Monday, July 25, 2016

The Trouble with Temptation by Shiloh Walker



Love is the greatest risk of all.

 

 After seven days in a coma, Hannah Parker remembers nothing about the accident that landed her in the hospital—or how she ended up pregnant with Brannon’s baby, the man she’s loved since high school. Her body and heart have burned for him for years, and when she wakes up, he’s sleeping by her bedside, anxious to keep her safe at all costs. But as Hannah struggles with her amnesia, a threat looms closer—one that could have deadly consequences if she recovers her memories. She will have to trust Brannon completely if she is to keep what haunts her at bay…and their baby safe….

 

Brannon McKay spent the last ten years fantasizing about Hannah. In his mind, he’s explored every passionate scenario he can think of while, in real life, Brannon took their budding relationship and threw it away with both hands. Hannah doesn’t remember what happened but now that she is awake, Brannon would rather die than watch her walk away again. When Hannah and his unborn child’s lives are threatened, Brannon must stake claim to the woman who has held his heart captive for years…or risk disaster tearing them apart…

 

Series: McKay #2 |Publisher: St. Martin's Press| Release Date: May 3, 2016 | Genre:  Contemporary Romance| Source: Publisher | Rating: 3.5 Cups

Challenges Read For: Pick Your Own Genre: Contemporary



When Hannah Parker wakes up from her seven-day coma, she doesn’t remember a thing. Not the car accident that landed her in the hospital, not how she ended up pregnant with Brannon McKay’s baby, and not the murder she possibly witnessed. While she isn’t able to recall her middle name, she does have a feeling that she knows Brannon and with someone out to get her she knows she will have to trust him to keep her and her baby safe.
 
While Brannon can keep her physically safe, he knows that if Hannah remembers the events that unfolded between them on the night of the accident, there’s no way she will be able to forgive them. Although Brannon will do his best to make Hannah fall in love with him, even protect her from the person out to do her harm.
 
Okay, so it was the amnesia plot that first piqued my interest, plus I’m a sucker for romantic suspense although I struggled with this one.
 
I wasn’t aware that this was the second book in the series and, apparently, it picks straight up from the first book so I was completely lost when I first started reading it and I almost DNF’d it a few times. Given that threads from the first story seem to continue in this story, a little backstory would have been nice.
 
What kept me reading were Hannah and Brannon. I really liked both of them. Hannah, of course, has amnesia. She’s frustrated, which is understandable, and she knows that, while she can trust Brannon, he’s hiding something from her. Brannon, he’s a ginger, yay! it’s rare to see ginger heroes in contemporary romances and I really liked it. He’s definitely an alpha male yet he’s not an over-the-top-drag-you-to-my-cave type of alpha. He actually allows Hannah space yet is there for her.  
 
The romance angle was a little different and I was so curious to see how they worked out their problems. Hannah has loved Brannon most of her life and Brannon, while he harbored feelings for her, never really gave Hannah the time of day. They didn’t really have an actual relationship until the day of her accident. And there’s a few things that he’s hiding from Hannah because he knows that if she finds out, he’s probably going to lose her. There’s definitely chemistry and attraction between them but there’s also a few problems they have to overcome.
 
I really liked the way the amnesia plot was handled. It was believable and had a true-to-life feel to it. I also enjoyed the way her memories slowly came back rather than flood her all at once.
 
So, the suspense was riveting and I was eager to discover who the murderer was. While I have my suspicions, it wasn’t addressed in this book and I have a feeling that this thread is going to continue on throughout the series. What kind of became annoying was the fact that it seemed like every time Hannah was out and about, she getting attacked or accosted by this guy or that and none of these were the actual murderer. That aspect felt like it sort of overdone.
 
Another thing that pulled me from parts of the book and gave it a bogged down feeling was the fact there were so many threads and voices shoved in one book.  While I really enjoyed seeing things from the villain’s perspective, some of the additional stories and POVs from outside characters should have been placed in a short story or something.
 
Overall, I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed watching Hannah and Brannon get their acts together. I would have enjoyed this one better if I had read the first book in the series, which I plan to do. I also plan of following this series as I am eager to see how it ties up.

  
 



Have you read a book with the amnesia plot?

Did you like it?


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