The Mistress (The Original Sinners Book 4)

A few times I have read a series and gotten to the last book and thought Uggg…had I known that was going to happen I wouldn’t even have bothered with this series *looks at Kathleen Turner series and just shakes head*. This book had an event that might have done that for me, I’m still upset with one little facet of this book that left a huge bad taste in my mouth but alas Tiffany Reisz dragged me into the rest of the story so completely that I’m not at all sorry that I read this series and I will still recommend it to others who want to walk on the dark and wild side. (I will however vent about said event in the spoiler tag at the bottom.)“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.”The Mistress picks up right where The Prince ended, Nora has been taken and now Kingsley and Søren are desperately trying to work out how to find her as quickly as possible. It also seems they will have an abundance of help as every vanilla person they know shows up on Kingsley’s doorstep. Wes, has come to be involved and even though he hates Søren they seem to be able to find some common ground. The conversations between Wes and Søren and Wes and Kingsley were some of my favorites. Søren is truly once of the most complex male leads I’ve read and his complete unselfish love of Nora is amazing.“Kingsley...you trust him, right?” Wesley asked, not sure he trusted the man at all. “With my life,” Søren said, still not looking at him. “Do you trust him with hers?” “Same answer,” Søren said. “Same question.”Kingsley was really the man to take charge of the situation. With Søren devastated by Nora’s situation, the Frenchman really takes charge of the situation and does so with his usual humor and flare for the dramatic. I loved getting more backstory of the relationship between he and Nora and I really enjoyed how he laid it out for Wesley.“Our Nora has a magic pussy. It’s the opposite of the Bermuda Triangle. Lost men sail into it and then find themselves.”Did I mention that I totally love that they called themselves out on this. The whole time I’m sitting there wondering what is so great about Nora that all these men drop to their knees for her and are helplessly in love with her. But there it is right there, magic pussy.I still liked both The Angel and The Prince much better than this book. They flowed a little more smoothly and events didn’t seem so far out of the realm of possibility. The Mistress starts feeling a little clunky at times with the extra PoVs and flashbacks, some of which were repeats. In all of the other books we only have two competing PoVs but in the Mistress there are FIVE and it got a little distracting. A few characters seemed just shoved in there. I really never felt like Grace should have been in this story at all and why she was given a PoV is really beyond me, but there is more on that in my spoiler tag below.There is also Laila, Søren’s niece, entering into the story. I knew immediately ‘why’ she was there but she also was able to shed light onto Nora and Søren’s relationship when they were allowed to be out in the open with one another. Her memories of their past visits to Denmark really opened up what their relationship would have been if he wasn’t a priest. Her memories of overheard conversations and muttering of love a devotion to each other were absolutely beautiful.I know you’re hurting. Don’t be afraid to hurt me, too. I know you want to let go. Let go with me. You need comfort. Let me comfort you with my body. 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.And finally Nora, she must decide for sure if she survives who would she pick to be with. Will she choose the dutiful innocent and extremely vanilla Wes, or does she choose the enigmatic and unconditional love of Søren who may hurt her but never harms her. Søren knows all her faults, shortcomings and kinkcomings and loves her all the more for them…hmmm how will she choose. The touching moments she shares with Søren made me tear up and I became a complete emotional wreck for a little time. It was so beautiful and heartfelt and amazing that I was just wrapped up in these characters and I really didn’t want it to end.And for those reasons above I still loved this series overall and I won’t let the one thing that I really hated deter that. Søren, Kingsley, Griffin and even Nora made a most interesting tale. I have thought about this book a lot since I finished so I will say that it totally sticks with you and it did invoke a lot of emotions in me.I do recommend this series to anyone that likes BDSM, Erotica or even someone who wants to press their boundaries and want a Great Story along with the smut.And Now……On to the rant.****** Spoilers Abound Do Not Read On If You Don’t Want Spoilers****1stOkay… so this book is only over the course of a few days…Nora is kidnapped and held captive. Søren is so distraught over her abduction and then Grace shows up.Why is Grace even in this book! She was a little blip on the map in the first two books. I think she literally got three sentences in the second book and now she gets and entire PoV. All the important dialogue that Søren had with her could have easily been split between Laila, Kingsley and Wes possibly even Daniel. It seemed like this huge plot device just so Tiffany Reizs could shove in a trick to give it this OHHH ending. However I didn’t feel OHHH as all I just felt WTF…seriously. It seemed so out of character for Søren to have actual intercourse with Grace. They knew each other for 3-5 days…. 