Illicit Affairs- Holly Dixon
Narration/Perspective: 1st person POV
*Spice*: 4/5
Trope: Close proximity/forbidden romance
Enjoyment: 5/5
Overall Rating- 4/5
If you’re looking for sweet, simple romance, this isn’t your book. It is raunchy, racy, spicy and does deal with a couple heavy topics. If you want a safe read, you won’t find it here.
First of all, for all my filth lovers out there, there is 2 chapters of JUST foreplay, and her dress wasn’t even fully off yet. Just bare that in mind.
Ok, I’ll be serious now.
If you haven’t guessed based on the ratings, this was spicy. If you need further convincing, please reference the photo below.
Illicit Affairs is set in London, revolving around Ava, the daughter of head lawyer and partner at a prestigious law firm, and Nate, the young lawyer who works for their sister firm in America, filling in whilst Ava’s father is on sick leave. The book follows their romantic relationship from boss/employee to lovers.
Nate is described as you typical tall, dark, handsome, muscled, macho, “man’s” man. Ava, your classic, fiery beauty. Both are stubborn and hard-headed, causing multiple clashes, some of which lead to some *steamy* moments. We see Nate brings Ava into her feminine self throughout the book. We see his caring and sensitive side a lot once him and Ava start taking their relationship seriously. I like Ava’s character a lot. She’s head strong, stubborn, feisty, and far more brilliant than she is given credit for. She may be a botch sometimes, but she does have a soft spot for the important people in her life. As her relationship with Nate grows, we see her loosen up and lean into him. Her walls come down and she learns to trust someone that isn’t her family or best friend.
My preference in fiction is first person point of view, with the added benefit of having both points of view. I find it engaging and immersive, so I find myself interested a lot more. With romance and smutty books, I’m not always for very overt, in your face descriptions. Sometimes, it’s good to leave things up to the imagination. With this, I feel like she did a good job at getting a good mix of both. I had butterflies raging around whilst reading this. Some scenes are so vivid, and you know very clearly what she’s talking about, other scenes, you must use your imagination to bring it to life.
The other feature of this book that I like is the last couple chapters. *SPOILER ALERT* She adds in a time skip at the very end. Almost too close to the end for me. The climax of the book happens, and the heartbreak happens, and you assume it’s the end. Then you turn the page and see that it’s not the end, but a time jump and then everything else is happy and I’m a happy girl.