Tempt (Cloverleigh Farms Next Generation Book 4)

TL;DR: Tempt was a lot of fun and I picked it up on a whim the other day and devoured it in one sitting. This was my first book by MH but I really enjoyed her writing and I can see why people love her books and why she's an often-recommended romance author. The characters were fun to read about, the supporting cast is everything I love in a small-town setting, the physical connection and sexual chemistry were undeniable, and I loved the bit of angst and tension that came with the "forbidden" aspect of the romance. While I do feel the sneaking around dragged a bit by the end, I still found this really enjoyable overall.Although this is the ninth book in Harlow's Cloverleigh Farms series, focusing on the next generation of kids from the original couples, it was my first book by this author and I didn't have any issues picking this up so late in the game. I found the small-town setting charming and even though I'd never met them before, the cameos of previous couples made me want to know them immediately!This is an age-gap romance where Millie is 32 and Zach is 47 and while this trope isn't one that I naturally gravitate to, I'm glad that I didn't let that deter me from picking it up! As they're both older, they are definitely more mature and that came through in their interactions. They were great protagonists whose personalities easily came to life through the pages. I especially adored Millie, who was so easy to root for! She's charming, witty, and smart, and I loved her passion and how she determinedly pursued her big dreams. Although she's confident, happy and successful, she does wonder whether something's wrong with her when all three of her most recent exes met their forever partner after dating her. When she steps out of her comfort zone, she meets Zach and there's no looking back. While I liked Zach's character, I do feel he was a little less well-fleshed out than Millie. He's the stoic, older, slightly grumpy ex-Navy SEAL who's kind of haunted by the demons from his past; including childhood trauma, growing up in a broken home, and having a few anger issues. But I never doubted he was a good guy, with good intentions and although he struggled at times, he did his best to do the right thing.Together, they were explosive! Things get steamy really quickly between them as they have a one-night stand which ends up being so much more when they meet again a month later. Their feelings for each other were intense and although this got steamy quickly, I appreciated that we also got to see them get to know each other through texts, calls, and hanging out together, even if it was sneakily. It was really sweet and it also added some great tension and angst to the story every time they would say "it's the last time"—but of course, it wasn't. 😉 I do think the sneaking around went on for a little too long but ultimately, I still managed to really enjoy the story anyway.

So, Millie’s flight is cancelled due to a storm and she has to spend an extra night at her hotel, after a phone call to her sister, who basically tells her to do something she wouldn’t normally do, she gets herself dolled up and goes for a drink in the hotel bar, after some forceful advances from a man at the bar Zach comes to her rescue, the pair end up having a drink together, which leads to them spending an incredible night together in his room.When they go back to their lives neither can stop thinking about the other, but they both resign themselves to the fact that they’ll never see each other again. In the meantime Millie, a wedding planner, is planning the wedding for her ex boyfriend and the woman she introduced him to, and Zach finds out he has an adult son he never knew existed. Complicated right, well it’s about to get a lot more complicated when Zach attends his sons wedding and imagine his surprise when he finds out the wedding planner is the woman from the hotel he can’t stop thinking about, and also his sons ex girlfriend.I really enjoyed this, the chemistry between Zach and Millie was jumping off the page from the first time they met, I loved the way their relationship built, you could see they were perfect for each other. There was a bit of an age gap, Millie in her 30’s and Zach in his 40’s, but they both wanted different things out of life that caused a bit of angst, although things were resolved quite quickly.It’s been a while since I read the previous books in this series, but I sharp remembered all the characters that made cameos from previous books, although you could read this as a standalone and still enjoy it. I always enjoy Melanie Harlow books, and this was no exception, I definitely recommend it.

POV: First person / DualGenre: Age Gap / Ex-boyfriend’s Dad / Secret Romance / Small TownZach and Millie meet in New York when her flight get delayed due to the weather. Zach saves her from an unwanted encounter, after which they spend some time talking, before they have a night together that neither of them will forget. Zach gives Millie his contact details and despite wanting to reach out, they live so far apart that it seems impossible for anything to happen between them, so she lets it go.A few months later, she bumps into him again, in her hometown at a wedding she’s planning. And that wedding just happens to be that of her ex-boyfriend, and Zach, well Zach isn’t just a guest… he’s the grooms father…Whilst Tempt certainly begins as a one night stand romance, it was written in a way that ensured the tension and chemistry was still evident as the story progressed, the attraction between Zach and Millie is of course instant, yet felt incredibly authentic.Tempt was a perfectly balanced story, Zach is 47, and Millie is 32, so whilst there is an obvious age gap and that age gap came with their own challenges, both characters had a maturity that gave the book a wholesome and well rounded feel.Sometimes love is the biggest plot twist an author can give you, and this one played out so beautifully.

This was a steamy, age gap romance. I absolutely love Millie, with her confidence in her curves. She is a wedding planner and agrees to plan we ex’s wedding. She always seems to be a matchmaker for her ex’s.At a conference she meets Zach, a silver fox. They have a passionate one night stand.She meets him again a few weeks later and it comes as a shock because he is her ex’s recently connected dad!A great read with steamy scenes, I loved the storyline and the characters.