Marionette by Anya Allyn

Having really enjoyed Books 1 and 2 of the Dark Carousel series I was distinctly underwhelmed with this, the third book.  It just doesn't gel in the same way the others did and the swapping between realities definitely didn't work this time around.

The strongest sections are spent with Cassie and Molly in the Castle.  The true depth of depravity of the families is exposed with the changing walls and corridors of the castle and the strange marriage ceremony where the castle chooses your spouse.  To some extent they are a caricature of the Dollhouse and the same level of spine tingling dread is not to be found within these pages.  There is little to no character development for Cassie and Molly returns to being sickly and removed from the action by her overriding fatigue.

The sections in the Ice World don't really work.  I think I can see what the author is trying to achieve but it fell flat for me and did not hold my attention.  This isn't helped by the clumsy travelling mechanism of "the shadow" which seems somewhat at odds with the venality of the Empress Serpent that is supposedly the giver of the mechanism.

Things do start looking up in the last 20% or so of the book with a return to a more gothic tale.  The title suddenly makes sense and Cassie appears to be in genuine peril from Balthazar.  The scene setting is also richer and the tale benefits greatly from this which serves to give me hope for the fourth book in the series but I don't think I will be rushing to read it.