Wayward
Sweet Salvation is a true love story about a nun and a gardener, with an entire cast of lifelike and enriching side characters that sweeps you away to this convent that can, at times, be lovely and, at others, cloistered and suffocating. It's a romance, very much so, but it's also a story of friendship and a story of people and the things that drive them.
I gotta be honest, based off the cover and synopsis, I went into Sweet Salvation expecting a (yummy) trashy read with a seductive ex-criminal and an innocent nun with frequent ravishing under the moonlight. While that wasn't what I got, the character-rich romance I read instead was sweet and fun and sexy and, at times, intense, and I enjoyed it just as much!
I was quickly astonished by the development of so many characters. There are no cardboard cutouts here, no person undefined, from our protagonists, Maggie and Trevor, to our antagonists, Mother Superior Antonia and Sister Eva, to a host of others including nuns and groundskeepers and even the yummy tattooed Chef Erik. The book shifts character perspectives often, and while sometimes that made for a drawn out story, it was a fun way to see the inner workings of so many people and how what they think and do inevitably affects Maggie and Trevor. It also allowed me to form opinions and binds to several characters here, rather than the much smaller cast many books showcase, and partially because of this, I'm already eager to read the sequel, which features another nun from this book.
Aside from all of these other characters, Maggie and Trevor were very likable (gotta be honest - especially Trevor *salivates*). Maggie was confused about many things at first and, I felt, very unhappy, but even she couldn't deny her attraction to the gorgeous gardener (neither could I) and eventually figured some important things out. Watching her break free was one of the most liberating things I've ever read.
And Trevor... ooh Trevor. There was no way I couldn't love Trevor, he was SUCH a sweetheart... A sweetheart with the most delicious lustful thoughts I had the pleasure of reading. And while I wished he were a bit MORE of a trouble maker as the synopsis suggested, his gentle sweetness took point zero zero one seconds to win me over.
And can I just be shallow for a second here and say picturing him had my blood pressure rising as much as it did Maggie's every time he was in the room?? Because phew... The first time he was introduced, I highlighted the paragraph and wrote (and I quote): "*fans self* Hell, he's gorgeous."
Mm, mm, mmm....
Okay, okay, I'm concentrating (maybe).
Through instant, blood-warming attraction, lust, and hijinks we get to see through various eyes under the nearly tyrannical rule of the self-righteous Mother Antonia, we watch Maggie pursue this dizzying feeling she gets when she's near Trevor and learn more and more about her body and life and what it is to love. The more she spends time with him, the more she likes him, can't stop thinking about him. And while I wish we would have gotten a little more time between these characters spent achingly close but unable to touch, the magnetic yearning they have for each other somehow doesn't feel rushed. They were meant to be, and my heart ached for them to find each other from the very first pages.
With a great deal of help from her friends, especially her dearest friend mischievous Cat, Maggie gets to answer the question of what love means in her own heart.
Overall, there were a few things I felt could have been improved, like the cliche of the antagonist Eva being the only unattractive nun. However, it also had kudos moments, such as the fact that Maggie (and one or two others) was subtextually hinted at as being bi. I think this was important and very cool for a book about nuns.
In the end, Sweet Salvation was sweeping and emotional and vivid, well-written, steamy, and full of love. As I said before, I am definitely interested in the sequel! I'm eager to read more of these characters I've grown attached to, and I will be looking for it.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes sexual characters and is looking for a sweet, tender romance!
Book content trigger warnings: verbal, emotional, and brief physical abuse (via Mother Superior)
**I received this book free courtesy of NetGalley/Written Warrior Press in exchange for an honest review which did not affect my opinion
Sweet Salvation is a true love story about a nun and a gardener, with an entire cast of lifelike and enriching side characters that sweeps you away to this convent that can, at times, be lovely and, at others, cloistered and suffocating. It's a romance, very much so, but it's also a story of friendship and a story of people and the things that drive them.
I gotta be honest, based off the cover and synopsis, I went into Sweet Salvation expecting a (yummy) trashy read with a seductive ex-criminal and an innocent nun with frequent ravishing under the moonlight. While that wasn't what I got, the character-rich romance I read instead was sweet and fun and sexy and, at times, intense, and I enjoyed it just as much!
I was quickly astonished by the development of so many characters. There are no cardboard cutouts here, no person undefined, from our protagonists, Maggie and Trevor, to our antagonists, Mother Superior Antonia and Sister Eva, to a host of others including nuns and groundskeepers and even the yummy tattooed Chef Erik. The book shifts character perspectives often, and while sometimes that made for a drawn out story, it was a fun way to see the inner workings of so many people and how what they think and do inevitably affects Maggie and Trevor. It also allowed me to form opinions and binds to several characters here, rather than the much smaller cast many books showcase, and partially because of this, I'm already eager to read the sequel, which features another nun from this book.
Aside from all of these other characters, Maggie and Trevor were very likable (gotta be honest - especially Trevor *salivates*). Maggie was confused about many things at first and, I felt, very unhappy, but even she couldn't deny her attraction to the gorgeous gardener (neither could I) and eventually figured some important things out. Watching her break free was one of the most liberating things I've ever read.
And Trevor... ooh Trevor. There was no way I couldn't love Trevor, he was SUCH a sweetheart... A sweetheart with the most delicious lustful thoughts I had the pleasure of reading. And while I wished he were a bit MORE of a trouble maker as the synopsis suggested, his gentle sweetness took point zero zero one seconds to win me over.
And can I just be shallow for a second here and say picturing him had my blood pressure rising as much as it did Maggie's every time he was in the room?? Because phew... The first time he was introduced, I highlighted the paragraph and wrote (and I quote): "*fans self* Hell, he's gorgeous."
Mm, mm, mmm....
Okay, okay, I'm concentrating (maybe).
Through instant, blood-warming attraction, lust, and hijinks we get to see through various eyes under the nearly tyrannical rule of the self-righteous Mother Antonia, we watch Maggie pursue this dizzying feeling she gets when she's near Trevor and learn more and more about her body and life and what it is to love. The more she spends time with him, the more she likes him, can't stop thinking about him. And while I wish we would have gotten a little more time between these characters spent achingly close but unable to touch, the magnetic yearning they have for each other somehow doesn't feel rushed. They were meant to be, and my heart ached for them to find each other from the very first pages.
With a great deal of help from her friends, especially her dearest friend mischievous Cat, Maggie gets to answer the question of what love means in her own heart.
Overall, there were a few things I felt could have been improved, like the cliche of the antagonist Eva being the only unattractive nun. However, it also had kudos moments, such as the fact that Maggie (and one or two others) was subtextually hinted at as being bi. I think this was important and very cool for a book about nuns.
In the end, Sweet Salvation was sweeping and emotional and vivid, well-written, steamy, and full of love. As I said before, I am definitely interested in the sequel! I'm eager to read more of these characters I've grown attached to, and I will be looking for it.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes sexual characters and is looking for a sweet, tender romance!
Book content trigger warnings: verbal, emotional, and brief physical abuse (via Mother Superior)
**I received this book free courtesy of NetGalley/Written Warrior Press in exchange for an honest review which did not affect my opinion