Read and Review #27 - Tempted by the Soldier (Nicolette Day)

Title: Tempted by the Soldier (Falling for You #2)

Author: Nicolette Day

Publication date: 24 February 2014

Publisher: Entangled Publishing — Brazen

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Synopsis:

When one touch isn’t enough, why resist?

Road trips are supposed to be fun. Or, at least, full of hot sex. For photographer Lilly Grayson, the fifteen-hour drive to her friend’s wedding with Nate Jennings will be neither. Not that Nate isn’t sexy—the man is six-foot-three-inches of mouth-watering Marine. But Lilly’s been there, done that…and he walked away. Now it’s time for a little payback. The kind that’ll make a man desperate for a taste of what he can’t have. 

And Nate wants a taste—so badly that he can barely keep his hands on the wheel. But the scars and ghosts of his last tour still haunt him. He can’t give into temptation, not this time. Lilly deserves a whole man—one who can love her the way she deserves to be loved, even if she doesn’t believe it can happen. And that can’t be Nate. Not when he’s leaving again in two weeks, and this time, he’s not sure he’ll return...

My rating:
3.5 / 5

My review:
*ARC generously given by the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I love roadtrips. It's one of the best ways to get to bond with someone and have fun at the same time. In this story, Lilly and Nate were previously linked but Nate left her after a one night stand. I hadn't read the first book, but from the glimpses in this book, it was stated that Lilly and Nate met each other again multiple times after their one night stand, with much hostility on Lilly's part. I mean yeah, she deserves to be mad for being treated like a whore.

The thing is, I don't really find myself connected to Lilly or able to relate to her. She may be headstrong but at the end of the day, she still succumbed to her heart. Her feelings for Nate never died down, so was his for her. Alas, my cold cold heart did not melt at this.

I've read a few PTSD related romance and yes, Nate really made it believable. Not only that, he blamed himself for the death of his fellow comrades. PTSD added with guilt is one dangerous combination. I can understand his need to push Lilly away. And Lilly was determined to help him go through it. 

The sex was HOT. The banter was ridiculously spot on. Emotional turmoil? Don't get me started. However, when you feel so detached from a character, no matter how good the story is, it can rub you the wrong way and tilt your whole view of the story. You start to scrutinize every single thing the character say and do, to find that thing to connect with them. I didn't find that with either Lilly or Nate.

Needless to say, it's a good story. Roadtrips, banter, hot sex, emotional roller coaster. They're all there. It will make your heart (sadly not mine) ache and melt. Maybe I read it at the wrong time, with the wrong mood but it is what it is to me.