| Title | : | The Prince (The Original Sinners, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0778314103 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780778314103 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 407 |
| Publication | : | First published November 20, 2012 |
Wes Railey is the object of Nora's tamest yet most maddening fantasies, and the one man she can't forget. He's young. He's wonderful. He's also thoroughbred royalty and, reuniting with him in Kentucky, she's in his world now. But this infamous New York dominatrix is no simpering Southern belle, and Nora's dream of fitting into Wesley's world is perpetually at odds with the relentlessly seductive pull of Søren—her owner, her lover, the forever she cannot have. At least, not completely.
Meanwhile Nora's associate Kingsley Edge is only too happy to take her place at Søren's feet during her hiatus. Søren is the only man Kingsley has ever loved, and their dark, shared history has forged a bond that neither the years—nor Søren's love for Nora—can break. But a new threat from an old adversary is forcing Kingsley to confront the past, reminding him that he must keep his friends close, and his enemies closer.
The Prince (The Original Sinners, #3) Reviews
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Nora, Who???
This series just keeps getting better! Delving further into Soren and Kingsley's shared past was quite enlightening. These two really stole the show in this book. I have a whole new perspective now, and a lot more questions. All I'll say is, Poor Kingsley! He really got a rough deal. No pun intended.
I'm still struggling with trying to like Soren. I'm just not seeing the overwhelming goodness that keeps being referenced with regard to him. He had some terrible things happen to him early in life. I get it. I'm just not sure that excuses many of his own deplorable acts. Then again, that is what makes him such a compelling character.
Admittedly, I was initially rolling my eyes at the idea of Nora running away from Soren and back to sweet Wesley. I mean, really! How long is she going to string this poor guy along? We all knew that in all likelihood she'd never completely walk away from Soren. So yeah, I wasn't thrilled with where things left off at the end of the last book.
However, this book had my rapt attention in no time. With mysterious threats and a sordid forbidden love story, I couldn't have cared less about what was going on with Nora and her boy-toy. It was a little distracting to bounce back and forth so much, but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Having the sweet and innocent story of Nora and Wes alternated with the darker love story of Soren and Kingsley also provided a little reprieve from some intense scenes.
Overall, this was an intense and suspenseful read. With a huge cliffhanger ending, I expect to see Nora take a more central role in the book that follows. I will be diving into the next book in this series immediately. What a wild, kinky ride! -
::: FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED :::
**** GASPPP!!!!! **** Holyyyyyy SHIT!!! OMG. Ahhh!!! The ending of this book made my heart STOP!!!!
I am so freaking glad that the next book is already out because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! Gah. This series is putting me through the wringer but I totally love it and I can't stop reading!!
Note: This is the third book in a series that must be read in order. This review is pretty safe for anyone, but you should read The Siren and The Angel before this book.
If you've already read the first two books, you'll naturally have a ton of questions stored up about all the various character and (thankfully) this is a book of answers. There's a lot of back story mixed in with two present day storylines that together fill in so many blanks. I'm really in awe of how multi-layered this story is. Between that and the incredible writing, it's really a series that is hard to put down.
The story in this book is split into three interconnected parts: Søren & Kingsley's past thirty years ago in the Jesuit school they both attended, Søren & Kingsley's present day activities as they search for the elusive thief that is threatening them, and Nora & Wesley in present day time together down in Kentucky.
I really feel like, even though I've liked Søren up until this point, I've also been a little wary of him. He's a sadist -- a man who can only be sexually aroused by causing pain or humiliation to his lover. That freaks me out a little. What keeps him a good man is that he has a conscience. Everything he engages in is consensual so he's not a monster. But it just makes me uncomfortable... That being said, there's also a lot more to him than just his sexual preferences. And that was what we learned in this book.
This man had given up everything he had to God, except the part of his heart that would always belong to Eleanor. He's such an enigma. He inspires love from his congregation, respect merely by his nature from anyone who meets him, and abject fear (and awe) from the Underground. But learning about his past really did help me to understand that despite his need for sexual sadism, undearneath that was a very, very good man (as Nora has told us so many times). He's kind, selfless, and caring. But he's also like the eye of a storm -- borderline lethal and deadly calm. A sadist with a conscience and a good heart.
And we finally get to learn oh-so-much more about Kingsley. This man -- King of the Underground, top Dom only below Søren -- had a whole other side to him that few people knew about. His tale is honestly rather heartbreaking (even to where it's at now) -- the ultimate unrequited love... almost tragically so.
I loved seeing the way the layers of their histories come together through their shared mutual bond, desires, and close connection at such an early age. Best friends and mortal enemies -- the deepest of love mixed with the deepest of hate. It was honestly fascinating to see the two most dominant men of the Underground world show such private vulnerabilities with regards to each other -- something they'd kept hidden from those around them. Over thirty years of shared history and yet so many unresolved feelings.
For the first time I began to see Søren in a different light -- and appreciate how isolating his way of being was, and the incredible lengths he went through to protect those around him from himself.
Meanwhile, miles away, Nora returns home with Wesley to him home in Kentucky. Sweet, sweet Wesley -- so in love with her, and the only man to ever love her without hurting her first. I love them together so much!!!! Everything about them just fills my heart to bursting with FEELS. Even though they're complete opposites, they just feel so right to me. And the WAY he loves he just breaks my heart. -- “When Søren hurts you, I die inside.” -- Gah!!!!! I loved they way they were both fumbling around in new waters together even though their situations were vastly different -- her, a world-reknown dominatrix who'd never had vanilla sex without kink, and him, a virgin who was saving himself for the woman he loved. They were so cute! Ahhh, her learning to cuddle. *clutches heart* Not going to lie though, I am worried as to whether or not they'll genuinely be able to make it work. I do worry. Even though I am rooting for them.
Although, I admittedly have warmed up to Søren enough that I am now just a teensy bit torn. But like, what kind of future could he offer her? I feel like he was an integral part of her past... and will probably always be a part of her for the rest of her life... but I also feel like Wesley is her future. Is it horrible of me to kinda want her to end up with Wesley but maybe have him be okay with her going to be with Søren every now and again?? Hehe. Ok. Yeah, maybe that's too far. *sigh* Maybe after reading three of these books, I'm adopting the whole "no boundaries" outlook of this world a little too much. Don't judge.
I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY!!! *flails*
I have to say I'm beyond impressed with the way this author kept these three storylines going at the same time without ever making it confusing and simultaneously making you feel invested in all of them.
This series has the ability to be incredibly intense one moment, then keep you on the edge of your seat with the dangerous tension, then be scandalously kinky, incredibly romantic and tender, and then have you laugh out loud the next. There's witty banter, deep theology, complex plotlines, and heart-wrenching emotions.
I really have come to love and respect/understand the way there's just no limitations to the "who" or "how" of the love in this series. It's just love. Plain and simple. The circumstances and details are irrelevant. Love can happen anywhere and in so many different forms. Only the love itself matters.
This entire series has a kind of storytelling that is one of my favorites where not only is there one big story arc, but each chapter has it's own smaller, but equally profound arc, such that the last words of each chapter always hold great meaning. They have *ooooomph*, y'know? Meaning. Power. I love it!
So yeah, #TeamSøren people... for the first time in this series, I'm actually starting to feel a little torn. Not that I want her to be with Søren, but I get why she's so attached to him. I really do. Honestly it was the '100 ways' and 'spider' things that made me warm up to him the most. I guess also by seeing his past, it's a little easier for me to separate his sadism from who he is as a person. But it just really does bother me that he cannot get aroused without causing pain to his lover. I'm sorry, but as good a man as he is, that bothers me. So, I'm #TeamSøren in the sense that I like his character and I want him to be happy.... but if I had to pick Nora's HEA, I'm #TeamWesley. I just love the way he loves her. So much. *sniff*
For new readers, please note that this is an erotic series, but it's not a romance even though there is very deep, strong, and true LOVE within the story. Overall, it's very boundary pushing and non-traditional, so it might not be the series for everyone (it took me years to work up to reading them), but I would suggest giving them a try because even though they're almost the complete opposite of what I normally would think I'd want to read, I am totally LOVING this series! Loving it!
On to the next book!! :D
Rating: 4.5 stars. Contemporary erotica.
(I dont know if I should mark 4 or 5 stars... still undecided.)
My review of book #1:
http://bit.ly/1I3176u
My review of book #2:
http://bit.ly/1JIzQay
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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
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FAVORITE QUOTES:
Note: I “hid” these in a spoiler tag but they’re not really spoilers. I only hid them because there are a lot and I thought it would be annoying to just have them out there. It would be best if you read the first two books first I think, but there’s nothing in here that’s overly revealing. It’s about as safe as quotes from a third book in a series can be. Take a look if you want :)
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***PLS DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS SERIES, WHAT A SHAME BY THE WAY!***
Tiffany did it again. I used to think Nora was based on her but now I am pretty sure she is more Soren-ish. Poor Andrew, he must be Kingsley!
This book starts just after The Angel. As you might remember Nora was running off (cruel bitch) to meet boring Wesley and Soren was left alone (no worries Sir, I will always be here for you).
This is two books in one, maybe three books in one and let me explain you why. We get to meet young Soren & Kingsley, we get to know more about adults Soren & Kingsley and we get to deflower boring Wes.
NORTH – PAST & PRESENT
Young Soren is scary, like these guys who don’t speak with anyone at all. He’s always playing his piano, always with his thoughts until Kingsley arrives to his school.
Kingsley is a womanizer, typical hot French guy with hot accent who always gets what he wants. But this time he wants Soren, he feels an special attraction that he can’t deny and he wants to submit to him at any cost.
In this book we get to know Kingsley better. He has feelings and I think it was my favourite character in The Prince. Tiffany Reisz is able to make you love or hate a character, no matter the idea you had about them before.
While we’re getting some information about their younger life together, we also see how Kingsley’s love for Soren is still there and I doubt that is gonna disappear anytime soon.
”I’ve ben in love with a ghost for thirty years”
I felt like their love is the real one, like they are meant to be together during all the book. And I also felt Soren loves Kingsley. He married Kingsley’s sister to spend more time with him, that is LOVE. I know I thought Nora and Soren were meant to be together but I was wrong. Soren and Kingsley have been together for thirty years, they have been best friends, like brothers, they have been lovers, Soren made all he could to make Kingsley the man he is now. I know Reisz has no idea what a HEA means but I seriously need them to end up together somehow!
