Overall a very sweet sapphic romance though a bit underwhelming. The writing style is very simple and well suited for a younger MG/YA reader, however it didn't really give off the dazzling fantasy and heist vibes that were promised. "Holly Black meets Moulin Rouge" is a huge disservice because it really doesn't match up with the excitement of those two styles. I would say more Barbie/Explorers Down Under vibes set in a cabaret. The storyline passes very quickly and everything just felt very surface level. While I didn't connect with the book currently, I think this is a book I would have absolutely loved in middle school.

Thank you NetGalley, Jamie Pacton, and Peachtree for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Historical Sapphic best friends to lovers go on a wild adventure through the dangerous streets of the Belle Epoque Severon (Paris) and the fae wilds. If the cover didn't immediately suck me in, the premise did!

I loved everything about this book, the slow burn, the adventure, the fantastical descriptions, and the care taken to interesting and new ideas. And cats. So many cute baby fluffies. The poster stealing was a really cool idea, although I am fairly familiar with Toulouse and Mucha as artists, I didn't know there was such a underground of poster thieves.

I really want more from all these characters, I want to know what happens to them after this. Here's to many more adventures hopefully!

4.25/5 ⭐️

This was such a cute, fun, and cozy fantasy that was the perfect break between my typical darker reads.

I’ve been looking for more sapphic fantasy and I absolutely loved the chemistry between the love interests in this book. It’s slow-burn friends-to-lovers done wonderfully.

The author did a great job of creating a dreamy, beautiful world to escape into.

The writing was a bit simple/predictable at times, but it is YA.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review.

This book was a relatively easy read with a great premise but fell a little flat in the execution. The world building was lacking a bit - it was presented as a fantastical world inspired by 1800s Paris but I feel like it would have been better to lean into the magical realism and set it in Paris so the references to real artists would have bolstered the world building rather than feel forced.
The plot and pacing also missed the mark for me. The book was largely centred on a heist but it all felt a little too easy, the conflict felt forced and was all very conveniently and quickly resolved. I have seen some other reviewers say it felt a bit like the animated barbie movies which perfectly sums up how reading this book felt. Not inherently bad but just not quite what I was expecting.
I would recommend to younger YA readers, I feel like this is something I would have loved when I was 13.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the book’s kind publisher for approving me for an ARC of this book. This book has a beautiful cover that conveys what are, in my opinion, the best aspects of the book. I loved the first part of the book because of the setting and imagery of Severon, Esme, Sybil, their house, etc. It was all very aesthetically pleasing and radiated "comfy" vibes. I remember even thinking that it felt like a game of Animal Crossing because it felt that cozy. Had we stayed in Severon, I think I would have enjoyed this book more. Perhaps I am maxed out when it comes to fairies, but all the charm I felt slowly leeched out as we moved to the fey realm. I would have loved to seen Sybil running through the streets of the city with Esme trailing behind with her tinkerings and getting them out of trouble. They're so cute together! The fey plot just didn't do it for me, but, to be fair, I think most fey books would have a hard time impressing me. The plot just moved to fast through the power of coincidence and the fey realm really robbed Sybil and, especially, Esme of a chance to use their defining characteristics. All in all, I think the book has some great bones/foundation and the author knows how to target her intended audience. I would definitely be interested in reading her other works.

I dnf this book at 40 %, unfortunately it wasn’t for me which is a shame because i absolutely love all the ways this book was described, moulin rouge meets holly black sapphic with a heist ?,? Yes please ! But when i started it i keep waiting for this moment when the story really starts and you can’t put the book down but it didn’t come and after more then two weeks trying to read this book i decided it was time to stop and move on.
I didn’t like the writing,the characters were a little boring and everything was too easy you couldn’t feel the difficulty of the heist.
For the good side i really liked the world

Thank you to Netgalley, Holiday house / Peachtree /pixel+ink, peachtree teen for the earc in exchange for a review.

Historical sapphic fantasy with fae elements, I was sold on that part. Unfortunately I could not get through the book. I put it down at 58%. The positive being: It’s lighthearted, the theme and the descriptions of the scenery, particularly when they got to the fae realm was quite lovely. I couldn’t quite get through the story as it dragged a bit. The characters also seemed difficult to relate to. Sybil and Esme have their cute quirks but fell a little flat to me. I also found myself a little disinterested in their interactions. With Sybil disregarding Esme’s feelings in many situations. Overall 3 stars.

