3,5-3,75⭐️

What catches the eye in "The Absinthe Underground" is the cover, and later on the story – Belle Epoque in Paris, sapphics, mystical intrigue. It is a gift wrapped in such a lovely form. I'm a bit sad that the time and setting didn't play much bigger role in the end, but regardless of that I would lie if I said I hadn't had fun reading it. I had lots of fun; characters are charming, their adventures rather stoic than adrenaline-rushed, yet still interesting to follow. Pacton's writing catches the essence of magic, beauty and love in small details. I wished it was longer, so I could stay with Sybil and Esme longer, visiting the Absinthe Underground, exploring Fae courts and stealing the posters under the cover of the night. Greatly recommended!

The Absinthe Underground is a sweet, sapphic friends to lovers set in a magical historically inspired world.
I love that the cover is a Mucha inspired design (my favourite artist) and the dedication warmed my heart!
While reading, I felt like I was wearing green-tinted glasses sipping a glass of Death in the Afternoon. It was incredibly atmospheric, although I felt the cosiest in their clock tower apartment surrounded by cats.
Unfortunately, even though this book had so much potential, I just couldn’t connect with it. It read quite slowly for such a short book and every time I picked it up, I was bored and distracted. But maybe Jamie Pacton books are just hit-or-miss for me because The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly was a five-star read for sure!

This book was so good! I’m always here for a saphic “and they were roommates.” I loved the characters and all of their niches little personality bits! Made them feel so real! I also love the world building soooo much! Excited to read more!

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the eARC of this title. I loved the characters and I am a sucker for dual perspectives. This book hit so many notes for me. It really is more a 4.5 but that sadly is not an option here. I really really enjoyed it and the only reason it isn't getting 5 stars is just because I have some other books I love a little bit more. This was my first time reading any Jamie Pacton, but I am now tempted to go look at her previous works!

Also ... the cover? Stunning!

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great sapphic friends to lovers fantasy romance novel like it says.
It’s magical and cozy all at once.
They are so sweet and cute. I loved their chemistry.

Utterly disappointing. "Cozy fantasy" if cozy fantasy is boring and flat, cliche, nothing interesting happened in the first half of the book (not even in character development) so I had to DNF at 120 pages.

I really really wanted to like this book. I mean sapphic and faeries??? I felt the writing was juvenile, and I understand it's intended to be a cozy fantasy, sure, it was not marketed that way (that I saw) and cozy fantasy shouldn't be baseline boring, there should be SOMETHING interesting. Characters felt flat and the tension wasn't even tension-ing.

It took me a while to get into this one, longer than it normally takes for a read to hook me. I did not feel a strong connection towards the characters. Not sure if heist type of things are really my thing though, so I just might not be the target audience!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for my review.

The friends-to-lover's romance that pulled me in wasn't as present in the story as I had hoped, most of it being focused on the heist. That being said Sybil and Esme were both likeable and easy to root for as they go on this heist. There were some parts I wish were a bit more fleshed out, but overall not a bad story.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know why but that cover was giving me Wicked vibes. And this book is far from it.

The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton is a YA fantasy novel about Sybil Clarion who, after running away from home, is eager to embrace all the freedom the Belle Époque city of Severon has to offer. Instead, she’s traded high-society soirées for empty pockets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and if either of them dared, something more. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town. But when she’s caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. Maeve wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about money again. It’s too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeve’s tragic story doesn’t quite add up, and the secrets could jeopardize everything the girls have so carefully built.

The main drawback from this book is the lack of worldbuilding. It was there, but just not enough of it. Also some of the characters were hard to recognize and follow along with their motives. But maybe that's just me getting exhausted on Fae stories once again.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an eARC.

"That was what they did: looked out for each other."

The Absinthe Underground is a cozy sapphic heist fantasy romance, following Sybil and Esme, two best friends living in a run-down clock tower apartment with their plethora of cats. Their living situation is anything but ideal and relies on Sybil routinely stealing and selling posters to collectors. That is until they steal a poster for The Absinthe Underground club and in the middle of selling it, the woman depicted arrives in the apartment of the collector, leading to an offer of riches if they conduct a dangerous and elaborate heist in the matter of days.

I really enjoyed the writing in this, and the concept is exciting and captivating. It draws on elements from Paris in the 1800-1900's and the classic absinthe ads and the broad descriptions are lush and vivid. The world is easy to imagine, both Severon and the Fae world both seem lively and vibrant. Severon feels alive on the page, brimming with activity and people running errands, going to and from clubs and parties. The Fae world reads as brimming with magic and mischief.

I also love Sybil and Esme, individually from one another and as a duo, but the romance doesn't feel completely convincing, mostly because of how much information is missing from both of their pasts. While we unpack a lot of Esme's past with her mother, we don't do the same with Sybil, not in any way that is meaningful and it is certainly not done to inform Esme of the gaps in Sybil's story. This became one of my biggest issues with the book, I was also curious of the backstory that brought Sybil to Esme's life, toward the end of the book there is a reason given, but to me, it doesn't feel convincing at all.

