I really enjoyed learning about the real history behind the fortune tellers, witchcraft, and magicians in 17th century Paris. And in this story of forbidden love, the main character, Marie Catherine, relies on storytelling to survive her loveless marriage. The storytelling aspects are woven expertly through the book – and I found the ending story theme with the servant girl to be especially fulfilling. It tied everything together in such a literary way.

This author has a way with description, particularly when describing a character’s movements or physical affect, and also when describing interior thoughts. This ability is her greatest strength and, yet, I also think, her greatest weakness. Why? Because those details are so frequently inserted into the narrative, they stop the forward momentum of a scene, or an intense moment. A little less might be ‘more’ in this case.

Even so, I enjoyed this peek at the trials and tribulations women faced in France during the 17th century. 3.5 rounded up.

Although this is not the strongest debut, I'm excited to read future novels by this author. Have to respect the amount of research that went into it!

https://lesbrary.com/the-disenchantment-by-celia-bell/

Celia Bell’s debut novel, The Disenchantment (Pantheon 2023), is a stunning example of queer historical fiction at its finest.

Set in seventeenth-century Paris, The Disenchantment follows Baroness Marie Catherine, who lives in a world of luxury, entertainment, and intrigue. However, there is also an undercurrent of darkness racing through Parisian nobility: rumours of witchcraft, deliberate poisoning, and fraud abound, and the voracity of the rumour mill means no one is completely safe. Marie Catherine hides her own secrets. Her tyrannical and distant husband is an oppressive and regulatory force, and when he is home she does all she can to protect her children from him by telling them fairy stories. However, when he is away, Marie Catherine is free to engage with her intellectual pursuits, including salons and spirited conversations with female scholars and writers.

Furthermore, at the heart of Marie Catherine’s liberated existence beyond her husband is Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti. Androgynous, bold, and seemingly fearless, Victoire and Marie Catherine are lovers, and Victoire quickly proves to be a source of joy in Marie Catherine’s life. She admires Victoire’s confidence and freedom, and as the situation becomes more and more volatile in her home, Marie Catherine knows she must escape. When a violent murder occurs involving those close to Marie Catherine, she is faced with a choice, and the one she makes leads her down a path she could never have predicted, and toward people who are committed to protecting their own interests.

I loved this novel. It’s difficult to talk about this book without giving too much away, but the twists and turns of this plot are completely gripping. Bell’s writing is immersive, and captures the atmosphere and drama of this plot so thoroughly that I was hardly able to put it down. Lesbian historical fiction is undeniably my favourite literary genre and this book did not disappoint. The Disenchantment is well-researched, comprehensive, and draws on little-known moments of French history, expertly weaving fiction and fact together to create a wholly original novel. This book is perfect for fans of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait (2022) or Emma Donoghue’s The Sealed Letter (2008).

Marie Catherine and Victoire were characters I loved and believed in, and Bell captures their unique and sometimes warring motivations. However, Bell doesn’t only pay attention to upper-class perspectives in this novel, and the text is a much wider examination of Parisian society in this period. This novel felt like a mix of genres in the best way—part literary fiction, historical fiction, crime fiction, mystery, and Gothic. It kept me guessing until the very end and felt like a thoroughly original, gorgeous historical portrait.

I highly recommend The Disenchantment for fans of queer historical fiction and/or literary fiction. This is undeniably one of my top queer reads of the year.

Set in 17th century Paris, a time and place not often the set for historical fiction, I did feel the excitement of learning about a new time. However, the pacing of the story was off, and it felt jumpy at times. The premise was fantastic, but I felt the execution was not necessarily fleshed out. Still, I'm a setting lover, so I'm glad I read it!

DNF @ 15%

I couldn't connect to this at all! Found the writing kinda boring tbh and had no interest in the plot or characters to actually continue with this.

I heard this recommended in the lead up to its release, and decided to look into this, as a lesbian romance set against the Affair of the Poisons/leading up to the French Revolution with one escaping a shitty husband who just happens to get dead during all of this. Unfortunately, this... just wasn't that good. I'm going to chalk this up to this being Bell's first full length novel. The roughest part of this was the novel's tendency to focus on figures around our two mains, often within the chapter itself, which gave it an overall meandering feel. and it felt more focused on the events happening around our mains, rather than their relationship with each other, and because of it, that keeps the narrative from hitting fully. Again, it's a very interesting premise, and a good first try; it just doesn't fully land.

I am so thankful to Knopf/Pantheon, Netgalley, and Celia Bell for granting me advanced digital access to this jarring historical fiction/ thriller. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to consume more of this like-minded content going forward.

Slower going than I expected and not always in a good way. It's rich with historical detail and engaging characters, but this one fell short for me.

While I had high hopes for this one, I ultimately found myself dnfing after a few chapters. While the plot and characters were promising, I found the dialogue tough to get in the rhythm of, and wished this had been edited a little more tightly to drive the plot.

For fans of Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Disenchantment tells the story of a baronne in 17th century Paris, trapped in a bad marriage but in love with a young woman. Much of this novel was based in fact, which I learned from the author’s note at the end. In hindsight, I wish I’d known a bit more about the Affair of the Poisons (a period of witchcraft accusations against the aristocracy in the late 1600s France) going into this book. Much of the plot was based on real aristocrats and writers at the time, even using their real names. I wish we’d gotten more love between the main character and her love interest Victoire, and I wish Victoire had been more fully developed. Finally, this book moved pretty slowly, so it wasn’t my favorite, which is a shame given the really strong and unique premise!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted digital copy. The Disenchantments is out now!

This book is about a secret romance between two noblewomen during the late 17th century. Not only is there romance, but there are murders, fortune tellers and black magic.

I was hoping for more from this book, particularly in the relationship between the two main female characters, but I was not wholly disappointed. From the start, I was immersed in the details of 17th century living. I found the writing to be a bit tedious at times, but Bell did do a wonderful job creating the atmosphere of Paris during this time. There isn’t a fast moving plot to keep you entertained, quite the opposite in fact. Bell gives us a nuanced and richly detailed book that looks at what it was like living as a wealthy noblewoman during the reign of King Louis XIV.

A solid debut from Bell that leaves me wanting to see what she comes out with next! This makes a great historical fiction read for Pride month or anytime!

Celia Bell’s debut historical fiction novel, "The Disenchantment," is somewhat aptly titled, seeing as it describes how I feel now that I’ve finished it – disappointed and dissatisfied.

The concept of the story is fascinating. Set during the Affair of the Poisons in 17th century Paris, in a time when the city is rife with fear of poisonings, black magic, and witchcraft, Baroness Marie Catherine is unhappy in her marriage and secretly in love with Countess Victoire. The two women steal time together at scholarly discussions and the theater, disguising their love affair as an intimate friendship while dreaming of a day when they can run away. That is, until Victoire commits a deadly act of passion, forcing them to play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the police.

But no matter how intrigued I was by the historical backdrop of the novel, Bell could never hold my attention. The story is messy in its telling, oftentimes meandering to the point of boredom, and when Bell did manage to pull me back into the narrative it was short-lived. The characters, too, are underdeveloped, and there are random appearances of ghosts, and a white cat, that seem to carry importance but end up serving no real purpose. It’s all very irritating.

I did finish the book, so there’s that. But it’s a rough debut and not one that I can recommend.


My sincerest appreciation to Celia Bell, Pantheon, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

I liked the idea of this book, but I found myself struggling with it a bit.

I was drawn in by the storyline about a passionate affair between two noblewomen but found that the characters were not all that relatable. I felt that the story was too slow for me to stay actively engaged.

I would encourage others to give this book a shot, especially if you are fans of historical fiction. I personally tend to have trouble with historical fiction unless it is very well done, and I feel connected to the characters.

One thing about me, is that I love some historical fiction. I especially love when historical fiction is targeting very specific events or weird phenomenons and that is exactly what this book did. It also commingles some sapphic love with mystery and superstitious intrigue.

Things that I really loved about this book, one was the atmospheric writing. I feel if this sort of vibe and atmosphere is one you enjoy you can just sink into it because the writing was spot on. Conversely if you’re not that interested it could get tedious. Fortunately I was into it. Also as I mentioned, I loved the historical context and also that were focusing on the characters that are usually sidelined. We followed women, servants, an aspiring artist, and a run down police officer. There were a lot of shifting perspectives which was great.

On the weaker side, I don’t think all of the characters or their motives were fully developed to me. The romance between the two main women was what I was most excited for but turned into the least interesting perspective overall. It also felt like a lot of really cool elements of sapphic love, a murder investigation, witches, and different power dynamics, but it just didn’t seem to all come together. Despite life and death being literally on the line, the stakes never fully sunk in.

Overall I did really like this. I loved the themes and I enjoyed the overall atmosphere, and I’m more than intrigued to see what else this author has to offer!

