Book: To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt

Published May 2008 by Forever|362 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Legend Of The Four Soldiers

Genre: Adult Romance/Historical Romance

06

The ton loves nothing more than a good scandal, and they’re giddy with the appearance of wealthy Samuel Hartley. Not only is he self-made, American, and in the habit of wearing moccasins, but he is also notorious for fleeing a battle in which several English gentlemen lost their lives. What the ton doesn’t know, though, is that Samuel is in London because of this massacre. He believes his regiment was given up to the enemy and won’t rest until he finds the traitor.

Lady Emeline Gordon is captivated with Samuel. Not only does he defy convention with his unusual dress, his sensual smile, and his forthright manner, but he survived the battle that killed her beloved brother. Samuel suspects that the person responsible for her brother’s death is Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, a family friend since childhood—and Emeline’s fiancé. Despite Emeline’s belief in Vale’s innocence and her refusal to break off her betrothal, she and Samuel begin a passionate affair. But can their relationship survive the fallout from Samuel’s investigation?

I was in the mood for a romance novel, but unfortunately, this one was just okay.  I didn’t particularly care about Emeline and Samuel as a couple, and while I wanted to root for them, I had a hard caring about them as a couple.  Maybe I wasn’t completely in the mood for romance- or maybe I just needed one that wasn’t this one.

I will say that I did really like how this book had a quote from a fictional book at the beginning of each chapter. I know I’ve read one of her other books, and she incorporated a fictional book into that one as well.  I don’t know why I liked that so much, but I did.  I can’t imagine coming up with a full story, plus quotes from a fictional on top of that, though fantasy and sci-fi writers build entire worlds, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.  But still, there is something about a fictional book within a book that is really cool.  So while part of me wants to read that fictional book we see mentioned in To Taste Temptation, I also don’t want to, because what if it’s just not that same?  I don’t want another Fangirl/Carry On scenario.

I do like that her books mirror a fairy tale, though I didn’t particularly pay too much attention to the parallels between the fairy tale and the actual story.  It does seem to be her thing, if this book and The Raven Prince, are any indication.  Maybe I just happened to pick up the two books connected to fairy tales, or maybe it’s a thing she does in a lot of her books.  At any rate, I do like the connections between the two, and it does make things interesting.

Overall, I’m not really sure what else to say about To Taste Temptation.  So before I start repeating myself, I’m just going to end things here.

2 stars.  It was okay, and while I liked the story within a story, I didn’t really care about the main romance.