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Riley Jenson Guardian #3
Tempting Evil
She’s a woman, a werewolf, and a vampire, and she’s having the time of her life!
In a world of sorcery and seduction, the nights bring out the beautiful, the damned, and the desired. Here, Riley Jenson is on her own—half werewolf, half vampire, working for an organization created to police the supernatural races. 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 irresistibly hot wolf—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�
In a world of sorcery and seduction, the nights bring out the beautiful, the damned, and the desired. Here, Riley Jenson is on her own—half werewolf, half vampire, working for an organization created to police the supernatural races. 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 irresistibly hot wolf—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�
371 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 27, 2007
320 people are currently reading
3,991 people want to read
About the author
Keri Arthur
107books5,971followersKeri Arthur, author of the New York Times bestselling Riley Jenson, Guardian series, has now written more than 25 books. She's received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, and recently won RT's Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy. She lives in Melbourne with her daughter and two crazy dogs
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 452 reviews
January 6, 2022
ZERO fing stars. This book sucked the big cheese. It’s awful on so many levels where do I even start? I am in no way a prude but it's a little hard to take your heroine seriously when she is running around naked the ENTIRE book. How awkward. Esp. when she's constantly fighting gladiator style. The whole time I thought; "well, I guess it's a good thing she doesn't have balls or a hairy ass crack."
**SPOILERS**
Let's see... Riley is raped, beaten, abused, oh yeah & the best yet....going to have naked mud wrestling as an "arena whore" for her arch nemesis. And not only barely bats an eye after all of this, but is actually looking forward to the wrestling! Cue the eye rolls. Seriously the myopic view is so misogynistic and offensive it’s staggering.
Yeah, yeah, we get it, she is a werewolf & they "need" to have sex all the time in order practically survive. But the author does such an incredibly lame job trying to justify this fact to her audience (well me anyway) that I wonder if she is actually trying to convince herself most of all. It comes off as forced, gratuitous & extremely laughable. Also I can tell she’s boomer straddling the progression of gen X yet failing miserably.
I actually can't believe people give LKH crap & not this series. At least LKH integrated Anita having the ardeur 10 books in. In this series - Arthur clubs you over the head with the same exact justification in each book (I'm talking line by line verbatim here), just so she can write lame sex scenes.
And yes - the sex scenes suck. They are super short, all the EXACT same. The man is always too excited at 1st so takes her quick, no foreplay, then he's in her "deep" & "fierce" & that's that. Big deal. This series is Anita Blake's very poor cousin by comparison and that’s a shit deal tbh.
In a particularly mind boggling moment - Riley has infiltrated her enemy's compound & after a good day of fighting & some consensually boring yet brutal sex w/one of the men WHO, in the previous book RAPED HER for 8 days straight while she was unconscious, she decides it's not enough - so seeks out one of her current shape shifting lovers who happens to be a "stallion", literally. Yup...that's right.
He also has infiltrated the compound, thank god b'c he misses Riley & she him, so they get to have sex on the down low in the stables. Despite the fact that the place is supposed to be fort knox, but anywhoo - werewolves need sex so can't put a good woman down.
!!!!...Seriously!! Why is this series popular? That whole setup is actually offensive! Arthur completely glossed over the fact that Riley WILLINGLY had sex with a man who raped her for 8 days straight! WTF kind of message is that??
And just to take the absurdity a step further - while having sex, Riley's other possessive vampire lover, Quinn, manages to infiltrate (surprise!) the compound as well & willingly watches while Stallion boy (Kade) spitefully takes Riley AGAIN (b'c once is never enough for these horny shifters) while she's in the process of having a rather large relationship convo with Quinn.
And she lets Kade b'c she is annoyed at Quinn. Now imagine that..... Quinn & Riley are having a huge relationship talk while she is all naked, sweaty, sexed up & Kade is taking her from behind while said conversation is still continuing! Not only is this stupid but enhances the whole "whore" concept which Arthur is trying to have us not buy into. Go figure.
It gets better too...Quinn manages to actually freeze Kade while he is inside her (umm..is that tacky?) & proceeds to have spiritual, metaphysical sex with Riley to let her know that he is not giving up on her. This, in spite of the fact that he thinks werewolves are all "whores" & too free sexually. Ummm....note to Quinn, you're not wrong.
Riley is written about as deep as the shallow end of the kiddie pool & as cavernous as a mayo jar.
I read the series this far b'c I was engaged with the genetic cloning subplot, which this book wrapped up quickly & insufficiently. And based on my review you'd think I put the series down but I didn't.
I seem to be a glutton for bad writing punishment. What kept me going was that Quinn seems to be an homage to LKH's Richard and I was really curious to see how far Arthur took it. Thankfully - her books are so vapid, you can skim most of it without wasting too many precious minutes of life.
I gave up the series after book 6. Everything was the same, same, same. And really �.like all the feral animals this series should be put down for the betterment of humanity.
**SPOILERS**
Let's see... Riley is raped, beaten, abused, oh yeah & the best yet....going to have naked mud wrestling as an "arena whore" for her arch nemesis. And not only barely bats an eye after all of this, but is actually looking forward to the wrestling! Cue the eye rolls. Seriously the myopic view is so misogynistic and offensive it’s staggering.
Yeah, yeah, we get it, she is a werewolf & they "need" to have sex all the time in order practically survive. But the author does such an incredibly lame job trying to justify this fact to her audience (well me anyway) that I wonder if she is actually trying to convince herself most of all. It comes off as forced, gratuitous & extremely laughable. Also I can tell she’s boomer straddling the progression of gen X yet failing miserably.
I actually can't believe people give LKH crap & not this series. At least LKH integrated Anita having the ardeur 10 books in. In this series - Arthur clubs you over the head with the same exact justification in each book (I'm talking line by line verbatim here), just so she can write lame sex scenes.
And yes - the sex scenes suck. They are super short, all the EXACT same. The man is always too excited at 1st so takes her quick, no foreplay, then he's in her "deep" & "fierce" & that's that. Big deal. This series is Anita Blake's very poor cousin by comparison and that’s a shit deal tbh.
