Monday, April 9, 2012

Review: The Temptation

THE TEMPTATION (Kindred #1)
Alisa Valdes
Paranormal Young Adult
320 pages
HarperTeen
Available April 24th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
His touch was electric.
His eyes were magnetic.
His lips were a temptation....
But was he real?

After crashing her car on an empty highway, Shane is miraculously saved by Travis, a mysterious cowboy who walks out of nowhere. She is instantly attracted to him, and for the first time, she believes in “soul mates.” But Shane soon discovers that Travis is dead and that strict rules from the Underworld govern kindred spirits of different dimensions. Breaking these rules could destroy both their souls. And while Travis is almost impossible to resist, temptation proves to be the kindest enemy they encounter. 


MY THOUGHTS
For most of us who love reading, the ideal story is one that seeps beneath our skin and leaves the topography of our hearts forever changed by the shape of the character’s footprints as they’ve traveled through and left no piece of it untouched. A less than ideal reading experience is one where the characters and their lives leave little to no impression at all, instead our journey with them is marked by a fleeting curiosity and mild interest, allowing us to move on to the next book with relative ease as we forgo any deep emotional attachment. Unfortunately, The Temptation falls into the latter category, the relationship between Shane and Travis of the instant and inexplicably deep love variety that has us hoping with each page we’ll be given a more thorough look at the two of them so we might better understand their behavior. That more extensive character examination never comes however, and we remain passengers on a motorboat, skimming atop the waves a speed that prevents us from appreciating any of the beautiful details instead of slowly churning beneath them absorbing all the details.

Shane is a young woman difficult to distinguish from a myriad of other young adult heroines, a bit weak-willed when it comes to a good-looking boy (though some leeway must be granted given her age, as we all can surely remember how thoroughly impressive a handsome boy was to us as teenagers), and at times exhibiting a reduced mental capacity when we know she’s capable of so much more. She walks into danger despite being repeatedly told to keep her distance, and she is prone to mild bouts of panic at the mere thought of being parted from a boy she met only days previously. While we are told that she and Travis are soul mates of a kind, we ourselves never experience the spark of their chemistry as it travels along sensitive skin and are given only a basic history of what it means to be Kindred in this first installment, leaving us feeling as though Shane and Travis are but simulations, mimicking love without making us believe it’s real.

The Temptation is certainly a quick and easy read, and will likely appeal more to a younger audience perhaps less interested in character intricacies and complexities and more focused on simply a fast-moving paranormal story with a little romance mixed in. Those who devour a great deal of young adult literature and are more critical readers looking for something memorable and fresh to stand out amidst the masses will likely be disappointed by an all-too familiar relationship type.

Rating: 2.5/5
 

33 comments:

  1. I completely agree - character development is so important to my enjoyment of a novel... and perhaps I didn't always feel this way to such a degree, so you're probably right to recommend this to a younger audience instead.

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  2. Thanks for the review, Jenny. I had been looking forward to this but I'm not sure if I will enjoy it now. Insta-love drives me insane! It's a shame this wasn't better but it's helpful to hear your thoughts. :)

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  3. uh-oh I shall avoid this novel..(not in the TBR anyway) character development is the most important thing to me in a book and as a reviewer it always sways me.....but I like the cover and your review...;)

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  4. Awwww, yikes, Jenny! I can handle insta-love sometimes when it's done right, but I always frown when reading a romance without chemistry -- or no character depth (which is the worst!). And I love your line about more critical readers wanting more nowadays because that's so TRUE. It's really easy to raise your expectations with the amount of blow-you-away-books coming out this year, so it's hard to settle for anything less! x)

    Thanks so much for the beautiful yet honest review, Jenny! <3 :)

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  5. I haven't heard of this book before. Sounds like that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

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  6. Aylee - I agree, I think the importance of character development grows for me the more books I read and review - I can deal with a familiar story or a slow plot if there are amazing characters. But if not? I have trouble:)

    Sam - I had high hopes for this one and was a bit disappointed, I was able to walk away from this one easily and didn't remember much after I moved on to something else.

    Tina - Same here. I need to love the characters (or hate them, as long as I feel some strong emotion when I'm reading).

    Mimi - I agree, sometimes the instant love/attraction thing can work for me, but it just didn't in this case. I couldn't believe in it the way I sometimes can with other characters.

    Amanda - I hadn't heard much about it either, and while I poured through it really quickly, I was never really invested.

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  7. But there is a cowboy! That should have equaled instant win. hehe

    But yeah, I tend to quickly grow tired when the heroine continuously insists on laughing in the face of danger. I mean, who acts like that in RL, beside me of course! ;)

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  8. Ewww, instalove. And not even the believable or likable kind. THAT STINKS that neither character left an impression on you, Jenny. Me? I need that connection, so this is a no go for me.

