Whimsical and hopeful but not without lots of shadows. Hopes and imagination (dreams) can not only beat back the night/dark but overcome it forever. Great timing as we enter the dark days before the election when the world feels like it is teetering on the edge.

My feelings on this book go back and forth. I loved the magical and emotional journey that was told throughout the story. I loved the world and exploring Paris and the overall vibes and setting of the book. However, it felt unnecessarily long at times, which took some of the impact of things away. There were parts where the plot meandered a bit, and at 544 pages, those parts felt unnecessary to the plot.

That being said, I really loved the characters and felt that they drove a lot of my enjoyment of the story. Sylvie was such a thieving gremlin and I loved that. Plus her now talking cat Marmalade and her rising powers as a potentially future Sanct was fantastic. Céleste Artois, our titular protagonist, and one of three enchantresses, was a fantastic and strong character that pulled together a very magical found family. And the writing was so beautiful and evocative and full of whimsy. I cannot say anything but good things about the style of writing Graudin has.

Thank you to @orbitbooks_us and @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 Stars, rounded up because there are so many parts of this book I really do love.

Full of descriptions so lush you can taste the hot chocolate and see the metallic dragons, The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois is an enthralling rush of found family, love, and the power of dreams, but unfortunately stretches a bit too long and loses steam along the way.

Graudin's writing is truly spectacular. Her prose pulls you into the book, conjuring vibrant creatures and decadent sweets with just a few words. She creates an enchanted version of Paris that almost feels like a character in and of itself, building out a personality with every lamppost and alleyway. The world feels lived in without overwhelming readers with constant details.

The main cast of Enchantresses are each fantastic, and I loved each perspective. The titular Céleste is an exceptional forger, a master at lying (even to herself). Honoré is the protector, trying to protect her found family from her bloody past. Sylvie (probably my favorite character by a hair) is the youngest, a pickpocket full of dreams and entirely too many sweet treats.

The romances were cute, the villain was menacing, and there was an appropriate level of importance placed on the cats in this magical version of our world. Based on all of that, you'd think this would be an easy 5 stars, but it was dragged down by the bloated length and some unnecessary plot additions.

I liked the concept of the Romanovs and Rasputin, but it didn't feel necessary to the rest of the plot. The length kept me from fully caring about the characters and caused the book to lose a good amount of tension throughout. I loved the characters and Paris, but I continually lose interest when it kept meandering over to Russia.

Graudin's writing and imagination is something special, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for future books, but this one just could have used a bit of editing along the way.

I liked this but I didn't love it, if that makes sense. I thought that the writing, characters and plot were all good. I enjoyed the setting, I thought that the story made good use of it. I think that I just wasn't really sucked into the story. It wasn't that I was bored, I just...I don't know. I didn't feel overly invested, but I didn't hate it by any means. This was a weird read for me, I haven't felt like this about many books before, hah.

A beautiful blend of lush, unfolding magic and impending tragedy, told with the surrealism of the Starless Sea and the Warm Hands of Ghosts. Questions surrounding the premise kept me from fully connecting with Celeste’s story (one day is all it takes to believe in magic?) but there’s no denying the exquisite magical spectacles taking life around the three orphan girls on their quest for life, sisterhood, and self-discovery.

Marisa Calin's voice is an absolute delight to listen to but I'm gonna have to put this down because the pace is just too slow and the prose is too flowery/not my style. If flowery prose is what you go for then this could be a fantastic read for you cause the premise is fantastic!

This was a wonderful historical fantasy set in my least favorite city on the European continent (long [and maybe traumatic?] story). I enjoyed the wonderful writing, the endearing cast of characters, and the whimsical magic system, along with its wonderful cast of feline friends. 🐈‍⬛

The story follows three women known as the Enchantresses: Céleste, Honoré, and Sylvie. These ladies pull off cons to make a living while hiding out in a cemetery during the day. I found Céleste to be the most slippery to the bunch to pinpoint because you can’t really tell what she’s plotting at times. Her Faustian-like bargain was an interesting plot line, but I thought her romance with Rafe to be a bit weirdly a hot cold kind of relationship. Honoré was probably my favorite of the trio simply because she desperately wants to keep her little family safe. Her backstory is tragic like the other women, but I found hers to have more substance to it. I really enjoyed her sapphic love plot and honestly wished we got more of it. Sylvie is a mixed bag for me. At times she’s mature for her age, and at others immature. I understand that the other two enchantresses want to give this young girl the best childhood they can, but other times I also felt like she refused to see reality here and there. It’s all literally sugarcoated to her. 🍭

As much as I did enjoy the heist like quest and the magical side of a city I don’t like, I did find the plot to drag around the 2nd and 3rd act while the 5th felt rushed. That and the idea that the book solely focuses on Céleste felt rather odd for a title choice. Oh and the appearances of the Romanovs and their role in the plot felt rather . . . Strange to me. 😕

All in all, despite these lingering thoughts at the end, I still had a rather good time reading this book. Would definitely recommend to those looking for a historical fantasy set in 1910’s Paris.🗼

Big thank you goes to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Graudin, for making Paris a bit more likable to me. 🙂

Publication date: August 27!

