Book Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

There’s nothing I love more than a good retelling. Whether it reimagines a historical event, a classic myth or a beloved fairytale, I adore books that breathe new life into old stories. Marissa Meyer isn’t a stranger to retellings – from Cinderella and Red Riding Hood to Rumpelstiltskin and The Queen of Hearts, she’s rightly earned herself the title of ‘Queen of the Fairytale Retellings’. Now with her latest novel, The House Saphir, Meyer has woven a romantasy inspired by the French folktale Bluebeard, and it’s every bit as atmospherically ghoulish as you’d expect from a novel about a notorious nobleman who murders his wives.

Part gothic ghost story, part murder mystery and part tender romance, The House Saphir follows sisters and con artists Mallory and Anaïs Fontaine. As the descendants of a long line of witches, they eke out a living by selling fraudulent spells, reading fake fortunes and conducting tours of a dilapidated mansion which was once owned by the infamous Count Bastien Saphir, who killed three of his wives more than a century ago. With dwindling funds, a landlady breathing down their necks and the law nipping at their heels, the sisters’ luck is finally running out. But they’re saved by the appearance of Bastien’s great-grandson and heir, Count Armand, who offers them a large sum of money in return for their help in ridding his home of Bastien’s ghost. It’s an opportunity that consummate grifter Mallory can’t resist.

Arriving at the sprawling Saphir estate, Mallory soon realises she’s in over her head. She might be able to see ghosts – a gift that allows her to interact with Bastien’s spectral wives who are still tethered to the earthly world – but she has no idea how to vanquish ruthless spirits or put the lingering dead to rest. And when a murderer returns to the House Saphir, Mallory suspects that the killer might actually be mortal. If she has any hope of payment, she must solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while maintaining the illusion of being a powerful witch and learning to trust her heart where handsome counts are concerned.

The House Saphir instantly draws readers into its dark and eerie world. Opening with a glossary of monsters inspired by traditional French folklore, an author’s note states that numerous liberties have been taken. It’s these liberties that keep readers on their toes, as monsters lurk in dusty corners and crawl out of armoires and haunt forests, waiting for unsuspecting victims to wander into their path. But Mallory and her sister are anything but unsuspecting, neither are they victims, despite their increasingly dire circumstances as they repeatedly try and fail to send Bastien – the real, unrivalled monster of the tale – back to where he belongs. If you’ve read Meyer’s Gilded duology, you’ll recognise the vicious traits of the Erlking in the author’s rendering of Bluebeard, and the joy of both villains is how palpably deplorable they are. It makes rooting for Bastien’s demise, and Mallory’s victory, all the easier.

If all this talk of murders and ghosts sounds a little macabre, that’s because it is. Meyer peppers each chapter with blood-spattered visuals, displeased apparitions and discussions of gruesome deaths, but there’s a delightful edge of black humour lacing Mallory’s plight. Her character has a morbid curiosity and a tendency for attracting trouble, two things that make her a target for Bastien, and a constant fascination for Armand. The young heir to the Saphir estate is gentle and mild mannered, and the more he gets to know Mallory, the more he finds her utterly brilliant – something she couldn’t possibly fathom because she has zero experience with suspiciously sweet natured counts hiding secrets of their own.

Joining Mallory and Anaïs on their disastrous mission to banish Bastien is a cast of memorable characters including the three dead wives, who provide quippy retorts and histrionics aplenty, and Fitcher’s Troupe, a charming double act who come to the rescue when the Fontaines need it most. Combine these larger-than-life characters with a spooky haunted house backdrop, a hateful antagonist and a just-kiss-already romance, and The House Saphir has all the ingredients to make this one of 2025’s most entertaining YA retellings.

★★★★