Erotic Romance Early Review: The Saint by Tiffany Reisz
The Saint by Tiffany Reisz (The Original Sinners #5)
Egalley courtesy of Harlequin MIRA
18+ only
Synopsis from Goodreads
In the beginning, there was him.
Gutsy, green-eyed Eleanor never met a rule she didn't want to break. She's sick of her mother's zealotry and the confines of Catholic school, and declares she'll never go to church again. But her first glimpse of beautiful, magnetic Father Søren Stearns and his lust-worthy Italian motorcycle is an epiphany. Suddenly, daily Mass seems like a reward, and her punishment is the ache she feels when they're apart. He is intelligent and insightful and he seems to know her intimately at her very core. Eleanor is consumed—and even she knows that can't be right.
But when one desperate mistake nearly costs Eleanor everything, it is Søren who steps in to save her. She vows to repay him with complete obedience…and a whole world opens before her as he reveals to her his deepest secrets.
Danger can be managed—pain, welcomed. Everything is about to begin.
UK Release date: May 27th 2014.
US Release date: June 24th 2014.
Amazon US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository | Fishpond
9.5/10
* * *
" I give you forever, the least you can give me is everything."
This book, peeps, this book! I have no words, just exclamation marks. I've told you again and again just how GOOD Tiffany Reisz is as a writer, and The Saint is her strongest book so far.
The Saint starts four books of The White Years -- four books of Nora, Søren and Kingsley's past before The Siren. And what amazing years these are! The Saint talks about Nora and Søren's first collision which inevitably change their destinies. It tells us about the first few years after their meeting until Nora becomes Søren's.
It's powerful, it's explosive, violent, intense and very emotional. Nora is a force of nature and I can not, would not judge Søren for bowing to her strength. Yes, he was 29 and in a position of authority when he met 15-year old Nora, and yes, without knowing the inner dynamics of this couple it's easy to judge them as an abuser and a victim, but knowing them? It's a different ballgame.
"The wolf eats the sheep," she said. "Should we, the sheep of Sacred Heart, be scared of you?"The book is split between present times, where Nora is cloistered in the middle of nowhere with Nico, Kingsley's son and past which she is retelling to Nico. I admit I didn't care much for Nico, because nothing and no one could outshine Søren, but I think it was intentional. He took on a role of a listener and he played it really well.
"No."
"No?"
"I only eat other wolves."
"That's a comfort, I guess."
"It shouldn't be." he said.
"Why not?"
Søren gave her a look so dangerously hungry she'd almost describe is as wolfish.
"Because, my Little One, you aren't a sheep."
There were some moments in The Saint which took my breath away - Nora at the concert and Nora on their first night together when she is twenty... and of course there were glimpses of Kingsley, which is always a treat, but I enjoyed all of it immensely. There is hardly any sex, but you and me know Tiffany's books are about mindf*ck, and sex is just one of her instruments.
I can't help but think that walking away from Søren and remaking herself the way Nora did after knowing what I know from The Saint was a testament to her phenomenal strength. A weaker woman would have been devastated, but a weaker woman wouldn't have ended with Søren.
If you ever watched The Lover, a French movie by Jean-Jacques Annaud (I think, appropriate for this book) the moment Marguerite falls apart at the deck in the very end and cries her heart out is how I felt about The Saint. I felt bittersweet, bruised and devastated, and I loved every moment of it. So much, that I'm re-reading the whole series again. Recommended. It's phenomenal.
* * *
Феноменальная книга, мои дорогие, совершенно феноменальная.Мало того, что Тиффани Райс - это автор, которому я пою дифирамбы после прочтения каждой из её книг, Святой к тому же оказался её сильнейшим романом на сегодняшний день.
Эта книга начинает четыре тома так называемых Белых Годов, повествующих о прошлом Норы, Сорена и Кингсли до первой книги серии - Сирены. И от неё захватывает дух. Сюжет разделён на две части. Нора, рассказывающая Нико о своём прошлом; и описание её первой встречи с Сореном, которая переменит их судьбы, и последующих пяти лет до и включая их первую ночь вместе.
15-летняя Нора встречает Сорена впервые когда ему 29 лет. Две родственные души, два волка в овечьей шубе узнают друг друга, но учитывая их разницу в возрасте и молодость Норы, допустить между ними что-то физически Сорен не сможет до тех пор, пока Норе не исполнится 20 лет. Он хочет, чтобы она выбрала его сознательно, прожив немного и поняв, чего она действительно хочет, и, учитывая его натуру, его больше-жизни личность, меньшую, более слабую женщину, чем Нора, отношения с ним бы уничтожили. Да и будем честными, - более слабая женщина никогда бы его не привлекла.
"The wolf eats the sheep," she said. "Should we, the sheep of Sacred Heart, be scared of you?"
"No."
"No?"
"I only eat other wolves."
"That's a comfort, I guess."
"It shouldn't be." he said.
"Why not?"
Søren gave her a look so dangerously hungry she'd almost describe is as wolfish.
"Because, my Little One, you aren't a sheep."
Нора - это тайфун, неуправляемая сила природы, и, зная то, что я знаю из Святого, её способность уйти от Сорена только показала её экстраординарную натуру. Диалоги между ними, а также редкие моменты с Книгсли - что-то совершенно завораживающее, и после этой книги, я стала перечитывать всю серию с самого начала. Сцены из концерта и их первой ночи... у меня нет слов, чтобы передать мои чувства.
Тиффани Райс играет с вашей психикой как виртуоз, так что не ждите сплошного секса. Те сцены, что есть здесь, только усиливают напряжение и натягивают ваши струны.
Если вы смотрели Любовник - французский фильм 1992 года и помните Маргерит в конце, захлёбывающуюся сдавленными рыданиями на палубе теплохода, то вы поймёте как я себя чувствовала после этой книги - раздавленной, изнемождённой, побитой и удовлетворённой. Читайте!
