Up front- I'm on the fence about this one. Patrick entered the priesthood when he was mourning and he's happy with his choice most of the time because he sees himself as helping others. Sasha is an event planner who finds herself drawn to him. She's got a dope of a boyfriend and Patrick, in part because he's unavailable (and in part because the boyfriend isn't anything special), is just so much better. So there's tension between them and this is about how they resolve that. No spoilers from me. It struck me early on that Patrick was focused on the mechanics (for want of a better word) of being a priest and not on a calling. Anyone who chooses this as a read knows that it's going to wander close to the bone on certain issues. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A different sort of rom com.

I don’t like religious romances or even one with religious views and beliefs. I had loved the previous two books from this author so decided to give this book a try even though the main protagonist is a priest. I really had my doubts going into this story but the section where the priest baptized a baby of a LGBTQ couple made me stay and read further. I am so glad I did because this book is hot, romantic and oh so sexy. I highly recommend this book and the previous books in the series especially if you like to read sexy contemporary romances with strong characters with sizzling chemistry.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Andie J Christopher for granting my wish for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair review.

I slept on Andie’s first two books for too long, and when I finally read them, became addicted to her writing. Andie has a knack for creating characters that are easy to identify and connect with, while also being able to lose yourself in the story.

Hot Under His Collar features two characters who appeared in her prior novels, Sasha Finerghty and Father Patrick Dooley. Yep, that kind of Father! I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with strong Roman Catholic views due to the spicy scenes, but the religious discussions that occur and Patrick’s struggle with his own views and potential laicization are thought provoking, and as a former catholic, I identified with his struggles. Sasha struggles with her attraction to Patrick while trying to stay professional as she works with him, and live her life the way she wants to without her overbearing family. Sasha has a lot of undiscovered trauma from her family that she was trying to identify and deal with, and her choice in safe, boring men is definitely affected by her upbringing.

I would recommend this book to basically everyone (in fact, I already have) simply for chapter 16.

If you like forbidden love, this is definitely the book for you. Looking forward to what Andie writes next!

The premise was interesting, especially for a romance novel, can’t say it was a trope that I've read before! Overall, I wanted more out of Sasha as a character and found it a little flat.

This book definitely intrigued me from the description. I'll be honest. I wasn't sure the author would be able to pull this story off. Not that she's not a good writer. This is just a tough topic to tackle. But, in my opinion, forbidden romances are crazy fun especially when the hero is a priest. The chemistry between Sasha and Patrick was definitely palpable. The writing was solid, and of course, there was a lot of great conflict here. I really enjoyed this book. It hit me right in the feels and would highly recommend it. I was lucky to be granted this book as a wish from the publisher. Big thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher.

3.5 stars, I really enjoyed this forbidden lovers romance.

It felt (as a reader who tends to pick up romances somewhere pretty dead center between clean romances and more taboo/erotica) to be an easy, light taboo relationship - like a stepping stone into reading about forbidden love. It's mentioned multiple times that they are both consenting adults, both shy away from their initial sexy feelings due to the taboo, and lots is resolved before we get too far into the steamy times - plus Patrick has multiple people who know him well and clearly want him to rethink the priesthood. I totally felt for Sasha with her family how it was, and I understood Patrick's path to his "calling" during a particularly stressful point in his life. I thought their chemistry was just ok, maybe there could've been a little more show and a little less telling, but overall I thought it was a funny, breezy kind of read. Definitely recommend, especially if you've read the earlier books in this universe and want more!

I'm so super into the idea of hot priest falling so deeply in love with a woman that he gives up his entire career, calling, home, and life for her. This book was perfection. Forbidden romance, white-hot chemistry, and well-written by Andie J. Christopher once again.

Do I absolutely love a taboo romance? Yes. Is religious leader romance slowly creeping on my top spot over age gap? Yes.

Hot Under His Collar follows fiercely independent Sasha who has absolutely no time to live according to the strict and stuffy ideals of her bougie upbringing and loves going for the impossible. Which would make sense that her most recent crush is sexy as hell priest, Father Patrick Dooley.

I mean, we know where this is going, and we're here for it. Patrick is living a tricky world where he came into the clergy because it was his mother's dying wish, but everyone around him knew it wasn't for him. Which I think it was perfect way to handle this book. The plot isn't completely unbelievable and it's still taboo enough (hello bar scene)

The steam in this book is the perfect example of a 3 steam rating for me. The sexual tension was there (duh) and the build up was perfection. Also, dude was hot. Like he was DEFINITELY a dom previously.

