Another banger from Luanne! This book is like Sleeping Beauty + the Fae + Old Hollywood glam. The inspiration she took from classic fairytales and rewound into her story is soooo creative and a joy to read. It's stunning!!!! I will read anything she writes! Clean romance, clean language, medium-stakes; the characters are adults but this would be suitable for older YA--I know I would have enjoyed this at 17-19.

The audio narration is great. Jess Moran fit the main character.

#gifted from Brilliance Audio and NetGalley to read and review honestly and voluntarily.

First of all thank you to NetGalley & Brilliance Audio for the approval of this audiobook. As far as the audiobook goes I'm giving it 4 stars. I thought the narrator was great at voicing the respective characters, she told the story well & for the most part it held my attention. As far as the story goes, I am going to give that 3 stars. I would however recommend this book to anyone that loves magical realism & fairy godmother type books. Overall, this is one that I would recommend listening to.

I received the audio from NetGalley. It was a cute story but way more of a juvenile feel than imagined. Maybe I should have expected that with the fairy godmother aspect. The magic system didn’t make a lot of sense to me because of some inconsistencies, and it underwhelmed in general. It wasn’t emotionally impactful enough for me, but if you want a fun light listen you may love this book! The narrator had a young bubbly energy that matched the character well.

Celeste is in training to be one of the Fées Gardiennes, who have been helping set people on their star path for centuries. Celeste must find a protégé to help, and in Hollywood she naturally goes to a movie production studio. She meets Rose, a promising young seamstress with big dreams. While she tries to help Rose pursue her dreams, Celeste realizes something is going horribly wrong at the studio and gets caught up in that drama.

This was a fun interesting fantasy. I enjoyed the magic and the setting of 1920s Hollywood. I did feel like some of the characters could've been developed slightly more, but overall I enjoyed this read

Tropes
* Fairy godmother vibes
* 1920s Hollywood setting
* Movie studio set
* Hiding in the real world
* Animal Familiars

4 star

The Golden Age of Magic has the most promising start -- a modern take on a fairy godmother forced to leave 1920s Paris and move to the heart of Hollywood -- all to prove herself capable of taking a protege under her guidance and change their life for the better.

However, we have beautiful writing and the cutest fluffy familiars keeping the reader engaged -- HAVING A MAGIC STOAT IS THE CUTEST THING EVER AND I WANT ONE TOO. We have old Hollywood and Disney princess-esque vibes in a cosy fantasy with a cast of characters who all have different personalities.

The plot certainly becomes convoluted all too soon, with several threads of potential romances being introduced and relinquished without proper reasoning. It is possible that the author was setting up for a series, however, just dropping the main character's thing with the director Nick West for a huge number of chapters doesn't work considering that Nick was an integral part of the plot in the beginning -- and then we don't see him at all? Celeste is quite naive for the responsibility she has been given, which ended up feeling dragging to me :/ .

I was provided an ALC via Brilliance Audio and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Set in 1920s Hollywood, this follows Celeste, who is essentially a junior fairy godmother out on her first solo mission. She left France when another of her order felt slighted and her mentor felt it was best for her to leave the country until tempers settled. She is in search of her first protégé to nudge them to greatness with their inherent talents. In Hollywood she is drawn to a talented yet unknown seamstress working hard on the set of a movie. She also finds darkness and chaos on the set, which makes her mission more complicated than anticipated.

I thought the author did a good job explaining the magic. The sisterhood of the Fées Gardiennes and their counterparts the Skulks were also well explained, though it does take until the end of the book to get the information. This has a slight romance subplot, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Perhaps that develops more as the series progresses. I anticipate we will get to know Celeste more as well as the series progresses and she grows into her role as a full fledged Fées Gardiennes. I'm anxious to see how the series progresses and learn more about the other members of the order.

Overall I really enjoyed the plot and the concept of the book. The narrator did a good job with the story and the characters.

A modern fairytale, a middle grade for adults? I'm unsure what space this book takes in the literary world, but I think it for sure has a right to take that space. This wasn't anything life-changing, but it was a cozy, comfortable read.

