Camille is willing to do whatever it takes to escape the poverty that she and her sister find themselves in after both their parents die from smallpox... Even if it means using the dark magic. But using dark magic has its price.
Enchantee is a beautiful tale of magic and wonder set against the backdrop of a pre-revolution Paris.
I enjoyed this and will definitely read the next.

A thoroughly-enjoyable historical fantasy. This is fresh and feisty with strong young female characters. The background of Paris and Versailles at the start of the French Revolution are refreshing, with the magical element adding a dark twist. This is a grown-up Cinderella which will be adored by both teenagers and adults.

I was really drawn to the cover and blurb of this book and it did not disappoint.

Camille and Sophie are orphans living in Paris. Their parents have recently died and their older brother is gambling and drinking away what little money they have to survive on. Camille has the ability to use ancient magic to turn scrap metal into money but things are becoming more difficult for the sisters.

Camille takes the drastic step of practicing darker magic that means she can transform herself into "Baroness de la Fontaine" and win her fortune at the glittering palace of Versailles. But Camille is not the only magician at the Palace and the stakes are getting higher.

This is such an atmospheric novel. The writer creates characters that are instantly appealing and you want Camille and Sophie to succeed and flourish in Paris. The descriptions of Versailles are vivid and alive. The decadent extravagance of the aristocrats is infectious and you can see how Camille is seduced by the glittering parties.

The use of magic takes its toll on Camille, both physically and mentally, and on her relationships and she soon has to make a choice.

I really enjoyed this book and would love to find out what happens to the characters as the Revolution takes a hold - the tale is complete as it is but could definitely carry on into a sequel.

A great mixture of historical fiction and magical fantasy.

Thanks to Gita Trelease, Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this advanced copy in return for a review.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

So first of all, a confession. I am obsessed with the French Revolution. I collect books about this period of history including some really rare out of print French books. I even have a book written by Marie Antoinette's hairdresser printed in the 1800s. I say this not to boast, but to highlight how much of a big deal this period is to me.

When I heard a YA novel was being written about the court of Versailles during the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette I was beside myself with anticipation. To be approved for an ARC of this was really exciting.

This novel  follows Camille, a young woman living in 18th century Paris. She lives with her awful drunkard brother Alain, and her younger sister Sophie. In this version of Paris, magic exists and Sophie has the ability to 'change' small items such as nails into coins although the effect is not permanent. She struggles to earn enough money to pay the rent and in desperation turns to another form of magic and becomes the Baroness de la Fontaine, and begins gambling at Versailles.

Along the way Camille meets an interesting cast of characters including the charming Lazare, as she tries to juggle her life as a courtier and that of a working class woman trying to forge her own path. The romance in this book is really sweet and the novel also touches sensitively on issues such as the identity struggles of being mixed race and wealth inequality. I was immersed in both the glamour of Versailles, and its less salubrious underbelly as well as the realities of 18th century Paris.

My only real criticisms were this book falls into the all too prevalent trope of peppering the text with random French phrases. Why authors do this I do not know, I don't know of a single person who enjoys it. Camille's sister Sophie was meh and a bit of a drip and I really didn't care about her story. The novel also makes the events of the revolution all a bit lovely and idealistic which jars a bit when you consider the real horrors. It was called The Terror for a reason.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. The glamour and seediness of the court of Versailles was captured well, and there were some nice cameos from well known persons of the time. The conflict between rich and poor was explored and the magic angle added something a bit different and fun. I'll be happy to add this book to my collection.

Enchantee is set in Paris during the latter part of the 1700s, however it's a magical version where three different types of magic occur. The story centres around a young girl called Camille who lives in fear of her magic due to the high stakes involved. The plot centres around a mysterious magical box, that allows Camille to create a illusion to try and change her life and fortune, however there are consequences to using it. It immerses her into the world of Court Politics, so we have the Palace of Versailles as a backdrop to this. It is a YA read and has some romantic tension, a quest and bad guys to defeat. I wouldn't rave about it, but it's a fun read for those who like magic and fantasy.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more! I am a history student and I love fantasy, so combining fantasy with a real life historical event is always a winner for me and magic and the Court of Versailles was a match made in heaven. Trelease's writing was wonderful, it is impossible not to be pulled into the grandeur of Versailles right along with Camille. The world building was amazing, the magic system was really well thought out, I loved the idea of it needing some form of pain to function. Camille herself was brilliant, such a strong, clever heroine and I loved how central her relationship with her sister Sophie was to her motivations. I cannot wait to see what this writer does next!

Gita Trelease has managed to weave together an important part of history with such magic and beautiful characters that I cannot help but be amazed! I wish I was with the characters, in the same wondrous moments as them and experiencing all this as amongst the first few ever. I highly recommend this book, especially to historical fantasy lovers! I eagerly await Gita's next novel and cannot wait to see characters again!!

Very much enjoyed this. Trelease recreates 18th century Paris and Versailles beautifully and I loved the central characters.

This fast paced, entertaining book is a Fantasy set in 1700's Paris.

