Customer Reviews

Tempt Me Tonight

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's been fourteen years. The only reason Trish has returned home is to help her parents sell the family business. Once they've settled into retirement, she'll return to her life in Chicago and her job as a high-profile lawyer. The very last thing she wants to do while in Eden is to run into her old boyfriend, Joe Ramsey. Yeah, that Joe Ramsey - the one who broke her heart all those years ago.

But run into him she does, and way too soon for comfort. Seeing the sexy man Joe has grown into just once brings out the inner biker chick she never even knew she had. Trish can't ignore the feelings she still has for Joe, but she can never trust him again, so she decides on the only sane course of action - love him and leave him. Take what she wants and have her revenge while indulging that inner biker chick. If only it were that simple... Neither Joe nor her heart will let her off that easily!

When the synopsis for Tempt Me Tonight landed in my email box, I knew it sounded interesting, but having read the book now, I do not believe any mere blurb could do this story justice. The depth of emotion and heartbreak Blake conveys with the simplest strokes of her keyboard go far beyond mere words and strike into your very soul. I've never read Toni Blake before, but with one single title, she has made it onto my list of favorite authors on my website. Indeed, I am very excited that I have another of this author's titles already waiting on my book shelf for review next month.

The heroine, Trish, resonated with me on so many levels. If a Word document could be tear stained, I guarantee you this review would be. I cried many times - in all the right places, and from several different emotions. Trish's heartbreak and inability to easily trust love - especially with the very man who devastated her so many years ago was something I could identify with. To be perfectly frank, I wasn't sure Blake could find a way to resolve Trish's feelings regarding Joe in a way that would satisfy the cynic in me. Not only did Toni Blake manage to resolve those feelings, she did it in such a way that I found myself reevaluating my own romantic tenets and wondering about past boyfriends who I was unwilling to give second chances to after major break-ups. Trish is so full of fear, which is in direct conflict with her need to be loved and to love Joe with everything she has. In truth, she never stopped loving him, and the pent-up emotion finds its way to the surface in a torrent of passion that is unstoppable. Of course, who would really want to stop it when it makes for such a fantastic read? LOL

Joe is something unexpected - a hero who totally screwed up the first time around, but is willing to face his mistakes and will do anything to make restitution and win Trish's heart and trust all over again. Sound like a pushover? Not Joe - no sirree. Joe is every bit the strong alpha-male type with the ability to sweep both Trish and the reader off their feet with just a crook of his little finger.

What I look for in a great book is characters I can believe and empathize with as well as a story that rings true. Tempt Me Tonight is not only all of those things, but is also a book that leaves me searching my own soul and heart wondering how to remove at least a few bricks in my own walls. When a book not only evokes deep emotions in me but prompts a willingness to change, it is a book I know I will treasure for years to come.

The previous reviewers have done a very good job describing the plot of this novel so I won't repeat it here.

I discovered Toni Blake about a year ago when I read and loved In Your Wildest Dreams. I quickly grabbed her other books wondering if that book was just a one-shot deal or if all her books were that good. And yes, all her books are that good, though until I read this book, I thought that In Your Wildest Dreams was my favorite book. However Tempt Me Tonight is now easily my favorite Toni Blake book.

Second chance at love books like this one can be tricky - can the author create a situation where the original reason for the breakup is understandable (as opposed to a situation where you think - if only these two would talk, there wouldn't be a problem). Also, can the author resolve the original problem so that it makes sense that these two are now together? Tempt Me Tonight is a success at both of these.

This is a pure romance novel. There's no mystery or villian - the hero isn't a Navy SEAL, spy, or what have you - he's just an auto mechanic. The heroine isn't anyone special just an attorney - an ordinary woman who's heart was broken by the hero when she was young. The author does a wonderful job describing each character's viewpoint and pain. The characters are so believable that you feel their heartache. And even Beverly, the woman at the root of the heartbreak, comes off as sympathetic. Not an easy thing to do.

