It's not that this was bad per-say, it's just that it wasn't for me. I went in with high expectations and just didn't feel that the book lived up to it. I mean, it's not like I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't think I'd ever re-read. It was hard for me to get through, I was never fully invested, but for some people - this could be one of their favourite books in the world. It's just not for me.

This was such a fun surprise! I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did, especially since this is a third book in a series and I have not read the previous installments. But I really enjoyed this! I connected with the characters and I sympathized with their struggles.

I am such a sucker for a forbidden romance and I have never read a priest romance, and not gonna lie, I was into it. Sasha and Patrick had off the charts chemistry even before anything happened between them, and that is very hard to accomplish.

It was kind of insta lovey, which is not my favorite romance trope, but the angst and longing and forbidden aspect to it made up for it.

I could have done without Sasha's family drama, but I get that there needed to be an internal conflict for her to come to terms with her feelings for Patrick. Patrick's conflict also didn't feel that much of a conflict because he was already feeling uneasy about being a priest It was all a little too convenient for my taste.

Overall, super solid romance with good spice. I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! Who doesn't love a taboo/forbidden romance?! The banter, the tension, the inner monologues were all AMAZING & *chef's kiss*. I didn't have many expectations going into this but I loved it all. It's my first Andie J. Christopher book and I will definitely be reading more! How did I not know it was the third in a stand alone series? I will definitely be going back to read the other two!

Best book of the series but I don't think this author is for me. For some reason, the writing style doesn't mesh with my reading style and I just always find the characters to be unbearable. I liked the story in this one however.

I screamed when I received this in my wish list! Andie is a wonderful Rom com author! I would recommend her to anyone! Thank you netgalley for the early copy!

I think this book tried to hard to be like Priest by Sierra Simone and it just fell flat. I wasn't interested in the characters and It just felt very unrealistic to me. Also, the cover was hella weird. This one sadly was not for me.

I wanted SO BADLY for this to be amazing but my rule loving heart has such a hard time with this particular trope. The whole thing felt too much and I just couldn’t do it. The story is fine. The tension is good. This is totally a personal preference thing for me.

Woooooooo, #hotpriestsummer!

OK, so, if your preferred taboo/spice level is more Sierra Simone's Priest, you'll probably be disappointed by Hot Under His Collar. But if you're looking for Fleabag-but-with-HEA, you might like this one.

Sasha has to take the lead on the fundraising events (her bestie and business partner is having morning-sickness-from-hell) to help save Patrick's community program. She's trying to break free of her parents' (read: her mom, yikes) expectations of her to get married and join the Junior League, but she keeps dating all the wrong men. They're not awful people, they just don't do much for her. Perfect on paper, but imperfect for her. Patrick has started doubting his calling to the Church - he joined the priesthood because it was his dying mom's wish and it was through the Church that he felt closest to her - but the Church's stances on homosexuality, the sexual abuse scandals, and the fact that the Church doesn't seem inclined to help those most in need are leaving him in doubt. Throw mutual attraction into the mix and all bets are off.

I liked it. HUHC is a very slow-burn, angsty-type romance with lots of longing looks and some sneaky kissing (plus one steamy no-touching scene) UNTIL [look, I'm going to spoil this a bit] near the end of the book when it is no longer "wrong" for Patrick and Sasha to actually have sex (because he's officially defrocked about 6 hours before that happens). There is some discussion of the problems existing within the institution of Catholicism (hiding abuse and pedophilia, active homophobia, etc) which maybe could have punched up a little harder.

CW for all the above problems of the Catholic Church, plus awful entrenched patriarchy as exhibited by Sasha's mom and sisters (and kind of her dad) - Sasha's mom is a shitty bitch and I hope she falls down an open sewer cover.

I like that Andie Christopher was able to take a rather taboo subject and turn it into a romance novel. I wondered how she would do it because something about a priest breaking his vows didn't seem like a great character trait. But she pulled off his questioning and slight transgressions really well.

This was a fun, low-angst romance. I read it in one sitting so it definitely holds your attention. Even though the hero is a priest who has taken a vow of celibacy, I didn't feel like it crossed any lines, but take that with a grain of salt as I'm not Catholic.

Thanks to Berkely and Netgalley for my copy to review.

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book forever!

I love that we really get to know Sasha in this book, because she is pretty surface level in the first two books on the series, which totally makes sense because she is putting on a front and acting the way she thinks she should be.

Patrick was such a great character and I loved that he was accepting of certain things that the Catholic Church normally does not accept.

This is definitely a Slow burn but that bar scene was HOT.

I received an ARC of this book from Berkley and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I was sold on this book as soon as I heard “Fleabag with a happy ending.” And Father Patrick isn’t just the Forbidden Snack, he’s a really good guy. Who can blame Sasha for wanting to drag him into the confessional?

