ARC Review: The Affair by Beth Kery

The Affair is an eight part serial by Beth Kery. I was lucky enough to get the entire serial at one time to read, rather than have to wait for each installment. Serials have been huge lately, and I will admit that I am not the most patient of people. So for me, I was glad to have them all available at one time. If you have been holding off on this one until they were all released though, you are in luck because Week 8 is the conclusion of Emma and Montand's story.

Emma Shore first meets the handsome Michael Montand when she begins working at his mansion helping to care for his sick stepmother. Emma is shocked by things that she witnesses, but can't help but find herself drawn to him. She is afraid of what she sees, but yet she also finds herself wanting to open herself up to the possibilities that Montand offers her. Montand knows that he can only offer a woman sex, but for the first time he begins to want more with Emma. She agrees to see where things between them will go, but she will determine the length of time their affair will go on. They compromise on five weeks, and things between them start to get complicated. As both Montand and Emma find themselves developing deep feelings for one another, there are truths and secrets revealed leaving them both to wonder what the future holds. Can they possibly have something together beyond the agreed upon five weeks, or will there be too many things standing in the way of them being together?

I liked Montand a lot. He was sexy and mysterious, and I loved getting to see as each of his layers was revealed. He had moments when he was so sweet and caring, but then he was also protective and alpha. He had been through so much, and you could really see the effect it had on him. I loved seeing him show Emma that she was more than she ever thought, and he never let her get away with thinking that she wasn't good enough or pretty enough. He was exactly what she needed, and I liked how encouraging he was. Emma was the same for Montand. She showed him how to loosen up and what it was like to really live. Because of everything that he had been through he was often serious and seemed stoic. But she was able to bring out another side to him, and I liked seeing how perfect these two were for each other. I thought that they were really hot together, and I loved how Montand was patient with Emma and eased her into his lifestyle and what he wanted from her. But these two had such a strong emotional connection, and I really enjoyed seeing that develop between them the most of all.

Overall, I am so glad that I was able to read all of these parts without waiting in between. I really think that if I had been forced to wait in between installments that I wouldn't have enjoyed the story as much. We really got to see both Emma and Montand grow and change over the course of The Affair, and I think it wouldn't have been as noticeable had I read these separately. I liked the characters a lot though, and I felt like this story was unique and different. The characters were deep and I really felt like they were real. I highly recommend this one, and I think that fans of romance will really enjoy this story. It has everything I look for in a good romance, and I enjoyed the steamy parts just as much as the emotional ones. I look forward to more from Beth Kery in the future.

**ARC Provided by Penguin Group Berkley/Signet**

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