The Mistress

Cross-posted on the Perv Pack Smut Shack's Sexy Reads.

In the Enchanted Kingdom Adulthood love takes many shapes. While they aren't the shapes we see highlighted in mainstream media they are none the less powerful and beautiful in their intensity.

The final installment in the Red Years of the Original Sinners series deals with consequences, unpaid debts as the seeds planted throughout the series finally blossom in blood and roses. Tiffany Reisz weaves a bewitching tale of betrayal, sin and the heavy toll that comes with holding on to what you love. It is a dark, but delightful, adult fairy tale that is a closer cousin to the Brothers Grimm than anything Walt Disney ever imagined.

After my first whirlwind trip with Nora and her gang of show more sinners in The Siren, I’ve approached these books like a sexy, and emotional carnival ride. I didn’t bother to worry about where we were going or how I thought it should end, because I accepted that I could never out think the brilliant mind behind the curtain. So, with each book, I buckled up, held on tight and enjoyed the ride. The Mistress is the most unpredictable, shocking and rewarding of them all.

The twists and turns of the story wouldn’t be half was harrowing and joyful if it were for these complex, and deeply sympathetic characters. From the naive, but well-meaning prince, Wesley, and the soulful, sadist priest, Søren to the equally ruthless, but loving Master, Kingsley, and of course the Mistress herself, Nora. They are the story. This diverse group of quirky, unique and mesmerizing people who are irrevocably intertwined with each other, are the reason I keep coming back for more. With each new book I fall deeper in love with every one of them. Their story never fails to make me cry, flail and swoon. Don’t believe me, check my status updates on GoodReads.

Venturing into The Mistress, knowing it was the end, was not easy. Yet if there is one thing I’ve learned from this series is when we face our fears the rewards are all the sweeter and it is no less true in this case. ‘Twists and turns’ does not even do justice to the trials and catharsis experienced by characters and reader alike. Hearts are broken, faith is tested, blood is shed and sacrifices are made. Not a single soul escapes the far reaching effects of the choices made, and by the end of the story every single one of them are forever changed.

A great story, not unlike a BDSM scene, isn't always about giving you what you want (or think you want), but rather what you need. It’s sometimes painful, and hard, but by the end, through a haze of sweat, blood and tears you realize you wouldn't have wanted it any other way. This is how I feel about The Mistress.

It was the ending the series needed. It isn’t what you would expect, not one of those tidy happily-everafters you get in a cookie-cutter romances, or like any ending you’ve ever seen. Which is fitting because the Original Sinners series isn’t like anything we have ever seen before.

Erotic literature is a genre that I hope will be defined by this series and other's like it. These bold new books that slip the noose of the erotica and romance genres, and even mainstream expectations of how love, sex and relationships should be portrayed in fiction. Not to mention faith and female sexuality. Two things which traditionally (in Western society at least) sit at opposite ends of the literary table. That is until Tiffany Reisz decided to throw convention out the window and put them in bed together...naked...with a flopper and handcuffs.

This mingling of faith and unfettered female sexual power is a potent combination, giving way to one of the most uplifted and healthy perspectives of love and sex I have ever seen in fiction, of any genre. I have to admit even I got swept in it’s spell.

To believe in a love that is unconditional and unwavering takes faith. Something I think few people have, but through the magic of this story the improbable not only looks possible, but inevitable. We are shown true love can not only be unselfish and everlasting, but founded on respect and trust. And that we are flawed creatures, but we are not in need of change, because we are as god mad us, beautiful in our imperfections and are still worthy of love. But most of all that it takes an extreme egotist to think they have the right and authority to fix that which was never broken in the first place.

Don’t misunderstand me, reading The Mistress hasn’t magically given me faith in a higher power. Don't worry kids, I’m still a devout atheist. It has, however, restored my faith in erotic fiction. That it can have substance, sexuality and still be entertaining to read, opposed to the shallow sales gimmicks or the sexist cliches being sold under the guise of erotica.

Instead we have a strong, sexually liberated woman in the lead role of her own story. Her sexuality is not only celebrated, but a crucial part of the story. Where she is sexy, smart and funny all at the same time, but most of all she is human. She makes mistakes and learns from them, grows and become a better person because of them. Where the supporting characters grow along with her, and she even forms strong relationships with other women. All these things we rarely see in female dominated genres like erotica and romance (and even mainstream literature), but The Mistress (and all the Original Sinner series) makes up for the shortcomings of the industry and then some.


