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.