Why does this feel like a game of Betrayal...if Betrayal involved Bridgerton-esque parties and everyone was a traitor instead of just one person?

For the sake of honesty, I picked up Shadows of Perl because I was invested in a singular character and also because it was available on Netgalley for free. I didn't love the first one, but I thought it was okay, and I figured I might as well read the sequel. It definitely has a handful of popular tropes (lovers-to-enemies, only one bed, quirky main characters, etc). I'd also like to mention again that I'm not typically a fan of urban fantasy as a genre, so my review might be more critical but should be taken with a grain of salt.
The multiple POVs definitely worked in this book's favor because I'm not sure if I could have taken a whole book narrated by Quell. There are three main storylines going on: Quell is still trying to find her mother, Jordan is trying to find and kill Quell, and the third one involves spoilers, but it's about breaking free from one's house. I found the third storyline to be the least interesting, simply because I wasn't sure how it would tie in with Quell and Jordan's stories. Quell had some interesting scenes, especially past the 70% mark, and I'm kind of hoping for a villain arc for her. Jordan's chapters were my favorite because they really worked to develop his character and backstory, and they simply had more action. There were some plot twists, most of which I didn't guess but weren't incredibly out of the blue. The book does end with a cliffhanger, so I'll probably end up reading the next one.
As I've shared before, I really only read this book for one character. Quell still reminded me of a bunch of other characters (there are literally so many young women who are thrown into a new world and end up embracing the power everyone hates), but since she's kinda giving villain arc vibes, that's what I'm hoping for. Jordan was fairly interesting, but his inner turmoil got a bit repetitive after a while. I still don't like Abby (mostly because we share a name). Yagrin was my favorite, and I'm not sure if it's because he can shapeshift or because he has a tragic backstory or because I just like his vibes, but he's the reason I keep coming back to this series...
Shadows of Perl is the second book in the House of Marionne series, and it definitely avoids second-book syndrome while also employing a variety of familiar tropes sure to intrigue readers of dark academia and urban fantasy.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.75/5