House of Marionne

By: J. Elle

Narrated by: André Santana, Kate Simses

Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

An INSTANT New York Times bestseller!

An INSTANT USA TODAY bestseller!

An INSTANT Sunday Times bestseller!

A modern-day YA romantic fantasy series opener about a glamorous magical world of social elites, forbidden love, and a dark magic that could destroy it all.

"Dazzling and deceptive. The perfect escape!"–Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Ballad of Never After

"The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams!"–Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

BURY YOUR SECRET OR DIE FOR IT.

17-year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.

Until someone discovers her dark secret.

To hide from the assassin hunting her and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.

If caught, she will be killed.

But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and assassin-in-training.

When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: Embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life, or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.

Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.

Brimming with ballgowns and betrayal, magic and mystery, decadence and darkness, House of Marionne is perfect for those who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world.

©2023 J. Elle (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“The forbidden love story of my wildest dreams. House of Marionne is going to delight not only fantasy readers, but romance lovers of all ages!”—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author

"Full of magic and intrigue, House of Marionne is perfect escape for fans of fantasies that straddle the edge of our world and transport readers to dazzling, deceptive, and unexpected places."—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Ballad of Never After

"Elle interweaves threads of loneliness, love, and pride to compose an intriguing tapestry of a loyal girl aching for someplace to belong. The magic system and worldbuilding feel both classic and surprising, lending the narrative an air of familiarity and delivering unexpected plot twists that will excite readers up to the very last page."—Publishers Weekly

Can’t wait for the next one!

Loved it! Bravo! Great character development and growth with a lot of action and suspense!

So good! Unique and kept my attn

Fantastic magic system. Very dark academia. Cant wait for the next one- well done! Unique perspective, good twists and love the direction it’s going

phenomenal

This was really really great. Think Deadly Education and Harry Potter but with a glamorous, very aesthetic twist. the characters had good chemistry and the plot was pretty nice, intricate. The end had a good twist to it and made me sad that I didn't realize the second book wasn't out yet. gotta wait now. good job to the author.

Excellent!!!

Love this book and looking forward to the second one in September!! There were a few twists at the end that I did not see coming!

Great narrators

The narrators were great & the hardcover of this book is gorgeous! The storyline did pull me in the beginning, but by part 3, I lost interest. Just didn't care for the romantic subplot, which started taking over too much of the story, imo.

Enthralling!

this book will have you at the edge of you seat and biting your nails for more!! absolutely loved this and cannot wait for the next book!!

I am obsessed with this book

I read the opening chapter of this book and loved it so much, I immediately ordered a signed copy. I was in no way disappointed as the book went on. The history of magic in the book is so rich and robust, the prose is gorgeously lyrical and wraps you in vivid descriptions, and the story had me hanging on every last word. The world Quell immerses herself in is truly dark academia mixed with Bridgerton and I loved everything about it. I seriously can't understate how much I loved this book, it was truly one of my favorite things I've ever read. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Ohhhhh, this was good!

And intense. And the twist at the end! I am definitely invested and excited to find out what will happen next.

4 stars

The world building was unique

Quell is a very clever girl. The ending to this was very unexpected. I need book two... now please! I gobbled this book up in two days. It only took me that long because I had to be an adult. From the beginning this book had me hooked with the world and the MC just wanting to find some peace. Get it you won't be disappointed.

Love this story!

This is another one where I read the book first and then months later listened to the audio. I love the magical, dark academia world that J Elle created. Overall the narrators gave solid performances, but I did have a bit of a hard time with feeling like Kate's voice matched up with how I picture Quel throughout the book.