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vinireadsbooks 's review for:
A Restless Truth
by Freya Marske
original review 2022
i would just like to say i'm a lord hawthorn stan first! human second!
"She would step off the ship in triumph, and Robin would be proud of her, and it would be the first important and worthwhile thing that Maud Blythe, baronet's daughter, and baronet's sister, would have done in her entire short useless life."
The most interesting things in Maud Blyth's life have happened to her brother Robin, but she's ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets. Bound for New York on the R.M.S. Lyric, she's ready for an adventure. What she actually finds is a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and a beautiful stranger in Violet Debenham, who is everything—a magician, an actress, a scandal—Maud has been trained to fear and has learned to desire. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of loathsome suspects, they must solve a murder and untangle a conspiracy that began generations before them.
A Marvellous Light was one of the last few books I read last year, and I loved it so much (but it will be featured in this year's favorites bc my list was done by the time I first read it).
So I was eagerly looking forward to this sequel ever since last December, but, at the same time, I was a little hesitant about it. I loved Robin & Edwin so much that I doubted another couple would surpass them. Also, Maud wasn't the best character from the first book. She was just there, so I didn't know how to feel about an entire book about her.
But!! I shouldn't have doubted because I really enjoyed A Restless Truth. I didn't LOVE it as much as AML, but it was still an incredible addition to this series.
If A Marvellous Light is a soft mystery with romance all about the mortifying ordeal of being known amidst magic gardens, magic houses, and wallpaper, A Restless Truth is the complete opposite. Instead, it's a fun book all about a murder mystery while traveling on a ship.
This book was simply so much fun. I just love stories where the characters are stuck in a place with a killer in their midst, with them having to figure out the mystery. While also keeping the investigation a secret.
And all of the characters were so great. Even the side characters!! I'm now obsessed with Lord Hawthorne. I'm a Hawthorne stan first, human second. Mean characters with tragic pasts that deal with their trauma with humor, vulgarity, and by pushing everyone away?? And then will probably eventually find someone that understands and loves them for who they are?? I love that every time.
Even though I wasn't sure how I felt about Maud before, I loved her in this one. She's stubborn and is constantly trying to prove herself, but always stands up for herself against anyone; who just wants to do right by those she loves.
My only issue with this book is that I didn’t /really/ love the romance. I liked it? I think? So much of this story is about Maud and Violet trying to be honest with each other, and they only get the actual truth by the end. So finishing this, I felt that their romance wasn't over? It felt like a beginning, more than an end.
That makes me wonder how the next book is going to go!! I'm hoping it will be about Ross and Hawthorne (if it isn't, I WILL riot), but will we also get perspectives from the other characters? Idk but I'm excited about it!!
i would just like to say i'm a lord hawthorn stan first! human second!
"She would step off the ship in triumph, and Robin would be proud of her, and it would be the first important and worthwhile thing that Maud Blythe, baronet's daughter, and baronet's sister, would have done in her entire short useless life."
The most interesting things in Maud Blyth's life have happened to her brother Robin, but she's ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets. Bound for New York on the R.M.S. Lyric, she's ready for an adventure. What she actually finds is a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and a beautiful stranger in Violet Debenham, who is everything—a magician, an actress, a scandal—Maud has been trained to fear and has learned to desire. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of loathsome suspects, they must solve a murder and untangle a conspiracy that began generations before them.
A Marvellous Light was one of the last few books I read last year, and I loved it so much (but it will be featured in this year's favorites bc my list was done by the time I first read it).
So I was eagerly looking forward to this sequel ever since last December, but, at the same time, I was a little hesitant about it. I loved Robin & Edwin so much that I doubted another couple would surpass them. Also, Maud wasn't the best character from the first book. She was just there, so I didn't know how to feel about an entire book about her.
But!! I shouldn't have doubted because I really enjoyed A Restless Truth. I didn't LOVE it as much as AML, but it was still an incredible addition to this series.
If A Marvellous Light is a soft mystery with romance all about the mortifying ordeal of being known amidst magic gardens, magic houses, and wallpaper, A Restless Truth is the complete opposite. Instead, it's a fun book all about a murder mystery while traveling on a ship.
This book was simply so much fun. I just love stories where the characters are stuck in a place with a killer in their midst, with them having to figure out the mystery. While also keeping the investigation a secret.
And all of the characters were so great. Even the side characters!! I'm now obsessed with Lord Hawthorne. I'm a Hawthorne stan first, human second. Mean characters with tragic pasts that deal with their trauma with humor, vulgarity, and by pushing everyone away?? And then will probably eventually find someone that understands and loves them for who they are?? I love that every time.
Even though I wasn't sure how I felt about Maud before, I loved her in this one. She's stubborn and is constantly trying to prove herself, but always stands up for herself against anyone; who just wants to do right by those she loves.
My only issue with this book is that I didn’t /really/ love the romance. I liked it? I think? So much of this story is about Maud and Violet trying to be honest with each other, and they only get the actual truth by the end. So finishing this, I felt that their romance wasn't over? It felt like a beginning, more than an end.
That makes me wonder how the next book is going to go!! I'm hoping it will be about Ross and Hawthorne (if it isn't, I WILL riot), but will we also get perspectives from the other characters? Idk but I'm excited about it!!