Title: An Unholy Affair
Author: Evie Alexander
Genre: Spicy Romantic Comedy
Pages: 438
I received this Advance Review Copy from BookSirens and the author in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you BookSirens and the author Evie Alexander!!
BLURB
Will he show her heaven, or take her straight to hell?
Vicar Eveline Shaw’s always dreamed of finding ‘the one’, but her job keeps getting in the way. She may be kind and beautiful, but men run a mile when they discover who her boss is. Only one person has ever made her soul sing; a perfect stranger who walked away without a second glance.
Escort Jack Newton’s got a talent few men have, and it’s made him rich. But his job’s a dirty secret, and as his bank account gets bigger, his heart gets smaller. He left his one chance at happiness at a bar and didn’t look back. When he’s dragged back to Somerset after his father dies, Jack falls into a nightmare. His dream woman may be living in Foxbrooke, but she wants a happily-ever-after and he’s an escort with no plans to stick around.
Can Jack show Eveline heaven and keep his secret safe, or are they both headed straight for hell? An Unholy Affair is a second chance, forbidden love, super-steamy, small town romantic comedy with a guaranteed happily ever and no cheating or cliffhanger.
“The girl I’ll love is like a wine who will only get better a little every morning.”
REVIEW
An Unholy Affair is the second book in the Foxbrooke series. Readers can start this book post reading One night Foxbrooke which is a short story and the book one: Love ad Lib, reading in this order will give the readers an immense joy but however this book can also be read as a standalone.
This book focuses on Eveline and Jack who are in a completely opposite professions, their attraction and love for each other will be supremely scandalous if anyone comes to know of it because for Eveline is a godly Vicar and Jack is an Escort who get paid for having sex with women. Wow! That sounds really scandalous, isn’t it? That’s what this book is all about.
The story starts with Eveline and Jack accidentally encountering each other at a bar in London. The magnetic force of an attraction the feel is unwaveringly strong and inescapable. The entire idea of an Escort and a Vicar falling in love for so new and pique the interest to get started with the book.
This story takes places in the backdrop of a peaceful and serene British town which has a wonderful community kind of a vibe about it. Jack has moved out of Somerset as soon as he graduates from his to escape from his abusive and not so great parents. After so many years of avoiding his parents he finally returns to Somerset for his father’s funeral. He has never had a good relationship with them. Despite distancing himself from his parents he has always kept in touch with his sister and her family.
Eveline on the other hand has a lovely parents, a step-dad and step-sisters. She also has a dark past which pushed her towards god’s path and she finally ended up becoming a Vicar. She loves her job and most of all, she loves being there for people and helping them out in anything and everything. Entire Somerset loves her and her rectory is like an open cafe where people randomly comes and chill. Her rectory doesn’t even has a lock and it is always open for anyone who feels like popping in.
After the bar incident, fate decides to make Jack and Eveline come face to face with each other again. Here, in Somerset, unlike in London, they are ripped off their masks. As they spend more and more time with each other, falling in love becomes ultimately inevitable. Will their profession and what they stand for come between their attraction and love? That’s the story of this book.
An Unholy Affair has a solid sought after plotline. It was engaging, smooth and peaceful. The atmosphere of Somerset will engulf the readers and throughout these 400 plus odd pages, the readers will feel like they are living in a small English town. They were a lot of community activities which will bring both the main characters and the readers together.
The most nicest thing about this book is Jack making Eveline understand that she is always prioritising others and others are taking her for granted. The way he does smallest of things to exhibit that she has someone who cares for her and prioritise are amazingly written. His small acts like cooking for her when she hardly times to each, helping her with small and big community projects will make the readers fall in love with the man being an Escort’s mask.
“It didn’t matter that they’d hardly seen each other over the last decade, or how their lives had changed since they left school. They knew each other on a fundamental level and clicked back together effortlessly.”
They were a lot of interesting characters in Somerset, starting from Eveline‘s best friend Estelle, Jack‘s childhood friends, his sister, the folks in Foxbrooke Haven and so on. Most particularly Jack‘s mom’s character will make you feel sad for her despite her never standing up for her children against her husband. The best part about the book was small revealation about Jack‘s father which made both the siblings understand why their father behaved in a certain cruel manner when he was alive. This will make the readers do a lot of thinking and reflecting. The people in the old-age home aka Foxbrooke Haven were a delight to read about and mostly importantly, though Jack’s friends play a minor role in this book, their presence made all the difference in Jack’s life. Their steadfast support and understanding even though they are meeting Jack after an eternity was heartwarming. That’s the thing about best friends even after loosing touch with them for years you will feel just the same while meeting again- picking the pieces from just where you left it years ago.
The writing style of the author was simple and glossy. Though it is a spicy romance and it is supposed to have a lot of sex scenes, it felt like some of them were unnecessary and repetitive. These kind of redundant scenes could’ve been avoided. While reading, at some points, it felt like the book was too lengthy and draggy. Also the interaction between Jack and Eveline could’ve been a little bit more interesting. At the same time, it felt like Jack‘s character has a lot of depth and detail compared to Eveline. A little bit more of details to Eveline‘s past and thoughts would’ve been spectacular to read.
Other than that, one of the best thing about Eveline’s character is how she deal with situations especially when she grasps the reality of Jack‘s occupation and how it could impact her life and work has been beautifully written. For this reaction of hers in the moment of crisis will actually make the readers respect and love the most. The other thing about Eveline was she was modern and revolutionary in her own way.
This book cover a lot of things starting with parental abuse, a slight bit of LGBTQ representation, a little bit of drug addiction, an unorthodox vicar with modern solutions for the new times, childhood friendships and many more. These made the book a complete package.
“Someone who actually allowed another person to speak, without simply waiting for the opportunity to interrupt them.”
MY VIEWS
I personally was super intrigued to read a spicy novel about a Vicar and an Escort. What an unlikely combo it was and to be frank it did entertain me. The reading experience was smooth.
I liked all the friends of Eveline and Jack. My favourite friends were Estelle, Finn and Cyrille. The book ended with a hint about the next book which is going to be able Estelle and I’m looking forward to reading it because the whole idea of the next book has impressed me a lot. Finn is that sweet friend and I loved the intereaction between Finn and Jack. Coming my most favourite friend, Cyrille, though Jack and Cyrille’s conversations are through phone calls and text messages, Cyrille was super entertaining and exciting to read. I also love the art project which Jack was doing for the old age home, the interaction with all the people living there were enthralling to read.
Another interesting thing about this book is the lead characters’ love for star wars and movies. How they get each other references and bond over all these things may seem trivial but it was extremely relatable. Eveline’s belief in god and Jack‘s non inclination towards god was epic.
The only thing I didn’t get that much was Jack’s addiction towards alcohol. For me at least, it seemed a food habit. Like if you live in France, obviously, you’ll get used to having exquisite food with a wine or champagne
Overall, it was a good book to read. You can pick up this book if you are looking for light read or a spicy romance book. This book will certainly keep amused. Obviously this book can be read by audience who are over 18 years.
My rating for this book would be 3.5 out of 5 stars
You can purchase this book over here.
Happy Reading Folks!
~ Meenu
