Temptation Rising (The Shadow Shifters, #1)

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Temptation Rising (The Shadow Shifters #1)

by A.C. Arthur (Goodreads Author)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 209 ratings · 45 reviews

Temptation Rising

A.C. Arthur

Washington D.C. police officer Kalina Harper still dreams about that night, two years ago, when a huge cat-like creature saved her from a crazed attacker. Although she kept the truth to herself, Kalina can never forget the ferocious strength of the beast’s fangs and claws—or the raw animal hunger in its eyes. Until she meets Roman Reynolds…

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Paperback, 375 pages

Published March 27th 2012 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

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Jul 01, 2012 Marcia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Bookswagger Danielle: Four Crowns, good read, on the way to swagger. While the concept didn’t wow I wasn’t totally bored to tears. I applaud the author for her use of ethnic characters it wasn’t overly done and exaggerated in fact after the initial descriptions I was hard pressed to even think about it. That tells me she did a wonderful job because it wasn’t the focus. Roman was hands down my favorite character. I’m not sure if it’s a character flaw within me but I just love imperfect, aggressiv...more Bookswagger Danielle: Four Crowns, good read, on the way to swagger. While the concept didn’t wow I wasn’t totally bored to tears. I applaud the author for her use of ethnic characters it wasn’t overly done and exaggerated in fact after the initial descriptions I was hard pressed to even think about it. That tells me she did a wonderful job because it wasn’t the focus. Roman was hands down my favorite character. I’m not sure if it’s a character flaw within me but I just love imperfect, aggressive, slightly arrogant heroes with flaws. His desire for Kalina didn’t take away from his alpha status and there were really no silly arguments to detract from the story. I would have liked to see the author develop Kalina more.

Without giving too much away I felt her investigation was really kind of weak and a little unrealistic for me. If I didn’t find a money trail seeing the name Cortez the drug lord on documents would have triggered way more questions. Simply put other characters outshined her. I found myself intrigued with Baxter wondering how he knew things and was he really human.This book had a little something for everyone suspense, romance, fantasy and paranormal and I really enjoyed it. I found myself at the end looking for more. I will definitely be reading the second book when it comes out.

Bookswagger Marcia: Three crowns, swagger jacked , decent read. I have read contemporaries by A.C. Arthur and I really like Arthur’s style. I would recommend giving this books a try especially for our AA readers who do not like paranormal and are mostly into the contemporary or street urban fiction romances. I liked the hero Roman he met the heroine early in the book in were form saving her during a brutal attack. Which is one of the things I did not get, I mean this is romance fiction right, we had to include a prologue with the BLANK scene. I left it BLANK because as I sit and write this I realize that is what threw me off about the whole book I don’t even want to type that word on my blog. The only thing about the scene was the hero met her saved her and caught her unique scent and they didn’t meet again until years later.

I am a fan of the A.C., I even made Danielle read it see above 4 crowns. All in all this was a decent read. I was glad to see her writing a paranormal. The cast of characters is multicultural and the book can be bought in print in an actual bookstore which is not something that can be said of many multicultural romances and hardly ever of a multicultural paranormal unless was an erotic story sold at the now closed Borders… Lord I wanted to love this book. I really did. I know I am rating this book low while still recommending it. Because I think some people will like this book. So read it and tell me what you think.
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May 12, 2012 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

Should we always understand why we are drawn to someone?

What should have been a routine investigation for Kalina Harper has turned into anything but that. She knows sneaking around Roman Reynolds office is beyond a bad idea but it is something she was assigned to do. Roman is not at all what he appears to be yet Kalina is not sure what that something is that she is unable to see.

There is a shadow world that Roman prowls and protects. Roman now feels that overwhelming need to do all those things...more

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May 08, 2012 Erinaceina rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to this. Cat shapeshifters, angst, alpha heroes, smut: it sounded like my idea of a near-perfect read. Sadly, I thought the book was crippled by the fact that Kalina doesn't find out that Roman is a shapeshifter (and that he isn't a criminal) until very late in the book. This made the sections from Kalina's POV feel rather more like erotic contemporary romance than PNR. More critically, it meant that we saw very little of the hero and heroine working together.

Overal...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Ria rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: cops, pnr, shapeshifters

I am conscious of the fact that whenever I start reading a book that features a shirtless man on the cover, it is perhaps naive to expect brilliance, but I am ever optimistic that I will get swept up in a fun story. Despite having read a few iffy reviews of the book, the blurb of Temptation Rising seemed promising for some easy weekend reading and I found a copy in the library. I am very glad I did not part with my cash for this book.

