Reviews with content warning for Torture - A Marvellous Light

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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jem_carstairs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.25

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sinceraly's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

I love Robin so much. Man is both a brawler and the emotionally intelligent one and his back must be hurting over carrying Edwin through every social situation.

That being said Edwin was also a treasure, the isolated, emotionally dense man he is, and I hope he gets all the nice things.

I genuinely loved my time with the book, and once I got to the last half of the book I couldn't put it down. Robin and Edwin's dynamic was phenomenal, the dialogue was snappy but felt realistic and not at all like the Marvel movie type quips that can get so irritating. The mystery was interesting and let me build my own theories and sets up an ongoing plot very well. I also loved the magic system, treating different magic styles as more native to specific countries, like recipes in cookbooks. I think the worldbuilding gives a lot to be interested in, despite a more stifling era chosen for a historical fantasy.

That being said, I think the two things that really stopped me from being able to label the book with 5 stars came down to odd pacing at times and a few decisions made in the course of Robin and Edwin's relationship that left me wanting more. The largest section of the book takes place somewhere where - though research is being done for the main quest - stakes don't seem to exist. It seems casual. And given what was at risk, it felt like a weird choice to make. The focus on character building was great, but it came at a cost of making it hard to really feel like things were at risk.

The second critique was a lack of a proper relationship-based dialogue between Edwin and Robin when it really seemed like it should be there. This review is spoiler free so I won't go into any details, really, but their last interaction alone in the book - though well written and still imbued (hah) with emotional and romantic context - felt kind of out of place considering what had happened prior, and what needed to be said. I'd give the author the fact that their relationship takes place in a stifling society that doesn't except gay relationships, so maybe they don't truly have the experience to talk it out, but I would have enjoyed more of an actual conversation in that stead.

That all being said, this book was still lovely, and a very fun read. Highly recommended for anyone into historical fantasy.

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