The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

The quick cut: Two sisters who make a living selling fraudulent spells get the score of a lifetime: a count who asks them to rid his home of a ghost.

A real review:

If you came from a long line of witches, would you take advantage of your legacy? For the Fontaine sisters, it's a way of life as they sell fake spells to keep the family business going.

Mallory comes from a long line of witches, but that doesn't make her one. A self proclaimed expert on Count Saphir, she sells tours to people looking to learn about the man who killed three of his wives. What she didn't expect was to meet his descendant at one - and to be asked to rid his house of a ghost. Will he be an easy mark? Or instead an unexpected problem?

The story starts slow, but picks up after the halfway mark. It's fun to see how the author connects seemingly unrelated details into a coherent storyline and just proves what an amazing storyteller she is.

Mallory has been barely scraping by with her sister and just as she's about to have enough to leave their town - they end up having to start all over again. When she takes the job with Saphir's descendant, she gets a lot more than she planned for and seeing her navigate that chaos is definitely a journey.

Curses, spells, and family legacies all play a key role here. All the elements that are classics in the fantasy genre. The spooky way the author brought them together feels bright and new though. Such a fun read for me!

A slow start to a fun story!

My rating: 4.5 out of 5