Redonk Nutshell: Woman struggles with the repercussions of inviting husband’s close friend into their bedroom

Anne has a fantastic life, a life that turns tumultuous when her husband’s best friend accepts an invitation to be their house guest.  When her husband, James, encourages her to invite his friend Alex into their bedroom, she’s concerned.  She struggles with several things: a) her own attraction to Alex, b) the consequences of their threesome and c) her husband’s past interaction with him

I almost felt like a voyeur watching Anne go through the gamut of emotions as she processes both her own and her husband’s actions.  There’s a forbidden attraction between James and Alex, one that James fails to admit to himself.  Adding Anne as the buffer seems to alleviate this, though it leaves Anne in an awkward emotional predicament.  When her own feelings for Alex begin to snowball into dangerous territory, she’s forced to re-examine her own wants and the future of her marriage.

This is a tough read, an emotional clusterfrack that will leave you reeling.  And of course, it’s what I’ve come to expect from Ms. Hart.  I find stories involving threesomes interesting, though they rarely enter into the shadowy territory of “after.”  What really sets this story apart is the realism of partaking in the forbidden, the dealing of emotional fallout for what, I would imagine for many married couples, would be a hard limit.  It’s hard to watch as Anne and James struggle to make sense of their emotions after the fact.  And honestly, it’s tough to distinguish which path to root for – should Anne fix her marriage? Should she get out? Should she keep Alex around?  There’s no right or wrong answer, and ultimately the path she ends up choosing is one I’d be curious to check back on in a few years.  We get a satisfactory ending, but it’s not necessarily happy-go-lucky.

I enjoyed Tempted, though it’s definitely not a light, Sunday afternoon type read.

Tempted by Megan Hart

Rating: C+

Romance: 2/5                 Raunch: 5/5