I’m in awe at how magical and unique this world that Clayton built is. The magic system is fantastic (if at times a little confusing) and I really enjoyed the setting. It was, dare I say, incredibly marvellous how Clayton constructed the world building and the characters, and I feel as if this book stands out amongst its genre.

I really enjoyed the plot and all the twists that happened, and there’s still so much left to discover! I will definitely be picking up the rest of the series as they come out and will recommend this to all the younger (and older!) people in my life.

What a read! I loved the diverse range of characters in it that were igniting their power but also flawed as they grow up and learn about the world. a fantastic read for young readers to really get sucked into. The character development at times was left open for interpretation but I think it was purposeful to leave it open for future books (which I’m looking forward to).

Middle Grade fantasy books always interest me and this was certainly no exception. The inclusion of the house system, and a school, are some of my absolute favourite tropes to read, as they make the both feel both nostalgic and brand new at the same time.

The world-building was really good, I felt very immersed, and the detail was rather impressive for a middle-grade novel.

Overall, The Marvellers was a fun, enthralling and magical book. I certainly cannot wait for the next instalment to be released.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

I really enjoyed this book, but it definitely gave off a Amari & The Night Brothers vibe so I did feel like I was repeating the process of reading it. I can definitely see this appealing to so many readers though!

Ella is the first Conjuror to attend the prestigious Arcanum Training Institute for young Marvellers looking to hone their craft. However, Conjurors are considered dangerous by many Marvellers and not everyone welcomes Ella into the fold. However, she forms friendships with misfits Brigit and Jacob who become invaluable to her, when a dangerous criminal is on the loose, the Conjurors are considered to be suspects. Then, Ella’s favourite teacher disappears. Can the young Marvellers save the day and dispel the rumours about her and her family? The magic system in The Marvellers is beautiful and I really loved the vivid imagery of it. There are some parallels to Harry Potter, as to be expected with a book set in a magic school, but it’s still unique enough to be excited about. It tackles injustice and inequality really well and I was thoroughly enthralled by the cliffhanger ending. Give me the next book now, please!

The first book in a major new immersive fantasy adventure series featuring magic, friendship and family.

Well worth a read!

I need to start off by stating that I was provided with a copy of this book by Netgalley free of charge in return for an honest review.

From start to finish this book had been amazing! I loved learning about this new magical world. It truly is wonderful diffrent and new from anything our there.

It's a story about over comming adversity and finding your own way just as Ella did.

I loved it! I can't wait for the second installment

This is absolutely the inclusive magic school adventure I've been waiting for! WHAT a book. What incredible world-building. When I say this book brought so much joy that's an understatement and I can't wait to share it with my kids.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed my time reading this! The magical system was so interesting, and it was nice learning about it with Ella. I loved the friendships that she developed with Bridgit and Jason, it was so cute to see their dynamic. The story at its core is about finding your place in a society, that is set against you. I definitely think this is the perfect book for younger people, to know that they can belong anywhere. I will be anticipating the next book in this series, so I can continue Ella and her friends on their adventures!!
(*3.5 stars)

This is an amazing story that mixes the folklore of the Caribbean and deep south with the more European based magician. There is a conflict between the two traditions, so when Ella becomes the first Conjurer to be admitted into the Arcanum Institute she finds that not everyone welcomes her. What follows is a tense and dark story of prejudice and misunderstanding. What a brilliant story that really grips the reader and which shows a very different concept of a magical world. I can't wait for the second story.

I requested The Marvellers as it sounded like it had a similar premise to Amari and the Night Brothers, which is one of my favourite books from the last couple of years. While it didn't quite live up to my expectations, I found the story enjoyable, and felt like I could really root for the main trio of characters.

I enjoyed learning about Marvellers and I'm excited to find out more in future books, especially about how their history intersects with that of Conjurors.

Ordinarily I struggle to keep up with stories with multiple points of view, but I really liked the format and thought it worked well for this story - giving us just the right amount of information in the secondary point of view.

Unfortunately I repeatedly confused the side characters, particularly the other Level One Students and also the teachers, because they all felt very similar and kind of beige, which meant that I lost track of who I liked and felt the main characters could trust.

I ended up rating it 3 out of 5 stars, despite my confusion over the characters, it could have been a 5 star, but it never really felt like the stakes were particularly high, even when they technically *should* have been. There were also a lot of loose ends that I felt should have been resolved or at least referred back to in this book, but hopefully those are revisited in future installments.

OHMIGOSH that world!!! You could call it world building but I feel world conjuring would be funnier. No? Just me? Yeah I have dad level humour. But seriously!! I was here for this world so hard. It was true diversity, hitting all the continents (no one cares about the poles) I was okay with the info dumps of the first third because I know this series is gonna have such a big universe and I wanted to understand and see alllll of it! The world gets allll my stars(get is?? Okay I'll stop)

While I was really here for the world, here are some other highlights:
1) Magic system- best use of science in fantasy I have seen in a while
2) Puzzle solving- I like when things aren't as clean cut as Problem:Solution:Resolution

Overall, a good middle grade fantasy with the potential for a big world. My big complaint is that the amount of what seems like dead ends where characters find something out that doesn't come up later in the novel, but I won't state any strong feelings on it incase these things become useful in later novels.

