Temptation Trails

A Small-Town Romance (The Haven Brothers, Book 3)

By: Claire Kingsley

Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Rose Dioro

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

He’s hunting a killer so she won’t be next.

Single dad Garrett Haven doesn’t have time for dating. With a teenage son and a high-stakes job in law enforcement, he has enough on his plate.

Besides, he risked his heart once. He has no intention of doing it again.

Until he meets her.

Harper Tilburn brought her passion for baking to the small town of Tilikum to take over her aunt’s bakery. Anything else will have to wait, at least until her bad luck curse runs out.

Her dating hiatus is essential, and she’s sticking to it.

Until she meets him.

The sparks that fly between Garrett and Harper are instantaneous—their attraction undeniable. And suddenly, the practical, responsible sheriff’s deputy is throwing caution to the wind, boldly pursuing Harper, determined to make her his.

But when the cold case Garrett is investigating takes a chilling turn, he fears the perpetrator will strike again—and Harper will be his target. With his career—and his life—on the line, he’ll sacrifice everything to protect the people he loves, and catch a killer before it’s too late.

Author’s note: a buttoned-up sheriff’s deputy gets thoroughly unbuttoned by a sweet as sugar baker. A hero who falls hard and fast, a heroine you’ll root for, a teenage son who will steal your heart, gripping suspense with a shocking twist, and heartwarming found family vibes with a big HEA.

Temptation Trails can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

©2024 Claire Kingsley (P)2024 Claire Kingsley

Yet another astonishing audio from Claire!

I feel like Claire Kingsley always matches her characters to a T with her narrator choices. Jason Clarke and Rose Dioro are fantastic as Garrett and Harper.

Rose has a very feminine sound to her voice and she fits the personality/demeanor that I pictured in my mind with Harper. She isn't necessarily the quiet type but she doesn't want to be front and center either. She does very well when covering all the female characters. In scenes with Mari, Audrey, and Harper it was very easy to tell when the dialogue switched characters.

Then there is Jason Clarke with that deep voice as Garrett. He always does justice to Claire's characters anytime she uses him. I mean is there really any other choice for a man of larger size that grew up close to the mountains...absolutely not! He knows how to switch up his voice depending on the character and there are a couple rapid character changes in a few of Garrett's chapters.

"I shifted closer so I could kiss her forehead--soothe whatever was troubling her as she slept. I could do this forever. No one was going to take her from me. No one. She was mine."

Garrett's story is finally here and I was not prepared for just how swoon worthy this man turned out to be. The ideas of him in my head from the glimpses we have gotten so far were wiped away with who he really is. I want to refer to him as a gentle giant or huge teddy bear unless those he loves are in danger and he turns into one of those "try and stop me" guys with such fierce protective instincts. His dedication to his son, Owen, as a single father is so admirable. He is just an all around great guy that just needs the love of the right woman.

Harper is just so sweet. The superstitions that seem to plague her everyday life were so fun to read. She believes she is suffering from seven years of bad luck after breaking a mirror and to be fair luck has definitely not been on her side. She embraces all things Tilikum (squirrels, gossip, etc) and has no trouble fitting in. The circumstance that leads to Garrett entering her life is perfection and I knew from that moment on that she was a woman with pure goodness in her heart.

I wouldn't call this insta-love but it is definitely insta-attraction between them and that has their relationship moving at warp speed and it worked so well. It was so fun to see straight laced Garrett throw caution to the wind and be spontaneous with Harper. She consumes his thoughts from the moment their paths cross for the first time. This is one of Claire's books where the building relationship happens so smoothly and the drama that is there isn't between Garrett and Harper but surrounding them as a couple. Much like books one and two in this series there is a suspenseful aspect to the plot and I was constantly trying to figure out who was going to be the bad guy and BRAVO Claire, you threw me for a loop. I had three people in my suspicions and none of them ended up being bad! My world is always better when I have a new Claire book in my life! Three Haven brothers down and three to go!!!!

Garrett Is My Favorite Haven!

Claire Kingsley is in her small town romantic suspense era and I am utterly obsessed!!

These Haven brothers had me thirsting for their stories since I first met them in the Bailey brothers series.

Garrett Haven has officially claimed the top spot in my heart of the Haven brothers! Shhh, don’t tell the others. He’s also made his way to my favorites of Claire’s heroes, a seriously tough feat with me having read all her books.

