Moonlight Temptation is the fourth book in the Lucani Lovers series by Stephanie Julian. You can read it as a stand-alone story but I think you’d enjoy this one more if you read the series in order since Evie’s circumstances and history are set up in the previous books.
Evie Simmons has been through hell. She was kidnapped by a crazy woman, then thrust into the world of Etruscan shape shifters and has now discovered that she is actually a powerful Etruscan witch with very little control over her magic. Her world has been turned upside down and she is having trouble coping.
Dr. Dane Dimitriou wants Evie bad. He has since he first met her. He is afraid that she is not strong enough right now to give him what he needs from her but he just can’t stay away. Dane has shared women in the past with his best friend Ryan. He trusts Ryan to be gentle with Evie and feels that by including Ryan in their relationship he will act as a buffer to keep Dane’s feelings for Evie from getting out of hand. But now with Ryan in the picture Evie has two men that need her.
I was back and forth about how I felt about this book. I really like this world that this series is based in and I very much enjoy the continuing story arc. However the romance was lacking in this installment. Evie has been through a lot and her life has changed dramatically in a relatively short amount of time. I can see why she should experience some confusion about her attraction to Dane especially since he seems to give off mixed messages. But she is attracted to him so when Ryan enters the scene and he announces he is there to seduce her I was surprised that she was so open to the idea since he was a virtual stranger to her. Then next thing we know Dane is in the mix and they are a happy threesome. There really wasn’t much build up or romantic tension and the three-way relationship seemed rushed in order to get to the sexual relationship.
As always with a Stephanie Julian book the bedrooms scenes were very steamy and erotic. Ms. Julian writes very sensual ménage scenes and this story was no exception. Dane and Ryan are polar opposites in personality but together with Evie they find sexy rhythm (no pun intended) that makes for some wonderfully intense scenes. But because of the rushed relationship the romantic chemistry was a bit thin.
Overall the story was interesting and enjoyable enough for me to want to keep reading and the sexual relationship between Dane, Ryan and Evie was very steamy. But the romantic relationship fell short and left me disappointed.
Favorite Quote:
She took a deep breath, her small breasts pressing against her arms, distracting the hell out of him. If all she needed to do to distract him was breathe, they were in more trouble than he’d thought.
Moonlight Temptation by Stephanie Julian
January 21st 2010 by Ellora’s Cave
Paranormal Erotic Romance
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About Sophia (FV)
That quote! LOL Very cute.
@Julie: Yeah Stephanie Julian’s books are always very quotable.
I have this one to read next~I can’t wait to see if our views our the same.
Referencing the quote – Ah, the old breathing trick. Works every time.
Too bad on the romantic part, but at least there was passion
Steamy ca be good without romance sometimes. Sounds like a fun read either way.