I Loved Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf duology, so I was so excited to find this book. Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing it, which is very sad. The world was magical and surreal, mixing real life and fantasy (a ring that becomes a real dragon, yes please!!). The characters were full of life and color.

But everything was so vibrant and elaborate, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of what was actually going on. There was an intimate scene at a little over 40% in that I wasn’t expecting and I decided I wasn’t interested in continuing to read. I loved the premise of the book, but I got more confused as the book progressed. Might be one I return to at a different time.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to enjoy this fabulously narrated audiobook!

The audio would not work for me?! Through my NetGalley app been downloaded so no review. I was shocked to see how long it was and am excited to see other reviews

I was really intrigued by the concept here but the experience of the audiobook lost me early on and I was unable to keep with it... The music underpinning the narration is very distracting and the narrator presented the story in an almost sing-song voice that I couldn't follow and also found distracting. Combine that with the floaty nature of the story and I was not able to focus enough on where things were trying to go to keep with it. I'm in the definite minority here, but this one was not at all a good fit for me. Maybe in print/ebook I might do better? But as an experience in listening, I found this one unenjoyable.

Had to DNF because the audiobook was not working through the Netgalley app. The beginning that I was able to get through was compelling and the narrator did an amazing job. I have this in print and will continue to read it.


For those who love:
✨Found Family
✨Historical Fantasy
✨Magic
✨Traitorous Deals
✨Fake Dating

Many thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois is an imaginative look into Paris in the 1900s showing that magic can be found in truly unexpected places. I believe Graudin truly shines in this book in terms of setting richly detailed scenes and creating engaging characters with varied backgrounds. I adored Sylvie’s character and would challenge anyone to not be enamored by her. I also really loved how unique the magic system was in this book. I particularly loved how ideas can create their own unique magic. The other element I really loved was the role cats played throughout the story. The main struggle I had while reading was the plot pacing. It was a struggle at times to see where the story was going and why certain plot points were included. Because of this, I think there could be issues with readers sticking with the story. I both eyeball and audiobook read this, and I believe the audiobook really helped during the slower plot points. I enjoyed Marisa Calin’s narration and felt it added to the overall immersive nature of the story. I also appreciated the carnival sound effects that were added to certain scenes to really set the stage. If given the option, I’d recommend combo reading or reading via audiobook.

After watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, I found myself craving a visit to Paris, even if it is only virtual. And a visit to Paris at the turn of the 20th century, after the World's Fair, in the era of the salons and art nouveau seemed such a magical time too. The book starts with a feel of whimsey and magic, introducing the main characters and Paris with its cafes and salons, visiting the sites, and wandering through the recognizable streets and neighborhoods. There was also a fair amount of what I would classify as name dropping: Coco Channel, Stohrer (oldest patisserie in the city), Andrew Lang's Fairy books, and even Gaston Leroux's Phantom were pulled into the story. I found myself struggling to follow a coherent plot, or even several plot and one of these in particular just distracted me more than entertained me. I understand that historical fiction takes liberties with actual history, even embellishing famous people from history to enhance the story, but the thread about the Russian czars family felt like any historical research on the topic was done through watching the 1990's animated movie of Anastasia rather than reading a history book. Romanticizing the image of Nicolai, a tyrant and alcoholic, as a warm fuzzy daddy is one thing; but then having a character consuming the blood of a child that was a hemophiliac is in poor taste (pun not intended). Maybe it was me but I felt that there were too many disparate threads going through the book to weave together one coherent story and following these separate threads from Céleste to Honoré and Sylvie seemed like three stories that occasionally crashed into each other rather than homogenized.
I read the book as an audiobook and the voice actress did an admirable job conveying feelings and tone and with the exception of some of her (mis)pronunciations of Russian words/places, I enjoyed the performance. The music accompanying the introduction threw me at fist and I though it would be distracting if it lasted the entire book, but when the next part picked up without the accompaniment, and it only appeared intermittently through the rest of the book, I thought that it enhanced the experience and set a mood.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Hachette Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This audiobook is a masterpiece! I have read this book in both the ebook and audiobook versions. Personally, I feel like the audiobook is my preferred medium for this story. The narrator did a wonderful job portraying the narrative and the various characters. Her accent and storytelling kept me more engaged in the book.

“The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois” is best read at night for a more magical experience. It is true that this book is a mix of “The Night Circus’ ” whimsical magic and lyrical writing style; and “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’s” journey of a girl in Paris. Celeste, Honoré, and Sylvie are the Enchantresses and they do what they have to in order to survive. They stumble upon a unique magical underground in Paris, and get swept into dangerous deals and magical dreams to protect. This story packs some fun surprises in the shape of a certain phantom from the opera and a Russian grand duchess. This book was slow-paced at times and, to me, it was trying to achieve too much. I believe this story could have been trimmed down in order to focus the plot more narrowly. That being said, I am excited to see what this author does next!

For those who love:
✨Found Family
✨Historical Fantasy
✨Magic
✨Traitorous Deals
✨Fake Dating

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.