3-5 days and you are going to try and make me believe that he made Nora wait 5 years for them to have sex and Kingsley and he went something like 15 years but Grace’s freckles are like kryptonite and he gave up on his ‘sex, is special and should only be shared with someone you love’ I didn’t buy it. It seemed so out of character. He has dominated so many other women and never had sex with them so why he would have done that with Grace was just ugh….all around.So that was how God answered their prayer to have a baby… Søren is the answer. That way he gets a child he can never truly claim and Nora gets to be his godmother. Anyone else not want to mix in babies with their erotica….or is that just me *raises hand* It wasn’t even a surprise because they started dropping hints early on. Nora prays for you to have a child, I’ve prayed for you 9 times (I’m not Catholic but I guess that is important). Zach said I could have as much fun as I wanted while I’m here, he just doesn’t want to know the details….Well a baby is a hard detail to miss.So not happy that this seemed to be forced into the story and what now Kingsley’s baby girl and Søren’s baby boy will be best friends and grow up to be in love and start their own BDSM legacy….idk I hate the entire thing.2ndWes, ah my poor Wesley. I loved him in The Siren but since then it has really fallen off. He is so vanilla and I really thought he and Nora together was just ewe. So when I saw Laila in the story I knew she was there for his HEA. A quick and easy out, and it was quick. He has just proposed to Nora yet he meets this chick and then Nora was just a ‘friend’ hmmm. Within 2 days Wes decides that Nora is maybe better off with Søren and breaks off the engagement. Also he knows Laila for less than a week and she gives up her virginity to him. I know this is erotica but it seemed a little forced as well, it was like 5 minutes after he and Nora officially splitI did however like Laila’s addition to the story and the insight into Søren and Nora’s relationship. I thought in the long term she was perfect for Wes’s character I just would have thought it more believable had it taken longer to hook up or if they just snuggled together.

Please beware that this will contain slight spoilers from the previous books in the series.Nora’s used to being tied up and kept captive. But in her world it has always been a means of pleasure, this time it’s for revenge.The story pivots back and forth between the scenes where Nora is being held captive and the players that are in the story as they attempt her rescueI won’t focus too much on Nora’s kidnapping since the bulk of the story plays out with the other players involved. However, in the time that she’s taken we get flashbacks into events of her past that involve Soren, Kingsley & Wesley. But these weren’t just erotic bedtime stories; these were glimpses into the heart of all the characters. What drove them to love one another and the things that drove them apart.These were also moments when Nora is able to see things far more clearly than she had before. Choices that were difficult were seen with more clarity than ever before.When Soren learns of her being taken, he rallies the troops; but it’s not just his most trusted friends that are brought into the inner circle. We are reintroduced to Grace as she travels to the states and is unwilling to leave until Nora is returned safely. Laila, Soren’s niece is introduced to us as well who provides a view into Soren that was very much adored.Before we really begin I just have to react to the whole Grace thing. I hate her. I don't think she can be redeemed for me at all.It’s hard to really put into words how this story unfolds due to the way it was structured so I feel that going character by character might just be the easiest way to do this. But who knows... I’ve been staring at a blinking curser for about an hour trying to translate my thoughts into something that would make sense... so this might just be a crap load of chaotic words on a page by the time I’m done with it. I don’t’ think even letting another day pass would give my thoughts a chance to calm and gather into some semblance of sense....Wes... Wes wakes up to find Nora gone and does the one thing that he knows Nora would want. He calls Soren. But staying in Kentucky is not an option, leaving home and going to NY to figure out just what has become of the woman that he loves, the woman he just got back and the woman that he wants to one day call his wife.When Wes arrives he encounters more than just the guys and the plan to get Nora back. He meets Laila; Soren’s niece who is just a few years younger than he is and just a tad bit more innocent.Kingsley is place in probably the hardest position of all. He loves Soren and even though he cares for Nora, he still blames her partially for Soren not being with him. But by not saving Nora he knows that Soren would never survive... He knows that he must do everything he can for the man that he loves but what is needed will leave him with more guilt than one man can shoulder.Soren, I f'n love Soren. My heart ached for him throughout this story. There was so much pain in nearly everything he did, you felt the love he had for his Little One bleeding through the pages.“My heart is outside myself tonight and far away.”“Kingsley...you trust him, right?” Wesley asked, not sure he trusted the man at all.“With my life,” Soren said, still not looking at him.“Do you trust him with her?”“Same answer,” Soren Said. “Same question.”There was not one thing about this man that I did not fall completely in love with. I had been so worried at the start of this series that I would never be able to let myself become attached to him that his brand of pain might be too far outside my comfort zone... that did not last long. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more bewitched by a character in a book before. We’ve seen Soren through the eyes of so many in this series and for the first time we are truly seeing him through his own eyes. It was stunning.The last few scenes of this story were just brilliant. The moment where Soren makes the choice he has to make... then Nora is forced to make her own choice. That exchange was one of the most beautiful pieces of dialogue that I’ve read in a very long time. I was a sobbing mess the entire time. Not just crying and reading, but putting the kindle down and giving myself over to the emotions.Hands down one of the best series I’ve ever read. And I finally got the story I always wanted. A picture that made me think... oh, an erotic story about a priest... that would be so sexy and taboo... I got my story and it was so much more than I ever expected it to be.

The Original Sinners series have been a great read but The Mistress is only great for the first 85%. The character Grace added no credibility to the storyline and was superfluous. It seems the author only added her to the story to achieve the unrealistic conclusion. The end chapters are unbelievable on so many levels. Søren’s actions in the final chapters were totally alien to the character the author had gone to such great lengths to build over the series and she took much away from the man we had come to love. The closing chapters of the book appear rushed and thrown together, it’s as if the author lost sight of her characters resulting in a weak, unbelievable conclusion. This should and could have been a really great book if only the ending had been better plotted and stayed true to the characters involved. I have just read Book 9 The Priest and that too has been a let-down (see my review).

The final part in the Red Years series starts off with Nora being kidnapped by an unknown adversary. The same person who was threatening Kingsley and Soren previoulsy...This author continues to torment us with secrets from the past. More twist and turns a plenty. In this book, we see a different more gentle side to Soren and we truly get to understand the depth of his love for Nora and how he wouldn't be able to continue if she died. We have all the main characters in one at the same time place; Wes, Kingsley and Soren. Even Grace makes a re-appearance, athough a first I couldn't understand the significance of her returning, it all falls in to place at the end. I've always been team Wesley and after learning so much more about him in The Prince, I was even more besotted with him than before. I also think I'm falling in love with Kinglsey too, that gorgeous french accent of his There are some witty exchanges between Wesley & Soren and Wesley & Kinglsey. I just love the way the author weaves humour through this dark and twisted story.With this book, I loved it right up to about 90%. The last bit didn't quite sit right with me but that doesnt detract from the book in the slightest because I loved every single page. The final revelation I can't quite get my head around and it goes against everything this author has set out for us in the previous 3 books and more. Therefore, I'm toying between the notion that the ending is as obvious as it seems or the authors has delivered yet more mind games... If I am going to believe in the characters I have just invested time in I'm going with option 2 as it is the only thing that would makes complete sense.Once again Ms Reisz has delivered an epic story with lovable characters, with dark and twisted pasts. It has pushed me into a different world of reading, it's like nothing I have ever read before and I loved each and every single page of all four books. What a wonderful imagination this author has got. I'm only sad that it has taken me so long to discover her. On the upside, at least all the books in the series have now been published as I hate ending books on a cliffhanger when the next one's won't be available for months... That's torture in the highest form!!Bravo Ms Reisz, Bravo!!

