I went into this book expecting a sophisticated story of intrigue during a season of society events. The cover and descriptions lead me to make those expectations. What I found was a boarding school like setting with a poorly described magic system and simple writing that made me think this is more middle grade than YA.

Her roommate grew up in this world and has been at the castle for two seasons trying to pass three tests. Our main character, who didn’t grow up in magical society, is able to pass two of the three tests in days. She is completely untrained, but is also a Mary Sue with the best powers.Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including:

House of Marionne is a captivating contemporary fantasy that’s sure to enchant readers from the start. Perfect for fans of magical boarding schools, dark secrets, and books with glittering atmosphere ― Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times bestselling author Then we have Quell's grandmother, the Headmistress. I imagine her as the evil fairy godmother from Shrek 2 and who I assume has some likewise shady intentions. However, nothing has been confirmed. Those are simply the vibes I'm getting from her. The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams. House of Marionne is going to delight not only fantasy readers, but romance lovers of all ages!" —Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling authorQuell our fmc was strong, but not badass weilding swords and out to save the world. She was strong and determined for her circumstances and her age while she was placed in an impossible situation. She wasn't meek, and she was smart. I love a smart and cunning fmc! I'm excited to see her continue to grow over this series.

House of Marionne to me read like a Book of Boring. I made it just past the halfway point but this is where I stop. Because I don't care what happens next. I'm not invested. I wanted to love this because the cover is pretty and the synopsis sounded up my alley. Alas, it was not meant to be. The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams. House of Marionne is going to delight not only fantasy readers, but romance lovers of all ages! ― Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling authorI turn, but in every direction the walls have shifted or closed in. There are no bathroom signs, no blaring red light pointing toward an exit anymore.

Unfortunately these positive aspects were overshadowed enough by the aspects I didn't like that they weren't enough to keep me going. Overall, I think that the politics of the world were intriguing. We didn't get to see much of them, unfortunately, and we also didn't get to see a lot of the extent of the magic system, but those were things that I was super interested in. Inventive, evocative, and epic. House of Marionne is a dazzling magical thrill ride. Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbill for the arc through netgalley, a physical arc, and a finished copy in exchange for an honest review! Twist ending. While I suspected for mere moments the ending, it still got me!! I literally was in the car and said, "*gasp*...waaaaaait..." I enjoyed that I didn't know what would happen. Could you speculate? Sure, I did...but it wasn't obvious, so that was nice.Quell was the main character of this book, a girl with shadow-like magic who has been on the run almost her entire life with her mother so that people who will hunt her won't catch up with her. Despite this, I didn't feel she really fit the part of someone who had been running for so long. She claimed to be super observant, but then there were moments she was oblivious to some things. I also just don't feel she was as fleshed out as she could have been, she felt flat at times that she really should have shone. Jordan was the male main character who fell into the "dark-haired broody" trope, which I didn't mind because they're usually my favorite, but at times it felt like that's all he was as well. He did have more personality, but I couldn't exactly pinpoint what bothered me a little about his characterization. The characters in this were extremely flat. Quell was interesting at first, and even though I felt like some of the decisions she was making were pretty silly ones, I was willing to go with it. However, as soon as she makes the decision to return to the person that her mother ran from when she was 5, she very much becomes a stereotypical young, YA protagonist. She is immediately excellent at everything she tries and is being touted by all her professors as the best they've ever seen. She immediately becomes best friends with her roommate, but there is no depth to their connection and where I left off, they were fighting because Quell had to miss some dress fittings. Inventive, evocative, and epic. House of Marionne is a dazzling magical thrill ride.” —Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying