I enjoyed the setting and imagining the school, its history, the danger lurking in the surrounding forest. - it was very atmospheric and I could vividly picture the winding corridors and secret passages. I also really loved Quell and Abby’s friendship and thought they complemented each other so well, bringing warmth to the story. But, I found the romance subplot underdeveloped and the chemistry lacking. I think the story would have been better with the romance removed.

The plot was slow to start and I found myself a bit confused when characters names, abilities, and houses were mentioned since we had to real introduction to them or the magical system and history. It was written in such a way where the reader was assumed to know about the magic system and history. Also, I’m not sure if it was the formatting of the digital ARC, but the writing felt choppy and chaotic. That being said, the last 20%ish percent is EXACTLY what I wanted from the whole book - sinister secrets revealed, the suspense heightened, and the pace sped up. I really wish the romance had been eliminated so we could’ve had more information about the headmistresses and the Draguns.

To be honest, the Bridgerton comparison confused me and I was expecting a historical fantasy, or at least time travel, so I think it’s important to note this was, in my opinion, not an accurate comparison. I think it’s a bit more comparable to The Atlas Six, just add a cotillion. I liked the dark academia elements, but I wanted more magic and less finishing school elements.

While I don’t think this was perfect and needed some major editing, I liked the ending and that the door was left open for another book.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I loved the world building and drama that occured. The magic aspects were very pleasing to read for me. I loved the drama and exclusivity of the wealth and the commentary on the parallels of this fictional world and our real world. The family dynamics and relationships was written in such a stellar way. Also the found family in this was epic. I loved the relationships between Quell and the other people she meets on her journey. The ending definitely to me seems to like up to a possible next book in this world and it that happens I would automatically buy it. While this was my first experience with this author, I loved every minute of it. The twists at the end shocked me and had me ranted to my very confused family and people around me in the airport. Overall, I loved the world and how Quell was a strong female badass character who while falling out of love soon after falling in love, the breakup didn't damage her journey and mission.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This had such an exciting premise. I think YA fantasy is some of the best. This was just okay for me though. I thought the characters were well written but the plot was just a little bit slower than anticipated.

3/5 ⭐

I was gifted this ARC in exchange for an honest review of the work, these opinions are my own.

Knowing that she has something dark within her Quell and her mother are on the run. Her mother wont go into detail much further than telling her that she must keep herself invisible, that is until she runs into a stranger that leaves her no choice but to face her fate.

I have to say that I must be getting really lucky with these ARCs because this was another exceptional read!! You know a book is good when it gets you out of a reading slump that another had been putting you in. When I first looked into this, the thing that caught my interest was when it spoke of an assassin and a magical school haha; I jumped right in and was taken away to the land of Chateau Soleil. One thing I really look for in a book is seamless world building, world building where you dont consider it to be world building at all and this book hit that mark.

The characters. To start off there are two main character perspectives that we get one is the MMC POV of a man named Yagrin, and the second is the FMC POV of Quell; I loved both. I was eager to hear and see from both of their eyes.
* Quell: Shes smart, ambitious and isn't a naive girl. For having her be 17 I was thoroughly pleased with where her maturity level was, some authors I see make the girls immature and then grow them over time. While Author J. Elle made her realistic, she had to grow up young and in turn is mature for her age. BUT she still develops throughout the books, it was just all great!
* Yagrin: He's cunning, secretive and perfect for the role that was set up for him. At first I believed him to be the love interest but I actually like that he was set up just how he was described to be, the assassin. I was expecting an assassin and target love story but it actually takes a much more interesting turn. He is older and has obviously been in the world, that Quell is thrown into, for much longer; His knowledge shows.