This is one of those books that I read the last chapter over and over cause I just loved the ending. Tempt Me Tonight is a book that I can see myself reading again and again - it's just that good.

If you liked SWEPT AWAY, you will love TEMPT ME TONIGHT!
Toni Blake has proven again that she possesses a well-honed ability to set fire to the page, while keeping the sweetness intact. Trish Henderson, a high-powered attorney, harboring a small town heart, returns home after many years to find the boy, who broke her heart, has transformed into every woman's dream. Joe Ramsey is a devastatingly sexy man. The powerful attraction between them is stronger than ever and Trish is determined to change the rules this time around. She will be the seducer and take some revenge, but walking away from Joe proves to be harder than she thought. She's caught in her own sensuous net, made even more difficult to untangle as her ambitions become clearer. Joe is prepared to do whatever it takes to make her his and the reader is even happier to go along for the ride. This story is filled with passion and heart and the warm feelings linger long after the last page is turned. Toni Blake writes powerful,
emotionally charged sexy books, she can even make cupcakes sexy! I'll eat cupcakes with Joe all night long! I can't wait for her next book!

Fourteen years ago, Joe Ramsey broke Trish Henderson's heart in two. High school sweethearts in the small town of Eden, Illinois, the two had planned on getting married the moment that Trish returned home from college in four years but instead the two were fated for betrayal that changed both their lives drastically. Now, unwillingly back in Eden to help her parents sell the family diner and set them up for retirement, Trish is taking a two week vacation from her life in Chicago as a major player and soon to be partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago. The last person she wants to see is the person from her dreaded past: Joe. The man she loved. The man who broke every dream and promise that had once led to heaven, now only reminds Trish of pain.

Unfortunately, that electric spark they shared as kids is now combustible as adults and no sooner does Trish lay eyes on Joe that her body begins to heat and her heart starts beating a tattoo against her chest. The handsome boy she once knew had grown into the hottest thing on two legs to ever grace the earth and it's in that instant that Trish knows that she's in big trouble. But instead of trying to resist the magnetic pull of Joe Ramsey, Trish is going to get what she wants. She's going to rock Joe's world and leave as soon as she's done.

Joe can't help but think he's died and gone to heaven when he opens his front door to reveal a scantily clad Trish who takes control of his fantasy and blows it out of the water. But when dreams of morning pancakes and a chance to get to know the new Trish are dashed the moment he awakens to empty arms, Joe can't help but determine that Trish is punishing him for his mistake fourteen years ago. If this a game of love 'em and leave 'em then two can play. But when passion sweeps through his heart, he can't help but be affected and he suspects that it's the same for Trish.

As the two become closer. As the hot sultry nights blend together with passionate kisses and loving embraces. As secrets are revealed and the heartache of the past is slowly pieced together and rectified, both Trish and Joe have to face the glaring facts within their hearts that neither ever lost the love between them even after all these years apart. And as Trish submerges herself deeper and deeper into small town life, she begins to realize that things had been missing in her life.

While she was caught up in the competitive world of climbing the career ladder, she now sees that it was all in an attempt to shield her heart from any and all who could potentially break it once again. For years after Joe's betrayal she'd cried herself to sleep, yearning for him and wishing that he had tried in some way to come to her; To bring her back and make her stay with him. She wanted the grand gesture and all this time that need had been there but she'd been so busy protecting herself that she hadn't realized it. All this time she had been distrusting of others; always assuming the worst and therefore preparing and maneuvering her life so that the worst could never be allowed to happen. Now, back with Joe, Trish realizes how she's let life pass her by. But can she truly forgive Joe for the past? Can she allow herself to take the ultimate risk? Make the ultimate sacrifice for a man that she can't in all certainty believe in again?

