The Mistress

The Original Sinners #4

by Tiffany Reisz

She is addictive… irresistible

Nora Sutherlin, Dominatrix-turned-literary-star, is held prisoner by two dangerous men. Under different circumstances she would enjoy this immensely. These men aren’t lovers, however, but tools of vengeance from an old adversary. Possessor of the hearts of two men, she plays her hardest hand. But her captor isn’t interested in play. Or pity.

In Nora’s world, however, no one is ever truly powerless. Her friends and lovers will do anything to save her – even if the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak. The stakes are high in a dangerous game of love, lust and passion

Genres: Erotica, BDSM, Romance, Dark, Contemporary, Adult, Erotic Romance

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2013

About the author

Tiffany Reisz is the USA Today-bestselling author. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and two cats. Find her online at TiffanyReisz.com.

Reviews

[Aestas Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

::: FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED :::


WHAT. A. BOOK!!!

First before anything.... I have to say: #TeamSøren 

Omg, so completely, utterly, and irrevocably #TeamSøren.
(Lol, apparently I'm a switch. Hehe. Get it? ;) )
Gah. My poor heart!!! But just... #TEAMSOREN 

ALL. THE. WAY!!!!

My feels have been toyed with, my mind has been fucked with, my emotions are now so tangled up that I went from being a 100% solid #TeamWesley gal, to being so completely on #TeamSøren that it's hard for me to accept that I was ever not on his team. I honestly didn't believe this would happen. I kept seeing everyone all in love with Søren while I was just eyeing his warily but NOW I GET IT!!! I really do!!

Please be sure to read the first 3 books in the series (or at least my reviews of them) before reading this because... this book isn't a standalone and I think you should have least the tiniest bit of context. So first check out The Siren (my review), The Angel (my review), and The Prince (my review), m'kay?

OK. On to the review.

First things first: THE. WRITING. IS. BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!! Literally some of the best I've ever read.

BRILLIANT.
BRILLIANT.
BRILLIANT.
Just absolutely fucking amazing!

The story is the most boundary-pushing one I've ever read. You have to understand that I went into this series completely blind (by choice). And by that, I mean that I literally did not know anything!!! I didn't even read the blurbs. Usually when I read a book, I know who ends up with who and the general direction of the storyline (I'm not a fan of surprises) but with this series, because it was already so far outside the box, I decided to just accept whatever it dished out and try to remain as open minded as possible.

So this book starts off right after the giant freaking heart-stopping cliffhanger that the previous book left us on that threw the world around Nora into full-out crisis mode. It was so powerful to see the way all these characters that we'd gotten to know over the course of the series come together in this desperate time to work together to help Nora. ALL THE FEELS, I tell you. All the feels.

I'm not going to go into detail on what this crisis is that they're facing but just trust me that it's about as dire, dangerous, and deadly as you can imagine. Everyone's worst nightmare coming to pass.

I started this book rooting for Nora and Wes (as I had been feeling at the end of the previous book), but I have to say that that little part of me that had started warming up to Søren in The Prince was beginning to grow with every page I read. There was just no denying that Nora and Søren had this kind of soulmate forever-til-the-day-I-die love for each other. But my heart still broke for Kingsley and his unrequited love for Søren. What a heart breaking emotional tangle it was.

There was such a intricate web of characters, all bound together by some degree of sexual separation (which alone is fascinating if you think about it), but also bound together by varying and differing measures of the deepest love you can imagine. This is the first time ever that a series has presented and used the concept of people genuinely being in love with (and I mean romantically) more than one person in a way that I not only accepted, but also began to believe and understand.

Oddly enough, some of my favorite scenes in the whole book were Søren's chats with Grace. Grace is the wife of Nora's editor and one of Nora's few female friends it seemed so she was there to help as best she could. The thing is that everyone, other than Nora and Kingsley, was in some way or another terrified of Søren... so I feel like that naturally meant that it was harder to get to know him as a character. But Grace has this kind of calmness to her that just allowed Søren to be himself around her. I almost feel like the way she was around him turned him into a real person if that makes sense. He never treated her with the dominance of the Underground world because she wasn't a part of that, he never had reason to intimidate her because she posed no threat, he didn't have to cause her pain or humiliation because he wasn't trying to sleep with her, she was happily married so there wasn't really any sexual awkwardness between them... and with the thing he held dearest to him in dire jeopardy, he already had everything on the line and she was trustworthy so he genuinely had no reason to hide, there was just no real reason for his walls to be up. So we got to see him. It was the purest form of him as a person that I feel that we'd ever seen so far in the series. No masks or pretences or games. And I loved it. If I had to pin-point the moment that I joined #TeamSøren, that was it. That's when I fell for him, and when I most truly understood his love for Nora.

At first I hated myself for moving to #TeamSøren. I felt all kinds of weird guilt. Like I was betraying my own emotions. Ohhh, my poor mind was so thoroughly fucked with. No, it wasn't even a mind fuck, it was an emotion fuck. A total feel-tangle. Up became down, everything I thought I felt went right out the window and was replaced with this overpowering knowledge that Søren and Nora belonged together.

I feel like I want to go back to my previous reviews and erase everything and just replace it with #TeamSøren #TeamSøren #TeamSøren #TeamSøren #TeamSøren  but... that wouldn't be honest. The truth is that reading this series was a journey of discovery. Along the way, I felt different things based on what I knew, what I thought I knew, and the things I thought I wanted for these characters.

I think I get it though... these characters have so many layers to their histories that as you're reading the series, you can only form opinions on what you know. And up until this point, what I knew led me to be #TeamWesley... but after learning everything that this book showed me, there left no doubt in my mind -- not even a little -- that #TeamSøren was the only team.

I feel like I've definitely come away from this series with a much deeper understanding and respect for the psychology behind BDSM. I mean, I understood it mechanically and very basically from other books I'd read prior to this... but this series opened my eyes to it in a much different way. For these characters, it wasn't just a game, it was a lifestyle. I just feel like I really understood where they were coming from and what fuelled their desires so much more.

And OMG. The way the story built up to the climax was so intense!! My heart was racing!! There were a few moment that I even broke right down crying with the sheer beauty of it. I took deep calming breaths. Even took a tiny break but only a little one because I just COULD NOT STOP READING!!!!

Gahhhhh!! Them in that corner at the end. Just wow. There's just no choice there. No teams. Just them.

Ok now at this point in my review, I've covered the book up until the 85% mark. In the book, this is the conclusion to a big "section" of the book. It has a resolved ending and truly if I had stopped reading at this point, my rating would be a very easy 5+++++ STARS!!!!!!

But the book went on... and honestly, I had several strong issues with a lot of the things that happened after this point so I feel like I need to separate the book's rating up into 3 parts.

0 - 85% in the book: 5+++ STARS
85 - 98% in the book: 3 stars
98 - 100% in the book: I'm just going to pretend this didn't happen

Ok, there are HUGE SPOILERS in this next part of the review, so I've hidden them. You have to click to open them. If you have not yet read this book, I do not recommend you read them. I've written them more for the other people who have already read these books because I kinda just needed to get my feelings out. If you have not read this book or series yet, I still highly recommend that you DO try it. Enjoy the first 3 books and the first 85% of this one with all your hearts, and take the rest of it with an optional grain of salt, but don't allow my feelings on it to stop you from reading this book because it truly is AMAZING!

Ok here goes... click the spoiler below to read more...



I'd like to point out that it wasn't so much that I "didn't like" what happened in this part of the book, but more that I felt that the things that happened were complete "out of character" for Søren and Wesley respectively. I genuinely do not believe that either of them would do the things they did in this part of the book, and I have to say that that was what bothered me (more than the actions themselves).

LAST WARNING: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Wesley first. Ok, to sum it up, I don't find it all that believable that he would have moved on from Nora that fast. I just don't. I think that the path he went down was probably a really good one for his character and I could really see it being a good thing for both of them, but it just felt abrupt to me. Too sudden, too soon. Just... the whole thing felt really off to me.

Now Soren. And this is really where the bigger part of my issues lay...

After three and a half 450-page books of getting to know Søren's character, I can tell you that in my opinion, the character I've come to know would never, ever, EVER have done this action. He's not only more noble than that, he's way the hell smarter than that.

It's very important to distinguish here that there have been many scenes (like the blood-play scene) that I didn't like and that made me uncomfortable, but that I accepted openly because they made sense and were a believable part of Søren's character. The reason I didn't like THIS scene was because it DID NOT make sense and was not at all a believable action for him to have done.

HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD. Seriously, if you haven't read this book, I don't care how curious you are, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS. Trust me. Ok?

So, we all know Nora and Søren have an open relationship -- admittedly, that idea took me a while to warm up to but I've genuinely come to respect and understand it. The one thing though that has been repeated over and over again in the course of the series is that Søren has only ever willingly shared his body with TWO people: Nora and Kingsley (I'm discounting Elizabeth), despite so many countless opportunities thrown at him. Yes, he has other women who sub for him, but that is to satisfy his need for sadism. He doesn't actually ever have sex with them. There's a separation there. And I've come to respect it. So I get why he'd have Grace sub for him (heck, Nora even set it up) so that I could deal with (even though it felt weird to me because the thing I loved most about Grace and Søren's relationship in this book was that it was almost just a real friendship without sexual interferance, but whatever -- 'be openminded' has been my mantra with these books). It felt off to me, but I tried to accept it. But then HE ACTUALLY HAS SEX WITH HER TOO. What? What? Whaaaaaaaaat??!??!?! The fuck?! He's old enough that he's had the chance to sleep with countless women and he never did, but then he actually has SEX? With her?? HUH?? Why?? Who is this guy and where did the Soren I've come to know go?? I just... *shakes head* ... I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it. But FINE. Jeez. Whatever. "Be openminded". I tried, I really tried.

Then we got to the final page and THAT REVEAL?!?! Just no. No. No. No. No. NO. Hell to the fucking NO. I'm sorry, but for so many reasons I just DO NOT believe that he would have EVER allowed that to happen. He's too smart to have had it been an accident. And he cares too much for Nora to have done it without consulting with her first. So just no. I completely reject this part of the story. It was so out of character that I don't believe it happened. This was a harder limit for me than the darkest, kinkiest, most controversial or shocking thing you could ever imagine. I can't accept it. #TeamDenial here.

For me, The Mistress ended wonderfully at 85%. I'm still counting it as one of my top favorite books because holy God, it was BRILLIANTLY done. If for some reason you haven't yet read this book but still chose to read the spoiler (which I hope to hell you didn't!!!), PLEASE don't let this deter you from reading the book because if you do, you'll be missing out on a seriously epic read!!

I hope you can believe me when I say that I really did love the book.
Lol, I'm just completely rejecting this one part of it.

I still love Søren. I still love Wesley. I still love Nora. And Kingsley. And everyone! Ok?




Regardless of anything in that spoiler though, the fantastic thing is that 0 -- 85% of this book is a whole, solid story (it even ends in such a way and is long enough that you could argue that it feels like a complete book) so I would still whole-heartedly recommend this series as a TOP FAVORITE!!!

This series really makes you think. It's thrilling, erotic, and this book had the ultimate emotional mindfuck. This is one of those books you just can't put down. I hung on to each word, drinking in every new secret and revelation. I was in awe of how this author wove so many intersecting storylines together and kept me on the edge of my seat always desperate to turn the next page the whole way through.

The Mistress wraps up The Red Years part of this series. The next four books are called The White Years and they essentially are prequels to The Red Years even though they should be read after. Right now, I'm going to take a little reading break from this series (possibly even waiting until the final book is out in November) and then I'll likely binge-read the last four books together the same as I did with these first four. But I will be back. FOR SURE!!! I love these characters, I love the writing, I love the series, and I absolutely recommend them for anyone who wants something fantastically well written, intensely erotic, and that doesn't play by any of the rules. But rather, it makes it's own... and it comes out on top.

- Note: THESE MUST BE READ IN ORDER -

My review of book #1: http://bit.ly/1I3176u
My review of book #2: http://bit.ly/1JIzQay
My review of book #3: http://bit.ly/1CXMigF
________________________________________

SERIES READING ORDER:
Book #1: The Siren
Book #2: The Angel
Book #3: The Prince
Book #4: The Mistress
Book #5: The Saint
Book #6: The King
Book #7: The Virgin
Book #8: The Queen

_______________________________________

For more of my reviews, book news and updates:
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[Pavlina Read more sleep less blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG OMG I LOVE IT!!!!!!!Seriously this author is trying to give me a heart attack!!!
Tiffany Reisz just has a way of writing…she draws you into her world of sinners and you don't want to left!!

In this book Nora is being held captive by a psychopath with no mercy Kingsley's sister Marie-Laure...
Marie-Laure is furious with Søren....because he broke her heart thirty-years ago...



While Nora entertains Marie-Laure with tales of her own sexual exploits with Søren,Kingsley and Wesley..



Søren,Kingsley,Wesley,Zach's wife Grace and Søren's niece Laila knows who has Nora,and where she is being held...The problem is getting her back without anyone being killed. ..

The set up of this story was like playing a game of chess..everyone was a pawn to the person that took Nora.. The moves were dangerous and one of our Queens will not make it...




Starting to read it..I immediately was swept into the intense and infinite love Søren has for Nora....his Little One...

"Why do you love me so much ,you stupid man?"
"Because I met you."

"I'm your's" she whispered
"I always was.Even when I was with someone else..I was always yours."

"Don't be afraid"
"This life is nothing but one blink of God's eyes.He'll blink
again and we'll be back together."



Finally I want to say that I am team Soren!!!No matter how hard I try to not like him because he is a sadist in this book I love him!!!He is perfect for Nora!!

"Søren isn’t nice.But he’s good."..."He’s the best man of earth.”

Wesley matured a lot in this book!!I loved seeing Wesley stand up to Soren!Also I like his scenes with Laila :))
The biggest surprise for me in this book was Grace.Some of her parts made me tear up!

I was extremely happy with the ending,nostalgic that I will miss the Sinners... but then knowing I will see them again real soon...



For more reviews check our blog!
read more sleep less

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 completely magnificent stars!!!


OMG this book was just amazing! The Original Sinners Series just gets better and better with each book!

The Prince left us with a ginormous cliffhanger... luckily, The Mistress starts off right where The Prince left off. Nora has been kidnapped. We aren’t sure what the kidnapper wants, or who... but it’s pretty clear that everything is just a game to them-



And this game has many players...







Everyone is on a quest to save Nora. What lengths will they be willing to go? I absolutely loved how even though Nora is kidnapped and in a terrible situation, she never loses who she is or her crazy sense of humor. She is still my favorite heroine of all time!



Everyone knows where Nora is, but there isn’t much they can do to get her out with out sacrificing someone else. The person that has her is seriously sick. She wants vengeance for what happened to her long ago. She doesn't care who dies... she just wants someone to...

Søren couldn’t live in a world without Nora. Kingsley couldn’t live in a world without Søren. Her death would be like the sinking of a great ship. She would take them all down with her.

I loved the multiple p.o.v’s through the story- just great! We got to see a little inside everyones head- no Søren, but for some reason, he was very open with Grace so we got to see inside his head a lot through Grace’s pov.

If you had any doubts at all about how much Søren loves Nora, this book will wipe all your doubts away.

"There is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn't do to help you. And nothing I wouldn't do to save you. Nothing."

I was always a little conflicted about their relationship, especially in the first book- now I am 100% team Søren. He is the only one for Nora in my opinion!



Not everything gets tied up in a nice little bow at the end of this book, that is not this author’s style. But- a lot of things were resolved and ultimately, I am happy with most of it. I especially loved the 1:1 with Wes and Søren, then Wes and Kingsley...

“I want her to be safe.”

“You don’t want her to be safe. She is safe with us. You want her to be saved. You can’t save someone-”

“I know. I know... I can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.”

“No. You can’t save someone who doesn’t need to be saved.”

The ending... I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it. I was a little shocked, thats for sure. I wanted more- I need some of the characters reactions to that bomb that was just dropped! I was excited that It set up for Wes and Laila to be together. I loved Wes, but he never belonged with Nora. They are best friends, they love each other, but they just didn’t fit. I was also happy with Kingsley becoming a daddy ;D


In The Siren, I fell in love with Nora. In The Angel, Griffin stole my heart. The Prince, I developed a soft spot for Kingsley... now after reading The Mistress, I love me some Søren! I’m just amazed by Tiffany’s writing- it sucks you in. Beautiful, brilliant, fantastic! Just not enough good things to say about this book! If you haven’t read this series, you are really missing out on some thing great. I can’t wait for the next installment- The Priest! More Søren... CAN’T WAIT!!!!!

‘Love is giving yourself to someone else. Giving yourself to someone else without losing yourself.’

SOREN & NORA
‘I promised you forever.’
‘Forever isn’t long enough.’

“Love versus love, King. you’re comparing infinities. There is no ‘more,’ That’s not how love works. If it’s love, it’s infinite. You can’t count it.”

** ARC provided by Harlequin Publishing, via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.**

[Dinjolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I threw up.
I finished ‘The mistress’ and I – threw up.
Not metaphorically. Not a tiny bit. I literally lost my whole lunch.
Maybe it was food poisoning. Maybe it was just a weird day and I was tired.
Maybe, could be, why not…
…but deep in my heart – I know it was the stress.
The wrongness.
The tight feeling that followed me trough the whole book escalated and brought me down.
There was no tears. Just raw pain. So I find it fitting, and almost poetic when you consider what the basis of the Sinner series was.

Have you ever eaten anything boiled in or covered with squid ink?
It has a pretty taste, but it’s messy, its dark, it’s like your eating something that crawled half dead from hell.
It’s just faulty!
That’s how I felt after this book. I munched, I chewed, I tried….i did. One crumb at a time. But in the end – it just wasn’t in me to except any of it.

Don’t get me wrong. This author is a master.
She has a way with words, and she has magic woven in to her writing. I respect all of her work, and I applaud her creativity.
I just abhor her decisions and direction.

The Sinners have come full circle.
I have come full circle with them.
On this journey I have learned something: I don’t like violence. I don’t like subterfuge. I don’t really dig any unusual things. I don’t like a lot, but I am ultimately tolerant, and I can live it down. The only things that can break me are – broken promises, shattered hearts and raw earthy emotions.
And ‘The Mistress’ broke me oh so well. It did me in.

I don’t know where to start.
I was never completely ok with Nora’s promiscuous lifestyle.
I know people said that because of it she was underdeveloped and lacking, but I just thought that she is the one that gets hurt the most, because deep down – she has wants and dreams, and she understands more then others give her credit for.
Her obsession with sex is a product of her upbringing, the life she lead, and the situations she was in. I don’t think it was in her at the beginning. I don’t think she was born this way (unlike some of the other charcaters), and I don’t think it was her ultimate destiny to be become what she was. I think she was made. And that makes her more open to being wounded.

I feel like even thou so many people fall in love with her spark, they never really see her.

Time and time again I have found Nora left behind. And not just in the obvious situations of King and Sǿren / Grace and Zach / Griffin and Michael. But in the small bits, during the tiny peaces, behind the main scenes. She is constantly alone. Yes, she has these big loves, but in the end – they are always moved by some other people, always influenced by some greater good or bad, some Endgame that is yet to come.
I remember her need to help others (even if her misguided ways are always too sexual) and I think to myself – everybody is always talking about how Sǿren is the ultimate good, that balances out even his bad side. I personally think that Sǿren’s biggest good if – finding Nora. Making Nora. She is the light in the dark, and she is the brains of the operation. All of the others, even Sǿren with his philosophy, and Kingsly with his army – are ultimately just pawns.

Alas, there was a LOT of pawns in this novel. And they all had their chapters and points of view. It was overcrowded, and I was annoyed with the constant appearances of characters that I had no connection to, while people I truly liked/loved were mysteriously absent.
Plus, these ‘new’ characters weren’t even bringing anything to the story. Their ‘insight’ was either boring or insignificant. They were there in order to serve as gimmicks of plot flow.
They are also something that would be tolerated and even normal in the writing of a rookie author, but after 4 full length books and 6 companion novels, I expected more.

I have no idea what Grace was doing in this book. I never liked the idea of her, and I never understood why Zach got back with her. She was a limp dishrag, and she is one still. She debutes as an ultimately lame character, latching on to Nora so she could get some glitter on her skin, a spec of Nora’s brilliance.
She was just this headless chicken, running from scene to scene, and in the end – she was rewarded for it.Yes, rewarded. And I don’t get why.
When the final chapter went down, I found myself betrayed by both Grace and Sǿren.
I felt sick over the fact that he slept with her. I was racked with shivers once I realized he broke his ultimate vow of love –that he would never sleep with anybody but King and Nora- and for who? For what purpose? To appraise that sorry excuse of a woman?

Was he attracted to her? Did he see something in her? Wasn’t he the ultimate oracle, the person that can look in to people’s soules?
How could he not find hers completely empty and lacking?

I also have a very strong suspicion that Nora was convinced he just needed somebody to beat up. Just a regular everyday sub. Let's be realistic - she had a hard time even thinking about Sǿren’s night with Kingsly, and they never talked about it.
Sharing something with Grace, makes it all...soiled.

I was as shocked as Nora when it turned out that Grace and Zach’s baby was indeed Sǿren’s child. I was unable to label it as a happy ending, and I wanted to carve Sǿren in to tiny bits when he laughed over it with Zach, on the phone, in the final scene. It destroyed the previous happy moment in which Sǿren and Nora exchanged promise rings. It was horrible and unfair in light of the fact that Nora was unable to keep King’s baby, all because of circumstances that ultimately revolved around Sǿren, and yet he was completely able to just sprout his seed in to a random somebody, without thinking about the impact this would have on the partner he claims to love more than life.
The whole surprise was lacking as well as disappointing. It almost made me analyze if the Sinners book were all a big a lie. It made me doubt the love, the affection, everything.

Of course, the situation with Wes did not help. His new found love seemed to be stuck on fast-forward, and without a proper build up. When this kind of thing happened in the previous books, it was done almost acceptably, and you were just left to face the music. Alas, in “The Mistress”, the nefarious niece was one horrible plot device that was just supposed to remove an obstacle in the love triangle, duh!
It was poorly executed, and even thou I generally was not ok with the in-your-face sexuality of some scenes featured in the Sinner books, the naïveté and the virginallity of this subplot was highly inappropriate. The blatant sweetness of it was so over the top, it made your teeth ache, and the only thing your mind was able to scream was – fake, fake, FAKE!
In other words – I could find no part of Wes, in this (new?) character. His innocence was replaced by faithlessness and he seemed almost cruel. The way he acted was compleately out of the orbit in which he normally resided. The Wes I knew and loved would have never just throw Nora way after having a tiny glimpse of her and Sǿrens life, he would never not fight for her, and he would most certainly never have sex with another girl while Nora was 2 feet way. No. Not him. Not the person that believed so much in the meaningless of how we treat people and relationships. Not the man that never touched the girlfriend he was in a relationship with – because he loved Nora. No. Just No. So, what the author made him do - completely dischanted the magic that was Wes. It made him seem erratic and juvenile, and ultimately - a flighty partner that was unfaithful to his own supposed emotions.

So, in the end, somehow, this particular book made me disillusioned about love. There was always a lot going on in these series, but the focus was constantly on the strong bonds of a relationship (what ever that relationship may be) Sure, there was the sadism, the pseudo-cheating, the jealousy, but I understood it. Nobody did things just for the sake of it. Nobody was fickle.

Until now.

The strongest characters fell under…temptation? Not even that.
They fell in the name of subplots, page time, and page fillers.
Love was shattered under to feet of newly introduced individuals that I had no connection with. Vows were broken, tears were shed, hearts were stepped on, for no reason at all. Characters lost themselves and my ultimate favorites - Sǿren and Wes – seemed to be kidnapped by aliens and replaced by bad clones.
A good series was ended with a bad book.
And for what? Why? What was the point?
Sadness. That’s all I can feel now.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said not 5 stars - no, not even 55 stars ... how about 5 million stars.

OK, here we go…. Seriously if I had not been writing my review as I read you would be getting nothing from me tonight, or even tomorrow, NADA, NIETS … OK, Mo, you did that already. This author has blown my mind. I love her. I am speechless after reading this. The only addition I added was my trip down memory lane of the poem I learned in school, in a 4 teacher national school in the West of Ireland many moons ago…. Oh, the innocence, the purity, the ignorance. Tiffany Reisz, you are a genius. I have some favourite authors but as of now, you are numero uno. Seriously, this series is brilliant. I see, I just said “seriously” twice in this paragraph …. Shows how much my brain cells are shot to pieces. Just “Shut the fuck up Mo and give your fucking review.” – as Nora might say.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you …”
“Are you one of those priests who fucks the kids in the congregation.”


“Because there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn’t do to help you. And nothing I wouldn’t do to save you. Nothing.”

Well, it has started with a BANG!! I think it is going to be good. This author, I don’t think, can write a bad book…..



LET THE GAME BEGIN …



Glad to see characters from the previous books appearing… Griffin, Yum!



Kingsley, YES!


Wes … don’t really give a damn.


… and the man himself…

“Is he handsome?"
“Is the pope Catholic?”


… and the infamous Ms. Sutherlin



… and Grace and Zach! They are all coming out of the woodwork.


Laila …



and of course…


" ….I gave him my death as a gift. And now I’m taking my gift back."



Only last year Kingsley had read a story in the news about a Catholic priest who’d fallen in love with a woman and married her. The consequence? Excommunication. Strange justice. Priests who molested children were put into counseling. The priests who fell in love with adults were damned. And SØREN wondered why Kingsley had never converted.

Seriously, this author has me thinking all over again about the Catholic Faith…. It is totally outdated. It really needs to rethink its RULES on “celibacy”. I doubt they will EVER give into women clergy…. Not in my lifetime anyway.

He smelled cool, clean like a new fallen snow on a winter’s night.






Gotta love Kingsley ….

"What? Are you the French James Bond or something?
“Of course not. James Bond is vanilla."



"Once upon a time …. I was fucking my friend, Griffin, when the phone rang."




"If I choose you, Little One … I can own you. You would be my property, mine alone."


SACRIFICE ….

"I watched you watch it …. I watched him run his fingers through your hair … I watched you."




Oh, Ms Reisz, you are good, very good indeed.




"IS IT WEIRD HAVING A PRIEST FOR AN UNCLE?"

Try having three priests for uncles … and trust me, none of them looked like HIM! And did I mention that four of my aunts were Nuns. It’s a wonder I didn’t take the vow myself and enter an enclosed order….. think it was the fact that I saw The Sound of Music when I was about 14 and fell in love with Captain von Trapp and thought to myself, "Well if the cloistered life is not for Maria, then it is definitely not for me." Simple as that!

"Sláinte mhaith" SØREN said, his pronounciation of the Celtic words so perfect even her Irish mother would have been impressed.

OMFG, he just spoke in Irish to Grace – Give me this MAN right fucking NOW. I love him.


"I’ve already had five glasses tonight."

"Five? …. I’d be underneath a table in a coma after five glasses of Merlot"



YEAH, me too – Jesus, five glasses of wine – dreadful!


"There’s no shame in being afraid. Even Christ was afraid in the Garden of Gethsemene. He prayed that the cup of his cruxifixion would be taken from him. And he was so scared he sweat blood …."






I swear this author has me wanting go to College and study Theology….


Brilliant, fucking brilliant… because when she did that, I shouted “NO!” One of the kids came downstairs to see was I alright.


I don’t often shed a tear reading a book but when Nora was talking about the later years … about the future.


I am speechless after reading this book. Must admit I had a LOL moment at the Christopher Plummer reference. Great Minds, eh, Tiffany?

Garce and HIM, no way, that was a total NO GO AREA for me. Not sure why she included it - probably because we are going to have the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 9 months later. That was my only gripe with the book.

"THE BALLAD OF FATHER GILLIGAN
William Butler Yeats.

The old priest Peter Gilligan
Was weary night and day;
For half his flock were in their beds,
Or under green sods lay.

Once, while he nodded on a chair,
At the moth-hour of eve,
Another poor man sent for him,
And he began to grieve.

'I have no rest, nor joy, nor peace,
For people die and die';
And after cried he, 'God forgive!
My body spake, not I!'

He knelt, and leaning on the chair
He prayed and fell asleep;
And the moth-hour went from the fields,
And stars began to peep.

They slowly into millions grew,
And leaves shook in the wind;
And God covered the world with shade,
And whispered to mankind.

Upon the time of sparrow-chirp
When the moths came once more.
The old priest Peter Gilligan
Stood upright on the floor.

'Mavrone, mavrone! the man has died
While I slept on the chair';
He roused his horse out of its sleep,
And rode with little care.

He rode now as he never rode,
By rocky lane and fen;
The sick man's wife opened the door:
'Father! you come again!'

'And is the poor man dead?' he cried.
'He died an hour ago.'
The old priest Peter Gilligan
In grief swayed to and fro.

'When you were gone, he turned and died
As merry as a bird.'
The old priest Peter Gilligan
He knelt him at that word.

'He Who hath made the night of stars
For souls who tire and bleed,
Sent one of His great angels down
To help me in my need.

'He Who is wrapped in purple robes,
With planets in His care,
Had pity on the least of things
Asleep upon a chair.'"

[~IreneOust~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

6+ stars ...

WHAT AN EPIC FINALE! Tiffany's brilliance knows no bounds!!! BRAVO, Ms. Reisz! BRAVO!!!





To say that nothing else compares to this series would be a ginormous f*cking understatement!

The final installment of this epic saga didn't dissapoint this Original Sinners' fan in the slightest. Talk about writing a perfect finale!

I am not about to recap the whole book for you because you are either A: about to read it or B: have read it so why bother, right? I would like to say this though: the fact that this book was written and presented to us as one wicked chess game was damn brilliant, to say the least! Certain characters took center stage in this book which, once again, was brilliantly done and done for a reason. If you happened to miss that reason then ... your loss, I guess. I thought another nice touch was how big part of the story was told via flashbacks (Nora's stories). Even though some of those things we did learn about in the past, it was nice/helpful to hear them from a different POV.

What else ... ah, yes ... Wes. He did get a chance to redeem himself (in my eyes) because, quite frankly, the kid annoyed me to death in The Prince. I guess it all worked out in the end and the boy is right where he belongs. Finally.

All in all, I am happy with the outcome of this series and that is all that really matters! I can't wait for the prequels to start rolling in. Nora/Søren/King relationship way back when??? Yes, PLEASE!!!


Favorite quote:

“I was going to pay every penny I had to get you back .... Every penny I could beg, borrow or steal. And he…he went to pay with his life.”




*** April 22, 2012

I can not wait for this book!!! However, to quote Ella Frank's "Blind Obsession": "... waiting is often the best part of a story,” ... “After all, once you know the story, it’s over.” Reading this will definitely be bittersweet ... I can't wait to read the ending yet I don't want this story to end.

[Eda** · Rating 5 out of 5]

** 5 +++ "checkmate" STARS**

"Don't be afraid," he whispered against her lips. "This life is nothing but one blink of God's eyes. He'll blink again, and we'll be back together."

I've been avoiding this moment for the last 3 days. Why? Because I still get teary-eyed every time I start thinking about this series. Because I am still haunted by the story, the characters, the message of love in these books. Because I am still a mess over how everything turned out at the end. Happy, but still hopelessly ruined.

I can almost hear you guys saying “Dude… This is an erotica. A very explicit and unconventional one. What gives?” *sigh* It’s very hard to explain, really. There are these books that you read and they just touch some deep spot inside your soul, changing your view of life and love, making you a different person. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS. I know it's weird to get emotional over a book that consists of lots of sex, but this story is so much more than that, trust me.



I've praised Tiffany Reisz enough already in my reviews for the previous books in the series, but I can't help it! It's unbelievable how f*cking brilliant this woman's writing is. You just get on this crazy roller-coaster of a story, buckle up, and let the words take you away to forbidden places. It's almost as if this brilliant woman puts you in front of a mirror, forces you to reflect on who you are, what you believe, where your life is going and all you can do is say “Yes, Mistress Reisz.”.



The presentation of the story as a chess play was unexpected but very much appreciated. If you are a chess player yourself and know the pieces and moves, it helps you immensely to understand the purpose of and meaning after some of the events that may fail to make sense at first glance. If you're not familiar with the game, then I suggest you make a 'lil Google search before starting to read it ;)

As for the story itself...I'm not going to spill anything. It needs to be experienced first hand, so I'm going to allow you the chance to do exactly that: Experience.



The Queen / ♕ / Nora: For once, I actually admired this wildcard's every word and action. She was absolutely fearless and never lost her faith, her integrity. Thank God she made all the right choices this time.

The Bishop / ♗ / Søren: There are no words to properly explain the perfection of this man. If anyone still had doubts about the purity of his heart, I'm sure it would all go away after this book. He is one of those characters that will never leave me, even if 10 years pass. I will always remember him whenever I smell pine on a cold winter day...

The King / ♔ / Kingsley: Mon roi. My King. My poor, tortured soul. The biggest reason for my over-the-top obsession with this series. He has everything he ever wanted now and I am on cloud nine for him! My search around the world for the King of Kink, the King of the Underground, the King of the 8th Circle...for the sexiest Frenchman ever, Kingsley Edge, will never end! Mark my words you guys...I WILL FIND THAT MAN EVENTUALLY! ;)



The Knight / ♘ / Wesley: This boy has been and still is the most confusing character in the series. One minute, I hate him for his immaturity and the next minute, I love him for his big and tender heart. It's not easy to be the dark duckling between all the whites, and it's equally hard to be the only white duckling between the dark ducks of the 8th Circle. He did the best he could and I couldn't be happier that he finally got his HEA.

The Pawn / ♙ / Laila: I knew the purpose of her inclusion to the story way before she actually came in. I knew it at the mere mention of her name and her picture on Father Søren's desk in the church. And I am so happy about the ending for her part of the story. She was a pawn but she is a Queen now.

The Rook / ♖ / Grace: The only character that got on my nerves. Not even the evil bitch Marie-Laure pissed me off as much. Grace's every move, every word, every “dreamy look” made me cringe and my hands to grip my e-reader tighter to not throw it across the room. I hated that she left for home back to her husband Zack with an ENORMOUS gift from Søren. And that's the only thing I disliked about this book. But I will even let that slide, because let's not kid ourselves...this book deserved no less than 5 stars! :)

I want so terribly to start reading The White Years now, but I feel like I need a break from all the emotional turmoil these characters dump on me. That said, I don't know how the hell I'm going to move on from this goddamn series while I've been dreaming about it for the last 3 nights. I'm in such an eternal blankness that I can't even enjoy the new books I read!

It's safe to say, Tiffany Reisz has royally ruined me for other authors. GOD HELP ME... :)



P.S: If any of you are curious about a certain mysterious young French boy (No, not Kingsley...but you're close.), then you may want to read this:

CHRISTMAS IN SUITE 37A

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** ♥ BuddyRead with my lovely pal Sandyღ ♥ **

Thank you so much for being supportive at any point that I got too emotional and started talking nonstop, baby! And also for understanding why it is so hard to let go of all these crazy-heads...

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[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've come full circle...

...and so I will now go back to my rating for book 1. Books 2 and 3 were wonderfully dark and fluid reads, which were book-ended by a series beginning and ending that were knitted together to form a continuous entity.

The Original Sinners series is definitely different. It's going to push you out of your comfort zone. I remember reading the first book and feeling unsure how to feel about this journey that I'd started. Then I read books 2 and 3 and couldn't put them down. Who knew that I'd come to fall for a set of darkly twisted individuals? Whatever it is that's going on here, surely there's some voodoo magic involved because I kept wanting to know more.

This is not really a review, but more a long ramble of my thoughts. I had quotes but decided to just free form this. Potential mild spoilers ahead if you haven't read up through book 3 of the series.

First, a few smallish complaints.

~ I could have done without Zach and Grace in this series. The story would have stood on its own without their presence. Grace as a pal for Nora? Uh, okay. That situation felt too forced, as if we were being coerced into believing these two women fell so easily into a friendship. Grace exploring her sexuality without Zach? Again I say...uh, okay. I could honestly care less.

As much as I wanted other women in this series to take some of the worship away from Nora and her magical vagina (dude, even the book said so, which made me laugh hard), I didn't think bringing Grace in for the final book was the solution. Her part in the story felt completely tacked on, almost as if it needed to be there in order to justify why Zach was a character in book 1.

~ Going to go ahead and tag my usual (yes, I seem to have one every review, so most of this isn't new) Nora rant, so if you'd prefer not to read my Nora frustrations, don't click this. It's no secret that I've never been a fan of Nora. I still feel like after 4 books that I know nothing about her other than everything she does and thinks about is tied to sex, even her job as an author and the friendships that she keeps. WHO is she as a person, outside of her sexual identity? Before you hit me with the obvious answer that this is erotica, let me riddle you this : We know all about who Soren is with his faith and calling, and who Wesley is and wants to be - and what moves them. Why didn't we get to know more about Nora, other than a laundry list of what makes her appealing to other people (most of it physical or aesthetic/presentation in nature, such as her infectious laugh). Even in the most sexually-free environment, there has to be more about a person which shapes them than their desire to be poly-amorous and have sex whenever and however it suits them. It's perfectly (and I truly mean this) fine that she's not going to be a married mom living in suburbia, but I felt like I never really got to know her outside of her surface personality-traits and looks. What about hobbies, goals, future plans, etc?

I'm actually a bigger fan of young Eleanor. She liked to steal cars (hey at least she had one non-sexual hobby). The upcoming White Years series looks like it will be interesting, as we will be traveling back in time to life before the Original Sinners.

~ The entire kidnap portion of the story served as a vehicle for flashbacks, a few of which I skimmed. I can't put my finger on it, but something just didn't hold my interest with this book the way I was glued to the pages with books 2 and 3.

But let's get back to the goodness, shall we?

~ As usual, the Wes part of the story was the big highlight for me. Soren only gets yummier and yummier. Soren plus Wes in the same room = entertaining.

~ The Griffin and Michael interlude gets two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

~ I liked the addition of Soren's niece. She was cute and I was a big fan of the role she played in the story.

~ Nora did have a great scene near the end with Soren. I can't spoil it, but she was awesome with what she did. I thought it felt like one of those "long time coming" situations.

The negative in this review probably makes it look like I didn't care for the book, which isn't true. I loved many of the character interactions and the sex scenes never disappointed. I do wish that the amount of flashbacks were scaled down because those dragged the story out to the point where I was thinking that at least a couple of the non-pivotal recollections could have been saved for another book.

The Mistress wasn't a bad series ender, but it wasn't on par with the previous book in the series. I'll be rating this as a marginal success - definitely worth the read for sure, and I'm thankful for the fair amount of closure that we got. I would still recommend it for anyone looking to dabble in the realm of dark erotica. You won't find many authors out there who are able to seamlessly intermingle eroticism with a clever literary style the way Ms. Reisz can.

This book provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Mimi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

First of all-do NOT read these books out of order. There's no point. If you are reading this review prepare to be spoiled about the rest of the series. I'll spoiler tag anything that is a spoiler to this book.

After weeks of stalling I finally decided writing this review is not gonna get any easier. High expectations are a bitch. And so many conflicting emotions an even bigger one. But if I'm to untangle all that I felt about this book, I'm going to have to go one step at the time...Like in the book.

The Queen

AKA - The Mistress. Nora is right where we left her. Or near enough. She's been kidnapped by Marie-Laurie the crazy ho. Seems like Kingsley's sister and Soren's wife has always been a psycho and now she's back for some kind of revenge. Nora's in a bind, so to speak. But she still has her words and although she doesn't want to give Marie-Laurie precious bits of herself and the men she loves, she'll use her words, he stories, her wild past to prolong this and save herself.

There's a lot of backtracking in this one. We see the past through Nora's eyes, and I can see the necessity-we need to see how and why she makes the choices that she does - but I still would have loved more of the present. There was one menage scene that was *gulp*. I went a little blind there, I think.

And you know what: I finally completely like Nora. She's so free in her skin, her choices, her love. She's unrestrained. And don't we all wish to be, deep down? I also feel she made the only choice she could have, should have to keep true to herself.

“Love versus love. King, you’re comparing infinities. There is no ‘more.’ That’s not how love works. If it’s love, it’s infinite. You can’t count it."

How true. You don't love someone "more". You love them differently. Although, just from a mathematical viewpoint, some infinities are larger than others. Just sayin'.

The King

Ah, Kingsley.... Je t'aime. He and Nora really are kindred spirits. He's just as wild and unpredictable. Wholly his own person, he does what he wants and live that way as well. Now he's facing a difficult situation to say the least. His sister is...alive. He's blamed himself for her death for thirty years and she's alive. And now he might have to kill her to save Nora, whom he loves and hates, but is his family in truth. He's heading to them, both of them to resolve it all... After tying up Soren, of course (for his own good!)

Wesley’s eyes widened when he took in the scene. On the floor, at the end of the biggest red bed he’d ever seen in his life, sat Søren, his blond head bowed, his eyes closed. “Talk away. He may not talk back, however.”
“What the hell…?”
“He threatened to call the police,” Kingsley said matter-of-factly. “The police, the church and all city, state and federal authorities. I couldn’t allow that. For his sake.”
“So you…”
“Sedated him. And handcuffed him. He’ll be out another hour at least with the shot I gave him.”
“You drugged Søren?”

“I’m a pacifist. I don’t believe nonconsensual violence is ever justified. I am trying to remember that I’m a pacifist so I don’t murder Kingsley where he stands.”

Just to think, such great conflict. Together with the place King and Soren's relationship was left in The Prince, it could've been so good... Sadly, we don't see much of King. I wanted more! It could've been awesome.

*Sigh*. Oh, well, it is what it is. I am satisfied with the way things were left with him. Ecstatic, even :)

I love, LOVE this scene.

“‘Jacob have I loved,’” Kingsley said in English once more. “‘Esau have I hated.’ Romans 9:13. I paid attention in school sometimes.”
“Not nearly enough attention.”
“I was preoccupied.”
“Obviously. You learned all the wrong verses. First Samuel 18:1. ‘And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.’ First Samuel 20:16-17. ‘So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord even require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved as he loved his own soul.’ Second Samuel 1:26. ‘I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan…thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.’”
Kingsley stared at Søren and found he couldn’t speak.
Søren smiled at his sudden muteness.
“Don’t get into a scriptural pissing contest with a Jesuit priest, Kingsley,” Søren chided. “You’ll lose every time.”

An, just LOL. Who can come up with this, but the King:

“Our Nora has a magic pussy. It’s the opposite of the Bermuda Triangle. Lost men sail into it and then find themselves.”

The Knight

Oh, Wes. If I met you in real life, I would probably jump on you and never let go... Here, though...

Wes is lost. He just proposed to Nora (and she said yes!) and then someone took her away. This is not something he's used to. He doesn't know what to do. He's just afraid and forced to interact with all the other men in her life. He just can't fit Soren and Kingsley with his version of reality and right vs. wrong. Men don't hit women. Yet, these do. Even though it's consensual, he just can't accept it.

He's doing some soul-searching, too. Someone helps him deal with the situation.

In any case, I barely stopped myself from skipping his scenes. I like him, I swear! It's just in the company of such vivid and outrageous characters, when kidnappings and whatnot are happening, he's...normal. And I understand the need for that, but... *shrug*. That's just me.

The Pawn

Laila, Soren's niece, is introduced here for the first time, with reason. I won't say anything more, because anything is a spoiler. She's nice and bubbly, though.

The Rook

Grace... I really don't get the need for this storyline in this book. It's not that I hate Grace or anything, it's just: I'm not a fan of where this all went. While reading, I was just thrown from one extreme to the other. This culminated in the very ending Why, why, why did Soren sleep with her?? I thought he only did that with people he loved. And why would she want to be the submissive, hurt and all. Yes, I get it, to earn "it". But c'mon! And the baby! Still don't know how to feel about the baby.... In the end, I can accept everything (reluctantly, but I can). But, again-necessity? Those things felt out of character to me. I would've far preferred to see more of the "after". Something not in the past, simply about my favorite characters. There's apparently some connection to the bible, but...again.

After thinking about it a bit, I did see that Grace was the character through which we got to see Soren, his secrets and feelings, unbiased, since we'll never have his POV. But, still.

Religion

I have to say this. I know many people won't read this because they are religious and the whole Soren's a priest thing is very unnerving. But it is NOT written for shock value or to besmirch faith in any way. In fact, Ms. Reisz is and has always been a believer.

I'm an atheist. And as hard as it is to believe, these books showed me a more beautiful side of faith than I have ever seen before. Is it a contradiction? Yes, but there it is. There is a quote in The Prince, and I now know the feeling.

“Theresa of Avila…she wrote once that she didn’t love God
and didn’t want to love God, but she wanted to want to love
God.”

Fin

You know, I'll always love Tiffany Reisz. She writes beautifully, with such vivid colors and strong emotions. She creates characters I love and worry over. Obsess over, even. They are real and fallible and amazing. You can see the strings and knots of love all connecting them. Here I wasn't a fan of some events and decisions, but that doesn't mean I don't remain a fan of TR. After all... I did read this book and couldn't stop till I was done, at about 4 am or something. And I would really want to see what happens next for these characters. After finishing, I was sure there was something I was missing. An epilogue or something, because I was in shock. But, no. And maybe that was how TR wanted to finish it, with everyone feeling strongly and wanting more. Still... Pretty please?

I look forward to The Priest. C'mon, imagine younger Nora exasperating Soren. Love it!

“You call her Little One?”
“I always have. She was a teenager when we met. A very ill-mannered teenager. She demanded to know why I was so tall. She insinuated I had grown this tall simply for attention.”

“I explained to her that I was tall so I could hear God’s voice better. And since I was taller and could hear Him better, she should always listen to me. That didn’t sit very well with her. She retorted the next day with a verse from Psalm 114. ‘The Lord keeps the little ones.’ Her biblical proof that God prefers short people. I started calling her Little One after that. It helped us both remember she belonged to God first.”

ETA I have no idea how I missed this the first time I read it, but knowing the ending it makes a lot of sense and is kind of awwww.

“Will I be a hero in your stories? Or the villain?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” Nora confessed. “But I promise you this…I will give you the last laugh.”
“Then that’s all I can ask.”
“And after I give you the last laugh, I’ll put my pen away and I’ll fall asleep. And when I wake up, you and I will be back together. I’ll be fifteen again and you’ll be twenty-nine and it will all start over again—you and I. That’s how I’ll know I’m in heaven.”

And so came about, "The Saint", LOL.


I spoiler-tagged all the info I gathered about the book and posted here before reading it below.

Coming Summer 2013

-----4/23/2013------

Teasers for The Mistress and the Mistress files here

------Updated 2/3/2013-------

Two more things. Well three if you count reassurances :)

"You will looooooooooove the ending. I think. I love it. Made me want to do cartwheels."

#1-Two ppl you never imagined get together get together.
#2-Someone from Nora's past shows up.

-TR

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From the Goddess herself: HINTS, TEASERS & SPOILERS

Not a day passes online that one of my readers doesn't call me a sadist. Some writers might take this as an insult, but in the world of The Original Sinners, it's something of a compliment. Even if it wasn't I could hardly argue. I left my readers at the end of The Prince (book three in the series) with a nasty cliffhanger. My leading lady, Mistress Nora Sutherlin, is gone. Poof. Vanished. All that we know is someone from Kingsley and Søren's past is involved, someone with a grudge.

Like Søren, I wear my sadist badge proudly. I knew from the moment I started plotting all the books in the series that book three would end with the proverbial excrement hitting the metaphorical oscillator. I have a Dominatrix for a leading lady. She's tough as nails, funny and fearless, and almost congenitally incapable of settling down with just one man and behaving herself for more than five minutes at a time. But it's easy to be funny and fearless when your only opponents are a grumpy editor or a nosy reporter. I wanted to see how tough my Nora really is. I wanted her to face real danger, real mortal peril and see how she took it. For years now she's been dishing out the pain. I wanted to see how well she could take it.

In book four, The Mistress, Nora awakes and finds herself in the clutches of an old enemy who is holding her hostage. Nora knows she has to give her captors a reason to keep her alive. She buys time by telling stories, turning into a modern-day Scheherazade. Unlike Scheherazade, however, Nora's stories are true, not legends. When interrogated over the supposed sins of her past, Nora spins erotic tales of the most important men in her life — Wesley, Kingsley, and Søren — and the passionate nights she spent with them.

In story number one, she is forced to explain why she loves Wesley, a young man so entirely different from her and her world. In her second story, she reveals a dark secret about Kingsley and then tells her captor something about Søren even Kingsley doesn't know. In her final story, she explains the origin of her most precious possession, an item her captor threatens to burn if Nora can't choose once and for all who she loves more — Søren or Wesley. The stories buy her would-be rescuers desperately needed time. And when Kingsley overhears one of her stories while he's trying to save her, everything he thought he knew about love is called into question.

In book one, The Siren, Nora's writing comes between her and the men she loves. In book four, The Mistress, Nora's way with words might be the only thing between her and certain death.

"Tell me a story."

"You're going to have to talk to my agent," Nora said. "She handles all the book deals."

"Damon?"

Damon stepped forward again, knife at the ready.

"Once upon a time," Nora began...

- Tiffany Reisz

___________________________________________________



Release date July 30th. Available for pre-order as of now.

Oh, and there's a synopsis:

Nora Sutherlin is being held, bound and naked. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captor isn't interested in play. Or pity.

As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories-sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realizes, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It's a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment.

But in Nora's world, no one is ever truly powerless-a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak....

What, what, what does that mean?????

Scheherazade? I don't mind the sensual stories, or the flashbacks, most likely, and we'll probably travel through those, and the boys' point of view, as Nora figures out where her future lies through her past, and is eventually rescued. that's just my thought on this.

----------------
Which is forever away, right? Especially since the book is done and in the hands of editors and publishers.

Anyhow, because after The Prince I became all obsessed about what could happen and what the future brings, not to mention I'm in lust with many of the characters, I started following (*cough* stalking *cough*) Mistress Reisz on Twitter in the hopes of finding out some tidbits. Since the aforementioned Goddess is very active there, here's some info about the upcoming book ant the Sinners in general. It's all jumbled up and if you conclude something useful, you're a rock star!

- Grace will become a main character, because she has something to say and she does it in Welsh
- Another main character will be introduced
- There was a good reason Soren held his distance from King and we find it out here
- This book will be full of "mind fucks", twists and emotions
- Soren apparently becomes chattier here, and we'll learn more about the person who taught him how to be a dominant, as well as about his mother.
- Kingsley and Nora are a bit like siblings. They love each other, hate each other, fight and make up-only not quite as siblings, oui?
- Juliette and Soren are the only two loves of Kingsley's life and we'll find out more about her in The King
- Soren's safe word is Eleanor not because he needs it, but because she makes him feel safe
- The ending will be a cause for cartwheels, firework and celebration, so HEA, only we don't know in which form
- To all concerns expressed by the fans about Wes/Soren/Nora/Kingsley, Ms Reisz replies: Don't worry. I've got this, which means probably no one dies
- Soren will never stop being a priest and Wes will never be kinky.
- Nora will never have babies, just not who she is
- Nora'd be unhappy if she lived straightly vanilla, bc Nora is many things but vanilla isn't one of them.
"But Nora's not vanilla. Wes would never hurt her which is a nightmare for a kinky woman."
Wes: "I think that's the attraction for Nora. He's not in her intense world. He's a vacation from it."
-"You can't even begin to guess what I do with Wes, Nora, and Soren so don't even try."
- Oh, and not all is what it seems so far. And that final scene-with the proposal, something was going down then we knew nothing about but we'll learn what.
-"NOTHING is coincidence. Zach being Jewish isn't even a coincidence. That will mean something eventually."
-" He had said things to hurt Kingsley, why not admit it? *that what King said hurt him* It IS a great question that gets answered in book 4."
-"All priests are sexual beings with desires and sexual feelings. Soren had every intention of being celibate. He can be a celibate sadist. He fell in love and that changed everything,"
-No Soren POV. Ever.
-Griff and Mick will have more novellas later on.

Fear not! I have an equally awesome series planned.
It's contemporary urban fantasy. One of the main characters is the devil. He wears guyliner. He's like a male unfiltered Nora. Yes, he makes Nora look like a saint.

Oh, and The Priest will probably be out in early 2014.

ARC received from Harlequin via Netgalley

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 'Love is infinite' stars

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered against her lips. “This life is nothing but one blink of God’s eyes. He’ll blink again, and we’ll be back together.”

“Love versus love. King, you’re comparing infinities. There is no ‘more.’ That’s not how love works. If it’s love, it’s infinite. You can’t count it.”

First read: 17 Jul 2017 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Re-read: 10 Mar 2020 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Warning: the usual stuff. If you've been reading my reviews for this series then you should've already been aware of possible spoilers because I get carried away when Sinners are concerned, lots of mushy moments because I just can't help myself, too many quotes because it's so hard to choose and me raving about how much I adore Kingsley and Søren and all the sinners.

The Mistress is the last book in The Red Years Quartet and it is in a way the end of a certain storyline. Secrets are revealed, unanswered questions gets answered, debts are paid... but on the other hand, the end is only a new beginning. And that's what The White Years Quartet is all about - the new beginning. But let's not get too much ahead.

There is so much going on in The Mistress. I think it's the most unique book in the entire series. It has many POVs (five to be precise), the pace of the story is very fast and it's more like erotic romance - slash - mysterious thriller. Therefore, it's quite difficult to say anything without giving away too much and spoil the delightful surprises. That's why I'm gonna give you my review in beautiful and wonderful quotes.

Jabberwocky, Nora, age eighteen, had answered on the day Søren started training her. I always loved that monster.
He was always my favorite monster, Søren had said.
And Nora, then still just Eleanor, remembered smiling at him, kissing him...
You’re my favorite monster, she said against his lips.

***********************************

“I knelt at his feet because I felt like that’s where I belonged. And no, not because I was so unworthy of him, but because he was so utterly worthy of my devotion.”

I always found this quote to be powerful. It really shows how equal Søren and Nora are in their relationship. Nora owns Søren as much as he owns her.

“Mon roi,” she whispered, and Kingsley’s heart clenched at the name she called him only in their most private moments. “Please, be safe. I need you.”
A thousand times she’d whispered that to him...breathed it across silk sheets as she crawled to him, moaned it into his ear as he entered her. But those words had a new meaning now that had nothing to do with passion anymore.
“I need you, too,” he said. “I need you to do as I tell you. Stay there. Stay safe. You’ll be home soon.”

One of the most tender and beautiful scenes in the book. I'm glad that despite Juliette being far away, she and Kingsley still get to share this precious moment of love.

“Søren loved Kingsley...loves Kingsley,” she corrected. There was no past tense with Søren. When he loved, what he loved, who he loved, he loved eternally. “Sometimes the only way to show someone you love them is to let them go. It’s hard, though. It’s so fucking hard.”

***********************************

“But you must know it takes nothing away from us, away from my love for you, any more than my love for you takes anything away from what I feel for him. Not that he understands that.”

Heartbreakingly beautiful!! All these emotions!! Among all the love stories in this series, I always felt the most for Søren and Kingsley. Probably because they had to walk the roughest path to finally be together.

Nora regretted every last time she’d told Søren she hated him. Hopefully, he knew she never meant it, that she only said it because she didn’t know how else to tell him how annoying it was to be loved that much by someone who was so right all the damn time about everything.

***********************************

“I always loved you. I never once stopped loving you. All those times I said I hated you, I never meant them, not once. I loved every part of you, every secret, every sin. I love what you are and what you do and how you make me feel so scared and so safe all at the same time.”

As far as love declarations go, this one is everything!!

There were so many more beautiful moments in this book. Between Griffin and Michael, between Zachary and Grace, I could say among all the characters. The whole book is like an ode to love. The love between lovers, love between friends, family love. But unless I copy the whole book in my review, there is not a single chance I can give justice to have much I loved this story. If you want a book to inspire you, that is the one.

B(R)R with my Sinner Ladies ❤❤❤❤❤ Melanie, Ursy, Leila, and Whitney. What an awesome journey we've had so far and we are only at the half of it.
*************************************

5 'Jabberwocky' stars
5 'Wings' stars
ALL THE 'BEAUTIFULLY HEARTBREAKING, STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS AND WONDERFULLY AMAZING' STARS

5 'Love is infinite' stars
5 'Everything 💘 Forever' stars
ALL THE 'DELIGHTFULLY KINKY AND EMOTIONALLY OVERWHELMING' STARS
5 'King and his Jewel' stars
5 'Kings and Queens' stars

[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 5 out of 5]

***5 CHECKMATE Stars***

Chess is a beautiful Mistress

As a lover and player of chess I thought Ms. Reisz did a brilliant job with her chess metaphors. I spent a lot of time thinking about each chess move and the players!

The story picks up right where The Prince left us hanging. We know Nora's been kidnapped by Marie-Laure.

"I gave them my death as a gift...and now I'm taking my gift back."

All of our favorite characters from the three previous books return along with one character from a novella. They are all involved in this game of chess. Each has a role to fulfill.

Which Queen will win? The White Queen or the Black Queen?

In the game of chess; the Queen protects her King.

I'm Team Wesley and the chapter PROMOTION was well done. *don't read until you finished the book* A Promotion in Chess is when a pawn makes it across the board and then can be made into any piece.
Every Pawn can become a Queen! And that is exactly what Laila did with Wesley. She will become the Queen of Kentucky.

