Forgive me father for I have sinned.
Father Gabriel found me on the street selling my body to the highest bidder. He thinks he saved me, but he’s wrong. I will never be redeemed. But then again, neither will he. Father Gabriel is a tortured man. Eighteen years ago, this former Navy SEAL made a mistake that caused the death of his best friend and Teammate. A man who was my father. Father Gabriel … was my father.
Father Gabriel is fighting for redemption every single day of his life, trying to atone for his sins—saving a life for taking one.
He never knew that his friend left a daughter behind. Now I will make him pay for the life he stole from me. He owes me and I will collect: his body, his soul, his tortured love.
I will break him. Ruin his life like he ruined mine.
I choose darkness over light. I choose to do wrong, because it feels so right. And I’m going to do it again.
A heart-breaking tale of love, loss and redemption from two best-selling authors, teaming up for the first time for this epic, ugly cry, standalone forbidden romance.
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Wow It’s a little dark, a little forbidden and a lot hot.
Father Gabriel is a former seal turned priest who can’t stop fighting everything inside him. Enter Blue with an agenda to get even with Father Gabriel.
Excellent read
Father Figure is not the down and dirty story I was expecting. It’s emotional and interesting and compelling. I liked Gabriel from the beginning and I liked the woman Blue aka Mariana became by the end of the book. I think the authors did a great job of portraying the emotional pain of both characters. The depth of Gabriel’s guilt over his friend’s death and and then his distress and shame over his attraction to Mariana are heart wrenching. Mariana’s desperate need for revenge is sad and misguided and heartbreaking. These characters took me on their journey and the last 20% or so of this book was particularly emotional for me. I was very happy with the way everything wrapped up and I enjoyed this book a lot.
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance reader copy of this book.
I didnt know what to expect going into this story. I was blown away with how beautiful and emotional it was. It was written beautifully. I’m not much for books about Priests but this was interesting to read. Pretty good.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
This was a beautifully put romance. An exSEAL turned priest trying to find his calling in life after his Bestfriends death in the war. A young girl with a vengeance to kill the man who killed the father she never knew.
There is a significant age gap but both are of consenting age.
The trails that Gabriel puts himself through because of his guilt shows you just how far a solider can wallow in his own darkness.
Mariana lived a hard life of fending for herself, with a druggie for a mother who didn’t care about her.
The two dont meet by accident but by Marianas design. Or was it Gods.
There is several quoting of the bible and you may want to visit a confessional after because I sure do but I love the HEA of this book and everything that lead up to it.
I recieved an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
I had a hard time putting this down. It’s fast-paced but packs so much that it’s hard to know what you will feeling from one moment to the next. Gabriel is tortured and I automatically felt for him. It took me longer to warm up to Mariana but we soon find out her background and it makes sense. There is steam, growth, passion, forbidden love.
“Out of the Blue” ruination
—>>> Having found his second calling, a form of atonement for a grievous act performed many years ago as a fledgling Navy Seal during their first deployment, Father Gabriel Thorne now lives a very simple and routine life at the rectory, fulfilling his duties as a Catholic Priest at St. Peters Church in the San Diego community he considers his home. Prayers, however, do not draw him away from sinning in his mind and with his body when he saves a young girl in an alley in the act of servicing a john late one night. Little does Gabriel know just what her appearance in his life means, as “Blue”/Mariana has made plans to topple him off his saintly pedestal and make him pay…for everything which had meant anything to her in her short life. Nothing could have prepared him for what those oddly familiar green eyes will do to him, causing a downward spiral towards an even darker place than a decade ago, one from which his faith and integrity now might not pull him out of again. A read which will ding you in the heart and pull you along until they finally work out a solution towards a second chance at a real life, together and against all odds.
Father Figure is a scorchingly devastating journey of hate, revenge, guilt, and hope. Just reading this book left me with singe marks on my heart, but a powerful hope that I just couldn’t shake. While there is nothing easy about this story, it is one that will leave with you with important questions and lift a small burden from your own shoulders. This beauty will ingrain itself into your very soul, and never let you go entirely.
