Grateful for the opportunity to dive into the ARC of this book, though it didn't quite captivate me enough to reach the final page.

Short Synopsis: Darcy and her three friends are invited to go to her Grandmother's lavish French Chateau, and they don't quite know why. When Grandmere is found dead before she's able to make a big announcement, the finger is pointed at everyone. But who has the most to gain by her death?

My thoughts: As I do with most books, I went into this one totally blind. I guessed based on the cover alone it was going to be about a haunted french mansion. Boy was I wrong! This story was more of a murder who done it, with wealth and frienships and family. It read a little bit more as a cozy who-dun-it, than a thriller to me. I enjoyed trying to guess who was responsible as I read through. There were lots of unexpected twists that I didn't see coming.

Although this isn't what I was initially expecting, I really loved watching each of the women's secrets surface and why they were invited to the Chateau. This one had a little bit of everything including long buried secrets, women's rights, history including the Holocaust and antisemitism, and relationships.

Read if you love:
- Slow burn mysteries
- Jewish Rep (Current and Holocaust)
- Friend and Family Drama
- Topics like classism, and women's rights
- Abundance of secrets unraveling slowly

The Chateau tells the story of four friends: Darcy, Jade, Vix, and Arabelle as they return to Darcy's grandmother's Chateau in the countryside for a reunion. When strange things start happening and someone is found dead, everyone is a suspect. Secrets will be uncovered and lies unraveled. Will the friends make it our alive?

I really loved this story. The multiple POV's really helped enhance my experience with this one. I loved the French influences and the story transports you somewhere else. You find yourself questioning everyone and even though there are only 6 characters that could have done it, the reader ends up still very much surprised. This book has so many different life events thrown into it and you can't help but feel for the characters. The story line that brings in concentration camps and antisemitism is very poignant and heartbreaking, especially considering what is going on in the world today. This is a great story to read in general but especially if you are intentionally trying to amplify Jewish authors and Jewish stories. Much love to Jaclyn Goldis and cannot wait to read more from her!!

Usually I love thrillers about reuniting friends and the fact that the setting was a French chateau?! AMAZING. But, alas this one missed the mark for me, the "secret" is one that is getting old and VERY predictable for me.

This was a very character driven story which is not what I was expecting and took me awhile to get into.. I didn't really click with any of the characters and a large part of the book read like women's fiction not a mystery. Things start to pick up after the halfway point yet I could not get fully invested into the story. The conclusion was very action packed and I did enjoy that. The story had potential and I really wanted to love it but unfortunately it was just ok. I gave it 3 stars for the ending.

The Chateau
Jaclyn Goldis
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Pace: Slow Burn

This mysterious dramatic plot explores the ups and downs of family and friendships. While uncovering secrets, hidden inheritances and mind blowing chaos.

Told in numerous POVs making it a little difficult to distinguish one perspective from the other in the beginning. But the confusion dissipates the deeper you get into each characters back story.

Bringing forth reveals and exposing secrets one right after another. You will quickly become obsessed with finding out what could possibly go down next

Once the pace starts to quicken and the tensions get higher, friendships begin to teether, and the decision of who your rooting for just gets harder and harder

The hidden Holocaust history of the house and the unwanted Instagram account added the right amount of extra uneasiness and intrigue to keep the story moving along and pulls you even more

But y'all that ending. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together but god danggg the way it was delivered. Left me speechless

Wow, what a cover! I definitely judged a book by its cover. I was also super intrigued by the premise of this book. However, it was too much. Too much drama and too much irrelevant backstory. I found the characters to sound very similar in their prose and I had to check back to see whose point of view it was.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the above opinions are my own.

Twenty years ago, in a French chateau, a group of friends got together and something happened. Now, they are called by the owner of the chateau, one of the friend's grandmother, to come back again. Someone ends up dead and all of their secrets come out. Each woman has had something to overcome in her life, and it seems to be their defining characteristic. This book is billed as a thriller but it's really a domestic drama. If you're looking for a locked door mystery, this isn't it. I feel like this book had so much going on that it was hard to get into, which even as I type it sounds odd, but it's how I felt. Every drama or situation you can think of happens in this book. It's just too much....and because of that it's not enough. I couldn't get into it and felt bored.

Twenty years ago three girls go on an escape to visit a chateau in France and were good friends. Fast forward to the current day and all the girls get a random invitation to the chateau for one last time. They all go because the grandmother of one of the girls and the owner of the chateau is dying. After the girls arrive things start to get tense and loyalties are questioned. After Serephina , the grandmother, is murdered one evening the antics start and everyone starts to get suspicious of each other. What really happened?

To start let me just say I was disappointed. The way this was pitched to me was as a locked room type mystery in a french chateau where everyone is suspicious of each other. It wasnt that for me. To me this was more of a drama than a mystery thriller. Yeah there were moments of thrill and suspense but I was in the background to the drama of the story and the relationships of the girls. I felt like this was more about the issues the girls had with each other more than what had happened to Serephina and why. I got bored at times and it took me a little longer to read than what I would have liked. It wasnt horrible but I just wasnt a fan.