A relatively short book that feels much longer than it is. The Disenchantment is a heavy historical fiction that is very meandering in pace. I was under the impression that it was a historical romance; the blurb in general sounds so much more interesting than the actual content of the book. I wasn’t engaged at any point in the story. The author’s writing style left me feeling disconnected from the characters. Jeanne’s perspective was the only one I truly enjoyed. Not a horrible read by any means, but not what I was hoping for.

This story is incredibly atmospheric and yet very easy to sink into, even if 17th century France isn't your typical wheelhouse. The constantly shifting narration is also intriguing, giving the novel a cinematic feel. The place and period shine without readers needing to slog through tedious descriptions. It's clear Bell did her research, and just as clear that she does not feel the need to prove it.

This is a harrowing historical novel set in seventeenth-century France during the Affair of the Poisons, where everyone is suspect and keeping secrets. It opens with a painter painting a noble family (Baroness Marie Catherine and her two children), while Marie Catherine, a talented story teller known for her impromptu fairy tales, begins a story to help the children hold still. While painting and story telling seem like relatively innocent arts, this is a time period when crafting illusion is both valued and suspected, with suspected sorcerers and witches being tortured in the king's witchfinders. There's a romance at the center of it--between Marie Catherine, a noblewoman and mother trapped in a miserable marriage, and the gender-fluid young relative of the king, Victoire, Mademoiselle de Conti--but this is not a romance, and no one is assured of a happy ending. (In fact, I had to skip ahead to the ending to make sure certain characters even survived.) There are traps, stories, and disguises everywhere. I was particularly taken with Jeanne, Marie Catherine's maid, but all the characters are engaging (which makes the threats feel even more real).

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for my free earc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The plot summary of The Disenchantment immediately intrigued me, and I was eager to learn more about the two 17th century French noblewomen that embarked on a love affair amidst such a constraining society. There was black magic, family quarrels, and scandal upon scandal. What I enjoyed most, however, was the rich, luscious writing that created such an absorbing ambience throughout the entire book. Detailed prose may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it added so much to this story. I'll look forward to whatever Celia Bell writes next!

During l’Affaire des Poisons in 1680 Paris, random circumstance draws five people into a web of murder and deception: Baronne Marie Catherine de Cardonnoy; her maid, Jeanne; Victoire Rose de Bourbon, the baronne’s lover; Alain Lavoie, a portrait painter; and Nicolas de la Reynie, lieutenant general of Paris. The novel’s slow beginning, with its seemingly disparate events, is cleverly deceptive. The murder of a high-ranking Versailles courtier draws La Reynie into the baronne’s orbit, whereby Jeanne and Lavoie also fall under suspicion. Innocence is elusive in a world where everyone is guilty of something.

The investigation is central to the novel. The search for one murderer broadens into La Reynie’s ongoing hunt for the many poisoners, fortune-tellers, abortionists and magicians who thrive in the seedy Paris underworld. His determination to cleanse Paris and Versailles of the festering corruption beneath the opulent façade is terrifying. Before long, everyone is sucked into the vortex and lying and pointing fingers, hoping to divert La Reynie’s gaze. Jeanne is not what she seems, keeps her secrets well, and lies with ease. She is the most intriguing and wily character in the novel, aside from La Reynie, and she even manages to outwit him.

Ghosts and shadows infuse Bell’s enigmatic tale with elements of the supernatural, while Marie Catherine’s allegorical fairy tales tell of feminist self-determination. Some events hinge on Marie Catherine and Victoire’s illicit desire, but I didn’t experience the anticipated chemistry. This is a tightly plotted, atmospheric and moody read, full of dark malevolence and a tangled web of complex relationships, but the daring, cross-dressing Victoire’s affectionate overtures seem mild and become lost in the wider events as Marie Catherine seeks help in unexpected places. Readers in search of a steamy romance may be disappointed. However, once the pace picks up, this is a riveting debut.

I went into The Disenchantment wanting to like it, as I was in the mood for something historical and gay, but it was so exceedingly slow that it made it really hard to enjoy. I thought the characters were really flat and I didn't really care or have any emotional connection with them. Even Victoire, who I thought I would like the most given her gnc swag, was just not doing it, and her and all the other characters I barely felt like I knew. There were only a few scenes that made me want to keep reading, which were over quickly. It took me a whopping 17 days to finish (most books I read only take me two or three days) and every time I picked it up I got bored and wished I was reading something more exciting, but alas, I hate DNFing books. I was confused for most of the plot because I could only get through such short chunks at a time, and so I forgot what was happening.

2/5 stars