#Jamie Pacton

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Fae Fiction

Shatterproof by Xen Broken Wings by L.-J. Baker The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell The Fae Queen’s Captive by Sierra Simone Close Quarter by Anna Zabo Bonus: This is all Adult fiction, but you can find YA titles here, plus The Halfling Saga by Melissa Blair and The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton  

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#Anna Zabo #Arden Powell #Close Quarters #Fae #Faerie #Fairies #Fantasy #Jamie Pacton #L.-J. Baker #Melissa Blair #Paranormal #PNR #Shattered Wings #Shatterproof #Sierra Simone #The Absinthe Underground #The Fae Queen&039;s Captive #The Faerie Hounds of York #The Halfling Saga #Xen

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - October 14th - Orange Books

🧡🧡🧡

#robyn schneider #alice oseman #jamie pacton #raquel marie #justonemorepage #jompbpc #booklr #bookblr #trcc original #portraits

[unadulteratedfunmusic]

The Absinthe Underground - Book Review

#ya books #books #young adult books #book review #bullet journal #handwriting #the absinthe underground #jamie pacton

[wondereads]

Review of The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton

Summary

Sybil and Esme are best friends, roommates, and maybe a little bit more. They are also poster thieves, though Esme only reluctantly plays lookout. One night, they are caught by Maeve, the owner of the Absinthe Underground, the premier nightclub in the 1920s-inspired city of Severon, and she offers them a deal; the funds to do anything they want with their lives in exchange for stealing the jewels of the Moonshadow Queen, Mab. And who could resist such an offer?

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Unfortunately, the plot of this book, while it boasts an intriguing presence and beautiful setting, is very rushed and never really takes the time to build tension. Throughout the book, Sybil and Esme must steal three items to then help them steal Mab's jewels. There's a lot of potential for each of these heists to be a clever, hair-raising scenes, but each of them lasts maybe five pages each. While Sybil is portrayed as a daredevil poster thief, she definitely doesn't have the skill set for these high security heists, and Esme absolutely doesn't. They get through these situations far too easily, and it causes the tension to fall flat.

The worlds of Severon and Fae are very aesthetically pleasing, and there's nothing really major excluded in terms of worldbuilding. However, there are some questions I just generally wish were answered, like some things concerning Sybil's family and what the actual power of the jewels is; if there is anything.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The characters are definitely the saving grace of this story. Esme and Sybil have greatly distinctive personalities and pretty decent development. Esme in particular learns to stand up for herself, and their relationship, even just platonically, grows a lot. Despite the lack of plot tension, there is good romantic tension, and the romance is very cute. It was probably the most enjoyable part of the book for me.

There is also a good side romance and some good side characters, but I will say that there are some side characters that really aren't well developed. Their personalities are flat, and their motivations seem to be curated just for the main characters to have aid in their quest.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I'd say the writing for this book is pretty average for a YA novel. The descriptions of Severon really hit that 1920s, art noveau aesthetic, and, like I mentioned, there are quite a few scenes with some good romantic tension. Unfortunately, there is a general issue with telling instead of showing, especially concerning the main characters' thought process. There are many times when the characters explicitly explain why they think something or their reasoning for doing something instead of trusting the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Also, as I discussed in the plot section, the pacing is way too fast in this book. I don't often say this about a book, but it needs an extra 100 pages or so. The story would benefit so much from being taken more slowly, getting more spread out, especially the individual heists.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by this book. It has a great premise, the aesthetics really come through, and it's got a cute sapphic romance. The execution falls short with just the lack of space for the story. Things happen far too quickly when there are many scenes that really need space to breathe. It affects the tension and doesn't give much room for the side characters to show their personalities. The writing tends to tell instead of show, which may contribute to the rushed nature of this book. This book could have been quite good, but it ends up being somewhat mediocre.

The Author

Jamie Pacton: American, also wrote The Vermilion Emporium and The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

The Reviewer

Hi, I'm Rose, this is my blog, Wondereads, and I review, discuss, and recommend books! You can check out my pinned post for more info :)

#books #reviews #the absinthe underground #jamie pacton #ya #fantasy #art nouveau #fairies #fae #heist #1920s #speakeasy #sapphic #wlw #lesbian #friends to lovers #lgbt #and they were roommates

[purplebunnyreads]

🍀The Absinthe Underground🍀 by Jamie Pacton

I saw this book compared to Holly Black in the synopsis and Barbie and the Diamond Castle in the reviews, and I just HAD to give it a try. And it was very much worth it! I absolutely loved the first chunk of the book, especially getting to see the relationship developing between the two main characters and how they live their life.

