Mysterious and Magical Boarding School: House of Marionne

‘The House of Marionne’ by J Elle is a unique YA fantasy novel to date.

I would even say that this is a great YA fantasy book for teens.

If you have some Bridgerton itches, this can cure a little. This urban fantasy takes place in a boarding school for developing your magical powers. Not only do you learn to wield your magic, but learn to curtsey and table manners too! This is in essence a school like an etiquette boarding school. 

I love the unique take on the magic system. I had never read it before and it was a refreshing take. Magical crowns that grow out of your head. Okay. Different. Really good difference.

All the characters that are introduced in this book are really fascinating characters. Especially Jordan who decided to be Quell’s mentor. They despised each other from the get go so it was great to see them earn one anothers respect.

Though I understand that Quell’s personality is a young adult, I can’t help but cringe at some of the decisions that she decides to make. The attitude of “I will fix it myself and trust no one who cares about me.” Not my favorite trope to be honest. But I had to step back and understand that this is YA fantasy. 

I love the mystery that develops once she gets to the boarding school. It was intriguing and felt that different and I wanted to continue to read more.

I would say in the middle of the book it did drag a little bit. Namely because Quell was getting her bearings in the school and it kind of got into this is what happened and that happened next moment. So I slightly lost interest there but thankfully it picked up after a while.

This book ended where I had a lot of unanswered questions. I can’t wait to pick up the second book and see Quell’s journey continue.