There are many rules a priest can’t break. A priest cannot marry. A priest cannot abandon his flock. A priest cannot forsake his God.I’ve always been good at following rules.Until she came. Then I learned new rules.
My name is Tyler Anselm Bell. I’m twenty-nine years old. Six months ago, I broke my vow of celibacy on the altar of my own church, and God help me, I would do it again.
I am … altar of my own church, and God help me, I would do it again.
I am a priest and this is my confession.
Priest is a full-length standalone with an HEA. For Mature Audiences Only
The best erotic romance I’ve ever read…Sierra Simone writes such delicious books, and consistently makes me want to be a better writer.
Holy-fucking-hell!!!! Sierra Simone is a new author to me and this was the first book I’ve read from her but definitely, DEFINITELY WILL NOT be the last!! This book is like the “Forbidden Fruit” you know you shouldn’t read it and LOVE it but it’s too TEMPTING and EROTIC not to. This read was seductive, steamy, carnal and so intense it was UNPUTDOWNABLE! If you LOVE forbidden romance, then what are you waiting for…. one-click this alluring read!
A friend turned me on to Sierra Simone’s books and this was the first one I picked to try. I’m so glad I did! It was so very wrong but sooooo very right! I’ve already picked up the next in series and I’ve got my eye on her American Princess one next! Loved it! Scorchingly, sinfully hot!
Holy moly throw a bucket of water on top of me steamy! Loved, loved this book. The author crafts a beautiful story. I’m totally on board for the next in this series.
I only purchased this book because of the narrator. I love hearing his voice. this book was a lot more filthy than i thought it would be. I just thought it would be a forbidden love but nope it was forbidden but also they defiled everything about the church in the this book. they did crazy out right abomination level stuff all over the church and then said God was watching and approved of them perverting a holy place of worship. I was just like um what??? at their weird explanation on why it was okay to disrespect the church and god but it was is a great damn story and well written. i could picture every depraved thing they did and Jacob made oh so much more delectable. Highly recommended read if you dont mind the house of god be defiled.
I had no idea I needed a super steamy book about a priest, but here we are! Wow. Loved this one.
Priest is an amazing read. It’s a great emotional journey with some of the hottest scenes I’ve ever read. What I love about Sierra Simone is she never compromises on her characters.
Okay, so I was not quite prepared for the level of sexiness of this book. It was a suggested read from a friend. At times it made my eyes water. The book is heavy on the sexy language and graphic scenes, so if you’re into that this is for you, if not take care. However, I have to say this book is more than just the sex. There is so much more going on here that I would say to anyone into a really heart warming love story to read this. Our gorgeous hero, and I don’t just mean that because the guy is a hot piece of work, but because he is just swoon worthy gorgeous in his mental dialogue, is a priest. But he’s not acting very saintly. The author gives us such beautiful tension between his love for his god and his love for this woman. The book is single POV all him and I loved that about it. To be honest at first I wasn’t much into her and glad I wan’t in her head, but by the end of the book I was rooting for her. The two just sing together.
If you’re easily offended, look away.
If you want to read one of the dirtiest books out there, this is it. You’ll never look at a church altar the same way, I guarantee it. You’ll need to go to confession after reading this book (and so will the priest you confess to). And you’ll love every filthy minute of it.
When my critique partner, author Laurel Greer, recommends a book I don’t ask questions—I download it and strap in for the ride. As always, she was right on target with this steamy romance.
What a fresh, fascinating, and sexy-as-hell read!
I am not Catholic, or even religious, having been raised in a mixed-religion home, so I wasn’t bothered by the taboo subject matter as some might be. Instead, I got wrapped up in the main character’s struggles, and loved that Ms. Simone kept his big, hairy backstory secret until the end. The writing is good, the concept is fresh and different for romance, and it’s the kind of book you can happily rip through in an afternoon.
So, why not give it five stars?
I would’ve liked more backstory on the heroine. She was a wealthy young woman who walked away from that life and decided to become…a high-class stripper. And sleep with a priest. On his alter.
