Things are never straight forward in this series. Shines a light on aspects of human nature, the dangers of radicalism and a reminder of the damages caused by closed thinking.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
allthingsuf.com

WHEN TEMPTATION BURNS feels more like my first Paranormal Thriller rather than a Paranormal Romances. Though Andy and Doyle do provide strong romantic elements, they share the narrative perspective with many of the major players in the plot. Both heroes and villains get to tell their side of the story, and Beck doesn’t flinch from weaving emotionally and morally complex themes into the plot.

It was just that depth that allowed the plot to completely steal the show in this book. The romance was enjoyable, the action scenes were often too over the top for me, but the cat and mouse game of law enforcement trying to contain angry, powerful groups intent on their own vendettas was both thrilling and nuanced. Though this was my first of The Shadow Keepers series, I had no difficulty catching up and buying into the plot. Beck does a wonderful job giving both sides of the conflict human elements, and explores how violence, revenge, fear, forgiveness, and love all impact communities, whether mortal or paranormal.

While I appreciated the minimum of unnecessary drama, I would have welcomed a few interesting flaws or details in the main characters. Though Beck’s plot was morally nuanced, the main characters themselves rarely push boundaries. Doyle and Andy are more heroic, plucky, and clear-eyed than the lesser characters around them, which meant they were rather more predictable and less interesting than the twisty, difficult plot in which they starred. As a character driven reader, this lowered my appreciation for WHEN TEMPTATION BURNS from 4 bats to 3. The plot has me interested, but as of right now, neither the world nor its characters have me hooked enough for pre-orders.

Sexual Content: Several sex scenes and attempted rape. ( )