I had no idea I would enjoy this cowboy romance as much as I have. Tess LeSue has created a series that is entertaining and swoon.

Filled with the feel of the West, Bound for Temptation is a perfect story for lovers of Cowboys and the days of saloons and brothels. I liked Emma and her sly, smart ways of hanging on to her dignity and her care for her girls. These are a very good series and definitely are worth your time!

**thank you to Berkley for the ARC***

I really, really enjoyed this (much more than the first—which was also good)! It was real and grounded without being slut shamey & I appreciated the nuanced approaches each of the girls took in embracing themselves/looking for what they wanted out of life/being conscious of the injustices around them. The romance was sweet and sexy and slow burn at once and while I wish we had 200% more grovel from the hero, I loved how unapologetic Emma was about pursuing what she wanted.

As an aside, if I never hear the phrase poking again it will be too soon welp.

TW: reference to past sexual assault & incest, attempted pedophilia

This series of standalone romances is fantastic. Although each book can be read easily by themselves, there is a storyline that flows though each book. Bound for Temptation is Tom and Seline/Emma's story.
I love this historical romance. The life on the trail is hard. The banter between Tom and Emma is hilarious. There's action and suspense that will keep you hooked.
The writing is fantastic. It's told in both Tom and Emma's POV.

BOUND FOR TEMPTATION by Tess LeSue riles up the west as the naughty heroine disguises herself as a nun, launching one crazy plan after another.

Seline dreams of a house in San Francisco – a dream that comes closer to reality when she sells her three whorehouse saloons and becomes Emma Jane Palmer. It would be immediate gratification if it wasn’t for the pesky outlaw who insists on marrying her. That’s when her grandest plan takes root, disguised as a nun to travel safely out of that man’s reach.

Thanks to Deathrider, Tom Slater is on the run from bounty hunters. The darn fool used Tom’s fairly good name when the heat became too much around Deathrider’s reputation. A reputation earned mostly by a dime novelist who found the crazy Indian perfect fodder for her creative adventures. Now the “real” Tom Slater can’t go anywhere without having his life threatened. It’s no wonder Tom prefers cows over people.

The beginning of BOUND FOR TEMPTATION is a riot when Deathrider verbally spars with Tom, but then the book gets repetitive with Seline’s thoughts from a nun’s point of view. She spent her life as a whore and a madam. A nun’s thought process doesn’t equate with the reader’s interpretation of her character.

Tom is a little too pure for a man. It made his reaction to his situation funny, but I couldn’t relate to him the way I did with his brothers in BOUND FOR EDEN AND BOUND FOR SIN . Seline spends too much time in her head arguing with herself, creating a lack in dialogue between them, which would have made the book more interesting. BOUND FOR TEMPTATION had potential, but by stalling midway I wasn’t anxious for it to continue.

That said – I know this author’s talent for storytelling, having loved the first two books in the FRONTIERS OF THE HEART series. I kept reading because I liked Seline, aka Emma, as she preferred to be called, and wanted her happiness. By the last quarter of the book, after I knew Emma’s past, I was invested in her future. Everyone deserves forgiveness, Emma and Tom included. The end of this creative novel is beautiful and perfect, which made me crave the next story even more.

BOUND FOR TEMPTATION is full of crazy, hair-brained ideas. That’s Seline, who always has a plan. The comedic tone makes this author’s brand of western irresistible. There is a lot of raucous talk and pure sex in this one. What do you expect when the heroine is a whore pretending to be a nun? It must be outrageous, and it is. But the kindness, redemption, and love make up for Seline’s naughty self in the end. She cleans up real nice. A class act with a huge heart.

Fans of pure western adventure romance will love the FRONTIERS OF THE HEART series. It’s rowdy, unexpected, and full of fun characters whose journeys to happy-ever-after are pure addiction.

Review written by Dorine, courtesy of RomanceJunkies.com.

Bound for Temptation is the third novel in the Frontiers of the Heart series. In the previous two books we watched as each of Tom’s two brothers fell in love while journeying along the Oregon Trail. Tom wasn’t a character that we saw too much of since most of the previous books were centered around the grueling travels and the various obstacles that each couple had to overcome. Tom’s story is no different. In fact, I feel like his story was the one with the biggest hurdles of all.

