Guest Review: Tempted by Her Kiss – Maya Banks

Series:  Pregnancy & Passion #3
Release Date:  March 1, 2012
Publisher:  Harlequin
Page Count:  256
Source:  NetGalley
Buy the book at: Amazon 

No Man’s Bargaining Chip 
Devon Carter was her first; now newly wed Ashley wants their passion to last. But her dreams of true love are crushed by the discovery that their marriage is another of Daddy’s business deals. Her strategy: act the part of perfect wife and make Devon love her. 
But Devon misses the bubbly, no-holdsbarred woman his wife used to be. Who is this Ashley with the steely demeanor of a society wife? And will he find a way to rekindle the fire in her eyes…especially now that she’s pregnant? 

I should start by saying that this book is the 3rd in the series and that I haven’t read any of the previous books.  I generally don’t like reading series books out of sequence, but I will say that I don’t necessarily think it’s essential to read the first two to understand this one.

This book spells disaster from the beginning.  Devon is basically being forced into a marriage he doesn’t want with a woman he doesn’t love simply to help progress a business merger.  Only Ashley has no idea.  This book skips the dating and gets right to the night Devon plans to propose.  Insert streamy love scene where the virginal Ashley becomes nonvirginal Ashley and accepts his proposal.

Now, I feel, at this point, Ashley’s character is made out to be a flighty air headed sort of romantic while Devon is a grounded business man interested only in advancing himself and his company.  He does seem to feel a small amount of guilt at his deception, but believes he can have a marriage that is “content”.  They decide on a very short engagement and begin planning the wedding.

At this point it would be very easy to spell out the entire story because, in my opinion, this is a very short story.  It’s predictable, yes, but the characters are likable and the story line is left open for more books in the series.  And yes, it’s a good book, but not great.  To me, there just isn’t a ton of substance there.