Blog Tour: The Chateau on the Lake by 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 protection 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 of future happiness.

I was enthralled with this novel from the first chapter. I have a love of history and this book very much appealed to that interest. It is set during the French Revolution and so I couldn’t wait to get started.

The prose is beautifully written and it sets the scene so well. I really did get the feeling that I was in Paris during the Revolution. There has obviously been a lot of research going into details – the danger and the atmosphere was palpable.

The writing style made this book so easy to get into. I found it hard to put down to be honest. There are many plot twists that kept me wanting to read. This book is both exciting and heartbreaking in places. I grew very fond of Madeline and didn’t like how she was treated by some of the people around her.

Comte Etienne d’ Aubery is a very intriguing man and who is surrounded in mystery. I couldn’t quite make him out at first. He reminded me of Mr Darcy a little actually. I didn’t like Jean-Luc and couldn’t shake this feeling that there was something off with him. I became so interested in this characters.

I do love it when fiction is integrated with factual events. Overall, I loved this book and I recommend it, especially if you like History.

(The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts was released by Piatkus on 7th May 2015 and is available in paperback, rrp £8.99, and e-book.) 

Check out the other stops on the blog tour for The Chateau on the Lake:

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.