I think in some ways I have Luanne G. Smith to thank for getting me out of my COVID-19-related reading slump. I raced through the series first book, The Vine Witch, in pretty much a day earlier this month, after putting off reading it for months. I decided not to make the same mistake with The Glamourist and was rewarded for my growth. Thanks to 47North and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are a good few staples anyone who wants to write about magic and witches can take advantage of. In The Vine Witch Luanne G. Smith began her world-building with some of these, such as the master-apprentice relationship, strong connections to the natural world, and ancient tomes of spells and hexes. She builds on this in The Glamourist, but by recasting them into something new and surprising. There is a black cat, a shop of curiosities, and a young thief, but none of these are exactly what we expect them to be. There are also two overarching themes which I found very interesting: the question of whether our blood and ancestry defines us and the underlying distrust between those with and without magic. The latter is more subtle but frequently addressed, especially in Elena's narrative, and I hope more attention is payed towards it in the third book.

As its title might suggest, this book is a little more lyrical and has a little bit more glam. We have moved from the earthy vineyards to the glamorous Paris. In my review for The Vine Witch I noted how some of the side characters' story lines had been left open for continuation, and The Glamourist picked up right where they were left off. Yvette is, in many ways the star of The Glamourist, as she tries to unravel her own history and come into her power. However, this is mirrored by Elena's journey, as she tries to decide between her life as a Vine Witch and her birthright as a venefica, a witch of poisons. Do we get to decide who we are or is it all in our blood? Will blood out? Both Yvette and Elena will find out, with plenty of hijinks along the way that take them to Paris' fanciest restaurants and its darkest depths.

I raved about Smith in my first review and I'm just here to do a little bit more of it. The whole Vine Witch series so far has been incredibly comforting. There is danger, prejudice and hurt in her books and many of her characters struggle, but Smith also infuses every page with warmth and magic. It is not a perfect world, but it is a world in which many people work towards the better, where they help each other and happy endings are possible. Yvette is fleshed out a lot more in The Glamourist and I really found myself warming to her almost from the start. There are a few major reveals about her heritage and power and although I saw the major ones coming, this was largely due to my being deeply steeped in folklore. Despite predicting it, I really enjoyed how everything came together in the last few chapters. Reading The Glamourist left me feeling warm and eager for more.

I adored The Glamourist and found myself trying to put off finishing it, even though it was impossible. The Vine Witch series has great world-building and beautiful characters. I think this is the comfort read we all deserve right now.

ahh this book! this book was so brilliant! I AM SO GLAD I picked up this series because of my tour. I bingread both The Vine Witch & The GLAMOURIST, and ohmygosh why is this series so UNDERRATED! The Vine Witch follows the life of Elena, who is ofcourse a vine witch who was cursed and transformed into a toad. As, she morphs back to her human form, seven years later she has to solve the murder of her fiance that she is wrongfully accused of, protect her vineyard and also, find the person behind her curse!

The GLAMOURIST that succeededs the Vine Witch, beautifully encompasses the lives of Elena and also,Yvette, who was one of the co-characters of the first book. If you are looking for a book filled with ADVENTURE, WITCHES, DARK MAGIC, MURDER, MYSTERY & MAYHEM, this series must be your pick! I adored the lyrical writing and how the author perfectly balanced the mystery and the magic. Also, the treasure hunt was so worth it! The characters finally reach their full potential and it was absolutely blissful to watch how they fought through their own demons!

Definitely gets a 4.25 🌟 from me!

This book was a fantastic follow up to Smith’s debut novel The Vine Witch. Full of sumptuous descriptions and a touch of the whimsical enchantment that ensnared readers the first time around, with the same quality prose and cast of relatable characters, this novel does not disappoint. Fans of The Vine Witch will be delighted at the twists and turns this novel takes, and the new mysteries that are opened up are just as enticing as the original ones. If you enjoyed The Vine Witch, definitely pick this one up!

Oh, là là!

The City of Lights! A mysterious jinni and crafty witches! Mortals and magic! Seances and the supernatural! Black cats, a gang of street thugs and Madames worthy of inclusion in a Dickens novel! Mon Dieu! "The Glamourist" has it all!

