When I’m reading a new book by a favorite author, I am always worried that it won’t live up to my high expectations. I adore Marissa Meyer’s books and this one exceeded all expectations. I loved this gothic ghost story with a little mystery and magic, plus spine-tingling romance. Mallory and her sister Anais are con women who are hired to get rid of a famous wife-murdering ghost. The only problem is, they don’t have any real magic. Although they can see and speak to ghosts…including the three dead wives. Which comes in handy when another woman is murdered. This is a perfect read for romantasy fans! Recommended for Tricia Levenseller and Kathryn Purdie fans.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy for House of Saphir. I love Marissa Meyer’s previous publications - she’s always created incredibly imaginative and fun stories, and it was an immediate request on my part when I saw this title on NetGalley.

That being said, this particular tale fell short of my expectations. It started off strong but settled into something more mainstream-feeling than her other unique worlds and plots.

The reader is introduced to FMC Mallory - a witch who lost her magic, can interact with ghosts, and now works alongside her sister to con tourists at the House Saphir. They exploit the story of Count Bastien Saphir (Monsieur Le Bleu) and his infamous murdering of his three wives. Their identities are uncovered by Saphir’s great grandson, which pivots the storyline to the main plot: his descendent shares Le Bleu’s ghost is back and offers the sisters a fortune to banish the spirit. TLDR from here is just lies and a murder and some monsters and some forbidden love. And ya know, a sprinkle of ghostly possession.

I don’t see this as turning into a series and honestly hope it doesn’t, but I’d still lightly recommend this to Meyer’s other fans.

3.75🌟🌟🌟💫✨


Another classic Marissa Meyer retelling!! The House Saphir is a great addition to Meyer’s catalogue of fairytale and folklore reimaginings, and I was thrilled to see her leaning into the more gothic style fantasy, something we also see in the Gilded duet. I really enjoyed our main character Mallory, who’s a total cynic. She’s full of witty comebacks and made for such a fun reading experience. I will say that my biggest drawback in this story was the romance. I enjoyed the love interest and found it to be a very sweet story, but I did feel as though there wasn’t much build up between the two leads. I would have loved to see their interactions be a little more tension filled. The pacing in the story is great and I never felt as though the story dragged. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and being back in Marissa Meyer’s storytelling!


Huge thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan for the advanced copy!!

4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I’ve read Marissa meyer’s defining series : cinder last year and found that I really enjoyed her characters and fast paced writing style.

House of Saphir is her fairytale retelling of Bluebeard. The story focuses on Mallory Fontaine who comes from a long line of witches— great granddaughter of Gabrielle the only wife to escape Bastien’s murders . She has a twin sister who is with her as well. They have a family business of selling fraudulent spells and readings.

The story starts with Mallory giving tours in a house formerly owned by monsieur le bleu giving ghost tours on the DL with the help of Triphine, the first murdered wife of Bastien. One day, Armand shows up on a tour and enlists this local witches help to eradicate his country home of the spirit that refuses to move on. He’s the heir to the Saphir family, tall, dark, loves plants and gardening, and oh so dreamy with his pretty blue eyes.

The story then introduces a cast of characters that are likable, specifically the ghosts of the deceased spouses of the former count.

This story is very cute and the romance has a sweet innocence that most YA stories have.

I did however enjoy this story quite a bit and expect a sequel! It was an easy read and I inhaled it in two sittings.

Tropes
⚔️ he’s sunshine, she’s grumpy
⚔️ breaking family curses
⚔️ witches
⚔️ magic
⚔️ ghost talk
⚔️ romance as the side story

Thank you to Marissa Meyer, NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Feiwel & Friends publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest reviews and opinions.

Wow, reading this book made me long for even more. I've been a fan of Meyer for a while now, but with this being her first real foray into gothic horror, I wasn't sure what to expect. Mallory is a main character that you root for, scrappy and pragmatic and forever scheming in a way that is so appreciated, always looking for her next angle and always hustling. The extensive lore is pieced out in digestible amounts, thank goodness, leaving you with an intriguing ghost story and mystery to solve. Though a lot of the major reveals weren't necessarily difficult to guess, the actual story itself was incredibly enjoyable, and the writing of the characters was witty and full of great moments. I sometimes worry about modern horror stories because I feel like they don't often pay off their set up, but this book had a very satisfying climax and ending, leaving me eager for more. Highly recommend checking this one out!