Interesting yet confusing

Celeste is on track to be a fairy godmother, but has to flee the country after having a fairy and maleficent moment at the birth of a baby. In order to become a godmother, Celeste has to find a protege that is full of good hopes and dreams. She makes her way to Hollywood, during the silent picture moment, and stumbles into a studio where she meets Rose a dressmaker. Believing Rose is her protege, Celeste does what she can to help Rose. But an evil is also in the studio causing destruction. Will Celeste figure things out before it's too late?

There are too many elements of the plot to keep together- 13 fairy godmothers, 1920s hollywood, moviemaking, princes and kingdom, a little bit of the sleeping beauty story, and some kind of evil and monsters. The first half of the book starts off quick and you easily get pulled into the story and Celeste’s mission. However, after a big plot development things start to fumble and the story falls apart. I lost all interest and struggled to pay attention to the last 2 hours of the book.

I will not be continuing this series.

RECOMMENDED FOR:
Old Hollywood lovers
Readers that like magical touches and little fantasy
Enjoy a book for its vibes more than its plot

AUDIOBOOK:
Narrated by Jess Moran. She brought Celeste to life with a ditsy naive voice that felt accurate to the time period.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing and Brilliance Audio for providing this advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Celeste is training to be a Fairy Godmother...yes, I know how that sounds. but hear me out. The Golden Age of Magic by Luanne G Smith is a fun historical fantasy romp in the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood. Celeste is on the path to become one of the thirteen Fées Gardiennes, a sisterhood of fairy godmothers. The catch is, she needs to help a new protégé to follow the path to their destiny. Hollywood seems like the perfect place for Celeste to branch out and find her protégé- a land of talent, magic, and the illusions of film making? While posing as a seamstress at a Hollywood studio, Celeste meets Rose and knows that this is the girl she is meant to help push on to her path.

But Celeste runs in to a lot of trouble when she begins to suspect that the studio is cursed, and misfortune follows.

While the story could have used a little work, and the language was a little stodgy, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

What a cozy fun read. Fairy Godmothers running around behind the scenes in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Yes, please. I loved the main character and found this story such a charming break from real life.

I really appreciated how different this was to anything else I’ve read at the moment.
To be honest I’m quite sick of all the hidden princesses or goddesses with a shadow daddy prince they love to hate so this was interesting right away.
For the first 70% of this book I thought I knew where this was going, it felt charming and cozy, I loved the magic and the plot of this not so fairy godmother trying to find her way. Then all of a sudden it does a complete 180. Don’t get me wrong I love a twist, especially one I don’t see coming as that doesn’t happen very often, and although I enjoyed this the ending just didn’t quite feel satisfying. It kind of felt like it was trying to get itself out of a pickle and the love interest was completely forgotten by the end.
I loved the writing style and the ideas in the book and when I was reading it I felt really in it but it just didn’t quite hit for me. Would definitely read more from this author though.
Great narration, would definitely listen to her again as well.

An enchanting historical fantasy, featuring murder, mystery and magic, set in 1920's Hollywood.

This story is centred on Celeste a young fairy godmother who is determined to join the Fées Gardiennes, a centuries-old sisterhood of fairy godmothers. To prove her skills and gain full status, Celeste must guide her first protégé onto their path of destiny. Celeste is making progress, until a series of unexplained accident at the studio stir rumours of a possible curse. Celeste is frightened that that the trouble is more personal, and someone is trying the thwart her opportunity to join the Fées Gardiennes.

I enjoyed the unique premise of this cosy story and this ending was a bittersweet surprise.
The audiobook was narrated well by Jess Moran. Her vocal range worked very well with the characters and storyline.

If you enjoy a light mystery with elements of magical realism, then give this one a go.

I thought this was a cute story. I would have liked a deeper dive into things instead of surface level information. The twists were interesting and I didn't see most of them coming.

The Golden Age of Magic had such a promising premise: fairy godmothers, or Fées Gardiennes, still working their magic in the 1920s, though the conventions have changed. The shift from a European setting to the glamor and illusion of Hollywood was a refreshing change from the usual medieval fantasy backdrop, and I appreciated the book’s attempt to explore the idea of making dreams come true in a modernizing world.

Unfortunately, while the concept was intriguing and the prose was polished enough to keep me going, the execution fell short. The protagonist, Celeste, felt flat and underdeveloped, and none of the supporting characters had much depth or emotional pull either. It was hard to get invested in their stories, even when the stakes were meant to be high.

I was prepared to give this a solid three stars just for the originality and atmosphere, but then the twist near the end completely lost me. It came with a deluge of exposition and last-minute reveals that felt rushed and unearned. It dragged down what was already a lukewarm read and left a disappointing final impression.

If you’re drawn to magical realism or historical fantasy with a unique setting, this may still be worth a try, but temper your expectations. For me, this one didn’t quite deliver on its magical promise.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was cute. Interesting premise but I felt like too many things were going on and I couldn’t really connect with the characters. The side animals were adorable. Narrator was good.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I dnf'ed at 60%.

At first the sweetness of this story was a draw. I like the original concept of modern (okay slightly more modern) fairy godmothers, but Celeste's naiveté became grating. It go to the point of stupidity. To the point that I didn't want her to succeed. Maybe I'm a grump. But here we are.

I think a bit more depth of character, feelings other than confusion, might have helped.

I think the narrator of this book did a good job! The way she read the FMC fit her energy just right. I was, however, thrown off by the lack of at least a mild European accent since the FMC is from there and that's where it starts. That said, I think it would've been worse to have bad accents rather than none. Overall, pretty good performance from the narrator.

It took a while for me to get into this book. The main character gives off Elle Woods energy, but definitely more naive.
The mystery aspect of the book was fun. It made me go "I knew it!" When it was revealed, so I did eventually get into the book.
This book is definitely a light-hearted, cozy mystery read with magical realism and a questionable group of Fées Gardiennes. If you're looking for something that's comfortable and without a lot of subplot complexities or explorations, then this is a good fit!

This book had such a wonderful unique setting, plot, overall story. I loved the fairy godmother/ old Hollywood twist. There was plenty of lore and myth for fantasy lovers and the glam of old Hollywood, add in a pinch of romance and you have a great story.
The narrator did a fantastic job with this book. Her voice acting was great and her voice was both interesting and neutral enough that you can really picture the story unfolding.

Set in the 1920's golden age of Hollywood, Celeste is a fairy godmother in training needing to complete a final test in order to officially become a Fees Gardiennes. She has learned as much as she can under the tutelage of the others in the order, but she has run afoul of one of the other Gardienne as she countered a curse which was to be placed upon a baby. Celeste didn't think the child should bear the curse of potentially dying at the age of 12. However, now Celeste has been advised she should pursue her fairy godmother abilities and proteges in America where the Gardienne she crossed can cool down and perhaps not be so upset.

Celeste loves the glitter and lights of Hollywood and has heard of the princes who live in the hills and star on the movie screens. She feels she can easily find a protege to take under her wing and help make their dreams come true, yet she is inundated with waves of people wishing and finds herself passing out from the sheer number which hit her all at once. She awakes to find herself in the arms of a handsome man named Nick west who is the producer of a studio which leader her to finding Rose, a seamstress with dreams Celeste can assist.

Celeste soon finds dark forces working against her and her protege and she has to uncover who or what is doing it and try to get her protege's future secured in order to secure her own among the Fees Gardiennes.

I thought this book was really cute and quite an easy read. It wasn't perfect but it set a good foundation for a series I will be interested to follow in the future. Hopefully we will get to see more magical things in the future and I need to know what happens next with Mr. Nick West.

It is a cute read that is for sure. But I was not able to get my feet under me in this book. The premise is interesting – a newbie fairy godmother is banished to the United States in the 1920s to find her own “Cinderella.” It is a simple, easy flowing read with fun prose and a cute FMC. The pacing is smooth as well. It reads though more like a young adult novel than adult fantasy. I would recommend it as a good beach read or a quick jaunt.

The determination of the FMC is a bit offset by her stubbornness and her nativity. But she definitely grows a bit throughout the story. There were parts I kind of felt a bit bored, but the murder mystery kept it going.

That being said, I desperately wanted the romance to bloom in this one. It just seemed to fall flat. The story just completely drops the potential MMC of a romance arc. I understand that the basis isn’t a romance, but I feel like there could have been a bit more. Without it, there is just a gaping plot hole.

The narrator was very well cast for this one. She brings the perfect blend of youthful hope and sassiness.