The cover of the book is very appealing. The story line was very good and the book also had interesting characters. Although this book is not quite what I typically read, I did really enjoy it. I will be recommending this book to others that read this genre. The writing style was good also.

"This radiant and thrilling debut follows a passionate love affair between two noblewomen who wish to free themselves from their repressive society, whatever the cost.

In 17th century Paris, everyone has something to hide. The noblemen and women and writers consort with fortune tellers in the confines of their homes, servants practice witchcraft and black magic, and the titled poison family members to obtain inheritance. But for the Baroness Marie Catherine, the only thing she wishes to hide is how unhappy she is in her marriage, and the pleasures she seeks outside of it. When her husband is present, the Baroness spends her days tending to her children and telling them elaborate fairy tales, but when he's gone, Marie Catherine indulges in a more liberated existence, one of forward-thinking discussions with female scholars in the salons of grand houses, and at the center of her freedom: Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, the androgynous, self-assured countess who steals Marie Catherine's heart and becomes her lover. Victoire possesses everything Marie Catherine does not - confidence in her love, and a brazen fearlessness in all that she's willing to do for it. But when a shocking and unexpected murder occurs, Marie Catherine must escape. And what she discovers is the dark underbelly of a city full of people who have secrets they would kill to keep.

The Disenchantment is a stunning debut that conjures an unexpected world of passion, crime, intrigue, and black magic."

Lately I am all about historical fiction set in France, and this book isn't an exception.

Unfortunately, another book with an incredibly intriguing premise/synopsis, with a boring and muddled execution. I wanted more passionate love affair, less cat/mouse investigation to solve a murder that we already know who did it???

The writing was great- I'm glad I had the audio to help with the French names and words. That was very confusing at times. Like I said, I wanted more of the love affair and bit more excitement overall. The ending wasn't satisfying, either.

Just in case you were wondering- this is NOT a true romance. More murder mystery (again, even though we know who did it almost immediately) and historical with unnecessary details to fill pages.

Very grateful to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. I'm afraid that I found this title hard work and I nearly gave up as it was not an easy read. The writing was too detailed for my tastes and consequently the plot didn't have the pace that I thought it needed.
Very best of luck with publication - the cover and the title are terrific

17th Century Paris. A secret queer love affair. A murder and an escape.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I just didn’t. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. While there is plenty of storytelling, it’s just so slow in the beginning and sets the mood for the rest of the book. You soon become disenchanted. The love becomes tainted and a lot of what goes on through the book just feels like a filler. The one thing I loved about this book are the covers - both the UK and the US editions are gorgeous.

Scandal is rampant in seventeenth century Paris – poisonings have become more common among the upper class and many women have been imprisoned even for the slight suspicion of attempting to poison their husbands. Baroness Marie Catherine is unhappily married with two young children but finds joy in weaving fairytales for them and her secret liaisons with Victoire Rose de Bourbon, another noblewoman. But when a violent act overturns Marie’s life, she’s forced to use all of her wits to avoid suspicion and maintain her freedom.

The concept of this work was fascinating, and it was difficult not to be intrigued by the promise of a passionate affair between two French noblewomen during a time of mysticism and danger. Unfortunately, the execution of this work fell short.

The author’s writing style was not conducive to writing emotionally relatable characters or events. There were long bouts of dry, rambling exposition that were interspersed with dialogue or an intense scene. It felt as if the meandering writing was only there to increase the page count rather than add anything meaningful to the work and it drastically slowed down an already slow plot. There were two or three scenes in the book that were well written and maintained my interest, drawing me into the story and the characters, but they were relatively short. The author also included many details relating to life in seventeenth century Paris that added to the story, although the setting never felt immersive or vibrant. There were many questions left unanswered by the ending and I didn’t find it to be a satisfying way to finish the book.

The characters were bland and emotionless, feeling completely detached from the plot and each other. Their personalities weren’t evident in the way they were portrayed, and they lacked unique voices. I did like how the author used Marie’s love of storytelling to incorporate some of that character’s personal history into the story, but it wasn’t enough to make her feel alive.

I wanted to love this read, but it was a struggle to finish. I think with some trimming and reworking it could be fascinating, but I don’t recommend it as it is currently. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for allowing me to read this work, which will be published 16 May 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Disenchantment
by Celia Bell
Pub Date: 16 May 2023

In 17th century Paris, everyone has something to hide. The noblemen and women and writers consort with fortune tellers in the confines of their homes, servants practice witchcraft and black magic, and the titled poison family members to obtain inheritance. But for the Baroness Marie Catherine, the only thing she wishes to hide is how unhappy she is in her marriage, and the pleasures she seeks outside of it. When her husband is present, the Baroness spends her days tending to her children and telling them elaborate fairy tales, but when he’s gone, Marie Catherine indulges in a more liberated existence, one of forward-thinking discussions with female scholars in the salons of grand houses, and at the center of her freedom: Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, the androgynous, self-assured countess who steals Marie Catherine’s heart and becomes her lover. Victoire possesses everything Marie Catherine does not—confidence in her love, and a brazen fearlessness in all that she’s willing to do for it. But when a shocking and unexpected murder occurs, Marie Catherine must escape. And what she discovers is the dark underbelly of a city full of people who have secrets they would kill to keep.

