Rebel Saint

Adriane Leigh

Genre: Contemporary, Forbidden Romance

Release Date: March. 18, 2019

Blurb:

She found herself on the steps of St. Michael’s seeking shelter, what she didn’t expect was temptation so sharp and sweet concealed beneath one snow-white collar.

He rescued her from rock bottom, desperate people squeezed together by the desperate cracks of life, but their relationship was never innocent. The thinly-veiled attraction combustible, magnetism so explosive it rattles the very foundations of their belief.

But can their unholy love story withstand the fall?

GOODREADS LINK:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38473766-rebel–saint

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Free in Kindle Unlimited

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My Review

Rebel Saint is the most inspiring and heartbreaking story that I have read in quite some time. I have tried thinking of a story to compare it to but I’ve come up short- there isn’t one, or not one that I have read anyways. I love a good forbidden romance but Rebel Saint is unlike any other book I normally read and honestly if I had known I probably would have chosen not to read it. But after saying that, let me also say I am so glad that it found it’s way to my Kindle!

Rebel Saint, although a romance, delves into the Catholic faith and the secrets that are sometimes kept all in the name of religion.

Tressa Torrado finds herself on the steps of St. Michael’s. The church has always been a sort of safe haven for her and once again she finds herself in need of the churches shelter but this time instead of Father Martin, it’s Father Bastien Castaneda who’s there to catch her when she falls.

“I’d come to St. Michael’s to escape a disaster of my own making, only to walk myself into an even bigger one.” -Tressa

Father Bastien is the definition of what a holy man is supposed to be. He selflessly serves his God and his people and doesn’t hesitate to provide Tressa with shelter, and a job.

As Tressa starts to adjust to her new life, both her and the good Father start to develop an attraction towards one another. But as that attraction continues to grow Father Bastien struggles with his feelings because of his position in the church and his commitment to God.

Bastien and Tressa’s story is not an easy one, and it’s filled with ups and downs and twist and turns but the chemistry between these two is scorching hot, and knowing that it is forbidden just makes it that much hotter. When these two finally come together after fighting their attraction for so long it’s bound to be explosive.

I genuinely liked both of these characters.  Tressa is such a strong woman with her rebel ways, never afraid to speak her mind for fear of persecution. Bastien with his subtly sensuality and his genuine love for God and how he’s chosen to live his life as well as the way he embraces Tressa for exactly who she is without ever asking her to change.

So, how long can they fight their attraction before giving into temptation? Can Father Bastein give up the woman he loves so that she has a chance to be loved the way she deserves or will he forsake his vows and be the man that she needs?

You’ll have to read Rebel Saints yourself to find out!

This is my first read from Adriane Leigh (IDK how the hell that happened but I plan to rectify it very, very soon!) and she did not disappoint! As I said earlier, religious reads or things involving religion usually are not my cup of tea but although it does delve into the Catholic faith and religion, the way she did it… I just can’t even explain it. If you aren’t reading Rebel Saint because of the religious factor, take my word for it and give it a shot anyway, it really is tastefully done.

Chaos and order, sin and virtue, every bit of us together made no sense at all-and perfect sense just the same. 

These are just some other quotes from Rebel Saints that really stuck out to me and I couldn’t NOT mention.

“You’re not my dark night of the soul, Tressa, you’re my light at the end of the tunnel. When I talk of rebels, I talk of people like you and me. Soul mates, both of us driven to leave the world brighter than we found it. That’s the thing I love the very most about you, always willing to do all the wrong things for all the right reasons. I love your rebel heart.” -Father Bastien

“If I’m a rebel heart, wouldn’t that make you a rebel saint? My holy man, saving the world one soul at a time.” His chuckle sent sparks down my spine. “S’pose it would.” His grin quirked, eyes twinkling. “But rebel hearts change history.”

“We are love. And loving shouldn’t be done with shame or guilt. We are God’s expression of physical love on earth. Two souls uniting.”

This passage stuck out so much to me. This isn’t the full passage and it’s not even something that either of the main characters said, in fact, we only hear about this person once, it’s just a random stranger on a bus but this passage stuck with me so much that I had to go back after reading and write the whole passage down in my journal!

“I usually hang on to a book for a few days after I finish it-” he leafed through the pages, callused pad of his thumb grazing the edges reverently “-sometimes to reread certain passages. I like to let the meaning of a story settle into my bones like dust on a bookshelf.”

Star Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Check out this sexy excerpt!

