I knew by chapter one that I wasn't going to jive with this. A magical town called "Charmant”? A time-traveling family called the "chronoses" ? A bootlegger named "Jamison Port"? If it were more on the nose, it would crush my face.

Based on Moulin Rogue but with a magical twist, Revelle is a wild ride. Luxe is the star of her family's show and charms the audience every night. Jamison is a new arrival in Charmont, looking for information about his past. But coming between them is Dewey Chronos, a dangerous and wealthy bootlegger with an obsession for Luxe.

The world building in this book is fantastic, with a really interesting and unusual magic system. The characters are vibrant and the plot is so fast paced, it was all I could do to hang on! A brilliant read!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, Revelle.
I'm a huge fan of ya fantasy, and after reading the blurb, I knew I wanted to read this. It did not disappoint! The characters were completely fleshed out and the romance was lovely as well. I like the Roaring Twenties as well, so I wanted to read this.
Definitely recommend!

#Revelle #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Warning, possible unpopular opinions to follow. And full disclosure, I did end up DNF’ing. You know those books that you just can’t pinpoint an exact reason why you didn’t like it but you just didn’t? It’s not that it was bad necessarily but you for whatever reason you felt nothing for it? That’s this one for me.

I have mixed feelings, or rather no feelings, about this story. I really wanted to love it, but I didn’t. I may be in the minority here, but it just felt lacking for me. I really struggled to get into it and after halfway through I still wasn’t that engaged with it.

I did really like the magic system in the story. That was one of the strongest points for me. Rival families co-existing on an island of debauchery during the Prohibition-era works well. Each family has their own unique magic trait and I found that the limits to their abilities was well crafted.

It has Great Gatsby, Caraval, Romeo & Juliet kind of vibes. On the surface, that sounds like something I would absolutely love. But in reality, I think the execution of it just didn’t captivate me like I expected it to. I think more descriptive scenery would have helped.

While I do love the atmosphere and premise of this story, which is something I think a lot of readers will find as a highlight, I still felt that it could have been so much more. It is a longer book for young adult and I think it could have easily been a duology, with more fleshing out to give it more depth.

The characters fell really flat for me. I don’t y’all I just didn’t feel any connection to them and I wasn’t emotionally invested. The plot is also very slow building. I was dragging my feet trying to force myself to keep going after about 150 pages when still nothing had really even happened.

I wasn’t immersed into the story world, being pulled along with the events, or endeared to any of the main players. And I mean, with so many books and so little time, I didn’t feel like it was all that worth it to push through. I no longer wanted to continue as I felt myself slipping into a reading a slump and not wanting to pick up a book at all. I hate quitting out on a book, but you know what, sometimes you just got to.

Like I said, I’ll probably be in the minority here and I think many readers are going to love this. It just didn't work for me. I don’t at all think this is a bad book, it just wasn’t for me and that’s ok. We all have our own unique experience with a story. I’m still giving it a positive three stars because I didn’t hate it and I still think there’s lots to like for other readers even if I personally failed to connect with it.

A really engaging and enjoyable story! Inspired by Moulin Rouge, a favorite of mine, this was the perfect balance of bringing all of the appeal of the classic story but keeping me on my toes. The atmosphere of this story is a place I could stay forever. It’s set in ‘20s Prohibition but with an original and intriguing magic system. On each and every page, I felt like I was on the twisting and magical streets, experiencing the charm of the Night District.
The plot of this story moved quickly and kept me invested, but not at the expense of its characters, who I also loved seeing develop. If anything, I’d just ask for more—more characters, more pages. I didn’t want this to end.
I cannot recommend enough for fans of Moulin Rouge and love stories alike.

My soul may have left my body I loved this so much. Magical Moulin Rouge?!? YES YES YES. This book promised and it delivered in spades!

The magic system was amazing. Unique, well thought-out, and so intriguing. The setting on a magical island during prohibition—perfection.

And of course, the Moulin Rouge vibes were everywhere and SO well-done. It retold the story and still gave it such an original twist that it held me captive the entire time.

Now let’s talk characters. These were so well developed and well rounded characters. Our main POV characters drew you right in and you could really feel them. I loved so many of the side characters too; they weren’t flimsy props but really well fleshed out. I would die for Jamison. And Trevor. And Roger.

