The Chateau by Tiffany Reisz

Through the looking glass we go.

The amount of Alice in Wonderland references that Tiffany Reisz dishes out always sits really well with me. It mixes the raw reality of sexy young and broken Kingsley with the sort of magic I can only hope I fall down the rabbit hole into in my life.

For now I will only say that I had previously thought before reading The Chateau that I couldn't like Kingsley any more than I already did- but I was wrong. I love him so so much more.

Not only is Kingsley the sexy and cocky Original Sinner I grew to love from the red years book one, but now everyone can love him too in this standalone erotic thriller. It goes a little something like putting a much more kinky James Bond in a sex cult. But a fun femme-domme sort of sex cult. In a chateau! A cult that Kingsley somehow, yet of course obviously, fits into in all the best ways as he is put on a mission to find and possibly retrieve the stray nephew of his slightly unsettling colonel who apparently just doesn't want anyone to have any fun.

But fun, sexy times, and intrigue of all sorts is what we have.

Oddly enough, I have always considered Kingsley the original sinner I scarily say that if I could mix him with a little bit of Michael, I relate to the most in a weird alternate universe sort of way.

Maybe that looking glass universe is the one where I didn't  email in desperate need of an advance reader's copy. A few weeks ago as I was online (probably Instagram) when I came across the excitement of a snipet from The Chateau. Below in the comments however, the June 5th publication date suddenly stuck out to me.

June 5th?

I could have been one of those fabulous people who toss their hair and say, "Well I won't be in the country then." Only instead of doing that, I wrote a ranty email about how Tiffany Reisz books are some of my favorite of all time, plus, bonus if I got the early copy: I could scream about how sexy Kingsley is across the very boarders of France, if it so pleased the ARC giving gods.

An email in reply much more casually told me of course, I was already on the special list, and sent me along possibly the most beautiful copy of a book ever. The cover is very soft and gets floppy as you read it in all the right ways.

It was a very good Monday mail day.

I got to reading right away.

As the Jack-of-All-Wicked-Trades for a secretive French military intelligence agency, 24-year-old Lieutenant Kingsley Boissonneault has done it all—spied, lied, and killed under orders. But his latest assignment is quite out of the ordinary. His commanding officer's nephew has disappeared inside a sex cult, and Kingsley has been tasked with bringing him home to safety. 

The cult’s holy book is Story of O, the infamous French novel of extreme sado-masochism. Their château is a looking-glass world where women reign and men are their willing slaves. Or are they willing? It’s Kingsley’s mission to find out. 

Once inside the château, however, Kingsley quickly falls under the erotic spell cast by the enigmatic Madame, a woman of wisdom, power, and beauty. She offers Kingsley the one thing he’s always wanted. But the price? Giving up forever the only person he’s ever loved.

First off, though you didn't need to read Story of O, but I am really glad that I have previously read it before devouring The Chateau. Without reading it I feel like I wouldn't have the full insight of what Kingsley and our new mind bending sadist, Madame, understood about the story and how it intertwined itself within the lives of those who serve in the chateau.

One who served in this novel of course was Kingsley. O' Kingsley O' Kingsley. Because we must come to terms with the not so sad fact that we can't have a Kingsley without great banter, a flawed past, and enough hot sex to go around to keep you on your toes.

Or knees.

Whatever suits your fancy.

What suited me was this plot. From the first page I couldn't stop turning them. My boyfriend one night had to turn out the light, toss the book across the room, and tell me to sleep. Each scene and dramatic reveal of characters and momentary cameos, and backstories I only previously imagined from reading the Original Sinners series however, kept me from sleeping a few hours more.

At that point sure I only had one chapter left. Turning around in bed, I cursed my boyfriend. He laughed.

“Real sadism is an art form. I’m an art lover, and you, right now, you’re the Louvre. Tell me more about how he hurt you and let me see your face while you do.”

No matter what I read of Tiffany's so far, I enjoy it immensely. I completely loved this book in all of its twists, but to be honest, I REALLY love these characters. Every time I open a story of hers, especially from the original sinner crew, I feel like I am returning to old friends. Tiffany manages to bring them back to life and further into my heart.

Though I definitely believe that to get the full wonderful experience from this stunning novel you should read all the Original Sinner's books and fall in love with Kingsley, The Chateau could also be read as a stand alone.

Happy sinning and happy reading, Reisz fans.

This book does not disappoint in the least.

318 pages
Erotic Thriller

Expected publication: June 5th 2018
ebook - paperback - audiobook

8th Circle Press

About the Author

Tiffany Reisz is the author of the highly acclaimed series The Original Sinners. Her first novel, The Siren, won the RT Book Reviews Editor's Choice Award for Best Erotic Romance of 2012. Slightly shameless, Tiffany dropped out of a conservative Southern seminary in order to pursue a career as a writer. This move, while possibly putting her eternal salvation in peril, has worked out better than she anticipated. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer, and two cats.