Unholy Nights

by Heather Ashley

They say it’s better to give than to receive...
But this Christmas, my stepfather plans to take everything.
Cohen Astor is ruthless, dangerously handsome, and impossibly patient. For years, he’s been watching, waiting, biding his time. And now, with every piece of his plan in place, he’s ready to claim what’s his.
Me.
For as long as I can remember, my life has belonged to my mother—I’m a carefully placed piece in her glittering lifestyle empire. But Cohen doesn’t see me as something to be used. He sees me as his obsession, the one thing he’s hungered for in silence, the one temptation he can no longer resist.
But taking me means war—war between my mother and the lawyer who holds the Savage Society’s darkest secrets.
He’s the perfect predator.
The ultimate temptation.
My unholy salvation.
And this holiday, beneath the twinkling lights, I’ll be unwrapped, undone, and utterly his.
Because Cohen didn’t marry my mother for love…
He married her for me.

What to Expect in Unholy Nights
* Forbidden romance
* An obsessive, possessive hero who is completely unhinged
* Age gap (32/19)
* Breeding kink? Oh, he’s making sure she can never leave.
* A stalker hero who doesn’t just watch from afar—he’s in her room. At night.
* Forced proximity under one very tense roof.
* Savage Society cameos
* All wrapped in a moody, snow-drenched Christmas aesthetic in Emerald Hills
Unholy Nights is meant for readers 18+. It's a MF romance with a guaranteed HEA.

*CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNING LIST AT THE START OF THE BOOK*

Genres: Dark Romance, Stalker, Dark, Christmas, Romance, Forced Proximity, Forbidden Romance

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2024

About the author

Hi! I’m Heather.

It’s great to meet you! I’m a socially-awkward introvert who loves love stories. I’m not awesome at singing or keeping my house clean, but I somehow find the time to obsessively read romance novels. I consider it one of my many talents.

In my opinion, you can never have too many books (or french fries…), messy buns are a girl’s best friend, and I’d probably die without my laptop. If I wasn’t over-committing myself to future stories or procrastinating to meet my deadlines, I’m not quite sure what I’d do with myself.

Be sure to find all sorts of sneak peeks and my more than likely cuss-word filled rantings over on the blog. Oh, and if you’re a fan of getting in the mood to read and connecting to the characters that way, check out the playlists that accompany each story in the “Playlists” tab.

Peace, love, and abs for days.

Reviews

[Kate]

4.5 stars!

Unholy Nights surprised me in the best way. This darker and taboo read won’t be for everyone but Cohen was the walking red flag I love in my romance books. Cohen is married for transactional purposes for his ultimate plan of acquiring his wife’s daughter Emerald. The moment he set his eyes on her, he knew she would be the light to his dark and so Cohen played the long game so Emerald would be his end game.

“Your body is mine to worship, your mind is mine to twist, and your soul... your soul is the other half of mine."

Emerald is a virgin, naive, and submissive because of her conniving and evil mother. But not in a way that’s off putting or makes her a door mat. She has a fire in her that blossoms when Cohen becomes her protector and lets her shine.

Cohen is obsessive, possessive and takes what he wants and how he wants without consent. But Emerald is more than willing to accept all of Cohen’s crazy.

“You'll never belong to anyone else. Not in this life, not in the next. You're mine until the stars burn out."

I did think this story dragged a bit and could have been shortened because it did get a little repetitive at some points but honestly I was here for the all consuming romance between Cohen and Emerald 😂. Steamy to the max with all the kinky debauchery. Cohen’s inner dialogue was everythingggggg. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I will definitely be checking out her backlog.

[Jenny Jo]

DNF 58% helllllll no. If I say anymore I’ll get mean.

[rosebt]

This one’s really bad 🤮 She’s stupid and he’s crazy.