Starting with the positive: I liked the South American backgro...more I am conscious of the fact that whenever I start reading a book that features a shirtless man on the cover, it is perhaps naive to expect brilliance, but I am ever optimistic that I will get swept up in a fun story. Despite having read a few iffy reviews of the book, the blurb of Temptation Rising seemed promising for some easy weekend reading and I found a copy in the library. I am very glad I did not part with my cash for this book.

Starting with the positive: I liked the South American background and a fair amount of thought had been put into the society and its rules, which I always appreciate.

Unfortunately, pretty much everything else about the book annoyed me. Temptation Rising is lacking in any subtlety whatsoever - by page 15, the reader has been the recipient of such a high level of info dumping, we know that the heroine has been the victim of a vicious attack that has coloured her view of all men, she was raised in foster care and lives an isolated life, she is a cop and she is undercover and she finds the hero totally attractive (even though it's super unclear whether she has met him or not by this point) and the hero is an orphan and his best friend is an orphan and he plans to find the murderer of his parents. All of the above is rammed down our throats BY PAGE 15. There is no showing in this book, only telling.

The 'romance' was unconvincing, heavily reliant on the "pre-destined mate" trope without spending any time developing the relationship away from animal lust (the best offerings from the genre have proved time and again that this angle can be worked more successfully if you spend the time and effort establishing your characters). And the heroine is guilty of so many TSTL moments, it boggled my mind that she was an allegedly successful undercover cop. Why would you phone your cop boss from the office you are working in UNDERCOVER??? And then GO TO THE POLICE STATION??? Just so many moments that made no sense.

I like fun fluff but poor writing only serves to yank me out of the story. Disappointing.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Bitten By Love Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Temptation Rising is the first installment of the Shadow Shifters series by A.C. Arthur. I have two words for you- Num Yummy. I actually read the the second book first, which, I know is almost always a mistake. Fortunately I did like the second book enough to go back and read the first.... thank god.... because AC knocks it out of the park. I was drawn in from page one and didn't want to put it down till the very end. As I knew it would, Temptation Rising filled in all of the gaps and informatio...more Temptation Rising is the first installment of the Shadow Shifters series by A.C. Arthur. I have two words for you- Num Yummy. I actually read the the second book first, which, I know is almost always a mistake. Fortunately I did like the second book enough to go back and read the first.... thank god.... because AC knocks it out of the park. I was drawn in from page one and didn't want to put it down till the very end. As I knew it would, Temptation Rising filled in all of the gaps and information that I wanted to know about while reading book two-Seduction's Shift. Gah! Now I really can't wait for the next book to come out. Oiy Roman is the definition of Apha, and I have to admire Kalina's strength of willpower. I mean, sheesh, the woman shuts down his every advance for far longer than any normal woman should be capable of considering the heat between the two.

Right now Kalina Harper's sole focus is on securing a position with as DEA agent, and the assignment that will help her achieve just that is seriously putting her willpower to the test. She is to go undercover as an account assistant at the law firm of Reynolds & Delgado to dig up the dirty on the head honcho himself, Roman Reynolds. Unfortunately, after having worked at the firm for a couple of weeks she is unable to find any evidence that the man is in any way dirty. So she decides to break into his office after hours hoping to find something incriminating on his personal computer. Enter Roman Reynolds.

Roman is one of the partners of Reynolds & Delgado and is also the faction leader of the Shadow shifter tribe based in the US. When he walks out of the bathroom and into his office to find Kalina trying to hack into his computer he is taken back in time. He knows that this is the woman he had saved two years ago, and hadn't been able to forget ever since. Only, she doesn't know it was him that had saved her because he had been in his Jaguar form at the time. This time Roman is determined not to let her get away, and to claim her as his own. But first he has to convince her that she is his, and keep his arch nemisis, Sabar, from taking her from him. (less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Paranormal Haven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-read-by-stephanie

At night, Kalina Harper is haunted by memories of an attack two years ago and the dangerous creature that saved her. By day, she is a Washington D.C. cop who has been sent undercover to find evidence that links the handsome and powerful attorney Roman Reynolds to a drug operation. An assignment that proves difficult when Roman takes a special interest in Kalina and she's finding him hard to resist. Roman and his jaguar want Kalina in a way he's never wanted any other woman. He'll do anything to...more At night, Kalina Harper is haunted by memories of an attack two years ago and the dangerous creature that saved her. By day, she is a Washington D.C. cop who has been sent undercover to find evidence that links the handsome and powerful attorney Roman Reynolds to a drug operation. An assignment that proves difficult when Roman takes a special interest in Kalina and she's finding him hard to resist. Roman and his jaguar want Kalina in a way he's never wanted any other woman. He'll do anything to not only have her, but keep her. When a rogue group of shifters commit a string of grisly murders, Roman will need to find and stop them before they get their hands on their next target, Kalina.