SOUTH
Ok, I admit it. I like Wesley! Happy? I really hope Soren is not reading this because he’s going to spank my arse, not that I wouldn’t enjoy that!.
Wesley might be the man for Nora. I am not pretty sure if she can be happy being vanilla (well, wall sex is not vanilla, right?) BUT she should try so she leaves Soren alone.
We get to meet Wesley’s world. Rich world to be exact. That guy has a palace or something like that in Kentucky with horses, lots of them. And let’s say his parent is not exactly a fan of Nora and her smart ass comments.
”I know who you are, Miss Sutherlin.”
“A fan? How nice.”
I don’t really want to talk about K&S or N&W stories because you can read the books and I will never EVER make this any justice but I want to say a few things about our lovelysadistauthor.
I felt I was reading REAL relationships and I need all authors to take note on this. That scene where Wesley popped his cherry was SO DAMN REAL! Because in real life, when you lose your virginity is SHIT! But authors want you to think that losing your virginity is the best thing you can experience. HELL NO! If you’re lucky, after a few times you will start having fun but NOT definitely the first time. And yes, people have morning breath, I thought it was just me after all those cheesy books!
Let me finish this with some thoughts about The Mistress… -
You have to read the books by breaking them up, gives you the pleasure of reading 3 books and not one!
North - Past first
Then North - Present
Then South
Ahhh, I absolutely loveeeeee this series. Time to grab and re-read book 4!
~
All I can say is,
What. A. Book
What. A. Fucking. Brilliantly. Amazing. Book.
Giving it 5 Stars is giving it far too little.
In this book 'The Prince', we learn and read about two Prince, 'The Prince of Kentucky' and 'La Petit Prince.'
First I was all

Then, at the end I was like


I've got absolutely no words. Amazing and Brilliant are not the words you can use while saying how good this book was, This book needs a new word to describe it.
Actually, This series needs a new word appart from fantastic, brilliant, amazing etc to describe it. Someone go invent a better word.. lol
'The Original Sinners' is hands down, one of the best series I have ever read.
Each and every dialogue sends a shiver down the spine when you read them because they hold that weight and you feel it while reading it. I wish these characters were real!!
The book is sheer brilliant, You learn so much about Kingsley, Søren, Nora and Wesley and more!!
The ending left me with my jaw hitting the floor, all in terror and surprise and just HOLY FUCKING SHIT, Someone slap me and say it isn't true because I'm freaking the shit out.
You can read the book two ways, First read all the South stuff, which is about Nora and Wesley and then Read the North stuff which is divided into Kingsley and Søren's past and future. Or read them all together. hehe, I like a dip shit read South first, then North. Felt like I was reading two amazing books instead of one. *grins*
While reading North Past, We learn so so so so much about Kingsley and Søren's past, about how they were in the same school, how they became lovers and how everything worked out between them and how did they land up the way they are today. In the North Present, we see how Kingsley and Søren are finding the 'someone' and so help me god when they did, I got a heart attack. Back in the South, the story of Wesley and Nora continue, How he will do anything to keep her! Does Nora belong to Wesley or Søren? Who will she land up with? ;) Don't you just want to read it to find out?
The book is written with such perfection, Tiffany Reisz is really something. Hats off you you Tiffany Reisz, This is one of the best stories I've ever read in the narration, reading, story, character's, plot etc's pov!
Cannot wait for 2013 and read the 4# book!! Like seriously, Its going to be torturous!!!
One thing the book taught me was
"Not to ask questions we don't want the answers to"
"You said my safe word." - Søren
[I fell in love with him a 100 times more.]
READ THE BOOK.
Have you ever been high on a book? Well I have, Its an amazing feeling.. Its like your on some book crack! Very few books can give you that doze. Got me so high!
ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley -
Excerpt from 'Two Princes' by the Spindoctors
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be
I know what a prince and lover ought be
4.5 stars. This is the story of The Prince of Kentucky and The King who started out as 'La Petit Prince.'
My favorite of the series so far. The writing was flawless, the suspense was taken up a notch, and some of the characters' secrets were finally starting to spill out from the shadows.
While I thought the poking-fun-at-romance-books segment was a bit overdone (although quite true!), the point was driven home that this story is dark, honest, raw, full of heart, and not your typical romance. I'd said in my review for the last book, The Angel, that some of the words Reisz puts on the page would serve well as an advertisement for BDSM. This book continued with more of the same message :
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about collars and leashes and leads. When you love somebody, they own you whether you're kinky or not."
I was happy to get some of the answers regarding Kingsley's and Soren's backstory, and why there was some lingering animosity between the two of them. In fact, I ended up enjoying their portion of the story much more than I enjoyed what was going on with Wes and Nora. Soren continues to become more and more human to me, which I appreciate.
Nora...sigh. I keep hoping that one of these books I'm going to start warming up to this character more. However, I still feel like I know nothing about her other than she loves to write, is easy on the eyes, wears cute pajamas, has a shitty social filter, and wants to seduce the pants off every man she comes in contact with...especially the ones who are challenges. With every new man who gets added to the story, we see yet another person who wants to have her in one way or another. It's just getting old to me. I'd really love to see another woman up in this mix as a main character to balance those scales a little bit. Does such a world exist where one woman gets to keep all of her past and present lovers close, with no real outside female interference? And I'm not talking about the crazy psycho kind, I'm talking real life petty stuff.
My one big complaint that has to be spoiler tagged : WTF was up with Nora talking to Wesley I'm not saying that the conversation couldn't have come up, but couldn't it have happened during a more appropriate time? Those moments made my head hurt and totally killed part of the book for me.
That said, this is still my favorite book of the series. Each installment drags me deeper into the world of The Original Sinners and makes me only want to know more. This is literary erotica brought to an art form, and I'm glad that I stuck with the series and gave it a second chance after being on the fence with the first book. The effort was worth the reward.
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10 THE UNHOLY TRINITY STARS!!!!! AND WHAT A MOTHER OF BLOODY CLIFFHANGERS!!!!
After all you ladies have teased me about that gigantic cliffy, I was freaking the fuck out. My gut feeling was right about that twist coming but OMAIGOD HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!! I'm just all crying and shaking now. SHAKING AND CRYING ALTOGETHER.
Thank heavens. Thank God. Thank horses. Thank you Tiffany Reisz. If I didn't have the next book with me right now, I AM OUT TO SHOOT SOMEONE. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
SHIT GOT REAL PEOPLE. I repeat, shit just got mighty real with that ending!!
Quick thoughts (in the state of my incoherency and inability to calm mah tits down, I apologize!!):
* Found my ultimate new ship in this one. LOVE IT. I FUCKING SHIP IT!
* I enjoyed reading the North chapters, past and present WAY TOO MUCH. I'm sorry Nora and Wes, I love you both and your horses and whatnot but I'm gonna have to admit my mind was dying to be in North the entire time.
* The teasing and suspense drove me nuts!! I needed answers to what the hell was going on. NEED ANSWERS. THE AGONY.
* Okay the South chapters were still kinda cute and fluffy with all the vanilla and horses. And also all those horse jokes were pretty amazing ;D
* I'm gonna kill a certain bitch. WE ALL KNOW WHO THAT IS.
* My point still stands that Tiffany Reisz is godsent and this book now sits as my top fav in the series purely for MY ULTIMATE NEW SHIP. I'm a sucker for sadists and masochists, what can I say? ;D
Sorry no proper review from me today, ON TO THE NEXT ONE!!! -
RATING: 5+++++ Destined Hearts!! <3 <3
Time stopped. The world ended. No one noticed except Kingsley.
WOW. Just WOW. I am wrecked and in awe of Ms. Reisz' phenomenal, lyrical writing and her equally, if not more, breathtaking world and characters. I am lost in my emotions because after this, I wholeheartedly know and believe that Søren, Kingsley, and Wes own me, heart, mind, body and soul. And there is nothing I can do or say to change that. Their story cannot and will not be understood unless it is experienced, first hand. In order to revel in it and drown in its feelings, you must simply read it.“I hated how you stared at me.” Søren raised his hand and laid it on Kingsley’s shoulder. He moved his hand up Kingsley’s neck and pressed his thumb into the hollow of his throat.
“And why is that?”
“Because,” Søren said, bending his regal head the four inches that separated them, “it made it impossible for me to stare back.”
Søren and Kingsley: these two broken men, soulmates in every sense and star-crossed lovers need to end up together. I don't care how, they just do.“Je suis le vôtre. J’étais toujours le vôtre, monsieur.”
I am yours. I have always been yours, sir.
“Oui. Tu es le mien.”
Yes, you are mine.
I loved The Angel, but I worship The Prince. No words can completely describe my soul-deep feelings for this book, but to simply put it Many Waters...
Posted: January 29, 2017 -
ALL THE 'BEAUTIFULLY HEARTBREAKING, STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS AND WONDERFULLY AMAZING' STARS
“Always…” Søren glanced away again, glanced upward, and sighed. “I’ve always wanted to believe God made me this way for a reason.”
“Je suis la raison.”
Søren exhaled slowly. He ran a hand up Kingsley’s arm to his shoulder. Cupping the side of his neck, he brought his mouth down to Kingsley’s. Such a gentle kiss, so intimate yet careful.
“Ma raison d’être,” Søren whispered, and Kingsley shivered with need.
First read: 25 Mar 2017 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Re-read: 7 Jan 2020 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I don’t even know where to start or how to express my feelings. Maybe it's a cliché to say that this book made me speechless but it's an honest truth. I have no other words but some nonsensical babbling about how this story is so beautiful it hurts. (Yes, pun definitely intended.)
Warning: the usual stuff. Possible spoilers because I get carried away when Sinners are concerned, a lot of mushy moments, too many quotes, and me raving about how much I adore Kingsley.
If you are familiar with my obsession with Original Sinners then you must also know that my heart and soul belong to the one and only Kingsley Edge.
Now imagine the joy I felt when I was reading
The Prince for the first time and discovered that 2/3 of the book is in King's POV. Paradise, I tell you. However, since back then I only started to warm up to Søren, I wasn’t wholly convinced by their love story. Sure I loved to read about them but I didn't really care much about them being together or not.
