Engaging Evelyn by Alaska Angelini
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Evelyn and her group of friends belong to a small tourist town of Port Aransas, Texas. They all have their personal demons they want to rid of and in dire need of distractions but none more so than Evelyn. After her ex-fiancé suddenly broke up with her a couple of years ago, all she had been feeling was crushing loneliness and onslaught of depression. Determined to overcome the broken heart, she came up with the idea of Bets. The girls would bet each other on picking a random guy the others chose, from the bar. If they failed, they had to pay for the other’s drinks the rest of the night. For a time, the idea works but she did not count on the heaviness that just keeps on increasing with time or the gorgeous new blue-eyed persistent neighbour, Brandon who wants to date her or the return of her ex, Stephen.
Brandon is on a mission to make Evelyn fall in love with him. He does not count on his own unexpected feelings for her or the complications her ex brings to their whole situation. But seeing the real Evelyn and her heart, he is not willing to give her up so easily, even if it means telling her his biggest secret.
Stephen knew the blunder he had made when he let Evelyn go all those years ago but those were extenuating circumstances. Now he was finally free and determined to win back Evelyn and make up for her heartbreak and road to self-destruction.
Engaging Evelyn and Blissful Bet series is Alaska Angelini’s earliest works which were previously published with Siren Publishing under the name, Jennifer Salaiz. After getting the rights back, she has republished them and being a huge fan of her work, I just had to read the books she started out with. Engaging Evelyn is vastly different from her other works as Alaska Angelini and A.A. Dark but one thing remains true; her strong female leads who give as good as they get.
Ms. Angelini dares to write a female lead that is at par with men when it comes to the game of one night stands. Evelyn’s dominance and confidence does not show her loving heart or her struggles with depression and that makes her a strong leader. But she meets her match in Brandon and Stephen, who want to love her for who she is without judging her actions nor her past. They want to heal her broken heart even if it means letting the best man win. But what if there isn’t one best man for Evelyn? You have to read to find out.
Engaging Evelyn is not only a polyamorous romance but also has some interesting twists and unexpected situations. All in all it is an engaging ride but not for those who prefer straight forward romance with knight in shining armour. Look forward to reading more in this series.
Book received in exchange of an honest review.
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