ghostscissoring 's review for:

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

4.0

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

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what a fun ride this was, full of scandal, magic, mediums, trickery, haughty lords, a sticky-fingered jewel thief turned co-conspirator, lesbian sex, a menagerie on the loose, a locked room murder mystery, MORE lesbian sex, and an annoying talking parrot! the unraveling of mrs. navemby's murder was expertly paced and had me hooked from the start. the (re)introduction of maud, this time as our primary narrator, was really well done - i was a bit concerned she would still feel like a supporting character but that wasn't the case at all. her clear loyalty and love for robin anchored her to the overarching plot but it was fascinating to discover how much more there was to her. the stubborn commitment to telling the truth, the unending hunger for knowledge, the knife-sharp edges of her selfishness intentionally dulled, the slow kindling of desire that quickly catches flame, and her determination to be good even though it does not come easy. and violet was a delightful foil - flamboyantly self-interested and indecorous but only to hide her tender heart, the illusions she covers herself with to make people see what she wants them to see, the joy of magic and freedom, the knife-sharp edges of her personality intentionally honed to hurt. and they had some really spectacular sex - especially when they were arguing and angrily biting at each others mouths, whew, i just love it when women get to have a nasty angry wall fuck bc it's what they deserve!!! 

i was glad we got more information on the forsythia club and what happened for all this to come to the attention of the coopers after so long. flora sutton, the woman you were! really looking forward to seeing how everything shakes out in the final book, which i'm assuming will be about lord hawthorne and alan ross??? but maybe i'm getting ahead of myself