And now re-reading the series with the knowledge of the whole story (with all the possible novellas included) I'm finally experiencing the beauty of Søren and Kingsley's love.
“I loved you because of the Ravel. Had you played any other piece I would have thought you merely handsome and fascinating.”
Søren gazed up at the sky. “Then I’m glad I played it.”
It's interesting how I see everything with different eyes now. Where I saw cruelty before, I see tenderness, where I thought was only indifference, I know it's actually love. Such a brilliant narrative, revealing their secrets and emotions layer by layer.
“You stared at me constantly, followed me everywhere I went. You watched me sleep, Kingsley.”
“How did you know that?” Kingsley shivered as Søren’s laugh rippled through the woods.
“I watched you watch me.”
***********************************
“I hated how you stared at me.” Søren raised his hand and laid it on Kingsley’s shoulder. He moved his hand up Kingsley’s neck and pressed his thumb into the hollow of his throat.
“And why is that?”
“Because,” Søren said, bending his regal head the four inches that separated them, “it made it impossible for me to stare back.”
Like every love story in Sinners, this one is unconventional as well. If you pair up hardcore sadist with hardcore masochist you can expect a whole lot of pain. And I mean, really brutal kind. I have to admit I actually winced one or two times at my first reading and all I wanted to do was put Kingsley somewhere safe and maybe read him a bedtime story and sing him a lullaby. But now I perfectly understand he was having the time of his life.
Pain with every touch. Pain with every kiss. Pain with every beat of his heart. Kingsley loved this pain.
As I already mentioned, it took me some time to sort my mind about Søren. But knowing his side of the story I finally got to realize that the more he's cold on the outside, the more he's melting on the inside. And now imagine how wonderful reading experience was seeing him with his ice-cold walls around him and knowing that in truth, on the inside his love is burning hot.
“I thought you were the most beautiful creature on God’s earth,” Kingsley confessed. “I would have been an atheist but for you proving to me that both heaven and hell were real, even if they existed only when I was with you.”
Was that enough of me gushing about Kingsley and Søren? No? All right, one more quote.
The kiss had seemed less personal than the touch. He’d kissed his mother, his sister, his father, his friends. All the French kissed all the time. A kiss was nothing. But to touch fingertips to another’s lips…so erotic, so possessive, so intimate.
Before I completely forget. There was also some part of the book about Nora and Wesley. But I'm sure you all liked better to listen about Søren and King, right? Honestly, the two of them had my entire attention and devotion in this book.
“Je suis le vôtre. J’étais toujours le vôtre, monsieur.”
“Oui. Tu es le mien.”
B(R)R with my Sinner Ladies
Melanie,
Ursy,
Leila, and
Whitney.
***********************************
Reading Original Sinners. Do not disturb!
If you need me, I'm in a Rolls-Royce with my Kingsley.
*************************************
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 -
** 5++ “the scent of pine and winter” STARS **“I’ve always wanted to believe God made me this way for a reason.”
“Je suis la raison.”
I am the reason.
I just finished the book and here I am, in awe, in shock and terribly afraid to learn what’s going to happen next!
WHAT KIND OF MOTHERF*CKING CLIFFHANGER IS THAT?!? If I didn’t already have
The Mistress, I’d go crazy for sure.
Tiffany Reisz, you have a black heart, you evil woman! :P
First of all, I have to admit the fact that I couldn’t care less about Nora and Wesley’s chapters. All the horses and catfish and cherry poppin’ was, in fact, BORING AS HELL. I’m not even going to comment on anything about them. They’re happy. They love each other. Everything’s great.
It's common knowledge that I’ve been drooling over and swooning for Søren since reading
The Siren and he’s been the highlight of the last 2 books for me.
Not anymore, though.
Kingsley Edge has pushed him aside, took his crown and sat on the throne in my heart, gloriously. I have never in my life been sucked so potently into the story of a man's undying love. I have never in my life felt so broken for a character in a book. My heart constricted with every word of affection leaving Kingsley’s lips and with every harsh sentence he needed to hear coming out of Søren’s. I have never in my life rooted for a couple to “make it”, this deeply.“What are you praying for, mon ami?”
“What I’ve been praying for every day since I met you.”
“And what is that?”
“Strength.”
A very young Kingsley falls hopelessly in love with the cold and terrifyingly calm Mr. Stearns, over notes of Ravel coming from a piano in the chapel, the scent of pine and winter and the Christian cross that he tore from his neck, in the halls of St. Ignatius Catholic Boarding School. While Søren’s love is brutal, violent and torturous, Kingsley’s devotion, longing and despair is breathtakingly beautiful.Heaven was now, this moment underneath Stearns. Hell had been every moment before and would be every moment after.
~KINGSLEY
And Kingsley has not been released from the spell of the steely gray eyes of the only man in the Underground who wore a collar but belonged to no one, for the last thirty years. He still can not stop staring at Søren, just like when he first laid eyes on him. He is still in love with the ghost of the man that once broke him and built him up to break him all over again, everyday. But all he can do is lap up the crumbs of love Søren occasionally throws at his feet, while trying to hate him.“Don’t hate her. It’s me who hurt you. Hate me.”
“Don’t worry, mon ami. I do.”
Kingsley and Søren’s love, I think, is what destiny is. I need them to end up together! I don’t care about anyone else in the story, as long as these two tortured but perfect men decide to pick each other for eternity…I’m okay with anything else happening.“Je suis le vôtre. J’étais toujours le vôtre, monsieur.”
I am yours. I have always been yours, sir.
“Oui. Tu es le mien.”
Yes, you are mine.** ♥ BuddyRead with my lovely pal Sandyღ ♥ **
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It is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure.
Marquis de Sade
This is another angsty walk on the wide side with our Original Sinners with three different story lines being told here – Wesley and Nora in Kentucky, Kingsley and Søren’s story in the past and also the present. It’s a painful story, in more ways than one – the physical pain that Søren needs to dish out and the emotional pain that all the characters have to endure to find some small semblance of pleasure and happiness.
This story is a tale of two Princes – Wes, Vanilla Prince of Kentucky, and Kingsley, much revered Prince of Darkness of the kinky underworld, with Søren and Nora taking their respective thrones as undisputed King and Queen but, for me, this book was all about Kinglsey Edge. Kingsley exudes charm, dominance and control and it’s so beautiful and such a pleasure to see the tortuous path that has brought him to the handsome, dandy dominant that he is today.
I felt his pain on so many levels, the losses and pain he has endured and continues to endure. His absolute devotion to Søren in their early days together was breathtaking as the brutal, primal, uncivilized savagery of the beginning of their relationship unfolds. It fills in a lot of details and answers a lot of questions left unanswered in The Angel.
I was quite shocked to find myself developing some sympathy for Søren, the only man in the Underworld to wear a collar but to belong to no one. To me, he’s always been this hardcore sadist who causes so much pain and resentment that I couldn’t understand the deep devotion that he engenders in those around him but, now, I think I do. It’s easy to imagine him as unfeeling and uncaring but nothing could be further from the truth but, outwardly, he is like winter – cold and distant.
Wes is his polar opposite – he is like summer and his touch burns Nora like the sun as they take their relationship further together. Nora thinks she is a better person when she is with Wes but I disagree. I prefer her when she is embracing her kink with the rest of the polyamorous sinners. I did enjoy their part of the novel but it took a lesser role for me, fading in comparison to the brilliance of Kingsley’s and Søren’s story.
So, I think fell even further in love with Kingsley reading this one although I hardly thought it was possible. Kingsley – je t’aime et suis tienne et tu es mien. The troubled Frenchman, girls, is mine!
As always, it’s the richness of the writing that captivates me – Tiffany Reisz really has the most wonderful voice, ensnaring the reader right from the first few words and enforcing total immersion in her beautifully kinky world. I want to sink into it and never come up for air.
I have to say that this book ends on a mother of a cliffhanger and I sure hope that Tiff is writing fast as I now can’t stand to have to wait for The Mistress and I suspect that she may make us wait until 2013 for that one and everyone knows that the world is going to end on December 12th!
So, in the face of impending apocalypse, I have one final request. Please, please, please write a wicked scene for the unholy trinity of Nora, Kingsley and Søren. With details. Lots of details. Oh, and pictures. Too much? Ok, scratch the pictures if you must. Pretty please??
4 angsty, tortured stars
ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley
For more reviews, please visit
Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews -
Wesley/Nora 3 Stars
Kingsley/Soren 5 Stars
WHAT.A.BOOK.
Freaking awesome!
Wasn’t this book supposed to be about Wes, BTW?
Wes who??
Sorry, Wesley…
But you and Nora are so ordinary meh.
Kingsley stole the show in this book. Reding his POV broke me.
So.Fucking.Intense.
He’s been through so much with Soren.
Dear Lord!
See, I am not only talking about the beatings. I am talking about all the emotional punches he took from his relationship with Soren when teenagers.
Soren was a cold bastard and Kingsley managed to survive.
Kingsley is a force to be reckoned with.
Kingsley, Kingsley, Kingsley!!!
Je t'aime.
Giving a face to MY God
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In all things involving Nora Sutherlin, proceed with caution
First off, let me say that this Series has intrigued me since I started it only last week. The first two books were outstanding. This one …..
The North, Past and Present – 5 stars
The South – 4 stars
The North, Past and Present – 6 stars
The South – 3 stars
The North, Past and Present – 7 stars
The South …. Well, I would not give it 2 stars, it would be worth more than that I think.
I seriously felt as if this book was written by 2 different authors. As soon as I hit The North, I was on a high. Down South, I just wanted to get in the Aston Martin and head up until I passed the Mason Dixie Line and made it back to the sanctuary of Maine and Connecticut…. And SØREN and KINGSLEY!
Wes did absolutely nothing for me. Was not too pushed about him in the previous books but in this one I felt nothing for him – NADA, RIEN, INTET, NICHTS, NIETS, FAIC (I love that Irish word for “nothing” is "faic" – a word close to my heart)
Do ya get my drift?
