Tempted By Love (Montana Heat, #4)

by Jennifer Ryan

She was this Montana Man’s greatest temptation . . .

Alina Cooke—little sister of his two best friends—is the last woman DEA agent Jay Bennett should be waking up next to on the day of her brother’s wedding. But their powerful attraction ignited a powder keg of desire, and their once simple friendship has just become impossibly complicated.

Alina’s always been steady, focused, and lived on the safe side of life. Jay is totally devoted to his dangerous job. She knows a future with him will be filled with worry that one day he won’t come home. She’s done it with her brothers. She’s not sure she can face that uncertainty with the man she loves. Yet being in his arms is a bad idea they keep repeating, again and again.

When Alina is run off the road, Jay fears his job has made her a target. But the threat in Alina’s life is closer than they think. As the enemy gets more ruthless, Alina proves she’s no easy target and Jay will do anything to bring them down. Because surviving and being together is the only thing that matters.

• ISBN10: 0062851683
• ISBN13: 9780062851680
• Publish Date: 21 August 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 25 July 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062851680

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

In the previous books we enjoyed high-stakes suspense as, Undercover DEA Agent Beck “Trigger” Cooke and DEA Agent Caden Cooke found true love. We also got an intense story about Undercover DEA Special Agent Dawson King. In Tempted by Love, our story begins at the weddings of Beck and Caden. Their sister, Alina Cooke is sitting at the bar looking dejected when the Cooke brother's best friend, DEA agent Jay Bennett joins her for a whiskey. He feels like he knows her, having heard stories from Beck and Caden, but tonight he notices her as a woman. One thing leads to another and they are in his hotel room. An awkward morning after leaves, Dawson feeling rejected and has Alina kicking herself for running away. Fate brings these two together.
With the Cooke brother's away, Allie is watching her nephew and Jay is helping the one night she can't do it. When an accident looks suspect, Allie spends time with Jay as they investigate. I really liked Jay. He has baggage and is slightly older. With Allie I wavered. There are aspects of her personality I loved, and at other moments I grew impatient with her, particularly with her indecisiveness.

The suspense thread was an intense one and revolved around Allie and her job. While we knew the players, it was exciting seeing it all come together as Ryan shared intense action scenes. Ryan did her research and this story could have pulled from today's headlines. I also like that a common issue in treatments was addressed. I am hoping the finish copy has some 800 #'s for folks who need it.

My issue with the story was the filler. There is a huge overlap of events that occurred in True to You and King's case. While it offered a different perspective, I found myself pulled from the current plot and skimming through. Then we have Jay's Mom, who lives in the guest house on Jay's property. Oh my! This thread felt unnecessary. Sure we gained insight into Jay's childhood but her placement within the timeline left me cold. I enjoyed the nephew, and it helped connect Alina and Jay after the weddings, but for me it interfered with the slow-build and relationship building that would have kept this from insta-love. I have said before; I don't mind insta-love and accept it as part of this genre, but I still need the feels. Ryan is awesome and her stories are intense, but this fell short for me.

Favorite moments: The Cooke brother's learning about the relationship and the awesome view of the stars from Jay's backyard. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer