Tempt Me by Mia MonroeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
OMG you guys! It's here - IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!
This is the Best Friend's Brother/Brother's Best Friend that I NEEEEEEEDED in my life! I've been waiting for this book since the moment I knew that's what we were getting, and boy did it deliver! Tempt Me is book five in Mia Monroe's Tattoos and Temptation series and can be totally read as a standalone, but if it's the first you read I guarantee you'll want to love on all the rest of the crew and devour the series!
"A lot has changed since you left.”
“I imagine so. I’ve changed too.”
“I would hope so in ten years. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
He means as a friend. Just a friend.
“Me too.”
Felix and Apollo were the sweetest, and yet filthiest, and I was LIVING FOR IT! You knew Apollo was bound for a great love based off all the times we were shown he was looking for love, but that he was exploring his new revelations about his own sexuality. We knew that he had this wonderful best friend, but what we didn't know was that that best friend had a brother ten years his junior who had been infatuated with Apollo since he was a boy trying to tag along with them.
And there was NO DRAMA with this one from the brother - NONE and I can't tell you how important that was to me. Most brother's best friend have some kind of drama involved where the brother is almost always unsupportive of the connection at first. Lucien was supportive vocally to his brother even though Apollo didn't know he'd offered that acceptance to his brother. He wasn't surprised that Felix was attracted to Apollo. He'd seen the crush as a teen but he recognized that they are both adults and they'd been apart from each other for a decade, separated by an ocean's distance. But that's beside the point... Let me tell you why I love Felix...
Felix Marchand, I see you and I hear you and I ADORE you! You are unapologetically you - and that's what I want to see in a character. Felix embraces every part of himself, embraces his freedom to be and wear whatever he chooses. He sees beauty in things rather than gender and wears what makes him feel pretty not what is expected of him - and he will not compromise on that anymore!
That philosophy extends to Apollo. If we’re going to be friends, then he has to accept me for who I am. I’ll never compromise on that again.
Felix has spent the last ten years working in his birthplace, France, and there he felt he had to hide and conform to be appealing to partners and others. He refuses to tone himself down and I LOVE IT!
Also, even before Mia confirmed who her muse was for Felix, I was hearing Pierre Boo in my head for Felix. Excellent choice!
It was fabulous to see Apollo open his heart to Felix with a little help from former leads like Luca and Jude. This whole series shows friendships that are like a big, wonderfully diverse family and I wish I could just go live right there with them! I've said this numerous times, so it shouldn't be a shock to you all now. That's what happens when you build your world storytellers, the connections are deep and real between this group and I am invested in all of them! ***See later note, just cause!!!!***
Let's have some of my...
Favourite Lines -
Let’s see. Do I remember Greek god Apollo? His shiny black hair, piercing dark eyes, and knee weakening smile? Do I remember how his deep voice vibrated in me like bass turned up too high? Do I remember the electricity that shot through me the time he let me touch his tattoo? Do I remember the first crush my gay little heart ever had? Do I remember the fantasies I had that he would somehow see me as an adult and fall madly in love with me regardless of the fact that he is frustratingly straight?
“Yes, well groping…and stuff…is an adequate way to determine one’s preferences.”
I raise an eyebrow. “An adequate way to determine one’s preferences?”
He releases a jittery laugh. “That did not sound very American twenty-something-year-old, did it?”
“No.”
“Any man who does not want me as I am, is not the man for me. I love who I am. All the parts of me.”
“To me, anyone who says a man who is feminine is a negative thing, is threatened by female power. Alternatively, you may think, innately, that being feminine means being weak because we have been taught this, no? Despite the overwhelming examples of women showing they are indeed far from weak. It is a narrative meant to make truly weak people feel strong.”
“Ah. I see. Briar was so respectful. He asked for my pronouns. No one in Paris ever asked me that question. Americans are so awake, no?”
Apollo grins. “Woke. The term is woke.”
“Americans are woke? That is not grammatically correct.”
“No, it’s not.”
Side Note - this made my grammar loving heart very happy!
"I am a man. I am not adorable.”
“But pretty is okay?”
He grins. “Yes, because I am. I reject that adjectives are gender specific. Men can be pretty, and women can be handsome. Men can be graceful and elegant, and women can be suave and distinguished. I go out of my way to be pretty because it makes me happy.”
“I got a nice ass though.”
Felix laughs. “You do. I have looked.”
I have a nice dick too, but I should probably keep that part to myself.
How could I sleep when the feeling of his lips burned on mine all night?
“Gah, Felix, you’re so amazing. What did I do in this life to deserve you?”
“You existed. That is all you had to do.”
“You’ve always liked me?”
“Always. You were how I knew I was gay.” I laugh. “My entire romantic experience has been shaped by memories of you. I have looked for someone who made my insides melt with a smile, like you do. Someone who looked at me the way you did even though I knew you saw me as a child, as just Lucien’s baby brother, but still, the way you looked at me made me feel special. Seen. I always wanted that, but I did not find it until you looked at me again.”
“What was that for?”
“You were listening to me.”
“Of course, I was. I always listen to you. You’re my favorite sound, Felix.”
“I spent hours imagining that you could see me as a man. Desire me. The way that I am. A little chubby, a lot fem, sassy, and French. Obsessed with baking and lingerie. But I love hard, Apollo, when I love. What has been missing from every relationship was you. All I have ever wanted is to love you and have you love me back.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. I am shaken.”
I tilt my head. “Shaken?”
“Genesis taught me.”
“Ah. I think it might be shook.”
His brow furrows. “I am shook?” He nods. “Ah, yes, that is it. It does not make sense, but that is slang, right?”
“Right. So, I got you shook, huh?”
I could read a book of just grammar jokes *shrugs*
Mia, I have some lingering questions... So I'm gonna ask them now and this is my later note in case any of you were wondering!
1) What about Grey and Mitsu????
2) Is this the last we're going to see of the Black Heart/Dulce Santo staff? Because it kind of sounded like it was in your post since you're starting a new series and I'm like... I NEED MORE!!!!! There's still some stories here!!!!
3) Most importantly...
WHAT ABOUT GREY AND MITSU?!?!?!???
Run - don't walk, RUN -
And one-click this one today! I promise you, you won't regret it and then maybe you can help me pester for a story for Grey & Mitsu because I wanna know. I NEED TO KNOW!!!
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