House of Marionne glitters with betrayal, mystery, darkness, and romance. I was instantly captivated by this modern-day YA Fantasy.
Quell essentially stumbles into this world of ballgowns, secret societies, and forbidden magic. She's been on the run with her mother for the majority of her life and is completely clueless about her own magic. You learn about the unique magic system and the whole world built around it with Quell as you read so there's no info dumping. As the FMC, Quell is strong and determined, not easily swayed which I absolutely loved. It's a welcome change to most YA main characters. The romance aspect I could take or leave...I just couldn't vibe with Jordan so that part felt a little flat for me personally.
The magic, I LOVE the magic and the mysteries surrounding the magical school. That is the best part of this whole book. How the magic is woven into the coursework...daggers and diadems...and how Quell progressed and warred with her magic, it was a fun experience!
I feel like this book has all the tropes thrown in and while it kind of works, it also felt a little messy at times. The writing didn't flow as well as I'd hoped with such a lush, magical story and I found myself needing to reread passages just to see if I missed something. With that said, the last Yagrin chapter (I am shook!) really tied up most of the questions and confusion I had through the story and left me salivating for the next book!
Overall, an enjoyable read if you love ALL the tropes...
Forbidden/dark magic
Friends to lovers to enemies
Mentor/mentee
Secret societies
Social elites
Magical school
Morally grey characters
Thank you PenguinTeen for the ARC to read and honestly review!
Quell essentially stumbles into this world of ballgowns, secret societies, and forbidden magic. She's been on the run with her mother for the majority of her life and is completely clueless about her own magic. You learn about the unique magic system and the whole world built around it with Quell as you read so there's no info dumping. As the FMC, Quell is strong and determined, not easily swayed which I absolutely loved. It's a welcome change to most YA main characters. The romance aspect I could take or leave...I just couldn't vibe with Jordan so that part felt a little flat for me personally.
The magic, I LOVE the magic and the mysteries surrounding the magical school. That is the best part of this whole book. How the magic is woven into the coursework...daggers and diadems...and how Quell progressed and warred with her magic, it was a fun experience!
I feel like this book has all the tropes thrown in and while it kind of works, it also felt a little messy at times. The writing didn't flow as well as I'd hoped with such a lush, magical story and I found myself needing to reread passages just to see if I missed something. With that said, the last Yagrin chapter (I am shook!) really tied up most of the questions and confusion I had through the story and left me salivating for the next book!
Overall, an enjoyable read if you love ALL the tropes...
Forbidden/dark magic
Friends to lovers to enemies
Mentor/mentee
Secret societies
Social elites
Magical school
Morally grey characters
Thank you PenguinTeen for the ARC to read and honestly review!