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A review by bittennailbooks
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
A vibrant, romantic, and fantastic heist through a Moulin-rouge inspired world.
Esme and Sybil are two room mates that are down on their luck and have nothing but each other in the big city. Esme the sweet clock-obsessed cat lover and the mysterious Sybil, steal collectable posters just to keep their heads afloat. Attempting to sell a new, rare poster of the green fairy lands them in the hip club The Absinthe Underground. The alluring owner offers up knowledge where that the green fairy may not be just a drink-induced illusion after all and she's offering up a score that could set them up for life.
This novel started off really bumpy for me but picks up in the imagination around the 50% mark. There were some great tense moments and a really interesting premise with the real world/faeland adventure. That being said, this novel felt skimpy on the details and glossed over a lot of character building. I was surprised with the amount of dropped threads in the story and it felt frustrating having to go back and make sure that it wasn't just me that missed plot points. There was a lot of telling with the sapphic pining that felt like it could have been traded into making Sybil a more likeable protagonist. Yeesh.
Was it a nail biter? It is a lush book that has some writing that could be improved but overall, it was a fun read. 3/5 ⭐.
Esme and Sybil are two room mates that are down on their luck and have nothing but each other in the big city. Esme the sweet clock-obsessed cat lover and the mysterious Sybil, steal collectable posters just to keep their heads afloat. Attempting to sell a new, rare poster of the green fairy lands them in the hip club The Absinthe Underground. The alluring owner offers up knowledge where that the green fairy may not be just a drink-induced illusion after all and she's offering up a score that could set them up for life.
This novel started off really bumpy for me but picks up in the imagination around the 50% mark. There were some great tense moments and a really interesting premise with the real world/faeland adventure. That being said, this novel felt skimpy on the details and glossed over a lot of character building. I was surprised with the amount of dropped threads in the story and it felt frustrating having to go back and make sure that it wasn't just me that missed plot points. There was a lot of telling with the sapphic pining that felt like it could have been traded into making Sybil a more likeable protagonist. Yeesh.
Was it a nail biter? It is a lush book that has some writing that could be improved but overall, it was a fun read. 3/5 ⭐.