Now, nothing wrong with being a stripper or sleeping with any consenting adult anywhere you like (as long as children aren’t watching). But I never really understood why she walked away from her old life, and why this made the most sense as a career for her.
I mean, yes, she fit the bill for the club and it was easy money and she liked the control, but what in her past led her to this point—these choices? We find out what drives the hero towards the end, but not what drives her. Plus, I’m kind of over the whole stripper heroine thing in romances.
However, these are small quibbles. If you’re not offended by the idea of a priest breaking his vow of chastity in a big, big way, then grab yourself a copy of this spicy read.
The header on my review should say it all.
God is found in love, if we wish to be loved, we should love. God, children, spouses, siblings, humans, pets…anyone and everyone. It’s all about opening your heart to love .
“Take wives and have sons and daughters …for surely I have plans for you, plans for your happiness and not for your harm, to give you a future full of hope…”
Sierra has an amazing narrative style. The words flow like poetry, ” the colour renaissance painters shouldve used to paint the lights of heaven ” , so beautiful !!!
Her research is thorough and her use of metaphors accentuates the story.
For e.g- ” And now everything felt like it was falling apart , like broken rosary beads scattering wildly across the floor, too numerous and fast for me to chase.”
Nowhere did I feel scandalised reading this forbidden love story. Infact this story brought out the spirituality in the fore. Tyler’s love for Poppy is so strong and pure that he actually experiences salvation and godliness through her.his hurting heart is healed by Poppy.
“There was a beat of perfect completeness, a moment where I felt as if I could pluck each and every atom out of the air, where magic and God and something sweetly beyond complete understanding was real, completely real.”
“There was something anticipatory and sentient about the silence and emptiness. It suddenly felt as if God were listening very intently to what I was saying, listening and waiting,”
The story is sexy hot with drool worthy Father Tyer Bell having animalistic , all consuming sex with Poppy , is an added bonus. But what caught me in a spell was a transient feeling that I experienced reading the story.
What a conflict and what a resolution. I’m totally enamoured and utterly smitten with this story. I could quote lines , I could praise this book to heavens but I simply insist – It’s a MUST read . .
in this time of generic stories about alphas and billionaires and virgins , ths story comes as a novelty. The hero isn’t afraid to cry, he isn’t scared of feeling afraid, he isn’t hesitant about of granting forgiveness , and in this labyrinthine labour of life, he takes a direct approach to forgive and love again .
This book shall stay with me forever …….
This book blew my mind! It was such an extraordinary mixture of sacred and profane, dark and sweet, passionate and religious. The author’s excellent prose and research filled this book with biblical facts, human passion, colorful descriptions of the life of a man who was, at times, deeply sexual, utterly religious, devoted to his parishioners, compromised with community life, and yet, kinky and spiritual. This book had me spellbound. I listened to the audio version of this book, so the experience was enhanced by the brilliant delivery of the actor playing Father Bell. He caught the personality and nuances of Father Bell’s voice and character and made the book so much more alive than the written word. As the book unfolded, this voice became Father Bell and I was entranced.
Tyler Bell felt the call to priesthood three years prior to the start of this book. He was deeply affected by his sister’s death and he wanted to serve. His sister committed suicide after being molested by a priest in their parish. He wanted to change things, and in the three years he had been serving his parish, he had improved attendance to mass, involved the parish in church activities, changed the image of the church to the parishioners, and had a lot of groups and charities working. There was an old woman who adopted Father Bell and was his greatest helper, Millie. She kept him fed, she adopted his family too, and she kept him organized in all church activities.
It needs to be said that Father Bell is a hunk, and that he runs and exercises a lot so he is very fit. He’s also very intellectual, loves watching The Walking Dead, and drinks whiskey.
Tuesdays are confession days, and he already knows the routine, who will come confess and what the sins are. Until one fateful day that a woman comes and confesses. And that is the day that the sexual part of Father Bell awakens with a vengeance and he has the fight of his life to keep his life as a religious man safe and prevent the sexual man from emerging. Needless to say, he loses the battle and this book tells you the story.
