Welcome to my stop on Colored Pages Tours’ Bookstagram and Blog tour for The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton! This book was one of my most anticipated releases of early 2024, so I am thrilled to be a part of this tour celebrating its impending release!
About The Absinthe Underground
Author: Jamie Pacton
Publisher: PeachTree Teen
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Page Length: 304 Pages
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+ Stories
Purchase Links: Libro.FM, Bookshop US, Amazon, Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, Barnes & Noble, Books_A_Million
Synopsis of The Absinthe Underground
Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black in a thrilling sapphic friends-to-lovers romantasy!
For Sybil Clarion, the Belle Époque city of Severon is a wild, romantic dream, filled with cafés, cabarets, and glittering nightclubs. Eager to embrace the city’s freedom after running away from home, she’s traded high-society soirées for empty pockets and barren cabinets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and maybe—if either of them dared—something more.
Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each other—best friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town and selling them to collectors. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompany—and more importantly, protect Sybil.
When they’re caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl doesn’t press charges. Rather, she invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. It’s too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeve’s tragic story doesn’t quite add up, and even if Sybil’s personal ties to Fae could jeopardize everything she and Esme have so carefully built.
Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium, dazzles in this lavish and decadent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance that will leave readers utterly enchanted!
My Review of The Absinthe Underground
The Absinthe Underground absolutely blew me away! From the first page, I was swept into Esme and Sybil’s world. With daring heists and thievery, romance, and Fae magic, The Absinthe Underground has something for every reader. The thing that really made this one a five-star read for me was its use of some beloved romance tropes (things like “friends to lovers” and “they were roommates”) in fresh ways, given the fantasy elements of the story. I am always delighted to see tropes reimagined and reinvigorated, and this book did that! I have read all of Jamie Pacton’s previous releases and I’ve got to say, this is my favorite book of hers so far!
In addition to reading a digital copy of The Absinthe Underground, I listened along to the audiobook version provided by Libro.FM, which enhanced my whole reading experience! The audiobook version was narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker, who is becoming rather prolific in the world of sapphic audiobooks! I really enjoyed hearing her bring the characters to life. The magical world and romance of The Absinthe Underground made for a compelling and easy-to-listen-to audiobook!
My Recommendation:
If you love fantasy romance novels, you need to grab a copy of The Absinthe Underground! I would especially recommend this book to anyone who has a love for the 1920s, with its world of jazz and liquor!
About the Author
Jamie Pacton is an award-winning Young Adult and Middle-Grade author who lives in Wisconsin with her family. Her YA contemporary books include Furious, Lucky Girl, and The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly. Her YA fantasy novels include The Absinthe Underground and The Vermilion Emporium.
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