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oxfordcommas91's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I had a great time reading "A Marvellous Light," and unfortunately the second novel in the Last Binding series wasn't as compelling for me. Though this has all the makings of a story I'd love - locked door (murder on a ship) mystery, period drama, sapphic romance, intriguing world - it missed the mark for me in a big way, unfortunately. It certainly suffered from some middle book syndrome and the pacing felt off - the moments of action were good but they were punctuated by all these slower "planning" phases that really made the story drag at time.
But the biggest issue for me was that there was far less care taken in establishing the interest and intrigue between the two romantic "leads" of this book as there was in book one for Robin and Edwin. The tension and chemistry between Robin and Edwin is believable and builds into a very satisfying crescendo in Marvellous Light. Unfortunately the romance here isn't established in a thoughtful way and falls into too many of the bisexual/queer female stereotypes, resulting in a far less fulfilling story for the reader. You have an adventurous and experienced bisexual/pansexual queer woman who must "teach" the naive, doe-eyed bambi type who seemingly trips and falls into her lust for the main character. Unfortunately, I didn't love Violet as a character either - her motivations feel shallow and incomplete until much later in the book.
I did really enjoy learning more about the backstory and motivations of the Forsythia Club. For a period drama, it's intriguing that the keepers of this ancient magic wasa group of female magicians . The parts of the book focusing on the Last Contract and how it was being navigated were some of my favorites. Additionally, I love that we got so much more depth of character for Hawthorne and learned more about his family and relationship with magic.
Overall, I continue to be intrigued and interested in the world that Freya Marske has created and I look forward to reading the final installment of the Last Binding series, but I hope that it takes us back to London for a satisfying conclusion.
But the biggest issue for me was that there was far less care taken in establishing the interest and intrigue between the two romantic "leads" of this book as there was in book one for Robin and Edwin. The tension and chemistry between Robin and Edwin is believable and builds into a very satisfying crescendo in Marvellous Light. Unfortunately the romance here isn't established in a thoughtful way and falls into too many of the bisexual/queer female stereotypes, resulting in a far less fulfilling story for the reader. You have an adventurous and experienced bisexual/pansexual queer woman who must "teach" the naive, doe-eyed bambi type who seemingly trips and falls into her lust for the main character. Unfortunately, I didn't love Violet as a character either - her motivations feel shallow and incomplete until much later in the book.
I did really enjoy learning more about the backstory and motivations of the Forsythia Club. For a period drama, it's intriguing that the keepers of this ancient magic was
Overall, I continue to be intrigued and interested in the world that Freya Marske has created and I look forward to reading the final installment of the Last Binding series, but I hope that it takes us back to London for a satisfying conclusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Stalking and Alcohol
howeonearth's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
ultravioletrae's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A fun and campy mystery with some very steamy interludes throughout
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence and Classism
ct7567_lit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read this book as a standalone, without any prior knowledge of the first in the series, and I was pleasantly surprised. The author did a great job providing enough background and context to make the world and characters accessible. I particularly enjoyed the chaotic, whodunnit aspect of the mystery. Maud’s direct, no-nonsense communication style added a layer of realism to both the romance and the overall plot. The ending especially Violet’s personal revelation left me hoping for more closure. Now that I know it's part of a trilogy, it makes perfect sense why questions were left unanswered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Torture
findleydunn's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
plantacj's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse and Classism
schnaucl's review
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
4.75
I really enjoyed this book. I loved Maude, Violent, Hawthorne and Ross, but Maude especially. I really hope we see more of all four characters in the last book in the trilogy.
I love the relationship between Maude and Violet and how it grew over the course of the book. I also loved the explanation for where Maude gets her inspiration to explore her sexuality and the way Violet uses her illusion magic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
alexmegami's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Classism
elfduchess's review against another edition
(Review contains minor romance spoilers. I mean, you know they get together and sex each other. … And I the plot is so thread thin that I couldn't give spoilers for it if I tried.)
(Also, I figure I should warn that I touch lightly on this book's transphobia in the form of misgendering/deadnaming/outing of a transwoman that is not seen at all in the book and is, in fact, just a throw away conversation...likely to show how progressive Maud and Violet are. Or the author is.)
