a way, was a ‘fan-boy’…so refreshing!! The chemistry and passion was intense and I did have to go douse myself with cold water a few times. At first I was as hesitant as Jane was about the motives of the enigmatic Matthew. When she opened her heart I was shouting ‘don’t do it Jane!!’ But….I can see why she fell, because I sure did too. He was quite simply bloody lush!

‘He could make or break a musician, but he could probably make or break a heart too, given the way he smiles with the most inviting grin and the way he’s a very eligible bachelor in New York City.’ – Jane

So yeah, I absolutely loved this story. It wasn’t your ordinary rock star book, it didn’t have ordinary characters, and I suppose you could say we had a bit of role reversal going on here. But what it did have was originality and I thought it was a breath of fresh air. I fell in love and I look forward to more from this Author!

‘I want someone to want me. I want to be desired, I want to be admired, I want to be adored.’ – Jane

Jenny:  We did G and I think it was that role reversal that I found so refreshing.  I was completely sucked into this beautifully engaging story of moving on, trusting, opening your heart and believing in yourself. The characters felt real and relatable and the story kept me turning the pages with gusto! No one was absolutely perfect, they all had their flaws and each and every one of them stole my heart.

‘Screw falling. I’m there. I’ve fallen in love with you, Jane.” – Matthew

This was exactly what I needed at the time and I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author that’s for sure because she kept me enthralled and entertained from start to finish.

‘These are the tentative dances of a new relationship, the tender moves of new hearts coming together, awkwardly at times……’

Is it easier to express yourself when your heart is breaking or when your heart is overflowing with love? You’ll enjoy finding out that’s for sure!

 ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

FAR TOO TEMPTING by LAUREN BLAKELY
amazon us || amazon uk