    Asher

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  9. Oh shoot! I really liked the book description. Too bad for the one dimensional characters. Thanks for your honest review, Jenny. I'm going to skip this one.

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  10. I was looking forward to this one too. Maybe I'll keep it on the back burner for awhile. Thank you for your honest review.

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  11. I wasn't planning to read this one but I'm sorry to heard that it was a disappointment .. Thanks for the honest and great review Jenny :)

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  12. Missie - I know, it should have been an automatic cowboy win. And while Travis was cute, he and Shane just didn't quite work for me:(

    Asher - I need that connection too, and I just kept waiting for it with each page. It may happen more in the next book, but I didn't quite feel it in this one.

    Rummanah - I did too, it had so much potential!

    Sarabara - I think a lot of people will probably really enjoy this one, I just need more from the characters so I could feel invested in their lives.

    Elodie - It's never fun when I don't respond well to a book, but it's bound to happen since I read so many. Oh well, on to the next one!

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  13. Character development is make or break for me. Really, it is the heroin that I want to bond with and root for. We all know I have a hard time when they aren't that character. Great REview chica!

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  14. I wasn't planning on reading this but I thought the summary sounded pretty good. Too bad about how it turned out for you.

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  15. duuuh.... I haven't read much about this book but your review tells me it won't probably be my cup of tea... Specially since their love lacks all kind of sparks.. Soul Mates is a great topic but it has to be dealt with in a delicate way otherwise it get's cheesy and not real!

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  16. Hmmm...this doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy; however, it does sound like something my 7th/8th graders might enjoy. I have many students that want something quick and easy and this seems to fit the bill. Thanks for the heads up regarding this read. It's new-to-me!

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  17. Felicia - Yep, me too:) And Shane and I were not destined for bondage. Mind out of the gutter please ;-)

    Jenny - I think the summary sounds great, so my expectations were high. This one just didn't live up to them for me.

    Danny - I need romance with lots of sparks! There was potential for sparks, but they never really came into being.

    Christina - I think a younger age group would really enjoy this one, it lacked some development for me but I'm a really critical reader.

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  18. Aw, too bad! I find myself putting the books I read into those two categories, too, and I'm finding I have little use for the latter. There are SO many good books out there that it seems like such a waste to spend time reading the same old "been there, done that" where the characters all feel the same and follow the same old insta-love plot. Boooooring. Thank you for the warning!

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  19. I am feeling a big meh coming from me today, and with that, good night :)

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  20. I don't think this one is for me. I can see how the younger YA group would enjoy it though. Even so... they are so inundated with this type of story... and their are better ones out there with the same theme. Oh well...

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  21. I saw this one on HarperTeen's website yesterday and wondered about it so the fact that you chose to review this one today is perfect.

    Instant skip. I'm not a fan of the whole soulmates concept to begin with and when you can't even feel the chemistry ... forget it. Thanks for the review, Jenny!

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  22. I was excited about the "mysterious cowboy" that's mentioned in the summary but now...not so much. That's such a let down that Shane was just a weak heroine. I hate it when it happens. I'm also a fan of slow romance, so this is not the one for me! :) Thanks for the honest review, Jenny!

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  23. Sounds like something I've read a dozen times before, I'm afraid. The synopsis sounded kinda fun, so maybe one for younger readers, for sure! :)

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  24. Oh, sadness! I don't want to be in a motorboat. I want to dive deep under the cool waters of lurve! I'm so over insta-love in any genre, not just YA. It takes work to form a deep, lasting connection. Insta-lust, hellz yeah. Been there, done that. But after the lust dies down, what's left?

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  25. That's what I've been struggling with inYA lately.

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  26. I just did a soul mates book with spellbound, so I am not in the mood for another one especially since this one doesn't shine. Oh well better luck next time.

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  27. I hadn't heard of this one - but the mysterious cowboy thing has me interested! I'm bummed that it wasn't what you'd hoped! I think I'll pass on this one.

    -Jac @ For Love and Books

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  28. I hadn't heard of this one somehow. I like the description but the instalove and lack of character connection def makes me think this probably isn't one I would enjoy. Thanks for the honest review!

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  29. Aw, gosh...that's too bad! At one point I was definitely interested in these types of books, where you just read it and moved on. But since I started reviewing and putting more thought into it, I've definitely grown. Thanks for the review! I was looking forward to it, but I think its getting pushed down my list.

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  30. Aww, sorry you didn't like it as much! I'm a sucker for romance and easily entertain that I had no problem falling in to the plot. Thanks for you honesty and for sharing!

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  31. How did I miss this from HarperTeen? I like the cover. Drats the romance isn't rather a bummer! Great review :)

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  32. How have I not heard about this one? Or maybe I have but just didn't remember it? Your thoughts are grand, Jenny, and thank you so much for them!

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  33. I loved this book and i would recommend ANY of her books highly. I've read 9 of them so far! All are excellent!

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