| Title | : | Church (The Boys of Chapel Crest, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 434 |
| Publication | : | First published April 19, 2022 |
Being sent to Chapel Crest after my new stepfather deemed me a heathen seemed like a blessing compared to staying with him and my mom. I was a mute demon in his eyes, and when the rod didn’t beat the evil out of me, he prayed Chapel Crest could.
I envisioned the religious academy would become my sanctuary. I was wrong. So very wrong. Chapel Crest was an asylum moonlighting as a religious school. It's where the meds take out the demons in your head or the punishments from the staff will.
If this place and its rules didn’t break me, Dante Church and his cult of bullies would.
They called themselves the Watchers. They were dark and ruthless—everything a girl like me should avoid. But maybe something was wrong with me because the thought of being on my knees for the four devils appeals to me.
Even if it meant I was praying for survival.
Going to Church took on a whole new meaning at Chapel Crest.
Church is book one of The Boys of Chapel Crest. It’s a dark bully romance with four guys chasing one girl. There is no choosing. Only begging. And lots of praying. Please read the foreword.
Church (The Boys of Chapel Crest, #1) Reviews
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Arghhh..of course ended on a cliffy, but what a way to go out..Now I’m crazily wanting the next book.
This was so intense, nail biting at it's best, it wasn’t full on RH but just enough spice, was a wee bit dark which my black heart loved, unique when it came to the school of self medicated pupils. Each crazier than the other, all broken by society and as a last resort this is where they’re sent.
As usual we have the hotter than hot guys running the school ✔️ Church, Ashes, Sin and Stitches.
These guys are here for a reason, their family have put them here because they are a danger to society, their disorders vary but no matter what you don't want to come under their radar.
Throw a hot girl who doesn't speak into the mix and your asking for trouble. Sirena hasn't spoken for near on eight years when she suffered a tragic incident at the hands of her psychotic best friend. No one knows what really happened that day as she's not spoken a word since.
Now these guys have her on their radar and she'll be screaming their names. She's also the best secret keeper, the best kind of girl to have around. -
Imagine if Kings of Quarantine and Royals of Forsyth University had a baby. This book would be that.
There were some eye roll inducing moments, like how all these men went crazy the moment they laid eyes on the main girl, someone who can’t speak or communicate in any form 🤦🏻♀️ But I’m willing to suspend my disbelief to a certain point while I wait for the next Duke book to come out 😅 -
One of the most intense and creative bully reverse harem romances I've read. Imagine a mental institution moonlighting as a parochial school -- and it has elements of each. But this one includes an elite group of Watchers: Church, Ashes, Wolfe/Stitches, who have now cast their eyes, desires, and unbalances onto Sirena. Then there is a childhood friend and then Sirena having self-selective mutism. Will she make a sound? This first book explores the school, develops the character, their rapports, all with sub-plots and twists at play.
Very much loved and enjoyed this story. More psychologically dark than thematically. Of course, there are mental disorders at play, but it does not contain the ritualistic horrors of an asylum, such as crafted experimentation, physical harm, etc. At least for now. Largely a school setting of power play tenebrous graveyard backdrop, and a tangible, crazed, build up of sexual tension.
The story was progressive, captivating -- I could not stop reading -- the mystery, the twist, the "oh no he didn't” moment. Spice was slow burn of electric sparks to fire. Character development was good, of particular note, the unreadable Seth as well as some intriguing side characters I'd love to read about in a spin off.
Simply excellent. Church! And I can't wait to discover more. -
I really didn't liked this book, but this doesn't mean that it is a bad book because everyone have their own tastes, yesterday I read a one star review of a book and what this person didn't liked about the book was what made me download it, so maybe what I didn't liked about this book will make someone else read it.
I read a lot of bully romances, and I don't have triggers, I have things that I like and don't like in a book. And this book have a lot of things that I don't like on bully romances and on RH.
Church is a terrible "hero" with no reedeming qualities at all, he kills small animals that are on their habitat not doing ill to anyone just because he can, he physically harms Sirena more than once, he harms his supposed brothers when they don't obey him, and even think about killing them when he sees them touch Sirena. Church is the definition of toxic person that you shouldn't want to be with the heroine even if this is a bully romance. He's probably the worst "hero" that I ever read about.
The fact that the author put Church to announce that he would get all of Sirena's first, made the story horrible, because the other boys couldn't get close to her, it took away the mystery of who she would have her first time with, her first kiss with. It also didn't read as a RH harem at all, because every interaction between the heroine and the guys was controled by only one of the guys. It was terrible the fact that Ashes and Stitches had to ask Church permission to do to Sirena what he was already doing.
