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karabee73's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting quick read. The concept alone could have made for a bigger novel. However, I understand why it's a short story, if I took more than 1 day to read this I probably would have gotten bored or would have been less invested. I was intrigued by the possibilities of how the story would end. The concept reminded me of "Pulp Fiction" in a more creepy paranormal way.
mandysreadinglist's review against another edition
5.0
Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward is an erotic horror novella inspired by traditional folk tales and set in fin de siècle Paris.
Fleeing a life of poverty and prostitution, exotic dancer Cece Dulac agrees to play assistant to an erotic séance hosted by an enigmatic mesmerist, Monsieur Rossignol. As the séance plunges into perversion, Cece falls prey to Rossignol's hypnotic power and becomes possessed by a malevolent spirit and a cursed gemstone.
George Dashwood, an aspiring artist, witnesses the séance and fears for Cece. He seeks her out and she seduces him, but she is no longer herself. The spirit controlling her forces her to commit increasingly depraved acts. When the spirit’s desire for revenge escalates to murder, George and Cece must find a way to break Rossignol’s spell before Cece’s soul is condemned forever.
I found this book devilish, depraved, and delicious.
Thank you to Brigids Gate Press for sending me an Advance Reading Copy of this title. All opinions are my own.
kornwaiisms's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i liked the imagery and the rich descriptions, but i found the story a bit too simple for what it could be, or what i had expected. also i thought the gore would be extra since the sex was extra but i was let down.
( received this through netgalley! thank you! )
( received this through netgalley! thank you! )
cirke's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Thank you, NetGalley, and Brigid's Gate Press for granting me an e-ARC.
Marionette is a story of shameless lust, obsession with pleasures of life and death, vengeance, and the cruel existence of men.
Antonia Rachel Ward did such a beautiful job at creating a gothic, erotic, supernatural novella. The writing is wonderful, and easy to follow. I was surprised at how the story unfolded, and how easy it was for me to get sucked in by the tale. It never failed to entertain me.
I enjoyed the gore, and chaos as well. Nothing could've prepared me for what Selena did at the end. It's always impactful, and satisfying to see women who were wronged eventually get a taste of revenge.
The only downside is, since it's a short fiction, the characters didn't have much opportunity to develop. Cecile and George lacked genuine interaction, and deeper connection with each another. The side characters were fun to have but they lacked substance. Nonetheless, it was still great.
If you're in the mood for a change of genre, an easy short read to increase your reading goals or just adore women and their wrongs, I recommend this book to you!
Don't forget to check trigger warnings.
Once again, Thank you, NetGalley, and Brigid's Gate Press.
Marionette is a story of shameless lust, obsession with pleasures of life and death, vengeance, and the cruel existence of men.
Antonia Rachel Ward did such a beautiful job at creating a gothic, erotic, supernatural novella. The writing is wonderful, and easy to follow. I was surprised at how the story unfolded, and how easy it was for me to get sucked in by the tale. It never failed to entertain me.
I enjoyed the gore, and chaos as well. Nothing could've prepared me for what Selena did at the end. It's always impactful, and satisfying to see women who were wronged eventually get a taste of revenge.
The only downside is, since it's a short fiction, the characters didn't have much opportunity to develop. Cecile and George lacked genuine interaction, and deeper connection with each another. The side characters were fun to have but they lacked substance. Nonetheless, it was still great.
If you're in the mood for a change of genre, an easy short read to increase your reading goals or just adore women and their wrongs, I recommend this book to you!
Don't forget to check trigger warnings.
Once again, Thank you, NetGalley, and Brigid's Gate Press.
maeenads's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
2.5/3
This story is set on the end of fin de siècle Paris, and follows a dancer, Cece, who comes into possession by a malevolent spirit, and a young artist from England, George. It features multiple forms of arts, yet none of them are executed successfully.
To begin with the things I liked; I was drawn to this book by its beautiful beautiful cover! It was different from most of the covers we see nowadays and eye catching. The writing was fairly good however some of the descriptions was hard to get through and quite boring. I was expecting a detailed and lavish introduction to Paris but unfortunately the background was not set in an inviting manner. I liked the folklore that the story was built upon but i felt like it could’ve been fleshed out more to expand the plot. Even though the first few pages were slow, the story builds in the middle and the last few chapters were exciting and fast paced (I did not like the ending though).
The characters barely had any depth to them, their dispositions could’ve been more amplified; therefore it felt bland and hard to connect or form an opinion. Cece and George’s relationship was rushed and there were no sparks or a real connection. Even though this novella is described as gothic-horror the actual presence of these elements in the plot was weak and unconvincing; I expected a compelling narrative, but personally, the story failed to deliver it.