All in all, definitely recommend if you love taboo but want something on the sweeter side!

We loved this book! We loved how it fit in with the series and really thought that it was steamy and funny! We had Andie on to discuss the book and the episode will be released 7/26.

it wasn't a bad book but it is just not my kind of style. thank you for the arc though and for giving me a chance to view your writing style!!!

I don't think this book did it for me because I am fairly religious and it felt a bit blasphemous. I believe this would be a good book for someone who wouldn't be as bothered by it. I do think the writing was excellent and would definitely read more from this author.

This was fun. I love the slow burn, but their chemistry is absolutely off the charts! This definitely had big Fleabag Season 2 vibes, but I am here for it. It worked well and was a super fun read.

I have yet to read Hannah and Jack's book, Not The Girl You Marry, but I never felt lost and I really want to read it. Yes, all three books are connected, but are still standalones that can be read in any order.

I appreciated all of the issues that were not only addressed, but also debated and discussed. Religion is not the easiest topic to touch on and neither is the family drama that Sasha and Patrick are dealing with either.

The possible landmines that were covered did not deter from the romance or the chemistry between the pair. I am such a huge fan of her books and so excited to read more from her.

This was the first I read in the series and I really felt like I was missing a lot of character knowledge and background information by not reading the first two. Even though it was a stand alone story, the author writes assuming readers have read the other two (so I don't think it should be a stand alone book). The author writes really great steamy scenes (woah!) and I thought it was a book that may push some preconceived ideas about priests. Overall, I think I would have liked it more had I read the previous two.

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked Sasha. Patrick was good in the beginning but he dragged alittle for me towards the end. The chemistry between them was amazing and I really enjoyed the premise of this book.

A huge thank you to PRH International, Berkley Publication & NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I just got off of reading another priest romance that was more on smut and less plot so it was a nice change diving into this and having more of that build up and conflict!

I’ve always loved the forbidden love trope so to mix in religion into that adds a more scandalous feel to it which I love! I enjoyed reading from both Sasha and Father Patrick’s POVs and seeing them have that inner conflict and struggle with the image they’re trying to maintain in front of their friends, family and the community was so interesting.

I also very much love the build up in their friendship and romance. Their back and forths between doing what’s expected of them and what is wrong but feels so right had me hooked! Their banter and chemistry is so natural and their sexual tension is so delicious! I looked forward to every steamy scene until the end!

I liked how this explored a believer and nonbeliever’s relationship with faith and religion (which might feel disrespectful to some but I enjoyed!) and toxic family relationships. It was relatable and intriguing especially reading their inner dialogue and stance in these situations.

Overall, my forbidden trope loving heart was thoroughly satisfied with this book! I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a quick, fun and entertaining read with an abundance of those “so wrong but feels so right” moments!

I was very intrigued whether anyone could take the "hot priest" mania following Fleabag season 2 and turn it into a romantic happy ending. Alas. I know I'm a tough customer as a lapsed Catholic myself. While I read the book and didn't hate it, it really didn't have the courage of its convictions. Without spoiling too much, it doesn't take the taboo element nearly as far as Fleabag did. Also, there's the fundamental question why someone in this day and age would become a Catholic priest knowing what we all know about what a broken and corrupt institution it is, not to mention really ideologically behind the times. And it's not like this character is really dead set on creating institutional change from the inside (not that I think I would easily buy it if that were his goal). His reasons for joining the church are explained as sort of an emotional reaction to trauma? It didn't work for me. I think there were lots of choices made to try to keep this out of skeevy territory--the female main character was not a parishioner, what lines were crossed when and where. It's a weird dance of teasing something taboo but then not really delivering so the result is tepid.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Hot Under His Collar by Andie J. Christopher.

When I saw the cover and read the description I was immediately intrigued. I came at this book from the standpoint of being super excited for Not the Girl You Marry, the first book in this series, and being let down after reading it. I actually forgot that Sasha, Hot Under His Collar's leading lady, was in the first book until reading this book. Hot Under His Collar is the third book in this series, and I did not read the second book in this series.

