This book felt both very long and very fast. So many things happened in swift succession that I forgot half of it already. The plot was predictable and the characters didn't have much dimensions and switch emotions so rapidly it gave me whiplash. It happened because it had to happen and that's it. Also Sybil's total lack of respect for Esme's comfort zone during the first part made me grimace a little too much.

The Art Nouveau aesthetic, which I enjoyed, got forgotten as soon as they went into Fae.

This story was a lovely and very atmospheric read. I was drawn to the premise and the LGBTQ representation. Though I found the pacing slow at time, I overall enjoyed the story and its beautiful romance.

A very cozy and nice book, I loved the clock tower and the many cats the most, also the girls, they were so adorable.

I had the honor of speaking with Jamie Pacton about "The Absinthe Underground" for the Storytime in Paris podcast. Here is what I said:

Ep 67. Jamie Pacton, “The Absinthe Underground”

My guest this week is bestselling, award-winning author Jamie Pacton. Jamie has predominantly written Young Adult novels, although she currently has some adult fiction in the works. Her latest novel, “The Absinthe Underground,” is a sapphic YA romantasy set in France during the Belle Époque, and was an instant Indie Bestseller.

In it, Sybil and Esme, two best friends who are secretly in love with one another, make the mistake of stealing the wrong poster in an effort to make rent. They are confronted by the head of The Absinthe Underground nightclub, an actual Green Faerie, catapulting them on a heist that sends them into the Fae World.

In our conversation, Jamie shares what drew her to Sybil and Esme’s love story, what challenges make wrting YA fun, how her work of historic fiction first stepped foot into the world of Fae, and so much more.

Listen to the full interview here: https://bit.ly/3To6WJm

Why haven't you read Jamie Pacton yet? I adored The Vermilion Emporium so I was thrilled to be back in that world with a different set of characters. I'm also a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope so of course I had to read The Absinthe Underground. What I found was a fun YA sapphic fantasy with an interesting magic system and tons of characters who are never quite what they seem. Also, anytime I see heist in the synopsis of a book, I'm immediately interested in the story.

this one is for the sapphics who love fae worlds, but also thrive in the aesthetic of the belle époque - think cabarets, artists, and crime. I didn't love one of the protagonists, Sybil, but I'm crazy about Esme, with her love for cats, clocks, tea and a simple life. this is about friends who secretly love each other. and this is about a quest into the world of fae, through a key Sybil got from her late mother, to help the owner of the underground cabaret who promises them everything they could ever want. I felt like there's still a lot to be told that should have been in this book, even if it has a sequel (it better). however, the research for this book is AWESOME and it got me excited for other works by this author.

I had the same problems with this that I had with the previous Jamie Pacton book I read. It was such a great idea but the execution was lacking. It was just... dull. I didn't care about the characters. Everything that happened was utterly predictable. The characters want something and it instantly falls into their laps with no real effort. Esme just wants to go home to her books and her cats and her clocks. Sybil is extremely flighty and just wants excitement. But they love each other. Which we know because they are constantly thinking "oh, I wish I could kiss her. But she can't know that I feel that way because she might reject me." It doesn't matter what they are doing, they look at each other and that scene repeats. I made it to 30% before I gave up, because I kept thinking it would get better, but it didn't.

It's such a shame because that cover is gorgeous and the premise is so cool.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing an early copy for review.

4.25⭐️

This is exactly the kind of LGBTQ+ story I wish I had available as a teen. The Absinthe Underground follows Sybil and Esme, friends and roommates living in Severon with their cats in their tiny apartment. They are barely making enough money for food, let alone rent and Sybil has turned to theft to cover finances. When she receive an opportunity of a lifetime to complete a dangerous, but rewarding heist in Fae, the two band together to complete it to make all their dreams come true.

I was sold on this when I came upon the author's tiktoks prior to the release. The cover is a stunner and I love the vibes this book puts out. The Absinthe Underground is a quick and fun read with a rich atmosphere and lore, making you want to be a part of Severon. Sybil and Esme are such lovely characters and balance out each other well in their skills and flaws while slowly unearthing their feelings for one another through the course of their quest.

I loved the concept of the book and it felt like all of the pieces aligned well with the characters and general plot. However, there were some points that fell a bit flat. I love a good slow burn, but this slow burn started as pining and then as if a someone flipped a switch they were in love with each other.

💚 friends to lovers
💚 delightful & cozy slow burn
💚 sapphic pining (main characters & side characters!)
💚 heists
💚 enchanting fae
💚 Moulin Rouge vibes
💚 heavy on the vibes, lower on the plot

Thank you so much to NetGalley, PeachTree Teen & Jamie Pacton for the eARC of The Absinthe Underground.

This book had me by the throat as soon as I read the description. It has so many things I love, but I was especially excited for the sapphic romance and Fae vibes. I adored the romance that was built up between the characters, and I think the only thing that would have made this book better for me was if there had been more of - everything. I really loved it, and I'm excited to see what Pacton comes out with next.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Absinth Underground is good historical fantasy with Sapphic romance. Pacton does a great job of illustrating the world of 19th century France and world building the magical elements.

I am absolutely obsessed with the aesthetic of this book. I love historical fantasy romance and I also often really enjoy friends to lovers romances! The issue with this style of romance is it does require some dedication to drawing out the progression and developing in a way that's both believable and satisfying, which I believe this book struggles with to a certain degree. I actually think that a longer page count could have helped it to properly develop both the plot and the romance as full arcs. I'm still eagerly looking for more romance set in this time period as well as more sapphic fantasy romance and I'm interested in what this author writes next!

I enjoyed this so much! The moulin Rouge vibe was everything I wanted and more. Can we petition to make this a musical?

3.5 stars

I’ve read a couple of Jamie Pacton’s books so far (and I think I’ve reviewed at least her The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly book), so I thought I knew what to expect with this one, and I liked how it sounded anytime I heard about it. I’ll be honest though, I was not “utterly enchanted” by this one. In many ways I feel like it under-delivered.

But, I am seeing other people who are raving about how great this book is and giving glowing reviews. I wish I was one of those people. And if this book sounds interesting to you, definitely still pick it up, and I hope you become one of those people gushing about this book.

The beginning was great. I enjoyed the set-up, and I thought the atmosphere and vibes at the early pages of the book was great. I enjoyed the stealing posters for money concept, and was really excited to see how the Fae elements of the story would be woven in. Plus, I really wanted sapphic roommates/friends-to-lovers pining and longing becomes romance story.

To me, though, the longing was good, but I didn’t really feel the yearning to be together. It just felt like both Sybil and Esme told us that they had feelings for their roommate and that was it. I wanted to feel how they felt for each other more, and instead it felt like I was just told how they felt. I mean, clearly they cared for each other, but I didn’t feel it the way I want to in a book that calls itself romantasy.

The build-up to going into Fae for this heist was nice, but I feel like the timeline was too short. We didn’t really get much time for any sort of sidequest, and there weren’t that many complications. The job/heist felt very simple to me, and that was unfortunate because I was so looking forward to it.

I wanted more of the Fae realm and to understand more of the realms relationships to each other, and the magic, and of course all the Fae politics.

I will say that I did read this book fairly quickly. It was only 304 pages, and I wanted to keep going, to follow along with Sybil and Esme’s adventure, and see how everything turned out. So, it held my interest enough that I wasn’t setting it aside for other books. I just wanted a bit more depth from it.

I’m still going to keep reading Jamie Pacton’s books, because her writing style is easy to follow, and for the most part I have really enjoyed her books. Besides, 3.5 stars isn’t a bad rating. This book just didn’t wow me as much as others have, and that’s okay.

I just finished reading the absinthe underground by Jamie Pacton this month and omg everyone needs to go read this book right now??!!! I need more ppl to read this book and shout about it that way we can get a sequel cause although this eneded so nicely and everything have wrapped up perfectly I feel like there could be more to this story!!(:

This follows two main characters name Esmie & Sybil who are two different girls. One is a human and a reader and the other is part fae but doesn't share that she is part fae. This book had everything I love in a fantasy romance novel, a heist, a friends to lover trope, a cute guy too! This is a freinds to lovers trope story and I forgot about that until I got to the end of the novel lol! I just did an author interview with Jamie on Instagram so go check that out and hope u guys really do pick this book up!(:

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall Rating: 3/5

I have to admit that I was so so excited about this book and the overall aesthetics when it had first caught my eye, and while the coziness and pretty details definitely held up to standard, I have to agree with most reviewers that there was quite a bit lacking even for YA. However, I quite liked the fact that we jumped straight into the middle of Esme and Sybil's relationship, and I don't think every couple needs a big "AHA" this is why I like them moment. Sometimes people just like other people without a deep intricate backstory! I enjoyed the fact that that both liked each other for quite some time but tip toed around the truth with each other, in reality that is incredibly common in the sapphic community.