But, man oh man it’s something about a man who’s a gentleman with a possessive side. That wall scene just took me by surprise in the best and hottest ways. Single dad Garrett might’ve made me swoon but growly Garrett is the sexiest Garrett.

Harper was just freaking adorable. Like you couldn’t help but love her. She was so sweet and her inner musings kept me laughing. She had this magnetism that made you want to be to be in her orbit. Her bond she formed with Owen just honestly melted my heart. I adored Owen, he was such a sweetheart and at times so wise beyond his years. His one liners were hilarious. Harper and his friendship and protectiveness over each other was so touching.

Harper had my guy Garrett a straight up goner…I’m talking loss for words, hearts in eyes, making the wrong turns and going out of the way to ensure her safety gone. If it’s one thing I love it’s a man who falls first and hard and that was Garrett to a t. Harper wasn’t far off because it wasn’t long before Garrett had her heart. Their chemistry was undeniable and I just ate their story up like the most delicious dessert.

I loved the family shenanigans. It made for so many laughs and just the warmest of feels. Temptation Trails was everything I could’ve dreamed of and then some. Words cannot express how much I loved this book!

The audio though! Hands down a favorite of mine and not just for the year!

Rose Dioro as Harper was beyond words. Her inner musings, her sweet nature came through beautifully through Rose.
Jason Clarke is an all time favorite, it’s instalove if he’s narrating. Temptation Trails is no exception. He was made to perform Garrett Haven. I cannot imagine a more perfect voice for him. And hearing that growl compared to reading is a whole different experience. I also don’t think I’ll ever get over hearing Jason Clarke say MY name. Eeek.
😭🥹🤭
Rose and Jason were just fan freaking tastic and made this an audio I did not want to stop listening to.

Oh the temptations!

What a masterful blend of thrilling and riveting suspense, swoon, love, witty banter, intense passion, spice, humor, and criminal intrigue!
Harper and Garrett are a match made in romantic suspense lovers heaven, and Temptation Trails was simply unputdownable.
Add an adorable teen, matchmaking aunties, large family and engaging (sometimes mischievous) community, and you get the best immersive story telling experience! Oh! And let’s not forget the squirrels!
I devoured Temptation Trails in one sitting, teetering on the edge of my seat - a testament to the author’s skill and ability to keep us transfixed until the final word.
The narration was phenomenal, it provided an added dimension, and allowed me to immerse myself in the story.
I wholeheartedly recommend this suspenseful masterpiece to anyone who enjoys a superb romantic thriller!

Perfect blend of romance, suspense & family!

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and I devoured it in one day! I was hooked & couldn’t put it down! I absolutely loved Harper and Garret together. Also I adored the interaction between Harper and Owen!

A suspense to sink your teeth into

Claire is crushing her romantic suspense era! I 100% recommend Temptation Trails it is book three in the Haven Brothers series and follows divorced single father, sheriffs deputy Garrett Haven and his second chance at a HEA with Harper Tilburn, the new baker at Angel cakes bakery.

Garrett is hunting a killer in a cold case that he finds evidence for and reopens. Though he's recently been promoted to detective, he believes his life is full with his work, his family, and being a single father to Owen, but he lets his match making aunt set him up on a blind date nonetheless with Harper. When he has to cancel their date he tries to convince himself that it's for the best and that he doesn't want to date anyways. But in comes Owen making bad choices and he finally meets Harper face to face and he's got a case of insta-lust!

Harper has recently moved to Tilikum to help her aunt with her bakery. She is very superstitious and believes she is cursed with 7 years of bad luck because she broke a mirror, she has also had very bad luck in the romance department and believes that her "bad luck curse" is the reason she gets stood up on her blind date. Then the bakery gets robbed of baked goods and just maybe her luck has started to change.

With Garrett opening the cold case of a young woman who got killed ten years earlier, and small town gossip has gone rampant with speculation about who the killer may be and what really happened, it seems that either the killer has returned to Tilikum and seems to be focused on Harper as his next victim or Tilikum has a copy-cat that is.

Jason Clarke and Rose Dioro, do an amazing job at bringing this story to life! Claire did a great job with the suspense, I had a hard time figuring out who the bad guy was until it was reveled. Temptation Trails is a standalone and can be read without reading the rest of the series but I'd recommend reading in series order so you can get to know the other Haven brothers and their wives. I'm giving this a 5 star and a 3.5 on the spice scale. I can't wait to see which Haven brother is next!

