I don't know how a love story about a priest and a courtesan fell flat but it did. I did not like either character. I actually found them both sort of insufferable which definitely dampened any enjoyment I might have been able to find in the plot.

I'm a little late to the "game" in reading this, but I'm glad I did! Before Fleabag made falling in love with a priest part of our pop culture, Regina Madrigal created a world of love and sin with The Last Confession. A Catholic priest falling in love and having a secret affair with a courtesan in Old World Paris would be a scandal of great proportions, but the way Madrigal writes their love for one another - not just their passion - is what will captivate readers. But what I found most compelling by Madrigal's book wasn't just the passion and love between Catalina and Father Benedict, but also the diatribes about religion and God. Father Benedict is very dedicated to the priesthood but also recognizes the good God has created in the world that the traditional church found sinful. His acknowledgement of God allowing him to love Catalina the way he does as being a blessing instead of a sin just hits you right in the heart. I may be personally biased because I also believe that, for all of the bad and evil in the world, what some would consider a sin could also be seen as a gift. That said, I thought the direction of the plot had some potential that was left unrealized. The ending was really quite rushed and was a missed opportunity -- there were three or four unnecessary chapters where the plot barely moves that could have been edited to allow for more of the plot's conflict to grow. But otherwise, this book was interesting exploration of faith and love.

I was so looking forward to reading this, and while there were parts of it that I appreciated (the reluctance of the priest to have a relationship, the slowww burn) I really didn't like reading about her relationship and abuse from Guy. It was really startling and I think there should be a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. And I was absolutely shocked by how fast the ending was!

I couldn’t quite put my finger on what this book reminded of until I repeatedly wanted to go back and watch Dangerous Liaisons. A highly sought after courtesan Catalina finds herself nearing the end of brutal year long contract. She makes her confession (a rarity) and happens upon a priest she is drawn to. Many times throughout the book you’re torn between feeling sorry for her (which this strong independent women would hate) and completely disliking her for setting her sights on this priest Benedict. Benedict is a beloved priest both by his congregation in Paris and the village where he owns an estate. Catalina was left orphaned after seeing her mother executed.
The writing at times really draws you in by its use of all your senses—the scents, the fabrics, even the feel of the earth. Catalina is beautiful, sensual and very well read. She’s been groomed for this life since she was taken in by a Courtesan as a child. Catalina is at the height of her career and the world is her oyster . Yet she’s not as in control as she would have us to believe. It’s a girl meets boy, girl gets boy, girl loses boy etc in Historical Fiction. I would honestly put this closer towards Erotica than Romance as some of the sex scenes become quite graphic. There are also some violent scenes. Without giving spoilers….I will say some plot holes exist and the ending seemed rushed and abrupt to me. I requested this book from #NetGalley and review is my honest opinion.

This one needs some more editing. I liked the romance, but it could’ve been a bit shorter and I found some typos throughout.

This was a poor retelling of The Thornbirds that made little sense. Overall the writing couln't elevate a thin over-used and unlikely story.

Confusing at times, this book had very interesting potential and characters, but fell a little flat for me.

“I suppose there can be only two outcomes to our friendship; you will save me or I will damn you.”

After losing her mother to the gallows, Catalina Cosme is taken in by Madame Poisson, a former courtesan and is raised in the Paris countryside. When she becomes of age, she returns to Paris to stay with a friend of Poisson's, Madame Poppa, who runs a brothel. Catalina follows in their footsteps and becomes a courtesan and is given into contract for one year to Lord Guy. Catalina wants to have feelings for Guy but after one of his drinking nights, he abuses her and she runs to a church to find solace. There she meets Father Benedict Mortimer and while she treasures their friendship, she wants more.

“Welcome,” said the priest in the prolonged silence. It was a deep voice that made the delicate hairs on Catalina’s nape stand on end.

Set in 1663 Paris, The Last Confession had taboo (priest and courtesan), age-gap, and slow burn elements. In the second half, it danced into erotic but then started to throw plot points fast and furious into the story and created an ending that felt a little unsatisfying in its abruptness. Mostly told from Catalina's point-of-view, there were two or three times it switched to Father Benedict but they were very short and seemingly out of nowhere, the reader gets insight into how being raised by two courtesans has made Catalina more liberal and aware of the hypocrisy of the church but also looking for some source of comfort and understanding. With these issues, the book, obviously, touches on religious doctrine, equality, and societal issues. There were points made, some missed, but when I picked up this book, I was looking for some delicious slow burn friction and this did have moments that delivered.

