Customer Reviews

Last Temptation

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Another page turning tear jerker. Michelle Stimpton has been blessed with a God given gift of having the ability to weave a fictional tale that is so real you identify with her characters in a real "I've been there" or "that was be me" kind of way and intertwines it with the word of God, directly from the scriptures, not an intrepretation of, but direct from the scriptures. I always feel more hunger for an intimate relationship with God when I read her books, and Last Temptation does not disappoint. I highly recommend it as a must read, especially if you are a woman, single, married, newly converted Christian or a seasoned sister in Christ.

Thank you Michelle for allowing the Lord to use you in such a unique and creative way.

Patricia "Peaches" Miller was finally blessed to meet the man that God had prepared for her, but the direction that He was taking Quinn's life did not line up with what was happening in Patricia's life. Besides, being dependent upon a man for everything will leave her with no identity of her own, and Patricia could not have that, in Michelle Stimpson's Last Temptation.

The stress of the job and the decision to follow Quinn as he followed the leading of the Lord was difficult for Peaches, especially since her son's father, Raphael, decided to step up and be a father to his son. Perhaps this was the very reason Peaches needed to convince herself that she should stay and raise her son with the help of his father.

In the meantime, Quinn decided to move in the direction he felt led to go and he and Peaches agreed to end their relationship when Peaches could not make up her mind as to what she was going to do. It seemed that no sooner than Quinn left, Peaches's life spun out of control very quickly, starting with giving in to Raphael's advances through the guise of caring for their son. In light of this, Peaches found herself falling away from her relationship with God and quickly falling victim to the circumstances that was created with her renewed relationship with her ex, compounded by more bad decisions.

What will it take for Peaches to come to herself and realize the position she has placed herself and her son in? Can she return to the place of serving and loving God like she had in the past, or will the life she found herself living consume her whole?

I enjoyed reading Last Temptation because the main character allowed me to come into her personal space up close and personal, and I understand how quickly yielding to temptation can take one down a path they thought not possible. But just like a GPS, God can configure our route and put us back on the right path according to His will. I recommend this book to everyone, especially those who struggle with temptation.

This book was provided to me courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

Review by Sharel E. Gordon-Love
APOOO BookClub

Saved, sexy and sanctified fiancé. Check. Intelligent, adorable and well-mannered son. Check. Deadbeat dad resurrecting a relationship with his son and sharing financial responsibilities outside of the child support parameters. Check. Reliable income as a human resources professional with a company unaffected by the economy. Check. Peaches Miller appears to have everything a clean living, modern Christian woman could ask for, yet she is poised to lose it all.

In this tale of love requited and refused, Michelle Stimpson revisits Peaches, LaShonda and Deneissa from Boaz Brown. The main characters are developed enough to follow, but not as captivating or intriguing. LAST TEMPTATION sticks to the romance formula with one or two comical twists and turns, but the dialogue is a bit stilted at times and hard to believe for one of the male characters. Readers who have become attached to the characters will enjoy this story the most.

Reviewed by Shawneda Marks
for The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Michelle Stimpson continues to tackle real life issues with her latest release. This story picks up with a character from her barrier breaking novel Boaz Brown.Boaz Brown (Reading Group Guides) , Peaches. The plot is just like Peaches name juicy and inviting. I loved the personal conflict that was shown when she realized that she was not emotionally and mentally prepared to accept the blessings that she had previously prayed for. Peaches has to make some tough decisions and deal with people from her past to truly move forward. While her internal struggle to trust may seem like a no-brainer to some, this self-sabotaging behavior is all too prevalent in "independent" women today. Peaches addiction to food and her tendency to emotional eat is also a touché' subject but one that desperately needed to be addressed. Be ready to think, laugh and even dialogue with Peaches as she invites you into her "Last Temptation".

I must admit that I didn't enjoy this book. It was too predictable and the author tried to hide the lack of development of the plot and characters behind a multitude of religious verses. This "heroine" was not what she claimed to be when the going got tough. We are all human, but her continual repetition of stupid decisions showed she wasn't learning any lessons. A different ending would have provided a better opportunity for the author to show growth and maturity.

The main character Patricia "Peaches" Miller was presented as independent, strong and religious woman. She had a young son named Eric, a fiance named Quinn (not her son's father, Raphael) and a great job. But her fiance got a promotion requiring him to move from Texas to Philadelphia and that is really when all hell broke loose.
Peaches didn't want to take that leap of faith and move to another city because she didn't want to be "dependent on man". She gave various reasons from not wanting to find another job to her son's barely stable relationship with his bio dad to her friends in Texas. The fiance offered to fly the son down for the once a month visitation with bio dad, but Peaches wouldn't budge. Peaches knew her job had an office in Philadelphia, but she just kept spewing the "Independent woman" rhetoric and asserting that she "didn't need him to take care of her and her son".

Keep in mind that Peaches was aware that the company she was working for was undergoing a financial transition and was having difficulty. She also complained that her baby's father Raphael was inconsistent and not a great father, while her fiance Quinn was a great role model and very loving to her son. Not one to be dependent, Peaches and Quinn separated and he moved to Philly. Peaches then began sleeping with her son's father, who was engaged and living with someone else.
She hid that fact from her mother and all of her friends because she obviously knew she went from a steak to ground beef. It came as no surprise to me to find out that the man she described as a loser, was in fact, a loser in the end and left her more damaged than before. In order to truly sympathize with Peaches, I wish that the author had made Peaches go to counselling to deal with her issues such as her perception of her parent's marriage etc.

In this case, the author was determined to have a happy ending for one of God's children, so Peaches had to regain everything she threw away. I see the religious message that the author was trying to impart to the reader, I didn't buy the ending. This book had potential, but it didn't live up to it for me.

The story was well written, characters well developed, but it was too preachy for it not be to Urban Christian. I enjoyed the realism of the storyline, even though the main character got on my nerves at times.

*Edited review...Book is Christian fiction.*

Overall rating: 4.5

I am a huge fan of some of Michelle's other works, especially Boaz Brown. I was extremely disappointed with this book, however. Besides the fact that I just couldn't find myself liking Peaches enough and actually believing that she'd have a love interest who would stay with her through the heartaches, the book had numerous typos and grammatical errors--something I found distracting. Maybe I just didn't like this character! She seemed too comfortable making her own rules. I am hoping that I'll see better quality novels from this author in the future.

This was a good book. A little far fetched with all of the situations that Peaches went through. However, the book had a good flow. I loved the mother, wished that character was more developed. But I would recomment it.

We've all heard the saying from "Rags to Riches". Ms Patricia "Peaches" Miller clearly goes from "Riches to Rags". There was anger, laughter, frustration, tears and praising God and it was all coming from me :-) I truly loved this page turner. Ms. Stimpson had a way of connecting us with the characters as though they were our family members. I'm defnitely looking for more from her.

Diva Reviewer - Lolita Allen, Divas Read 2 Book Club

I LOVED Boaz Brown when I read it over 4 years ago. This novel, which follows up with LaShonda's best friend Peaches, is just as good. The book just wasn't a good read but it also ministered to me. It reminded me that in all of our perfection, in the midst of all of our shortcomings, God is still faithful. Stimpson's down to earth witty writing style keeps the novel interesting and provides the characters with a real voice. Loved it!