Overall: 3.75/5 ⭐️

Long ago, Céleste Artois dreamed of being an artist, but those plans fell through. Instead, she turned her talents to forgery and cons. She and the Enchantresses—her two fellow thieves and best friends—see Paris as a rich hunting ground for marks. Yet even though their hideout in Père Lachaise cemetery is bursting with francs, Céleste cannot rest. There is always more to take. And the blood she has begun to cough into her handkerchief means her time is running out. Everything changes when she meets Rafe, a mysterious stranger who leads her to an enchanted salon—a place where artists can bring wondrous imaginations to life. Céleste is captivated by this establishment, and learns of the existence of magical Paris, hidden in the pockets and alleys of the ordinary world, if one only knows where to look. Rafe offers Céleste an irresistible deal: the gift of time in exchange for lending him and his benefactor her forging talents. But one must be careful making deals with devils, and there's more to this hidden world than meets the eye. Shadows have begun to circle Paris. And soon, the Enchantresses will find that true magic is far more powerful, and deadly, than they ever imagined.

This is the first book I have read by this very talented author but I hope to read many more. I am so excited by this book. I was captivated from the very first page. I loved the way the author meshed a magical world that she built with actual people, places and events from history. It made for a truly magical book. There were dragons, people flying around with fairy wings, free pastries that made you feel all sorts of emotions, enchanted doorways, being able to conjure up anything up from your imagination just by believing it, and so much more. What is not to love? If you are a fan of fantasy fiction then you need to put this at the top of your TBR pile. You are going to love it!

Thank you for the ARC!

I had a difficult time getting into this book, and I think it's a classic case of a reading slump and not the book itself. I often found my mind wandering off, and I wasn't staying focused. I'll likely pick this up at a later time and try again!

I have been looking forward to Graudin's return to YA/Adult writing since 2017 - and her author's note indicates that she'd been hoping to return sooner, but this story took a lot of massaging to become the book the has made it to market. Unfortunately, we would've done well to wait a bit longer - this book is an overlong Forrest Gump-style grab bag of historical events, stuffed to the gills with side plots, and an exhausting child main/side character.

I look forward to her next book, but this one is a miss for me.

Thank you to the publisher,via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

Thank you to Red Hook Books and Net Galley for my advanced copy of The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois. The writing in this book is absolutely lush and lyrical. I love the found family of the three enchantresses; Celeste, Honore, and Sylvie of the one name. I love the unique location of their "home", and their profession, thieves. I love the city of Paris, it shimmers and glows with magic, and is another character within the story. I also loved the many unique characters woven into this story. But, I did not love the pacing of this story. This is a book that is more than 500 pages and this book crawls along so slowly it practically comes to a standstill. I gave this book 4 stars for the absolutely gorgeous writing. I have pre-ordered this book and I will be thrilled to have it because Ryan Graudin's writing is beautiful. If you are looking for a fast-paced heist or adventure, this is not it.

The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois by Ryan Graudinb is a phenomenal lyrical fantasy debut.
And what a thrilling adventure this one was.
I had the absolute best time devouring this book.
It kept me hooked and intrigued wanting more and more.

While I've enjoyed the other books I've read by Ryan Graudin, I DNF'd this at about 30%. One thing about me, I like my fantasies to have some action, some well-defined plot by the time I'm a third of the way through. This is beautifully written and whimsical, but I thought to myself (multiple times) "Oh, NOW it's getting interesting!" after a small reveal or event, and then the pace would slow back down. If you like slow-paced fantasies, focused on whimsy and dreams and found family/sisterhood, I think you'd like this. I just wanted more of a defined plot so far into the book, which is why I put it down.

When I first saw the title of this book, I couldn’t help but be excited. For obvious reasons. My name is an uncommon one, and I’ve never read a book featuring a protagonist who shares it. And then, earlier in the year, I read a delightful middle-grade novel, The Girl Who Kept the Castle, by the same author. Knowing how much I loved her writing for young readers, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her adult debut. I might have set my expectations just a bit too high. While this book was expertly crafted, with gorgeous prose and lush settings and characters I grew to love, the pace and the scope didn’t quite work for me. But overall, this is a charming story that ushers readers into a magical world they won’t want to leave.

“People so often think their futures are set in stone, that their stories are written in the stars before they’re even born, but stone can be worn away, and stars will turn to dust if you wait long enough.”


