Mallory is a con-artist along with her sister, and although they don’t make a lot of money, she enjoys the game of it. Ever since their mother passed away leaving them
alone, they have used the spells they’ve learnt from her and their own minimal magic to get by.
Anaiis is adept at fake seances and spirit reading for folk, and Mallory has broken into an abandoned house belonging to a famous but damned family called Saphir. She takes guided tours at night through the house, telling the story of the Saphir family and the Count who married then killed his wives one by one.
With the very real skill of seeing ghosts, Mallory has the help of one of these murdered wives in her fraudulent activity, even though the wife is particularly whingy and annoying. But on one night’s guided tour, one of her guests is far more than a thrill seeker. This meeting takes her closer to the House Saphir than she ever dreamed to be.
He is Count Saphir – a great grandson of the multi-murderer. He has been told she can see and talk with ghosts. He needs help with a problem in the original home of House Saphir, far from the city where the sisters live.
Mallory can’t believe her luck as their services are going to make them more money than they’ve ever had, which will allow them to finally be free of debt and stress, and secure their future away from poverty.
When they settle into House Saphir, Mallory sets to making the young Count believe she is cleansing the house when in actual fact, she has no powers at all. She can speak to the ghosts present but that is her only truth. The longer they stay in the opulent splendour of the house, the more Mallory learns about House Saphir.
None of it is good. In fact, it becomes so terrifying, she would give anything to leave, without a penny of payment.
The House Saphir is pure evil and the sisters are quickly caught up in its web.
This YA novel captures you early and holds on until the last page. Although a retelling of the classic, Bluebeard (Charles Perrault), it also reminded me a little of Lockwood and Co (Jonathon Stroud) with its ghosts and touch of humour. House Saphir however has many more sparks of romantic tension, which adds a whole new layer.
It is set in a land where there are different levels of magic afoot. Some background to how this happened is threaded through the story. I would’ve liked a little more to this curious world building, but there is enough to set everything up nicely.
A lover of a good ghost story, I enjoyed the different personalities of the starring ghost characters and the perfect villainy of the worst one of all – Count Bastien Saphir. There was a twist or two I thought I had worked out in advance, but along with main character Mallory, I had it wrong.
A novel of ghosts, magical powers, romance and blood.
Author – Marrisa Meyer
Age – 14+
(2025, Macmillan, Fantasy, Family, Gothic, Ghosts, Murder, Bluebeard retelling, Con-artist, Magic, Fraud, Wealth, Wine, Spells, Creepy, Romantasy, Marriage, Wives, Historical)