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!

A mix of fantasy, F/F romance, and historical fiction. A gorgeous cover, a slow burning story in an alternate Paris.
I enjoyed it but I would have preferred a faster pace. Entertaining, intriguing
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.75/5 (rounded up)

A big thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a highly anticipated read for me in 2024, so I was delighted to read it in advance.

I had such a good time with this story, the world building kept me interested the whole time, and I felt like the two main characters provided such a lovely balance of personalities. Slow burn sapphic yearning, fae and lots of cats? It was just as good as it sounds.

The only criticism for this title is that the dual POV made me know about the secrets of each character a bit too much, making me irritated at times just wanting the girls to come clean to each other since the notion was brought up so much. I think this would have been an equally enticing story if it was written from a third person's perspective.

In conclusion, despite the fact that I hate absinthe, this book made it seem like the most wonderful thing in all the realms.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc !

I was immediately enticed by the world and the atmosphere of this book, it was one of the strongest point of the entire book.
The first half was my favorite part, seeing their life in their tiny apartment with their cats was super charming and I loved it.
Now Sybil, one the mc, was getting on my nerves. She’s supposed to be that way I think, but she was just so selfish and manipulative at times,,, but it made sense with her story !
Esme, sweet baby angel, she deserves the world. Give her all the clock and cats and books.
The heist part was okay but I feel like it went to quickly and everything was super convenient in the latter half.
It still a cute story, and enjoyable !

4.5 stars!

I quite literally devoured this book in 2 sittings. This was such a fun, fast paced and beautiful story!

Esme is officially my idol, owns 7 cats and all she wants is a cottage in the countryside to read, knit and drink tea. Sybil is an adventurous, mischievous woman who steals posters to make a living. One night they come across a poster of ‘The Absinthe Underground’, the most exclusive club in the city that they won’t ever attend. After almost getting caught stealing, they sell the posters to an antiques man. But in the interaction someone new is introduced, the Lady from the absinthe underground poster!!
She has a mission for the two women to complete, and in return she promises them riches.

This queer, young adult fae/human world fantasy is so lovely and I would recommend to all!!

A sapphic moulin rouge-esque friends to lovers with a heist? Oh yeah, I was all in for this one! It was a decent read and it felt more cozy than action packed, which led me to reading the book a bit slower than I usually do. Overall, the romance was super cute and I enjoyed the characters very much.

Good gravy. I was really looking forward to this book, but the struggle is quite real.

For one thing, who is this book for? The vibes, especially with absinthe and parts of the romance, struck me as adult fantasy or maybe New Adult, but the main characters and the magic read more like middle grade. In order for these two to fail upward on their magical quest, Queen Mab and her cohort have to have the WORST security and intuition. And because none of the main characters can get hurt too badly, they have to be ineffectual... but that meant that by the grand finale, it already felt like a story meant for younger kids, so the vibes were off.

I think I could have let most of this go and leaned into the magic, if it weren't for the "plot twist." Not only is one of the characters EXPLICITLY TOLD THE PLOT TWIST 30-odd pages earlier, but when the plot twist is happening, they're both totally confused. And, okay, if this was a middle grade story, I could roll with some of the plot holes, but these characters are both in their late teens or early twenties, both of them are said to be smart and savvy, and yet both of them completely fail to understand the "plot twist" even though the villain is monologuing about it as it happens in real time.

On one hand, I loved the atmosphere and the characterization of the opening chapters. There were some inconsistencies, etc., but since I received this book as an ARC copy, it's possible that those issues have since been caught and addressed, but there are some structural problems that really did me in.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an ARC.

When I started this novel, I instantly loved it. It had everything in it to be perfect, like faeries, the colour green, queer friends to lovers and a job to break into a faerie kingdom and steal some important jewels.
I almost forgot one point, the CATS! Seriously, there were so many.
I loved the vibes but the story could have been much longer, imo it fell a little short. I couldn't really get into the story, I felt more like someone who watches the story unfold from the outside.

Nonetheless, I still loved it, so I give it 4 stars.

Plot: 4/10

Unfortunately, the plot of this book, while it boasts an intriguing premise and beautiful setting, is very rushed and never really takes the time to build tension. Throughout the book, Sybil and Esme must steal three items to then help them steal Mab’s jewels. There’s a lot of potential for each of these heists to be a clever, hair-raising scenes, but each of them lasts maybe five pages each. While Sybil is portrayed as a daredevil poster thief, she definitely doesn’t have the skill set for these high security heists, and Esme absolutely doesn’t. They get through these situations far too easily, and it causes the tension to fall flat.

The worlds of Severon and Fae are very aesthetically pleasing, and there’s nothing really major excluded in terms of worldbuilding. However, there are some questions I just generally wish were answered, like some things concerning Sybil’s family and what the actual power of the jewels is; if there is anything.

