The Chateau: An Erotic Thriller (Original Sinners)

by Tiffany Reisz

• ISBN10: 1548681954
• ISBN13: 9781548681951
• Publish Date: 9 May 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 286
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

OMG. Kingsley.

According to Goodreads, there’s nothing to indicate that I read the first four Original Sinners books this summer and have the next four lined up. This is not surprising as my spreadsheet tells me I’ve read 185 books so far this year and Goodreads only has reviews for 85 of them. I’m way behind. I’m also still trying to process how good the books are and what to say about them. But on my recent trip to the mountains, I read through the stack of books I packed quicker than intended and luckily had this ebook on my phone in case of emergency.

It was worth skipping to this one. It’s kinda standalone, but the first four books are necessary for context, IMO. (Especially The Prince.) And if the next four turn out to be necessary too, then it’s not going to be a trial to re-read it. I have a feeling that will happen regardless.

I wish more books made me laugh as much as Reisz’s books do. I wish more erotica felt so healthy and joyful. Young Kingsley is everything I wanted young Kingsley to be.

[llamareads]

This is, apparently, the ninth in a series, but I read it as a standalone. I’m sure I missed a lot of backstory, especially as it’s framed as two lovers having a conversation about an event from one man’s past that he’d never told the other about. This is not a romance – there’s no HEA or HFN – but it is an enjoyable romp of an erotic spy thriller.

“I told you they fuck with you here,” Leon said. “Didn’t I? They fuck with all of us all the time.”
“Then why do you want to stay?”
Leon looked at him like he was crazy. “Everyone fucks with everyone all the time. Might as well get fucked with by beautiful women who let you fuck them after. Really, what’s there to complain about?”
Kingsley shook his finger at the boy. “You make a point.”

It’s set in the late 80s, mostly in France, and stars Kingsley, a cynical spy for a nameless French government organization. Unlike his usual assignments of killing Nazis or KGB, instead he’s sent to find the nephew of his boss, who’s disappeared into a femme-domme sex cult in the French countryside. OK, the plot sounds absolutely bonkers when put like that, and honestly it is a bit over the top, but Kingsley is such a fascinating character. He’s intelligent and observant (he is, after all, a spy) but he also has some surprising soft spots, including one for an ex-boyfriend he still loves.

“Life had given him so much pain and suffering, it made no sense to him that he craved more of it. Maybe that’s why he’d called Madame. Because if anyone knew the answer to why he craved pain when life had given him more than enough of it, it would be her.”

The book is chock full of kinky sex. Kingsley is into masochism, several of the women are into sadism, and there’s some other random kinkiness thrown in for good measure. Most of this is completely not my thing, but a lot of it is about discovering who these characters are through their actions – sexual and otherwise – and I loved the thriller plot. Why is the colonel so worried about his nephew? Is the nephew actually being held against his will? Why did all of the other operatives sent to infiltrate the cult fail?

Overall, this was quite enjoyable, and I’ve put the first in the series on my TBR. Recommended if you’re looking for a bit of kinky spy erotica!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
The Chateau was wickedly delicious and deliciously wicked. I loved this glimpse into Kingsley's past, how he was already both a giver and a receiver of pain..

Story:

Reisz always mesmerizes me with her storytelling, and I was immediately immersed in The Chateau with Kingsley. In this story, I got to know Kingsley better, and I loved seeing him as a young man. How he lived with the aftermath of his relationship with Søren. What he actually did for the hidden branch of the French government. And how he got entangled with a community where women were boss.

In the Chateau, Kingsley wasn't only a government agent, he was also a player. And he played rather well if the girl he woke up with the first morning was any indication. However, he soon had a visit to tell him he was needed for work. Even if he was still on sick leave. Only, this mission was rather different than the other missions he had in the past. He had to find a mysterious woman in order to extract a young man from her sex sect. That's all he knew before he went to a phone booth to call her.

The Chateau itself was rather magnificent, and really a place where I could see Kingsley staying. He got a little bit of everything he needed there - a place to belong, pain, pleasure, and intrigue. However, his loyalties were not fully with the Madam, and so he needed to do his job elsewhere. In between the current events of the story, Kingsley has some very vivid dreams. Dreams of a white-blond boy. In the woods. And he still doesn't know where that boy is in real life.

I think what happened in The Chateau participated in making Kingsley the man he is in all the Original Sinners books - a little stand-offish, very confident, and always there for both Søren and Nora. It was a pleasure to see his character development, and I loved the overall feel of the story.

Characters:

Young Kingsley was rather cocky, but he had reason to be.

The Madam was so mysterious and intriguing, and I loved seeing how she had made her Chateau a safe haven for women, where men were the maids and took orders from the women.

The side characters were well fleshed out, even those who were only mentioned once or twice felt very real to me.

Writing style :

The Chateau is written in third person point of view, past tense, and from Kingsley's perspective. Between the dreams and King's real life at the time, I couldn't put the book down from start to finish.

Feels :

Ms. Reisz always brings out all the feels! I felt Kingsley's torment, and I felt his joy. I felt his happiness and fears, his hopes and his despair. Masterfully done, this book made me want to re-read the whole Original Sinners series.



Even though it is a dream, and no one has spoken but him, Kingsley knows he is supposed to sit and stay and play the game. It's the rules. If he doesn't play, he'll wake up, and the last thing he wants is to wake up now, to wake up ever.

It had been a long time since Kingsley had laughed so freely with a girl. Polly rolled onto her back in a giggling fit, swept up in the silliness like a child. God, what a beautiful, bizarre looking-glass world this château was.