The year is 1792 and young Madeleine Moreau travelers to France after a tragedy to find out more about her father's family. She is not alone, she travelers with her friend Sophie who for her own personal reasons need to go away from her family. Also, with them is Comte Etienne d'Aubery who offers them to stay with him in France since the country is in turmoil.

If I have to read a romance book is a historical romance probably my first chose. But that probably quite logical since I find historical books generally interesting. Especially if the subject is interesting and I have always found the French Revolution interesting.

The Chateau on the Lake was a pleasant surprise because the story never got too cheesy. I can't stand romance novels with a cheesy story or with characters that are not believable. But the story in The Chateau on the Lake was really good, from the beginning to the end and the characters were well done and not flat.

There was a love triangle between Madeline, Etienne and his Jean-Luc, an old friend of Etienne who works at Chateau Mirabelle. But the love triangle never got really frustrating irritating to read about. Mostly because Madeleine's feelings for Etieene was hard to miss, at least I thought so.
I liked this historical romance very much, I especially liked that it took place during the French Revolution which meant that both Madeline and Sophie had to be careful not to reveal that they are English and not French. That made the story so much more fascinating. Madeleine and Sophie do what they can to blend in and build up a life and at the same time they must be very careful not to reveal themselves to the people around that doesn't know the truth.
Charlotte Betts has written a wonderful book and I'm looking forward to reading more books by her. It was really refreshing to read a romance book with a strong female character and an engaging story.

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book a great summer read highly recommend
The Chateau on the Lake is a breath-taking historical novel set during the time of the French Revolution; rich, evocative and immersive. If you love Philippa Gregory and Joanne Harris, you will adore Charlotte Betts. ( )

As the story began in 1792, Madeleine Moreau was a teacher in London at the Academy for Young Ladies. She yearned to know more about her father’s family, but he was always very secretive about his parents or even if he had any siblings. After Madeleine’s father and mother were both tragically killed, she took it upon herself to travel to France where he was from. Her close friend, Sophie who was being abused by her husband, becomes Madeleine’s traveling companion. Comte Etienne d’Aubery, whom they’d only recently met, is also traveling to France and offers them a place to stay. But, when the French Revolution begins and they cannot travel back home, he offers them a more permanent solution and a safer place to stay at the Chateau Mirabelle. Madeleine finds herself attracted to Etienne, but she is also strangely attracted to his friend and estate manager, Jean-Luc Viard. There’s a bit of a mystery within the pages as it had been rumored that Etienne may have murdered his wife.

I liked the mystery surrounding Etienne and wanted to find out exactly what happened with his wife. Some of the scenes, however, were not altogether believable. For instance, when you envision a wall of people at a huge event, do you really think you could elbow your way to the front? Madeleine did just that in order to witness the decapitation of King Louis. The story didn’t go overmuch into the war other than the ramifications it had on the people’s lives in England and France. The scenic descriptions of Chateau Mirabelle were nicely done and I could see in my mind’s eye how captivating and beautiful it was. The story flows quite easily. Rating: 3.5 out of 5. ( )