I started this one right after the first and I was So glad I had this one. It was a great continuation of the first and felt just as good as the first.

Shadows of Perl
Author J. Elle

Step into a world of cotillions and hidden secrets, where Dark Academia meets dark magic in a contemporary fantasy that excite your soul. This is a true slow burn, with morally gray characters navigating a shadowy landscape of power and betrayal. Shadows of Perl is a mesmerizing tale Quell and Jordan and the dark seductive allure of magic.

🖤Quell continues to be hunted by those who fear her dark magic. She is relentless in her pursuit to find her mother. She is learning to embrace and control, what is rightfully hers!
🖤Jordan is still pursuing his rise in power at the Dragun Order. He must protect the sphere from all dark magic-toushana. He will explore his feelings about and come to terms with his relationship with his brother and Quell.

🩷The twists and turns will keep you reading through the night! The secrets are around every corner and behind each hidden door way! Where this book ends has you wishing for book 3… honesty, I need Book 3!!

✨🖤🩷✨This Series has quickly become one of my absolute favorites this year!!

Thank you so much to Penguin teen and NetGalley for providing me early access for an honest review. I absolutely loved the second installment to this series. After turning House of Marionne upside down following her final rite, Quell is back on the run and looking for her mother. She enlists the help of Abby and Octos to master her powers and while continuing to search. Once exhausted of all other options, Quell finds her way to the House of Perl where she thinks she finally found someone who accepts her but is that really the case or is something more sinister afoot?
Seeing Quell grow up and in to who she is meant to be was such a powerful part of this book. I love that she is finally making her own interests a priority while exploring exactly how powerful she can be. I also loved that we got to see into other characters point of view so we still get insight into both sides of the war on magic and between Quell and Jordan. The writing absolutely absorbs you into the story and you can feel the mix of emotions from all sides as you dive into the latest part in this incredible story. I can't wait for the next book!
Themes:
• Romantasy
• Young Adult
• Dramione vibes
• Touch her and you die
• Revealed secrets
• Multiple POVs

I was so excited for this. And the letdown was all the worse for that. It feels very disjointed from the first book and the different narration types between the POVs was jarring and didn’t seem to serve a purpose.
The story moved slowly but not in an enjoyable way.

My primary feeling throughout this was that the story was meant to be a duology but was made into a trilogy and it just didn’t work out. Still hopeful for the third but this didn’t do it for me.

Even better than book one. This book makes you have all the feelings. Just when you think you know what is happening the world is turned upside down again! Waiting very impatiently for book three!!

3.5 stars! I enjoyed this book and the story kept me reading till the cliffhanger at the end.

I struggled to keep track of the side characters for the first half of the book and this made it difficult to follow the story at times. However, I still loved the character development we saw in Quell and Jordan each. Adding in the 3rd perspective really built out the story. Hearing from her helped us see some of the other many moving pieces in a way that helped the puzzle come together nicely at the end of the book. This definitely feels like the middle book in the series as in it’s moving the plot forward but I’m so much more excited for the 3rd book to see how everything plays out in the end. The themes surrounding darkness, inner turmoil, and grief always suck me right into a story and I loved to see them in this book!

I read this as an ARC through Net Galley.

Shadows of Perl by J. Elle continues the thrilling saga from House of Marionne, emerging you back into a richly crafted fantasy world. As Quell searches for her mother while on the run, she faces a shifting magical landscape and a complicated relationship with Jordan. This installment deepens the lore and heightens the stakes, but also presents some challenges.

Highlights:
• World is more defined and expanded, especially around the Houses and magical elements.
• Characters are nuanced with a diverse cast, including a wheelchair user.
• The magic system is more defined and developed from the first book.

Critiques:
• Pace is slow in the middle, with significant developments only toward the end.
• Complexity: Some plot elements were confusing and hard to follow.
• I wish Quell showed more emotion, I felt like she was limited to anger and vengeance.

Overall, Shadows of Perl is an engaging continuation with rich world building and a more defined magic system. I do feel like it suffers a bit from second book syndrome with issues like pacing and plot complexity. But, it effectively lays the groundwork for the next installment in the series.

I love the way that characters in this series straddle the line between right and wrong. This book follows the previous as a ya fantasy about magical debutantes and their complicated world. The magic system and the politics are intricate which provides opportunities for characters to surprise you. I would have loved more romance or a quicker plot to keep me engaged in the beginning, especially with so many POVs. I am so excited to see what has been set up in this book for the next book.

