ARC Review: House of Marionne by J. Elle

 

From New York Times bestselling author J. Elle comes a modern-day YA romantic fantasy series opener about a glamorous magical world of social elites, forbidden love, and a dark magic that could destroy it all.

A must-read for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Stephanie Garber, and Bridgerton.

RICH IS THE BLOOD OF THE CHOSEN.

17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.

Until someone discovers her dark secret.

To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.

If caught, she will be killed.

But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training.


When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.

Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.

Brimming with ballgowns and betrayal, magic and mystery, decadence and darkness, House of Marionne is perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world.

Title: House of Marionne
Author: J. Elle
Publisher: Razorbill
Expected Publication Date: 8/29/23

Review: 

Thank you to NetGalley and Razorbill for the opportunity to read this egalley for my honest review.
I love magic. It's what drew me into the Harry Potter books and kept me loving the series until the very end. That's why I had to pick this book up. The description sat right in my heart with a special school just for magic. I had such high hopes and was excited to jump in and begin a new series that would take me to that place I love. Plus, the blurb talks about Bardugo, and how could I not want to read something that was geared towards her fans.
Unfortunately, I stopped reading this book at 60% of the way through. I tried, I really did. I wanted to love it. But nothing was drawing me back in. Nothing was pulling at me to keep going.
The good...
The concept of this book is great. Dark academia. I love the idea of the different types of magic, of weilding magic, of learning to hone magic. Who doesn't want to have such abilities. And a character who has to hide her true self to survive is one I often can truly connect with. Plus a forbidden love or enemies to lovers is always a great little tidbit to throw on the plate.
But besides the concept, nothing really kept me in the story.
The Bad:
I just could not connect with the main character, Quill or her story. Nothing she did or said made me have any empathy for her. I found her whiney and annoying. She repeated the same thing with each chapter. She let her darkness consume her, but not in a good way where she was learning to utilize it in a way to overcome her predicament. Maybe that happens later, but nothing changed by 60% and I can't stick with a character who has no true development by that point in the book.
The plot seemed like it would be good, but it's really just the main character complaining about hiding her dark side in every single chapter. It was non-stop. We didn't need to be reminded constantly. She's kept in the dark, or so it seems, but at the same time kind of knows about the magic, but we don't get any sense of the before. There's no real background to make me want to stay and find out what will happen in the end. Plus I was confused by the world building, or lack there of. I had zero suspension of disbelief. Plus I felt like the story lacked clarity . So much potential unfulfilled.
The pacing of the book was another issue for me. It was just so slow. There was no action to help me turn the pages. Nothing to look forward to. I was honestly just bored.
I'm sure there are others who will like this book (and the series that follow) but I was just not a fan.

J. ELLE is the New York Times bestselling author of young adult and middle-grade fantasy fiction and a 2022 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth and Teens. Her work has been translated into three languages. The former educator credits her nomadic lifestyle and humble inner-city beginnings as inspiration for her novels. When she’s not writing, Elle can be found on the hunt for new desserts sans Chocolat, looking for literally any excuse to get dressed up, and road-tripping her way across the country with her two dogs in tow.

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