Set in turn of the century France, the reader is taken on a magical mystery tour across many of the iconic arrondissements of 1890 era Paris. A pair of unlikely friends struggle to embrace their true magical selves while eluding police, thugs, witches, and mortals. Elena, a vine witch who might actually have darker magic in her blood, comes to the rescue of Yvette, a street smart girl who is beginning to feel the stir of magic within her but has been denied any knowledge of her true identity. Add the cloud of a murder accusation to the story and these plucky heroines are in a race for their very lives!

What a delightful journey it was to travel back in time with Luanne G. Smith's mortal and magical characters in her second installment in "The Vine Witch" series! This setting rich, plot driven book was an instantly immersive read for me! I know an author has me when I begin "hearing" the characters tell me their story in accented English! I really know I've fallen under a novel's "spell" when I begin dreaming about them! I did both while travelling across Paris with Yvette, Elena, Henrì, and Jean-Paul!

If you're in the mood for a time traveling, supernatural fantasy, this book is a wonderful escape from the world of we mere mortals! "It's what your heart wished for when you weren't looking. That's the truest kind of magic." says the lovely young vine witch Elena.
This quote sort of sums up how I feel about finding this book at a time when I needed a pleasant escape from the "real" world! Au revoir, mes amis! Until we meet again on January 12, 2021 with the publication of the third book in Smith's Vine Witch series "The Conjurer."

Merci beaucoup NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. It has been my pleasure!

#TheGlamourist
#NetGalley

It’s the relaxed atmosphere and mood that draws me to this series. High octane action/adventure novels are great, but the energy those give off often makes me feel a need to rush to the finish. Instead, The Glamourist is a simple story about the next chapter in Elena’s life with her new fiancee, Jean-Paul: Meeting the future mother-in-law. Of course it isn’t really as simple as that since Elena now has to contend with the Ministry of Lineages and Licenses along with finding ways to sneak off to help Yvette out.

Without trying to spoil anything if you haven’t read the first book in the series, in The Vine Witch there is a moment where Elena is thrown in jail and ends up in a cell with two other women – Yvette and Sidra. Without realizing it at the time, it is each of these women who the three books of the Vine Witch series focuses on. Elena is still the main character as she was in The Vine Witch, but The Glamourist now features Yvette’s story. Here Elena comes to the city to meet her future mother-in-law, but before she does she needs approval from the government to continue being a vine witch. The answer is ‘no’ – at least not unless you do one small thing that revolves around Yvette, who is still a condemned murderer and fugitive.

The Prologue opens the story by showing us what happens to Sidra and Yvette directly after the events of the last book. Yvette ‘accidentally’ steals a wish from Sidra and as a result they are now both bound to remain in the city until Yvette’s wish is completed. To say Sidra is unhappy is putting it mildly. She had vowed never to return to that city and is a tad angry about Yvette’s stolen wish. I highly suspect we will get to learn more about this and her vow in the next book.

The stolen wish from Sidra is actually the one piece of the story that befuddles me a bit. Although Sidra tries to explain it to Yvette I never quite understood how it happened or what the wish specifically was or why it locked them there in the city. The wish is what starts Yvette’s story so as a reader as long as I knew that the wish had to be fulfilled and had an inkling of an idea of what the wish was, then I was able to continue reading without too much issue. With all that said, I do wish I had a better grasp on it. But it really doesn’t take too long for us to figure out that this wish has something to do with Yvette learning more about her mother and finding a way to unlock her magic.

Although never explicitly pronounced, one gets the distinct impression that the story is set in Paris. With French phrases and terms sprinkled throughout the story and references to cars and gaslights, you can’t help but believe you are in France in the early 1910s – 1920s. References to various artists and paintings are plentiful giving the early 1920s a definite nod.

The story is told from three POVs: Elena’s, Yvette’s and Henri – a new character that Yvette knew from a long time ago. Elena and Yvette are where most of the story happens with Henri’s chapters occurring less frequently. I liked Henri, but in reality he wasn’t all that memorable. The characters that were memorable though were Alexandre – the owner of a curio shop where all items within are guaranteed to have been enchanted at one point in their life, and Marion – Jean-Paul’s mother who has an interest in the world beyond.

In the end I found I enjoyed this novel more than I did the first one, which felt a little uneven to me. But overall the pacing and tone feels more consistent with this story and would be a lovely choice if you’re looking for a light fantasy story with a dash of romance and one that has a slower pace to it.

It was nice to dive into a world I was familiar with. Smith does an amazing job at creating a fast paced novel. This book focuses on character identity and less with an action packed plot. I do think that lowered my rating a bit because of it feeling a little dull. I will say there was a little of that magical convenience for the story sake which made the plot even more hard to believe.

Overall the novel isn't bad it just wasn't as good as i was hoping it would be. I`m thinking book three will star Sidra as the main character which might make for an interesting tale. If you want a quick witchy book I suggest checking this out.

Elena’s vine witch registration is revoked due to her parents’ work with poisons, unless she she turns over her friend Yvette to the authorities. The women and their close circle of friends must work together to prove Yvette’s innocence and reinstate Elena as the vine witch of Château Renard. This was a fun second book to this series, set in the bustling city of Paris rather than the countryside vineyard. The extensive secondary cast of characters in this installment was so enjoyable. I liked some of them even more than Elena and Yvette! I really hope this series continues.

Witches have littered our popular culture ever since the ancient days, but this may have been the first time I was ever introduced to a “vine witch.” A witch with an impeccable ability to detect and brew the best wines was a refreshing twist on what I normally thought of when witches came to mind.
To say Elena’s life as a vine witch was easy would be a lie. Elena has come into trouble in the past, such as getting wrongly accused and being put into prison for a short amount of time. Elena’s hoping to move on with life and live in her vineyard with her fiancé, but troubles with the Ministry of Lineages and Licenses comes up. Forget Elena’s prison time; her past with her parents is now coming into question. Because Elena’s parents were veneficas, poison witches, no one seems to trust Elena with making wine that does not have a dose of toxin mixed into it.
But, the minister says that there may be a way for Elena to get her vine witch license back. Elena had a friend in prison, Yvette, who murdered a man and is now on the run. If Elena can help bring her in, they will give her the license back.
Not giving into bribery, Elena instead does everything she can to help Yvette clear her name. Yvette seems to have power, but it is weak compared to other witches and no one knows why. Yvette also carries around a strange book that a certain gang seems to want, and badly. Elena helps Yvette discover the mystery of her past, her book, and her hidden power and finds out a little more about herself than she bargained for.
This book had a splendid ending that made me instantly excited for the sequel. I cannot wait until Smith’s next book comes out so I can fall in love with the eccentric and wonderful cast of characters again.

Reviewed by Bailey Day, author of “The Amazing Imagination Machine” by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's clever, crisp, fun, and thoughtful. I read the first part and was so excited to pick back up in this world. This part is even better than the first, which I simply adored. It has a cracking pace, with action starting on page one and winding throughout the story in a way that made it hard to put down. I seriously started it and didn't stop until the very end. The magic world-building in this part is richer and utterly fascinating. I also have a weak spot for fae so that addition was super exciting.

It can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend starting with part one because the series is so beautifully written.

This was an amazing follow-up to The Vine Witch! I read The Vine Witch a few months back, when I came across the book on some Kindle Unlimited recommendations list and I was immediately captivated by Luanne G. Smith's beautiful writing! So, I was quite excited when I got a chance to read Yvette's story early!

Though this book can be easily read as a standalone, I'd definitely suggest reading The Vine Witch before, as it is much more enjoyable that way and you become familiar with the characters and the atmosphere!

The Glamourist follows the story of Yvette Lenoir, a young witch who doesn't know much about her heritage or magic as she was abandoned by her mother at a young age. This book picks up after the events of The Vine Witch and though Elena(the protagonist of the previous book) has cleared her name, her ex-inmates Yvette and Sidra are still fugitives.

Yvette has landed back in Paris, the same place where it all started, and she realises that she wishes to find out more about her mother and her magic. While she sets out on her quest to find some answers, Elena has some problems with her registration as a vine witch. As she's a poison witch according to her bloodline, the ministry refuses to let her practice as a vine witch. But if she's willing to find Yvette and turn her in, her license would be reinstated.
Caught between her desire to practice her calling and the reluctance to betray the woman she sees as a friend, Elena has some tough decisions to make!

To be honest, I didn't really like Yvette at first and found her too flighty, but as I kept reading she grew on me and I began to fall in love with her character! Her journey to find herself and her lost heritage was really beautiful! I loved how she never lost courage and faith in herself despite the things that she's been through!

