This book was good. I think it's definitely for younger audiences (maybe like middle school teen era?) This dark academia/fantasy read was interesting. The magic system was a little confusing. I think this had a really solid premise, and J delivered. I found myself wanting more on world building and such. But overall, I'm excited for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for the digital ARC of "House of Marionne" by J.Elle.

Pro: The magic system, and House set up was pretty intriguing; as well as looking at how the different types of magic develop.
The 3 Rites system of induction was also interesting... but there did still seem to be parts that could be developed better.

Con: Insecure and hypocritical characters (this always bothers me): I get that it's supposed to help show growth of the character, but Quell spends about 87% of the book trying to be something she's not - for acceptance, and to not be "cursed". Everyone hides in the shadows, and lives a lie - Jordan, the Grandmother, and even Yagrin. It was all very frustrating, especially when realizing how much manipulation is going on behind the scenes. The toushana... Is it good? Is it bad? I still have no idea.

I do believe this would be a book my students this year would enjoy. It has the hinted enemies to lovers trope that so many love. The magic system is very well developed. I think the only downside as a teen reader, would be the uncertainty of what to trust while reading.

3.5/5 (rounding up to a 4)

House of Marionne is a YA fantasy dark romance book where Quell reluctantly enters a world of social elites and debutantes in order to hide her secret magic.

I really liked this book! I thought the plot line was really unique and the magic system was really cool! The entire complex society of magic and interesting to read about.

I enjoyed reading about Quell, her dark magic and her complicated relationship with her family. And of course her interactions with Jordan, that rip my heart apart!

Overall I'd recommend House of Marionne to anyone who wants to read a dark Ya fantasy romance with dark academia and debutant vibes!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions contained within this review are my own.

First off, thanks to NetGalley and J Elle for the ARC.
About That ENDING— Hours after reading the book, I haven’t stopped thinking about it not once.. I hope there will be another book. I can’t wait and I’m still not over it.. When I tell you, the shock- no that’s not the word I’m looking for- ASTONISHED! I was so astonished and got off guard, my mind was blown. I also love how all the characters were written, especially Quell and Jordan. I also love how it the relationship gave off Enemies to lover vibes.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. Unfortunately I DNF (did not finish)

I had a hard time finishing this book. It had its moments of intensity and wanting to read more. However I was confused by alot of it. I thought the world building was lacking. I didn't quite understand the Orders. I put it down and picked it up a couple of times but I was unsuccessful. Maybe I am not the audience for this book.

I am honestly not sure what I read, haha. I probably should have ended up DNFing but I wanted to see what I would be missing if I did. Unfortunately it didn’t get better for me.


The book is told from two point-of-views. One comes from Quell Marionne and she is the daughter of a Headmistress in some magical order. I wouldn’t say I ever connected with her or her story. She felt immature for her age and I wasn’t sure why she would make certain decisions. The other point-of-view, which is the first one, pulls you into the story but doesn’t give you much to go on after. Everything moves so quickly with little-to-no context.

I wish there would have been more about the world-building and the magic. I didn’t understand a lot when it came to both of these and still don’t get it after finishing the book. The book is on the longer side and so there was definitely room for better explanations. On that note though, I feel like the book could have been shortened as well. There were some lulls and some parts of the plot that didn’t really add to the story overall.

Overall, it was okay. I just don’t have much to say about this one. I didn’t connect with it in any way and because of that I have already forgot a lot of what happened.

I need to take a deep breath before starting to write this, because, unlike this book, I would love for my review to make some sense and not be all over the freaking place. As you might have guessed I do have some big feelings about this book. Big and bad. I have no idea why I forced myself to finish it. Honestly, by the end, I just accepted my fate and went with it and lightly enjoyed it (That´s why I give it 2 stars and not 1).
Where should I start, I saw this book marketed as GoT meets Bridgerton, and I don´t see it. I was fooled. There are no cool gray characters, there is no epic fantasy vibe and honestly, I have no idea why everybody was wearing gowns. Were they wearing them all the time? no clue, because the world-building is all over the place. I have no idea where this makes place until like 70% through the story. I thought they were in the UK, by the obscene amount of tea they were drinking.
Speaking of world-building, does anyone have any idea how this magic system works? because I gave up maybe halfway though the book, after the MC, Quell (don´t even get me started on the names), had to prepare for this super ultra-hard trial, that required her to learn Latin (I learn Latin, it´s hard!!) in like a week. and guess what, she crushes it (SPOILER).
Speaking of Quell, and the characters in general, who are these people, and why do I care about them? we are thrown in the middle of the action and are expected to immediately root for this girl just because she is the main character I guess, who falls in love with the dark and mysterious assassin just because he´s dark and mysterious. He has no character trait whatsoever!!!
I can go on and on and on about this, actually, I did. My husband is annoyed at this book just because of how much I was complaining while reading it.
I am really sorry, I had such high expectations. I yelled when I got accepted for this ARC and now here we are, with this rant-review about how this book put me in a reading slump.

