There are always two sides to a story. Can love withstand the ultimate temptation?
A new Regime has arisen from the havoc and destruction of World War III. Society now has to follow the strict mandates, reign under the dictatorship of His Highest Eminence or suffer the consequences.
Tobias and Kincade are part of a cryptic organization that’s trying to uncover the secrets behind the Regime. Something is suspicious with the new world order—why else would they want to control the most powerful emotion of love? With mandatory arranged marriages at the age of twenty-one, the only way to fight for love is through the Temptation Trials—a government-sponsored reality TV show.
Kincade and Tobias know the rules, but after they meet the women of their dreams, they face a difficult decision. With their impending birthdays around the corner, the guys have to decide if they will bend to the Regime’s will or fight for their relationships.
Lust, mistaken for love, will lead to down a treacherous path. They soon learn that the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.
Can love save their souls, or is lust too tempting?
The hue of dark-gray clouds cast over the area. The dimness of the sky fit the situation perfectly—this protest for freedom of speech would not end well. It didn’t matter that Cindy was the governor of California’s daughter. No one was exempt to the new world order. She had turned twenty-one. Her time was up, so she would be married with whomever the government chose. Society didn’t like it. Hell, I hated how the world worked now. It was just better to try to accept the situation and make the best of it.
Cindy Johansson wasn’t hard to recognize, standing out in a crowd as she did. Her blonde tresses were the color of the sun. She was very tall, and her facial features were strikingly pretty.
Holding her sign high while she marched in front of the court house, Cindy shouted, “Fight for love! Fight for love!” Her sign said: No more arranged marriages.
Alongside Cindy was her boyfriend. He held a similar poster. “Trying to control our love lives has got to stop!” he yelled.
Review
Looking for a book with a Hunger Games premise but firmly for adults? Look no farther. The Temptation Trials are all about the competition. But instead of to the death, it’s to the loyalty. No violence, just lots of steam.
The idea behind this book is a good one—a dictator and his regime trying to show how powerful they are by putting so many restrictions on the most powerful emotion—love. Temptation Trials Revolution is a companion to the Temptation Trials, told from the perspectives of the two main male characters, Tobias and Kincade. Tobias is more of the rough-and-tumble type, who’s been with a plethora of women. Kincade is the sensitive one who doesn’t really take chances. This book has something, or someone, for all swooning needs.
While the concept is solid, the writing pulled me out of the story. It focused almost exclusively on how the guys feel about their women. I would expect this in a romance, but it was excessive. I didn’t get a clear idea of what this dystopian society looks like. Shining and clean? Run-down and neglected? The world was very underdeveloped. It’s perfectly natural for people who are in love to think about the person they’re in love with, but this was just too much. There were also some awkward terms. Men and women were often referred to as “males” and “females.” The dialogue read stilted in places, sometimes lacking contractions. The characters were supposed to be in their late teens or early twenties, but their speech patterns didn’t make this believable.
I also felt like some things just didn’t add up. Without spoiling, causes and effects would happen over and over. Characters would acknowledge the reoccurring theme but never put two and two together. Instead of ramping up the tension, I felt frustrated that the characters were ignoring this somewhat obvious thing. There’s mention in the book blurb about an underground organization that’s working against the dictator. The organization plays a big part in the beginning of the book, but it seems to fade off into the background quickly for having such a prominent place in the book’s description. The blurb also hinted at an almost religious aspect (love saving souls), but I didn’t get any religious tones from the story at all.
In short, while I love the idea here, the story didn’t feel fully realized. I wanted more about the setting and political strife. While this one didn’t quite click for me, this Is a perfect book for dystopia-romance fans. Also, 10 out of 10 points for cultural diversity.
B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old and is grateful to have accomplished this dream. She has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She’s addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of action and sci-fi. She writes New Adult and Adult, Romance. Sci-fi, Dystopian, and Paranormal genres.
B. Truly likes to explore different elements of sci-fi romance, and create various realms of reality. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome.
B. Truly has three wonderful children and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas.
To check out other stops on this tour, visit the tour page here.
All the opinions expressed in this review are my own. Read the full disclosure here.