You see, Tom is in love with his brother’s wife. Ever since his brother Luke brought her to their small town, he’s had his sights set on her. Which is extremely awkward. So, Tom spends as much time as he can on the trail, running the business. Emma (formerly known as Seline in previous books) has probably the biggest hill to climb than anyone. She was the madam at the whorehouse that Tom’s brother, Luke, frequented when he rolled through town. In fact, Emma fancied herself in love with Luke for a time. So, yeah… these two had some issues to work out.

While we didn’t know or see too much of Tom in the previous books, Emma (aka Seline) was seen a lot. Aside from her nightly meetings with Luke in the first book, she also accompanied Matt on his journey along the trail as a form of distraction. Matt’s love interest was trying to shake a couple of sharks off her, so Seline and some of her girls accompanied the convoy to keep the men entertained and otherwise hold their attention elsewhere. So, Emma already had a tarnished reputation going into this. However, I was really interested in hearing her story, and boy did she not disappoint.

Like the previous books, the woman is trying to outrun a man who’s chasing her, and enlists the help of a passing Slater brother. In this case, Tom gets wrangled into helping a couple of nuns and a grieving senorita with her daughter across the country to a convent. Little does he know that the nuns are non-other than Seline (Madam to the local whorehouse), and a couple of her employees. Obviously, Tom is horrified by his growing attraction to Sister Emma. Which of course makes for an amusing read.

I really liked that the hurdles these characters faced was a bit taboo. I mean, a brother in love with his sister-in-law and a whore who thought she was in love with his brother? However, I felt like the author did a great job giving each of these characters a voice to be heard and understood. One thing I wish was a bit different would have to be the ending. It felt rather abrupt given all the build-up to it. I would have liked to have seen Emma living her life a little bit more and establishing herself in the community some before the story ended. However, I’m holding out hope that this won’t be the last we see of Emma.

2.5 stars

Bound for Temptation is the third book in Tess LeSue’s Frontiers of the Heart series, and while it is about three brothers, you could start here and not feel lost. But I would advise against that, as this installment was, in my opinion, the weakest of the series. I had my reservations about Emma, formerly known as Seline in previous installments, but she really won me over in this book. I adored her character. She had been hardened by her life experiences, but there was still a softness about her. It wasn’t often that she let it show, but it was there, and when things hit her, they hit her hard. Tom was the perfect man for her. He was kind and also timid, and I think a man that Emma needs to coax out of his shell, especially after a past where she’s been used and abused, was exactly what she needed. What made me think I wouldn’t be able to warm up to this plot, (highlight for minor spoiler) is that Seline had previously slept with, and been in love with, one of Tom’s brothers. Being a whore in that time period was taboo enough, but I was afraid that the fact that she’d slept with his brother would be glossed over. It wasn’t, and I really liked the way Emma won everyone over. It was just classic Emma, taking charge and making things happen. Having said that, this is part of the reason the book lost me. It felt way too modern for me, and if I had to read Emma’s thoughts about how dumb men were one more time, I was going to throw this book across the room. It was just so often and Emma’s disdain for men was so deep, I’m not sure I believe she and Tom will be happy. I think they’re going to end up miserable, and I never want to walk away from a romance novel feeling that way. There were also times when she made stupid decisions, and while the hard-headedness fell in line with her character, the stupid didn’t, and it threw me for a loop. Also, the previous books in this series were a bit far-fetched and exaggerated in a really fun way that I enjoyed. I felt like this one tried to be, but it just never seemed to get there.

The highlight of this for me was the secondary characters, particularly Emma’s friend Calla. She had so many fantastic lines, and I just love that no matter how many times she gets knocked down, she gets up again. It was also nice to see Tom’s family and how they were doing.

Overall, if you’re a fan of this series, it’s worth the read to really get to know Tom and if you wanted to know how things worked out for Seline, this is for you. As for me, while there were parts I enjoyed, Bound for Temptation just missed the mark overall. There are more characters in this series that I love, though, and I would love to see it continue so we can read about them.

I tried this book because I read the previous one in the series and found the pacing uneven but wanted to give the author's work another go. Unfortunately, the pacing is still an issue for me. Tom, the hero, is in love with Alex, his brother Luke's wife. Luke used to be one of Emma's clients and she begged him to take him with her but he made it clear she was just a whore to him. So there's that on top of her pretending to be a nun while running away from a patron of her brothel that won't accept she wouldn't have sex with him.
Again, there's too much going on and yet moving forward takes too long. The setting is certainly refreshing, as is the heroine. But ultimately I struggled to read it.

