✨Im Literary Anxious✨

Estimated Reading Time🕒: 5 Minutes

Author: Sierra Simone ✍🏻

When I tell you that Priest sat on my TBR pile for over a year, I’m not exaggerating. It was one of those impulse buys where the synopsis intrigued me, and the visually appealing cover gave me that extra nudge to add it to my basket.

And then… it just sat there. For months. I was never in the right mood to pick it up. But as the new year rolled in, I decided Priest would be my first read of 2025. Fast forward a week, and not only had I finished Priest, but I dove straight into Sinner. Now both books are a delightful (and spicy) blur of emotions and plotlines in my head.

Let me just say, these books surprised the heck out of me. Yes, Priest features a love story between a priest and a stripper, and Sinner pairs a millionaire playboy with his best friend’s sister, a postulant nun no less. But they’re so much more than entertaining smut (though don’t worry, the smut is next-level 🔥).

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.”

Sierra Simone’s ability to deliver scorching spice while weaving deeply engaging and thoughtful plots is truly a gift. If you’re here for the spice, let me assure you—you will not be disappointed. I also learned Sierra used to be a librarian, and honestly, that tracks. Never underestimate the quiet ones 👀🥵.

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒁𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒚. 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒓𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒆, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒕.”

The Bell Brothers and Their Stories

The series follows the Bell brothers: Tyler (Priest), Sean (Sinner), and Aiden (Saint—which I haven’t read yet). Raised in a deeply religious household, their lives were forever altered by the tragic loss of their sister, Lizzy, 12 years before the events of Priest. This shared trauma deeply affected their faith and their relationships with God in vastly different ways.
 

What sets these books apart is their emotional depth. Simone doesn’t shy away from exploring the intersections of religion, sex, guilt, and self-worth (Priest), or desire, forgiveness, and belief vs. disbelief (Sinner). Her storytelling is provocative in the best way, presenting complex themes in ways I’d never considered before.

Final Thoughts

Yes, there’s plenty in these books that might make a deeply religious reader uncomfortable—Sierra warns us upfront in her author’s note about the “sex, more sex, and definitely some blasphemy.” But if you’re open to it, you’ll find a nuanced exploration of religion, sex, death, and faith, told through stories that are equal parts thoughtful and steamy.
 

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a great romance without humor, lovable secondary characters, and a villain you’d like to see choke on his communion wafer (looking at you, Valdman, you radioactive pile of human trash).
 

If you’re looking for romance that’s not afraid to push boundaries while still delivering on spice, humor, and heart, these books are worth the read.

While Bloom Books sucked me in with their paperback designs, all three books are included in Kindle Unlimited for all the Kindle girlies out there.