I just finished The House Saphir, and I'm still reeling from the experience. Marissa Meyer has once again delivered a masterful blend of fantasy, mystery, and romance that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The story follows Mallory Fontaine, a self-proclaimed witch who, despite her lack of magical prowess, finds herself entangled in a chilling mystery at the infamous House Saphir. The setting is richly atmospheric, with the mansion's dark history and lingering ghosts adding layers of intrigue and suspense.

Mallory is a compelling protagonist—flawed, witty, and determined. Her interactions with Armand, the enigmatic heir to the Saphir estate, are filled with tension and chemistry that had me eagerly turning pages. The slow-burn romance is perfectly balanced with the unfolding mystery, making for a truly immersive read.

What I loved most is how Meyer reimagines the Bluebeard legend, infusing it with fresh twists and a modern sensibility. The themes of trust, deception, and self-discovery are woven seamlessly into the narrative, making it both thought-provoking and entertaining.

If you're a fan of gothic tales, strong heroines, and stories that keep you guessing, The House Saphir is a must-read. It's a hauntingly beautiful novel that will stay with you long after the final page.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Marissa Meyer unsurprisingly delivers an easily devourable retelling. This time, it’s darker, more mysterious, and haunted. Full of romance, mystery, and ghosts, The House Saphir was a fun read. It also sets up a promising companion story.

This book was fun. I adore Mallory and her obsession with all things monsters and murder and morbid. A character with dark humor is the perfect narrator to make a bloody story more light and fun and not feel as dark, in my opinion.

Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors so I may be a bit biased when I say that I loved this book. It had a great combination of magic and ghosts with a romance that didn’t feel like it overshadowed the main plot. The characters are easily lovable and very diverse, they feel like beings in their own right, each has their own wants and desires and they make that clear.

Mallory is a con artist at heart and I greatly enjoyed watching her come up with various ways to pretend to dispel the ghosts while she bought herself time. I also loved the parallel of Anaïs rolling her eyes at Mallory’s attempts while pocketing any valuables she saw laying around.

About halfway through the book, I thought I had the whole thing figured out. I was a little bummed at how predictable it was and boy was I surprised when the reveal finally came about. Marissa Meyer does an excellent job of keeping the mystery without it feeling like there was no evidence to back it up once it was revealed.

However, I do wish we got to spend more time learning lore that wasn’t directly tied to Le Bleu and the wives. I would love to know more about the gods mentioned and the fall of the veil. I don’t feel like it took away from the story to not have this full context, but as someone who is a sucker for magic systems, I would’ve loved getting to know more and see the world building expand beyond what’s relevant to the House Saphir.

As a huge Marissa Meyer fan, I had high expectations going into The House of Saphir—and WOW, it exceeded them! I’ve loved every one of her retellings, but this Bluebeard-inspired romantasy might be one of my new favorites. It has everything I love: a morally gray heroine, ghosts, magic, a haunted manor, murder mysteries, and a slow-burn romance that had me questioning everyone.

Mallory is SUCH a fun main character—she’s messy, clever, chaotic in the best way, and full of heart. I loved the morally grey vibes and her fake-it-‘til-you-make-it attitude. And Armand? Complicated, broody, and totally suspicious. I was hooked from page one and didn’t want to put it down. The gothic fall vibes? Immaculate. The ghosts? So much personality. The romance? Swoon. Marissa Meyer has once again created a rich, magical world I never wanted to leave. I’ll absolutely be rereading this one!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Spice: ⭐️ (1) / 5 [only tension and kisses]

Genre: YA fantasy, gothic fantasy, historical fantasy

Tropes: fairytale retelling, morally grey heroine, sunshine hero, historical fantasy


Review:

Thank you NetGalley and the Macmillan Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review of the book! This book was great! I have never read any of Marissa Meyer’s books before, and this was a great introduction.

This feels like the perfect fall book. It has major Halloween vibes, and the ghosts, haunting magic, and constant danger all make it a great read to disappear into with a bag of Halloween candy on your lap this fall.

