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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-magicalafter 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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Outing, and Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
Thanks to Tordotcom Books for the free copy of this book.
- It was so wonderful to be back in the Last Binding world for one more time with A POWER UNBOUND. Given that this is the last book in a trilogy, I'll try not to get too much into plot, but this one had me on the edge of my seat.
- Jack and Alan are a fiery pair, and watching them break down their walls was a treat.
- I'll admit I didn't quite follow how all the magic worked in this one, but this found family is such a delight that it doesn't really matter, you just want to see them succeed.
- It was so wonderful to be back in the Last Binding world for one more time with A POWER UNBOUND. Given that this is the last book in a trilogy, I'll try not to get too much into plot, but this one had me on the edge of my seat.
- Jack and Alan are a fiery pair, and watching them break down their walls was a treat.
- I'll admit I didn't quite follow how all the magic worked in this one, but this found family is such a delight that it doesn't really matter, you just want to see them succeed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia and Racism