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A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

77 reviews

jillian_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.25

Such a great read. Had me in fits of laughter and on the edge of my seat. Couldn’t put it down.

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danreadsitall's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Freya Marske's "A Marvellous Light" starts the Last Binding series (sequel in November). Set in England, the story follows Robin Blyth, new scion of his family and responsible employee who has a job he didn't expect, and Edwin Courcey, book lover who doesn't have a lot of magic power as they figure out what happen to the person Robin replaced at work. Oh wait magic is real Robin, surprise! The story deals with some aspects of history I hadn't considered and handles situations that would normally result in blasting smartly. As the conspiracy unfurl these two men have to trust in each other to find what is fact and what is fable in Britain's magical history.

Read by David Thorpe, I found the sudden tone changes to the next chapter hilarious. Must have been a hoot to record.

Published by Macmillan Audio.

Reasons to read:
-Be gay, do magic bureaucracy
-Miss Morrissey!
-I too want to survive a murder attempt and get a manor
-Spice that starts exactly when you go into a grocery store but don't have signal enough to put on something else so you just let it rock
-Wow character X really needs to be struck about the face
-Sequel in November

Cons:
-OK a little blasting of folks that deserve it would have been nice

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT is about Edwin and Robin, initially in each other’s company through a bureaucratic mistake. Robin had been cursed when he was unable to provide unknown assailants with information his (missing) predecessor had also denied them. Edwin was supposed to be liaising with whomever held that office, and instead proceeded to try and remove the curse. The actual plot is pretty straightforward, with only a few more twists after that. The action is solid (especially the bit in the maze) and I like several of the secondary characters, but the heart of this is absolutely Edwin and Robin’s relationship as they’re continually in each other’s company.

The rapport between Edwin and Robin slowly builds, lagging behind the intensity of each man’s buried attraction to the other. Robin adjusts pretty quickly to the existence of magic (a situation made much harder to ignore by the harsh nature of his introduction). Edwin’s focus is on trying to remove Robin’s curse, initially thinking of their acquaintance as very temporary and somewhat reversible. Much of the book is spent on Edwin’s family’s estate, with his siblings whose pranks range from frustrating to cruel.

The worldbuilding is pretty subtle about placing the era, the setting is one where magic exists within the otherwise real history of the British Isles. Since I wasn't trying very hard to place it I was content to know it's a while ago, but after the invention of cars. I'm sure there are clues to place it more precisely if I looked hard, but the story wasn't trying to trouble me with those. It did more with the ways that magic could be secret, and the key seems to be that (in England, specifically), it's tied up in old money and old families since magic is passed through bloodlines.

I enjoyed this immensely and will definitely read the rest of the series. The ending sets up a clear idea for the arc of the series, and I'll happily read more in this setting even if Edwin and Robin don't stay as the protagonists.

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onthesamepage's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

Sometimes, I'll finish a book, look up the author, find out they started off writing fanfiction, and think, "Yes, that makes sense". I don't know why fanfiction sometimes feels so different, especially when it comes to the development of a romance. But I've always loved that aspect of it, and I think that's part of why this book really worked for me, but may not work for others. It made me feel butterflies in all the right moments, which is really all I want.

There are a couple of steamy, sexy scenes in here, some of which involve magic and very explicit consent (to which I say, yes, more please).

Robin managed to hold his tongue on something truly unwise like You look like a Turner painting and I want to learn your textures with my fingertips. You are the most fascinating thing in this beautiful house. I'd like to introduce my fists to whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you. Those were not things one blurted out to a friend. They were their own cradles of magic, an expression of the desire to transform one thing into another. And what if the magic went awry?

The magic system was fascinating, if a bit hard to picture. I liked that Edwin, as the main character with magic, isn't considered a powerful magician by most standards. Where most magicians can perform magic using hand gestures called cradling, Edwin relies on a piece of string as a crutch to help him perform similar spells. And it's not something he really overcomes during this story, either.

Robin isn't a magic user, so we get introduced to that aspect of the world alongside him. There's no infodumping, just a steady exploration and broadening of what we know about the world, and I thought this was really well done.

"And we are but feeble women," said Miss Morrissey. "Woe."
"Your sister is a magician," Robin said, pointing out what seemed the largest hole in this story.
"Woe," said Mrs. Kaur firmly, and Robin recalled what Miss Morrissey had said about the assumptions made by men.

The writing was really good, and I particularly enjoyed the banter. There is a lot of humor in the conversations, and the dialogue is snappy, clever, and amusing. It made me really like the characters, even a couple that didn't have a very big role to play, which makes me very excited for the other books in the series. I also just liked the way the relationships developed, and how a moment from earlier in the book would lead to an inside joke between Edwin and Robin later on. These are small details, but they made everyone feel so wonderfully real to me.

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breadbees's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

emilyspex's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

A fun read, although it felt a little bit like fanfiction as far as writing quality goes.

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salainen's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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friends2lovers's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

4.0

I was hesitant to pick up another romance novel so soon after finishing Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, which sadly did not meet my expectations. But, A Marvellous Light was great! I was so engrossed I read it in 3 days. The magical world Marske has created was really immersive in a way reminiscent of the wizarding world of Harry Potter. There were many similarities between the two, but it wasn’t so similar that it felt like a copy-cat. I enjoyed all the characters, and am looking forward to the second book in the series being released later this year.

_______________

Series: The Last Binding № 1

Genre: Fantasy Historical Romance

Setting: September 1908 (Edwardian era) in London, England

Hero: Sir Robert "Robin" Blythe, brown hair and eyes, baronet, athletic, extrovert

Hero: Mr. Edwin Courcey, fair haired, blue eyes, tall and thin, bookish

Point-of-View: 3rd person, past tense, alternating between Robin and Edwin

Tropes/Themes: opposites attract, forced proximity, teaming up to solve a mystery, hero in peril, fish out of water

Format/Edition: Kindle ebook (borrowed from BPL via Libby), published in November 2021

Length: 451 pages, 122k words

Read Date: June 26, 2022

Heat Rating: Medium

Flames: 3🔥🔥🔥

Density: 2.3📑📑

Intensity: 3💓💓💓

Burn Speed: 3💨💨💨

Overall: 2.8 (↑3) 🌡️🌡️🌡️

Sex Scene Details:

🔥Ch 15, 50%, HJs, then a BJ that fades-to-black. 🔥Ch 18, 61%, erotic massage using some kind of tingly finger spell, anal sex. 🔥Ch 27, 92%, anal sex.

※ My star and heat ratings are explained → here

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local_hat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Oh this was VERY good. Very good. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

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espiargrant'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

4.25

This book was a very enjoyable read! The world building was colorful and descriptive without becoming dense and the magic system was well-crafted and unique. I loved both MCs and felt that their relationship developed fairly naturally, though I felt that some of the steamy scenes could've begun in a more organic way (still good though). The plot was well-developed, but with some aspects the reader is kept in the dark for a bit longer than seems logical.
This book also touches on some darker topics regarding family, relationships, sex, and sexuality, and handles them tactfully, which I appreciated. In short, this book is a fun, magical adventure with heartwarming characters and a lovely queer romance. I'd recommend this to fans of Edwardian fantasy and mlm romance.

Positional Dynamic:

Both Vers

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