The Original Sinners series and Tiffany Reisz has proven that erotica is the realm of women. Where we can be powerful, respected and should be feared. We are the gods (or goddesses) of this genre whose sexuality should be celebrated. Whether the rest of the world likes it or not.

John Green once said that art is making a gift for other people [paraphrasing]. Tiffany Reisz has made a very special, and badly needed gift in the Original Sinners series.

I wish I could go back in time and give it to my fifteen year old self, who was not that unlike Nora at that age. An angry young woman, who thought she was wrong and weird. I'd reassure her she’s not a freak, and explain that her sexuality is complex. but beautiful. I’d tell her she’s not alone as I give her these books, saying "here’s a story, about people like us. It’s twisted, funny, sexy, dark, and beautiful. Just like you.”

Nora is the role model and heroine I’ve waited twenty-three years to meet, and I can assure you she was absolutely worth the wait. show less

Oh. My. God. What a heart-wrenching, intense and raw book. The Mistress is the last of four books in The Red Years phase of the series which talks about Nora as Dominatrix. The next four books will be The White Years which will tell us about Nora, Soren and Kingsley's past.

I just. I kind of worship Tiffany Reisz, you know? She took a concept of erotic romance and turned it on its head. It's still erotic, yes, but it's so much more than that. It's a gripping, action packed thriller, it's full of danger, intrigue and extremely well developed characters, and it contains a hell of a lot of mind f*ck as in complex psychological games and hidden motives for everything.

The only thing I can thank Fifty Shades for is this. It brought me to show more Tiffany who I wouldn't read at all otherwise, and I would have lost an opportunity to get to know a phenomenal author.

You know how The Prince ended, right? So, The Mistress deals with the aftermath, and it basically strips away all the pretence and artifice from the main characters. And I especially talk about Wesley, who is really the most awkward character in the series just like a fifth wheel. Wesley is forced to communicate with Soren and Kingsley and he finally begins to understand that nothing is as black and white as he imagined in his head. All I can say is hallelujah! It's about time he moved on and get off of his high horse.

Kingsley also has to go through a major trauma concerning his sister while Nora stays in the hands of her captors and tries to keep them entertained with her stories, so she wouldn't end up hurt even more.

I am trying really hard not to give you any spoilers, and perhaps I should leave it at that? All I would add is that the ending is another shocker, and now that I know that the next four books will be about the past I find it unbearable that we will be left hanging for so long. There is also a scene with Soren and Nora which is to die for. So tender, powerful and heart-wrenching.

Well done, Tiffany! The Mistress is a mind-blowing book, which I highly recommend. show less

The Mistress, book #4 of the Original Sinners, by Tiffany Reisz is far more than an erotic novel though it delivers on that level in so many powerful ways. It is, as the prior novels before it in the series, even more about the people than the acts themselves. To put a finer point on it, you will be over 100 pages into this book before you come upon the first truly graphic sex scene.
Nora Schreiber is missing. Taken actually. Kidnapped from her fiancé's arms and stolen into the night. Her friends and lovers search in vain but slowly the truth of who has taken her becomes clear. Because Nora is far from a normal woman. A member of an exclusive dominatrix group and writer of erotic stories, Nora is loved and hated by many. Her master show more Soren, manager Kingsley, and fiancée Wesley soon learn who has Nora and why.
Soren's long dead wife and Kingsley sister Marie-Laure is back from the dead and has Nora in her grip.

..."Damaged, my brother called my husband. Broken. Lies, obviously. He wasn't broken. He was stronger than anyone I'd ever met. So I thought perhaps he was too strong to love me. Love makes one weak, makes one vulnerable. Perhaps he didn't love me because he would not allow himself to be so weak. But he was weak."
"Soren is not weak. Not now. Not ever."...

Reisz does much more than write exciting BDSM. She writes about the people who live these lives and how they think and feel. How for them, there is no other life. Theirs is the reality while the others who only live with safe sex are "vanilla". It is a glimpse deeper into not only the sexual practices they enjoy but their very souls as well.

...Dominants with boring day jobs earned respect with the power they created out of their own dignity and desires. Exquisite submissives - male and female - who laid themselves out on the altar of sacrifice and sexuality in order to find themselves at someone else's feet. Wesley always accused the people of her world of putting on costumes and playing dress-up. He had no idea that the suits and the ties and the beige pumps and navy slacks her people wore during the day were the real costumes that they shed when they came out after dark...

