Book Title: THE CHATEAU ON SUNSET
Character Name: Aria Jones
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
My childhood was great until my parents died in a fire at a gas station and I was shipped off to the Chateau Marmont to live with my aunt, whose name is Miss Devine Rey, the weirdest name I’ve ever heard of. But she’s an actress, and it seems like having a strange name is normal in Hollywood. After that, my childhood vanished completely – living in a Hollywood hotel makes you grow up fast.
What was your greatest talent?
Being invisible. In a place where everyone wants to be seen, I just want to slip through the shadows.
Significant other?
My best friends, actresses Calliope and Flitter, who’ve taught me everything I know about Hollywood and the world. We call ourselves the Three Sisters.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
I try not to have relationships because everyone I’ve ever known ends up dead or gone. But now that the Chateau Marmont has been bought by rock star Theo Winchester, I’m having trouble sticking to my “no relationships” rule.
Where do you live?
At the infamous Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard, along with all the stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Do you have any enemies?
Movie studio boss Bob Ashenhurst. Everyone in Hollywood loves Bob. Except me.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I love my library, which is in the turret of the hotel. Books have been my friends since I was sent to the Chateau Marmont. My favorite is WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE. And JANE EYRE.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Neither! I’m 21, way too young for any of that. But Theo has a dog named Pilot who likes spending time with me.
What do you do for a living?
I’m a nanny to Theo’s 14-year-old daughter Adele. He didn’t even know she existed until she was left to him in a will. Can you imagine? Despite that shock, she’s a good kid and my job is to keep her that way.
Greatest disappointment?
That I let my friend Calliope down seven years ago. I was too afraid to speak up, like everybody around here. The Chateau Marmont is the place where secrets stay buried, and my secret and Calliope’s is buried so far down I don’t think it will ever come out. Except that maybe it should …
Greatest source of joy?
My dream of leaving here in a couple of months when I’m twenty-one is the one thing that keeps me going. I’ll move into a house by the sea all by myself and nobody will ever hurt me again.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
Every night is a party at the Chateau Marmont. But I don’t go to parties often, unless it’s my friend Calliope’s birthday, and then I’ll put down my novels and get dressed up and have some fun. I also like sitting in the Lamborghinis in the garage, closing my eyes, turning on the music and pretending I’m driving far, far away, visiting all the places I’ve never seen.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
That I’m falling for Theo Winchester, even though I know he’s a famous rock star who probably has no time for a nobody like me.
What keeps you awake at night?
The laughs and the screams and the fires at the Chateau Marmont. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m scared.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Trying to earn enough money that I can leave here on my twenty-first birthday. That and the fact that Theo Winchester is making me think I want to stay – and I can’t do both.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I want safety. For me and for every other woman in Hollywood.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
Bob Ashenhurst, the King of Hollywood. He rules our world and he has no interest in keeping people safe.
THE CHATEAU ON SUNSET by Natasha Lester
Narrator: Anthea Greco
A Novel
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 from the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress.
“A clever, compelling midcentury Gothic . . . a can’t-miss read for the madwoman in all of us.”—Layne Fargo, bestselling author of The Favorites
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 the 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.
Her carefully laid plans fall apart when the hotel is bought by Theo Winchester, a reclusive rock star turned unexpected caretaker of his daughter, 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.
Women’s Fiction Friendship [ Random House Publishing Group, On Sale: June 2, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593726556 / eISBN: 9780593726563 ]
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About Natasha Lester
Natasha Lester worked as a marketing executive for L’Oreal before penning the New York Times and internationally bestselling novel The Paris Orphan. She is also the author of the USA Today bestseller The Paris Seamstress. When she’s not writing, she loves collecting vintage fashion, traveling, reading, practicing yoga and playing with her three children. Natasha lives in Perth, Western Australia.
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