Tempest in Eden is one of those books that I have missed out on in my quest to read all the titles by Sandra Brown. This one came to my notice I think through Amazon that does a wonderful job out of emptying my credit card every month by suggesting books that I definitely MUST have, most of which I never end up reading due to time constraints.Tempest in Eden tells the story of Shay Morrison, whose mother recently gets remarried. Meeting her stepbrother turns out to be one hell of an encounter, when she sees the man in the shower, completely naked, spellbinding Shay by the complete and utter deliciousness of his physique.From the moment Shay and Ian meet, it’s a clash of wills between the model that poses nude, someone who has no qualms about showing off parts of her body and Ian who is a Minister, who has devoted his life to serving God. Shay turns into a completely different person around Ian, her need to move past the indifference he shows towards her body and attempts to bring him to heel making her more frustrated and prone to childish tantrums than she believes herself possible.Tempest in Eden throws the hero and heroine into an intriguing scenario. A clash of wills as well as a clash of beliefs takes place. Shay is quick to anger, because she always ends up being defensive about her life and the career she has chosen. Her defensiveness and the walls she has built around her heart also stems from her past marriage, a marriage that had left its emotional mark on her.I loved Ian as a hero. He is gentle in his soul, understanding even when Shay tests his patience every now and again with her temper and physically a demanding lover who cannot get enough of the woman who holds him enslaved. I cannot say that I fell in love with Shay. There were times when I felt like shaking some sense into her and then there was the latter part of the story where she grew up and made me fall for her character, just a little.This might not be the best of Sandra’s work, but her talent nevertheless shines through in this short novel. A bit flowery in prose for my tastes perhaps, but the one thing that has held constant in her past novels, something that I miss in her present ones is that Sandra always manages to capture in her novels the essence of a wildly hedonistic sexual attraction that practically robs two people of their very breath in their desire to consume one another. And that is an emotion that is rarely captured in novels of today.Recommended for fans of Sandra Brown. Rating = 3.5/5 For more reviews & quotes, visit www.maldivianbookreviewer.com
I actually wanted to read this book because some of the reviews on it were so bad.. The premise of the book sounded interesting enough Shay Morrison, a nude model for artists, and Ian Douglas, a conservative minister. Her mother and his father had married and wanted everyone to meet at a cabin so everyone could get to know each other. Shay had not yet met the man her mother had married nor knew much about his son. They get off on the wrong foot when she catches him coming out of the shower and gets an eye full.. And that causes some conflict between the two (some funny).. She is also very attracted to him but after her first marriage ended because he wanted her to be something she wasnt she is very sensitive to thinking Ian is judging her and nothing could come of there attraction.. There journey from there is very sweet - with Shay still having alot of insecurities about the relationship.. There is a line from Shay that she was thinking about as she was waiting for Ian on there honeymoon - She longed for an adventurous sex life. But she didn't expect Ian to share her desire for variety and experimentation (cause of him being a minister). Boy was she wrong :)
What do You think about Tempest In Eden (2005)?
I have been mulling this one over for a few days. I'm not sure I liked the characters all the much. Shay is a nude model and Ian is a minister. In the beginning, Shay comes across as a beautiful, confident woman. She enjoys life and what she does for a living. After meeting Ian, she becomes uncertain and almost clingy. I didn't really understand why she would switch all of a sudden because of a man she met one weekend. I thought her behavior in the beginning was appalling. Honestly, why would a minister like Ian even think twice about a woman that acted like that toward him? Because he lusts after her. Being a minister, he won't sleep with her because they aren't married. So, guess what happens? They jump into marriage without really knowing each other and then wonder why they have issues after.Tempest in Eden is not Sandra Brown at her best. I've read better.
—Kari
I admit, I have never really read romance novels, but I have always felt that I was missing out on something. When I saw this book as a first reads giveaway, I figured that Sandra Brown was the perfect author to help get my romantic feet wet.This book was originally published in 1983 under a pseudonym. I really wish I had something to compare it to, and I will definitely have to read some of Sandra Brown's later work to see if her style has progressed.I found the hardest thing for me was getting attached to the characters. I just couldn't. I found the lead, Shay Morrison to be too unlikeable. Her flares of temper and overreactions distracted me from the potential plot, which was a little thin to begin with.The romantic scenes were steamy, no doubt, but I hardly felt it was enough to carry the book through to the end.
—Lindsay
I've won this book from the giveaway here on Goodreads. I haven't read any of Sandra Brown's books before so i really didn't knot what to expect.I loved the plot. A minister and a liberated nude model. An unlikely pair. But it will intrigue you how the story will evolve. Especially how their values will effect their relationship. But then again, i thought the story went so fast. One moment they have this gap from each other and the next moment they were married. Like nothing really happened until the end. I even thought the conflict will come after the marriage. The adjustments on both sides.This may not be one of her best. I still have another book written by her to read.
—Nyles
