A review by brooksie03051
House of Marionne by J. Elle

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me the ARC of this book.  The opinions are my own after reviewing the digital copy. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I LOVED this book!!!  This hasn't been released yet and I want to read book two 💛 

I pre-ordered a hardcover of this immediately after finishing to add to my collection of fantasy that I enjoy and want a nice copy on my bookshelf.  This will be a trilogy that I believe will do very well. 

 

Spoiler-free synopsis 

 

Quell is a 17 year-old who has lived her entire life filled with memories of being on the run with her mother Rhea.  Never able to settle into a place with friends, constantly moving, and changing schools to hide her big secret.  Deadly magic flows through Quell’s veins and her mother is desperate to keep her safe and hidden. She is weeks away from graduating high school and once she does, it will be easier for them to hide and have a more peaceful life, however, the people looking for her (who hunt all with her dark magic) find her and she is forced not only to run, but to do so alone.  Her mother gives her the location of a safe house where her mother said she would meet her once the threat was clear.  When she arrives the location is compromised and she is forced to make a quick and hasty decision in order to survive.  She seeks shelter at the only place she vaguely knows of that should be safe and where her mother will also know how to find... her grandmother's house.  A decision that she hopes will help her bide time until she can reunite with her mother. 

 

By morning, I'll be gone 

 

Little did Quell know that she would be thrown into a debutante society of magical social elites called The Order which she never knew existed. 

There are four territories and four Houses run by different headmistresses which are boarding schools young people attend (if invited) to oversee magical instruction.  Quell is hiding in House of Marionne run by headmistress Darragh Marionne. 

House of Marionne Specialties offered: 

 

• Anatomer~Tranfigurer of Anatomy   
• Audior~ Tranfigurer of Sound 
• Shifter~ Transfigurer or Matter 
• Retentor ~ Remover of Magic 
• Cultovator~ Tranferer of Knowledge 
• Dragun~ By Invitation Only 

 

She reluctantly is inducted and 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 they find out about her real magic abilities, she will be killed. Oh, and of course throw in a very handsome mentor who is assigned to her that is in training with the group of people who she has been running from and trying to kill her.  

The magic in this fantasy reminds me of the Grisha in Shadow and Bone but set in the modern day in a posh boarding school.