The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois
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5.0 • 5 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"This is the Paris novel of my dreams.”―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer
"Thrilling, charming, and utterly transportive. It’s impossible not to walk away enchanted.”―Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
In this lush and lyrical fantasy debut, Ryan Graudin transports readers to the hidden magical pockets of early 1900s Paris—a place of enchanted salons and fortune tellers who can change your stars—and introduces Céleste Artois, a con artist who will make a deal with the devil in exchange for her life...and change the fate of the world.
Once, Céleste Artois had dreams of being an artist. But when the creative elite of Paris dashed those plans, 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.
But everything changes when she encounters Rafe, a mysterious and beautiful 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
1913 Paris, when the City of Light is about to be darkened by WWI, is the setting for this effervescent fantasy from Graudin (Wolf by Wolf). The Enchantresses, a found family of three young women painters running scams and nesting in the famed Pere Lachaise cemetery, butt up against the pasts that each was trying to escape. Swept into the truly magical world of Le Fée Verte, a man with the power to steal other people's dreams, each Enchantress discovers her own special ability, putting them at risk of being targeted by Le Fée's nameless nemesis, a dark wizard. Graudin mixes a heady cocktail of decadent parties with the bittersweet tang of a world about to self-destruct. Cameos from real historical figures, including the lost Russian princess Anastasia and Igor Stravinsky, charm without overshadowing the fictional heroines, and Graudin's already sparkling prose takes a turn for the poetic whenever magic comes into play ("The drink tasted like the last page of a book falling shut or that last slant of sun escaping through drawn curtains"). This is a delectable confection.
Customer Reviews
A TRULY MAGICAL BOOK
I love books that involve heists, characters with tragic backstory but still living the best they can with the wounds, and magic of course. I love Six of Crows, The Lies of Locke Lamora, but this book stimulates my mind like no others. The writing is incredibly beautiful, the way it inspires my mind to imagine. I didn’t think my imagination can be this vivid until this book. I’m only a third way through it as I’m savoring it slowly, so I can’t comment on the plot yet. But this book is truly about the journey not the destination for me. Highly recommend.