[thebeespot72]

Heather Ashley’s “Unholy Nights” may not be for every reader, but it was right for me—so much so that I needed to purchase it after reading it on KU. The story contains a ton of forbidden themes and tropes. It’s pretty short, at about 259 pages, and the holiday theme is not overwhelming. I liked the big age gap at 32/19. And readers will get the evil, overbearing mother/wife. And yes, the stepfather is married to the mother. Does this constitute cheating? For me? No. There are other factors involved in the story. In addition, the cheating trope doesn’t bother me. Take that for what you will. I liked “Unholy Nights” and plan to re-read it again.

[Ioana Reads]

DNF at 48%.. 😐

[lovetoread]

Sorry but I hated this so much

[M]

I really wish the dramatics with the mom at the end were not how they were. It literally reminded me of the evil queen transforming into the monstrous beast and having to defeat her. I was doing so many eye rolls. I did like the communication and no third act. That's about it.
I kept falling asleep at the amount of repetitive inner monologue. 😴

[Mandy Reads Indie]

Quickie Review: I have been patiently waiting for another one of Ashley’s books from the Savage Society series. In the meanwhile, I thought I would dive into this series because I was needing something forbidden and unhinged. I knew I would get that with her stories. And I absolutely did and it absolutely hit the spot. Just what I needed. The romance, while it started out a little ( a lot) taboo, it was delicious and absolutely perfect. I loved that Cohen is unhinged and doesn’t hold back in anything he does. I truly loved their story and look forward to the next book. 5 Stars.

[Kim Whitehead]

Delicious!!

[Karen Lovvorn]

age gap stepfather in live with his stepdaughter..

All the feels, mystery and heart pounding you will ever need. Wrapped up in the package. You won’t regret reading and living it!

[Crystal]

3.5 Stars
I liked components of this book (all the dark and taboo stuff) but there were parts that I felt weren't expanded upon enough, so it ended up feeling lacking. But I did like the main couple, and their story, so it wasn't a total loss. I liked seeing other characters from previous books, and would have loved to have seen more of them, and in a way that better explained their connection to this world.

[Lori T-m]

This was my first book by this author and although the book worked as a standalone, I kept feeling like I a missing some details or like this was book 2 or 3 of a series. I didn't realize there were earlier Emerald Hills books until I got to the end.

Moving on with my opinion... I wasn't in love with his book. I downloaded it from a recommendation in a social media group. My first ick factor is that you don't find out until 65% in that the FMC is 19, unless I overlooked it. Step-dad fell in love at first sight two years prior when he saw her at a gathering and so he..... DECIDES TO MARRY HER MOM just to get close to her and have her 24 months later (what?? ew). There are no other details given about him dating and marrying her mom and at one point FMC asks him if he is having sex with her mom and he says something like "no I would never touch her like i do you" but you know good and well he slept with her if they are married. It didn't outright say that they married each other only as a business deal or anything. Anywho, he refers to FMC as "little one" throughout the book and he comes to her room and has full-on sex with her (with hopes of knocking her up), before he even knows if she's interested in him, after drugging her...only because he loves her so much that he doesn't want her to feel physical pain when he deflowers her. Sure.

I could not get into this book because I kept seeing a pervert predator lusting after a possible minor since it's not made clear that she's 19 until so far into the book. She's so innocent she isn't even sure how to pick out clothes for herself. It had too much child-like vibe for me and I'm just not into reading anything with potential minors and romance... so, ick, but I did finish it. It didn't leave me feeling hot and bothered and the steam was just not there for me. It also felt quite repetitive in several parts. Three stars because it wasn't awful, but just not my cup of tea.

[Elaine M.]

What in the Bridgerton/SVU did I just read?? This was beyond disturbing and most details were just illogical.

I don’t understand why he’s her step father besides the fact that it makes their relationship extra “dirty.” Apparently, he saw her one day, decided he couldn’t live without her and figured the easiest course of action was to marry her mother 🙄and I still don’t know why her mother married him. I could see nothing in it for her. I know they said it was just to put on a show, but why HIM?

Then there is the start of their “relationship”… somnophilia is fine if there is consent on both sides. But this MMC decides to take the MFC’s virginity without any prior consent. And, because she’s a moron, she has no idea how babies are made or what sex is. Her child-like mindset is constant throughout the book, probably to make her seem even younger than she is, but it just made everything extra creepy.

Also, I’m sorry, but apparently he has some type of magic penis, because after he takes her virginity, she is magically attracted to him and her body heats up and she just doesn’t know why… 😒

And then there is her relationship with her mother. Why does her mother have such a hold over her? If the MMC is wealthy, and the MFC is legally an adult, then WHY WOULD THEY NOT JUST LEAVE????

The whole book just teetered between creepy and ridiculous. Idk how anyone can rate this more than one star.

[Kayla Smith]

⭐️⭐️

Plot - 1/5
Characters - 2/5
Spice - 🌶️🌶️

This was miss for me. I love a stepfather-daughter taboo trope and was lured in by the promise of breeding kinks and a possessive MMC. Unfortunately, what we got was essentially a weak as heck doormat FMC, Emerald, who pretty much does nothing the entire novel, and what's meant to be a badass MMC, Cohen, who could NOT hide his attraction to Emerald if he freaking tried.

I quickly got over how overt they both were and the fact Cohen essentially walks around swinging his d*ck commenting 'try me' to everyone even though we know NOTHING about the power he truly holds. The ending was way too easy for me although I did like that we finally got some insight into Emerald's mother's motivations and obsession with her daughter.

[Lisa]

Very Wordy

I would say that the ratio between thoughts/inner dialog vs. Actual interactions between main characters is 70%-30%. Unfortunately, within the 70% of inner dialog, it's mostly repetitive. The MFCs thoughts are always about her upbringing and the MMCs thoughts are always about his obsession, just worded differently. I skimmed through at least a quarter of the book and didn't miss a thing. Also, the drama at the end was a bit...dramatic.

The story had a great premise and could have been amazing. I was disappointed, but it was OK

[IfYouKnowMeYouDont]

Legit read this book bcuz of the cover. Nothing much though.

[Graciella]

eeeh

[Elissa's Kindle Corner]

Wanted to Love It

So, this had everything my cold black dark romance/taboo lovin heart needs in a book;
- an age gap
- forbidden love (stepfather/stepdaughter)
- touch her nd die vibes
- unhinged(ish) mmc
- a decent plot
However, it also had some serious issues...

There was constant mention of the "savage six" that eluded to a bigger world but there was no lead up into them. No, "hey I'm Cohen nd I'm a bad man who works with bad ppl who get things done, one way or another". It was just a quick "being the savage six's lawyer has its perks". It's not a long book, a bit of backstory wouldn't have killed ya. Even a why he was at that particular event where he first laid eyes on Emerald would have been helpful.

Speaking of Emerald. Her name nd also the name of the city this is set in?! Way to be creative! Lol

There was also a very large ick thru out the entire book - his constant use of "little one" as a nickname. My god, as if it's not enuf that he's much older than her nd her stepdad?! Who saw her for the first time at either 17 or 18 (it was flip flopped between 2 years nd 1.5 years - no idea of her birthday) which is ew. The creepiest nickname in the world was on every page, in nearly every paragraph. Ok, she's very sheltered nd innocent at 19, but holy shit man, little one made her seem like an actual child nd just rubbed my taboo loving self the wrong ass way. At one point it became "little phoenix" which I was on board with but "little one" never went away. Yuck.

Now, on top of ALL that, the editing of this book was atrocious. The same type of sentences used over nd over. Word for word sentences repeated, separated by a few paragraphs. Missing words completely. I was so annoyed that I reported it at one point. How does this happen with an editor, proofreaders, arc teams...did the author not read her own manuscript?? Perhaps a thesaurus next time.

Altho I am intrigued by this savage six thing, I won't be reading any more of this series as they come out. Too much going wrong for me to overlook. Sorry, not sorry.

ps. After reading the afterword by the author, I'm even less inclined to read more. If this was part of an interconnected world, that should have been explained. Having come to this book with no prior knowledge of the bigger picture of Emerald Hills, I was lost. Do better. Sheesh. Also, the fact that you wrote this in one month shows, badly.

[anna-lena]

0 stars with my whole heart, what the hell.
i've love the savage society series so i was very exited when i discovered this book, however it's a big, big disappointment.
for one, it's clear this has not even been read a second time before publishing, let alone seen an editor (eg the characters constantly repeating themselves, and when i say constantly i mean CONSTANTLY). which, if it would be a great book, i'd (maybe) overlook (at least a little), however it's very much not. besides there's so many small illogical situations, eg at some point emarald thinks "oh i'm really craving these chocolate chip pancakes i always see the staff eat yet have never had before", then cohen starts making her said pancakes but when he pulls out chocolate chips from the cabinet, she's like "omg i didn't know we had these!!". like common did u really forget what u wrote 5 seconds ago ashley?! and there's like a thousand of tiny things like that.

how he's taking her virginity WHILE SHES SEDATED and there's not even been one single proper interaction between them that signals she's into that AND HES VERY VERY OBVIOUSLY AWARE SHE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT SEXUAL INTERACTIONS is not cnc anymore (which i'm very much into) but simply "nc" aka actual rape, no other way to put it.

while in the savage society books the fmc's always have a strong personality and are defiant, bossy etc while submitting to their men, emerald just doesn't have that. like she's genuinely got nothing going for herself, not even in the end after she's "free".

it's one thing to be possessive and obsessed with the fact someone's untouched but another thing to be this crazy about genuinely child like innocence and passiveness. sure, emerald didn't have space to develop a personality but again, cohen is actually just replacing her mothers control with his own over her.

another thing that gave me the no-oh opinion about this book is how emerald is thinking about- when cohen forces her into motherhood without her even knowing- how she "feels herself falling into her natural, born role" and all that. again: pregnancy kink yess sure, but not in a "i'm just a girl" anti feminist way! just not it.

honestly before i've really liked heather ashley, was so excited for perfect nightmare (and i'll pretty likely still read it) and also enjoy or tolerate a lot when it comes to fictional books, but i feel like the authors "true self" shined through in this very much unedited book and i do not like her views at all.

[Mishka]

Emerald Hills, I Love You—But This One? I Want a Refund.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

You see this book? It catfished me.

I took one look at that cover—Cohen looking like pure obsession wrapped in a tailored suit—and I said yes lawd, I’m ready. I came in fully prepared to be ruined, emotionally devastated, clutching my Kindle like it owe me money. But instead? I was left asking, "This is the plan? This was your master plan?"

Let’s start with Cohen. Your grand master plan to get the girl is to marry her mother? That’s your best move? Sir, you couldn’t take a page from other emotionally unbalanced book boyfriends and just go for the girl? That whole twisted scheme felt so unnecessary and just... dumb. For someone painted as calculated and possessive, it felt like the most convoluted route possible. You married this woman to get to her daughter. Really?

And the worst part? Emerald gave me nothing. No fire, no bite, not even one moment where I went “ahhh okay, I see why he’s losing sleep and plotting family-level crimes.” Nothing. She was the literary equivalent of a paper plate. And I'm sorry, but if you’re gonna risk your entire moral compass and possibly jail time, at least let the girl be worth it.

The only reason this got 2 stars is because I have a deep, slightly toxic love for the Emerald Hills universe. Familiar setting, familiar madness—I’ll always show up. But this storyline? This storyline had me sitting down like a blasted fool, blinking at the last page like: I stop my life for this?

[Bella]

★★★★★ Dark, Addictive, and Utterly Unputdownable!

Unholy Nights by Heather Ashley is the kind of book that grabs you by the throat from page one and doesn’t loosen its grip until the very last line. This story is dark, intoxicating, and dripping with tension in all the best ways. Ashley delivers a world that’s gritty yet seductive, and you can feel every emotion every spark of danger, every stolen breath, every forbidden pull.
The characters are incredibly alive on the page. They’re flawed, complicated, and beautifully layered. You can’t help but root for them, even when they make choices that have you whispering, “No, no, no…” while still flipping the pages faster because you need to see what happens next. The chemistry is explosive raw and magnetic yet balanced with emotional depth that sneaks up and hits you right in the chest.

Heather Ashley’s writing is sharp, addictive, and immersive. Her descriptions pull you right into the heart of every scene whether it’s a shadowed room thick with secrets or a moment so intimate it feels like you’re intruding. The pacing is perfect, keeping you teetering between wanting to savor every word and racing ahead to see how it all plays out.

If you love dark romance with high stakes, irresistible tension, and characters who burrow under your skin, Unholy Nights delivers everything you crave. This is a 5-star, stay-up-all-night kind of read that lingers in your head long after you close the book.

An absolute must-read for fans of danger-laced love and beautifully broken characters.

[Kelly]

4 stars

Cohen and Emerald's story was a good read.

Cohen is a lawyer who is obsessed with Emerald and married her mother to get to her. He is also a part of the Savage Six, a group that is probably considered morally gray.
Emerald is fully under her mother's thumb. She starts out as a lifeless doll, completely controlled by her mother.

Cohen marries Emerald's mother as a convenience only, to get Emerald for himself. The story begins where everyone is so manipulative and it centers around Emerald. Emerald is at her wits end. She wants out, to escape her mother's control but she can't find a way. For everything she does wrong in her mother's eye she is punished and threatened that she'd be sent away. Cohen, though, has a plan on how to make Emerald fall in love with him and be his.

There are so many obstacles and twists to navigate for the characters but the story moves quickly and is very well thought out. This book started a little dark and twisted for me, but the more I read the more it changed and turned more into an exciting romance. I really enjoyed the ending and the closure to the story. The story has a morally gray MMC, some spice and action that keeps you engaged. I did enjoy the read!

[Susan]

🅤🅝🅗🅞🅛🅨 🅝🅘🅖🅗🅣🅢
Emeralds Hills Christmas

Cohen was what I didn’t know I needed 😮‍💨 this holiday season. I love love love the Savage Six and Emerald Hills series. So when I saw this release I grabbed it.
Cohen Astor is exactly what you would expect from one of these men with his alpha, mine and ruthless in his protectiveness. Emerald Delacroix was very repressed and not sure of herself and it was fun watching him break her out of the shell she was put in. The TW was the perfect shopping list. So while I loved the story and the characters for me there was repetitiveness and it really needed another edit for errors otherwise I would have rated this much higher.

❄️Stepfather/stepdaughter
☃️Age gap (32/19)
❄️Breeding K!nK
☃️An obsessive, possessive, unhinged hero
❄️A st@lker who doesn't just watch from afar
☃️Christmas Emerald Hills Novel

“𝘔𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

[Elizabeth Kennedy]

LOVED!!

Heather!! Unholy damn!! I have been WAITING for book 3 to come out and I can NOT wait but I was sooooo shocked to see this book and started and finished it in 6 hours 🤣
I absolutely loved the name you chose for the fmc. It almost made me think the Madeline that she was so high and special on the social ladder that she named her daughter after the town. (Crazy psycho and all)

While I wish there was more time spent between in the book I get it was just a shorty story. That didn’t make me love the book any less though! All the characters all were well written and made me feel like I was there. And the cameo of Tristen!! Ugggghhhh I need book 3!!! I hope your migraines subside soon! I’ve been dealing with them since I was 17. They absolutely suuckkk.

I really hope we see more of Cohen and Emerald in future savage society books. Especially her relationships with all the savage six’ wives ❤️

[Cloudstanloves2read]

The Christmas Novella I Didn’t know I Needed

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5 Spice

I have been waiting 84 years (JK!) for another Emerald Hills book and Heather Ashley did not disappoint. I loved everything about this book and the fact we get some glimpses of Tristan (heck yeah!) made it even better. I honestly wish this could have been a little longer, because I enjoyed it so much, but she did a fabulous job packaging everything up into a less than 300 page novella.

I really enjoyed both Cohen and Emerald as lead characters. Cohen played the Dom to perfection and while Emerald was a submissive I did love seeing her take a stance against her mother (I cheered her on from beyond the pages).

If you’re a huge fan like me of the Emerald Hills book I highly recommend you give this short novella a try. It’s a super easy and enjoyable read. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

[Ample]

This was almost a 4 star - forbidden stepfather/innocent step daughter romance with breeding kink and decent smut - a non con somno scene was the biggest highlight.

What dragged it down by a star was the plot at the end. About 90% of the book was romance focused which I liked. Then there was a big reveal and villain scene that I thought packed too much action in it and I didn't like any of the plot that went down. I find it odd that the female lead's mother could even orchestrate a whole explosive/burn the whole building plan - she's not mafia and the leads would definitely have noticed if anyone of that sort was invited into the house therefore thwarting the villain's plans.

The so-called Savage Six that the book alluded to as having a lot of power pretty much did nothing except act as fire wardens?

[Cherie]

I may be used to darker, but really the only dark things in here is the one rape when she was drugged with sleeping pills. Everything after that was very much consensual, not even dub-con, which might leave readers craving a bit more grit if they are looking for persistent psychological tension. Still, the story delivers plenty of entertainment value elsewhere, leaning heavily into its unique setting and high-stakes atmosphere.

The church sex was hot, bringing an undeniable intensity and spice that definitely elevates the overall reading experience. While the pacing and heavier emotional beats can feel a bit repetitive at times, the chemistry and steamy scenes more than make up for it for fans of the genre. Overall, it's a solid 3.5 that hits the right notes for a quick, spicy seasonal escape.

[Elena]

4✨
2.5🌶️

A Christmas novel that isn't so holy at all. I enjoyed seeing the change that Emerald, the FMC, went through in this book. She went from a shy, doll-like person whose mother dictated everything she did—what she eats, wears, who she talks to, where she goes and even who she's supposed to see—to a person that takes small risks for even a sliver of happiness. And while Cohen, the MMC, isn't what you consider your typical male, he gave her something she truly needed and desired—freedom. His tactics on getting there aren't noble worthy by any means, but he achieves it. Even if it meant doing things his way.

Like anything that screams dark romance, please check the tw's before proceeding with this book.

My bookshelves tend to be spoilery. You've been warned.

[Michelle]

4½⭐
A very nice edition to the Savage Society of Emerald Hills universe. This book was well written and the characters were excellent as always. Also once again the spice was amazing 🥵🥵, Unholy Nights is right🔥. Cohen was perfectly possessive in a beautifully toxic way. Emerald was a surprising MFC in the end, the bravery was well done. The cameos by the Savage Six were good, especially Tristan, I'm excited for his book. Theres a song called Can You Hear Me by Lila McCann that reminds me of not only Cohen's obsession with Emerald but all the Savage Six guys' obsession with their ladies and vice versa. One of the best replies I've read in awhile I discovered in this book: Until the Stars Burn Out 💋

[Merry One Maria]

This was an intense unconventional romance

This book is named Unholy Nights and it features a male main character Cohen, who is in a dangerous organization, who is married to a criminal Madeline but who has fallen in love with her adult daughter Emerald. Cohen has been planning a hostile takeover for two years and becoming impatient. The plot thickens because Madeline has something sinister in mind for her daughter to secure business and money deals. This story is not for the sensitive reader as characters are doing all types of non-consensual things business and intimate wise. I do not want to give away the plots of this story, but again mind your triggers. There is a happy ending. Read On!!