As a setting it was really original and interesting to read about pre-revolution France. I loved reading about the etiquette, the class differences, the palace, the dresses, etc. IT was very atmospheric.
I usually find YA fantasies, especially series dragging on and on. But, this book was very fast paces, and full of action, which was great. I think Trelease is a very good story teller and I'll be reading from her more in the future. I'm grateful that she wrote a stand a lone, not a series. It made this book very rich, otherwise the content would be spread through pages. I liked Camille as a strong female lead, and I loved the sisterhood between her and Sophie. The magic system was simple, but I liked it for that. It was a perfectly balanced book between atmosphere, characters and magic world. I really enjoyed, I'd recommend.
Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Place des Vosges is a beautiful Square in the Marais district of Paris, built in the seventeenth century and inaugurated to celebrate the engagement of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. It was a very fashionable place to live in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and its beautiful red brick houses are still wonderful to see today.

Also, in 1789, The Place des Vosges was named Place Royale.

Now, know what you’re probably thinking: Jennifer, that’s rather nit-picky of you. Who really cares what it was named in 1789, the author probably only called it that in the novel because that’s what it is called today. Well, I was bored reading Enchantée and when I get bored, I get nit-picky. I don’t suppose most readers will know or care about this little detail, however, when the author says herself that she wanted to make the Paris of 1789 feel as real as possible, using an incorrect name really drags you out of the story, no matter how evocative the writing is.

As I said in the previous paragraph Enchantée was incredibly dull. Yes, the writing is beautiful and the descriptions are very vivid, the plot and the characters fall incredibly flat. The best part of the book happens to be the magic system, when the main character can alter the appearance of things and even herself. I really like that the Glamoire, which Camille uses to alter her appearance, takes so much from her and you can really see the consequences of the magic in Chandon’s character but that it really the only thing that appealed to me.

The characters were mostly dull. Camille was boring and flat despite Trelease’s attempts to make her interesting. Sophie was irritating, Chandon and Aurelie were bland plot devices to move the story along, Foudriard was barely there and Séguin was so obviously a bad character I’m surprised there wasn’t a flashing light above his head screaming VILLAIN! The only interesting character was Lazare, a mixed race (half Indian, half French) noble who is trying to fund his balloon flights. He was the only one with any depth and any sympathy and the only one who you can really feel anything for. The romance with Camille was a little to insta-love for my liking and there seemed to be very little development between them meeting and falling in love.

I was promised love, magic and revolution. To be fair the first two were very evident but the revolution part was barely there. It seemed only to indicate something about the magic in the world than an actual social change and while people were rioting in the street, the focus of the novel was only on Camille and her problems. I wanted to see actual revolution since Trelease mentions many times during the course of the novel that Camille’s father printed subversive pamphlets. Perhaps it was too much to hope that Camille would have been one of the people in the street instead of deciding that aristocracy was the preferable position to be in. I hope she loses her head in ’93.

Enchantée completely failed to live up to its premise. It was dull with boring characters and so little revolution it might as well have not been included at all.

Camille and her siblings are recently orphaned, and down to their last few pennies. Her older brother has started gambling what little they have away and mistreats Camille when she objects. Eventually she and their sister Sophie throw him out, and turn to magic to survive. From changing the appearance of coins, Camille changes her own appearance and goes to Versailles to try her luck at winning enough money to survive. She discovers that she is not the only magician in the Court and that magic takes a greater toll than she realised - and revolution is brewing.

This is a well written and engaging story, with real history interwoven into the story and a real sense of the desperation the sisters are facing as their money runs out. The characters are appealing and the sense of enchantment as Camille gets sucked into the court is good. I really enjoyed it, and will be watching out for more from this author!

Thank you to Gita Trelease, Pan Macmillan Children's Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read ENCHANTEE.
If this is YA, lucky them. I loved this beautifully written romance novel with the most unusual premise. Very clever. Set in revolutionary Paris in 1789, Camille and her sister Sophie have lost both their parents to the pox and are at the mercy of their brother, Alain, who has morphed from someone they loved and could depend on to a drunken lout who uses them for money and is prepared to sell them to the highest bidder to pay off his huge gambling debts. Whereas Sophie was taught by their Maman in the ways of the court, Camille had been instructed in La Magie, the dangerous magic that some courtiers play with in Marie Antoinette's court in Versailles. Camille's meeting with Lazare, the mercurial balloonist and his friends, and the courtiers, Laurelie, Chandon, and Foudrier, changes her life, but at times, not necessarily for the better when she is transported into two different worlds where she believes she will never win. Camille is playing with fire, and although she is aware of it she cannot stop. This is Cinderella meets Lestat de Lioncourt and I would recommend it, not just to young adults but to everyone who loves historical fiction with supernatural elements.

