Reading this book is something I loved. Watching the hard exterior of Alex battling to stay away from his best friends little sister.

This debut novel captivated me so hard from the very beginning to the very end.

What a great billionaire romance book! It was a bit slow to start for me but it picked up. I loved the ending and I’m excited for the next book about Sophia and James!

This was a good book with a HEA. The forbidden romance, brother best friend, was what I was looking for. The spice was there and I overall enjoyed the book & plot.

I really enjoyed Alex and Hailee's story - the chemistry between them seemed natural and the twist kept me guessing for a while, without drawing too much away from the romance. The pacing was good, with their European trip not being the entire focus of the book.

Hailee's reaction to trauma was a little strange, and we didn't get a full amount of either back story really. Lucas is an interesting character that I'd like to know more about and I already like the sound of James and Sophia's story.

Overall I enjoyed this book and thought it was done well. A nice easy billionaire romance beach read.

Tempted is about Alex, a billionaire miner as there is nothing more tempting that a man who fucks up the Earth for money…drill baby drill and make it nice and deep. Alex is in hot water for some kind of money laundering scheme with some banks..blah blah blah boring. Hailee is the hot sister of Alex’s friend Lucas, who helped her get a job with Alex’s company. Lucas may also be involved with this whole money laundering case but it’s all very unclear. Anyway- one day Lucas and Hailee almost get shot by some bad guy assassins as one does. Lucas asks Alex if Hailee can move in with him so she can stay safe bc there are apparently only 2 bodyguards in all of Manhattan and they happen to live with Alex. Lucas also pulls the big brother archaic bullshit of “don’t sleep with my sister” like she isn’t an adult who cannot consent to having her vaginal cave explored for mining prospects.

We all know what happens when anyone says “don’t sleep with my sister” in a book…the sister is immediately plowed. Alex is tempted and Hailee is properly excavated. But here’s the problem. Alex is a dark figure. Hailee has already told us that she craves some dirty coal mining sex action…but we barely see it on page!!! There’s a lot of tell, but not as much show. Hailee tells us she’s basically on strict pelvic rest for days after her first night with Alex bc he quarried her genitalia to the point of them becoming a superfund site. I’m going to need more evidence to support this, please.

This book was meh- but too much talking and not enough actual strip mining. Also- the dangerous and secretive legal mumbo jumbo subplot ended up being a total nothing-burger that was never fully developed. I would have loved it if Hailee was kidnapped by some dirty Uzbekistani uranium mining magnate to get back at Alex for his dirty deeds done dirt cheap. That would have been fun.

Smut- 2.34 stars (this could have easily been a 4 star smut book)
Romance- 3.11 stars
Story- 3.02 stars
Getting tied up in a uranium mine and saved by your billionaire boyfriend-18.5 stars

#smuttybookreviews #stripmining #mining #uraniummine #uzbekistan

This was a cute, funny and cheesy read.

The classic grumpy billionaire and bubbly best friend's sister who are trying to mask their feelings for each other but succumb to their feelings with time and close proximity. It was fun following both Alex and Hailee's stories. I would definitely say that this book focused more on the characters than the actual plot. Also a good amount of spice in this book.

The writing style was very easy to follow and I didn't see the plot twist coming! I feel like the ending was also perfectly laid out with the grand gesture and of course, Alex's story coming to a perfect end.

The only downside was that I found it to be quite repetitive at times and drawn out towards the end, but it didn't stop me from enjoying myself. I would also have loved to read more about Alex's backstory.

This was a 3.5 ⭐ read for me.

I cannot wait to see what Maria Mesmer comes up with next. This was a great first book. Also very excited for James and Sophia's story.

Thank you to Net Galley and Victory Editing for the ARC copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Definitely a slow burn but the story line was decent and I would recommend this to other readers. But, something was missing. I plan to reread and update my feedback at a later date.

A good slow burn romance with plenty of chemistry but not as much heat as I expected. I loved the family story and the twists. Great characters.

A good stand alone story that delivers what it promised. A slow burn certainly yet enough suspense and danger to keep me engaged in Alex and Hailey’s story. As this is Maria Mesmer’s debut, I can not wait to see what she writes next as she evolves as a writer.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC of Tempted in exchange for an honest review.

A solid 4.5 stars for Tempted by Maria Mesmer, her literary debut, and honestly a smash hit! This book was a fun read filled with slow burn and angst that had me reading this one across a solid 24 hours just because I didn’t want to stop. Hailee and Alex’s story is well developed and plotted out so that this novel will be the first in the series. It also does a good job introducing the characters that will be featured in her next book, Damaged, which will be out this February.

