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isisquinn 's review for:
Heartless Heathens
by Santana Knox
This book had been sitting on my TBR for a while. I just kept putting it off due to the mixed reviews and this nagging feeling I might end up DNFing it. But honestly, I shouldn’t have waited. I ended up enjoying the TF out of it. Gothic romance with a twist on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, throw in all the religious trauma, political intrigue, and a hefty dose of smut, and it will be a definitive yes. Please.
As a former parochial schoolgirl, this story felt incredibly freeing. "Teachers go to school to teach. Nuns are just married to your God, right? Except you’ve given them a curriculum.” That quote—that right there—had my chest tighten. My inner child was seething. I wish little me had the strength back then to speak up and say those exact words to my so-called teachers.
I could go on and on about the poor excuse for an education I received in those years. I was barely scraping by in math and science, and I was not getting any education in other subjects that mattered. However, 10-year-old me could recite Bible verses like it was second nature. Priorities, right?
I ended up reading this in all format: eBook, audiobook, and yep, sometimes I cracked open the paperback too (because this girl sometimes still needs the smell of paper while reading). Oh, and of course I had Santana’s curated playlist going on in the background. It’s a whole experience.
The character building? Fantastic. Every single character felt distinct, and just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they peel back another layer. The world-building, with its dystopian edges and eerie familiarity, pulled me in and kept me hooked.
Now… let’s talk about the deliciously, sinful smut. Yes, all of it. And there’s a shit ton. It’s bold. It’s blasphemous. It’s everything your Catholic schoolgirl heart was warned about… and it is divine.
Check the trigger warnings, there are a lot and for good reason.
As a former parochial schoolgirl, this story felt incredibly freeing. "Teachers go to school to teach. Nuns are just married to your God, right? Except you’ve given them a curriculum.” That quote—that right there—had my chest tighten. My inner child was seething. I wish little me had the strength back then to speak up and say those exact words to my so-called teachers.
I could go on and on about the poor excuse for an education I received in those years. I was barely scraping by in math and science, and I was not getting any education in other subjects that mattered. However, 10-year-old me could recite Bible verses like it was second nature. Priorities, right?
I ended up reading this in all format: eBook, audiobook, and yep, sometimes I cracked open the paperback too (because this girl sometimes still needs the smell of paper while reading). Oh, and of course I had Santana’s curated playlist going on in the background. It’s a whole experience.
The character building? Fantastic. Every single character felt distinct, and just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they peel back another layer. The world-building, with its dystopian edges and eerie familiarity, pulled me in and kept me hooked.
Now… let’s talk about the deliciously, sinful smut. Yes, all of it. And there’s a shit ton. It’s bold. It’s blasphemous. It’s everything your Catholic schoolgirl heart was warned about… and it is divine.
Check the trigger warnings, there are a lot and for good reason.