The ode to art nouveau painters was nice too. I.e. Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec. As an art history nerd myself, I quite liked that in the beginning of the book.

This book is only 300 pages but felt so much longer. It took me such a long time to read. There was so much potential but it just… didn’t really deliver. I was pulled in firstly, by the gorgeous Alphonse Mucha-inspired cover art. Secondly, by the promise of a magical heist set partly in a world inspired by belle epoque Paris and partly in a magical fae realm while also featuring a sapphic love story. What more could you want? To actually feel invested in the story, it seems. It has a lot of things I should like but it just wasn’t working the way I wanted it to. I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record because I’ve had this issue with the last 3 books I’ve read. There’s just something missing that makes me not really connect to the characters and story.

What I did really appreciate about this story was the vibes. Esme and Sybil living in a clock tower surrounded by books, old clocks and numerous cats, Esme wanting a quiet cottage to live a peaceful life with those cats, a Moulin Rouge-inspired club with patrons getting drunk on absinthe, a magical fae kingdom, dragons, queer people, queer fae, mutual queer pining, the MC’s (literally) being “roommates”. But that’s mostly what this story was, vibes. A lot of potential, but very mediocre execution 😣

2.5 stars ⭐️

I had such a fun time following Esme and Sybil on their adventures. The imagery here is excellent and there are so many locations and side quests packed into this punchy, short fantasy novel. Aside from a few spelling errors and some convenient plot devices, this was a wonderfully charming story and I would be interested in learning more about the Fae realm Pacton has created. Perhaps Chloe and princess Hyacinth's story?

Magical and unexpected, this adventure between Sybil and Esme was fantastically designed. All the great elements of a faerie tale with a lot of human magic mixed in. I loved the way Sybil and Esme both skirted around their feelings, both afraid of what would come next. Then they're thrown into the world of Fae and everything gets turned upside down. Unlikely allies and friends help them reach their destination, but netting back in one piece may be impossible. This was such a fun story, and had great aspects of romance and family.

3.25 stars

I wish this had been marketed completely differently, because the focus on the Moulin Rouge/Holly Black similarities (which to me were pretty much nonexistent) did this book such a disservice. This book is about a heist, and portal magic into a lush fae world, with a really sweet sapphic friends to lovers storyline. I went into this expecting something very different and was luckily pleasantly surprised, but I know that won’t be the case for everyone!

I’m going to be totally honest, I didn’t enjoy the first 20% of this and I probably would’ve given up on it if I hadn’t committed to reviewing the book. Sybil was insufferable and weirdly cruel to Esme, despite claiming to love her, in a way that didn’t just feel like a character flaw but bad writing. It felt like the author was intentionally making the main characters comically bad at the beginning so their character development would be more obvious by the end, but it really wasn’t necessary. The entire beginning of the story also felt like a lot of “filler” content and I really struggled to get through it.

That being said, after the 20% mark, this book just kept getting better and better. The descriptions of the settings were breathtakingly vivid and incredibly detailed — at no point did I find myself rereading anything because I’d initially imagined something wrong (which happens to me with a lot of other fantasy books). The characters started to feel more fleshed out and interesting, and I finally started rooting for Sybil and Esme.

I probably would’ve enjoyed the first part of the heist more if things didn’t go right for them at every turn (the small things that went wrong felt pretty inconsequential) — it just felt like the story was moulding to the characters’ desires instead of being shaped by their choices — but I’ve found this to be pretty common for YA/teen books so it wasn’t a huge issue.

Ultimately, this could’ve easily been a 4 star read if the beginning had been better, because the majority of this story was absolutely incredible. The sapphic friends to lovers storyline was so tender and cute, and I really enjoyed how the author completely transported us from one vibrant setting to another. I especially loved the depiction of the 1890s club scene! Their first visit to the Absinthe Underground was one of the most memorable parts of the entire book and I thought the author did a really great job of transporting you into the scene by using all your senses.

Despite what I thought of the beginning, I enjoyed the book, especially the little twist toward the end! I kind of wish there was a sequel planned because there’s so much potential for a continuation of this story, but it works really well as a standalone regardless.

