Swordcrossed by Freya Marske
Published by Pan Macmillan
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Brown Characters, Mental Health Representation, Queer Characters, Sapphic Characters, Transgender Characters, Con Artist Characters, Diverse Representation, Historical Fantasy, LGBTQIA+ Authors, LGBTQIA+ Romance, Mental Health, Neurodivergent, Romantasy, Disabled and Neurodivergent Authors
My Rating:
Published on: 10th October 2024
Pages: 384
Disability Representation: Headaches, nausea, anxiety, and dyscalculia,
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Forbidden Planet / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones
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Low stakes. High heat. Sharp steel . . .

Mattinesh Jay, heir to his family’s struggling business, needs his arranged marriage to go off without a hitch. But if he’s to successfully restore his house’s fortunes, Matti must first hire a swordsman to defend him against any sword-challenges at the altar. Unfortunately, the only duellist he can afford is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

All Luca wants to do is make some easy money and forget the crime he committed in his home town. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible – and inconveniently handsome – wool-merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

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After loving Freya Marske’s debut trilogy, I was pretty much up for anything she wrote next. Both that series and this book are listed under historical fantasy, but they couldn’t be more different. There are very few fantasy elements in Swordcrossed; it is set in a fictional world with fictional mythology. While there are hints that the deities may have an active role in their lives, they do not have an active role on the page.

I have to admit that for a good portion of the book I wasn’t sure if this was my type of book, despite being a fan of the author. This book is a very slow burn, but it is worth the wait, and I was won over in the end. I’m not a huge romance fan, and normally need more fantasy elements to catch my interest. It says a lot about the calibre of the writer and the strength of the characters that I loved this book.

About Freya Marske

Freya Marske lives in Australia, where she is yet to be killed by any form of wildlife. She writes stories full of magic, blood, and as much kissing as she can get away with, and she co-hosted the Hugo Award nominated podcast Be the Serpent. Her hobbies include figure skating and discovering new art galleries, and she is on a quest to try all the gin in the world.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Blue Sky

Thanks for reading my book review for Swordcrossed by Freya Marske!

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