ISLAND OF TEMPTATION – Claire Thompson

La Grande Mort

Ellora’s Cave – www.ellorascave.com

ISBN: 978-1-41990-949-8

Erotic Gay Contemporary Romance

April 2007

A deserted island & New York City, NY – Present Day

Donovan McNair is an up and coming attorney in a prestigious New York law firm.  He’s handsome, financially secure and a success at every thing he puts his mind to – except relationships.  Which is why he’s on a two-week cruise alone, his girl friend, Marianne having broken up with him again – claiming he’s emotionally walled off.  Donovan considered cancelling his vacation – but something made him decide to go.  Perhaps with time alone he could re-consider his future and figure out why his ex-girlfriends words felt like the truth.

 Sam Jamison is on top of the world.  He’s a rising star in the art world and his agent is sure his first show will be a smashing success.  Sam has never made a lot of money, and when his agent offers him his ticket on a cruise Sam accepts.  On deck, he bumps into a man who immediately captures his attention.  While Sam enjoys women, his true pleasure and emotional connection is with men.  Sam is immediately attracted to the tall handsome stranger, but something tells him this gorgeous man is as straight as an arrow.

Sam and Donovan’s chance meeting on the ship might have ended with the brief contact on deck if the ship hadn’t caught fire.  Both men escape the blazing ship – nearly the last to do so, and while Sam finds himself in a raft being pulled out to sea and away from the sinking ship he sees a man floating in the water.  Sam pulls the man into his boat and is shocked to discover the man he has saved is the sexy stranger he ran into on the boat.

When Donovan is pulled into the boat he’s sure he’s been saved.  But as the drift further and further from the burning ship and the other lifeboats they begin to fear they might not be rescued.  After days drifting in the ocean with little water and no food the see land.  The make their way to the island and pull the boat to shore, exhausted by their ordeal.  Sure of rescue in a few days neither man panics.  But as the days turn into weeks they both begin to fear they may be stranded on the deserted island forever.

As Sam and Donovan work together to survive on the island they develop a close friendship, a friendship Donovan wishes they could take further.  Sam has seen a look in Donovan’s eyes that make him believe his feelings might be reciprocated.  As Sam reveals his desire for Donovan and Donovan begins to accept his feelings for Sam the two become lovers.  Sam lets Donovan set the pace of their relationship knowing that if they are ever rescued Donovan may decide Sam is not what he wants after all. 

Both men struggle will feelings and emotions they’ve never felt before and the relationship between them develops slowly, yet passionately.  But what will happen if rescue arrives – will Sam lose the man he’s come to love?  Will Donovan regret his relationship with Sam?  And what if they are never rescued – can they survive alone on a island for the rest of their lives?

ISLAND OF TEMPTATION is lush and passionate romance filled with powerful emotions and danger.  Sam is a remarkable character filled with compassion, beauty and strength.  Donovan is equally as compelling but emotionally locked away from other people.  As their relationship grows close Donovan slowly begins to feel emotions and a connection to another person that he’s never felt before.  The sheer difficulty of surviving on an island with little to offer in the way of food or shelter, is daunting, but Sam and Donovan work hard to ensure their survival.  Outwardly, each man remains strong and sure that it’s only a matter of time before they are rescued.  But each also harbors dark and desperate fears that they will never be found – and that if they are everything will change.

A tale rich in emotion, both passionate and heartbreaking, ISLAND OF TEMPTATION is an example of the best in the genre.  While the sex in the story live up to the erotic rating, it’s the emotion and growth of the characters that make this book stand out above the rest.

Isabelle Spencer