Myth: 3.5/5

This book jumps straight into the action. It was a little jarring, but it was definitely a hook. I had a hard time getting into the romance. I definitely liked the mysterious second voice a lot more. The world was fun, though, magic school, elites, high stakes, and all of this new to our heroine, Quell.

Magic: 4/5

An elite magic school atmosphere, House of Marionne took us into magical studies on grand estates. I enjoyed the house rivalries — think Goblet of Fire, not Quidditch Cup.

Overall: 3.5/5

An enjoyable read, though I wasn’t truly hooked until the last page. Quell needs to figure out who to trust in this new world she’s been thrust into. She has her own agenda, but so does everyone around her. House of Marionne brings a unique magic system to a modern-day world.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Young Readers Group and J. Elle for the advanced reader's copy. This was a voluntary review.

For a quick, no-spoiler summary, this book concerns Quell Marionne, a girl who's been on the run with her mother since she was young from a mysterious organization that wants to do them both harm, mostly because Quell has a mysterious dark magic power that is inherently destructive.

When she and her mom are unexpectedly separated, Quell flees to her grandmother for help, not knowing where else to go. Grandmom is head of a school called Chateau Soleil for magical eites. Together with three other schools, they train those with magic abilities and prepare them to help ready the next generation. Hiding her dark magic, Quell attempts to blend in and learn how to wield "proper" magic until her mom shows up and they can get away together.

But as Quell continues her studies, she finds she is able to come closer than she ever dreamed to a life where she doesn't have to be afraid and doesn't have to look over her shoulder. She decides to graduate from this institution, defeat the dark magic inside her, and keep her mother safe. But things start to get in the way. A string of mysterious murders, dangerous threats to the source of magic itself, and a brooding boy she knows she shouldn't, but she can't help feeling attracted to.

The story portrayed in this book was intriguing. I'm a fan of secret societies, magic and decadence, so this was right up my alley. The glittery, dark world of the Houses is a place I wouldn't mind exploring further as there are a lot of questions I developed while reading that were not quite answered in this first installment.

Character-wise, I felt Quell as a heroine was fine. She did pick up her magic rather quickly, but I put this down to her being the "heir" and bloodlines and all that, which tend to be common in these sorts of books. I thought the juxtaposition of her dark magic against what she was trying to achieve with her normal magic gave enough of a failing for her not to be seen as too perfect, most of the time.

I do find the Draguns far more intriguing than she, however, and I hope that we get to delve into their side of the story a bit more extensively in future books, and that perhaps a certain love interest may get a chance to make a better choice and redeem himself. Only time will tell.

I felt that the world-building and lore were done well enough that I could understand them, although I would like a bit more of a history lesson about this Sun god that everyone seems to refer to. I also question why there is a war against dark magic users in the first place. And I don't fully understand Traders and their significance, just to name a few. None of these things are enough to make me not pick up the sequel, they're just questions that niggle at the back of my mind and weren't satisfactorily explained.

The real issue I had with this book, however, was two fold. First, as several other reviewers have pointed out, the formatting on at least the Kindle edition is very weird. There's no chapter headings for the first half of the book, the paragraph spacing is all over the place, the font size is sometimes huge and sometimes tiny, the page headings sometimes appear in the text, and there are weird strings of letters before each chapter title.

On top of this, it feels a little like the editor for this book took a vacation or was caught up in the writer's strike. I don't blame the author for ANY of this, as it's the editor's job to polish the manuscript first and foremost, not hers. That said, I need to note that there are numerous grammatical errors as well as sentence structure problems. So many, in fact, that I found myself pausing to highlight the errors and write notes correcting them. I have hope these will be dealt with before publishing, but it's hard to fully immerse yourself in a book when you're brought to a complete halt every page by errors that should have been caught even at this early stage.

