Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Restless Truth

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

75 reviews

20sidedbi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny 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? No

4.25

Content Warnings

x_chrissieb_reads_x's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Description:

All aboard the Lyric!
The ship that hosts the rich, the dazzling, a dead body…and a murderer.

The naive and slightly crazed Maud Blyth was prepared to have a great adventure aboard the Lyric, with a dirty-mouthed parrot and her so-called ‘employer’ Mrs. Navenby. But when Maud finds a dead body splayed on the floor in their own blood, her excitement is dulled into dread.

Now she has to deal with a mystery that somehow pulled her into its grasp and the dangerous, yet magnificent magician, Violet Debenham. A girl trained for a scandalous act, Violet is one for secrets and trickery.

Stuck on a ship headed toward England, and a murderous magician out for blood, Maud and Violet gather an unruly group; a ghost, a pornography collector, and a Lord with quite the attitude.

Time’s running out as the voyage starts to reach its end. It is up to Maud, Violet and their group of witty members to find the magical object that is the last thing between the magicians and their end.

// My Review:

A witty and wanderlust voyage with hilarious characters that led the story with great humour.

A Restless Truth was a whimsical read that was made even more splendid by Freya Marske’s writing. She has a hand of extreme talent, and wove clever metaphors into strikingly meaningful descriptions. The entire novel was interlaced with her skillful imaginations that brought the premise of A Restless Truth to fruition.

Maud Blyth’s soul is one of childlike curiosity and innocence. Her theatrics to charm her way into certain situations was extremely entertaining and made her story one to remember. Maud’s ventures into her own wants and desires, Violet being one of those aspirations, created a beautiful character to flower throughout the pages.

Violet Debenham on the other hand was the vivacious and scandalous partner, who was a complete flirt toward anyone who looked her way. Especially to Maud Blythe who tempted her like never before. She wove a sexy string into the storyline that left even the naughtiest person with a scathing blush. Violet was quite the audience pleaser who presented magic in fascinating ways.

The story was of intense adventure that led to the characters re-enacting a smutty scene from one of the many stolen erotic novels, to them breaking into warded cabins amongst the rich. Unique characters ranging from a stern ghost to Lord Hawthorn who prefers to stay in his own company, weaved with tantalizing moments between Violet and Maud, and tense situations with crazed magicians, made A Restless Truth feel like a fairytale adventure…

Rating: 4/5

Thank you to PanMacMillanSA for this reviewer copy!

Content Warnings

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I wanted to love this book so so much. I really tried to, but I just didn’t. I loved the first book with my whole heart, but something just felt missing with this one.

Maybe I just don’t do mysteries, because this story had a very who-done-it murder mystery vibe to it. I don’t know enough about that sort of genre fiction to know whether or not the sort-of claustrophobic setting is a staple of these types of stories, but the entire book taking place on the ship made it a bit boring to me.

I really really liked the romance. Violet and Maud’s relationship was one of the high points of this story for me, as well as the the reluctant alliance of Hawthorne and Ross.

It was just that overall, the plot progression felt like wading through molasses.

Content Warnings

eeemily666's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Was not as interested in the main characters here, didn’t buy their backstories (flat). Magical world not as well built or engaging as the first book. Enjoyed the boat setting and thought the seance was very funny.

Content Warnings

hannahrogers's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny 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

4.75

Content Warnings

introverted_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

blewballoon's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I absolutely loved A Marvelous Light, so I was excited to read the next entry in this series. I was intrigued by the premise of a locked room murder mystery on board a Titanic style ship. It felt like more of the book was focused on the romance rather than the rest of the plot, and my experience suffered for it because I didn't like the romance aspect. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of either of the two leads or their relationship to each other. In the case of Violet, she was too much of a closed book to connect with. In the case of Maud, she said and did things that I found frustrating. The sex scenes felt more emotionally uncomfortable than steamy. I will still read the third book, but I hope it's more like the first book with a better balance of plot and romance and a romance that feels more natural and healthy. I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did a good job, but I did listen to it at 1.3 speed.

Content Warnings