The House Saphir

THE HOUSE SAPHIR is Marissa Meyer's fun adaptation of The Legend of Bluebeard. For those who are not familiar with that legend, you need not worry. Ms. Meyer may be reimaging the story, but you lose nothing by not knowing it in advance. THE HOUSE SAPHIR stands on its own with fiesty Mallory Fontaine leading the charge.

I adore Mallory, and I suspect I am not the only fan of hers. She is everything a heroine should not be. She prides herself on her ability to con people. She is shameless about lying if doing so gives her an advantage. She has a sharp, pragmatic mind and even sharper wit. Outside of her sister, her closest friend is a ghost. And she does not hesitate to throw down when she needs to. Mallory is hardly a delicate flower, as show more she adores gruesome murder mysteries and learning esoteric facts. The remaining characters are equally memorable in their quirkiness. Fitcher's Troupe deserves their own novel because their backstory only raises more questions than it answers. And I want to see more of a bear sitting cross-legged, drinking tea.

The murder mystery, or rather the exorcism of the ghost of House Saphir, is a bit predictable at times, but the characters are so awkward and quirky that the predictability is easy to overlook. In fact, THE HOUSE SAPHIR succeeds not because of the mystery but because of its endearing cast of characters. It is essentially Monty Python regendered, and it is a blast to read. show less

A Bluebeard retelling that finds Mallory Fontaine and her sister running cons out of the infamous Saphir house where Bastien Saphir killed his first wife. Making as good a living as possible giving ghost tours is far from the lucrative business their witchborn mother cultivated, but the only magic Mallory possesses is the ability to see ghosts. However, the Fontaine name still holds weight and Mallory and her sister may or may not at times exploit that for their own gain.

Then the Saphir heir Armand comes to Mallory for help ridding the family's country home of the actual ghost of Bastien Saphir. Regardless of the danger, and truth be told Mallory being supremely unqualified, the payday would change Mallory and her sister's lives show more forever. With the house filled with monsters and ghosts alike, Mallory might just have found herself in over her head.

I have enjoyed Marissa Meyer's books in the past, but for some reason this one just didn't work for me. I think it all sits with the fact that I didn't care too much for Mallory. When you don't care - at least a smidgeon - for the main character that makes enjoying the overall story difficult.

Her insistence on keeping up the charade that she has the magic and the ability to help Armand is frustrating on so many levels. Least of which is the fact that her lies could really endanger not only those of the household but Mallory and her sister. I just didn't think that it was worth it to hold on to that for so long for an uncertain payday.

Also, as much as I know it's a commonality in these stories to have a romantic pairing, I just did not feel it between Mallory and Armand. No chemistry. I would have appreciated more if Marissa Meyer would have bucked tradition and gone a different way with things. With all that being said, however, I don't know that I would have been happy with anything considering the fact that Mallory was just not the main character for me.

There is also a certain point toward the end where things began to meander a bit. We had just been given a few good twists and seemed to be heading toward a conclusion only for things to be prolonged further. However, this did allow for the book to end up having a firm conclusion. So, no cliffhangers waiting to tie everything up. I appreciated that. I think so often nowadays it's the thing to write a series or duology, but it's also nice to have the entirety of a story contained in one book. Yes, there are options for expanding the world with stories that branch off with other characters, but the main action of this book is resolved in the end.

One of the things I liked best about the book was the ghost/haunting aspect. It's perfect for this time of year and has some genuinely spooky moments. I wish it would have been utilized more. I loved the history of Bastien and the wives. Along with that, there were a couple of characters - ghost/monster hunters - who stole the spotlight from Mallory very early on. So much so that I kept waiting for them to reappear. I wouldn't say no to reading a book about them.

Overall, it was an ok read for me. Not my favorites of Meyer's work, but that happens some time. On to the next! show less

Marissa Meyer's Heartless and With a Little Luck are two of my all-time favorite books and I love all of her fantasy retellings, so I already knew I would enjoy The House Saphir going into it. It's based on the legend of Bluebeard, who murdered three of his wives before he was finally outwitted by his fourth one. We follow Mallory, a fraud witch who must pretend to know how to banish the ghost of Monsieur Le Bleu (Bluebeard) to make the money she was promised by Armand, Le Bleu's descendant.

I loved Mallory's character from the very start of the book. I enjoyed how flustered she seemed throughout the book as she tried to appear competent and capable of dispelling a ghost. I was surprised by how funny the book was even while being show more suspenseful. The humor sprinkled throughout ensured that the book didn't get too serious. I also loved the ghost characters and enjoyed their interactions with Mallory, especially since the fact that she's the only one who could see them made for some interesting situations. Overall, The House Saphir is another amazing book from Marissa Meyer! show less

THE HOUSE SAPHIR is a reimagining of the Bluebeard fairy tale. It is set in a lush fantasy world complete with monsters and ghosts.

Mallory Fontaine is a con woman having lost her magic when doing a spell to help out her older sister. She and her sister Anais are trying to survive with fake spells, bogus card readings, and ghost tours. Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir who became known as Monsieur Le Bleu when he murdered three of his wives and was bested by the fourth a hundred years earlier.

Mallory gives tours of his townhouse in Morant. She has all the stories and the assistance of Saphir's ghostly first wife Triphine who is a bit of a hypochondriac. But her tour goes wrong one night when two of her clients show more turn out to be investigators investigating rumors of fraud. Luckily, the third client turns out to be the great-great grandson of Monsieur Le Bleu and wants to hire Mallory to remove his ghost from their country estate.

Mallory quickly agrees in order to get away from the investigators despite her total lack of magic. She and her sister travel to the estate now fallen on very hard times. Mallory has to fake attempts to get rid of a very real and evil spirit. Along the way, she's falling in love with young Armand who isn't interested in his family's historic wine business but prefers working with medical herbs and other plants.

When a young housemaid is murdered in the same manner as Le Bleu's wives, Mallory and Anais have to really find a way to defeat Le Bleu. They aren't quite alone. They are assisted by a pair of adventurers on a quest of their own.

The worldbuilding in this story was intriguing. The characters well drawn and the setting elaborate. I enjoyed this retelling. show less

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. show more 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)

Rating: 9 out of 10
Spice Level: 0.5 out of 5
Cover Grade: A
Audiobook Narrator: Excellent performance by Rebecca Soler

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. show less

Pretty slow burn, slow moving. Does a great job at atmospheric spooky and bluebeard retellings, but I guess I wasn't really in the mood for it. There's some great set-up for future stories, and I hope she leans into an original tale with that -- the world is interesting and has a lot of potential.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss

This was a fun, not particularly deep or complex, somewhat spooky Bluebeard retelling. It was a quick read, though I thought it dragged a bit in the middle. Thankfully the last third picked back up. If you’re looking for an easy and distracting read, this could be it. The writing is fine, but not amazing. The characters are interesting enough, but not particularly compelling. There might be set up for a sequel with the main character’s sister? I’m honestly kind of more interested in that story. A solid three star read. Fun, but forgettable. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review