I am fresh from finishing this book and feel I need to review it immediately. I have now read The Red Years books 1-4 and will be moving onto the others, eventually. I say eventually because these stories have tested me at times.This book tried to be a gripping thriller and succeeded in many, many ways. With the whole game of chess thing going on, it really made me wonder how the whole kidnap would pan out. Reisz had me worried a couple of times, she really did.I felt the pace of this was faster than the other books. Really fast in some places, in fact. However, I had no idea why – in the middle of dramatic scenes towards the 80% mark – we had to have some great big long descriptions of past events while people's lives hung in the balance. I despise skipping sections in books. I might miss something if I do. However I almost skipped over some bits of regurgitated details of the Soren/Nora/Kingsley trinity just to find out what the hell might happen next.Marie-Laure was over-used as the antagonist. Reisz seemed to use her to stick two fingers up at people who don’t understand BDSM, making Marie-Laure the ultimate ignorant bitch. As someone who's versed in BDSM inside and out, I found a lot of the explanations (which we've had covered in earlier books, too – about the dynamics of doms/dommes and subs etc) pretty wasteful. In fact there were loads of threads of stories in this book which we’d heard before but somehow, I felt Reisz let herself get a little lost in this story.Now I know there are more books yet to read and I feel they will be retrospective (set in the so-called present still but harking on about the past) so hopefully we will get more answers about Fionn…Anyway. The one feeling I can’t snap myself out of at the end of this book is that Nora has been severely short changed. At times during the kidnapping, I was in awe of her composure, her strength, her storytelling under pressure. But now I feel like she’s become a fantasy more than a reality. A myth more than a woman. No woman on earth I know, not even women who’ve survived all sorts of hardcore challenges and have come out the other end solid, could simply do what she does AND survive what she survives. Loving a man so much, not able to have him completely, and giving her body away. There is always a price for that. Always. Maybe that’s where my own self-beliefs fall short of understanding this series completely but one minute Soren is saying he regretted putting her in Daniel’s arms, the next he is … well. To save spoilers, read it for yourself. For me, Nora’s become a vessel for everyone else to lose themselves in and she’s lost herself along the way. I wish I could believe just one woman has that capacity for so much love, forgiveness, understanding… but I don’t think that sort of woman exists and that’s where my love/hate relationship with these books stems from. I find the character portrayals fascinating but also unrealistic; I find the sex highly erotic but not arousing. I’m sat just squirming sometimes because I don’t believe people can have sex without the exchange of emotions. How can she have her heart divided up into a thousand pieces?Grace was another over-used side character as was Laila. What happened with Laila and Wesley was completely and utterly predictable.Where this book excelled – and I really mean excelled – was with the tête-à-têtes. They gave us more insight into these characters and really were the easiest to read.Readers that don’t like changes of POV, past vs present, flashbacks, multiple partners for multiple people – look elsewhere. You won’t find what you want here. However, Reisz could teach fledging writers a thing or two about using all the literary devices at hand – because she makes them all her own.These books are still a million billion times better than Fifty Shades, albeit on the extreme side of BDSM, but more accurate nonetheless. In many respects, brilliantly, brilliantly done! My favourite character remains Kingsley… I just hope these people eventually settle down LOL.