Enchantee is a YA novel set in the 1700 nearing the brink of the French Revolution. The main protagonist is Camille a young girl who is trying to survive on what she has got and struggling to keep her house and trying look after her sister and brother after the death of their parents from smallpox.
So one night after there brother Alain who had took everything from his sisters and everything from the house. Camille decides it time to get out this dress with magical entities that can transform her from poor to a rich person and sets her eyes on Versailles to play cards and try her best to win money so they can pay the bills for there house and to try and save up for a new home.
This book is such a whirlwind of an adventure from sadness to happiness to the very end full of friendships to fall in love and villains to loathed and also an relationship that just blossoms throughout the pages with its ups and downs of course.
Overall I give this book a 4.5/5 stars
Such an amazing read and can’t wait for more books by this author

Have you ever read one of those magical books that just stays with you? Enchantée is one of those books for me. It opens with Camille working La Magie, it’s Paris 1789 and revolution is in the air... Camille and her sister Sophie have fallen on hard times. In desperation, Camille reaches for a dangerous form of magic that her mother warned her against. As she works La Glamoire, visiting Versailles, she is enchanted by what she finds there. But just as she is captivated by Versailles, so La Glamoire takes its toll on Camille, digging its claws into her and never wanting to let go.

One of my favourite things about this book is the realistic nature of the portrayal of the times, the feverish energy leaps from the page! You are truly in Paris, revolution on the tip of every tongue, bread scarce and people desperate. That the author has woven magic through this time in history brings it to life all the more, Camille ‘s troubles are at the centre of the narrative.

If you loved Caraval or The Night Circus, this gorgeous tale is for you! Thank you to the lovely people at @mykindabook for this book proof, it’s beautiful inside and out 😍
It’s out in the UK on 21st February from Macmillan! .

Enchantee is a superb and Page-turning YA/ crossover novel. Set on the cusp of The French Revolution its protagonist , Camille inherits magical powers which enable her to change from an impoverished and orphaned seventeen year old into a member of the nobility. She is determined to make her fortune at the card tables of Versailles to save herself and her beloved sister, Sophie, from destitution. Of course, as in all thrilling there are many obstacles to her material and emotional success. A beautifully told romantic element threads through this atmospheric story. It's historical background is impeccably researched and integrated into the narrative- that of impending change and the demise of the ancienne regime, ballooning and daily life in Paris of the era both for the rich and impoverished. Themes are here such as the dangers of obsessive gambling , romance, freedom and hope. The characterisation is engaging because who would not want to follow Camille's journey? Finally, the book is written in exquisite prose and I was reminded of Perrault' s Cinderella and of Kate Forsythe's magical stories. The ballooning part of the story was absolutely beautiful representing hope and freedom and looking forward. I highly reccomend this novel for any reader aged 12 to 80. Enjoy the magical and exciting adventure.

I am very impressed with this novel. This is a historical young adult fiction novel, set in 1789 Paris . We follow Camille, who has had a life of struggle after her parents death by smallpox. Camille has dark magic, that has been banned by her mother and she is transformed into the Baroness De La Fontaine. What follows is a magical life at the Palace of Versailles. There is magic, torment, fear and hunger. There is a love interest in this book and what I liked is that it wasn't the main part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of this novel. I was swept away on an adventure so exciting that I read this book in two sittings.

c'est manifique - absolutely spellbinding. La magique captured me from the first page and like someone possessed I could not help but devour this book.
Set in France in a time of great change and revolution this book not only centred on a girl who will do anything to survive but also on a country willing to rise up against the monarcy.
The story follows Camille daughter of a printer - sister and magician as she navigates Paris making friends high and low and working enchantments to survive.
It shows the lures of beauty and the traps of gambling and that all power comes a cost.
I adored the novel and the authors writing style and would recommend this book to anyone.

I don't normally read much YA but this book caught my eye and my imagination. Camille Durbonne lives in poverty and is an orphan. With a drunk for a brother, she has to look after her sister. She wants more from live and so dreams of working and living in the Palace of Versailles. In order to do this however, she's going to have to quite literally, work her magic.

This magic is a mix of tricks she learns to get one over on others and to improve her lot in life.She plays cards to win money amongst other things, but it turns out that Versailles and revolutionary France was a hotbed for cheats and blaggards like her. She is about to meet her match!

The star of the show however was the setting. The glamour and frivolity of the court of Louis XVI was a sight to behold. It didn't seem as glamourous and exciting as this in the history books I've read! The magic was a nice touch and stole the show. The author has clearly done her magic home work and come up with an enchanting tale.

Paris is evoked with style and panache. Glamour and poverty live side by side. Within the walls of the gilded Versailles, there is magic at play. With whispers of Caraval and The Night Circus, this was a magical journey for me. Once the book entered black magic and stronger magic territory it got even better.  Camille transforms herself into the Baroness De La Fontaine, and sets her sights on the glittering court itself. La Magie was fun and fantasy all at once.

Paris has never seemed so magical!

I had high hopes and expectations for this one upon reading the plot, however I was let down. The novel could have been much shorter in length, less predictable and definitely less slut-shamey.

I really did enjoy this this book it was not my usual genre although I do like to try and read different books this one turned out to be exceptionally good and I flew through it. It’s a story of magic used with the aid of sorrow, of love and growing up .... full of historical details transporting you through the streets of Paris, the storming of the Bastille to the palace of Versailles and the court of Marie Antoinette it is an excellent read brilliantly written and well recommended if you want something a bit different. I look forward to reading more from the talented Gita Trelease very much and believe there is to be a follow on book to this so a definite must for me.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion