hoytreads 's review for:

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

4.5

adventurous lighthearted 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: No

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I really enjoyed this Edwardian era historical fantasy, much more than the first entry in this series. It's basically a murder mystery on an ocean liner making a weeklong trip between New York and Southampton, with the added twist of the magic inherent in the world of The Last Binding. The two main characters were nicely complex and interesting. Maud was a delight, and expanded so well into a main character after being an unremarkable side character in the first book. Even the side characters in this book are fun as well. This book does a particularly good job of integrating the (very) spicy bits into the story. It's just something that's a part of the character's lives, instead of being tacked on like it is in so many books. They're  just living life, and having (officially disapproved of by society) sapphic fun. I'll read the next one in the series of course, although I have a feeling I won't enjoy it quite as much since the focus won't be on Maud and Violet, who really made this book work.