Reviews

Tempting by Crystal Kaswell

subee's review against another edition

3.0

I’m not necessarily a fan of always thinking the worst of yourself and believing that you are unworthy, but I liked this book anyway. I liked the friends that encouraged them and the grandma was a hoot. I didn’t really understand why K couldn’t move to Jersey and go to school there or why Bendon’s parents hated him so much and I think we could have gotten to know Em a little better. Overall, the sex was great, K and Brendon were well developed, and it made me want to read the next one.

hawful's review against another edition

1.0

In a lot of the reviews, I see that people are pointing out how naive or young Kaylee is for 18. Honestly, her fascinations with Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Little Mermaid weren't distracting to me like they seemed to be for others. She could have been a few years older with the same hobbies and interests and it still wouldn't be too out of place. But maybe I might be in the minority.

That being said, Kaylee's immaturity stemmed for her underdeveloped motivations outside wanting to bone Brendan. She only cared about her Grandma when the manuscript called for it and it was incredibly forced when she did.

Her depression...? I've done a fair amount of research on it but it doesn't seem like Crystal Kaswell did. This character trait was just off.

I didn't care about Brendan's "darkness" or whatever the hell you want to call it. It was so poorly written... It's just... well, it is 2018. There are lots of books that deal with dark themes. The ones that pull it off successfully don't CONSTANTLY talk about how weird they are or how troubled they are. They OWN it in a beautiful way.

And the actual acts he enjoyed? Maybe I'm giving y'all too much insight into my life but I don't see what was so "dark" about it.

I think I'm gonna avoid this author from this point on.

excusemewhileiread's review against another edition

2.0

I really enjoyed this book. Any book that can both turn me on and make me cry is great. There were times in the book that were a little slower than another, but I hope Brendon and Kaylee continue to love each other and have hot steamy sex

dariendeeann's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Good book to read, not particularly enjoyable. 

canadian_chaos_gremlin's review against another edition

3.0

Going into this book, I was pretty excited as the blurb sounded quite interesting. While it did take me a while to actually connect with the book and the characters, the story’s concept was actually a great one. I love the in love with the best friend’s brother type of story. I just found this one very slow paced. While it does deal with a very tough subject of clinical depression, I found there wasn’t enough with Kaylee about it. It seemed fleeting at times with her and while she had her dark thoughts, some were almost every day typical teenage ones. Brendon, for all his hotness, found him to drive me up the wall toying with Kaylee like he did.
Overall, it was a decent read, just a little slow for pacing wise and connecting with the characters. I did love the banter between the boys at the tattoo shop. I was giggling at Dean more often than not! The passion and openness between Kaylee and Brendon when the ball was rolling was breathtaking though. How they melded together was amazing.

madisonweber's review against another edition

4.0

During the first half of the book I felt hesitant and not well connected to the story or the characters. Needless to say that absolutely changed. The portrayal of what it feels like to have depression is spot on. It literally feels like the author split open my head and put all my thoughts onto the page. It has been a while since I have felt so seen by someone else’s words and genuinely connected to a character. I have minor uses with some word choices, but my main complaint is that I really dislike the whole keeping secrets from the people you care about trope. I understand that it’s human nature but I hate it every time I see it. Please stop lying to your best friend. The serva me, servabo te tattoos really hit me right in the feels and between this and the depression rep I could almost look past the lying trope and unfavorable word choices.

jaypeg's review against another edition

2.0

Sorry a DNF at 10% for me. Just not my thing. I am not into age gaps. I thought I could get past it but the heroine just felt so young. She felt like she was 15/16 with her love of the Hunger Games, princess films and her Disney duvet cover (that’s what made me put down the book). It just gave me the creeps. Sorry! I know 10% is bad but it’s also billed as a comedy and yet the mention of mental illness just made me feel really heavy-hearted. It’s a serious topic, one with little comedic latitude. I felt like this book might wring me out. Do I really want a depressed 18 year old getting it on with her much older guardian? It’s just a bit skeevy for me personally.

eljoseph24's review against another edition

3.0

I quite enjoyed this and will likely continue on with the other books in this series. Having looked at some of the reviews I can see why some people liked and some didn’t. It seems mainly to be to with the expectations going in. From the blurb it’s fairly obvious to me this book is going to be focused on relationships and sex more than plot so I never expected much of one. This book was pretty much exactly what I expected but I enjoyed it for what it was. Yes Kaylee was a bit immature, yes there was a lot avoidance of the relationship as it was ‘so wrong’ and the way the depression part was dealt with wasn’t fantastic but I read this very quickly and want to read on.