The Chateau

Chateau #1

by Penelope Sky

O svojoj sam se sestri brinula vrlo dugo. Kad je mama umrla, odjednom je postala moja odgovornost. Najbolje godine života provela sam glumeći njezina skrbnika... a o meni se nije imao tko skrbiti. Zato sam se preselila u Pariz kako bih studirala u inozemstvu pa sam naposljetku i ostala tu, diplomirala francusku književnost, proučavala klasike uživajući u najboljem vinu i sirevima koje sam ikad kušala. Moja sestra nikad ne donosi dobre odluke, uvijek napravi nered koji moram počistiti za njom, no napokon je došlo vrijeme da imam vlastiti život. Kad je došla u Pariz posjetiti me... donijela je nevolju. Sada se nalazimo u radnom logoru usred ničega, okružene beskonačnim nanosima snijega i planinama, prerađujemo drogu za skupinu muškaraca koji nikad ne pokazuju svoja lica. Ovdje ne postoji mogućnost bijega. No tu je i moj stražar. On nije svetac, ali je jedini muškarac koji je dobar prema meni. Zna da želim pobjeći, ali nikad me nije prijavio zbog toga. Nakon naporna dana donese mi sitnice kako bi mi olakšao život. Govori mi da ne pokušavam bježati jer neću uspjeti... ali mi ipak donese potreban alat... kao da me podržava u mome naumu. Kao da želi da budem slobodna.

Genres: Dark, Romance, Dark Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense

454 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2020

About the author

A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Penelope Sky is known for her dark romance that makes you fall for her characters….no matter how dark they seem. Her books are being translated into several languages around the world, and she’s sold more than a million books worldwide. She lives in a small town in California with her husband, where she spends most of her time writing on the back porch.

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Every time I complained that my food wasn’t right at a restaurant, every time I groaned when I had to walk to work in the rain, every time I was annoyed when my date showed up late…all of it felt so fucking stupid.”
WOW. What a book. I don’t have words to describe this feeling. Please don’t let the cover fools you.
It’s worth the reading.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I had to survive.
It was him or me.
And it was going to be him."

Damn girl is right!
But...hmmm...I don't quite know how I feel about this one. On one hand I like on the other...do not like.



So background is we have two American sisters living in Paris- The oldest, Raven, is the more mature and stable sister who is constantly having to bail her younger sis-Melanie out of what ever shitty situation she finds her self in.

And find a shitty situation she does. After leaving to party with a couple of creeps-the two get snatched up, drugged, and led to a remote snow covered camp in the Alps to do forced labor in a drug operation.

The older sister, Raven- is self assured, determined, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive her bleak situation. While Melanie, who has skated by her entire life on her good looks and charm- is considered to be a weak 'weed' in this camp (and not expected to last very long) However, Raven isn't leaving without her baby sister, and just might have an unlikely ally amongst the prison population willing to watch her back.




x---------------------------------------------x




So I did like that the h, Raven, was a legit badass in that her mental game was strong as hell. But I'm sorry- what in the Stockholm syndrome was going on with this 'romance'?



I get clinging to anyone that shows you a bit of kindness- and yeah Magnus kinda helped her out at the end- but I just wasn't buying what the story was trying to sell to me. Maybe because the H's personality amounted to simply taciturn scowly hot guy in hood? I wasn't feeling an overwhelming connection between the two.

I mean common--he's not a "savior" or "hero" as she keeps saying over and over again in her inner monologues --No girl, he’s just not keeping you hostage anymore… Maybe I would have felt differently if he wasn't at the top of the food chain the the organization and a lowly grunt who was doing this as an only option, but that wasn't the case in this one.

Can't help thinking of the book--Demon Mine with a similar sort of guard/prisoner story that I did like- so its not just that that bugged me. I guess I just needed something else going on in the plot to make me want to root for a prison guard/kidnap victim storyline. Cause....no, not for me in this case.



Maybe I will read on to the next one in hopes that the plot will give me a little something more?

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This was a really intriguing concept. Two American girls living in Paris, they get kidnapped and then sold into cocaine producing labor farms.

The romance was between the older sister and her guard. And I'm a sucker for that trope.

Loved the first half, and while a lot of this book requires a good suspension of disbelief there were some moments towards the end that just seemed too much.

However it was still a fast paced and engaging read and I have to know how the series ends!

