So I read House of Marionne in 3 days, but I wanted to sit with it b/c I had some conflicting feelings. I like the idea of an opulent society that's hiding in plain sight. I like the extra info that we get at beginning and end of the book about the Houses and magic that just adds to the worldbuilding and magic system. I liked Quell as a character, I liked her determination and her resilience, even if I found some of the things she says to Jordan a bit hypocritical; speaking of Jordan, I really enjoyed how conflicted his character was throughout the story, he was the second best written character. I loved the romance between them and the push and pull dynamic of it all, but I definitely stuggled with understanding what started it all, how did they catch feelings for each other, since at that point I think they both probably just found each other attractive and hadn't yet even gotten to know each other.
The characters that were given focus, shined and really added to the supsense of it all of who Quell could or couldn't trust, but it also felt like there was a lack of a presence of a supporting cast, it doesn't matter to me if the supporting cast is small or big, but so many of the characters introduced were fleeting and even if they were a big deal their presence wasn't always felt. There was a particular character who's involved in a twist, and while that reveal is shocking it didn't hit as hard as it could have b/c after a few interactions they disappear then appear maybe 2 more times before disappearing and then reappearing for that reveal. For most of the characters that appeared it was out of sight out of mind.
Something that I particularly struggled with was the lack of detailed description for the characters; Quell has curly hair and freckles, Jordan has sculpted features and green sometimes blue eyes, Abby has dark hair, another character has a blonde pixie cut and chews gum; I think personally I needed something more concrete than this to visualize a character.
After reading this book and getting over that amazing ending, all I could think about was the things that I struggled with b/c I had stopped reading a couple of times wishing it had this detailed character descriptions or a prominent supporting cast with presence, but sitting with this made me realize that I enjoyed this book and that the things I struggled with didn't effect that enjoyment. I was right anticipate this book and I didn't regret it. There are questions that I have, but I know that it can be answered in future books.
The characters that were given focus, shined and really added to the supsense of it all of who Quell could or couldn't trust, but it also felt like there was a lack of a presence of a supporting cast, it doesn't matter to me if the supporting cast is small or big, but so many of the characters introduced were fleeting and even if they were a big deal their presence wasn't always felt. There was a particular character who's involved in a twist, and while that reveal is shocking it didn't hit as hard as it could have b/c after a few interactions they disappear then appear maybe 2 more times before disappearing and then reappearing for that reveal. For most of the characters that appeared it was out of sight out of mind.
Something that I particularly struggled with was the lack of detailed description for the characters; Quell has curly hair and freckles, Jordan has sculpted features and green sometimes blue eyes, Abby has dark hair, another character has a blonde pixie cut and chews gum; I think personally I needed something more concrete than this to visualize a character.
After reading this book and getting over that amazing ending, all I could think about was the things that I struggled with b/c I had stopped reading a couple of times wishing it had this detailed character descriptions or a prominent supporting cast with presence, but sitting with this made me realize that I enjoyed this book and that the things I struggled with didn't effect that enjoyment. I was right anticipate this book and I didn't regret it. There are questions that I have, but I know that it can be answered in future books.