The Chateau on Sunset ⭐⭐⭐💫

The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester

Mini Cover Wars

Created with Gemini AI 
(AI provided the verbiage on the notes)

G👀dreads About Summary

A sheltered young woman living at the Chateau Marmont falls under the spell of a scandalous, secretive man as all of Hollywood's glamour swirls around her—a stunning feminist reimagining of Jane Eyre.

In 1957, newly orphaned Aria Jones is sent to live with her aunt, a fading star who hides away in Hollywood's infamous Chateau Marmont. There, two aspiring actresses, Calliope and Flitter, take grieving Aria under their wing.

But the Marmont isn't meant for small girls with big hearts, and Aria's first few nights reveal an insidious secret that continues to haunt her as she grows up in the hotel's halls, where the bright lights of Hollywood cast even darker shadows. If Aria can just stay invisible and invite no trouble as she saves money, then she can leave the Marmont and live life on her own terms—alone, but free.

All her carefully laid plans are shattered when the hotel is bought by Theo a reclusive rockstar turned unexpected caretaker of his niece Adele, and unlike any man Aria has met before. To earn the last bit of money she needs to escape, Aria becomes Adele's tutor, which brings Aria closer to Theo and ignites a passion she never expected.

Suddenly, Aria finds herself wondering if she still wants to remain invisible—and if inviting trouble is a risk she's willing to take to pursue what she truly desires.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Retellings, Romance

The How/Why: Influenced by SM promoting prior to release date of 6-2-2026. It was not available on NetGalley so I had it on Notify Me then on Hold with Libby.
I'm not usually the biggest fan of retellings, but I am a Historical Fiction junkie.

⭐⭐⭐💫

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣

 🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? No ➖

 🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ 

 📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Maybe 🤷 I couldn't get into The Mademoiselle Alliance a while back. The Paris Seamstress and The Paris Secret sound interesting, so 'maybe'. They aren't on my TBR right now because they are both WWII and I've been taking a break from war stories.  

 💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? SȖbstɐncɇ AbŲsɇ, MiŞoǥyny & SɇxiŞm, ǤɐŞliᵷhtinᵷ, Ǥriɇf

 🌶 Spice? No spice but reference to the Casting Couch plus a little romance.

 🌪 Plot Twist? No

 👟 Pace? Uneven. Slow, evened out, slowed again, speed to the finish line.

💻 Tidbits ~ The retelling of Jane Eyre transported to 1950's Hollywood *OR* Tales and Tragedies from the Casting Couch? 
At 20%: World Building and Character Building is front and center. So slow getting to any points. I mean, I'm not bored with it, I'm just waiting for something to happen. Anything. You know I'm not a gentle reader. I prefer chaos! Throw me a bone already.

There is poolside glitz vs psychological dread. 
Industry scandals and unscrupulous people at the top of the power chain.

After 14 year old Aria's parents die in a fire she's sent to live with her aunt, a fading Hollywood star living at the Chateau Marmont. She demands to be called Miss Devine Rey and instructs Aria to stay out of the way. Miss Devine Rey is reclusive and troubled, hiding secrets. 

The hotel is also full of secrets and has a personality all it's own. 

Colliope and Flitter, aspiring actress living at the Marmont, take Aria under their wings. Aria's classroom is the hotel library. You can learn a lot from encyclopedias. Life's lessons will be filled in compliments of her two new best friends! 

Fast forward (or shall I say slow forward) the Chateau Marmont is purchased by a rock star who just inherited a daughter he didn't know about. Aria takes Adele under her wing and works as her tutor. She knows what its like to feel all alone.  If you feel a romance coming on between the tutor and the rock star, you're not wrong.

Smoke, mirrors, and shenanigans ensue and Aria flees to Italy. (And yes, the romance involves yet another classic case of misunderstanding due to lack of communication. Have we not learned by now that communication is key?)  In Italy Aria finds her purpose in life so she can change the Hollywood film industry. Where women can audition for parts without having to "share their parts".

The didn't get the purpose of the dual timeline. It was only a seven year spread so I think I linear timeline would be flowed better. 
Don't get me wrong, I love a good Historical Fiction dual timeline and even a triple timeline. However it only makes sense to me when it goes back 50-100 years to discover and solve family secrets. 

I deducted one star for the uneven pacing. I thought it was slow, evened out, slowed again, speed to the finish line.
I deducted one star for the short dual timeline interrupting the flow of the story.
I bumped it back up a half star because the author painted a beautiful picture of both Hollywood and Italy. 

🎧 Narrator: Anthea Greco

🎧12.0 hours (Libby) 🕮 384 pages

Extra Tidbits

@20% Talking to my self with my new friend AI. I hate to admit we're friends. Especially with all the controversy over data centers, but that's a whole nother story.
I usually give a book to the 20% mark, 30% if referred by someone who knows what I like. 
It has over 4 stars on GR and I don't want to read reviews until I've done mine. So I consulted Librarian Google and asked if reviewers report it being slow, or is it me.  "Yes" but then asked what are some of the last HF that I enjoyed (or hated) so it could predict if it will be worth my time or if I sound DNF.
AI is super scary that you can ask a question and get an answer in a nano-second. "Your current favorites show a very distinct pattern: you love rich, female-led historical fiction blended with mystery, high society, and psychological suspense." "Because you already enjoy books that trade cheap thrills for complex female protagonists, rich historical eras, and slow-burn suspense, you are highly unlikely to find this book boring."
SHUT UP. How do you analyze me so quickly?!?!?!? Underlined are the parts that hit the nail on the head.
Okay, I'll stick with it since A) I'm not bored and it's entertaining enough and B) LG knows me so well I should at least give it to 30%! 

Update: It picked up around 30-35%. We didn't find out what the deal was with the aunt until at least 50%. It took off around 75%.
LG was right though, I wasn't bored.

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