The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
Release Date: March 3, 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Age Group: Young Adult, 12+
Pages: 308
When Lucinda Chapdelaine was a small child, her parents left for the royal ball and never returned. Ever since, Lucinda has been stuck in perpetual servitude at her evil aunt’s jewelry store. Then, on the very same day, a mysterious visitor and an even more bizarre piece of jewelry both enter the shop, setting in motion a string of twists and turns that will forever alter Lucinda’s path. In this magical story filled with delightful surprises, Lucinda will dance at the royal ball, fall under the Amaranth Witch’s spell, avenge her parents’ death, and maybe—just maybe—capture the heart of a prince.
The Amaranth Enchantment was a really fun, fairy tale sort of read. There was a lot more emphasis on a magical element than I was expecting from the synopsis, but I really enjoyed the addition in the story.
The story is beautifully written and the world that Berry created was fascinating, I only wish it would have been further explored.
Lucinda was a very relatable character, but I found her to be very naive at times. Allowing a strange thief to come in your bedroom late at night and then leaving him ALONE in your room. If that doesn’t spell disaster I don’t know what does. The thief in question however, was one of my favorite characters of the novel, Peter. Sarcastic and brash, he made the novel that much better.
Overall, I was expecting something a little more adventurous and exciting but it is still a very fun story that is beautifully written!