Eva released her first novel Second Chance At Love in 2020 and has been writing feverishly ever since. She writes about everlasting romance for every century focusing on characters emotional development and always guarantees an HEA.
She loves yoga, wine and her kiddos. In her spare time, she seeks adventures either hiking through trails or exploring the beaches.
Writing books has always been her passion and she brings real life to the forefront in everything she writes about.
Deeply passionate characters and stories will draw you in and you'll never want to leave.
Follow her on social media to stay up to date with all her new releases!
Eve Bailey has had a whole lot of bad things come her way. Devastating experiences that had her crippled and ready to fold her hand. But her amazing sister has pushed her to try and start her life again and the first step is a new job.
This new job really helps her find some balance and get some kind of solid ground under her feet. That is until she meets her boss's nephew, Lachlan, and she feels desire again. Which after her experiences, she never thought she would again.
Lachlan and Eve bring romance to life on the pages with a deep soulmate level connection that neither of them were ready for. But life throws curveballs even when you don't expect them.
But to find her happily ever after, she's going to have to face the reality of her past and find a way to forgive herself and move forward or risk losing the amazing experience she can have with Lachlan.
I loved that this story included Scottish traditional elements from ancient castles to wedding traditions and everything in between. I'm a sucker for historical significance and this one did not disappoint in that arena at all. A beautiful and moving story about finding yourself after loss and finding self forgiveness deep within.
This is the perfect mix of angst, heartbreak, hope and new beginnings.
The heroine loses her everything after a tragedy, including her will to live.. She moves to Edinburgh for a new start, and encounters the hero.. who bears a striking resemblance to her dead husband.
But that’s where the similarities end. He is a Scottish, caring, kind man- she is a woman recovering from the toughest phase of her life. Their romance is a slow burn- second chance, haunted by demons from both of their pasts. There are wonderful supporting characters, insanely hot sex, so many tears and tragedies, drama, romance and a wonderful happy ending with a heartwarming epilogue.
I loved how this wasn’t a reincarnation romance. The hero didn’t confuse the hero with her ex- she fell in love with the man who cared for her. There are TW but it was completely in line with their stories.
Also I liked how they both dealt with their issues very maturely, and after a small hiccup we get a satisfying ending.
This was such an emotional book. So emotional that I felt so drained once I finished, but I immediately wanted to go back and read it again.
I was captivated from the very first page -- Eve is drowning in guilt, grief, regret and heartbreak, and all of her emotions felt so tangible that I felt like *I* was going through what she experienced. I wanted to scoop her and shield her from anymore pain she would experience. I connected with this woman something fierce, and I loved seeing how strong she realized she was.
And Lachlan? He was the perfect hero. He was alpha, but he wasn't overbearing. He knew exactly what Eve needed, when she needed it. He never tried to rush her grieving process, and never once made it all about him. He just loved her through it, messy human flaws and all.
Obviously I loved this book, and now I definitely have a new author I adore!! Go read this book!!
**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions!**
Eve had been through so much, so she moved to Scotland for a fresh start. She met Lachlan, and he fell hard and fast.
I honestly thought their whole relationship was too fast, but that ended up being part of the story. And Lachlan was so sweet, but I wanted to shake him at times.
This was angsty and heartbreaking, but there was also so much love and healing.
Narrated by: Shane East and Vivienne LaRue Narration Style: Duet
The narration was so good! Shane East and his Scottish accent? Whew. Vivienne LaRue was amazing! I forgot it was just her as all the “female” voices because she was that good (she did different accents for different characters).
Devotion was totally a beauty for the ashes type of story, and man it tried to wreck me completely. Eve is drowning in guilt and loss which came off very realistic, not to mention, her pain was legit palpable as she was trying to find purpose. It wasn't an easy journey of healing because in real life, there's nothing easy about what she's going through, but luckily for her, she's going to come across a man named Lachlan, who becomes her friend. As they got to know each other, it was plain to see that he offered up support which is something she needed desperately especially since he could totally see past the pain, and it was fantastic that it wasn't insta love either. Eva Winners definitely won with Devotion, and because I don't want to ruin the story accidentally, I'm going to keep this review short & sweet! HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ALL!