The past and the relationship development between SØREN and KINGSLEY was amazing. I loved it. Loved reading about their first meeting, their interactions over the years. Kingsley, what a tortured soul. SØREN, I fell a little bit more in love with you, especially when Nora told us about you, during her stay in Kentucky – about 87% in – yeah, you guys know THAT scene. That was the only redeeming part of the South that I liked. I suppose she was trying to show the dichotomy of the different lifestyles, Wes and his picture perfect upbringing and Nora/SØREN/Kingsleys’ lives up North…
Nora could do almost anything in her high heels…. He knew of one activity she couldn’t do in her high heels – run.
I am not going to say much more about the South, well one or two more things.
First of all, Wes is still a fucking Virgin, at aged 20. Was he seriously going to wait until it shriveled up and died! I mean, it was just by chance that Nora came back to him. OK, I was a Virgin when I was 20 but, girls, I lived in a village in the West of Ireland. I remember a girl a year older than me got “up the pole” as they would say in Ireland – yeah, awful, I know. The scandal! I remember my mother saying, I kid you not, “HOW COULD SHE DO THAT TO HER PARENTS?” Now, if that wouldn’t put the fear of God into you and make your Catholic guilt come to the fore, I don’t know what would. Plus there was not even a Pharmacy in our village. I remember the first time I went to buy condoms, myself and Himself went away for a weekend – of course did not tell my parents I was with him. I was friggin 21 at this stage. Went into a Pharmacy in a BIGGER town in the west of Ireland. The condoms were not even on display, like they are now, I had to ASK for them at the counter. I was mortified. The dirty look he gave me, I swear to God. Now, that I think of it, why was I the one going in to buy them and not Himself????
…. OK, the last bit of The South was good, the way it left all the possibilities open for THE MISTRESS.
So, onwards and upwards to the NORTH … Loved every single, sadistic, sexy, sinful second of it. Truly wonderful writing. I could feel Kingsley’s anguish. I could feel his punishments. I wanted to take SØREN and hold him and tell him that nothing was his fault, he did not have to be like that, he had people who loved him….
In concert, the piece began with the sound a whip crack… So beautiful … the music and the young man who played it. Kingsley listened to the piece, studied the pianist. He couldn’t decided which moved him more.
Only one person had he ever loved more. But the one he loved more, he hated with equal passion. He wished that the mathematics of the world were like the mathematics of the heart – then his equal love and hate would mean he felt nothing instead of double.
They comforted him, the stars did. The stars had been the only witness to that night. Did they remember it as well as he did?
REVIENS. COME BACK
GOD SAVED MY SOUL. YOU, HOWEVER, SAVED MY SANITY.
“I told you I’m French. Ever read the Marquis de Sade?”
He grinned from ear to ear and SØREN’s smile widened.
“Sometimes, I think I am him. I’ve read Machiavelli, too.
The Prince. It is better to be feared than loved."
“And …” SØREN continued, “it’s safer to be feared than loved.”
He’d died….. Died and been born again.
“My name is SØREN.”
“Je t’aime.”
And then we had, what I could only a clusterfuck moment at around 95%. Never anticipated that…. I swear I swore out loud in the office. My jaw dropped. It was fucking brilliant. Just confirmed that this author is way superior to a lot of writers out there.
“I said we were like Adam and Eve …. In hell.”
I was going to drop a star because of the South but in the end I couldn’t. I was going to drop a star because there did not seem to be as many religious references that I absolutely loved in the first two books. But that was my preference in the first two books so it would not be fair to lower my rating because of that…
As with the other book, I could post more quotes I had highlighted, I could post more pictures that I think reflect the mood and subject matter of the book.
We had the PAST and the PRESENT…. Are we ready to find out what the FUTURE brings??
As a small child Wesley had heard the phrase "the wrath of God" in Church, and sat and wondered what had that meant, what that sounded like.
Now, he knew.
BRING ON ….
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Review posted at:
Swept Away By Romance
5 Glowing, Shimmering Stars!! This book, this series, the writing, the story…all of it screams...UNIQUE…ORIGINAL! It's found its way the top of my all-time favorites, as twisted and f*cked up as it is...I can't get enough!!
I’ve read a lot of great books this year and gotten hooked on some amazing series, but nothing, nothing comes close to the impact I’ve felt with The Original Sinners series, and book 3, The Prince, adds another layer of depth and complexity to the characters and the plot! The title of this book alone holds more meaning than what I initially thought.
This one takes us back to when the original sinning begins, with alternating timelines and locations, and it transitions nicely from one scene to the next. We have Nora and Wesley in the present to, Soren, Nora and Kingsley in the past and present.
I thought I loved Soren and Kingsley, but after reading how they came to be, they’ve consumed me, and I can’t get them out of my head!!!. At times their story is harsh, hurtful, cruel and had me cringing, but the physical pain that’s inflicted is consensual, based on need and desire; Soren’s hunger to dish out pain and Kingsley craving to have it… and so it begins! What starts out as friendship, or rather what one can offer the other, becomes love and devotion. Soren and Kingsley’s story was my favorite part of the book!
Wesley and Nora explore their relationship, but I question whether it can ever be more than a passing curiosity for Nora. Wesley is such a sweet guy, I adore Nora, and I liked the time they spent together, but, but, but…you’ll have to decide for yourself...no more details from me!
There is an element of mystery and suspense in the plot, and will have you asking…could it be? Again the author surprises me, because each book lends itself to a different feel, they all connect, but read distinctive, not formulaic. She’s descriptive, without being boring; the dialogue is, witty, thoughtful and plentiful, Tiffany Riesz is an amazing, gifted author, and how fortunate we are to be able to explore the world and characters that she has created.
This books ends in a cliffhanger, and a final conversation, albeit a very short exchange of words, that speaks volumes…in my opinion it’s the writing on the wall about . I can’t wait for the next book and just thinking about it makes my heart pound and gives me butterflies in my stomach.
Each of them rule their own domain, but who will reign supreme??
Kingsley
Wesley
“He didn’t even lay a hand on me. He didn’t have to. Broke me in half with words.” “He knows how to break you and yet leave you feeling more whole than you ever had before.”
or Soren
**ARC courtesy of Harlequin Mira via NetGalley!** -
The pianist was easily the most handsome young man Kingsley had ever seen in all his sixteen years. Vain as he was, Kingsley couldn’t deny he’d for once met his match there. But more than handsome, the pianist was also, in a way, as beautiful as the music he played.
This is the best in this series and the hardest to rate. Left me speechless in the best possible way.
The story is told in two parts.
We have King and Soren's story, told in Past/ Present, this one gets infinity stars. What a brilliant emotional story. Is it requited or unrequited love? i am still trying to figure that out and still replaying the scenes between King and Soren over and over again. Their past is beautiful and painful.
Soren, OMG this guy, i love him, i really do but i want to shake him hard and i want to know his heart too. He made my heart ache and jump, my heart is still jumping.
King, my French man. Oh boy! My heart hurt for him. I love the young King, what a feisty little ladies man. Well until he met Soren. I wanted to hug him and tell him it will be okay, he will find another Soren, but that is a lie, there will never be another Soren. We are all in love with Soren.
Søren looked away and took one step, but paused, turned around and shoved Kingsley hard into the wall of the chapel. This first kiss had been an apology of sorts from Søren, the second kiss an explanation. But this kiss, the third and final, it was an attack. Kingsley let Søren bite his lips, his tongue, dig his fingers into his throat.
Gaaah! i am still hangover from the story of King and Soren.
The other part is Nora and Wes's story. Umm! This part i didn't care about at all. I don't know why Wes is even here. If he loves Nora like he says, He should accept Nora and all her kinky parts. Nora was still Nora and she made me laugh hard. I love this woman. I would give this part 2.5 stars.
Soren and King's story will stay with me forever. I hope to get answers to my many questions. -
The Prince finds Soren sending Nora away for potential danger.He recruits Wesley to take her away,back to his home in Kentucky to protect her.
Kingsley uses the time to try and take Nora’s place at Soren’s side..
The Prince delves deep into the beginning of Søren and Kingsley’s relationship...and who they are now..
Kingsley and Soren travel back to the school where they first met..
where memories and old feelings are rekindled..
We learn about Kingsley'S sister
who tragically died and he feels responsible...
We are shown the vulnerable sides of both men.Soren is a man who hurts and love with passion.And Kingsley may have the persona of a hard core but deep down he wants the love and devotion of the one person he’d only had for a short amount of time...Soren..
Kingsley, is in love with Soren. Always has been. And in Soren's own way he loves Kingsley as well. As we learn more about Kingsley, we learn even more about Soren..
Soren is so broken,tortured.He had a hard life but it has made him who he is now...
Nora and Wesley finally together!!! <3 <3
I loved when they were together in The Siren and seeing them together in this again was like old times..I love their friendship and what they finally became..
Wesley is so sweet and cute!!I like their sex scenes!!
About the ending..What can I say????????
OMG OMG OMG OMG
I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!
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I have said it before; The Siren sat me on my ass, The Angel kicked my ass and now The Prince? The Prince owns my ass.
I have been sucked in to the world of The Original Sinners for months; devouring everything that comes out getting to know them better. Just when I think I have a handle on who they are and what they may or may not do I am thrown to the ground gasping for air and reaching for the next story.
The Prince begins where we left off in The Angel. Nora has taken off her shoes and run straight into the arms of Wesley. Søren is left alone with Kingsley who is more than ready to take advantage of the situation. While the Little One is away, our King wants to play.
From the Prologue we get the voice of the thief who has stolen Nora’s file.The intrigue is deeply set and I will say after finishing the book; I went back and read it again. Trust me, do this. It will read completely different when you do.
The alternating time lines and locations tell the story flawlessly. I knew with each heading where my mind and heart needed to be. From the North in The Past with Kingsley and Søren as teenagers meeting at Saint Ignatius; to the North in The Present thirty years later with them visiting ghosts of their pasts trying to unravel the mystery and the identity of the thief. Down to the South with Nora and Wesley living in a new world together trying to find their way and get what they need without being lost.
NORTH The Past:
The opportunity to be voyeur into the past of Søren and Kingsley as they meet was gorgeous. We know they had a relationship and they have a stronger bond even today that is beyond friendship. But seeing them, feeling through Kingsley the first time he saw Søren sitting at a piano playing Ravel, was magnificent. If you thought the first look at Søren in The Siren was majestic, this is ten times better.
Through these chapters we see a different side of Søren; we see him yes as a young man but through Kingsley’s eyes he becomes much more of a ‘man’ than the enigma that we have seen him as. I learned so much about Søren that I have begun to understand him. Though we never get into his head, Kingsley let us see him thoroughly. I was fascinated by Søren in The Siren, I empathized with him in The Angel and now I have fallen hard for him.
"He smiled almost shyly and Kingsley understood it all – why Søren was so cold, so remote, why he could and did instill such fear in the hearts of everyone who came near him. He did it on purpose. He did it to keep them safe."
Kingsley, oh the gorgeous Frenchman, I cannot think of him and not melt. The lengths that Søren and Kingsley go to for each other, to be with one another just about did my poor heart in. As secrets are revealed, stories are told and they are simply together my hand was permanently on my chest wanting more.
NORTH The Present:
I love the way these chapters were set up. You see Kingsley and Søren in the past and then immediately you are in the present with them. You have the emotions and the history in your head. You are right there with them with every step, every conversation, every confession and every breathtaking moment between them that broke my heart and slowly stitched it back together again. Oh I loved these two in the past but bringing all of that forward immediately had me on my knees.
With Nora away with Wesley, Kingsley is not going to waste time now that he has Søren to himself. He is taking the opportunity to be with him while they investigate Nora’s stolen file. The trips back to the Saint Ignatius in the car…
"Lovely to know that I’m not the only one of us who engages in wishful thinking. Yes, she’ll come back to you…the day you come back to me."
There are so many moments in this I want to share. I have to say that there are four words, FOUR WORDS that made me drop the book with my hand to my heart and I had to remember to breathe. Four words that rocked my world and tore me apart while giving me so much hope and happiness it was overwhelming.
SOUTH:
Oh my poor romantic heart! I am forever on Team Wesley and seeing him this way was beyond my wildest dreams and fantasies. Wesley bringing Nora home, standing up for her, showing her his world and wanting to share it with her had me sighing at least a dozen times in each chapter.
Nora was grounded here; there is something about Wesley that changes her and being in his world is definitely altering yet she is still the witty Nora we have come to love. The pure need and love between these two was what I have been waiting, hoping and wishing for. Neither of them holds anything back…
"Wesley’s absence from her life has been a void no amount of sex or money or kink or fame had been able to fill."
"It’s sad when a Thoroughbred gets hurts in a race. But when Søren hurts you, I die inside."
Nora and Wesley together; that is it, it has to be enough just to say that. One whole book of them being apart was torture. I am taking them anyway I can and holy hell is it something to see.
There is so much I want to say about this but I just can’t. I can’t go on without spoiling it and I don’t do spoilers. I feel that writing this has spoiled it enough, even for me and I have read it twice and a couple handfuls of scenes at least a dozen times.
I was absolutely blown away by The Prince. I finished it two weeks ago and I cannot let it go. I hear songs, see pictures and am immediately drawn back into the story. The mystery of who stole Nora’s file is there throughout each page and I was stunned when I realized who it was. Jaw on the floor stunned and then the massive cliff hanger ending? A whole party of questions started dancing around my head and they will never hear the last call alert.
There was so much emotion in this book that I dare you, I double dog dare you not to feel when you read it. It’s impossible; unless you are dead inside, lack a heart, an open mind and the imagination to go where you must.
*ARC provided by Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley.
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FIVE+++++ "Can I have more Soren, please" STARS!
This series is seriously epic! Love, love, love it. In fact, this is my favorite of the four books within TOS series. Third times a charm reading this one!
TOS just continues to get better with each installment. Spoiler alert if you've not read the previous books in the series.....
The Prince is split back and forth between Soren and Kingsley's past and present and then also Nora and Wesley's present. Nora and Wesley are in Kentucky after Soren asked Wes to care for her as there's a threat lurking in the shadows...a threat he fears will harm Nora. She's left her collar behind and is reuniting with the handsome 20-year old virgin she fell in love with but separated from a year or so ago. Wesley wants Nora to stay with him, The Prince of Kentucky but can Nora truly leave Soren behind? A life of no kink, no pain, for a life with no hiding, of luxury....of having a family....
The Prince gives us the much needed history of Kingsley and Soren. Having met as teenagers at Saint Ignatius Catholic boarding school, their story is torturous, violent yet full of unending loyalty and deep-seated love. Scenes with these two were gritty and intense. I found my heart racing, my teeth grinding. Both men coming from their fair share of pain, loss, or abuse coming together in the most unconventional yet functional way for them.....
I think the story,of Soren and Kingsley is seriously one of the more intense love stories I've read with two men. Their early days in the boarding school, where every student is frightened of the enigma that's "Stearns" yet Kingsley can't look away. Can't stop staring at this man...and Soren can't stand the staring!
Soren continues to be my swoon-worthy focus in this series (no judging!). His ability to be a committed spiritual man to his parish yet hides this all encompassing desire to inflict pain on the one (or two) he loves in order to GIVE love. How Ms Reisz can take such conflicting personal traits and make him swoon worthy is commendable.....and let me say, I SWOON for that sadistic yet angelic priest (talk about a conflict of terms). The character development of ALL these Original Sinners characters is stellar. The reader feels a part of their story, their lives, their struggles and pains. I think I could read this book a dozen times and still fall deeper in love with this book!
And that ending! The mother of all cliffies! Moving on to The Mistress!
*********************************************************
Some of my favorite quotes-
And some Nora humor! Fan-girling!
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Fuck it. No amount of stars can truly describe how brilliant this story is.
…I firmly resolve, with the help of Your Grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin ~ Act of Contrition
Holy shit. Holy shit, HOLY FUCKING SHIT! This was brilliant. I’m in utter awe. No amount of words and no amount of stars can describe how much I love this book/series. With each book, Mistress Tiffany keeps getting better and better. I really don’t know how she does it. To me, nothing in the story was pretty or simple, but she manages to completely ensnare me with her words. With her words, the characters she created become real and raw. You start to connect with them. You feel their pain, both physical and emotional. You feel their longing and yearning. She just knows how to paint a beautifully raw story and you can’t help but be immersed in this world. I didn’t ever want this to end.
“When Jesus tells us to love God with our heart, soul and mind, He is telling us that they are three and one, just as the Godhead.” ~ Stearns
The Prince is intense, no doubt. The characters I thought I knew, I didn’t know at all. This book told the three different stories: Søren/Kingsley (Past & Present) and Wesley/Nora (Present). Each story has their own feeling and vibe; their own story to tell. However, the deeper you get into the book as a whole, you start to see patterns emerge and each story starts to collide into each other to create this masterpiece.
NORTH
The crown his parents had placed on his head, even naming him Kingsley, although a less French name had never existed…he’d take off that crown and lay it at Søren‘s feet. And the prince would become a servant and the king a commoner all night long.
Mercy. Merci. Where do I begin to express my feelings towards Søren and Kingsley? I’ve always been hesitant in giving my heart to Søren, but after getting to know him more through the eyes of Kingsley, I can honestly say that I love him. Søren and Kingsley’s relationship, especially as teenagers, shattered me. Their relationship was intense. It was raw, painful, but full of love; it was utterly beautiful to behold. Fuck. My love for Søren and Kingsley cannot be described. They exposed so many things and reading about their struggles and their coming together was so intense. I had to occasionally put the book down because it was overwhelming and I felt it all over my body. My heart was exposed and both men marched right in. Søren and Kingsley…fuck. I love them.
SOUTH
“It’s always a good day when the Prince of Kentucky and the Queen of the Underground come calling.”
**SIGH** My Wesley ♥♥♥♥. I love him. Can you tell? After the ending of The Angel, I couldn’t wait to dive into this. I was on pins and needles reading their story. They have been apart for fifteen long months. How will their relationship change? Will it flourish or is my Wesley headed for another heartbreak?
Wow. What I wouldn’t give to have been Nora in this story. To have Wesley in my arms, worshiping me…**sigh**…Oh Wesley, you certainly have haunted my dreams. Oh. My. God. The intimate scenes he shared with Nora just popped in my head. Fuck me. He has certainly grown into quite a man. **SIGH** I just fucking love him to pieces. When he hurts, I hurt. There were times where I couldn’t understand Nora and just wanted to flog her. Not that she didn’t outright adore him, but I know how he feels about her and I just wanted…I don’t know, a little more. Then again, I’m highly emotional when it comes to my Wesley. It’s my problem, I know. He has the power to make or break me. I beg you, please take care of him in the next book. He deserves to be happy.
To Mistress Tiffany: Thank you so much for writing and creating this brilliant series. This series has become one of my all-time favorites. God has blessed you with such talent and I’m so thankful you use it to create this world. This world you masterfully created is so beautiful and so sensual. I love it. Nothing has compared to it. All these characters are embedded in my heart and soul. I will be anxiously waiting for the release of The Mistress & The Priest.
Many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
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For over ten years after he and Søren had parted company, Kingsley had lived the most dangerous life he could. He ran from death the way he’d run that night from Søren— in the hopes he’d get caught and taken. Not until they reunited had Kingsley found a purpose in his life again, a reason to live.
Underneath Søren, Kingsley came more alive than he ever felt on top of any girl. He loved his girls, had loved them all. But this was more than love. He couldn’t think of the word for it— not l’amour, not la passion.... la vie. It was the closest word to what he felt that he could find.
La vie.
Life.
Nora was lawless, unmanageable, uncontrollable. You told her one thing, she did everything but that. She laughed when others cried. Danced when others sat. She clawed her way to the top and didn’t even chip a nail on the way up. No one could break her. No one could handle her. No one could shut her up.
"You are blessed indeed to have such a great woman in your life. We are mere princes, you and I. But she is a queen."
The Prince starts off where The Angel left off. Nora has gone to Kentucky to be with Wesley, and Soren and Kingsley are attempting to figure out who had stolen the file from Kingsley's estate and is a potential threat.
Told in three parts, we get a deeper and darker look into the past and present relationship between Soren and Kingsley, as well as the one between Nora and Wes.
The Past
The past takes us back to 30 years ago when Soren and Kinglsey just met. I can't say that learning more about Kingsley endeared him to me any more. Half the time he came off as a surly and spoiled boy, the other half as obsessively in love with Soren.