Overall, I give the book three stars. I'll pick up the sequel and probably recommend it to friends, but Penguin needs a good editor to look over this before they attempt to publish so they can do the author justice.

So, this is an interesting book! This follows Quell who has been on the run with her mother for years because of her toushana, a dangerous magic that runs through Quell’s veins that destroys anything it touches and that people would kill her to protect the world. One day, Quell witnesses a murder by others who have magic like her and when her mother says they need to run again, she gives Quell a device that will allow her to teleport away. Quell decides to visit her grandmother where she gets roped into a magical boarding school to become the next heir of House Marionne.

I’ve not read many dark academia, which I think is what this would be termed as. It’s an elite magical boarding school, there’s dark magic, there’s romance, and a very prestigious, fancy place with wealthy families who all have magic. It was fun being in the school with Quell learning about magic, the different kinds, and what each to do. Also, learning alongside Quell how to use the different magics. I loved reading her learning because it seemed her mind was blown learning she could do more than be destructive. However, she still has to keep her secret a secret and it keeps you on your toes wondering if someone will find out her secret!

Quell is used to always being with her mother, and so meeting her grandmother and learning about magic, I could see why Quell wants to fit in. Being an outsider basically her whole life, she wants to fit into this world and use magic for good. As the story progresses, you learn along with Quell this life is not all rainbows and butterflies! It’s dark! Her grandmother was like scary mean sometimes, and I felt bad for Quell who just wanted her grandmother to accept her. And then meeting these other students and wanting to fit in and have friends, but knowing she has this secret that she may never be able to tell, it’s like how could she ver fit in? She was such an interesting character! She’s tough, resilient, stubborn to a fault, she never gives up, and wants to be loved and is vulnerable at times, but still a tough gal.

I will admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance. I didn’t believe it from the beginning, I wanted to, but it just didn’t really do it for me.

There was a lot of detail out into this book, and I definitely would recommend it! I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Not quite Bridgerton with magic!

Quell Marionne has been on the run with her mother to save her from members of The Order that want to rid the world of toushana, the dark magic that she carries within her. But that changes when she has to attempt to go through the levels of Rites and join The Order to protect her mother at her grandmother estate where her training will begin and she has to complete everything with her grandmother and other headmistresses of the other houses judging her.

I felt the beginning of House of Marionne is a little confusing because I had a hard time understanding the beginning of the story but once I got past the first quarter I wanted to see what happened to Quell and the different rites that she has to do to hopefully stop her toushana. But is The Order everything she wants?

House of Marionne isn’t Bridgerton with magic but needs more development of the background.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I frequently CRAVE a good fantasy book, and House of Marionne by J. Elle hit the spot! I loved getting lost in this world of magic. I mean they have tiaras growing out of their heads or masks out of their faces when they come into their magic! So cool!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
Four and a half stars for the entrancing world building, intriguing magic, enemies to lovers tension, and all round vibes given off by the gowns, tiaras, daggers and fancy balls.

I really enjoyed this book. The magic system and the world building were so unique and I enjoyed learning about how their society works. Quell was a very interesting character and I loved how her relationship with her magic evolved over the course of the book. I like how Yagrins POV was interspersed and how at the end everything came together. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

House of Marionne by J. Elle was such an intriguing read and I adored the vibes and atmosphere of the book! It was cozy but dark at the same time, and so entertaining to read! The very beginning of the book really drew me in, but I do think I enjoyed the last half of the book more than the start. It was fun to read from Quell's perspective and she was a unique character. There were a few twists I saw coming, but there was one I didn't see coming at all and I loved it! House of Marionne was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and overall I really liked it and I'd give it 4.6 stars out of 5.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

HOUSE OF MARIONNE by J. Elle is about Quell, who has been on the run with her mom her entire life because of the dark magic lurking inside of her. When Quell is forcibly separated from her mom, she can only think of one place to go: her grandmom's house. There, she discovers a magical boarding school that she must induct into to survive, all while hiding her secret, darker magic. But, as Quell will soon find out... all that glitters is not gold.