And beneath all the abstinence, all the self-assurance, Father Benedict Mortimer was only a man. And no man was immune to temptation.

I liked the gradual beginning, we get to know Catalina and her situation first and see why she is open and drawn to Father Benedict for a friendship, then her attraction starts to seep in, his looks, her learning about his libertine past, and around the 30% mark she, faltering in a purposeful way, sets out to seduce him. Here is where I missed Father Benedict's point-of-view or more backstory on him. Scenes of his past, he mentions having more than one partner at a time, could have been flashed to, fulfilling more of a erotic vibe, but most importantly, I missed “seeing” his struggle and battle in not giving into Catalina. We do get a scene of Benedict's self-flagellation, which Catalina sees and gives her a crisis of conscience. As it was, though, there was only one or two scenes where I thought I could feel his turmoil, otherwise, Father wasn't even doth protesting too much. Along with not really feeling his struggle to maintain his vows, his views never seemed to match the church and there were times I felt he was more cosplaying in his liturgical garments.

"What is it you want of me, Catalina?" Benedict asked, his voice had turned cold.
"I want you,” she said.

The passages of time in the story also didn't provide a cohesive pacing feel, months go by as Catalina spends time with Benedict in Touraine, then months go by as they're apart, then we're at 50% with Catalina's contract up with Lord Guy and Benedict is entering her life again by paying to be her secret benefactor, without benefits. In the second half, around the 60% mark, is where the erotic part takes over for a while. Without Benedict's pov, I can't say there was a completely angst heated “snap” to him giving in but there was heat there. The bedroom scenes take over for awhile but after another brief year of time passage goes by, the ending zooms up with death, murder, quick forced in sense of betrayal, a trial, and a brisk wrapped up ending.

They would be shunned by society and damned by God.

The secondary characters were definitely interesting outlines of characters but they never were delved in enough for me. Lord Guy, after religious hypocrisy, is mostly the villain of the piece and is given the most background with his face scared by the Vindictae, who also murdered his brothers. His depression and anger over women being repulsed by his face have him drinking and then abusing women and while he acts ashamed in the morning over his actions, I'm glad that Catalina never tried to “heal” him. (He's also the source of most of the content warnings, physical abuse and rape) There's mention of Catalina having a brother she loved who died but there wasn't enough to feel this emotional connection, the madames who raised her needed more coloring in, and a late additive friend of Benedict's was barely formed and given a very blatant out of nowhere change of heart to give a happy ending. The time period is only really felt through brief or light mentions of The Reformation, tension between Catholics and Protestants, and real historical figures like The Sun King and Veronica Franco.

“And some of us choose a life that was not meant for us,” Catalina murmured.

A lot of the story was all in the teasing of the idea of these two together, it dances towards the line but stayed away a fair distance, there was a started confessional masturbation scene but was seemingly forgotten in its abandonment, until the later second half when bedroom scenes take over for a while; this had more of a hint of erotic than encompassing. A little more depth in some places and Father Benedict's pov would have improved this for me but the promise shown would convince me to read another of the author's books.

I don't typically read romance novels, but the premise and the setting intrigued me, and I thought it would be fun for a palate cleanser. Unfortunately, it wasn't fun, and this reading experience has put me off for venturing into the romance world for probably some time.

The premise seemed promising - a courtesan in 17th century Paris seduces a priest, and they fall in love. I adore historical fiction and stories about courtesans, and I like a good dose of forbidden romance and delayed gratification. While the story has promise, the execution was lacking, and I found myself increasingly frustrated as I worked my way through the book.

The writing style was kind of odd and stilted. Most sentences were structured as "She did this, she did that" or were sentence fragments, or used semicolons incorrectly. The author's use of French was poor - she referred to the young, unwed Catalina as "Madame" but called the married mother of a side character "Mademoiselle". Catalina calls Benedict "your grace" (typically reserved for high-ranking royals and nobles, not rank-and-file priests) and he calls her "Lady" even though she's a common-born courtesan with no title or rank. All of these errors could have been remedied with some basic research or a decent proofreader, and the book reads, six years after publication, as an early draft.

