Scan barcode
booknerderika's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
4.0
I considered giving this a 3.75 ⭐️ rating, but I'll just round it up to a solid 4⭐️.
To start off, I enjoy dual perspective books, but I was a little confused as to why Yagrin was the other perspective. I thought at first that he would become the love interest, but then he didn't, and now I'm worried that a love triangle is brewing for the 2nd book. I really hope he doesn't, though. I have read books where the villain is the other perspective, but with everything that has happened idk if I see him as the main villain.
I enjoyed the twists in this, especially with thegrandma . The more Quell discovered, the more mysteries needed to be unraveled. I was not happy with the way things ended between Quell and Jordan. I also didn't like the way he just fell to the ground crying after his encounter with Yagrin. I wanted to see more from him and he just continued to disappoint me.
I liked the world that Elle created and I will be reading book 2 when it is released.
Side note: I understand that marketing a book as a mash-up of other popular books/shows can help with sales, but I did not see this as a mash-up of Bridgerton and Fourth Wing. I feel like it was its own story and didn't need the comparison.
To start off, I enjoy dual perspective books, but I was a little confused as to why Yagrin was the other perspective. I thought at first that he would become the love interest, but then he didn't, and now I'm worried that a love triangle is brewing for the 2nd book. I really hope he doesn't, though. I have read books where the villain is the other perspective, but with everything that has happened idk if I see him as the main villain.
I enjoyed the twists in this, especially with the
I liked the world that Elle created and I will be reading book 2 when it is released.
Side note: I understand that marketing a book as a mash-up of other popular books/shows can help with sales, but I did not see this as a mash-up of Bridgerton and Fourth Wing. I feel like it was its own story and didn't need the comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5 stars Thank you Penguin for this Arc
Ball gowns, magic, and political machinations that keep you wondering who you can trust! House of Marionne is a mysterious dark academia fantasy that I REALLY enjoyed reading.
Quell and her Mother are always on the run, in order to keep Quell safe and hide the poison that runs in her veins. A slipup lands her into the magical life her Mother tried to hide her from, and now she must try to survive and debut, or be cast out and be at the mercy of assassins.
There are breadcrumbs to what is going on, and some characters immediately act sus and I didn't trust them, while others took me by surprise with their plots,I love being kept on my toes.
My favorite part of the book is everything to do with magic! When it came to Quell in magic classes, and the overall magic system, it was so immersive and well thought out. I feel it was really one of the strongest parts of the book, all the intricates are really fascinating! However I do wish more time was spent with Quell learning and in classes, I like how there is history at the back, but I wanted to see more magic teaching. (Give me the lore!) It is a bit difficult to wrap my head around that Quell is able to succeed where others who have been trying to two years failed. There is a ton of information, history, and Latin that she has to learn, and the timeline for this book seemed all to occur in a handful of weeks. I could honestly read a whole separate book just all about this world's lore, magic, and different components and what they do. There is also a shift a good ways through the book where the focus feels like it goes from learning how to do magic, to etiquettes and cotillion style classes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wish there was more of a blend or mix.
May I just say I am obsessed with the crowns/diadems/masks! This is hands down the most original and coolest way I have seen magic represented in a book. It not only perfectly shows the personality of the wielder, but also really ties in nicely with the whole dark academia/regency/cotillion vibe of the book. Obviously I would have a fabulous crown, I'm thinking silver or gold with vine detailing, cascades of opals along the edges.
I love all the clothing and dress styles, it made me feel like I was walking around a regency era town! Everything felt so opulent and lush, it really feels like a ball. The imagery around the scenery and clothing Quell wears was top notch.
The romance was all well and good, I don't know if forbidden is the best way to describe it, we get to see more romance in the later parts, and "forbidden" isn't really a big plot point. I like how Quell and Jordan took time to get to one another, and it wasn't an instant love situation. The words Jordan said to her were so sweet! I really liked their dialogue. I will say if I never see another author describe facial features like "craters", I will die happy. I wish more time was spent building up friendships, there was a definite lack of substance when it came to any female friends or allies.
I'm only going to nitpick a bit because I really like this book, and J. Elle is an established author.
I do wish there were more character descriptions. So many characters and side characters I feel there is a vague description or maybe it is just mentioned once and left me wondering. (Except for the eyes, the eye colors are mentioned a lot) Really I think this is applicable to the hair, specifically Quells. I was surprised more attention and time wasn't given to convey the kind of hairstyle and what it looked like. It would have been the perfect moment to tie in the character to her race more, and not just retain the racial ambiguity a lot of the book seems to suffer from. (I.e. does she have a twist out, braids, a wash and go is it natural etc etc)
There was only ONE queer character in this book, and they only had a handful of sentences and a very brief tea party appearance. Please someone correct me if I missed others! I wish there were more queer characters, or a queer relationship. I lowkey was hoping for a genderfluid character, or maybe a masc presenting one with a pretty crown.
I like the cover a lot too, it is gorgeous and really captures the essence of the book perfectly. I like how Quell's dagger is on the front, it really makes it feel more inline with the book and not just a generic dark fantasy cover.
I highly recommend this, and I NEED the sequel! Seriously!! How dare you do a reveal like that and LEAVE ME HANGING!
I almost forgot to say, but I really liked the chapters with Yagrin's pov! I also have so many theories about the next book, so read this so we can discuss please. (Especially pertaining to a certain someone's parentage!!)
Ball gowns, magic, and political machinations that keep you wondering who you can trust! House of Marionne is a mysterious dark academia fantasy that I REALLY enjoyed reading.