Soren is still just as terrifying as a boy, as he is in present time. He terrifyes everyone from the students to the staff. Only Kingsley sees something beyond the cold exterior.“You aren’t afraid of me right now.” A statement, not a question, and yet Kingsley heard the question underneath the words. Why?
“There’s nothing you could do to me now that I wouldn’t want.”
Stearns looked Kingsley up and down, as if he realized an alien lay beneath him instead of a person.
“What are you?” Stearns asked him the same question Kingsley had asked him, but Kingsley had a much simpler answer.
“I’m French.”
The relationship between them is dark, and twisted, and at times reading it almost made me cringe. Though I have to admit, I couldn't picture it any other way.
The Present
Taking place in present time, takes Soren and Kingsley to investigate the person that is threatening them. After receiving a picture of the two of them as boys in school, they realize that the threat is much closer to them than either of them thought. They travel back to the school where everything first started. Kingsley is still trying to get over his unrequitted love for Soren, and jealous resentment of Nora.Søren told her everything and gave her everything. And then she’d had the audacity to walk away from it all. Søren laid out feasts for her that she merely picked at, while Kingsley lapped up the crumbs that fell to the floor.
Soren is still the stuff of sadistic legends in the underground.
After finishing this book, I can say I am completely and 100% team Soren. I cannot picture Nora with anyone else. Though he still terrifies the living crap out of me, I have to say that getting a deeper look inside the man that he is helped me understand him a lot more.
There is also the mystery of the threat that has come up with the theft of Nora's file. More and more threats keep popping up, that reveal that whoever this threat is knows a lot about everything that has to do with Soren.The South
The South brings us the relationship of Nora and Wesley. This was my favorite part of the book. Nora was still same old Nora, but Wesley does seem to bring around a different side to her."I know how to tie knots that sailors who’ve spent half their lives at sea have never even heard of. I can pick locks that would stump half the cat burglars in New York. I can slice a Post-It note in half with the tip of a bullwhip. I can get any kinky man in the world to drop to his knees, kiss my feet and confess his darkest sins to me just for the pleasure of having me punish him for them. But, Wesley… I do not know who to be with somebody like you. A sweet, kind, vanilla virgin has me stumped. It’s been fifteen months since the last time we tried, and I still haven’t figured it out."
The relationship between them was incredibly sweet, and was the perfect light from the darkness that was Soren and Kingsley. The love scenes between them were equal parts sweet
and it seems like young Wesley finally did allow his sexy side to come a little too
I loved the way he rubbed off on Nora without really changing who she is."Nora, have you never cuddled before?"
"Not like this. Here. You lay on your back. I’ll lay on you."
"Fine. Fine…" Wesley rolled onto his back and Nora collapsed onto his chest. He let out a puff of air as she scrambled into position.
"Are you made of lead?"
"I’m solid muscle and evil. Stop bitching and cuddle me."
Now as for the ending....AHHHHHHH!!!!! That fucking cliffhanger! Holy.Effin.SHIT!
For more reviews visit:
Dirty Girl Romance Book Blog -
So, this one is 3.5 stars, and the stars are all for Kingsley and Soren, 1.5 off bc of Nora, see notes below.
Here's what I know for sure:
* King truly loves Soren. As a soul-mate in a way. He loves Nora more like a pet. King is very clear who he wants most in life, tho he's fond of various people, including Juliette.
I am uncertain about pretty much everything else.
Does Soren TRULY love Nora? I feel like after this book it has a tone of "fatherly" love. He "cherishes" her, but does he obsessively love her? Is she truly his equal or is he really just his property that he covets? I do think he's very loyal to people, both to King back when they were boys, to his sister who raped him when he was 11, and to Nora, because he hasn't been with anyone sexually since he met her. (And from 18 to 34). That's pretty devoted. And we know from book 2 that Soren CAN be tempted. Probably not to that point, but he can be tempted.
BUT. He can't resist King. He tries and tries and perhaps the guilt of King's sister destroyed what they had together, but in the end he still can't resist King.
This makes me think Soren and King are meant to be soul-mates and Nora got in between them (and so did the sister).
Which makes me dislike Nora even more and - yeah Nora, go off with Wesley (but really, that will never work, not unless Wes suddenly became the king of kink. And in that case, I doubt Nora will love him any more.)
Nora's love for Wes is the most inauthentic I feel like. Most forced. Conversely, Wes' love of Nora is just as forced to me. He's a virgin with a puppy love first crush. She's a kinky switch who loves the novelty. She will get tired of him and his world and he will become resentful of her strange ways. It's never going to work.
BUT I really hope she doesn't go back to Soren! I want Soren and King to get together so bad! Get together FOREVER! They don't need a thing to play with and share between them. Or if they do, it can be some other woman they don't "love" - not Nora.
Anyway, read the reviews of book 4, it seems focused on Nora. Since I literally skimmed those parts in this book (and they still irritated me), I will skip book 4. Wonder when I can finally get my King and Soren ending...
And if there's no such a thing, then I guess I'm done with this series.
Annnnnnnddddd, not planning to read the 4th book bc of all the spoilers I read. Nothing to bring me to King and Soren HEA. So. Can't fork over another $6.99+tax
Kinda disappointing if I think about it -
HOLY SHIT!!! That end... 😮😮😮
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There are probably [more than] one hundred things I love about this book/series but here are some of my favorite ones ...
Number one - "one hundred things Søren loves about Nora" scene ...
Number seven - Tiffany's brilliant writing ...
Number eighty-eight - the story ...
Number sixty-six - the characters ...
Number one hundred - that all of the above only get better with each re-read ...
Cheers!
P.S. If this review makes no sense, get off you butt and read this book ... -
“Je suis la raison.”
Totally unexpected turn of events and one hell of Cliffhanger made this yet another mindblowing, unconventional love story delivered by Tiffany Reisz.
I am the reason.
I wont go into the details of this story or the characters since it’s already been established that the author can never go wrong on both the aspects but let me just say one name which holds highest respect in my heart and soul, for being epitome of submission and that’s The King of the Underground- Kingsley edge.“I have nothing in me that you cannot break.
Getting to know King was ecstasy in itself. There are so many amazing characters in this series but King stands out from the rest because the way he
I would let you destroy me, and then
I would resurrect myself from my own ashes
for the honor of being destroyed by you again.”lovesworships, his need to submit, his burning desire, the passion to please and underlying dedication towards his master was breathtaking. I personally feel honored to have witnessed this beautiful young man fighting his battle of rage/lust in his new found love.
Buddy read with lovely Eda♥
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5+ stars
"We are mere princes, you and I. But she is a queen."
Past and Present, the tales of the North and South, it is the time for the Prince’s to find their place amongst the King and Queen, amongst the God and Goddess. Realizing their fate if they are worthy of their love. The Prince follows Nora, Søren, Wesley and Kingsley as they find out how far they are willing to go to get what they truly want and to keep their secrets safe.
If it wasn't clear before, who the god of the Sinner's is, it all becomes crystal clear in the Prince. Everything revolves around him, every thought, decision, opportunity has been granted because of him and even the dangers that lurk all tie back to him.
I’m keeping this short and twisted, it was simply amazing and it just keeps getting better and better. Not sure what is going to happen next, there is no way to tell where her brilliant mind will take us, but one things for sure it will be a journey worth taking.
Do you think if I pray hard enough, I could get Søren all to myself with no distractions ?!?
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"I watched you watch me."
We have the North.... past and present with Kinglsey, Soren & Nora
We have the South..... the present with Wes and Nora.
What will we have in future....??????
The Prince turns things upside down for me......
Not only is this a highly erotic book with all kinds of kinkiness but its a wonderful passionate love story and a spectacular 'who done it???'It has everything......
All the painful delicate issues you could imagine; difficult topics and themes are layered into this series. They're revealed through a fabulous story that's utterly compelling....
There's a thief......who is it??? I had many suspects..... I'm not going to list them....my gut instinct was right and I don't want to give you any clues.... just go with the flow.... there's one major clue ...... it's so exciting.... I love it!!!!!!
******
♥Who experiences the greatest love of all....???
♥Who does your heart belong to...???
♥Who do you want to see have their desires and dreams completely fulfilled??
Just some of the thoughts going round in my head...
There are parts to this story that are quite brutal, hard to understand and rationalize, but there are also extremely tender moments; a touch, a look or a thought from a character brings you back from being uncomfortable to melting at two peoples affection and adoration for each other.
In places The Prince is truly beautiful.... the emotions it evokes from the characters are so very powerful it translates with equal force to the reader..... that's how it felt to me anyway.
Nora is still on her man journey and taking me with her all the way....
"... I missed who I was with you..."
Nora likes who she is with Wes, her summer, "...you make me a different person, a better person..." This is the most articulate book I have ever read in describing how people can love more than one person, and in different ways.
Wes and Nora made me feel tingly
♥Who is the real Nora....???
♥Are we products of our experiences???
♥Can you be anyone you choose to be....???
♥Has destiny and fate already laid a path for you......???
♥Do you have to choose...???
♥ Can you have everything????
In the South I saw a taste of what I wanted for Nora's character, what I thought would be the ideal..... I loved it, it made me warm inside, but at the same time, I'm not sure that's really what I want for her anymore.... or that it's the best for her.... confused..??? I certainly am......
"He is in fact the best man on earth,
not that anyone ever believes me
when I tell them that."
"Anyone who knows him
at all loves him. And if they
don't love him, then they do
not know him."
We learn a lot more about Soren and Kinglsley's time at Saint Ignatius. Their friendship, their connection... It was all to last a lifetime, the friends were to be forever entwined.
We gain further understanding of all the 'loves'..... There are reasons for everything and Tiffany Reisz has so masterfully weaved them into this series.... weaved them and blown our minds.
♥ "When you love somebody, they own you whether you're kinky or not." .......True ♥
P.S. I adore Kingsley ♥
BR with my lovely Deanna, Stella and Sarah..... xxxxx
And lots of support from Mo & Irene.... TOS lovers xxxx
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5 I Want Nora's Men Stars!!
Ms Reisz has done it again!! This series is just blowing my mind and I'm ashamed that it took me sooooooo long to pick this series up to read!!
This story is told uniquely, in that Ms. Reisz takes us on a journey to the North with Soren and Kinsley. We also travel to the South with Nora and Wesley. Where some may have loved one area more than the other, this whore loved being in both destinations.