There is, sadly, no sense of place in the story. It could have been set almost anywhere, at any time, as the writing didn't evoke the setting much beyond mentioning Paris as dirty and stinking, and having Catalina go to Versailles once for a feast (never mind that Versailles was little more than a hunting lodge in 1664 and Catalina, as a courtesan without a high-ranking or wealthy patron, would not have been invited to a royal celebration) so if you're looking for a lush, sensuous setting, look elsewhere.

Basically I spent the two days I read this book feeling frustrated with the missed opportunities here, but thought it'd be a two-star experience until I came to the very end and the author's brief bio. The author is a "solitary pagan", you see (their words) which in retrospect explains all of the conversations that Catalina and Benedict had about how sex wasn't sinful and why God gave them bodies that felt pleasure if he didn't want them to use them. They spend a great deal of the book railing against the church, which I now see is a vehicle for the author's beliefs. I'm not a follower of organized religion in the slightest and I don't get offended when someone points out its hypocrisy; I do get offended when an author insults the intelligence of their readers by using their work as a thinly-veiled vehicle for their beliefs.

tl;dr I can only recommend this book if you're really good at suspending your disbelief.

Ms Madrigal writes well and I enjoyed the storyline a lot. An historical novel with the requisite heroine seeking redemption and happiness. Very enjoyable

I don’t think I really knew what I was getting myself into when I chose The Last Confession, for the most part I enjoyed it. Steamy scenes were great but there definitely could have been a bit more character and/or story building, and the ending was a bit abrupt for me. The Last Confession just needed a little more.

3.75 stars.
It was actually really interesting, sometimes i found Catarina to be annoying, selfish and naivè and I found Benedict intruiging. I wish we could learn more about him, we get bits and pieces here and there but it`s not enough. They faced alot through the book and i`m glad to see them getting their happy ending.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this book, but was ultimately disappointed. I was looking for a book that was more self-aware and played more with the interesting mix of historical fiction, religion, and sex. I wasn’t thrilled with the use of rape as a plot point and I also thought the depiction of Guy was a touch ableist, in that his missing eye and scars mark him as a villain. I also found it iffy that Catalina wants to seduce Father Benedict, at least at the beginning, just to see if she can make him break his vow of celibacy. I think there was a lot here to work with, but it just wasn’t my favorite. The writing was very good - I just had some issues with the plot and character development.

This story was intriguing, a good story line and the book started off strong, good writing for the first few chapters and then it all just went to hell. it jumped and was pieced together, there were grammatical errors and unclear thoughts, it needs an editor. This can be one great story but it needs more, I felt like it was a beta manuscript, not a finished novel. I was also confused that the publish date is 2014 yet its being re-published in 2021 with added text?? Sorry this was a big miss for me, wished the author had taken time to develop.
I received an ARC for my review

Father Benedict and a beautiful lady, Catalina Cosme, find themselves fighting forbidden love in this sad story of the courtesan and the priest.

This was an intense romance because of the circumstances the two characters shared alone. I can't even imagine what it must be like to go through something like that.

I missed something here. There are so many 5 star reviews on this one. Here I sit wondering what I am missing. I did not enjoy this read at all. Very self indulgent and melodramatic characters. That weird plot twist at the end. Just over reaching a happy ending.

I was looking for a palate cleanser although I'm not sure I would have requested this to review if I'd realized it was backlist? Ah well. Sexy priest novel for those of you who have seen Fleabag, but set in Paris 1663. Plus a redhead MC? Enough said!

3⭐️
This is a romantic historical fiction that was character driven. The beginning held 5 stars for me as I learned about the h and H. The writing flowed and drew me in. Forbidden romance is one of my favorite tropes. I thought the chemistry and romance was wonderful.
The author held my interest and wrote this part well. But having said that, the religious part at around 80% was confusing and in my opinion unnecessary. The story takes a quick turn, which I felt was rushed and disjointed. This made the final part feel like a 2 star which is why I’m giving it a 3. There was an HEA ending, which always makes me happy.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own.

There are some things that are considered too taboo and an illicit affair with a priest all during a time when an unmarried and un-chaperoned women were considered to be of a certain class.. well, I have no idea how the main character got out alive. Though both characters seemingly fought off the attraction for each other before finally relinquishing & the female lead was basically a Stockholm Syndrome victim from her last “benefactor” it was definitely a confusing book that went on a bit too long for my tastes.