Tempting Fate

Tempting Fate is three short works featuring J. Kenner, Dee Davis and Kathleen O'Reilly. The devil wants to retire and he gives each of his immortal daughters a challenge to complete in order to inherit his kingdom.

Lucia (by J. Kenner) is Lucifer's eldest daughter and a master assassin who seems to have lost interest in her work, or at least developed a softer side. Her challenge is to assassinate a casino magnate which should be easy for her, until she realizes that her target is the father of the man who has inexplicably captured her heart. A nameless one night stand between Dante and Lucia turns into much more and I enjoyed how much romancing was put into their relationship. The emotion that Dante shows when he discovers that Lucia is the assassin sent for his father is well done and his struggle through it to realize her love for him makes their connection that much deeper.

Jezebel (by Dee Davis) is the middle daughter and is a master at finding things, whether is the location of an object or the password to a security system. Her task is to steal a box, the Protector of Armageddon, the only problem is that one of the only men she has ever felt for in her immortal life, David Bishop, is after the box in order to avenge his brother's death. When they agree to work together a few strings free passionate encounters turn into more. Like many of her siblings Jezebel is worried that David will reject her if he discovers her heritage. They love that creeps back in makes their passion something more. I liked that for Jezebel, David actually sees evidence of her immortality and is able to accept what she is in a different reveal than the other stories.

Lola (by Kathleen O'Reilly) is stunningly beautiful, but her power/curse steals the soul of anyone she makes love to. Chris/Crash is a walking disaster but uniquely able to help others. Lola's task is to steal his soul. I liked that Lola had trouble seducing him, every other guy on the beach was all over her, but his worries about the disasters that follow him allow him to be unaffected by her power. In many ways their story was the most real, the sacrifices they each made for each other.

Overall Tempting Fate wove three more intriguing and unique stories into the devil's quest to retire and made each story interesting, fun and passionate.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

What a great follow up to Seducing Sin!! Co-authored by Julie Kenner, Dee Davis and Kathleen O'Reilly, we find the Devil frustrated at the failures of his sons in completing the tasks given to them in exchange for taking over his empire. Now, looking to his daughters Lucia, Jezebel (Jessie) and Lola to take the reigns so he can retire, he finds it no less disappointing.

The Devil starts with Lucia. In her story, written by Julie Kenner, we find her tiring of her job as an assassin for her father. She's good at it, but she's losing he edge. Missing opportunities to complete the job. She wants out. Her father tells her if she completes one more job for him, his empire is hers. Determined to do it and leave this life behind her, she sets out to find her target. But what happens when she finds her attention divided between the task at hand and the handsome Dante? When his connection to her target is revealed, can she keep her ey on her heart's ultimate goal? Does she even know what that is anymore?

In Jezebel's story, written by Dee Davis, we find Jessie bored with the same life day in and day out. It's been centuries and she needs a change. Her father gives her the task of locating an artifact that if opened could bring about the end of days. Her special talent of being able to visulaize the location of items doesn't work with this artifact. There's only one person that can help her - David. But they have a past. A painful one. Can they work together and focus only on finding the box? When they find their lives in danger and she has a choice to make, what or who will it be?

Finally, we have Lola's story, written by Kathleen O'Reilly. Lola has it all. Perfect looks. Men throwing themselves at her feet. Anything her heart desires. But it all comes at a price - the souls of the men she beds. When her father offers her an out, take one last soul and his empire is hers, she jumps at the chance. But trying to seduce Chris "Crash" St. Clair is no easy feat. He's not falling pray to her perfection and her seductive ways. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. He's distant but alluring. Disaster follows him everywhere excepte when he's with her. But he can't stay away long. When emotions override the task at hand, will she be able to do what's been asked of her? Facing a choice will she take what her father has offered her, or give it all up, including herself?

I've really enjoyed this series! I only hope there is more!

The sequel to Seducing Sin, the Devil now approaches his three daughters (Lucia, Jezebel, and Lola)each with a quest to gain the keys to his kingdom. The same three authors for Seducing Sin contributed to this anthology. Even though the Devil appears to play cruelly with his daughter's hearts a little more than his son's, turns out he may just have a soft spot for his daughters. This is a fun short steamy read.

Lucia by Julie Kenner - Lucia has more of a special skill set than powers when compared to her siblings. She is the female counter point to Jack, the Devil's right hand woman. Her quest is to take out her father's competition, only she falls in love with her target's son. The flow was great, full of sweet tender moments, steamy sexy times. This was my favorite story in this book. Definitely think Lucia is the Devil's favorite child.

Jezebel by Dee Davis - This story involves a supporting character (Faust) cross over from Marcus from Seducing Sin. Marcus and Jezebel (Jessie) seem to have a similar power, but whereas Marcus collects items, Jessie collects information. This was really similar to Marcus's story, Jessie also works with someone from her past and her quest involves going after an item. Once again great flow, steamy scenes, action and adventure. Jessie makes the biggest sacrifice out of all the siblings. The only thing I didn't like was when it came to Faust, we still don't know what makes him immortal. The author deviated from a general theme of when each sibling lost their mother, the Devil came to claim them, but Jessie was different.

Lola by Kathleen O'Reilly - Just as in Jack in Seducing Sin, I didn't like the flow of this story. It wasn't choppy like Jack, it felt too rushed and once again there are continuity issues. Lola appears to be Nick's counterpart with a similar power, the ability to steal souls, just in a different way. This author also deviated from a general theme of all the siblings being immortal; yes, Lola is immortal, but she has to steal souls to maintain her youthful appearance. I like the general idea behind the story, I just feel like it could have been executed a little cleaner and smoother.