“The dark night of the soul? Mind telling me what the hell that was about?” The heavy wooden door echoed through the tight chamber when it slammed against the door jamb.
Bastien remained still across the small sacristy, head bowed as he continued to work quietly, deft fingers sliding thin, golden ropes of sacred fabric through his fingers. “I’d rather know what you think.”
Frustration thickened my blood. “I’m your dark night of the soul?! I think you went a step too far.”
“If that’s what you call a step too far I’d hate to hear what you call indecent.” His body was against mine in an instant, my breasts heaving with shallow irritation and grazing the fabric of his vestments.
This profoundly infuriating man was under my skin like no one else had ever been, and just like a bad tattoo, I’d pay a professional to gouge him out of my soul if I could.
“This, for instance,” he hissed, “is surely a step too close to your precious comfort zone.” His body pressed closer, the deep ridge of his arousal cutting at my hip and causing my throat to crack and turn to dust. “Don’t trick yourself into believing that you know you more than I do, Tressa.”
His dark eyes glinted in the dim light, heartbeat vibrating in my ears the only noise in the room. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I couldn’t catch my breath, his fingers crawling their way past my wrists, grazing the underside of my elbows before his thumbs dug in and he was as far deep inside my own heart as he could possibly go.
“You like the dance, sweet dove, but just when things get intimate you pull away.”
His scathing truth cut like a hot blade.
“No,” I squeaked.
His soft chuckle my only reply, my eyelids already glued shut in opposition of his words.
“You think you only show me the side of you you want me to see,” Bastien’s thumb danced the arch of my brow, “but I see so much more than that.” His eyes flicked down to my lips, hips working softly against mine.
“I’m trained to see the broken parts you’ve spent a lifetime hiding. I’m trained to be your light in the darkness, Tressa, but all that darkness,” his thumbs worked inside my elbows, swaying me against his body as he grit against my neck, “it weighs on me some days. Seminary doesn’t teach a flesh and blood man how to channel all that darkness into…” he flexed behind his robes, my body humming with pure desire for anything more he had to give, “productive activities.”
I didn’t have a reply for him, the way he swallowed my space and caused my heart to thrum like a hummingbird was distracting enough, but his skin setting flame to mine was beyond unbearable.
“What about you, then?” I summoned my earlier anger. “You fancy yourself some sort of holier than thou saint? Forgive me Father, but I call bullshit.”
Bastien’s eyes held mine, the amusement chasing through his chocolate irises giving me enough satisfaction to live on for days.
I squared my shoulders. “You’re a prisoner to your belief.”
His eyebrows rose, shock striking him before his face settled to that same well-orchestrated calm he reserved for his parishioners. “You can bet I’m a prisoner, but not for the reasons you think.”
His admission caught me off guard, but not more than the next moment did.
His palms caught my face, thumbs trailing down the warmth of my throat before he smashed our lips together.
His kiss defiled as much as it gave life.
He raped me to the depths of my soul without ever removing a strip of my clothing.
“But that’s where my beliefs with the church diverge.” He lips teased at the corners of my mouth before his tongue darted out, tasting the bow of my top lip.
Oh sweet fucking heaven. 
“I happen to believe it isn’t living if you’re not breaking a rule every now and again.”
He caught the soft whimper on my lips with his, swallowing it instantly before his tongue pushed past the barrier and he was sheathed in me again.
His taste, far deadlier than I’d remembered.
“Despite what my church may believe,” Bastien’s thumbs hooked at my shirt, the warm pads of his fingertips sliding against my skin and cutting through my nerves like hot butter, “I can’t renounce you.”
His palms slid up my torso, divesting me of my shirt while one hand cupped a shiny chalice, drips of wine already making their way between my breasts. Staining the satin bra I wore, pooling in my navel, soaking a rebel river of red overtop the elastic of my panties.
“I know the taste of sin, sweet Tressa, I’ve tasted it every night in my dreams. Craving you is a new and deadlier form of hell than the last I’d overcome.” He dropped to his knees, the empty cup slipping to the floor and soaking his white robes in scarlet before his tongue met my flesh in slow swipes, eyes glinting as he held me flush to his mouth.
Soft mewls formed on my lips as my body fell apart in his arms, limbs loose as he worked his way up my body, tongue tasting every inch of the blessed wine from my skin as he went.
“I am very surely a prisoner to you, my sweet dove.”

About The Author

Adriane Leigh

Adriane Leigh is an Amazon Top 25 and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and erotic romance. Raised in a snowbank in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she was born with a book in her hand and won her first Young Authors award before the age of ten. She finished her first romance novel at 14, and hasn’t stopped playing with words since.

She earned a literature degree, co-founded and organized international book conventions with RARE: Romance Author & Reader Events, and has written more than 45 independent titles under various pen names.

Married to her own Prince Charming, she now lives among the sand dunes of Lake Michigan, and plays mama to two sweet baby girls. She’s a romantic rebel and word junkie that believes wanderlust is life, is part of the #goodvibetribe, and wishes she had more time to read and knit scarves to keep her cozy during the arctic Michigan winters. Yoga pants, puppies, and mac and cheese also help.

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