Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

4 reviews

happysoullovesyou's review against another edition

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I’ll probably pick it back up in the future, but the book rn doesn’t intrigue me enough to finish it
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kayladaila's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious 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? No

3.5

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betweentheshelves'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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an advanced copy of this to review! I don’t dabble in adult fantasy too much, but LGBTQ fantasy is right up my alley. Pitched as Red, White, & Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which sounds like something we all need in our lives!

For me, the beginning had a bit of a rough start, as it took a couple of chapters to really get into the world and the characters. I would say with Robin's curse, the story really picks up and is difficult to put down! Marske has paced the book just right to pull you in, filling in any lulls in the plot with excellent moments between Robin and Edwin.

This isn’t quite an enemies to lovers romance; I would more classify it as acquaintances/co-workers to lovers. Edwin and Robin have a lot of chemistry, which is clear from the beginning. Being set in the early 1900s means they have to be a bit more discreet, but I think that makes the romance even more exciting. Be warned, there are definitely some steamy scenes in here, firmly planting this into adult fantasy.

Of course, we get a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, but I don’t care because I want to read more about Edwin and Robin. They are just such great characters. Plus, I’m happy to say some of the side characters are fleshed out as well. All of the elements work well together here to create an engaging fantasy that you won’t want to put down. 
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This was quite fun! The tone reminded me a bit of TJ Klune's books, honestly. Loved the characters, too! Stay tuned for a full review to come soon.
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honeyreads1066's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

First off, I had pretty damn high expectations from this book so maybe I did just expect too much. 

This book follows Robin, a civil servant who gets assigned to a new post that he's never heard of after his predecessor goes missing. After meeting his prickly colleague Edwin and finding himself cursed and amid a search for a magical item that has the power to change everything for all the magicians known, he begins to realise he is well in over his head. 

I found that the beginning portion of this book was a lot slower paced than one would think for a fantasy series. There were just so many questions, who even were the villains, what are they looking for, is anyone else not pretty concerned about this curse none of you seems to have heard of. Maybe it's just me but I did feel like the priorities were far out of line. 

Despite this, the things you learn about the magic system I adored. Did I completely understand it, no, but it had to be the most original way I've seen magic used in a book before? It also set up a lot of different ways that magic can be used, like domestically and for entertainment, it wasn't just characters throwing fireballs or able to control light and I enjoyed that. 

The characters I felt were a little lacklustre. Robin and Edwin had a romance that developed way too quickly for me, while I was convinced at it towards the end I was not at the beginning, that doesn't mean to say that their scenes together weren't great because they really were. I just didn't like either of them and were more excited by the plot, use of magic and 3 of the female characters including 2 sisters that turn up later in the book. I just was not invested in them or their well-being at all. 

Overall, I enjoyed it, I especially enjoyed the magic and how that was used throughout and honestly that's what made the book for me. Would I recommend it, yes I would but I don't exactly feel strongly about it. 
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