A review by papermassacre
Marionette by Antonia Rachel Ward

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Rating- 3 stars

 
Trigger warnings- 

-Violence 

-Mutilation 

-Suicide references 

-Incredibly dubious consent 


Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review 

 

Things I liked 

-The setting- historical Paris, filled with debauchery, whimsy, and just enough paranormal to keep things interesting 

-The concept- the idea of seances, blended with a little bit of spiciness and a healthy dose of female revenge 

 

Things I wasn’t sure about 

-The characters- I genuinely didn’t care about any of them. The main romance was instant and one sided, and I think the book was too short (about 100 pages) to give any of them a real sense of depth 

-The ending- it seems like it just happened? It left me kind of wondering WTF I had just read, not in an intriguing way, just in that it was underwhelming and didn’t make a lot of sense 

 

Overall thoughts 

-Marionette was fine. I read it in two sittings and enjoyed myself. I still think that it was just slightly forgettable, which is a shame since the premise was really intriguing. I think that it could have benefitted from being a full-length novel to allow the characters to be more developed and the plot to make more sense. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it without prompting, but if you are looking for something quick and kind of disturbing, it’s probably worth the read