I understand the author had to rush with certain plot points as this was a novella, but I believe this book could’ve been grand if the plot was full and the characters had more to them.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
This story is set on the end of fin de siècle Paris, and follows a dancer, Cece, who comes into possession by a malevolent spirit, and a young artist from England, George. It features multiple forms of arts, yet none of them are executed successfully.
To begin with the things I liked; I was drawn to this book by its beautiful beautiful cover! It was different from most of the covers we see nowadays and eye catching. The writing was fairly good however some of the descriptions was hard to get through and quite boring. I was expecting a detailed and lavish introduction to Paris but unfortunately the background was not set in an inviting manner. I liked the folklore that the story was built upon but i felt like it could’ve been fleshed out more to expand the plot. Even though the first few pages were slow, the story builds in the middle and the last few chapters were exciting and fast paced (I did not like the ending though).
The characters barely had any depth to them, their dispositions could’ve been more amplified; therefore it felt bland and hard to connect or form an opinion. Cece and George’s relationship was rushed and there were no sparks or a real connection. Even though this novella is described as gothic-horror the actual presence of these elements in the plot was weak and unconvincing; I expected a compelling narrative, but personally, the story failed to deliver it.
I understand the author had to rush with certain plot points as this was a novella, but I believe this book could’ve been grand if the plot was full and the characters had more to them.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
larslovesbooks's review
1.5
Mercifully short and not quite as depraved as it thinks itself to be. Not much else to add to this as it is a nothing story.
karabee73's review
3.0
This was an interesting quick read. The concept alone could have made for a bigger novel. However, I understand why it's a short story, if I took more than 1 day to read this I probably would have gotten bored or would have been less invested. I was intrigued by the possibilities of how the story would end. The concept reminded me of "Pulp Fiction" in a more creepy paranormal way.
madammim79's review
4.0
This was different...
A quick read
Ye old "dirty" France
Aristocrats and showgirls
Magic and ghosts
Love and revenge
I have not read anything like this before - but it worked for me.
It was trilling, surprising and a little bit romantic.
A quick read
Ye old "dirty" France
Aristocrats and showgirls
Magic and ghosts
Love and revenge
I have not read anything like this before - but it worked for me.
It was trilling, surprising and a little bit romantic.
andratalpi's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I didn’t expect to like this book this much, but here we are.
Hear me out. What drew me to this book was the cover. The cover is amazing, so so pretty. I had no idea what the book was about, so I read it completely blind.
I hate erotica and smut in books. Sexy scenes make me cringe, I just stop liking a book because of them. I don’t know if that’s because most of them are poorly written or because I’ve read too much smut by the age of 14 (thanks to Wattpad and fanfics). If I would have read the synopsis of the book, I would probably not pick it up mainly because it’s erotica. But it was really good, I didn’t cringe at all.
The book is very well written and easy to follow but also throws you into the right atmosphere, like it feels old but not really. The writing is very fancy.
I loved this story, like come on, it’s a horror gothic erotic novella, what do you want more from life?
However, I rated it 3 stars(on Goodreads )but my true rating is 3, 5 stars. It’s not a book I normally read and even though I really enjoyed it, I just kind of wanted a bit more. Maybe a bit more character development, maybe a bit more buildup between Cece and George.
Thank you to Brigids Gate Press for providing me with an e-ARC of Marionette!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
anatrnd's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This is a short story set in Paris that tells us about Cece and George. Cece Dulac is an exotic dancer, who agrees to become the main attraction at an erotic séance. George Dashwood, an aspiring artist, comes to Paris to study painting and make some new creations. But once he arrives his friend Bastian takes him to the theatre and introduces him to Cece. George falls in love with Cece and wants to save her from this life, but Cece is controlled by the spirit now.
This was a really short read, yet I was still bored while reading this. The atmosphere is amazing in this story, you can feel Paris. But everything else... There were not enough interactions between Cece and George. I felt like only George likes Cece and I'm not sure if that was the author's intention. Also, I don't really think that sex was mostly consensual in this book since women couldn't control their bodies once the spirits entered them. That was a huge no for me and that's why I literally forced myself to finish this short story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was a really short read, yet I was still bored while reading this. The atmosphere is amazing in this story, you can feel Paris. But everything else... There were not enough interactions between Cece and George. I felt like only George likes Cece and I'm not sure if that was the author's intention. Also, I don't really think that sex was mostly consensual in this book since women couldn't control their bodies once the spirits entered them. That was a huge no for me and that's why I literally forced myself to finish this short story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.