The Mistress Tiffany Reisz

 

 
ARC supplied by Netgalley.
I’d read the prequel (little red riding hood?) and the first book The Siren. Love, love, loved them both, but with so many unfinished trilogies/quartets on my kindle I’d made a new years resolution not to read any more of those until all parts are out – then I can indulge in a mammoth back to back reading session. Then this popped up on Netgalley…and I couldn’t resist. I did wonder how it would read with my not having yet read the two middle books but I needn’t have been concerned, it was all very easy to follow – in as much as anything about Nora’s life makes sense anyway! The best bit for me was that all the characters from earlier books are brought together. The magic in Tiffanys’ writing is that she has the talent to take what seems an unshakable belief in the readers thoughts about the rightness of an action or person and transform it. I really didn’t like Soren, a priest having a long time affair that started when Nora was just fifteen? And a man that’s a self admitted hard core Sadist? And has a sexual relationship with a long time male friend Kingsley? (not that I’m against m/m relationships but he’s a Catholic priest and all this seems so hypocritical) – but I ended the novel under his seductive spell like the rest of the cast. Soren has a way of weaving his love for God and the way its part of his life, together neatly with his actions and explains it all in such a believable way. Wesley – so very protective of Nora and a fellow Soren hater found the same happened to him. I love Wesley, one of life’s wonders, a sensitive and moral man who’s a deep thinker and loves with his whole being. He’s a fab man – but so very much younger than Nora, a real “vanilla” lover with none of her penchant for the BDSM lifestyle – and it is an essential part of Nora’s life so can they make it work? Kingsley, I can’t help liking what I know of him and yet – he’s not called The King for nothing, he too has a very dark side that’s the greater part of his life and a love/hate relationship with Nora. Then there’s Nora’s friend Grace, wife to Zachary who we met in The Siren, and Sorens teenage niece. They also play a strong part in this book.
It’s erotica – but as with the rest of the series its a very, very dark erotica. Its BDSM at its extreme with some very graphic moments though reading reviews for other books not as graphic as they seem to have been. Its not a gentle spanking novel but one with strong whippings that leave marks, and other actions that leave bruises and welts.
I love novels that have a proper story to carry the sex scenes, and Tiffany has done that here and so much, much more. I simply have to buy the two middle novels now even knowing how the series ends, as I want to read the rest and how the characters ended up as they did. I’ll probably start from beginning again and have a Norafest day…All these people seem so real I feel like I know them. This book turns what I thought about many of them upside down, and made me really think about why they were as they were – and made me realise that though much of the BDSM elements are very dark, in fact so long as the participants are all happy and consenting what’s the harm? I don’t understand how giving or receiving a beating can be sexually stimulating, but clearly to some it is. I do understand how self inflicted pain can be used as a control of oneself so I suppose its just one step (or a few more ) further on. Like Wesley I found the interaction between Soren and Nora shocking at times, and yet by the end I felt much more understanding of their relationship crept in.
Noras’ tales she tells to her captor to keep her alive were the perfect vehicle for showing some of what happened in earlier books in a different light – after all each person sees actions and motivations differently, and I loved the way this gave us her insight into what happened, and answered many questions the earlier books will have raised. Nora herself is an amazing person with a huge heart full of love. That’s not to say she doesn’t make mistakes, we’re all human, but she embraces everything Soren does and asks for more. The dead stick being watered for six months will stay with me – its a perfect example of Sorens’ control – he needs it and Nora needs him to exert it.
I can’t say more – well I could go on for ages 🙂 but don’t want to give anything away. What I will say is this is the perfect ending to the series, brings everything up to speed and ties up all ends. I’ll miss Nora and friends but am very much looking forward to my Norafest day when I have a free one. Its a fantastic book, one that will stay with you for ages. I love the psychology of the story, why each person was as they were and had the need to do what they did. Very satisfying and thought provoking. A book to engage the brain and not just a switch off brain fluff type but one you need to really concentrate on, never the less it’s also a real escape from the tribulations of everyday life. My favourite sort of book.
Its £5.03 for a massive 560 pages on kindle, and with the re reading factored in its great value on my VFM scale. With so many novels now being only 120-150 pages its a real treat to get one so long and that length allows the reader to get fully immersed into the story. Huge thanks to Tiffany from a reader who loves these long books 🙂
Stars: Five – five all the way, in fact I wish I could give it five plus 🙂 its that good.

 

Edit: I’vesince bought books two and three and love them, the whole series is one cracking read, smoking, erotic sex, fabulous characters and a real ride – (hah!) of excitement. whats even better is I’ve read there’s more books planned – about our favourite priest. Bring it on!! I reckon if there were more priests like Soren, the church would have a far greater attendance rate  🙂