The characters were definitely the highlight of the novel for me. Esme is so relatable, and honestly I just want to BE her. I also really liked Lucien! I loved his personality and I wish we had gotten to see more of him. He was probably my favorite character.

There were also some other characters that I wish we'd seen more of. For instance, towards the end of the novel there is a character named Chloe who I really wished we'd gotten to learn more about, and it felt like her part in the story was left unresolved. I'm really hoping this was intentional by the author and that we might get a book about her in the future.

I also really liked the setting! The world was so fascinating and magical and I wish the author had gone more into the details. I will definitely be reading the Vermillion Emporium soon because it's set in the same world and I cannot get enough of it. also believe there is a character in that book that appears in the Absinthe Underground and I just HAVE to know who it is.

I will say that the climax felt a little short lived, and overall it felt like the stakes weren't quite high enough, and the characters were able to get away with things unrealistically easily. But honestly these didn't really take too much away from the experience.

Overall, this was a fun read. If you're looking for a cozy sapphic fantasy with compelling characters and a magical world, I definitely recommend this!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-arc!

#book review #bookblr #the absinthe underground #sapphic #friends to lovers #cozy fantasy #young adult books #netgalley #jamie pacton #sapphic books

[submissive-and-readable]

The Absinth Underground by Jamie Pacton

Source: Netgalley ARC

Genre: young adult historical fantasy romance

Release date: 6 February 2024

Content warnings: underage alcohol consumption, self harm for magic purposes, (temporary) imprisonment, blood, (past) death of parent

If you like: faeries, slowburn sapphic romance, 1890s Paris, heists/thieves, friends to lovers

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis

Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil Clarion 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.

Review

A quick and easy read! I'm a little older than the target audience, so I found some of the plot to be a bit too simple, and I figured out the twist pretty early on, but I still had fun reading this.

There were a few things that frustrated me about this book. Firstly, other than the plot being simple, I felt that the stakes didn't really feel urgent enough. The characters get through each obstacle pretty easily, so I was never convinced that they were in any real danger. Additionally, the solutions that they come up with just don't make sense to me. No spoilers, but one of the characters is described as a brilliant thief, but all the plans she comes up with boil down to "make a distraction then grab the thing and run".

Secondly, the interactions between the main characters. They both dance around talking about their feelings for most of the book, which is fine, because this is supposed to be a slowburn romance. But what irked me was how secretive Sybil was. Like, I understand being scared of judgement, but she had multiple opportunities to open up to Esme, and she just chose not to. Which bummed me out, because it kind of made it feel like Sybil didn't trust Esme, and they're supposed to be best friends. I'm aware that the above sounds like pretty harsh critique, but I did enjoy the romance! I liked the past glimpses of how Sybil and Esme first met, as well as their dynamic. The way Sybil jumps headfirst into situations, yet always needs Esme to back her up, and the way Esme is scared of risking danger, yet always follows Sybil because she needs to make sure she's safe, created tension in their relationship that I loved reading. I also found the Fae rather interesting, and I wish we got to see more of them. The book establishes the main three Fae courts, as well as some of the lore/myths about the Fae, but the characters don't actually get to explore a lot of the Fae realm. Also, I'm always a sucker for Fae that are depicted as beautiful but also monstrous.

#fantasy #historical fiction #sapphic #book review #booklr #the absinthe underground #jamie pacton #queer #queer romance #sapphic romance #sapphic reads #romance #young adult #lgbt #sapphic books #historical fantasy

[authorkarajorgensen]

10 Books on my Wishlist in 2024

This week's post has 10 books I am dying to get my hands on, coming out in the first half of 2024.

As we head ever closer to the end of the year, I thought I might make a very non-exhaustive list of books that I am dying to get my hands on when they come out next year. To be clear, this is definitely not every book I have been eyeing, and if it was, you probably wouldn’t want to sit through that lengthy blog post. I’m also confining this list to the first half of 2024 for simplicity’s sake and…

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#2024 releases #books #cat sebastian #favorite authors #felicia grossman #Hafsah Faizal #Jackie Lau #Jamie Pacton #Katherine Arden #Mariely Lares #nghi vo #p. djeli clark #reading #rebecca roanhorse

[beautifulcoversofbooks]

The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton (Author), Andie Lugtu (Cover Artist)

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!

