TRIGGER WARNING: This book features homophobia, vague but on-screen attempt of sexual assault via drugging, and references to childhood abuse.
This is my first AT Brennan novel, one I picked solely because the blurb sounded really interesting. I am glad that I did, because this book absolutely delighted me.
Tempt Me is the story of introverted and slightly socially awkward Wesley and his more outgoing and far friendlier new coworker, Jude. Both men are in the closet for their own reasons, despite the fact that they work in a very queer friendly space. When Jude comes to work at Rebel Mechanics, he catches Wes's eye immediately. Wes catches Jude's eye as well. Both men handle this differently. For Wes, he throws up walls and has a hard time letting Jude in. Jude, on the other hand, tries to strike up conversations and develop a friendship.
Meanwhile, they are both talking online anonymously on an app called Chatz, where they don't realize its the other that they're talking to, leading to some hilarious internal monologue as they both anguish over the fact that they have feelings for two different men. Luckily, this is a plot thread that gets cleared up before anything real begins between them offline.
I think my favorite thing about this book was the depth that Brennan put into the characters of Wesley and Jude. It was clear where both of these men were coming from, their reasons for staying in the closet, and the individual traumas they bring to the table. Not only does Brennan make these things clear, but the issues are handled with a lot of care. None of it feels superfluous or something put into the character's history for spice. Instead, the issues all feel very real and explain parts of their personalities. The side characters, whether they were characters from previous books or characters created to add depth to our leads, were well written. Several of them seemed, at first, to exist solely as a hurdle or misunderstanding between the two men but, the moment given a chance, surprised me quite a lot.
I will say that a good portion of the issues in this book, at least at first, could've been solved with actual communication and conversations. I was very glad when those started happening, especially as these conversations started a good trend of communication between the characters.
In all, this book had some angst in it, a good amount of steam, and a couple you wanted to root for. The chemistry was tangible and the relationship felt real, like there was more there than just a physical attraction. The emotional connection was evident between these characters and it sated me.
** ARC PROVIDED BY GRR FOR HONEST REVIEW **