Joe Ramsey is a hero that all others aspire to be. A hero that I've read before and loved but also a hero that is rarely penned so well. I can only rattle off a handful of heroes that embody the same luscious traits as Joe. That lazy confidence. The utterly cool aura that draws people in like a magnet. A man's man who works and thrives in a man's world. He's like the sexy construction worker or titillating garbage man. Joe's an auto mechanic and a damned good one. Yet even though he's male to the core, Joe is also the keeper of a kind heart, a nurturer who has raised two girls in some shape or form. And his heart is reserved for one woman. Despite his renowned experience, there is only one woman in the world that can grant him the ultimate satisfaction. She's the one woman that he'd give up anything for. He'll risk it all if she'll just say yes and it's Trish that Joe wants.

Trish was an enjoyable but often times, frustrating heroine. She portrays a strong and assured exterior but inside, she's still that frightened girl with a broken heart. Unknowingly, even to herself, she's held on with white knuckled fingers to her tragic past in an effort to block any future pain. She's done this with her job, her loft in the city, her wardrobe of pantie hose and five hundred dollar suits. She's allowed herself to become wrapped up in a competition where she never truly even wished to win. Trish has made sure that no one could present that kind of risk to her heart again after Joe. And it's only after she looses Joe that she truly sees the fortifying walls that she's erected. Now all she wants to do is tear them down to pieces. For Joe she'll make the ultimate sacrifice. For Joe she'll give up the life that she's worked so hard for. For Joe she'll be his cupcake in truth and her heart will forever be his.

I'm on my third reading of this book and I can't get enough of it. It's hot and steamy, but I also enjoy the sweet romance of it. Joe is the ultimate hot guy and Trish is the sweet girl who's roots will always be in her home town. Once high school sweethearts ripped apart because of a huge mistake, now they are brought back together after she comes home and runs into him at the local bar. What follows is everything I love in a Toni Blake book. Of her books, this would have to be my favorite and I doubt I'll stop at three readings. And I'm also on the lookout for books written under Ms. Blake's pen name, Lacey Alexander. If these books are hot, I can't even imagine what those books are like!

what bad about it was when she had to say sorry for not forgiving him. if you cheated, you should not be forgiven. the guy got off easy. i liked the heroine at first. the guy was a jerk.

A must read. I will not write a summary just my opinion. I can not express how much I fell in love with this book. It was perfect. I loved the characters. The plot was great and it was a very sexy read without going too far. It was very believable. I could not put it down. Wonderfully well written.

This book is about second chances in love and life. Trish and Joe had been trough a lot, but when the past catches up with the present the attraction and chemistry between them can't be denied anymore. Will their love be strong enough to let go of the past and try and start building a future? Toni Blake has crafted another great love story! I couldn't put this book down! This is a great romantic story with a LOT of heat and heart! Absolutely love the story line and the refreshing characters. Great job Toni!!

After discovering that her long time beau Joe cheated on her the night before she left for college, Trish vowed never to see him again. Now a lawyer, she returns home 14 years later to help her parents sell their diner and runs into a very sexy grown up Joe. At first she keeps him at arm's length, but soon figures that the best way to get him out of her system is to seduce him and send him packing, but Joe has other ideas. The two start a no-strings relationship (though Joe would like nothing more than to finally settle down with the only woman he's ever loved), but soon Trish's heart is into it as well. Her only solace is fixing up the diner to make it a more lucrative property. Joe figures that the best way to capture her heart is to show her he's changed and how much he regrets the night he let his hormones get the best of him. Will she return to Indianapolis when the diner is complete or will she throw caution to the wind and open her heart again?

Anything penned by Blake is sure to be a scorcher - this is no different. Her ability to tell a sensual and plot driven story and using realistic dialogue to make it more genuine is a rarity. Joe is a realistic and flawed hero - his relationship to pseudo daughter Carissa is heartwarming. Blake (and her erotica pseudonym "Lacey Alexander") have quickly become automatic buys due to her consistently great writing and attention to detail - the facts about the Shelby made it ring even more authentic. The only gripe I had was the cover photo - instead of a thirty something couple, they look more like a couple teens.

I read this book in a day and a half. I hope the next book I read grabs me like this one did or I am going to be so disappointed. Picturing Joe was fun and the love story between them was awesone. The sex they had well let's say my husband loved the book too and he didn't read it. Loved it!