Tempted and Taken (Italian Stallions #6)

Mari Carr

Blurb:

Some mistakes are worth repeating.

Liza knows that cocky billionaire Matt Russo is the wrong man for her. She could make a long list of reasons why she’d be smart to stay away, including his tenacious ex-girlfriend, the fact he’s trying to destroy her family, and, oh yeah, did she mention he’s a cold, distant bastard? However, after their tempestuous one-night stand, she’s finding it hard to hang on to their well-established nemesis routine.

Matt is the master of control—of his life, his emotions, his future. Except, of course, for that night he slipped up…with Liza Moretti. Reassuming his grip on the reins, he’s determined it won’t happen again. Unfortunately, doing the right thing in regard to the tempting woman fails because doing the wrong things with her— to her —are too alluring to resist.

An impromptu invitation to share his private plane leads to an unexpected break from reality and some very steamy nights in Hawaii. Until real life comes knocking and Matt is forced to face the mistakes of his past. Mistakes that could destroy the one thing he can’t control, and the one thing he can no longer live without—Liza.

Themes: Erotica

Rating: 4.75 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

The continuation of the sensual and sensation love story between two of our favorite sexy Italians has finally arrived. Mari Carr fans have been wondering about this story for a long time, waiting to find how just how this one was going to turn out, and I think I can speak for all of us in saying that it was beyond perfect. Mari Carr is one of those authors that manages in the span of a single short novel to take us to the highest peak of passion, drop us into the lowest despair and finally to bring the perfect happily ever to her characters and we get to experience it all with them. I’m never quite sure what I’m signing up for when I begin one of her books but I know the adventure is going to be emotional and is going to leave me wrung out and exhausted by ultimately thrilled that I the lovers managed to work through all of their obstacles and get their HEA. In this latest installment we are actually getting a continuation of a beautifully passionate night that we enjoyed in the short novella Naughty and Nice, Where Liza and Matt first began to understand that the feelings they’d been fighting for one another might be a losing battle. I loved every moment of this book and am just dying now for the next in the series, because as always the epilogue led us in an intriguing and new direction for the next couple (throuple?) and I couldn’t help reading—even though I keep telling myself that way lay danger. If you are looking for an emotional, beautiful, passionate, and ultimately amazing story of two lovers finding their perfect match, I can’t recommend a better story than Tempted and Taken.

Matt Russo is trying to move forward with his daily life, but despite the craziness of the holidays he can’t stop thinking about his one night with a woman he should never have taken to his bed. Old grudges, family lines, and supposed dislike should have been enough of a deterrent, but Liza Moretti draws Matt like no other woman ever has, and after spending one night with her in his bed, he’s not sure he can turn off the need to have her. Liza keeps trying to ignore the need she feels for Matt, the dark desires he awoke in her, but even though she knows he will ultimately likely break her heart, she can’t seem to keep away from him. When they find themselves away from their families, headed to Hawaii for a wedding, the temptation becomes to irresistible. But can they make their way through the minefields of obstacles in their way to find a happy ending, or is there just too much pain and danger between them to have any chance at a happy future? Liza knows she could easy love Matt, if he allows it, but she won’t give herself and her future to a man that won’t open himself to her and offer her the world—Can Matt give her what she needs or will they be torn apart?

There was so much going on for both Matt and Liza in this story, requiring them to seek help and advice from those they love more than once, but ultimately they needed to come together in love in order to grow and find their way to happiness. Liza has lived her entire adult life guiding her career and her life, so giving into the dominance and need that Matt requires is a challenge to her, but at the same time it is exactly what she has always needed. That submission is just what she needed in order to feel cherished and loved and she finds it perfectly in Matt’s arms, allowing her sassy, sweet, loving, kind, smart, and witty nature free rein but giving her the chance to destress and relax more. Matt has gone through a lot, as we slowly learn, in his life, leaving him jaded about a lot of things, especially love, but he knows immediately that Liza is different than every other woman that has ever been in his life. He has to work through a lot before he manages to fully open himself to the love she is offering him, stopping himself from pushing her away finally, which is painful to experience with him, but I was glad that his brothers supported him and that he managed to come out the other side of that a whole man and able to offer his huge heart finally. He is strong, smart, brave, caring, loving, sexy, and just about the perfect man once he learns to open up more to the woman he loves. I am dying to see him in future stories as he embraces his family more and he and Liza begin their lives together even more. Together these two of perfectly matches puzzle pieces always meant to come together.

This story is one that hits on a lot of subjects that are painful for many readers, life events that are painful and traumatizing that are often glossed over in stories because of that. But Mari jumps right into the deep end, touching on the subject of cheating, childhood mental and emotional abuse, and suicide all to show that these things can affect a person and their choices, even if you think you have dealt with this long into adulthood and even in the most subtle of ways. It was a truly moving moment to watch Matt’s brothers supporting him as he relived the night of his mother’s death, working through his emotions with him and making him understand that he couldn’t let his feeling about that stop him from moving forward in life and love. I was crying for a while after that scene not to mention the chapters before and after it, so I warn you to be prepared with plenty of tissues—or hell so for the hankie—when you dive into this story. Matt is the perfect sexy, alpha, dominate billionaire that, once he decides on a course, sticks to it until someone knocks some sense into him and shows him that it’s time to change course. Liza is a beautiful character, inside and out, and is the perfect match to Matt’s stubbornness and stands up to him so that he understands that her submission is a gift and not a way for him to take advantage of her loving nature. The heat between them has been there from the first argument we witnessed, flared out of control on their “one-night stand”, and finally carried them through all the traumas that tried to keep them apart in order to keep them together and allow their love to bloom. I didn’t dislike a single moment of this entire reading experience, even when I was crying so hard I couldn’t see the words on the page and had to take a break. I cannot WAIT for the next story and I warn you now, if you read that damn epilogue you’ll be torture for the next 4 months right along with me, so be wary. Mari, not sure how you manage it, but as always you have blown my mind.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.