I loved how deep this story went with Eve’s loss and personal struggle to find her purpose and will to live while still holding on to so much guilt and pain. Her journey is heartbreaking and at times it was like she took 2 steps forward just to only take 3 steps back but when she meets Lachlan, her life slowly starts to change for the better and little by little she starts to finds herself again.
Lachlan was everything and more as the Alpha Hero in this book. The unconditional support and encouragement he gave Eve as they became friends then his love and patience as their slow burn romance became stronger. No matter how broken and helpless she felt, he always saw her for the amazing person she was and loved her throughout it all.
This was my first read from Eva Winners and she did not disappoint. I cried, laughed and was angry. This book wea well written and I highly recommend this book.
Devotion surprised me with the places it went with mental health, grief, and the struggle to move on after a deep loss.
Eve lost her husband and child in tragic circumstances, right after she caught her husband cheating with her mom. She has been struggling to move on and has given up on her writing. She has moved to Edinburgh to start over, but she is still floundering. Her sister gets her a job and is shocked by how he looks exactly like her husband. Lachlan felt a deep connection to Eve and wanted to support her through everything. Things move pretty quickly once he starts to woo her. I didn't love the 3rd act because Lachlan acted out of character, but I still enjoyed it.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎤Duet Narration by Shane East & Vivienne LaRue
This audiobook had duet narration by Shane East & Vivienne LaRue. Shane East is one of my all-time favorite narrators, so he was perfection, as always. Vivienne delivered an emotional performance.
TW: Depression, Previous suicide attempt
Thank you to Must Love Audio for providing the ALC.
I enjoyed it but... 1. the mother's revelations towards the end pissed me off. I prefer reading books where the bad guys get their karma and this didn't happen. 2. I thought Lachlan was weak towards the end. When he finally got to know what her trauma was, he chose distance. And played games with his ex and that other woman, letting Eva believe that he had moved on. That was a shitty play from him. The woman had immense drama and he was playing the victim?? He pissed me off.
overall there was a happy ending and they had a very beautiful life together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I’m new to this author found her from one of fan pages of another author, I am happy that I found her though, she writes books that just suck you in and then you realise the book is over, I cried during this story it made you feel the characters. Hope we get the sisters (Lachlan’s ) next to see what her story is.
Devotion is about Eve drowning in her pain and grief after losing her husband and baby. Eve and Elise are sisters. Elise is ten years older than Eve. She took on the role of mother when their mother failed at being a mother. Both of them have a strained relationship with their mother. Elise has been by her side from the moment she was born. After a devastating accident Elise helps Eve transition into her new life. Eve is a withdrawn woman suffering with guilt, depression, and pain. She uprooted her life to Scotland hoping a new scenery would help ease the pain. Elise got her a job where Eve survived by creating a daily routine. Eve met Lachlan at her new place of employment. She wasn’t prepared to meet a man who resembled her dead husband. Despite the resemblance Lachlan was nothing like him. Lachlan is a man on a mission. He only has eyes for Eve. Eve’s character might seem weak given the trauma she’s been through but I found her strength admirable. She faced her feelings head on not holding back. She spoke her thoughts freely without hesitation and I for one like that. There was a tragic accident that the reader gets bits and pieces of throughout the story. As a reader you aren’t here to read about that accident or her husband. You are here to read about Eve’s ability to progress in life. Her recovery to heal comes at an unexpected relationship with a man who awakens her body to the possibility of moving forward. This is something she hadn’t considered while dealing with her guilt and pain. This is my first read by Eva Winners. As noted in her author description she writes books with deep passionate emotional characters. Eve’s character lived up to that emotional development I seek in a book. I appreciated the directness from both main characters even the supporting characters were wonderful. This is a unique original storyline with high levels of emotional pain. Eva Winners wrote a beautiful story about love, pain, and guilt. Death in any form is a difficult subject matter to address, but Eva definitely kept the topic of death to a minimum. I appreciated the few times Eva noted a common bonding with Eve expressing a shared loss. It’s like therapy when someone shares a painful experience and someone else can relate to it. Surrounding Eve with other characters who understood pain was a brilliant concept. I adored the Scottish setting. It’s a place I want to travel myself. The Gaelic language is something I would love to listen to on audiobook. Eva wrote with an unapologetic confidence which I admire in a writer. Her characters were strong yet weak. The weak is balanced by strength. Where one character thrives in unconditional support the other is driven by pain and grief, but together they complete each other. The supporting cast of characters were an added bonus especially Ainslee. I love her name and her sassy-without out filter-blunt mouth. I enjoyed Eve’s character living in the moment not getting hung up on analyzing comments made by others. When she faced her fears head on I was applauding her strength. The sex scenes were tasteful, sexy and hot. As a reader I felt the passion and desire. The connection was strong between Lachlan and Eve. This is a straight forward romance. If you like insta-love princessy type of books then you’ll love Lachlan and Eve’s quick to love romance.
5+ This is a heart wrenching novel that tears at your heartstrings. Both characters have many layers, that are peeled away as the novel unfolds. The author provides adequate back-story that contains so much sadness and angst. There were times throughout this book that I was applauding Lachlan (H) who hung in there with Eve h) even when she was a ghost of her former self; with suicidal tendencies and survivor's guilt that ate away at her throughout this book. She didn't believe that she deserved an HEA blaming herself for what happened to her baby and dead husband (the a....s). Her self-loathing of herself was prevalent throughout this book until she meets and falls in love with Lachlan. She is finally able to return to her love of writing which is huge for a writer that "experiences writer's block" due to trauma, illness or injury.
The story has many triggers that the author unveils beginning in the first chapter. Eve's character is dealing with loss, suicide, death, survival's guilt, depression and anxiety attacks. Her sister helps her get a job in Scotland so that Eve can begin to break the cycle that is destroying her. Lachlan is the CEO of the company she is going to work for. He sees her having an anxiety attack in the elevator with Elise and immediately is drawn to her. The story progress' as the two become co-workers, friends, lovers and soul mates. Through the love of Lachlan, Eve is finally able to let go of the past to find happiness with a man "that only loves once".
The beauty of the Scottish countryside and city is described in such a manner that the reader is treated to an author who uses her words to "paint a picture for the reader". Eve and Lachlan's journey is laced with moments of sadness, rush to judgements, misunderstandings, time lapses away from each other, great chemistry/sex and the belief that for some people, there is really only one true love. I personally have never put allot of belief in star-crossed-lovers or love at first sight; but found this novel definitely did a good job in making me want to believe in such a possibility.
I loved her sister Elise's' character and her husband Brandon. They really added to this story. Her mother could be summed up in two words "loathsome bitch".
Such a great read. I am already on to the next in the series.
Show me where the devotion was because all there is, is a MMC who runs around the FMC's back with multiple other women while claiming that nothing is happening.
Lachlan's character started off super strong and then it just devolved into realizing that his agenda to make Eve mutually obsessed with him as the motivation for all of his seemingly caring actions in the beginning.
He just pushed her so so far so incredibly fast and had no patience when she was struggling to come to terms with the grief and trauma of losing her child and walking in on her husband having an affair with her own mother.
He pushed her to be emotionally reliant on him, he pushed her for marriage after knowing each other for two weeks, he pushed her to be ready to have children right after their wedding (her toddler son only passed away 10 months prior and she still was grieving him heavily), and then pushed her to be an ornament in his life.
The post wedding switch up where Lachlan is no longer the doting husband and just expected Eve to wait around for him to come home from work like a good subservient wife made me want to vomit especially after she caught him in a lie involving going to secretly meet up with his ex Layla. All of a sudden he didn't give two shits about Eve and was "working late" even on a saturday.
Then he plays games with her emotions by abandoning their marriage, being caught escorting Layla out of his penthouse, finding a woman to have a date with in front of Eve during her business luncheon, and then has the audacity to say that "McLaren's only give their hearts once"?
He KNEW that she had trauma around being cheated on and emotionally violated by her late husband and what does he do? While they are still married, he takes another brunette out the restaurant that he knows she will be in to flaunt this other woman for her to see.
Intent to cheat still is cheating to me. He also gaslit her after she caught him lying to HER FACE about meeting up with his ex Layla while saying he wasn't coming home that night because he had to work late.
I swear I thought I had read every Eva Winners book, so finding out I somehow missed this series was both shocking and a little annoying 😅 But honestly? I'm kind of glad I did, because experiencing this story as an audiobook made it so much more emotional than I think reading it ever could have 🙌🏼
Shane and Vivienne absolutely nailed Lachlan and Eve. Those first few chapters completely broke me. I was sitting there with tears streaming down my face because my heart just ached for Eve. The grief she carried felt so real and the narrators brought every bit of that pain to life 🥹
Eva has such a beautiful way of writing grief. It isn't overdramatic or rushed. It feels raw, messy and painfully real. You don't just read about what Eve is going through, you feel it right along with her. Watching her slowly find her way again was both heartbreaking and beautiful.
And Lachlan! What a man ❤️ He has his own past and his own demons, but from the moment Eve walked into his life, there was never any doubt in his mind that she was it for him. I loved that he never tried to rush her or save her. He simply showed up for her, again and again, giving her the love, patience and support she needed.
I cried through so much of this book. Every emotion had a purpose and every heartbreaking moment made the healing that much more rewarding.
P.S. - As always, please check the trigger warnings before diving in, as some parts may be difficult for certain readers 🚨
𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙄𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘖𝘯𝘦 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Author: Eva Winners Format: tandem eyeball and ALC Narration: Duet style by Shane East and Vivienne LaRue
This was such a heart wrenching story about immense grief and learning how to continue on with life after loss. Eve and Lachlan have both lost loved ones they were very close with so they were able to relate to one another on that level. However, Eve’s loss was much more recent so her emotions are still very raw and at the surface. I really liked how Lachlan never pushed her into anything. He was always very willing to take things at her pace.
Shane was so good as Lachlan. His accent is always incredible but it’s not just that, you could really feel the love he had for Eve as well as the sadness of his own grief. Vivienne’s portrayal of Eve brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. The emotional delivery was on point.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵: •Grief •Loss of a Loved One (including spouse and child) •Mentions of Suicide •Boss/Employee •Toxic Parental Figure •Slow(ish) Burn •Sexy Scottish Accents •Found Family •Author FMC
“No, I kind of like her. But next time, lock the door."
"Devotion: Isn't What it Seems," by new-to-me author, Eva Winners, is different. In this case, different is a really GOOD thing. When we meet Eva Baily, she is quite literally at the end of her rope. She's had enough of what this world seems to want to offer her. All of her heartache, heartbreak, pain, misery, and guilt comes swirling at us at heart-crushing pace and we experience her profound grief. Sisterly love, drags her to a new start and it works! A new beginning, a fresh start and something that she thought she'd never experience again - a heartbeat? DESIRE! A living, breathing, wonderful man, who also bears an uncanny resemblance to her late, great, husband. NO, their road to a happily ever after, is NEVER going to be an easy one, but you will thrill throughout their journey! You also laugh, cry, feel your heart break, (again,) and delight in their first glimpse at love. You will be captivated with this wonderful, second chance at love, romance. This one will immediately go into your read, "over and over," stack! I received this book as an ARC from Hidden Gems Books, and I volunteered this review.
If you are looking for a book that will break down those barriers you hold for your tears. You will need to read this. So this book is a slow build but the story line will keep you wanting to know more. So lets meet Eve. Geesh this woman has been through hell and back. Not in the physical way but more of in the mental and emotional way. She deals with loss, and still grieving. It will touch on self harm so be prepared. However, the more you read about her the more your heart breaks. You want to know more, why can she not get past that one hurdle. Thinking that a new environment will work for her she moves across the pond. Well lets meet Lachlan. This man is smooth, he saw her for the first time in a not good place in her head space. However, he slowly inserts himself in her routine. Oh lets not forget that he reminds her of her someone. So how will this go. Well here is the thing as you read you never know where it will go til the last minute. Oh and when you find out about her pain, your jaw will drop. So the question is, do we get an HEA. Yes we do. This book was intense and I loved every word.
A well written story by a new to me Author. Romance writer Eve Bailey suffers the worst imaginable event and has basically shut down, but left her hometown to move to Scotland (not sure why there) and months later is still practically catatonic. With the help of her sister & brother in law, she takes a job at a financial corporation owned by the equivalent of Scottish royalty the MacLarens. Lachlan is the stuff of romantic fantasy, tall, dark and handsome, unfortunately he resembles her husband. If it is possible to have a whirlwind romance happen in what seemed like slow motion, this book pulls it off. The chemistry is there between the characters and Eve for her part does get stronger right before your eyes because of Lachlan. Of course the romance writer in her is swept up by the sheer magnificence of Scotland and Lachlan's castle - Yep he has a freakin castle that has been in his family for generations. Like I said, a romance writers dream come true. I really liked this story but I left off 1 star for the quick resolution to the kink in their relationship. A romance writer should expect some groveling.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫/🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Format: Audiobook - Duet narration by Shane East and Vivienne LaRue Series / Standalone: Interconnected Standalone (Love Isn't What It Seems Book 1) Tropes: Scottish Billionaire Romance, Workplace Romance, Love After Loss, Slow Burn, He Falls First
Thanks to Must Love Audio, East House Productions, and the author for this gifted audiobook - all opinions are my own
Eve and Lachlan
📚Another great, highly emotional Eva Winners story. I crave these kinds of books that make me feel sad and then heal my heart. This one doesn’t take any time at all with that first part and I was invested to the max right off the bat!! The slow burn was appreciated due to the backstory and the care and devotion Lachlan exhibits makes me prime book boyfriend material! This is probably my favorite of the series and its full of great stories.
🎧This was so good on audio. Shane East and his accent were perfection and he brought so much personality to Lachlan’s character. Vivienne LaRue was also amazing and such a pleasure to listen to for long periods of time. These two really embraced the story and were so good together!
What an amazingly deep, complicated story! It is emotionally draining, depressing...then uplifting. How the h survived is a testament to the love and support of her sister and brother in law. The H comes in later. They quite simply went above and beyond and ulimately saved her both physically and emotionally.
The mother figure was a horrendous, evil human being. Her betrayal, in my opinion, was worse than that of the husband. This individual is supposed to love you unconditionally! When the truth is revealed, at least there is some vindication that the h does not have to worry about inheriting any of this witches DNA.
The H, on my. At first thought he was too good to be true, too loving too fast, too good looking, too...everything. Silly me. He was very good, very loving, very handsome.....swoon.
Somehow I ended up reading this series out of order. I don't know how I skipped this first book, but I did. By the time I realized it I had completed the rest of the books in the series and decided I knew enough about Eve & Lachlan's story that I wasn't interested in going back to read this first book. So, I went on to other books and series for several weeks. (I read about a book a day so that's a lot of new material). Anyway, I ended up forgetting about this one and eventually downloaded it on my kindle and I'm so glad that I did.
***SPOILER***I just love Lachlan even though when he and Eve were split up, I wanted to knock him over the head several times for being an ass.
Turned out this was a great love story that I could have gladly read more of. Highly recommend the entire series!
Even tho this book had a good start and good premise the middle and end rubbed me all sorts of wrong.
Spoiler rant..
MMC was a pushy, selfish douche. He meets her 10 months after she lost her husband and son in a fire and just shoves himself into her life.
He claims to love her after 2 weeks, marries her fast as shit despite her telling him she was all messed up still and asking for time to get to know each other. He gets pissy with her for freaking out, tells her he's done trying and leaves her for months to pull herself together alone. Doesn't check on her or anything.
She even catches him on a date with another woman! Because thats how he loves her.
Then he comes back and doesn't explain anything, just fucks her and they're all better. The end.
Oh and she's all fixed now to, no explanation from him on why he was so fast to leave her.
This is the 1st in a new series and is Lachlan and Eve’s story. Eve is struggling through life as she is drowning in guilt, grief, heartbreak, and loss, and when she starts a new job, she meets Lachlan who is her boss’ nephew, and he instantly knows what she needs. There is a deep connection between these two, and Lachlan offers his support and unconditional love, while Eve faces the reality of her past to enable her to move forward with her life. Throw in a few curveballs and this is a must read. This is a beautifully written tale which is an emotional roller coaster, with emotions, heartbreak, and a tangible love story. I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I recommend.