Poppy Danforth was also a great character and a study in contrasts. She comes from wealth and social status, was intelligent enough to graduate from Dartmouth with honors. And yet, she moves away from her family to work at a stripper club. She’s sweet and slutty, generous and needy, unrepentant and irrepressibly sensual. She was the perfect woman to make Father Bell lose his mind and his hold on his sexuality.
Everything else had happened while I pretended God wasn’t watching, but this—there was no pretending now. Sacred and profane were blending and blurring together, fusing and welding themselves into something new and whole and singular, and if this was what love was, then I didn’t know how anyone could bear the weight of it.
This book kept me captivated all the time. There were some scenes where the presence of God is felt, and other scenes where the sex is kinky and dirty. Father Bell has a strong loyalty to his church, he’s proud of what he has accomplished and he loves his parishioners. He has a strong sense of vocation. And yet, he has very strong feelings for Poppy, possessiveness, passion, lust, love. It’s when his heart gets engaged that things get dicey. We get to witness his fight between his two loves, the torture, guilt and anguish he feels as he gets torn between God and Poppy. This book is simply riveting and fascinating.
I loved Priest by Sierra Simone! This is a story about a young priest named Tyler Bell, who has been in the priesthood and been the pastor of his little parish in Kansas City for about 3 years. Tyler was terribly traumatized when at the age of 17 he found his sister, Lizzy’s lifeless body hanging next to the ladder that she had climbed up to commit suicide. Lizzy had been a 19 year old college student, and had been hurting emotionally for many years that she had told no one about, because she was being sexually abused by her parish priest for many years. Despite all of Tyler’s anger and rage at the horrible priest who abused his sister, Tyler wants to be a really good priest, and make a difference that will help the parishioners at his parish. Tyler is very well liked at his parish.
One day when Tyler is hearing confessions, a young woman comes into the confessional and begins to talk with Tyler about her life. He learns that her name is Poppy, and once he sees Poppy and gets to know her, he can’t stop thinking about her. Poppy starts to come to Mass on Sundays and also helps with the Saturday morning Parish Pancake Breakfast. Tyler and Poppy become very close, and Tyler even breaks his vow of celibacy to be with Poppy. Tyler and Poppy fall in love, but Tyler is extremely conflicted about what he should do since he takes his commitment to his calling and his parish very seriously.
Priest is a very sexy story, but it also makes you think about how we interpret the signs that we get from God. I grew up Catholic, so I feel that I understand the emotional conflicts that Tyler has in this book. I’ve known some wonderful priests who have left the priesthood because they have fallen in love with women and wanted to get married. It is never an easy decision. I recommend this book to everyone who loves a really great romance novel! It’s one of the best that I’ve ever read!
Few times in my life have I read a book that affected me so deeply or provoked so many internal questions.
At first I debated the idea of reading a book about a catholic priest falling in love, but I was slowly seduced by it and, though it took a few years to finally read it, I only regret not doing it sooner.
Priest is the story of man, his faith and how he comes to question his true vocation when he meets a lost woman that comes to him looking for guidance and forgiveness despite not being religious at all.
The author did an amazing job on this book. The writing is superb, her knowledge of the rituals, scriptures and the world Father Bell lives in so vast whether by research or first-hand knowledge, and the way she translates feelings to word is, IMO, absolutely impeccable. The cherry on top is that the sex is ridiculously hot and so, oh so dirty, you should stay away if you’re not really into it.
I’m partial to tormented souls and conflicted characters and I was totally entranced by the depth of Father Bell’s persona.
In a nutshell, I loved this book from beginning to end and as taboo as it might be to some people, it’s worth the read if you can find it in yourself to be an objective reader.
I’ve come to the conclusion, I am depraved because I do love these Taboo reads.
This is my first reading of aSierra Simone book for me.
Let me make you aware that the subject matter is erotic with a capital E. When you pick up this book and from the title alone you will probably have mind set of what this is going to be about – but this is no Thorn Birds and Tyler Sullivan is no Ralph De Bricassart.
