It's Naima Simone, so of course the writing is beautiful and the steam is HOT (though there could have been more). I do think the ending was a bit rushed, especially with the "breakup" and then the ex-wife's about-face. I wouldn't have been mad about an epilogue. But I'm so glad that Tamara is getting a book, because I LOVED her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

Church Girl is everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s spicy, dirty-hot, and steamy enough to leave a thick trail of fog in its wake. I love that Simone doesn’t pull any punches with this book. She goes right in, and she takes the reader along with her. Von and Aaliyah are both incredible characters. They are charismatic, intelligent, and just truly good people. They also challenge each other to be better versions of themselves and to truly see themselves as well as they see each other.

If you love a good girl/bad boy trope with a twist, a grumpy/sunshine, and a dirty-hot age gap romance, Church Girl by Naima Simone is a not-to-miss read.

I LOVED this book. Coming from a background of being mixed PK it was really nice seeing myself represented in such a beautiful story and it had a lot of heart immediate 5 star book for me. The characters made me love them and root for them and I loved the interactions and just the story as a whole.

Church Girl was a good romance read that gave us Aaliyah and Von's story. Aaliyah is the daughter of Bishop Timothy Montgomery and although her father wants her to live her life in service of the church after marriage, Aaliyah has other desires. Those desires don't fall in line with her father, mother or fiancé, so she runs before it's too late leaving them disappointed, and her feeling free for the first time. Tamara knows what it's like to live her life being judged by her family so when her cousin shows up at her door asking for help, she doesn't hesitate. I absolutely enjoyed Aaliyah and Tamara's relationship, and the support Tamara gives her cousin even though there weren't close before Aaliyah came asking for her help. Their antics had me laughing out loud more than once. Von's dealing with a bitter ex-wife but he must put up with her for their daughter Gia. Gia is his world but he's in desperate need of a nanny. In comes Aaliyah, she's nothing Von expected and everything he desires. When their employer/employee relationship cross the lines, there's no going back. I loved them together, but I wish there were deeper moments between them. The connection was there but I needed more. There was jealousy, drama, laugh out loud moments, steamy scenes, secrets were revealed, revelations were made and a HEA. I thought there were some things that wrapped up too nicely after all the drama with certain people, especially Sheree. Her being a "better" mature woman and mother in the end just didn't feel right after everything she did, it was just too soon. Overall, it was a good story, and I enjoyed a lot of laughs along the way so I think it's a story worth reading that romance readers will enjoy.

I loved this book! And the cover was so pretty! And I really loved the romance in this book. The main characters were really lovely!

This was such a fun time. I love the grumpy x sunshine trope and the author did a great job here.

I really loved both of the characters. I could sympathize with both. Aaliyah is trying to find herself and her job as a live-in nanny for Von was certainly an experience. A lot of her experiences were endearing and funny. I liked her character a lot. Von is grumpy but with good reason. He's had it rough. It takes a little warming up to Von but I did like him by the end. I thought these two were cute and I liked their romance.

There is some heat here which was nice since the characters had great chemistry.

Would definitely recommend for opposites attract romance lovers.

Whoever designed this book cover deserves a raise!! Let me first start by saying that there's something about a bride escaping on her wedding that I find so messily delicious. Aaliyah was kind of all over the place but I loved her. She was genuine and sweet to the people she cared about. I felt the chemistry between Aaliyah and the other MC and love interest, Von. However, I didn't like him he was so condescending to me and I felt like Aaliyah could do better, honestly. This book does have spice and explicit language so if you're sensitive to that kind of thing this book won't be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This is a steamy single-dad/nanny romance with Black main characters - and great representation, this was! I appreciated that unlike a lot of other Black romance books out there, the book was written with slang. It didn't feel like we just took a romance book about white people and then plopped in diversity and some food - it felt like this was written by a Black author who took two characters from very different cultures (Southern/religious) and big city (Chicago) and found a way to write a super hot and steamy book, without falling into any tropes that were one dimensional. If you love a good steamy single dad/age-gap novel, this one's for you.

Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I saw the cute cover,bread the blurb, and thought that I’d probably like this book since I’m a Black romance super fan and I enjoy single parent stories. I was wrong; I LOVED it! Church Girl delivered heart, humor, heat, and a perfectly paced plot. I cannot wait to reread this with my bookish besties when it gets released.

Some of my favorite things:
✅ Grumpy MMC with a hidden heart of gold
✅ Sunshiny MMC with backbone
✅ An age gap that *doesn’t* make me cringe
✅ Spicy scenes that don’t disappoint


My not so favorite things?
➖ I would have loved an epilogue so I could spend a tiny bit more time with this story.

Overall, this was a fantastic read.


#ChurchGirl
#NetGalley

These two have problems with impulse control! Especially around each other, because as much as they think no, no, no, they continue on with yes, yes, yes. I loved them both for it though, as they weren’t so much push and pull, as a consistent descent into falling for each other. It was inevitable, as the heat between them was absolutely electric and constantly sparking. Add in one very sweet, cute, and adorable little girl, and this HEA was going to happen, no matter what!

I picked this up on a whim and was not sure if I would like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I might even read a few more books by Naima Simone.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Harlequin finally changed up from their regular books and it worked for them! This book was modern, fun and relatable. Aaliyah is a last pastors daughter who always does as her parents ask her. Even if its agreeing to marry a man she doesnt love. The story jumps rkghr in with Aaliyah running on her wedding day and being on the doorstep of her, black sheep, cousin Tamara. Eventually she convinces Tamara to bring her back to Chicago with her and leave the small.towm in Alabama behind. She starts college for art there as it was another thing she wasn't allowed to do at home but quickly realizes that it's more expensive to live there and applies for a nanny job at a tattoo parlor because the 'dad' owns it. She gets the job and while there is definitely immediate attraction and interest both fight it because of the little girl Gia and because of each other's baggage. Von had been through a messy helpful divorce and Aaliyah with the overbearing parents anz wanting to have freedom she's never had before. After some time the attraction gets the best of them (maybe drinking at a strip club together not the best idea if trying to remain friends lol) anyways they end up having to dighr for each other but in a 3rd act heartbreak Von let's Aaliyah down. Will they get back together? Read to find out lol anyways the only thing I didn't enjoy about this book was actually something that REALLY aggravated me, it was the US's of the word Nut during sexy time. It was almost comical it wasn't sexy at all and the word was over used for sure. Besides sexy time scenes needing more and better terminology the book was a great change of pace for Harlequin

This was a fun read and I can definitely see it being a success once published. Von was… a lot. And sometimes that lot felt like too much but he was surely smitten for Aaliyah. It was kind of cute to watch Aaliyah do his head in like she did. I’m glad she found her voice and herself. It was long overdue.