TEMPORARY
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Authors: Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry
Release Date: September 12, 2017
The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen is the one who can ruin everything…
The first time I lay eyes on Callan Walker, I know he’ll be trouble. With his smug grin, hot Aussie accent and thousand dollar shoes, he’s just the kind of rich guy who always gets what he wants.
And he wants two things: a night of sin, and my cooperation as he outmaneuvers his powerful mother to take control of his uncle’s estate.
I can’t afford either one. I’m the only thing standing between my little sister and the foster care system. He may have money and charm on his side, but I have something even more powerful — pure desperation. This temp job at his mother’s company can become a full time job for me. It has to.
But when Callan’s eyes rake over my body, sometimes I forget my obligations. His piercing gaze finds the fun, optimistic girl I used to be and not the tired person I’ve become.
And it works–if only for a moment. Our night together was a mistake. I can’t afford to get sucked into his high-powered family’s treachery. But the closer I get to Callan, the more layers I find beneath those expensive clothes. Though I can’t forget this is temporary. He’s temporary. I have too much to lose.
Too bad my foolish heart didn’t get the memo…
LANA’S REVIEW4
The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen is the one who can ruin everything…”
A woman barely making ends meet and a playboy that holds a piece to one of the world’s most powerful business empires couldn’t possibly have anything in common…or could they?
Grace is barely keeping a roof over her head while taking care of her teenage sister. With an addict for a mother and a father long out of the picture, Grace is all her sister Olivia has. A temp job for the Walker empire is exactly the chance that she needs. The possibility of turning it into a permanent position is what she hopes. But finding herself at the beck and call of the powerful and cold head of the business is not what she expects. When her assignment is to make sure that the estate of her boss’s recently passed brother are documented and quickly taken care of, the last thing she needs is the meddling of the prodigal son.
Callah has left behind everything that made him a Walker. A ruthless mother that cares nothing for his happiness, and a sister blindly serving his mother’s whims, his beloved uncle was the only person that showed him any love. He’ll be damned if he allows his estate and life to be packed up in boxes with a cold efficiency that only his mother is capable of. The one thing he doesn’t anticipate is the beautiful temp sent to do his mother’s bidding.
Temporary was a slow build that admittedly I struggled a bit to get into at first. The first 30% really sets everything up, but at a pace that didn’t quite hook me. I immediately fell for the main characters. There was always so endearing about both Grace and Callan. Perhaps it was the fact that there’s so much more to them than first meets the eye. Callan is not the typical bad boy and playboy that you expect. This is a man with plenty of depth to him, and the more you find out about him, the harder you fall for him. Grace is a woman that’s barely getting by, but there’s this tenacity to her that you can’t help but respect. She’s doing her best and try as she might to ignore the pull to the handsome man that she has no business getting involved with, inevitably it proves to be too much.
The secondary characters of Claire and Olivia added to the mix perfectly and come the second half, I was hooked. This was a delicious slow burn romance with characters that you can’t help but root for. It was swoony, sexy, humorous, and utterly endearing.
GERI’S REVIEW
I love both Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry so when I heard they’re co-writing a book, I was ecstatic! I mean, two of my faves in one book? Take my money already! My expectations are quite high and fortunately, I liked it! I liked it a lot!
This is another slow burn romances where their feelings sort of built over time. I personally love stories where the hero underestimates the heroine at first and vice versa, only to have that expectation slowly turned on its head. Temporary is like that.
Callan thought that Grace is another shark in heels, willing to do anything to get a position at his family’s company. His prejudice is a result of his past experience with his family and how his mother runs the business. Nevertheless, Callan is wrong on both counts. One, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious. Two, Grace’s motivation is so far from what Callan initially thought.
At first I was nervous about the clear power imbalance between Grace and Callan. But Grace has agency and she uses it despite being attracted to her son’s boss that when she gave in to her attraction, it didn’t feel like she was manipulated in any way. It was clear that she knew the score and she knew what could happen but did it anyway because she was starting to have feelings for him.
The conflict between Callan and Grace felt organic. It was set up perfectly and wasn’t just added for drama sake.
I have some issues with the main antagonist in this book a little bit because she seems like the typical Disney-esque villain with cliched motivation. But that said, I do feel like there are some things about this character that hasn’t been revealed yet. And we might get more of it in the next book about the hero’s sister. Or at least that’s what I feel. I could be wrong.
Speaking of sister, I want Claire’s story. I’m intrigued by her and there’s something more to her than just her mother’s pawn or something. I also liked Olivia. Sarina & Sarah was able to capture teenage angst very well.
Despite not being 5-star perfect, Temporary is a solid start for this new duo. And yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more!
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