Kalina is a woman with a sad past who wants to get ahead in her career while doing good. She's at Roman's firm to find evidence that would link him to drugs coming out of South America. This is where my problems with Kalina started. She doesn't really seem to put any effort forth in finding any clues that would connect Roman to the drugs and what little she does do, seems pointless. My second problem with her was her relationship with Roman. She's a cop trying to take everything away from him and send him to prison yet she starts a physical relationship with him? That just doesn't make any sense. I wasn't expecting the twist regarding her past when I first started the book so I thought that was interesting but other than that, there just wasn't anything remarkable about her.

Roman takes being an alpha almost to the point of being too overbearing but he struck just the right cord with me. He has met Kalina before and now that she's back in his life, he doesn't just want her, he craves her. I love the possessiveness that Roman exhibits. I know that vampires also get the same way yet there's something about when a shifter does it that makes it feel so primal and sexy. In his relationship with Kalina, I can't help but feel that it was more about lust between them than love. The hot, sweaty, skin on skin action they did very well. I just couldn't imagine them having anything real outside the bedroom.

Roman is in charge of the east coast jaguars and it's his responsibility to find out who is viciously killing humans before his kind is exposed. There's no huge mystery as to who is behind it all. What I did enjoy was learning about the shifter politics and how Roman wants to make it better. Here's a man who truly loves his kind and there is a certain passion he shows when he's dealing with issues regarding them and I couldn't get enough of these scenes.

There's no new ground broken in Temptation Rising. Still, I didn't have a hard time finding a few things to keep me interested. Aside from Roman, his friends Nick and X are just as alpha yet have something extra that set them apart. I look forward to getting to know more about them in future books as well as what's going on with the rogues and how they'll affect the overall system of the jaguars. I probably won't rush out and buy book two as soon as it comes out but continue on in this series.
- Stephanie(less)

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Jul 14, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a decent story. There were a lot of really good things about the book although I can not really specify anything in particular. The story line kept me intrigued and I looked forward to getting through the book. I wish the book had been more descriptive in addressing the characters. I usually appreciate books that give me a vivid description of a particular person and gives off a personality. This story although gave me a since of the characters did not really give me the visualization...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Kai rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Temptation Rising is the first of the Shadow Shifters series. I found the concept of the story interesting of having a half man and half cat living in a metro city especially in Washington D.C. Roman (Rome)Reynolds is a strong and idealistic character in this story. He is one of the Faction Leader and would protect his race of shapeshifters at all costs.

Kalina Harper is a Metro Police Officer recruited by the DEA to investigate Roman Reynolds of laundering money to the South America drug cartel....more

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Jun 07, 2012 Priscilla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Animal Attraction At Another Level

A.C. Arthur introduces readers to a new series with the first book in her Shadow Shifters series, Temptation Rising. Kalina Harper has one thing on her mind - she wants to be a DEA agent. In order to do it, she has to go undercover as an account assistant at the law firm of Reynolds & Delgado. But, there were two things that interfered with her plan. First, Kalina is haunted by an incident that occurred two years earlier where she was rescued by a creature...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Toni rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, romance, paranormal

Having been spoiled by Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due, I get a little skeptical when choosing to read new supernatural or science fiction books. Especially when they are also part of the romance genre. The recently passed authors L.A. Banks and Monica Jackson were masters at this subject. Because I've read most of A.C. Arthur's romances, I was interested to see what she had in store with Temptation Rising and I was not disappointed.

Kalina Harper is a police officer in Washington, DC who is de...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Beverly rated it 5 of 5 stars

A.C. Arthur’s first book in the Shadow Shifters series is edgy and fascinating. She paints an energizing world of shape-shifting jaguars, and their battle to maintain a peaceful co-existence with humans. Arthur skillfully builds characters – introducing readers to Roman and his associates who function as humans, keeping their society and shape-shifting abilities secret. The colorful alpha males are an enticing blend of masculinity and seductive prowess with a very protective nature towards women...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Synithia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked the chemistry between Kalina and Roman. The tension between them was really hot. The story kept me interested, although some sections of shifter history reference did bog me down. But, it was needed I guess since this is the first novel. At the end I got a bit confused with all of the POV switches to secondary characters who weren't that important. All that was minor, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a hot paranormal for a weekend.

