by Gita Trelease
Publisher – Macmillan Children’s Books
Release Date – 21 February 2019
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository
Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries—and magicians…
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…
Last month I was meant to be part of the Enchantée blog tour, but due to work stresses I did very little reading. So when half term came for me this week I couldn’t wait to just escape and Enchantée is that an escapism into history, card games and magic. So here is my review, a little delayed I admit, but that for any reason doesn’t diminish how great this book is.
Living in Paris in the 1700s certainly isn’t all it glammed up to be, especially for the Camille. When her parents died, Camille is left to look after her younger sister, and her older brother too. Her younger sister, Sophie is ill, thin just like her, there rent is due and she is finding it hard to provide. Before her mum died she showed her how to use her la magie, Camille uses it to survive, but like all things when you get a taste for it, your unable to stop, it turns you, it becomes more than just magie, it’s becomes an addiction. La magie turns from something beautiful to something sinister and soul shattering.
I admired Camille, she wants to protect and save her family, but it comes at great cost to her. She adores her sister and she will do anything for her, it’s not fair that aristrcrats can get away with so much while she slaves away on nothing. Her brother is evil, and that’s putting it lightly, he’s a bully, he’s selfish all becuause he gambled everything away and that’s why she has to play this game, to survive she has to become one, an aristricrat using the darkest part of her la magie, a glamiore. It tears you apart from who you really are and she finds it hard to return to the person she was. But when there’s is a boy with a hot air balloon, the chance at being just her, in love, doing something for herself, being daring and selfish for a change, her life pretend aristrcrat becomes that much harder.
Inside to out, page to page you are enchanted by this storyline. Historical fantasy, magic, Paris, a boy with a hot air balloon it’s utterly a stunner of a book. I think what I loved most about this book how the essense of the time period was captured, how the world building of Marie Antoinette’s time is just a vision in your mind’s eye from the beautiful writing. This really does appeal to the history geek in me, the glitz, the glamour and then the poliics of living in that era. I loved how I felt sucked into the story, in the era, when they were talking in french and it would just flow naturally through me. That’s talented writing right there. Even now, two weeks after finishing this book, it’s still with me and all I want is the next book.
Enchantée is stunning historical and magical novel, that you can’t put down. It’s a guilty pleasure, of secrets, dark magic, love, family and the world of Versaille in the 1700s. It’s Hustle but in the middle of a glittering court. Read it and be immersed in this world. You won’t regret it.
Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to MyKindaBook (Macmillan Children’s Books) for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