Hot Under His Collar is truly an original story and made for an entertaining read. Father Patrick Dooley is waning in his conviction for his vocation as a priest. Sasha Finerghty is trying to separate herself from her mother's overbearing crazy life rules, but still settling on dating men she doesn't even want to date because it's the "right thing to do." She's convinced she can force herself into caring for someone if she stays with them long enough. Sasha believes choosing the things she desires makes her a bad person, due to her mother Moira's "parenting." Moira has done an excellent job in programming her daughters to be Finerghty women. So excellent that Sasha's desires, no matter how simple, feel extreme to Sasha and make her feel like she's unworthy of good, true things. Sasha has wanted Patrick for a few years, but due to his vocation he is off-limits. Or so she tries to tell herself. I enjoyed reading about a young thirty something priest and his reasons for entering the priesthood, along with his changing attitude towards his vocation. When we are first introduced to Patrick we can already see that he's struggling in his calling, and we find out that his crush on Sasha is just the tip of the iceberg for his growing aversion towards his vocation. His reasons for entering the priesthood were emotionally driven. Patrick is selfless and enjoys helping others with their problems, but priesthood is a lonely vocation and it has taken a toll. Patrick's attraction to Sasha is absolutely not allowed in the priesthood so she is off-limits. Or so he tries to tell himself. When Sasha steps in to help Patrick's church raise money to keep the Pre-K community program going, these two are suddenly thrown together. Will the collar keep them from misbehaving?

The struggle between these three characters (Sasha, Patrick, the priesthood) was very interesting to read, but a couple of things left me frustrated. It was mentioned how different Sasha is compared to her sisters and mother, but when it came to dating she was being just like them. Settling for someone who is perfect on paper and planning on falling in like with them down the road. True she has taken great lengths to distance herself from her family and their ways of life, but she's still connected to them and you can see that influence in her choices and thoughts. I found Sasha's feelings towards herself and her life to be very hot and cold and that was annoying. Patrick and Sasha do a lot of assuming for each other. They assume how each other feels about one another and how each feels about their lives, yet they've barely even talked. When they do talk it's surface conversation. I really struggled to see how their lust grew into love so quickly. They first knew each other through their mutual friends and only began getting to know each other during the fundraising process. I felt their one on one conversations together were not deep enough to lead to such intense feelings so quickly. There is a lot of descriptions and internal thoughts, but not a lot of dialogue in this book. I personally love a lot of dialogue. Although the lengthy descriptions gave me insight into these two character’s behaviors, I would've loved more communication between them. I felt like I knew each of them deeply, but like Patrick and Sasha didn't truly know each other. They seem more like co-workers who are physically attracted to each other. The ending for these two characters left me irritated.

One minor note about the cover-there is great emphasis on Patrick having black hair and green eyes. I really wish the priest on the cover depicted those features.

Overall this book was an entertaining read with a very unique storyline about a forbidden romance. 3.5 stars from me. Thank you again Berkley for the chance to read and review!

Sasha has always admired Patrick from afar. He's been a dream that she could never quite chase for a few reasons. Her mother is so hell bent on Sasha having the perfect family that Sasha's only ever gone for picture perfect guys, not one she truly wants like Patrick. Patrick is also off limits because he's a priest. He joined the priesthood to fulfill his mother's dying wish, but he's not sure how connected he feels to the lifestyle that he's chosen, especially since Sasha is heading a fundraiser for him and he realizes how much he wants her. The two aren't able to deny their attraction or even stay away from each other, but how can they have a future together with all these expectations?

I was a little skeptical about this one. I went to a Catholic school my whole life as a non-Catholic, but I was still curious to see how Catholicism would be addressed with this, especially since a priest would be leaving the priesthood and abandoning his vows for a woman. There were times when I thought the discussion was respectful and I understood the point of view, but there were other times when I thought some Catholics might not appreciate the discussion. There were times when I felt like Patrick felt trapped in the priesthood and almost obligated to be a priest and that didn't sit right with me, even if it's not my religion. The love story itself was interesting though. Because it's a forbidden romance there was plenty of tension and longing, but I really felt like there was a lack of chemistry between the characters. I also felt like I was told they were good for each other instead of seeing it. It was still a quick, fun read though!

If you like forbidden romances, this one is for you!

This one did not work for me at all. I'm not the best catholic but the hot priest concept felt a little weird even to me. I didn't find the writing as funny as I hoped and I ended up DNF at 20%.