More Than Tempt You (More Than Words #5) by Shayla Black
Series: More Than Words #5
Published by Shelley Bradley, LLC on April 30, 2019
Genres: Contemporary
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FINAL DECISION: Clint is misguided and Beth is hard to get to know, but these two are so perfect together that all the lies an secrets can’t keep them apart. I enjoyed this book but wanted more grovel for Clint’s lies.

THE STORY: Clint Holmes is looking for revenge after the death of his father. He believes that Bethany Banks, who managed his father’s money, is responsible for the shock and stress that led to his father’s death. He tracks her down in Maui working as a waitress. In order to discover what her involvement is in the theft of his father’s money, Clint pretends to be a bartender new to the island and hides his true identity from Bethany. But she isn’t what he expected. Soon Clint finds himself falling for this woman with secrets.

OPINION: This book is told primarily from Clint’s point of view which is a good thing because otherwise his actions would be pretty terrible. Instead, we get to see his conflicts and thus he is a much more sympathetic character.

If a book has first person, I generally prefer alternating first person narratives so that we can get to know each character. Here Beth and her motivations remain a mystery to readers until she reveals them to Clint. This creates more understanding of Clint’s point of view because the reader is as uncertain as Clint is. (Although readers of the series might have some idea of what has been going on.)

Beth is difficult to get to know — both for the reader and for Clint. She also has some bad stuff in her background (readers of the series won’t be surprised by the horrible person her father is).

There are a lot of interesting situations in this book arising from the central conflict — Clint seeks to expose a liar by becoming one himself. Clint’s struggle of whether he is wrong about Beth or is falling for a bad person and his struggle over his own lies to Beth made his emotionally complex. It’s also a hot book!

I really liked these characters together, and I enjoyed this book with one exception. Clint really should have had to do more “on camera” groveling. But we get some sense that he is truly redeemed by the end of the book so I’m okay with it, but I still wanted more.

WORTH MENTIONING: Fans of the author’s other series may find some Easter eggs here.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MORE THAN TEMPT YOU is the fifth book in the More Than Words series. This book can be read as a standalone although there is a continuing story in the series if you read the books in order and overlapping characters.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an early released eARC of this book via the author to aid in preparation of this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own. Additionally, I, myself, purchased an actual ebook of this title once it was released.