Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Razorbill (2023), 432 pages
Description
Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:An INSTANT New York Times bestseller! An INSTANT USA TODAY bestseller! An INSTANT Sunday Times bestseller! 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. **Deluxe edition with special embellishments on first printing only!** "Dazzling and deceptive. The perfect escape!" �?? Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Ballad of Never After "The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams!" �?? Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis BURY YOUR SECRET OR DIE FOR IT. 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 into… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member alliepascal
This was a fun and decently-paced read. It starts off fast and then slows down once Quell is out of danger for a while. I liked the chemistry between the leads, Quell and Jordan, and especially liked the development of their friendship first.
I wasn't really sucked into the world, though. At this
This is the first book in a new series, and from my experience with book 1 I likely won't continue.
I wasn't really sucked into the world, though. At this
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point I've probably read too much YA fantasy, but not many books feel very original to me anymore. I also couldn't take the word for Quell's magic seriously, which was "toushana," especially when referred to as "my toushana." I can't say exactly why, but whenever the word came up it sounded like a weird euphemism to me. I also found the fact that her mom hadn't explained exactly what was going on, until they were actually in serious danger of being caught, to be pretty stupid.This is the first book in a new series, and from my experience with book 1 I likely won't continue.
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LibraryThing member Lea.Pearl
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
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
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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!
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
House of Marionne by J. Elle is a novel that started generating buzz a year before its release date. With its posh boarding school setting, forbidden magic, and enemies-to-lovers tropes, there was no doubt the YA fantasy fan base would swoon. While I can't say that it made me swoon, I can say that
Quell is an interesting character. She is so needy and lonely that she should be a repellant character. Instead, regardless of what her grandmother says about her and her inner monologue, I find her almost stereotypical for a teenager. After all, that is the age where everyone feels alone and yet needy for acceptance and love, stability, and community.
The world of the Order remains as mysterious at the end of House of Marionne as it is at the beginning, something I cannot discern whether Ms. Elle did on purpose. We know what Quell knows, which is frustratingly little. While one of the narrators is a mysterious person who appears to be a member of the group of assassins Quell spent her life avoiding, we still know very little about the world of magic, the politics of the Order, its origins, and its purpose. We know the party line as the headmistress presents it to Quell, but we also know there is more to the story than anyone shares. Whether it was by design or accident, the lack of information regarding the outer magical world is disappointing. It keeps Quell's world too narrow and undeveloped.
House of Marionne is a fast read, but that speed comes with issues. One of those issues is the lack of worldbuilding. The other is the speed at which Quell moves through the school and passes the three trials. Ms. Elle informs readers several times that students take years to pass the second trial, yet Quell passes that same trial less than a month after first arriving. To me, I feel that pacing took priority over story and character. I still enjoyed the story, but the lack of development is concerning.
Despite all that, I enjoyed my time with Quell. House of Marionne is an easy read and lends itself well to finishing in one sitting. I always love when stories turn dark, and House of Marionne does not disappoint there. The story takes an unexpected turn towards the end, one that makes the sequel a must-read.
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I enjoyed it despite its flaws. Quell is an interesting character. She is so needy and lonely that she should be a repellant character. Instead, regardless of what her grandmother says about her and her inner monologue, I find her almost stereotypical for a teenager. After all, that is the age where everyone feels alone and yet needy for acceptance and love, stability, and community.
The world of the Order remains as mysterious at the end of House of Marionne as it is at the beginning, something I cannot discern whether Ms. Elle did on purpose. We know what Quell knows, which is frustratingly little. While one of the narrators is a mysterious person who appears to be a member of the group of assassins Quell spent her life avoiding, we still know very little about the world of magic, the politics of the Order, its origins, and its purpose. We know the party line as the headmistress presents it to Quell, but we also know there is more to the story than anyone shares. Whether it was by design or accident, the lack of information regarding the outer magical world is disappointing. It keeps Quell's world too narrow and undeveloped.
House of Marionne is a fast read, but that speed comes with issues. One of those issues is the lack of worldbuilding. The other is the speed at which Quell moves through the school and passes the three trials. Ms. Elle informs readers several times that students take years to pass the second trial, yet Quell passes that same trial less than a month after first arriving. To me, I feel that pacing took priority over story and character. I still enjoyed the story, but the lack of development is concerning.