The ending has left me speculating! I do know one thing for sure that Ms. Reisz is like our beloved, Soren- a sadist!

SERIES:

Must be read in order. Big cliffhanger in book 3. Series is complete.

**ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

[Maida»-(¯`v´¯)-» · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4 Forever. Everything. Hearts!! <3

Søren couldn’t live in a world without Nora. Kingsley couldn’t live in a world without Søren. Her death would be like the sinking of a great ship. She would take them all down with her.

The Mistress is everything we've come to love about Tiffany Reisz's writing; flawless, packed with emotion and transcendental. It's quite breathtaking just how effortlessly the prose captures our interest and doesn't let go even long after the last page is flipped.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered against her lips. “This life is nothing but one blink of God’s eyes. He’ll blink again, and we’ll be back together.”

I'm going to keep this short, for my sanity. I've made peace with this book, and that's all that matters.

When he loved, what he loved, who he loved, he loved eternally.

The first 85%: 5+++++++ Hearts. So much raw emotions from all characters. I loved Søren, Kingsley, Nora and Wes's POVs. But what I loved the most is the love these characters have for one another. Søren's for King and Nora. Nora's for Wes and Søren. Simply beautiful. After this, I can say I love Søren, but I love him even more with Kingsley.

“First Samuel 18:1. ‘And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.’ First Samuel 20:16-17. ‘So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord even require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved as he loved his own soul.’ Second Samual 1:26. ‘I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan...thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.””

And Kingsley Théophile Boissonneault, this man. WOW. I have never been so soul-deeply entrenched in a male character's emotions as I was with his. I felt his pain, his struggles, and his endless love for Søren; I felt it to my bones. I've said this with the previous books, but I can't write out my feelings when they're so complex. There are no words to describe my infinite love for this broken, utterly beautiful soul. All I can say is, He is loved by me. Always. Forever. With Everything I am. <3 <3 <3

“Sometimes the only way to show someone you love them is to let them go. It’s hard, though. It’s so fucking hard.”

The last 15%: It's not about what I wanted, it's more I didn't accept it for the characters who've become so endearing to me, changed in a snap. I'll leave it at that.

“Love versus love. King, you’re comparing infinities. There is no ‘more’. That’s not how love works. If it’s love, it’s infinite. You can’t count it.”

This series has been such an emotionally turbulent journey, but I have nothing but words of happiness and joy at finally having been a part of this stunning world of sin, unconventional happenings, and above all, love. Thank you Søren, Kingsley, Nora, Wes, Griff, Michael and Tiffany Reisz for taking me in and making me see a world beyond my own, and making me fall irrevocably in love with that world. For that you have my forever love and gratitude. Many Waters...

“I know that love is giving yourself to someone else. Giving yourself to someone without losing yourself.”

Really looking forward to The White Years!!

“Jeg elsker deg, min lille en, Du tilhører mig.”
I love you, Little One. You belong to me.

Thank you soooo much to Stephanie for holding my hand through this epic journey, and letting me vent even in the wee hours of the morning. Love you to pieces, woman!! xoxoxo



Posted: February 1, 2017

[Allison ❤️Will Never Conquer Her TBR❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK! It's been twelve hours and I can't compose myself enough to compose a non-ranting review. WTF just happened!



Mistress Tiffany, I bow to you! I fear your crazy mind! You are The Queen of Allison mind fucks!



*Deep breath*Let's get the ramble on....do not proceed if you haven't read up through The Prince as it has spoilers from that book.





The Mistress, the final installment of The Original Sinners series was composed based on a chess game. I had NO
clue how to play chess and google was very helpful, as well as (shout out) Amy on Goodreads. It's good to read up on each piece as the characters in the book fit in their placement of the story.

The White King-


Marie-Laure abducts Nora at the end of The Prince. She's obviously alive and is ready to meet her King again. They think she's dead....they're wrong. She will lure the king to her before taking him.....and the best way to get to the King is to lure him with Nora.

The White Queen-


Nora, abducted by this psycho bitch, is being held captive in Soren's childhood home. She's forced to tell Marie-Laure tale after tale of her history with Kingsley or Soren..... This twisted bitch seems to get off on it.

The Black Queen-


Marie-Laure has all her pieces in place. She's got his Queen. He will come for her....and she will have him back....her husband back. Dead or alive.

The Knight-


Wesley can't believe he'd been hit upside the head and Nora taken from his stables. As much as he despises Soren, he makes the call. He has to find her. He loves his Nora. If its the last thing he does, she will be his. He will take her away from all this twisted, sadistic lifestyle.

The King-


Kingsley knows the minute he reads the writing in blood on the walls saying "Love thy sister" who's behind the fire in Soren's bed, the fire in Nora's house...and the abduction of Nora. He will get her back safely. He will NOT let her lure Soren. He will protect them both to the death.....but in the end, could he kill his sister?

The Rook-


Grace reappears in the story while visiting Manhattan while Zachary is in Australia. She's strangley interested in the Eighth Circle. When she meets Soren in person, she's drawn to him like no other man. He's truly almost God-like. Now she knows what Nora finds so addictive. She becomes Soren's sounding board during the hours of waiting.....

The Pawn-


Laila is Soren's niece visiting from Denmark. A surprise visit Marie-Laure construed to lure her into this sorted game. Beautiful, 18-year old Laila is fiercely loyal to her Uncle Soren and Aunt Elle.

So, there the set-up. No spoilers here. The book has to be experienced. Any potential spoilers in my ensuring RANT shall be hidden for those who've also succumbed to this mind fuck of a book!



I loved how the book was divided into each character (each piece). We begin to see the story unfold and what each person's role was in the end..... We also get great flashbacks to the history between Nora and Kingsley or Nora and Soren via Marie-Laure's curiosity during her captivity. I LOVED Nora's humor through one of the obviously most scary moments of her life. She kept it light and it was laugh out loud funny at times. I seriously don't think I've ever found a heroine as strong as Nora! Marie-Laure....what a raving bitch. I just prayed she would see reason...she'd rethink her actions if not for Soren, but for her brother.

Wesley, well I can't say that I wasn't disappointed in his actions in this book. I've always loved him but knew from the start that those two did not fit together. He could never tame Nora nor should she try to change for his vanilla ways. I get that completely but I was AMAZED he sand-bagged the entire book with Laila, not admitting to her he was engaged to Nora. He was so all-encompassing in love with Nora a few days prior and now he's sitting in a bed chatting it up with Soren's 18-year old niece, conveniently leaving out who he is to Nora. AND THEN TO TAKE HER VIRGINITY SO QUICKLY? WTF? That did not fit his personality to me at all. Maybe a little kiss or something....leave it at that. We can take it from there.....-

Kingsley- I've vacillated in this series with him. Sometimes I've loved loved loved him but others he kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But when he shows up and that point where he was ready to shoot Nora? Woah? My heart stopped there! I get it....he thought she was going to stab Soren with the dagger but still.... I can say I do love he and Soren's story. It's angsty, fidgety, and those scenes between he and Soren in The Prince were a highlight in the series for me.

Soren- he is my favorite of all the characters. I've grown to love that tortured soul. In The Siren, I couldn't believe the taboo of incorporating a Catholic priest into a storyline such as this and I proceeded with huge caution. Being a Catholic myself, it seriously tested my ability to hold on.... But Mistress Tiffany strikes again and hooked me! Amazing to me too that she actually taught me things about my faith I had no clue. I cannot stress enough the stellar level of story writing she constructed here. It all falls together. Flawlessly. My one bitch though....omg..... what the f&ck was Soren thinking screwing Grace with NO protection? And her getting pregnant? Just one final fuck to our heads, Mistress Tiffany? And what's up with Soren LAUGHING? I didn't get the laugh! So, he's a baby daddy. Obviously Zachary was calling to tell him Fionn was his "blonde" son.... But what's up with the laugh? One final mind f&ck, Tiffany?

Ah, so it ends. Loved the ride. Sad to see it's over. But a great ride nonetheless....

[Rosalinda *KRASNORADA*]

Ladies, this is on Net Galley, go ask for a copy. Really hope you guys get one, I am pretty sure I won't but anyway, can't wait for release day.

NEED



MORE



NORA

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 CHECKMATE STARS! ★★★★★



"And she said this queen would be two things to me. She would be my heart. And she would be my penance."

After putting down this one, I have given up trying to figure out how Tiffany Reisz's mind works or how she effortlessly keeps stumping me book after book. The last instalment here in the Red Years Quartet left me in an absolute mess because I don't know how to move on after this. In fact, I'm left speechless with how to write a proper review on how amazing this book/series is.

I bow down to this lady, I still cannot find the adequate adjective for her godsent writing because it's like nothing I've ever read before. Simply perfection.



This Mistress surely had the dramatics of a final instalment and can I just say how much I adore the chessplay concept being embedded into this read?! What an absolute genius that is TR being the chessmaster and knowing how to move all her pieces into place which led up right to the ultimate checkmate move. And dare I say, it left so many readers (me included) stumped with one of the most bizarre ending that I did not see coming!



Admittedly, this was my least favourite instalment (The Prince is still byfar the best!) because of how some of the things panned out and while I would have loved to give this more than 5 stars, there were just some things that left me feeling a little conflicted such as:

- THAT ENDING. *fumes* I know I sorta expect TR to end this book in an unconventional way but GAH SRSLY GRACE?! Ugh I'm heartbroken to be honest :( I can see how Grace has been given the role of "the rook" (which is one of the most powerful piece on the chessboard) but I really wished that TR didn't grant her that much power that allowed her to have Soren's baby.

It just came off a little bit out of character for me that Soren would allow himself to go that far with Grace especially when all these years, he would only allow King & Nora to be at that level.

- Wes and Laila. While I appreciated the addition of Laila in this one, I was kinda baffled by how quickly Wes moved on from Nora. I felt like Laila was just brought into this as a means to an end for Wes to get his HEA.


I'm not gonna go full-fledged on this review because all that I needed to say about this series has been mostly said in my review for The Siren. The Original Sinners series definitely showcases originality, it stretches boundaries and if you allow yourself to be open-minded enough to embrace this read, I promise you that you will find yourself in awe of how a writer can pull off such an amazing feat with this series. Tiffany Reisz does unconventional romance with such elegance and turned it into such a heartfelt read that you cannot help but fall in love with almost every character.

“Because there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn’t do to help you. And nothing I wouldn’t do to save you. Nothing.”

At this point, I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of this mega book hangover that this series have left me in. I DNF-ed 3 reads after that and it's almost depressing now because I feel like I have lost my purpose in life.

[Amber Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Free

5+++ mind blowing, soul crushing, fuck that was amazing stars.



We all know what happened in the last book. There was a major fucking cliffhanger that left you speechless. Or at least with me it did. If you have not read this series then please do not continue reading this review.

So, just a recap Mistress Nora has been kidnapped. We all know who kidnapped her. Kingsley's sister Marie-Laure has taken Nora, she is pissed and she wants revenge on what happenened all those years ago and now. She is a phyco. Bitch is off her rocker.

I am not going to go into all the details of what happens in the book. I feel if I did then, it was just ruin the whole thing and, that is not my cup of tea to do to you.

There are multiple POV's going on in this book. I am usually not a fan with having several POV's but Tiffany makes it work. It brought more depth to the story and made you want to read each POV before jumping to the next, then once you do jump into the next POV you will just *sigh* I wanted more. But most of all I could not get enough of Søren.

I felt this book leads more into the next book The Priest. If you want more Søren then you will get it here!

He's the most beautiful man on earth, he's got an inner drive and power that I'm drawn to, he can scare the shit out of someone with a glance, he can put someone on their knees with a word, he can see into your soul if you make the mistake of looking into his eyes. And it is a mistake because you will never want to look away again no matter how bare and naked he lays your most private self. I knelt at his feet because I felt like that's where I belonged. And no, not because I was so unworthy of him, but because he was so utterly worthy of my devotion.

I have not been a fan of Wesley in the past. Only because I am a fan of Søren as you can tell. But I liked Wesley a lot more in this book. He maned up more.

Kingsley, what I wouldn't do to be in his bed for the night. I fucking love that French horny man.

Nora is strong, unconditionally strong and so damn funny. While be captive she still makes you laugh your ass off. She is amazing and by far my favorite character out there.



I love this series. Out of all the books I never thought it would make me cry. But this book made me ball my fucking eyes out like I lost everything in my world. JUST WAIT . I of course was minding my own busniess working like the good girl that I am, then out of no where I am crying my eyes out. I could not answer my phone because I couldn't breathe. Like I said JUST WAIT . You will see what I am talking about. Tiffany brought out so many emotions that I was not prepared for. So, be prepared. I have love for all my book boyfriends but have I never felt my world coming down on me like this book had made me feel.

But the end, I am not sure what to think of it. I just sat there and tried to turn the page of my Kindle but it said 100% completed. It cannot be true. I needed that answer!!! Maybe my Kindle messed up and there was more to it. I am not sure....


Last note,
Tiffany you are a brilliant mastermind. What I wouldn't do to get a small piece inside of Søren's head. I need it, so please Tiffany if you see this you can just send me a POV of Søren, I would be very grateful! :)
I will be patiently waiting for The Priest.

Copy provided by NetGalley for exchange for an honest review.

[Melanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read: March 2015 - 5 STARS!!
Re-read: April 2020 - 5 STARS!!

"You can love more than one person."

I savored every word! And this time around - since I knew it was coming - I wasn't left glaring at the book because of events at the very end of the story.

There are a million reviews of this book, so I'll just keep this review's scope limited to gushing about one of my favorite characters of all time, The Mistress herself, Nora Sutherlin.

"Don't try to mind fuck a mindfucker."

I find her fascinating, a wonderful mix of predator and willing victim.

Soren had taught her to be strong. Any woman sharing the bed of a sadist had to be strong.

And her sense of humor is so very entertaining in this installment.

"You know Soren's not a vampire, right? He's a sadist. You don't turn kinky just because he bites you."

And, of course, her love for Soren is neverending.

"I knelt at his feet because I felt like that's where I belonged. And no, not because I was so unworthy of him, but because he was so utterly worthy of my devotion."

~SIGH~ Love it!

A HUGE thank you to my buddy readers MONIQUE, URSY, LEILA, and WHITNEY for sharing this journey with me!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

♦ 4.5 STARS. ♦

"Because there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn't do to help you. And nothing I wouldn't do to save you. Nothing."

Tiffany Reisz has done it again!

She has created another emotional, mindblowing roller coaster ride that will leave you reeling with the after shocks long after you're finished...

