TITLE: THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT (1 – 5)
 |
| UK cover for Scars & Stripes |
AUTHOR:
TIFFANY REISZ
Pages:
148 (in total)
Date:
23/04/2014
Grade:
5
Details:
An Original Sinners Novella in five parts
Received from Harlequin / MIRA
Through NetGalley
Own
/ Kindle
‘The
‘Last
Good Knight’ is a novella published in five parts and I will review it
as such below. Before I do that though, I’d like to share some general
thoughts.
Once
again I bow at the altar of Tiffany Reisz’s genius. I think I may have said
this before but the extent to which she manages to draw me into her world never
ceases to amaze me. I can hear her character’s voices in my head. The world
they live in is so real I’m convinced I’ll be able to visit it one day.
Every
Tiffany Reisz book I’ve read has dragged me through a myriad of emotions. I
laugh, cry, frown and smile. Her stories make me think about issues I’ve never
thought about before and leave me enriched. The quotes I share below show some
of the author’s brilliance. It doesn’t matter if it is comic timing or profound
wisdom; Tiffany Reisz has an uncanny ability to hit the nail on the head.
If
there is one ‘issue’ with this book it stems from the fact that most if not all
of us already know how it has to end. This story takes place before events in
the first four ‘Original Sinners’ books which means I wasn’t surprised that poor
Nora is once again rather unlucky when it comes to the man she falls for. The
fact that I knew that both Nora’s and my heart were about to be broken didn’t
lessen a delightful reading experience though.
What
follows are descriptions of and my thoughts on the five parts of ‘The
Last Good Knight’. I apologize in advance for the length of this
review.
Part One: SCARS AND STRIPES
The blurb:
It's
lust at first sight when Mistress Nora encounters a sexy newcomer to The 8th
Circle. She's happy for the distraction, since she left her lover, Søren, but
her session with Lance is cut short when her boss, Kingsley Edge, reveals
they're all in danger….
My thoughts:
“Dominatrixes
weren’t just allowed to treat men like sexual objects, they were expected to.”
Nora
is in the 8th Circle, frustrated because the sub she’d wanted to
‘abuse’ that evening has just walked off with Søren, when a handsome man she’s
never seen before enters the bar. An intriguing man with troubled eyes who
turns out to be an ex-Navy SEAL named Lance as well as a submissive. The
attraction Nora feels is immediate and it doesn’t take much to convince Lance
to spend the night with her.
“Let’s
go and find out what you mean by anything.”
Lance
turns out to be everything Nora could wish for in a sub and even has her
thinking thoughts she didn’t think she’d ever entertain. A wonderful session
follows and the night promises to become even more fabulous when an unwelcome
visitor delivers very disturbing news, thus putting an end to the fun.
“You
have a gorgeous body, Lance. I don’t say that to everyone. Just people with
gorgeous bodies.”
Part Two: SORE SPOTS
The
blurb:
With
a potential stalker on the loose, Kingsley hires Lance as Nora's bodyguard, but
stipulates no sex while he's on duty. Frustrated by the ex-SEAL's noble
chivalry, Nora is driven to seek release with the one man she's trying to
forget….
My
thoughts:
Poor
Lance and Nora. First their exceptional night together is cut short and then
they’re pushed together when he’s appointed as her bodyguard as well as torn
apart by Kingsley’s no sex rule. When
Lance shares his personal life with her, Nora’s left angry and heartbroken for
the man she’s more attracted to than she should be.
“Stop
being rational when I’m horny.”
Lance’s
refusal to break his word to Kingsley leaves Nora frustrated and she finds
herself reaching for the one man she wants even more than her Navy Seal.
Part Three: THE GAMES DESTINY PLAYS
The
blurb:
Shocked
to see Nora's bruises, Lance is furious that she put herself in danger and
demands to know where she got them. As Nora confesses her true nature, she's
equally shocked to learn that Lance has some secrets of his own, drawing them
together despite Kingsley's orders….
My
thoughts:
Søren
and Nora together. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything more sexy. I’m glad I
already know how their story ends because my heart breaks every time I read
about their separation, the lies Nora has to tell herself to stay away most of
the time and the pain it must be causing her priest.
“Sex
was at its most potent to them both when spiked with pain.”
I
adore, as I did in the first four Original Sinners’ book, the certainty Søren
has that Nora will return to him, although all the signs indicate that she
won’t.
“You’re
mine...” he whispered in her ear. “Whether you’ll admit it or not, you’re still
mine.”
And
the bond between them is breathtakingly beautiful.
“I
treasure our friendship more than anything, even more than these nights when
you come back to me.”
Tiffany
Reisz is a genius when it comes to words and using them to paint a picture. She
does humour as well as she does angst and manages to make being profound look
easy. If only it was...
“Hate’s
like lube,...” “Makes it easier to get in and get out. If it was all love with Søren
,if I didn’t make myself hate him, I don’t think I could get out again.”
And
apropos of nothing and for purely personal reasons, the following may well be
one of my favourite quotes.
“Scars
are sexy. Scars mean you’ve lived”
Part Four: FIT TO BE TIED
The
blurb:
With
her feelings for Lance warring with her recent encounter with Søren, Nora
returns to Lance's bed and finds herself toying with the idea of…toying with
him on a permanent basis. But after she gets a glimpse into his personal angst,
Nora realizes she has the power to rescue this white knight….
My
thoughts:
As
soon as the perpetrator of the attack is caught Nora decides that the
restrictions Kingsley has placed on her contact with Lance have been lifted.
After all, if she doesn’t need bodyguard anymore, he is no longer off limits.
After a disturbing confrontation with Søren and an orgasmic afternoon with
Lance, Nora is set to claim Lance as her own. When she witnessed the full
extent of the pain his personal life is causing him she knows she can’t, even
if it means pushing her own needs aside.
If
ever we needed proof of Tiffany Reisz’s versatility, this book provides it. It
doesn’t matter what emotion she’s describing, she always gets it spot on.
Nora’s
frustration:
“I
know the feeling. That feeling that what you’re doing is right, so unbelievably
right, and yet knowing the entire world would say it was wrong.”
Her
sense of humour, even while dominating:
“Say
‘ouch’ again. You know that’s my favourite word.”
And
finally, for now, her deeper thoughts:
“The
submissive existed to offer himself at the feet of the Domme. So why did she
suddenly feel so humbled.”
Part Five: THE LAST GOOD NIGHT
The
blurb:
Now
that the perpetrator has been apprehended, Nora sadly acknowledges she doesn't
need a bodyguard anymore. She adores Lance and wants to keep him but is faced
with a dilemma—if she uses her connections to help Lance, she'll have to give
him up forever….
My thoughts:
Although we saw it coming, this is where our
hearts are shattered. Nora would love to keep Lance and collar him. Although
she never expected it to happen, she can envision a future with him. And Lance
is convinced he’s found the perfect woman in Nora. The decision should be easy,
but Lance’s personal life throws a mighty spanner in the works.
“My
dad said that there comes a time when what you want to do is the opposite of
what you need to do. And the boys do what they want to do, but the men do what
they need to do.”
One last night together to indulge in their need
for each other could never be enough and yet is all Nora and Lance have.
“Such
was the nature of dreams. They only feel endless in the dream. By dawn they
turn to dust.”
And so the author breaks our hearts once again.
And while Nora has no doubts that she will be survive and the reader already
knows how her story is going to end, I still finished the books with tears in
my eyes as well as a smile on my face. I feel deprived now that I’m once again
without new words by this author and can’t wait until her next book hits my
reader. There’s no such thing as too much Tiffany Reisz.
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