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A review by hannuuh
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
thanks to netgalley & macmillan for the arc in exchange of an honest review.
I was apprehensive at first; one of my first thoughts was, ‘oh god, it’s gunna be on a boat the whole time, which I had initially assumed was going to be boring. Boy was I wrong. This was entertaining, delightful, sexy and so fun. I adored a marvellous light, and I think I love a restless truth even more.
Before I even knew there was going to be a sequel, let alone a trilogy(!), I finished reading a marvellous light and immediately went, ‘okay a book featuring Maud when?’ I am very thankful my request was answered, because this was one of my favourite reads this year.
Firstly, I love the magic in this world. It’s such a refreshing, simple and unique take on how to perform spells and how magical humans exist in the 'normal world'. Something so simple, yet so easy to completely understand and imagine in my head, and I usually have a hard time imaging things in my head - which, yes you’re correct, is a bit of a task considering my favourite thing to do is read.
Marske has a way with words, too. And that certainly helps to urge me to continue reading. At this point, I think I would be content to read absolutely anything she comes up with, if I’m going to receive things like this. Beautiful, vivid descriptions and imagery, without sounding repetitive. And it isn’t just the imagery, the feelings she portrays in the characters is equally as evocative. Her characters are so human, so completely raw and thus so full of life and it is delight to follow them on their story.
I love Maud. And I absolutely loved seeing her grapple with expectations, of others and of herself. To watch her discover that not everything is about pissing off your dead mother, even if it is very fun and includes sharing a bed with one miss violet, - which, I’ll get onto in a second, because you can’t read this book and not talk about them-, was satisfying and I was saying: yes, you go Maud! Her devotion to help her brother was incredibly admirable, especially since she is not magical and effectively defenceless against those who do wield magic. But, she isn’t the hero either, she is just a sister trying to figure out how to stop some corrupt power-seeking people for the sake, and safety of her brother and these new strangers she's intrinsically bound with, with her moral compass. She was strong, and honest and lovely and very silly and I loved reading in her point of view.
Violet was equally as intriguing, with her gimmicks and her acts and her many faces. I would have easily let her wrap me up in an endless stream of fantastical lies. While I do think it was a slightly predictable past, I enjoyed watching her character unravel, becoming just that bit more herself with Maud.
Their relationship was, well. Passionate, desperate, infuriating, entertaining. Any of those words would do it some sort of justice, whether mashed together or on their own. I loved every interaction they had, and the sex scenes had me blushing. For a moment, I genuinely forgot an old lady had died, and that I was reading a book with actual plot because I was so invested in Maud and Violet’s… moment.
I also wanted to add that Hawthorn has made leaps and bounds in my ‘good book’. During a marvellous light, I would have agreed with ross, another delightful, well-rounded character, he was a knob head. And he was still a bit knobby, but we got to see through the little cracks in his shell, to see the person beneath. It made him less one-dimensional, like instead of the ‘here is the rich twat, he’s a knob, we don’t like him,’ it was ‘oh wow, he’s complicated and actually does have a small, very teeny tiny, caring bone in his body. He was also hilarious. I want to see more.
The pacing did dip slightly in the middle, but only for a moment because there was a lot of adventure, a lot of hiccups and ‘ooooh duh!” Moments. the murder mystery aspect was fun. I was, for much of it, eager to know what the hell was going on.
Overall, a delightful and consuming read with fantastic characters and a fun murder-mystery that was pulled off very well.
I was apprehensive at first; one of my first thoughts was, ‘oh god, it’s gunna be on a boat the whole time, which I had initially assumed was going to be boring. Boy was I wrong. This was entertaining, delightful, sexy and so fun. I adored a marvellous light, and I think I love a restless truth even more.
Before I even knew there was going to be a sequel, let alone a trilogy(!), I finished reading a marvellous light and immediately went, ‘okay a book featuring Maud when?’ I am very thankful my request was answered, because this was one of my favourite reads this year.
Firstly, I love the magic in this world. It’s such a refreshing, simple and unique take on how to perform spells and how magical humans exist in the 'normal world'. Something so simple, yet so easy to completely understand and imagine in my head, and I usually have a hard time imaging things in my head - which, yes you’re correct, is a bit of a task considering my favourite thing to do is read.
Marske has a way with words, too. And that certainly helps to urge me to continue reading. At this point, I think I would be content to read absolutely anything she comes up with, if I’m going to receive things like this. Beautiful, vivid descriptions and imagery, without sounding repetitive. And it isn’t just the imagery, the feelings she portrays in the characters is equally as evocative. Her characters are so human, so completely raw and thus so full of life and it is delight to follow them on their story.
I love Maud. And I absolutely loved seeing her grapple with expectations, of others and of herself. To watch her discover that not everything is about pissing off your dead mother, even if it is very fun and includes sharing a bed with one miss violet, - which, I’ll get onto in a second, because you can’t read this book and not talk about them-, was satisfying and I was saying: yes, you go Maud! Her devotion to help her brother was incredibly admirable, especially since she is not magical and effectively defenceless against those who do wield magic. But, she isn’t the hero either, she is just a sister trying to figure out how to stop some corrupt power-seeking people for the sake, and safety of her brother and these new strangers she's intrinsically bound with, with her moral compass. She was strong, and honest and lovely and very silly and I loved reading in her point of view.
Violet was equally as intriguing, with her gimmicks and her acts and her many faces. I would have easily let her wrap me up in an endless stream of fantastical lies. While I do think it was a slightly predictable past, I enjoyed watching her character unravel, becoming just that bit more herself with Maud.
Their relationship was, well. Passionate, desperate, infuriating, entertaining. Any of those words would do it some sort of justice, whether mashed together or on their own. I loved every interaction they had, and the sex scenes had me blushing. For a moment, I genuinely forgot an old lady had died, and that I was reading a book with actual plot because I was so invested in Maud and Violet’s… moment.
I also wanted to add that Hawthorn has made leaps and bounds in my ‘good book’. During a marvellous light, I would have agreed with ross, another delightful, well-rounded character, he was a knob head. And he was still a bit knobby, but we got to see through the little cracks in his shell, to see the person beneath. It made him less one-dimensional, like instead of the ‘here is the rich twat, he’s a knob, we don’t like him,’ it was ‘oh wow, he’s complicated and actually does have a small, very teeny tiny, caring bone in his body. He was also hilarious. I want to see more.
The pacing did dip slightly in the middle, but only for a moment because there was a lot of adventure, a lot of hiccups and ‘ooooh duh!” Moments. the murder mystery aspect was fun. I was, for much of it, eager to know what the hell was going on.
Overall, a delightful and consuming read with fantastic characters and a fun murder-mystery that was pulled off very well.