THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN by Jessica Sorensen (May 6, 2014; Forever Trade Paperback; $12.00)
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 do you think it’s so hard to be
alone?” Lila asks, struggling to keep her eyes open as she gazes out at the
night sky through the cab window.
I’m
turned sideways in the seat, with my knee up, so I’m facing her, even though
she won’t look at me. I lost count of how many shots we had hours ago and I can
barely comprehend how we got to a cab—stumbling, laughing, as she rubbed her
hand up the front of my jeans. No, that can’t be right, can it?
“I think
being alone is fan-fucking-tastic. . . well, maybe . . .sometimes . . .” I
mumble, draping my arm on the back of the seat. I stare at her for a moment,
taking in her bare skin in the moonlight. I want to touch it. Lick it. Even
bite it.
I’m
bursting with sexual energy and I channel it to my foot on the floor, bouncing
my knee. There’s something different about tonight, something out of the
ordinary, this strange need
to keep getting closer to Lila. It
could be the alcohol. Or it could be something else, but there’s no way my
tequila-soaked mind is going to reach any sort of answer.
Lila
turns her head toward me, her pupils wide and shiny. “Why are you staring at me
like that?”
I keep tapping my foot on the floor,
trying to think of a better answer than the first one that pops into my head,
but I can’t find one. “Because I’m thinking about you.”
She
glances at the cab driver, a thirtyish guy wearing a baseball cap, and then her
gaze lands back on me. She sucks her lip into her teeth and I have to bounce my
knee faster or I swear I’m going to fucking lose it. “Thinking what about me?”
she asks, looking wary, interested, and exhausted.
Don’t say
it . . . “I was thinking about what it would be like to lick you
. . . or bite you . . . either one really.” It seems like I should regret it as
soon as I say it, but regret is nowhere in my
reach at the moment.
Her
breathing quickens and her voice comes out shockingly unsteady for someone who
has sex so much. “Then do it.”
I blink,
wondering if I heard her right through the massive amount of alcohol consuming
my thoughts. “What?”
She
holds my gaze steadily, even though she seems really nervous, her voice
trembling. “Then bite me. Or lick me…whatever you want.”
About Jessica Sorensen:
Jessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
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