#The Absinthe Underground #Jamie Pacton #young adult #2024 #LGBTQ #romance #fantasy #historical fiction #fae #illustrations #covers #Andie Lugtu

[beanbowlbaggins]

With all the medieval romances on pre-order I'm looking at The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton. The protagonist is a feminist medieval historical reenactor with a goal to become a Knight.

#book blog #the life and medieval times of kit sweetly #jamie pacton #medieval fantasy #historical reenactment #historical fantasy #historical anachronism #ya fantasy #ya romance #romance novel

[thebookishcrypt]

BATCH RATINGS: BOOKS I READ IN 2023 THAT FELL UNDER 4 STARS

[Goodreads] 2/5 stars [Goodreads] 2/5 stars The writing in this was far too juvenile and far-fetched for my liking. The main character has to be one of my least favorite mc’s I’ve ever had the displeasure of following. The ‘tension’ in this book just felt lazy and not well thought-out. The only one I actually liked was the love interest but he was soooooo out of the mc’s league, it’s…

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#another #david yoon #elena armas #frankly in love #horror #jamie pacton #Manga #review #tessa bailet #the american roommate experiment #the medieval times of kit sweetly #tools of engagement

[guide-to-galaxy]

Top 5 (most anticipated releases for April - June) Tuesday

It’s time to look at some new releases for the next three months! Let’s go! Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads gave us all new prompts so yay! 📚🚀📚 Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (GR/SG) – The author of the “sexy, insightful, and utterly charming” (BuzzFeed) Kiss Her Once for Me returns with a new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across…

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#Alison Cochrun #blogging #books #Furious #Hana Lee #Here We Go Again #Jamie Pacton #most anticipated #Rebecca Podos #Road to Ruin #Sophie Kim #The God and the Gumiho #top 5 tuesday #Veronica Roth #When Among Crows

[radedneko]

This was it. They were going to die here, caught under a swell of burning mechanical amphibians, and Esme's cats would have no one to feed them.

~The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton

#quotes kelly likes #the absinthe underground #jamie pacton #ya lit #fantasy

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - November 19th - Book Balancing

a nicely balanced stack of all the books left on my November TBR. no I'm not going to get through them all, well spotted 😂

#leah thomas #shaun david hutchinson #jamie pacton #andrew joseph white #justonemorepage #jompbpc #booklr #bookblr #trcc original #portraits #book stack

[readingaway]

Danielle Babbles About Books - Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

What made you want to read it? - I very much enjoyed Pacton's debut novel The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly, and I also liked the blurb for this enough that I preordered a copy.

What writing things did you pick up? - I think I learned more about consistent characterization and plotting, even with some wackier characters and scenarios.

Main thoughts - This is a very well put together coming of age story that uses the highly unlikely scenario of winning the lottery which is funny, relatable (I know we're using this word less, but I think the way the protagonist feels about and deals with the situation really is how a lot of people, especially those who are a little more cautious would deal with the situation), and that allows for a lot of character growth. The central conflict and theme in this story is about trust, and I think it was thoroughly explored and so the results were satisfying.

#lucky girl #jamie pacton #danielle babbles about books #my reviews #book reviews #booklr

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (01/29/24)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce (9/10)

This concludes my reread of the Immortals Quartet! I'd probably place this series as my second favorite of the Tortall books; I feel like it gets overlooked, which is quite unfair because Daine's magic is just so interesting. This particular book completes the story very well, and it also involves the main romantic pairing getting together, which I enjoyed far more than I thought. Things fell into place a little too easily for my tastes, but it's overall a very good conclusion.

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier (8/10)

This book started off very slow, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. However, once we got into the meat of the story, I enjoyed it! I think there’s a particularly good plot twist in this one, and I actually really liked the main character. He feels like if the typical, tortured YA love interest were the protagonist instead, and seeing him be a little foolish or impulsive was refreshing. Like I said, it takes a while to get into it, I wasn’t even sure what the main plot was going to be for a while, but it’s pretty well-paced after that.

