"Once someone loves you that much, loves you more than you deserve, you can't go back to being loved the normal way."

cw: depression, suicidal ideation

I have a hard time reading outside of my favorite genres, and I was afraid of this book because I am not big on time travel books; however, I do have the challenge to finish and I did enjoy this one. It's terribly romantic and also depressing. The first part is hard to get through if you are depressed. Faye has lost the love of her life, and she finds little reason to go on living. Perhaps it's twisted that I related to her pain and her depression. Thankfully I haven't lost any great loves, but sometimes getting out of bed and functioning like a human is incredibly difficult.

I will say Reisz writes really well. I got hooked on her prose, her dialogue is superb, her sex scene was well written, and she really makes you fall in love with her characters, even with the ones that are dead.

Yes, the book does suffer from a type of instalove, but given the circumstances, it wasn't too strange though it did make the story feel rushed to me and... messy. Faye travels to the past and meets Carrick, who looks a lot like her dearly departed husband Will, and she falls for him instantly. Thing is Faye is not in her body but in the body of Faith Morgan whom Carrick pines for since he met her. These are two characters that loved other people that looked like them and then fell in love with each other. See? It's super messy.

It's like I loved the story but I also feel like Faye didn't finish grieving so much as find a Will-shaped bandaid and that's why I couldn't really give this a higher rating.

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Myth and magic mix with eroticism and exploration in The Rose. In Lia’s story, Tiffany Reisz has delivered a fast-paced, uninhibited sensual journey that’s feminist, sex-positive, and oh-so-much-fun to read.

Lady Ophelia Anne Fitzroy Godwick is no ordinary young lady. She’s a lover of Greek mythology, which she incorporates into her tapestries. She’s also inherited her family’s wild streak and their business acumen, for she’s a madam who has been running an escort service for the past few years. Lia’s mix of daring and vulnerability endeared her to me and I was eager to follow along on her journey. At her university graduation party her parents gift her with an ancient artifact known as the Rose Kylix. It’s a gorgeous gift, but according to collector August Bowman, it’s also highly dangerous. The kylix was used in the temple of Eros and it can bring your sexual fantasies to life. Curious but skeptical, Lia allows August to guide her and together they set off on an erotic adventure like no other. They journey through various myths and I loved how Ms. Reisz wove their fantasies, keeping the base myths but turning them into something erotic and enjoyable. Women tend to not fare well in Greek myths and legends, but Lia and August change the narrative and turn their lusty adventures into a positive experience for both.

Lia and August’s forays into famous myths are a lot of fun, but I was also drawn to the romance between the two. August is not simply a collector with a passion for the past, though I’ll leave it to readers to unwrap August alongside Lia. I adored the banter between the two of them and their shared love of Greek mythology made for fascinating conversations. Most of all, it was the quiet, emotional moments really grabbed me. The two of them make a fantastic pair and it was fun to watch them fall in love.

The Rose is the sequel to The Red, which starred Lia’s mother, Mona. If you don’t mind minor spoilers you don’t have to have read Mona’s book in order to enjoy Lia’s (though you would be missing out on a devilishly good time). Whether or not you’ve read The Red, you are sure to love any scenes that feature Lia’s parents. Mona and Spencer are hilarious, bawdy, and loving parents and they light up the page whenever they appear. I desperately hope Lia’s brothers get books if only to see these two again.

The Rose is a breath of fresh air with its characters who joyfully embrace their sexuality and the story’s open, positive view of sex workers. Ms. Reisz never fails to deliver a unique, interesting read and The Rose is no exception. I really hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Godwicks, for their love of art and literature and the way it’s incorporated into their stories just takes their books to the next level.


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

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Jason “Still” Waters is a retired champion bull rider who lives a quiet life on his horse farm in Kentucky. At least it’s a quiet life until he has to sub in for a friend and pose naked for a charity calendar. Jason’s already out of his comfort zone when he meets gorgeous photographer Simone Levine, but then she knocks him for a loop by bringing out the secret that he’s long been trying to hide. Jason’s a dominant, but his ultra conservative upbringing makes him ashamed and afraid to act on his fantasies. But with a little help from Simone, a professional submissive, Jason may just find the courage to embrace his kinky side.

Picture Perfect Cowboy is utterly divine! It’s sexy, sweet, and oh-so-much fun to read. Jason just about melted my heart. He’s not just a drop-dead sexy cowboy (though that doesn’t hurt), he’s kind, sweet, and polite enough to make you swoon. He’s also a man at war with himself. To call his upbringing strict would be an understatement and it isn’t easy for him to overcome that and accept that (1) he’s a dominant and (2) there’s absolutely nothing wrong or bad about what he enjoys. I loved watching Simone help him come into his own, to overcome what was drilled into his head and find joy with someone whose kinks complement his own.

As for Simone, she’s a delight. She’s bright, funny, generous, and open. She’s a vibrant heroine who lit up the page and I adored her from the very first. Simone loves Jason’s brand of dominance and she’s patient, honest, and open with him. She’s a wonderfully sweet and bubbly heroine who has a spine of steel. I loved watching her and Jason explore a master/slave relationship. They’re hot as hell together, but what’s more, they click on every level. They fall in love fast and hard and it’s easy to see why – these two are made for each other.

Picture Perfect Cowboy is part of Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners world, but it easily stands alone. But never fear: Søren and Nora do appear and they are a wonderful addition to this story whether you’re an old fan or are just diving into the Original Sinners. Every book I’ve read by Tiffany Reisz has been nearly impossible to put down and this book continues that streak. Her characters are always compelling and the pages of her books seem to fly by. If you love sexy cowboys, vivacious heroines, and a sweet but kinky romance, Picture Perfect Cowboy is the book for you!


