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paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Wonderful world building here. Two men are thrown together when a colleague is murdered through magical means. The pair start out on rocky ground, but grow to respect and love each other as they attempt to solve this crime, and learn about a conspiracy involving a fairy tale, land imbued with magic, and their own abilities. While the plot is multi-layered, it’s also a story in which one of the heroes embraces his sexuality. Some readers may find this a slower burn than other romances, but the journey is fulfilling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
emilyjv's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Was tough to get into. Wasn’t a fan of the style of writing but I got used to it and the story was good around chapter 6 and then I really enjoyed the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
sambutwithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.75
I'm surprised I enjoyed this so much because I'm usually not one for historical settings in books but this was a super quick read for me! The magical system isn't hard to understand- I honestly had a harder time with the setting than the fantasy aspects of this book- and I really loved both of the main characters although Robin was my favourite.
I did find the smut a little awkward but it did feel like it got better the more the story progressed so I might chalk the first scene up to Robin and Edwin being kind of goofy themselves.
I did find the smut a little awkward but it did feel like it got better the more the story progressed so I might chalk the first scene up to Robin and Edwin being kind of goofy themselves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing, Death, Torture, Sexual content, and Sexism
alireads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying and Torture
Minor: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
azrah786's review against another edition
4.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
** I was gifted a copy of the book by TorUK & Black Crow PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, kidnapping, torture, murder, blood, death, death of a parent, bullying, injury, homophobia, sexual content
Magic + London – two things that when put together will instantly spark my interest in picking up a book, and Freya Marske has combined them to create an enthralling world and fantasy romance story with a touch of mystery that was an absolute delight to read!
Set in Edwardian England A Marvellous Light introduces us to Robin Blyth, an amiable baronet who accidentally gets appointed as the government liaison to a hidden faction of magicians living amongst the upper classes of society.
Edwin Courcey, the very reclusive counterpart liaison for the Magical Assembly, turns up to work to find Robin in place of his usual associate and is none too happy about it. However, when Robin is cursed by faceless individuals hunting for an item that was in the possession of his predecessor – whose disappearance is becoming more and more of a mystery – Robin and Edwin put aside their differences to get to the bottom of it all.
We are instantaneously thrown into this secret world alongside Robin from the get go so I will admit I was a little lost at first. However, Marske’s fantastic prose both seamlessly draws you into the story and beautifully brings the characters together.
The worldbuilding predominantly focuses on the intriguing magic system which is rooted to one’s ancestry and family land, and the implementation of which is based off of the game of Cat’s Cradle. Hence for much of the story we are swept away to lavish country estates owned by aristocratic families with a magical background and the details to the settings were exquisite.
What I particularly loved though was that as the story progressed we got to see both the action side and the domestic side to the magic – each giving an insight into its marvels as well as its horrors.
The central mystery actually takes a back seat for much of the book, though don’t get me wrong it was a very gripping and explosive subplot all the same. Much more emphasis was put on the characters and their developing relationships, particularly our two protagonists. Through their individual perspectives and interactions with other characters Marske lays bare their personal strengths and struggles as well as touching on the harsh realities of society and its attitudes towards gender and sexuality at the time.
I instantly warmed to Robin and Edwin. They had great chemistry from the moment they met and their coming together was a beautiful transition from reluctant allies, to friends, to much more. The development of trust that forms between them was so wholesome and the ensuing romance has probably topped the charts for the steamiest I have ever read but it was also very endearing.
All in all this was a really fun debut and I look forward to further escapades with these characters and learning more about this magical world – I’m especially curious to discover more about the Magical Assembly – in the books to come!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
** I was gifted a copy of the book by TorUK & Black Crow PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, kidnapping, torture, murder, blood, death, death of a parent, bullying, injury, homophobia, sexual content
Magic + London – two things that when put together will instantly spark my interest in picking up a book, and Freya Marske has combined them to create an enthralling world and fantasy romance story with a touch of mystery that was an absolute delight to read!
Set in Edwardian England A Marvellous Light introduces us to Robin Blyth, an amiable baronet who accidentally gets appointed as the government liaison to a hidden faction of magicians living amongst the upper classes of society.
Edwin Courcey, the very reclusive counterpart liaison for the Magical Assembly, turns up to work to find Robin in place of his usual associate and is none too happy about it. However, when Robin is cursed by faceless individuals hunting for an item that was in the possession of his predecessor – whose disappearance is becoming more and more of a mystery – Robin and Edwin put aside their differences to get to the bottom of it all.
We are instantaneously thrown into this secret world alongside Robin from the get go so I will admit I was a little lost at first. However, Marske’s fantastic prose both seamlessly draws you into the story and beautifully brings the characters together.
The worldbuilding predominantly focuses on the intriguing magic system which is rooted to one’s ancestry and family land, and the implementation of which is based off of the game of Cat’s Cradle. Hence for much of the story we are swept away to lavish country estates owned by aristocratic families with a magical background and the details to the settings were exquisite.
What I particularly loved though was that as the story progressed we got to see both the action side and the domestic side to the magic – each giving an insight into its marvels as well as its horrors.
The central mystery actually takes a back seat for much of the book, though don’t get me wrong it was a very gripping and explosive subplot all the same. Much more emphasis was put on the characters and their developing relationships, particularly our two protagonists. Through their individual perspectives and interactions with other characters Marske lays bare their personal strengths and struggles as well as touching on the harsh realities of society and its attitudes towards gender and sexuality at the time.
