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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
At the start of this review, I’m only halfway through the book - but I already know it’s going to be 5 stars just like the first one was. The only problem I had with the first book was that I found Maud a bit irritating, but in this one she really came into her own, and her stubbornness felt like a good thing rather than an annoying one.
I’m switching between the audiobook and physical book depending on what I’m doing, and the audiobook is exceptionally good. She really gets the voices, is doing a great American accent, and is making it a very enjoyable listen. If I could focus on audiobooks well enough to listen to the whole thing, that’s how I’d choose to do it. It really adds something to the story!
Watching Maud come to the realisation she’s interested in women is just done so well that I feel like I really understand and relate to her. And I love how direct she is, so any hints of upcoming miscommunication are very quickly squashed. (The miscommunication trope is oh-so-painful.)
And obviously I’ve not reached the end yet, but I think it’s real interesting how this book has a whole star rating lower than the other two when it’s a sapphic romance and the others are mlm romance. I think maybe there’s a bit of sexism in the reviews there—people coming in from the first one because of the plot when they only read it for mlm romance but sticking through this one so they could read the third, and not gelling with it cause it’s based around women. And then people reading it JUST for the sapphic book without the first one at all, and feeling like Maud is underdeveloped because they weren’t introduced to her in the first book, and the world is complicated because they didn’t read the intro to it.
Now, an update on my thought since reaching the end:
I absolutely love Ross. I’ll be honest, I think it’s partially down to the narration—though a lot of it is just the writing, the narrator is doing a brilliant job with his voice and working class accent—but he’s brilliant. He started off as a reluctant part of the crew, and gradually got more invested; whilst I wasn’t expecting to love him so much, I’m so glad he was a part of this book!
I loved that the main couple were able to have third act conflict without a breakup, and that they managed to get over it in a way that felt healthy. And the sudden reveal of Violet’s past was done so well—though now I’m desperate for Maud to find out about it! I really hope that in the next book in the trilogy, we see more of this pair as well as the first two—because whilst I loved this book, I miss Robin and Edwin.
I was also surprised by how much I liked Hawthorn in this one, though I will be slightly sad if he somehow will have been the character with the most “screen time” across the three books, since the boys weren’t in this one at all.
But I loved it either way. I’d definitely recommend this book and this series!
adventurous
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
while this book isn't my favorite of the lot, i still loved it. how could i not, with freya marske's elegant breathtaking prose and this specific universe of magic and humor and talking parrots and old queer women taking over the world? how can you not, with the way freya crams volatile intensity into her characters with just a few words? when we get maud so deeply caring for her brother, see her unbridled love for him that made my nose sting?
my favorite part was the romance, ofc. i might be v. partial to the exact brand of freya's queer romancing but it was SIZZLING on the page. marske knows how to weave tension into your bones, how to make you left craving. violet and maud, one's sweetness and naivety clashing with the other's haul of experiences and magic...it felt realistic and it also made me feel the quiet longing that's unfortunately a part of old queer love between women and others.
speaking of, i loooved how this book centered women from every aspect, be it magical or unmagical. i loved finding out about the Forsythia club women, huddling together and inventing new extraordinary ways of doing magic that men never deemed possible bc of their inherent misogyny. and again, it left an aching hole in my heart to see love between queer women go masked and unacknowledged and hidden away for whole lifetimes.
alsooo, love how marske brought some necessary working class perspective among the upper-class socialite bootlicking and ignorance.
and let's talk about ross and hawthorne and edwin and robin, shall we?? because i think freya knew what she was doing dangling them before us like that?? my rowin-starved heart was trying to pull out of my CHEST i looooved how their appearances occurred through maud's memories solely until the end. and ofc Hawthorne and ross' palpable chemistry on page. so well done.
coming to the plot, it was extremely action-packed and full of characters i loved and i just adored maud teaming up with violet and Hawthorne and ross and "recruiting them to the cause", how they all fell as much into it and maud as maud herself. their growing bond >>>>
the story did lack something, i felt, idk what exactly. some more sinisterness ig? at least it wasn't the same level of engrossing as AML (which i realize has become a standard now) (not to say it wasn't good).
