TEMPTING EVIL.

TEMPTING EVIL By Keri Arthur.

Half werewolf and half vampire Riley Jenson is now an agent with the DOR - the Dirctorate of Other Races. However, trusting her superiors and lovers barely more than she trusts her worst enemies, Riley plays by her own set of rules.

Her latest mission: to enter the heavily guarded pleasure palace of a criminal named Deshon Starr - a madman-scientist who's been messing around in the gene pool for decades. With two sexy men - a cool, seductive vampire and an irresistably hot werewolf - vying for her attention, Riley must keep focused. Because saving the world from Deshon Starr will mean saving herself from the trap that's closing in around her ...

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): Training sucked.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: If I wasn't so tired I might have laughed. The two of them sounded like a couple of squabbling teenagers. What made it even more laughable was the fact that one of them was actually well over twelve hundred years old and should have known better.

Firstly many thanks to my good friend K of Scarborough (perhaps she will also do a review and let us know her opinion of this book) who, being a fan of the author, thought of me and sent this copy of Tempting Evil.

Part three in a series (FULL MOON RISING and KISSING SIN being the first two offerings), this was an easy enough read in its own right but, I feel, I would have benefited from reading the first two as there were many references to events that had obviously occurred previously.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes and no.

Yes. Undoubtedly full of action, there were some extraordinary creatures involved which captured my imagination plus I learnt more about the habits of both werewolves and vampires AND found out about the differences between a shape shifter and a werewolf.

No. I didn't feel the characters were well particularly written and, as such, I didn't feel like I connected with any of them - apart from maybe Quinn, a vampire who, hopelessly in love with Riley, vows he will "have to remain by (her) side until (her) dreams turn to dust or (she) accepts what is meant to be." Surprisingly touching for this book, I thought.

There was far too much swearing (though totally approriate for her character) for my liking, the first half being particularly bad though it seemed to lessen in the second and, call me prudish, there was an abundance of sex scenes which were, once again, rife in the first half. Ok, we got the point "werewolves need sex just as they need air to breath" but for there to be so much of it? I just didn't see that it added anything to the story.

Very mixed feelings then. To be honest, I felt there were so many other avenues the author could have explored with this novel but it seemed, at times, that she chose the easy option which made the story somewhat predictable - but not always so as there were some totally unexpected moments just as there were some very touching ones.

Am I tempted to read parts one and two? Perhaps. Will I be reading part four (DANGEROUS GAMES)? No.

MY RATING: 2 out of a possible 5.