Mallory is SUCH a lovable main character. She’s a little morally grey but done so well? Her every decision makes sense, and it’s so easy to track her thought processes and decisions. She is so fierce and resourceful, and I love how quick-witted she is. Her special brand of chaos is so endearing, and I can’t get over her. There are few MCs simultaneously as lovable and relatable as she is!

The LO is sweet, but I gave this book a 4 stars because I felt like the romance was not quite as satisfying as I’d hoped. There were more twists and turns and complications to be had here, and I felt a little disappointed by it in the end. It was sweet and definitely full of well-crafted tension but it didn’t quite reach its full potential.

Overall, the story was great — well written, original, and entertaining! The world building was unique, the magic system easy to follow and also original, and the setting was an easy one escape into.

If you’re looking for a captivating and cozy fall read, I recommend this one! It comes out November 4th, 2025!

This book is a Fantasy book (which I typically like). This one really didn't do much for me. It was good. It just didn't live up to some of the other books that Marissa Meyer has written.

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Marissa did it again ladies and gentlemen and non-binary friends! She absolutely killed it.

This book has it all: romance, adventure, ghosts, mystery. This is one that you’re going to devour.

It’s giving a mix of Belladonna, Heartless (by Marissa), Phantasma, and The Darkest Part of the Forest. If you love ghosts and mysteries with romance involved, you need to read this one.

Our characters are real people. They’re not just words on a page, and above all, they feel super real. Our fmc isn’t annoying or full of stereotypes like a lot of popular fmc’s are these days.

The romance is adorable! It gave me everything I was looking for and then even some emotions that I wasn’t expecting.

The mystery is well thought out, and even though I figured out some of the plot twists before we got there, I had a really fun time watching it all unravel.

Gotta love ghosts.

Thank you very much to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the manner in which I received it.

No one is sadder about this rating than I am. I have such affection for The Lunar Chronicles and Heartless and was thrilled to get the ARC for this.

The good: The first couple chapters are so strong, and I was sure this would be a four star read. Meyer still writes fun dialogue, vivid imagery and atmosphere, tense action scenes, entertaining side characters, and wonderfully creepy villains. The best parts of the book are when we have multiple characters on page and the big personalities can interact with each other and Mallory. The ending, while rushed, ties together a lot of the small details that Meyer drops throughout in a very satisfying way.

The not-so-good: If I am being honest—and fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask) I usually am—this was disappointing and left me feeling underwhelmed. There are a lot of underdeveloped side plots, and it makes the world-building and character relationships feel shallow. It is not often I say that a book should be longer, but I would have liked to have things more fleshed out. We have the Bluebeard retelling and murders, gods and spirits and a veil has fallen, monsters and monster hunters, Mallory and her sister are con artists posing as witches, and Mallory can see ghosts that no one else can. With this page count, I wanted a narrower focus, because this is a lot. Outside of the first chapters of Mallory giving the tour of the Saphir Mansion—my favorite part of the book!—the most grifting Mallory does is halfhearted attempts at faking magic while she’s at Armand’s country estate. And sadly, much of that time spent with Mallory dilly dallying around the estate is the most boring part of the book.

I wouldn’t complain if that time was spent on interesting romance/character development or solving the murder mystery I was promised in the blurb (which is barely a plot point at 50 percent), but the romance is so bland. There are glimpses of chemistry and some fun banter, but zero tension. There is no suspense around the reveal—or the romance at all, really. There is never much reason for the reader to question Armand, and even when we have one, we are never given any reason to reflect back on his behavior so far and think it has been suspicious beyond a single obvious moment that happens immediately prior to the reveal. Armand is so kind and thoughtful that Mallory’s distrust of him comes across as more of her “don’t trust any man” attitude rather than rightful wariness based on any inconsistency in behavior. I did like his affinity with plants and how that played into some major plot points.

I sat with this book for a few days after I finished and despite the strength of Meyer’s writing overall, I settled on 2.5 stars. I like a good balance of characters, plot, and romance, but if one area is weak the others need to be strong to compensate. To me, all three were too weak to keep my interest, and I found myself reading just to finish the book, not because I was interested or felt compelled to know what would happen next.

Would I re-read this book: No

Who should read this book:
standalone fairytale retelling enjoyers
Fans of the Marissa Meyer’s style
anyone looking for a fast-paced, easy read set in an interesting setting (magical French gothic mansion, but not too spooky!)

Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan for a copy of the eARC.

This is a great read for the Fall as the seasons change. I really enjoyed how the book slowly revealed the story of the Saphir Family. This book shows the story of two sisters that descend from a line of witches. I wish we got a little more of their backstory and how they interact because I really liked the contrasting personalities of the sisters. Overall this is an interesting story that really held my attention and is a great cozy read!

Mallory Fontaine and her sister Anaïs make their living as witches, selling charms and spells, and giving "official" tours of the Saphir mansion. The mansion is haunted by the ghost of Count Bastien Saphir's murdered wife, the first of three women to die at the hands of the man known as Monsieur Le Bleu. When Le Blue's descendant shows up asking for their help in ridding the ancestral home of all of the ghosts, they see a fortune in their future - never mind that their magic is iffy at best, and they have no clue how to actually exorcise a ghost. And Mallory might just be falling for the newest count.

This is a 3.5? They story is well-paced and suspenseful with some good action scenes and a little romance. Even though it's a very dark tale, with plenty of bloody scenes, it wasn't scary at all, and felt almost light and appropriately youthful. It's another fairytale retelling from Meyer, but it works even if readers don't know the story of Bluebeard and his murdered wives.

The half point off is that the world-building didn't feel entirely thought out; various gods and magic rules are mentioned in passing, as if there's a history we should know, except we don't, so the rules are just confusing. Mallory can see ghosts that no one else can but she's not really a witch? The "veil between worlds fell" but what is that? Who are the seven gods and how are they different than the spirits the witches refer to?

‘The House of Saphir’ is an excellent take on the lesser explored tale of Bluebeard. This is an intriguingly dark fairytale that pulls you in from the start. The characters are charming and witty. By the end it was hard to say goodbye. All of the creatures and magic were introduced well without the need for heavy handed world building. While I would’ve liked to see more of the lore and foundation of the setting, there is something to be said about how perfectly digestible the entire story is laid out. For anyone who enjoys a spooky manor, family secrets, and a touch of magic, this is a must-read for sure.

As always, I love a good underdog story, and what’s more of an underdog than having to pretend you have the exact talents of those around you. I won’t say much, because you need to read it for yourself.

5⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for this Arc in exchange for a review ~

I love Marissa Meyer’s storytelling. I’ve been hooked on her books since I first read Heartless, and she has yet to disappoint me. Each of her stories (the ones I have read at least) have been retellings of popular fairytales. The House Saphir is a retelling of ‘Bluebeard’. While I’m personally not familiar with the story of Bluebeard, I still understood and enjoyed this book to the full extent.

Mallory (fmc) was thoughtfully developed and wasn’t too overly confident and wasn’t annoyingly dumb. A perfectly balanced character who didn’t annoy me at any point - which I feel like is hard to come by

I remained hooked THE WHOLE TIME😫 The writing was super fast paced and the 7 Gods, underworld and witch magic system was super easy to understand. While the book was obviously conveying dark / horror / witchy topics, the humor and sarcasm from the characters had me giggling at some points (Triphine was the funniest😭)

Overall, a fun and action packed read 🕺🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 rounded up

The first 50% were really slow and then everything started finally happening. I feel lied to about the murder mystery angle; there wasn’t really much of a mystery in the first place and it wasn’t developed in a way I would’ve described this book as part murder mystery. More like a plot point maybe. The romance arc wasn’t my cup of tea, but the dynamic was quite sweet and alright. I did like Mallory’s scrappiness and her character stands out among YA MCs for me. Constantino was also great fun, I would read a sequel with him featuring more prominently—and I sense a future possibility of him in his own romance dynamic.

Overall, a unique take on the Bluebeard legend. I probably would’ve gobbled this up more when I was younger and the intended audience, but nothing but my own current tastes are to blame for that.

Part fantasy, part romance, part ghost story, part adventure, the world building is quick in this novel. As a far of Marissa Meyer’s former work, I was excited to see a new fantasy that is a retelling of blue beard. Mallory and Anais are sisters who do tours of The House Saphir, who are kind of con artists who sell unsuspecting people phony jewelry and non authentic “authentic” artifacts. Mallory can see dead people; that is, she is constantly in communication with the slain wives of Bastian Saphir.

One day his great great grandson and only heir, Armand, comes for a tour and offers Mallory the chance of a lifetime; one that will help Mallory and Anais have a shot at a better life.

There are twists here, lots of fun magical creatures, and formerly alive friends and enemies alike. I’m not sure if this is a YA shelved book but I think it could be, it reminds me of the later Percy Jackson series or The Hunger Games level of fantasy elements. Very descriptive, good and nuanced character development and sharp dialogue. This was a heroines journey for the ages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel and friends for the ARC. Book to be published Nov 3, 2025.

OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD- I was sosososo excited when I got the arc because like what do you mean a new Marissa Meyer book??

Ok like the plot was so good- murder mystery + romantasy = perfect, and right from the beginning I was hooked as Mallory tried to solve the Saphir murders. Throughout the whole entire book I was desperately trying to see what happened next. Also, the characters in this were so likable, and the whole fantasy world was followable and very interesting- easy to get lost in.

I 10099% recommend this!!

Mallory is an acclaimed witch, a descendent of a once legendary line, or so she wants you to believe. While she may not have inherited the bulk of her family's magic, she can see ghosts.

Armand is the last remaining heir of the terrible sorcerer and murder Count Saphir, who murdered 3 of his wives as part of an evil ritual. Luckily his 4th wife escaped before the ritual could be completed and The Count was put to death. But now The Count is back, in ghost form, and wants to complete his ritual. What Armand needs is a powerful witch to help him banish The Count for good.

Armand finds Mallory running illegal tours of the crumbling house where The Count committed his first murder. Aided by a few props and the hypochondriac ghost of the Count’s first wife/victim, Mallory manages to stay just ahead of the law, until her luck runs out. Armand saves Mallory from jail thinking she is just the answer to stop The Count. But Armand doesn't know Mallory doesn't have her family's magic and Armand may not be all he seems because what if The Count isn’t acting alone? What if it is Armand trying to finish the ritual himself? And what if this is not Mallory’s first encounter with The Count?

I loved The Lunar Chronicles and Renegades and was so thankful to get the eARC of this. A stand alone re-telling of Bluebird, this is Meyer’s at her finest. From the first page I was pulled into a richly developed world full of magic and monsters. I got swept up in the action of the murder mystery as Mallory tries to unwind the Saphir murders. I really enjoyed Mallory’s interactions with the ghosts of the Count’s wives/murder victims. Each of the ghosts was so richly developed and they each had such unique personalities I wanted more time with them. I loved Mallory- she really drew me in and made me root for her in all her morally greyness. I do wish we would have gotten more time with the romance subplot, as it did feel a little rushed at the end. Overall this was 5 Stars for me. I loved every moment and this will be one I re-read for sure.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

The story of Bluebeard is not quite as familiar as any of the tales reimagined in the Lunar Chronicles, but the good news is that you don't have to have read the Charles Perrault version to enjoy The House Saphir. The story has some dark undertones, with ghosts and monster haunting an estate, and a fresh murder thickens the plot, but there is also some romance in the air between one of the female main characters and the wealthy owner of the estate who hires them to perform some ghostbusting. Fans of Marissa Meyer other fairytale retellings will likely find her deft hand at reimagining has only gotten stronger. An added bonus for some is that this appears to be a singleton, so no waiting for a sequel to finish the story.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Feiwel & Friends) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

3.75 stars.

I love her retellings and was interested in blue beard for sure. Marissa has such great writing and unique spins on things. Some points dragged a little for me but i still liked this book alot. The dynamic between the sisters was fun, and both very original. Even though these are ya books they have enough action for everyone

I have loved Marissa Meyer since the Lunar Chronicles and have eagerly awaited every new book from her. I remember several years ago, she mentioned she had an idea for Bluebeard retelling and I was absolutely ready for it. And ten years later, here it is, worth the wait. This have been my favorite of her stuff since the Lunar Chronicles and I'd highly recommend it.