❤️‍🔥Unholy Obsession❤️‍🔥
By Stacia Black

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Star Review
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5 Spicy Level

This is book 2 of 3 in the Carnal Games series by Stacia Black. I did not read book 1 prior. It is set up as a standalone but has shared characters with the other books. Each book in this series is about a different love story. It’s definitely a dark romance in genre with explicit scenes and a lot of strong emotional cues.

Unholy Obsession is the story of Bane and Moira.

Father Bane Blackwood is an Episcopalian priest who has some “darker” tendencies and enjoys visits to a local sex club, Carnal, while wearing a mask to hide his identity. He comes from money with a very troubled past. He has been living humbly as a priest, no contact with his family by choice for many years, and trying to gain absolution from past poor choices. One evening after giving in to his darker urges, he meets Moira Callaghan at Carnal where they have a rather intense scene together.

Moira Callaghan also comes from a very troubled past with a childhood suggestive of abuse. It’s very clear she has serious undiagnosed mental health issues which play a huge part in this story. The author does a phenomenal job of realistically portraying the mental health problems & how they affect daily life, both in the short and the long term.

These two together are explosive. Wild. Chaotic. Passionate. They are both inherently good people who have made poor past choices, trying to be better, making each other better, all while trying to make their relationship work and manage difficult family dynamics.

This was my first book I’ve read by this author. I would like to read the other two from this series after meeting those characters in this book.

The author does offer bonus content for this book through a link at the end via Book Funnel.

I did read this book as an ARC after publication date.

❤️‍🔥Happy Reading!❤️‍🔥

This book was 3.5 stars. rounding up to 4 stars on the scale here. It was not my favorite, it took me awhile to read, and while it was good, it just wasn't for me. I really wanted to love it, but i just didn't find myself loving it enough to give it the full 4 or 5 star review. It kind of felt a little disjointed in some parts. and that may just be me.

I need more plot to this book and for it to be longer. I'm starting to see that all erotica books are mainly for spice and not of the plot. That being said the book is good.

This book had some great potential and ended well but throughout it was not my favorite. There was just too much inner dialogue and back and forth.

A controlled priest falls for a wild girl in this fabulous dark romance by the always fantastic Stasia Black. She’s my go to for dark romance because, while the spice is always perfect, she also writes her characters with so much depth and personality. They are flawed and troubled but you want them to have a happy ending.
It was great to see mental health represented so well too - Maura’s mental health issues aren’t something that Bane merely ‘puts up with’. He loves who she is completely, including all her flaws and the struggles that she goes through.
Fantastic read as always - incredible spice, a page turning storyline and character you will adore. The events in the book follow on from what happens in 7 Days (previously called Cherry Auction) - it can be read on its own but I’d recommend reading 7 Days first. It’s a great introduction to Maura and there is an ongoing storyline throughout both books.
Rated 4.5 stars on Instagram and StoryGraph but unfortunately don’t have that option here.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
YTD Book Boyfriend Ranking: 9/48
Kindle Unlimited: Yes

This is the second book in a series of interconnected standalones and while there is no indication of that until the end, I actually didn't find it too confusing. There was definitely some moments where I thought I was missing something but it wasn't enough to get me to be upset or feel like I needed to read the first one.

There were some pretty good things about this book, I liked the plot well enough, though there were some moments where I questioned the characters motivations, the spice was solid and not overdone. The book boyfriend was pretty good. He managed to make his way into my top ten for the year (for now, the list is ever evolving). I kinda hated his name and him "changing" it to Blackwood just made it confusing because I kept thinking there were editing errors. This was a solid potato chip read and I had a good time reading it. For what I expected, it definitely delivered.

I will say though, whoever edited this book for the author needs to be replaced. Because the timeline is all sorts of messed up and that's something that should have been caught in editing. For example: It's April, then six weeks later, it's March? Nine months later, it's December and a baby that hadn't been born yet in March is eleven months old? A conversation that occurred months ago was "the other day"? The couple reunites in March but nine months later, they've only been back together for three months? There's a lot of that and since I got this ARC after the book came out, I'm thinking this needs to be adjusted ASAP :)

Overall, this book was solid, and I had a good time reading it. I went into it expecting a spicy fun dark romance and that's what I got!

