Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Tempt Me
SERIES: Tattoos and Temptation, Book 5
AUTHOR: Mia Monroe
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 5 hours and 47 minutes
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2022
BLURB:
My best friend’s little brother is all grown up.
Figuring out my sexuality at nearly 40 years old has been a revelation, but dating hasn’t been any easier. After a failed engagement, I know what’s important to me, and I refuse to settle anymore.
So when my best friend asks me if I can help his little brother settle in after being away, it sounds like a pleasant distraction. I always thought Felix was a sweet kid. Only 10 years later, he’s definitely all grown up. He owns his glamorous style and larger than life personality, and I’m hooked.
But regardless of my budding interest, there is way too much at stake to even consider dating Felix.
We’ll have to keep it just friends, as long as he doesn’t tempt me…
Tempt Me is a steamy, best friend’s brother, age gap, low angst, tale featuring a sassy chocolatier who can rock a heel and lipstick, a tattoo artist ready to explore his newly accepted sexuality, and two opposites who definitely attract. It is book five in the Tattoos and Temptation series featuring hot Miami nights, Latin desserts, and guys with ink.
It can be listened to as a stand-alone, but why would you do that? Start with Marry Me and meet all the guys from T&T.
REVIEW:
Tempt Me is a fluffy confection of a story featuring Felix, a French baker/chocolatier, and Apollo, Jude’s new office manager at Black Heart Tattoos. This fifth book in Mia Monroe’s addictive Tattoos and Temptation series is the literary equivalent of the strawberries and cream cake Felix bakes for Apollo: light, perfectly sweet, and decadent.
Kale Williams’ glorious voice brings this love story to life on the Tempt Me audiobook. He uses his honeyed tones and several different, delectable French accents for Felix, his older brother Lucien, and their mother and father, in combination with his superb narrating skills. Listening to Tempt Me is death by chocolate and French accents … What a way to go. *happy sigh*
This book is written in the language of love. Sappy? Yes. Romantic? Absolutely. Poetic? Most definitely. There’s no angst here, just a light, sweet romantic treat that warms your heart while showcasing the beauty of effusive, all-in love.
Felix is Apollo’s best friend Lucien’s younger brother. They’ve known each other since childhood, but the last time Apollo saw Felix, Felix was still a teenager. Felix has been honing his craft in Paris for the past decade, so when he returns to Miami, his time away combined with the eleven-year age gap between them (Apollo is 40, Felix is 29), results in a stunning revelation for Apollo. Felix isn’t a kid anymore. He is a beautiful, sexy, gorgeous man that checks all of Apollo’s boxes. He unexpectedly finds that Felix is the guy he wants to explore his newly discovered bisexuality with. But not as an experiment. It’s because he realizes Felix may be his “person” — the one he’s been waiting for.
Felix is absolutely adorable (although he may not appreciate me calling him that 😉). He is sweet, down-to-earth, and fully connected with his own thoughts and desires. He is the epitome of a strong, sassy man who is unapologetically himself — heels, lingerie, slinky clothes, shiny long hair, makeup, and all. Apollo is opposite in appearance but very similar in terms of his outlook on life and understanding of who he is as a person. He epitomizes an open-minded, inquisitive man who’s comfortable in his own skin and not afraid to go for what he wants, even if it’s a departure from everything he thought he was or wanted before. Apollo is the perfect counterpoint to Felix who is super-secure, generous of heart and spirit, and looking for that French swoon-worthy love that he never found in France because his heart was always holding out for Apollo.
In Tempt Me, Ms. Monroe pays homage to food as a love language with Felix as the artistic chef. But it’s not in lieu of openly and proudly expressing his feelings in words. Felix and Apollo aren’t shy about declarations of their affection, attachment and commitment to each other. This is not a story about doubting or hiding feelings.
Remember Tate and Nix in Free Me? Two men who have known each other forever became inseparable and then broke apart. Thirteen years later, they fall back on their long history and revive their deep connection as easy as breathing. Felix and Apollo are like that but without the devastating separation. They’ve known each other forever and after a ten-year separation, they create a new connection that’s better and stronger than the best friend’s brother relationship they had before.
Tempt Me is a joyful celebration of love. Kale Williams brings that joy to life. You hear his investment in the characters and in Felix and Apollo’s relationship. But perhaps more importantly, you can hear that he is having fun. You can tell he is loving giving Felix and Apollo’s love story life. That exuberance, coupled with his undeniable vocal chops, allows him to deliver an ebullient listening experience. You’ll find yourself smiling throughout and feeling all schmoopy and exceedingly happy by the end.
I truly enjoyed the Tempt Me book when I read it when it was released last year. However, the Tempt Me audiobook is a prime example of a narrator’s vocal performance creating an auditory experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. Simply put, Tempt Me is better with the audio, which is certainly saying something since the book is terrific all on its own. You cannot resist the pull of Felix’s delicious French accent, Apollo’s smooth, resonant baritone, Saint’s sexy Scottish brogue, and the warm familiarity of the voices Mr. Williams consistently delivers for all of the other Black Heart and Dulce Santo men. Throw in chocolate, french pastries, tattoos, piercings, hot guys, and hotter sex, and you’ve got a winner of a love story.
RATING: 
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