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The Marionettes Paperback – August 17, 2021

by Katie Wismer (Author)

4.3 1,456 ratings

Book 1 of 4: The Marionettes

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Vampire Academy meets True Blood in this dark and spicy New Adult Fantasy Romance series.

A betrayal. A deadly secret. An unlikely ally.

Valerie Darkmore’s entire life has been building up to this moment—her initiation into the Marionettes, the prestigious league of witches sworn to serve the vampires. As one of the last remaining blood witches, her spot is almost guaranteed. At least, so she’d thought.

The academy is full of sabotage and secrets as the tasks begin, and Valerie quickly realizes she has more than her spot on the line. Her survival seems just as uncertain.

The closer she gets to the final trial, the more she learns everything—and everyone—around her isn’t quite what it seems.

Inspired by The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, and True Blood, The Marionettes is best suited for mature readers with a taste for angst, forced proximity, a little blood, and a little spice.

The Marionettes Series (in order):

The Marionettes
Wicked Souls
Bloodless Ties
Ruthless Ends

Other titles by Katie Wismer (contemporary stand-alones)

Broken Perfect Lies
The Anti-Virginity Pact (The Pact, Book 1)
The Anti-Relationship Year (The Pact, Book 2)

Book 1 of 4

The Marionettes
Print length

290 pages
Language

English
Publication date

August 17, 2021
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.73 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1734611553
ISBN-13

978-1734611557
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Get to know this book

What's it about?
A young witch must navigate a treacherous academy, uncover secrets, and survive a deadly trial to join a prestigious league of witches serving vampires.
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When you’ve spent your entire life working toward something, it’s difficult to picture what comes after.
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ahimsa Press (August 17, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1734611553
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1734611557
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.73 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #509,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11,031 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)
- #16,598 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,456 ratings

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Katie Wismer

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Katie Wismer writes books with a little blood and a little spice (sometimes contemporary, sometimes paranormal...and sometimes even poetry.)

Be the first to know about upcoming projects, exclusive content, and more by signing up for her newsletter at katiewismer.com. Signed books are also available on her website.

When she's not reading, writing, or wrangling her two perfect cats, you can find her on her YouTube channel Katesbookdate.

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Ashlyn Palmisano

Loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024

Verified Purchase

I picked up due to people saying it was a more adult version of twilight. I didn’t see that in this book but it was still fantastic and I flew through it. I love the plot and the world that was built was so interesting and different from my normal dark romance reads. All in all, it’s hard for me to enjoy any fantasy realm/vampire books but I was hooked

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023

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This was an enjoyable read. I liked getting to know the characters, and Kirby was always fun. I thought the set up was intriguing in this book. I'm anticipating the next book whenever I get to read it, but the story itself felt like the prologue to the story the series is actually going to be about if that makes any sense.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great series!!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2023

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This is a wonderful first book for a great series. I enjoy the characters and the scene building. I enjoyed Val and really felt for her. If you haven't picked it up, please do so!

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Denise

Great writing Love the cover

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021

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My rating for this book is going to be a 3 star just because the first part of this book was kind of confusing for me.There was just a lot of quick moving from one location to the next but after a couple of pages I got a handle of the pace. Valerie was a very interesting character i just grew tired of her always reminding us who her family was and what her last name was. I get it you are one of the oldest witch line but can we stop mentioning it after a certain amount of pages. As far as Connor I wish there was more of a backstory into there relationship for me to care enough. I wish we saw more of him and Valerie relationship. The middle part of the book got a little boring for me I didn’t really care for the classes and lessons. I wish we had some action and something to show what the plot line was for the book. Over all I did enjoy my reading experience and I’m looking forward to the next book because the ending was something I wish had more answers for and who ends a story like that. I mean its been an hour and I’m still asking my family how ? What? like they can help me answer these questions.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Enjoyed this one!

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024

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I liked the main character Valerie a lot! She was very relatable and I want to continue on with her journey in the rest of the series! It was a compelling and fast paced read. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of vampires and witches!
The one thing I wanted more of was just a little more explanation of the trials because I was quite interested in those and I thought they needed a bit more page time.

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2022

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I finished this book in about 3 days and probably could have finished it even faster if I made more time for reading. I had a hard time putting this down! I enjoyed the pace of it and if you are a vampire academy fan then you will probably love this. My two drawbacks would be that I was quite confused about the name change for the MMC towards the end and the relationship between Connor and the FMC. However, considering I am jumping right into the next one I would say it was a great read!! Katie is a great writer. If you like contemporary you should also check out her other books.

