Thank you NetGalley and publishers for a copy of this!
I really loved this book. The world building was fantastic. The characters are very likable. The writing is very intricate and detail oriented.
They live in a CLOCK TOWER with SEVEN cats.
Oh, the pining. So swoon-worthy. Very slow burn. So much envy.
Sybil and Esme are everything to each other. And me, lol.
Would read future releases by Pacton. Would want a story of their adventures in Fae.

-they were roommates
-mutual pining
-“I don’t have/need anyone but her”
-cat mom
-clock repairer
-thief and adventurer
-fae
-complicated family dynamics
-sapphic!!

Cats. Gays. Romantasy. Must I say more?
Jamie Pacton is an extremely underrated author and I hope this book gets the accolades it deserves. A lot of people are comparing this book to Howl’s Moving Castle and I’d have to agree. The whimsical adventure feels almost Ghibli. Love this author and can’t wait to read more from her.

This is yet anotehr book that I've read this year that has some really great concepts that are just not fully explored. This book suffers from a lack of world building in the fae world, and the majority of the story is set up, making the major scenes feel rushed and uncompleted.

The set up was fantastic, I saw nothing that made me think this was going to be less than a 5 star read. Two Queer girls, living together with their hoard of cats, spending the night on Parisian streets hunting for some of my favourite posters in history to steal and sell on to pay the rent was such a good story in itself.

The fae world plot line really bogged this story down, I didn't feel like it was as richly described as the girl's own world, and we didn't spend a lot of time there. The story started hurtling to the finish line as soon as they entered the world, and for me the ending for one character I really liked felt unresolved.

I immediately fell head over heels into The Absinthe Underground. As someone who loves historical fantasy stories, this one is a must. It not only features a unique and detailed historical fiction setting, one that I rarely get to visit, but also combines it with the Fae. And these Fae have hidden nuances, a bit of a bite, and some lies. You know one of the first things I loved about The Absinthe Underground were the queer feels and swoons.

LOVED this from the first page. By the end of the first chapter I'd already preordered a copy. And now I'm thinking of getting it on audio too. Absolutely stunning book.

I don’t know how Jamie Pacton does it, but both times I’ve read her fantasy books, I’ve fallen deeply into them and not surfaced until the story concluded. I love this immersive fantasy world inspired by 1890s Paris.

The chapters alternate point-of-view, flipping back and forth between Esme and Sybil’s perspectives. Esme is organized and orderly. Sybil is pure creative chaos, but somehow, the pair really works. I liked the differences between them and watching them navigate those differences in their friendship and as participants in a dangerous heist.

The girls pine for one another a lot throughout the story, which was okay, but sometimes felt a little bit distracting from the other elements. The romantic arc progressed perfectly, though. I loved that– it’s so sweet.

The Fae elements felt both magical and otherworldly, which I find I really like as well. The magic elements were used in very cool ways in connection with the plot.

All in all, this is another hit for me with this author. I think fans of Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fae series or Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves books will very much enjoy this one.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

I first want to thank Netgally and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I think this was a very fun fast paced read. The cover art is GORGEOUS and I loved the historical details that were added in. The Magic system was a little confusing at first, but once I got into it a bit more I was fully immersed. The writing style immediately captivated me.

Im rating it Three stars, only because I wish there was more to the story! I want an expansion on certain elements and characters, <spoiler> like Lucien's arc, the heist scenes and the entirety of the Fae realm felt a little rushed. </spoiler> I want more! I also think that the romance could be a little more fleshed out, I want to feel their yearning! <spoiler> That kiss at the end was spectacular and I can truly say I waited the entire book for it to happen! </spoiler>

3.5. this book has amazing vibes and i was drawn to it by the cover. i really was looking forward to the plot but in many parts it fell flat. i also felt that the balance between YA sand new adult wasn’t clearly defined, which left some parts feeling underdeveloped. overall i enjoyed reading it but was wishing for more!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this e-copy. This is an honest opinion.

"The Absinthe Underground" by Jamie Pacton is a sapphic friends-to-lovers historical romantasy inspired by 1890s Paris. Sybil, eager to escape the constraints of high society, manages to scrape by stealing rare posters and selling them to collectors. Esme, content at home with her clocks and cats, grudgingly agrees to accompany and protect Sybil. When caught selling a poster by Maeve, the glamorous subject of the artwork, the girls are invited to The Absinthe Underground—a club Maeve owns. Maeve, a Green Faerie trapped in the human world, makes an offer that could change Sybil and Esme's lives: a heist in the Fae realm in exchange for freedom.