NORTH
So let's travel to the North first, shall we, where Ms. Reisz takes us back in time to where it all began with Soren and Kingsley.
I can not even begin to tell you how awesome it was to see a young Soren and Kingsley. Ms. Reisz lets us peek at these young men before Soren became a priest. Of course they both already have been damaged by tragedies in their lives but it was those incidents that helped build them into the men we know in the present. Trust me when I say, young Soren and Kingsley were fucking hot together!!
Back in the present, here up North, things are getting a tad creepy as a mysterious picture shows up from Soren's and Kingsley's past, along with the missing file of one, Mistress Nora Sutherlin. Someone, a ghost from their past, is out to hurt them. Soren and Kingsley go on an investigative adventure to find the mystery person wanting to cause them problems. Who will piece it all together and will they find this ghost before anyone gets hurt?
SOUTH
Down South, we follow Prince of Kentuckey, Wesley Railey, and Nora Sutherlin as they travel to his kingdom, where they'll meet the parents.
As one might imagine, meeting Mr & Mrs Railey was quite comical, thanks to Nora's smart mouth. Mr. Railey does know all about Mistress Nora's profession as a Dominatrix and let's just say he wasn't too happy about it. I gotta say, though, that Prince Wesley really took a stance and did not let Daddy intimidate him. Wesley and Nora have a few adventures of their own while on the Railey estate. I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of what Nora's life would be like if she doesn't go back to Him.....he who should not be named!!
Nora and her Wesley....FINALLY make love because let's face it, that's what it is. It was beautifully vanilla and so worth the wait. Let me tell you, these two definitely make up for lost time......it was so damn sizzling that I saw smoke coming out of my Kindle.....true story!!
The Prince flipped back and forth between North and South until finally the two merged, leaving one hell of a cliffhanger!!! I did guess who "the ghost" was but this entire book is just pure brilliance!!
So glad I had the AWESOME WHORES in the BR group to hold my hand during this one!! -
5, big, happy, shiny stars
Original reaction, real review now posted
Loved, loved, loved it!!! I feel the urge to immediately reread the book after staying up all night reading it. I ADORED the Kingsley/Soren storyline, and while Wes/Nora are generally ok, I didn't like their storyline nearly as much.
And what's with the cliffhanger?!?
I don't think the triangle is over and done with, even though the thought crossed my mind at the ending. Now I do know what I want, though. And that's Soren and Kingsley and Nora happy. Wes, too if possible but not that high on my priority chain. How that happens is up to the Goddess and Sadist who'll release The Mistress in more than 6 months, Tiffany Reisz.
Just to say:this isn't a review, this is just me unable to contain my giddiness and rambling. Review to come soon.
ETA:Full review
After highly anticipating this book, I have to say… I’m SO not disappointed. I read it in one setting, couldn’t put it down and then wanted to read it again. So, I did the next day. Only I did it in reverse. I loved Soren, I adored Kingsley, I liked Wes and Nora and if there was another main character, like Donald the Duck I bet I would’ve loved it, too. That’s the magic of Tiffany Reisz. What makes these books isn’t the sex, which is very hot BTW, but the pure emotional intensity. These people are complicated, and messed up but you FEEL with them and for them. It’s all just so gut-wrenchingly real. But there’s humor, too, which is a positive.
This book picks up just where The Angel left off. Nora goes to Wes’s Kentucky castle and Soren is back home with Kingsley. “The Prince” follows three storylines.
North, the past
I.e. Soren and Kingsley as teenagers. Kingsley comes from Paris to America after his parents’ death and he was forced to go to a Jesuit school because of his, ahem, indiscretion which involved girls and unfortunately their angry boyfriends/brothers. There he meets Soren. Everyone fears him. He is brilliant and off-putting, but Kingsley has never seen anyone more perfects. First comes attraction and then…So much more.
THIS is the back story I’ve wanted to see for a long time, though I didn’t expect to love it this much. Here, I truly and deeply fell in love with both Kingsley and Soren, and Kingsley&Soren. They’re just so…perfect together. Kingsley’s nature counteracts Soren’s solemn one in an amazing way. I loved their flirting and messing around. I’m fully convinced Soren loved Kingsley, too. This is also the part where I realized I
North, the present
Thirty years have passed. A lot has changed. They’re not kids anymore. They’ve suffered even more tragedy and loss. And they’ve survived Nora. But Kingsley and Soren are no longer lovers, haven’t been for a long time. Now that Nora’s away, might just be the time to renew their acquaintance, or so Kingsley thinks. Or hopes, for he has never stopped loving his best friend, a sadist, a priest and a man in love with a certain smexy writer. I loved their by-play:
“-Eleanor’s been gone one day and you’re already trying to get me into bed again?”
“Again?” Kingsley laughed and rolled his eyes. “Always. Are you surprised?”
You and Eleanor are the only two people in the world who aren’t afraid of me.”
“Tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”
Søren finally looked at him, looked him straight in the eyes.
“Boo,” Søren said, and Kingsley could only laugh.
“I have an excellent imagination.” Søren stood face-to-face with Kingsley, who knew he did so simply to emphasize the four-inch difference in their heights. The man was an ass—an utterly, insufferably arrogant ass. “I’m currently imagining a few creative ways of causing you extraordinary amounts of pain.”
Kingsley raised his chin. Mere inches separated their faces.
“Stop flirting. You know we don’t have time for that.”
But I feel for Kingsley, his pain is too much sometimes. Being so close to Soren, and being ignored…
“He wished that the mathematics of the world were like the mathematics of the heart—then his equal love and hate would mean he felt nothing instead of double.”
But, Kingsley’s plans might be thwarted by a the past. Or rather, someone from it. Someone who knows them, and is now looking for revenge. Someone whose identity I guessed pretty soon, but it makes for a nice twist, anyway.
South, the present
Kentucky. We’re with Nora and Wes and his family and horses. They’re enjoying each other after so long a separation and getting reacquainted in their new roles: as more than friends, as lovers. Wes is still sweet, Nora is still the same Nora and we can see she loves both Wes and Soren and she needs to make up her mind. But, as I said in my review for “The Siren” it’s more that she’s choosing between versions of herself and her future than between two men. Nora 1.0 is Kinky Nora, a sub, a dom, all she used to be. Nora 2.0 is Wes’s Nora. Still wild, but living a relatively normal, simple, carefree life.
We can see she longs for normal and that she likes her freedom:
“-Wesley, I liked who I was when I was with you. You make me a different person, a better person. And then you were gone and that Nora was gone, too. I missed you, yes. So fucking much. But I missed who I was with you just as much.”
“She’d never been with a man who hadn’t wanted to break or be broken by her.”
But, I’m not sure she can stop being who she used to be. And if she stays with Wesley she’ll be forced to give up on all of it. And so, for some reason, I don’t think that will be the end. I just don’t see it. Guess I want Wes to have a girl who wants the same things he wants and Nora to remain herself.
My final thoughts? I loved LOVED this book. Especially the North storylines and Soren and Kingsley. The other was good, because Reisz is awesome, but I wasn’t as invested in it.
The cliffhanger was HUGE, even though I was warned, and it was foreshadowed, and I can’t wait for the next book. I alos look forward to getting to know more about Nora, her past and the person she is. I don’t feel like I know her that well at this point. I got to know Kingsley and Soren and Wes, but she remains this wild, outrageous, sexy Writer everyone wants. I just want to know more.
And so I leave you with some moments and statements about Nora and Soren which I loved.
” Søren’s love was like the sky—huge and ubiquitous, always there without fail. She no more expected his love to go away than she would ever imagine walking outside at night and seeing a void where the stars should be.”
Even though that screams TAKEN FOR GRANTED to me.
“Eleanor.”
Kingsley was free. No hands held him. No mouth kissed him. He stood against the tree, alone, untouched. Bewildered, he stared at Søren, who stood five feet away from him, pant¬ing. Søren raised his hand and wiped a drop of blood off the side of his mouth.
“Mais…” Kingsley protested.
Søren lowered his hand.
“You said my safe word.”
“It’s a game we play. Pick a number, but you don’t know what you’re picking. Are you picking one lash or one hundred lashes? Are you picking one kiss or one hundred kisses? I picked one hundred.”
…
“He started to count…” Nora paused as she remembered the pain in her side, the blood on her tongue. Søren had gotten a cold wet washcloth and he gently dabbed her mouth. “He started to count the one hundred different things he loved about me.”
…
“Number one—he loves the way I laugh…all the time. And number seven—he loves the way I never answer my office phone like a normal person. And number fifty-eight—he loves the way my hair looks when I wear it pinned up.”
…
“I laughed at sixty-six. He loves the way my voice catches when I say his name while he’s inside me.”
“What was reason one hundred?” Wesley asked as water rolled down his cheek and dripped onto his clasped hands.
“One hundred. He loves that when he’s especially lonely for me, all he has to do is read one of my books. And he can hear my voice in the words I’ve written, hear it so clearly it’s as if I’m in the same room with him. I think if you asked me…I could tell you all one hundred reasons.”
I can’t wait for 8 or more months. *sniff* I want more NOW. Alas, I’m no Soren, so I’ll have to wait for what I want.
ARC provided by Harlequin MIRA via NetGalley -
I started this right after I finished The Angel and pretty much read it straight through. These books are addictive... once you start reading them, you can’t put them down! Just when you feel like you know whats happening and who these characters are- bam... something shakes everything up . After that ending, I don’t think I am in any position to write a review, but I will try.
In all things involving Nora Sutherlin, proceed with caution.
The Prince starts right where The Angel left off. Nora runs to Wesley. The story goes back and forth from North- the past: Søren and Kingsley, North- the present: Søren and Kingsley, and South: Nora and Wesley. It made the story very easy to follow.
NORTH- The Past.
Kingsley and Søren as teenagers. Kingsley comes to America from France when his parents die to live with his grandparents. Due to his many indiscretions, he is forced to go to the same Jesuit school that Søren attends. Everyone there is afraid of Søren, he is too brilliant, too perfect. There is something about him that draws Kingsley to him from the very first time he laid eyes on him. Kingsley has been with many girls and even some women, but he has never felt that way about anyone like he does Søren . After a while, their relationship becomes physical. They become lovers.
