Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
This book was a long one, but so worth the journey. A wonderful fantasy with characters to root for, a world you long to step in to, and an ending even better than I’d hoped for. One of my favorite reads of the year to date!

This lyrical fantasy is like getting lost in a trippy world.

Although this was very slow paced, it had rich representation of found family, an immersive world and emotional growth of the characters.

I picked this up for Belle Époque Paris, and the WWI time period0 two of my favourite things! I did not expect Russia and Anastasia to make an appearance, and by then, I was fully sold! If you like any of these things, give this a try!

This was a really well written and gorgeous fantasy set in 1800's Paris. I really liked the characters, but unfortunately this time period in Paris just does NOT work for me for some reason? This is not the author's fault, and I feel like others would really love it, so I'd absolutely recommend - but for me, it just wasn't a new favourite.

THE ENCHANTED LIES OF CÉLESTE ARTOIS is one of the most beautifully written historical fantasies I have read in a while. Graudin’s ability to capture a moment in time while still exploring the emotional range of her characters and magical realism was superb.

If it sounds like I am gushing about this book, it is because I am. From the opening chapters, where the stage was set, to the evolution of Céleste, Rafe, Honoré, and Sylvie, this tale has heart, secrets, and a wonderfully constructed magical world. The effortless style of writing seamlessly brings together enchanted moments with the very real emotions the characters are feeling. In fact, it is the characters and their relationships that pulled in this reader. The way Céleste, Honoré, and Sylvie can each go on separate journies but remain bonded is the thread of humanity a story like this needs. And then, there is the fact this was set in 1900s Paris. The vibe of the time and the events in history play a perfect backdrop to the more fantastical facets of the narrative.

THE ENCHANTED LIES OF CÉLESTE ARTOIS is a must-read novel. It has all the whimsy and magical deals while, at its core, being a phenomenal historical novel. If Graudin’s debut is any indication of what her readers may get next, bring it on!

Audiobook Note: Having listened to part of the book as well as reading the physical book was a pleasure. Marisa Calin, the narrator, did an excellent job of maintaining the pace and allowing the author’s words to come to life. And as a side note, every now and then, there was a diddy or atmospheric element added in for effect. This was perfection. Loved it!

DNF'd at 60%.

The first act of this story was interesting, as the FMC is introduced and pulled into the underground world of magic. But the middle sort of lost the plot with so many magical elements meandering and seemingly dropping off. Perhaps it would have pulled me back in towards the end but I just didn't find myself invested in the outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC.

While a little slow at times in terms of the pacing, I loved the setting and writing style in this! The characters are very well developed and the magic system was really cool, highly recommend :)

Paris is a magical city. In the case of The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois, three thieves - two women and a young girl who charm and steal, and live in a mausoleum in one of Paris’ cemeteries - discover magic that is wonderfully, and terrifyingly real. There are deals with the devil, mysterious beings hosting dreamy salons that vanish from sight and memory at the break of day, and the threat of destruction of everything Céleste and her fellow Enchantresses hold dear if a banished danger finds a way to get back in.

This book is at once full of whimsy and color and terrifying, painful darkness. Set in the 1910s (and with cameos but the Grand Duchess Anastasia and Rasputin), the reader cannot forget that awaits in the wings. Yet the characters are brimming with love. Not just the romances - though there are two marvelous romantic plot lines - but among families both by blood the families people choose for themselves, to art and creativity, and to Paris itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was as lyrical and remarkable as described. The world is wonderful and will inspire a lot of joy in those who have an appreciation for adult fiction that is not afraid to dream.

I mean, the idea of a forger of dreams is just so striking and lovely. I love creativity in the premise that is delivered on and I see that so clearly here.

This book deserves all of the dreamed up, fantastical flowers.

“The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois” by Ryan Graudin is a lush atmospheric fantasy. The prose was stunning, the descriptive phrases lingering in your mind as they came together to create a beautiful enchanting image.

The cast of characters were morally gray and lovably unlovable (if there is such a thing). A trio of enchantress who each have a unique backstory, personalities, and abilities.

The historical elements, old Paris glamour, and strong female leads make for an amazing story.

My only issue was the pacing. The story tended to be slow paced. It took an extraordinary long time for the actually story to get started and I often found my attention wondering. Hence, the four stars.

Thank you to NETGallery and the publisher for graciously providing me with the opportunity to read the ARC for an honest and unbiased review.

The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois is a lush, magical, historical fantasy that will appeal to readers of Roshani Chokshi.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was a book that I was really looking forward to. It sounded so intriguing, and I’ve always had a special love for historical fantasy. Taking a place from the past and creating a completely unique version is a special kind of magic, to me, and this book sounded chock full of it. As it turns out, I was right.

To start with, Graudin’s writing is incredible. This is what really caught my attention and kept me reading until the story really got going. The version of early 1900s Paris in this story shares some commonality with the action historical version, but this adds a new level of wonder to it. She demonstrates her boundless capacity for imagination, with one character able to make the most fantastical ideas she has into reality, and the rest of the book full of enchantment.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the Enchantresses. They each have their own very unique personality and backstory, and they’re all so different from each other. I never found myself getting confused between each of the three, and while Céleste herself is the subject of the story, Honoré and Sylvie play such a huge role that they have their own stories. These morally gray characters were so clearly rendered through her words and this story that I found myself rooting for them, and they’re all in the same place through a combination of factors that led them to live outside the boundaries of societal expectations, despite living in a place where societal expectations tend to be more lax than most. But ultimately, as three women running cons and making forgeries, they aren’t quite socially acceptable.

The story weaves each of the characters arcs into one cohesive story with its own trajectory. I found myself equally interested in each of the characters, especially Sylvie, who grew on me so much over the course of the story. There’s more than one romance over the course of the book, and I loved them both. The connection between each couple in the story is palpable, and I was surprised it took them as long to realize they were becoming more than rival. One of the romances is a queer one, and I loved watching it unfold, even against a backdrop of an upcoming war and looming threats to them and the city they love. There’s even some scenes that are a little spicy, which I wasn’t expecting but certainly didn’t mind.

Our characters dream and enchant their way from Paris all the way to the court of Tsar Nicholas and his children, facing all kinds of danger lurking where they least expect it. The thing that stood out most about this book is how it made me remember my own childhood, when a different reality was only a little bit of imagination away, and anything could happen. Sylvie, as the youngest of the Enchantresses, is free and wild and loves nothing more than to dream up the most outrageous things, yet still finds a way to be big-hearted and do what she can to help others.

Overall, this is a fantastic read, and I can’t find a single negative thing to say about it. The pace was steady throughout the book, never making it feel like the story was dragging or moving too fast to follow. There’s a good amount of action in the story, and these conflicts keep things interesting as the rest of the story unfolds. I found myself completely enchanted by this book, and wishing that I could go back and read this for the first time again. This is perfect for readers who enjoy historical fantasy, historical fiction, slow-burn romance, and people who never forget their childhood sense of magic and amazement.

I like the characters, magic system, and the plot, but I struggled to really get into this book. I think the writing was a little inconsistent for me, but I enjoyed reading this book overall. 3.5/5

Deeply immersive and incredibly lush, THE ENCHANTED LIES OF CELESTE ARTOIS kept me turning pages deep into the night. Graudin's writing style is both lyrical and rich, with descriptions that jumped off the page. The magic-tinged streets of Paris were calling to me by the end of this magical story. All I can think is how much I'm looking forward to reading Ryan Graudin's next book.

I love Ryan Graudin and I fully enjoyed her fantasy debut.

What I liked:
- La Belle Époque setting was amazing. I loved the way that the magic felt perfect for Paris and that time. The history interwoven throughout was just so good.
- So many overly romanticized things showed up and worked together: salons in Paris, art forgery, Phantom of the Opera, the French Revolution, the Romanovs.
- Rich development of the world and the relationships between the characters. The characters themselves weren't super well developed, but I felt the bonds between them were much stronger than their individual personalities.
- Sapphic magical beings.

What I didn't like:
- The book is just really long. I think it could've easily been a trilogy: the beginning part/introduction to magic, the changing of loyalties, and World War I each as a book.
- Slow pacing. Normally I'm a fan but wow this was really slow.
- It didn't really deal with anyone other than rich people and romanticized versions of homelessness (I guess they technically have a home, but it's a graveyard). No addressing colonialism or anywhere outside Europe.

Interesting magic system and lush landscape set in a magical Paris. decent writing style with relatable characters and even pacing. Really enjoyed the found family /sisterly bond the main characters developed through the novel. The book as a whole is so beautifully written with rich descriptions and captivating magic, that it's really hard to dislike

Lush prose and vibrant characters characterize author Ryan Graudin's take on early 1900s Paris. Focusing on Céleste Artois, one of a small found family who spend their days conning and stealing to keep themselves feed. Céleste calls them the Enchantresses, as she believes that their lies, which are often successful, are the next thing to magic, considering the many small bags of gold they have stashed around the cemetery in which is located the crypt they live in. The crypt is divided into three:
-one side for Celeste and her canvases and paints (she's a very successful forger),
-one side for Honoré Côte (daughter of a dead gangster and this tiny family's defender) and her knives, wigs and suits, and
-the last for young Sylvie (an eleven-year-old0 orphan) and her fairy tale books and various sweet confections she's managed to either steal, or get from the nearby baker.

Despite their riches, Céleste can't rest, and it's this fear that send her and Honoré to a ballet to work their cons, where Celeste meets Rafe, a charismatic con man, also a painter, whom Honoré knew when they were kids. Rafe abandoned Honoré years ago to travel. He is immediately taken with Celeste, and after leaving the performance, shows her magic is real, and offers to introduce her to his boss, a Sanct. Sancts are not mere human magicians performing sleight-of-hand tricks. Rather, they are very powerful beings, fed by the dreams and imaginings of others, which they use to create wings, awaken statues, open portals, prolong their lives, etc.