I wasnt expecting an ARC to pull as many plot twists as this one did!! And the way the love interest relationship is set up also had me squealing, I really believe this is such a well put together read and highly suggest others to try it out, I am actually anticipating the second book because where we were left was enough to make you hunger for more. Below are the tropes present in this novel:

Slow-burn Romance
Morally Grey
Mentor x Student
Chosen one

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I really loved this book. I didn't know what to expect going in, but really enjoyed every minute, and loved the MC. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

I couldn’t get all the way through this one, which is unfortunate because I was interested in the first couple chapters! The writing is a bit boring and I feel like a lot of things are never fully explained or fleshed out well. The plot started slow and couldn’t quite grasp me at any point, and I just didn’t care enough about the characters to finish.

Wow. My head is still reeling from that ending.
Thank you for allowing me to review this book early! I want to say that what drew me to this book initially was the beautiful cover. It’s very eye-catching, and the designer should definitely be proud.
I really liked this book. I think it was a little slow starting off. I wasn’t pulled in right away, but I became pretty invested once Quell made it to the House of Marionne.
Other than the slow start, I really don’t have anything bad to say. The writing is exceptional, and there’s nothing in the way that J. Elle writes that nagged at me. She’s a good author, and it’s a win if I can get through the book fully understanding what I’m reading.
The relationship between her and Jordan was perfectly executed. It wasn’t too slow, it wasn’t too fast, it progressed exactly how you would expect it to.
I have more thoughts on Jordan *coughs* but I’ll just leave it at that.
The BEST part about this book was the ending. The reveal was way more than I expected, and it was such a good plot twist.
Here’s the thing, plot twists, I have found, are tricky to pull off. I’ve read a lot of plot twists that I either saw coming very early on, or I felt it was only written for shock-factor. The latter meaning that the author wrote a plot twist that I feel made no sense, and was disappointing, but wrote it that way just to surprise you.
J. Elle pulled off the perfect plot twist. I didn’t see it coming, AND it made perfect sense, so absolutely bravo!
I’m really excited for the release of this book, and I’m excited for book two!

Quell has spent most of her seventeen years on the run with her mother. They bounce from city to city, trying to hide the magic in Quell's veins from those who seek to do her harm. But with an assassin trailing them, Quell is determined to keep her mother out of harm's way, so she decides to enroll in the Order, a debutante society full of magically social elites. All Quell has to do is pass three rights to become a member, and she'll have to tools to bury her magic forever. Turns out, becoming a debutante is harder than Quell imagined, especially when she has to deal with Jordan, her mentor and assassin-in-training. When Quell discovers just how far the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she must choose between embracing the magic she's feared her whole life or risking losing everything she's come to love.

The synopsis promised some lofty goals, and I don't think it was delivered. I was prepared to get swept up in secret societies and dark magic, but it all felt bland. I don't think the world-building was strong enough to immerse yourself fully. Things felt either glossed over or not explained, especially the magic system and the different Houses. We kept getting told how powerful the Order was, but I never got the true sense. I also found it hard to connect with the characters. None of them felt fleshed-out, especially Quell, which made me not care about what happened to them. The relationship between Quell and Jordan was fine, but again, nothing to write home about. I think this had a lot of potential, but it sadly missed the mark for me.

The uncontrollable, dark magic that seethes inside Quell has meant a life on the run for her and her Mom, yet her Mom has refused to discuss the strange magic that haunts Quell or their past. When an assassin threatens Quell’s life, she and her mother must split up to escape, and Quell ends up at her Grandmother’s house seeking protection. There, Quell learns that magic is a part of her family’s history and her grandmother is headmistress of a school of magic which trains its students for three dangerous trials to bond them to their magic. Her mother sends word that Quell should stay in her grandmother’s protection, and so Quell commits to her role as heir. Her grandmother assigns handsome and mysterious Jordan to be her mentor, but Jordan is a dragun and is sworn to seek out and kill any who wield Toushana, the dark magic that Quell must hide from everyone. Jordan is not the only dragun stalking Toushana: Yagrin is tasked with killing Quell before she can become heir. I wanted to love this series and it has a lot that will appeal to many readers: Dark academia with rival houses, an enemies to lovers romance, and courtly etiquette complete with dresses and dancing. I did not feel much for Quell other than annoyance. The plot could have been improved with more switches in perspective to Yagrin to build in more suspense and to help make Yagrin and her farm girl crush seem less one-dimensional. The world of Marionne felt incomplete and underdeveloped and some of the elements felt awkward – permanent crowns or masks that permanently grow out of your head just seemed gruesome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin/Razorbill for an advanced reader copy supplied for review

There’s a lot to say about this one.
Magical, dark, the prose, mysterious.
Secret high societies! Ok I liked it. All the components of a good read. I loved the magic in it. Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read this earc!