[Krys · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like it. I finished it, but listening wasn’t a totally enjoyable experience. The concept of the story was interesting, different for “romance” novels and started with a bang. A totally foreseeable bang, but still. Then came the entitlement and righteous indignation and idealism. The fem MC was too… too much. She got preachy about being denied the common decency rights, and completely forgot where she was and who the people she was “working for” were. They don’t give a flying rat about any of that stuff else they wouldn’t be involved in human trafficking and fucking cocaine distribution. And despite what the fem MC implied, she was trafficked. Human trafficking isn’t just sex trafficking, it includes forced labor (and debt bondage) too. So that was a kinda annoying because occasionally I got the tone of “this isn’t as bad as that kind of trafficking” when, obviously, it is. Anyway, it was hard for me to really place the fem MC in such a dire situation because she acted like it was a democracy despite ample evidence (stories about rape of other women in the camp, others trading sex for favors from the guards, she herself being brutalized a couple times, and the cartoonishly macabre execution of “the least productive” women every week) that it definitely was not. She was too mouthy and defiant to not have been beaten/tortured black and blue within the first day. Not that I don’t appreciate a ballsy Katniss Everdeen/Khalisi-like (before they both lost it) heroine, this one was just particularly tactless and there was no guidance to make her a more discerning leader.

The male MC’s desire to help the fem MC against his best judgement because she “isn’t like the other women” and “doesn’t belong there” was laughable. Are you telling me, out of all the years they’ve been running that forced labor camp not one snatcher has made a “mistake” and grabbed a non-submissive woman? It can’t be true because they had a huge cull after women tried to rise against the guards in “recent” history, the fem MC’s friend told her about it. Why didn’t he help any of them?

I also felt the fem MC dismissed the small acts of resistance the women orchestrated, like the pain meds being passed from woman to woman till they got to her or the food scraps they amassed for her when she was literally starving to death. Those were huge, but besides brief appreciation, the fem MC didn’t seem to acknowledge or really understand that, though they didn’t run around the camp setting shit on fire like she did later in the book, they weren’t completely spiritless.

The male MC was as 2-D s you can get. Really he was just a pair of brooding eyes in a dark hood and a couple of growled words like “you’re not gonna make it”. I liked how he reprimanded the fem MC for asking more of him than he’d already given, but then he caved and gave her what she wanted each and every time, so that kinda soiled my impression of how firm his spine was. I didn’t like how he only told the fem MC over and over how she wasn’t gonna make it, yet didn’t take away the supplies she stole the first time. It was the most circular, conflicting conversation I’ve come across in a while. It would have been better if he hadn’t told her anything instead of telling her “don’t go you’re gonna die” the same exact way, no extra details added, a million trillion times.

I wasn’t feeling the friendship between the MCs. I wouldn’t even call it a romance because I didn’t get any romance vibes from them at all. It seemed both she and her sister caught some kind of feelings for THE MEN THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR KIDNAPPING AND THE KIDNAPPING, RAPE, AND MURDER OF MANY OTHER WOMEN. Holy Stockholm syndrome, Batman. I haven’t come across a “dark romance”-esque book like this where I rooted for the MCs to actually get together, but this relationship I was especially against.

The sister was annoying, but I think that was mainly because I listened to the audiobook and had to endure the whiny voice the female narrator used for her. It was pretty grating, but there’s always that one person that makes people wonder if they’re gonna make it.

I thought going back to the camp and burning it down was stupid, especially when they didn’t prep the women with tools to get back to society or incapacitate any of the guards who promptly went after them. Ultimately, the entire organization will probably just relocate, restructure, and get bigger/more efficient. Setting fire to everything will ultimately do nothing except put a ginormous target on the back of the fem MC and her sister by default. If I was the fem MC’s sister, I would have told her she’s on her own with such a half cocked plan. Bye bye to a long happy life because the male MC knows where you live, idiot.

[Vanessa Tekać · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Moja sjećanja na život u mladoj dobi će izblijediti, ali sjećanje na ovog muškarca neće nikad. Ne bih ga trebala smatrati junakom zbog toga što me spasio, jer je ipak bio dio ovog logora. Ali on je svakako bio moj junak."

Raven i Melanie su sestre koje u Parizu, studiraju, rade i žive svoj život onako kako smatraju da je najbolje. Starija od njih, Raven se od malena brine za Melanie nakon što ostanu bez majke, te na njene postupke gleda sa posebnom dozom opreza. Melanie jedne noći odluči uprkos Raveninom protivljenju da se pridruži nepoznatim muškarcima koje je upoznala u klubu, ne sluteći koliko će ih obje koštati ta odluka. U jednom trenutku na toplom ispijaju pića, a u narednom su zarobljene u radnom logoru u sred Francuskih Alpi, daleko od civilizacije i bilo kakvog oblika života osim stotina drugih žena koje je zadesila ista sudbina. Dok je jedna nejaka i prihvata sudbinu koja ih je zadesila, druga se od početka bori protiv svega na šta su natjerane da rade i kuje planove kako da pobjegnu. Da li će biti prve u desetljećima postojanja logora kojima to pođe za rukom, ostaje da saznam u naredna tri nastavka i jedva čekam.

[kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up all night to read this book I just couldn't put it down. It's very different from her other books. Can't wait till January!

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Odlicna! Jedva cekam nastavak!

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Review for both books in this duet.

This is about Raven, an American college student in France who gets trafficked to a work camp in the wilderness. Unlike a lot of other “trafficking” dark romance plots, she isn’t sex trafficked. Women at the camp are forced to do unpaid labor packing drugs for drug lords. Magnus is a guard at the camp who is secretly sort of helping her, for unknown reasons.

I liked that this is unique from other “trafficking” plots, since she’s not sex trafficked. The camp had a lot of chilling unique details, too, like the “Red Snow,” where they execute a random woman every week, to keep the workers from rebelling. And, the camp was so remote that they had to access it on horseback, since cars can't reach it. It sounds weird to say I "enjoyed" the setting, since it's a horrible place. But, these details made it atmospheric, and it also made it stand out as distinctive from other "trafficking" books where the setting is just a bland warehouse.

I also liked how Raven isn’t the most gorgeous woman ever, and Magnus liked her for her inner strength, and her loyalty. He still found her attractive, of course. But this story did a good job of showing how they connect on a level that goes beneath the surface. I also loved how co-dependent they eventually became. That's one of those dynamics that's toxic IRL, but I eat it up in fiction, sometimes.

The "prisoner / guard” trope is obviously problematic. But it’s a problematic trope that I enjoy sometimes, when an author does it well. This book isn’t that well written (the spice scenes were sometimes a little cringey and a lot of story elements could have been fleshed out more). But, that "prisoner / guard" element of their relationship was done well. It had a lot of interesting push / pull. Sometimes, it gets boring when a hero is a simp for his heroine too fast. Magnus took a long time to fully lock in, emotionally, and show his care for her - maybe too long, but, it kept things interesting.

It really seemed like they could never be together. The stakes were so high, it kept me turning pages to find out how they would ever be able to get a HEA. I also loved how “ride or die” Raven and Magnus were for each other (eventually). And, I liked the angst of how, there are a few instances where they're forced to hurt each other.

So, why in the 3 star range, if this was all good stuff? Book 1 is only Raven’s POV, while book 2 is only Magnus. It worked for book 1 to be single POV, to keep him mysterious, since his motives were shadowy. But there were times in book 2 when I wanted her POV.

It also didn't handle side characters well. Like, Raven gets in huge trouble for trying to help other women at the camp, like Bethany. Then, Bethany just vanishes from the story. I wasn't super invested in her, but it just felt odd that Raven suffered a lot as a result of helping her, and then we never hear about her again. It made the narrative feel unbalanced, and like something was missing.

But, the main reason for the 3 star range is the overarching plot. It involves their siblings, who both suck. Raven basically gets trafficked because of her idiotic younger sister. Magnus is stuck working at this terrible place because of his idiotic brother. Their siblings get the next 2 books in the series, and I’m definitely not reading them. Their siblings were both annoying, and this book spent too much time trying to get us to like them. Normally, I’m all for a “redeem the villain” plot. But, his brother was responsible for countless innocent women dying. This book does acknowledge that there’s no justification for that. But then, it does sort of try to justify it. His brother just isn’t an interesting enough villain to get redeemed. Their siblings were both tedious, and they weren't just side characters, they were major parts of the plot.

But, overall, the duet is pretty solid, and, since many dark romances blend together and have samey plots, it does feel somewhat unique.

