Blog Tour: Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Hi everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Enchantee Blog Tour! This book is probably one of my most anticipated of the entire year, and it totally lived up to my expectations. You can read my review later in the post, but first, here's some details about the book! Thank you so much to the lovely folks at Flatiron for sending me an ARC and making me squeal all over the place!

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…

About the Author:
Born in Sweden to Indian and Swedish parents, Gita Trelease has lived in many places, including New York, Paris, and a tiny town in central Italy. She attended Yale College and New York University, where she earned a Ph.D. in British literature. Before becoming a novelist, she taught classes on writing and fairy tales. With her husband and son, Gita divides her time between a village in Massachusetts and the coast of Maine. ENCHANTÉE is her debut novel.
 

Wow. This book was incredible.

I've been anticipating this book ever since it was announced nearly two years ago, and I had built up such high expectations for it which I never expected to be fulfilled. And they completely were - this book blew me away.

I love historical fantasy books - some of my favourites are A Great and Terrible Beauty and the His Fair Assassins series, and so I was really hoping this book would be in the same vein. But it was something else entirely, something magical and enchanting beautifully woven. I was hooked from the first page, with the beautiful descriptions and rich writing style.

Camille, her sister Sophie and the other characters introduced in this book were so relatable and believably flawed. Camille is such a likable protagonist, and her aristocratic friends were such an amazing group - I wanted to dive into the the pages and spend time with them all. Even the villains in the book were complex and I loved the way we were introduced to the characters.

There is only one word I can think of to describe the story and that word is MAGICAL. I devoured the opulence of the palace and the brewing revolution in France, and Camille's part in it all. I don't want to say too much in terms of the plot for fear of spoiling the surprise, but the magic system in this book is so imaginative and well-thought out.

As soon as I finished this one, I wanted to start all over again, but I settled for pre-ordering a finished copy. It came this week and it is SO. BEAUTIFUL. Look at the prettiness! *shoves book into your hands*.

Love,