Four reasons. (Actually, more than that, but I could have forgiven the minor ones if I'd not had the other issues.) I pushed past the first two that made me uncomfortable, only to be dealing with the third and fourth in quick succession with each other.
So, the first problem I had was when Alan Ross (birth name Alonzo Rossi) is first introduced. He is described as 'an olive skinned young man with the kind of soulfully flawless good looks that made one want to rake ones fingernails across his cheek.'
…
I'm really surprised that I'm the only one that finds this racist, because I don't usually catch on to these type of things, but this just feels so, so bad when he's the only POC of any import and, I think, the only POC male so far. No other person was described in a way that linked their good looks to violence being perpetrated on them.
Second thing was the lead up to the first sex scene between Violet and Maud. This is just something that got in my head and really niggled at me because of the wording and the POV. We're inside Violet's head, she places her fingers on Maud's lips and then - I think when they part - she slips a finger inside Maud's mouth. Okay. I'm okay with this so far. Violet's thoughts are following the line of 'this does not indicate that they are going to do anything else.' That is true and I'm actually appreciating this awareness. Then she continues to think 'Violet could continue. Violet could stop at anytime.' And she never gives an acknowledgement that Maud could ask for this to continue or that Maud could ask for it to stop.
I've had too many bad experiences with this sort of disregard to mutual consent, that I was kind of starting to be super vigilant.
Third thing was the blatant and obvious misgendering (and deadnaming?) of a transwoman. Violet is attempting to shock Maud - apparently - by telling her about the transwomen she knew back in New York. Maud will not be shocked though, because one of the women in the women's society is a 'lady of that nature.' I was…hopefully impressed. But then Maud continued: 'Ms Hannity (sp?) had been a Sailor when she was young Mr Hannity.'
Honestly, you don't even need this. In the context of the conversation, it's obvious. (I also have a couple of issues with the fact that Maud knows this when she is not friends with this woman and the casual way she outs her, when that could have been extremely dangerous for Ms. Hannity.)
Fourth issue that made me stop was during sex again. 'Violet seemed to take the reminder of Maud's academic knowledge as a challenge, to prove her greater experience.' … Look, I've not forgotten, because this book will not let me forget, that Maud is the inexperienced virgin trope and Violet is the bisexual slut trope. First of all, the bisexual slut trope is one that really gets under my skin and there had better be a decent way to either back it up, or other bisexual representation. This has neither. And the inexperienced virgin is pretty much why I stay away from het historicals.
These last two issues, slap up against each other left me looking at other minor issues I had with this book, such as:
The fact that Violet is putting on a show during their first sex scene and…I feel that if she feels she still has to do that, they are having sex much too soon.
Which, also, they have sex after they have known each other three days. Which is noted somewhere near the first sex scene. (I like slow burn. I have also only found one author that understands that when I say 'slow burn' I mean 'glacial burn' to such a degree that you will forget that you're reading a romance.)
And there there's also the point that Violet disregards Maud's privacy and looks through a book of Maud's that it is obvious Maud doesn't want her to.
Which, IIRC, lead directly in to the second half of an argument about Violet not wanting to sex Maud up because Maud's too new at this (only recently discovering her Sapphic leanings) and horny (after reading erotica) and Maud responds, maturely, that she can certainly find another woman - or man - aboard the ship to help her get her rocks off.
Oh, and there was also the second meeting between Maud and Violet, where Lord Hawthorn was fingers deep in Violet. That whole scene did not feel good and, honestly, left me kind of disgusted.
Finally, as I was scrolling through some reviews, I discovered that Violet is married to a vanished husband so she cannot divorce him - a fact which she never tells Maud. And this is the point that I know I am making the right decision for myself.
(Side note: I have no intention of continuing this series. I had hoped that I might, but after seeing the casual racism directed to Alan Ross and knowing that in the first book I mentally pegged Lord Hawthorn as a verbally abusive bastard, I have zero interest in reading their romance.)
