Her Favorite Temptation by Sarah Mayberry

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Title: Her Favorite Temptation
Author: Sarah Mayberry
Series: Matthews Sisters #1
Published by: Harlequin Superromance
Release Date: July 28, 2013
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 189
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2022 Bookish Resolutions DTTH, Lenoreo's 2022 COYER Summer
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

Two people facing crossroads in their lives discover friendship and love in this touching novella by fan favorite Harlequin Superromance author Sarah Mayberry.

Leah Mathews has always been the good sister, the favored one who could do no wrong. But as her thirtieth birthday looms, she's ready to step out of her parents' shadow and make changes in her life. Shes even more inspired by the sexy musician who moves in next door and his seize-the-day attitude. And tempted to take comfort in his arms...

Will Jones is facing the prospect of losing the career he loves--and possibly his life--to a sudden illness. When he meets Leah, he feels a powerful connection to her, and flirting with a smart, beautiful woman seems like the perfect way to spend the weeks before his risky operation.

But as their relationship heats up, Leah still doesn't know the truth about Will's situation. Will their bond be strong enough to face the challenges yet to come?

My Review:

4 stars — Man, I needed this.  I can always count on Ms. Mayberry for just a solid romance, but without any of the usual clichés.  I think the only reason I hadn’t bumped up to 4.5 is because there was the almost cliché of them both being in love but not believing the other felt the same…BUT it kind of fit for what they were going through, so I’m waffling a bit.

I also wasn’t a fan of Will’s pride at times.  At other times he was awesomely sensitive, kind, observant.  And his sense of humour was fantastic — I loved his flirting with Leah and trying to bring her out of her shell.  But there were other moments, related to his health issues, where his attitude frustrated me a bit.  It had teeny tiny hints of toxic masculinity, without being full on toxic.  I was relieved to see him work through some of that, both on his own, and with the steadfast love of Leah to give him strength.

Leah was pretty easy to connect with and love for me.  It was interesting to meet her when she’s just made this huge life altering decision, and watch her struggle with the disappointment from her parents.  I loved seeing her come into her own and develop her bravery, with the help of encouragement from Will.  You could really see how they complemented one another.  She was sweet, smart, intuitive, compassionate…and Will brought out her awesome wit.

They were fantastic together.  There were all those beginning crush butterfly feelings, the friends first vibe, the one super hot night…and then the move towards more.  I was there for all of it.

I loved Will’s family, they were solid…we didn’t see a lot of them, but what we did I enjoyed.  Leah’s family was…rough.  I wish we’d gotten more on screen time of Leah and Audrey’s reconnection, but I guess this just makes me want to read Audrey’s story more, so success?

All in all, this was exactly what I’m always looking for, and consistently get from Ms. Mayberry.  I love that she’s so reliable, but never formulaic.