Characters: 8/10

The characters are definitely the saving grace of this story. Esme and Sybil have greatly distinctive personalities and pretty decent development. Esme in particular learns to stand up for herself, and their relationship, even just platonically, grows a lot. Despite the lack of plot tension, there is good romantic tension, and the romance is very cute. It was probably the most enjoyable part of the book for me.

There is also a good side romance and some good side characters, but I will say that there are some side characters that really aren’t well developed. Their personalities are flat, and their motivations seem to be curated just for the main characters to have aid in their quest.

Writing Style: 6/10

I’d say the writing for this book is pretty average for a YA novel. The descriptions of Severon really hit that 1920s, art noveau aesthetic, and, like I mentioned, there are quite a few scenes with some good romantic tension. Unfortunately, there is a general issue with telling instead of showing, especially concerning the main characters’ thought process. There are many times when the characters explicitly explain why they think something or their reasoning for doing something instead of trusting the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Also, as I discussed in the plot section, the pacing is way too fast in this book. I don’t often say this about a book, but it needs an extra 100 pages or so. The story would benefit so much from being taken more slowly, getting more spread out, especially the individual heists.

Overall: 6/10

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by this book. It has a great premise, the aesthetics really come through, and it’s got a cute sapphic romance. The execution falls short with just the lack of space for the story. Things happen far too quickly when there are many scenes that really need space to breathe. It affects the tension and doesn’t give much room for the side characters to show their personalities. The writing tends to tell instead of show, which may contribute to the rushed nature of this book. This book could have been quite good, but it ends up being somewhat mediocre.

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley!

Personally, this book was just not my cup of tea. I feel like it fell a little flat on all ends, but I do appreciate the LGBT representation!

🌟🌟.5

The Absinthe Underground - Jamie Pacton (release date 6th Feb)

I want to premise this by saying this book is fine - it’s a fun, easy read that I finished in a day but I was expecting so much more from it because I’d seen some really great 5 star reviews on Goodreads.

Unfortunately, I found the book quite two dimensional and so much is said but not a lot actually happens. I didn’t find myself rooting for any of the characters or relationships - I just wasn’t very invested and it’s not something that I’d probably re read personally.

The books saving grace for me personally was that a lot of the descriptions throughout were very whimsical and akin to what you’d see in a Stephanie Garber book - but the plot just wasn’t as sculpted as the world-building was so it just fell a bit flat.

However, it was a fun & quick read and had great LGBTQ+ rep and I’ll probably keep an eye out for other stuff from the author in future - this one just was not for me.

Also if you wanna read this - don’t check the description on Goodreads/Amazon because it basically spells out the whole plot in a way that would be so useful if you were assigned this for GCSE English but didn’t want to actually read it. Not sure who made that choice but I’ve seen so many people add the whole thing on their post 😮‍💨

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

As a romance, The Absinthe Underground has plenty of charm with its two heroines, Esme & Sybil. I'm a big fan of friends-to-lovers and this certainly delivers on the yearning and warm fuzzy feelings. Their contrasting personalities complement each other well, which is necessary when at times their voices start to sound fairly similar.

As a heist story, it falls completely flat. A big draw of heists is the competence and strategy of the thieves. In contrast, our heroines largely depended on sheer luck and conveniences of the plot, given that they were going in blind. It is comical that Sybil, supposedly an experienced thief with her slippery fingers, was ready to leave for the heist without proper planning of bringing the essentials. Her only relevant skill is lockpicking, not disguises or even grifting. Poor Esme, on the other hand, was more of a glorified nursemaid for her accomplice. She's established to be skillful in fixing clocks and tinkering in general, but that kind of skill is never utilized for the heist itself. Not even sabotaging something to their benefit or inventing a device they could use.

The Fae lore felt shallow, especially when the blurb compares this to Holly Black's work which deals heavily with the political intrigue of the Fair Folk. If you're not a stickler for worldbuilding or well-planned heists, and are just here for mutual sapphic pining, this is a quick and fairly enjoyable read.

The Absinthe Underground was a sweet, whimsical, cosy read. Thanks NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. FRTC!

A decadent novel by Jamie Pacton!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an early ARC for my honest review.

2024 is for the Fae realm with how many Fantasy books are being released centered around Fae folklore. In this setting we are plopped right into 1890's Paris, the city of love. For our two FMC's struggling to pay for rent and not only food for themselves, but their army of cats, they must do the biggest heist of their lives! And it's not mere posters they are stealing this time, but the Fae Queen's crown jewels of the Moonshadow Kingdom.

Sybil also has quite a few secrets she's been keeping from Esme that will test not only their true friendship, but if they could find love together, and what would they sacrifice to keep the other safe?

This is a high stakes, fast paced, not quite cozy fantasy story since the plot moves very quick since the heist deadline is 2 days, but I loved the characters, setting, and plot.

I hope to see more of the other Fae Realms and if we get to see how Esme, Sybil, and their beloved cats if the Author continues with this as a series.