Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

35 reviews

embarcaderosky's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Confinement, Classism, and Homophobia

beaubaggins's review

adventurous 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

Gay mlm magical mystery! I had no idea this was a trilogy when I started it, but I’m already checking out the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death

jencolumb0's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

A romance with magic and mystery. It almost feels like Marske put Alexis Hall’s Spires series in a blender with India Holton’s books to result in a charming (badum bump), emotionally intelligent mystery involving well-developed characters (something that seemed to trouble Holton in her first novel; still working through the rest . . . and I digress). I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story plays out.

Also, know that the torture elements are most prominent at the beginning and you’ll be able to follow the rest of the story easily if you skip right over it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Outing, Classism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Self harm and Misogyny

geekmom's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Classism and Homophobia

rlinnyc's review

adventurous 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Torture, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, and Homophobia

mossgoblins's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a lovely read! Great plot, complex, easily lovable characters, and a very interesting development of the magic system!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Outing, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Classism, Suicide, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Misogyny

quitegood's review

emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

I'm conflicted over my appraisal of this book, because I was genuinely loving it to begin with. I found its version of magic to be unique and interesting, I appreciated how the book got straight into the story without making you feel lost, and I found the burgeoning relationship between the two protagonists to be heartwarming and beautiful. 
Things started to come apart when (SPOILERS) Robin finally has the curse removed. The pursuit of the cure had been the emotional core of the story, and while I understand they couldn't keep it going for ever, what then becomes the focus of the novel doesn't hold up. It turns out  (further SPOILERS) the macguffin they're trying to locate could spell doom for every Magician in Britain, while also not making it terribly clear what this 'doom' is until the last quarter of the novel. Call it Marvel fatigue, but I am a little sick of how stakes can't be centered on just the characters. I cared deeply about Robin having the curse removed, because I knew him as a character, and wanted to see him cured. This vague threat combined with the various conspirators being revealed rather haphazardly did make the final third of the novel a slog. Edwin's job is to investigate and neutralize potential magical anomaly and misuse, the macguffin could have simply been something that the Magical Assembly didn't want out in the world freely for anyone to use because it could hurt people. That's a fine reason for why the heroes need to retrieve it. It even justifies Robin's curse because people can be brutal even in the pursuit of small financial gain. By all means, reveal down the line that actually these innocuous magical items are actually more powerful than we expected, once you have a full cast of characters who'd be affected that we care about. But I don't want to dictate how the book should have been because I am but one person, and its just my opinion which is entirely subjective. 
I however do think mention should be made to the (SPOILERS, CONTENT WARNING) various sex scenes depicted in this novel. If you're a little squeamish reading sex scenes, you may want to skip over their respective chapters. The sex scenes are isolated to their respective chapter, and while they contain some character development, they did feel a little frivolous and only there for titillation. Perhaps it's because I'm ace, and I'm not experiencing the right emotional responses to seeing the sex, but I do feel a more coy approach would have been preferable than the explicit sticky detail.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Domestic abuse

Minor: Classism

wilybooklover's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

5.0

What an absolutely gorgeous novel. The writing and imagery were really evocative, so rich and lush in a way befitting the lavish vibe of the Edwardian era when this book is set. 

Sir Robin Blyth, a civil servant, discovers a hidden world of magic when he gets transferred to a new job and then unwittingly gets cursed and dragged into a magical conspiracy involving his predecessor. His magical liaison, Edwin Courcey, doesn’t like him much but is determined to lift the curse. 

Robin is basically a golden retriever in human form (with a little dash of himbo) so he takes the existence of magic and even his curse with remarkable equanimity. Edwin is much more prickly and anxious (understandably so, once you meet his family) and likes to retreat into books. Despite their differences, they really understand each other and their growing romance was such a delight to read. Edwin learning to trust someone other than himself and Robin reaching for a future he wanted was so heartwarming to read. And this book was way steamier than I expected it to be. There is a love scene involving magic that is HOT. I don’t normally like the third-act conflict (big understatement) but here it really works with the characters and story — they really needed that short time apart. 

The worldbuilding in this was utterly fascinating. You have rune curses, magical houses, enchanted libraries, murderous hedge mazes, a style of magic based on cat’s cradle... I’ve never read anything quite like it before. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Violence, Bullying, and Torture

Moderate: Misogyny, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Homophobia, Outing, Classism, Murder, Kidnapping, and Blood

Minor: Suicide, Grief, Racism, and Death of parent

bluejay21'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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Trafficking, Bullying, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

the_book_bee's review

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Death of parent, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, and Outing

Minor: Grief