The Palace

Chateau #4

by Penelope Sky

A line was drawn in the sand.

I made my choice.

I picked her over him.

But I begin to regret that choice, and when Raven wants to destroy the camp, I know I'll regret it even more.

Genres: Dark, Dark Romance, Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Chick Lit, Romantic Suspense

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2021

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

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead:

I can usually sympathize or at least understand where the the lead characters of Penelope Sky's books are coming from. But for this pair Melanie & Fender, I was, at best, annoyed with both characters, and at worst, just hoping they would die in some tragic way.
Melanie was just too weak of a character, especially compared to her sister Raven who is defintely morally superior than of all the main characters in the Chateau series. Melanie's weakness is justified in the book as being "kind". However, this justification comes from the man who murders innocent women. Hardly, the best judge of character. She just comes across as a naive, spoiled brat. And honestly, if Raven was killed in the camp, I truly believe she would somehow forgive Fender and forget about her sister.
Which brings me to my next point. Fender & Melanie story's antagonist seemed to be Raven, which is complete bullshit. FENDER IS CLEARLY THE BAD GUY!!! Raven was the one who had to apoligize and had to learn respect for both of the leads. At least Fender should've been on his fuckin knees begging for Raven's blessing.
Also, Fender did not change at all by the end of the book. Magnus, his younger brother is actually the one to close the camp and stop the murdering of the women in the camp. Magnus stops the Red Snow, and prevents three women being killed through his brotherly connection with Fender. Fender never actually changed his mind that hanging women is bad. Then he frees and closes the camp only after Magnus's ultimatum to not help him if he continued to run the camp with all the enslavement and murdering of women. Fender never has a change of heart, he just lets go. I don't think he actually ever feels the burden of literally murdering and enslaving women. Fender keeps all of his money at the end of the book, Raven & Magnus donate the money to the families of the women that were murdered. In short, Fender sucks and I don't think he actually changed.
I honestly just don't care about the Melanie, and I think less of her. And I just wished Fender died in painful and humiliating way since throughout the book his embarresment seemed to be the only thing he really cared about.

[CynthiaElle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of Melanie.

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I' m a big fan of Penelope Sky, I read all her books, but this series was not for me. I didn ' t like Fender at all, neither Melanie. ...

[Summer Hector · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fender-
*Basically kidnaps Raven* *makes her a slave* *forces her to work against her will* *threatens to kill her* *does almost succeed to kill her* *constantly puts her down in front of everyone* *calls her an unremarkable cunt* * has his guards hurt her* *degrades her worth* *is basically foaming at the mouth whenever he sees her*

Also Fender-
But Melanie your sister is evil for disapproving of this relationship



I don't like a book that depends on tearing down the previous book heroine to make the present book heroine shine

NO FUCK NO. THIS IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

Her 'lover' was downright cruel to her sister and don't even fucking tell me it was because she was against this relationship. Any sane sibling would oppose this toxicity. Raven wasn't a hypocrite. In so many ways Magnus was a better guy than his brother could ever dream of being. Raven repeatedly apologizes and thanks this fucking 'hero' only to have him repeatedly belittle not only her appearance but her self worth too.

I can pretty much guarantee if Melanie was the least bit plain, he'd ditch her like a sack of potatoes.

No Raven didn't survive because of Melanie, for fuck's sake the reason she even got into this mess was because of brain-dead Melanie. Not to mention, Raven FOUGHT for her life it has little to nothing to do with Melanie begging Fender.

I do not like how they painted Raven as offhand-ish just because she asked Magnus to give up on the money he MADE FROM FORCING WOMEN TO WORK.

And apparently Melanie is the colorful one for not letting Fender do the same.

LOL.

NOT.

Me to Melanie-



Me to Fender-



On the account of Fender being such a ...Er...complex character, here's one more GIF dedicated to him



Me to Magnus- (Every time he defended Raven even when he was angry with her)



Me to Raven - (For being one of the only people who isn't stupid and stands up for herself)




I do like the improvement Melanie had in this book but I mindlessly hated on Fender until the last 4 chapters.