I also loved Elena's path to self-discovery in this one! She's stuck in the middle of things and though she loves being a vine witch, the magic in her blood which makes her a poison with also calls to her. Her soon to-be-mother-in-law was a treat! I was kinda scared that Jean Paul's mother might not be likable, but it turned out to be the opposite! She was so sweet and fun!

While The Vine Witch was a bit slower in pace and steeped in magic, the action in this book picks up after the first quarter and the mystery is very compelling! And anyone who knows me would tell you that I'm a huge romance fan, but surprisingly I was quite happy with the author's decision to not pursue a romance in this book. It was mainly about Yvette and Elena's journeys and I was happy with that! Henri's infatuation with Yvette came across as puppy love to me and there wasn't any time to develop a meaningful relationship between them, unlike Elena and Jean Paul's story in The Vine Witch.

In the end, things were wrapped up neatly and I was satisfied that most of the things were resolved! I'm also really excited for Sidra's book next as she's such an interesting character (and a jinn!). Hope we get to read it soon!

*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

As soon as I heard about the sequel to The Vine Witch I was so excited and I couldn't wait to read it! I was not disappointed, I loved The Glamourist just as much, and am now even more excited for book 3.

I thoroughly enjoyed this magical romp through turn-of-the-century Paris. The beautiful writing style and the stunningly well-crafted world that Smith has created is absolutely mesmerising. I was hooked from the very start.

The Glamourist has a split POV between Elena, a winemaker with a gift for poisons, and Yvette, a savvy orphan with unknown magical heritage. I love having the two points of view between the two women who are so different, yet whose fates are intertwined and whose stories are in some ways quite similar. Both have unknown mothers and are going back to their roots on a journey of magical discovery, while also dodging police and navigating both ends of Parisian society.

Yvette is a great character, who we met in Vine Witch, and I was very excited to learn more about her and her magic, as well as what led to her being wanted for murder. She is savvy, street smart, and bold but has trouble trusting people after being abandoned by her parents. Despite her failure with magic, she is fearless and independent and I love that about her.

The magic is taken to a new level, beyond wine-making and hexes, to magical cats, enchanted knickknacks, strange symbols and of course Yvette’s mysterious powers (I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s really cool and not what I expected). We also see a bit more of witch politics and Jean-Paul sinks his teeth into witch law.

I was delighted with the new characters in this sequel. I found Marion very entertaining, Jean-Paul’s mother, a high society lady and mortal, who is very much into the up and coming craze of ‘witchcraft’, attending seances and frequenting a club calls Hell's Mouth. As well as the sweet and brave thief-turned-artist Henri, a childhood friend of Yvette’s who gets in on the action. And of course, Monsieur Whiskers, I can’t help but love a book featuring a magical cat.

All in all, this is a beautiful historical fantasy with great characters, and is a fantastic sequel to The Vine Witch.

Fairies and witches and jinnis, oh my!! You want em? This book's got em!

So, I love Elena, she's my fave character in this series. And the magic system in this world is so unique! But this book centers on Yvette, who I really don't like, and she really rubs me the wrong way. She's just so careless and selfish, I just can't empathize with her or her unfortunate plight. And her always saying "oh, la la" is beyond annoying.

Anyhoo, the start of this book was a bit slow for me, but it picked up over the second half. The ending was nice, but everything fell into place just a little too neatly. And, and this is just me, but I really would have liked to have seen more spark to the romance...any of the romance!

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

The Glamorist is a wonderful follow-up to The Vine Witch. Abandoned as a child, Yvette Lenior is determined to unravel the secret behind her strange magic and her past, but her status as a fugitive complicates things. When she inherits a strange book from her long-lost mother, Yvette enlists the help of Elena Bourenau, the vine witch of Chatau Renard. Elena helps Yvette unravel the secrets of her past, even though it could threaten her own standing as a vine witch. Together, these two women uncover a secret past full of love and betrayal that spans across the realms. These secrets, however, come with a price, and the question becomes just how far will these witches go to uncover the truth, and what those who would keep them from the truth do to see them fail.
I enjoyed The Glamorist, especially the latter half of it. Although it starts off a bit slow, a series of discoveries and reveals made it pick up towards the end. I still really like Elena as much as I did in the first book, and I loved how both women had similarities in their character arcs while having their distinctions. I also adored Mr. Whiskers the cat. He was so stinking precious and I love when authors give me cat characters to love. The twist at the end, when Yvette discovers who she truly is and the connection to the Fair Folk was also pretty satisfying. The Glamorist is a story about women supporting women, lost family, and self-discovery, all written in the elegant tone I enjoyed so much in The Vine Witch.