Sin not liking Sirena just because she was a girl was shitty and boring (it is used in so many books), Stitches and Ashes was basically irrelevant because Church was the only one who could do something with Sirena.
The insta love/obsession was meh, they met her in one day and she became their whole "lives". Principal Sully was too much of a caricature, the same as the stepfather, it didn't felt like real people.
The four boys was so stupid in not having connected what happened to Sirena to Seth, the way that she reacted to him was all they needed to pay attention to and understand.
The Sirena and Bryce thing was annoying and didn't add anything to the story at all.
The way that this author talks about woman that is not the FMc is despicable, I'm sorry but we're in 2022, we shouldn't have to read about how a girl is a whore and her vagina is loose because she have been having sex with four guys while reading a RH where the FMC will be sleeping with those four guys. This is just mind blowing idiotic.
I read basically all the new contemporary RH novels by this author and her heoines are all kind of idiots, and her heroes are all the "same", there's always a leader that makes the story boring because he controls all the interactions between the heroines with the other guys of the harem. I don't know if I'll keep reading her books, they all frustrastes me and the drama is just too much. -
Note to self: When you can't fall asleep, maybe - just maybe, don't start a new book. Sleep went out the window and I completely devoured Church in the middle of the night.
Sometimes I'm weird and crave a bully to lover kind of romance. Not exactly sure why but I did, and I dove into this with zero regrets. After meeting Sirena, and the chapel boys, it was clear who she should and shouldn't trust. Mainly, Seth was a big no-no and everyone else had a green light.
The only problem is Sirena went through something very traumatic and is now mute. By choice though and everyone seems to think that's odd. The only person truly in her corner is her little sister. Which makes me super sad because Sirena was shipped off to this school and now her sister has to deal with their creepy stepfather alone. Her mother isn't exactly helpful and seems blind to how much of a jackass he is.
While at this school, Sirena ends up running into a group of boys: Church, Ashes, Sin, and Stitches. Now she was sort of told to steer clear of them, but you know - fate helped her land into their laps. Sort of. They are completely intrigued by her and quickly become obsessed (in a way). Of course, not everyone is on team Sirena which leads to a very frustrating cliffhanger.
I'm honestly so mad about what happened. I have no idea who exactly won from this bet either because of how it all ended. Secretly hoping the guys win, and not Seth, but that's just because I really hate the guy. Plus, I feel like Church might kill someone if they end up losing. Which, I wouldn't be mad if that was Seth's death.
Super excited for Ashes book! Pretty please come out soon. -
Yeah, no. Dnf. Everything was going well until I reached the first guy's (Church) POV. What a dickhead!! And the insta love/lust shit is always a turn off.
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Let’s Go to Church 😉
Let me preface this review by stating that I’m a psychologist. K.G. Reuss is absolutely incredible at portraying mental health issues. This book is no exception to that. Psychologists will often say that there is a fine line between sanity and insanity. This book shows that.
Gripping from page 1, you get introduced to Sirena and Seth at age 10. Seth and Sirena are best friends. However, very quickly, you will be introduced to a child’s descent into madness.
Sirena, a victim of her best friend trying to kill her, now suffers in silence. Literally. It’s been 8 years, since that fateful day, that she’s spoken or made a sound. Her evil Bible-thumping stepfather wants to send her to a state psychiatric facility that doubles as a school (Chapel Crest).
It is at Chapel Crest that she meets the Watchers: Church, Stitches, Sin, and Asher - the boys who rule. Here’s the twist: turns out Seth is also a student/patient at Chapel Crest.
With the Watchers and Seth both trying to claim her, let the games begin. To win: who can make her scream first?
This book ends on a cliffhanger and will definitely leave you wanting to fall to Ashes (book 2).
Seriously, though…this is a must-read. -
Boarding school/Asylum/religious school is an intriguing setting for this kind of book.
The fact that the kids had real mental problems, as opposed to just being mean spoiled brats, was also different. Unfortunately, most of the differences to a typical bully RH stop there. The same type of characters, same insta love/obsession, same mean grownup characters…
Sirena was an interesting female mc, her trauma and the fact that she is unable to talk because of it added something else to the story. Her interaction with Seth was actually more interesting to me than her interaction with the male MCs (not to mention that for them not to realize that Seth is the reason for her trauma seemed simply stupid).