Blue has had to fight for anything and everything in her life, so she understands the value of people and things. What she doesn’t understand is why she has to fight so hard at all. Does life really need to be so hard and complicated? Father Gabriel had a rough start in life as well, but he chose a different route and purpose. When his dreams and hopes died brutally and suddenly, his life takes a desperate turn that changes his entire course. As these two lives collide, her raging fire mixes with his volatile tinder to produce an inferno that leaves threatens everything in its path. Can either hope to survive the coming storm intact, or will both perish in their self made apocalypse?
Blue and Gabriel took my heart by force as they cracked it open and made me bleed along with them. Walking in their shoes opened my eyes to what all I have and what I take for granted. Their story broke something lose within me and made me feel so much more then I ever expected. I cheered for them both even when their goals opposed the other because I knew there was so much more to their story then either could see. I just kept hoping that they would let their hearts lead them for once
Alana Albertson and Jane Harvey-Berrick have destroyed me in the best possible way. They will take you to the very core if the human heart and make you see and feel everything you have ever missed or chosen to overlook. With surgical precision, they will tattoo this story on your very soul, so that you will not walk away the same. They are truly literary goddesses that I have had the immense pleasure of savoring and cherishing via their sacred and priceless words. They are an unstoppable duo that I hope more then anything will continue to breath life into extraordinary stories together in the future.
Father Figure is a deliciously forbidden romance that defied my expectations.
Mariana is a angry, bitter set on revenge. Unfortunately for Father Gabriel Thorne, he is the one her pretty green eyes are set on. Seduction and ruin is her game plan and it creates plenty of angsty moments between a determined Mariana and a guilt ridden Gabriel.
The only downside to this story that I could see was that the story was a little slow, especially towards the end. Beyond that, this story is hot, suspenseful, and definitely worth the read.
Quand on découvre la couverture, puis le résumé , on sait que le sujet sera sensible. Je n’ai pas lu Priest paru en français il y a quelques années chez Milady et c’est un fait le second roman que je lis avec cette thématique mais ici les choses sont différentes car le héros est déjà prêtre. J’ai passé un excellent moment de lecture avec ce roman qui saura nous happer dans un univers sombre envoûtant où les héros ne seront plus à quel saint se vouer.
Mariana aussi connu sous le surnom de Blue est un personnage que j’ai adoré découvrir. C’est une jeune femme de 18 ans torturée, qui a un passé plus que difficile, qui a dû lutter pour sa survie et qui ne vit que pour sa revanche. Elle s’est donnée une mission et rien ne la fera changer d’avis. Un homme doit payer pour les péchés qu’il a commis et elle a encore plus envie de le souiller avant de lui ôter la vie. Ce personnage sera très complexe psychologiquement parlant et c’est ça qui est intéressant. Elle manque clairement de repères et la cellule familiale est un concept tellement lointain qu’elle ne le connait pas. J’ai adoré voir son évolution, voir la noirceur s’emparer de son être mais aussi par moments le doute la faire un peu vaciller. Sa mère n’a jamais su tenir son rôle et cela l’a poussée dans la rue à un trop jeune âge . Elle sera dans la provocation avec Gabriel et jamais dans la compréhension car ce qu’il a commis est irréparable et irrévocable. Elle va le faire payer pour la vie de dépravée qu’elle a dû subir. Elle a dû gagner en maturité plus vite que prévu, elle a dû apprendre à se forger une carapace. J’ai aimé toutes les facettes de ce personnage car elle semble insaisissable et c’est là que ça devient palpitant.