and i am also undecided on how i feel about violet's personal revelation at the end? or more like, whether it should've been placed there. on one hand, it was good for the surprise element. but on the other, i feel if it were revealed before, it would've added another dimension to violet's guard walls and was a chance to build up their relationship more, so that seemed like a missed opportunity. the ending was realistic but it does make one feel like there's more coming in terms of their relationship. if you've read it, i'd love to know your thoughts on that part!
all in all, i still loved the book and these characters and i cannot wait to read the last book?
my favorite part was the romance, ofc. i might be v. partial to the exact brand of freya's queer romancing but it was SIZZLING on the page. marske knows how to weave tension into your bones, how to make you left craving. violet and maud, one's sweetness and naivety clashing with the other's haul of experiences and magic...it felt realistic and it also made me feel the quiet longing that's unfortunately a part of old queer love between women and others.
speaking of, i loooved how this book centered women from every aspect, be it magical or unmagical. i loved finding out about the Forsythia club women, huddling together and inventing new extraordinary ways of doing magic that men never deemed possible bc of their inherent misogyny. and again, it left an aching hole in my heart to see love between queer women go masked and unacknowledged and hidden away for whole lifetimes.
alsooo, love how marske brought some necessary working class perspective among the upper-class socialite bootlicking and ignorance.
and let's talk about ross and hawthorne and edwin and robin, shall we?? because i think freya knew what she was doing dangling them before us like that?? my rowin-starved heart was trying to pull out of my CHEST i looooved how their appearances occurred through maud's memories solely until the end. and ofc Hawthorne and ross' palpable chemistry on page. so well done.
coming to the plot, it was extremely action-packed and full of characters i loved and i just adored maud teaming up with violet and Hawthorne and ross and "recruiting them to the cause", how they all fell as much into it and maud as maud herself. their growing bond >>>>
the story did lack something, i felt, idk what exactly. some more sinisterness ig? at least it wasn't the same level of engrossing as AML (which i realize has become a standard now) (not to say it wasn't good).
and i am also undecided on how i feel about violet's personal revelation at the end? or more like, whether it should've been placed there. on one hand, it was good for the surprise element. but on the other, i feel if it were revealed before, it would've added another dimension to violet's guard walls and was a chance to build up their relationship more, so that seemed like a missed opportunity. the ending was realistic but it does make one feel like there's more coming in terms of their relationship. if you've read it, i'd love to know your thoughts on that part!
all in all, i still loved the book and these characters and i cannot wait to read the last book?
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
The sheer amount of pure chaos energy this book has! Honestly, the powers of “wing it” were in charge of the plot, which is befitting the kind of protagonists Maud and Violet are. When I reached the scene where a whole menagerie of zoo animals stampedes across the Transatlantic boat where the events take place, I was only nodding sagely, like ah yeah, this is the kind of story where it does not seem out of place. It is up to you if you enjoy these levels of chaos, but it’s definitely a feature in this book.
Things I liked and cheered on:
- the way the book unabashedly embraces sex, and sex-adjacent entertainment. There is simply so much joy and fun and shame-free attitude in the way book speaks about sexual desire, pornographic literature as entertainment, and sex as an act. That in its own right is a pleasure to see in fantasy, but that with two female leads? Hell yes.
- watchinf Hawthorne be elevated-slash-relegated against his will from the role of a hot and depressed bitter ex as we saw him in Marvellous Light to the role of a long-suffering elder brother and an all-purpose get out of jail free card
Things I liked and cheered on:
- the way the book unabashedly embraces sex, and sex-adjacent entertainment. There is simply so much joy and fun and shame-free attitude in the way book speaks about sexual desire, pornographic literature as entertainment, and sex as an act. That in its own right is a pleasure to see in fantasy, but that with two female leads? Hell yes.
- watchinf Hawthorne be elevated-slash-relegated against his will from the role of a hot and depressed bitter ex as we saw him in Marvellous Light to the role of a long-suffering elder brother and an all-purpose get out of jail free card