The Absinthe Underground

Starred review from November 13, 2023
Seventeen-year-old Sybil Clarion makes a living stealing highly collectable artistic posters used for advertising around the Belle Époque–inspired city of Severon, where she lives with her roommate and best friend Esme Rimbaud. When she swipes an ad for the popular cabaret, Absinthe Underground, the establishment’s owner, elegant and charismatic Maeve, offers Sybil and Esme a lucrative job. All they have to do is use the magical key that Sybil inherited from her late Fae mother to sneak into the Fae realm, infiltrate Fae Queen Mab’s palace, and steal the crown jewels. In return, Maeve will set them up financially, allowing them to pursue Esme’s Plan for a Good Life, which involves living together in a small seaside cottage overrun by cats. The heist proves much more complicated than expected, however, especially when Sybil’s long-lost brother Lucien gets involved. In this haunting tale, set in the world of Vermilion Emporium, Pacton weaves a romantic and thrilling story of ambition, magic, and peril. Sybil and Esme’s chemistry is palpable, and Pacton’s lush portrayal of Severon as a city filled with art and beauty reminiscent of fin de siècle Paris adds additional layers of enchantment and appeal to the setting. Protagonists read as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kate Testerman, KT Literary.

December 1, 2023
Best friends with secret feelings for each other are hired to steal jewels from a queen in the Fae realm. Ever since adventurous, half-human Sybil left her wealthy family after her Fae mother's death, she's been making money as a thief, selling stolen posters by famous artists to collectors. She has help from her homebody roommate, Esme. The pair unexpectedly meet Maeve, the model from their latest stolen poster--one advertising a nightclub called the Absinthe Underground--and Maeve reveals that she's a green fairy who's stuck in their world. She offers the roommates riches to journey into the land of Fae, a world Esme hadn't known existed, and return with the crown jewels of Queen Mab, which can set her free. As the friends find themselves in increasingly perilous situations, their desire for each other grows. Admitting their feelings will take just as much courage as the heist itself. Inspired by belle epoque Paris and set in the same world as The Vermilion Emporium (2022), this cozy fantasy has lush imagery and a fun, magic-filled heist plot that's more charming than stressful. Because most of the conflicts Sybil and Esme encounter are quickly overcome, the story maintains a low-stakes feel, allowing readers to savor the whimsy. The romance between the two white women is cute but doesn't evolve much. Still, the happiness they find together is gratifying. A delightful, magical tale that's as comforting as a hot cup of tea. (author's note) (Fantasy. 13-18)

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February 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Sybil goes home with Esme one night after a shift at the Rosemary Thistle caf� to sleep on her sofa, and a little over a year later, they've made a life together, complete with a few cats. Sybil supplements Esme's meager caf� earnings by pilfering posters by the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha and then selling them to collectors. On the night Sybil swears will be their last of thieving, the girls meet Maeve, beguiling proprietress of the Absinthe Underground, Severon's most exclusive nightclub. The shrewd businesswoman recruits the naive young women and their skills for a heist that is guaranteed to change their lives forever. Secrets can only be kept so long, however, as their mission pushes the girls closer--to confessions, revelations, and each other. Inspired by poster art of La Belle �poque, the novel draws from the same visual universe made famous by the Moulin Rouge. Pacton includes an author's note illuminating some of the colorful elements that inform the novel. A predictable yet sweetly enchanting "romantasy" for fans of quasi-historical fiction.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-In this light, sweet adventure, Sybil and Esme fall in love as they go on a mission to steal the crown jewels from a fairy queen on behalf of a mysterious nightclub owner. The girls start in Severon, an alternate 19th-century Paris, where they scrape by waiting tables (Esme) and stealing art posters (Sybil), while secretly pining for each other. Depending on their pooled resources for survival, neither is willing to risk friendship for romance. When Maeve, a powerful nightclub owner, catches the girls stealing a poster advertising her exclusive nightclub, she offers them a deal: cross into Fae and steal Queen Mab's jewels, or she turns them in. The novel's central interest is Esme and Sybil's emotional awakening, full of longing and love. This mostly makes up for the way the friends go through their adventures a tad bit too easily, meeting exactly the right person with the right information at the right time. What makes marginally successful poster thieves remotely qualified for infiltrating another realm and a royal palace in just two days? However, a twist ending offers satisfaction. The world of Severon is most welcome, taking its cues from the multicultural, queer artistic milieu of the Belle �poque. Pacton's human and Fae worlds also clearly do not depend on men-the only male character of note is Sybil's adventurer brother who spends most of the novel locked in a dungeon. VERDICT This is a heartwarming Sapphic love story with a gauzy heist plot for cozy-fantasy lovers and art fans.-Katherine Magyarody

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