First, a small caveat: the formatting of this ARC was all over the place. There weren't really properly labelled chapters until the last quarter of the novel, the paragraphs weren't spaced out correctly, and the first letter of the first word of what I am guessing were chapters(?) was always separated from the word itself. I'm assuming that all of these problems will be fixed for the actual, final version of the manuscript, which is why I am not factoring it into my review. However, the wacky formatting definitely affected my reading experience, so readers should take that into account, especially when I'm discussing some of the things I thought could be improved on.

That having been said, I really did love this novel. I thought that the magic system was really interesting. There's this dichotomy between the Sunbringers (essentially everyone in the boarding school) and Quell's toushana (a magic characterized as dark) and the dynamics are really interesting to see at play. The Sunbringers are super focused on killing everyone with toushana, but at the same time, the source of their magic-- the Sphere-- is described as breaking down because of an IMBALANCE. It's intriguing to see how people can hold two contradictory ideas in their minds and yet connect the dots in such a completely backwards way-- because they need to for their society to keep running the way it does.

The book also touches on themes of toxic family relationships which I really loved. Quell's grandmom is just a giant red flag from the beginning. The way she treats Quell is completely unacceptable, but Quell is so desperate to have a stable life that she's willing to do anything to please her grandmother. Quell's primary love interest, Jordan, has similar issues with his father: his father really doesn't care about Jordan at all, but Jordan believes if he does well, that will change. It's a really deep, emotionally heart wrenching theme that the author does really well to explore.

There were some things about this novel that I thought could have been improved though:

APPENDIX:

There is an appendix at the back of the book that helps contextualize the way this magical society works. I would HIGHLY recommend reading it right after Quell is inducted into this magical society (I'd give a specific chapter number if I could). There were a few things about the way this society is constructed that I did not understand until after reading the appendix (and unfortunately, I did not know it was there until the very end).

That said, in my opinion, the fact that I need the appendix to understand this world is something I think could be improved. I think an appendix should largely act as providing supplemental material as opposed to outright explaining something that should be in the text. Throughout the novel, it kind of feels like everyone throws all these terms at Quell and kind of just expect her to understand despite knowing that she wouldn't; I think the novel would benefit overall from just a little more exposition.

YAGRIN:

Throughout the novel, the POV switches between Quell and Yagrin. Yagrin is a mysterious Dragun (which is basically like the police) who tried to get to Quell because of her toushana. He's still kind of after her, but honestly, it doesn't look like he's trying super hard to get to her, nor is it the main focus of his actions from a certain point onward.

He actually ends up being really important to the plot at the very end of the book (there's a super big reveal and everything), but because his POV is so scattered, it kind of feels like it comes out of nowhere. For a really long time, I wasn't even really sure why we were getting his POV at all; it didn't feel relevant to the story. I feel like if the author had brought him into the story a little more and spread more hints about his involvement, his role in the novel would make more sense, and I would have enjoyed the twist at the end a bit more.

RELATIONSHIPS:

So, let me start this off by saying that I really liked Quell's relationship with Jordan. I liked the dynamic between the two a lot; I just thought it needed to be paced a tiny bit more. It's one of those relationships where you know they're going to fall in love, and you can tell that the author thinks they're supposed to end up together, but the lead up wasn't totally there. It felt like they fell for each other just a touch too quickly; I feel like it would have made more sense for them to lean into the attraction after their deep talks about their childhoods and stuff like that. Right now, it feels like they had those discussions because of the attraction instead.

I also thought that Quell's relationship with her friends dropped in and out. Because there was so much other stuff going on, the development in their relationships wasn't quite as consistent as it needed to be. It might have been better if the author dropped one friend and just focused on the other so that everybody got dedicated screentime.

OVERALL: Overall, I really enjoyed this book though. I think it is a promising start to an interesting series, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Quell and her mother have spent their entire lives on the run, hiding from a magical society known as the Order that would hunt Quell down if they found out about the deadly magic she can wield. But when the worst happens and her secret is discovered, the only way Quell can escape the assassins and protect her mother is to enter that very society as one of their debutantes and learn to use proper magic in order to bury her forbidden magic forever. Becoming a debutante is easier said than done, especially with the threat of being discovered and killed hanging over her head, but Quell is determined to make it through the three rites required to become a full member of the society and secure her safety and her mother’s.

