Almost Priest

McCullough Mountain, Book 1

By: Lydia Michaels

Narrated by: Amber Battaglia

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The perfect small-town beach romance brimming with forbidden love, secret desires, and one irresistible virgin hero from best-selling and award-winning author, Lydia Michaels.

Colin McCullough has always been a man of devotion, and at summer’s end, he will finally receive his Holy Orders. Samantha Dougherty never intended to cause trouble, but when she’s invited to stay at McCullough Mountain for summer break, she proves to be an irresistible temptation.

Hot summer nights lead to secret moments of seduction neither Colin or Samantha can resist. No vow of celibacy is without sin. Colin’s thoughts are far from pure, but his intentions to become a priest remain. What should have been a relaxing holiday with his family has turned into a trial of loyalty, lust, courage, sacrifice, and possibly love.

Best-selling author, Lydia Michaels, has created an unforgettable family saga bursting with sizzling secrets and scandalous moments in this award-winning series, McCullough Mountain, where each story can be listened to as a stand-alone!

©2015 Lydia Michaels (P)2023 Lydia Michaels

Expect the unexpected

I generally avoid this trope but the Audio version made this so much better. I felt as if I was truly in the story with the reading and could connect with the storyline so much better. The McCullough family is practically a small town so there are a lot of people to get acquainted with. The more I learned about them, the more I loved them. To me, Collin and Samantha are drawn together and are trying to beat all odds to stay together. The emotions behind these characters were so good I couldn’t believe this was someone telling the story instead of it truly happening.

entertaining

I'll admit that I went into this one with reservations. Up until now, I've avoided this trope, or what I expected this trope to be. It's nothing personal, just not my cup of tea. Honestly, the only reason I went ahead was that "Almost" part of the title and the fact that I've read or listened to a number of Lydia Michaels's books, and I've enjoyed them all. So, I settled in and started listening.
First things first, Amber Battaglia gives voice to these characters, and she did a terrific job of giving everyone a distinctive voice, which went a long way toward helping me keep everybody straight until I got to know them. The McCullough family is practically a small town unto themselves, so there are a lot of people to get acquainted with. And the more I learned about them, the more I loved them. This is such a great family with so many colorful characters.
Naturally, the focus is on Colin and Samantha, and I was really surprised at how little Colin's situation bothered me. That could have a little something to do with the way Lydia Michaels wrote it. In fact, I'm sure it has a lot to do with the focus of the storyline. To me, it was about two people who are drawn together against all odds. Kind of a right place, wrong time kind of thing, but the emotion and the feeling that these two belong together comes through loud and clear, taking precedence over anything considered forbidden or taboo.
Typically, I'm not a big fan of a character sibling hopping either, but that's not really the case here once you get into it and figure out what's going on. There are a few sticky moments when it kind of feels that way, but again, the magnetic pull between Colin and Samantha overshadows everything else.
Okay, maybe almost anything. There were a few times when I really wanted to shake the daylights out of one or both of these characters. I don't want to get too much further into the reasons than to say that Colin and Samantha are adults, plenty old enough to know that there are consequences for your actions. Yet they don't seem to consider any of those possible consequences - there's that pull between them again. Toward the end of the book was when I was most frustrated with this couple and their decisions or lack thereof. Again, the exact reasons would venture into spoiler territory.
With that, I will say that I enjoyed this romance, I didn't love it, but it was entertaining and emotional. What I did love was the family. This family has so many great characters, and I can't wait to get more of them.

What a fantastic story!

This is one of the sweetest love stories I’ve read! These people, this story, everything about it kept me hooked until the very end! I love this family and their big Irish love!

When Sarah comes home with Braden for break, she’s not sure why he invited her, they’ve been out, but aren’t really together…. And when she meets his brother Collin.. she finds him attractive and feels the attraction for him that she’s missing for Braden. They have conversations and things in common… but he’s going to be a priest… and her heart breaks.

There are twists and turns in this story that are so intricate and interesting… the feelings it brings up are so well with the listen! Lydia Michael’s is excellent and these characters just make me want to know more.

Loved this small town, forbidden romance

Lydia Michaels starts off the McCullough Mountain Series with a bang! Almost Priest is the first book in the series. This story is a good small town, forbidden, forced proximity, insta love romance. I love the family dynamics, as good Irish family the McCulloughs are loving, supportive and loud. Colin had devoted his life to Christ and was on the path of priesthood. Sam, was just graduating college and trying to find herself, until they met. The story showcases the hurdles that they face to find themselves while learning each other. Facing realities that were being thrown in their faces. It’s racy, full of secrets, seduction, scandalous to some extent, full of angst, with a big plot twist. Such a good read. The narrator Amber Battaglia did a good jog in character portrayal and kept me engaged and entertained.

I voluntarily reviewed a complementary copy of this book/ audiobook.

A love above all else!!! Loved this story!

Samantha is stressing. She can't get a signal on her phone to check on her grades. She already had misgivings about this trip, misgivings that Braydon obviously doesn't have as he taps the steering wheel in time to the music. It was just starting to occur to her that some would think she was in a relationship with Braydon, but even though they've been to dinner and shared several kisses, she wasn't there yet.

