REVIEW: The Queen, by Tiffany Reisz

By Tqwana B.

5 out of 5 stars  ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, Nora and Søren made a fateful deal—if he gave her everything, she would give him forever. 

The time has finally come to keep their promises. 

Out of money and out of options after her year-long exile, Eleanor Schreiber agrees to join forces with Kingsley Edge, the king of kink. After her first taste of power as a Dominant, Eleanor buries her old submissive self and transforms into Mistress Nora, the Red Queen. With the help of a mysterious young man with a job even more illicit than her own, Nora squares off against a cunning rival in her quest to become the most respected, the most feared Dominatrix in the Underground.

While new lovers and the sweet taste of freedom intoxicate Nora, she is tempted time and time again by Søren, her only love and the one man who refuses to bow to her. But when Søren accepts a new church assignment in a dangerous country, she must make an agonizing choice—will the queen keep her throne and let her lover go, or trade in her crown for Søren’s collar?

With a shattering final confession, the last link in the chain is forged in The Original Sinners saga. It’s the closing chapter in a story of salvation, sacrifice and the multitude of scars we collect in the name of ecstasy—and love.

After eight books, I’m not sure there are words left to express how much I love The Original Sinners series. I’m wasn’t ready to say goodbye, yet I can’t think of a better ending to these books that I’ve loved so much and characters that have become real imaginary friends. Like Søren to Nora, we’ve been given everything.

The Queen fills in all the gaps, with the same beautiful, poetic writing from Tiffany Reisz that we expect, plus the emotional gut punches and of course the steaming hot, break out your toys sex scenes. I screenshot so many pages with so many wonderful quotes that I wanted to include in this review, but you deserve to read them yourself in context.

All the missing puzzle pieces that were laid out in the Red Years about Nora and Søren’s time apart have finally been put in place. Nora is like a drug addict in withdrawal, just one hit away from being consumed by her habit. And you want her to give in as much as you want her to resist and become the Mistress we’ve come to love. Søren is still sadistic and manipulative, but laid bare and vulnerable in ways that we started to see only seen in The Saint. And Kingsley, so tortured and so full of love. At the end of the series, I can finally say that he’s my favorite of the Unholy Trinity.

If I have any criticism, it was the daddy fantasy, which is a definitely HARD limit for me. Even that is so much a part of Nora’s growth and understanding of herself.

Without getting into spoilers, let’s just say that even Sinners get a happy ending.

The Queen is out today. Read it now and enjoy the the emotional hangover. Then start the series over from the beginning like I plan to.

ARC provided by NetGalley