Hot Under His Collar by Andie Christopher
Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC of this taboo romance! Hot Under His Collar releases on July 20, 2021 by Berkley.
Normally, taboo romances aren’t my thing and organized religion is DEFINITELY not my thing, but this book was great. Before I started, I secured my spouse into being my “Catholic Correspondent,” since he went to a Catholic HS and his family is pretty Irish Catholic, but I didn’t need him! Though the MC, Sasha, has fallen for hot Father Patrick and his vows to God are a major part of his internal struggle, I was never mired down in Catholic minutiae.
Since this was a romance, I never worried if these two would get together, just how?! I was along for the journey completely and the HEA.
Now, I’m sure you’re worried about how much sex could possibly be in a book about a frocked priest. That was a big concern of mine as well. I’m here for the smut, after all. Anyone who’s read a million books knows, that somehow Patrick would need to leave the church for them to be together and that is pretty climactic, so would they break his vows and sex it up before he was laicized (I did have to look that one up, it means being de-frocked by the church) or after. If it’s after, that doesn’t leave many sex scene opportunities…well fear not my friends, because the characters very early on hook up without touching and it’s semi-public and it’s HOT.
Am I into taboo romances now? Oh my god. I might be into taboo romances, now. Good job Andie Christopher (with additional support by Katee Roberts - read our review of Neon Gods for ALL THE SMUT)!
Character Trope Breakdown:
Sasha - Black Sheep of rich family, lots of privilege but aware of it, romance reader
Patrick - Stern Brunch Daddy, academic (nerd alert!), gets that bod by running
If I had one criticism it’s that Sasha has a biological imperative to have babies. I do not have that. I would rather keep my spontaneous napping schedule. But I recognize that those milestones are very important to people and she was very confident and assured that parenthood was for her.
This was a great and quick read. I had an enjoyable time. Be prepared for a lot of lusting at a distance, but it’s interspersed with action at appropriate intervals. Andie Christoper did a masterful job at plotting out the sexually tense moments! -Ford