It didn’t take long to learn that the young man he’d fallen in love with at school had been broken. But broken in such a way that when he healed, he’d become stronger than before the break. Because of that brokenness, only inflicting pain could arouse him.
We get to see a totally different side to Kingsley! It was great to see into their relationship. And we also meet someone important to the story from the past, Kingsley’s sister. Wow, I loved getting to look at this side of things. Everything made much more sense after reading this! I hate how every book I am liking Søren more and more... I didn’t like him at all in the first book, I liked him some in The Angel. And I kind of love him in The Prince. I even have a soft spot for Kingsley now!
NORTH- The Present.
Thirty years later, Kingsley and Søren are no longer lovers, but they are still close. While Kingsley and Søren are investigating the missing file, many more strange things come to play. A photograph is sent from a mysterious person. Søren’s sisters house and Nora’s house are vandalized. Someone is after them. The twist of who that is will baffle you.
My heart broke for Kingsley in this portion of the story... he is still so in love with Søren. I have to say I wasn't Kingsley's #1 fan in the first two books... but he was THE WINNER OF THE PRINCE! I totally fell for him <3 <3 <3
SOUTH
“Nora... you don’t get it, do you?” Wesley cupped her face and smiled at her.
“Get what?” “That I know being with you is a big risk. And that you’re worth it.”
Oh Wesley! I will always be Team Wesley! Love him! Wesley and Nora are together- FINALLY! Wes brings Nora home to Kentucky with him. Nora meeting his parents... thats interesting. Nora is getting a taste of what it would be like to live a normal life with Wesley. She is torn between two men. She loves them both and both live two totally different lives. In the end, she has to decide not only who she wants to be with, but who she wants to be.
“I love Søren. I won’t lie to you. You don’t get what we have, and that’s fine. Very few people do. But when I was with you... Wesley, I liked who I was when I was with you. You make me a different person, a better person. And then you were gone and that Nora was gone, too. I missed you, yes. So fucking much. But I missed who I was with you just as much.”
I was blown away by this book. The ending...
How did I not know this was a HUGE cliffhanger???
This is going to be torture waiting for The Mistress, but I know it will be well worth the wait! -
More or less I’m a very traditional reader who enjoys traditional type stories, mainly with romances. I’m all for the happily ever after where the main couple ride off in the sunset together and have a bright future with years of happiness to follow because they have one another to rely on. A certain author this year really pushed me into opening my mind and choosing more eclectic types of books. She is Tiffany Reisz, and her Original Sinners series is one of the most “original” and inventive pieces of literature I’ve read in a very long time. Out of the hundreds I read in a given year, only a quarter will really excite me or will be remembered. Most of the time when I finish reading a book, it’s forgotten, but this is not the case with Tiffany or this very addictive series of hers that I want to go on forever and ever.
Tiffany was a triple publishing threat this year, first with The Siren, then with The Angel, and now The Prince, which is an erotic, gothic, romantic mystery thriller all rolled into one. I’m so pleased that Tiffany didn’t have a sophomore slump with The Angel, and with The Prince, third time’s definitely a charm. The Prince is explosive reading because it’s a mash up of so many genres that works. This is the ultimate cross over book. This should please fans of erotica, romance, mystery, and most importantly the gothic, a genre that's seemingly forgotten because it’s from another time and place. Tiffany has reinvented the gothic with a big twist. Things here are more disturbing than ever, but underneath it all there’s this tenderness with the characters she has created. These characters are essentially good people even though they have dark desires such as Soren, the holy man sadist, and that of Kinsgley who is also a sadist in away, but more submissive when it comes to Soren. Kingsley really does have a heart of gold and this is shown perfectly in this book. Because of his love and devotion to Soren, the man he has willingly given his heart and soul over to with expecting nothing in return, we see what sacrifice and love is all about.
The Prince may seem to be Kingsley’s story; that he’s the Prince, the focal point. At first it appears he is, but I’m sorry to say that he’s not. It’s Soren. You come to figure this out half way through, mainly through flashbacks between Kingsley and Soren as teenagers where they become friends and then lovers. This is handled so efficiently and skillfully on Tiffany’s part as we see who Soren is through Kinsgley’s eyes as a young man of seventeen, and then jumping thirty years to the present where we see Nora and her time away from Soren and with the young and innocent Wesley she so adores. Whereas the first two books were an introduction, and with everything that occurs from the violent sex and BDSM element to the angst, I felt these were much more lighthearted. With The Prince, there’s major foreshadowing of the horror yet to come because someone is out for revenge. This angry and psychotic individual wants to make those certain people pay, mainly Kingsley and Soren. The interesting thing here is that Soren is the victim of this story when it comes down to it. He’s no longer in control like he once was, and because of that, the most important thing in his life might be destroyed. If that happens, I can see Soren spiraling into a dark abyss with no way out.
The Prince begins hours after The Angel ends. Nora goes to Kentucky with Wes to visit his home. Wes has a plan to show how he and Nora are perfect together, although Soren is always in the back of their minds. Nora is very open with Wes about her feelings for Soren. Wes is very mature in his thinking and holds back his jealousy, but wants to beat Soren at his own game. What Nora doesn’t know is that Soren has manipulated Wes and her reunion. Soren wanted Wes to take Nora far away because of the danger surrounding him. Soren and Kingsley know someone is out to do them wrong and they must take a journey into the past to figure out who wants to destroy them and possibly those they care about.
Kingsley is head over heels in love with Soren. He’s one of three people Soren has been intimate with. He was Soren’s second lover. Soren cares for Kingsley, but he belongs to Nora. Nora is his everything and Kinsgley despises Soren and Nora because of it. Kingsley came before Nora and should be Soren’s everything and share in that deep intimacy Soren only has with Nora. Your heart will break for Kingsley because he wears his heart on his sleeve for Soren and doesn’t hide it. Soren knows this but refuses to humor Kingsley in anyway. Kingsley allows Soren to do whatever he wants to him, but as always, Soren will leave him for Nora. This eats away at Kingsley and, “If he couldn’t have the master he wanted, he could at least serve the master’s slave.” This line says it all where Kingsley’s concerned regarding Soren and Nora’s relationship and where Kingsley fits.
As Soren and Kingsley investigate and face their past that haunts them, this counteracts with what Nora and Wes are doing in Kentucky. Wes comes from a very loving, normal family, which is the complete opposite of Nora’s. Fans of Wes and Nora will eat this up, but like Kingsley, Wes will only have to settle for a small piece of Nora. Nora is Soren’s, and even though Wesley knows this, he has a secret plan to break apart Nora and Soren’s connection that I felt was well played on Wes’s part. But in the end it will only end in heartbreak for him.
There is a humdinger of a cliffhanger ending that will have you gasping in shock and awe. I pretty much figured out halfway through who’s causing all this destruction and emotional turmoil. This ending will lead into The Mistress, the final present day book in this series. My mind in churning with the possibility of what could happen and I really think there will be a death involved. Here’s a small taste (without giving away too much of a spoiler) of what The Mistress could entail and that tone of that story:
“As a small child Wesley had heard the “phrase “the wrath of God” in church, and sat and wondered what that meant, what that sounded like. Now he knew.”
The wrath of God is on like Donkey Kong, and as to who this is, well you’ll have to read The Prince to find out. The is an amazing and daunting feat of literature, and if I had to compare it to a movie, I would say it has this History of Violence feel to it with it's quiet brutality. If you’ve seen the director, David Cronenberg’s movies, than you’ll understand the atmosphere of The Prince. More than half the time my heart was in my throat and I gasped too many times. I also melted more times than I can count. This happened as Soren brutalizes Kingsley, when they’re both teenagers. Soren can’t have sex or make love without causing pain. Pain and love are the same to him. This is shown in near perfection between these two men. The pain is not only physical but also emotional. There’s one scene where Kingsley begs Soren to do whatever he wants to him because Nora is not there for Soren to use. Kingsley has no idea what Soren’s safe word is. He blurts it out not knowing, and Soren backs off. Soren’s safe word had me putting this book down and just staring off into space because of the beauty of it . I now understand fully why Soren loves Nora desperately and completely. It’s a very powerful moment and gut wrenching for Kingsley.
The Prince was a masterful, all consuming reading experience for me. These characters, each and every single one of them, has imbedded themselves in my psyche. No other series of books this year has me so obsessed and bowing down to their creator. I urge you to please pick up The Siren, The Angel and The Prince and expand your reading horizons. These three books are tied for my #1 book of the year and Tiffany Reisz is my favorite author of the year with Nora has my favorite heroine of the year. -
4 UNHOLY TRINITY STARS
”She’ll be yours and you’ll share her with me, because no one man will ever be enough for such a girl as her. And the three us shall be a new unholy trinity.
God help us all.”
Warning: This book ends with a cliffhanger!
Who is the crazy lunatic out to cause harm to the unholy trinity?
The Prince tells the past and present stories of two princes:
The Prince of Kentucky and the Queen of the Underground
Wesley and Nora have been given the opportunity to try out a relationship. Wesley has no doubts when it comes to Nora Sutherland he is completely in love with her. Nora on the other hand, suffers doubt and is definitely guilty of comparing and discussing her relationship with Soren way too much.
Can you really compare Summer and Winter?
Being compared to the “Great and Powerful Oz” is pretty rough especially when this is your first sexual relationship. I found Nora to be a smug and condescending to Wesley.
Wesley and Nora will NEVERwork out in my opinion. But readers get what they have been waiting for and maybe more.
The Little French Prince and the Priest
Our Frenchman, Kingsley Edge, met Soren at St. Ignatius School. From the moment Kingsley laid eyes on Soren it was lust, love, intrigue and awe. Kinglsey and Soren had a relationship and this reader believes that it may be even stronger than Soren and Nora’s connection…just maybe.
We discover a lot of things that we did not know about their prior relationship. It was brutal and harsh and tender and those feelings have stayed strong for thirty years.
”God how he loved Soren. Loved him. Loved him like a father, like a brother, like a friend and a lover…and loved him like the enemy that forced him to be stronger, smarter, wiser, braver. Soren had become everything to him…
Kingsley, I feel terrible for him. It reminds me of the quote from My Bestfriends Wedding:
"Who's chasing you... nobody, get it? There's your answer."
It would be absolutely wonderful for Soren to claim and end up with Kingsley! I will anxiously be awaiting The Mistress!!
