A Marvelous Light is a fantastic queer fantasy. Freya Marske builds an intriguing world with complex characters, and a grumpy sunshine romance that I couldn’t put down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cheerful Sir Robin Blyth is a civil servant who finds himself transferred to be a liaison to some sort of magical society he’s never heard of before. Magical liaison Edwin Courcey, the least magical person in a family that values magical power above all, arrives to find Robin in the office of his missing predecessor. As awkward Edwin struggles to explain the magical world to Robin, and Robin finds himself chased and cursed by a mysterious group that thinks he knows where powerful magical objects are hidden. As the two work together to unravel the mystery that affects all of magical Britain, they also get to know each other very, very well. Can the attraction between them survive secrets, attacks, and evil plans while they try to figure out what exactly is going on?
This book is filled with magical power and curses and mysteries and romance too. I love every bit of it. Edwin and Robin are both intensely likable, but not perfect, characters trying to navigate their way through perilous situations.
While both Robin and Edison have parents who are terrible in their own ways, I liked the way Robin and his sister Maud support each other no matter what happens. And Edwin respects this relationship, even though it’s so different from his with his own awful siblings. I also love how important it is to Edwin to have Robin’s clear consent, in both magical and romantic scenarios.
This was a long book, but didn’t feel that way while reading. I’m proud of myself for waiting until all three books in the series were released before diving in; now I can just keep reading and reading about this fascinating world.
A Marvelous Light is a wonderful introduction to a magical fantasy world. I adore Edwin and Robin, and the way they care for each other while remaining true to their ideas about right and wrong. I’m so impressed with Freya Marske’s world building and characters, and can’t wait to read what happens next in this series.
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Popular Highlights in this book
Edwin had no idea what he ached for, no real sense of the shape of his ideal future. He only knew that if every day he made himself a little bit better—if he worked harder, if he learned more, more than anyone else—he might find it.Highlighted by 553 Kindle readers- And admission, even in his own head: I am nothing like you, and yet I feel more myself with you.Highlighted by 419 Kindle readers
- He was in the mood to not talk with anyone and, as sometimes happened, felt perversely like surrounding himself with people to not-talk to.Highlighted by 345 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Thrilling M/M Contemporary Fantasy
*I was gifted an e-copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*This book was such a fun read, but at the same time it had the proper depth that made the characters and the relationship that much more meaningful. There was fun, romance, contemporary fantasy elements, all with a murder mystery working in the background of this compelling Edwardian fantasy book. I loved both Edwin and Robin. Robin had the dazzling personality and the smart mouth that makes him an easy character to love. He was lovable, but his character still possessed depth enough to make him feel well-rounded. He felt well-rounded as a character because we were able to see the difficulties he was going through and his internal struggle to really connect with the people around them. Then opposite him there was Edwin; though his demeanor was pretty cold and prickly at the beginning, he was also very easy to love. He had these deep seated insecurities and his flaws were on display. Born to a rich, deeply magical family of which he was an outsider, the butt of their jokes. Robin just complemented him so nicely. Their romance was just very sweet, though there was also some spice that elevated it even further. Sure, their romance felt a little quick, but I still thought it was believable.Another thing that I loved about this book was the creative magic system. The concept of using these complicated hand gestures that ultimately boiled down to cradling (like cat's cradle) was really unique. Also the concept that people are born with varying amounts of magic and the precision with which they are able to cradle affecting their ability to perform different spells. It just seemed like a very unique way of looking at magic that I don't feel like I've ever encountered before. And even if it was, it was presented in a way that made it not only digestible, but also very understandable. Sometimes fantasy writers can get way too complex with their magic systems and how they operate. It felt like Marske made the usage of the magic perfectly understandable. In fact, the writing throughout the whole book was very understandable. Don't get me wrong, Marske's writing was still lovely and served to make the story that much more captivating. The actions and emotions of the characters were well-described. The use of such made the characters understandable and relatable. The story itself was compelling with just enough action to keep interest the whole way through. Don't get me wrong, it took the story a moment to get warmed up, but once it did it just didn't stop.All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely my favorite book that I read in November of 2021. In fact, it was probably in my top ten books for 2021 (maybe even top 5). This was the first book in the Last Binding series, and I'm already really excited to read the sequel whenever it comes out! If you like a good fantasy novel set in Edwardian England that has mystery, murder, lovable characters, m/m romance, and great character dynamics, then this is the book for you!
Top reviews from other countries
Micaela Valerio
Beautiful!
Reviewed in Italy on March 9, 2024
Micaela Valerio
Reviewed in Italy on March 9, 2024
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Christian Heyden
Wirklich MARVELOUS...
Reviewed in Germany on October 7, 2022
Christian Heyden
Reviewed in Germany on October 7, 2022
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O.
Beautiful book
Reviewed in France on March 3, 2022
O.
Reviewed in France on March 3, 2022
The story is nice, I think that you need to be in the mood for this very specific sort of book, because it is very slow in my opinion so you need to really be *in it* to love it
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