Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Sinner’s Penance (MM Contemporary Romance)

SERIES:  Pursuit of Love

AUTHOR:  K.C. Carmine

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  262 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 3, 2023

BLURB:

Even disguised as a priest, Mat can’t resist a man kneeling at his feet, begging to be punished.

Being a bodyguard for London’s Polish Mafia had its benefits. Fast money, fast cars, and an endless stream of hot men fuelled Mateusz’s insatiable lust for life.
But when he takes out the son of a rival Mafia boss, he is forced to flee to a remote island in the West of England.
Posing as a priest, Mateusz hopes he found the perfect disguise. Until a handsome stranger shows up to confession, begging for punishment. Can Mateusz rein in his ferocious carnal desires? Or will his cover be blown to smithereens?

As a newcomer to the island, Peyton’s social life is limited to a dram at the local pub. Everything changes when he attends a mass on a Sunday and his gaze lands on the man he can’t have. The one in a cassock.

A standalone MM book 3 from Pursuit of Love series.

Tropes/Themes: mafia, insta-lu$t, roleplaying, priest k!nk, wax play, flagellat!on, D/S, hurt/comfort, morally grey characters, bla$phemous use of religious artifacts, MM, HEA.

Please read the TW/CW inside the book.

REVIEW:

Note:  This is the third book in this series, but it is a standalone.  It does have very minor spoilers for the previous books, but doesn’t detract at all from this story.

Mat was born into the Polish Mob in the UK.  His parents were killed in a car accident when he was young and he was taken in by his under, the head of the mob and his godfather.  He was raised with his cousin Jack who was his best friend and more like a brother.  His job was to protect Jack.  When Jack is attacked one night, Mat does his job and takes out the attacker.  Too bad that the attacker was the son of the head of another Family.  That means that Mat has to leave town right away.

Mat is sent undercover as a priest to a small island off the coast of England.  Luckily he was raised Catholic so he’s familiar with the rituals.  He is very convincing in his role and his life depends on him not having any contact with anyone at home and keeping his head down in his new life.  He’s doing a good job of it until Peyton, a parishioner asks to punishment for his impure thoughts.  And he needs it from Mat.  In his room after dark 😉  Mat has been mesmerized by the beautiful man ever since he saw him at the back of the congregation.  He agrees and he and Peyton set off on a mutually satisfying D/s relationship.  But it turns out that Mat is not the only one hiding on the island.  They both have secrets and sharing them would be very very dangerous.

Peyton is recalled and soon after Mat also returns to London.  But things have not gone well and Mat has new responsibilities.  Peyton doesn’t know what to think.  There are still a lot of potential issues that could keep them apart.  How can they make a life together work?

So I was a bit apprehensive after reading the blurb and content warnings about this book, despite having enjoyed the other stories in this series.  For me, there were only a couple of kind of mildly squicky moments with some of the religious context, but it definitely had a lot of impact on both Mat and Peyton to mix the sacred and the profane.  Mat was dealing with a lot and he definitely was suffering from PTSD which Peyton recognized quite early on.  Peyton was such a strong person – which I think was pretty obvious from how he handled himself with Mat and expressing his desires.  Together these two just had incredibly chemistry and compatibility that made every encounter profound for them.  I found myself really hoping that they would be able to figure out a way forward to being together despite the dangers and their family pressures.  The cameos with the couple from the previous books were a lovely treat as well!  Hugh and Brendan especially were a complete delight to visit again.  The HEA was super hard fought and I just loved the surprise at the end with an unexpected relationship reveal.  Highly recommended for the grit, drama and overcoming a less than perfect past for a very sweet happy ending 😉

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

Amazon