Review: Temptation - A Novella
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2013
This is a good novella.  Told as a self-narrative, you get inside the heads of both of the lead characters.  Werewolf Roan Sabre discovered his mate when he was sixteen ~ and she was only six!  He fell into a big brother/father figure role in her life, but now that she is sixteen and in high school, he's finding it more and more difficult to put aside his sexual feelings for her as she is so close to reaching adulthood.Aspen Greystone is the orphaned child of a drug dealer who has serious abandonment fears.  After being adopted by a member of Roan's werewolf pack, she has come to rely on Roan as what she refers to as "her" adult.  He spent a great amount of her childhood at her side in his wolf form, leading her to feel secure and happy throughout her childhood.Her feelings, which were once very innocent and childlike, are quickly morphing into those of the mate she is destined to become to him, leaving her teenage hormones raging and her brain whirling.  Aspen doesn't understand what is going on with her; all she's fully aware of is that Roan can't seem to stand being in her presence any longer, and the more he pushes her away, the more determined she is to get closer to him.The story itself is quite nicely told.  You get the background on the characters, you get to know the world they live in to an extent (more fleshing out of the outlying characters will help to make for a more rounded story), and it's easy to get lost in their world.  It's a good beginning, and while I normally loathe cliffhangers, in this case, it seems required so that the heroine can finish her growth into adulthood before the rest of the story takes place.  Otherwise, it's a relationship between a 26 year old man and a girl just into high school ~ skeevy!  I do hope that this is the author's intent and that it doesn't pick up with her still in high school and their relationship moving to the next level.That being said, there are so many punctuation and grammar issues that it detracts from the overall story.  Had it not been for that, I would have easily rated this five stars, but it reached a point that I began highlighting the problems just to make sure it wasn't all in my head.  Well over 100 highlights later, it definitely wasn't me.  Additionally, the book has several run on sentences that need to be broken up for an easier flow.  This is clearly a first novel, and I think with time and a better editor, Ms. Betts has a very promising career ahead of her.  I'm looking forward to the next installment.Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for my honest review, be it positive or negative.