Temptation (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Karen Ann Hopkins (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 26, 2012 | Series: Harlequin Teen

Your heart misleads you. That's what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be ROSE & NOAH forever, easy.

But it won't be.

Because he's Amish. And I'm not.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-When Rose's father moves the family from the city to a quiet Ohio farming community, Rose and her two brothers know that their lives will be very different. Away from her friends and the prestigious dance camp in which she has earned a spot, the 16-year-old wonders how she will stay connected to what has gotten her through the recent loss of her mother. But when she meets her Amish neighbors, she is immediately intrigued by handsome Noah; for the first time in ages, grief and depression are replaced by something much more life-affirming. Although equally attracted, Noah is not free to date Rose. In fact, he is forbidden to be alone with her. Still, both feel a connection that is too intense to ignore and find ways to be together. Readers are exposed to the beliefs, joys, and frustrations of both teens through their alternating points of view. However, as romantic as the story may be, it is hard to connect to Noah. Though he is a charming, skilled worker who is respected as an adult in his community and knows what he wants despite the risks, he is set in his beliefs and refuses to leave his Amish community-forcing sassy, smart, and modern Rose to give up everything to live an Amish life, a sacrifice that is hard to accept.-Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About the Author

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in Northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. When she\u2019s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons, or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs, and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel. Karen loves to hear from readers. You can find her on the Web at Facebook.com/KarenAnnHopkins.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen; Original edition (June 26, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037321054X
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210541
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Big obstacles & true conflicts May 19, 2012

By Tez Miller

Format:Paperback

Normally I won't touch a YA romance, unless it has a speculative element, but TEMPTATION hooked me at "Amish". This is a romance with big obstacles and true conflicts to overcome. It's not melodramatic, and not contrived. And what's more, I really hoped Rose and Noah would work it out - and I almost never feel that way about romance in fiction.

The first in a series, TEMPTATION ends with a happy-for-now, rather than a happily-ever-after, and this realism is much welcome. I'm very much looking forward to Book 2.

(Note: The heroine's father is named David Cameron. Someone forgot to remind the author about the British PM.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, charming, very enjoyable June 26, 2012

By Evie Seo (Bookish blog)

Format:Paperback

Reading Temptation was definitely a new and very interesting experience to me. Mainly because the premise of this book was so different from anything I've read before. I have never had a chance to read a novel featuring an Amish community, so going into this one I honestly had no idea what to expect. I'm pleased to report that this book was wonderful. I was very intrigued by the cultural background and beautiful, vividly depicted rural settings. Offering a swoon-worthy, heart-pounding romance and insightful, enlightening plot line, Temptation makes for a truly incredible and affecting tale of forbidden love, family bonds, and life-changing choices.

Temptation is many things, but most of all it's a story of love. When sixteen-year-old Rose moves to Meadowview, the last thing she's expecting to find in the boring countryside in the middle-of-nowhere Ohio is love. Yet there it is, knocking on the door of her new house on the very first day after she and her family (father and two brothers) arrive there. And not just any love, either, but a very much forbidden one, considering the fact that the boy that is about to steal her heart comes from a totally different world. And while their worlds co-exist, they certainly don't mix. But what's more tempting and desirable than a forbidden fruit? What's better than the thrill of secret meetings, stolen kisses, and the words of love whispered in the dark? Will Rose and Noah find a way to be together?

I enjoyed the romance very much. It was sweet, charming, at times passionate and spine-tingling, but mostly just very innocent, pure, and cute. Neither Noah nor Rose had any previous romantic experiences, and seeing them realize just how much they cared about each other was quite fun and heart-warming.... Plus, it was really interesting to read a true forbidden-love story, and not just one that would pretend to be forbidden because of some outrageously silly reasons (like height difference or picky parents).

The book was rather slow-moving and filled with long, descriptive passages, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least not for me. I actually enjoyed the slow, almost lazy pace, as it allowed me to get a good feel of every-day life in the countryside. I thought that Hopkins did a great job depicting the rural setting in this novel. I found her prose very descriptive, almost poetic at times. Very atmospheric and mesmerizing. I did feel that the romance developed rather fast, but - considering the forbidden factor - it was only to be expected. I wouldn't be able to help myself, either (wink wink).

Karen Ann Hopkins really nailed the cultural background of this novel. Before reading Temptation I had absolutely no knowledge about the Amish, their beliefs, and all the strict rules they follow. I knew about their existence, but never actually got to take a closer look at their community. Temptation opened my eyes to a whole new world and introduced me to a totally different lifestyle. Attempting to preserve the elements of late 17th century European rural culture, the Amish follow a very strict set of rules and beliefs. They avoid most of the features and amenities of modern society, from electricity and electronic gadgets to auto-mobiles (including tractors and other machines that would help their field work), and phones. They're a conservative lot, and a deeply religious one, too. Marriages outside the faith are not allowed, and couples who are about to get married need to follow certain procedures. We're talking arranged marriages and courtship periods under supervision, etc. Can you imagine how difficult a situation the young Amish boy and beautiful English girl are facing? Everything and everyone is against their relationship. Not to mention that their lifestyles are so different from each other, that the disapproval of their families is not the only obstacle on their way to happiness. Is their love strong enough to survive all this?

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good love story with an interesting, unique premise. Anyone interested in learning more about the Amish and their way of life is going to enjoy this read a lot, too! Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sweet Romance August 5, 2012

By Abria @ Shall Write Reviews

Format:Paperback

I was immediately intrigued when I heard about Temptation, which came out on July 26th. It's the story of Rose and Noah, teenage neighbours who fall in love. The hitch is that they live two completely different lifestyles. Rose is an average American girl, and Noah is Amish.

Rose and Noah are up against some pretty serious lifestyle and ideological differences. Being Amish isn't just about living without technology. Their culture includes strict gender roles, a high level of group mentality, and strict observance of community rules. At one point, Rose's father refers to the Amish culture as "anti-feminist," and he isn't exactly wrong.

In order to be accepted as a couple, Rose would either have to become Amish -- a process that would include moving away from home to live with an Amish family -- or Noah has to leave his church and become English (the catchall term for all non-Amish people). Neither option is ideal, as Rose would either have to sacrifice her education and hobbies, or Noah would have to leave his family and make it in the world on only an eighth-grade education.

Though Temptation is a sweet love story, I rated it three stars because the plotting didn't impress me. It's love at first sight for Noah and Rose, and by that afternoon they're already thinking about how to be in a relationship. The trajectory of their romance, which quickly goes from "Hey, you're good looking" to "I want to spend the rest of my life with you," takes place over the space of just a few weeks. I realize that at Rose and Noah's age, people fall hard for their first love, but taking the action at a more reasonable pace would have made the story a little more believable.

Rose's behaviour also got on my nerves after a while.... Throughout the middle of the book, Rose cries in practically every scene. It strikes me not only as frivolous, but lazy when an author relies on a teenage character's tears to convey the gravity of a situation.

It was also disappointing that Rose, 16, and her older brother Sam, 18, had done so little growing up in the wake of their experiences. Rose reveals in the first chapter that their mother passed away after a battle with cancer, just a few months before the story begins. This didn't seem to have much effect on them. They still bickered like children and did very little to step up and help their father run the household. I expected more maturity from characters who had watched their mother slowly pass away.

Noah, for the most part, is a sweet character. He loves his family, lifestyle, and church, but at the same time he feels restricted by them because these things are barriers to being with Rose. My only complaint about Noah was that the chapters narrated from his perspective didn't sound convincingly masculine.
It's no fault of the author, but after reading the first few pages it's easy for readers to spot the typo on the back cover -- it's spelled "Meadowview" in the flap copy and "Meadow View" in the text. When a problem like that pops up so soon, it throws the whole quality of the book into question. I didn't spot any glaring errors after that, but it does get the reading experience off to a shaky start.

Temptation will likely appeal to fans of Picoult's Plain Truth, but is a much more lighthearted read. This book is part of a series, and in its sequel we'll see the consequences of Rose and Noah's decision to pursue a relationship on common ground. While I wasn't totally thrilled by the first book, I will more than likely read the second to see where these characters end up. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Tale of forbidden love July 25, 2012

By brandileigh2003

Format:Paperback

Temptation was a great story about forbidden love and the lengths that those in love will go to be with the one they love.
I think that she did great job with research because everything with the Amish seemed authentic, and it felt like I was being immersed into another culture.
The dual perspective felt really well done, and I appreciated being able to see both sides of the story. The girl, the outsider, and the boy, the Amish who fell for the wild outsider.
There were moments where I wanted to slap their foreheads and make them see the light, but I guess you wouldn't be a teenager or someone in love without it being the forefront of your mind, and that you would do anything in order to be with that person. I totally understand where they were coming from, and it seems authentic that when you are that caught up in love, that you would abandon all else.
I connected with both characters, even when they were being idiots. Some of Noah's thoughts about Rose, on one hand not wanting her to change from the girl he fell in love with, strong and wild, but then the next he wants her to be tame and fit into the Amish box of what is expected of the women. But that made him genuine in that aspect, because you couldn't help but want those things with his upbringing.
At times, Rose didn't seem to live up to her stubborn and strong, how she fell apart and how she just tried to mold into what he wanted. But other times, standing up for herself and trying out things her own way, she did.
I was a little annoyed with how unbalanced it was at times, but I also understand where Noah was coming from not wanting to become English (non-Amish) because he wouldn't have any means of supporting himself much less Rose.... But, still, asking the other person to give up their family and heritage without being willing to yourself is manipulative and controlling to a level that I wasn't very comfortable with.
I wasn't satisfied with the ending, I wanted more, I wanted to know more about what happens with their love story, but alas, this is a first book in a series and I will have to wait to know more. I think that it ended the only way it could, leaving so much more to explore in the next books. Read more ›