I've spent my entire life in the small town of Sutten Mountain where everyone knows everyone and you can spot trouble from a mile away.
Camden is trouble.
He’s an arrogant, self-absorbed billionaire from the city with too much money and not enough manners.
And he just opened a fancy art gallery next door to my bakery.
So when he comes to me desperately needing a favor, I can't help but to propose a deal: I’ll cater his grand opening and in return he has to spend a day with me as a local–to experience the beauty and talent this town has to offer.
I expected him to see a different side of Sutten. What I didn’t expect was to see a different side of him.
Now instead of wanting him to leave, I find myself hoping he’ll stay. The more I see him fall for the town, the more I start to wonder if he could ever fall for me.
There’s just one problem. Camden Hunter doesn’t belong in my world, and I don’t belong in his.
He’s a flame and I’m gasoline, and the more we play with fire, the more I find myself questioning how long we can continue to tempt our fate.
Tempt Our Fate is a steamy small town, enemies to lovers, billionaire, age gap romance releasing September 21st. This will be the second book set in the fictional town of Sutten Mountain. It is a complete standalone.
Kat Singleton is a bestselling contemporary romance author best known for writing Black Ties and White Lies. She specializes in writing elite banter and angst mixed with a heavy dose of spice. Kat strives to write an authentically raw love story for her characters and feels that no book is complete without some emotional turmoil before a happily ever after.
She lives in Kansas with her husband, her two kids, and her two doodles. In her spare time, you can find her surviving off iced coffee and sneaking in a few pages of her current read.
Camden. Camden. Camden. Y’all are going to love this man. 👏🏻👏🏻
Gosh, I loved this from page one. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope ever and the banter and push & pull was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t get enough of Pippa and Camden and their growth as a couple.
I am not a cryer in books and I LOST IT at the end. Just beautiful. And everything Camden did made me MELT.
Chefs freaking kisses Kat - you killed it! 🫶🏻
✨enemies to lovers ✨billionaire romance ✨small town ✨age gap (she’s 23: he’s 36) ✨independent & feisty FMC ✨HE HAS GOT A MOUTH 🥵 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
“The most annoying thing about men is they always assume that you actually give a damn what they’re talking about.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Pippa “I don’t remember her last name, but she’s still iconic.” When I tell you, there was no better way to start out a book than this, I mean it wholeheartedly. I was prepared to make this my entire personality. The introduction was promising….until it wasn’t.
I slept through more of this book than I didn’t. As a resident smut lover, there was way too much of it. I couldn’t tell you anything about the plot except them getting down and dirty with it. Even then, it was awkward and snooze-worthy. There were some moments that had me absolutely gagged in the best way possible, don’t get me wrong. But more times than not, I was thinking, even if a fictional man ever said these words to me, I would laugh.
I love a good nickname, but these are starting to get ridiculous. While shortcake isn’t the most insane pet name I’ve ever seen, we need to start normalizing the classics. Call her babe, baby for all I care, just leave the food out of it. Please. I am begging you.
There was so much personality for the author to dive into. Don’t worry, I’ve come with receipts.
what the people needed to see: - The death of Pippa’s mom and the impact it left on her. It was touched on a little, but the author never took it all the way. I respect that it may’ve been a line the author didn’t feel comfortable crossing, but it shouldn’t have been brought up and then placed on the back burner. - Camden’s childhood. I will live on this hill until my last, waking breath. Once again, another plot point that was hung out to dry. - Camden’s relationship with art. - Pippa’s dad just casually calling Camden 'son' when she introduces him?! Ugh, this could’ve created so much more nuance.
what the people didn’t need to see: - Cade and Mare. Say what you want to say, but it added absolutely nothing to this story. I was confused trying to remember if it all lined up correctly. - Beck and Margo. Once again, they contributed literally nothing. - Winnie and what’s-his-name? See a trend yet?
The writing style, as I mentioned, was uncomfortable, to say the least.
“I’ll take the same thing as this morning, and then I’d like to add a specialty drink that helps with sickness.”