(Also, I figure I should warn that I touch lightly on this book's transphobia in the form of misgendering/deadnaming/outing of a transwoman that is not seen at all in the book and is, in fact, just a throw away conversation...likely to show how progressive Maud and Violet are. Or the author is.)
Four reasons. (Actually, more than that, but I could have forgiven the minor ones if I'd not had the other issues.) I pushed past the first two that made me uncomfortable, only to be dealing with the third and fourth in quick succession with each other.
So, the first problem I had was when Alan Ross (birth name Alonzo Rossi) is first introduced. He is described as 'an olive skinned young man with the kind of soulfully flawless good looks that made one want to rake ones fingernails across his cheek.'
…
I'm really surprised that I'm the only one that finds this racist, because I don't usually catch on to these type of things, but this just feels so, so bad when he's the only POC of any import and, I think, the only POC male so far. No other person was described in a way that linked their good looks to violence being perpetrated on them.
Second thing was the lead up to the first sex scene between Violet and Maud. This is just something that got in my head and really niggled at me because of the wording and the POV. We're inside Violet's head, she places her fingers on Maud's lips and then - I think when they part - she slips a finger inside Maud's mouth. Okay. I'm okay with this so far. Violet's thoughts are following the line of 'this does not indicate that they are going to do anything else.' That is true and I'm actually appreciating this awareness. Then she continues to think 'Violet could continue. Violet could stop at anytime.' And she never gives an acknowledgement that Maud could ask for this to continue or that Maud could ask for it to stop.
I've had too many bad experiences with this sort of disregard to mutual consent, that I was kind of starting to be super vigilant.
Third thing was the blatant and obvious misgendering (and deadnaming?) of a transwoman. Violet is attempting to shock Maud - apparently - by telling her about the transwomen she knew back in New York. Maud will not be shocked though, because one of the women in the women's society is a 'lady of that nature.' I was…hopefully impressed. But then Maud continued: 'Ms Hannity (sp?) had been a Sailor when she was young Mr Hannity.'
Honestly, you don't even need this. In the context of the conversation, it's obvious. (I also have a couple of issues with the fact that Maud knows this when she is not friends with this woman and the casual way she outs her, when that could have been extremely dangerous for Ms. Hannity.)
Fourth issue that made me stop was during sex again. 'Violet seemed to take the reminder of Maud's academic knowledge as a challenge, to prove her greater experience.' … Look, I've not forgotten, because this book will not let me forget, that Maud is the inexperienced virgin trope and Violet is the bisexual slut trope. First of all, the bisexual slut trope is one that really gets under my skin and there had better be a decent way to either back it up, or other bisexual representation. This has neither. And the inexperienced virgin is pretty much why I stay away from het historicals.
These last two issues, slap up against each other left me looking at other minor issues I had with this book, such as:
The fact that Violet is putting on a show during their first sex scene and…I feel that if she feels she still has to do that, they are having sex much too soon.
Which, also, they have sex after they have known each other three days. Which is noted somewhere near the first sex scene. (I like slow burn. I have also only found one author that understands that when I say 'slow burn' I mean 'glacial burn' to such a degree that you will forget that you're reading a romance.)
And there there's also the point that Violet disregards Maud's privacy and looks through a book of Maud's that it is obvious Maud doesn't want her to.
Which, IIRC, lead directly in to the second half of an argument about Violet not wanting to sex Maud up because Maud's too new at this (only recently discovering her Sapphic leanings) and horny (after reading erotica) and Maud responds, maturely, that she can certainly find another woman - or man - aboard the ship to help her get her rocks off.
Oh, and there was also the second meeting between Maud and Violet, where Lord Hawthorn was fingers deep in Violet. That whole scene did not feel good and, honestly, left me kind of disgusted.
Finally, as I was scrolling through some reviews, I discovered that Violet is married to a vanished husband so she cannot divorce him - a fact which she never tells Maud. And this is the point that I know I am making the right decision for myself.
(Side note: I have no intention of continuing this series. I had hoped that I might, but after seeing the casual racism directed to Alan Ross and knowing that in the first book I mentally pegged Lord Hawthorn as a verbally abusive bastard, I have zero interest in reading their romance.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
shadowspinner's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping