This is a well written book and I enjoyed the story, the history, the romance and the magic.
I Love the descriptions of the clothes and the magic dress and the way the stories are interlinked.
The conclusion is nicely finished and I look forward to the next book.

There were many aspects of this novel that I enjoyed, however I felt like there was something missing.

This novel takes place in 1789 at the cusp of the French Revolution. It follows the story of Camille who has been left to care for her younger, ill sister and her gambling addict brother after the death of their parents. However, this becomes harder and harder as her brothers gambling debts rise up and his desperation for money starts to turn to violence. But Camille has one trick up her sleeve and that is the magic that her mother taught her. at first she only uses Magie Ordinaire the ability to change objects for a certain amount of time in order to help buy food but as there situation gets more and more desperate and their brother becomes more desperate Camille will do anything to find a safe place for her and her sister including using Glamoire, a type of magic that her mother warned her against using, to turn herself into someone else and travel to Versailles to try her hand gambling with the aristocrats.

Gita does an amazing job of bringing the setting and magic to life and you can really tell just how much research went into creating this story. However, I found the story hard to get into at first and there were moments throughout were I had to work really hard to keep my attention from drifting away from the book.
I also didn’t love Camille as a character, I respected the lengths she would go to protect her family but there was just something about her I didn’t click with and I wasn’t a fan of the way she keep speaking about sex workers throughout the book. One of the characters I did like was Lazare who is biracial (French/Indian) aristocrat who dreams of flying an air balloon over the Apls.

The other thing I apricated about this book was it’s discussing about race.

Trigger warnings: gambling addiction, alcoholism, racism, poverty and abuse.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book and I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

After the death of their parents, Camille is left alone to take care of her sister, whose health is suffering, and ward off her brother, whose vices have become a danger to them all. Life in 18th century Paris is not easy for the likes of Camille and her siblings and tensions between the rich and the poor have never been greater, but Camille has a rare talent. She is a magician. She uses her magic to turn discarded pieces of metal into coins, the spell holding just long enough for her to spend them and get away before the spell breaks and her trick is found out.

Camille's fake coins keep herself and her sister alive, but when her brother's gambling leads him into deeper and deeper trouble, Camille turns to a darker, far more difficult kind of magic to keep them safe. By day she is herself but at night she becomes the Baroness de la Fontaine, a regular at the court of Louis XVI, where Camille intends to use her magic in the gambling rooms to win enough money so she can move herself and her sister to safety. Camille has no love for the aristocrats of Versailles, and she soon finds out that it is a dangerous place to be a magician. Then, of course, back in Camille's real life, where she sheds the disguise of the Baroness de la Fontaine, there is a boy with a hot air balloon, who sees her for who she really is. It's not long before Camille's two lives begin to collide and Camille discovers that she is far from the only person hiding a secret at court.

In this reviewer's opinion, this novel has everything. The historical Parisian setting, the civil unrest, a charming inventor with a hot air balloon, the original court of frivolous socialites, palace intrigue, and more than a dash of magic. It's the perfect blend for a dazzlingly fun historical fantasy story but there is plenty of darkness too and Trelease combines the fear and the fun as effortlessly as she does the historical with the fantasy. Far more effortlessly than Camille combines her two opposing lives. In Camille's real life she faces the everyday hardships that led to the French revolution, and she despises the wealthy aristocrats who caused her late father to lose his printing business, but in her life as the Baroness de la Fontaine she begins to befriend some of those aristocrats, and to grapple with the fact that she enjoys their company far more than she ever would have expected.

Camille's story may be filled with magic, but her problems are very human, and it is impossible not to feel for her and her sister, and the friends Camille makes, who face not only a revolution that will change their way of life forever, but a scheme many of them aren't even aware they're a part of. Enchantée is an intoxicating read, every page full of magic and intrigue enough to keep the reader glued to the story until the very end. It's fast paced, exciting, and full of adventure. Trelease's writing makes it impossible to not feel a little swept away, if not by the glittering court of Versailles, then certainly by the dashing Lazare and his hot air balloon.

A perfect mix of historical fiction and fantasy, two of my favourite genres! You couldn't help but be wrapped up in the glamour and intrigue of Versaille alongside Camille and I didn't want to leave as much as she didn't! There was honestly so much I didn't expect to happen and I can't wait for what comes next!!

"All the world comes to Versailles hoping to be someone else"

* * * *
4 / 5

I didn't know how much I wanted a magical realism book set against the background of the French Revolution until I read one. Enchantée is full of glitz and glamour and the seduction of wealth and power, but it's also about poverty and fear and the struggle to survive. There's a touch of romance, high stakes tension, and a large splash of magic.