REJOICE! I’ll admit that I’ve been underwhelmed with most Marissa Meyer books since The Lunar Chronicles, but this one delivered! What a treat.

This was just all kinds of fun! I’m not familiar with the Bluebeard lore but I thought this was just the right amount of dark and gory. Mallory and Armand were SO FUN AND CUTE, their banter towards the end had me giggling incessantly. I also really loved Anaïs and her relationship with Mallory, PLUS the ghost wives were so entertaining! The end wrapped up pretty quickly but I’m satisfied enough. Though I definitely wouldn’t say no to a book continuing the adventures of Anaïs, Constantino, and Fitcher!

So excited to receive an ARC (my first ARC!) for this! I've been a big fan of Marissa Meyer's retellings since The Lunar Chronicles, and this one was such a fun time. Though, I'm not familiar with the original story of Bluebeard, so I can't say I was able to draw comparisons between the two, and quite possibly I've missed some references/easter eggs sprinkled throughout.

First off: Mallory is delightful. The prose and humor complemented each other, and I really enjoyed the gothic vibes against the backdrop of a magical murder mystery. I devoured this book.

The only downside, really, was that it was too short! I wish we got to spend more time with/learning about Anais, Mallory's sister, because she seems like such a fascinating character, but in the context of this story and limited by Mallory's POV, she felt sadly underdeveloped. The romance felt just a tad insta-love-y on Armand's part (because he just starts out seemingly enamored by her? I thought some forgotten first meeting plot point was going to get introduced lol) but you know what, I like it when a man's head over heels and also a little bit nerdy and shy. Could have used more pining, though. (That's nothing really against this book or the romance because I can always use more pining.)

Let me begin by saying I have mixed feelings about Marissa Meyer’s books. I loved Renegades, but HATED Supernova so much I still haven’t finished the series. I haven’t read Cinder, but know enough to know it’s very well received. I knew I was gambling picking this one up, but the blurb had me intrigued. I won this gamble for sure.

This is as close to a YA gothic story as it gets. Creepy mansions, ghosts, witches, possession, and mysterious monster hunters. It’s got a bit of everything! It’s definitely a horror novel, but not so much gore or sex to be considered adult. I quite enjoyed the plot, the romance, and the characters. My one and only semi complaint is that a few sentences and descriptions in the book drew me out of the story and struck me as a bit immature or not the right tone. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but seeing as this is YA, it didn’t detract too much from the story, I just like adult or new adult more personally.

The plot is pretty straightforward; Mallory and her sister are hired by the only surviving heir of Saphir to rid the house of Bastien’s spirit. It’s a lot of fun to watch Mallory grow into her character, and to watch the sparks fly between her and Armand. The characters are fun and sassy, with plenty of banter. If you like gothic and you like YA, this is an excellent read. I read this quickly, two sittings or so. Almost a 5⭐️ read, just shy of it because of that tone I can’t quite put my finger on. 4.75⭐️

THE HOUSE SAPHIR

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you SO much for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!! I literally jumped up and down and squealed when I read the email! 😂 This was my first arc EVER, and it was so incredibly special that it was for Marissa Meyer, as I’ve loved her books for forever!

This book was unlike any other book I’ve ever read, and I really liked it! I loved a lot of the characters, I loved the plot twists, and while I found it to be a bit predictable at times I still really enjoyed the story! This book had me laughing, shocked, staring into space, confused- all the emotions! The way she tells stories is truly amazing, and I will forever read anything and everything she writes 💕 I absolutely can’t wait for this book to be out in the world!!

Ghosts, crumbling mansions, AND monsters? Obviously I'm in. It ended up being such a fun read! Even with the twists being expected, I still had a great time with this story. All the folklore and paranormal aspects were done so well. I loved how much of a role the ghosts played, the wives really livened things up! Mallory is such a great strong lead character as well, it is so easy to root for her. It's not super heavy on romance, but I don't think the story needed it to be. An enaging read that will keep you turning pages. Perfect for fans of darker fantasy.
Thank you Netgalley and McMillan for the ARC!

I was thrilled to receive an ARC for the newest release of the author of what I consider being the best fairy tale retellings, The Lunar Chronicles.