I don't think I've ever been as conflicted about one of her stories as I was with this one. Weel, to be honest, it was mostly the last 10% of the story that left me a little confused and conflicted. Other than that, I pretty much enjoyed The Mistress just as much as the rest of the magnificent Original Sinners series!

The Mistress picks up right were The Prince left off, the moment were Nora was bound and taken captive by an old and unexpected enemy from Søren and Kingsley's past. This leaves not only her fiance Wesley, but also Søren and Kingsley in distress, neither of them wants to think about what would happen if something bad were to happen to Nora...

"Søren couldn't live in a world without Nora. Kingsley couldn't live in a world without Søren. Her death would be like the sinking of a great ship. She would take them all down with her."

But Nora is a tough lady, that we already knew from her various experiences in the kinky world...

The person who holds Nora captive has been observing Nora and her beloved ones for a long time and she know exactly how to play them. She knows that by destroying one player, the rest of them would be destroyed as well.

"You're like a fabric all woven together. I want to pull one thread and see you all unravel. To kill one of you will kill you all. I want to watch this happen. I want to see it unfold before my eyes."

And so the game of chess begins...



The Queen - Nora.
The King - Kingsley.
The Prince - Wesley.
The Pawn - Laila.
The Rook - Grace.
The Priest - Søren.
And of course The Bitch herself - Marie-Laure .

While Nora is being held captive, all the others are worried and trying to come up with a solution to get her free. But getting her free might be easier said than done. Because The Bitch, that's what I'm calling her from now on, knows how to play games, and she knows it well. In order for Nora to stay alive, she is forced to become a Sheherazade , a story teller. She is forced to tell stories of her past encounters with all of the important men in her life: Wesley, Kingsley and of course Søren.

That way we also learn a few new things about how Nora and Søren's relationship started out, and how it was immediately obvious from the start that although Nora wanted nothing more than to belong to Søren, she also had a wild and slightly dominant side, even as a young girl.

"You're trying to put a collar on a tiger. It won't turn it into a housecat."

***********************MINI-RANT************************

I think all the major players had an equally important value in the story, except for Grace... I just honestly didn't really see the value of her having such a big part in the story and most of the chapters written from her point of view seemed a bit redundant to me. And what I definitley didn't get was the fact that she seemed so obsessed with Søren. I mean I get he's a highly intriguing man and that you wasn't to get to know him better. Hell, I even understand having a crush on him. I mean, who wouldn't, right!? But then, the fact that she would practically force herself on him and tell him she would sell her soul to be with him for one night, all the while being MARRIED to Zach, supposedly the love of her life...AND right before Spren was about to give his life for Nora, the love of his life! It just didn't make much sense... And then what shocked me even more was that, after Nora was finally saved, Soren and Grace actually did spend the night together the first chance they got. And since Søren has only really slept with 3 people in his entire life, two of which that are still in his life, it just seemed really *really* weird and contradictory for him to suddenly have sex with Grace.. BUT the ultimate shock came right at the end when it turned out that Soren is supposedly the father of Grace and Zach's baby... I mean, seriously!?

*********************MINI-RANT OVER*********************

What I am happy about though, is that almost all of the other players finally got their happy ending, I think Wesley especially deserved one and he and Laile seem perect for each other. I think she'll be a much better fit for him than Nora ;-). I'm really glad with how everything turned out except for that Grace and Søren situation ;-P, and I would have loved to find out everyone's reaction to the little bomb that was dropped right at the ending...

Overall, I still really enjoyed The Mistress and Tiffany Reisz has once again proven why The Original Sinners-series is one of my all time favorite series. Already *very much* looking forward to more Soren of Tiffany Reisz' talented writing in the next installment, The Priest.

"Love versus love. King, you're comparing infinities. There is no 'more'. That's not how love works. If it's love, it's infinite." ♥♥

[~ Becs ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sit down here to write this review, I’m almost at a loss for words. There’s something about Tiffany Reisz’s writing that completely transcends the erotic fiction genre and takes me somewhere that no author seems to be able to take me. It’s almost like sub-space – I find myself in a dream-like trance when I read her work. A lot of the time I don’t want to continue, a little afraid of what is coming next, but I am utterly compelled, completely entranced by the story and fully invested in the characters who have become so real to me over the course of The Original Sinners series.

We rejoin our Kinksters right where we left them at the end of The Prince. Nora has been kidnapped and is being held in bonds, for once against her will, and having to make like Scheherazade to save her life. She’s in the worst predicament of her life, and she’s been in a few, let’s face it, and now it seems that the only person that can save her is herself. The seemingly unflappable, icy-calm Søren is as close to losing his cool as we are ever likely to see him and Kingsley has to resort to desperate measures to prevent him from doing something foolish to endanger both himself and Nora out of sheer despair. Wes is also completely lost – he can do nothing apart from turn to Kingsley and Søren for help, despite his reservations about them and their lifestyle.

I don’t want to give away the plot – I really want for you all to experience it the way I did. I absolutely didn’t know what was coming next the whole time I was reading. With any other author, I think it’s safe to say that you’d have fairly high expectations of a rescue and a comforting and traditional Happy Ever After but this is Queen Tiff and you have to learn to expected the unexpected when you read her. She is a Master Storyteller, or should that be Mistress Storyteller, and it pays to remember that she is never going to wrap everything up neatly with a bow on top – she’s always going to boldly go where no erotic fiction writer has ever gone before should she choose to and, believe me, she chooses to. There was one chapter that ended with two characters kneeling facing one another and I had to close my Kindle and walk away – I had to force myself to do this because I was so afraid to continue. This is a moment of absolute crisis in the story and all appears lost and, I was so engrossed in the story and the characters, that I was terrified to carry on, fearing what on earth Tiff may unleash upon us!


I feel deeper in love with all the characters in The Mistress. Kingsley – je t’adore comme toujours but now there is a special place in my heart reserved solely for Søren. I’ve come on a long journey with Søren since I first met him in Seven Day Loan when I really didn’t like him but throughout The Siren, The Angel and The Prince I’ve grown to love him and to finally begin to understand this brilliant, complex man. To know Søren is to submit to Søren. Even as just mere words on a page, his power and authority emanate in intense waves right out to me as a reader and I have the urge to kneel before him, He’s not an easy character to know or like – after all he’s a hard-core sadist AND a catholic priest, not the most compatible of bed-fellows but now I feel that I have come full-circle with him and am now in awe of his incredible intelligence, his compassion and his powerful demeanour. Never before has a fictional sadist seemed so complex and multi-dimensional to me.

Tiff has created these characters and drip-fed their stories both past and present to us during the novels of the series and I’ve grown to love and understand them all. The writing is, as always, sublime, enthralling and totally captivating. Despite this particular story being paced quite slowly with plenty of flashbacks, it still managed to be edge of the seat reading for me. I was rapt, sometimes fearful to continue, but completely unable to push this one far from my thoughts when I wasn’t reading it. Nora, Søren, Kingsley and Wes have all come alive in my imagination as I’ve endured their triumphs and disasters with them. The whole series feels like it was meticulously planned – Tiff clearly knows her characters intimately, it feels almost as if they’re stood in front of her telling her their stories as she writes.

Despite everyone’s morals being very far removed from the acceptable norm, there is actually great nobility and undying loyalty to be found here. There is a distinct lack of monogamy but infidelity is too harsh a word for the acceptance and understanding that passes between them all. I think you’d have to look hard to find a greater and deeper love than you’ll find here. Kingsley loves Søren, Søren loves Kingsley and Nora, Nora loves Søren and Wes loves Nora and all of this is kind of intoxicating to read. There’s profound honesty, trust and a soul-deep understanding of one another. We also get to catch up with Daniel and Grace – two characters from past novels.

I think I am still enamoured most of all with Kingsley Edge – that wicked Frenchman who dresses as a 19th century dandy but it’s easy to forget that beneath the facade beats the heart of a ruthless assassin and he is not going to take kindly to one of his own being placed in mortal danger, whoever the perpetrator may be. He still makes my panties spontaneously combust! There’s a glimmer of happiness on the horizon for Kingsley, for a future that he could never have forseen for himself if only he can survive Nora’s current predicament. Nora is, as ever, arrogant, cocky, dangerous and captivating, even in her darkest moment. I suspect there’s quite a bit of Tiffany Reisz in Nora – as a character, she’s a tour de force, very richly drawn and so engaging.

Wes is the one character. I’ve been least invested in throughout the whole series. I do like him but have always considered him to be out of his depth, almost child-like but he’s about to be bitchslapped into manhood in this one as he learns as much about what he wants as what he doesn’t want especially from Nora, Kingsley and Søren. I’ve never been Team Wes, even when I disliked Søren but I am happy with how his storyline panned out in The Mistress.

So, to sum it up – despite everything that goes on here, this is ultimately a story of the most sincere love you are ever likely to see. It’s smart, witty, super sharp and absolutely compelling and captivating. I bow down at Queen Tiff’s feet – she can seemingly do no wrong.


5 stunning stars

For more reviews, please visit Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews or visit us on Facebook.

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book! Holy shit, THIS BOOK! I must have changed my rating for it at least 5 times. After sleeping on it, I knew that even if there were things that happened that I wasn't happy about, I still couldn't rate this anything less than 5 absolutely stellar stars.

What are some words that I'd use to describe this series? Brilliant, Erotic, Dark and Captivating are just some of the few that come to mind.

The Mistress takes off right where the cliffhanger in The Prince left off, and brings us to the conclusion of a series that has captivated and enthralled us from the very first page of the very first book.

I know that no review I can ever write will do the book or the absolutely fucking brilliant writing in it justice. But the best advise I can give to those about to read or even those that have read it already and are not familiar with chess, is to familiarize yourself with it. Trust me! Everything will make so much more sense. So in the hopes of clearing a few things up, since I knew a total of nilch about chess when I delved into it, I'll try to explain some things in my review.

The ultimate objective of the game is to capture the opponents king.

The book is told in several players' POV. There is The King, The Queen, The Pawn, The Rook, and The Knight.

It is also broken up into parts; Capture, En Passant, Castling, Promotion, and Checkmate.

The Players:
The King

"Because there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn't do to help you. And nothing I wouldn't do to save you. Nothing."

Soren does was the one character that never got a POV in these books. In The Mistress everything we learn about Soren is garnered from his conversations with Grace and flashback stories told by Nora.

I hate a love/hate relationship with Kingsley in the previous books. Part of it, I absolutely loved him and his humor. Parts of it I thought he came off as a whiny brat. I absolutely adored Kingsley in this book; his personality and sense of humor, and his complete and utter devotion to those he cares for. Kingsley makes it his mission to rescue Nora from the clutches of his long-presumed-dead sister.

"I get her out."
"You and what army?"
"I don't need an army."
"What, are you the French James Bond or something?"
"Of course not. James Bond is vanilla."

The book gives the reader alternating POV's, with a few new players added to the mix.

There's Wes, The Knight:
I adored Wesley in the other 3 books, but he drove me batshit in this one. His constant refusal to understand Nora's lifestyle got old real quick. He came off as judgmental and immature little boy for most of the book.

Grace, The Rook:
Grace, I think for me, was the odd-one out as far as characters go. I really disliked her for most of the book, and ESPECIALLY in the end.
But upon further reflection, I can't even dwell on that anymore. After I googled The Rook and its moves in chess it put EVERYTHING into perspective for me. This is the absolutely FUCKING BRILLIANCE of Tiffany Reisz. There is not one wasted word, sentence, paragraph, or chapter. Everything is linked together. The character (chess piece) roles, the chess strategy names, EVERYTHING!

Laila, The Pawn
Laila, Soren's niece, was a new character that was introduced in this book. I had a feeling the entire time of where her role was leading, and found out I was right. I can understand the direction of this, ultimately, I felt it was a fitting conclusion.

Nora, The Queen

Nora, the infamous Nora, I fucking LOVED Nora.

Marie-Laure

I'm at a loss for words here. Simply put?


When I finished this book, I'm pretty sure I had a day long rant about the ending (Thanks, Jamie for being my ultimate ranting buddy *waves*) Thank God I read this in a BR with the some of my fave girls, so I had some outlet for all my feels. I'm pretty sure I would have gone crazy otherwise. Oh and Amy, girl if it hadn't been for you pointing out the chess reference...I doubt I would have ever thought to do it. So thanks! ;)

Ultimately, though the ending was not the perfect HEA you would envision for a book, I though it was very fitting for this series. It was never a romance novel, so a typical romantic and perfectly wrapped up HEA would not have been accurate, fitting, or fair to these characters.

I'll be honest, I HATED it at first. But when I talked it out with my GR friends, I felt slightly better. What really sealed it for me, was understanding the Chess Strategies that broke up this book.

Castling
(as described on chess.com- like I said, I was clueless in chess)
This move allows two important things all in one move: get your king to safety, and get the rook into the game.

Interesting to note that this was the part that Grace finally went from simply being someone that talked to Soren and was just there, to finally taking action. When Soren goes to give himself up to ML, Grace knows that she has to act in order to save him.

Promotion

Pawns have a special ability and that is that if a pawn reaches the other side of the board it can become any other chess piece (called promotion). A pawn may be promoted to any piece. A pawn is usually promoted to a queen. Only pawns may be promoted.

Interesting to note that in the part of the book titled Promotion, Laila gets together with Wes (the King of Kentucky), essentially becoming the Queen Of Kentucky)

Checkmate
Speaks for itself, really.

I really thought this was the perfect ending to an absolutely phenomenal series. Though left with a few questions in the end Kingsley's bastard son? I hate that it leaves us hanging without having this be confirmed I have come to accept it.

On a final note,
Tiffany Reisz, woman, YOU.ARE.FUCKING.BRILLIANT!


If you haven't read this series yet, what the hell are you waiting for?!!

Links to my reviews on the rest of the books in the series:
The Siren
The Angel
The Prince

**ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

For more reviews visit: Dirty Girl Romance Book Blog

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!! Another masterpiece by Tiffany Reisz!! All is as is it should be in the Original Sinners world!

I didn’t think I could love these character’s any more than I already I did…I was wrong! I love them even more after reading The Mistress, especially Soren!! I don’t just love him, I lust him, adore him, dream about him, worship him…I WANT him for my own!!

I also thought I knew all there was to know about these characters after reading the first 3 books in the series, plus novellas and short stories…wrong again! I had much to learn. These characters have so many layers, and as they’re peeled back and you journey along with them, through the past and the present, they literally bleed emotion. The author allows the reader to experience and feel everything along with them; it’s overwhelming and exhausting, yet utterly satisfying. I can’t get enough of them… especially Soren! I wanted to crawl inside the book, lay down on top of him, next to him, under him and wrap my love around him. Absorb all of him; because no one loves like he does, with everything he is, his heart and soul, he gives himself over completely! Soren is such a contradiction. He has the patience of a saint, and inflicts brutality like the devil!

