The House Saphir is Marissa Meyer’s take on Bluebeard. It follows Mallory Fontaine, a descendant of a long line of witches whose only magic is her ability to see ghosts, as she and her sister struggle to maintain the family business by conning and deceiving their patrons. When one of Mallory’s schemes catches up to her, she desperately accepts a job to exorcise the legendary Saphir Estate, where over a century ago Count Bastien Saphir murdered three of his four wives, hoping she can fake her way through enough rituals to buy herself and her sister enough time to evade the authorities before her new employer, the young Count Armand Saphir, gets fed up with her lack of results.

The book was a quick, fun read for me. The characters, though a bit surface-level, all had sparks of personality that made me wish I could get to know them more deeply. The ghosts of Bastien’s wives, surprisingly, added much of the humor, though Triphine wasn’t without her vulnerable moments too.

I did get the feeling, though, that this is a set-up for more books set in this world with at least some of these characters, so maybe there will be a chance to get to know them better. I’d be willing to revisit to learn a little more about this world and the creatures in it.

The House Saphir isn’t my favorite Marissa Meyer book, but it’s still an entertaining ride. All in all, I give it three stars out of five.