Marissa Meyer had shown that she has a deep love and knowledge of fairy tales and The House Saphir absolutely showcased that with the darker fairy tale of Bluebeard. How she incorporated the tale into a new and clever way of giving the big moments and small details is something I did not expect less of her. Here, the history before and what was happening in the present reflecting the tale was nothing short of brilliant

The characters were very enjoyable, they all had such distinct personalities to them and the dialogue between them was especially fun to read. Mallory seems unlikeable at first but she really grows on you as the story goes on and you are rooting for her in the end. Armand was a refreshing love interest to read about, and his and Mallory's side romance was very endearing.

I also enjoyed Mallory's sister, Anais, as well as Fitcher and Constantine being total delights. Ironically, the ghosts of the dead wives brought much life to the story as well.

The world was very eerie but at the same enchanting. There was familiarity with the creatures, gods, and locations that lead me to believe this takes place in the same world as her Gilded Duology, another retelling of hers.

Overall, for Marissa Meyer's storytelling, I firmly believe that fairy tales are her strength and this was no exception. I cannot wait to read more retellings from her.

Thank you Netgalley and McMillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

4.5 STARS🌟
First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read my first ARC!! In exchange, here I am giving my honest review.

✧･ﾟ: *“She didn’t dare to let down her defenses. Not for anyone. And certainly not for a Saphir.”✧･ﾟ:*

MY GOD!!!!!! What was IN this book??!?😭😭 this was my first Marissa Meyer book AND I AM BLOWN AWAYY🤯🤯🤯 i absolutely ✨💞LOVED💞✨ this book and this is one of THOSE reads that makes you get completely lost in the world yk??😌 ive never read a book about witches or ghosts AND LET ME TELL YOU I WAS ALLL HERE FOR IT‼️‼️ LIKE YES GIVE ME SPELLS GIVE ME GHOSTS GIVE ME MONSTERS AND GIVE ME ALLL THE HAUNTED MANSIONSS😍😍😍😍 not a single part of this book was boring or slow and it is such an amazing read filled with suspense, tension, romance, and all the adventures you can imagine!!! i cant wait for this to be released and see how everyone absolutely adores it🥰 IF YOU DONT LIKE THIS YOURE LYING☺️☺️😘🥰🥰😚

Plot: ੈ✩‧₊˚
➸❄️ This book is a whimsical twist on the tale of Bluebeard, a famous French folk tale of a man who kills and eats three of his wives to gain their wealth. The story follows Mallory Fontaine who, along with her older sister Anaïs, comes from a long line of witches. However, the Fontaine sisters are frauds, for they possess no magic, except Mallory communicating with a ghost or two. Mallory and Anaïs live their life working odd jobs and earning money by fooling gullible buyers. While Anaïs owns a shop that sells cheap fakes for a large sum of money, Mallory gives not-so-legal tours of the haunted House Saphir, where its late owner, Bastien Saphir I, infamously known as Monsieur Le Bleu, killed the first out of three of his murdered wives. As if it weren’t eerie enough, it is said that The House Saphir and the Saphir ancestral home, where Le Bleu murdered another two of his wives and where he himself was later murdered, are haunted by the ghosts of his dead wives. Mallory, a self-proclaimed expert on the case, never expects to meet on one of her incredibly overpriced tours a handsome stranger who turns out to be Le Bleu’s wealthy and only living descendant, and also rightful heir of The House Saphir, Armand Saphir. He informs Mallory that Le Bleu’s ghost has appeared in the Saphir ancestral home and is now tormenting and posing a threat to everyone who lives there. Because he fully believes in the Fontaine sisters’ magic, he offers Mallory a large sum to banish Le Bleu’s ghost from the family estate and she agrees—seeing it as the perfect paid getaway, despite the mansion’s dark past and resident monsters. But when murder strucks the Saphir home again, Mallory needs to sit and think if the incredibly high risk of this act is really worth the reward, especially since she believes the killer might be a mortal out for blood, and if her heart is strong enough to face the incoming face of love or betrayal.