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023

Verified Purchase

Loved this!
I read this novel back around when it was first released and it lives up to its inspirations, especially Vampire Diaries & Vampire Academy.
Book one focuses on world-building, back story, and establishing these excellent character relationships.
Valerie gets put through the wringer and tested far beyond the trials she's supposed to get through. She uncovers that there is much more to the vampire and witch world than what she's ever been shown.
A must-read for vampire and witch lovers alike!

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JT

A unique take on the vampire genre

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2021

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I started reading the Marionettes with no particular expectations. The "vampire genre" has been done and overdone, especially in YA and NA "brackets". I was surprised. Katie Wismer has a very esthetically cohesive prose and she found a distinct voice. Her characters are very vivid and believable. There is a very good balance of what is told and what is left to be told, what is explained and what is left for readers to understand on their own.

The author tries to make the book stand on its own, free of labels like NA and I think she manages to do it. I honestly think this is a novel that doesn't need labels and you don't need to be from a specific demographic to enjoy it (and aren't you tired of having demographics attached to novels? I am).

It's hard to come up with new concepts for "vampiric" world-building, but Katie Wismer introduces a magic system that it's fairly original and a well-thought-out social system. There are some concepts in the story that you might find familiar but we can't really expect "vampire" fiction to be completely novel, there is too much past in the genre. The author makes a conscious effort not to use classic concepts in a cliched way and she is successful almost every time.

This is the first book in a series. It can be read on its own, although it is open-ended. I look forward to the following volumes, this first instalment was quite engaging and I am looking forward to seeing where the author will take us from here.

I also look forward to reading Katie Wismer's work outside this particular series. I think she has a command of the language, tone and storytelling that I loved to see developed in other literary explorations.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Rebecca

The vampires I've been looking for

Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2024

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This book delivers a world of magic and vampires in su h a decadent way. I am so glad I added this to my list and I cannot wait to dig into the next one!

Gisele Dute

I was in shock...

Reviewed in Brazil on November 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is the first Kate book I've read. I have the others, but I couldn't read any books for a few months. As I follow her YouTube channels, seeing her talking about the books (and how she's writing the third in the series), it made me want to read. At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to read the entire book again, but the story captivated me, and I couldn't stop reading.
I really liked the way she portrayed witches and vampires. I was surprised in many scenes, especially the death ones; it's really nice to think that a character will be a problem when—bite on the neck—they are dead.
Not only that, but I really loved this book, and I've already secured the second in the series.
Congratulations on the fluid writing and so enjoyable to read.

(E, para quem do Brasil/que fala português, que está lendo isso, saiba que não é complicada a leitura e dá muito bem para treinar o inglês).

2 people found this helpful

Kayl

Love it!! Can’t put it down!

Reviewed in the Netherlands on April 10, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book made me order the whole series in hardcover. (even tho I prefer the feeling of paperbacks)

The series is about witches, vampires, other mythical creatures and their standing in society. There are lies, cruelty, questionable loyalties, uprisings and more that will keep you reading about this world! Our heroine is morally grey in a world that’s not fair to anyone. Come unfolding mysteries, lies and find out who she can and cannot trust!

Kokilla

Fast paced

Reviewed in India on February 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

It was fast paced & written in easy language. I would like to read more about main characters friends. Can't wait to read next part & know more about the story and characters.

Magda

An intriguing start of a series

Reviewed in Poland on February 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

My Rating: 4,5

I really enjoyed the book as a beginning of a series. It was fast-paced, I never got bored and read it within a day. The premise of the hierarchy within the society is intriguing, however, I wish we got to learn more about how society came to be the way it is since there was a mention that in the past things were different - I hope the backstory is developed in the further installments because it is one of the things I felt were missing. In this type of book, I like when the author does not flood us with filler scenes but here it felt as if there were none and I wish there were at least a couple so that we could get to know the characters better and get more attached to them - would have made me care more about what happens with some of them. I enjoyed the style, for the most part, the story moved from scene to scene seamlessly. I will pick up the next book in the series and I'm considering picking up the hardcover version with bonus material - maybe it will fill a few blanks and answer a few questions I have about the backstory.

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