As a catholic we know all about rules – rules that are obvious, rules that my parents were raised by as I can remember and rules that they was expected to live by, so much so that they refused to christen us their children as Catholics. But for a Priest these rules are sacrosanct.
Imagine what it would be like to have your life planned out for you? Because of expectations from your family and their expectations of the life you are meant to lead – you are what you are and not what you want to be?
For Poppy Danworth it would be the manicured sleekly highlighted expensive package. Graduating summa cum laude at college expecting to becoming that rich wife and give her rich husband rich babies – but that’s not what Poppy wanted so decision made she runs away from the mundane and finds herself going down a very different road from the one chosen for her but when her past collides with the now she does something that she doesn’t like her conscience leads her to the confessional box of St Margaret’s Church and to Father Tyler Sullivan.
For Father Sullivan the path he chose was due to the death of his sister Lizzie. When his sister was molested by the Parish Priest rather than let her secret be told she took her own life. When Tyler told his parent of his decision to become a Priest, his mother cried and his father didn’t speak to him for six months. His parents didn’t even go to his ordination they were so distraught by his decision. Tyler’s plan was clear cut. Dedicate his life at being a better person, trade vengeance for love
But when these two collide in the confessional box what follows is an unbridled story of carnal confession and breaking every rule in the big book.
For me, the premise of this story was intriguing because like many people of the Catholic ilk I was brought up with mindset of what is right and what is wrong and there is no in between. “thow shalt not” says the 10 Commandments and then there is the 7 deadly sins etc etc ,. So to read about a Priest who was first and foremost a man ,struggle (not a lot but he did) with so many diverse feelings was like a breathe of fresh air and showed me that he, like the rest of us, can be tempted, is not infallible and that sex and spirituality can actually happen.
Some of you will like this and some of you wont, some of you will roll you eyes and some of you will just say NO but remember this is fiction and what Sierra Simone does it takes us on a journey of literary intoxication and shows us what it is like to be human.
Im sorry that I was unable to control my desires
Im sorry that I had betrayed the holiness of this place
Im sorry that I couldn’t control my desire long enough to take a cold shower
But mostly Im sorry that Im not sorry
Me? I wont be seeking forgiveness for reading this book. I loved it.
“The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins…” C.S. Lewis
“The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins…that is a why a cold, self-righteous prig, who goes regularly to church, may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute.”- Millie quoting C. S. Lewis
I’ve lived a long time, and a man and a woman wanting each other is by far one of the least sinful things I’ve seen.”- Millie
Being somewhat (more accurately, intimately) familiar with the Catholic church, it teachings and its sacramental rituals, I was stunned by character of Father Tyler Bell. The immediate rush to judgement in my mind labeled the acts committed by Father Bell and Poppy as profane and a defilement of objects considered sacred to the Catholic celebration of the mass.
Then I looked beyond my wall of judgement and thought it through.
Father Bell and the beautiful pure of heart, Poppy were and are beloved by God. Father Tyler Bell was a dedicated celibate priest until he heard another call. God who always moves in our lives for good if we pray, we ask, we seek, we accept our trials.
Being a priest, everyday he celebrates the mass. Please absorb in your mind and heart the word, “celebrate”. It is an ancient, spiritual ritual celebrating God’s love for his creation through remembering Christ’s life, death and resurrection. It is a celebration of love.
These priestly things, the altar with its relic, the church itself is built on one thing and one thing alone and that is “love” in many, many forms. So the acts of Father Tyler and his “lamb” on the altar of love with priestly vestments are made holy by the transformative power of love. Father Tyler made his love known to Poppy on a deeper level…showing her that her womanhood is sacred, beautiful and treasured as much he treasures the sacred rituals he performs everyday.
Yes, there is biting churning powerful lust present in their sexual (love) encounters but even this is a gift from God. Fueling this lust is imagination, sexual attraction, creativity, and baser emotions which contribute to the sexiness, downright hotness of their encounters. Not to belabor my point but all these factors in their lovemaking are also gifts of love from the Creator God.