"Champange or opium, girls or boys, cards or dice, dreams or nightmares: at the Palais-Royal, you picked your own delight - or poison"

Enchantée follows the classic tale of a poor girl, Camille Durbonne, whose parents were killed by small pox, as she struggles to provide for herself and her younger sister. She's also got magic, which she uses to become the Baroness de la Fontaine and con her way into the gambling halls of the glittering palace of Versailles. There she finds enemies, allies, and mystery. Behind Camille's personal troubles the revolution is rising and two worlds are colliding: the world of the rich, with tremendous beauty, false airs, and excessive parties and gambling, and the world of the poor, troubled by smallpox, poverty, and petty magics.

Camille herself was a fantastic protagonist. She's good-hearted, genuinely concerned for her younger sister and her alcoholic brother, and she's willing to do what her family needs. But when she enters Versailles to gamble for money, Camille can't fight the attraction of the illusion; in Versailles, Camille isn't poor or desperate, she is beautiful and powerful and she catches the attention of other wealthy youngsters. It is intoxicating and and Camille is entirely understandable, even if she made me want to chuck the book at the wall in frustration!

"She was rising and it was glorious to rise"

Another notable favourite was Lazare, a young French-Indian aristocrat whose free time revolves around air balloon experiments. He's passionate, cute, and charming and his struggle between his identity and society was well written and touching.

Enchantée is a captivating novel that blends together magic and history. The characters are compelling and real and I rooted for them.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Enchantée

I was immediately intrigued by this book. Being the snob that I am, I nearly put it down when I discovered it was a young adult book. However, I decided to persevere and am rally glad I did. It gave a really stark contrast between the rich and poor of pre-revolutionary Paris. I’d be most interested interested to see if there’s a sequel as it stopped in a place that surprised me. Definitely worth a read.

What a beautiful book!
I was most definitely Enchantée !
I do love a bit of historical fiction. Add a dash of magic, a sprinkling of romance and a splash of conflict, and you have a most wonderful, and (sorry to use the word again) enchanting story.
I have heard an awful lot about this book and seen it in the 'to be read' piles of a few others I follow and was so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read something so magical in advance.
The story of Camille and her sister, left bereft by the death of their parents, with a brother sinking deep into debt, and the claws, of a mysterious debtor kept me gripped.
Weaving in the revolution, the beauty of Paris, the mystique of Versailles and the pure magic of those who had the knowledge, the story captivated me.
I was, of course, bowled over by the dashing Lazare - a hero who had morals as well as looks.
There are a host of secondary characters who intrigue a reader too,
Recommend it? Yes, definitely!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enchantée was one of my most anticipated reads for 2019, right from when I heard it would be Versailles-based dark magic and romance, and it was even more wonderful than I’d hoped!

Ah, this book, you guys! It’s so good. I’ve always been fascinated by the glittering, dangerous games that can be played within courts, and the stakes get even higher when there’s magic involved. I also adore stories of girls and women who – regardless of their magical powers – have a spark of fierceness that makes them work to protect themselves and their own, so it’s pretty much as if this book was written to appeal to me.

Enchantée begins as if to be a sort of Cinderella story, following Camille, an impoverished orphan with a sickly younger sister and an alcoholic older brother, as she uses magic to insinuate herself at Versailles in order to better their lives. To do so, though, she must use her magic – which comes with a price – and of course, not all is stable at the French court. Camille is wonderful. She’s so determined to save herself and Sophie, and she’s clever enough to work out how to do it. I really enjoyed reading from her viewpoint, and was really rooting for her! I loved the different applications of magic that she could use, but my favourite was by far her magic dress, which could transform into any style imaginable – the descriptions of the different fabrics are so lovely and vivid.

Actually, the descriptions of everything in this book are just wonderful. Gita Trelease’s writing is warm and fluid, so you don’t notice the sentences slipping by, but can visualise everything perfectly. One of the characters that Camille meets is the enigmatic Lazare, who is building a hot air balloon, and the balloon sequences are just sublime. I loved how much more beauty Camille could find in the world when Lazare was around – he’s such a sweetheart.

But my favourite character was Chandon, who plays more of a supporting role, but who seems utterly beguiling and charming. I live for sarky-but-kind, rakish boys. I hope to see more of him in the sequel! I also very much liked Sophie, Camille’s sister, and the fact that she took her own steps to better her life, rather than submitting to Camille’s view of her as someone to be protected. Often in YA, the main character can be very much the centre of the only interesting things going on, so I liked that Sophie refused to be sidelined by Camille and had her own stuff going on.

