Review of “Weekend Temptation” by Michele Wright

Score: 88/100 (8.8 out of 10)

Weekend Temptation is a steamy contemporary romance novel by Michele Wright!

The protagonist, Rachel Knott, is a social media and communications specialist for a company called Marlow Communications. Admirably, she ambitiously seeks a promotion, however, she must overcome the cutthroat atmosphere of her work environment. For example, one of her bosses, Amanda, has a bullying demeanor and even takes credit for Rachel's hard work. Furthermore, Marlow Communications faces a lot of obstacles of its own. First and foremost, they are struggling to secure a huge deal with James Hotel, who would become a knockout client.

Well, surprise, surprise! As fate would have it, Rachel crosses paths with the handsome co-owner of James Hotel, Ben, while he is apparently working as a simple bartender. After some nudging and coaxing from her colorful girlfriends and a chance encounter, the two have a passionate one-night stand that sparks the remainder of the book.

With Marlow Communications desperate to secure a business relationship with James Hotel, and with constant failures by Amanda to get it done, Rachel is thrust into the spotlight as she agrees to be the bridge between the two companies. Along the way, she grows as a person and learns more about her mysterious lover, Ben.

If this plot sounds incredibly familiar to you, you're not alone. This is basically a Cinderella story—that of a hard-working woman who meets a prince. To be blunt, it's a lot like a Hallmark movie, for better or for worse.

Hey, there's a reason why Hallmark is still around, it's because people can rely on their cheesy movies to make them smile, feel good, and lift their spirits. Those movies are complete escapism, restoring faith in the idea that everyone can have a happy ending and that everything will be ok in the end.

On that note, Rachel's arc and the story in general are rather generic. We've seen this story time and time again. We've seen characters like Rachel and Ben time and time again. Look at 50 Shades of Gray. That's not to say these kinds of stories are bad, but it is to say they're cliché and generic at this point.

What's not generic are some of the side characters, namely Rachel's friends. There's Kate, the crudely-joking, off-duty police officer. There's Paige, the friend who owns the bakery that the women often meet at. There's Isabel, the Gothic one. Then there's Madison, the stylish “princess” of the group who works at a trendy salon.

Come to think of it, all of these colorful friends really reflect the ideals and personal goals that Rachel has. They're strong, independent, powerful, successful, and unapologetically themselves. Ironically, that flies in the face of what the books over-arching plot seems to be—that of gaining success because of garnering romantic favors from a man. That may have not been the author's intention (as it may have been simple fantasy or escapism), but that's what came across to us.

All in all, we were definitely entertained by this book. Despite our aforementioned complaints and reservations, we also found Rachel to be an inspiring character. She's a dreamer like us! We wish the best for her!

Check it out on Amazon!