Thank you Netgalley and J.Elle for allowing me to read this Arc in exchange for my honest opinion! Overall I’m giving this book 3.5 stars! I enjoyed getting to know the main character, Quell and her life on the run with her mom who tried to protect her from the dark magic inside of her. At times, I felt bored the first half of the book but I think that’s because it is a YA book. Towards the end of the book, it kept my attention and I love that Quell took things into her own hands knowing the risk! (Her grandma is AWFUL lol) I hope there is a sequel because I would like to read more about Quell and Jordan!

This book has magic, dark academia, enemies to lovers romance, mystery with action that made this an intriguing read!

In short, this follows Quell who has magic known as toushana which is known to be deadly. She is pursued by assassins because of what she possesses, so to avoid being killed, she takes precautions and enters a debutante society. However, it's not easy and something begins to bloom with her tutor, Jordan.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Thank you for the ARC!

This book was exceptional. A little slow going at first, but once you become submerged, you don’t come up for breath until it’s done. You will immediately wish you hadn’t finished the book. All the twists, all the turns were never expected. By the end of the book I was so proud of the protagonist. 10/10

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for granting me access to the book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start off by saying I thought the magic in high society was interesting. If you had magic in you, you would need to be accepted in to a house and debut like a debutant with balls and proper etiquette while learning to hone your magic and pass a few trials to bind the magic. If you don’t get accepted in to a house and fail to pass, you lose magic forever. The houses and politics were most interesting to me.

Quell finds herself in the House Marionne, with a secret to hide, a dark magic, with her life being hunted if anyone to find out. The boy who is her mentor happens to be one of those hunters.

With all that, I found this book pretty underwhelming and never got really exciting, even at the end. I didn’t really want to pick it up as it dragged throughout. I also thought the romance was lacking. There was something about the writing that jumped scenes from sentence to sentence that had me confused a lot. I did like seeing POC represented main characters in a fantasy book though.

Thank you Netgalley and Razorbill for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group and J. Elle for this ARC.


Quell
14 schools. 12 years. 9 cities. Quell has spent her life hiding and running due to the power coursing through her body. After an unfortunate incident, her mother fears the Dragun are closing in and forces her to run, promising to find her. Unable to determine a safe place, she decides on the one person who least expects it, her grandmother. It is here that she not only discovers magic but that she descendes from the House of Marionne.

To ensure her safety from the deadly magic coursing through her veins ,she agrees to be inducted into the debutante magical society called the Order. It is here that she discovers just how far the Order is willing go to protect itself. Quell must fight to protect her secret, her life or lose everything in the process.

Lots of different Houses, powers and characters to keep up with. I'm sure the remaining books in the series may give more insight into those secondary characters. The plot was identifiable pretty early on but didn't deter me from continuing to read.

House Of Marionne is marketed a young adult fantasy however I through enjoyed it. The character development, plot twists and House backstories came together quite nicely. Some might find this slightly overdone however. I did enjoy reading along as Quell gained more insight into who she was. The ending did seem a little faster paced that the rest of the novel. The cliffhanger and plot twist ending did leave me ready for the next book.

Rating: 4.25/5

This book was SO good! It was unexpected and I loved it so much. There was dark academia, secret society, dark magic and a powerful main character. It has everything that I need and could want in a story, I cant wait to see where the author will bring this character and world.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for granting me access to the book in exchange for an honest review.

