Publication date: 7th May 2015
Paperback edition: 400 pages
Source: Kindle
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 1792. As a teacher at her parents' Academy for Young Ladies in the heart of London, Madeleine Moreau has lived her life sheltered from the outside world. But on the night of a dazzling Masquerade, tragedy strikes and she is left alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she never knew, Madeleine impulsively travels to France in search of them. But with war around the corner, and fearing for Madeleine's safety, the enigmatic Comte Etienne d'Aubery offers her shelter at his home, Chateau Mirabelle.
Chateau Mirabelle enchants Madeleine with its startling beauty, but it is a place of dark and haunting secrets. As the Revolution gathers momentum and the passions of the populace are enflamed, Madeleine must take control of her own destiny and unravel events of the past in order to secure a chance at future happiness.
I received a paperback of this book from the UK publisher in November last year! I wasn't expecting it, so it was a nice surprise! I was then asked to be on the UK Blog Tour and I said yes! This book isn't my typical read at all, but I actually really enjoyed it! It may actually be the first historical book I've read for a while that made me want to read on! I also normally don't read historical books, as I prefer Young Adult and New Adult books, but I'm really happy I took a chance on this one! It was a really good read! This book was also set during the French Revolution, which I personally don't know a lot about, so I learned quite a few things from this book about it! It was really interesting to read a book set during this time period! The plot kept me wanting to read on and there was some action and suspense in it! There was also a budding romance that was very cute to read, but there was also a slight love triangle as well! I just loved it all! Madeleine 'Maddie' was the main character and she dealt with a lot in this book! She lost her parents, her extended family were horrible, and there was a revolution going on in the country she was stuck in! My heart did go out to her because she did go through a lot! She also gained a lot though, as she found friends, love and a place she felt at home again! Maddie was also a really strong character and she kept going and she did everything she could to protect the people she loved and to help them out any way she could! I just loved her! I connected really well with her too! Etienne d'Aubery was the main love interest of Madeleine and he was such a gentleman! I could see that he had feelings for Maddie shortly after he met her, but he never rushed into something with her or tried to push her into a relationship! He was also so sweet with her and I adored them as a couple! Etienne was also protective of Maddie too and he showed this several times throughout this book! I just loved him! He was a man who liked to be in control, but he always tried to help out when he could, and he was a pretty damn hot guy lol! As I said, there was a bit of a love triangle in this book! It was quite a big part of the plot, but I did think that Maddie liked one of the guys more than the other lol! I can completely understand why this book is a standalone! Everything was wrapped up and all the questions raised in the plot were answered! The ending was also perfect and very beautiful! I'm definitely going to check out this author's other books as well! I've read up on them and they sound interesting, so I'm definitely going to check them out and hopefully give them a read! I know that there's two covers for this book in the UK, one for the Kindle edition and one for the paperback! The cover below is the paperback, and I love it! It suits the book perfectly! The Kindle edition's cover suits the book too! Big thank you to Piatkus for an early paperback of The Chateau on the Lake and for having me on the UK Blog Tour!
Check it out on Goodreads!
(Please click on the Tour Schedule to enlarge it!)
Author bio:
Charlotte Betts began her working life as a fashion designer in London. A career followed in interior design, property management and lettings. Charlotte discovered her passion for writing after her three children and two step-children grew up.
Her debut novel, The Apothecary's Daughter, won the YouWriteOn Book of the Year Award in 2010 and the Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers, was shortlisted for the Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance in 2011 and won the coveted Romantic Novelists' Association's Historical Romantic Novel RoNA Award in 2013. Her second novel, The Painter's Apprentice, was also shortlisted for the Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance in 2012 and the RoNA award in 2014. The Spice Merchant's Wife won the Festival of Romance's Best Historical Read award in 2013.
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