About This Book:
A whimsical adventure full of magic, fantastical road trips, and a sapphic slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance—for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.
All magic begins in stories. That’s what Fae princess Hyacinth has always been told. As the unmagical daughter of Queen Mab, Hyacinth has never fit in at her mother’s court. She hopes that if she learns about her father, who disappeared fifteen years ago, she can finally learn more about herself.
When Hyacinth and her friend Chloe—a human stablehand trapped in Fae—sneak off to a riverside night market, Hyacinth learns that her father was last seen heading to a library at the heart of a treacherous labyrinth. The problem: The labyrinth was built long ago by three goddesses, and no one has ever returned from it.
Still, Hyacinth has to try.
With the help of Chloe and a tiny dragon named Coffee, she defies Queen Mab and sets off into the wilds of the Moonshadow Kingdom. Along the way they face bandits, magical creatures, a centuries-old human who hosts an Endless Ball, and Hyacinth and Chloe’s growing feelings for each other. Meanwhile, an ancient power lies in wait at the center of the labyrinth, and it is eager to write the girls’ ending.
A lush, fairycore, sapphic YA fantasy that returns readers to the Fae world introduced in Jamie Pacton’s bestselling novel The Absinthe Underground!
Perfect for readers who love Sapphic Slow-Burn, Friends-to-Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, Princess/Lady Knight, Bodyguard Romance, Fae/Human Relationships, Only One Bed, and Stories Are Magic!
*Review Contributed by Evren Dodd, Staff Reviewer*
THE HYACINTH LABYRINTH is a YA book that follows Hyacinth, a Fae princess, and Chloe, a human disguised as a common Fae, as they head out on a journey. Hyacinth is seeking out her father who disappeared 15 years ago. Chloe is hoping to find a portal that will take her back home to her sister after being trapped in Fae. Will they succeed? And will emotions develop along their journey?
It’s been decided: I am a sucker for a cozy yet adventurous fantasy story. Stakes are present, but the overall vibe appears to be very light-hearted and fun. This book has an excellent balance of those elements. There’s humor and sweet romance scenes, but there are also battles and puzzles to be solved. It combines to make a fun read that had me enraptured.
Chloe and Hyacinth both get POV chapters and that allows the reader to see into both of their heads. Hyacinth and Chloe have different personalities and backgrounds, so they take to the world around them differently. It’s interesting to see how the two of them handle the world around them and the situations that they get into.
Hyacinth is an amazing character and I think one of my favorite characters ever written by Jamie Pacton. Something about her managed to strike a perfect chord with me and I fell in love with her from the very beginning. She’s a sweet character, but she also has layers to her depth and she grows along the way. By the end of the book she feels like a different character than she had at the beginning, not a total opposite but someone more sure of who they are and where their place in the world is.
Chloe felt a bit more stagnant to me, like most of her growing had already happened by the start of the book, but she was no less interesting. She’s driven and fun.
The romance between the two was endearing. I like a good rivals/enemies to lovers as much as the next, but something about friends to lovers always manages to hit me in the feel. Chloe and Hyacinth are already close at the beginning of the story, having even kissed just prior to the start, and it lets the romance feel sweeter somehow. It’s not always an easy romance, but there’s something so genuine and sweet about it.
Jamie Pacton managed to craft a world that I would both love and hate to live in. It feels so vibrant and full of life and magic, each scene pouring out of the pages and pulling me into the world. But it’s also brimming with danger. There’s darkness that lingers in the story and in the world.
I don’t want to spoil anything as I think this book is better to read blind, so I’ll have to give brief notes on the plot. Personally, I thought the plot moved at a pretty solid pace. It had slower moments and quicker moments, but they didn’t feel out of place. The plot does meander a bit, it’s not just a straightforward ride from point A to point B. This allows more aspects of the world to be shown and side characters galore to pop up.
THE HYACINTH LABRYINTH is a fantasy road trip through the realm as Chloe and Hyacinth search for a way back to their families, while trying to figure out their growing feelings for each other.
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