When the invitation arrives, Genevieve de Vienne does not know what compels her to accept. The invitation only asks for her to write upon it her heart’s desire before setting it alight. For Genevieve, there is nothing she desires more than to forget Claire Marchard, her former companion and lover lost to violence. For Leander Sterne, there is nothing he desires more than his liberty. To have a chance at their wishes being granted, both must attend the mysterious Reverie and Son’s Auction of Secrets—a choice made in setting fire to their desires, answering the alluring call of the Chateau Reverie. Arriving at the Chateau, Genevieve remembers nothing that came before the burning of the letter. Surrounded by others who have journeyed to the chateau for its powers, Genevieve is soon drawn close to one guest in particular, Leander Sterne. Hardened by a past that remains a mystery, Leander will do anything to win the game and secure his freedom. Yet his continued rise in the competition will require his deception over the woman who threatens his heart. The chateau cannot allow Genevieve and Leander to triumph together, for their desires for freedom and forgetting are in direct conflict, and neither of them wished for love in this exchange. To win will mean achieving a hollow goal, condemning the other to a far worse fate.
Natasha Siegel returns with another magical journey of star crossed love, fate, and the desperation which drives humans to bargain for their desires. Enter the Chateau Reverie, a place and a power that casts its nets upon the lost souls yearning to leave something behind, or gain anew. Where secrets are the currency and love has no place. Genevieve de Vienne desires to forget, Leander Sterne desires to remember, but neither party accounted for a love that would have them risk even their own freedom. Natasha Siegel has fully embraced the kind of historical speculative novels that make me go feral. It’s not enough to deliver a well rounded interrogation on humanity, on a period of history, she has to throw in a romance that had me clawing up the walls. Chateau Reverie is Siegel’s take on a star-crossed love story, set in the remaining years of the French Revolution on a Chateau out of time. Behind the walls of the Chateau Reverie, memory and power call out to the helpless to participate in an auction of secrets, where secrets are exchanged for their greatest desires. Grief and liberty are the lure to our lovers Genevieve and Leander, fated to intersect and be torn between want and sacrifice. Natasha Siegel’s compelling voice lends meaning to memory—the choices that define our past, and determine our future. Chateau Reverie is a twisted standalone of epic romance and tragic acts, lending weight to our shared humanity and love’s hand in surmounting even our darkest moments.
There is a complexity to Chateau Reverie that yearns to be uncovered from the novel’s first breaths. Siegel understands the power in the prologue, those glimpses to that which drives our characters to set an invitation aflame and travel the long journey to the Chateau. Once there, a chance meeting on the estate’s sprawling grounds introduces protagonists Genevieve to Leader, opposites in desires they may be, but inextricably drawn to one another. Between uncovering the mysteries of the auction and their fellow attendants, these two are yearning with a capital Y—a feat considering this novel’s condensed timeline, but another testament to Siegel’s powers; she’s going to bring on the yearn and you will feel it. The dynamic between these two is one that sinks in its claws (much akin to the chateau itself). Though both haunted by the past, Genevieve and Leander could not be more different in temperament, and their misperception to one another drives forward most of the tension in the first half of the novel. I fell in love with Leander when he woke up in a shallow grave and said no but it’s my fault for attempting to get some sleep. And Genevieve, who in many ways cloaks herself in pretense, is one you cannot help but love and root for—for her to live life in the light and for her to forgive herself for what she had to do to survive. Anyone who loves a good character driven tale will hunger little within the confines of Siegel’s Chateau. As this is me, oh did I feast.
File this novel under: this house is alive. And it’s preying on us. Chateau Reverie is like a doll house where every room uncovers some small trinket of humanity, the inner psyche of our characters, and the conundrum of our existence. This chateau holds memories of days long past and its glittering atmosphere and ornament is a facade to darker truths. These things torment the reader as we are led deeper into its cavernous underbelly and grapple with reality: is it a dream or little more than a facade. The tragedy of the lovers Genevieve and Leander feels pertinent here. Though love can strengthen us to surmount our pasts, is it something that is enough for us to cast off that which restrains us. Can we have freedom if we have to cast love aside and condemn another to torment?? Wandering the maze through Chateau Reverie’s heart, Siegel pushes Leander and Genevieve to expose the truths which hold them back from stepping forward and leaving behind the past. There’s a catharsis and a grief here, and in Lady Reverie, we see how humanity is a feeding ground for higher powers to feast upon. Dreams, regrets, thoughtless desires, it all finds a home within the boundaries of the chateau. It is up to our duo to reach for a future beyond their myth, the ending for a story long planned.
Chateau Reverie stretches out its hands and calls upon an age-old longing, one that takes hold of the reader as we are led further and further through its deceptive halls. One thing about Natasha Siegel: atmosphere is everything and this novel practically glimmers in it. The rococo design, chateau setting, and elegant attire for this period are an immersive surrounding for Siegel to enmesh the reader within. This excess haunts the narrative, a reminder of the pain hiding beneath this period and to our characters, who fight to move beyond pain and suffering. One of my favorite parts of this story is how easy it is to fall prey to a single narrative, allowing us to believe we have no choice. That single narrative can be confining ourselves in the past and the things that have been done to us. Though our characters are cornered by the deceptive nature of the chateau, there is always a way out, one they must uncover and fight for. Chateau Reverie is another historical fantasy legend from one of my favorite emerging fantasy voices. Look no future for standalones that pack a kick and provide that feral style of yearning. Natasha Siegel is never not making me lose my mind over a romance, and with two leads determined to sacrifice themselves for the other, this was never not going to land with me. Siegel’s Chateau Reverie stands as a testament of humanity’s desire to gain—certainly—but moreover, to follow our inner lantern and leave behind the fear that we could drown. To follow the lantern anyway.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an early review copy.
Trigger warnings: violence, death, war, drowning, dead animals, suicide, suicidal ideation
Literaryrobin 