The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente (9/10)

This was an incredibly intriguing novella about waste and global warming. It's a bit shocking and unique with the plethora of cursing and a very unreliable narrator. After I finished this book I felt hollow inside, and it makes you think about the issues of pollution and what it could mean for the future, especially the people who will live then and don't deserve that kind of world. The main character and narrator, Tetley, has a very distinctive voice, and she will often admit to lying to the reader about various things. The only thing I disliked was that at some points it felt like Tetley was going through terrible things just to make her go through terrible things.

Crystal Dark by Julie E. Kramer (2/10)

This is the lowest I have ever rated a book I finished. This is a YA fantasy romance novella, and it is self-published. It shows. I truly believe absolutely no editing went into this book. Most of the writing is either overly simplistic or worded in the most convoluted, backwards way that I simply could not tell what the author meant. There are basic grammar mistakes, typos, and a major side character's name is misspelled at one point. The plot is rushed to the extreme and makes absolutely no sense; why Ceia wouldn't use her magic to flee from an incredibly dangerous situation is never explained. The romance, if you could call it that, is forced and has no build-up, and the "villain" is so cartoonishly evil and defeated with a flick of the main character's hand. There is no explanation for the worldbuilding, and things are just spontaneously introduced to make sure the protagonists always have what they need. It is lazy, poorly constructed, and I can't believe someone put this into the world in this state.

The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Paction (6/10)

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by this book. It has a great premise, the aesthetics really come through, and it's got a cute sapphic romance. The execution falls short with just the lack of space for the story. Things happen far too quickly when there are many scenes that really need space to breathe. It affects the tension and doesn't give much room for the side characters to show their personalities. The writing tends to tell instead of show, which may contribute to the rushed nature of this book. This book could have been quite good, but it ends up being somewhat mediocre.

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (36%)

The last Nnedi Okorafor book I read was Binti, which I wasn't a huge fan of, but I'm liking this one a lot more. Sankofa is a very intriguing protagonist, and I'm very interested to see where the story is going. It seems to skirt the line between fantasy and sci-fi, especially when it comes to Sankofa's backstory. This book is a whole 100 pages longer than Binti, and I think it's much better for it.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (30%)

I'm really enjoying this so far. The way of storytelling, told through mission reports, chat records, and not-Wikipedia pages is very interesting and utilizes all kinds of unconventional, visual methods. There's some great humor in it too; the characters definitely feel like teenagers.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (19%)

I've been pretty lukewarm on Throne of Glass for the most part. I hear this book is where most people really start to like the series, so I hope it's the same for me. I will say it's moving at a good pace so far, and I really like where the plot is going. The rescue mission angle brings a lot of suspense, especially since it's a character I actually care about. On the other side, Chaol is being so annoying and it makes his perspective drag for me.

#books #reading update #the realms of the gods #immortals quartet #tamora pierce #year of the reaper #makiia lucier #the past is red #catherynne m. valente #crystal dark #julie e kramer #the absinthe underground #jamie pacton #remote control #nnedi okorafor #the illuminae files #amie kaufman #jay kristoff #queen of shadows #sjm #tog

[publishedtoday]

The Vermillion Emporium - Jamie Pacton

It was a day for finding things . . .   On the morning Twain, a lonely boy with a knack for danger, discovers a strand of starlight on the cliffs outside Severon, a mysterious curiosity shop appears in town. Meanwhile, Quinta, the ordinary daughter of an extraordinary circus performer, chases rumors of the shop, The Vermilion Emporium, desperate for a way to live up to her mother’s magical legacy.   When Quinta meets Twain outside the Emporium, two things happen: One, Quinta starts to fall for this starlight boy, who uses his charm to hide his scars. Two, they enter the store and discover a book that teaches them how to weave starlight into lace.   Soon, their lace catches the eye of the Casorina, the ruler of Severon. She commissions Quinta and Twain to make her a starlight dress and will reward them handsomely enough to make their dreams come true. However, they can’t sew a dress without more material, and the secret to starlight’s origins has been lost for centuries. As Quinta and Twain search the Emporium for answers, though, they discover the secret might not have been lost—but destroyed. And likely, for good reason.

#the vermillion emporium #jamie pacton #november 22 2022 #peachtree teen