(The Vine Witch #2)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads blurb: Abandoned as a child in turn-of-the-century Paris, Yvette Lenoir has longed to uncover the secrets of her magical heritage and tap her suppressed powers. But what brave and resourceful Yvette has done to survive the streets has made her a fugitive. With a price on her head, she clings to a memento from her past—what she believes to be a grimoire inherited from the mother she never knew. To unlock the secrets of her past, Yvette trusts in one woman to help solve the arcane riddles among its charmed pages.
Elena Boureanu is the vine witch of Château Renard, noted for its renowned wines. Even as she struggles with her own bloodline—and its poisonous threat to her future—Elena can’t ignore a friend on the run. Joined by a cunning thief, the proprietor of an enchanted-curio shop, and a bewitching black cat, Elena and Yvette are determined to decode Yvette’s mysterious keepsake. But what restless magic will be unleashed? And what are Yvette and Elena willing to risk to become the witches they were destined to be?
Thankyou to Netgalley and 47North for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read my review for book 1 in the series: The Vine Witch here.
As soon as I heard about the sequel to The Vine Witch I was so excited and I couldn't wait to read it! I was not disappointed, I loved The Glamourist just as much as book 1, and now I'm even more excited for book 3, The Conjurer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this magical romp through turn-of-the-century Paris. The beautiful writing style and the stunningly well-crafted world that Smith has created is absolutely mesmerising. I was hooked from the very start.
The Glamourist has a split POV between Elena, a winemaker with a gift for poisons, and Yvette, a savvy orphan with unknown magical heritage. I love having the two points of view between the two women who are so different, yet whose fates are intertwined and whose stories are in some ways quite similar. Both have unknown mothers and are going back to their roots on a journey of magical discovery, while also dodging police and navigating both ends of Parisian society. The story is wonderful and mysterious and I do really love the style of the writing.
Yvette is a great character, who we met in Vine Witch, and I was super keen to learn more about her and her magic, as well as what led to her being wanted for murder. She is savvy, street smart, and bold but has trouble trusting people after being abandoned by her parents. Despite her failure with magic, she is fearless and independent and I love that about her.
The magic is taken to a new level, beyond wine-making and hexes, to magical cats, enchanted knickknacks, strange symbols and of course Yvette’s mysterious powers (I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s really cool and not what I expected). We also see a bit more of witch politics and Jean-Paul sinks his teeth into witch law.
I was delighted with the new characters in this sequel. I found Marion very entertaining, Jean-Paul’s mother, a high society lady and a mortal, who is very much into the up and coming craze of ‘witchcraft’, attending seances and frequenting a club called Hell's Mouth. As well as the sweet and brave thief-turned-artist Henri, a childhood friend of Yvette’s who gets in on the action. And of course, Monsieur Whiskers, I can’t help but love a book featuring a magical cat.
All in all, this is a beautiful historical fantasy with great characters, and is a fantastic sequel to The Vine Witch.
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