Despite all that, I enjoyed my time with Quell. House of Marionne is an easy read and lends itself well to finishing in one sitting. I always love when stories turn dark, and House of Marionne does not disappoint there. The story takes an unexpected turn towards the end, one that makes the sequel a must-read.
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LibraryThing member sennebec
A story that starts in darkness and ends the same way. In between those points, you encounter intrigue, complex relationships between four houses representing a most unusual type of magic, and follow Quell as she struggles with something inside her that threatens not only her safety, but her
She eventually finds a way to keep it under control, and in the process, learns just how enmeshed those around her are with secrets and the power the four houses have in a world where their need to stay in control is lethal countless times. There's an interesting couple revelations at the end of the story and her mother, absent from most of the tale is never fully accounted for, leading me to hope there's a sequel to un-dangle several hanging threads.
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relationships.She eventually finds a way to keep it under control, and in the process, learns just how enmeshed those around her are with secrets and the power the four houses have in a world where their need to stay in control is lethal countless times. There's an interesting couple revelations at the end of the story and her mother, absent from most of the tale is never fully accounted for, leading me to hope there's a sequel to un-dangle several hanging threads.
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LibraryThing member Griffin_Reads
House of Marionne follows Quell, a teenager on the run due to her forbidden magic, as she agrees to enroll as a student in her grandmother's house in a desperate attempt to escape her pursuers and get rid of her dark magic for good. As she learns more about the magical world she was denied the
I was fascinated with the magic system and the world these characters exist in. It was really interesting learning about the history of their magic and how they interact with the world around them. Quell's POV is written in 1st person, and the readers are just as clueless as she is to the new world around her. Complementing her POV is that of Yagrin, written in 3rd person, which gives us more insight into the history and magic of this world.
Is it a perfect book? No. I spent most of it thinking it would be around 4 star. I wished we had been able to get more of Yagrin's POV, as it would have helped me as a reader to understand the history and how the magic actually worked. I also found the timeline somewhat confusing, with parts of it feeling like the book took place over the course of 1 or 2 months, and parts of it feeling like it had been many months. (Side note - how in the world do they tell time?) Quell is awful at communication, so I had to keep reminding myself that she is only 17 and has been socially isolated most of her life.
But, THAT ENDING. Part 5, but specifically the very last chapter, was impeccable. It put so many pieces back into place, and made me want to go back and reread it to look for the signs. There was so much character development in such a short chunk of it, and I am excited to see how it continues to develop in the second book. It is for sure a book I will spend a lot of time thinking about, and I will definitely be reading it again.
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ability to be raised in, she realizes that there is much more going on behind the scenes than she had thought.I was fascinated with the magic system and the world these characters exist in. It was really interesting learning about the history of their magic and how they interact with the world around them. Quell's POV is written in 1st person, and the readers are just as clueless as she is to the new world around her. Complementing her POV is that of Yagrin, written in 3rd person, which gives us more insight into the history and magic of this world.
Is it a perfect book? No. I spent most of it thinking it would be around 4 star. I wished we had been able to get more of Yagrin's POV, as it would have helped me as a reader to understand the history and how the magic actually worked. I also found the timeline somewhat confusing, with parts of it feeling like the book took place over the course of 1 or 2 months, and parts of it feeling like it had been many months. (Side note - how in the world do they tell time?) Quell is awful at communication, so I had to keep reminding myself that she is only 17 and has been socially isolated most of her life.
But, THAT ENDING. Part 5, but specifically the very last chapter, was impeccable. It put so many pieces back into place, and made me want to go back and reread it to look for the signs. There was so much character development in such a short chunk of it, and I am excited to see how it continues to develop in the second book. It is for sure a book I will spend a lot of time thinking about, and I will definitely be reading it again.
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Awards
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
432 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
0593527704 / 9780593527702
Local notes
17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through her veins. 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.
GSFF August 2023. Signed by the author, #1761 of 2000 numbered copies with decorative floral page edges.
GSFF August 2023. Signed by the author, #1761 of 2000 numbered copies with decorative floral page edges.