Sapphic, fae, Belle Epoque fantasy. It was great! I wish there were more books like this when I was young. Really quick read. Heavy YA, but sometimes that’s exactly what you want! Beautiful world descriptions and a fast paced story (too fast if you ask me, I flew through the book and would have liked to lounge in the world a bit longer!) ( )

The Absinthe Underground is a slow burn, YA, Fae, Historical Fantasy Romance.

As you can picture with so many things going on this novel had a high bar it set for itself, and it almost hit every note.

The setting for this novel was 1920's-ish Severon, Paris with a bit more magic and a bit less dirt, where our leads Sybil and Esme are living in a tiny apartment and struggling to get by. We very quickly come to see the Sybil is adventurous and head strong, while Esme is more reserved and bookish. The main thing they share in common is a love for the arts and a deep love for the other that goes unspoken.

When Maeve finds them stealing and selling posters for her club, the titular Absinthe Underground, she sends them on an adventure in both our world and the Fae realms that takes up the remainder of the novel.

The thrilling heist of this novel is well written, if a tad rushed, the first half of the heist felt well timed and plotted out, if almost a bit slow at points. That changed when we entered the Fae Realm and the pacing of the novel speed up the a breathtaking pace. I found the second half to thrilling and it went from a slow burn vibe to a page turner that had me rushing to see what happened next.

As for our main heroines, Sybil and Esme, I found them both to be charming, sweet, and utterly smitten with one another. I kept waiting for them to come together, and this is one place where the slow burn remained through the entire novel.

I would recommend this novel to you if you like:
- Queer YA Romance
- Historical Fantasy
- Heist Stories
- Slow Burn
- Fae in Historical Settings

I received an advance review copy of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.