An Inspirational Christian Romance. A Modern-Day Beauty and the Beast Novel.What if you fell in love with the same man who wanted to fire you?Billionaire Sawyer Drake made it abundantly obvious he didn’t want an assistant. Traumatized by a fatal accident, he stayed to himself, shunned human contact, and would rather die than open up to another person—much less a beautiful college woman. His inner … up to another person—much less a beautiful college woman. His inner wounds ran deeper than the scars on his face.
When Ivy Wolfe ran away to Alabama to nurse a broken heart, the last thing she expected was to fall in love again. She needed a job to support her college expenses, and even though the salary for an assistant position in the home of a billionaire appeared too good to be true, she ignored the red flags and charged ahead.
With insecurities of her own to overcome, she found working for a self-absorbed recluse much harder than she anticipated. Determined to get through to Sawyer, Ivy wrote a letter that would change the course of their relationship.
But finding love with Sawyer was like playing with fire. Would she regret the day she hired on as his assistant? Or would she find the love of her life?
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What an awesome book! I had a lot I needed to do today, but I could not put down the story. It took my breath away. It made me cry. It gave me warm fuzzies and a huge smile. This is a clean, Christian (not preachy) romance I highly recommend.
Loved this book! First time I have read a book by this author! I plan on reading more of her books!
The Unwanted Assistant is a clean inspirational love story that captured my attention from the first page. Beauty and the Beast is a favorite fairy tale of mine, so I was drawn to this book because of the parallel theme. Evangeline Kelly writes an emotional page turner that I didn’t want to end. This novel is set in modern day and stunningly navigates the tumultuous relationship between Sawyer and Ivy. While there is a bit of fairy tale woven into this story, the author writes a poignant heartfelt testament to this messy journey called life. She tackles the difficult topics of suffering, grief, betrayal, and loss with truth and points the reader to the only One who can heal our wounds. God’s love seeps out from the pages, enveloping the reader. Although a work of fiction this book offered an intimate encounter with our loving God.
I received a free copy of this book but the opinion are my own.
I really loved this book! Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale! That being said, I was a little skeptical about reading this book because if not done right an author can screw this story up, but Evangeline did this story very well! It’s an excellent story about GOD’s love and grace towards us! It’s also a wonderful modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast; it’s also a wonderful sweet billionaire love story without so many of the billionaire theme clichés! It’s written from both Ivy and Sawyer’s POV. Evangeline did a fantastic job of writing this book!!!
I wasn’t real sure what direction I would take on this review. On the one hand it’s a good remake of Beauty and the Beast and yes the author does not come off as preachy with the word so that’s always a plus. Unfortunately as much as I wanted to connect with the characters I found their musings to be repetitive causing me to become bored. I did however understand who the characters were representative of and what they were each dealing with and that’s what held my interest enough to make it through to the end. I love the way the author brings about healing for both of them and that it wasn’t done in an instant. The message that’s being delivered may be helped for some by the way it’s drawn out, dissected and/or justified, used to excuse behavior but not for me. It’s not a bad read and in this case I also realize it isn’t the fault of the author it’s just my personal preference since there are many more things that I enjoyed about this read than not. I do pretty much enjoy this author’s style and am enjoying working through the books I have purchased and ignored for far too long.
What a wonderful story. A man hiding from the world, refusing to show his pain and grief. A woman hurt by a bad breakup has lost all belief in her value. An unusual job brings these two together. The road is rocky and painful and each one has many issues to overcome. But the joy that comes from love is worth it.
Very realistic, inspiring, warms the heart and touches the soul. Both characters have scars in need of healing, I think sometimes the internal scars are more damaging than the external. Power words of faith and wisdom, I actually took note of the scripture verses, used to read for myself and listened to the beautiful song. Very emotional and gripping story. Loved it, couldn’t put it down.
I would probably rate this more of a 3.5. I enjoyed it, and in some ways, was surprised by how much. Other parts caused me some serious frustrations with the characters, especially Ivy toward the end.
“I think this life is hard without assistance from others.” –RuPaul
I love a Beauty and the Beast story and The Unwanted Assistant was a variation along that theme. Ivy Wolfe needed a job. Her parents were in financial trouble due to an accident that temporarily side-lined her father from work. Ivy, a college student, was now forced to support herself as her parents were not able to help her. Wealthy Sawyer Drake had secluded himself after a horrific accident killed his parents, a younger brother and left him horribly scarred. Forced to hire an assistant… Ivy’s and Sawyer’s personalities were oil and water. Yep, we had the perfect formula for a B&B story.
This is a faith-based story [Christian]. Readers should be prepared to encounter people of faith attending church, quoting scriptures, praying for each other, seeking guidance from a higher power and having that inner dialogue with their God. Characters discuss their beliefs, how they came to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior [being saved] and sharing that information with each other. It is a normal conversation between friends of the faith and is not out of line within the constraints of this story.
I liked the characters, they were believable… to a degree; however, their method of resolving their differences got on my last nerve in their treatment of each other. It was like the pendulum went too far in its extremes. I found it hard to hear characters acknowledge loving each other and yet refusing to yield to that love. There was a cognitive dissonance where we had the extremes on both sides. In fact, they discussed cognitive dissonance in the story. I found that rather comical that they were doing the same thing.
“None of us got to where we are alone. Whether the assistance we received was obvious or subtle, acknowledging someone’s help is a big part of understanding the importance of saying thank you.” –Harvey Mackay
Our HEA was hard fought and I thought it took way too long to get there. Other than that, I loved the story. The author was especially descriptive of the University of Alabama, the glory of southern architecture, the flora and the visual descriptions made me want to immediately travel there. It was a visual smorgasbord for the senses.
On another note, those who are Jane Austen fans will love the reference to matchmaking and her book Emma. I found that a delightful gem. I volunteered to read a copy of this book and want to recommend it to my friends. This review is my honest opinion and I hope it prompts others to read it.
So, this clean, contemporary book is about college-age, Christian adults, but there are times it seems more like a teen-angst/teen-drama story. The characters Ivy and Sawyer are interesting, both struggling with self-image and self-confidence issues. Add a huge dose of guilt and grief and you have a mountain to overcome to make this romance happen. The role reversal near the end did throw me off a bit, but the finale was sweet and romantic and worth the wait.
Five Stars
Satisfying Christian Romance
This is a warm, sweet and clean romance with strong Christian elements. This author always weaves a good story with strong moral values that brings forth the reliance on God in our lives. I love that she writes a longer novel to let the reader really get to know the characters. This book is a fast read, but the story is not rushed. I received this book (ARC) at no cost and chose to post my honest review.