3 out of 4 stars
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The destruction caused by World War III has resulted in a new Regime, controlled by World Dictator Lutheran Eminence. Strict laws have been put into place, and many forms of entertainment have been forbidden on the basis of keeping society safe. Tobias and Kincade are members of a secret organization, working to uncover the true goals of the Regime.
One of few forms of entertainment sanctioned by the government, The Temptation Trials is a reality TV show demonstrating the difficulties of love. With mandatory arranged marriages forced onto citizens at the age of twenty-one, this show is the only chance a person has to fight for the right to choose their life partner.
With their time running out, on the verge of turning twenty, Tobias and Cade meet the women of their dreams. They now have a difficult decision ahead of them—cave to the Regime’s agenda or fight for their relationships. When the lines blur between lust and love, who will come out on top?
An addition to the Temptation series, Temptation Trials Revolution is the men’s side of the story. This book may be read before or after Temptation Trials Part I—the women’s side of the story, but at least one of these must be read before Temptation Trials Part II to avoid confusion, as it is a continuation.
Written in the first person perspective, this novel alternates between Tobias’ and Cade’s point-of-view, with clear indicators in between. Broken into two parts, Opposition and The Trials, we first get to witness the boys’ relationships—with Stefani and Cali—developing and then their experiences during the Temptation Trials.
This is basically a dystopian romance, but I may have detected paranormal undertones as well. The occurrences I speak of could possibly be scientific, but that question was not answered in this book. In fact, I had many questions which were never answered, and I’m hoping Part II digs a bit deeper into the makeup of the Regime. I thought there was surprisingly little information given about His Eminence and the ruling party, but that may have been purposely done.
While I had a difficult time with the writing style, I was invested enough in the characters and their story that I really wanted to continue reading. In my opinion, some of the slang used seemed out of place, but then I can’t say for sure what kind of colloquialisms will be popular in the year 2036. Just to give an example, I ran across this gem pretty early on: “Those outbursts really got the throng crunk.” There were many similar sentences, and they always threw me off just a bit. Along with that, the story just didn’t seem to flow smoothly at times, and I kept getting tripped up by the strange descriptive words.
What I really liked was the unique take on a dystopian world, although—having not read many books in this particular genre—I could be alone in that opinion. World dictatorship isn’t a possibility I’ve ever even considered, and the thought that one person could have control over the entire world is a bit horrifying. That His Eminence goes so far as controlling his citizens’ entertainment options and love lives—dishing out harsh punishments to those who rebel—only makes it worse. I found myself wondering what I would be willing to go through to be with the person I love—baring all on international television might just be too much for this introvert.
As far as romance goes, I think the relationships were well-developed for the most part. There were definitely instant attractions, but I appreciated that both of the original relationships were fairly slow-moving in both a physical and emotional sense. Don’t let that fool you—there are some graphic sex scenes depicted along with strong language, so I would recommend this novel only for adults. Love triangles and cheating partners also play a part in this story.
Overall, I decided to give Temptation Trials Revolution 3 out of 4 stars. While it was very entertaining, with many twists thrown in to keep me guessing, the writing style and poor editing were a definite negative for me. There were quite a few instances where the wrong word was used, there was a missing word, or a word was misspelled. I felt that these errors could easily have been corrected before publication.
As I’m still awaiting the outcome of Tobias’ and Cade’s Trials, I’m off to read Part II. For those who like a little suspense with their romance and aren’t too set on a happily ever after, I hope you enjoy!
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Temptation Trials Revolution
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