What’s this about?
Father Tyler played by the rules for years. Until one day, one of God’s lost flock visits his confessional booth changing everything. Vows will be broken in this taboo erotica romance.
My Rating: 2/5 stars
My Review:
I’m struggling to rate this book because on one hand, the sex scenes were fucking fantastic 🥵
…..but on the other hand there were multiple aspect of the plot I wasn’t a huge fan of.
Can I rate the sex scenes 5/5 stars and the plot 1/5 stars?
This review is going to have major spoilers, so you’ve been warned!
I liked reading Father Bell’s internal struggles. I found them to be pretty realistic. I liked how the holy aspects and blasphemy melded together. (Who knew prayer could be so hot!) but ultimately while we did get a ton of his internal monologue about guilt about want vs religion….I felt like he didn’t struggle enough? Which is odd because I also found those portions to be boring lol. I’m also surprised that he didn’t compare his situation to his sister’s more than that one time Poppy brought it up. Poppy and Lizzie’s situations are not remotely the same, I’m just surprised he didn’t feel like he was taking advantage of woman in need of guidance and have that guilt play a bigger role. Instead he was just like oh, didn’t even think of that. Which….how!?! I mean the whole reason you began a priest was because your sister was “taken advantage of” (i.e., sexually abused) by a priest. How would you not feel like you were “taking advantage” of a lost soul? (Again, not trying to compare Lizzie to Poppy, I just find it odd his mind never went there.)
I liked how Poppy was a sex worker, I just didn’t like the cheating subplot. At all. I don’t mind the cheating catalyst that brought her to the church (I actually loved it. It felt realistic and showed Poppy as being flawed), but the several cheating subplots that happened after. I wish the book was dual POV. I think I wouldn’t be so upset and distrusting of Poppy if it was. Sorry, but if you’re going to out to dinner with your ex-bf who is married/cheated on you/and fucked you a month ago after admitting to blackmailing your current bf, and don’t do the bare minimum of giving your current bf the courtesy to tell him where you are going, then stay the night talking with your ex-bf in his hotel room and then go see your current bf in the clothes you still haven’t changed out of…..I’m not going to like you. I mean seriously. I’m supposed to root for you as the heroine????? It’s called having some common fucking decency. She even knew her ex-bf sent her current bf a picture of the two of them together and decided ‘yeah I’ll let my current bf stew and think I’m cheating on him the whole fucking night rather than send him a text’?!? Are you sure you have three degrees?!? Sorry but this is the woman you all are staning?!? And then she goes on this big ‘I would never cheat, do you really think so low of me’ speech that actually sounded really gaslighty and victim-blaming Tyler for his concerns. Like what the fuck is he supposed to think?! And then SHE DOES CHEAT on him later in the book so where was her logic?????? I honestly don’t trust her not to fuck Sterling the first time her and Tyler have issues when this book ends. I cannot stand Poppy for those reason.
Plus she kinda set out to seduce a priest rather than it happening organically which I would’ve preferred. Girl needs some therapy. She really gave off the vibes of ‘my ex is married and wants me to be his whore so to help my self-esteem I am going to seduce a man of the cloth as one last fuck you to my ex. yay girl power!’ I mean….WTF!?!?
And why tf did she not check in with Tyler after his whole life got blown up? She’s like ‘I broke your heart and lightly cheated to get you so you could keep your job (also why is she always going on about her agency but then takes away his from him and doesn’t see the hypocrisy?!) but that didn’t work so then I decided to ghost you so that way you would lose your job your religion and me’?! What was her logic?!? I cant keep up with heroines who only drink dumb bitch juice!
Ugh her only redeeming quality was that she seemed intuitive of what Tyler needed after she spent the night with her ex-bf and made that happen. But then again….if she actually had two functioning brain cells she wouldn’t have needed to do that because he wouldn’t have had to worry so much. I did like how no one in the book was stupidly jealous for no reason. Tyler had a reason to be concerned and jealous of her literally spending the night talking with her ex-bf in his hotel room. (Also what the fuck did they even have to talk about?!? For a whole fucking night?!? The whole scenario seems like she was keeping Sterling as a backup boyfriend. Sorry, I cant root for her after that happened. Literally not even a fucking phone call?!?). It was refreshing to read Tyler always wanting Poppy choosing who she wanted and not going full caveman and punching Sterling in his pretentious mouth (which he fully deserved). Props to Tyler.
Also this had them falling in love after 6 weeks of meeting. Which….okay???????
I wanted more interactions with Tyler’s family. Especially after the fallout from his job. And I wanted more interactions with Poppy’s family. People now know she is a stripper. Wouldn’t her high class parents want to disown her for the scandal?!
All in all: Loved the sex scenes. Loved the scenes where religion and love met. Just wish a few plot points regarding the cheating/trust issues hadn’t existed.
Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings: suicide, mentions of sexual assault, stalking, revenge porn, alcohol consumption, cheating
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