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Nov 03, 2012 MostlyDelores rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, ticked-me-off, wasted-potential

I got sucked in by the blurb. I am the first to admit that I like cheesy shifter romances, and this should have been a good one. Nope. Amateurish writing, characters that brood like 12 year old girls, especially Nick, who hardly seemed adult in any way - maybe he was dropped on his head at some point? And, Melanie, I almost forgot Melanie - WTF, book? (view spoiler)...more

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May 26, 2012 Shawnette rated it 5 of 5 stars

This being my FIRST paranormal series...I really have NOTHING to compare it to...so all I can say is IMHO it's an AMAZING read...a THRILLING, suspenseful page-turner...with an INTRIGUING plot...and an ENTERTAINING and colorful cast of characters...the intimate connection between Kalina and Roman is mysterious, INTENSE and quite SPICY...and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in this series...well done Mrs. Arthur!

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Aug 10, 2012 Kay Rogal rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you liked reading Lora Leigh's 'Breeds' series...You will love A.C. Arthur! A very sexy, suspense filled read of The Shadow Shifters - shapeshifting jaguars. Kalina, a Washington D.C. officer, and Roman, a seductive high-powered attorney, discover their past and present are intertwined, bringing fantasies, intrigue and danger to an all time high!

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Jul 13, 2012 Deanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good read. Great opening, but I felt the book didn't quite live up to the promise of its start. I expected more based on how the opening resonated with me and felt a bit disappointed when the story didn't live up to the promise I saw in the prologue. The story was a bit repetitive in places, too, repeating previous scene events or character feelings at times, but overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters.

This was my first time reading this author, so her style and voice were new to me. I...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Rosa rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5
el inicio fue super lento y casi lo dejo, pero me alegro de no haberlo hecho, creo que la autora se esforzó para darnos un contexto adecuado de la historia, y explicarnos sobre este universo, al final me engancho y las ultimas paginas las lei de un tiron ;
Definitivamente quiero leer el siguiente libro

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Aug 19, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book surprised me because i am not a big fan of paranormal romance but this may have chanced my mind this book was super sexy hot and all around good book... i will read the next one in the series ..happy i took the chance and read this book..

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Jul 16, 2012 OCLS Staff Picks rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in The Shadow Shifters series. Kalina Harper is a D.C. cop undercover at a large law firm run by Roman Reynolds which is suspected of working with a South American drug cartel. Roman, in addition to being a lawyer, is the head of a shapeshifting jaguar group from the Amazon. Kalina and Roman find themselves working together to battle Rogues, shifters who want to rule over humans instead of live with them. This fast-paced, paranormal novel sets the stage for an exciting new...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars

I kept hoping something would draw me in. But, I ended up just not caring about any of the characters. One of the side characters I actually kind of despised by the end. It isn't that it's a badly written book. I just couldn't relate to or sympathize with any of the characters. And I wanted to like it. :(

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Jul 31, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ummm what a change of pace Shapeshiters. I had been putting this off wondering if AC could pull it off since I am such a fan of the late LA Banks and she did. The booknwasngreatband I can't wait until the next one. Tall dark and sexy.

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Jun 06, 2012 Tawana Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars

This reminds me of a LA banks novel. Loved the characters and can't wait for more. My on fault is that some things were a bit repetitive. If you say it once it's no need to repeat it 5 different times in other chapters

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Mar 03, 2013 Kimberly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Awesome story! I couldn't put it down. I laughed, cried and wanted to jump in the book and hurt a couple of cats. I loved the ending and can't wait for the next one.

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Mar 30, 2012 Felicia Redmon rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book has move to the top of my favorite book list never thought that I would enjoy paranormal but now I am craving more can't wait for Nick's story

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Apr 04, 2013 Laurie Bongiorno rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, shapeshifters, sex

I found myself skipping parts... especially the love scenes near the end, because I just couldn't read about turgid nipples or globes any more. (that's just a couple of examples, lol)
The beginning was a combination of two books I have read before, at least a few times... not original. There was also a lot of rehashing, info dumping and belivability issues.
The take on shifters did have a new twist that will have me reading the next one before I decide to go further, or not, with this series; sin...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Nikita Isaac rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it!!!! I was pulled in the story and couldn't wait to finish it. Have to buy the next one.

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May 10, 2012 jeff marked it as to-read

I won this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Looking forward to reading it. Thank you.

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Sep 19, 2012 Joyce rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, fantasy, paranormal, shifter

Not bad, not great. I would have liked to have more of the shifter storyline. Too human for me

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Jul 14, 2012 Tamika Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

My first paranormal and Im addicted!!! From page one AC had Mi!!

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May 09, 2012 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars

the cover looks awsome and it sounds riveting cant wait to read it...

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About A.C. Arthur

Artist C. Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she currently resides with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasn’t stopped since.

Working in the legal field for almost thirteen years now she’s seen lots of horrific things and longs for the safe haven reading a romance novel brings....more

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Books by A.C. Arthur

Seduction's Shift (The Shadow Shifters, #2)

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