Enchantée by Gita Trelease

This is going to be a very difficult post, because I really wanted to love this book...but I just didn't. On the surface, it had everything I want: revolution-era Paris, magic, Versailles, disguises. But the execution just wasn't what I expected.

Enchantée is about Camille, who, after the death of her parents, must care for her sickly younger sister and her drunken older brother. Keep in mind that the story begins right before the French Revolution, so Camille has little to no way of making any money or get a job. She and her sister are starving and can barely pay their rent, and their brother Alain constantly steals the money they do have and gambles it away.

However, Camille possesses magic, and can turn everyday objects into coins, which she uses to buy food and other necessary supplies. The only problem is that the change is not permanent, so she has to be very careful to make sure no one becomes suspicious.

Then, Camille has the idea to transform herself into the Baroness de la Fontaine and go to Versailles, hoping to use her skill at cards to earn more money. There's also a very adorable guy named Lazare that she saves from crash-landing his hot air balloon.

As much as I liked the relationship between Camille and Lazare, I thought that the two different plots (Camille helping with the hot air balloon and Camille mingling with nobles in Versailles) were a little too much when they were put together. For most of the book, I felt like they could be two different stories. They eventually intertwined in a way that was predictable but that made sense, but I think I still would have preferred a book about a girl who poses as a noble in Versailles OR a book about a girl who wants to ride in a hot air balloon.

I liked Camille as a character, and I did think she was very resilient and determined. Her love for her sister was so sweet, and her strength of character admirable. particularly when she cut her brother out of her life.

Aside from the characters and the rich descriptions of Versailles, I found this book to be a bit lackluster as well as too lengthy. I think that the dual plots were just too separated for too much of the book, making it hard to keep track of what was happening.

3/5 stars