I’m really trying very hard to be vague about the plot here, but I couldn’t put it down, and I think anyone who enjoys some good old court machinations should be very pleased. There’s romance, and danger, and excitement, and plenty of quiet character moments, and most of all, a real sense of a wholly realised world. I highly recommend it for those looking for historical fantasy! Five out of five stars.

This book was amazingly written and almost magical in the way it transports you to another place and time.. The only issue I had was with the pacing. It took a while for me to get in to the story and to feel anything for the characters.

After Camille and Sophie's parents die and their brother,Alain ditches them for alcohol and gambling, Camille has to rely on her magic to turn metal into coins.

But that comes with it's disadvantages.....and it gets messy!

Did I mention it's Paris in 1789 and the setting of this book was utterly fabulous? The author did a fabulous job of the world building!

But.....I must admit I wasn't as captivated as I thought I'd be.

I did love Camille and Sophie, there was nothing they wouldn't do for each other. Alain on the other hand, I HATED him!

I did love the romance, Lazare was one of the highlights for me and also the balloons!

What a beautiful book. The writing is just phenomenal, i think the author has a little real magic of her own. I could not put this book down.
The siblings in this book are oprphaned and struggling to survive and when the eldest turns to gambling and drink his younger sisters strive to escape through using a little magic of their own however they fall in with a wrong crowd. There is a powerful emotive feel to this book and I was gripped from the get go. There is romance, magic and drama. Absolutely thrilling. Loved it.

I was fortunate enough to receive an E-copy of copy of Enchantee from Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book engrossed me from the beginning, the writing style was powerful and flowed well, the magic completely engrossed me and the character depth was phenomenal. You're immediately introduced to three orphans, scrambling around trying to survive starvation following the death of their parents. The eldest child and brother is a drunk, he tried and failed to look after his two younger sisters, gambling away all their money and turning to abuse to try make his problems disappear. This leaves Camille struggling to provide for her and her sister, Sophie... occasionally turning to Magic to help them coast through life.

It's not long before Camille decides to use stronger magic - following in her brothers footsteps with gambling, but using her own magic to cheat/survive so she can provide for her sister and run away from her brother. But, she soon finds herself mixed up in a new friendship group and absolutely head over heels with a fellow aristocrat with his own secrets and soon enough finds herself in a very confusing love triangle.

There are so many different elements to this book, however they are really easy to keep a hold of, due to the brilliant writing style packed full of detail, surprise and gut wrenching moments.

I usually avoid historical fiction as I find there are too many details and not enough depth to them, yet Enchantee managed to keep me enchanted and I devoured it in a couple of sittings. The book is a stand alone so there are no dreaded cliff-hangers (did I mention I hate those? haha) and I did feel as though everything was wrapped up nicely, my only issue is that the ending felt a little bit too rushed to me. The entirety of the book had unravelled slowly, giving you lots of clever pieces of information so the ending was too swift for me. Nevertheless I still really enjoyed it.

Overall: 4**** - A really quick, exciting read filled with lots of love and magic. Definitely recommend.

Enchantée, a word which translates to enchanted...and that is quite literally how this book made me feel throughout my whole reading experience.

As a student of French, I am a sucker for a book set in Paris so of course as soon as I heard about this book I knew that it was one that I'd have to get my hands on. I squealed when I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy from MyKindaBook and was desperate to dive into the world of revolutionary Paris. I had very high expectations going into this book, and thankfully it was everything and more!

Camille is a very likable main character. She's not perfect and has basic human flaws, but she is definitely a good person and cares deeply for her sister. The family unit in Enchantée is an interesting one, and it's one that changes significantly as the story progresses. We see how situations can have a massive impact upon a person, and yet how, even in the hardest of times, love and caring for others can make a huge difference.

Talking of love...we meet a host of different characters both in Paris and at Versailles, but the one who absolutely stood out to me was Lazare. I adore him. He's got his own brilliant character arc throughout the story, and, again, he's not perfect! But that's part of why I finished this book loving him so much.

La magie in Enchantée is also a fascinating take on the whole magician thing; the knowledge of how it works builds up gradually throughout the book and slowly intertwines itself in the story. It's a very clever world that Gita has crafted; you truly believe that you're in Paris at a time of change, and that magic truly can exist!

If you haven't gathered by now, I can't recommend this book highly enough! It's perfect for fans of historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and the comparisons to The Night Circus and Caraval are very much deserved. If you like any of those, I implore you to pick up Enchantée and discover a new favourite book!