A pretty good read that I wasn't sure about but knew I needed to read. Do I feel like I'm going to hell from reading about a Hot priest? That is a good question, but I loved reading this anyway. hahaha

I liked this one, for the most part--though the hero's ability to distance himself from the rest of the Catholic Church (in reference to its many, MANY failings and issues) seemed more than a little disingenuous...but of course this isn't the time or place to debate all the things that are wrong with the Church. For what it is--a rather unconventional contemporary romance--this was a decent read, if a little insta-lusty. I didn't realize it was the third book in a series, however, and though it was okay as a standalone I did feel a little behind the times when it came to the other characters and situations here.

Rating: 4 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Andie J. Christopher has written a good book about a difficult … even taboo … subject.
It was well written and enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one but I ended up really enjoying it. I love Andie's writing style and thought the storyline was unique. I definitely recommend this for romance fans.

Oh, Father Patrick and Sasha! What are we going to do with you?

I'll be honest, I do not enjoy romances about priests disregarding their vows. However, I read all of the other books in this series, and I knew Father Patrick from those books, and I knew that the priesthood was not the right fit for him in the long term. He and Sasha were meant to be, so it was only a matter of time before he realized it, and I needed to know how it happened.

I was not disappointed. Andie J. Christopher wrote both Patrick and Sasha with so much heart, so many good intentions. They have a genuine connection that is evident from page one of this book. It was a treat to read how they finally found their happily-ever-after.

3.5-4 Stars

I blew through this audio in one sitting so that says something, right? I’m sure there’s plenty of arguments that could be made about problematic elements being blurred or how the romance maybe was lackluster or how it was too steamy, but I loved it and couldn’t stop reading.

Sasha was an okay main character, but Father Patrick really sold me on this book. His internal thoughts and struggles and love really were wonderful and LET ME JUST SAY, HIS COLLAR GOT ME HOT.

Ever since watching the second season of Fleabag (do yourself a favor and binge that show) I’ve been team #HotPriest for a while and this book absolutely scratched the itch that second season left me with.

*thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review*

It's not a secret that the tabooness of the pairing is what drew a lot of readers, including myself, to this romance. Unfortunately, it lacks a certain urgency and streamlined plot like most traditionally published romcoms often do.

A case of too many unrelated-to-the-romance checkboxes, not enough actual substance? The tabooness is immediately removed when Father Dooley is presented as the "not like other priests" hero. So what exactly was it about the priesthood that appealed to him in the first place if he is such a rebel? Authors want to create the next "Priest" but publishers won't allow that level of depth and uncomfortable situations, so let's make is light and fluffy. Father Dooley thinks Sasha is hot, Sasha thinks Father Dooley is hot, they eventually succumb to their mutual attraction and the end.

There are lots of authors that incorporate hot-topic issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, anti-racism, women's rights, religion vs. spirituality etc. into their romances, but the truly stand-out romances use it in a purposeful way that is central to a character and their ideals. More often than not, it feels like big pubs are giving authors a list of options to include in their romance to appear current and avoid finger pointing for lack of diversity and inclusion. The problem is not including the issues...it's that they feel tacked-on.

Underwhelming romance. I'll stick with indie published taboo romances from now on. At least I know they have depth and will actually push the limits.

This just worked for my little heathen heart. I can see why this wasn't for everyone, it was clearly written knowing that it would be pretty divisive, but I am here for the TENSION and the YEARNING.
I am but a simple woman, give me a hot priest and I am happy. Like so many, Fleabag changed the very structure of my brain and I am now weak for forbidden romances between clergymen and the women they lust over.
Honestly I found Sasha to be an intriguing character. I love that she struggles with the expectations of her rigid, overbearing family and her saucy impulses towards the priest, Patrick, at her local church. She's the classic buttoned up rich girl, but really she longs to color outside of the lines. She deviates from the typical romance protag I prefer to read, and in fact is a character archetype that I try to avoid, but it felt exactly right for the story.
Patrick is (of course) a ridiculously hot man who was called to the clergy after his mom told him it was her dying wish, and for ten years he felt that he had made the right choice- he was done with love anyway. But in walked Sasha, and suddenly the collar felt a little tight. If you've ever read one of my reviews, you know that I am easily pleased (note aforementioned simplistic womanhood) and the combo of washboard abs for no real reason, a mop of dark hair, and a tragic, fist clenching, jaw flexing past is all very effective on me. Is it formulaic? Sure. Will I always buy into it? Abs-olutely.
If I'm perfectly honest, I hardly remember the plot- I know it involved saving a pre-k program with a bake sale. It's really the tension that I was invested in, and on that front it really delivered for me! I also found the writing to be really strong and I laughed out loud more than once, what else is there to ask for? Immediately walking back that last comment, here is what I could have asked for: I wish Andie J. Christopher had pushed a little further, really delved into the political aspects of the church more, pushed Patrick a little harder so we really saw what was driving him away from his calling since he was considering leaving even before his feelings for Sasha. It touched on it, and I get that this was obviously written to be a fun, taboo romance, but I think she's a strong writer who could have given this story more weight. For that alone it was a four star read for me, I just needed that extra little seasoning of emotional resonance.
I question why anyone who would be uncomfortable with the content of this book would bother to pick it up, seeing as it's clear from the cover alone what you're in for. But if you, like me, need a Fleabag season two fix, I highly recommend!
Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review!