In a particularly mind boggling moment - Riley has infiltrated her enemy's compound & after a good day of fighting & some consensually boring yet brutal sex w/one of the men WHO, in the previous book RAPED HER for 8 days straight while she was unconscious, she decides it's not enough - so seeks out one of her current shape shifting lovers who happens to be a "stallion", literally. Yup...that's right.
He also has infiltrated the compound, thank god b'c he misses Riley & she him, so they get to have sex on the down low in the stables. Despite the fact that the place is supposed to be fort knox, but anywhoo - werewolves need sex so can't put a good woman down.
!!!!...Seriously!! Why is this series popular? That whole setup is actually offensive! Arthur completely glossed over the fact that Riley WILLINGLY had sex with a man who raped her for 8 days straight! WTF kind of message is that??
And just to take the absurdity a step further - while having sex, Riley's other possessive vampire lover, Quinn, manages to infiltrate (surprise!) the compound as well & willingly watches while Stallion boy (Kade) spitefully takes Riley AGAIN (b'c once is never enough for these horny shifters) while she's in the process of having a rather large relationship convo with Quinn.
And she lets Kade b'c she is annoyed at Quinn. Now imagine that..... Quinn & Riley are having a huge relationship talk while she is all naked, sweaty, sexed up & Kade is taking her from behind while said conversation is still continuing! Not only is this stupid but enhances the whole "whore" concept which Arthur is trying to have us not buy into. Go figure.
It gets better too...Quinn manages to actually freeze Kade while he is inside her (umm..is that tacky?) & proceeds to have spiritual, metaphysical sex with Riley to let her know that he is not giving up on her. This, in spite of the fact that he thinks werewolves are all "whores" & too free sexually. Ummm....note to Quinn, you're not wrong.
Riley is written about as deep as the shallow end of the kiddie pool & as cavernous as a mayo jar.
I read the series this far b'c I was engaged with the genetic cloning subplot, which this book wrapped up quickly & insufficiently. And based on my review you'd think I put the series down but I didn't.
I seem to be a glutton for bad writing punishment. What kept me going was that Quinn seems to be an homage to LKH's Richard and I was really curious to see how far Arthur took it. Thankfully - her books are so vapid, you can skim most of it without wasting too many precious minutes of life.
I gave up the series after book 6. Everything was the same, same, same. And really �.like all the feral animals this series should be put down for the betterment of humanity.
January 6, 2022
Riley esta decidida a acabar con el hombre detras de todos los secuestros y torturas, no solo de ella sino de todos los no-humanos, asi que esta dedicada a entrenar y a esperar a que inicie la mision. Asi que cuando su entrenamiento termina, solo quiere una noche erotica con Kellen en todas las posiciones posibles y lo que encuentra al llegar a su casa es a Kellen y a Quinn, ambos a punto de arrancarse la cabeza, asi que esta dispuesta dejar pasar una noche de sexo con cualquiera de los dos solo para poder descansar tranquila antes de iniciar la mision.
Pero sus dos enamorados no se dan por vencidos y aunque Kellen le da todo lo que esperaba, Quinn no hace mas que abusar de su confianza intentando averiguar como entrar en la mision, y eso lo pone en la mira del odio de Riley.
Ya dentro de la casa del mafioso, sus probabilidades de ser descubiertas aumentan muchisimo, sobre todo cuando se da cuenta que el mismo hombre sabe que algo de ellos y quiere que se descubran para poder castigarlos. Pero aun asi, debe cumplir con la mision y debe, asegurarse, ante todo, de que todos salgan con vida, menos el mafioso y sus tenientes.
Un libro lleno de accion de principio a fin, drama, sexo, romance, misterio y traicion, pero con los personajes cada vez mas definidos y siguiendo lo que seria su logico crecimiento. Me gusto mucho que el personaje de Quinn comenzara realmente a abrirse, igual que Kellen supiera exactamente que era lo que Riley queria de el, y la forma con colocaron al mafioso dentro del mundo de Riley y su juego para descubrirlo.
Tambien me gusto la forma como el autor manejo las luchas en la arenas y como el personaje de Nerida logro su venganza.
En fin, fue un libro muy entretenido, y la serie hasta ahora, ha valido la pena.
Pero sus dos enamorados no se dan por vencidos y aunque Kellen le da todo lo que esperaba, Quinn no hace mas que abusar de su confianza intentando averiguar como entrar en la mision, y eso lo pone en la mira del odio de Riley.
Ya dentro de la casa del mafioso, sus probabilidades de ser descubiertas aumentan muchisimo, sobre todo cuando se da cuenta que el mismo hombre sabe que algo de ellos y quiere que se descubran para poder castigarlos. Pero aun asi, debe cumplir con la mision y debe, asegurarse, ante todo, de que todos salgan con vida, menos el mafioso y sus tenientes.
Un libro lleno de accion de principio a fin, drama, sexo, romance, misterio y traicion, pero con los personajes cada vez mas definidos y siguiendo lo que seria su logico crecimiento. Me gusto mucho que el personaje de Quinn comenzara realmente a abrirse, igual que Kellen supiera exactamente que era lo que Riley queria de el, y la forma con colocaron al mafioso dentro del mundo de Riley y su juego para descubrirlo.
Tambien me gusto la forma como el autor manejo las luchas en la arenas y como el personaje de Nerida logro su venganza.
En fin, fue un libro muy entretenido, y la serie hasta ahora, ha valido la pena.
March 18, 2018
Ancora più esplosiva, ancora più coraggiosa: Riley Jenson è una forza della natura!
Meno male che non mi avete vista, mentre leggevo questo terzo capitolo della serie, LOL!Come sapete, non è che mi ricordo tutto per filo e per segno, ho delle reminiscenze di alcune scene storiche... e qui ne ho ritrovata una che mi ha fatto strillare come una pazza! L'ho adorata all'epoca e l'ho adorata adesso � In questo libro la competizione tra il vampiro Quinn e il lupo alfa Kellen è alle stelle, per la gioia dei miei ormoni che, come quelli della nostra Riley, ballano la samba come se non ci fosse un domani!