Under Marie-Laure's control, Nora is forced to explain her love for Soren. To tell the most intimate details of their lives. To explain how their sexual appetites drive them. Like a modern day Scheherazade, she tells the tales of her sex life with Marie-Laure's husband to keep herself alive one more day. To by time for Soren and Kingsley to find her.
Marie-Laure's anger and judgment is only matched by her curiosity as to why her husband Soren did not want her but wanted Nora instead. How the love of a wife could not satisfy him.

...Look, I don't give a damn about a wife or a mistress. I am who I am. I don't need paperwork to prove Soren loves me. I don't need paperwork to prove anything."
Paperwork...good word. It's the only thing that separates you from me. A wife is nothing but a mistress with paperwork. At least he loved you. He never even gave a damn about me..."

The Mistress is another exciting and incredibly well developed novel by Tiffany Reisz. The fact that it's erotica is just a bonus. show less

I have no words right now.. The Mistress totally throws some punches!



I absolutely loved it!! To say that The Original Sinners series is my favorite is an understatement. I base every other erotic book against it, and none really ever measure up. Reisz has a way of writing a story that commands your mind, heart, and soul to keep reading. The stories are so interwoven and complex.. You're just get enveloped in the underworld of kink and these wonderfully effed up relationship that you literally can't stop reading. Her writing style is wonderful, she manages the third person POV magnificently and is so freaking witty and sick at the same time!

I'm not going to give you much on the plot because it's best to experience it knowing as little as show more possible beforehand. This is the most complex of the series because it follows quite a few different characters:

The Queen - Nora.
The King - Kingsley.
The Prince - Wesley.
The Pawn - Laila.
The Rook - Grace.
The Priest - Søren.

I will say I was glued to my kindle the entire time I was reading! *Certified Panty Melting Kindle Crack* Everyone got their HEA.. kind of. I couldn't have fallen in love more with Søren, Kingsley, and Nora.. (and maybe a bit more envious of Nora because she gets to be between Søren/Kingsley!) It seems like everyone can now live a bit more, normally(?) now.

Reisz, being the sadist that she is, can never just end a book! It had a twist at the end that.. I just don't know how I feel about it. I wanted to cry/scream/smile all at once, which is what I did. I can't wait until The Priest comes out. Until then, I am left to wonder and miss my Sex-on-a-Stick Frenchman, Sadistic Kinkster, and their Smart Mouthed Mistress. show less

“I was going to pay every penny I had to get you back .... Every penny I could beg, borrow or steal. And he…he went to pay with his life.”

I am frustrated!!!! What an end!!! Now I am left with a burning question that was not been answered!!! Well it is hinted but I would love a confirmation. No Soren point of view (and that sucks big time)! But he speaks more than usual so I can compromise with that. I loved how obvious was Nora's choice was. I was really happy. I won't spoil it but I doubt that a real delima existed after The Prince. I think the end needed to be a little more extended because of the question!! and the fact that it felt a little abrupt for an ending and especially one of a series.

Soren is my favorite sadist in show more general and favorite character in the series. Grace is my second favorite and then Griffin and Michael come. Wes became pleasant towards the end, Zach is lukewarm, Kingsley is Kingsley. Nora is more complicated for me. I hated and liked her at the same time. In the end I had only positive feelings for her and that's what matters.

Another complain is the cut in half scene with Soren and someone (sorry no name to avoid spoilers). I wanted the full one. Hopefully in the prequels I will read a lot more and complete. The good news is that the story had a a guest star from a previous book (or two) and a mention of another.

Nora is the queen, Kingsley is the king, Wes the knight, Grace the rook and Laila the pawn. In my mind Soren is the person who controls all the pawns. show less

I want to tell you not to speculate. But I won't. Speculate away. Read, think, and believe you know what's going on. Part of the time you will know.
Spoiler: no speculating is needed. Everything is right there. No need to guess and develop theories. And that's exactly the mindfuck. And it's AWESOME!!



When I first read The Siren, I was blown away. Then I read it again. And every book by Tiffany Reisz I read and read again. At first I couldn't figure out how an erotic novel, involving BDSM has only the very minimal amount of actual sex. And then it hit me- that's the erotica part.


The thrill, the anticipation, the romance (and her words are packed with the most unique type of romance you can imagine.) Even when the characters are not show more romantically involved. Told you. Unique!

The Mistress is the last chronological book (for now?) in Nora and Søren's story. And Kingsley and Juliette and Zachary and Grace and Griff and... You get the point.

The story picks up right where The Prince left us. Nora is missing, taken by Marie Laure, who is obviously not dead, and we slowly realize who it is she wants to exact her revenge upon. And why. Søren, Wesley and Kingsley are beside themselves with worry and fear for Nora's life and will do whatever they can to save her. They don't, however, know where she was taken. Only who took her.

