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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Sinner is the second book in Sierra Simone’s religion-infused spicy romance series Priest, this time following the titular priest’s older brother. Sean Bell knows he isn’t a good man. He is a womanizer, cares too much about money, and hates God for what happened to his sister. Zenny is a nun postulant about the take her vows as novice in four weeks who hasn’t had much life experiences yet. When his best friend’s much younger sister propositions him to teach her all about sex and what she is giving up, Sean cannot refuse and they start a secret liaison with a set deadline.
While still spicy, this was a far more chaste book compared to Priest with far less sex and a longer set-up before anything happens. And while still taboo because of the 15-year age gap (36 vs 21) and being his best friend’s younger sister (he has held her as a baby), it just doesn’t feel as forbidden as the priest-parishioner dynamic of Priest; she was the one who propositioned him and they have not had any contact in years so he didn’t actually watch her grow up. This sequel did actually have more plot and less of the horniness of Priest. It even made me cry, though not because of the romance, but rather because of a the secondary plot happening in the background.
I liked how self aware Sean Bell is throughout this book. He is upfront about who he is, about why he has stopped believing in God, and about his emerging feelings for Zenny. It may be a controversial opinion, but I do believe that Sean did nothing wrong because he was always honest. He showed surprising tenderness, insight, and depth probably because of his maturity. I felt like it was Zenny who had issues that needed to be worked on. While she may be innocent in the bedroom, she is just jaded and contrarian everywhere else and she kind of pushes all the wrong buttons for me. I am not sure if I really saw their romance deepening beyond the physical, but I just went with it.
Sinner is far more developed and character driven which may have been a detriment to the spiciness of this forbidden romance.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Oof... this was such a disappointment.
I LOVED Priest. Loved it. But this one really disappointed me. I can see the appeal and why some people like this, but the age gap really gave me the ick and I couldn't handle it. Because it was from only Sean's POV, we were constantly reminded that she was "inexperienced" and "a virgin" and it just made me uncomfortable.
I LOVED Priest. Loved it. But this one really disappointed me. I can see the appeal and why some people like this, but the age gap really gave me the ick and I couldn't handle it. Because it was from only Sean's POV, we were constantly reminded that she was "inexperienced" and "a virgin" and it just made me uncomfortable.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall: 2.75-3/5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wanted something fast paced that didn’t need a ton of mental gymnastics in order to read and I definitely got that. I was very surprised by how heart wrenching some parts of this book that deal with family were. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to touch on some very real things that have happened in my own life However, the FMC kind of got on my nerves a lot ngl! Her constant waffling down to the last few pages irritated the heck out me! of irritated me. While I did enjoy it overall I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. Do I recommend? Maybe? As with every book though, make sure to check your trigger warnings before diving in.
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wanted something fast paced that didn’t need a ton of mental gymnastics in order to read and I definitely got that. I was very surprised by how heart wrenching some parts of this book that deal with family were. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to touch on some very real things that have happened in my own life However, the FMC kind of got on my nerves a lot ngl! Her constant waffling down to the last few pages irritated the heck out me! of irritated me. While I did enjoy it overall I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. Do I recommend? Maybe? As with every book though, make sure to check your trigger warnings before diving in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5
One thing about sierra simone is that she writes good ass smut. Had me sweating reading this in the car
When I first picked up the book, I was wary as Sean hyperfixated way too much on their age gap and her being a virgin, so that really creeped me out. However, his character development was great (I hate when smut books have no plot, and I will say Sinner had a pretty good plot). Sierra Simone has a beautiful way of describing things and there were a few moments in the novel that truly struck me, especially as someone who’s experienced grief and has struggled with faith as a result.
I could definitely do without the anal descriptions, but it is what it is.
One thing about sierra simone is that she writes good ass smut. Had me sweating reading this in the car
When I first picked up the book, I was wary as Sean hyperfixated way too much on their age gap and her being a virgin, so that really creeped me out. However, his character development was great (I hate when smut books have no plot, and I will say Sinner had a pretty good plot). Sierra Simone has a beautiful way of describing things and there were a few moments in the novel that truly struck me, especially as someone who’s experienced grief and has struggled with faith as a result.
I could definitely do without the anal descriptions, but it is what it is.