My book reviews for The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske, including A Marvellous Light, A Restless Truth and A Power Unbound. Please be aware that the reviews for the later books contain spoilers.
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Action, Adventure, Detective Fantasy, Romantasy, Alternative Universe, London, Disabled and Neurodivergent Authors, Edwardian History, Historical Fantasy, Historical Mystery, Family Drama, Found Family, Gay Characters, Queer Characters, Magic Users, Various Magic
Series: The Last Building #1
My Rating:
Published on: 26th October 2021
Pages: 384
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones / BookBeat Audio
Add to Goodreads
Young baronet Robin Blyth thought he was taking up a minor governmental post. However, he's actually been appointed parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. If it weren't for this administrative error, he'd never have discovered the incredible magic underlying his world.
Cursed by mysterious attackers and plagued by visions, Robin becomes determined to drag answers from his missing predecessor - but he'll need the help of Edwin Courcey, his hostile magical-society counterpart. Unwillingly thrown together, Robin and Edwin will discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles.
This book was provided for free by Black Crow PR, 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:
Please note
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programmes I earn a small commission from items purchased using links featured in this post at no extra cost to you. Click here to learn more.
Every purchase you make through Just Geeking By helps keep this blog running.
A Marvellous Light Review
I kept hearing great things about A Marvellous Light; however, I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be my kind of book. I’ve heard it described as “Downton Abbey with magic”, and I’ve been interested in Downton Abbey, but magic? Magic, I love. I had to find out for myself what all the fuss was about.
I fell in love with A Marvellous Light within the first scene, when it became apparent extremely quickly that Marske was not messing around when it came to magic. I was a little concerned that this was going to be a novel all about society and manners with either a slight nod to magic or, as my regular reviewers know, I dislike by now, magical realism rather than actual fantasy. I am happy to say that A Marvellous Light is neither of those things.
The reader is thrown headfirst into a magical mystery, a conspiracy no less, that sees our two protagonists stuck with each other. Robin Blyth is a new baronet; his life has recently turned upside down, and he’s struggling to deal with a lot of things. When he’s given a job in the Home Office as a special liaison for the Minister with no details whatsoever about the job, he’s confused. The confusion grows even more when someone barges into his office expecting his predecessor. Edwin Courcey is ready to demand where the hell Reggie has been for the last fortnight and give him what for. He’s not expecting someone else to be in his office, and he’s not expecting it to be Reggie’s clueless replacement, who has been given the job by accident. Not only is he saddled with a baronet, but he’s got one who has no idea that magic exists, and that’s a huge problem.
Set in Edwardian London, the slow-burning romance of A Marvellous Light is one that will captivate and frustrate as you follow the progression of Robin and Edwin’s relationship. Frosty to begin with, they feel each other out carefully as members of society who have been thrust together as colleagues from completely different backgrounds. It’s not long before they find that sometimes none of that matters, and it’s revealed that they have more in common with each other than they could ever dream. The country is still reeling from Oscar Wilde’s trial less than twenty years ago, where he was found guilty of 25 counts of gross indecency, in other words, of being homosexual. Both men, despite being gay, are acutely aware that no man is above suspicion or the law, and despite their growing interest in one another, cannot even show an interest in the other.
It is beautiful to watch as their relationship grows, and while the book gets very steamy, this is not a book based on fluff. They’re just the icing on a very decadent cake. Marske’s world-building is brilliant, with a magic system that is so uniquely British that it fits perfectly with an Edwardian setting. Add in the high society parties, and I can see why people are referring to it as “Downton Abbey with magic”. Personally, I get more of an Edwardian high society meets magic with a dash of Sherlock Holmes feel from it myself. There’s an ongoing mystery that Robin and Edwin are trying to uncover, and there are some fabulous scenes involving Robin’s secretary, Miss Adelaide Harita Morrissey (Addy) and her sister, Mrs Kitty Kaur. These two ladies are absolutely brilliant, and together they deliver one of my favourite tongue-in-cheek lines about “feeble women”. I hope we see more of the sisters in the next novel, and honestly, a spin-off story or even a series would not go amiss.