Thank you PenguinTeen Canada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read book 1 and immediately began Shadows of Perl, I am glad that I did this because it kept me in the world.
This book was very slow. There was some action but it did not move at the same pace as House of Marionne. This book seemed to focus more on character development but that ending!

Was this book better than book 1? No.
Was it good? Yes.
I really hope there is a book 3 to tie it all up.

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group, and J.Elle for the advance reader copy of this book.

The opinions posted are my own and voluntarily given.

I really really reallyyyyy wanted to love this second book as much as the first book, but I didn’t sadly. It just felt so much slower and less addicting and entertaining as the first book. The beginning and the ending made up for it mostly, but the middle just felt so different and slow than the rest of the book. I’m still excited for the third book to what the heck is going to happen, but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more that went on.

I’m really hoping the third book is super amped up and brings the addictive energy like the first book! If you loved House of Marionne you definitely need to read this book to continue the story, however be prepared for the slower pace and to be a bit let down. I thought we would get a whole lot of more of Quell and Jordan and maybe even Quells mother, but those felt like after thought for most of this story unfortunately.

shadows of perl the book that you are! j. elle went above and beyond what i expected! i enjoyed book 1, but it had a lot of plot holes and fuller, so i was really interested to see how book 2 would go. it was everything i could have wished for! i love the tension between jordan and quell (YA romantasy tension knows what it’s doing!), quell’s confidence in herself and her toushana, and all of the moments that made this book what it was. there were a ton of plot twists with friendships, betrayals, and the magical world that had me on the edge of my seat. and the ending? GIRL! i am soooo excited for book 3.

Just like book 1, I had a hard time getting into the book in the beginning but it was so good. Things were coming together, things were coming undone. A crazy cliffhanger! Left right in the middle of everything!! Why you doing this to me? So many unanswered questions, so many things revealed! We learn more about secrets and the magic system. There is betrayal, same bed, enemies to lovers, book 1 ended with you questioning who was good and who was evil. Book 2 answered some of those and revealed more evil. Can’t wait for book 3!!

I really wanted to like this book as much as I liked the first one but I struggled to get into this book. I feel like the pace of this book compared to the first one was slower and it didn’t pick up until around two-thirds of the way in and then it ended with a major cliffhanger. For me, at times a lot was going on in this book and it was slightly confusing, and I found it hard to keep up with. In book one, I found the magic system hard to understand and I appreciate that it wasn’t as confusing in this book. I enjoyed having multiple points of view in this book and found that it helped keep the story flowing.

Shadows of Perl by J. Elle is a young adult contemporary romantasy continuation of House of Marionne. The second book picks up right where the first left off and Quell is in the run, looking for her mother. As for Quell & Jordan’s relationship, let’s just say I’m always a sucker for a good slow burn and/or enemies to lovers trope. I felt the magical system was clarified/better explained in this book which I really appreciated. To me this added even more sense of completeness as the author continued on with their expert world building. There were numerous twists and turns in this book, often making you wonder who could actually be trusted which I really enjoyed. Don’t even get me started about the cliffhanger at the end! Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next installment.

4.5 rounded up

👑 QOTD: if you could design your own diadem, what would you want it to look like?

A: I want mine to be black metal, with all the possible colors of gems. 🌈

Shadows of Perl picks up right where House of Marionne left off.

📖 The plot is great. There's one big surprise that had me 😱, along with some nice twists and turns.

👥️ The characters are well developed and nuanced, with more character enrichment coming in this book. The cast is diverse in all ways, including a wheelchair user. I couldn't love this aspect any more.

✍️ The prose is smooth and the dialogue reads as natural.

🗺 World building was mostly on book 1, with J. Elle adding additional info where relevant in this book. I think this was masterfully done.

🔮 Magic was further expanded upon from book 1.

⏳️ I found the pace to be too slow for my liking. This is really the main thing I didn't love about the book. The first chapter is great, but then it felt too slow for me, til the very end.

💞 The enemies-to-lovers, lovers-to-enemies slow burn is fun and well done. The slow burn in this one is so well done.

