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Verdict: A light, steamy age-gap nanny romance: broke grad student Cassie Miller takes a live-in job looking after the six-year-old son of shipping heiress Brook Wellington, fourteen years her senior, and the two try to keep things professional. Readers love Brook, little Noah and the heat; the big dividing line is Cassie herself, whose wandering eye some readers could not forgive.
Best for: Readers who love age gaps, boss/employee tension and an ice-queen single mom.
Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5 — a 4.18 Goodreads average across 2,624 ratings, 3.93 on StoryGraph from 427 reviews, and 4.6 stars across 786 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Age gap, nanny/boss, single mom, rich girl/poor girl, ice queen, workplace, forbidden attraction.
Temptation is Kris Bryant’s 2020 contemporary lesbian romance from Bold Strokes Books. Cassie Miller is broke: her parents cut off all funding when she dropped out of medical school, and graduate school is expensive. A full-time nanny job at the Wellington estate looks like the answer.
It holds a 4.18 average across 2,624 Goodreads ratings, with 81% of them four or five stars, 3.93 on StoryGraph from 427 reviews, and 4.6 stars across 786 Amazon ratings.
What Is Temptation About?
Brook Wellington was born into a global shipping empire and runs it with skill, but success has a cost. Her priority is her six-year-old son, Noah, and she cannot be in two places at once. Hiring a nanny is not a perfect solution, but Cassie comes highly recommended.
If only she were not so attractive. Can Cassie and Brook keep things professional, or will they give in to temptation?
What Works in This Book
- Brook: The frosty, private businesswoman is the character even Cassie’s critics liked.
- Noah: Readers find the sweet, smart six-year-old easy to love, and his bond with Cassie is a highlight.
- Heat: Readers who came for steam say Bryant delivers it.
- Tone: Several readers welcome a lighter, more playful Bryant book after her heavier recent work.
Book Synopsis
A nanny who can’t afford to lose her job. A boss who can’t afford a distraction.
Keeping it professional was the plan.
My Review
Bryant knows exactly what readers come to a nanny romance for, and she gives it: a polished, first-person love story with longing looks, a big house, a cute kid and plenty of steam once the tension breaks. Beyond the romance, readers praise the family dynamics and Cassie’s own story of standing up to her parents to pursue the career she wants. One fan says it made her cry; another compares it, fondly, to SwanQueen fan fiction.
Then there is Cassie. Because the story stays in her head, readers who dislike her have nowhere to go, and several did: they found her immature, bland or too quick to notice every attractive woman she meets. Others found her mature for her age and defended her flirting as harmless before anything began with Brook. A couple of readers also felt the love came on too fast or the chemistry was thin.
My honest note: Your reaction to Cassie will decide how much you enjoy it.
| Element | In Temptation |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Brook Wellington (shipping heiress, single mom) & Cassie Miller (grad student, live-in nanny) |
| Core tropes | Age gap, nanny/boss, ice queen |
| Setting | The Wellington estate |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ |
| Length | 240 pages (paperback) |
| Point of view | First person, Cassie |
| Content notes | Family estrangement, workplace power imbalance |
How Spicy Is Temptation?
Hot. Readers mention several explicit scenes once the slow build pays off.
The angst is light. The tension comes from the power imbalance, Cassie’s estrangement from her parents and a late bump in the road.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a steamy age-gap romance with a powerful single mom. It is on our single mom lesbian romance list.
You may want to skip it if: a young narrator who flirts with other women will grate on you.
In short: Hot boss, cute kid, divisive nanny.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 43% five stars, 38% four, 16% three, 3% two and 1% one. On StoryGraph, 71% tagged it lighthearted, 53% emotional, and 82% found the characters loveable.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Brook first. Second, the steam. Third, Noah. Fourth, the light, sweet tone.
What readers argue about and complain about: Cassie, above everything. Second, instalove. Third, chemistry.
The comparison worth making first: Presidential, another age-gap romance with a powerful single mom.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the age gap in Temptation?
Fourteen years. Cassie is 24 and Brook is about 38, according to readers.
Why do some readers dislike Cassie?
The story is told from Cassie’s point of view, and some readers found her immature because she flirts with and dates other women while she is attracted to Brook. Others defend her, noting that nothing had happened between the leads at that point.
How spicy is Temptation?
Steamy. Readers mention multiple explicit sex scenes once the leads get together.
Is Temptation angsty?
Not very. Readers describe it as fairly angst-free and sweet, with a touch of angst late on. Bryant says in her foreword that she wanted to write something lighter after heavier books.
Is Temptation on Kindle Unlimited?
Not when we checked; the Kindle edition was listed at $9.99.
If You Loved Temptation, Read These Next
Try more Kris Bryant with Catch or Touch, or the boss-family angst of Lasting Impressions. Browse our single mom list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Temptation sets out to be a light, sexy age-gap nanny romance, and Brook, Noah and the steam deliver. What holds it back is a narrator many readers could not warm to. A fun pick for age-gap fans. Check Temptation on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Temptation ranks as a good single-mom pick — steamy, sweet, divisive.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ 4.18 average across 2,624 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 81% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.93 on StoryGraph from 427 reviews
- ✓ 4.6 stars across 786 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Age gap
- ✓ Boss/nanny tension
- ✓ Instalove for some
- ✓ Chemistry debated
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Frosty Brook
- ✓ Divisive Cassie
- ✓ Sweet Noah
- ✓ 82% loveable on StoryGraph
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Polished
- ✓ First person
- ✓ Playful
- ✓ Light
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Family
- ✓ Sacrifice
- ✓ Made one reader cry
- ✓ Low angst
Heat Level ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Explicit
- ✓ Several scenes
- ✓ Slow build
- ✓ Adult
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Happy
- ✓ Late bump
- ✓ Sweet
- ✓ Satisfying
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ $9.99 Kindle price
- ✓ 240 pages
- ✓ Not on Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ Age-gap favourite
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