My biggest problem was how easy everything seemed to come to the girls throughout their journey. Even the obstacles that did come about just seemed too easy to conquer for my liking, and there was so many coincidental moments that it started to become predictable whenever a challenge did come about. My favorite aspect was how wonderfully written and magical the fae world was. I could have stayed in those chapters all day with them exploring al the different areas and creatures. I also enjoy art history quite a bit, and I love that the author included so much detail about how the idea came forth in the Author's Note. Like others, I also had a slight problem with the formatting which at times made it difficult so push through.

For some reason, I didn't realize this was YA when I requested it, so I have to say I adjusted my rating rubric slightly to account for that. It's been about a year since I last read YA!

All in all, I would say this was a fantastical and cozy read. There is some action near the end, but the story itself felt cozy and small; I read this before I went to bed at night and it was a nice comfort read after another book I was reading at the time (a very, very tense thriller).

The upsides:

-The setting. Like I said, this felt very cozy. I wished we could have stayed in the novel's pseudo-Paris world the whole time! The opening scenes were rich with atmosphere. I just so wish we could have seen more of that world.

-Sapphic romance. While this didn't feel like as much of a "romantasy" as I expected (doesn't that genre mean more romance than plot? I'm not sure, I haven't read much of it because it's all hetero.), I loved the fact that it was there and it was sweet.

The downsides:

-I struggled to be convinced by Sybil and Esme's romance. Because they both started out in love with each other (though neither of them knew how the other felt) I felt like I never got to understand exactly <i>why</i> they loved each other, or <i>how</i> they came to feel this way. It seemed like there was supposed to be pining, but I never felt it at all. Because it was so clear from the beginning they both liked each other. The sapphic romance is what got me interested in this novel in the first place, but it turned out to be the storyline I cared the least about. I wish we could've seen them falling in love, rather than being told so from the beginning.

-Some things felt too easy. While I liked this because things felt a little more low-stakes in my mind, which made reading it more relaxing, it didn't seem to match up with the urgency the characters seemed to feel. The adventures in Faerie had ups and downs, and the final action sequence felt rushed and almost like Sybil and Esme were onlookers rather than heroes in their own story.

All in all, it was a fun read. Nothing showstopping, but I would totally consider it a comfort read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy fantasy to read snuggled up in an armchair in the evening.

I think this book could've been fantastic, if only it had another round of editing, The atmosphere is great, the chracters intersting but it just doesn't live up to what it could be.

Overall this book is joyful, lighthearted, a fun magical romp, and filled with historical and fantastical ambiance. You will enjoy this is you love lighthearted fantasy, fun YA stories, and two friends in love with each other but in need of an adventure to push them closer. If you're interested in queer history or historical artists movements the first half should definitely spark your interest, along with the authors notes at the end.

I would say this book is not for folks looking for something character driven, a slow burn, or high/epic fantasy.

Book covers are magical. They pull you in and spark your interest, but sometimes it's not for the story you're actually getting. I interpreted the cover as something with a more magical main character and darker themes. But that isn't a fault of the book or the gorgeous cover, simply another way that expectations can affect the reading process. So I would caution anyone who has similar expectations that it's actually more lighthearted and the fantastical stuff doesn't start until the halfway mark.

For me personally in the first half I didn't learn as much about the characters as I wanted and didn't have a deep feel for who they were by the time I closed the book. At the same time, I enjoyed their story and I was rooting for them to make it. I would definitely be interested in a sequel going into the story of Chloe and Hyacinth, Lucien, and the ins and outs of the fae world.

Lastly, regarding diversity, of course our two main characters were queer. However it seemed like every character from "our world" was a white person. Two people were explicitly stated as white people, but no one was ever explicitly stated to be another race. I believe 'deep' was used for someone's skin tone, but there was no more information about them (culturally, etc) that gave us a clue to their background. One of the main characters, Esme, could conceivably be argued to be a person of color - this is definitely my head-canon - but at no point in the book is that explicitly laid out to make it clear to the reader. There was no other representation that I was aware of. For that reason I would hesitate to call this a diverse book.

Overall it was very enjoyable with only a few missteps along the way. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, lighthearted magical adventure.

DNF 25%. I don't like the writing style and I just feel like the story is advancing way too quickly. The romance is already somewhat developed and I wished we would've gotten a moment of realization on the part of both girl. On top of that, I'm just not feeling the Roaring twenties vibes, it's missing something.

The book, I'm sure is wonderful. However, I did DNF at chapter 2 because the formatting was awful. Please please please format arcs, my autism can't handle it.