Perhaps it’s just me, but it’s the little details that create a story. In this instance, it’s the menu. No effort was put into that aspect of world-building, despite its dominating presence in the story. Pippa’s bakery is supposedly the air she breathes, yet anytime it’s mentioned, the audience is only told that she sells pastries and coffee. What kind of pastries? Does she sell any other drinks than coffee? What was this “specialty drink”? It would’ve taken all but two seconds to call this beverage a chamomile tea. She could’ve copied a recipe from Starbucks for all I care. For someone who supposedly consumes herself with work, she does almost none of it this entire story. We aren’t even aware of what sickness Pippa has come down with. It was a ploy to once again tick all the boxes in an attempt to make a seemingly marketable romance.
Now let’s talk tropes…yikes.
Enemies-to-lovers, except you only understand why they’re enemies if you read the previous book, and even then, you’re still unsure because it’s almost never delved into.
Billionaire romance except his financial status isn’t brought up much and even when it is, you’re probably questioning if he’s part of some underground circle of crime because you don’t know how he has that much money until almost the end of the book.
Opposites attract, except I’ve never read two characters more alike than them, and by alike, I mean stubborn, petty, and unable to communicate like adults.
Forced proximity, except they only have neighboring storefronts which they can willingly leave at any time…? And they do because he lives in New York…? The man wasn’t even in Sutten Mountain for a good portion of the book.
I would say there was a third-act breakup, but they didn’t put a label on it so…
The point I’m trying to make is that this book was mismarketed and instead of trying to check off a list of tropes that readers are raving for at the moment, it would be more beneficial to explore the true nature of the characters and establish the story based on that.
A lot of the time, the banter just missed. It was embarrassing to sit through. I felt like I was scrolling through Pinterest circa 2015 when those “baddie comebacks” infographics were still a thing.
words + phrases I can’t believe and wish I didn’t read: - townie - pound town - talking about anyone putting their seed in anyone
But the ending! I wish the author would’ve brought the same energy from the conclusion of the book and applied it everywhere else. There was more depth in the epilogue than there was in the entire novel.
Unfortunately, my time in Sutten Mountain is over. Even though Rewrite Our Story wasn’t my cup of tea either, it spurred excitement in me for Pippa and Camden’s book. Much to my dismay, it didn’t live up to my expectations and there isn’t a pairing or even individual character that intrigues me enough to keep going.
I so badly wanted to love this book the way everyone else did because it’s clear by the acknowledgments that the author truly does care about her readers and she poured every ounce of her being into this book. So while it may not be my cup of tea, I’m manifesting it’s yours.
I’m still debating on my rating, but my instincts are telling me not to rate this more than three stars.
Everywhere she turns, Pippa is running into the infuriating man from New York City.
Once annoyed by her quirkiness (and clumsiness), Camden begins to find her endearing. Yet he’s not equipped for small town life, let alone the feelings she evokes.
Sutten Mountain brings out the best in people and Camden is no exception. I loved the evolution of the grump to teddy bear.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 Burn: 🔥🔥🔥 Darkness: 🤍 Heat: 🌶️ Range of Emotions: 😠🥺🥵🥹😍 Ending: 💗 {HEA} POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (13), Alphahole, Enemies-to-Lovers, Opposites Attract, Rich AF, Small Town
OH MY GOD!! HOW DOES SHE DO IT?! How does Kat Singleton write banger after BANGER!!!
One word to describe this book, to describe Pippa and Camden, perfect! Small town, Billionaire, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, opposites attract, age gap, only one horse!!! This book was perfect!!
The mix of small town and billionaire was everything I could’ve wanted and more! The best of both worlds!!
I seriously cannot put into words how much I loved this book! Tempt Our Fate has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.
Thank you so so much to Kat for sending me an ARC of Tempt Our Fate, I had the best time reading!
I fell in love with Kat when I read this first book of this series and since then I’ve confined to fall in love with this woman and the words she creates. The plot to spice ratio, the men, the side characters. I love it all!!