P.S- If you get to call Raven ugly and not change your opinion ever, your brother is allowed to call Melanie stupid and never change his opinion.

[Patricia H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie and Fender got in my last nerves😵

I was going to give this book two stars until I got to the end of this story. Throughout the entire book I kept asking why did Melanie get her own story?! Because she served absolutely no purpose whatsoever! Compare to her sister Raven, Melanie is totally worthless. The only thing she was good at was crying and worrying about her low self-esteem. Fender got on my last never with his constant insult and hatred for Raven. He didn't like her because she was totally bad add and a lot like him. She had backbone. She was so much more than Melanie could ever be, and he resented that. Melamine them kidnapped with her spoil stubborn self. But Raven paid the price, while she lived in the lap of luxury. All Fender saw in her was a beauty. She has no substance. And I truly believed that he resented Raven because she was strong and she could will Melanie away from him, with her persuasion. I wonder if the little girl named Claire in "The Cult" series going to be Fender and Melanie's daughter?! Wouldn't that be ironic😟😮😵

[Izzie d · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series has been problematic for me.
I'm all for anti Heroes but this scenario is a bit harder to work with.
Drug dealer, enslaving women to work at the camp, red snow, and he is completely heartless to everyone else.

This couple's story was also told in the background of the previous couple's duet as the circumstances are closely linked so I was a bit less invested as I knew what would happen.
We do get a few extra details but not much tbh, esp considering the price of each book in the series.

No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.

During the separation the heroine isn't with anyone else but the Hero tells her he was, even if he wished every woman had been her, there are no scenes with any other women.
There is a ex of his brother, who the Hero says he used to have sex with in the past.

HEA. If you buy into the series.

[Shara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawn Out

I don’t think Fender and Melanie needed their own books. I really disliked Melanie and this book just made her come off as weak and shallow. She was the polar opposite Raven. Reading these last two books were like nails on a chalkboard. Her pampered life was boring at best. If I knew these last two books would follow the same storyline as the first two. I would of stopped there. Magnus obsession with Melanie was laughable. Even with the description of her beauty and the tons of makeup she wore. I just wasn’t sold on her.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books 3-4 kinda repeats most of books 1 and 2 but i enjoyed this series 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Nehal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never hated a female character more. Melanie you aren't. fucking. Colourful. You. Are a piece. Of. Work.

[marshas_world_of_books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit better than The Boss. I still found myself annoyed by Fender, until the last 4 chapters and how he hated Raven because how dare she be important to Melanie, her sister. While this couple was still very superficial the story did improve.

[Kiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally cannot comprehend why this book has such a high average score of 4.3/5. Jesus.

Let’s start off with a simple fact. The Chateau and The Camp were beautiful studies of the “guard vs prisoner trope” and I absolutely adored Magnus and Raven. Magnus obviously a victim of not only attempted murder, but the sheer emotional abuse of his brother. He knows the world he exists in is bad and evil, but he’s complacent due to the years of manipulation from his brother. When he finally breaks free of his brothers hold (with some help from Raven) we see him struggle with risking the relationship he has with his brother. There is clear growth and development of him and there is never a point where Raven dismisses his transgressions.

Now let’s think about Fender in contrast. The man who tortures his brothers feelings and emotions to get his way. He knows what he does is evil and he revels in it. (And I’m talking about the weekly slaughtering of innocent women) And what consequences does he face to “right his wrongs”? Nothing. He gets the girl. He gets the brother. And he gets a sister in law to boot. It’s infuriating to me that Melanie is that dumb… that absolutely naive enough to forgive a borderline serial killer all because “I see the good in him”

It’s like… yeah I’m sure every dictator and mass murderer in history had some good in them. But romanticizing them because of their girthy c@ck makes you just as evil, my dear.

I hate how this book makes Raven out to be the villain for being the ONLY rational being in regards to this relationship and marriage. Perhaps because the first two books were entirely from her and about her and then all of a sudden as a reader were supposed to see her as the antagonist. It’s jarring. Was not a fan at all of that.


With all that in mind. I do have mixed feelings here about this overall story. Despite Magnus’ victimhood, he does remain apart of this industry and stands by his brother through it despite his disgust and dislike of it and yet he “gets the girl” too. Why am I okay with the end result of Magnus and Raven but am utterly disgusted, annoyed and angry with the end result of Fender and Melanie? I think it could be due to Fender setting the rules and making them and reveling in them. But it’s hard for me to pinpoint it.

Edit: I read some other reviews mentioning Magnus and his conclusion of “getting the girl” can be attributed to ultimately him shutting down the camp and giving away all the money he earned from it to redeem some goodness and growth. Fender never chose to end the camp. He lost it to an opposing drug gang and just decided since Magnus wasn’t going to help rebuild it, it was just time to retire. No remorse. No acts to show he changed. Just decided it wasn’t worth his time since he already got the girl. So I think that is why I am more satisfied with Magnus getting his “happy ending” in comparison to his annoying shit brother.

Overall, I am pretty disappointed with how this series ended. The first book had me on my toes the entire way through and I was 100% into the second one up until I’d say the last quarter of it where it became a bit stretched and preachy. The perspectives of Fender and Melanie should have never existed. Just repetitive sex scenes with the same arguments and Melanie constantly crying.

Oof

[Kareen Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for the Palace from then Chateau Series by Penelope Sky

I loved this book as much as the first two in the series. This book portrays what siblings do and say things to each other without realizing they are hurting the other. Raven doesn’t give Melanie any credit for her bravery or intelligence. Fender gives this to her. But no matter what loyalty and love that siblings have for each other is stronger than any loyalty to others. Although extreme circumstances puts both sets of siblings Fender and Magnus and Melanie and Raven through hell and back their loyalty and love for their siblings stays in tact. But will Melanie ever come to terms that her sister is with such a monster as Fender? Raven and Fender truly hate each other for what they have done to each other. Raven continues to tell her sister she has no right to love such a man nor gives her the any time to explain. Melanie is afraid to tell her the truth of how much she loves Fender and how deep that love goes. She sees a totally different man than everyone else gets to see. Melanie always believes that she can change Fenders mind about releasing her sister from the camp and to change the way he run his business and the woman he holds prisoner to do the work.

I love that Melanie went back to Fender. Although she shouldn’t love him and it shouldn’t work out Melanie is madly in love with him. Melanie is Fender’s breath of life, sun and star and his family. She went from being a prisoner in the camp to living in the Palace with Fender back to living alone to the Palace again. He takes such amazing care of her. Fender gives her everything and anything she would desire or need and then some. Read this book to see what happens and the love each have grown to be with both couples.

[Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will forever defend Melanie and Fender 🫶

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encore une saga que j’ai terminé. Surtout que j’avais vraiment hâte de découvrir ce dernier volume et je n’ai pas été déçue le moins du monde. Pourtant, j’avais des aprioris sur ce tome ci et le précédent étant donné que je n’étais pas fan du personnage de Mélanie. Mais j’ai vraiment bien fait de passer outre et de me lancer tout de même dans ma lecture. J’ai même fini par revoir complètement mon jugement sur les différents personnages, c’est dire! Je suis contente d’avoir enfin découvert la plume de Penelope Sky, j’ai commencé par cette saga avec Boutons également, mais en tout cas je ne compte clairement pas m’arrêter à celles ci!

Dans ce quatrième et dernier tome, Mélanie a fini par quitter Fender pour suivre sa soeur, Raven qui est enfin libre. Elle sait qu’elle va regretter son choix mais décide tout de même de la suivre.. Et elle finit par le regretter, encore plus quand Raven décide de détruire le campement.. Même si elle sait qu’elle ne devrait pas ressentir ça pour Fender, elle ne peut s’empêcher de l’aimer..

