Temptation (Temptation Novel, #1)

by Karen Ann Hopkins

[Rowena]

I finished this book last night and still I’m still not sure how I feel about the book. Was it a good story? Yes. Did I enjoy the story? A little bit. More than anything, I was curious about what was going to happen next and that was why I kept reading. The author sucks you in with the romance between Noah and Rose. He’s Amish and likes being Amish. He shouldn’t be with the English girl but he can’t help himself because he loves her and amazingly enough, she loves him right back.

This is a young love kind of romance. It’s about two people who fell in love, who shouldn’t have fallen in love because they’re from different places and no matter what they do, their love is there. It’s front and center which isn’t surprising because they’re both so young but there were quite a few times that my guard went up because of the high handed way Noah was with Rose. He was overprotective and wanted Rose to act a certain way so that his parents would approve of her. I wasn’t a big fan of the way that he just assumed she’d give up her entire way of life to be with him and didn’t really think about how big of a decision it’d be for her.

Did I doubt their love for each other? No. Was I annoyed that Noah gave Rose that ultimatum with a deadline? You betcha.

The thing about this story was that while I couldn’t put it down, I was also cringing at how young both Noah and Rose was and how deep their love was for each other. I mean, Rose was only sixteen and she had to decide whether she loved Noah enough to leave everything she’s ever known (cell phones, high school, prom, her family). She leaving everything she loves to be with the boy that she loves. That’s a lot to tackle at sixteen. She just got her learner’s permit and now she won’t be able to drive a car anymore because Amish folks don’t drive. Having said all of that, I thought Hopkins did a pretty good job of telling Rose’s story. She brought out the emotions, the realism of their love for each other and made it pop because while I couldn’t imagine going through something like that, I connected with the characters in this story enough that I understood what they were up against and what they were feeling.

This book isn’t a book that I would read again but I’m not sorry that I read it. It was an interesting story about two people from opposites sides of the world, falling for each other and dealing with it the only way that they knew how. Would I recommend this? I’m leaning toward yes, just so that you can make up your own mind about this story. It’s good enough to give a try.