Di questa guerra per il cuore della lupa, però, abbiamo un assaggio solo all'inzio, poiché in seguito e per tutto il resto del romanzo, l'attenzione è puntata unicamente sul caso da risolvere. Già quando lo lessi per la prima volta la cosa mi dispiacque, e così è stato con la rilettura. C'è tantissimissima azione, ma si avverte considerevolmente la mancanza del lato romantico... finché in scena non rientra il nostro Quinn, ovvio! :P E che rientro, ragazze... DA BRIVIDOOOHHH � Volete un indizio piccino picciò? Okay... Sesso telepatico. Yep!
Nelle arringhe finali, quindi, con la partecipazione del vampiro, tutto si svolge a un ritmo serrato che ti lascia senza fiato, per poi giungere a un epilogo da batticuore...
«Non giocherò più secondo le regole. Ora gioco per vincere».
«L'amore non è un gioco».
Inarcò un sopracciglio. «La vita stessa lo è. L'amore è il premio più grande. Mi sono tenuto in disparte anche troppo a lungo».
... e pieno di inquietudine.
Perché ora il nemico più pericoloso è diventato preda.
E la preda sta dando la caccia a Riley.
� �
� �
|| || || ||
August 31, 2015
I knew I had to give this one up because I had absolutely no motivation to finish it. This series has kind of fizzed out for me. Womp.
Also I hate Quinn's guts. This character just got more terrible as the books progressed. I'm tired of reading books where the main character is with an asshole, knows he's an asshole, and stays with him regardless.
Also I hate Quinn's guts. This character just got more terrible as the books progressed. I'm tired of reading books where the main character is with an asshole, knows he's an asshole, and stays with him regardless.
February 14, 2024
I loved this one. It was amazing. I can't wait to read the next one. This was the best one so far.
February 24, 2012
Tempting Evil is pretty morbid. I loved it!
Infiltrating the grounds as whores and arena fighters, toys for the crossbred freaks with interesting body part accessories, and sexual sadists who apparently enjoy raping women not only when they're screaming in fear and pain, but also as they are knocked out unconscious.
It's time! Riley and Rhoan, along with the other sexy studs and vampires, receive enough intel that they are ready to wiggle into the completely screwed world of a psychohomosexual who apparently enjoy watching women and men being used, abused, and beaten to the point of death, and then screwing them or handing them over to the zoo filled with freaks that were a result of his lab experiments.
I marked this book on goodreads as 3 stars..."I liked it."
So far, these books are truly entertaining me. I find myself excited to read more and have managed to continue receiving As in school and still read a book a day .. /cheers
However, this book left me wanting. The action was incredible, the plot and sexually seductive options and kidnappings are fun and dripping with erotic perversion. But that's just it ... It was one thing after the next.
"I will shake your hand, but know that if you and your people do not old to your word, I will kill you."
My grin was nasty. "And if I get the slightest whiff of a double-cross, believe me that I will kill every fucking one of you."
Our beloved Quinn makes an interesting appearance and I find myself holding my breath in anticipation of their relationship that is now progressing quite well. I'm curious as to where it will lead and if it will simply be something adored yet never accomplished. Bummer ...
I do recommend this book to any mature adult who has read the first two books in this series. If you have not read this series sequentially... you're screwed. Just do it ...
Extreme violence, unbearably seductive and tantalizing sexual content that borders on sever perversion to outright holy shit and open mouth whoa double takes to make sure what you read was what you read hehe
~happy reading!
Infiltrating the grounds as whores and arena fighters, toys for the crossbred freaks with interesting body part accessories, and sexual sadists who apparently enjoy raping women not only when they're screaming in fear and pain, but also as they are knocked out unconscious.
It's time! Riley and Rhoan, along with the other sexy studs and vampires, receive enough intel that they are ready to wiggle into the completely screwed world of a psychohomosexual who apparently enjoy watching women and men being used, abused, and beaten to the point of death, and then screwing them or handing them over to the zoo filled with freaks that were a result of his lab experiments.
I marked this book on goodreads as 3 stars..."I liked it."
So far, these books are truly entertaining me. I find myself excited to read more and have managed to continue receiving As in school and still read a book a day .. /cheers
However, this book left me wanting. The action was incredible, the plot and sexually seductive options and kidnappings are fun and dripping with erotic perversion. But that's just it ... It was one thing after the next.
"I will shake your hand, but know that if you and your people do not old to your word, I will kill you."
My grin was nasty. "And if I get the slightest whiff of a double-cross, believe me that I will kill every fucking one of you."
Our beloved Quinn makes an interesting appearance and I find myself holding my breath in anticipation of their relationship that is now progressing quite well. I'm curious as to where it will lead and if it will simply be something adored yet never accomplished. Bummer ...
I do recommend this book to any mature adult who has read the first two books in this series. If you have not read this series sequentially... you're screwed. Just do it ...
Extreme violence, unbearably seductive and tantalizing sexual content that borders on sever perversion to outright holy shit and open mouth whoa double takes to make sure what you read was what you read hehe
~happy reading!
Read
November 30, 2008Every time I read these books I can't help but fall inlove with them again. They are truly amazing and everything I could want in a novel. I mean, werewolfs, vampires and sex all in the same book? It's every womens fantasy on print...
October 28, 2014
When I first heard about this book I was only able to get hold of book three so I had to read it first, which wasn't ideal, but it wasn't difficult to catch up with the story that I had missed and I did enjoy the book.
Riley is part of the supernatural team investigating genetic experiments being carried out on shifters and finally, they have the name of the guy running the show-Deshon Starr. To get to his mansion and private labs, Kade and Rhoan are going in as security guards and Riley goes in as a shifter fighter, there to entertain the crowds and service the most trusted men. Riley is trying to find the main labs through psychic exploration of her guards minds during sex, locate a child hostage and help a race of creatures to escape, all without raising suspicion. But her fellow fighters aren't making life easy for her and having her brother and friends undercover as well gives her plenty to worry about.
Riley reminds me so much of Anita Blake with her smart mouth and tough attitude and I liked her through the books, other than her questionable taste in men. The down side, like Anita in later books, is her frequent sex sessions though at least there is a point to Riley's antics. She has an alpha werewolf, obnoxious vampire and horse shifter as her regular lovers plus the 'sex with the bad guys to get information' parts but that doesn't bother me with a fast paced plot and interesting characters amongst it. I only really object when there is no plot between the bouts of sex. I don't really feel any chemistry between Riley and Kellen though. I miss Misha. He was much more interesting than Kellen and Quinn put together.
The good bits? I enjoy the story itself about the genetic clones. The creatures we keep discovering are interesting and dangerous, but Iktar the spirit lizard was really cool. I hope we get to see more of him in the series if he joins the team. It was nice to see Kade again and I like him because he doesn't make demands on Riley and has a nice casual relationship with her. I like Rhoan a lot and I just wish he would commit to Liander! The entire storyline at the mansion was good with lots of dangerous situations for Riley to get into. There was action, tension and excitement in this book and it is all tied up nicely at the end. I was NOT expecting the secret identity of Deshon Starr so I got a shock when that was revealed. In hindsight it was very much guessable if I had a better memory for details. It was a great twist even if you had seen it coming.
The down side? Quinn moaning, complaining and treating Riley like shit. Yet again he left her and only came back when he realised that the mission against Starr was beginning. When the asshat has sex with Riley so he can get into her head for mission details, I wanted to stake him myself. I really hate the guy. The author has obviously decided that Quinn will keep treating Riley like crud because they are going to end up together in the end and I hate that kind of abusive relationship in my Mcs. No girl should aspire to be with that kind of creep even if she is fictional! If this continues through the series, I won't be there at the end.
The best of the first three books and worth 3.5 stars despite Quinn. This review was first written in 2010 and updated on a re-read October 2014.
Riley is part of the supernatural team investigating genetic experiments being carried out on shifters and finally, they have the name of the guy running the show-Deshon Starr. To get to his mansion and private labs, Kade and Rhoan are going in as security guards and Riley goes in as a shifter fighter, there to entertain the crowds and service the most trusted men. Riley is trying to find the main labs through psychic exploration of her guards minds during sex, locate a child hostage and help a race of creatures to escape, all without raising suspicion. But her fellow fighters aren't making life easy for her and having her brother and friends undercover as well gives her plenty to worry about.
Riley reminds me so much of Anita Blake with her smart mouth and tough attitude and I liked her through the books, other than her questionable taste in men. The down side, like Anita in later books, is her frequent sex sessions though at least there is a point to Riley's antics. She has an alpha werewolf, obnoxious vampire and horse shifter as her regular lovers plus the 'sex with the bad guys to get information' parts but that doesn't bother me with a fast paced plot and interesting characters amongst it. I only really object when there is no plot between the bouts of sex. I don't really feel any chemistry between Riley and Kellen though. I miss Misha. He was much more interesting than Kellen and Quinn put together.
The good bits? I enjoy the story itself about the genetic clones. The creatures we keep discovering are interesting and dangerous, but Iktar the spirit lizard was really cool. I hope we get to see more of him in the series if he joins the team. It was nice to see Kade again and I like him because he doesn't make demands on Riley and has a nice casual relationship with her. I like Rhoan a lot and I just wish he would commit to Liander! The entire storyline at the mansion was good with lots of dangerous situations for Riley to get into. There was action, tension and excitement in this book and it is all tied up nicely at the end. I was NOT expecting the secret identity of Deshon Starr so I got a shock when that was revealed. In hindsight it was very much guessable if I had a better memory for details. It was a great twist even if you had seen it coming.
The down side? Quinn moaning, complaining and treating Riley like shit. Yet again he left her and only came back when he realised that the mission against Starr was beginning. When the asshat has sex with Riley so he can get into her head for mission details, I wanted to stake him myself. I really hate the guy. The author has obviously decided that Quinn will keep treating Riley like crud because they are going to end up together in the end and I hate that kind of abusive relationship in my Mcs. No girl should aspire to be with that kind of creep even if she is fictional! If this continues through the series, I won't be there at the end.
The best of the first three books and worth 3.5 stars despite Quinn. This review was first written in 2010 and updated on a re-read October 2014.
January 13, 2018
Read this book for a reading challenge is my justification for finishing this book. I am not a fan of sexual violence or threats of sexual violence. I can digest a little of it BUT the level of it in this book made this story completely unenjoyable by me. Funny thing is that it wasn't the love triangle that was the turn off for me. It wasn't really an triangle at all, it was just an open relationship.
As far as plot structure, pacing, character development, this story was fabulous. I can't recommend but plenty of other readers loved this story.
As far as plot structure, pacing, character development, this story was fabulous. I can't recommend but plenty of other readers loved this story.
July 25, 2019
Quinn is really getting on my nerves. Why is he constantly using Riley and trying to change her while claiming to love her?
Riley is a really good actress/guardian. Too bad she has to be. :(
Now Rhoan's lovers are betraying him? Why the hell are all these clones going after Riley and Rhoan? Like they can't be the only half breeds?
BTW Rhoan's lover Davern is truly crazy. Like I don't want to even be on the same planet as him crazy.
Riley is a really good actress/guardian. Too bad she has to be. :(
Now Rhoan's lovers are betraying him? Why the hell are all these clones going after Riley and Rhoan? Like they can't be the only half breeds?
BTW Rhoan's lover Davern is truly crazy. Like I don't want to even be on the same planet as him crazy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2013
Holy crap.
Keri Arthur is awesome. I've never hated a villain more. And loved a heroine as much as Riley. Well maybe that's debateable.
Either way, this is an unforgettable series.
Keri Arthur is awesome. I've never hated a villain more. And loved a heroine as much as Riley. Well maybe that's debateable.
Either way, this is an unforgettable series.
July 25, 2018
Per me è una rilettura e conferma il giudizio della prima volta. Riley è un personaggio meraviglioso, adoro questo tipo di eroine. Non ha bisogno di aiuto ma le fa piacere riceverlo, sbaglia e impara dagli errori. Ama e viene amata, e anche se il suo destino sembra segnato non si abbandona agli eventi ma li cavalca (termine non usato a caso).
In questa seconda lettura mi sono soffermata sui particolari e sui personaggi secondari. La Arthur ha creato una storia interessante e piena di colpi di scena in cui ogni riferimento è messo per un motivo, tutto è spiegato ma la lettura è fluida e accattivante. Fatico a fermarmi anche se so cosa accadrà, mi coinvolge tantissimo. E già solo per Quinn anche questo terzo capitolo è strepitoso.
Amore, azione, suspense, creature paranormali e una buona dose di scene più calde, rendono questo libro completo e impossibile da posare. Quello che di nuovo ho amato di più è la totale assenza di buonismo.
L'unico appunto che mi viene da fare è il voler sottolineare troppo il "problema" fra Riley e Quinn, la diversità delle loro razze e delle loro vedute. Ma non è così fastidioso
In questa seconda lettura mi sono soffermata sui particolari e sui personaggi secondari. La Arthur ha creato una storia interessante e piena di colpi di scena in cui ogni riferimento è messo per un motivo, tutto è spiegato ma la lettura è fluida e accattivante. Fatico a fermarmi anche se so cosa accadrà, mi coinvolge tantissimo. E già solo per Quinn anche questo terzo capitolo è strepitoso.
Amore, azione, suspense, creature paranormali e una buona dose di scene più calde, rendono questo libro completo e impossibile da posare. Quello che di nuovo ho amato di più è la totale assenza di buonismo.
L'unico appunto che mi viene da fare è il voler sottolineare troppo il "problema" fra Riley e Quinn, la diversità delle loro razze e delle loro vedute. Ma non è così fastidioso
March 29, 2022
The plot for the series so far finally came to a head in this way, and it was a very satisfying ending! I like that there’s still one or two loose ends that will carry over into the next book whatever direction the story goes in from now on, making sure they still tie together. Said it before and I’ll say it again, a trashy urban fantasy read is always a winner!
December 15, 2018
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76 points/100 (4 stars/5)
Warning: Rape
After months of searching, attempted kidnappings, attempted assassinations, and a whole lot of pain they have a name: Deshon Starr. Responsible for genetically modifying creatures and setting them out to secure his criminal empire, Starr is a madman, and they have finally found him. Now, Riley is going undercover for a chance of taking him out, for good.
Tempting Evil is essentially the end of the arc that started the series, but not the end of the series. I'm surprised because I just wasn't as satisfied by this ending as I remembered. It feels easy and sort of rushed. It is so final, yet I know there are more books after this. Because I have actually read this before, I know that this is definitely the end of the clones arc, and the series takes a new direction. The only reason I wouldn't say this is a trilogy is because nothing regarding our main character is at all resolved.
We spend most of the book undercover in the enemies compound. And what a fucked up place it turned out to be. It is interesting to read because of how fucked up it is. Yet there is a lot of rape, illusion to rape, and more than that in the realm of sexual violence that happens in this book. It makes it a bit more unpalitable than I remembered. The thing that surprised me was that I still couldn't remember who Deshon Starr was supposed to be in her life until it was revealed! It really just didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Riley is slowly changing over the course of the series. At first she was adamant that she wouldn't ever become a Guardian. Then her choice was taken from her, and revenge has taken hold in her. She has gone through too much to just let this go now. She is becoming a Guardian over the course of Tempting Evil. Yet, we can tell she just isn't well suited to this job. It is slowly breaking her. She hates it, she hates everything she has to do to get her revenge, to do her job, yet she is still doing it. It makes it less fun to read when you know the main character hates everything that is going on.
Riley also just does such a terrible job at her job. She doesn't do anything she is supposed to. She actively defies orders. She does whatever she wants to and damn the consequences (of which there seem to be none, except her being in danger). Her boss, Jack, is just enamored with her. He sees Riley as the answer to some kind of huge problem we don't actually know about. He keeps insisting she is going to be great, one of his best. He is blind to the fact she hates it, that it is eating her like, either willfully or not. I kind of really hate her boss.
Riley's powers are also increasing and changing. We knew this was going to happen, because we were told it was going to happen. Now we're seeing the effects. I have to say, these changes are a combination of incredibly unique and fairly average. It is interesting, and we should keep our eye on it because we aren't done here.
I've grown to hate Quinn over the course of this book. I thought he had promise in the first two, but he is just such a fucking shithead. He is constantly butting in where he isn't supposed to be. He is distracting Riley in the middle of a very dangerous situation. But mostly, I hate him because he did what I consider to be unforgivable: he went back on his word and tried to get into her mind on purpose to find out what she knew. This is some abusive shit, and I kind of really wish he would just go away.
In good news, my favourite character of the series has finally shown up! I love Dia, our lovable, blind clairvoyant. I find it hard to believe sometimes that it takes three books for her to show up. I consider her integral to the series. Dia is sort of one of those characters that are around to further the story/investigation when the author doesn't exactly know where to go to move it further. Yet, the personality she has makes up for it.
An end of an arc, but not the end of the story. While this wasn't as fun as I remembered, I'm still interested in seeing how the rest of the series holds up to my memories.
76 points/100 (4 stars/5)
Warning: Rape
After months of searching, attempted kidnappings, attempted assassinations, and a whole lot of pain they have a name: Deshon Starr. Responsible for genetically modifying creatures and setting them out to secure his criminal empire, Starr is a madman, and they have finally found him. Now, Riley is going undercover for a chance of taking him out, for good.
Tempting Evil is essentially the end of the arc that started the series, but not the end of the series. I'm surprised because I just wasn't as satisfied by this ending as I remembered. It feels easy and sort of rushed. It is so final, yet I know there are more books after this. Because I have actually read this before, I know that this is definitely the end of the clones arc, and the series takes a new direction. The only reason I wouldn't say this is a trilogy is because nothing regarding our main character is at all resolved.
We spend most of the book undercover in the enemies compound. And what a fucked up place it turned out to be. It is interesting to read because of how fucked up it is. Yet there is a lot of rape, illusion to rape, and more than that in the realm of sexual violence that happens in this book. It makes it a bit more unpalitable than I remembered. The thing that surprised me was that I still couldn't remember who Deshon Starr was supposed to be in her life until it was revealed! It really just didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Riley is slowly changing over the course of the series. At first she was adamant that she wouldn't ever become a Guardian. Then her choice was taken from her, and revenge has taken hold in her. She has gone through too much to just let this go now. She is becoming a Guardian over the course of Tempting Evil. Yet, we can tell she just isn't well suited to this job. It is slowly breaking her. She hates it, she hates everything she has to do to get her revenge, to do her job, yet she is still doing it. It makes it less fun to read when you know the main character hates everything that is going on.
Riley also just does such a terrible job at her job. She doesn't do anything she is supposed to. She actively defies orders. She does whatever she wants to and damn the consequences (of which there seem to be none, except her being in danger). Her boss, Jack, is just enamored with her. He sees Riley as the answer to some kind of huge problem we don't actually know about. He keeps insisting she is going to be great, one of his best. He is blind to the fact she hates it, that it is eating her like, either willfully or not. I kind of really hate her boss.
Riley's powers are also increasing and changing. We knew this was going to happen, because we were told it was going to happen. Now we're seeing the effects. I have to say, these changes are a combination of incredibly unique and fairly average. It is interesting, and we should keep our eye on it because we aren't done here.
I've grown to hate Quinn over the course of this book. I thought he had promise in the first two, but he is just such a fucking shithead. He is constantly butting in where he isn't supposed to be. He is distracting Riley in the middle of a very dangerous situation. But mostly, I hate him because he did what I consider to be unforgivable: he went back on his word and tried to get into her mind on purpose to find out what she knew. This is some abusive shit, and I kind of really wish he would just go away.
In good news, my favourite character of the series has finally shown up! I love Dia, our lovable, blind clairvoyant. I find it hard to believe sometimes that it takes three books for her to show up. I consider her integral to the series. Dia is sort of one of those characters that are around to further the story/investigation when the author doesn't exactly know where to go to move it further. Yet, the personality she has makes up for it.
An end of an arc, but not the end of the story. While this wasn't as fun as I remembered, I'm still interested in seeing how the rest of the series holds up to my memories.
January 11, 2011
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Better than the last...
So Riley and the guardians have to go undercover to the crazy and evil Starr's estate. Instead of going like a prostitute as planned, Riley get an in and goes as a fighter instead (the winner of said fights gets to have sex with top officials of Starr's cartel) - yay! She gets in, has some sex, reads some minds, causes some trouble, saves some people and saves the day. HEA.
OK, so there really wasn't much to put in the summary, because that's what happens. As soon as she get to the estate, she finds Kade and goes off and has non-descriptive sex with him. They almost get caught and one of the top 3 baddies takes an interest to her. During that night's dinner festivities, a woman must fight for her life against some freaky blue looking guys with butterfly wings and spikes on their junk. The woman loses and eventually gets sodomized but said spiky junk blue winged men. EW and OUCH!
After Riley is supposed to stay the night with one of the baddies - Moss, but ends up with Merle - the other top baddie - instead. The sex is horrible, she roots around in his mind and figures out some more clues to accomplishing her mission.
Because of said horrible sex, she sneaks outside to find Kade for a little boom-boom. Quinn shows up during the boom-boom session and Kade keeps nailing her from behind while she and Quinn chat about the weather - ok not really the weather, but it almost felt like it.
There's an explosion, a lot of people get killed and she meets up with her brother. He gives her proof that one of roommates was behind the bomb, which she was suspecting already anyway. She confronts her roommates and kicks their butts. She ends up sleeping in a tree outside in a tree all night.
Riley is "invited" to a brunch with Starr. The breakfast entertainment includes a gimoungous scary dude and her brother. Rhoan wins the fight, kind of, and then insists Riley fight Rhoan - oh joy. Needless to say, Riley loses the fight after being knocked unconscious. She wakes up hours later while being plundered by Merle. She takes control of his mind and starts one of her plans in motion.
During a planned blackout, she infiltrates security, gets the controllers for the bombs on the chameleon people, cuts off a thumb, breaks into a lab, rescues a baby and blows up a lab. She sneaks back to her room, to find a disgruntled roommate and the connection with her brother flares to let her know he's in life-or-death danger. She makes a deal with the ex-military roommate to help their other roommate and to help Riley get to her brother. Riley does get to Rhoan, has to bite silver out of his ass and ships him off with Jack - their boss, who she's been in contact on and off during the entire mission.
Once back, it's time for dinner. Dinner's entertainment is the roommate in trouble - in trouble because the tried to kill Merle, yay. She's got to fight the blue winged spiky junked guys, and with help for Riley, she rips them to shreds. The roommate is supposed to get a chance to fight Merle - and this is when all the shit hits the fan. Merle shoots the woman, other roommate freaks out, woman does the "bad guys never die the first time" thing and blows Merle's brains out. 1 baddie down, 2 to go.
Riley then challenges Moss to fight. She holds her own. Quinn shows up and offers to help. She gets Merle's gun and shoots Starr in the face and Quinn takes out Moss. Ding dong the witch is dead.
The plot was all over the place, with kid rescuing, people saving and baddie fighting. I noticed one error when the roommates talked about who they were trying to get revenge on and the actual doing, but other than that it was an ok story. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I do not like the undescriptive sex scenes, I want to hear about the ins and outs - that's just how I am. Riley Jenson might be the biggest whore out there, but her sex life bores the hell out of me.
Better than the last...
So Riley and the guardians have to go undercover to the crazy and evil Starr's estate. Instead of going like a prostitute as planned, Riley get an in and goes as a fighter instead (the winner of said fights gets to have sex with top officials of Starr's cartel) - yay! She gets in, has some sex, reads some minds, causes some trouble, saves some people and saves the day. HEA.
OK, so there really wasn't much to put in the summary, because that's what happens. As soon as she get to the estate, she finds Kade and goes off and has non-descriptive sex with him. They almost get caught and one of the top 3 baddies takes an interest to her. During that night's dinner festivities, a woman must fight for her life against some freaky blue looking guys with butterfly wings and spikes on their junk. The woman loses and eventually gets sodomized but said spiky junk blue winged men. EW and OUCH!