WOW, what a great find this series has been. This is book 2 in The Vine Witch series and let me say it was great to go back to this world. This book takes place in Paris. This book mostly focuses on Yvette figuring out who she is as a person/witch. She was abandoned as a child, lived in a cabaret/brothel and basically survived off the street with no magical abilities besides some lock charms a friend taught her along the way. She enlists the help of our Vine Witch Elena to help her discover her magical heritage. I love all the characters old and new and I think the addition of Mr. Whiskers and his part in the story was a welcome addition. All in all, this book is an enjoyable and evenly paced read.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book.

In this sequel of The Vine Witch we meet some characters from the first book, one is Yvette Lenoir an orphan witch
and fugitive who is persecuted for the murder of a man when she was 16 years old. Yvette is trapped in Paris and tries with Elena's help to clean her name, search for her ancestors and discover the magic inside of her.
This second book to me was more entertaining than the first one. The plot was a little predictable but still well written. Overall it was a good sequel and im excited to read the next one next year.
3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐💫
thanks to netgalley and 47 north for this arc copy in exchange for a honest review

This book was not the book I thought it was supposed to be. I have not read the first book and I cannot read this without it. It sounds wonderful and if I get a chance to read the first book, I will come back to this one. I apologize.

The Glamourist picks up where The Vine Witch leaves off and is even more enjoyable than its predecessor (and that is saying a lot). More magic, more mayhem, and endearing characters make this story the perfect escape.

What I loved

Elena is always a treat of a character. I loved her in The Vine Witch and loved getting to learn more about her in this story. Raised by her grandparents, they taught her the art of being a Vine Witch. In The Vine Witch, she learns that her parents specialized in poisons. As the story opens, the witch board has changed her registration from Vine Witch to Poison Witch, which starts her on a self-discovery path that she did not anticipate. She is more sympathetic to Yvette, who doesn't even know what kind of witch she is because a non-magical friend of her mothers raised her. The journey that they go on together is harrowing, suspenseful, and will keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what will happen next.

I love the creation of a much broader magical world in this story. Jean-Paul and Elena head to Paris, where witches and humans live in harmony, albeit separately. There are specialty stores for witches and the governing board's building – all of the city's features that are designed for humans to overlook. Also, the world of the fae is introduced in this story.
King Oberon and the fairy world are a fun addition to an already exciting story.

I loved the suspense and never-ending action. There is so much going on starting on page one and not letting up to the very end that I did not want to put it down. I would never expect this journey of self-discovery would be so fraught with peril, but it is. I also enjoy the historical aspects. The story is set around the turn of the century, and just little things, like Elena not knowing how to use a telephone, are so unexpected and so valid for the setting. It adds a bit of humor at surprising times.

To Read or Not to Read

A great summer read full of action, suspense, and magic that will keep you on the edge of your seat with your book in hand.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such a fun ride!

I love the fact that each book in this series is it's own story. The series as a whole are just consecutive stories, each one showing one of the three women we meet in The Vine Witch finding their own way. Each story stands on it's own, but the knowledge from each books supports the following books.

I loved Yvette and getting to see in her head and seeing where and how she grew up. I loved seeing her find her way and learn about who she is and where her parents went. I love that we still get to see Elena and Jean-Paul in this one, with the addition of Jean-Paul's mother Marion. She is such a hoot, honestly. She is up for anything, ride or die, loves the adventure and I love HER. The people they meet along the way, and the ways that things work out the way they do is so enjoyable to read.

I can't wait to learn about Sidra and see how she finds her way in the third book in the series!

A good continuation of a wonderful story! The author's writing style can be wordy and makes it slow to read (at least for me), but the direction and excitement of the characters made me want to keep picking the book back up! I wish I had more to say other than this was good and I enjoyed it, but I have no major complaints!

Loved reading the spellbinding and exciting paranormal story. Even though Elena, a vine witch, is being blackmailed to turn in Yvette, a witch wanted for murder, Elena wants to help Yvette figure out the hidden messages in a magical book Yvette recently received. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a riveting story capturing the reader's attention from the first page of the story until the last page of the story.
I reviewed a copy of the story through NetGalley.