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. Disappointed as I usually super love this author and everything they put out. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank You NetGalley for the copy of The Chateau. I have never read anything by this author so I wanted to give her a shot. It was def a great mystery thriller and I know ill read more by this author in the future. It is told by multiple POV's which I am not always a fan of but I was able to tolerate it in this one. It had great detail in the writing and flowed really well. Lots of drama for sure which was fun!

Wow!! Twisty and thrilling, The Chateau if bingeable, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend!

If you like stories about complex female relationships and long buried secrets this story is for you!

Four friends reunite in Provence at a French chateau for mysterious reasons. They've been summoned by the Lady of the Chateau who has her own secret intentions. While the friends enjoy the the sights and local culture of Provence, tensions arise and before you know it, a dead body is discovered.

Who killed the Lady of the Chateau? Why? What other secrets are being hid?

This is not at all what I expected. I thought this would be more creepy and thrilling, but this is definitely a drama. Four friends reconnect on a trip to France at one of the girls' grandmothers. Then the secrets start flying after the death of Darcy's grandmother. But be warned death doesn't happen until 30% into the book and it is not a who done it. The Chateau is a drama based off who has the bigger secret and how it affects the group of friends. I kept reading because I did want to know everything, but honestly it was all kind of lack luster reveals. However, if you like reconnected friend groups, big secrets, the French countryside this one could be for you! A big thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an early digital copy.

3.5 ⭐️
Four friends are invited back to The Chateau where they used to visit Darcy’s grandmother, Seraphine, on weekends over 20 years ago. They are all surprised by this sudden invitation and don’t know why they are invited. Going into this book I thought it was supposed to be more of a thriller…which it is not. It is definitely more of a whodunnit murder mystery and a lot of family drama. I was not expecting the holocaust aspect either. There was many secrets revealed about each character and overall just a bit too much drama and a lot to follow at times.

Thank you @netgalley and @atria for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

The story revolves around a close-knit group of four best friends: Darcy, Jade, Vix, and Arabelle. They go on a vacation to Darcy’s grandmother’s grand chateau in the picturesque Provence region of France. The occasion is Jade’s 40th birthday celebration, but the trip is also a chance for them to reunite with Darcy’s grandmother, Seraphine, who has called them for a specific purpose.

However, their joyous gathering takes a dark turn when Seraphine is tragically murdered after a night of revelry. While the atmosphere is more steeped in drama than thriller, the four friends are thrust into a quest to unravel the mystery behind this shocking crime. Suspicion begins to cast its shadow on each of them, and as they race against time to uncover the truth behind Seraphine’s murder and the looming threat that now hangs over them, they discover that the chateau harbours numerous hidden secrets.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🏰🗡Book Review:
Title: The Chateau
Author: Jaclyn Goldis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

I liked it, but I didn't love it. The cover made me want it 🤣 I swear I've read so many books about the big house, girls' getaway, and family secrets. I think I'm just over it at this point. It's going to take more than an ominous book cover to receive five stars!

Séraphine Demargelasse extends an unexpected invitation to her granddaughter and her three closest friends for a girl's getaway at her fancy chateau in Provence, France. As they enjoy their time in the wineries, markets, and restaurants, they have an ominous feeling that there is something more sinister in store. Séraphine has many important things she needs to reveal. Secrets kept for far too long. But before she is able to speak to each woman, something tragic happens. In the aftermath, these friends will expose the secrets between them that Séraphine wanted to share. They may have arrived as friends, but it's not guaranteed that they'll leave that way.

Thank you, @netgalley and @atriabooks, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Published: May 23rd, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Now this, this is a good twist & turn of a book. In the beginning, I was ready to pull out a piece of paper to keep track of all the different characters being introduced, but the story picked up and I got lost in it. Four friends who met in college descend upon the Chateau decades later at the request of the matriarch. Within the first day there is a murder, lies exposed, an attack and everyone to blame. At some point there's a twist I didn't see coming and couldn't put the book down, I needed to know who was to blame in this tragedy. Now that I've finished, I'm ready to reread to see it all unfold from that perspective - something I never do after finishing a book!

The Chateau

Wow wow wow. This was so amazing. I was spinning round and round to figure out where it was all going to go and truly I had no idea.

I thought the audio was amazing and had different narrators that played the parts so well.

I would highly suggest this one. It’s completely bingeable. The ending leaves you up in the air though - which might be the only thing I disliked and why I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5. The story is a bit longer than needed at parts, in my opinion, but totally worth the ride.

Secrets, secrets, secrets. This book was full of secrets and drama. There are a lot of characters to keep you guessing while reading, but ultimately this book fell flat for me. The plot is a bit unfocused and the ending was a little to soap opera-y for my taste.