[Dai G · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Debo decir que esperaba más, pero me gusto. Penelope sky es una de mis autoras favoritas y nunca falla

[R Rais · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chateu definitly darker than the usual from Ms. Sky. But for a lover of dark romance books like me, this book still sit in the great area. Mild on the trigger with less graphic from the dark side.
Start with the prologue that leave me gasping. Then the kidnapped and captivity. Intense and scary, the page can't turn fast enough for me to know what would happen next to Raven and her sister.
But then the pace got slower. It's all focus on how Raven deal the live in captivity with all the women there as victims like her. The psychological and physical torture are depressing and overwhelmed to imagine.
Not until 50% the pace picking up. Raven strength and stubborness definitly grant her more torture. Threatened for her life and her sister only fuel her to atleast rry to escape. Even when Magnus, one of her guard told her it was impossible to do. With their camp in the alps mountain area, you could just imagine the hard winter she have to face in her escape.
The thing I like about The Chateu is the author ability to keep her readers engage. This book is intense in a way. Yes I feel some part are slow pace. But the suspence of escaping the camp, the intensity of Raven and Magnus chemistry, they are absolute in my needing more of the next book NOW!

[Sandra R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. The narration by Ramona Master was uncomfortable to listen to and she read almost the entire story as if she were being chased, which made every line seemed tense, plus, I wasn't a fan of her accent. Some sections should have been read very differently and weren't and that was such a pity.

Blurb :- Two sisters are abducted from Paris after going to a club and wake up in a 'camp' in the mountains, to work as slaves. Apparently this isn't being trafficked, according to Raven... This is book one of a four book series and shouldn't be read as a stand alone. (Available in kindle unlimited). You are in Raven's head for the entire book and parts are quite repetitive. I only need to be told once, because I remember things...

The romance with her guard, (when it happened), was flat and not terribly interesting, if you can call it a romance, as it really wasn't to my mind - just a convenient relationship. The story was supposed to be dark, but I didn't get that feeling. But then, I like REALLY DARK, and this wasn't it. The back story was interesting enough to keep me engaged. I didn't like the heroine, or the way the sex scenes were written. They seemed very clinical, cold and lacked chemistry. It was impossible to imagine the H/h had any type of emotional connection. There was a lot of internal narration. Also, what was that stuff with the horse - it was weird. The last chapters made no sense. Wouldnt you go to other authorities? How did she know she was listed as missing. Where are her friends? Not thought out properly. Sigh.

The back story was a great idea, and I was looking forward to it, but it wasn't executed as well as it could have been, because I found it difficult to imagine the characters were even traumatized by what happened to them and the truly dark parts were glossed over. I will try book two's audio, just to see what happens. Also, that audio is narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo and I love his work. The audio sample for book 2 is pretty good, but brief.

The - 'just okay' - bits of this book, trumped the 'I really liked it' bits, so 2.5 stars. NB:- My review is based entirely on the audiobook. The experience might be different if reading. This is the first book I've read by this author.

[Grrr 4 Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

I was going through a vase of reading bad books, but then I started with this series and oh my word it is amazing, but then Penelope Sky is such a gifted writer, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series…🤩🤩🤩

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chateau is unlike anything Penelope has ever written but such an amazing story that will grab your attention and keep you guessing beginning to end! Raven has been the protector of her baby sister for so long and even through all of her bad decisions over the years she will always be there. Until one of Melanie's decisions ends them in a nightmare they don’t know how to get out of. Magnus is one of the many guards at camp and while he’s evil is he the lesser of two evils? All of a sudden the lines begin to blur and are the sparks really there between these two? Or is it just the situation that is making him seem better than he actually is? This first part of the duet is fantastic and I was unable to put it down! It’s a very intense read and one I’ll still be thinking about for weeks to come! I can’t wait for part two and I hope you pick this story up and fall in love with Penelope’s writing the way I have!

[Tannaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but not as good as other series

[Izzie d · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not too sure how I feel about this.
The Hero is definitely an anti-Hero.
I think it might make more sense when the reader is able to read the whole story as in this book 1 in a trilogy??
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
Cliffhanger ending.

[Marcia Arguelles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly so good! I’ve had this on my TBR for a while now and finally got myself to read it. So good, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time and couldn’t stop reading even if I had to!

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow this is the first book of Penelope Sky, that I didn't get connected too and I forced myself to read. I love Penelope's books, I have read all of them. This story really disappointed me. Even on the romance side, there wasn't much of a connection. I am not sure if I could be bothered to read book 2. There was too much violence for me.

[Skarleth · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 estrellitas
Mucho menos oscuro de lo que se insinúa en las reseñas y eso está bien.

Se supone que sea algo como romance oscuro pero la verdad no hay casi nada de romance, sino más suspenso.

La construcción de las circunstancias aunque obvio no es realista pero si algo novedosa o mas bien inusual.Y la portada fue lo que me atrajo pues es muy bonita.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible, but I’m probably reading the next... LOL.

[Queen.of.the.pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

God ... I never thought that I could love and hate this book so much at the same time.
Never have I ever been angry at book like this one, and what has made me angrier are the first 3 chapters of the next book.
The Anxiety I’ve had reading this was insane. No amount of Xanax or wine could have calmed me. I was shaking. I didn’t know what to expect from book # 1 and it wasn’t that.
As I write this I’m struggling to find the right words to convey everything that I’m feeling, and if you read this or have read I’m sure you’ll understand.
This seriously makes me question my love for book after years of reading & reading I can not see how the rest of the series is gonna go or a happy ending.
I can try to explain it to you, to entice you to read it but I would be too much. So even if you have a hint of curiosity over this book read it. There is nothing Penelope Sky has put out that I have freakin love with every fiber of my being.
There is one things I would love to point on
If you love badass selfless female hero’s. You will love this, and Penelope Sky kills it when it comes to heroines like this.
Our heroine is so completely selfless the things she’s done in this book to help other girls is unbelievable. Raven our heroine is hands by far the best female character PS. Has written. And with a name like Raven, you know.
At the very end of the book in PS’s mentions she’s writes “ if she resonates with you” meaning raven. Its amazing how she does and that why I’m so drawn to her, and the reason she does is because 1) she selfless and will go through any trouble to save her friends even if it kills her. And for me I’m loyal to a fault and all the people that I love I’d walk through fire for.
And 2) Raven protecting her sister.
That touches a certain place in my heart because all though my sister and I are twins I’m older and i always felt like it’s my jobs to protect her and anyone who has a site knows there is no greater bond than sister hood, and I know I’m my mind without a shadow of a doubt. That if someone hurt her I will hurt them if she’s in pain I would do everything in my power to take it away. And that’s why I resonated with this character so much.
Yes this book brings up feeling you don’t want and it’s gonna bother you in ways a book shouldn’t but that how a book should be a book should stir all these emotions good her bad. Because all the easy books that become predictable they get reperire and boring, and that what Penelope Sky masters. You will never be comfortable reading her book. And most definitely not with this. You’ve been warned.

~ @Queen.Of.The.Pages ( follow Me On IG )

[Samm Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an eclectic reader, so, I like lots of different types of stories. I love Penelope Sky stories (Lingerie, Buttons, Banker, etc.) and all of the previous stories I have read are fairly similar. In this book, the author threw out all of her other outlines and completely started from scratch. There is very little physical contact between the main characters (and it is mostly towards the end). No romance - dark or otherwise. It is a story of survival and the struggle to be free. There are some horrible things that happen in this story and almost no lighter moments. What you will find is a very courageous (and at times reckless) woman doing her best to rescue her sister and herself from a horrendous fate (but she still has her self respect which does not bode well for her in her current situation). Some people will say that this story is slow and others will be upset with the lack of physical activity, but they story just stuck in my head and It is going to be difficult to wait the almost 3 months to find out what happens after Raven's reckless/brave/foolish actions at the end of the story, that is left in one heck of a cliffhanger. Overall, it is an intriguing and absorbing tale.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off this book is amazing!! Secondly this is nothing like any of Penelope Sky's previous books. No mafia/ underworld drug or crime romances. This is entirely a whole different romance. Thirdly this book will make you have a love hate relationship with all the characters. I'm pretty sure at one point I wanted to jump into the story and punch Raven for some of the things she did. I love a good badass heroine woman and that is exactly what Raven is. I seriously could not put this book down. The prologue was so intense that I just wanted to keep reading to see what that was all about. I have a feeling I know what it's about but that won't be answered till the next book. I never could predict where this story was going because Penelope is just that good when it comes to her writing. This book was amazing and I can't wait to see how Magnus and Raven can overcome the ending of The Chateau!

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a strong 3.5, I think the reason why it didn't get the full 4 stars is because as much as I love Raven she also kinda got on my nerves!!! But the romance was really good, slow burn and emotional. Lets see what the future hold for the pair...

[Janey · Rating 4 out of 5]

V different from anything I’ve read lately. Dark but addicting..and on tender hooks waiting for The Camp in the new year 😤

[Aguus Gauto · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Rosiliane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu amoo histórias com protagonistas fortes!
A Raven é um primor, uma grande lutadora...

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a wreck.

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good, but some things are hard to imagine that would go right, like the two girls who light, the whole camp, up.
But very very good! Big like. :)

[Dani 🐝 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was off the damn rails. But I need to know what happens next 😂

[dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

torn between a 4.5/5 ⭐️
i’m very selective when it comes to anything romance related- i was hooked to this story and the protagonists perseverance.