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displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
This is a lovely sequel to A Marvellous Light. Because it follows a different set of characters, it won't matter too much if you don't remember the finer details of the first book, but it does build directly on what happened in that book, so you should read them in order.
The story of this one concerns a murder on a cruise ship, and trying to figure out whodunnit while also keeping the bad guy(s) from getting their hands on the powerful magic item belonging to the victim (while not knowing what form that item takes). Along the way, there's a great F/F romance with some very steamy love scenes, and establishing our M/M sequel bait pairing to get you ready for the end of the trilogy.
The story of this one concerns a murder on a cruise ship, and trying to figure out whodunnit while also keeping the bad guy(s) from getting their hands on the powerful magic item belonging to the victim (while not knowing what form that item takes). Along the way, there's a great F/F romance with some very steamy love scenes, and establishing our M/M sequel bait pairing to get you ready for the end of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Violence
Minor: Sexism
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Thanks to Tor Books for the free advance copy of this book.
- A RESTLESS TRUTH was pitched as "lesbian Knives Out on a boat," and WOW does it deliver on that promise! I was so-so on the previous book in this series, A MARVELLOUS LIGHT, feeling that it never struck the right balance between the genres it was blending. This book does that beautifully, and puts at its heart a beautiful story about allowing yourself to be seen as you are.
- The mystery plot of this book is great fun, keeping it silly and surprising even with the high stakes.
- I think you can probably manage to read this book without having read the previous installment, but you'll be better off if you have, since this one doesn't really reexplain the magic system or the the larger ongoing story until well into the book.
- A RESTLESS TRUTH was pitched as "lesbian Knives Out on a boat," and WOW does it deliver on that promise! I was so-so on the previous book in this series, A MARVELLOUS LIGHT, feeling that it never struck the right balance between the genres it was blending. This book does that beautifully, and puts at its heart a beautiful story about allowing yourself to be seen as you are.
- The mystery plot of this book is great fun, keeping it silly and surprising even with the high stakes.
- I think you can probably manage to read this book without having read the previous installment, but you'll be better off if you have, since this one doesn't really reexplain the magic system or the the larger ongoing story until well into the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Maud Blyth is used to most of the interesting things happening to her brother, Robin. So, when she gets a chance to travel to New York for her own adventure, she jumps on the chance. Especially since it means covering up secrets that threaten all of the British Isles.
Instead of an adventure, what she happens upon is a dead body. And a mysterious woman named Violet Debenham, who is a magician and an actress. Thrown together by a murder on the ship, the two must work together in order to solve the mystery. When sparks start to fly between the two of them, it's the last thing Maud ever expected.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an advanced copy of A Restless Truth to review! I I loved A Marvellous Light last year when I read it, so I was excited to jump into this sequel. I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed! And the cover is just as gorgeous as the first book.
This is being pitched as Knives Out meets The Binding, and I'd definitely agree about the Knives Out aspect. The murder mystery is definitely the driving force behind this plot, with a little magic and romance mixed in. It's a great sort of genre blender, so I think there are a lot of readers who will really enjoy this! I will say, you don't have to read the first book to get what's going on in this one; it just gives you some background knowledge on the world building.
The chemisty between Violet and Maud was absolutely my favorite thing about this book. Their chemistry is great from the get-go. And it continues to build throughout the book. Honestly, I would read a whole entire book about them. Or maybe they go on an adventure with Robin and Edwin! Yeah, let's make that the next book.
In addition to Violet and Maud, there's a cast of quirky side characters you'll fall in love with as well. The group on the ship are fun to read about, making this a magical mystery adventure romance you won't want to miss.
All in all, if you love a great genre blender, especially one with a little magic, you'll definitely enjoy this book!
Instead of an adventure, what she happens upon is a dead body. And a mysterious woman named Violet Debenham, who is a magician and an actress. Thrown together by a murder on the ship, the two must work together in order to solve the mystery. When sparks start to fly between the two of them, it's the last thing Maud ever expected.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an advanced copy of A Restless Truth to review! I I loved A Marvellous Light last year when I read it, so I was excited to jump into this sequel. I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed! And the cover is just as gorgeous as the first book.
This is being pitched as Knives Out meets The Binding, and I'd definitely agree about the Knives Out aspect. The murder mystery is definitely the driving force behind this plot, with a little magic and romance mixed in. It's a great sort of genre blender, so I think there are a lot of readers who will really enjoy this! I will say, you don't have to read the first book to get what's going on in this one; it just gives you some background knowledge on the world building.
The chemisty between Violet and Maud was absolutely my favorite thing about this book. Their chemistry is great from the get-go. And it continues to build throughout the book. Honestly, I would read a whole entire book about them. Or maybe they go on an adventure with Robin and Edwin! Yeah, let's make that the next book.
In addition to Violet and Maud, there's a cast of quirky side characters you'll fall in love with as well. The group on the ship are fun to read about, making this a magical mystery adventure romance you won't want to miss.
All in all, if you love a great genre blender, especially one with a little magic, you'll definitely enjoy this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
a_modernstoryteller's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Definitely a new top favourite read of 2022!!levesc17's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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
4.25
This is a flawless sequel — similar pacing and romantic arc to the first book, but with new characters and a brand new setting. We learn a little bit more about the larger mysteries at play— but this book shines with the character development and romantic tension. This book has more laugh out loud humor moments than I the first, but that could be partially because the two leads have so much sass. I can’t wait for the next one; I hope the third book will be for grumpy Lord Hawthorne.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Torture