Title: Bound For Temptation
Author: Tess LeSue
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Series: Frontiers of the Heart # 3
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"Bound For Temptation" by Tess LeSue

My Thoughts....

The author really has a good way of relaying a good story to the reader with great style and with some interesting characters. The two main characters were good with both being 'on the run' from California to Mexico. We have Tom being on the run due to having feelings for his brother's wife and Emma who was running from her past of being a madam at a house of ill repute by a bully. Even though this is a rather good romantic read it will keep you laughing from some of the bantering that is going on in the read especially the part where Emma disguising herself as a nun. I will say that Emma really was a lively one who really knew how to cook up some crazy ideas that will have you laughing out loud. I liked how the story turns somewhat and these two will start to have feelings for one another.

With both Tom and Emma having people on their tail they find they will only make it out of this mess by helping and trusting each other in order to stay alive on this journey where we find Tom being considered a 'sweet guy' with Emma being 'charming and mischievous.' By the end this story turns out being a good western romance. Will these two finally get their HEA? Well, you will have to pick up "Bound for Temptation" to see how this author brings this enjoyable romance out to the reader.

I was given a complimentary Netgalley and Berkley Publishing a ebook of the book to read and review.

This is not a book that a newcomer to the series can just jump in and start reading without feeling totally lost for the first few chapters. After a while, I stopped trying to keep anyone straight. Though the premise is interesting - a madam seeks to escape a cruel man who wants to own her - Emma herself soon passes into unbelievable territory with her constant lies to hide her background from the hero. After a while, I couldn't swallow that Tom would continue to think her a nun. Still the book was amusing and the sexual tension kept building.

Then a few things happened that made me stop reading. The group finds themselves in the company of two obvious villains who clearly show they have no regard for women. And Emma, who has been used and abused by men for years gets conflicted at these men being punished. No, they hadn't done anything to her - yet - but obviously wouldn't have hesitated. Nope, even thought I guess this was to show how noble Emma remains, I didn't buy it. At the same time, Emma and her fellow prostitute who is also pretending to be a nun along with the others stay at the home of a (presumably) devout Catholic family who don't appear to notice that Emma has no knowledge of how to be a nun. What??

Oh and there's the ick factor of Emma having slept with the hero's brother.

After reading other reviews here, I see that I missed some things at the end that bothered them. I think if the book had either stayed light and fun or focused totally on the series and dark side of some of the issues raised, it might have worked better for me but the wild swings between the two just didn't.

Bound for Temptation by Tess LeSue is the 3rd book in her western historical romance Frontiers of the Heart series. We met our heroine, Emma Palmer (Seline), in the previous book, as she was a madam in her own brothel, and knew both Luke & Matt Slater (previous book heroes). When we meet Emma, she has sold her place, having saved enough money to travel to California and live a normal life. But first she has to escape one of the rich locals, who is determined to make Seline his.

Tom Slater, the 3rd Slater brother, is trying to clear his name, as his brother gave his name as a cover for the infamous ‘Deathrider’. When Emma makes arrangements with the real ‘deathrider’ having met him earlier, and Tom is assigned to bring Emma, her two friends and young girl on the trek, which could be dangerous, since she is running away from a dangerous man.

When Tom meets Emma, the fun begins as the girls are dressed as nuns, to hide their appearance. In a short time, Tom is beside himself, as he begins to find himself attracted to the Nun (Emma). I really loved Emma, who is a strong, independent and a fun heroine, whom you could not help but root for her. From the start, she found herself attracted to the hunky Tom, but knew she needed to play the part of a nun, which was hard for her, as she continued to act her rambunctious sassy way; this also confused Tom how she spoke her mind. Emma always had a plan to get out of certain situations, which was pretty hilarious.

The adventure was not only wild crazy, but a lot of humor along the way. When they meet dangerous criminals during their travels, the situation becomes tense, and they must find away to get escape without revealing their true identities. When Tom gets injured, things will change as Emma has to help fix his injuries, and it was fun to see Tom appalled; but this led to the truth….she was not a Nun. Their relationship heated up, but not for long, as Tom discovers more truths about Emma’s past.

Tom was a good hero, but to me Emma was the star of this book. I absolutely loved her. I also loved how when she lost Tom, she planned to find a way to win him back, but had to travel where the Slater Brothers lived, which did not sit well with the other Slater wives. Emma was a great cook and baker and used this to start her new life. Would Tom ever return to his home? Would he accept Emma’s past? You will need to read this book to find out.