Swoony suspenseful perfection

I loved, loved, loved Garrett and Harper (and Owen). The swoons. The brotherly banter. The adorkableness. The small town goodness. The found family. The mystery. All of it. The story had the perfect balance of heartwarming love, real life issues, snort worthy laughs, danger, mystery, spice, plot twists, and deep emotions. I would not have guessed that the moments of the ridiculous absurdity of small town Tilikum would pair so very well with pretty intense romantic suspense but nevertheless Ms Kingsley has concocted the magic formula for mixing and balancing these elements together perfectly. And I am here for all of it. Garrett is a deputy sheriff/detective in his small town of Tillikum. He is also a divorced single dad to 14-year-old Owen. Harper is new to town and is taking over Angel Cakes Bakery for her Aunt Doris. Garrett has no time for relationships and Harper thinks avoiding dating until her 7 years of bad luck ends is probably a good idea. Nevertheless, a missed blind date results in the inevitable start to their relationship. Garrett is the slow, responsible and careful Haven brother but one look at Harper and that’s it, game over, the HEA train is chugging full speed ahead. Unfortunately, not everything is rainbows and hearts in their new love bubble. When the cold case Garrett is investigating parallels some real life happenings and Harper may be the next victim, Deputy Garrett will need to be the fierce protector he’s always been and Harper will have to trust that the universe is not going to hit her with the bad luck sledgehammer. I loved Owen in this story. He was such a wonderful and integral addition to the story rather than a flimsy story prop and he is sweet awkward perfection. The story just would not have been as rich and well rounded without the full development and inclusion of his character. As always with this author, the story was well written and included engaging dialogue, three dimensional characters who grow, and a captivating storyline. I cannot wait to read which Haven brother falls next.

The narrators were perfect for this story. Jason Clarke and Rose Dioro did a phenomenal job narrating the story and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly. I really love the added dimension listening brings to an already phenomenal story.

Grab some baked goods and buckle up!

Great fun little romantic suspense. This story had me laughing and crying while trying to guess who the real villain was. It also made me hungry, so go out and grab a box of cookies(cupcakes work too), make a hot chocolate, find a cosy spot to read and settle down, this is pretty fast paced and you won’t want to put it down. Claire Kingsley always picks wonderful narrators and this is no different. When it was time where I would usually switch from audio to visual reading I kept listening because it was so good.

Loved it!

Temptation Trails has been bumped up to my new favorite of the series. I could not have loved Harper and Garrett more. Garrett is a single dad to Owen and local police detective. Harper is new to town to take over her aunts bakery. After a botched blind date these two have an unlikely meet cute. Even though these two were complete opposites they had immediate sparks between them and undeniable chemistry. I loved the bond that formed between Harper and his Owen. The suspense part of this book had me guessing until the end who was behind it and had me on the edge of my seat. I’m loving Claire’s romantic suspense era. The story was sweet with all of the small town charm we know and love from Claire but it also had heart pounding, nail biting suspense and I loved every moment of this story!

The is audiobook is performed in dual narration by Rose Dioro and Jason Clarke. Rose was the perfect voice for Harper, she brought out her sweet, caring and superstitious personality. Jason was amazing at bringing out Garrett’s protective and serious personality. Together they were a great duo to bring these characters to life.

Amazing story with wonderful narration!

I love this series and was so excited for this book to come out and I was NOT disappointed! It was SO GOOD! Lots of sweet and swoony moments, funny laugh out loud moments, sitting on the edge of your seat moments... It's got everything! It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

Making this book even better was the narration. The performance by both narrators was engaging and fit the characters while being extremely pleasant to listen to. Wonderful job all around!

So good!

Jason and Rose did a fantastic job!

Sugar Cookies! Harper is so freaking cute! And Owen just stole the show, that kid is freaking awesome. Garrett, another yummy Haven brother falls hard and fast for our new Tilikum baker. He’s absolutely adorable as he stumbles through his instant crush.

These three are so stinking cute they’ll give you a sweet tooth with visions of sugar cookies dancing through your head.

Aunt Louise strikes again when she sets up Garrett with her friend’s niece, Harper. Unfortunately neither Garrett nor Owen make the best first impression on Harper. But after meeting her, Garrett falls all over himself having a “senior moment” and decides his aunt had a good idea after all.

During their courtship Garrett is investigating a cold case and having issues with his job. Meanwhile Harper is having a few bizarre encounters herself and wonders if her bad luck curse is the problem or it’s just her imagination.

The twists and turns will leave you guessing and going hmmmm.

Another Haven lumbersnack bites the dust.