If I had any teeny tiny complaint about this book, it’s just that the fade to black scene faded a little too abruptly and I wished it had played out a bit more. But that’s it. I loved this book so much!

Overall, this was an incredible debut. Fun, unique, romantic, magical, and just everything you want in a YA fantasy! I highly recommend for all fantasy fans and Moulin Rouge fans!

Five star review posted on TikTok and I will review again when it gets closer to release date: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9H62oj/

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a mix of prohibition, Moulin Rouge and rival families. The magic system is really interesting and the plot moves along pretty quickly. The insta love wasn't my favorite, but it was still really well written. Though it feel like in some places it could have been fleshed out more, it was still a fun debut read.

A strong debut filled with magic, first love, and mystery.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read with snappy pacing, forbidden love, and smart plot twists. The world was well developed but grounded in our own, and I cared about the main and secondary characters.

Personally, I felt the prose was just fine, but not a standout aspect. At times I was left wanting a little more. The subjects addressed in this book are deep and weighty, and I felt like they weren’t as developed as they could be for the sake of the plot.

I’m excited to see what Smith does in future!

The setting intrigued me and I liked it. I thought the writing was good, a bit slow but alright. And it's a good fantasy read too.

I have extremely mixed feelings about this, but in short: I expected more from it.

My main gripe is the absolute lack of atmosphere. There was some 1920s slang thrown in at the beginning, as well as mentions of prohibition and flappers, but other than that... nothing. There was SO much potential here—the 1920s is an era that I feel is sorely overlooked when it comes to fantasy, so I was delighted when I stumbled across this book and excited to see what the author would do. Unfortunately, the vibes that I was anticipating were just... not there. I would've loved more period-accurate dialogue, or even just better world building, to give the setting a more 1920s feel.

And then there's my other big issue with this book, and the main reason for my rating being what it is: the absolute lack of chemistry between the MCs. I know that the whole point of the FL is that she can charm people with her magic, but I still feel like the insta-attraction between the MCs was a bit too much. Even when they were "enemies," their relationship was just... boring. And flat. In fact, the characters as a whole came across as flat to me, and even by the end I didn't care much about them; I just wanted the story to be over. I wish that there had been a more realistic build-up of emotions between the MCs, because as it is I have a hard time believing that they loved each other.

This isn't to say that the book was objectively bad. In fact, I'm certain that a lot of YA readers are going to love it! The premise is intriguing, and there were some twists that surprised me. I also thought that the overall plot was good! It was just the supporting aspects—the characters and their interactions—that fell flat.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

Revelle is full of magic with a built in love story. I cant wait until I can suggest this title to my teens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: chronic pain, death of loved ones (past, drowning), parental abandonment (past), grief, orphan, corporal punishment (past), gun violence, attempted murder, blackmail, murder, fire

I would recommend this one if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f new adult historical fantasy
-moulin rouge retelling
-insta attraction
-forbidden romance elements
-prohibition era
-rival magical families

This book sucked me in and was so immersive. A mix of historical, fantasy, and I adored all of the calls to Moulin Rouge yet distinctly it's own story, the world building was effortless and wonderful, just a great original story. Luxe was so independent, caring about her family and so self-sacrificing. Thinking she figured out all the answers to save the family business until she runs into Jamison, a bit of a misidentifying and some attraction and things just get complicated.

I love how these two just kept intersecting in each other's lives. somehow able to share with the other and be themselves even as Luxe tried to protect herself, and her family. Despite what he'd been through Jamison was soft and trusting and adored his found family. There were so many twists and turns the stakes being amped up ever page and the writing was lovely and so descriptive I could picture it so easily.

This book was full of adventure, a lovely romance, and gosh that third act had me turning the pages wondering what was going to happen. This was an amazing debut that will have you wondering what is going to happen until the very end. I can't wait to see what Lyssa Mia Smith writes next.

Steam: 1

This is a beautiful debut filled with love, magic, family, and twisty timelines. Luxe and Jamison's love story is twisted through what is happening around them and through magic, but their love withstands.
I know teens will like this one. Kept me wanting more throughout and the characters have good depth and guide the story along.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!