J’avais tellement hâte de retrouver cette histoire. Je dois avouer que je me souvenais plus du tout comment ça se terminer. Pour le coup, c’était comme si je redécouvrais toutes les petites choses que l’on savait dans le premier et deuxième tome. D’un sens ce n’était pas plus mal. Concernant l’intrigue, évidemment on ne reprend pas toute l’histoire, ici on est du côté de Mélanie et Fender. Forcément, certaines scènes où ils sont ensemble avec Magnus et Raven, ce sont certaines scènes que l’on a déjà lu mais on change de point de vue pour le coup. Ce quatrième tome est assez rythmé, il se passe pas mal de choses, on a parfois des rebondissement, des retournements de situations qui nous prennent par surprise complètement. J’ai pleuré à plusieurs moments, et il y en a un qui m’a vraiment brisé le coeur en mille morceaux.. C’était tellement triste..

Concernant les personnages, en ayant le point de vue de Mélanie, j’ai fini par beaucoup apprécier son personnage. Dans les deux premiers tomes, je ne l’aimais vraiment pas, elle m’énervait tellement! J’avais même envie de lui mettre des claques, je la trouvais égoïste. Bref je n’aimais vraiment pas son personnage. Par contre j’aimais énormément celui de Raven. Et bien sachez que maintenant je pense carrément le contraire. Raven dans ce tome m’a vraiment énervé, en voyant les choses du point de vue de Mélanie, je me suis rendue compte que Raven n’est pas toujours gentille avec Mélanie.. Je l’ai même trouvé un peu hypocrite, enfin même beaucoup.. Mélanie m’a vraiment surprise. Je ne m’attendais vraiment pas à apprécier son personnage, comme quoi. Elle est tellement touchante, elle m’a fait beaucoup de peine même. On a vraiment envie de la prendre dans nos bras pour la rassurer. J’ai vraiment été surprise par son personnage, comme je l’ai déjà dit, je ne m’attendais pas le moins du monde à apprécier son personnage. Ce qui me fait mal au coeur c’est qu’elle est tiraillée entre Raven et Fender. Raven est sa soeur, la seule famille qui lui reste. Fender, c’est l’amour de sa vie, son âme soeur..

Concernant Fender, j’avoue que dans le premier et second tome, j’avais un peu de mal avec lui. J’avais du mal à comprendre pourquoi il en arrive à faire tout ce qu’il a fait. Encore une fois, avoir son point de vue nous permet de mieux le comprendre. Et il s’avère que finalement, c’est un homme très touchant quand on le découvre. Alors bien entendu, je ne cautionne en aucun cas les enlèvements et le fait qu’il réduit des femmes en esclavage dans son camp, mais je comprends pourquoi il en arrive à ça. On découvre un pan de son passé, on se rend compte à quel point il est brisé par son expérience. Ce que j’ai aimé avec ce personnage, c’est sa relation avec Magnus, son frère. C’est la seule famille qui lui reste, la seule personne en qui il a confiance et à qui il confierait sa vie. Même si par moments, leur relation est tumultueuse, ils sont toujours là pour l’autre. Mais c’est aussi l’amour qu’il porte à Mélanie qui fait que j’aime son personnage. Son amour est un amour sans limites, c’est incroyable de voir à quel point il l’aime. Il fait tout pour elle, il se met parfois à nu pour elle. J’ai rarement vu un amour aussi fort dans un roman. Et puis ces deux là, quand ils sont ensemble et en phase, ils sont vraiment adorables à voir! Et puis, j’ai tellement aimé voir à quel point Mélanie, même parfois sans le vouloir, arrive à changer Fender. Elle a une bonne influence sur lui et réussi à le rendre meilleur.