Poppy is such a beautiful seeker. She is wicked smart but by no means wicked. She eschews her impressive degrees and her life as a proper monied American princess for showing her body, dancing a stripper at a very exclusive club. Yet, she wants more, her restlessness will not be stilled. She is looking into the Catholic faith because of all the active missionary opportunities. She is called and of course the good looking priest was icing on top of her unique “call” to service.
“God is bigger than our sins. God wants you as you are— stumbling, sinning, confused. All He asks of us is love— love for Him, love for others, and love for ourselves. He asks us to lay down our lives— not to live like ascetics, devoid of any pleasure or joy, but to give Him our lives so that he may increase our joy and increase our love.” – Father Tyler Bell
The direction this story takes tore me up and had me and my heart tied in knots. This writing is profound, rife with truths and ever entertaining. The erotica is spectacular! It made me forget my personal priest phobia and I simply enjoyed the filthy dirty and in the same breath I call them heavenly acts of the flesh.
If you enjoy reading about the nature of love as it finds it way to two hearts seemingly forbidden and doomed to all forms of societal, personal and psychological recriminations and repercussions if they don’t let go, one click this for a read and watch what God does in the end.
I thought as a practicing Roman Catholic I would be offended…but the story really made sense. Loved the characters and the story line. Will definitely read more by this author.
First and foremost, WOW. I wish I could use emoji’s in reviews, the fire and the mind blown one would literally suit this so well. LOL. My mind is actually having trouble forming any other words but, hot diggity damn. As a new reader to Sierra Simone, I keep finding myself taking a long, wet swim in her worlds. Priest is the first in what I imagine will be a very spicy series. The book can be read as a standalone, and is sure to peak the interests of the Spicer readers.
There is so much to this book, so I will try to keep this review as basic as possible. Priest is the story of Tyler and Poppy, two people that you never think would meet, but do. Poppy is a prim and polished business woman, and Tyler is a Priest. When Poppy comes in for Confession, neither are prepared for what follows.
I can’t express enough the level of spicy this book holds, even for a person that reads the stuff that I read, my face was all kinds of red. Forbidden romance, knowing it’s wrong, but feels oh so right, neither Tyler or Poppy can stop what’s building now. There is so much to their story, the complication of Tyler’s vow to God, the Church and of course Poppy. I know some people may be offended by some parts of the story, so here is that warning now. It’s a mind boggling read that will have you pausing just to breathe normally. I downloaded the second book faster than lighting when I finished this story. Wow, fantastic, totally did freaked me out at how much I loved it!
Steamy, steamy, steamy!!!
This story sucked me in, made my panties explode, and left me a sopping mess on the floor! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and it really had me practicing my one handed reading abilities.
It’s filled with unbelievable lust, sinful temptations, and passion filled erotic moments that will keep you riveted to your seat and drooling over Tyler and Poppy. Their love story is emotional and thrilling from start to finish.
I loved this story and need more.
[Received an ARC]
Rating 4.5/5
Plot 5/5
Spice 3.5-4/5
Character Development 4.5/5
“Priest” by Sierra Simone centers around the relationship between Father Tyler Anselm Bell and Poppy Danforth. Tyler entered the priesthood after a tragedy occurred when he was younger that left people fearing the church. He found purpose in bring religion back to his community and creating a healthier relationship between God and the people of the town he lived in. Poppy Danforth is an MBA graduate and corporate executive and seeks religion, confessing to Father Bell about her job as a stripper for an exclusive gentlemen’s club. When the two meet they immediately feel a connection and soon their friendship becomes a relationship filled with secrecy and deceit as Poppy searches for a spiritual awakening while Tyler questions if the priesthood was his purpose all along.
This book was amazing! I loved how it was told entirely from the male perspective and I loved the tension between Bell and Poppy. Although I loved Bell and his family in this novel, I felt that Poppy’s personality wasn’t as likable because of the lack of communication from her.
I’m excited to read the rest of the series and learn about the other members of the Bell family!