Her dreams had warned Mishella Kirkland of his coming, and those same dreams had driven her far from home. But the handsome man who claimed she needed protection was hardly the terrifying creature Mishella had conjured up in her anguished night thoughts. In fact, the man who stood before her was dangerously alluring… Raphael Dalton spoke of an unbreakable bond between them, a centuries-old love that had drawn him to protect Mishella from an unspeakable fate. Mishella’s very soul cried out to believe this captivating stranger. But was he truly her guardian, come to watch over her, or was he her greatest threat?

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Portrait artist Mishella (Shelly) Kirkland has been having a recurring dream starring a certain mystery man. Now this very man, Raphael Dalton, stands before her, claiming she is in danger. He also reveals to her that they have a centuries-old bond between them -- dating back to the Spanish Inquisition -- that compels him to protect her.

 

Mishella is unsure whether to trust him or not, but her defenses weaken some when she discovers they both share the power to heal with touch. Raphael theorizes that they both came into it accidentally, the power originating from a demon who hated to see it used for good. Mishella is tempted to use her healing touch to hopefully cure her step-sister, Stacey, who is battling multiple myeloma, but Mishella's prophetic dreams have warned her that using her power will bring evil to her door. Is Raphael this source of evil, or is he honestly there to help?

 

So let's just get this out of the way: This book was originally published back in 1995. Raphael, the perceived "hero" in this story (though Raye leaves enough doubt about his intentions to keep the reader curious til the end) is HILARIOUSLY 90s. I encourage readers to embrace that -- for sheer entertainment value -- rather than knock it. Half the fun in this story is snickering at the image of this long-haired guy, clad in jean-on-jean (bottoms and jacket) combo complete with white tee, telling Shelly things like "if you need me, you can reach me on my car phone".... I know, brace yourself for the heart flutters! LOL. So yes, incredibly dated by today's standards.... but if you can get around that / have fun with it, there's actually a decently entertaining paranormal style romance here ---- good vs evil, demons vs mortal, all that.

 

Raye's writing here is consistently compelling, even with the cheeze factor, you want to know how these two turn out. The dialogue is fun, if at times momentarily a tad silly. Plus, every so often the story flicks over to 15th century Spain to give little clues as to the origin of the gift of healing these two share... so we get historical fiction to boot! As far as how the sexy times scenes go, the first one I found pretty laughable (I kept picturing something like a Whitesnake video), even for a paranormal romance (or especially for a paranormal romance?)... I guess we're all a little awkward the first go round LOL... but after that, the few next times were respectably written.

Ok. Am ready to leave the contemporary wild west. So our h, only girl in a houseful of boys, and with a dad who apparently couldn't be bothered to tell his boys to knock it off when they harassed her, hasn't a feminine bone in her body, mostly because it was teased and harassed out of her. She had the memory of spending a summer? Month? Something. with her grandma who got her to wear a dress. She came home and her brothers made fun of her.

 

She's almost 30 now, recently broke up with her boyfriend after catching him cheating on her (and discovering he was apparently into bondage at the same time), quit her job as a mechanic after her boss left said boyfriend in charge, and moved. She's signed up for a sex seminar and her brothers, who I got the feeling barely thought of her as a person, are having a meltdown. They send the H after her, apparently oblivious to issues between H and h.

 

The H... his parents were killed when he was a teen. His grandpa moved in, and couldn't be bothered to drag himself out of his own grief to care for his own grandkids. He got a football scholarship, having decided he wanted out. His last day before leaving, the h essentially threw herself at him. He turned her down.

 

So now, he's turned up to dissuade her from attending the camp. Causes her to miss her flight (I sort of am puzzled about that as unless it's a private charter, they always switch planes, so why was there even an opportunity to miss the flight? She wasn't off the plane that long), decides to give her a few lessons (wow. How nice), maybe a quick roll in the proverbial hay. Nothing serious mind you; just to convince her to drop this hairbrained idea.

 

While I find amusement that she did get on the plane the next day in spite of his enlightenment, I think she should have gone on. Not gone back to Texas, not moved back to her home town, not opened a garage of her...ok, yeah. She should have opened the garage. I just think at the very least, she should have let him stew a while. Why? Because up until the morning after...or was it the middle of the day after...he had no thoughts of further involvement. It wasn't until he discovered she'd left that he came to his senses.

 

So he managed a HEA. At the very least, he needed to work at it harder. The grand gesture of filling her garage with roses. Ah, ok. Where's the date? Where's a conversation? Where's...? Regardless his reasons all those years ago for rejecting her, he did, and she's had a long time (and other rejections) to screw with her head. You don't magically get over that just because the magic pen is wielded.

 

The only reason I'm not harder on this one is the interactions between them were good. She didn't let him off the hook, and he did come to the realization that she didn't trust him - without being an asshole and picking fights with her (I read one where the H did that to get reactions because the h was reluctant to give him another opportunity to hurt her). I still have a really really hard time with the idea that a guy could do that to a friend in the first place, because it indicates that either he is selfishly basking in her attentions, which isn't being a friend, or he's oblivious, which also isn't being a friend. And in this case, he knew she had a crush on him. So he variously ignored her or took advantage of her hero-worship. Then wondered many years later why she wanted nothing to do with him.

Tempting Texas is my first book by Kimberly Raye.  I thought this book was an entertaining read.  Ms Raye has provided a cast of characters that are fun to read.  Jenna and Hunter's story is loaded with drama, a bit of action, sizzle and a little humor.  You'll also get a mini story of Hunter's grandmother woven into the story as a tiny bonus.  I enjoyed reading Tempting Texas and would happily read more from Kimberly Raye in the future.  Tempting Texas is book 1 of the Rebel Moonshine Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

 

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

ARC Review: Tempting Texas (Rebel Moonshine) by Kimberly Raye

The Sawyers and Tuckers are known for making their own rules. With a colorful history that spurred a feuding legacy and spirits as fiery as the contraband moonshine that feeds the flame, Ms. Raye serves up some serious trouble with this brood. What continues to draw me back to the Rebel Moonshine series is that connection both families struggle to break but have yet to succeed in doing. No matter how hard they fight the bond is stronger than ever. Through all the secrets, hidden agendas and volatile feelings their greatest legacies were the next generation. Maybe this time they will get it right. With each story Ms. Raye chips away at the anger, misconceptions and betrayals, revealing more about the history of these families and how love has a hand in healing the rift. Tempting Texas is Jenna and Hunter's chance to make an impact on a serious that has already left it's mark. Jenna, I enjoyed getting to know. She dared to be different and follow her own plan to making her dreams come true.

Whoa. Smokin'

 

If I had a quibble, it would be the small town business owners' attitudes. Really, the grocer, rather than courting the h's business (she has a bakery), limits how much she can buy. The smart thing would be to ask how much she needs for a week, and order extra. At the same time, the delivery guy can't be bothered to deliver her supplies half the time, forcing her to go to the grocery in the first place.

 

The other thing - and this was one of those things that was never addressed - was who her grandFATHER was. Her grandmother ran the local brothel, you see. The H's grandfather frequented said brothel and fancied himself in love with her, giving her land.

 

The h grew up away from here, largely because grandma didn't want ma to follow in her footsteps and was planning to send her away to school. Ma ran away and apparently did make an attempt at said footsteps.

 

The H wants the land back. There's an arrangement made - to practice grandma's "menu" as it were, in exchange for land. They got more than they bargained for.