Cette saga est une dark romance, elle n’est donc pas à mettre entre les mains de tout le monde. Certaines scènes peuvent choquer, le contexte lui même peut choquer. Renseignez vous avant de vous lancer dans les romans de Penelope Sky d’ailleurs. Si vous aimez la dark romance, alors je ne peux que vous conseiller de foncer. J’ai vraiment adoré découvrir et dévorer ces 4 tomes. Les personnages, l’histoire m’ont vraiment beaucoup plu. Par contre cet épilogue!! Je suppose qu’il y a une autre saga qui sera un spin off de celle ci, il me reste plus qu’à trouver laquelle mais je crois avoir une petite idée! J’espère ne pas me tromper mais je pense que vu l’épilogue, peu de doutes qu’il n’y ai pas de suite..

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s great that we get to see the full story play out from both sides – watching Raven’s story evolve first with Magnus and then now seeing Melanie and Fender. The crux of the story is still the same, however this version has a different approach and connection.

We know that in the first installment of Melanie’s story, we watched Fender first lay eyes on her and fall in love with her in a way that no one expected of him. He was patient and refused to take anything from her that she wasn’t willing to give and that’s something that he’s never allowed of anyone. We watched how his long standing butler Gilbert took issue with Melanie being in his life and then realized that it was a losing battle to have problem with.

So all in all, we felt that this was a story on the right path. The challenge of course is that even though Melanie developed deep feelings for Fender and that all he wanted in return was to give her the world, there was still the looming issue of Raven – her sister. Who wanted nothing more than to take down everything that Fender and Magnus had built, just on principle. She refused to believe that there was more to either man in the sense of what they could or couldn’t do and even at the back story of it all, and that really played out to the worst extent when Raven forced Melanie to choose. Her for Fender. And she chose Raven.

We start off this second bit of the story with Melanie and Raven living in Paris, ‘free’ from the camp and all that it was, trying to rebuild their lives. Melanie is heartbroken of course because Fender was the perfect man for her but she couldn’t choose him over family. She tries to move on with her life in the sense of getting a job and finding purpose, however she knows that she’ll never find a man to take his place. Raven goes through the process of getting back to her life – dating and getting back into things, but she still wants revenge and we know how that goes.

They sneak back to the camp, burn it down and in return, they get a new level of hatred for both of them. While Magnus helped free Raven before, she’s his most hated person now. Fender takes this as a personal slight and that results in Raven being captured and Melanie being shunned.

From that point on, we watch Melanie realize that her life is empty without Fender and she tries all that she can to get back into his life. To try to gain his trust and his love back. It’s a tough battle since he’s not one to let those walls down again, and we watch her try her best to make that happen. At the same time we also watch Melanie do what she can to get Raven’s freedom but that’s a losing battle.

The sub plot here that we remember from the previous installments is that Fender wants to make his empire bigger and more powerful. He wants to bring in a partner Napoleon who we know Magnus has doubts on and we know how this will end. I was expecting to see more of an interaction there to better understand why Fender was so adamant about having Napoleon as his partner, but sadly that doesn’t come. Instead we just watch the demise of everything that they’ve built, and watch the massacre that takes everyone at the camp, and causes dire damage to Magnus and Fender’s health.

The culmination of this series in this last installment gives us the flip side of the story – the romance of it, the side of a woman who wants to be valued for more than her beauty and cherished above all. It’s an uphill battle but one that is meant to be since she’s truly strong and a force to be reckoned with. She believe in change and she pushed that belief on someone else and as a result, we saw the story turn a corner.

The epilogue was quite interesting though – taking us to the camp – and the hands of an unknown person. There’s a fear now in my mind of what’s to come next and the short blurb at the end of the story introducing ‘The Cult’ makes me scared for what will find its way to that area. It was bad before with the drug trade and I have shivers thinking about what’s next. Now I just have to wait a few months for that story to come out.

[Patricia Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much has changed since I gave my review for The Boss.

There is still no substance to Melanie. I guess this book showed her pressuring Fender a bit more/harder to release her sister and the other ladies in the camp. But she didn't do much more, and what she did do always fell short for me because she'd forgive him quickly and hopped right back into bed!