Bound forTemptation was a sweet fun historical western that was exciting adventuire, romantic and humorous. I look forward to see what else Tess LeSue has for us.

Tess LeSue takes you on another epic journey in Bound for Temptation, the third book in the Frontiers of the Heart series. Emma Palmer is finally free and ready to start her life over now that she has sold her establishment and giving up the life as a madam. If only one of her patrons would get the hint and leave her alone. In order to leave town, she disguises herself as a nun and gets help from Tom Slater to guide her and some friends to Mexico. It may be a long way to freedom but at this point she’s willing to leave her formal life behind. Tom Slater can’t believe the mess he’s in with his friend using his name to get out of trouble and now has a posse on HIS tail. Heading to Mexico himself, he agrees to guide the nuns there. No sooner they’re off and trouble ensues.

During these times and being out west, any travel would be hard and with trouble on their heels they had their work cut out for them. These two couldn’t catch a break. Things got so bad that Tom himself had to disguise himself as a woman to keep him alive! Neither Tom or Emma hadn’t expected is the attraction they would feel for one another during their journey. How can Tom be falling for a nun?! He battled internally to reconcile his feelings and keep them under control. Emma herself had inner turmoil with her past and how she wanted to be in charge of her own destiny from here on out. It wasn’t easy being a woman during this period and the author revealed so much through Emma how hard it could be. Your heart ached for Emma and her plight and cheered for her to get a happy ending for her and her friends.

The author created wonderful characters and brought them to life in this story and took me on the journey as well. The plot was full of twists and dangerous developments that kept me glued to my seat as it leapt from the pages. I loved how we met the previous couples from the previous books and caught up on their latest developments. Tess LeSue has brought the west to life in her latest tale and any historical romance fan will love to read and cherish.

Tess LeSue’s Frontiers of the Heart series adds a new heroine to root for in Bound for Temptation.

Madame Seline is, at long last, a rich woman. Having established three brothels in the California gold fields she’s been run out of Mokelumne Hills by Hec Boehm and his gang of thugs for refusing to give in to his demands to sell her business (or her body) to him.  Instead, she plans to sell all three brothels to various girls who’ve worked for her over the years, and then to retire to a genteel life in San Francisco with the money she’s made, far away from the men who’ve made her fortune but also made her life hell. With a flick of a pen, she reclaims the name and life she rejected twelve years before – Emma Jane Potter – and disguises herself as a nun in order to leave town without being caught by Hec or his men.

Tom Slater is a cattleman whose life is normally much more wearisome than it is exciting.  Running away from home and his old feelings for his brother Luke’s new bride Alex (in book one Bound for Eden), he’s been on a cattle drive for months when he hears through the grapevine that the bounty on the head of his friend Deathrider has just been increased and there’s a posse riding ever nearer to claim it. After months away, Tom is keen to keep Deathrider and Micha (Deathrider’s companion) safe, but things are complicated by the fact that Deathrider, at the behest of Tom’s brothers, has been passing himself off as Tom after faking his own death (in book two, Bound for Sin) which, now that Tom is back from the trail, places him in danger.  When Emma – now disguised as a nun - rides into town with a wagonload of fancy gowns and her best friend and fellow working girl Calla, she meets up with Deathrider (an old friend and regular customer), and he agrees to help get her and Calla to Mexico. Before they can leave they find themselves intervening in the lives of Anna and Winnie, a girl working at the general store and her ward, and the twosome join their party. Deathrider agrees to lie about Emma’s circumstances. Being the honorable guy he is, Tom agrees to escort the party - and is horrified to find himself attracted to the not-very-holy Sister Emma.  Emma, who was once as in love with Tom’s brother Luke as Tom was with Alex, soon finds herself falling for Tom in ways his brother never inspired.

Soon Tom, Deathrider, ‘Sister Emma’ and their group of travelers find themselves on the run from California to Mexico and freedom, dodging two posses and trying to keep their bellies full while fleecing, outriding and outrunning banditos along the way.  Tom and Emma start falling in love, lying all the way about their pasts, to the point that Tom really believes Emma is a nun.  Will they keep their heads and money with them? Or are they destined for a crash?

Bouncing between being funny, romantic and appealingly entertaining, and unflinchingly portraying the ugly underbelly of the old west, Bound for Temptation is a pretty delightful ride, although its few flaws keep it from DIK status. But if you’ve ever watched Two Mules for Sister Sarah, it’s going to be an amusing ride for you.

I loved Emma’s gumption; she’s whip smart, she’s going to get her house and she’s not going to let Hec kill her. She always has a scheme or a plan, but she’s fair and kind – well, to a degree.

Tom is the best kind of hero – a nice guy who wants an ordinary life and is stuck throwing up his hands in exasperation in the general direction of his friends. And his friends are wonderfully ridiculous.

Tom and Emma are easy to root for, but their lives are overcomplicated by the sheer metric ton of lies Emma has to tell in order to keep her cover and bury her past.  She should, perhaps, have told Tom much earlier that she slept with his brother before they knew each other (way back in the first book).

I loved Deathrider’s confident, laconic reaction to the storm building around him, and his obsession with terrible, cheesy sci-fi dime novels. Calla’s yearning to be seen as a lady and not just a prostitute is well done, and little Winnie isn’t just a moppet. Unfortunately, the more moralistic Anna tended to blend into the background in comparison to the larger-than-life characters around her.  Deathrider, meanwhile, is tough and bright, and clearly in line to be the next hero of the series.

In terms of the plot, the journey is cleverly plotted and far reaching; slut-shaming and anti-native biases are discussed and firmly rejected by our heroes.

On the negative side, however, the book is hard to jump into without having read the rest of the series, and there are a couple of logic gaps, chief of which is this - why does Emma name the bakery she eventually opens Seline’s when she wants to shed that part of her life?  Her choice of name forces her to repeatedly tell everyone that she’s not Seline anymore, and causes the town they’ve settled in to shun her. This is a smart woman who thinks ahead and does it successfully most of the time, but that was a bit of a lulu.

But even with its logic gaps, Bound for Temptation is a rip-roaring adventure that’s pretty captivating.

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This was a great western romance !

I love his author's storytelling style and rich characters. Tom and Emma were wonderful together. Somehow they found themselves on the run together. Tom had a bounty on his head thanks to a mistaken identity and Emma was running from her past. I really loved how the author fleshed out their characters with flaws and vulnerabilities. Tom was just too sweet and Emma was a very charming and mischieveous heroine. The outrageous schemes that she came up with had me smiling from beginning to end.

I enjoyed the romance along with the laughs in this book ! I'm really hoping that Death Rider gets a book soon.

Emma's past is grim and her present isn't looking too good either. She is starting a new life with the money she earned as a madam and a new identity. On the run from a bully who wants to own her, Emma disguises herself and finds a man who will guide her and her companions to safety. Tom guides Emma through some harrowing situations and he starts having feelings for her. Unfortunately Emma is a former whore disguised as a nun so this presents a major problem. Lots of humor and gritty western action makes this an enjoyable read.

Emma and Tom both have pasts they're trying to outrun. Emma wants to outrun her history of being a madam of a house of ill repute, while Tom is running away from his feelings for his brother Luke's wife. Both end up with dangerous men on their tail and find that they have to not only help each other but find a way to trust one another in order to stay alive. And when tempting feelings start to surface, it's only a matter of time until they consider running from each other instead...

Thoughts: First, let me say thank you to First to Read for giving me the opportunity to read this title before its publication. I became a fan of Tess LeSue when FTR gave me an eARC of Bound for Sin and I was looking forward to this third installment of the series. However, I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this story as much as Bound for Sin. The premise started off all well and good, but the compilation of lies Emma tells Tom is certainly going to come back to bite her. And there was no need to keep up the pretense of being a nun with Tom -- Emma was already familiar with the Slater family, having developed what she thought were deep feelings for his brother Luke -- so she had to know she could trust him. I understand the need for the costume while they traveled (it is the wild west, after all) but she could have told him straight away that she wasn't a nun. For that matter, I also was annoyed by Emma naming the bakery in town "Seline's" considering she wants everyone to forget, or at least look past, her history as Seline the whorehouse madam. LeSue makes it a point at the end of the novel for Emma to constantly correct people when they call her "Seline", which was annoying as a reader because it's Emma's fault for naming the bakery by the exact name she wants everyone to avoid using when referring to her. Bound for Temptation is an interesting story and has some very sweet, romantic scenes. I was left disappointed as a reader, though, because I wanted a bit more time with Emma and Tom as an actual couple.

I found that I really didn't like the characters much and just wanted to finish the book and move onto my next read. It started out as an interesting tale, but it quickly lost my interest when they started bringing in characters and events that happened in other books. I began to feel like I wasn't getting the whole story because I hadn't read the books before it.