Enchantee by Gita Trelease – Book Review

A huge thanks to #Netgally and Flatiron Books for an ARC copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info

Synopsis

When smallpox kills her parents, Camille Durbonne must find a way to provide for her frail, naive sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on petty magic—la magie ordinaire—Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy the food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille must pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

With dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine’ and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for la magie. There, she gambles at cards, desperate to have enough to keep herself and her sister safe. Yet the longer she stays at court, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile her resentment of the nobles with the enchantments of Versailles. And when she returns to Paris, Camille meets a handsome young balloonist—who dares her to hope that love and liberty may both be possible.

But la magie has its costs. And when Camille loses control of her secrets, the game she’s playing turns deadly. Then revolution erupts, and she must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, freedom or magic—before Paris burns…

My Thoughts

Enchatée is a simply beautiful novel that will capture your heart.

The Story follows Camille as she uses a dark form of magic to try to make money for herself and her sister by gambling in Versailles. But lights and the life of the wealthy are too easy to become wrapped up in and Camille finds herself becoming more invested in her fake life and in more and more danger.

This is not a novel to read quickly. It moves at a slow, indulgent pace and every description and dialogue is to be luxuriously savoured as you read. 1700s in Paris brought to life by such rich and sumptuous description that transports you to a Paris/Versailles which is on the verge of a revolution. Through the eyes of Camille the reader lives the life of an aristocrat and a poor, destitute young girl.

Camille and Sophie and both adorable but feisty female characters and you cannot help but fall in love with them. Other characters include the handsome Lazare, and the dangerous Seguin.

Trelease has taken the ‘real’ world of Paris in the 1700s and added a smattering of magic, creating the most breathtaking of settings. Sprinkle in a group of elegant and charming characters, a multilayered story and you have this absolutely stunning novel.

Enchatée is such a delight to read and it really didn’t feel liike a YA (Young Adult) novel at all although is highly appropriate for younger YA readers as the violence is limited and the story is more about the magic and the romance. It has a fairy tale/Les Miserables vibe to it and is just stunning to read.