Temptation (Mass Market Paperback)

This is not a romantic book, at least not in the traditional man-woman way. The storyline is enjoyable enough - an intelligent, attractive woman who is clearly ahead of her time meets a cranky, handsome man, who is clearly behind the times. As a story of personal growth, the book works. Temperence learns that in order to give, you have to take a little; James learns...well, I'm really not sure what James learned. He seems strangely dishonorable, disdainful and a whole lot of other "dis"-es I can't come up with right now. This is a book about Temperance and her journey, and James is almost an afterthought, more of a plot device to move Temperance along than anything else. I've rarely read a book where I wasn't remotely interested in the main male character, but this has the dubious distinction of being the most memorable example of that so far.

I could count on one hand the romantic or intimate scenes between the two characters, and even those felt stilted and awkward. Temperence and James would make good friends (or heaven forbid, brother and sister), but lovers? Not that I could see. After reading the book twice, I still don't have a clue why either of them are supposedly attracted to the other. There was no build-up, no feeling that these two had any passion for each other. When they do get together, it's forgettable (apparently for them too), uncomfortable and unsettling and James is insulting. It just felt wrong, for reasons I can't articulate.

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who felt the ending was jarring and unsatisfying - none of the characters act remotely like they did throughout the rest of the book. I won't spoil it, but when I saw the date written on the last chapter, I actually said, "HUH?" out loud. I still don't get it, and plan on dumping this book off at the nearest reseller to make sure I don't read it again by mistake.

Buy this book if you are interested in one woman's experience in the early days of the women's equality movement, but save your money if you are looking for a passionate or tender romance with characters you know are destined to be together. You won't find it here.

Apparently, Ms. Deveraux has decided to not include the wonderful Montgomery/Taggert family in her sagas. They were the people who she built all her novels around until a couple of years ago. I kept waiting and hoping she would spring them out at the last minute or we would at least see a Montgomery across a crowded room. Who knows, maybe Agnes was a Taggert... anyway, on to the story.

Temperance was a woman with a cause and purpose. To help women in need get away from their worthless husbands and build new lives for themselves. She was a woman in 1909 who had built her own independant life after her father died. Imagine Temperance's surprise when her mother comes back from holiday with a real Scotsman in tow, Angus, who says she is to become a dutiful daughter and go live in the highlands. Temperance is a bit long in the tooth, but perhaps he can pursuade some man to marry her so she can take her proper place in society and do the only thing a well-brought up woman is supposed to do-marry and have children and be happy with her lot in life.

Temperance is understandably very annoyed with the high-handed attitudes of her new papa and sets out to get her own way in the end. Go she must to Scotland, after all, she doesn't have her own money. But Temperance manages to make Angus eat his words about what a dutiful daughter should be. After several months of her dutiful daughter routine drives him close to the brink of sanity, Angus decides to pack her off to his nephew's house to become his housekeeper and find him a bride. And here is where the fun begins.

Temperance must learn some lessons of living she did not get in New York salvaging women's lives. Temperance thinks she knows everything about what happens between men and women. A woman must stand firm and resist a man's foolish ways. But Temperance has never met a man like James.

Read this book if you are a fan of Jude Deveraux's works over the years. Read this book if you are a lover of romances and have yet to discover Jude Deveraux's wonderful sense of humor and of the absurd. Then go back and read all of Ms. Deveraux's other wonderful books-for the first or fiftieth time.

Like many others, I'm enjoying the latest outpouring of romantic suspense novels. However, it seems like that's all the popular authors are writing these days. I enjoy reading them, but I also like having a romance to turn to that's not filled with twisted minds, blood, horror, and hate. Personally, I'm glad there are still talented and popular authors willing to write the classic romance. Thank you Jude for your latest "temptation!"