House of Marionne is a fascinating young adult fantasy filled with forbidden dark magic, magical boarding schools, mystery and a magical society of debutants. While I did enjoy reading this book I wanted more! Thus the reason for the three stars. I went into it expecting a cross between Bridgerton and Stephanie Garber and actually it was more of a young, young adult read. Clearly I am not the target age range.🤣🤣 The plot did drag a bit and left me with many unanswered questions. The story has so much potential and it did hold my interest. Hopefully, there will be a sequel with more world building and some answers.🌟🌟🌟

I received a free copy of this book. This has not impacted my review.

House of Marionne, by J. Elle, is a young adult fantasy about a girl who attempts to fit into an aristocratic magical society, all the while skillfully ignoring all red flags about said society. The book is separated into four parts. Part One details Quell’s introduction to the House of Marionne and her subsequent decision to stay at the school, headed by her grandmother, Darragh Marionne. Part Two shows Quell continuing to blossom her magic, despite her own forbidden power alongside said magic. Part Three describes Quelll’s struggles to contain her growing darkness, as desperation clouds her judgement. Part Four brings Quell’s struggles to a grinding halt, as she realizes that the House of Marionne isn’t as it seems, and has to make a decision on whether to remain trapped in a gilded cage, or to leave, even if it means giving herself to darkness.

I absolutely loved how the author introduces Quell. I loved how Elle showed Quell’s imperfections and how relatable they are. W get to see what Quell is fighting for; if she remains perfect, she gets a handsome boy toy (and yes, I mean boy toy), the favor of her grandmother and all the other houses, power and wealth beyond her wildest imagination; and all she has to do is remain an obedient servant to the House. Speaking of which, I especially love Darragh Marionne. Despite her very strict and very image obsessed personality, I can’t help but relate to her. It’s typical for older generations to want to preserve their legacy, but for Darragh, she also needs to preserve that secrecy. Without it, House of Marionne will fall. Granted, I don’t agree with the way she’s doing things, nor am I blind to what will happen should she continue to hide things in the dark. Regardless, the Dragun, as well as the other Houses, are formidable, and I doubt she or Quell are able to take them all on with the power they have now.

This book also reflects the accuracy of a lot of religions unfortunately. In modern witch society, there’s this obsessive focus with love and light (with, of course, a hint of toxic positivity). There’s a stigma on people who practice the left hand path, those who work with demons, individuals who’s cultures don’t align with white witch practices, ect. Similar to Christianity and other religions, if you don’t fit a specific mold, then you’re not fit to belong. You’re forced to hide who you are in exchange for a group’s protection, similarly to Quell. How many people have felt comfortable sitting in a pew while listening to a preacher spout fire and brimstone, knowing that they were LGBTQ+, or a witch, or believing that men and women are equal? I have. This book speaks volumes to that. Neither me nor others have glaring indicators that we don’t fit in (the diadem was frightening enough), so I would say that we’re luckier than Quell, to say the least. But the struggles are similar. And of course, Quell’s descent and subsequent acceptance of her tousahana, getting her freedom, no matter the cost, marks the true passage of a witch in making. I commend her for it.

Honestly, I’m glad I picked up this book. Every time I had free time I had to keep reading. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Elle’s works. As such, I would like to give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

I couldn't finish the book. The formatting issues aside, not much about the story really hooked me. The exposition felt rushed. I understand the author may have been going for a "urgency" feel but the story just hops from one thing to another and rushes by any introductions. There's no foundation for me.
The characters that I met up until I stopped were okay but nothing was compelling me to root for or against anyone. The magic system was the only redeeming factor in that it was a system that requires the user to continuously train and use their magic or else they lose the ability to wield it. But even the magic system intricacies weren't enough to keep my attention hooked.
I greatly appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. Unfortunately, this isn't a book I'd readily recommend to someone at this time.

I loved this book! It seems very well thought out and loved the development of the characters. A lot of twists that worked well with the story! I can not wait for book two. I love that although it ended in a cliffhanger, it at still wrapped up the first storyline so you don’t feel like it’s incomplete.