The Disenchantment is a stunning debut that conjures an unexpected world of passion, crime, intrigue, and black magic.

The Disenchantment, is exactly that. The novel starts out strong by introducing Baroness Marie Catherine, a wife you begin to sympathize with. Haven't we all had a less than perfect relationship that made you think of what life could be like if you could just escape it? In that, we soon learn of Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, a free-spirited woman with a lack experience in the realm of maturity, with whom society allows to roam feral. So what happens naturally, is exactly what we would expect from Victoire. A couple of other major characters in this story is the painter Lavoie, and policeman Gabriel Nicolas de le Reynie and the Lady's Maid Jeanne.

I so wanted to love this story. I really liked the way the perspective switched and changed in a way that felt like you were watching a movie (and it wasn't confusing at all). I also appreciated the storytelling that took place throughout the novel, as it shows you exactly how the Baroness and Victoire could have gotten into the situation they found themselves in. Of course a woman that spent so much time in a make-believe land would find herself facing very real perils of her actual life. And of course she could easily pretend that it wasn't as bad as it actually was.

The reason I call this book a disenchantment, in itself, is because though the story is very slow, it does tug you through the emotions of the Marie Catherine and Victoire. You find yourself starting to become disenchanted with the story, you already know how it's going to end. You can taste the way the deed as tainted an otherwise exciting experience and just how fragile the concept of their love was.

I also find it disenchanting that the end of the story is a loose end. This must be because the author is going to write a sequel to the story-- otherwise, it's a very poor attempt at tying loose ends. What of Victoire after her talk with King's favored Mistress? What about Lavoie and Reynie after the chase? And Marie Catherine and her children? How did that play out on the night of her departure? And of course you cannot forget Jeanne and Henri. Was Henri ever punished? Did Jeanne make it to a better place with her treasure? I'm hoping the ending is not just a sloppy tie together.

Because of the slow read, the loose plotline ending, and the general wanderings that happen throughout the story (which sometimes feel like they're there to take up space on the page to further the page count), I give this book 3 stars out of 5. It definitely was not my favorite read in 2023.

Thank you, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Pantheon, for allowing me to read The Disenchantment early.

Queer historical fiction is my absolute favorite genre, so I knew The Disenchantment was going to be enjoyable no matter what. It wasn't only enjoyable though. It was devastatingly brilliant and captivatiing.

4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC (my first ever!) in exchange for an honest review!

What a fantastic debut! One thing that I don't like about books set in the 17th or 18th century is all the social expectations and pleasantries that the characters have to adhere to, so of course I loved The Disenchantment and how all of the characters broke free from the guise of Parisian propriety.

It had a slow beginning, but now, looking back, I feel that it was the perfect way to start such a novel. However, it began picking up around Part II. Celia Bell did a remarkable job of describing the details of everyday life in Paris during the 17th century - there were so many vivid details used that I felt as though I was in the room with Jeanne and Marie Catherine at points. This attention to detail and historical facts is why I love reading historical fiction. You get the carriages, the chamberpots (and the accompanying chambermaid), the ranks of nobility, and the gender norms and social expectations, of course. The characters were all believable, and I especially loved Victoire. One thing I would have liked to see was more of her character throughout since she was the character least concerned with social pleasantries and expectations.

It is known (probably from my review of <i>The Empty Room</i>) that I'm not the biggest fan of omniscient POV in novels. This was no different, though obviously, I liked this novel a lot more. Marie Catherine is an interesting character, but I feel that the omniscient perspective made it difficult for the reader to know her on a deeper level. Though, perhaps using the omniscient POV is actually quite clever, as it seems that Marie Catherine does not give her full self to anyone. Another character I really liked and sympathized with was Jeanne. If the POV just flipped between the two of them, it would have been a lot more focused, though I understand that other characters' POVs (I will not name names in case of spoilers) are important and even necessary to the story.

Overall, 4 stars. I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, who is queer, and who likes a little bit of poison on the side, as a treat.

I had such a good time reading this, it was what I was expecting from the description. I enjoyed this journey and the historical fiction elements, it had what I was looking for and loved getting into the romance from the two noblewomen. It was written really well and loved the way Celia Bell wrote this, it was a great debut novel and I'm excited to read more from her.

"She feared this was not an argument that she could win. But if La Reynie did question the servants, he could not avoid hearing the story of the argument that she and the baron had had on the day of his death. Perhaps he would also hear that her maid had been absent, and that she had carried a message that Madame de Cardonnoy had not entrusted to the men who usually ran such errands."