The Perfect Temptation [Mass Market Paperback]

Alexandra "Alex" Radford is an Englishwoman who was born and raised in England. In her mid-twenties, she finds herself on English soil in the position of tutor to the heir of the raja in whose court she was raised for most of her life. Because the young heir is suddenly without bodyguards (one dead, one brain-damaged), Alexandra (who also doubles as a dealer in Indian silver and other goods) turns to a highly recommended private investigator to help her find replacements for the lost bodyguards.

John Aiden Terrell has been trying very hard to lose himself in a bottle over the last year. Upset over the loss of his lady love, for which he blames himself, Aiden (as he's mostly called) isn't happy when his old friend Barrett Stanbridge pulls him out of the gutter and forces him to clean himself up to be of help with Stanbridge's private investigation firm. Not sure what he thinks of Alex, Aiden is more than a little miffed when he's assigned to handle her bodyguard needs.

This story goes along much like you'd expect it to. Aiden moves in with Alex and her young charge, and the sexual tension between them builds. Neither is really looking for a happily ever after, and I revel in stories where the protagonists are totally unprepared for total commitment. This is where I really appreciate the rich storytelling style of the author. She takes a story that shouldn't really have many surprises and digs deep enough into it to make it seem new and engaging.

Alex is such a beautiful character. She's English, but she's also very much Indian. Her interesting combination of Western and Indian philosophies is so well done. Beyond just being a slightly exotic heroine for an English historical romance, she's also an embraceable character. She's flawed, but she doesn't have intelligence problems and she doesn't seem to have trouble making the best of bad situations.

I like Aiden, but not nearly as well as Alex; his hang-ups end up feeling a little false, given his otherwise astute nature. Not saying that his character is a disaster, just that he isn't a stand-out hero--although the final scenes help to up his "yum" factor.

I enjoyed "The Perfect Temptation", and was somewhat perplexed when what I'd first loved about it started to become a problem. The intensity of Ms. LaFoy's style starts to become a little heavy toward the middle of the book. It's hard to explain how it happened, I just felt that things started to get thick and more difficult to wade through. Toward the end I was happy with the way things were moving again, and it's hard to say why I was having trouble turning the pages toward the middle, because I don't feel like it was the story itself. This might be one of those times when it's just a matter of something not working for me personally, because I can't really put my finger on what about the writing quit working.

All in all, I think "The Perfect Temptation" is worth a peek--especially if you haven't read Ms. LaFoy before, because she seems to be an under appreciated talent to me. I give this book three stars: it seemed to drag in the middle for me and the hero wasn't all that great, but I really feel that the bulk of my problems may have been matters of taste rather than actual issues with quality.