Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

8 reviews

caitlinemccann's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Outing, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Stalking

gwenynenbrenin's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Edwardian era? Fantasy? Gays? I was immediately hooked even before I picked up this book, this is the quickest way to my heart! 

I love that we can learn about the magical system and underworld, for want of a better word, from the perspective of Robin Blyth. I'm glad it differs from other books where the one MC learns about magic and feels lost and out of place; instead, Robin is obviously shocked by the magic he sees but does just take everything in his stride. 

I'm glad that the homophobia is next to non-existent, there is perhaps the briefest mention (naturally there would be, given the time period), but it is just incredibly brief. None of the other characters seem to bat an eyelid aside from the few who mock Edwin, but even then, it's nothing outrightly terrible, it is such a nice breath of fresh air. 

I love the author's writing style and found it very difficult to put down - genuinely cannot wait to read the other books in the series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Bullying

jencolumb0's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Outing, Classism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Self harm and Misogyny

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia, Death, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Blood, Grief, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

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

It is the absolute best feeling in the world to be reading a book and loose track of time.  A Marvelous Light swept me up in its magic and love story, until I had finished the book in a matter of hours.
A Marvelous Light follows Robin Blythe, a man struggling to balance the conflicts in his life, as he is thrown into a world o magic he never knew existed. With the help of magician (and kind of enemy?) Edwin, the two must undercover the source of danger for Robin, as well as magicians everywhere.
This novel was the historical fantasy I never knew I needed. I adored the Edwardian England setting  with the magical undertones. The writing was also phenomenal, and it flowed well with the pacing of the story.
That being said, I do wish the love story was a bit more developed, but that is just a personal preference:)
Overall, I would highly recommend to anyone interested (though as always, check trigger warnings before reading).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Torture, Trafficking, Death, Bullying, and Suicide

Moderate: Ableism and Racism

jupiterlee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

What I love about this book is the layering of magic that Freya does. It is not just people who have magic but estates (thank you Sutton Cottage) and objects, and I loved the idea of everything being a contract and consent between everything and everyone. 
I don't think you can ever go wrong with a secret society and I love when the magic and non-magical worlds cross over but it is a delicate balance due to having to have a few chapter of the non-magical individuals being introduced to it, but I think Freya does and amazing job of having Robin be accepting of the magic quickly but also with it being realistic and not dragging it out. 

What I also admired about this book is that it is set in the past and Freya does an amazing job of introducing true facts and attitudes: homosexual individuals were not accepted and they had to be careful (I wanted to hug Edwin and Robin) and women, especially of colour, were over looked even if they were capable of doing the job (you tell them miss morisey).

The relationship and growth between Edwin and Robin I lived for and I could read more about just them. 
I do think this is what I might struggle with in the rest of the series if it changes people and I don't really get anymore from their POVs but I am interested in the world and will look forward to reading more about this world and finally finding out where the other items of the contract are! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Self harm, Homophobia, and Xenophobia

caseofspades's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

valpuri's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Classism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Vomit