Synopsis
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ella and Micha series comes a gripping story of passion, pain, and the courage to love . . .
THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN
On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden-which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.
Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.
When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?
4.5 star review by Jen Skewes
We start with Lila at the age of 14 where her parents decide that the only way to keep her inline is to send her to boarding school. We quickly see the type of parents that really are. Lila's family is rich and their only concern is their image. Their main concern in life is keeping up appearances, not caring what happens to their children but doing everything they can to make sure their children don't do anything to ruin their image. They are quite frankly the poorest excuse for parents and two people that should never have had children. The way they treat Lila will completely break your heart. Nothing she does is ever good enough for them. Even if she is doing everything perfect, it still is not good enough. An incident in boarding school lead Lila to become the woman that she is today. Her parents were not there to comfort her, tell her it was ok and help her to move past it. Instead her mother called her names, blamed her for what happend and was basically kicking her while she was already down. Her parents took any ounce of self esteem that she may have had and destroyed it. She is now in college, and trying to support herself. She lives a life filled with meaningless sex and pills to help drown out the pain. The pills leave her feeling numb, help her forget. There is only one constant in her life, one person who actually gives a dam about her and that is Ethan Gregory.
Ethan Gregory is just as damaged and broken as Lila. He has his own demos from his past that he is fighting. He was in love once with a girl named London, or at least he thought it was love. But he walked away years ago for reasons I will not discuss. But since then he has been carrying around the guilt and the pain of what he left behind and what happened once he left. He hasn't been able to move on in life because he hasn't been able to say goodbye to the past. He needs to learn to let go, but he just isn't ready.
Ethan and Lila have a special friendship. He was is always there for her when she needs him. Always there to help her pick up the pieces. No matter what, Lila can always count on Ethan. His friendship with Lila is one that means a lot to him. So much that he tries his best to keep it in the friend zone. They have this undeniable connection and they both know that it is there but Ethan does everything in his power to stay away. But the more time the spend together, the more time Ethan helps Lila heal the more they both realize the feelings that they have for each other. But in order to move forward with each other and have a future together, they need to say goodbye to their past.
"I know when it's over she'll mean more to me than any other girl ever has. The surprising thing is, I really don't care. In fact, I'm glad."
I loved Ethan almost as much as I love Micha....almost. He was a partier and had sex with countless woman but underneath it all he had a heart. He was sweet, loving and caring and helped Lila in every way possible. Ethan helped save Lila in so many ways. He helped open her up to a world filled with feelings. Instead of always feeling numb. And I think in a way Lila saved him as well. His feelings for Lila helped him to confront the past and move on from it. They both came from two different worlds but were so perfect together. My heart broke for everything that Lila went thorugh. The people that she should have been able to count on, who should have loved her unconditionally, completely failed her. They lead her to the life that she was living and felt no remorse for any of it. It was all about them and nothing more.
"He's poor, drives a truck, and I'm pretty sure every word he's ever said to me is real. He didn't bail on me, even when things got tough-he actually tried to help me, something no one's ever done."
Lila and Ethan's story was emotional, intense and so real. What I loved about this book was that it was truly Lila and Ethan;s story. We saw bits of Micha and Ella but it was strictly about them, about their pasts, their struggles, their demons. This is the journey of two very broken souls who found comfort in each other, and who found themselves again. Ethan was amazing in the way he cared for and took care of Lila. When some of her secrets from her past were revealed, he never judged her. Their journey wasn't an easy one. There were many bumps and obstacles along the way. But they faced them together. That moment when they finally gave into their feelings was simply perfect. I loved Lila and Ethan. Amazing job by Jessica Sorensen.
Excerpt
“Why is this bothering you so much?”
“It’s not,” she snaps, turning her back to me. “I was just wondering why. That’s all.”
I stare at the back of her head as she rests her chin on her knees, staring out at the desert land. “It seems like you’re bothered,” I point out.
Her shoulders lift and descend as she shrugs. “If you leave, then I’ll be alone.” She mutters it so quietly I can barely hear her.
I’m silent for a while, unsure what to say or if there’s anything I can say—want to say. “You can come with me.” It slips out and I want to smack myself on the head. Taking her with me would defeat the purpose of escaping the noise and people, yet at the same time I know I’d miss her if I left her behind.
She glances over her shoulder with skepticism on her face. “Could you imagine me living in your truck, because I sure as heck can’t.”
“Why not?” Again, what the hell is wrong with my mouth? Why can’t I just let it go? She’s giving me such an easy out to a huge commitment I shouldn’t be taking.
“Because.”
“That’s the silliest reason I’ve ever heard.”
“Because I don’t understand why anyone would want to take off from a city where you have everything at hand and live in a truck where you have nothing but a backseat. It’s pretty much like being homeless.”
I kneel behind her, inching close to her, then hesitantly place my hand on her shoulder. “Shut your eyes.”
She leans away, like I’m scaring her. “Why? ”
“Because I’m going to prove what’s so awesome about my idea.” I wait for her to do what I ask and she stubbornly drags it on for longer than necessary, then finally surrenders and turns
around.
“Fine.” Her voice softens a little. “Show me what’s so great about a backseat.”
“There’s a lot of great things about a backseat,” I joke in a low voice, and then dip my lips toward her ear and whisper, “Now shut your eyes.”
I expect her to argue, but she very willingly obeys, shutting her eyes the second I utter the words. I shut mine, too, but only because being so close to her, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth emitting from her body is driving my body into a frenzy.
“Now picture nothing but mountains,” I say softly, picturing it myself. “No city. No noise. No crazy-ass parents who act like children and treat their children like shit. No nothing. Just the quiet.”
“It seems like an awfully lonely place, if you ask me,” she tells me. “Just me and the dirt and the quiet. Although I wouldn’t mind the being without the parents part.”
“You wouldn’t be completely alone.” I sweep her head to the side and rest my chin on her shoulder. “You’d be with me.”
She pauses for an eternity and her breathing is ragged. Or maybe it’s mine. “What would we do at this mountain place together?” she says.
“Anything we wanted.”
“Hike?” There’s disdain in her voice.
“Maybe,” I say. “Or maybe we’d just sit and enjoy each other’s company in the quiet.”
She shifts her weight and situates her hands underneath her legs, leaning back against my chest. “That kind of sounds nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
As strange as it is, and as much of a pain in the ass as Lila can be, I can actually picture us sitting together up on the mountains in the noiselessness, living in my truck, driving anywhere and everywhere. Together. And the comfort in the idea is kind of frightening because it means I’m thinking about
our future. Together. Shit.
I think about moving away from her, putting a little space between us because obviously I’m heading down a road I shouldn’t be headed down. The dream of living on the road has always been one I’d planned to live out alone and now suddenly I’m telling Lila she should come with me. God knows
what would happen between us if we lived in a truck with one another. We’d either grow really close or end up hating each other. Or maybe both. But I can’t bring myself to move and break the peaceful moment. So instead I sit down and wrap my legs and arms around her and we just sit there in the sun,
enjoying each other in the quiet.
Bio
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jessica Sorensen, lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
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