Review: The Temptation of Lila and Ethan (The Secret #3) by Jessica Sorensen

Friendship, Addiction and letting go

Title: The Temptation of Lila and Ethan
Series: The Secret
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Publisher: Sphere, UK
My ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
Released: 8th of May, 2014
Lila and Ethan have been friends for a long time. They know each other through common friends and when if they have moved away, Lila and Ethan have always remained in touch. They have always have had each other’s back. So, is there more to their friendship?

The Temptation of Lila and Ethan begins with Lila having woken up from too much parting and needs Ethan to give her a lift. He may not approve of her life style but he helps her anyway he can. Lila is in a whole lot of trouble. Her parents have cut her off and she has no money. She hasn’t paid her rent in months but that’s no problem for Lila. She is an addict to pain killers. Having a painful past, which is revealed later, she takes pills to keep functioning. One night she over-doses and Ethan find her passed out in somebody’s garden. This pushes Ethan to take her under his care and look after her.

My description above does not do justice to the story and the plot. This is my first time reading a Jessica Sorensen book but I can assure you, it won’t be the last. The book describes the story of two people who have a connection, which understanding and awareness of each other but they cannot afford to acknowledge it. They keep remaining friends but each yearns for the other’s company. The writing depicts it beautifully as to how two people can shed their baggage and overcome mountains just to be together.

I loved the chemistry between Ethan and Lila. Dual narration kept pushing the story along and I enjoyed reading both Lila’s and Ethan’s emotions as they slowly fell in love.

Sorensen’s writing is fluid and she knows where she is taking her characters. Lila’s dependency on her pills and her shaky mental status felt real and Ethan’s desperation to try and help her felt genuine.

The story dragged a little in the middle but the scenes between Lila and Ethan made it easier to sail through them. What bothered me a little towards the end was that Lila seemed so dependent on the life style and money spending but somehow towards the end it seemed to have been brushed off. She abandon’s her home and money but can it be so easy to let go of all the comforts and luxury she was used to. Furthermore, even if Lila’s pill addiction is harrowing and moving, it felt that she threw the habit a little too easily for me.

Regardless of my critical nit-picking, The Temptation of Lila and Ethan was a great book with characters and poignant story telling. Sorensen manages to bring these broken characters to life with oodles of chemistry, intense sexual tension, emotional journey and yet discovering who and what they are. I haven’t read the other books by Jessica Sorensen yet but I will be digging them out soon. Recommended for readers of quality New Adult books.

ARC received via Sphere, Little Brown Books, UK