Camden & Pippa were no exception. I loved them from the first book & into this one and getting their scenes in another book, but from a different perspective made it. Pippa is such an amazing character and I loved that she made decisions based on what was best for her and her business and he had to figure out how to fit in. HUGE PROPS TO PIPPA!
Camden was hot, as always. I loved his character wayyyyy more than I thought I would because normally enemies to lovers isn’t my favorite trope but his inner monologue changed that for me on this book.
Cannot wait for book 3 - to the point in which I would like to hibernate till it gets here so I don’t have to wait that long 🤣
You’ll love this book if you love ✨ enemies to lovers ✨ girl boss FMC ✨ small town ✨ opposites attract ✨ billionaire ✨ “good girl”🫠
Ehhh, this wasn't for me. It was very much insta-lust and the relationship from "enemy" to something went from 0-100. 🤷♀️
It took me awhile to warm up to Camden. I think I only started to like him around the 65% mark. It's kind of hard to get past his asshole phase, but I come around to tolerate then eventually like him.
As for Pippa, I did like her dedication to her store and her love for baking. But I didn't like that she was the main pursuer in the beginning because Camden's acting like a petulant teenager, despite the fact that he's almost 40. 🥴 And her body-betraying crap was so embarrassing. You think with all her "sass," she would hold her ground, but nah, that didn't happen. 😮💨 She made me shake my head for getting attracted to someone who treated her like crap. I can't even imagine doing that. I would probably wish for the ground to open up and swallow me whole if that time ever came around.
And the romance was unbelievable. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the sudden transition in their relationship status. I mean, one minute they were trying to hate each other, then the next they were kissing and being all over each other. I mean, did I miss anything? 🤔
Also, don't get me started with the degradation kink. Usually, I'm okay with this, but for some reason, when Camden does that, I feel so uneasy. It felt so forced, and I can't stop cringing every time I read any of that. 😳
So to say it another way, this didn't work for me. I honestly wish it did, but we like what we like. 🤷♀️
This book had me hooked right from the start. Pippa has lived in Sutten her whole life and owns a bakery there. She wants to expand it, but Camden Hunter buys the space she wants before she can, so he can open up an art gallery.
Pippa and Camden couldn’t be more different. It seems like every time they interact, things start off on the wrong foot. They’re always butting heads with each other.
Pippa is my new favorite FMC. She’s a total powerhouse, showing incredible strength and resilience in everything she faces. She’s hardworking, determined, full of energy, passion, and a spark that lights up any room.
Camden gives off an arrogant vibe. He’s closed off and wants nothing to do with the town. One night he’s desperate for help, and only Pippa can help him, but she will only do it if Camden spends the day with her in the town. That’s when we finally get to see his softer side and that deep down he’s a sweetheart. He’s also freaking hot 🥵 and calls her shortcake.
I loved both of them so much. Pippa is grieving the loss of her mother and taking care of everyone, but no one is taking care of her until Camden shows her that it’s okay to have someone else take care of you. Camden’s story was also heartbreaking. I loved seeing him fight the emotions he carries from his childhood and open up to Pippa.
The best part about this book is their banter, tension, chemistry, and oh, the spicy scenes. I mean, this book is a real panty-dropper. It had me on the edge of my seat.
⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ Five freaking stars for sure. This is the first book I’ve read of Kat’s and I will definitely be reading more. I loved everything about this book including the cover artwork which is my current favorite. I really adored Pippa and Camdens relationship. I read this in one sitting and was unable to put it down until I finished (forget about sleeping). Camden deserved everything and more and I’m so glad he finally got his happy ending. He deserved to feel real love at least once in his life. You could really tell throughout the book that Camden would do anything for Pippa to be happy. The only thing about this book that semi bothered me, but not enough to change my rating is that they got over the enemies part of their relationship fairly quickly. When reading enemies to lovers book I expect them to be enemies for a good portion, but they got over their dislike pretty early on in the book. There also really wasn’t a third act breakup which I’m a huge fan of <3.
