Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: February 14th, 2023
Pages: 464
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (Harper Children’s)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“Inspired by Moulin Rouge! and set on an island in a magical version of Prohibition-era New York, Revelle is a breathtaking YA stand-alone fantasy full of dazzling magic, romance, and mystery from debut author Lyssa Mia Smith.
On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the price of a gemstone.
Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion. With Prohibition threatening their livelihood, her family struggles to make a living, watering down champagne and patching holes in their sequined costumes. So when the son of Charmant’s wealthiest family makes her an offer—everything the Revelles need to stay in business, in exchange for posing as his girl and helping him become mayor—she can’t refuse.
The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. An orphan with as few memories as gemstones, he’s desperate to learn what happened to his parents. But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering a truth that just might break his heart.
When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments. But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game . . . one that could destroy them both.”
My Review:
Warning, possible unpopular opinions to follow. And full disclosure, I did end up DNF’ing. You know those books that you can’t pinpoint an exact reason why you didn’t like it but you just didn’t? It’s not that it was bad necessarily but you for whatever reason you felt nothing for it? That’s this one for me.
I have mixed feelings, or rather no feelings, about this story. I really wanted to love it, but I didn’t. I may be in the minority here, but it just felt lacking for me. I really struggled to get into it and after halfway through I still wasn’t that engaged with it.
I did really like the magic system in the story. That was one of the strongest points for me. Rival families co-existing on an island of debauchery during the Prohibition-era works well. Each family has their own unique magic trait and I found that the limits to their abilities was well crafted.
It has Great Gatsby, Caraval, Romeo & Juliet kind of vibes. On the surface, that sounds like something I would absolutely love. But in reality, I think the execution of it just didn’t captivate me like I expected it to. I think more descriptive scenery would have helped.
While I do love the atmosphere and premise of this story, which is something I think a lot of readers will find as a highlight, I still felt that it could have been so much more. It is a longer book for young adult and I think it could have easily been a duology, with more fleshing out to give it more depth.
The characters fell really flat for me. I don’t y’all I just didn’t feel any connection to them and I wasn’t emotionally invested. The plot is also very slow building. I was dragging my feet trying to force myself to keep going after about 150 pages when still nothing had really even happened.
I wasn’t immersed into the story world, being pulled along with the events, or endeared to any of the main players. And I mean, with so many books and so little time, I didn’t feel like it was all that worth it to push through. I no longer wanted to continue as I felt myself slipping into a reading a slump and not wanting to pick up a book at all. I hate quitting out on a book, but you know what, sometimes you just got to.
Like I said, I’ll probably be in the minority here and I think many readers are going to love this. It just didn’t work for me. I don’t at all think this is a bad book, it just wasn’t for me and that’s ok. We all have our own unique experience with a story. I’m still giving it a positive three stars because I didn’t hate it and I still think there’s lots to like for other readers even if I personally failed to connect with it.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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