Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Saint

Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Saint by Sierra Simone

2 reviews

galleytrot's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

READ: Sep 2023

FORMAT: Audio

BRIEF SUMMARY:

In this contemporary romance, Brother Patrick left behind a life of sex, drugs, money, and love in order to live a monastic existence of devotion and austerity, after one devastating night left him feeling out of control and in search of answers. Despite years of connection to God, he’s still having trouble shaking off his all-consuming love for and connection to Elijah. A stricter order might be just what he needs give himself completely over to God, so when his Abbot decides to send him off to tour three Trappist Abbeys he might be willing to serve at, he is excited by the opportunity – right up until Elijah shows up to check in on him with some distressing news, looking for answers of his own, and messing with the years of progress he hasn’t exactly made.

THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 4.5 / 5⭐

I won’t be able to give this book a thorough review as per usual, because I threw this one on as background noise while I accomplished some work around the house. I was not taking technical notes, highlighting content, or consuming the work with undivided attention. As such, there was likely much that I missed, and it wouldn’t be fair to offer a truly critical analysis of the work.

I can, however, say that I found this book to be emotionally compelling, wonderfully reverent, and filled with vibrant imagery. Religious stories aren’t especially my cup of tea, though they’re always made immediately more interesting when characters explore their own faith within a doctrine that is typically exclusionary to their like. It’s faith itself that I am attracted to; even as a non-religious apatheist, I find faith in itself to be a wonderfully useful tool for people to access when they need a little bit of hope, beauty, and purpose in their life.

This story is a very compelling example of faith making a significant impact on someone’s life for the better. As is likely clear from the book’s synopsis, Adrian is going to face a life-altering choice between devotion to God and devotion to Elijah, and the question of whether there is any scenario where he could possibly have both. I honestly felt myself rooting for him to stick with his vows and live the life that has been so healing and restorative for him, even though the obvious “dude, you can absolutely have both” was always the correct mindset.

This book has representation for gays and bisexuals. One of the main characters/love interests is black.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail. This list may not be fully comprehensive or complete, as I was not taking notes at the time.

This book contains: mentions of bi/homophobia, religious bigotry; alcohol use; infidelity; mentions of racism; mention of drugs and past drug use; mentions of past sexual abuse of a minor by a religious figure leading to a suicide; and, past suicidal thoughts and struggles with depression.

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Saint- 3.25⭐️ 3🌶️

M/M Romance

Second Chance Romance

🏳️‍🌈 MMC

Forbidden love

Travel

Miscommunication

Mental Health Rep

Cheating

This could have very easily turned into a M/M version of Priest and it didn’t. Not even at all. Thank God for that.

I find that the prose and poetic imagery of Sierra Simone is great in this book... but sometimes overdone. But it was a beautiful POV to read. It was dark and painful and vivid. However I did find that sometimes the thoughtfulness and big themes overshadowed the plot.

Aiden was a complicated character in that he was unapologetic about himself in a setting where you would think he would feel the most shame- a monastery. So many tough topics were addressed and I can’t stop being surprised by how deep these books go in addressing issues in the Catholic Church, and Christianity itself. It’s such an interesting take and I applaud that.

The plot/story itself was pretty standard in the reformed bad boy millionaire searching for himself kind of way. I found myself not as invested in Elijah or their love story as I was in the instance of seeing the characters staying true to themselves and finding their peace. But I loved how respectful and focused they were to each other in their intimate moments… In that way, this was the most wholesome of the series.

While the descriptions of mental health and how they affect you was talked about in a way that was gritty and opaque, I found myself interested in how Aiden created his mini support group. I wanted to know more about how he helped others while he shifted through his time there.

The snapshots of former MC’s in the series was nice… but I often forgot that there was another brother… who just is mentioned randomly.

Content Warnings

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