A review by biblioleah
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton

Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.

Could not manage to get into this one at all. Sybil, one of the main characters and primary POV you are in, was truly insufferable. I found I didn’t even want to stick around for her character development because the way she would recklessly throw herself into moving traffic (quite literally in one scene) with no care towards herself and MAINLY her friend and so called crush was ridiculous. Her disregard of Esme’s wishes and boundaries actually made my skin crawl, and she was so reckless that it was less of a character flaw/trait than a convenient way to drag readers from scene to scene. I was really excited for a slow burn, sapphic friends to lovers and that was just. Not what this was. The characters are immediately lusting after each other from page one, are both oblivious to the return of feelings, and we don’t actually see any friendship or history between them besides what they tell us directly in the narrative. The jealousy Esme had whenever Sybil looked at another woman was infuriating, especially because she and her weren’t TOGETHER. The two of them read, to me, as both just very horny and not having any actual chemistry. The plot was far too convenient, and although I usually love a low stakes cozy fantasy, the on the nose foreshadowing got to be too laughable to take seriously. I am sure this book will find an audience, but that audience is just not me. Thank you Netgalley for the early review copy, unfortunately this one just did not keep my attention or hook me like I was hoping it would.