It's a Mad Mad World

 

 

The Chateau on the Lake

Charlotte Betts

 

Published 7th May 2015, paperback original, £8.99

Rich, evocative and immersive, The Chateau on the Lake is a breath-taking historical novel set in London and Paris during the time of the French Revolution from award-winning author, Charlotte Betts.

 

1792. As a teacher at her parents' Academy for Young Ladies in the heart of London, Madeleine Moreau has lived her life sheltered from the outside world. But on the night of a dazzling Masquerade, tragedy strikes and she is left alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she never knew, Madeleine impulsively travels to France in search of them. But with war around the corner, and fearing for Madeleine's safety, the enigmatic Comte Etienne d'Aubery offers her shelter at his home, Chateau Mirabelle.

 

Chateau Mirabelle enchants Madeleine with its startling beauty, but it is a place of dark and haunting secrets. As the Revolution gathers momentum and the passions of the populace are enflamed, Madeleine must take control of her own destiny and unravel events of the past in order to secure a chance at future happiness.

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Review

The year is 1792 and young Madeleine Moreau travelers to France after a tragedy to find out more about her father's family. She is not alone, she travelers with her friend Sophie who for her own personal reasons need to go away from her family. Also, with them is Comte Etienne d'Aubery who offers them to stay with him in France since the country is in turmoil.

 

If I have to read a romance book is a historical romance probably my first chose. But that probably quite logical since I find historical books generally interesting. Especially if the subject is interesting and I have always found the French Revolution interesting.

 

The Chateau on the Lake was a pleasant surprise because the story never got too cheesy. I can't stand romance novels with a cheesy story or with characters that are not believable. But the story in The Chateau on the Lake was really good, from the beginning to the end and the characters were well done and not flat.

 

There was a love triangle between Madeline, Etienne and his Jean-Luc, an old friend of Etienne who works at Chateau Mirabelle. But the love triangle never got really frustrating irritating to read about. Mostly because Madeleine's feelings for Etieene was hard to miss, at least I thought so.

 

I liked this historical romance very much, I especially liked that it took place during the French Revolution which meant that both Madeline and Sophie had to be careful not to reveal that they are English and not French. That made the story so much more fascinating. Madeleine and Sophie do what they can to blend in and build up a life and at the same time they must be very careful not to reveal themselves to the people around that doesn't know the truth.

 

Charlotte Betts has written a wonderful book and I'm looking forward to reading more books by her. It was really refreshing to read a romance book with a strong female character and an engaging story.

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About the Author

Charlotte Betts began her working life as a fashion designer in London. A career followed in interior design, property management and lettings. Charlotte discovered her passion for writing after her three children and two step-children grew up.

Her debut novel, The Apothecary's Daughter, won the YouWriteOn Book of the Year Award in 2010 and the Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers, was shortlisted for the Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance in 2011 and won the coveted Romantic Novelists' Association's Historical Romantic Novel RoNA Award in 2013. Her second novel, The Painter's Apprentice, was also shortlisted for the Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance in 2012 and the RoNA award in 2014. The Spice Merchant's Wife won the Festival of Romance's Best Historical Read award in 2013.

www.charlottebetts.com | @CharlotteBetts1