by Morgan Andrews (link)
Genre het, romance, drama/angst
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 40 chapters
Status (first in the Petals of Time Series)
While one brother or another often gets the “man whore” treatment in hanfic, it isn’t often Zac. Given that Zac is Morgan Andrews’ favorite subject, it may not be all that surprising that she chose to give him this characterization, as unique as it is for him. Temptation might end up sharing a few other similarities with Morgan’s earlier series, but it stands up on its own as well.
The story alternates between Zac and Gabby’s perspectives, which allows both of them to be sympathetic, even the man whore. It also allows them to hide a few things, like the troubled (to say the least) family and relationship history at least one of them has. It takes nearly the entire story for all (or most?–there are two sequels, after all) of these secrets to be revealed, which is a little frustrating.
Still, there is a mystery left unsolved here, although I have my theories. Gabby’s attack and torture are trademark Morgan moves, but it’s the only place where this really feels similar to her other works. Zac and Gabby’s relationship moves slowly and organically, and it’s fun to watch them slowly realize how they feel about each other. Likewise, the smut is kept to a surprising minimum here, although the few scenes Morgan has peppered the story with are either smoking hot, add to the characterization, or both.
Although Zac and Gabby seem to have reached a happy ending–or beginning, depending on how you look at it–there’s obviously a lot of story left to tell. I’m curious to see just how much the next two stories add to this series and how that one big mystery turns out. While there are similarities to her earlier series, Morgan has shown some real growth with this series starter.
Review by Bethany (website)