Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - A Marvellous Light

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

69 reviews

thalassa_reading's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Very well written and crafted, the plot and pacing are perfect, the characters 3-dimensional, the dialogue and interiority authentic. I just found the bullying and nastiness Edwin is continually subjected to too much to truly enjoy the read. It was less painful upon re-reading at least, I could relax into the softer scenes. Also, Edwin is a difficult character to like because he's had to develop quite a bit of armour. Luckily Robin is such a sunshine boy.
I'm really hopeful for the sequels, I want to see how the way some women have been doing magic will shake things up, and I hope the sequels are more lighthearted .

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centurylore's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

honestly fell a bit in love w edwin + robin tbh

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anna_hepworth's review against another edition

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fast-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? No

3.5

What I thought I was getting was fantasy adventure (magic in England in the ~1910s) with a romance subplot. What I got was the type of romance plot that doesn't appeal, with a varnish of fantasy adventure sub-subplot, and quite a lot of sex scenes. Maybe if I'd had the right expectations, I'd have appreciated this story more.

As it was, there are lots of interesting details, and there were some fabulous paragraphs. But I finished it somewhat out of spite, and because I have book two out of the library, waiting for me to read it. I did want to know what happened, but I didn't really want to have to deal with the romantic couple and their emotional miscommunications.

I can see that there are some interesting overarching plot threads, with three items to be found, and three books to find them in, so I have hopes that book two won't slump.

Overall summary: world building fantastic, plot a bit rough, characterisation a little off and occasionally veering towards farce, writing shows promise, particularly as this is a debut novel.

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beepbeep101'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

5.0

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motherofdogs's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

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sadiesaurus's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

I really enjoyed this book. Edwin and Robin feel like multidimensional, deep characters with complex emotions and histories. I felt like I could connect with both of them in their histories of dysfunction with their families. The way they initially bumped heads but then grew to like each other didn't feel contrived or silly, it felt plausible and real.

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