Their break comes, not going to tell you how, and at that point I knew one part of the ending of the book. And being a Søren/Nora fan, I had absolutely no issue with it. I even thought its very clever. Vague, I know, but I want to avoid spoilers.

I believe all readers, no matter who they want to end up with whom, will get their heart's desire. Tiffany somehow made it all work, and brilliantly. Not just that, all the characters got their happily ever after. Not one was left heartbroken.

Starting to read it, I immediately was swept into the intense and infinite love Søren has for Nora. His Eleanor, his Little One. One of many quotes I marked during my read is Søren wording his intentions to a 15 year old Nora:
"Because there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn't do to help you. And nothing I wouldn't do to save you. Nothing." and that's to a teenage girl. From a man who's calling involves celibacy. A feeling that intense can only grow. And boy, did it ever. There really was nothing he didn't do for her.

This quote pretty much got all the swirling adoration to Søren right back out. It honestly made reading the book a lot more enjoyable as I was now emotionally immersed in the story.

Kingsley, in this book, has the most laugh inducing, awesome lines:
Mon Dieu, the entire vanilla world has taken over my house. Fine. Both of you stay. Have tea. Turn everyone in my house boring. If you need me I'll be trying to find Nora if only to get rid of you two."


Or the James Bind line that I'm not quoting for fear of spoiling the impact it has on the reader.

And naturally, there are a million and one sensational lines uttered by Nora. So smart and clever, funny and witty, and so badass and vulnerable, it was truly a pleasure to "hear" her bedtime stories.

The biggest surprise for mean this book was Grace, Zachary's wife, in case you forgot. Some of her parts made me tear up, and some had me holding my breath.
She arrives in the US hoping to spend a few days with Nora while Zach is in a conference only to stumble into the kidnapping drama. Grace develops an amazing relationship with one if the character, that left me, for lack of a better word, in awe. Her parts of the story may have been my favorite to read.

I literally cannot wait for this book to come out just so I can gush (the good and bad) with the other readers. While I'm sure there will be readers who will. Feel robbed of what they had in mind for this character or the other, as I said before, in my opinion the end result makes the most sense to each and every one of them.

The ending of the book is infuriatingly open, but surprisingly, it makes perfect sense.

The entire series is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys well written, well crafter and well thought of erotic romances.

Since Tiffany thinks everything sounds better in French, I give this book, and the series, the highest score (as far as expressions go, anyway): Douze points!!

I received this early review copy from the publisher, Harlequin, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

The entire thing was but a denouement for The Prince and perhaps the rest of the series (I haven't read any but these two). It had exactly the ending I wanted after reading The Prince and for that all the sparkles and rainbows to Ms. Reisz! However, as far as tension levels? Virtually zero in my case. As soon as Laila and Wesley met the tension deflated like a balloon for me because I knew then exactly how it would all play out. And I was right. I'm happy about that! This is a good book and the only reason (well I have one more, see below) it doesn't get five stars from me is because it can't compare to The Prince. But then, what can??

The thing that annoyed me about this book was that the entire thing felt like one long justification of show more kink. I don't know, maybe those middle-aged vanilla women whose first exposure was 50 Shades need it, but I sure don't! I'd wager most of the readership is with me too. Only good thing that came out of all of this PSA (besides exploring the characters feelings in-depth for The Happy Ending--which I loved, cannot say it enough) was that I realized being a masochist isn't something I chose. Hurting yourself as a teen for private enjoyment and not for attention? Check! Thanks, Nora! I'm nothing more than an amateur in the matter, but it was nice to know anyway.

The last thing I'll say is that I cannot reconcile Soren doing what he does along with his calling. I shouldn't even be reading books like this yet I do because I'm weak--but that's about all I do. Soren?? NOPE SORRY. I get BDSM and marriage and everything with JUST Nora, okay. But beyond that I just can't. Yet Ms. Reisz seems to know her Bible... I'm not quite sure what she's trying to say here. Perhaps if I was Catholic I would understand? I don't think so but I don't know. I'm not saying I don't ship King and Soren--hello primary reason for reading. I'm just saying I cannot reconcile it and the multiple partners thing with Soren being a priest. But maybe that's the point. Original Sinners, after all!

Disabling comments if I can figure it out. It's not my wish to cause any contention or stir any pots. These are simply my own thoughts and feelings recorded for posterity. If I was wiser I wouldn't write this at all since I am sure I am in the teeny tiny irksome and often yelled at minority. show less