A Taste of Temptation by Heather McGovern

Nestled in the lush green mountains of North Carolina, the Honeywilde Inn will be a romantic’s dream getaway, if only the Bradley siblings can keep it running. It will take a combination of hard work, good luck, and the kind of love that dreams are made of...

Sophie Bradley can always count on Wright. He's not just her brother’s best friend, he's practically part of the family. His honesty and willingness to listen are a constant comfort, and his culinary skills are a huge selling point for the inn. But when a casual moment in the kitchen turns electric, an impulsive kiss leaves her weak in the knees—a kiss Wright dismisses as “temporary insanity” and insists will never happen again.

How could he have done it? Wright feels like a big enough jerk, disappointing his parents with his career choices—plus he's secretly entertaining job offers from restaurants coast-to-coast. He's betraying everyone... and now he's kissed his best friend's sister. The only option is to hit the brakes, hard. But once Sophie's been kissed, she can't be unkissed, and as things start falling apart around him, Wright wonders if a momentary lapse might be the beginning of something extraordinary.

Book 3
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Lyrical Shine

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
This story has some sweet moments but it felt quite formulaic. The setting is lovely but this is yet another series about a family of brothers and I’m not sure it brings anything fresh to the concept.

I usually enjoy friends-to-lovers stories, but the conflict between Sophie and Wright feels forced – we are supposed to believe that lifelong best friends fall out with each other repeatedly over the smallest misunderstandings. The drama between these two made them feel really young. The author keeps telling us that Sophie effectively runs her family resort, but readers never actually see Sophie managing much of anything. I had some empathy for Sophie’s difficult childhood but she seemed unable to let go of childhood trauma and move on. Beyond disappointing his wealthy parents, Wright felt quite blandly attractive and... nice. I didn’t love either of the leads in this story, which made it difficult for me to love the story

Characters on the periphery of the story are one dimensional. Wright’s parents are snobby. One brother is controlling, one is a reformed bad boy, one is the quiet one. The sister-in-laws are creative. Brooke was the most interesting character in this book and we need to wait for the next book for her story.

My ambivalence to this book may be because I read a lot of romance. This story has charming moments, but I kept waiting for the emotional pull I get from great romance writing.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

I have to disclose that this is the first story that I've read in the series. While I never really felt that I didn't know who everyone was, I would say that it probably would have helped with the development of the story if I had read the previous books.

This story was very sweet. It really is about friends who find themselves kind of at a crossroad. Do they take their mutual attraction and develop what could be a great relationship or do they just want to remain what they've always been?

Sophie is the sister who sometimes feels like she doesn't belong. She has always been close to Dev, one of her brothers, much more so than the others. Then there is Wright - he is Dev's best friend and has been in her life since she can remember.

Somewhere along the way, Wright has developed feelings for Sophie, but he isn't sure if he should act on them. Wright comes from a wealthy family who expect more from him than what he has become. While he's an amazing chef and loves working with his friends, he too needs to know whether or not he was meant for more.

However, when Sophie and he begin their secret relationship, things just become too involved. Communication is not this family's strong suit and you learn much more about the ins and outs of how this family functions (or in some cases, doesn't function)

While this is a sweet story, there are a lot of issues that I had. The predictability that makes this story is somewhat boring. The "twist" in the story is so very unresolved that I felt almost lost.

So, despite the cuteness of the story and the happy ending, I felt that this was an incomplete story.

Heather McGovern writes contemporary romance in swoony, southern settings. While her love of travel and adventure takes her far, there is no place quite like home. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and son, and a collection of Legos that's threatening to take over the house. When she isn't writing, she's working out, or binging on books and Netflix.

She is a member of Romance Writers of America, as well as Carolina Romance Writers, and she's represented by Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency.

Connect with Heather on her website, Facebook, Twitter, or her group blog. She'd love to hear to from you!

Connect with Heather

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Taste of Temptation (A Honeywilde Romance #3) by Heather McGovern to read and review.