Tropes: ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊
➸🧙‍♀️ powerless
➸🧙‍♀️ witch x heir
➸🧙‍♀️ strangers to lovers
➸🧙‍♀️ betrayal
➸🧙‍♀️ forced proximity
➸🧙‍♀️ badass girl x just a guy

Other Details: ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
➸ 💫 genre: YA romantasy/murder mystery
➸ 💫 age rating: 13+
➸ 💫 pov: single, third person
➸ 💫 what to expect: witches, ghosts, monsters, murderers, haunted mansions, betrayals, and frauds
➸ 💫 without context: 🐦‍⬛🐻⏳💍🦎🐎🐌👻

💍Conclusion: ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
In conclusion should you read this book?!? the answer is simple:
YEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!
anyone who not only loves Marissa Meyer but also absolutely loves YA books that are filled with whimsical adventures, strong female leads, MMC WHO ABSOLUTELY CRUMBLE AT THE SIGHT OF HER (YES ARMAND THATS YOU😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍), should ABSOLUTELY read this book‼️ its such a rollercoaster and it will leave you screaming and crying guaranteed!!!!🥰🥰 Once again, thank you so much NetGalley and the publishers for this book for giving me the opportunity to review it and i hope we have more reviews in the future!!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆ “She was Mallory Fontaine.
Descended from Gabrielle Savoy. Daughter of Noele Fontaine. Her sister was Velos-blessed, and dammit, she had magic, too. She always had. She always would. She was a witch.”｡ ﾟ☾

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for allowing me to read an ARC and give my review!

Marissa Meyer once again stuns with her fairytale retelling in “The House Saphir”! I’d never heard of the story of Bluebeard, so I went in completely blind, and I really enjoyed the entire story!

Mallory Fontaine is a con artist just trying to make a living running not-so-legal haunted house tours of the House Saphir. However, when a mysterious man claiming to be the only living descendant of Monsieur Le Bleu, a wealthy man who murdered 3 of his wives before being brutally murdered in his own courtyard, Mallory dives in to the ultimate con. She’s asked to help get rid of Monsieur Le Bleu’s ghost that’s been terrorizing the residents of the Saphir estate. Mallory and her sister are thrust into a web of their own lies, all while Mallory grows closer to the count. This book is full of mystery, magic, monsters, and ghosts, with a hint of a sweet romance.

I’ve been really into reading fantasy series, so I’m not as used to the standalone stories such as this one. I like the drawn out character arcs and story points, because sometimes the standalone just rush through everything with limited time. However, this book did everything perfectly, in my opinion. We were given just enough information to not be confused in the beginning, and then we slowly learned more and more information as the story went on. It wasn’t just an information dump in the beginning. It didn’t feel clunky at all, and with us learning stuff about the tale of Bluebeard, or even Mallory herself, as the other characters learned in the story, the rate of reveal felt very nicely paced.

The characters were also well done. Mallory is a con artist, so she has a level of selfishness and what she considers rudeness, so she has plenty of flaws while still not being a terrible person. We get to see all of her layers, and understand why she does what she does. The Count is such a sweet contrast to her as well, which is why their budding romance is such a nice little touch to this story. Even the side characters were all appealing and all had a purpose to the main story in some way.

All in all, this was a fun and easy read with lots of twists and turns, some predictable, some not, but all enjoyable nonetheless! This book proved that I will continue to be a fan of Marissa Meyer, and I’m already looking forward to whatever she does next!

Thank you Macmillan Children's publishing and NetGalley for this ARC!

I feel like I write a lot of reviews where I give a book 5 stars, and maybe I just am not very picky but I think that it's more likely that I've just somehow gotten really lucky in the books that I get early. This gothic Bluebeard retelling was everything!! Everything I could want was packed into this book in the most perfect way.

I didn't realize when I started reading this book that not only was I getting an Romantasy but ALSO a story with such intricate world building, between the gods and the ghosts I felt fully immersed in this book. One of my favorite things about this book and the world building was how easy it was to understand and get lost in.

Of course a book I love wouldn't be complete without a love story and this one was SO GOOD. Marissa Meyer truly wrote the dream man. A handsome, wealthy, yearner Armand is one of the best book boyfriends I've seen.

This book truly had everything for me and the paranormal side of it was done SO well not to mention all of the folklore sprinkled into the book. I loved this book and HIGHLY reccomend to any fantasy/paranormal/romance readers!!

The Queen of Retellings does it again.

The House Saphir was a 5-star prediction for me, and in my mind, it's a 6-star book. From the moment I saw the guide to the monsters featured in the beginning—not to mention Mallory's prowess with a salad fork—I was hooked. I forced myself to take breaks just to stop myself from rushing to finish everything all at once. All of the intricacies of every twist and turn left my jaw dropping (and made noises that weren't entirely human, but let's ignore that.) This was a book that DESERVED to be savored.

The characters were so much fun, especially our main girl Mallory, loved everything about her. The side characters stood out (as always). I loved them all and everything thing about them—from their boons to their flaws. Meyer makes all of her characters have depth and flair that makes me love everything about them, especially their flaws. That's why they feel so real and only enhanced this refreshingly new take on the Bluebeard Tale.

She is the master at flipping the tone of the book. One minute, I'm laughing; the next, my heart is gripped in a vice, and I feel like I'll never recover. (Except I do, and she's the one who healed me.) And this book is no different.

I cannot get over how much I loved this book. Also, the easter eggs for the Gilded Duology fans!!! I loved seeing the seven mentioned here and how they're tied into the magical landscape and lore, but if you haven't read the Duology, then don't worry. Nothing will go over your head. This is probably just a stream-of-conscious mess, but I'm sorry, I'm just so happy. I've already pre-ordered a copy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan, for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

I’ve always loved Marissa Meyer’s work. She takes all these fairytale stories and puts a little twist on it. This one is a twist on Bluebeard, which I never really heard of. But don’t let that deter you from reading this book if you’re like me. The author does a great job weaving in the original story while still making this her own. I loved all the characters and felt like they had their own personalities. It was a fun read! And it’s a standalone novel I believe so there’s no sense of commitment after you read this book.

Marissa Meyer is back with a gothic, fairytale retelling of Bluebeard! This was an addicting, page turning read. I had to force myself to go to sleep instead of staying up to finish it. I loved the mystery elements of the story. There were some twists I saw coming, but others I did not. My favorite part of the story was the ghosts. I caught myself giggling at their dialogue multiple times. I loved our fierce, lover of all things creepy, heroine. However, I would love to see a book about her sister! Not necessarily a sequel but perhaps a spin off? She has a story worth telling! This book was incredibly atmospheric and just creepy enough. If you love con artists that secretly have a heart of gold, you will enjoy our main character. (I found her similar to Vanja from the Little Thieves trilogy.) The romance wasn’t my favorite. I could’ve done without it, but it was somewhat important to the plot. This is being marketed as a romantasy, which seems to be a buzz word in publishing as of late. I wouldn’t call it that at all. It’s a fantasy with a slight romantic subplot. Just because a fantasy book has a hint of romance doesn’t make it a romantasy book, in my opinion. Readers going into this purely for a romantasy will probably be disappointed by how little romance there is. I actually enjoyed that the romance wasn’t heavy in this one, but I wasn’t reading it for the romance. Overall, I enjoyed the story! Fans of Erin A. Craig are sure to enjoy this one!

I really loved this book! It had me hooked from the beginning and I just couldn't put it down. This was a fast paced read that kept me on my toes. Mallory is such a wonderful character. I thoroughly enjoyed her story. And the paranormal aspects with the ghosts were fun. This book is filled with mystery, magic and a bit of romance. If you like darker fantasy books then I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my gosh. All hail Queen Marissa. There isn’t a story of hers I read and don’t love. Once again she wrote an incredibly atmospheric book that had me hooked from the beginning.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thrilling and Mysterious Bluebeard Reimagining

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with an eARC!

I really enjoyed this reimagined take on the Bluebeard tale. The House Saphir is full of tension, mystery, and dark enchantment. From the very beginning, you’re pulled into a world where nothing—and no one—is quite what they seem. The story kept me guessing, and I loved that element of uncertainty. You’re constantly questioning who to trust and what’s truly lurking beneath the surface.

Mallory was such a great main character with her dry sense of humor and cautious nature. She felt like a real person navigating a very surreal situation. And Armand? A charming, slightly bumbling mess in the best way—his interactions with Mallory brought a unique and often amusing energy to the story. Their dynamic added some much-needed levity amidst all the suspense.

The world Meyer built was fascinating, especially with the inclusion of various magical creatures that added richness without overwhelming the plot. The writing itself was smooth and accessible, making it easy to fall into the story and stay there.

Overall, this was a thrilling, imaginative retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m excited to see what Marissa Meyer brings us next!