I got an ARC of this, and while the story seemed interesting there was quite a bit of info dumping and repetition that make the story move very slowly. I would have been able to push past those problems but the book itself was so badly formated that at times paragraphs would mix, chapter would start mid sentence and then jump to the start of the chapter, than back were it left off making this a pain to read.
I might pick it up when it's published and the formatting issues are gone.

DNF 31%

while the description and the gorgeous cover drew me in, this was not a book for me. in what is basically fantasy paris, two girls who are in love with each other but refuse to admit it steal posters (???) to make rent, before being drawn into a quest to steal fairy jewels for a nightclub owner.

constantly i felt like this book was teetering on the edge of something bigger. there are so many interesting questions here - the districts in the city, why the city's economy seems to run on stealing posters??? which is apparently a successful enough career that more than one street urchin has taken it up, why those posters want to be collected, literally every single thing about fae as a world - and none of these questions are answered. every plot hurdle was solved so conveniently too, which left the story feeling like a and then they did this... and then they did this... recount instead of a compelling narrative.

none of the relationships in this book felt developed either. esme and sybil felt weirdly sexualised and forced as love interests, with so much internal monologuing about omg i want to kiss her so bad. all the side characters were caricatures, and just popped up at opportune times to do unrealistic things to help the plot along. like wdym lucien just managed to break out of fae off screen at exactly the right time to have a dramatic entrance?? and literally everything about chloe... some random human girl who managed to disguise herself in fae for ages and helping the mc's out immediately with no build up, and then still ending the story being stuck in fae where she didn't want to be in the first place. huh???

and like sorry, but there is NO WAY that those girls decided yep we are just gonna hand over these magic jewels to this random lady thats hired us with no critical thinking that she might be in any way a little bit suspicious??? especially esme staying silent when she literally has just been told by lucien that omg maeve she's such a liar lol... like girlie WHAT.

Could not manage to get into this one at all. Sybil, one of the main characters and primary POV you are in, was truly insufferable. I found I didn’t even want to stick around for her character development because the way she would recklessly throw herself into moving traffic (quite literally in one scene) with no care towards herself and MAINLY her friend and so called crush was ridiculous. Her disregard of Esme’s wishes and boundaries actually made my skin crawl, and she was so reckless that it was less of a character flaw/trait than a convenient way to drag readers from scene to scene. I was really excited for a slow burn, sapphic friends to lovers and that was just. Not what this was. The characters are immediately lusting after each other from page one, are both oblivious to the return of feelings, and we don’t actually see any friendship or history between them besides what they tell us directly in the narrative. The info dumps on character backstory was also so boring to read, I don’t understand why they were not edited to be throughout the book rather than long chunks of text just dumped randomly to the reader. There was no time to wonder or think for ourselves as the answers and backstory were just handed to us on a silver platter. The jealousy Esme had whenever Sybil looked at another woman was also infuriating, especially because she and Sybil weren’t TOGETHER. The two of them read, to me, as both just very horny and not having any actual chemistry. The plot was far too convenient, and although I usually love a low stakes cozy fantasy, the on the nose foreshadowing got to be too laughable to take seriously. I am sure this book will find an audience, but that audience is just not me. Thank you Netgalley for the early review copy, unfortunately this one just did not keep my attention or hook me like I was hoping it would.

“The Absinthe Underground” offers a captivating journey into a world of sapphic romance and intricate relationships. Esme and Sybil’s dynamic, filled with a protective big sister vibe, adds a unique depth to the narrative. The plot unfolds seamlessly, complemented by a stunning cover that reflects the allure within. While Esme is a standout character, I feel I resonate with, the language could have been more extravagant to elevate the overall experience. The book concludes on a cute note, but there’s a lingering sense that something elusive slipped through the pages, leaving me yearning for something I can’t quite grip. Despite this, the novel shines with its enchanting tale and memorable characters, making it a worthwhile read for fans of fantasy mixed with sapphic romance. 4.25 stars.

couldn't read it, wrong format, very sad .............................................................................................................................................................................

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing the earc.