In short, Hailee is worked at an unfulfilling job in New York for her brother’s billionaire best friend, Alex Blackwell. Her job has essentially morphed into a PR role due to serious allegations of money laundering through Alex’s mining corporation, but it’s not her passion. When her brothers banking institution he works for is implicated as well, things become too dangerous for Hailee and her brother, Lucas, to the point of getting wrapped up in an unsuccessful hit attempt outside a New York cafe. In light of everything, Lucas asks Alex to take in Hailee in order to have his security provide protection for her, at least until everything blows over (under the strict orders to keep his hands off her-I’m sure we are all well aware how that’s going to work out).

This book oozes slow burn and sexual tension all over the page. If you enjoy billionaire romances, a grumpy MMC, crime filled plot twists, forced proximity, one bed situations, then you’re going to want to check out Tempted! I do want to mention, the one small caveat about this book that I didn’t like, which was a detail in the plot line that kind of ruined Alex’s character for me. Spoiler alert ahead so turn back now if you so choose!! But essentially, after Hailee and Alex have a falling out, Alex immediately (and I mean within minutes) runs back to his side chick, Paige, to drown his feelings in booze and sex. Hailee essentially completely put herself out there, Alex made some pretty dark confessions that Hailee could not handle, and so she left-and within minutes he’s texting Paige for a booty call. That totally gave Alex’s character the ick factor that I could not shake, which sucked because I really liked his character up until that point. I’m not sure he ever made a full recovery for me, but I feel like that scene could have been written a little differently to not make Alex look like such a heartless dick, because from that point, it takes a pretty big change of heart to go from billionaire playboy to love sick puppy pining for Hailee back. Just too big of a character anomaly for me. But on the whole, I really enjoyed this read and will certainly be picking up Damaged in February to get James and Sophia’s story! Well done on the first book, Maria!

Enjoyed reading this book. Would have liked a little bit more of a back story for Alex Blackwell and more of a character development. I like the plot twist at the end tho.

The first half of the book was really enjoyable. The tension and yearning were set up really well, we as readers knew exactly where things stood and how the mc's relationship was strictly boss-employee. The plot set up with the danger and excitement hooked you in as a reader. There were stalkers, hired hitmen, bombs, and questionable morality. It definitely set the overall mood as tense. The set up as an erotica was written very well with the mmc expressing his tendency as a dom and the fmc desiring to submit to the mmc in certain ways. The second half of the book is where I started to lose interest. It was no longer an erotica; there were only two short sex scenes, which was a let down considering this is marketed as an erotica book. The characters came off as a bit immature to me, I often got second hand embarrassment and cringed while reading some scenes. As for the danger and excitement aspect, it fell short in the second half. None of the danger and excitement continued from the beginning into the rest of the story, so that was a disappointment.

Overall, this was pretty good for a debut novel and I enjoyed reading this.

Tempted was a true romance novel. The story of Hailee & Alex was one that I figured would play out the way it did, but some of the details of how the couple came to be were quite surprising.

Maria is a very detailed writer, with me being able to visualize & place myself in every scene she depicted. Her medium- paced writing style definitely served its purpose and kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting more.

As for the characters, I love how Alex seemed to be off limits in the beginning, but was swept off his feet by Hailee, who wasn’t putting up with any of his crap.

Although I was expecting more, in terms of erotica, this book was the perfect balance. It took some time to get to the erotic portion, but once it got there, it was extremely descriptive and felt real!

I give this book 3.5 stars, only because the story did seem a little drawn out. However, I’m eager to read the next story of James & Sophia!

i wanted to love it but it was okay. the story felt rushed and all over the place and there was so many plot unneccessary drama and twist to the atory Alex couldnt stay away from Hailee but also left her because he lied and want her to keep her dreams

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I liked it! It was cute! The story itself was fairy believable but with the way the male character was behaving I thought the "secret" was bigger. It seemed like a bit of a let down. It didnt seem to be that much of a deal breaker to me. But overall it was cute

3.75 stars. This book was so FUN. Billionaire boss and employee/friend's little sister romance.... sign me up. Hailee and Alex have amazing chemistry and the spice was great. This was a slow burn and nothing happened romantically until over halfway through the book. I devoured this book and loved that it wasn't just a romance novel it also had some mystery component too... which kept it interesting. What I liked about this book: how soft Alex was when it came to Hailee and I loved Hailee's character- she was funny, witty and confident. What I thought this book was lacking was I needed more. The storyline was quick, (which I usually like with these types of books) but I felt something was lacking. I wish the characters had a little more depth. I can't pinpoint exactly what was missing, but I overall liked this book and the author will for sure make a fun and spicy series. Thank you Victory Editing and NetGalley for this ARC. Of note the second book will be out in February per the authors note at the end and I cannot wait to read about James and Sophia.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Holy wow! I loved this book!