The other thing that I had an issue with was the abandonment of two characters at the end of the book, it feels like a plot hole, but maybe it was done intentionally.

I will be excited to read anything further from this author and this world, if it is ever visited again.

I was expecting to love this. Sapphic faerie heist? Sign me up. But it ended up falling a bit flat. I liked the two main characters, particularly Esme, and their dynamic, but they felt a bit underdeveloped both individually and together. Sybil's relationship with her brother was especially underdeveloped. The story was also a bit awkwardly paced. The heist felt somewhat rushed in the beginning whilst towards the end it got more complicated. All in all it was enjoyable, and I would try another book from this author.

I think that the premise is good, but the characters fell a little flat for me. I think that the start of the book also seemed to be slow but also rushed? And then it just took me a long time to really get into the book.

The Absinthe Underground is an absolutely enthralling and cozy read that I am going to recommend to all of my friends.
Though I wasn't absolutely in love with the plot the whole time, the relationship between Sybil and Esme kept me interested when it was lacking a little. The Friends to Lovers Trope is one of my favourites, and it made the relationship feel super realistic.
I can't wait to read everything else Jamie Pacton releases.

3.5 stars

The Absinthe Underground is described as Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black (sapphic edition) and that is exactly what it is!

I really enjoyed this book and I think it’s a perfect cosy read for all seasons. Sybil and Esme were very likeable characters and I really found myself rooting for them to be together.

I did, however, come across some formatting issues when reading on my kindle but that may have just been an arc issue.

Overall this was a great quick cosy read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wild ride of a book. I finished it just now and I think I’m going to have mixed feelings about it for a while. It was a bit of a strange reading experience for me. It both felt slow and fast at the same time. There was so much happening but also so little? It’s very hard to explain fully but that’s how it felt the entire time I was reading it. I still enjoyed it quite a bit though!

The biggest positive note for this book is the main characters. I really enjoyed reading from both Sybil and Esme’s POVs and wanted to get to know them more. Their dynamic was fun to read about! The side characters were definitely less fleshed out, in my opinion. I would’ve liked to have learned more about Lucien especially.

Overall, the plot was pretty good if not a little messy at times. I was engaged the whole time regardless and had a good time reading it.

The Absinthe Underground is an art nouveau inspired sapphic story about Fae. The main characters Sybil and Esme are roommates who are both hiding a romantic desire for each other. Sybil makes ends meet by stealing posters through town, and when selling a poster for the hottest club "The Absinthe Underground" she gets caught by the club owner Maeve. From there the two girls are roped into a jewel heist of Queen Mab's royal jewels.

Even with that exciting description I had to unfortunately DNF this book at 33%. This is a short book, so getting to 33% is less than 100 pages, but it felt like these pages were dragging, and I kept wanting to put the book down. This is due to feeling zero connection to the characters. The two female MCs POVs switch back and forth each chapter, and yet they both felt so flat and I couldn't even tell their voices apart.

I think the writing style is what was the issue, for me. Jamie Pacton relies too much on tell and there is no showing. This is a friends to lovers story, and we know they like each other, because every chapter they tell the reader this. "She's so beautiful" "I pictured kissing her" "OMG I can't date my roommate but she's so hot". But they have no chemistry, I don't feel the pull between them. They don't demonstrate this longing in their actions.
And every thought and feeling they have is laid out for us, so we the reader can't infer anything. There is no subtly.

Since this book is so short I could have forced myself through it, but I knew it would put me in a reading slump and I would not do that to myself. I don't think everyone will have this issue, but this book did not work for me.

What this book has to offer makes it a gem, especially in the YA world. It's a sweet FF slow burn, friends to lovers romantasy, fairy story set in a world much like 1890s Paris. This will hold the attention of anyone with a Moulin Rouge/Paris obsession. The heist element adds some excitement to this overall cozy read. Adults may find the world and relationship building lacking, but it is exactly what I would expect from a YA fantasy that drops you right into the story.
The unique story ideas and imagery in this book will make me watch for the author's next release. Well done!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for free access to this book.

I will say that I really enjoyed the vibe of Severon and related to Esme a lot but later lost interest, as such I only read until the 60%mark.
I did not find Esme or Sybil to be very convincing as thieves and the heist element of this book felt just lacking in the elements that I personally find the most exciting about heists (the setup and planning) which made it as enjoyable. If you want a friends-to-lovers lesbian romance with fantasy element and a heist element this is the perfect book. But if you are more interested in the heist element over the romance element it does not really work.

Also, when I read that it was friends-to-lovers I expected to get to see two friend fall in love with each other which this is not. It's more 'two friend are in love with each other but can't confess because reasons', said reasons being quite understandable.

I was so looking forward to this book, and I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately I had to DNF around 30% in.

The writing style was plain and immature, there was too much telling instead of showing and exposition dumping, and the word poster is used 144 times in the 300 page book. Maybe I will come back to this, but there are too many releases and other books that I wish to read instead.