Within Temptation (Sons of Temptation #1) by Tanya Holmes

Category: Romantic Mystery/Romantic Suspense. This is not erotica or romantica. This is a romance centered around a murder mystery. 

Heat Factor: 3 out of 5 -- The sexual tension is high, and the burn is slow. Sex is character-driven, rather than plot-driven.
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Love, betrayal and murder in a small town.

Twelve years after her mother's murder, Shannon Bradford fears she may have helped convict an innocent man. Even worse, her prominent family may have had something to do with it. Desperate for answers, she seeks help from the one person least likely to give it. Her best friend and childhood crush, Trace Dawson. The man she sent to prison. 

Serving hard time for murder has left Trace angry and bitter. As far as he's concerned, digging into the past won't replace the years he's lost or erase the hell he's lived. Now that he's free, Shannon Bradford tops his list of bad memories. But he never counted on falling in love. 

Set in a sleepy little town during the dead of winter, this award-winning romance novel is a tale of one woman's quest for truth and a man's struggle to forgive….

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This story is the first in a trilogy of standalone romance novels in the 'Sons of Temptation' series

4.5 stars.

“A life lived in fear is a life half lived.” 

Within Temptation is a suspenseful story full of romance, sexual tension, murder, lies and stolen memories. 
It makes you think, If you can't rely on your family and your mind, Who can you really trust?

"Over a decade ago, on a hot September morning, I entered hell. In my nightmares, I could still smell the blood, could still see Trace Dawson clutching a garden spade while crouched over Mother's corpse." 

This is the story of Shannon and Trace.
Twelve years ago Shannon Bradford found her mother brutally murdered supposedly by the hands of Trace Dawson, her friend, her protector, the boy she started to fall in love with. Now Trace is back on Temptation on parole and Shannon is sure that the boy who helped convict wasn't the one who killed her mother, so she needs his help to solve the mystery. 
But if Trace didn't murder her mother, who did? 

Trace... OHMYGOD TRACE. He was such a dreamy character. Even after all the disgusting and disturbing stuff he had to deal at prison, even after he was convict of a crime he didn't commit he still cared and protected Shannon. 

"I may be on parole, but you're still the warden of your own penitentiary. So, between the two of us, who's the real prisoner, darlin'?" 

I loved how he pushed Shannon to overcome her fear of living under her mothers reputation and be able to just live. Not being afraid of what others would think of her. That shows a great deal of how much he actual cares for her.

I enjoyed Shannon as a character. I liked how we got to see her past and how her relationship with her mother affected every other relationship she had and overall her life.

I even liked Darien and I would have loved if we got to see more of him please don't judge me .

"He hadn't kissed me, yet i knew his touch" 

I loved that we got to see they're relationship develop. Tanya Holmes did a great job building the connection and sexual tension of the main characters slowly and beautifuly which made it more believable and not at all forced.


Overall I enjoyed this book and can't wait for the second one to come out, with Trace's brother Cole. It's gonna be a bumpy ride for sure.