A Song of Sin and Salvation: A Rockin' 80s Romance (Carnal Sins Series)

I could not put this book down! Looking at the cover alone, I knew I was going to love it. We all have our comfort reads, comfort movies, comfort music, etc. this is going to be a comfort read for me, for sure! If you were a fan of Eddie from Stanger Things, as so many of us were, you will adore James. This story is everything I wanted for him!Good girl/bad boy, girl next door, deconstructing religious trauma, slow burn, 80s setting, eating disorder rep…there are so many things I appreciated about this book L. H. Blake has a way of writing these characters so you feel everything they’re feeling. I fell in love with James and Becks immediately for different reasons, then I fell in love with them as a couple.I could go on and on about how much I loved this book but I’ll stop there. Be sure to check the content warnings before picking this up!

Wow. Wow. Wow. A Song Of Sin And Salvation will have you in tears, sad, happy, in love, literally all the feels.~forbidden romance~high school love~bad boy / good girl~slow burn~forced proximity~the boy next door /the girl next doorThis book had everything, from James being the rocker, bad boy, neighbor to Rebecca being the prim, proper, Christian girl. From the very first window scene to James secret notebook had me biting my nails in anticipation!Rebecca is just trying to be free, set her world on fire while going through things at home that no one should. This book has heavy real world topics but the love these two characters share and how passionate James is to help Rebecca set her world on fire and be free makes me want to reread it all over again.I cannot recommend this book enough! @lhblake.author did such a beautiful job writing this story.

🚬🚬🚬🚬/5First things first, I started reading this book and I was immediately like “wow this is very religious what the heck did I pick up?” But honest to God (😉), I am SO glad I gave it a chance because I absolutely loved it by the end! I hadn’t read anything by @lhblake.author before so I didn’t know what to expect. But I will definitely be keeping an eye out for what she has coming out next.After James and Becca “meet” for that first time I was intrigued. And it only got hotter from there and had me dying to read more and get more in depth to their stories. Becca grew up in this super religious and strict family. And I hated her parents right off the bat. @lhblake.author did a fabulous job of incorporating these cult-ish like religions and their church community into this story and I actually loved it.James is the bad boy to Becca’s good girl life and attitude. And I absolutely adored watching her break down piece by piece and come to the dark side.She had so much trauma to get over and my heart broke several times over for her and her situation. But that made the ending and her growth that much sweeter. James had some growing and healing to do on his own as well, and his path did not disappoint me either. And the one thing he did that he shouldn’t have, well, I’m glad he did because it was well deserved!I loved that the heavy topics of this book were spaced out between fun banter and the chemistry between characters. It made it easier to get through the tough moments, and look forward to that perfect ending where you just breathed a big ole sigh of relief and happiness for them.I highly recommend everyone read this book if you are intrigued by:🎧80s rockstar vibes🎧Bad boy / good girl🎧Enemies to lovers🎧Slow burn🎧Forced proximity🎧Forbidden love🎧Emotional and complex reads🎧Religious cults🎧High school love

A contemporary 80's romance?? I love everything 80's. So I'm in!We stay with Rebecca. A evangelical Christian good girl who lives her life for her parents and her church. Her parents control everything in her life, down to her boyfriend and what she eats. Even though she's extremely unhappy, she tells herself it's God's will and does as she's told.Then enters James. A bad boy musician from the wrong side of the tracks. James is dealing with his own past trauma. He moved in next door to finish high school and head out to San Francisco to pursue a music career. He wants no complications with his plan. Then he meets Rebecca.They have a lot to overcome. Lots of secrets and messy pasts. Can they make it work with the whole world against them?I really loved this story. I was emotionally invested in the characters and really enjoyed how the story progressed. I would definitely continue to read stories by this author.