Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Restless Truth

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A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

65 reviews

luckykosmos's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Honestly just TREMENDOUSLY fun and a blast to read. The characters and how they bounced off one another were delightful, and I would honestly read a whole series of just Maud solving mysteries with her resigned retinue.

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kingcrookback's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

A fun whodunit with some great character development! A Restless Truth really stands as its own story--intertwined with A Marvellous Light and not entirely divorced from it but separate enough that I was never distracted from Maud's journey by thinking about Robin and Edwin. I liked the development in worldbuilding, specifically how gender and class play into the dynamics of capability and power in this hidden magic society. I also appreciated how realistic Maud and Violet's relationship was, how their respective flaws, insecurities, and traumas exacerbated the other's and

how the story didn't end with them in an established relationship. They're both young, and they both have some things to work through and figure out. The possibility is there.

And amazingly, given how he initially came off in A Marvellous Light, I came to enjoy Lord Hawthorn as a character! It'll be very interesting to get to see the inside of his head in A Power Unbound.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a really great sequel to A Marvellous Light. I wondered if I'd enjoy it as much as the first one if it followed different characters but that wasn't a problem at all. I was immediately invested in the mystery and in Maud as a character. The ship was such a great setting and it was fast paced throughout. The magic system is fascinating and I'll definitely pick up the third one when it's published.

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Once again, Freya Marske knocks it out of the park with whipcrack humour, excellent pacing and characters that you grow extremely attached to very quickly. In this volume, we follow Maud, Robin Blyth’s younger sister, as she travels from the USA back to Great Britain on an ocean liner accompanied by an elderly woman with knowledge of one of the objects involved with the Last Binding – too bad she’s murdered before the 2nd chapter…

What follows is Maud “accidentally” recruiting a dream team of fellow shipmates to solve the crime: Alan, a young aspiring journalist with a penchant for stealing; Lord Hawthorn, who would like everyone to know he did NOT want to be involved with these people but somehow ends up showing up when they need him most every time; and finally Violet Debenham, an actress magician with a charming exterior and a steely interior (interestingly, the complete opposite of Edwin in AML).

This love story is more of a lust-at-first-sight but as I came to know both Violet and Maud better, I was able to become more invested in their romance. As Lord Hawthorne put it, Maud is a “ball of righteousness” – the world does not deserve her and she needs to be protected at all costs (just like dear Edwin uwu). The murder mystery combined with the chaotic/cosy/claustrophobic setting of the ship just really *hit* right and just like in AML, there are two climaxes. I can tell you now, I was not expecting the surprise villain and they were scary as shit!!

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azrah786's review against another edition

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4.5

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, torture, injury, death, murder, grief, misogyny, sexism, classism, confinement, kidnapping, alcohol, sexual harassment, sexual content
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Full of magical mayhem, a swashbuckling sapphic romance and a marvelling murder mystery, A Restless Truth is a brilliant sequel to Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light.

This second instalment follows Maud Blyth - sister to previous MC Robin – who gets tangled up in a murder investigation aboard a ship that is taking her home from America when the very person she has found to help Robin and Edwin with The Last Contract situation ends up dead.

I absolutely loved that Maud was the lead protagonist and got her own romantic adventure in this book as I really liked her character from the moment we met her in book 1. The rest of the newly introduced characters were also a really fun bunch. Hawthorn is a character I couldn’t remember well from book 1 (I probably should have done a reread) but I’m really glad he got pulled in for the shenanigans as it made the central murder mystery all the more amusing. Honestly the humour in this and the banter between the characters was great! Violet, I took a little longer to fully warm to but I loved everything she stood for.

I feel like the romance in this second book though just as steamy felt a lot more like a side plot. It was balanced well with the rest of the main plot points however, I feel like the whodunnit storyline and direction of the series as a whole became a lot more apparent and took the limelight.

Nevertheless, alongside the highly entertaining mystery I really enjoyed that we got to see more elements of the magic system and learn more about the history of it all and The Last Contract. It brought the whole conspiracy that started in the first book to a nice place to be continued and concluded in the final book of the trilogy and I’m excited to see who is going to be the lead!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars

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