House of Marionne

HOUSE OF MARIONNE is an engaging YA fantasy. Quell has grown up on the run from the death sentence imposed due to the magic she was born with. It has been her mother and her for as long as she can remember. When she goes to pick up her cash from work, she stumbles onto a terrifying scene and the people who are searching for her. Rushing back to her mother, she magically travels away and has plans to meet up with her mother later. However, when their safe house is compromised, she turns to the grandmother she does not remember well.

Her grandmother is one of the Headmistresses who run the magical world. The House of Marionne is a prestigious training ground, one of the four houses for people with magic. Returned, Quell is the presumed heir of her grandmother, a title that comes with much responsibility and expectations. As she enters the school, she learns about the magical world - and its darker secrets.

What I loved: This was an overall engaging read with a steady plot centered around what Quell learns about magic and her desire to survive. The magical world and its politics are heavily complex, and there is much going on behind the scenes that Quell only gets glimpses of. She has hope that the training can help suppress her toushana, the innate magic that is usually a death sentence - but this is anything but easy as she tries to hide amidst the usual magic students.

Quell is a compelling character who is questioning what she knows at every turn. Her mother has kept a lot of secrets, and this plays into who Quell is willing to trust, as she does not have any reason to not do so. Right after Quell learns a bit more about her family, she sends herself into this magical world. While that decision may have been questionable, her motives are clear - Quell wants to live, be with her mother, and stop the dangerous magic inside of her. Themes of family, challenging birthrights, and hope are all really strong through her story.

The book also includes some interludes from Yagrin, a Dragun. The Dragun are the ones hunting her for her magic. Yagrin is a bit different, and he struggles with their mission and the tasks he has been given. His interludes were interesting, and they brought some additional knowledge and use of magic throughout the story. I am curious to see how his character will continue to evolve in the next book.

The romance was compelling with a bit of push-pull as they get to know each other. Jordan is at the House of Marionne from another house and had begun his training very early. He is assigned as Quell's mentor to help her with her studies. While the attraction is there, duty and complicated political dynamics make for quite a bit of will-they-won't-they in the course of the story. Jordan keeps a lot very close to his chest, so the reader does not get to know him very well, and opinion changes through his actions.

The world-building was quite fascinating with information revealed throughout Quell's training. This kept it from having any large information dumps. It also made it clear that the information is what is taught and may not be all the way to the truth. The authority figures in the magical world are of questionable virtue/honesty, so everything taught is taken with some inquisitiveness. I am curious to see how this will play out in the next book.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the story could be a bit confusing in places as small pieces of information come back later. I ended up rereading a few sections along the way, and I was still a bit lost in some scenes.

Final verdict: HOUSE OF MARIONNE is an overall engaging YA fantasy about complicated family, questionable authority, and hope. Recommend for fans of CRAVE, A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT, and WINGS OF EBONY.

HOUSE OF MARIONNE by J Elle is a YA Fantasy novel about Quell, a 17-year-old girl who has spent her childhood on the run. Draguns hunt and kill those with Quell’s forbidden magic, and when they get too close to catching her, she flees to the only remaining safe place: her grandmother’s. Quell’s grandma doesn’t know she possesses toushana, as they call it, and happens to run a magical school that helps people emerge in their powers. When Quell finds out that the final step of initiating is picking one type of magic that will drown out the rest, Quell believes she may be able to get rid of her toushana for good. The only problem is her mentor, Jordan, is a Dragun, so keeping her secret is both nearly impossible and the only path to staying alive.

I absolutely love the world J Elle created. It draws a bit on Harry Potter with the different houses and other dark academia elements, but it’s still unique in its own right. Bringing in the “coming-out-in-society” part as well allows for a lighter, fun tone to contrast everything else Quell is going through. Jordan also adds to Quell’s problems in both good and bad ways. How Elle sets up their polarity is so smart and gives them huge hurdles to get over. I’m really excited to see how their story plays out in subsequent books.

What would have made this book five stars is better pacing. It drags in places, and part of that has to do with the Jordan storyline, as he’s back and forth a lot. The story would have been better served if he had a clearer throughline. In fact, the book could’ve lost 50 – 100 pages, which would have helped the story to really shine. That being said, I do like the twists at the end of the book but wanted a little more closure to propel us into what will hopefully be a second book.

Overall, HOUSE OF MARIONNE is the kind of read you’ll want to get lost in until you finish it! It has an engaging setting, enticing characters, and a premise baked with conflict. Anyone who likes books with magic and forbidden romance should add this to their TBR!

What I liked:
Dark academia, Secret Societies, Dark Magic, High Fantasy, and Swoony Romance all inside an intricate woven plot. House of Marionne has all of this in an epic action that you will want to read till the very last page and enjoy the story too. Quell has magic, but she has been hiding as her mother has told her it will get her killed if anyone finds it. Her mom is an expert at hiding Quell and then been on the run for her entire life though Quell is not sure from who or what exactly this deadly magic known as Toushana will do.
Final Verdict:
Quell is an interesting character as she learns more about the world her mom has been hiding from her and more about the dark magic inside her. She struggles with wanting to run from it and trying to control it. In the end, when she learns all the secrets, or at least a lot of them, she embraces all she is, and we are left gasping to see how this unforeseen circumstance will play out. This book offers a darker twist on magical schools. It reminds me a lot of deadly education, and fantasy lovers will be thrilled with the multiple levels this book provides in intrigue as Quell navigates a world she was born to be a part of but was kept from.