Enchantée (Enchantee, #1)

by Gita Trelease

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Is it too cheesy to say that I'm enchanted by Enchantée?

I loved everything about Gita Trelease's writing style here - this book swept me off my feet and I read 40% in the first night. She brings Paris to life so you can smell the bread and feel the coarse powder in the ladies hair, but she does it in such a way that the reader is not overly burdened with flowery language. It is smooth and enrapturing and I absolutely loved it.

Enchantée is a tale of la magie, but also of the Revolution. The story takes place just as the Revolution is beginning and we are able to see through Camille's eyes as the Tennis Court Oath is spoken and the chaos of Paris streets when the people break into the Bastille. I adore fantasy novels that hinge on historical events, because they bring together two of my favorite genres. Enchantée is just that - half fantasy and half historical fiction. Thee magic is always fleeting - harbored in illusions, mostly - and requires blood and sorrow. The nobles in Versailles play with magic like playing with fire (those who can) and Camille quickly finds herself in danger because she is to eager with her own performance, and she catches the eye of the villain....

Ugh! There is so much of this book I want to talk about - from the layers of the heroes that make them less heroic in certain lights, to the finery of Sophie's hats, to the fact that Camille and Aurelie and the others go play cache-cache (hide-and-go-seek) in the Gardens. The French that is flawlessly woven into the story just brings it more to life, but for those who are not fluent, there's a glossary in the back. And the balloon! The aeronauts were only on the edges of the story, but every flight, every conversation about what it means to go up in a balloon, is magnificent.

I highly recommend Enchantée to anyone who enjoys period pieces and magic, YA readers most of all. It's an extraordinary debut, and positively dazzling. I loved it.