I instantly warmed to Robin and Edwin. They had great chemistry from the moment they met and their coming together was a beautiful transition from reluctant allies, to friends, to much more. The development of trust that forms between them was so wholesome and the ensuing romance has probably topped the charts for the steamiest I have ever read but it was also very endearing.
All in all this was a really fun debut and I look forward to further escapades with these characters and learning more about this magical world – I’m especially curious to discover more about the Magical Assembly – in the books to come!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
onemamareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/a-marvellous-light
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Torture, Murder, and Bullying
sarahmreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Robin Blyth is sucked into a position suddenly left vacant, only to find out by his coworker and liaison Edwin Courcey that there is indeed magic in this world. As much as Robin wants to leave this world, and Edwin wants to be rid of him, Robin is dragged right back when a curse is thrown on him. Now Edwin and Robin are forced to work together to not only remove this dangerous curse before it destroys Robin, but also face a potentially deadly threat to the magical world.
I'm gonna start this by saying that this story was beautiful. The world-building was extremely well done, especially when it came to the magic system. I've never read anything like it. Magic is done by cradling, and has a limit to its usage depending on who exactly is using it, because magic stores itself differently in everyone. Edwin, even though he's older, still has to use string because of his magical limitations. I can't tell you the last time I saw magic limit its users like this, and it's so refreshing. Furthermore, magic users can make blood pacts with land to inherit their power? Like what?! That's so cool! It blew my mind how much I loved this magic system. Also the writing style was very exquisite and stylistic, but could be a bit overwhelming at times.
Everything else, however, I'm not sure how I felt. I kind of liked Robin, but he was definitely the nobody that gets some minor greatness thrown onto him. Otherwise, he felt very bland at times. Now Edwin is a different story. I loved his character. I related to him a lot as he was the bookworm, studious child who felt limited by everything he did and was. And oh my god did that hit close to home. I related to him more than any other character in this book.
Robin and Edwin's relationship was not as much of a slowburn as I thought. First off, they definitely have some minor attraction towards one another when they meet, and then grows after about 20% of the way through the book. They actually like get together halfway through, and also be warned that there definitely is some spice here. It actually threw me off guard cause I was really not expecting that. But for me, I wish there was some more buildup than just physical attraction? It didn't really feel like there was much of an emotional one and I was a bit disappointed by that.
The plot was a bit iffy to me. I'm surprised that Robin didn't focus more on the whole "contract" thing at the beginning of the story after his curse, since that's the whole reason he's cursed in the first place. I get that they were trying to save his life before focusing on the bigger picture, but after Robin's curse is mostly figured out, the rest of the book felt... boring? Like we were given reasons to understand how dangerous the new plot point is, and sets it up for the rest of the series, but I didn't really feel like I cared? I get it's a threat to the magical world as we know it but I wanted a bit more.
While this book is described as a more magical version of Red, White and Royal Blue, I see it more as a more refined version of A Darker Shade of Magic, but just make it more academic and gay. I recommend checking this book out if you want a unique magic system.
I'm gonna start this by saying that this story was beautiful. The world-building was extremely well done, especially when it came to the magic system. I've never read anything like it. Magic is done by cradling, and has a limit to its usage depending on who exactly is using it, because magic stores itself differently in everyone. Edwin, even though he's older, still has to use string because of his magical limitations. I can't tell you the last time I saw magic limit its users like this, and it's so refreshing. Furthermore, magic users can make blood pacts with land to inherit their power? Like what?! That's so cool! It blew my mind how much I loved this magic system. Also the writing style was very exquisite and stylistic, but could be a bit overwhelming at times.
Everything else, however, I'm not sure how I felt. I kind of liked Robin, but he was definitely the nobody that gets some minor greatness thrown onto him. Otherwise, he felt very bland at times. Now Edwin is a different story. I loved his character. I related to him a lot as he was the bookworm, studious child who felt limited by everything he did and was. And oh my god did that hit close to home. I related to him more than any other character in this book.
Robin and Edwin's relationship was not as much of a slowburn as I thought. First off, they definitely have some minor attraction towards one another when they meet, and then grows after about 20% of the way through the book. They actually like get together halfway through, and also be warned that there definitely is some spice here. It actually threw me off guard cause I was really not expecting that. But for me, I wish there was some more buildup than just physical attraction? It didn't really feel like there was much of an emotional one and I was a bit disappointed by that.
The plot was a bit iffy to me. I'm surprised that Robin didn't focus more on the whole "contract" thing at the beginning of the story after his curse, since that's the whole reason he's cursed in the first place. I get that they were trying to save his life before focusing on the bigger picture, but after Robin's curse is mostly figured out, the rest of the book felt... boring? Like we were given reasons to understand how dangerous the new plot point is, and sets it up for the rest of the series, but I didn't really feel like I cared? I get it's a threat to the magical world as we know it but I wanted a bit more.
While this book is described as a more magical version of Red, White and Royal Blue, I see it more as a more refined version of A Darker Shade of Magic, but just make it more academic and gay. I recommend checking this book out if you want a unique magic system.
I received a copy of this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Any and all thoughts and opinions are mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Self harm and Torture
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