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

I don't know why I pushed through once I started getting irritated with the weird regressive snobbery of the main character -- probably because this is short and maybe she'd pull her head out eventually. An English teacher on her last dime is driving up from the deep South to Chicago to crash on a friend's couch and hopefully find a new job. She doesn't really have anyone in her life: parents are dead, boyfriend took off to Africa to Peace Corps or something. She gets into a car accident on the way to Spooky Gothic Boys Academy, and wakes up in the headmaster's apartment. She hassles him for a job and he puts her on a one week probationary period. Here's where things start to go to shit. 

First, main girl starts hitting on the headmaster like it's her damn job. This is unbelievably unprofessional, if not downright unethical. Which fine, this is a Gothic romance, whatever. The real irritation set in when she began outlining her curricula, and I fully own what a dork ass thing that is to say. It's a boys' school, yes? With a very frusty hidebound reading list? And she's like, I won't bother them with Brontës or Austen because boys hate romance. What in the actual fuck.

This is actually, literally a romance novel, and we're going to have to hear a bunch of fucking bullshit about how 1) the Brontës and Austen wrote romance and 2) boys shouldn't have to read writing by women because it's all fucking romance. Jfc does that piss me off. Brontës were Romantics, no question (though Austen was not) but given that the modern romance novel wasn't invented until a century and a half later, they were not writing romance novels. Moreover, if they were somehow writing romance novels, given their position in the actual Western Canon, there is absolutely no justification for keeping them off a reading list for boys, other than boys might get cooties and feel uncomfortable, and their delicate fee-fees must be shielded from women who are apparently only capable of writing romance novels, because that is the only thing that women write. I recognize the run-on nature of the previous sentence, but that is just an indicator of my ire. 

This bullshit is repeated when Gwen(?) considers maybe she should include some works by black authors because there is a single black student who, it is assured to us assiduously, is completely extraordinary and the smartest kid in the school. (Black students are never allowed to be average.) Which is why the headmaster went to bat for him the previous year when he was the first black student in the school, and half the parents pulled their kids because they were racist shitheels. There's a (stupid) reason for why the school just integrated in the 21st fucking century, but Gwen does not know that reason. Headmaster gets all the cookies for standing up to racists, but it's full on bullshit that there are only white dudes on the reading list, and Gwen is all la la la maybe I should remedy that lol, instead of asking very pointed questions about what the fuck is wrong with a school that accepted its first black student in 20 fucking 18, let alone why there are only white men are on the reading list. But really she's much more interested in banging her boss before she even gets the job. 

The ending is where I blew my top, but I'm not sure I should get into it because of spoilers. I'll just say that the horrible, inert ending of the Twilight saga, which saw Bella and Edward locked into enduring middle class perfection for ever and ever amen is, for me, the worst kind of hell. Aspects of that were replicated here, with an added bonus of the death wish of such a vision made more explicit. There's medieval heresies based on what happens here, and while I'm not usually aligned with religious crackpots high on ergot, we are in accordance here. What a strange world we live in. 

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Working for a secret branch of the French military by day and seducing a number of women by night may be enough to occupy some men, but not Kingsley Boissonneault. No assignment, no assignation can fill his mind enough to rid him of the dreams of Søren, the love he can never get over. Until, that is, he’s tasked with going undercover and rescuing his commanding officer’s nephew from a sex cult run by the mysterious Madame. Madame’s world is like nothing Kingsley has ever seen. In the château, the women rule and the men serve. And as Madame’s brand of sadism feeds Kingsley’s soul, he’s faced with a choice: he can have everything he’s ever wanted, but the price is giving up forever the beautiful monster who haunt his dreams.

The Chateau is an interesting, evocative read that’s a fantastic mix of dark and light. Kingsley’s journey through the looking glass and into Madame’s world is filled with surprises, erotic adventures, and masochism. The château is a sort of reverse Story of O where the women rule and the men serve them in every way. In many ways it’s a lovely world, with warmth, humor, and sensuality. Madame is a sadist and a master at mind games, and she’s an interesting, well-developed character. It’s easy to see why Kingsley is fascinated by her and why he’s taken with the other women in the house. Whether or not the world Madame has created is what it seems or if there are darker elements at play, I’ll leave readers to discover. I will say that nothing is ever simple and straightforward when you’re playing with characters this clever and I loved the twists and turns Kingsley encounters over the course of the story.

At the center of The Chateau is the story of Kingsley finding himself again. Kingsley is a delightful protagonist. He’s young, arrogant, charming, protective, and funny as hell. He’s strong and deadly, to be sure, but he’s also incredibly vulnerable and I found the contrast appealing. Life in the château holds great appeal for him: beautiful women, the chance of a family, and a masterful sadist who can give him almost everything he needs. The almost part comes in because of Kingsley’s dreams about Søren, the former lover whose hold on him is still strong. I loved watching Kingsley learn more about himself and about his relationship with Søren over the course of the book.

The Chateau is a standalone book set in the world of Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners series. I haven’t yet read the rest of the books, but if I wasn’t already planning to I definitely would now because I was so intrigued by Kingsley and Søren’s relationship. Ms. Reisz is a master of pushing boundaries and mixing eroticism with emotion and charm. Her writing is always engaging, so much so that I started The Chateau late and night and read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, only to finish the book when I woke up the next morning. So whether you’re a fan of the Original Sinners series or are new to the world, this is an exceptional ride.


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