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A review by mallorypen
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was a fine end to this trilogy! Though this didn’t have the white-hot thrill of the first novel, I thoroughly enjoyed the two main protagonists and their story arc, and the last half of the book was full of wrapped loose ends, fraught emotional moments and nefarious plots.
The elements that brought this down from a 5 star read were mostly to do with the sprawling cast of characters. I did appreciate that Robin and Edwin played such a large role, and having met Maud and Violet in the last novel it did feel like the whole Scooby gang was finally together. That said, Jack was almost a little hard to follow from book to book, and that made his being one of the protagonists a little challenging at the get go. Similarly, Alan going from a C character to the other main protagonist further complicated my comprehension as a (admittedly) distracted reader.
Much like the second novel, I think reading this series back to back would greatly improve my enjoyment. But, even with gaps between novels and a bit of a slow start, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
The elements that brought this down from a 5 star read were mostly to do with the sprawling cast of characters. I did appreciate that Robin and Edwin played such a large role, and having met Maud and Violet in the last novel it did feel like the whole Scooby gang was finally together. That said, Jack was almost a little hard to follow from book to book, and that made his being one of the protagonists a little challenging at the get go. Similarly, Alan going from a C character to the other main protagonist further complicated my comprehension as a (admittedly) distracted reader.
Much like the second novel, I think reading this series back to back would greatly improve my enjoyment. But, even with gaps between novels and a bit of a slow start, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual assault