Kris Bryant

Can experienced nanny Cassie Miller deny her growing attraction and keep her relationship with her boss professional? Or will they sidestep propriety and give in to temptation?

Temptation

Izza

3.5 stars - Some parts I really enjoyed and some others I was a little let down by. But overall it's a really good read :)

Lucia Correa

5 stars for Temptation by Kris Bryant

Cassie Miller needs a job. After a year in medical school, she dropped out after realizing being a Doctor wasn’t for her. She decided to go to graduate school for her masters in Environmental Sciences followed by her Ph.D. Unfortunately, her parents, both M.D.s have cut her funding completely when she dropped out of Med School. No car, no stipend, no tuition, and no contact with Cassie. At the moment she is living with her grandmother Nana and driving her old Acura.

Brook Wellington of the Wellingtons wants a live-in nanny for her six year old son, Noah. She offers Cassie a sweet deal – a one year contract, good pay, health insurance, a furnished apartment above the garage and with time to go to her classes. Cassie is hesitant because she has never been a nanny and she has a crush on Brook. Brook is the COO of her family’s worldwide import and export business. Of course, Cassie takes the job plus she is already smitten with Noah.

I recently read a book that I felt there was little chemistry between the two MCs. Not this book! You feel it almost immediately. It goes to show you what a good writer Bryant is because this story is told only from Cassie’s perspective. Confession – Ice Queens are my favorite and Brook is one of the Iciest I’ve met and yet she melts when with her son. I also love age gap romances and this one is14 years (Cassie is 24, Brook is 38). Not a large gap, IMO but a gap nonetheless. It was a good choice that Cassie was from a wealthy family. Although not nearly as wealthy as the Wellingtons, Cassie was comfortable around the entitled and knew how to react or not react when around them.

I’d love to gush more but I don’t want to spoil it. I will say that this book has a relatively large cast but it didn’t feel overwhelming. I do want to give a shout out for Nana, Cassie’s grandmother. Everyone needs a Nana in their lives.

Hmmm… this is definitely in my Top 5 favorite books of the year.

An ARC was given to me by BSB and Netgalley for a honest review

Jude Silberfeld

With a title such as Temptation, I would have been disappointed if there hadn’t been a couple of steamy scenes. No worries, Kris Bryant totally delivered, steam and more.

After reading The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus by Alanna McFall, I needed something much lighter. The good news is, so did Kris Bryant. As she explains in the foreword, “After writing about a mass shooting, a person struggling with anxiety, and a survivor of a plane crash, I decided to write something flirty and fun”. Mission accomplished. You can always count on Bryant to write endearing and layered characters, even in stories like this one, when most of the angst comes from the not-so-simple act of falling in love.

Cassie Miller is a twenty-four-year-old graduate student whose well-off doctor parents cut her off when she quit med school after her first year to study environmental science instead. Cassie had to cut back on her way of life, move in with her grandmother (the wonderful Nana) and work as a babysitter to pay for school. Things start to look up when multi-millionaire Brook Wellington offers her a job as a nanny (complete with her own apartment, a Range Rover she can drive on her work hours and a salary high enough to pay her school fees). Brook’s six-year-old son Noah is a shy and very sweet boy, and Cassie falls in love with him almost immediately. Now, if only she could refrain from falling for his beautiful and sexy as fuck (I’m quoting) mother as well… Spoiler: she won’t, she’ll fall head over heels for the older woman, and it’ll be magnificent, which is how it goes in romance novels (and sometimes IRL too if you’re really lucky).

I don’t even know where to start on the characters. They’re all excellent, and, except for Brook’s sister Gwen, not monolithic (and even Gwen is believable, as unyielding as she seems). Cassie and Brook are the best, you’ll want to be friends with them. Cassie sees through Brook’s ice queen persona from the start, to the softie whose priority is her son’s well-being. Cassie’s hurt from her quarrel with her parents gives her a sarcastic edge, but she’s really a sweetie at heart, and I love her relationships with her grandmother and with Noah. Brook’s family is rather interesting too, from her parents to her sister and brother (who left the family business to make it on his own as a chef) to her sister-in-law. The smaller characters – Cassie’s best friend, Noah’s teachers, Brook’s ex – feel genuine too.

As I’ve written before, I’m not a big fan of age gap romances. However, I thought it worked really well here. The fourteen-year difference between Brook and Cassie is real but they are both at moments in their life where what they have in common is more important than what they don’t share and I honestly can imagine them building on that.

I needed a lighter read and that’s what Temptation is. The good news is, light can be really good too.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Megan Cooper

This book is a bag of kettle corn - sweet, savory and you won't stop until you finish it in one binge-worthy sitting. Temptation is a fun, fluffy and ultimately satisfying lesbian romance that hits all the right notes. 

After her parents cut her off financially for not pursuing medical school, Cassie Morton is struggling to pay tuition and ends up taking a job as a nanny. It seems to be the perfect solution - Noah Wellington's a great kid who's easy to get along with before and after school and she gets her own well-appointed apartment over the garage. Add the chance to spend time with reserved but oh so tempting Brook Wellington and you've got all the elements needed for a light hearted but pretty steamy romance. Brooke is definitely and ice queen, but only briefly - her interactions with Noah reveal a devoted and caring mother and her interactions with Cassie reveal some not so hidden passion. 

All the characters are likable and endearing - you really can't help but like them all and root for Cassie and Brooke as they are just so damned perfect for each other. There's relatively little angst - there's a bit of a dance between Cassie and Brooke, especially since all of Noah's hot teachers seem to want to flirt with Cassie when Brooke is just walking in the door, but there's really no contest. Ms Bryant excels at creating chemistry between her characters and once things boil over, the resulting scenes are scorchers. 

Definitely recommended if you want a fun and steamy read.

Alex

Agus

Cassie Miller is broke. Her parents cut off all funding when she dropped out of medical school, and graduate school is expensive. A full-time nanny job at the Wellington estate is the answer to her problems, except working for beautiful, successful Brook Wellington wasn’t in the job description. Brook has always had a head for business. Born into a global shipping empire, she sits at the helm running it with skill and savvy. But success comes at a cost. Her priority is her six-year-old son, but she can’t be in two places at once. Hiring a nanny isn’t the perfect solution, but it would certainly help, and Cassie came highly recommended. If only she wasn’t so damn attractive. Can Cassie and Brook deny their growing attraction and keep things professional? Or will they sidestep propriety and give in to temptation?

Temptation

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