Stef Penney is a fantastic writer. She has a way of weaving fictional storytelling within historical context. Although this novel moves away from the colder climates of her previous books, this nonetheless is an elegant and magical novel that weaves multiple characters’ lives against a backdrop of real events.

What stands out the most for me is the atmosphere Penney manages to create. The exotic and mysterious period of French history that differs from other writers’ interests - like Kate Mosse’s languedoc novels for example. I found myself intrigued and hooked throughout.

Naturally there are moments of differing pace within the book which works well between the story telling parts and the sections which focus more on character development. I was particularly interested in the themes of gender and sexuality as it made it feel quite modern and current but set in a time quite different from our own - the late 1870’s.

And Penney handles mood exceptionally well. The lighter parts feel needed when things get particularly dark and engulfing.

I was lucky enough to read a pre-release copy of the Beasts of Paris.

this book is definitely sweet, and i liked a few things about it, but i think it attempted to cover too much and ultimately fell a little short in that sense. the 1871 commune is an immense topic — one that i have hardly read about in fiction, which is precisely why i felt excited about picking this one up. and while penney’s novel is well-researched and informative about the commune and what happened both in the months leading up to it and immediately afterwards, i felt like the more fictional side of the story was just sort of . . . there. ellis and lawrence were sweet enough, and anne was a compelling character, but i don’t think their storylines meshed particularly well, and i feel like the result was just a bit too clunky for me to love it. i still think it’s worth a shot, though — particularly if you’re into histfic with a diverse set of main characters and want to know a little more about the paris commune.