Overall, the book started off excellent, perfect setting, but somewhere along the way, it became predictable and average. -
It’s ok. But they are NOT bad enough for me where I’m fawning over them. Not enough darkness. Not enough rape/dubcon. Not enough abuse. Not enough fear. I can never really get thru this author’s writing because she drags the storyline & I’m pretty sure this bitch is planning 4-5 series. 3 is my limit & I have a feeling Seth might be included in the harem later on…
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The concept of this book interested me a lot, and it is definitely dark and depraved.
My problems however lie here;
-I hate almost all our main characters. They don’t seem redeemable and I’m all for morally grey heroes, but I can’t love a book if I dislike all of the main characters. I’ve read a lot of dark romances, a lot of bully romances… but these guys really are just not it. I’m talking literal abuse on their part. Our FMC is mute and traumatized. They really take advantage of this and I’m not a fan.
-Once again, the high school setting…. She’s meant to be in an institute FFS, you can make them a few years older. It’s more logical with their actions and it’s also less creepy to read.
-The slut shaming. It’s 2022. You’re writing books about these people having sex. I don’t want to read about these women being slut shamed so much like this. It’s annoying and it detracts from the story. The guys are literally obsessing over the FMC bc they want to fuck her. But women are the bad ones for wanting pleasure for themselves, especially in a place as awful as this? Fuck off🙄
With all of that said, I’ve given this 2/5 stars because the storyline and the cliffhanger at the end almost have me hooked enough to want to pick up the next book when it’s released. Not sure if I will, but I’m tempted. -
I kept hearing buzz about this book so i decided to give it a whirl. Now i wish i hadn't. I'm in the minority here with only giving Church 2 stars. To be honest, I was bored throughout this book. The story seemed so far fetched with these kids just doing whatever whenever on a high school campus (though you'd think they were all much older with having tattoos, motorcycles, and the run of the campus itself). Though I did like the setting in the Upper Peninsula! I think I'll pass on the next installment.
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This book started out so strong.. the plot was something I was so captivated by. Idk what I was missing.
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4⭐️
I’m torn. The first half of this book I didn’t really like it. It’s so controversial and I couldn’t stand the boys, but idk. It turned around half way through and now I’m hooked. Cant wait to read the next one. -
3.5+ stars
A twisted intense bully reverse harem book. These guys are seriously messed up.
Has an ending cliffhanger ending similar to another bully romance-where one of the Hs betrays the h as he’s never quite been on board with her and feels he’s protecting the group. This is a brutal betrayal and I’m curious as to how she’ll come back from it. -
Oh my God! This book is fucking amazing 😲! Best Dark RH that I have read sooo far, and that ending! 😳💀 left me on edge for days. Book 2 can not come soon enough!
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I Give this Book a 4.5/5 Star Rating, Listing as a High 4.
A really really great read!
Cliffhanger(?): Yes! 😍😍
I’m seriously looking forward to knowing what’s going to happen next! That was an AMAZING Cliffhanger! Perfect one! Now I just need the next book! Highly Anticipating!!
Relationship Type: RH> MFMM(M and another M(?))
Heat: 4-4.5/5
Pacing: the pacing is fast-ish BUT the plot isn’t, if that make sense? It kept me on my toes and had me turning the next page non stop, loved it!
Insta(?): Kinda-ish-no? 😆
Romance: 3.5/5
Dark(?): 2.5-3/5, this may be darker for others. I can’t wait for this series to get darker! 😍
Drama: 3.5/5
Suspense: 4.5-5/5
No Spoilers At All! -
Not psycho, just assholes.
-
what the what
4.5
Ok so I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did, I was hooked from beginning to end.
Due to a childhood trauma Sirena is mute, and because of this she is sent to Chapel Crest because her stepfather believes she has demons that she needs to be free from. Chapel Crest isn’t an ordinary school though it’s part school part asylum and it’s here that we meet The Watchers aka the four guys who really run the place.
Dante Church
Asher ‘ashes’ Valentine
Malachi ‘stitches’ Wolfe
Sinclair ‘sin’ Priest
The four guys are something else, they each have their own issues and demons to contend with on the daily, so throw in new girl Sirena Lawrence and their crazy is about to amped up by a thousand. Serena is scared of them and rightfully so but there’s someone else that Serena is scared of more, can she use four evils to keep her safe from one evil?? Read it and find out yourself.
I did find some of the things that happened in this book a little predictable BUT having said that I was still shocked when they happened lol. Sin and Stitches actually stole my heart with Ashes and Church coming close.
It does end on a cliffy and I’m excited for book 2 -
Tell us to stop. Beg us to stop. If you don’t, I’m afraid something bad might happen to our good girl
3.5 ⭐
Honestly this was one of the better rh books I've read, I don't know why did it take me so long to read this. The bullying was there, quite mild but better than the other books that claimed to be a "dark bully" book. I did want it to be a bit more darker because it seemed like they were becoming softer quickly but there's that one weirdo in the harem that always strays so he brought everything back to exciting again towards the end of the book. Keep in mind this is labelled as a high school book though which means the characters do have some childishness in them.
I usually don't have great experiences with reading books based on mental institutions but this book did make it quite evil and I liked that.
Will definitely be reading the second book in March! -
wow
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
This book was absolute chaos in the best way, from the absolute first page. I was hooked and am impatiently awaiting the next book in the series after that ending.
There’s not one character that I felt had a lot of redeeming qualities, whether it was because of their individual brand of madness or their choices.
I’m ready for more. SOON -
This cliffhanger is brutal. How will I sleep tonight? 🤯
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To be honest I don't think this can be counted as a "bully romance". The guys: Saint, Stitches, Church, and Ashes did not really bully our female lead Sirena all that much. I mean the only thing that could be classified as "bullying" is that they shoved her into a mausoleum to spend one night, which should have been pretty traumatic for her considering her fear of tight, dark spaces. However, she forgets about this and forgives the guys too quickly in my opinion. After this event they don't bully her as much as just obsess about her and pretty much do nothing about it. I mean there is some kissing and other just strange stuff, namely Church and the Victorian nightgown thing (I pretty much just laughed through that entire sequence). The guys are pretty much all talk and no action when it comes to "bullying" and even "romancing" her too. They are just point blank strange.
Individually the guys didn't stand out that much to me either, I mean everyone except for Church has "dark hair", yep and that they are hot. We also get a brief description of their mental illnesses, but tbh those are even poorly described. I want to make a point here that a mental illness is not a personality, like you can't give me so and so is bipolar and has dark hair, I need more details.
The relationship between all 5 characters was also to much inta-lust for me. I also didn't like the other woman drama and how the guys knowingly use another girl who has a mental illness and write here off as a hoe.
I mainly picked this up because it was set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and referenced other spots in Michigan (not many books take place there). I also wanted to fill the reverse harem bully romance void that Forsyth University series has left me with. Very few books do this trope well.
DNF at page 314, with about 100 pages left to go. -
I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS! I thought I already wrote a review for it but I guess I didn't.
This is a top read of the year for sure. This is a dark bully why choose series so make sure you check your triggers before you start this!
This book starts us off with a bang! After a traumatic event when our FMC, Sirena, is 10 years old, her bestfriend (who hears voices) tries to kill her and he thinks he is successful. She does survive but turns mute and doesn't tell anyone who tried to kill her. Her friend moves away with his family and thinks he completed what he set out to do.
Fast forward during her senior year in high school her awful stepfather sends her to an Asylum to rid her of her Demons (she's still mute). The Asylum is beyond messed up and crazy but also at the school are 4 very hot but very crazy guys, the Watchers, who are taken aback by her. Not only are the Watchers at the school but her friend who tried killing her is at the school as well. Both are shocked to see one another (our FMC being terrified) and things get a little crazy!!
So good! Highly recommend! Like I said this is a top read for me and I cannot wait to continue 😍 -
Well what a ride Church was!
I saw a teaser for this book a whole ago and added it to my TBR straight away. A dark, reverse harem in an asylum with four fucked up psycho friends and a mute girl. Sign me the fuck up!!
I won’t tell you much about this because I don’t want to spoil it but I will tell you I read the first 70% without taking a pause because I was hooked! Church, Ashes, Sin and Stitches. These guys aren’t your normal dark heroes. These guys are massively fucked up and if you don’t believe me click on the link below and check out the 64 (yes you heard me right) 64 separate trigger warnings for this book and please don’t take them lightly because a lot of them are on page. If you have a weak stomach and don’t think you can handle the Boys Of Chapel Crest then please don’t read it.
CLICK LINK TO READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS
https://www.kgreuss.com/copy-of-acadi... -
"If she can’t talk, then she can’t bitch,” so true bestie
dnf @ 12% -
I want so much more after this.
I mean first and foremost this is a series, which I didn’t know! Lol I went in blind. So glad I did. But that cliffhanger is rough and I can’t wait until March until Ashes book comes out! I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one! -
This is a new author for me and probably the best book recommendation this year
If you like it dirty, perhaps a little scary, and oh so twisted...you'll definitely need to get a copy!
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
That line will stay with me for a long time. I get that Church isn't really a redeemable MC but I just fall deeper into his crazy. And I love the fact that he doesn't pretend to be something he isn't.
Church, Stitches, Ashes, and Sin will have you falling for them even against your better judgment!