Thank you net galley for the arc!

As a fan of books about magic schools, as soon as I knew this existed I knew I had to read it, and what a great start to my new year this was. Magical, inspiring and brilliant this new series is going to be probably one of my new favourites.

The magic system is so unique, I love the different paragons and the way that it displays in Ella's family almost as growing tattoos is really unique. I think the first half can be a little slow but as we move into the second half it can be quite dark in places, and the plot really gets the story moving.

Ella as a character is a great one and really is easy to connect to throughout this story and how this book tackles prejudice, microaggressions and staying true to yourself in the face of adversity is really brilliantly done, the writing really tackles all of this so well.

A fantastic concept with a really original school, I really want to read more and hope there's a book two!

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

This book was imaginative, fun filled and beautifully diverse, but it was all let down by a simple predictable story. I don't know if Dhonielle Clayton thought that things needed to be simplified for children (which is simply not true, just ask them to explain the latest Doctor Who episode!) or if she just spent all her time focused on the setting and neglected the storyline but something fell down here and I'm very disappointed.

I'm extra disappointed because the world was so wonderful. It was filled with so much imagination and creativity. It would be perfect for fans of Nevermoor because it's filled with the same kind of zany, imaginative setting and wonderous creatures.

It was also a very good look at what a global school would be like and how all the cultures would blend together and co-exist. It's a beautiful look at a diverse and vibrant school whilst still leaving rooms for themes of prejudice with the different forms of magic system that exist in this world.

All in all, I really enjoyed most of this book. It could really have been a fantastic book if the plot hadn't let it down. I really hope the next book in the series is better.

My feelings about this one are fairly mixed, and whilst things did get better as it progressed, I was overall rather unconvinced. On paper it was a cracking concept that I really wanted to enjoy, but the standard of delivery left things to be desired. The plot took a significant while to get going as substantial world-building was required (yet, if I'm honest, there was still much left unexplained in the wider universe, making things rather confusing), and this slow start proved particularly fatal in my opinion, especially when considering it's marketed as a middle-grade novel. The diversity and representation was fantastic to see, although several characters did seem to be defined by nothing else, which was a tad disappointing.

In short, a great idea with much potential, but maybe in need of a little more refinement when it comes to delivery.

The Marvellers had me intrigued right from the very beginning. I immediately wanted to know more about both the conjurers and the Marvellians – who are they? Why the tension between them? What could both do? I loved the descriptions of the different kinds of magic and how seamlessly the world was put together. Young readers will desperately want to know what their marvel is as they learn of all the possibilities!

Ella is a wonderful protagonist. She is immediately likeable and I knew straight away I would be rooting for her. She is charming and curious, strong willed and passionate. She is also a wonderful friend and I loved seeing her friendships with Jason and Brigid develop throughout the story. The Professors are an eclectic bunch ranging from kind, caring and intelligent to difficult, intimidating and unkind. There were some I warmed to immediately and others I know to be wary of. Ella’s family warmed me inside – I would actually love to read a book just about them!

There is plenty of adenture to be found within the pages of this story. Ella has to adapt to a whole new way of living in a society who mostly look down on her. She is desperate to prove herself and discover her own marcel whilst making friends, frenemies and coming face to face with the leader of the Aces. She discovers more about herself than she bargains for on this journey and it’s certainly a page turner. The end of this book sets up perfectly for a second and I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.

The Marvellers captured my imagination, filled with vivid descriptions, characters to love and loathe and a fast paced plot. Definitely one for those who love a magical world.

I think there's a lot of potential, an interesting heroine and a well developed world building. I liked part of it and found very slow others.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This Amazing Book has Vibes of Harry Potter & Doctor Who running throughout.
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Book).

Did not finish

I read about the first 100 pages before sadly deciding this book wasn't for me.
It was just a bombardment of information constantly. Obviously the author was trying to introduce you to their carefully conceived world, but it was just too much at once. I found that I was just getting too much explanation of things in a short time. A huge numbers of characters introduced, along with basically all the information about the world, it's magic, the school etc and it was just too much to take in and I found myself just glazing over because I couldn't take any more in.
It made me realise why so many books (especially children's books) where there is an unfamiliar world have a main character who is new to the world, because it gives the reader a chance to slowly learn about the world alongside the main character. The problem with this book was that the MC was part of it, so the author wanted to share everything about the world, like that were trying to get you up to date for the rest of the story. But for me, this just wasn't working. As I keep saying, it was just too much.
I give it 2 stars because although I didn't finish it, I can tell the author had put a lot of thought into their world, they were proud of it and wanted to share it.

We really want to live in Ella's world, from the youngest (5) to the oldest (over 60) . We read the book as a family read snd were all equally entranced by the colour, detail and diversity in this book. The range of magical talents and practices were so interesting and detailed. We loved it, more please.