There is a conversation in the book where Wesley confronts Soren, he goes in balls to the wall, guns a blazin’…he wants answers! Soren, only as Soren can, lays it all out there for him. It was my favorite scene in the book and if you didn’t love Soren by this point, you couldn’t help but fall in love with him, especially after hearing what he has to say to Wesley.

“How are you like this?” he demanded, the questions pour- ing out of him like wine into a glass. “How are you a priest and a sadist? How can you say you love God and yet you sleep with Nora? How can you hit women and still claim to be a man of the cloth? How are you…you? I can’t figure you out, not to save my life.”

Soren never undermines Wesley’s love for Nora, he just explains how they, Nora and Soren, came to be, and with that you feel the enormity of the love he has for her. It was truly beautiful and very telling.

Kingsley is Kingsley, overbearing, protective, slinging his trademark sarcasm…his usual kinky loveable self! He’s had my heart for a long time, and his journey finally comes full circle and with it sadness, but also a tremendous amount of joy. I feel that he finally found some peace, and nothing could have made me happier.

Nora was amazing. I’ve always enjoyed her character, but there was something extra special about her in this book. When she has her blunt and frank, tell-all conversations with Marie-Laure, her tough exterior seemed to melt away and you could feel the love she has for so many people in her life. We got the softer side of this strong confident woman.

My only issue was with Grace and what played out with her, I found her to be annoying, and she didn’t add much to the story except in the end. We are shocked, maybe angry…but do we have reason to be?! Only time will tell. I would have much rather that Zach had an active role in this book. Now that would have been interesting; all the men from the series coming together to rescue the lovely Nora.

Lots of matters were resolved and I felt that everyone was in a good place by the end of the book, the right place, with the right person.

With Tiffany Reisz nothing is cut and dry, she plays with the reader’s emotions, takes the long way around to get to the goods, and just when you think you have it figured out, the plot becomes more complex. So I say, immerse yourself in the story, savor the writing, think about what the author is saying and try to see it through the character’s eyes and emotions. Expect the unexpected, and if you can do all that, you will enjoy the journey….and my oh my, what a journey it is!!

GAAAAAHH!! I can’t get enough of MY SOREN!! Mine...all mine...RAWRRRR!!


*ARC courtesy Harlequin Mira via NetGalley*

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it’s love, it’s infinite.

5 GALAXIES of STARS!!!!


I thought I knew terror before today. I was wrong.

Nora is captured at the end of The Prince, so this book begins there. She is loved by many, and all those that love her are chess pieces in this rescue mission to save Nora. I had no idea how Ms. Reisz would conclude this story. To be honest, I didn’t really care. This is more than just characters and a story and a laugh and a cry. It’s just….more.

I’m a different person after reading this book/series. I feel alive. This series has put a ripple in my soul. I look at myself and those that I love in a new and better way. My definition of love…has changed. I certainly view sex differently! I see God in a new way (sorry to get spiritual, but if you’ve read these books, you know it’s impossible not to). The world stopped spinning when I was reading this book.

Nora – The Queen. She is a story-teller in this book, and a lot of blanks are filled in for us because of her stories/flashbacks. She is her usual funny-as-fuck self in this book, but we get to see a more vulnerable side to Nora, while still keeping her humor.

Our Nora has a magic pussy. It’s the opposite of the Bermuda Triangle. Lost men sail into it and then find themselves.

In my world slut is a term of endearment.

You know Soren’s not a vampire, right? He’s a sadist. You don’t turn kinky just because he bites you.

Soren – Which chess piece is he? You’ll have to read to find out. He’s always right. He is good. He is….Soren.

And you come along and see him putting a knife in someone’s chest and you scream, ‘Murderer!’ while the rest of us see a heart surgeon.

There was no past tense with Soren. When he loved, what he loved, who he loved, he loved eternally.

Oh Kingsley – The King. King of Kink. King of the Underground. My favorite. I want him to own me. I’d cut off my right arm to be his Juliette for a day.

Are you the French James Bond or something?.....Of course not. James Bond is vanilla.

He speaks and your panties spontaneously combust.

He doesn’t want to get hurt. He wants to be destroyed.

Wesley – The Knight. I was not disappointed with Wesley’s fate/destiny in this book.

In her heart Wesley was love and light and big brown eyes that made her thighs melt.

Laila – The Pawn. Laila is Soren’s niece, and this is the first time we meet her. I wasn’t sure what to think because she was such a new character, but I grew to love her very soon (because Ms. Reisz is a genius and could make me love any character that she weaves). It was interesting and fulfilling to see the role that she played in the chess game.

Grace (Zach’s Grace) – The Rook. It was wonderful to learn more about Grace. She is witty and fun and maternal, in a way. She is more important in this story than you would think. She is a wonderful surprise!

**Note to the author - Ms. Reisz, you are officially my #1 favorite author of all time!! I can count on one hand the authors that can make me laugh and cry at the same time, and you are one of them. An endless smile and row of tears.

[Kim *Mo Chridhe* · Rating 5 out of 5]

- July 2 edit -

This is the review I've been dreading to write for weeks. I think writing my college thesis was less nerve-wracking. It's not because I fear tomatoes being thrown my way (look, I gave it 5 stars) but rather, I worry that I wouldn't be able to express my thoughts coherently without breaking down into a sobbing mess.

The Mistress picks up immediately where The Prince left off. Nora is held captive by an enemy who wants to play games. And in case you're wondering who it is, well, let's just say that your hunch after reading The Prince is right. She is used as a pawn to lure Kingsley and Soren - the two people this kidnapper wants to hurt the most. And while Nora waits for a chance to escape or be rescued she buys time by telling tales of her relationship with the most important men in her life.

Even though the book takes place in a span of a mere few days it is not even slightly uneventful. I thought that I knew all there is to know about our beloved characters through The Prince but I was proven wrong, because this book allowed me to know them more intimately than ever. It is not just Nora who's reliving her past through her stories though. While her loved ones wait in despair, they each recall memories of Nora and share how those memories relate to themselves in the present. The narration was brilliantly done, and every few pages I'd find myself wanting to hold them close while they're bathed in worry and sadness.

It is not a tortuous book by all means. After all, where Nora is involved one can expect humor and sass. But there is definitely a good amount of thrill and heart-stopping moments, as there are plenty of sob-inducing ones. I CANNOT say enough how much I love Ms. Reisz's characters. Each and every person stepped up to the plate and carried out their important roles. If you think that it is impossible to love who you love even more then prepare to be schooled because every previous feeling you've felt will only be magnified here. I've never hidden the fact that I am a book crier. Nostalgia is my favourite torture device, and when I've barely made it past 1% and the waterworks have begun, then I know that the book is a winner.

"There is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn't do to help you. And nothing I wouldn't do to save you. Nothing."

Lastly, I want to discuss what I felt about the ending. My initial reaction after finishing The Mistress was dumbstruck amazement. And while I sat there waiting for the one-month-before-release-date-mark so I could post my review I thought about certain events and analyzed them beyond dissection. I began to doubt my feelings for one specific part and even went as far as making up these ridiculous theories on how it couldn't be possibly true. Theory 1: They didn't. They engaged in breath-play and she passed out before anything could happen. Theory 2: They did, BUT, the baby isn't his. After all, only the origin of his name was revealed, and it didn't say that he actually had hair of THAT color. My vanilla brain couldn't accept the truth that was staring at me in the facebut after Ms. Reisz confirmed what I doubted at first, I felt that the balloon I was in burst. I wallowed for a couple of days, but then I looked over the passages I highlighted and the feelings I initially felt resurfaced. I reread the entire book yesterday and now I can say with utmost conviction that everything that has happened can only be viewed as a gift. How can I possibly see a wrong in something that is so right? Have I not always mentioned in my reviews that I only want for my characters to be happy and have no regrets? And truly, there are no regrets here. I am happy for all of them and I cannot wish for this book to have ended any other way. My current sadness only stems from the fact that the series, chronologically, stops here. This truly is one of the best series I have ever read - best stories, best characters, best written, most captivating, most touching, most seductive, plus all the other superlatives I can't think of at the moment. Eventually, I know I'd have to move on just as my Sinners have, but for certain, this will remain a favourite for all time.

"If it's love, it's infinite."

*This advanced copy was provided by Harlequin through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*<*~*~*~*~*~*


Squeeeeee!!!!!! ARC request approved! Can I call in sick for the rest of the week?

[Deanna❤Pink Lady❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 "Infinite" Stars

I'm on an "Original Sinners" high at the moment and I don't want to come down for a while. There are times when you read a book or a series that affects you in a deep and emotional level and you are forever changed. To read words that evoke all your emotions, good- bad-kinky-vanilla-erotic-sensual-love-sorrow-despair-fear-sadness-happiness-piety you will forever remember that book or that series and folks, if you what that moment, look no further than The Original Sinners Series.




The Mistress picks up right where The Prince left off. Nora has been kidnapped by a psychotic player from the past, someone intent on vengeance and Soren and Kingley have figured out......Marie-Laure. While being held hostage, Nora must relive stories of her past in order to gain more time. This is where the extraordinary genius of the story lies, IMO. We get the past told by Nora, her sassiness at it's finest, her feelings in the truest form.


Wes, Grace-Zach's wife, and Laila-Soren's niece, have all become part of the quest to rescue Nora. Each one an important chess piece in this dangerous game of chess. Each one going through a discovery....there is no way to talk about it without spoiling something. The interactions of Soren, Kingsley, Wes, Laila and Grace during Nora's absence was truly a plot of pure ecstasy.



I must confess that this whole series has affected me in a profound way. The writing was so raw and real and made me feel the every emotion that these characters experienced. The intertwined stories of all these people(I think of them as my friends now)and how I came to understand and not judge them was extraordinary. I really have not wanted to read anything else for fear that it will not live up to my expectations. Tiffany Reisz has spoiled me rotten, not by the subject matter, but by how exquisitely she writes.

"...Lose yourself inside me. Forget what you've lost, forget what you can't have. There's no shame in trying to forget for a night even if you know you'll remember in the morning."

"I'd fear she would spurn me. Instead, she said she belonged to me from the moment we met, and her body was mine to do with what I wanted. She loved me. She trusted me. She knew I wouldn't hurt her. And we kissed for the first time, and I felt something I never dreamed I'd feel."
"Happy?"
"Normal. I felt normal. I'd felt loved in the past, and I'd certainly felt happy. But never normal."

"I'll forgive because you've asked me to, not because you need my forgiveness. You did what you had to. You had to leave to become who you were meant to be. All that matters now is that you're here, Little One."

I know that love is giving yourself to someone else. Giving yourself to someone without losing yourself.

"I always loved you. I never once stopped loving you. All those times I said I hated you, I never meant them, not once. I loved every part of you, every secret, every sin. I love what you are and what you do and how you make me feel so scared and so safe all at the same time, God I wish I had my collar."



I could go on and one with beautiful quotes.....I loved every single part of this book and my highlighter was going all the time. It's a beautiful series and it will be in my all time favorite top 5.

BR with Jxxx. I loved that so many fabulous ladies (Mo, Irene, Shannon and Stella) helped us in the discussion and also helped me when I needed talking down from the ledge. Smooches ladies and look forward to more discussions and hopefully new BRs with ya'll too!!

Finally and proudly, I'm....

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

Shit has officially hit the fan and let me tell you the aftermath is a giant mess and I loved every freaking word of it.


I won’t be giving away any of the plot details, since I don’t want to spoil any part of this story.

So instead I will do some fangirling…


Mistress had me completely messed up, and I pretty much read it nonstop. Warning…when you start this book be sure you have time to finish it.

This series is the best and my puny brain cannot even put into words how much I completely love it. Over the last few days I have read these books back to back and I am completely in love with them. I hope everyone loves and enjoys them just as much.

Special shout out to my twin Amy…thanks for all the added information. MWAH!

[Lady Vigilante (Feifei) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT 12/28/13 from the Mistress herself: "Also in 2014, the first four books of The Original Sinners are being released with new covers with bonus short stories at the end. You'll finally be able to own "Gauze," "Griffin in Wonderland," "Midnight Mass," and "A Beautiful Thing" in print."

10+++++ stars!!!! This one and The Angel are my favorites in the series! Oh and EFF Fifty Shades, read this series instead!

Now that I’m done with The Red Years Quartet, I feel empty and like I lost my purpose in life...I wish I could unread this entire series and be able to read it again to live it all once more.

I’ve had a full day to mull over just how important this series has become to me, and why the heck is it so compelling when many aspects of the book usually make me run for the hills.

First and foremost, I think the “romantic” nature of this series stood out to me. For the past few hours, I’ve clashed heads with other TOS readers that argue these books should not be classified as romance. I beg to differ. In fact, I believe the “Søren/Nora/Kingsley plus a side of Wesley” complex to be the most romantic tale of all time (so MOVE OUT Shakespeare!!!) It’s certainly not a conventional romance, that’s for sure, but Tiffany Reisz is no conventional writer. No, she pushes your buttons, crosses all sorts of boundaries, and does not hold back. I don’t say this to purposely romanticize the series. It’s done a magnificent job of that on its own. In The Siren, when you have Nora and Søren, the two MC that readers are actually rooting for to be a couple in all senses of the world but just can’t be, subtly and passionately bringing Zach and Grace together, who isn’t touched by these characters’ innate romantic side?

And in The Angel? Nora and Søren are together, but cruel fate and Søren’s religious career threatens their relationship, and they are separated once more. They do not bemoan their fate. They do not whine about the circumstances. They love each other, simple as that, and will do anything for one another. So once again, Nora and Søren are apart, yet they bring another couple together. Griffin and Michael find true love, and no matter how kinky or unorthodox their relationship, it doesn’t take away from the pure beauty and magnificence of their love.

The Prince? IMO, the most romantic of the quartet, and presents the strongest, most passionate M/M love I have ever read. Yes, Søren and Kingsley’s relationship has always been brutal as Ms. Reisz narrates Søren’s sadistic needs and Kingsley’s ‘switch’ nature, but does that take away from their individual personalities? Does it dismiss their claims of love for one another? Heck no! It only makes it THAT more real , more raw , and in my opinion, more romantic than ever.

