Blog Tour: Enchantée

Enchantée
Enchantée Book One
Written by Gita Trelease
Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance
464 Pages
Published February 26th 2019
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
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★★★☆
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.
In eighteenth century Paris, the streets whisper with discontent. The wealthy aristocratic community collecting taxation payments from the lower socioeconomic castes, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette holding lavish parties for the affluent society. Camille Durbonne provides for her sister Sophie, recovering from the small pox virus that their parents succumbed, her brother Alain an alcoholic indebted to the dazzling lights of the royal casino.

Camille relies upon magie ordinaire and her ability to manipulate metal into currency, using sorrow as motivation for the transformation. Once celebrated for their abilities, magicians were revered by royalty and aristocrats to transform the Palace of Versailles into a glittering showcase of wealth, beauty and privilege. For a lowly printers daughter, Camille needs money for Sophie's medication and to keep the roof over their heads, brother Alain is unable to hold down a job and has sold anything of value within their crumbling, rented rooms. On a drunken rampage, Alain ransacks their home, assaults Camille and flees to Versailles with their overdue rent money.

Camille is a resilient young woman, using whatever means are at her disposal to earn money to care for her younger sister Sophie. Sophie is recovering from small pox, a disease which had taken both their parents lives and left the siblings for fend for themselves. And one another. While Camille and Sophie have been a means of support for one another, Alain begun gambling, seduced by the bright lights of Versailles and the careless life of an aristocrat.

Alain is an abusive character. He cares little for the welfare of his sisters, rather his own lifestyle of drinking and gambling which has lead him debt with dangerous creditors. Not only does he attempt to manipulate Camille but also threatens to sell Camille and Sophie with the implication of selling their bodies to clear his debts. Sophie is awestruck by this lavish life Alain leads and idolises her brother, Alain filling her head with false promises of Sophie meeting a wealthy aristocrat and marrying. Sophie is frustrating. Although incredibly naive at only fifteen years of age, she's only beginning to realise the toll that magic takes on Camille and begins working for a local milliner creating hats for the wealthy women of Paris. Unfortunately it still isn't enough money to survive.

Using her mother's glamoire gown and the last of their savings, Camille uses magic to manipulate her appearance to join the aristocrats at Versailles, where she's taken into the fold as the young widow Baroness de la Fontaine. For Camille, it's impossible not to lose her sense of identity within the dazzling atmosphere of Versailles and the privileged aristocrat lifestyle. Although Camille is seduced by her new lifestyle, she returns home with her winnings each day to provide for sister Sophie.

Sophie's loyalties seem to lie with Alain, her brother convincing the fifteen year old that she will one day become an aristocrat with influence, marrying a wealthy man and living a life of affluence. She becomes increasingly jealous of Camille, even as magie ordinaire slowly begins to destroy her sister. I found Sophie incredibly self centred and it's not a term I use lightly. Understanding that she is only fifteen years of age and recovering from a life threatening illness, she showed such little compassion for Camille except for wanting her sister to pursue relationships for societal gain.

The subtle romance was lovely. Meeting in the most unconventional manner, the aeronautic Lazare is dashing, charming and oh so chivalrous. His wonderment at Camille is absolutely delightful and he cares not for her societal standing. Leading her double life, Camille meets the wealthy, mysterious Seguin, an acquaintance of her new friends. Seguin is incredibly forward with his intentions, he likes Camille as her alternative ego but Camille also suspects he is aware there is more to her than the wealthy, lonely widow she portrays. 

It was incredibly atmospheric. I was lured into the world of Versailles and the the lavish romanticism of the wealthy aristocrats. Gita Trelease has sprinkled words and phrases in French throughout the prose, creating such a lovely narrative and authenticity. An inclusion I really enjoyed.

My only complain is of the pacing. It's incredibly slow to begin. We follow Camille throughout the streets of Paris as she collects scrap metal to transform into coins and gambling to create a better life for her and Sophie. There was so much emphasis on the gambling and Camille stumbling home each night from exhaustion that there was little left for romance or developing Sophie's character. 

Overall, it was slow but incredibly lovely. I expected more from the brewing revolution subplot rather than glittering casinos but really enjoyed it despite the slow beginning. Fans of lavish historical romances will love this one and looking forward to the next installment. 

16 comments

  1. Okay this is my favorite version of the cover so far!

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    1. Mine too! I much prefer it to the US version and such a wonderful read!

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  2. Oh I loved this one! I actually found I got through it really fast (in one day eeep, which isn't usual for me and 450pg books) and I loved the characters and the romance!

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    1. Me too! It took me a little while longer but I really enjoyed it. It was so incredibly atmospheric and the writing was absolutely lovely!

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  3. Enchantee was a bit too slow for me to enjoy but I'm happy you liked it!

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear that Amber. Do you think you'll continue on with the series?

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  4. This doesn't sound like my kind of book but I had it and passed it on to my niece who loves these sort of stories.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. It's an incredibly opulent fantasy type novel, it's quite long and slow to begin but I really enjoyed in nevertheless and looking forward to the next installment. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I have Karen!

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  5. It sounds like a great book; it's unfortunate it's slow-paced. Oof... I wish the author did something else with Sophie's characterization. Great review
    Vivien @ Pages of Wonderland

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    1. I'm hoping Sophie's character will mature during the next installment, as she seems incredibly entitled for a girl who has lived with no little for so long. Still a lovely read nonetheless, really enjoyed it.

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  6. I've seen so many mixed reviews for this book. I'm glad it was a good read for you overall. This version of the cover is gorgeous too.

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    1. Isn't it just! I think for readers who liked Caraval, they'll really enjoy this one too.

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  7. This sounds wonderfully atmospheric and Camille such a resilient character in this world. I also am intrigued by the addition of her magic -- though I must admit bc historical fiction isn't always my cup of tea and pacing one of my biggest peeves, the slow pacing did give me ppause.

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    1. The pacing and length was my only real gripe with this one Verushka. I really enjoyed it but it needed a little more character development.

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  8. This sounds like an interesting read even if the pacing was off. I'm intrigued by the characters and the magic in it. It just seems different from a lot of releases I've seen of lot and the pretty cover helps pique my interest too.

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  9. Oh darn it, I thought this would be right up my alley! I just finished Sky Without Stars so my brain is all FRANCE FRANCE FRANCE vibes. I'm not a huge fan of the pacing nor the abuse (especially if it's graphic) or the glittering casinos being involved unfortunately. But this is a series, though, so maybe this is a setup with the world and the introduction to the characters before we get into the revolution? (The fun part in books, if you ask me. 😜)

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