Title: Enchantée
Author: Gita Trelease
Published: February 5th, 2019 (hardcover)
Genre: Magic, Historical Fiction, YA
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Synopsis: 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…
Set against the backdrop of Louis the XVI’s Paris, we follow Camille who is trying to take care of her sister with La Magic Ordinaire, a type of magic which can alter the appearance of certain objects. For instance, Camille has been supporting her and her sister by turning ordinary pieces of metal into coins...but the catch is that they can only last temporarily.
When she discovers that she has the ability to change playing cards to her whim, she decides that she will use this ability to gamble in Versailles, and cheat Aristocrats out of their money to help her and her sister, live a better life, one away from their abusive drunk of a brother and where they have enough food in their bellies.
Things get complicated when she discovers there are other magicians at Versaille, and not all of them are as well-meaning as she.
I really liked it once I got farther in, but I had definitely expected a different kind of magic element. Especially because the name of the book was
Enchantée! It was definitely unique though, and that aspect I liked.
I could not stand Camille's siblings for a good portion of the book, and considering they were part of the side characters... that was one of the main things that frustrated me. Even the little sister tried my patience at first, she does get better later on though (thankfully). She wanted fancy stuff, she wanted this or that- well, unless they want to starve... The brother was worse though, much.
The last few chapters threw me for a loop, and...I'm honestly still not sure how I felt about that. The ending part was fine, but right before it was just... a little chaotic,
weird would be a word I could use, but it wasn't bad either...
My favorite thing would probably be that the book takes place in France and has french throughout it! (There is a glossary in the back though!)
[My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟] [3.5 Stars!]
Have you guys read Enchantée yet? What did you think??
Thanks for reading!!
~Books with Noel
