Laura’s Review of Uncontrollable Temptations (Tempted, #3) by Janine Infante Bosco

Synopsis

Jack “Bulldog” Parrish

Crazy: Mentally deranged, especially as manifested in a wild or aggressive way.

I was thirteen when I discovered the definition of the word I’d forever be labeled.

Some used it as a figure of speech but for me it was a scar I’d carry through life.

Or so I believed until I was diagnosed a manic depressive.

I’m the president of the Satan’s Knights Motorcycle Club, a man of power and control.

A man with enemies near and far.

But the truth, my truth, is my biggest enemy— my mind and I live most of my life with no control whatsoever.
I’m just a man who battles his demons, a man destined to live a life full of darkness.

Until her.

She’s the light beckoning me, calling me home, away from the torment.

In a world as dark as the one I live in, sometimes I can’t help but crave Sunshine.

Reina DeCarlo

I was lost, broken and a prisoner of my scars.

A shell of the woman I used to be, who didn’t know the difference between living and merely existing.

Until a stranger found me, fixed and freed me. He breathed life into my soul, reminding me I was a survivor and still had life to live.

My savior is a biker.

A man tortured by his own scars. A man broken like me, maybe even a little lost too.

I want to be his remedy.

I want to heal him.

I want to return the favor and be his savior.

This is our story, a story neither of us knew how to write until we found each other.

 

What I Loved

              I really loved the prologue because it sucked me in and my heart instantly broke for Jack and all he had lost.  I had tears in my eyes about 2 minutes into the book and I love stories that can make me emotional.  The fact that this story did that to me almost immediately was pretty impressive.  Jack’s loss was so acute and on the surface I fell for him instantly and wanted him to find some sort of happy ending.  I was delighted to see he found some sort of sunshine the minute he laid eyes on Reina but I knew it was going to be a pretty rough road to achieve that. 

          Reina’s character was a woman I could get behind because she was so real and gritty which made me become more emotionally involved in the story even more then I already was.  Her pain might’ve been a little bit more hidden than Jack’s but it was there none the less and it gripped my heart just the same. 

          There was a lot going on in this book and a lot of times where my eyes were bugging out of my head or my jaw was on the floor.  No MC romance would be complete without a bad guy, tons of action, and some pretty close calls; this book was filled with that.  But of course amongst all this craziness swirling around Jack, his passion for Reina poured off the pages and definitely sizzled whenever the two of them were alone together.  It was great to watch Jack and Reina fall in love with each other but also heart breaking at times as well.  Definitely a story that sucked me in and kept my attention to the very end.

Not So Much

          I know this is a series but each story features a new story and a new couple so I felt comfortable with this being the first book I read in the series. However, it all felt a little unorganized, especially in the beginning. 

There was a lot going on and although some of it was explained, the transitions from plot to plot was unorganized and that made it hard to keep track of what was going on.  The plot began with Jack’s loss then bounced to the backstory of his brother for example, without a lot of explanation.  Making me very confused and disorientated with the plot.  For me, it made the foundation a little weak at times so I wish there were better transitions to fill in the holes more. 

I get that if I read the other books in this series I probably would’ve understood it more, but for the people that won’t do that there should have been maybe a couple paragraphs covering things better.  There are a ton of characters in this book and I’m sure there will be continue to be a lot throughout the series, so more organization would’ve served the plot better.

To Sum It All Up!

        Overall this was a very gripping story of extreme loss, depression, love, passion and ton of action.  There is a lot going on and every scene is jam packed which makes it easy to read and kept me captivated from beginning to end. 

There was so much to love when it came to both Reina and Jack, no matter what their actions were.  Jack is a dark character fighting a lot of demons but that just made me love him more and I loved watching him fight back the darkness to get to that sunshine.  Reina saw her future in Jack and understood that he was worth fighting for, knew it would be tough and fought for him anyway.  I loved that not only was Jack the dark character in this story, but that Reina had her own demons to battle and overcome as well.  She was not some innocent wide eyed virgin learning the ropes of a Motor Cycle club.  Although she was certainly a fish out of water at times, Reina had earned her own scars and finally realized she had a life she wanted to live and wanted Jack by her side.

I do wish the story was little bit more organized at times but I understand I would’ve gotten more of the plot if I had read the other books in the series.  I do love reading series likes these in order, but I also like to come in the middle sometimes to give it another perspective.  I will say though that I cannot wait to dive into books one and two and learn more about these amazing characters.  A very compelling story that hooked me instantly and left a smile on my face at the end.  Great closure at the end with some bittersweet moments but there is HEA so if that’s what you’re looking for then this is the story for you!