TL;DR: Tempt was a lot of fun and I picked it up on a whim the other day and devoured it in one sitting. This was my first book by MH but I really enjoyed her writing and I can see why people love her books and why she’s an often-recommended romance author. The characters were fun to read about, the supporting cast is everything I love in a small-town setting, the physical connection and sexual chemistry were undeniable, and I loved the bit of angst and tension that came with the “forbidden” aspect of the romance. While I do feel the sneaking around dragged a bit by the end, I still found this really enjoyable overall.

Although this is the ninth book in Harlow’s Cloverleigh Farms series, focusing on the next generation of kids from the original couples, it was my first book by this author and I didn’t have any issues picking this up so late in the game. I found the small-town setting charming and even though I’d never met them before, the cameos of previous couples made me want to know them immediately!

This is an age-gap romance where Millie is 32 and Zach is 47 and while this trope isn’t one that I naturally gravitate to, I’m glad that I didn’t let that deter me from picking it up! As they’re both older, they are definitely more mature and that came through in their interactions. They were great protagonists whose personalities easily came to life through the pages. I especially adored Millie, who was so easy to root for! She’s charming, witty, and smart, and I loved her passion and how she determinedly pursued her big dreams. Although she’s confident, happy and successful, she does wonder whether something’s wrong with her when all three of her most recent exes met their forever partner after dating her. When she steps out of her comfort zone, she meets Zach and there’s no looking back. While I liked Zach’s character, I do feel he was a little less well-fleshed out than Millie. He’s the stoic, older, slightly grumpy ex-Navy SEAL who’s kind of haunted by the demons from his past; including childhood trauma, growing up in a broken home, and having a few anger issues. But I never doubted he was a good guy with good intentions and although he struggled at times, he did his best to do the right thing.

Together they were explosive! Things get steamy really quickly between them as they have a one-night stand which ends up being so much more when they meet again a month later. Their feelings for each other were intense and although this got steamy quickly, I appreciated that we also got to see them get to know each other through texts, calls, and hanging out together, even if it was sneakily. It was really sweet and it also added some great tension and angst to the story every time they would say “this is gonna be the last time” but of course, it wasn’t. 😉 I do think the sneaking around went on for a little too long but ultimately, I still managed to really enjoy the story anyway.

Have you read Tempt or is it on your TBR?

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