Finally, we get to The Mistress. I don’t want to reveal the specifics of what happens in this book, but just know that only Ms. Reisz could make the whole slew of characters come to a full circle and give each and every one of them the ending they deserve . Not what reader opinion calls for, but what each and every one of these unique characters deserve. And I sure got a kick out of the ending! I personally think Ms. Reisz served a plate of smack-down noodles with it! You don’t expect her to write a sappy, full of mush and goo ending. There are readers out there unsatisfied by this fourth book, but for this reader? It couldn’t have been more perfect. Truly written with an edgy, intriguing signature. Reisz style.

The core value of the book deeply resonated with me. Ms. Reisz skyrockets the taboo and controversial level in TOS, but that wasn’t what made me connect with these books. The fact of the matter is despite the characters having different values than what the norm expects (believing in love but not necessarily monogamy), they wouldn’t hesitate to support one another, to love each other, to sacrifice themselves for another. I’m talking about through life, death, and life again. Their inner strength, their core spirit, their resilience, is what turns these characters into people, and they become real in my mind. Are they flawed for having different thoughts, different romantic beliefs, different sexual fetishes that are out of the norm? HECK NO! These people embrace their beliefs and at the same time, take care to not harm others in their path. How can one not admire these characters’ strength? Their passion for life? Their fearless attitude towards death? I, for one, am weeping as I write this part because never have I read such emotionally compelling characters that make me FEEL and experience so much at one time.

The flawless writing style. Fluid. Conducive. Unapologetic. Romantic. Simply perfect. How does Ms. Reisz do it? How does she make each and every one of her words, no letters, into something monumental, something unforgettable? How does she do it? I don’t need to know. I don’t want to know. Please, Ms. Reisz, continue to surprise me with your ingenious writing.

What more could this reader ask for? What more could I possibly ask for after reading this stunning, groundbreaking series? Nothing (well the next book would be nice). From one humble reader to this astounding author, I bow at your feet.

[La-Lionne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review posted 03.08.2013.

* * * This book was beautiful, sad, sweet, scary, mysterious, heartbreaking, kinky, happy, intense and all kinds of orgasmic. Ginormous 5 stars from me :-D.* * *

Dear Lord, Tiffany Reisz outdid herself this time. This is my favorite book in these series so far.

If you haven't read at least the first book in the series, do not read further.

In her previous books there were characters I liked and characters I loved, in this one, I fell head over heals with ALL of them.

Nora:

If you've read previous book, you know what happened to Nora. She found herself in a very bad situation. I think I've said that already, in one of my updates, but I'm going to say again: Nora is the worse captive ever :-D. She was really trying her captors patients. The woman has balls the size of two watermelons :-D. Even though most of the time she was cracking jokes and insulting her captor, you could see that she was scared shitless. It was nice to see the softer side of Nora. I fell in love with her even more.

Wesley:

Poor Wesley, I really felt bad for him. Poor kid is hopelessly in love with Nora. When she went missing he was loosing his mind, hyperventilating, his blood sugar was through the roof, he didn't know what to do with himself. I loved his conversations with Kingsley and Søren. Loved it even more when he finally buried the hatched with those to. He wanted to hate them so badly, but how could he, after he got to know them better.
But I did have a problem with him towards the end. I won't take any stars because of it, because I loved the story as a whole, but my god, Wes. WTF, dude??!! I see Kingsley's and Søren's stories have rubbed off on you ;-). He was the only good/vanilla guy in the series, and now... Apparently when Nora took his virginity his soul fallowed :-D. Tsk, tsk, Wesley.

Griffin:

There wasn't much of Griffin in this book, but Tiffany Reisz made sure that as little appearance as he had, that he won't be forgotten :-D. It was nice to see that him and his little angel are still going strong.

Kingsley:

I can't fan-girl about him enough. I wish Kingsley was a real person :-D. I love you, you french f@cker :-).
In The Mistress we got to read more about his relationship with Søren and Nora. As kinky and kind of f@cked up as their relationship is, it is also beautiful and even sweet. Tiffany Reisz managed to convince me that their love triangle can and will work. Which is mind-blowing, because I would've never imagined something like that working in a real life. That just shows how brilliant Reisz is.
I loved, LOVED, Kingsley's encounters with Wesley and Nora.

Søren:

Søren's character is the hardest one for me to describe. I'm lost for words. What kind of kinky f@ckery is cooking in Tiffany's Reisz head? How in a world did she came up with him?
We got to read a lot about Søren in this book. He tells these bizarre stories with such calm and ease , it freaks me out :-S. Søren is out of this world. I have a hard time imagining someone like him existing in real life. There is no way a person could be so... dark and twisted and so good and loving at the same time. He was a definitely a martyr in this book. He was the one that turned the other cheek. How suiting :-). I loved his struggles and his week moments. I felt his loss and his pain.
Dear Lord, the scene towards the end, with Nora kneeling in front of him, the things they said to each other, was heartbreaking and oh-so beautiful.

The way he quotes bible, the advices he gives to other, are just... uh. I love him, that's all I can say :-D.

But here is the freakiest thing about this book: after reading this book I actually wanted to go to church. My god, of all the books in the world, this kinky f@ckery got me thinking about god. I guess Søren spoke my language :-D.

As for the ending. WTF? I still can't wrap my head around it. Why was Søren laughing? What did Zachary told him? I have my theory, but I'm not sure I want to be right about it. Ugh!!! Tiffany, hurry with the next book, will ya ;-).

I won't comment on writing, character development or the plot, it's the fourth installment in the series and if you've read at least one book in the series, you know that no words are necessary, it's superb.io

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Bitch, please—I’m kinkier than he is.”



The Mistress picks up just minutes after the huge cliffhanger we’re left with after The Prince. Nora has been taken yes, by Kinglsey’s “dead” sister, Marie-Laure and everyone is trying to piece together what happened, where she is, and who took her.

There are a few new and old faces that pop up in this one. First we have Grace, Zach’s wife. Her presence in the story was odd to me at first, we haven’t seen her for the last two books, why now? As it went on I got more used to her being there and it was nice to have another woman in the story since Nora is always surrounded by men. Not entirely sold on them being friends, but this is an odd bunch so whatevs. Søren’s niece Laila is also is a key player. She has information about Nora’s kidnapper and I really liked how her character evolved in the short time we see her. I loved that her and Wesley end up together. I called it from their first interaction and thought it seemed very obvious, but I was surprisingly alright with it. They were sweet and I’m glad that Wesley removed himself from everything and realized he needed a good ol’ vanilla girl.

This book was full of powerful moments. There were several small interactions between various characters that had me hanging on every word. Wesley & Kinglsey, Søren & Wesley, Kingsley & Nora, Soren & Nøra, etc. I find these characters so fascinating and when we get to see them hash it out over issues I’m dying to hear about, it’s priceless. I have been so conflicted about how I wanted this series to end. Who I wanted with whom, who I think will end up happy, who I think will be heartbroken, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Not only were my feelings cemented for certain characters, but I also got this sense of contentment about where things were heading.

“Love versus love. King, you’re comparing infinities. There is no ‘more.’ That’s not how love works. If it’s love, it’s infinite. You can’t count it…”

While Nora is held captive there are a lot of flashbacks to key scenes. While some of those moments were favorites out of the whole series, it started to feel like flashback after flashback with no real meat in the present (with her). I liked the premise of Nora being in trouble and the kinksters of The 8th Circle banding together to save her but it didn’t live up to my expectations. As much as I am a die-hard fan of this series, this book didn’t enrapture me like the previous did. It is still amazingly written, so smart, and made me feel so deep for these characters I already love, but it just wasn’t as good for me.

And the ending, I was pretty satisfied with everything leading up to it. I was feeling content and a little surprised that everyone was getting a HEA and then my feelings changed a bit. If you peeps saw my status at the end you know… I literally shouted, “What the fuck!?” then I burst out laughing. I felt like a straight up crazy person. The freaking bomb dropped at the end about Søren being the baby daddy was *smh* I don’t even know what to say. I’m not mad at Søren, I’m not mad at Grace, I don’t really think Nora would be upset. That’s not my issue. I think it was just unneeded. It felt like shock value for shock value sake. It ultimately left me feeling confused about why that was even done. Being different or shocking just isn’t a good enough reason for me. *shrugs* lol Other than that last part I was digging how everything had played out.

Although I loved The Angel and The Prince more and this one has left me feeling the most conflicted (I am still a bit confused about my rating) that in no way changes my feelings about this series as a whole. It is one of my favorite series ever. I love that I never know how to categorize it or explain it to people. It’s different, it’s untraditional, and it transcends boundaries. I am ridiculously attached to these characters (Kingsley!! Who am I kidding? I love EVERYONE!!) and the writing is enthralling, amazing, and beautiful.

I am counting down the days until The Priest. Thank Søren god we are getting FOUR MORE books! Yay!

“I knelt at his feet because I felt like that’s where I belonged. And no, not because I was so unworthy of him, but because he was so utterly worthy of my devotion.”

4 stars. Maybe 4.5?

[Vika aka ♔ of GIF & Grumpy Smut-ateer *P/T Freebie Fairy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK it is NOT my day... I tried to do a review 2x and both time I closed it by accident I physically can't do it anymore!

But I will say it is one of the best books (if you ignore that last few % of it)

Bravo, Tiffany Reisz for being such a clever book Dominatrix. If you know chess this book will be 2x as interesting I think but even being ignorant in the art of Chess I loved every second of it (again... ignoring those last few % at the end). Therefore I'm going to go with a 5star rating... but losing all the ++++++++ that I was adding on every time I highlighted in the book... just in case you wondering Kindle Highlights informs me it was 34 times.

Kingsley knelt down at Søren’s feet and rested his hand on Nora’s hip right under where she’d been kicked. They’d both been wounded for their sins, and both found their healing at his feet and in his arms.

My Soren

A world without Nora Sutherlin was a world without Søren. If the priest lost his Little One, especially if her death happened because of something Søren had done, no matter how inadvertently, it would mean his destruction. Søren couldn’t live in a world without Nora. Kingsley couldn’t live in a world without Søren. Her death would be like the sinking of a great ship. She would take them all down with her.

My Nora

It seems you have a pathological fear of making any definitive choices in your life. You flit from man to man and never completely commit to anyone. Once you make a decision, you don’t stick with it. You promised yourself to him,” she said, pointing at Søren, “and then you left him. You had another man in your life and you sent him away. Then you went back to my husband but you didn’t stay with him, either. Back and forth, back and forth.

My Kingsley

Money bought nothing in Kingsley’s world but a key to the front door. Once inside, they built their own kingdoms. Dominants with boring day jobs earned respect with the power they created out of their own dignity and desires. Exquisite submissives— male and female— who laid themselves out on the altar of sacrifice and sexuality in order to find themselves at someone else’s feet. Wesley always accused the people of her world of putting on costumes and playing dress-up. He had no idea that the suits and the ties and the beige pumps and navy slacks her people wore during the day were the real costumes that they shed when they came out after dark.

Know that love is giving yourself to someone else. Giving yourself to someone without losing yourself.

[Sandy ღCoffee Addict Booksღ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“4.75 forever and everything stars”

Honestly, I was not happy with the story line, sudden appearance of an unknown foe and the need for vengeance after so many years didn't feel right. For nearly 50% of the story all that happening was the civil conversation between the characters or revisiting their past or professing their love. I was pretty much disappointment with it since this is not the usual way tiffany writes the story. It’s like she was trying very hard to give a closure to everyone and it was convenient to bring all the prime characters to sit and have a nice long chat and clear their misunderstanding or enlighten them with a story, I already predicted who is going to end up with whom and who will be left heartbroken. (I know I was li’l judgy but blame the author for setting the standards so high in very passing book!)

But…what I didn’t expect was to live every bit of the stories told by Søren, Nora and Kingsley. The story about their past encounters the reason they love unconditionally was something so spectacular I felt it in my very core. Reading the previous books left me confused about Nora and Søren’s relationship, I never got to see why is that they need each other or why they find their way back to each other and those answers I found it here.

“Sometimes only way to show someone
you love them is to let them go.”

Søren loved Nora for 20 years who in her very young age made him take his oath of celibacy back, who had a tendency to fall in trouble every chance she got. Took her under his wing, protected her, made her a strong independent woman and gave her his every wisdom but couldn’t give her a happily ever after. His heart loved her but his conscience wanted to set her free so that she could find somebody who isn’t worried to declare their love or worry about seeing together or atleast who would give her a family. Every time he sets her free every time she ran from him towards her freedom she never could deny the fact nobody loves her the way Søren did and that she always belonged to him.

“Why do you love me so much, you stupid man?”
He smiled down at her.
“Because I met you.”

Those two were so imperfect yet perfect for each other. Let it be their open relationship, her need for dalliance, they never tried to change each other but accept it with open heart. Even with so many lovers who could buy her happiness she preferred being a priest’s MISTRESS rather than somebody’s wife. That’s something so tragically beautiful and best love story I’ve ever heard since forever.

“I knelt at his feet because
I felt like that’s where I belonged.
And no, not because I was so unworthy of him,
but because he was so utterly worthy of my devotion.”

I’m glad that I was so wrong about Søren from beginning because seeing him from Nora’s eyes and listening him talk about her made me realized the prince charming and the damsel in despair need not be a normal people with perfect life but just two irrevocably loving, forgiving heart without expecting anything in return. All I want to say is-you have not seen true love until you have met Søren and his Eleanor.

Tiffany Reisz-I don’t know what to say which hasn’t been said about this god’s most wonderful creation. Thank you…. for writing this magnificent series, for making me question my morals and ethics, for giving life to this characters who permanently reside in my heart, for showing different shades of love and for making me say when I find myself in a difficult situation “What would Nora do?”…Just THANK YOU

It’s been literally 10 days since I met them; Their story sucked me in from the very beginning, I loved, loathed, laughed, swooned, prayed and cried over these characters. I couldn’t stop thinking about them when I’m awake, I dream (good and bad) about them, lost my sleep, lost my appetite, almost got fired for taking longer breaks during work hours BUT I don’t regret single minute of it. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry when I write this review but I cant help it, *sobs* it’s damn hard to say goodbye to them.


BTW the only reason I couldn’t give perfect 5 stars is Grace!!

Buddy read with my bestie Eda♥

P.S: One of the reason this series remain as an unforgettable memory is because I read it with you. Loved the banters, bitching about MC’s, swooning over King, rooting for our favorite couple and mostly loved that you were equally crazy about this series as I was. Thank you for being you!

P.P.S: Stop running after every silver Rolls Royce you see, King is too good to be true but if at all you find him....GIVE HIM MY NUMBER!!!!