Céleste is suffering from consumption and it's blood on her handkerchief that impels her to make a deadly bargain with Rafe's boss, a very old, frightening Sanct. He grants Celeste her wish for health, in exchange for her finding a dream he had lost, and which he thinks is located in the amazing salon of another Sanct, La Fée Verte.

Céleste's decision will have wide and dangerous repercussions for her and Rafe, the Enchantresses, and all of Paris, eventually.

While Céleste honors the terms of her bargain with the Sanct, she receives regular infusions of health to keep her searching. Honoré and Sylvie are also drawn into this other Paris, where they discover magic is real, and their lives become entangled with La Fée Verte and the competing magical views she and Rafe's boss represent.

Honoré and Celeste both find romance, while Sylvie takes to magic with gusto and is soon flitting about the city, making friends with other benign Sancts, magicking up all manner of things, conversing with cats, opening portals, and just generally living her best life. Until everything goes bad, and not only are people harmed, but war arrives, and the evil Sanct takes advantage of this, amassing huge amounts of power with the thousands killed, and the Enchantresses realize he must be stopped.

I loved so much about this book:
-Celeste herself, and her dilemma and fear that propel her and the other Enchantresses into a new, dangerous but also fantastic life
-Honoré and her dangerous skills that allow her to protect those she loves, including the enigmatic La Fée Verte
-Sylvie! Need I say more? Sylvie is such an utter delight, with her optimism, kindness, sense of adventure, love for dessert, humour, and gang of street cats who follow and protect her
-The prose which conjured up both the poetry of earthly Paris of the early 1900s, and the iridescent, luminous, magical Paris that the Enchantresses come to inhabit
-The talking cats!
-The small chapters describing other Sancts (the bookseller, the baker, the Seer, the Fisherman, all of whom used other means to sustain their abilities) in Paris added extra colour to an already rich story.

I had a small complaint: the story took a long time to really get going, as Graudin fed us delectable moments of magic as Honoré and Sylvie grew in their powers, and Honoré slowly revealed that she was not just a warrior but a romantic hero. Sometimes I felt that the plot meandered a little too far from the idea that the evil Sanct needed to be dispatched, with this point finally really coming into focus about 3/4s of the way into the narrative.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this lovely book.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Redhook Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a beautifully written story. I love magic and this book was full of it. However maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace for it I did have to put it down. I do hope to return to it someday as I am a Ryan Graudin fan and like I said it was beautifully written.

Book review: 3.5/5 ⭐️
Genre: magical fantasy
Themes: sisterhood, the power of imagination, light vs. dark

As the name suggests this book was indeed enchanting in many ways. The writing transported readers to a second Age of Enlightenment in Paris where one only need dream to make magic. From paintings that you can walk into, outfits you can think into reality, and saloons filled with bohemians, where imagination is the only limitation this book was literally what dreams are made of. It was fantastical with an original concept.

The story follows three enchantresses: Celeste the oldest, is a once aspiring artist who now makes forgeries that she sells to unsuspecting gentlemen. Her partner in crime Honore Cote has a dark past and unparalleled knife skills. The triumvirate is completed by the youngest, the dreamer Sylvia with quick fingers and a mind for fairy tales. Bunked out in a graveyard quietly stealing a fortune the three have no idea how their world will change as the door to magic opens.

I think the novel balanced the dreamlike aspects of this world with the darker sides to power rather well. The rainbows with the bloodthirsty. The street brawls with the balls. It was very ambitious covering several hallmarks in history with some recognizable figures. The expedition into Romanov Russia was a little odd given that it wasn’t all that necessary to the plot. Still as someone fascinated with the last of the Romanovs I enjoyed this foray. That being said it did affect the pacing of the book and I regularly lost interest in the main story line. It would have been more engaging to remain in Paris and follow Terreur.

The main problem with this book was Celeste. She was an unlikeable character and her very survival seemed to go against the morality of this magical system. Even once she knew the cost of her prolonged clock, she didn’t stop nor did she seem interested in her friends much. It was too many loopholes to get a happy ending and frankly I wasn’t invested in this character at all. For such a long book, I was also surprised I didn’t understand why the three enchantresses were so connected. Why would two adult conwomen take on a child who blusters in with untimely words? I needed to know why they would do anything for each other and I just didn’t. Honore was by far the best developed character and her story followed a logical arc. By the end I did also like Sylvie if I reminded myself that she was after all just a child, and Marmalade the cat stole the show.

All in all a very interesting concept with a lyrical writing style I want more of. I do think this particular story could have used a bit more editing and a deadly ending to balance the whimsy with some gravitas, but that’s just my opinion. It is at its heat a fairy tale. Thank you to netgalley and Orbit/Redhook books for an advanced copy of this book.