House of Marionne by J. Elle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Author: J. Elle
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Year of Publication: 2023
This review contains some vague spoilers.
Main Character: Quell—(3/5)—She was headstrong and determined, but she seemed a bit naïve, considering that she was raised on the run. I didn’t agree with many of her decisions.
Secondary Characters: I found all the secondary characters to be inconsistent. One moment, they’d be friendly and supportive, but the next scene would have them threatening Quell, physically hurting her, or displaying callous or cruel ideation. This applies best to Quell’s grandmother and Jordan Wexton, Quell’s mentor and love interest.
Pacing: The opening few chapters were action-packed, but once Quell made it to Chateau Soleil, it slowed down and continued at that pace. There were some filler scenes and scenes that dragged.
Accuracy of Publisher’s Synopsis: Perfectly accurate. Nothing I would add.
Resolution: I’m not sure what to say about the last maybe 50 pages of the book. Around that point, there were some drastic twists in the plot that left me with hard feelings for both Jordan and Quell’s grandma. They both do unforgivable things to Quell, and I’m not sure how to look past it. Quell probably did the best she could think to do, but being that her character was young, she made a more impulsive choice. I’m sure it’s necessary to push the story forward for book two, so I’ll try to keep an open mind until I see where the decision leads the plot.
The Good: The first few chapters of this book started out with a bang that had me engaged immediately. This series also has a unique magic system. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of crowns coming out of people’s heads. It’s a bit of a gruesome concept, but I love how the crowns are unique. The daggers were also interesting.
Something else I appreciated is that the writer didn’t give many clues to any of the characters’ appearances. This allows the reader to imagine the characters on their own. I know there’s a lot of comparison between this series and Bridgerton. Because it’s already out there, I’ll confess that I pictured Quell as the young Queen Charlotte and her grandmother as the older Lady Danbury. I still stand by those interpretations.
I loved some of the scenes in this book—the dancing scene (despite Quell’s strangely natural proclivity for ballroom dancing) and the scenes in the conservatory with Jordan. I was amused by some of the scenes of Quell practicing her magic. And there were some bombs dropped in the final chapter from our second POV, Yagrin, the assassin assigned to kill Quell. I won’t spoil those, but they had my jaw on the floor, and I’m really excited to see where they take the second book.
The Not-So-Good: It’s never fully explained how the houses are governed overall—just that each house has a headmistress. It’s never mentioned where the magic came from, why damaging the sphere would only destroy magic temporarily. We also don’t know if there’s a similar setup in other countries.
The romance in the book doesn’t start until around the halfway point. It comes across as contrived, as it happens suddenly. Jordan, Quell’s love interest, is very hot and cold, and he does several things that would be deal-breakers for me. I never felt like he was trustworthy.
Quell’s grandma is just as hot and cold as Jordan. One moment, she’s expressing (in her own stuffy, regal way, of course) how grateful she is to have a family member back, and the next, she’s threatening Quell for messing up or grabbing her hard enough to leave marks.
Her friendship with her roommate, Abby, is superficial, as Abby knows nothing about who Quell was before she came to Chateau Soleil. Abby would have been a good choice of confidant for Quell, but it turned out that Quell didn’t have a confidant at all. She had no one to go to for advice about her dark magic. The only person in the world who knew she had it and wanted to protect her was her mom, who is absent from the book beyond the first couple chapters.
Overall Impression: It might seem like I have a lot of criticism for this book, but there was plenty to enjoy about it as well. The writer really knows how to start and end a book. It’s just that the middle had some potential that was left on the table, as well as excess that should have been edited out. Nonetheless, I found myself charmed by the world, interested in the characters, and aching to solve the many mysteries.
Would I recommend it?: I would recommend this book based on the reader. For someone who reads books with more of a critical eye, I might tell them to pass. I think the average reader would enjoy this novel.
What I want to see in book #2: Mostly, I want to learn more about the dark magic Quell has—where it comes from, if it’s actually dangerous, and why the assassins are allowed to use it even though no one else can. I’d also like to see Quell build up a group of people she can trust with her secret.
The Word Snob 