Let’s start with the things I absolutely loved. First of all, I was immediately enchanted by the writing. Graudin’s way with words is stunning. The epigraph that kicked off the book captivated me instantly, and did a brilliant job setting the tone for the story to follow. It’s absolutely magical, and paints such a vibrant picture of the world into which we’re being invited. All of Graudin’s descriptions are so easy to visualize; you can almost walk into the paintings described, can almost feel the feathers, taste the cocoa, smell the enchanted bakery around the corner. Her writing reminded me of Alix E. Harrow, which is one of the highest compliments I can pay.

“Magic is not all wonder. Sometimes the shadows in an alley have settled for a reason—there are certain corners that should stay hidden. There are some secrets that should remain entombed…”


This story is whimsy with teeth. There was a wonderful balance between the powers of light and darkness. The victory of darkness might have seemed certain in some passages, but the spark of hope was never quite snuffed out, no matter how the darkness tried to overcome it. The messages of the book rang true to me. Love and joy and hope are more powerful than hate and rage and fear, no matter how things might appear. Dreams dreamt in the hardest of times are the heartiest, and the hardest to shake. There is so much magic to be found in creating, and art will always matter.

“All the best artists do that, you know…lose slivers of their soul to whatever they’re working on.”


I fell in love with our cast of characters pretty quickly. Céleste Artois, our titular protagonist, in one of three Enchantresses, a tiny found family of con-artists and thieves who live in a Parisian cemetery. She is the eldest of the Enchantresses, an exceptional forger of famous paintings and an even more exceptional liar. Honoré Côte, the middle Enchantress, is their warrior. She is a beast with a blade and is far more comfortable masquerading as a man than she ever was in the dresses of her former life. Sylvie of a Single Name is the youngest of the Enchantresses. She is an eleven year-old orphan and a brilliant thief, one with a sweet tooth that can never be satisfied. I loved all three of these characters so much. A found family of thieves is always a lovely thing; it’s a trope that I never tire of. The family drifted apart over the course of the novel, but in ways that felt believable. And they came back together in the end, which is what families are supposed to do.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted, more than anything, to be a part of a story. Not just any story, but a proper Tale, filled with magic and adventure and endings that made everything sad untrue.”


The world Graudin built was just so lovely. I have a weakness for magical city stories when told well, and this one was. The sense of place was incredibly palpable. Paris herself was a character in the story, and she was beautifully represented. The magical underground of the city delighted me to no end. The descriptions of this magic were where Graudin’s prose really shone. There were periodic subchapters about the different Sancts, those who had harnessed magic in some way, and I found those chapters so imaginative and immersive. Also, I highly recommend this book for cat lovers, as cats play an important role in this magical side of Paris.

“There’s a pattern to people, you see, to the flow of our fears and hopes. We are, all of us, terrible. We are, all of us, beautiful.”


So, what were the things that kept this book from becoming a new favorite book of mine? One was the pacing. While there was always tension to the story, the pace was slow and meandering, which kept me from getting as invested as I would have liked. The book is also insanely ambitious. While it was mostly successful, I think this would have been a 5 star book for me had it stayed focussed on the central story being told. But then Rasputin and the Romanovs were thrown into the mix. Past the 80% mark, this suddenly became a WWI story, which was wholly unexpected and threw me out of the story for a bit. I did enjoy the references to The Phantom of the Opera and the legend of Joan of Arc, though.

“That’s the trick, you see: Focus on the light. The joie de vivre. The things that make life worth living.”


The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois is the most magical book I’ve read in ages. It paints a Paris that I would love to visit, one that some part of my heart wants to believe is real. It introduced me to a beautiful world and some wonderful characters. It reinforced my belief in the power of goodness and love and art. While the story’s pace was a bit too slow and its scope a bit too broad, it’s a tale that captivated my imagination. Céleste and Honoré and Sylvie, along with the rest of this magical cast, will live on in my mind and heart though my time with them is done.

The magic of cake…Thank you Orbit Books @orbitbooks_us , Netgalley @netgalley , and Ryan Graudin @rgraudin for this free ebook!
“The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois” by Ryan Graudin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Historical Fantasy. Location: Paris, France. Time: 1913-1914.

