Review: Deliver Me from Temptation by Tes Hilaire

Deliver Me from Temptation by Tes Hilaire
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Published on: December 4, 2012
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Author

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Logan Screwed Up...Big Time.

When things go bump in the night, Logan bumps back. Vampires, demons, succubi—you name it, he's fought it. His job as Paladin angel warrior is to protect humans. Not fall for one.

She Never Believed in Divine Intervention...Until Now.

Detective Jessica Waters protects humans too-with her Glock and a good set of handcuffs. She doesn't believe in fate. But if anyone looks like a gift from the gods, it's Logan. And he clearly knows more about her case than he's letting on...

The differences between this installment and the first book in the Paladin Warriors series were immediately apparent to me after the first couple of chapters. Deliver Me from Temptation has stronger Urban Fantasy elements, the plot has more sustenance and the mythology is detailed and fluid. Going into this novel I fully expected there to be a happy ending but Hilaire had me doubting that fact up until the very end by cleverly turning a tragedy into a blessing.

The romantic relationship between the two main characters and the world building are two elements that were vastly improved upon this second time around. First and foremost, there was no insta-love which is a major pet peeve of mine, even in paranormal romances. The progression of Logan and Jessica’s love interest was reasonable given the circumstances they found themselves in and I was happy that Hiliare didn’t skip the “getting to know each other” phase like she did in Deliver Me from Darkness. I understand that the mate bond has a strong pull on those affected but even so, there should still be some resistance in my opinion. Humans aren’t cattle and blind acceptance isn’t in our nature; love doesn’t happen over night and I’m glad that that Tes gave her characters the time they needed.

The gaps that existed in the Paladin mythology in the first book were all but eliminated in this installment; important details are explained and as a result, I never felt lost. This was a huge relief for me because typically the first novel of a series is where the bulk of the world building takes place but I found that it fell short in book one. So, I was very happy to see Hilaire take a step back and revisit certain elements that should have been explained in Deliver Me from Darkness. This allowed me to concentrate on the story instead of trying to force pieces together that just didn’t fit. There was a nice balance between the Paladin Warriors and the blooming romance between the two protagonists.

There was a good mix of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance elements which helped to even out the pacing. The sex scenes are deliciously spicy and the police procedural side of the story kept me interested and engaged. The fact that Jessica is a cop made a huge difference in this book’s plot line; the purpose was clearer and Hilaire’s strong writing did the rest. Deliver Me from Temptation isn’t too preachy or too mushy; I found it to be just right.

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