Quell and her Mother are always on the run, in order to keep Quell safe and hide the poison that runs in her veins. A slipup lands her into the magical life her Mother tried to hide her from, and now she must try to survive and debut, or be cast out and be at the mercy of assassins.
There are breadcrumbs to what is going on, and some characters immediately act sus and I didn't trust them, while others took me by surprise with their plots,I love being kept on my toes.
My favorite part of the book is everything to do with magic! When it came to Quell in magic classes, and the overall magic system, it was so immersive and well thought out. I feel it was really one of the strongest parts of the book, all the intricates are really fascinating! However I do wish more time was spent with Quell learning and in classes, I like how there is history at the back, but I wanted to see more magic teaching. (Give me the lore!) It is a bit difficult to wrap my head around that Quell is able to succeed where others who have been trying to two years failed. There is a ton of information, history, and Latin that she has to learn, and the timeline for this book seemed all to occur in a handful of weeks. I could honestly read a whole separate book just all about this world's lore, magic, and different components and what they do. There is also a shift a good ways through the book where the focus feels like it goes from learning how to do magic, to etiquettes and cotillion style classes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wish there was more of a blend or mix.
May I just say I am obsessed with the crowns/diadems/masks! This is hands down the most original and coolest way I have seen magic represented in a book. It not only perfectly shows the personality of the wielder, but also really ties in nicely with the whole dark academia/regency/cotillion vibe of the book. Obviously I would have a fabulous crown, I'm thinking silver or gold with vine detailing, cascades of opals along the edges.
I love all the clothing and dress styles, it made me feel like I was walking around a regency era town! Everything felt so opulent and lush, it really feels like a ball. The imagery around the scenery and clothing Quell wears was top notch.
The romance was all well and good, I don't know if forbidden is the best way to describe it, we get to see more romance in the later parts, and "forbidden" isn't really a big plot point. I like how Quell and Jordan took time to get to one another, and it wasn't an instant love situation. The words Jordan said to her were so sweet! I really liked their dialogue. I will say if I never see another author describe facial features like "craters", I will die happy. I wish more time was spent building up friendships, there was a definite lack of substance when it came to any female friends or allies.
I'm only going to nitpick a bit because I really like this book, and J. Elle is an established author.
I do wish there were more character descriptions. So many characters and side characters I feel there is a vague description or maybe it is just mentioned once and left me wondering. (Except for the eyes, the eye colors are mentioned a lot) Really I think this is applicable to the hair, specifically Quells. I was surprised more attention and time wasn't given to convey the kind of hairstyle and what it looked like. It would have been the perfect moment to tie in the character to her race more, and not just retain the racial ambiguity a lot of the book seems to suffer from. (I.e. does she have a twist out, braids, a wash and go is it natural etc etc)
There was only ONE queer character in this book, and they only had a handful of sentences and a very brief tea party appearance. Please someone correct me if I missed others! I wish there were more queer characters, or a queer relationship. I lowkey was hoping for a genderfluid character, or maybe a masc presenting one with a pretty crown.
I like the cover a lot too, it is gorgeous and really captures the essence of the book perfectly. I like how Quell's dagger is on the front, it really makes it feel more inline with the book and not just a generic dark fantasy cover.
I highly recommend this, and I NEED the sequel! Seriously!! How dare you do a reveal like that and LEAVE ME HANGING!
I almost forgot to say, but I really liked the chapters with Yagrin's pov! I also have so many theories about the next book, so read this so we can discuss please. (Especially pertaining to a certain someone's parentage!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Confinement and Emotional abuse
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Magical boarding school with a dark academia twist. Moves a little unevenly, but shows a lot of promise for future installments.
Thoughts
The cover and description of this book had me going in thinking it was going to be more standard fantasy, so I found myself very confused by the use of cell phones at the start. Turns out it's modern magical boarding school with a dark academia twist, and I should have read the description more thoughtfully (mea culpa). Magical boarding schools don't usually do it for me, but this has all the markers that fans of the genre will love: distinct named Houses, mysterious symbols, classifications of things, school culture, magical tests, and Latin! And of course, a secret plot going on behind the scenes that our scrappy young heroine will have to uncover. The magic system and the school system are both described in depth, with a lot of cool stuff that sparks the imagination. The masks/diadem system in particular is very cool.
The lead couple are a standard enemies to lovers pair, although I found myself much more invested in the lives of several of the supporting cast. This book feels more like a setup for what's the come - now that we've been introduced to the magic, the characters, and the plot, the real fight can begin. It makes the pacing of the first volume a little wobbly, but the ending really comes in swinging with promises of some really twisty exciting stuff in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Razorbill for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Magical boarding school with a dark academia twist. Moves a little unevenly, but shows a lot of promise for future installments.
Thoughts
The cover and description of this book had me going in thinking it was going to be more standard fantasy, so I found myself very confused by the use of cell phones at the start. Turns out it's modern magical boarding school with a dark academia twist, and I should have read the description more thoughtfully (mea culpa). Magical boarding schools don't usually do it for me, but this has all the markers that fans of the genre will love: distinct named Houses, mysterious symbols, classifications of things, school culture, magical tests, and Latin! And of course, a secret plot going on behind the scenes that our scrappy young heroine will have to uncover. The magic system and the school system are both described in depth, with a lot of cool stuff that sparks the imagination. The masks/diadem system in particular is very cool.
The lead couple are a standard enemies to lovers pair, although I found myself much more invested in the lives of several of the supporting cast. This book feels more like a setup for what's the come - now that we've been introduced to the magic, the characters, and the plot, the real fight can begin. It makes the pacing of the first volume a little wobbly, but the ending really comes in swinging with promises of some really twisty exciting stuff in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Razorbill for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Classism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood and Death of parent
More...