After Riley is supposed to stay the night with one of the baddies - Moss, but ends up with Merle - the other top baddie - instead. The sex is horrible, she roots around in his mind and figures out some more clues to accomplishing her mission.
Because of said horrible sex, she sneaks outside to find Kade for a little boom-boom. Quinn shows up during the boom-boom session and Kade keeps nailing her from behind while she and Quinn chat about the weather - ok not really the weather, but it almost felt like it.
There's an explosion, a lot of people get killed and she meets up with her brother. He gives her proof that one of roommates was behind the bomb, which she was suspecting already anyway. She confronts her roommates and kicks their butts. She ends up sleeping in a tree outside in a tree all night.
Riley is "invited" to a brunch with Starr. The breakfast entertainment includes a gimoungous scary dude and her brother. Rhoan wins the fight, kind of, and then insists Riley fight Rhoan - oh joy. Needless to say, Riley loses the fight after being knocked unconscious. She wakes up hours later while being plundered by Merle. She takes control of his mind and starts one of her plans in motion.
During a planned blackout, she infiltrates security, gets the controllers for the bombs on the chameleon people, cuts off a thumb, breaks into a lab, rescues a baby and blows up a lab. She sneaks back to her room, to find a disgruntled roommate and the connection with her brother flares to let her know he's in life-or-death danger. She makes a deal with the ex-military roommate to help their other roommate and to help Riley get to her brother. Riley does get to Rhoan, has to bite silver out of his ass and ships him off with Jack - their boss, who she's been in contact on and off during the entire mission.
Once back, it's time for dinner. Dinner's entertainment is the roommate in trouble - in trouble because the tried to kill Merle, yay. She's got to fight the blue winged spiky junked guys, and with help for Riley, she rips them to shreds. The roommate is supposed to get a chance to fight Merle - and this is when all the shit hits the fan. Merle shoots the woman, other roommate freaks out, woman does the "bad guys never die the first time" thing and blows Merle's brains out. 1 baddie down, 2 to go.
Riley then challenges Moss to fight. She holds her own. Quinn shows up and offers to help. She gets Merle's gun and shoots Starr in the face and Quinn takes out Moss. Ding dong the witch is dead.
The plot was all over the place, with kid rescuing, people saving and baddie fighting. I noticed one error when the roommates talked about who they were trying to get revenge on and the actual doing, but other than that it was an ok story. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I do not like the undescriptive sex scenes, I want to hear about the ins and outs - that's just how I am. Riley Jenson might be the biggest whore out there, but her sex life bores the hell out of me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised that as well as I liked the previous series entry, I enjoyed this one much more. Riley and company are growing on me. This time out Riley & Rhoan are attempting to beard the lion in his den as they each go undercover to capture Deshon Starr as his activities have made life for the super-naturals quite unbearable. As much as the buildup has been I thought Starr could not possibly live up to the evil, but he was evil enough. Resolution of the Starr storyline hopefully will be a good bridge from Trainee Riley to Guardian Riley and she'll stop whining. I also liked her expansion of powers and hope to see secondary character Berna again. Gautier seems to become more shadowy with each installment and has grown to be quite the villain. He should be more than a worthy opponent going forward. The action set piece was comical if you're a visual reader as I am (really Double D's fighting naked?!?!), but did have enough excitement and tension.
I really have a hard time with this series because whatever is beyond hyper-promiscuous is what Riley is but at the same time it seems as if there's an excuse or apology for her to be that. The amount of sex in a Riley Jensen book makes it very easy to forget there's supposed to be an element beyond how many creatures she can do. And the sex is usually used as a transition from one scene to another which just makes it an erotica series. Be it-Own it Riley.
I really have a hard time with this series because whatever is beyond hyper-promiscuous is what Riley is but at the same time it seems as if there's an excuse or apology for her to be that. The amount of sex in a Riley Jensen book makes it very easy to forget there's supposed to be an element beyond how many creatures she can do. And the sex is usually used as a transition from one scene to another which just makes it an erotica series. Be it-Own it Riley.
November 30, 2009
Oh! Thank heavens! This books seems to be the end of the lab breeding back story--I liked it but there is only so much you can say and only so much mystery while still keeping it interesting for the reader. I was thrilled with the new developments in this book.
Without giving too much away, Riley goes undercover into Starr's "compound" as part of the entertainment for the men serving Starr--there is a little more to it that meets the eye. I thought she was just going in as, well...a prostitute--nope! I found myself getting stressed out about many-MANY situations she gets herself into while at the compound and THAT is how I know it is a good book. I was very emotionally involved with this one.
Can't wait for the next one! I am hoping her men make more appearances in the next book because they were a little absent in this one :-(
✳✳ Reviewed on
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Without giving too much away, Riley goes undercover into Starr's "compound" as part of the entertainment for the men serving Starr--there is a little more to it that meets the eye. I thought she was just going in as, well...a prostitute--nope! I found myself getting stressed out about many-MANY situations she gets herself into while at the compound and THAT is how I know it is a good book. I was very emotionally involved with this one.
Can't wait for the next one! I am hoping her men make more appearances in the next book because they were a little absent in this one :-(
✳✳ Reviewed on
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August 30, 2012
Riley Jenson, you kick butt!
I usually find that most series that end up as my favorites, it’s usually book 3 that seems to be the magic number. And that is once again the case with Riley Jenson. I really enjoyed book 1 and 2, but book 3 just lifted this series onto my favorite’s shelf.
I love the paranormal world Riley lives in. It’s different and unique. The promiscuity of the wolves and how that behavior is acceptable in their society makes me look at Riley’s actions a little differently. I like books that make me think about things another way. I find it interesting that in a non-paranormal book I would call Riley some pretty choice names, but because of her world I am okay with it. HOWEVER, notice that’s a big however, she better end up with Quinn in the end!!!
I said I like a book that makes me think about things, well the other thing I find myself thinking while I read Riley: If we put Cat from Night Huntress and Riley Jenson in a ring to fight, who would win? LOL Seriously, I can’t stop wondering.