They were on the way to his family's home in the mountains for their three-week break. If it wasn't for her parents being in Florida she wouldn't be going with Braydon, but the thought of staying by herself for those three weeks was not something she wanted to think about. She is staring at him stupidly when he tells her who would be there when they arrived. She knew that he came from a large family, but SEVEN children? How was she going to remember it all?

When he referred to her as his girlfriend earlier it threw her. He had never asked her out, they hadn't slept together, they've eaten together but it was usually because of friends. When he finally did ask for her phone number it was just to text to ask when she was going to the college cafeteria on random days. So she was surprised when he asked her to come home with him. Evidently, coming from such a large family spending time alone was incomprehensible to him.

She woke to realize they had arrived. She had never seen so many stars in her life and she felt like all she had to do was reach up and grab one. A house that even in the darkness you could tell was massive appeared in front of them. She fell in love when she realized she would be in a real life log cabin.

When she woke the next morning she gathered her toiletries and headed to the bathroom only to come to a halt at the sight of the gorgeous naked man. She was only able to stand there and gawk. She has never seen such a beautiful sight in her life. Braydon's brother, Colin...Colin, who was about to take his vows...and become a Priest.

I loved this book! It is very well written and the characters are fully developed and relatable. This is the first time I have listened to Amber Battaglia and she did an amazing job bringing Colin and Samantha's story to life. This story is being told from several POVs and I can't wait to hear about the remaining McCullough family members.

This romance has several twists and Amber's narration brings this story to life. Not only do we hear Colin & Samantha's story, but get a peek into the lives of a few of Colin's siblings. Samantha had always put all her energy into college to earn her teacher's degree until she set eyes on Colin. Colin decided as a teenager that being a priest was his life's calling. He had never in the intervening ten years questioned that choice until he laid eyes on Samantha.

This book is action packed from the first word. I literally didn't take a break listening to this audiobook as I wanted to see what was going to happen next in this forbidden romance. There is tons of guilt, some shocking revelations and smoking hot sexual chemistry. Highly recommend this audiobook. Amber Battaglia brought Lydia Michael's story to life and I really can't wait to see what's next.

Love this series!!!

I have listened to a few of Lydia’s audibles and they are so enjoyable.

Samantha joins her friend/more than friend as he visits his family on school break. The chaos of their thick Irish family overwhelmed her, until she met his older brother Colin. She never knew she could feel what she felt when she was around him.

Colin was conflicted when he locked eyes with Samantha, knowing he was making his vow to God to become a priest and anything they start would end in sadness.

This was a beautiful love story that showed the reality of this real scenario and I felt so engrossed with the story. Such a good audio!

Hot almost priest!

Colin and Sami's story is sooo angsty. My heart bled for these two. Samantha comes home from college with Colin's brother Brayden. She doesn't really consider them a couple, more just friends, but Brayden sees them a little different. Sami and Colin have a pretty instant connection, but Colin is becoming a priest in a few short months. Watching these two fall in love, but know it can never be more was sooo hard for me. So many emotions with this one. I love this big burly family and I love the heartfelt stories to come. This first book was really well told.

The narrator did a great job telling the story from both sides.

excellent audiobook

I have only read/listened to one other book by Lydia Michaels. I've been too slow to pick up more. This was an excellent story between two people who weren't supposed to be together. It pulled at my heart strings. I love the whole McCullough family and look forward to the next audiobook! I wasn't ready for this one to be over.

Amber Battaglia is an excellent narrator. She voiced male and female characters perfectly. I am in awe of her performance! I hope to hear more from her in the future.

#ValentinePRaudioreviewer

Forbidden slow burn

I honestly wasn't sure how I'd feel going into this one because I figured the religious tones would be really thick with this one. This whole series has a bit in each book, but I was a little wary with this one being that I'm non-religious. It honestly wasn't bad at all, and Lydia did a wonderful job making sure even those of us outside of that aspect of life can enjoy this story.

The forbidden bit of the relationship in this one made it a worthwhile slow burn that keeps you on your toes the whole book. These characters are beautifully done and I love the amount of care they take with each other and how deeply they pay attention to the ins and outs of the other to understand each other. Their relationship is so sweet, and though it comes with one brother "taking" from another, it's a heart warming story.

Amber Battaglia did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook and I went hesitate to listen to anything she does! She's got the perfect kind of vice for this line of work and her voices for the characters are so spot on. Highly suggest giving her a listen!

Such a Great Listen!

This was my first Lydia Michaels book and I enjoyed it so much! Such a sweet story, I want to make my way through her entire backlist now! I’m mostly. Dark romance reader, but sometimes it’s so nice to throw a sweet, light story in there as a palate cleanser and this one did not disappoint. Also, I must note that typically I am not a fan of 3rd person POV, but this one was done well and was easy to follow. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read, this is the one to pick up! Also- those Irish accents were EVERYTHING.