Dark academia and magic is a combination I’ve only come across a couple of times, so I added this to my TBR almost instantly and was quite excited to get an eARC. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations, but atleast the cover is pretty?

The plot felt like a mish-mash of the Grishaverse, The Selection, a little Harry Potter, and oddly enough, Barbie Princess Charm School – all of which I love, but the mix seemed kind of unnecessary. The Bridgerton comparison I’ve been seeing in some of the other early reviews for this book doesn’t fit as there was no historical element to it. The main problem with this book was that it was trying to be too many things at once and not really succeeding at any of them.

The urban fantasy angle started off rather well, I thought, with a hidden magical society and Quell entering a world she didn’t have much knowledge of and forbidden magic is a trope I generally tend to enjoy too. The elite magical boarding school was fine too, especially as it provided some much needed world-building and context to how the magic system works and the lore behind the society.

Where this story began to lose me plot-wise was the three rites, essentially three trials that these students have to pass to be admitted into the society. There wasn’t much description provided at all, just some surface level stuff and that Quell manages to clear them (more on this later). The manifestation of their magic in the forms of diadems or masks that grow out of their head was something I found really odd – and even more odd that so much fuss was made of it initially, Quell panicked about her diadem turning out the wrong color which would give away her secret and then she finds a fix overnight and it was never mentioned again.

Additionally, I didn’t see the point of the whole etiquette and debutante rigmarole – don’t get me wrong, this is the kind of thing I usually love seeing in books, royal historical fiction fan that I am, but in this case, it didn’t seem to have much purpose and often there was more focus on this angle than the magic. Some of this time could have been better spent actually describing this elite magical society in more depth rather than dining and dancing lessons,

The pacing was fast from a reader’s angle, but within the story itself, it was kind of weird, with time skips that made it hard to track. A lot of the plot points seemed forced in order to move things along and the story in general seemed to jump around quite a bit. The writing was not bad but didn’t feel as polished as it could have been.

Much like the plot, I found the characters to also be very surface level and couldn’t really connect with them. I’m not even going to get into the romance because it wasn’t believable and there was zero chemistry.

Quell read like a classic Mary-Sue to me. She started the story with only a peripheral knowledge of magic – basically that it exists and she has a forbidden, dark version of it that would certainly get her killed if anyone found out. Yet, once she enters the school, she is just magically able to harness her abilities well enough to practically breeze through the three trials in a matter of weeks where it is shown that most others take years to do so – it was stretching the chosen one trope a little too far. She also came off as an extremely naive character, and her decisions didn’t often make make sense – chiefly how when she found herself in a tight spot, her first thought was to run to her grandmother’s estate and without much contemplation enter the very magical society she and her mother have spent their lives running from and taking pretty much everything she is told at face value.

The only character I did find interesting was the mysterious Yagrin who had a couple of POVs throughout the book and I’m quite curious to see where his arc will go, especially given the revelations in the final chapters.

Fortunately, the last 25% or so of the book did pick up and is the only reason my rating didn’t drop lower than 3 stars. The many scattered plot points began to come together in a fashion, if a little hurriedly, with some last minute plot twists thrown in, and overall a pretty good cliffhanger to end this book on.

This isn’t marked as a series yet, but with that ending there should be atleast one sequel. I’m not completely decided on whether I’ll be picking that up yet, but I did like the basic concept behind this book, and choppy plot aside it was kind of a fun read, so I might check it out. As for House of Marionne itself, it was trying to do too much within one book and as a result not able to give sufficient depth to any aspect, but the plot definitely has potential, and hopefully a sequel might balance it out. I would recommend it to younger YA readers who enjoy these tropes.

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 

Quell 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.

This is a book for YA romantasy fans. It checks many trope boxes, weaving its tale over a familiar story structure. That predictability is quite popular, so it was a safe choice to write the book in that way.
This type of storytelling isn't for me; I prefer riskier story elements and unique plots over familiarity. Despite my aversion for the way this book was written and the fact that I nearly gave up on it multiple times within the first few chapters, I am glad that I pushed through in order to uncover what the secrets were that were obviously coming. It was an entertaining read, something to pass the time. It wasn't very memorable or captivating, though. I'm writing this review 2 days after finishing the book, and had to drag up the memory of it because I'd already forgotten the entire thing.
I didn't hate it, and would recommend this for those who love tropey writing; I'm just saying it wasn't for me.