One of the best things about A Marvellous Light was that it doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to how awful family can be. There’s this very old-fashioned belief that people are supposed to just put up with their family, no matter what they do or how they treat them. That was even more true during the Edwardian time, and it was nice to see a book where relatives that were bullies weren’t just accepted or tolerated, especially because it was a historical period.
I’m never a big fan of comparing books to other books, but I’m aware that’s how publishers promote things (at least at the moment). The problem is that sometimes it can be quite off-putting when they compare it to things you either haven’t seen/read or have tried and really didn’t get on with. So let me tell you why you should read A Marvellous Light without any comparisons. There are loads to unpack, yet there’s not too much happening that you’ll feel too overwhelmed or lost in a sea of characters and places. It’s fantastically British and has a nice selection of characters with different personalities and, more importantly, motives. This is high society, and everyone is up to something; everyone has a reason for doing, saying and even wearing that particular hat at that particular party. It is superficial, it is ridiculous, and in the middle of it all, you have two men who just want to solve a mystery.
Artists and art history grads like myself will love Marske’s attention to detail when it comes to the art and architecture of the time, and when she turns her considerable skill to describing the decadent rooms decorated with William Morris, you feel as though you’re right there in the room. You can see the colours and patterns, you can feel the textures beneath your fingers. The same goes for everything from the magic to the emotions in A Marvellous Light; you feel it, you don’t just read it. That’s why you should give it a read, even if you’re not sure if it’s your kind of book. I wasn’t, and it’s one of my top reads of 2021.
Published by Pan Macmillan
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Action, Adventure, Detective Fantasy, Romantasy, Alternative Universe, Heist, Ship, Bisexual Characters, Gay Characters, Lesbian Characters, Queer Characters, Sapphic Characters, Clairvoyant Characters, Journalist Characters, Magic Users, Disabled and Neurodivergent Authors, Edwardian History, Historical Fantasy, Historical Mystery, Various Magic
Series: The Last Building #2
My Rating:
Published on: 10th November 2022
Pages: 384
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones / BookBeat Audio
Add to Goodreads
Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She’d hoped for plenty of it when she agreed to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy. She even volunteered to serve as an old lady's companion on an ocean liner. But Maud didn't expect the old lady to turn up dead on the very first day of the voyage.
Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham. Violet is everything Maud has been trained to distrust, yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress and a magnet for scandal.
Surrounded by open sea and a ship full of suspects, Maud and Violet must learn to drop the masks they’ve learned to wear. Only then might they work together to locate a magical object worth killing for – and unmask a murderer. All without becoming dead in the water themselves.
Set in an alternative Edwardian England filled with magic, murder and romance, A Restless Truth is the spellbinding second book in The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske.
Continue the series with A Power Unbound.
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:
A Restless Truth Review
I adored A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske when I read it the previous year, so I was immediately on the lookout for whatever she wrote next. The fact that it was the next book in The Last Binding series just made it even better, and I was so excited about A Restless Truth for multiple reasons. Would it live up to its predecessor?
A Restless Truth didn’t just live up to its predecessor; it blew it out of the water. A Restless Truth is described as “Knives Out meets The Binding “, but personally I would describe it as “Death on The Nile/The Titanic, but make it gay with magic”. It has the mysterious death and crime-solving of Death on the Nile, minus the limited guest list, which is where the similarity to The Titanic comes in. The ship, the setting for most of the book, is large and hosts guests from all classes. Unlike The Titanic, the journey is from America to London rather than the other way, and there is no catastrophic event. There is still plenty of danger, though! And of course, there is romance, steamy romance…
A Restless Truth continues on from the events of the first book, where Robin Blyth and Edwin Courcey found out about a magical conspiracy that affects the entire magical community. The Last Contract, a contract between the fey and the magicians of the British Isles, which, in the wrong hands, threatens the entire British Isles. It was divided into several pieces by the women who found it, for safety. While the boys remain behind in London to handle things from that end, