Unholy Yearning is the second book in Lynn Burke’s Sinful Natures series. I enjoyed the first one, Unholy Cravings quite a bit as well. Those characters do pop up a few times, but you can read either one of these stories as a standalone.
I was raised in an agnostic household, and this kind of indoctrination is way outside my wheelhouse. These characters have had their beliefs drilled into them from birth. “God will provide”, “God’s will”. Past, present, and future. I had to resist judging these characters, and put my preconceived ideas aside, and just let the story flow.
Levi is young and incredibly naive, but he has an endless supply of faith in Zeke. Zeke, who is flawed beyond description. Zeke of the incredibly poor decisions, who disappoints Levi over and over… This is one amazing journey: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for all three of these characters.
I say three, because Levi’s fiancée plays an important role in the story. Full disclosure, there are some romantic scenes between the three of them in this book.
Levi’s courage to face his fears, and discover who he truly is, is admirable. I loved this character for his straightforwardness and his honesty. Zeke, on the other hand, already knows who he truly is, and is doing everything he can to turn his back on it. Following the path he’d “set in stone” for himself, leads to him making some wild decisions. But hey, it’s his journey to take too, right?
These characters have a rocky road to travel in their quest for finding themselves. Struggling between the path laid out for them by God and their parents, and what they know is the path which will give them true happiness. Unholy Yearning is an intense and emotional story, and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.