A review by onthesamepage
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Sometimes, I'll finish a book, look up the author, find out they started off writing fanfiction, and think, "Yes, that makes sense". I don't know why fanfiction sometimes feels so different, especially when it comes to the development of a romance. But I've always loved that aspect of it, and I think that's part of why this book really worked for me, but may not work for others. It made me feel butterflies in all the right moments, which is really all I want.

There are a couple of steamy, sexy scenes in here, some of which involve magic and very explicit consent (to which I say, yes, more please).

Robin managed to hold his tongue on something truly unwise like You look like a Turner painting and I want to learn your textures with my fingertips. You are the most fascinating thing in this beautiful house. I'd like to introduce my fists to whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you. Those were not things one blurted out to a friend. They were their own cradles of magic, an expression of the desire to transform one thing into another. And what if the magic went awry?

The magic system was fascinating, if a bit hard to picture. I liked that Edwin, as the main character with magic, isn't considered a powerful magician by most standards. Where most magicians can perform magic using hand gestures called cradling, Edwin relies on a piece of string as a crutch to help him perform similar spells. And it's not something he really overcomes during this story, either.

Robin isn't a magic user, so we get introduced to that aspect of the world alongside him. There's no infodumping, just a steady exploration and broadening of what we know about the world, and I thought this was really well done.

"And we are but feeble women," said Miss Morrissey. "Woe."
"Your sister is a magician," Robin said, pointing out what seemed the largest hole in this story.
"Woe," said Mrs. Kaur firmly, and Robin recalled what Miss Morrissey had said about the assumptions made by men.

The writing was really good, and I particularly enjoyed the banter. There is a lot of humor in the conversations, and the dialogue is snappy, clever, and amusing. It made me really like the characters, even a couple that didn't have a very big role to play, which makes me very excited for the other books in the series. I also just liked the way the relationships developed, and how a moment from earlier in the book would lead to an inside joke between Edwin and Robin later on. These are small details, but they made everyone feel so wonderfully real to me. 
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