Firstly, this cover is epic and I adore it. I love the Art Nouveau vibes. I also really like the historical fantasy elements in the beginning and the more whimsical turn as the characters delve into the faerie world. The vibes and the atmosphere in this are top-notch. I also adore the friends-to-lovers sapphic romance that is contained within; even though sometimes they seemed so vastly different people. They have one another's hearts at the forefront of their decision-making. I also loved the cats!

However, I do think there was something left wanting by the overall depth of the world-building and the plot. Often, I was left asking why things were a certain way in the world but the answer wasn't given or was just due to "plot-reasons". There was a lot more 'telling' than 'showing', in general - which is just something I'm not fond of.

The enchantment of the settings and the VIBES were amazing, but I wanted a little bit more depth.

Sybil and Esme, the two best friends in this novel, accept the challenge to steal the crown jewels of a fairy queen in this incredible standalone novel. The Absinthe Underground came out yesterday, and I’m so excited for more people to discover this amazing book!! 💚

My favorite parts of this book were the vibes (think historical Paris!) and the characters themselves. Sybil and Esme were so clearly fleshed out and well rounded, and I loved knowing from the very beginning that they were so different and yet still managed to be best friends. It was the kind of real and raw friendship I really appreciate in novels! 📚

The sweet sapphic romance was so fun too ☺️ I loved this book! Make sure you check it out!

This book hooked me in the first chapter. Two sapphics pining after each other living in a clock tower with SEVEN CATS, and one of them steals posters for a living ? Amazing, I love it.

Desperately needing money to pay rent, Sybil and Esme risk stealing a poster advertising the Absinthe Underground, a club that has the entire city in a thrall. However, they both get caught by the club's owner, Maeve. Instead of calling the police, she offers them a deal : in reality, Maeve is a Green Fairy, and she needs Sybil and Esme go to the fae realm and steal the Faerie Queen's crown jewels before the end of the Spring Equinox. The two women embark on a dangerous heist, all while trying to deal with their feelings for each other.

I loved the setting of the Belle Époque in France, and the illustrated posters, and the club (the Absinthe Underground), and pretty much everything there. Now I want to read more novels in this time period.
I think we could have had more setbacks and twists during the heist, all its different stages were great but I think they could have been more developed.
I love characters pining, especially so if it's queer, but, and this is a personal preference, I would have liked to see their feelings start to develop and THEN have the pining. Like, I want to know exactly why and when you fell for each other and this could have had me more invested in their relationship.
Also, I would love a sequel, particularly if it's centered around Hyacinth and Chloe, that would be so great ! I feel like the author has room to explore the Fae world even more.

I had a blast reading The Absinthe Underground. It's a big jumble of Art Nouveau and cats and fae and books and clocks and tea that feels like it was designed specifically to appeal to me.

Overall, this is best described as a cozy fantasy romance set in the Belle Epoque era of an imaginary city. The romance is sweet and charming, the vibes are interesting and artsy, and the characters are cute and likable. Pacton did a great job of taking a unique concept and turning it into a deeply entertaining story.

It was honestly hard not to give this a five star rating, just because I enjoyed it so much. However, I wish the prose had been a little more descriptive, just to really sell the Art Nouveau feel, and the plot needed a bit of work. A lot of the heist plotline either made no sense or relied on characters being as dumb as possible and refusing to communicate. Why in the world is the ability to peel a poster off a wall the only required qualification for robbing a heavily guarded royal safe? Why wouldn't Esme bother to spend five seconds mentioning the critical information she'd learned to Sybil? Ultimately, the romance made sense, but little else did.

Luckily, the connection between Sybil and Esme and the appeal of the world Pacton created was enough to make up for those issues. I had so much fun reading this book and will definitely be trying more of Pacton's books in the future.

This was such a good fun read, with high stakes but not SO high that you ever actually fear for the cat in the story.
I love the two main characters’ dynamic of being best friends but both secretly wanting to be more. And the fact that they’re both women has nothing to do with them not getting together yet, which I appreciate seeing in this kind of book. A lot of books that similarly are reminiscent of olden-day time periods will have societies that are more homophobic towards queer main characters, but not this one.
The things this book was missing, though, were world building, character development of any kind for the other characters (there was a lot that wasn’t explained), and more depth to the villain (her motivation is super typical and just wanting power for no actual reason, so that’s where the story fell flat).
But overall, this was a really good book and a fun adventure.

The Absinthe Underground - Happy Release Day!

This STUNNING book is out today in the world, and I am so excited. As this is my first ARC post, I had so much fun reading this book.