I love books that make you forget everything when you're reading them and this is definitely one of them. I just fell headlong into this one, reading it felt is as if I was in France with the characters.
Feeling like she is out of choices, Camille decides to find out what is in the burned chest her mother left. Warned not to touch it, she and her sister Sophie have ignored it all these years. Inside they find a tattered dress, make-up and a brooch. The make up transforms her face into perfection, but she finds that to make all the magic work, it needs more than just her sorrow, it needs blood. With her disguise in place, Camille enters Versailles as Cecile, Baroness de la Fontaine. Using magic she wins the money she desperately needs to look after herself and her sister. But the more she visits the palace, the harder it is to give up the money, the new friends and the feeling of power.
Wonderfully written, this book really makes you believe in the magic of Versailles. Lovely descriptions of the riches and finery. Camille is a great character but most of the other characters, including Sophie, are not very well developed which is a shame. The dress is almost like a character itself. It seems sinister at first but becomes Camille's armour, which she draws strength from, protecting and supporting her.

As a historical fiction obsessed reader who is keen to read more YA and Fantasy, Enchantée immediately appealed to me. And, with scenes of Paris and Versailles, magic, and a handsome balloonist, I can confirm that it is a truly enchanting read.

17-year-old Camille is orphaned alongside her sickly younger sister and her drunken older brother, meaning she’s essentially responsible for keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. She uses little bits of magic to help her get by, but stays away from the really powerful dark magic. Until her brothers debts get out of control and she has no other choice but to turn to dark magic. Camille gets so wrapped up in the aristocratic worlds of Paris and Versailles that she begins to lose sight of who she really is, and what she can achieve without magic.

It feels a bit cliche to call a book about magic magical, but that is exactly what Enchantée is, and it's not just because of the magic. It's the descriptions of Paris and the revolution; the excitement of a hot air balloon ride; the mystery surrounding the characters; and the glitz and the glamour of the French aristocracy that make this a truly magical read.

The book is a bit slow to start, but eventually becomes addicting, so don’t give up if it doesn’t grab your attention right away. This is a fun read that will immediately transport you to the world of 18th century Paris.

I enjoyed this magical twist on French history though I did have some issues with it. Both the setting and magic were vivid although I did find it hard to remain interested in the plot at points. The same was true for the characters, some standing out and others fading into the background. Though it was a mixed bag for a debut it was very promising and I am curious to seeing how the series progresses.

One of my most anticipated releases and it was AMAZING! I’m so honoured to have been sent an ARC of this wonderful book and I fell in love! I’ll be doing a reread soon, as I just couldn’t get enough!

Enchantée is a very apt title for this book as it describes it perfectly. Delightful, nuanced and downright enjoyable mixed up with a healthy dollop of French foibles add to that sense of enchantment. The only tiny fly in the ointment was the odd use of French words and phrases dotted throughout the story - for me, those words niggled.

That tiny fly aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Enchantée and think you will too.

Enchentee

My heart is aching, this was such a perfect book for me. It is charming, hopeful and gracefully historic. I've had an inexplicable draw to the French Revolution for as long as I can remember. The ancien regime and the civil unrest that led to the end of the French monarchy has always held my attention.
I knew I would enjoy this book going in, perhaps be a little critical if history was not played out quite right. Never, in my wildests dreams did I think I would have my heart stolen and my senses transported to such an authentic (yet utterly magical) world. Move over The Night Circus and make space for your equal.
Normally, it is the characters that pull me in first; there's something about them that makes me root for them. While it's fair to say this is true of the gorgeous and loyal Camile, it is the author’s use of language that charmed me so utterly that I was torn from the moment the first chapter ended; on one hand, I wanted to devour this story in one sitting but, on the other I wanted to savour it and make the book last forever. The use of French is the key. In other books, it wouldn't have sat so organically beside the English. There's a glossary, but the phrases and words are so well integrated into the dialogue that I certainly didn't feel the need to search their meaning.
There are so many characters that bring life to this entwining plot of magicians, the class system and romance. As a reader, you will be as confused and lost as Camille when it comes to your appraisal of some, whereas others will win you over instantly.
I must say, I didn't see the ending coming; literally and figuratively. I was so enchanted by the storytelling that I am still processing that I've read the final page let alone the fact that I missed something with a lesser writer I would have called much earlier.
I cannot wait to reread this novel and I am already looking forward to what Gita Trelease will publish next as I will forever be a devoted fan.

Enchantee combines history and fantasy with a setting that is both lush and heartbreaking. The very first page draws you in, hooks you and refuses to let go until the final page. Perfect for fans of Caraval and anyone who loves a dash of romance with their magic!