I love the way Elle works twists into her novels - they don't feel contrived or forced. I love that she built up so much tension and longing between the FMC and MMC into a delicious slow burn. I love the way the author has most of the POVs in first person, but one in third. I think it greatly helps the reader to differentiate POVS. I love the study in standing up for what's right, even when it's hard (especially when it's hard).

I feel a bit confused and unsure about familial ties - who's related to whom and how. A diagram or family tree would be quite helpful, I think. This may be a personal thing, as I'm not good at envisioning things of this nature.

It ends in a pretty big cliffhanger that has me excited for Book 3.

If you enjoy YA romantasy, give this trilogy a shot. It's a fun, interesting read. If you enjoy books like: The Selection or Fourth Wing or these authors: Stephanie Garber, Alex Aster, or Leigh Bardugo - you should add this gem 💎 to your TBR.

Thank you to @authorjelle @PenguinTeen
@netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. I'm choosing to leave this unbiased review.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Shadows of Perl by J. Elle is a mixed third and first person-POV YA contemporary romantic fantasy continuation of House of Marionne. Since Quell embraced her toushana, deadly, dark magic, she's been on the run from the rest of the magical world while looking for her mother. The House of Perl takes her in, but there's a lotof secrets laying under the surface. Meanwhile, Jordan, the biy she found herself falling for, is now hunting her down.

The worldbuilding is really expanded upon in this book, particularly the Houses, Toushana and the Draguns. Jordan is made the Dragunheart, who is second-in-command to the Dragunhead, and that gives him a lot of responsibility and forces him to test his loyalty to his family or to Quell. Toushana is revealed to be something some Houses actually do dabble in and the black and white worldbuilding of the first book is a lot more gray.

Quell and Jordan's romantic arc is defined more by pining and denial than it was last time. There was yearning in the first book, but Quell at least seemed to think she could have him and Jordan was leaning into it. This time around, they often refer to each other as ‘the boy/girl I used to love’ and push away their feelings as much as possible despite other people seeing the truth. Jordan claims he's willing to bring Quell in, but when push comes to shove, he's a lot more hesitant.

Nore is a new character and my favorite POV. She opens the book with a bang: a young woman from a House who cannot do magic so her mother injected her with toushana. Nore is looking for revenge and she's looking to be free of the magic that is slowly killing her. She has to hide around magical society in plain sight as her mother’s heir, wearing a fake diadem and pretending that all is well. Sometimes her chapters felt like reading a spy thriller and I'd love to read a fantasy spy thriller in a debutante setting. That sounds so fun.

I would recommend this to fans of the lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic and readers of House of Marionne who loved the worldbuilding

HOUSE OF MARIONNE by J. Elle is a fantastic opener to an amazing fantasy series following Quell who’s trying to hide her powers to keep her mother safe. In SHADOWS OF PERL, we now see Quell embracing her powers. It’s a perfect continuation starting not too far from where the first book left off and we get to see lots of character development happening throughout. The book has action, angst, humor and more of a in depth context of each House along with their specialties. I loved learning more about this world and its characters. And I loved that we got to see Quell in her Reputation era! Having multiple povs was a great way to bring on new perspectives that were important and contribute largely to where this series is heading. I look forward to reading what J. Elle has in store for the finally. While some questions were answered in this book, we were left with many more questions in return!

This book was lovely, but definitely a middle book. The pacing felt a little all over the place at times and it made it hard to come back to it over and over to finish.

It does a nice job setting up the ending of the trilogy, which is what I'd be more looking forward to. There are a few plotlines I'm really interested in seeing wrap up, but ultimately my faves seem to be the side characters. It happens.

This was one of the best sequels I have read. J Elle is a masterful storyteller, character developer, and this book had me on the edge of my seat. I went through all of the emotions reading this.

The overarching theme of choosing whether or not you will embrace yourself despite what you have been raised or told is very poignant and important. It definitely gives good meaning to the quote that art imitates life. I loved the multiple POVs, getting to know Quell, Jordan, and Nore even more.

All ready chomping at the bit for book 3.

This was my most anticipated arc read and sadly it fell short of my expectations.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The pace was slow, connecting with the characters was hard for me and in some moments I felt like the emotions were lacking.

The things I did enjoy were the magic system and the slow (and I mean really slow) burn!

I do understand that usually the 2nd book is used as a filler and I will 100% be reading book 3 I just hope there’s more to it than what I got from this book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review!