Tag: arc

ARC Book Review: Enchantée by Gita Trelease

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I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Enchantée
Author: Gita Trelease
Release Date: 5 February 2019
Goodreads: link here
Rating: ★★★★

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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…

4 enchanting stars!

Camille Durbonne is a victim of circumstance – living in poverty, her parents died from smallpox a few months before, and her brother is a drunk and a gambler, leaving Camille to look after her younger sister, Sophie. With money running low she decides to work la magie – a magic that is fuelled by sorrow and pain – to glamour herself and sneak into the Palace of Versailles. Here, she cheats at cards in order to provide for her and her sister, so that they can make a life away from their brother. But with the la magie taking its toll, how long can Camille keep up the act?

Eighteenth century Paris, magic, balloons, rags to riches – what is there not to love about this book? The world that was created within the pages of the novel was definitely enchanting. Although a little slow at times, the plot kept me captivated, and I had trouble putting the book down.

Remember – magic is a cheater’s game, and everyone who sees it wants to play.

One of my favourite parts of the book was the magic system, and the idea that magic was rife in Paris, and even helped to create the Palace of Versailles. I would love to see more of this world in Trelease’s future books.

Camille is the main character of the book, and you can’t help but root for her as she tries to transform her and her sisters lives, even as she tires herself out using la magie and you know that she needs to stop.

There is also a brilliant ensemble of side characters, ranging from Camille’s friends at the Palace of Versailles, to a group of boys that she meets by chance and gets roped into their ballooning adventures. I really loved all of side characters, as they all had really big personality’s and none of them felt unnecessary to the story.

The only reason that this book doesn’t get five stars is because it was a little slow at times, but I still really enjoyed it nonetheless, and I look forward to reading more of Trelease’s works in the future. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy, or historical fantasy works.

Is this book on your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

ARC Book Review: Happy Ever… After by Seb Earl

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I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Happy Ever… After
Author: Seb Earl
Released: 22 November 2018
Goodreads: link here
Rating: ★

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When Emily wakes up in the middle of her bed, shaking and sweating from yet another nightmare, she knows it will not stop easily. The sexual assault she suffered eight years ago has left an enduring mark on her mind.
In the immediate aftermath, she moved back to live with her parents and, since then, they have happily provided sanctuary. But at what price? Emily is not free, and her inner doubt and anger are increasing their stronghold over her life.
Thrust into action by her best friend, Sarah, Emily finally finds the courage to move out and start a new life on her own. She soon meets Olivier, a charming French man.
As she realises how her future happiness depends on her ability to face the past, Emily begins the slow, and at times painful, journey to finding inner peace.
But can she truly put her ordeal behind her? And is everything exactly as it appears?

I loved the premise of this book – the idea that eight years after a scarring event a young woman finally starts to find ways to heal sounded like a beautiful idea. Unfortunately I had a lot of issues with this book.

My main problem was the writing style of the book. I found the writing too choppy, and it didn’t flow very well. Furthermore, for me, this book broke the number one golden rule of writing – show don’t tell. For example, take a look at the following passage:

He bent over and discovered a coat at his feet. He picked it up and returned it to its rightful owner, who apologised flatly and promised to be more careful and not to disturb him again. He assured her that there was no problem and wished that she enjoy the film. The lights went off. He sat back comfortably in his seat and took Emily’s hand in his. The film was about to start.

Here, the author simply tells the reader about the conversation between the two, instead of showcasing it. Although doing this once or twice throughout a book would be passable, this occurs many times throughout the book, where we are simply described the conversation instead of being able to witness it.

My second main issue with this book was the main character, Emily. To me, she was an extremely unlikable character. She came across as very whiny, as she always managed to find some problem with every little thing. Furthermore, she blamed her anger issues on her sexual assault, but I found her constant outbursts to be very rude and annoying, and I don’t think her sexual abuse is an acceptable excuse for how she acts sometimes. This makes it very difficult for me to feel for her during her struggles.

Her blood was boiling. If he had been in the room right now, she would have slapped him.

For example, this is how she reacts when her boyfriend sends her several text messages over the course of a few hours, worried because she isn’t replying. To me, I feel like her response is quite unjustified.

Another thing that bothered me about Emily was her views towards marriage. It’s perfectly reasonable for her to not want to get married herself, but throughout the book she makes constant references to the idea that women become men’s property as soon as they get married, which is a very backward idea to have in this age.

The image of her mother popped up. She would be so proud if Emily were getting married. But proud of what? What was there to be so satisfied with when a woman signed her life away, becoming a man’s asset?

Why must we all get married? What does a woman gain from becoming a man’s property? If my cousin has no ambition other than to cook her husband’s dinner every evening, fine, that’s her choice. Why must I be the same? It’s their goal, all of them, to marry me off as soon as possible. ‘Emily, why are you still single?’ ‘Emily, you must be so lonely.’ No! I am fine as I am, leave me alone. I don’t need some guy to dictate my life, to tell me what to wear, what to think.

Also, despite all of these references that she makes towards not needing a man, she seems to have no qualms about jumping into a relationship with Olivier towards the beginning of the book.

The issue of Emily’s sexual assault is also not as prominent in the book as I thought it would. The whole point of the story is to show her recovering and healing from the incident, but apart from her angry outbursts, the incident doesn’t seem to hold her back in anyway with Olivier which is what I would have expected after experiencing such a heartbreaking event. Furthermore, her and Olivier never even discuss the issue of the sexual assault, which I found a little bit odd. Despite this, Emily still credits Olivier for playing a part in her healing process.

He had been an important catalyst – without him, she might not have been able to renew herself.

However, despite the issues that I had with this book there were still a few parts that I did enjoy.

There is a side plot that involves Emily’s neighbour and her grumpy son which I particularly enjoyed reading. Additionally, I did really like the conclusion of this book. Everything was all tied up, and I felt like it was a satisfying end to the book.

She had evolved, from a little caterpillar to a butterfly, but the world around her had remained the same. At that moment, she felt more confident than ever before.

I wish I could have enjoyed the other aspects of the novel as well, but unfortunately on the whole this book just didn’t do it for me.

Have you read this book? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below!