Review: The Master and the Marionette by Brandi Elise Szeker

 

The Master and the Marionette by Brandi Elise Szeker

Series: The Pawn and the Puppet #2

Publication date: August 17th, 2022

Pages: 374

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Skylenna has left the Chandelier City, The Emerald Lake Asylum, and the twisted societal restraints of women to run away with the patient everyone fears. Dessin.

As they hide in the uncharted forests surrounding the city, Skylenna learns that the mystery of the infamous Patient Thirteen is far from over. There are still the missing pieces of her past and a master plan that relies on Skylenna trusting Dessin with blind faith. And with each dangerous situation comes a new alter, a new personality to meet, a new man that deepens her attraction.

It isn't until they run into unexpected allies and ancient colonies of the forests that they learn of a reason to go back to the asylum willingly. But Skylenna doesn't have the luxury of obtaining her old conformist position. This time around, she must accept a new role as the twelfth patient of The Emerald Lake Asylum.

Simulated drownings, force-feedings, whippings, and life within the torturous cage of Demechnef. Skylenna begins to wonder how much of this game she'll be able to endure.

Will Dessin prove she means as much to him as he does to her? Or is the master merely playing with his marionette? 

Disclaimer: This book contains explicit content and dark elements that may be considered offensive to some readers. Check trigger warnings before reading. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

This is a dark dystopian society that is intended to be problematic. Please note that this is a fictional world and in no way reflects the author's personal beliefs. We will see the society grow and correct its moral compass over the series.

This book contains: gratuitous violence, depression, mention of suicide, gratuitous torture, eating disorder, hallucinations, misogyny, mention of pedophilia, romanticized mental illness, gore, mention of child abuse, decapitation, female oppression, hostage situation, Stockholm syndrome, degradation, starvation, brainwashing, body shaming, sexually explicit scenes, and religious trauma.

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Review:

Running away from your problems always seems the best course of action in the moment. But eventually the 'what next' question starts to sink in and a decision has to be made as to what to do from there. Luckily, Skylenna has the man with a perpetual plan accompanying her on her first days as a fugitive. When she decided to run away with Patient Thirteen she never thought that she would be sequestered away in the forest that held so many tales of dangers and fear. But for some reason she will always feel safe with Dessin and a number of other alters within the man's mind. Before she knows it she is trailing behind him on a journey of self-discovery and intrigue. But the lost colonies and breadcrumb like clues she finds within them are not the only places she must visit to try to understand what is happening in her world. Her past holds secrets that she has locked away within her mind much like the depths of Dessin's. She fears what she may discover but needs to know everything. The secrets Dessin holds that he refuses to tell her will drive a wedge between the two of them until Skylenna starts to question their connection completely. When insidious forces seek to break her mind and her loyalty to Dessin the question of their succession has never been so close to being factual. Can Skylenna unlock what lies in her mind to piece together her past and how to connects to her future and the man who refuses to ever leave her side?

I loved that we got to see a bit of the outside world in this book. We weren't locked away with the patients of The Emerald Lake Asylum or forced to watch Skylenna go through ridiculous rituals of personal beauty to keep up with the Chandelier City standards while under the watchful eye of someone she had thought was a friend. She was finally free but at what cost? I feel we finally got a sense of who Skylenna was as a person and not as an obedient follower. She started to show some backbone and while everyone was scared of Dessin, she would just as quickly thump him on the forehead for frustrating her. Watching Skylenna finally let herself eat to fulfillment instead of only eating enough to keep from fainting was a scene that made me cry openly. How awful it must be to live in perpetual hunger because society decides that thin and waft-like is the standard to live by? Meanwhile the men are free to eat at their leisure. Talk about unfair. 

The connections that formed between Skylenna and all the alters of Patient Thirteen was really unique. I liked that she had different feelings for each at different times. There was one situation where she was mad at Dessin and Kane but when Greystone and Aquarus surfaced she had no issues being around them and letting them comfort her. She was mad at the alters that had hurt her but didn't hold the others to the same standard because she felt they were not as involved. It was that differentiation that made the alters all seem like unique entities and not just different pages of the same book like post people are with their societal personalities. It gives the book a little bit of a reverse harem feel to it without her actually being with more than just the one actual physical body. I have never seen a book take that stance before and have it work so successfully.

The only drawback I found was that I am struggling to keep straight all the facts of the story. There are tidbits shared here and there that are only touched upon before moving on. It's not enough for me to remember to engrain them within my head as parts of a mystery I need to uncover. It seems Skylenna makes very poor decisions when not controlled by Dessin or Kane. She will be reckless and endanger herself senselessly when left up to her own devices. While that is a character drawback in the likeability category for me, I can't fault it for playing a valued part in the overall master and marionette symbolism.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series, as I am completely enthralled!