Reviews with content warning for Classism - A Power Unbound

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

67 reviews

oxfordcommas91's review

adventurous dark 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

4.5

Freya Marske gave her readers a satisfying and thoughtful conclusion to "The Last Binding" trilogy in A Power Unbound. This book reminded me what I loved about A Marvellous Light and what I felt was so sadly and sorely lacking with A Restless Truth.
Marske certainly has a formula - in this installment, we get a dual POV from Hawthorne ("Jack") and Ross ("Alan"), but we see entirely new and more complex sides of both of these men who were originally introduced as fairly one dimensional to us in the first and second books, respectively. We learn in book one that Hawthorne is non-magical

after the tragic loss of his sister due to suicide years prior, and he's removed himself entirely from the magical community despite being the heir to one of the most powerful magical families in England.

His character is involved in all three books but it's not until Power Unbound do we learn more about his history and motives, which deepens his character arc and allows us to fully unlock more of the story behind the last contract, as well.
As always, our two POV's are also the main romance arc - and I think Freya really hit her stride with the Hawthorne/Ross pairing. The chemistry and the tension between them was sizzling from the start - and I was particularly interested in the power dynamic element of their relationship and how Marske leveraged it as part of the ... spice in this novel. I think this type of dynamic has to be done carefully, and she did it in a way that felt hot while also still remaining respectful.
One of the best parts of the book for me (and also, ironically, why it got a 4.5 and not a 5 star from me...) was the fact that we had the whole cast of characters together in this novel. While it was a ton of fun to watch them team up and leverage their collective brains, magic, and power, I felt like there were lots of opportunities for the author to give us more thoughtful "peeks" into the established relationships between the characters. We spent so much time on Hawthorne & Ross that I was disappointed by the fact that it felt like we were skipping over other pivotal moments happening to other characters along the way! Despite Edwin being the "brains" behind the operation, there was so little in the way of character development on his end and I felt that we could have made some selective cuts to where Hawthorne and Ross interacted in favor of glimpses of the other relationships.
As always, there were moments that felt a bit slow in this book and I wish that an editor could have tightened up some of the lulls in the story so it built towards a more rapid conclusion, but that may be just my preference for more rapid pacing in a fantasy.
Freya overall delivered a home run for me with this neat conclusion to a thoughtful and intriguing premise for a trilogy. I liked the uniqueness of what she did here and her commitment to found family, LGBTQ+ relationships/characters, and discussions of power and class.

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oakidoki's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

An excellent finish to the series - so many twists ans terns I didn’t see coming! I adored the relationship this book explores - it feels like a safe space to get comfortable with different ideas and perspectives. I was on the edge of my seat nearly the whole way through. Incredible

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christcooper'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

as an abject hater of enemies-to-lovers, i was very pleasantly surprised by how much i loved this book! the relationship of conflict between the main characters isn’t what i expected when faced with the trope and struck a balance often missed when it comes to tormenting one another while still having an underlying respect for consent. excellent read, beautifully written.

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aurora4847's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.25

A brilliant end to the trilogy that leaves room for future stories in the world. Alan and Jack's dynamic was so fun to experience, and the culmination of the search for the Last Contract pieces was just as exciting as the previous installments. An all-round good time

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kitanda's review

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adventurous emotional funny informative 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

sephiefoxx's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5

“I would take your heart between my ribs and guard it like my own. Is there any way I can make you believe it?”

For fans of:

Queer romance with a dash of magic
Arguing for arguments sake
Found family

What a perfect end to this wonderful series. After finishing ‘A Restless Truth’, I was excited to learn that the final book would follow Jack and Alan. Especially after Alan wormed his way into my heart throughout the course of the second book. And I was not disappointed.

I adored this book, it really brought me the same joy that I felt when reading the first book back in 2022. Alan and Jack were so perfectly matched for each other romantically, sexually, and in personality. Their arguments, squabbles, and need to pick fights with each other leading to many a wonderful scene.

I also loved the way that the characters and couples from throughout the series (I was very happy to have Robin and Edwin back on the page) came together at last to resolve the overarching conflict. A messy, queer found family trying to save magic while also trying to navigate their own issues and relationships. It just filled me with joy.

I love this series, and this finale was as strong, if not stronger than its beginning.

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