"The Absinthe Underground" is a sapphic romantasy read about falling for your best friend. This is a queer YA historical fiction that will entrance you from the very first page. I found this book to be light and alluring. This book is everything I have been craving lately, captivating me with the premise of a heist fae love story about two best friends who would go to the end of the world for one another. I was transported into a world of pretty dresses, cozy cafes, buildings of beautiful architecture, and mystical forests filled with magical creatures. I found myself daydreaming about this book when life didn't allow me to sit on the couch with my book and a cup of nighttime tea.

Sybil and Esme are roommates and friends that crossed paths about a year before we meet them. Sybil is a runaway aristocrat from a well-off family turned art thief using her skills to steal beautiful art posters to sell to collectors to make ends meet and pay rent. She lives for the thrill of living life on the edge. Sybil finds herself often thinking about her old life and longing for her old comforts even though she loves her place with Esme.

Esme is a level-headed thinker, interested in the inner workings of all things. She sees life as a puzzle to solve. Esme prefers working on clocks in her PJs and drinking hot tea cuddled on her couch with her many cats and a good book. Esme is content in their life together. She doesn't long for nights full of adventure. She longs for a quiet life with Sybil.

One night, while Sybil and Esme are out in their city of Severon looking for posters to steal, they are propositioned with a heist that is too good to pass up and would make them enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their days by a faerie in need of a very big job to be done. This faerie is as beautiful as they come and she owns the most successful establishment in all of Severon, The Absinthe Underground.

The city of Severon is inspired by 1890s Paris, which to me felt like stepping into the Disney movie from 1970 - "The Aristocats" (but with green-tinted glasses.) At its heart, this movie is also a heist story that ends in love. It also happens to be one of my favorite Disney movies of all time. I loved the premise of this book from the start. If you are looking for a fast read that you can get lost in for a few hours, this book is for you. It is witty and whimsical. It will have you grinning from ear to ear at Sybil and Esme's banter and flirting as they try to navigate this quest together. I loved the details of the characters and each of their quirks. This book is a YA read, so while there is not "spice," it has plenty of pining, flirting, fast stolen kisses, and longing stares which will fill your heart with glee.

As this is an honest review, there are some things I didn't love. At times I felt that the book was a bit rushed, and I would have loved to linger in some scenes longer than allowed before moving on to the next plot point. I would have liked to learn more about the side characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review, and to Jamie Pacton. You have been so wonderful to be able to chat with about the highlights of your book.

thank you so much to colored pages blog tours and the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!!

well, this was a clear example of "how convenient for the plot"
don't get me wrong, the ambiance and the world was really good. i really felt i was in paris during the belle-epoque era, and the fae world was something that kept me intrigued, since there are so many books about fae and every single one writes them differently. so that felt really refreshing to me. but my main complain is that everything was too convenient for the MCs, that everything was happening too easy right until the end when things started to complicate a bit and i was really intrigued to see how it would develop. also, i feel both MCs didn't change as much or had that many character development, tho i have to give it to Esme for being so brave and step out of her apartment with many cats just because Sybill wanted to steal something.
overall, it was an okey book, more of like a cozy fantasy than anything else, but really enjoyable.

I thought this was so sweet and fun. I think people who enjoy really big fantasy won't necessarily like this because the stakes aren't very high and it's not very complicated, but that's the kind of fantasy I enjoy.
The setting of this was so cool, I really love the 20s era and this is such a fantastical version of it. It's not specifically the 20s but the vibes are definitely there.
And the two main characters, Esme and Sybil, are so sweet and fun and I really really liked them.
I don't think I've ever disliked a heist story, so I had lots of fun with this. I just think this was really fun and sweet and interesting.

Sapphic pining, heists, and an Alphonse Mucha inspired cover? I was immediately hooked.

Esme and Sybil are doing the best they can when they steal the wrong thing. Now, they’ve found themselves swept up in a world of magic, alcohol, and crime. And they only have each other to depend on.

This was such an adorable read. Esme and Sybil are so sweet, and play off each other well. It was easy to believe that they had locked themselves into pining for each other, and I was rooting for their relationship the whole story.

I absolutely adored the combination of the magical fairy story with a 1920s kind of steampunk flavor. Everything blended so well together.

I did feel that a lot of the plot was drive by convenient happening after convenient meeting. And I wouldn’t have really been bugged by this if the ending wasn’t also just a huge deus ex machina.

Overall, this was an absolute blast to read and I’d eagerly dive into any sequel that may come up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Holiday House for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: minor violence, alcohol.