Oh. Oh Soren. *sobs*.I've been a massive fan of this series since I first downloaded the original sinners novella. I wasn't sure about the first book, mostly because of the writing style, but I purchased the second one and I wasn't disappointed. The series just gets better and better.The clear progression of the characters from that first book is just astonishing. Nora's irreverence is funny and engaging. Soren slowly peels away layers to expose the honest goodness under his glacial sadist exterior. Wes is unfailingly sweet, but he grows up throughout the series. He doesn't become jaded, per se, but he does begin to realise that maybe love isn't enough and that the world isn't about right and wrong, black and white. Kingsley is still something of an enigma to me. The King of Kink is closemouthed and plays everything close to his chest. I think when you realise that for him it's always been about love, it's kind of a suckerpunch to the chest.I'd be the first to admit that I'm an emotionally tough nut to crack when it comes to reading. I never cry. So the fact that one particular scene in this book had me sobbing over my kindle to the point that I had to go and calm down before I could continue reading should tell you how good it is.I wish I knew how Miss Reisz does it - something about her books just has a sense of the epic. Maybe it's the well-researched references to God and faith; maybe it's just the timeless anti-love story; I don't know. I just know that they're in a whole other league to most of the things I've been reading in the last two years.Buy them. You won't be disappointed!

This was a great book, sitting on the edge whilst reading this, we start where the previous book The Prince, finished off with Nora having been kidnapped ! It all unravels from there!We have Kingsley, Soren, Wesley who all love this woman! forced to get together to try and rescue Nora, especially once we find out who the perpetrator is! Throw into the mix Grace, Zach's wife (Nora's editor). They begin at Kingsley's home and club, along with Griffin and Michael! The plans start to formulate for rescuing Nora.Nora begins to unravel where she is and who has her! She then realizes she needs to keep her captor interested in what she has to say! so Nora does what Nora does best and tells stories about why each one of the men in her life mean so much to her! She also gives her captor an insight to the lives that Kingsley and Soren lead before they met Nora!Nora discovers whilst telling her stories who is really is in love with and who she wants to stay with! We really learn about each of the characters through Nora's tales and you cant but help to fall further in love with Kingsly, Soren, Wesley and Nora!Nora attempts to escape with the help of a hidden razor she finds in one of the books in the room where she is held! Unfortunately it is not successful! I was very intrigued with how much the captor knew about Nora, she had been stalked and watched for months it turns out! All of them had been!We get to know more about Grace, and how she starts to feel about the people she is staying with, once she learned about Nora's kidnapping, she ends up being a great help and support to Soren and Wesley, so much that she hankers to have one night of fun and to experience Nora's world. She gets her wish! plus a whole lot more!We meet Laila, Soren's niece, who had been tricked by the captors into visiting her uncle as a surprise, she gets used as a pawn in the whole saga, she meets Soren's friends and acquaintances including Nora's fiance Wesley, not that she knows that! but she begins to fall for him, they are both very similar in age and become good friends!What we find out is the captor wants Soren, who eventually goes into the house where Nora is held, and Nora is given a choice! To let Soren go off with the Captor and she walks away! or kill him! ooh that was a hard choice, Its during this time when they say their goodbyes that their love deepens if that's possible, she is handed a dagger to kill Soren with, when she does the unthinkable, BUT it all works out and eventually Kingsley comes in to witness the carnage, closely followed by Wesley who wants nothing more than getting Nora away, but in the panic he cant find her, she is there only she was being protected!In the aftermath the captors are all gone, and they all go back to their friends house to recover, its here that Grace gets her one night, Nora gets to rekindle her friendship with Kingsley and where Laila and Wesley get acquainted! Wesley makes the heart wrenching decision to end things with Nora, after discovering the love she has from Soren, and he is pursued by Laila who had started falling for Wes before she realised who he was in all of this!The epilogue was absolutely lovely. Wes and Laila get to begin their lives together, Zach and Grace get the one thing they have been desperately wanting a baby, Kingsley also gets to be a papa with Juliette. Really great ending!