*posted to Goodreads, Instagram, Lemon8, and TikTok*

A steamy read! A woman who knows her kinks and a priest...use your imagination. Read the trigger warnings. Dual POV, a little unhinged, and 🌶🌶🌶🌶 level. 5 star must read. First time read from this author, it wont be my last. Enjoy!

This one wasn’t for me. I’m not sure if it was the religious undertones that put me off or if it just wasn’t what I expected. Most of the characters were interesting enough to keep me going, but in general this wasn’t enjoyable for me.

Dark, twisted, complicated and hot. These words perfectly sum up what this book was. I’m pretty sure there was a book before this one and there is something about their story that I might have missed. But I could catch up with the action pretty early on and the tropes represented where explicit enough to make me understand what had happened before. It’s not as dark as I originally thought it would have been, but it was dark so check your trigger warnings before getting into it !! Overall, I had a good time getting through this book and the main characters’ wild dynamic !

It’s something different from the other dark romance books I usually read. I loved how the characters had both a traumatic past. From one hand Moira having to face her addictions and self thoughts and on the other hand Bane having his controlling father. These two met up at the perfect time. Their smut scenes had my jaw on the floor for quite a time. I also loved how the ended up together in the end because Moira had me scared in a moment that she would leave my boy crying his soul out there. What I would like most would be to see how they grow together in the relationship. I loved it though.

I need a fan, or a big wave of ice cold water to cool myself off after reading this magnificently dirty book! I absolutely devoured this. The spice was top tier, the plot kept this story moving. You have an absolute broody mmc and a feisty, chaotic FMC. What I loved the best was the representation of mental health and someone loving you despite, through it, and supporting them. Highly recommend!!

I dont know how to explain that the book itself was ⭐️⭐️ but the vibes were ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This felt like a complete mash-up of tropes and character arcs, which can be quite overwhelming and even feel random - but i actually really enjoyed it

The spice is EXPLICIT but considering the FMC is a sex addict it is to be expected

I didn’t realise this was a sequel in a universe - which could have made some other characters make more sense but it didn’t take away from it (although admittedly maybe it wouldn’t have felt as random in places as it did if i had read the first book)

I’d recommend this if you’re not looking for a book to take too seriously; there’s a lot going on but it’s a lot of fun 😊

In summary:
- mental health representation
- SPICE SPICE SPICE
- priest MMC
- sex addict FMC
- mafia / rich family
- found family
- sub/dom

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the characters and the mental health representation!! Really well written

⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at 70%.

The first couple of chapter really did grip me but after the 60% mark I lost interest as I felt the plot has already played out and there no further the story could go. If the plot twist is still is happen at my DNF mark then I believe it should have happened sooner.

The writing was very good, very descriptive and enchanting. I enjoyed reading about Moria’s and Farther Blackwood/Banes character development and their evolution of their relationship and dynamic. His obsession with Moria’s was just next level.

I do believe with the spicy scenes, there could be further development made in terms of what it is these get up to considering their preferred choice of instances and how this books highlights BDSM & Dom/Sub.

I will clarify there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book it was just not for me, reading is subjective and we can agree to disagree and how we few books.

This book reminded me of Priest from Sierra Simone! It was very spicy in the best, naughty way. At times it was predictable (will they, won't they get together in the end). The love was evident, and it would be great to hear more about the club experience. Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to read this book and think it will do well in the genre!

I received this eARC from NetGalley, and I was very interested in it and intrigued by the first 20 or so pages...
the book was entertaining and fun, and spicy, so spicy for my current mood, lol.
The plot was interesting, and the writing was actually pretty good, but there were issues with editing because why were we going from April to March instead of the opposite? And why was there so many mistakes with the timeline specifically??
Other than that I found the book very quick in pace, this man had super instalove, lol, I was hoping for tension and slow burn and teasing, it would have suited better..
Also, apparently, this is a part of a series? I didn’t notice that actually until I checked out the author’s pages online.. it’s not hard to follow events and until the very end, you do not notice this little bit of info..
I was going to rate it 3 stars but I felt if the timeline thing was edited it’s a solid 4 stars so it deserved it from me.

Moira feel guilty thru the entire book and dealing with an mental illness Bane is a priest who love control and Dom and he meets Moira in a club masquerade which she doesnt know who he is or what he looks like Bane does and when Moira find herself in church and tring to find peace within herself. Bane help her along the way.
Thank you for your review.

Tempting, powerful and exciting!

Trope: Forbidden PRIEST Dark Romance

So, this book grabbed me right from the start! I was immediately pulled into a world full of secrets that pop up in surprising ways. Stasia Black wrote a story that really hooked me with forbidden romance between Bane and Moira. You know that feeling when a book just pulls you in? I mean, I didn't even care if I stayed up late until 3 AM just to find out what happened next.

A little heads-up for those picking this up, okay? Don't ignore this.
1. YES, I liked the story! But there were times I felt like I was missing some information here. Uhm... to be honest, some things about the characters and what happened in the past were a little confusing.

2. This book doesn't feel like a story on its own or you know... considered as stand-alone. I mean, reading this book feels like you're only getting part of a bigger story. I'm really curious to see how it connects to other books. I think that will help me understand the characters even better.

BUT...

Despite that minor point, I was completely blown away by how BOLD and interesting this forbidden love story with a priest was. It grabbed my attention! As someone who has a WEAKNESS for this particular trope, the author really nailed it! Stasia Black created a relationship that was both SO WRONG and SO GOOD to read about!

- internal conflict
- undeniable chemistry (it was done so well that I couldn't help but get lost in the story)

I thought about giving it 4 stars because...again, I felt like I missed some background info. But what made me decide to give it a solid 5 stars was how exciting the story was and how well the author wrote this dark and forbidden romance. Reading this late at night until dawn was worth it!

Big thanks to the author and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for letting me read this early!

ARC Review of Unholy Obsession by Stasia Black
* * * * *
A spicy dark romance with two souls struggling with their demons and choices, and the monsters that still lurk in the shadows as they try to find peace.

Moira has made so serious mistakes in her life.
Especially recently.
One choice now has her brother acting cold towards her, has her friends on the fence, and pushing her to further spiral into a hole of dubachery and self destruction. The one place she didn't plan to end up was in a church hall...in the prescence of Father Blackwood.
Bane has his own problems.
Once, he was a spoilt boy who got away with anything due to the power his father had, and a mother who was never around. These days he serves the community in a humble manner, but he still feels his dark urges and the need for punishment.
As both find each other and twist their darkness up, they eventually find ease as well.
They need each other more than they realise, even if to others it is insanity.

Absolutely loved this read! So many church themed and priestly reads for me this week. I guess that's what I'm into now or everyone else is having the same ideas!
Bane's protective and dominant yet need to punish himself just clicks with Moira's chaotic needs. Their desires - both sexual and emotional - are intense and just have you sucked in. The people around them just make it all the more interesting, as their lives are pulled in every direction towards their happy ending.
5 stars!

it was good! but maybe just not a great fit for me.
absolutely nothing wrong with the book, the writing was good and the story was engaging. it very descriptive, enchanting, and almost eerie in the beginning which i enjoyed. i found myself loosing interest though, but i think if i had read the other books in the series i wouldn’t feel this way,
father blackwood's dark allure captivated me; he was both mysterious and sexy, and his obsession with moira was everything. both bane and moira had a lot depth, and i enjoyed watching their character development and the evolution of their relationship. their dynamic and communication made the story exciting. i admired the mental health representation, but i did find it challenging to read a pov from a sex addict. bdsm also isn’t my thing, but the plot was thrilling and interesting enough. i also liked that the chapters were short. overall a decent read!

thank you netgalley and stasia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review