I was so excited to start House of Marionne by J. Elle. And I freaking loved it.
The writing was breathtaking and the worldbuilding was truly immersive
Cleverly written. Marionne did an amazing job world building and pulling me into the story.
I was lost in the story and stayed up way passed my bedtime finishing.
This fantasy/romance was everything I was hoping it would be.
The betrayal, magic and mystery was on point.
House of Marionne is perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world. What’s not to love here?

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Razorbill for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I’ve been a fan of J. Elle since before Wings of Ebony came out and I’ve come to love her voice and writing style, and have been looking forward to this for about a year, with magic, history, and family backing it up. Due to my tastes not matching the fantasy romance expectations and a lot of confusion, I came out disappointed with an okay read that could have been much better for me.

I started out this book with high hopes with the enjoyable and exciting setup. The first chapters take place in present day New Orleans, with Quell on the run due to her destructive magic, trying to hide from those that want to kill her. She winds up in a high society house for school. The aesthetics of the Regency era in a dark magical academy, with the crowns and fancy dresses drawing me into this glamour of high society. Quell’s trying to figure out how this secret magical world works and trying to rid her destructive magic with more accepted ones. Quell’s making new friends and figuring out more about her family. There’s also a hint of political drama.

I do like how the story transitions from a contemporary to a fantasy setting, which is helpful for those that don’t read a lot of fantasy, something she carries over well from Wings of Ebony. The world building and lore has a lot of intrigue built in, about the themes of power dynamics and how that intertwines with magic. I also enjoyed aspects of Quell’s character as she’s learning about what magic means to her, and she has some great moments during her big development moments. She’s feisty and rarely takes no for an answer.

What I wasn’t a fan of was that many aspects of the political plot and high stakes concerns about her forbidden magic are big at the beginning, and then takes a backseat until the last quarter of the book. It did feel like this book was scattered in a streamlined story, and I struggled reading through a few chapters in the middle of the book. This book also seemed scattered in focus, stretched out in trying to fit in as many fantasy tropes as possible without their own twist, instead of enhancing the main messages of power dynamics and the interesting political drama. What got me back into the story in a big way was the political storyline returning in the last quarter, as well as a few twists and surprises, along with some fun character developments that made a lot of this worth it, as it’s by far the best part of the book.

The prose was hit and miss. While it does have some great parts and reads well most of the time and immersed me in the world, there’s sections where it was confusing and I had to read pages over again. The world building, magic system and lore felt a bit too convoluted and not explained well, so I was confused by what was going on. I really wanted to dive fully in, but I felt like I was in the shallow end at times if you get the analogy. I’m hoping some of this is addressed in later books. Also, I wished it could have been used to have Quell struggle more with her magic than she did, as it felt like she mastered things too fast and the timeline went too fast.

Also, I wasn’t too much into Yagrin’s POV until his last chapter, which had some intrigue for the rest of the series. I slate that due to the confusing world building, and I didn’t find him super interesting in terms of personality.

However, one issue derailed the much of the experience for me. The “dark and brooding mentor turned boyfriend teaches the naive female protagonist almost everything about magic” trope that’s popular in romantasy lowered my enjoyment of this book for more reasons than one. I’m not really a fan of this trope due to how it makes the protagonist passive and totally dependent on the love interest. Also, I’m not a big fan of high drama romance, preferring the sweet and fluffy kind. There’s no/low spice, just some kissing, which might throw off the people that picked this up after seeing this book comped to high spice books online.

This trope also extended to turning Quell into a passive character for long stretches of the story, letting Jordan take over. And Jordan himself didn’t have too much of a personality besides being the dark and brooding boyfriend for the most part. Overall, the characters and relationships were underdeveloped, and I wish we got more time with Quell’s family and friends to flesh them out, as most of them were sidelined in favor of Jordan.

I’m sure readers of no/low spice romantasy will eat this up and enjoy it, and will recommend to them, though if you’re tired of of the subgenere might not like it. Despite the letdown on a personal level, I commend the high ambition, and I’ll continue the series, especially with the last few chapters grabbing my attention.