Rating: 9 out of 10
Spice Level: 0.5 out of 5
Cover Grade: A
Audiobook Narrator: Excellent performance by Rebecca Soler
Synopsis
Marissa Meyer’s The House Saphir is a delightful paranormal mystery. Mallory Fontaine might come from a family of witches, but her only genuine power is seeing ghosts—a talent that pays the bills through fake spells and mansion tours. When Armand Saphir, descendant of a notorious wife-killer, hires Mallory to exorcise his ancestral home, she can’t turn down the payday. But her ghost-hunting vacation turns deadly when a very human murderer strikes, forcing Mallory to solve the crime while maintaining her witchy facade. Complicating matters? Her inconvenient attraction to Armand himself, who might just be following in his ancestor’s bloody footsteps.
Strengths: This cleverly constructed novel offers a fresh take on a classic story. With its witty humor and memorable protagonists, the narrative flows effortlessly from beginning to end. The author’s inventive storytelling creates an atmospheric experience that neatly ties up all narrative threads by the final page.
Weakness: There were times I wanted to slap Mallory. Is that a weakness? No, but it had to be said somewhere.
Verdict
Splendid retelling of Bluebeard, a continuation really. I loved the ghosts, witches, and everything in between! Meyers is a master of retellings, and this book was delightful from start to finish. Suspense, mystery, lies, betrayal, you don’t know who to trust, but yet you’re rooting for them all, except … one. You know who you are. (9/10)
Thank you, Marissa Meyer & Feiwel & Friends. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Order Your Copy
Aber Stoat Books (print)
Bookshop.org (eBook)
Libro.fm (audiobook) 🎧
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From the Publisher:
Series: —
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Hardcover / Audiobook
ISBN: 9781250320957 / 9781250411433
432 pages / 12 hours 15 minutes
Narrator(s): Rebecca Soler
Young Adult Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations
Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance
Description:
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.
Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir--otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu--who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien’s great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu’s ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.
But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation--and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.
But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest challenge: learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.
Author Bio:
Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles series, the Renegades trilogy, the Gilded Duology, the Wires and Nerve graphic novels, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book. Her first standalone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times-bestseller, and she has also written two standalone rom-coms, Instant Karma and With a Little Luck. Her first middle-grade novel is Let It Glow, written with Joanne Levy. Marissa hosted a popular podcast, “The Happy Writer,” and her book of the same name shares her writing tips and experiences. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters. marissameyer.com
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