Review: Temptation Trials Part I

Temptation Trials Part I by B. Truly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn’t entirely sure what I would think of Temptation Trials. The synopsis had me expecting a unique read, but I wasn’t at all sure what I would be given. Thus, I went in tentative. It turns out that I had no reason to be tentative.

Temptation Trials mixes two of my favourite bookish things together – a dystopian society and reality television. Two things you would never think to put together. I would never think to put the two together, and yet here we are with a wonderful example of how the two go so well. Honestly, it really shouldn’t work as well as it does. Logic tells me the two things are so vastly different they shouldn’t work well. Yet I was gripped throughout, unable to put the book down, addicted to the story.

The first part of Temptation Trials works to introduce us to the dystopian world and the love interests. The world is a very simple one when compared to the complexities of some of the dystopian backdrops you can find, but the simplicity doesn’t lessen the rough world they live in. War has resulted in a worldwide dictatorship, control being the central aspect of everyone’s life. As always with dystopian novels, there is an underworld out to fix things – we know the world cannot play out in the way it is, we know someone will stand up for what is right.

Before we’re dragged too deeply into an uprising, part two of the book takes us to the drama-filled land of reality television. Despite all the constraints in place, people have a single reprieve through a show set out to entertain. Anyone who enjoys reality television books, however, will know the entertainment comes at the cost of the participants. Life is far from simple behind the screen, the events that play out are costly to the individuals. At times it was possible to forget about the dystopian world, but certain things came about to remind you this was more than just your simple reality television read.

I’ll admit that some of the twists were a bit on the predictable side. Enough suggestions are made that we’re more than capable of working out what is going on behind the cameras. Although we can work out what is coming well before the characters do, there are still enough things left unknown. We hear and observe things that leave us unsure as to what other twists are waiting in the next book. I have ideas – and I hope one of my main ideas turns out to be correct – yet we have nothing solid. We have a lot of questions; there are so many things we’re left excited to find out more about.

In regards to the romance, I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I’m not a fan of love triangles, but the way things played were perfect for the storyline. I enjoyed watching the dilemmas both our females dealt with, and I have no idea how things will play out in the future books. We’re left with a lot of complications that we are waiting to see resolved, and I just know we’re going to have a lot of drama in the next book.

With all the revelations that are to come out, we’ll have drama on all fronts – romance, uprising, and all the other goodies that leave you pulled into a story.

Honestly, this book was a little gem. It’s certainly something you should jump into if you’re looking for a refreshing read.

I cannot wait for part two – it’s going to be epic.

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