En se faisant passer pour une pauvre âme en peine, elle va entrer dans l’antre du loup sauf que ce sera elle qui va mener la dance et Gabriel sera l’agneau à sacrifier sur l’autel. Pourtant , on sent qu’elle va développer une vraie relation avec Mrs Connor, l’intendante du presbytère. Elle fera office de figure de grand mère et c’est très agréable de la voir s’ouvrir un peu à quelqu’un . Elle ne fera pas l’erreur de s’attacher à elle mais le temps que son plan se mette en place, elle va découvrir la notion de foyer, de cellule familiale, de bien être même si ce dernier sera éphémère. Mrs Connor adore Gabriel donc elle sympathise avec l’ennemi. J’ai aimé voir toutes les armes qu’elle va déployer pour faire ciller ce grand homme. Elle aura du mal à se trouver une place mais son humanité n’est pas perdue à jamais ce qui nous donne encore un peu d’espoir. On va adorer les scènes avec Lolita, le petit chat qu’elle va trouver car ce dernier est un symbole très criant de ce qu’elle n’a jamais connu. On va aussi souffrir à ses côtés car peu de gens auraient survécu à celle qu’elle a vécu. J’ai aimé suivre son épopée et j’ai été admirative de sa combativité, de sa détermination.
Gabriel Thorne a d’abord été un Navy SEAL, un jeune homme de 19 ans insouciant , persuadé d’être invincible . Il a vécu l’horreur dans son métier aux côtés de son ami mais une décision lui a tout fait perdre . Il a eu des moments marquants dans sa vie car 20 ans auparavant il est parti en mission pour son pays puis 10 ans auparavant il fait une rencontre déterminante suite au décès de son meilleur ami. Choisir de devenir prêtre n’est pas une décision qui se prend à la légère. Mettre sa vie d’homme de côté pendant près de 10 ans n’est pas anodin. Il excelle dans ce rôle actuel et il a su utiliser ses deux carrières pour faire le bien autour de lui. Pourtant un Mal le ronge , la culpabilité est là et elle ira en devenant de plus en plus intense. Elle sera présente à divers degré mais heureusement il saura trouver une oreille attentive en la personne du père Michael. Il l’a sauvé une première fois et il se pourrait qu’il lui vienne en aide une deuxième fois. J’ai adoré ce personnage car il y a tant de souffrance en lui et d’abnégation. Tout le monde reconnaît qu’il est un homme bon sauf lui même . Aussi quand Blue va débarquer dans sa vie , elle va tout chambouler et faire entrer la tentation. Pendant 10 ans, il n’a eu que des pensées chastes mais le Diable en personne pourrait bien débouler dans sa vie. Qu’en sera t-il? Saura t-il alléger sa peine?
Bref, j’ai adoré Father Figure qui est une romance interdite comme je les aime. Il y a ce côté sombre qui nous permet de découvrir des thématiques fortes et tabous. Jane Harvey Berrick et Alana Albertson nous offre une histoire qui saura nous couper le souffle tout en nous donnant l’espoir de croire en un pardon.
WOW! This book was full of heat, turmoil, and secrets. It’s so wrong, but such a great read!
Father Gabriel Thorne is a man in turmoil. He is an ex-Navy SEAL now a Catholic Priest. His past has eaten at him for almost twenty years. April 23 is always a rough day for Father Gabriel. It was the day that his life changed him. He changed from a cocky young man who thought he was invincible to a killing machine for the SEAL’s. After he left the Teams, he struggled for a few years before he was saved by Father Michael and his life changed again, giving him a new purpose.
Blue “Mariana” has had a rough life. Her mother was neglectful and found her life from a needle and a bottle. When she finally told Blue about her father, it was a lie, but it was a lie that Blue lived and found her path to live. She was determined to search out and destroy the man who killed her father. Little did she know that her life would be changed in so many ways with that determination for revenge.
I hated Blue in this story, especially the beginning. Her need for revenge blinded her and made her a person that was destructive and mean. I hated the way she was with Gabe and he had no idea why. I did eventually warm up to her, after Gabe brought out the kind person who wasn’t blinded by hate and destruction. I was happy to see Gabe find peace with his past and his life. I give this story a 5-star review and highly recommend it if you enjoy stories of taboo love, age difference, angsty, tumultuous characters, or stories ex-Military men, you will love this story. It’s hot kept me on the edge of my seat while reading it because I wasn’t sure when Blue would finally see the light. I love Alana Albertson’s SEAL stories and was so happy to see the Pickled Frog in this story. This was my first read of Jane Harvey-Berrick, but I will be reading more of her books.