Sybil and Esme live in Severon, a decadent, sprawling city full of nightclubs, art, and beauty. For the two girls, however, life there is not all it seems: they're struggling, barely supported by their meager jobs, each of them dreaming of a future where they can spread their wings. Sybil longs for adventure, for something beyond the boredom of her humdrum daily life; Esme, on the other hand, is only too content to work at a library and have a home filled with cats. Despite their differences, they're best friends, and when they're drawn into the world of Fae by the beautiful, mysterious Maeve, it's together. Maeve promises them riches that they can't even fathom, if they do one thing for her: steal the royal jewels from the Fae Queen.

It was the intriguing setting of The Absinthe Underground that truly made me decide to request an ARC. The story (partly) takes place in the city of Severon, inspired by Belle Epoque Paris. It's a unique idea for a story, especially when most fantasy books seem to draw their inspiration from medieval Ireland or England. Although it didn't up being quite to my tastes, I would love to see more people following Pacton's lead and giving us stories with unusual settings!

Our two heroines, Sybil and Esme, are complete opposites, but despite their differences (or perhaps because of them), they're inexplicably attracted to each other. Unfortunately, I say inexplicable because aside from small things like enjoying each other's company and finding one another attractive, there's very little character development for either of the girls -- and this impacts their relationship, too. Although I liked both of them well enough and found their narration pleasant, their individual storylines and characterization are remarkably one-dimensional. They both have a set of traits and characteristics that the author has decided for them, and they never veer far from these predetermined boxes. This ends up limiting the narrative and its ultimate conclusion. To make matters worse, the writing tells us and doesn't show us, and this prevents you from feeling totally immersed in the world.

Don't get me wrong -- their relationship is sweet, and I did enjoy their moments of flirtatiousness very much. But the lack of growth is disappointing especially because the two girls are likable. Another problem that surfaces is that tonally speaking, The Absinthe Underground reads more as middle-grade than YA (in spite of the many, many references to alcohol and drinking, which I found slightly odd). It's a little jarring, as Sybil and Esme are referred to as being seventeen several times, but they come across much younger in their POVs. This isn't necessarily a problem but, for me, it occasionally made the story disjointed.

The primary problem, however, is that everything is so convenient. This is low, low stakes, which isn't always a problem, but for a heist in Fae, it seems a little lackluster. Somehow, someway, everything always works out for Sybil and Esme, to the point where you begin to wonder what's the point of reading anyway, since you know everything will work out in the end. Some people enjoy stories like that, and I have no doubt that there will be many readers who appreciate The Absinthe Underground, but it was boring for me to watch them get into sticky situation after sticky situation only for their problems to be miraculously solved. It gets into unbelievable territory towards the end. Before the last act, I was planning on giving out two and a half stars, but that felt a bit too generous by the last page. It also suffers from everyone being painfully transparent, and you have to either believe that Sybil and Esme are extremely naive, or extremely stupid.

Ultimately, this story just wasn't for me. Again, I have no doubt that many readers, especially young ones, will find a lot to love here, but it simply wasn't my cup of tea.

The Absinthe Underground is a cozy little romantasy complete with sapphic friends to lovers, fae magic, found family, fancy parties, and lots of cats!
Two mortals have a chance encounter with a magical nightclub owner and find themselves on a high stakes adventure in a new magical realm.
This was a fun quick read full of magic and pining.

Thank you to Peachtree Teen and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I picked this up based on the concept of a sapphic friends-to-lovers urban fantasy set in the 1890s. To start, I generally liked the characters of Sybil and Esme. I think they could have been developed more, particularly their relationship, but I did get a good sense of who both of them were right from the beginning. I found the setting of the book very well described and I really got a sense of the city. I think the descriptions of the setting was one of the strongest parts of this book. The way the glittering Absinthe Underground club was described compared to the cozy clock tower apartment really added to the story. I also liked the juxtaposition between the adventurous Sybil and the more reserved Esme. I do think that there could have been some extra relationship development between them so it didn't feel like Sybil was always pushing Esme to do want she wanted. If a little bit more of their dynamic before they meet Maeve was shown it would have helped reduce the feeling that Sybil took Esme's friendship for granted. The actual plot was ok, but felt rushed and very convenient in places. There were several parts that felt a bit more like a first draft than a finished version. It might have been the length of the book as I think a fair number of the issues could have been solved with 50 more pages to fully develop the relationship between Esme and Sybil as well as make the plot feel less rushed. The whole book takes place over about two days (minus the very beginning and end) and the difference between the amount of time that passes at the beginning and end compared with most of the book made it feel unbalanced. I hope that the issues I had were changed from the eARC to the finished version because there is a really interesting story there that just needed a couple of revisions to be a good as it could have been. If this book seems interesting, I'd still recommend it and I'm very happy to say that nothing bad happens to any of the cats in this book!