Tiffany Reisz Day! Review ~ The Saint (The Original Sinners: White Years #1) by Tiffany Reisz

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars!!

“A hymn began. Elle looked back to the door of the sanctuary, and saw the new priest. The dream ended. The spell was broken. Elle woke up.”

This series is my all-time favourite series ever; I just cannot get enough of the forbidden it seems. Every single book in this series has been a work of art and every single book has been an amazing 5 star read and this book is no different. What I will say though is that this book is my favourite so far.

The way this story unfolded was unique to Tiffany Reisz, I must admit I was a bit worried in the beginning and I am still wondering why Nora was where she was, but once I understood how this story was being told I settled in for Nora’s bed time story. This book is told in a flashback, Nora telling Kingsley’s son, Nico, how it all began. I snuggled down and readied myself for a story that I would never forget.

“Losing him, losing his love was my greatest fear. And he made me face it. I faced it, I survived it. And ultimately…Ultimately, that time on my own turned me into what Soren said I was all along.” ~ Nora
“What was that?” ~ Nico
“Dangerous.” ~ Nora

This book was incredibly emotional for me, I always knew that Soren’s past was intriguing and unsavoury but the more I learned about our Padre and how his relationship with Nora started and developed the more I fell in love with and respected Soren. While on the outside people only saw the 28 year old priest fall in love with the 15 year girl, Soren did nothing about it for many, many years. He nurtured Elle/Nora, he wanted her to have the opportunities to be a normal teenager, live a normal life and then when she had lived and was adult enough to make informed decisions, only then would Soren reconsider his stance with his “Little One.” He loved her unconditionally, he was her fiercest champion, he was her protector, he would die for her, he would break his vows for her, but only when the time was right and that took a long, long time. It is this extremely slow build that I felt made this love story all the more real, all the more tangible. My heart broke for these two many times.

“I’m working my ass off in the sanctuary scrubbing two hundred years of farts off the pews and you’re sitting in your seventy-degree office drinking tea and writing homilies. It’s hot as Satan’s balls in there, and I’m sweating like a whore in church.”

So many gaps in the Red Years are filled in; to see how Nora and Soren began was a gift and personally I felt made their relationship all the more profound. To see the rebellious teenager that Nora was, was a treat and who would have thought that ultimately this became the beginning of the Soren, Nora and Kingsley Trifecta. I loved finding out about how the name “Nora Sutherlin” came about, it is these little snippets that are interspersed throughout the book that will have you ahhhhing, like the light bulb just went on and only makes you appreciate the Red Years all the more.

“faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” - Hebrews

Nora’s beginnings were told in detail too; never having that feeling of being wanted or loved was hard for Elle/Nora to take and left their marks on her outlook on life. She always knew she was different but could never quite come to grips or see how they would fit into her life going forward. It was Soren’s guidance that made her realise that she was perfect as she was, not everybody’s normal is “normal,” what is “normal?”

“When you aren’t trying to look beautiful, you look beautiful. When you are trying to look beautiful, you are stunning.”

The humour in this book had me crying with laughter, Nora has always been a scream but it seems that she must have been born with the sassy attitude and quick wit. Never intimidated by “Blondie,” Nora always gave more than she got and it was this attitude that alerted Soren to the fact, that he may have just met his match. These two were destined to be together, no two people have ever been a better fit and while I wouldn’t want to be in Nora’s shoes at the hands of Soren, it was right for these two. They both wanted it, the both needed it, it centred them, it was just Soren and Nora and Nora and Soren.

“What is it?” ~ Nora
“Open it.” ~ Soren
“Like it?” ~ Soren
“Woof.” ~ Nora
“A dog collar?” ~ Nora
“A slave collar. You belong to me always…”

The last third of the trifecta is ever present, Kingsley, and I loved seeing the relationship that he and Soren have. The banter between these two also at times had me in stitches and you can already see how Nora was going to fit into their dynamic.

“Your French is improving. Now let’s work on your attitude.”
“King, you’re like the big brother I never had. And never wanted.”

All I can say is that this is another masterpiece from Tiffany Reisz, she continues to amaze me with every book she pens. Her writing style never fails to consume me and once I start I know that I am going to be checked out for quite some time. As usual the writing is flawless, spell binding and mesmerising and I don’t think I can ever get my fill of these characters. Nora still remains my favourite heroine, from the get go she imprinted herself on my heart and this book has only cemented her place. I truly loved this one.

“Yes, it hurt, but so did everything that mattered. Love hurt, life hurt, birth hurt, changing hurt, growing hurt. The dead didn’t hurt, only the living. She had never felt so alive.”

Buy Links: 

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1HKGWeV
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1uQMKt8