Thighs and Prayers by Kat Blackstone is unlike any book I’ve ever read before. I preordered it months ago, and I have no idea where I found it, but I am so glad I did. This book is a stunning sapphic romance set in a convent following an illicit love affair between nuns. I sort of hope the Catholics are right about hell, because that’ll be where all the good books are when I get down there.
The Altar Church of Lost Souls is a small town convent laden with secrets, known for taking in wayward nuns and a Revered Mother with a special talent for worship.
When a new nun, Lilith, comes to the convent, Jezebella is quickly enthralled by this beautiful, mysterious woman and her angelic eyes. Their meeting is nothing short of divine, until a disappearance in Howl Moor sends the town reeling, and Jezebella begins to learn that Lilith is not quite what she seems, and neither is the congregation of Lost Souls.
Thighs and Prayers is a romance novel, yes, but everything in this book sends a message about religion, patriarchy, and the nature of sin. The names of the characters themselves drive that point home, the villainous women of the bible reimagined into something empowering and subversive.
In the lake without my robes, without my head covering, it was as if I weren’t a nun at all anymore. For a brief moment, my vows to god remained on dry land. Out here in the depths, happening upon this sunlit angel, perhaps I was just a woman going for a swim. Somewhere out there in some reality where men’s intentions didn’t drive me to ancient texts and rosary chains, I was just a woman naked on a swim… stumbling upon a beautiful vision of a goddess doing the same. A goddess, an angel, who beckoned me forward with her scent, her lips, her words.
Reading this book feels like some kind of cosmic reward for all that time I spent in Catholic school. It has beautiful and descriptive prose with a classic feel — although the subject matter is delightfully everything but.
The ladies of the Altar Church of Lost Souls are consent queens and marvelously kinky. The spice is immediate, starting from the very first page, and it remains salacious and glorious throughout the book, perfectly complementing the plot.
Despite years of fervent prayer and wise sermons, I’d only ever found god between my Sister in Christ’s thighs.
I knew Thighs and Prayers was a five-star read by page 21. My Kindle is filled with highlights. I don’t think I’ve highlighted this many passages since college. This book was an absolutely phenomenal read. 10/10 recommend.
I believe churches could benefit from more bad nuns and sinful women, don’t you?”
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