The writing style was easy to follow and flowed perfectly. It was easy to get lost in the story.

I absolutely loved the characters. Two people that came from completely different worlds and yet they clicked together so perfectly.

Alex is not your typical billionaire. I think the author did a brilliant job giving him plenty of depth. His backstory is heartbreaking and I think it makes him more relatable. On top of that, when we finally see his true personality outside of being the boss, it’s easy to overlook his ridiculous wealth and appreciate him as a person. Overall, he really was a damn good book boyfriend.

Hailee is the opposite of Alex. She doesn’t come from money and is a lowkey tree hugger. But between her personality and Alex’s, they are able to find some sort of common ground between them that makes them a beautiful couple.

The storyline was perfectly paced. There was always something going on and I never felt bored. I also never felt like it was rushed and we got a perfect amount of time with our characters as we witness their love blossoming.

The conflict in this story is completely believable if you can relate to billionaire problems lol. But seriously. I may not know what it’s like to have an unlimited amount of money, but somehow I felt like I could understand exactly why things happened the way that they did.

The ending was laid out perfectly. Not only were we able to see the depths of their love for one another, but we got a taste of them as a couple without conflict hanging over their heads. Overall, the story was wrapped up nicely and didn’t leave me feeling like it was lacking.

The whole time I was reading this, I felt like I was finally taking a breathe of fresh air. I haven’t read a book that has made me fall so effortlessly into the story in a long time.

All in all, Maria Mesmer has effortlessly become an instant read author for me. I enjoyed her writing and storytelling so much. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I can’t wait to reread this one.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a billionaire romance that is about more than just showering the MFC in lavish gifts and showcasing how much money he has. There is so much depth to this book and more to Alex than the size of is bank account.

Tempted is a new billionaire workplace romance between self-made billionaire Alex and Hailee.
A quick synopsis of the book: Hailee works for Alex´mining company that is facing money laundering charges. One day she finds herself in the midst of a shooting which leads to her moving in with Alex to ensure her protection. Only he has one rule for their arrangement: Hailee is not allowed to tempt him.

The premise sounded interesting to me and I love me a workplace romance. Sadly the pacing of this book felt off to me and I found myself more intrigued in the actual plot than the romance.

The author said that she loves brining characters to life and I understand the vision, but I was not that crazy about the execution. I feel like the weird pacing of the book contributed to me having difficulty getting connected to the two main characters. I did feel more sympathy with Alex, than I did with Hailee. There was a lot of inner monologues from both of the characters, which is the best way to get a glimpse into the characters head but I wish there was more dialogues between them, in order to depict the dynamic between the relationship a little better.
That being said, the character development was quite nice to read about, especially Alexes. He had a lot of conflicting feelings and these really came through in the course of this book.
The third act breakup was very much based on miscommunication and not necessary, however the reunion was worth the break up.

I did like the main plot and mystery aspect of the story. Again, for me that was the most interesting part of the story and I enjoyed reading about the strategic moves of Alex. It almost reminded me a bit of dark romance but was not quite there yet.
I liked James and I most likely will also read book two.
This book helped cure my reading slump and that alone deserves its own star.
Overall this is a three star for me and since this is debut novel I feel like there is definitely room for improvement. I will be #sat for the next works of the author!!

This book had a wonderful plot and more to add that it was this author's debut novel. I honestly loved everything about this book.
The age gap, forbidden relationships, dirty talk, and the rules...The whole story was a slow burn, quite emotional with a great twist...

"I walk slow. Chase me...."

The more you get into the story the more you understand Alex the male main character. Why he is the way he is - emotionally unavailable, yet he can´t think of anything else but Hailee.
And Hailee trying not to fall in love with Alex, though the way he looks at her and cares about her makes that quite impossible.
I truly loved the whole story, it was a good and steaming one.

Maria Mesmer's debut novel is an impressive contribution to the genre. It features a slow-burn romance between a boss and an employee, characterized by a slight age difference and elements of forced proximity. The careful pacing ensures that the more intense moments are particularly impactful. I eagerly anticipate future works from Maria Mesmer.