And I still don't see Fender as truly strong and a great leader! I've read a lot of books with the hero being the man in charge (From Crow in Penelope's books to dozens of books about mafia capos to brilliant businessmen In charge of large organizations), and I don't put Fender in that category.

For someone who's supposed to be such a great boss and leader, I don't think he uses Magnus well at all! He put him in charge of the camp for the majority of the time, but then almost undermines his authority constantly. I've never seen a book where the man in charge doesn't listen at all to the advice of his second in command. And Magnus is ultimately proven to be the better person to be in charge!

I'm all for love at first sight, but I don't see how Melanie would keep any man interested. But I guess all Fender really cares for is having a beautiful face in bed with him. (and I'm all for spice in my books, but the two of them just became very repetitive instead of hot)

And Fender's actual goal in life (It seems to me) is to have the best of everything, and everyone envious of him. He even has to put down his brother's love interest as Magnus "settling for second place because he got first place". You could put Fender into any book about nobility in any era in Europe, or as the spoiled son of a rich man anywhere or any time period, and he would be content just living life and spending money with a beautiful woman on his arm. The boss?? Ha ha!!

So I stick with my belief that Raven is the better heroine and Magnus is the better all around hero in this whole series! And even Magnus can't compare to Griffin, Bosco and Balto!!

And I think my favorite line is when Magnus tells his brother that he considers Melanie "Dumb as a dog" ...... Although that's sort of an insult to dogs everywhere!

[Gemma Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story retold that brings full understanding

I have to admit that I was unsure about this concept when I first started reading The Boss (book 3). There’s something a little strange about reading a story we already know the outcome of. I had to wonder whether it would still hold my interest because it’s almost like reading the last page of a book to find out if you’re going to get the happy ending or not (I’ve only done that once… never again!).

But I have to admit that I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how engaged I became as I read this story from the perspective of the villain from The Chateau and The Camp.

Even in the first book from this perspective, The Boss, I still struggled to allow my heart to open up to Fender. Even though we began to see a different, calmer and affectionate side to the vengeful, brutish tyrant - he was still a closed-minded vengeful, brutish tyrant.

In the Palace, we start to see a more resilient and forceful side of Melanie peek through her usually meek and mild persona. The more love Fender shows her, the more she uses the power of her love over him to make him see the error of his ways. She learns to use his own past to encourage him to look toward a better future and even though he hates the manipulation that takes, he understands why. He’s stubborn and angry, and sometimes the only way to get through to him is by making him see the right path for himself.

It’s been enlightening to see how Melanie’s persistence gradually wears Fender down - but it takes almost losing everything, including his brother and his own life to finally get him to see reason.

If I had a complaint… it’s the epilogue. Because it’s not really an epilogue. I wanted to know where their lives had led them. Did they get the families they both wanted? Did they find peace? We don’t know!

Maybe we’ll find out in The Cult? I just hope they don’t get pulled back into the lives they finally left behind.

Great book, fantastic series - but then every Penelope Sky series has been a brilliant read so I truly expected no less. So let’s see where the next book takes us.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this would be boring given it was literally just the first two books told in different point of views, but I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this final book in the series. In terms of plot, Raven’s story technically had more going on. However, if we’re talking the actual romance, I was a hundred times more into Melanie and Fender’s relationship than Raven and Magnus. The chemistry was stronger and the various ups and downs between them personally made for interesting drama and tension.

Then, there was that ending. It definitely hit different seeing all the events unfold through Melanie’s eyes instead. Like, I knew that Fender was obviously going to be fine, but as I was reading, it truly felt like this man was going to be ripped away from her. The biggest shocker though was Melanie’s character becoming likeable. When she got the two of them into this mess way back in the beginning, I wanted her to go walk off a cliff. However, there was just this super strange turnaround where I found myself rooting for Melanie and thinking that Raven was a horrible trash fire of a human. That final fight they had made me mad as hell on Melanie’s behalf and I couldn’t believe the nerve of Raven to say the things she did.

Also, while this doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, Fender’s Raven hate was so comically over the top. In both books, this guy was constantly going on how ugly Raven was compared to Melanie and it was honestly ridiculous as hell. By the way he was carrying on you would’ve thought that Raven was a deformed troll that had gotten into a disfiguring accident. I just couldn’t take any of it seriously.

[maye’s pov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penelope hizo algo diferente con todo esta serie, hay algunas partes que se pueden considerar que es lo mismo en cuestión de que la protagonista se enamora de su captor, pero se trataron un poco de temas más “oscuros”.

Con la historia de Raven y Magnus nunca conecte al 100%, Magnus me gustaba pero Raven nunca me termino de caer bien y con Melanie es lo mismo.

Falto más personalidad por parte de ella y en su historia con Fender pienso que debió de haber más negatividad por parte de ella hacia Fender porque wey literal, el hombre tiene a tu hermana trabajando en un campo empaquetando drogas y con la constante amenaza cada semana de que la puedan matar o no, si la veían débil. Plus me gustaba sus escenas acá *spicy* peeeero su relación nunca la llegué a ver profunda, para mi fue muy material en cuestión que Melanie se sintió a gusto con Fender porque la tenía como una reina con toda la joyería, ropa de diseñador etc., y no tanto por amor amor. Se que al último Melanie comparte con su hermana que una de las razones por la que se enamoró de Fender es porque el la ve por como es ella en verdad, pero ahí también me quedo como: ¿Que fue lo que vio? Porque Fender su principal razón y que comentaba siempre que podía era porque la consideraba la mujer más hermosa y ya. En este caso me hubiera gustado que se su relación se hubiera profundizado de forma diferente para comprender mejor su amor.

Estoy ansiosa por ver qué trae the cult y espero y la ame como he amado todas sus anteriores historias

[Lory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story wrapped up Fender and Melanie's love story. While I enjoyed this book and found some shocking part that kept me hooked and interesting I can't help but feel liked I didn't learned anything of substance. I mean I liked the duo POV because you got a better understanding of who they are. The book also spoke on siblings not really understanding each other and poor communication and egos causing more drama than one can count. I loved seeing Fender fall in love and overcome his demons but I can't say that I'm a fans of his because I'm not. Fender had no remorse, not even when he chopped off his brother balls, he was heartless and I hated how talked and treated Raven. Overall I still enjoyed the story. Now I'm anxiously waiting to see what in store for The Cult. As always my reviews are totally voluntarily and no monetary compensation was received and the opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Palace is book 4 in the Chateau Series. This however comes from Fender's point of view and some of Melanie's as well. I can say I did not like Fender at all in books 1 - 3! However, after reading his pov, I understand him much better and even empathize a bit with him by the end.

Melanie has shown from start right through that she wants her sister free from the camp and also the freedom of the other girls. She never bargains when it comes to her sister. I was proud of her for this stance, even when it meant going back Fender.

The Palace is dark, action-packed, and it will take you through some emotions for sure. However, I think this series is one of the best Penelope Sky has written.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed,Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Haunting, Happily Ever After, Page-turner, Unpredictable

[Ada Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

End of a era

I still am not convinced that fender is good and melanie is better than her sister
I feel he is spoiled nasty evil greedy
Melanie is a simple woman that loves her sister and begging a rich man to let her sister free from a slavery camp is not brave in my opinion
Fender tells raven that her sister is twice the women she is but i disagree
I see malanie as a coward that needs any man she can get
That is proven at the very start when she jumps in a car with strangers when she first gets taken ,,, so i feel fender is in in own head with is own imagination because he thinks melanie is pretty
And raven is a swine ?
So all in all i feel the last two books were not needed as
Magnus/raven were the heros of there own lives .and fender is a mad man and melanie is simply a easy led young woman

[Yah Yah Pommells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penelope Sky’s pen never disappoints

I’m yet to read a Penelope Sky book that I didn’t like. She has the innate ability to make even the most deplorable characters, likable. I really loved Raven and Magnus’ story and loved reading them in this book, but for the first time, I didn’t really like the MMC or the FMC. Melanie was bratty and I don’t think she fought hard enough for her sister given the fact that she was the reason they were in that predicament in her first place. Fender remained intolerable for about 90% of the book. He was an almost one dimensional character. Not enough depth. It was interesting to read some of the scenarios from the first two books play out from Melanie and Fender’s perspective but they were both too superficial for me to care too much about them the way I did Magnus and Raven,

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

growth

I just… cannot get on the Fendor train. I love Melanie and respect everything about her, and his shortsightedness is infuriating. He acknowledged in the other book that he and Raven were the same. The older sibling who would do anything for their younger sibling, and he’s to blinded by everything else to actually see it. Magnus had contempt for Melanie, however, he spoke about how she redeemed herself in his eyes often. I don’t think I’ve ever despised a character more than Fendor, this book is just that well written. Okay, he redeemed himself and I love Melanie even more for finding her voice on her feelings for him. * I try to write reviews as I read them, I almost DNF this one.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This is a phenomenal book! It is dark and intense. It is not for the faint of heart. You will be taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions! Fender and Melanie’s relationship is not a smooth one however it is one that reveals just what love is. These two have a difficult start and in no way normal. What would you do for love? Is there a line you wouldn't cross? These two go through some difficult times. Does their love survive? Will they overcome the obstacles in their way? Only one way to find out! Check out this series and this book. You will be so glad you did. I can not wait to see what will be next!!!

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was expected but had some shocking parts that kept you interested. I gave it 3 stars because reading this was like reading the past books over and over again. I can’t say if I learned anything of substance new. This book speaks on siblings not really understanding each other and poor communication and egos causing more issues than one can count. It was nice to see Fender fall in love and overcome demons. It took Melanie forever to gain a backbone against her sister and it was a pleasure to see. This book was still a page turner and interesting to read.

[Francine DiNardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting to read this and learn more about Fender, i have read i can say all of her books and she never disapoints. I actually foumd my way back to reading when I started with Buttons and Lace. From then unril now I have been hooked. Her style and characters come alive in all that she pens. Some stories can be a little dark but all done in good taste.she is one of my top5 authors. Putting her at the top for her genre. And I love how the woman in here series are so empowered and they live and love some very powerful me.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything Penelope Sky writes but with this series she really out did herself. This dark series has two sisters kidnapped to work in a drug camp and each one falling for the two ruthless men who own and run it.
This is the last book in the series and to find myself feeling sorry for Melanie and Fender who are the supposed to be the so called bad ones, I find myself wanting to see them have their happily ever after. The ending was so perfect for this series.
No one can make dark and twisted come to light like Penelope Sky. Totally the Queen of dark, twisted and evil.

[Nicki - The Overflowing Bookcase · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a very fine line between love and hate and Penelope Sky locks the readers in from the opening pages of Fender and Melanie's story. What some view as wrong on so many levels others see that there is a real deep dynamic between the two lovers that is so much more than just passion. But when Melanie must choose either her sister or her lover - what a predicament she is in!! I was captivated from the beginning and I could not put it down until the very end - and even then I thought about these characters long after I was finished.

[Wall to Wall Bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant ending!

Carrying on from the ending of The Boss and running parallel with the events of Raven and Magnus's story, you know what's coming but it still had me hooked.

Melanie is home with Raven but lost without Fender and she can't talk to Raven about it.
Fender never thought Melanie would leave but when she did he felt betrayed.

I loved Melanie and Fender's journey. It was great to have their side, even though I knew where it was heading. Just like the rest of the series it's action packed and dark (just how I love Penelope Sky's books) with an anti-hero that you warm to and a strong willed heroine.

Having read the whole of the series I can honestly say that it is fantastic and I highly recommend it.
I'm looking forward to the next release from Penelope Sky.