The 3 Enchantresses, thieves and best friends, live in an abandoned mausoleum in Père Lachaise cemetery:
🧚🏿Céleste Artois (30s) has silver-as-starlight hair, gray eyes. And end-stage consumption. Former heiress who lost it all, she’s now a forger/con artist.
🧚🏿Blond Honoré Côte (20s) is Terreur (Terror) the gangster’s daughter. She’s on the run from his Apache gang. She wears pants, a dragon ring, and owns over 30 fake mustaches.
🧚🏿Tiny, dark-haired, daydreamer Sylvie of a Single Name (11) escaped an orphanage, was taken in by the others-and speaks with cats.
Céleste meets mysterious painter Rafe (with his burnt-sugar eyes), who takes her to the enchanted salon of La Fée Verte (the Green Fairy) in the Quartier Secret. A Sanct (magical being), she made Paris the City of Lights. But the darkness creeps back. Rafe‘s evil employer from rue des Ombres (street of Shadows) offers dying Céleste the gift of time if she works for him, stealing from La Fée Verte. Impossible choices-treasure both the straw and the gold…

Authors Graudin has written a lyrical, magical fantasy that roams across Paris and across fairy tales, with short magical tales inserted between chapters. Her descriptions are beautifully fae: (“replacing dreams with glimmers from their own heads”) (“Her voice was like biting into a honeycomb.”) (“Trousers hemmed in honeysuckle.”) It’s 544 hard cover pages, so this is an enchanting book to be savored over time, not a fast read. You’ll meet Jean Cocteau, Mad Monk Rasputin, Anastasia, find an empty glass casket, lost siblings with a breadcrumb trail, 2 true love stories. It’s 5 ever-after stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️#theenchantedliesofcelesteartois #ryangraudin

Thank you so much to Orbit for the chance to read The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois as an ARC! This is my first time reading anything by Ryan Graudin and based on the synopsis, I thought it might be something I’d really enjoy!

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again- in my opinion (key word opinion !!!) books marketed as “for lovers of The Night Circus/The Invisible Life of Addie Larue” need to market themselves very, very carefully. As a certified lover of both of those titles, I find it extremely difficult to find a book that meets that particular standard (for me). Unfortunately, this was no exception. TELOCA is (unsurprisingly) incredibly magical in setting and in storyline, which I think really works for some people- but something about this one didn’t quite work for me. I felt as though there was almost *too* much going on for me to truly appreciate the world building and magical setting.

That being said- I really enjoyed the “in between” chapters between our main characters’ POVs. These chapters gave a lot of insight into the magical background and read in a way that I personally really enjoy. I find myself wishing more of this story was written in that way, but to be fair- I think this entirely a “me” thing (and could certainly not be true for you). With the way this book was written and structured I really believe lovers of The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers and The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton would really enjoy The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois.

Although this wasn’t 100% up my alley, I would certainly try Graudin’s work again in the future. If you hear about TELOCA and think it might be something you’d enjoy, I encourage you to check it out on release day, August 27th!

Oh, this book. It is so fantastical, so magical, so mesmerizing. It’s pitched as the Night Circus meets Addie LaRue, but it felt much more like Moulin Rouge than anything else. The glitz and glamor of early 1900s Paris + the magic of imagination and dreamers + the darker connection to historical events = a delightful, heart wrenching tale.

I love the three girls and their different connections to the magic around them, but Sylvie was easily my favorite. There was just something so precious and pure about her. Celeste and her lies were fun. I love how important that aspect became in the end. And Rafe! Gosh, I love Rafe. And Honore, too! Honore is such a badass! Really, all of the characters are the kind that readers want to write more stories about or draw fanart. The kind that stick with you long after you close the book.

There were times near the beginning that I felt a bit muddled when learning about the magic system. I just pushed through it and hoped I would figure it out later. I had to flip back about midway to reread sections because I felt I had missed something, but that could just be the way I read. But dang, that ending was so well crafted that I was left screaming inside.

Overall, this book is a mesmerizing story with layers upon layers of magic and beautiful characters that left me absolutely enchanted.

I loved Wolf by Wolf and was excited to see that she’d written an adult fantasy. I love deeply atmospheric books but they must also have complex characters. These characters felt a bit flat and the world was muddy.
This book just didn’t work for me.

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.

This is a remarkable tale of love, dreams, and chasing both, even when it might have deadly consequences. if you liked books like Emily Wilde's, or The Absinthe Underground, you'll love this book too. with a flowery prose that delightfully tantalizes the imagination, fantastic representation, gloriously dark depictions of both good and wicked faeries, and secrets hiding in secrets, this is a book filled with twists and turns. it's a fantastic warning about how love and hope can make you do very stupid things... and also a reminder that love and hope can bring you out of the darkness and into the light. every character is vibrant, the settings are beautifully described, and the mystery is hip deep and filled with lies. after all, when the main characters lie to themselves almost as much as they lie to each other, how can they hope to make sense of anything at all? throw in fresh love, and you have yourself a natural case for a big disaster. when one woman finds herself indebted to a dangerous and wicked enemy, and the other finds herself drawn to protect the Sorceress that the enemy wants dead... neither of them telling the other about the dangers they've found themselves in... broken hearts are the least of their worries. especially when so many people are turning up mysteriously dead all over the city. it was a thrilling adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire read. a beautiful story that leaves the mind reeling for answers until the very end.