Publication Date: June 10th, 2025
Paperback. 480 pages.
In the run up to the 1900s World’s Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures and Loie Fuller’s serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather’s mechanical creations, and she’d rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world’s fair.
When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather’s toys was real.
As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There’s no ignoring the danger she’s in, but Clara doesn't know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both."
I'll be honest, The Palace of Illusions felt a bit weird at first to be reading in June since it is a Nutcracker-inspired story and also starts out taking place just around Christmas time, and I am not someone who tends to enjoy mixing my seasons. But once I got into the story, I soon settled in and found myself enjoying it too much to care about the seasonal mismatch.
The Palace of Illusions is set in early 20th-century Paris, just before the World's Fair is set to take place. We follow Clara Ironwood, a clockworker from America who was offered a rare and exciting opportunity to work on a project for the World's Fair and so subsequently packed herself up and moved to Paris on her own. Clara learned her clockmaking skills from her godfather, a somewhat prickly man with whom Clara has a bit of a mixed relationship as his apprentice.
At Christmas, Clara receives a nutcracker from her godfather, which seems like a somewhat detached and random gift that lacks much meaning to her. But then she finds something inside... something that lets her see and explore an entirely different Paris, a mirror-world where many creations can come to life--including her godfather's. Clara slowly learns more about this other Paris and tries to figure out her own place in it, but eventually some other dangers and obstacles start popping up, and Clara suddenly has much more to deal with than she ever expected.
Clara was a delightful character to follow. I liked getting to know her, and I appreciated her work ethic and dedication to getting everything right. She recognizes the opportunities presented to her and does her best to make the most of them. Her job also means she has to continuously be aware that she is a woman in a traditionally male field and has to be extra careful to show her worth and maintain respect. She's a bit naïve about things and I generally found this about her to be endearing as we get to stumble along with her to learn more about her world. I also really enjoyed getting to know many of the supporting characters and thought they added so much color and excitement to the story. Annabelle in particular was a fantastic foil for Clara, and I loved seeing the two interact and help one another.
Rowenna Miller always has very beautiful, flowing prose. Her descriptions are enchanting and really made this 1900s Paris--both the real world one and the mirror one--come to life in the most vivid, magical ways. You could feel the atmosphere and beauty of it all, and I could especially feel that the other Paris world was overflowing with magic and a beauty that can only come from creativity and imagination. Her writing really made this setting feel vivid, lived-in, and exciting, and there was plenty of whimsy littered throughout.
The pacing of this one definitely leans on the slower side. I found myself consistently engaged in individual scenes, but when I would sit back and think about the book and its pacing, I found that I struggled to feel like much of the plot was really consistently moving forward. I found myself sometimes wondering what had really been happening and if there needed to be as much filler as it sometimes seemed like there was. But, just to contradict myself, I'm also not entirely sure what I would cut out if I had the option, as everything generally provided something to the story. It just often felt like there was a lack of forward movement to really propel the story. Then, in the very last third or quarter of the book, things started to get quite intense and a lot more seemed to start happening, which led to a somewhat rushing-feeling ending. There was a lot of slow, gradual build-up, then a pretty quick intense climax, and then a fairly nice ending. I'm not mad about the ending at all, but I did find the pacing slightly stilted. That being said, I still very much enjoyed it.
Overall, I really don't think you can go wrong with The Palace of Illusion. It's a delightful lighter fantasy set in a historical setting that I think will appeal to previous Rowenna Miller readers, as well as many new to her writing.