3.5 stars
This was a really enjoyable quick read, i really liked the humour in the book. It was really fun and cute novel. I liked the characters but I feel like we didn't really get to know them that much at all, although Sybil and Esme felt like distinct characters, i don't think i fully got to understand them as much as i wanted, which might also be due to the length of the story.
The story did remind; as some other reviews have pointed out of one of the animated Barbie movies, and i don't think that was what i was expecting out of it.
I do think this is a really enjoyable experience and loved the prose, which makes me want to try the author's other work.

"A person couldn't help where they came from... just where they decided to go after they left. That was what was important. What one chose, not what was chosen for them."

3.5 ⭐'s

I was drawn to the beautiful cover for this book as soon as I saw it, I have Alphonse Mucha's "Absinthe Robette" hanging on the wall beside me as I type this review, and the blurb for this sounded so enticing. Sybil has escaped high society, an impending arranged marriage, a father who doesn't care much for her in the wake of the death of Sybil's mother, and she is in search of her brother who has fled to the city of Severon. Esme is a working class girl scraping by on tips from the restaurant she works at, she likes a quieter side of life tinkering away on clocks, when she meets Sybil and invites her to stay with her. The two form a fast friendship, and slowly develop secret romantic feelings too - so when Sybil invites Esme to join her on an adventure to steal posters they can sell for rent money, Esme would prefer to stay home in the warmth but ultimately can't refuse the girl she's falling in love with. That's just the beginning of the many adventures they will have together, from magical green fairies, to Spring Equinox balls in Fae lands and adorable companions like dragons and a cute kitten called Oliver.

I thought The Absinthe Underground was a very sweet, cosy fantasy. In the beginning the descriptions of the city in its La Belle Époque setting, the clock tower apartment filled with tea and cats and the thrilling promise of a heist from an alluring woman called Maeve drew me in and I was so excited to see where this would go and what secrets they would uncover. I thought Sybil and Esme where both very likable FMCs as we follow the story through their switching POVs, their longing for one another truly made my heart yearn for them. The story follows the same basic structure as a standard fairy tale and I can see where other people have been drawing similarities to Barbie although I did find this story to be a more on the middle grade side than YA in my opinion. I think I would've absolutely adored this story when I was a younger kid.

I did find this a little bit more juvenile than I had been expecting, the writing style was quite superficial and I struggled to really connect with the characters as much as I would've liked. The simplicity of the plot line and the heist made it predictable for me so in all I think the idea was there, that this story had real potential but the execution needed a little bit more refining. I wish this book had spent a bit more time in that "Moulin Rouge"-esque vibe that it was marketed as giving, if this story had delved deeper into describing the setting of Severon and the club, really played up that wild, drunken, slightly scary feeling you get from a crowded party where you can't tell if the patrons are human or fae, where you can't tell if what you're seeing is real or an hallucination due to the absinthe - then this story would've held my attention better. I also wish it had focused more on a deeper character development as well, we are introduced to a lot of characters in this story and I don't think they added as much to this story as they could have and most of them, and the romance, felt quite one dimensional.

Overall, I did enjoy this story, it kept me engaged and I was rooting for Sybil and Esme, and the idea was really fantastic. I think a little bit more was needed from the development of this book, or perhaps it should've been marketed at a younger age group - my slightly lower rating reflects that maybe this book wasn't for me entirely and that I am not the right demographic, but despite that I can see this would be a book many people would really enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Absinthe Underground is a sapphic, magical heist adventure inspired by Moulin Rouge; the premise is fun and the cover is lovely, but unfortunately it missed the mark. While the book is quite short (around 300 pages), the pacing is terrible. Entire sequences happen off-screen and the characters rush from one scene to the next with no time to actually breathe. It was disappointing because I've read some truly excellent short fiction and I know this could have been better.

Sybil and Esme are very sweet, and their relationship's growth from friendship to romance was my favorite aspect of the book. It's simple, but charming and believable.

While this didn't live up to my expectations, I do think a younger audience in particular will enjoy this queer coming of age fairytale. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

what a fun story! I loved both FMCs and the world we were set in. I think sometimes the story took a little jump and there was gaps where more story could’ve been explained or explored but still an overall fun, almost cozy heist with a romance subplot. I loved the story telling of getting to read the thoughts in each character’s head and the dual POV. Definitely interested in reading more of Jamie’s writing! I’m bouncing between 3.5 and 4 stars!