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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I eagerly awaited the second instalment of the authors The Last Binding sequence of books, and gobbled it up as soon as it landed on my Kindle.
However due to illness I wasn’t able to post my review in a timely manner but it gave me the opportunity to love this story all over again.
We follow Maud who to aid her brother Robin in the search for knowledge of the last bindings travels to New York. Successful in finding one of the witches who discovered the Last Contract, she travels back to the UK on the Lyric, as companion to the elderly Mrs Navenby (and her parrot).
However disaster strikes as soon as the sea voyage starts as Mrs. Navenby is murdered and Maud must go from retiring companion to sleuthing detective. She is helped (and hindered) in her efforts by the beguiling, worldly Violet Debenham and the aloof Lord Hawthorn from Marvellous Light.
Evokes memories of Agatha Christie and those locked room murder mysteries but with a healthy and steamy sexual awakening for Maud. The story sensitively explores sexuality, burgeoning desires with the delight and insecurities this can bring. Maud has an able teacher in Violet and for those not inclined to explicit scenes please do not let this put you off from reading this excellent tale.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC as always much appreciated. All views are my own.
However due to illness I wasn’t able to post my review in a timely manner but it gave me the opportunity to love this story all over again.
We follow Maud who to aid her brother Robin in the search for knowledge of the last bindings travels to New York. Successful in finding one of the witches who discovered the Last Contract, she travels back to the UK on the Lyric, as companion to the elderly Mrs Navenby (and her parrot).
However disaster strikes as soon as the sea voyage starts as Mrs. Navenby is murdered and Maud must go from retiring companion to sleuthing detective. She is helped (and hindered) in her efforts by the beguiling, worldly Violet Debenham and the aloof Lord Hawthorn from Marvellous Light.
Evokes memories of Agatha Christie and those locked room murder mysteries but with a healthy and steamy sexual awakening for Maud. The story sensitively explores sexuality, burgeoning desires with the delight and insecurities this can bring. Maud has an able teacher in Violet and for those not inclined to explicit scenes please do not let this put you off from reading this excellent tale.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC as always much appreciated. All views are my own.
3.5 stars. I wasn’t completely sold after reading A Marvellous Light and while I enjoyed A Restless Truth more, I’m still not fully convinced. There is something about this series that doesn’t work for me and I can’t pinpoint what. Comparing it to the first book, I enjoyed Maude and Violet’s POV more, I thought the romance in book one was better (mostly because of the short timeframe of the second book and some stereotypical choices). I also loved the premise of the second book much more: a murder on a boat, nobody can leave, messy investigators, yes please! But in the end, I was a bit underwhelmed. The antagonists were a bit meh and the investigation felt a bit flat. What I did love was the overall story of this trilogy, I really enjoyed the background infos we get on the Last Contract, and I’m curious to see how the story will end. So I overall liked the characters and the main story, but there is something which doesn’t work for me in this trilogy.
I have been eagerly awaiting this book since I read the first one in January and it did not disappoint!
The mixture of mystery and magic is a perfect blend, this time set on a cruise ship! The characters again were all engaging, particularly the parrot, in their own way, with a dash of political commentary, I couldn't put it down.
I loved spending more time with Maud and being introduced to the intriguing Violet.
Cannot wait for the third one!
The mixture of mystery and magic is a perfect blend, this time set on a cruise ship! The characters again were all engaging, particularly the parrot, in their own way, with a dash of political commentary, I couldn't put it down.
I loved spending more time with Maud and being introduced to the intriguing Violet.
Cannot wait for the third one!
Enjoyed this one as much as A Marvelous Light, which is not always true for sequels! More character insight and some fun new faces as well as a developing plot and more fun magic! Excited for the next one.
I wanted to like this book more than I actually ended up liking it. Iiiii will not be reading the third book. It was interesting but just not it for me and I kind of don’t super care about the main mystery/overarching concept of the last binding thing. Also the dynamics of the couple were not it for me it was so lame for Maude to like discover being a lesbian? And violet was like trying to be a moody misunderstood rake-ess and it just didn’t hit I don’t know.
Marske packs so much into this book—a murder mystery on a BOAT, sapphic romance, magic—and does it so well. This book is beautifully written, sexy (so spicy), and fun. The magic is interesting but I have found the magical world fairly easy to understand in the Last Binding series. I was captivated by the story, which is complex and took me a little while to put together. I never get tired of reading Freya Marske's writing. I can't wait for the next installment of the series, which I'm sure I will devour as quickly as I did the first two!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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:
No
This was a fun second installment, but a step down from the first and third in the series. A bit too zany, and, if reading for the spice level, much less and less spicy.