Review: Turns up the heat
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2014
The Shaman’s Temptation by Erin Moore is a quick, entertaining, sexy read. It tells the story of a bank analyst, Madeleine, heading to meet with the leader of a nearby Native American tribe looking for a loan to open a casino. She’s surprised to find that his son, Tak, is the man she’s been seeing in her hot, sweaty dreams. Turns out those weren’t so much dreams but Tak visiting her in a vision state, so seeing each other in person only heightens their lust. Both have reasons not to indulge. Madeleine for professional reasons; Tak because he took a vow of celibacy to his gods/goddesses. Both connect because they are married to their jobs.The sex scenes are smoking hot and the characters likable. However, I would have loved to see the author take better advantage of the mystical elements of the story and more fully develop the hero’s and heroine’s lives to create richer characters. Tak is a shaman, and while we see a bit of ritual, the folklore and magic is rather glossed over. Madeleine has very little back story other than her parents live in Chicago and she was drawn to Arizona. There are hints that she is somehow more than she seems but it is never clearly realized.This novella kept my attention and drew me in but left me wishing it went deeper. I will admit I often find novellas unsatisfying for just this reason; however, not every novella makes me want to read more, and this one did. That is a testament to how engaging of a story Ms. Moore has presented.I give this novella 3.5 stars.