May 26, 2010
This book, actually this series is not for everyone. The subject matter dealt with can be offensive to anyone that cannot put aside their own personal feeling about sex and using ones body to achieve their goals. This particular book has scenes of rape and hand to hand combat death matches. It's not all about romance, rainbows and unicorns. Although some of the lab born creatures may well be part unicorn, who knows? Anyway, if you're squeamish about nudity, women's lib, sex, rape, humanoid type scary people, don't read this series. If you are like me and prefer to read a book that can take you to a alternate reality in the future where laser guns are very real and werewolves, shape shifters, vampires and other humanoid type creatures have been accepted as a part of mainstream society (for the most part), then start at book one and let Keri Arthur's imagination take you on a journey that can be exciting, sensual and down right scary as hell.
February 8, 2017
It's funny how these books always take me a minute to get into them, but once I do I whip right through the book. It's interesting that one of the biggest enemies of Riley and Co. is taken out, and yet this is a long lasting series, haha but alas there is a nice little zinger at the end, which bodes for a much more evil nemesis than before. This book was filled with alot, alot of things for Riley to do, alot of questionings on many different thing. The one hang up I have on Riley is her need for sex, I understand she's a wolf and is alays needing sex, but still the way this woman desires sex I think is beyond the need for a wolf, and really it's not the sex that bothers me, that's pretty intriguing on it's own, it's her desire to find a wolf mate, she thinks purely wolf when she isn't a pure wolf she's a halfbreed wolf/vamp, so her hang up on the wolf soulmate is kind of far fetched in my opinion, but we shall see how things progress with that in future books.
January 4, 2012
A fun sort of read about a dhampir with an outrageous sex drive.
I love how it is set in Melbourne, Australia (my home town), and the writing quality is great. It never seems to get too clunky; except in the really drawn out sex scenes.
Riley, a Guardian, is continuing a quest to stop a madman from creating a mutant army. Although kicking some serious butt she beds just about every male character in the story.
What I did notice with Arthur's story line is that if:
a) A woman is semi naked, and
b) There's a villian near her vicinity
They will end up having brutal sex. Like a horrific scene where as punishment a woman is eventually, erm, butt-loved by two blue human/insectoid creatures with barbs on their doodles. Really, butt-loved?
Great silly read, but the sex scenes were repetitive with these gems:
- Knee buckling foreplay
- Driving past the threshold of sensation
- Mutual climaxes
- Hot lengths
- Multiple encounters within twenty minutes
Enough to make a girl feel below average!
I love how it is set in Melbourne, Australia (my home town), and the writing quality is great. It never seems to get too clunky; except in the really drawn out sex scenes.
Riley, a Guardian, is continuing a quest to stop a madman from creating a mutant army. Although kicking some serious butt she beds just about every male character in the story.
What I did notice with Arthur's story line is that if:
a) A woman is semi naked, and
b) There's a villian near her vicinity
They will end up having brutal sex. Like a horrific scene where as punishment a woman is eventually, erm, butt-loved by two blue human/insectoid creatures with barbs on their doodles. Really, butt-loved?
Great silly read, but the sex scenes were repetitive with these gems:
- Knee buckling foreplay
- Driving past the threshold of sensation
- Mutual climaxes
- Hot lengths
- Multiple encounters within twenty minutes
Enough to make a girl feel below average!
March 15, 2016
This was a really good installment even though i really wanted to kill Riley in this one as she keeps making stupid decisions when it comes to the guy department, whether shes screwing the vampire Quinn whom she has an infatuation with, and wants to explore what their relationship is, and then the werewolf Kellan whom she also has a strong infatuation with. She comes off as a slut to me. Where yes i understand that werewolves especially the females are constantly the term used bitches in heat and need some kind of sexual fulfillment to keep themselves satisfied but when it comes to kade the sexy horse shifter she comes off as a slut. Like oh your hot and i'm hot come have sex with me. Just comes off slutty. I gave this four stars as even though it was good i was just expecting her to make better decisions. Keri Arthur's writing definitely has improved with this novel. Can't wait to see if the rest of the series gets better.
June 21, 2018
Amazing book that has the store of a fantastic world and a lot of story with a lot of love, suspense and drama.
May 5, 2020
3.75-4/5 ⭐️
J’ai beaucoup aimé ce tome-ci même s’il y avait quelques trucs qui m’ont dérangés
J’aime le fait que l’intrigue principale des 3 premiers tomes se résolve et qu’une nouvelle intrigue se développe dans les tomes suivants ! Ça évite la redondance et j’apprécie beaucoup 👌🏼
Après je dois être dans la minorité mais je n’aime vraiment pas Quinn, il me tape sur le système... J’aurais aimer voir plus Kellen (j’espère que dans le 4 on le verra plus)
Et comme toujours J’ADORE la relation entre Riley et Rohan. Elle est tellement forte 💪🏼
J’ai beaucoup aimé ce tome-ci même s’il y avait quelques trucs qui m’ont dérangés
J’aime le fait que l’intrigue principale des 3 premiers tomes se résolve et qu’une nouvelle intrigue se développe dans les tomes suivants ! Ça évite la redondance et j’apprécie beaucoup 👌🏼
Après je dois être dans la minorité mais je n’aime vraiment pas Quinn, il me tape sur le système... J’aurais aimer voir plus Kellen (j’espère que dans le 4 on le verra plus)
Et comme toujours J’ADORE la relation entre Riley et Rohan. Elle est tellement forte 💪🏼
July 20, 2017
That's basically the end of the series for me. What started off as such a promising series devolved into a toxic battle of contrition between two guys with serious toxic masculinity issues. The plot became an excuse.
The rape was the icing on the cake. Nope. Done with this.
The rape was the icing on the cake. Nope. Done with this.
February 5, 2020
Fuuuunnn!
November 4, 2020
Love love love this series. Riley is such a bad ass.
September 13, 2024
I did enjoy this book. The series is getting interesting. Quinn annoys me at times with his attitude
February 10, 2024
This book was more detailed,especially on the violence,rape,and nonhuman species with high sexual appetites. The series so far is a 4, but it just verily made it.
Shelved as 'dnf'
February 6, 2025DNF
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