4.5⭐️ I loved so much about this, it was steamy & I loved the small town charm. If the girls a baker I’m sold 😂 this small town series is so fun and I just love the men Kat writes 🫠 she has a gift
To sum up this entire book in a sentence, it would be "Hero lusting after heroine and wanting to get into her pants". That's it, that's the entire book.
At first I thought the age difference between the couple might be 4-5 years max, with H older than h. Never had I thought that the H would be 13 years older than h. He was so childish and acting stupid you might wonder if he really was a 37 year old man.
And from the moment they met in this book, all H had thought about was getting in h's pants. I'm not even kidding, every POV you'll read of H in this book, you'll see him wanting to get in her pants or think about how it would feel to be inside her.
Skipped the first book because of bad reviews, and thought it would give me a chance for this one because of the good reviews and no one warned me about a man-child lusting over a woman 13 years younger than him.
I've no problem with age gap romance, in fact I enjoy reading them, but what I read here felt more like a man lusting over the woman rather than falling in love with her.
-small town -enemies to lovers -age gap -billionaire -top-tier banter
the second i saw that daylight by taylor swift was on the playlist for this book it was an automatic 5 stars!! but seriously though i ATE this book up! small town bakery owner & billionaire gallery owner, two different worlds, & LOTS of banter
let’s start with my girl pippa!! from the first page i already knew she was going to be a new fave fmc. she has a lot of attitude and confidence, she stood up for herself when she was treated poorly, she was quick witted and dished out banter like nobody’s business, she is loyal to those she cares about, she adores her hometown of sutten mountain, & she’s a pink girlie through & through (seriously pippa could rival barbie)💗💞💕💖 pippa is everything that you’d want to grow up to be. her character is seriously so incredibly written. my favorite thing about her (other than her sassy attitude) is how much she cares about those around her and how much her home means to her.
okay now camden, he is EVERYTHING! so grumpy and closed off. he’s a tourist in sutten mountain who buys the gallery next to pippa’s bakery. he’s there for one reason & that’s to expand his gallery. he doesn’t care about local artists or the town until he gets to know pippa. soon he begins to understand what small towns like sutten mountain can represent and how local artists can be just as talented as nyc artists. camden has his guard up but i loved seeing him shed some of those layers around pippa. he loves to rile pippa up which led to top-tier banter, crazy tension, & a whole lot of chemistry. and let me tell you camden hunter has a mouth & he loves to praise what’s his😮💨
together pippa & camden are the perfect couple, i love how we got to see them transition from bad first impressions to enemies to so much more. i love seeing character growth and camden definitely had so much in this book! he was so gone for pippa and i LOVED it!! & when you find out the meaning behind his nickname for her it just makes you fall even more in love🥹
kat’s writing is phenomenal as always!! i love how she can weave together a great plot & amazing spicy scenes so effortlessly. the spice is always the perfect amount and blends in with the storyline so it never feels overdone or forced. would definitely recommend to my small town girlies🧁🖼️🐴🍰💵🫦😮💨👏🏼
Maybe I’m just burnt out w these types of romances but this was so boring to me lmao. Nothing objectively wrong with it and it was sweet and spicy
I know I like the author sometimes- Black ties White lies was fun bc it had a touch of forbidden but I DNFed rewrite our story bc it was also boring (also childhood second chance : jumping back and forth in time is my least favorite)
Just need her to do more exciting things in her romances plz thank you
🔹 Tropes: 〰 Age gap 〰 Care taking scene 〰 Enemies to lovers (although they get over the “enemies” part super quickly lol) 〰 Small town romance 〰 Only one horse 〰 Different social classes 〰 She owns a bakery and he’s an artist (sculptor)
I can always count on Kat to deliver when it comes to an angsty and steamy small town romance. I hadn't imagined falling so hard for Camden and Pippa, but here we are. Camden was the definition of cold from the outside but a total teddy bear/softie on the inside. Pippa was the perfect match for him and I loved seeing how he slowly let her in and let himself be loved the way he deserved to be loved. Pippa was just this perfect, bright and sunshiney character that I adored. Also the jealousy scenes? I'm sorry but a J/P hero will never NOT hit. The smut was *chef's kiss* (Kat wasn't lying when she wrote the dedication😏) - I was literally blushing during the smutty scenes y'all frrrrrr🥵 I don't think I'll ever get enough of reading back to back smutty chapters lmao *screams in chapter 39* With that being said, this book did also get me all in my feels because Camden? I'd let that man ruin my life tbh. The way he confessed his love for Pippa and his nickname for her (which has a special meaning btw) melted my heart and made me so soft for him. I absolutely cannot wait to read more books by Kat Singleton and I'm so excited for the next book in the Sutten Mountain series!!!
*Thank you to Kat Singleton and Valentine PR for providing me with an ARC! ••• It's 10:30 pm here. I stayed up to finish reading this book. And I'm currently sobbing because this was so beautiful. RTC.
Ummmm what a freaking masterpiece!!!???? I am so in love with the town of Sutten & CAMDEN & PIPPA ARE THE BEST & MY FAVES OF THE SERIES! I love the found family we get with small towns & we get SO much of that here. The characters are so dang good! I was cackling on numerous occasions 🫶
God I knew I was going to love their story but it really blew me away. The ending had my BAWLING, and y’all that does not happen very often. Camden is 100000% perfect. And his relationship with his gran >> the sweet gestures >> when he takes care of her when she’s sick >> he’s so freaking swoony!!
Also… I was not expecting this book to be as smoking hot as it was because it was so emotionally stunning but my lord it had me hot & bothered!!! Camden has the dirtiest freaking mouth I’m still weak in the knees thinking about it!
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Tropes: Enemies to lovers Age gap Close proximity Small town Billionaire Only one horse (lollll) Broken hero Found family
This book! OMG!!! Camden…hello new book boyfriend. I absolutely devoured this book, the chemistry between the two characters, the banter, the romance. I was eating it up!
Billionaire romance, enemies to lovers, small town, what else could I ask for?
This was my first book by Kat and it won’t be the last! I adored her writing and fell so seamlessly into the world she created.
- Billionaire - Enemies to lovers - Small town - Angst - Banter - GOOD GIRL🫠
This is the second book in the Sutten Mountain series and in my opinion must be read in order to avoid spoilers.
OH MY GOOSSHHH y’all, I straight up devoured this book! I had some high expectations as I’ve been anticipating this release, but consider every expectation met. Without a doubt one of my top reads of the year. I loved every single thing about it. Pippa is perfect. Camden is perfect. Their chemistry is perfect. Their banter is perfect. Plus getting glimpses of Beck and Margo (Black Ties and White Lies) as well Mare and Cade (Rewrite Our Story)!?Perfect! 🤷🏻♀️ All the emotions. All the stars.
I am already so excited to see what’s next for Sutton Mountain. I do have a couple of theories about who the next book(s) might feature, but let’s be honest, at this point I’ll consume anything Kat writes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🔥🔥🔥
I received an eARC for Tempt Our Fate and I am voluntarily posting my own honest review.
From chapter 1 I loved the witty banter wrapped up in steamy tension so much. It was fun to read them going from clenching their teeth to being each other’s constant. Their first meeting in this book had me hooting with laughter. There were so many funny moments AND moments that made my heart heavy. The book certainly had depth and leaves you with deep emotions. I enjoyed all the charming (and hilarious) staples of an interfering small town this book had. Like meddling people, their care for each other, unending gossips and everyone standing up for each other. Rosemary was a menace and her scenes were so freaking funny.
Camden was my favourite in the story. He was such a dirty talker🤭! I loved pippa till 84% of the book. Then she ruined it all for me. Till then the book was solid 5🌟. (Minor spoilers ahead)
I needed her to make the right choice. Instead she bolted at the first sign of hardship. That irked me so much especially because of Cam’s past. And because of that I didn’t enjoy the last part and believe in Pippa’s confession. Relationship means staying together and solving problems when they arise. Not what Pippa did. Yeah, I get it, Pippa is an impulsive person and she panicked but that doesn’t mean she should blame the wrong person and do what she did especially after Cam’s assurances and confession. Also it was all Camden who did the gestures when it should be Pippa. I expected at least on from her. Cam deserved it.
But this might not bother you so I think you should definitely give this book a chance as it is really good with solid writing. I definitely enjoyed the writing style.
—small town romance. —opposite attracts, grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers.
P.s I loved the bromance between Beck and Cam. They were such a cuties together.
DNF at 20%. Maybe I’m just in a grumpy mood, but this writing style just wasn’t for me. I was bored and everything the FMC and MMC did was overly narrated and repetitive. (E.g. I’m sitting here, I looked over there, She’s standing there, She’s holding two cups, etc.). It’s hard to explain, but the narration just felt very mediocre and elementary.
I also really disliked the FMC. She came across extremely judgmental and snobby. I get that she loves her small town, but she completely tears down NYC and people from there. Even pointing out to say the MMC grew up with “dirty streets and air pollution”. Listen, I get it. It’s a small town romance and small towns can be wonderful, but you don’t have to put down big cities or the people from them. Both can be great in their own ways. She also judged Camden solely bc he’s from NYC and is really rude to him for no reason.
And there were just too many cringey moments / conversations that made reading more awkward and uncomfortable, instead of funny and entertaining. The entire salon scene was just a big NO for me. From the use of the word “boinking” to the older women telling Pipa she needs to find someone to “plant their seed” in her…JUST ICK!
Oh my word I did NOT want this to end 😭 this book genuinely made me feel every single emotion and I’m so in love with every character.
I was soooo excited to go back to this world because of how much I loved Rewrite our Story, and I was nervous I wouldn’t love Tempt our Fate as much…..
But I was SO wrong oh my goodness!!! Kat is a true mastermind when it comes to writing these characters and their story!! Pippa was so loveable and I was rooting for her no matter which direction she went. She felt so real and I just adore her character so much. And Camden?? I’m sorry Cade but you’ve been topped! 😂 I love how much Camden was willing to do for Pippa and how he let himself open up to her. Watching him grow into who he was by the end of the story was seriously heartwarming 🥹
I also loved the snippets of Cade and Mare from the first book and the snippets of Beck and Margo from BT&WL! Also rosemary is literally me and I love her 😂
Tropes: Forced proximity, opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine, small town romance, billionaire romance
This was sweet, sometimes cheesy and a tad too many smut scenes. Yes Camden had a filthy mouth and it was hot, but similar to book 1 the scenes were becoming too much after a while. I didn't love this the way I loved the first book. Honestly it was a little boring after a while, ended up skimming a bit because nothing was really happening. I did like the age gap tho it was never an issue with them but wish there would've been more depth to Camden. I was really anticipating this and am sad I didn't love it
“Other people’s feelings have never really been my business. Except right now, I want to know every single feeling she’s ever felt, everything she’s feeling. I want to know everything about her.”
“Pippa Jennings-the woman I yelled at the moment we met-is stealing pieces of my cold, black heart. She’s breathing life back into it, and I don’t have it in me to fight, even when I know it can’t end well.”
“She beams at me, breathing life into my chest. I used to think it was cold, dark, and empty where my heart should be. The only person I ever really loved is Gran-and maybe Beck. But I thought it’d forever be desolate for a woman. It turns out I think it was just waiting for Pippa.”
Pippa and Camden are like oil and vinegar. They don’t mix. They are from two completely different worlds. And yet when Camden opens his art gallery next to Pippa’s bakery, they find themselves thrown together. And as time goes on, they go from hating each other to loving each other. And would do anything to make a life together. I love their story so much!!
Tropes: Small Town Enemies to Lovers Billionaire He Takes Care Of Her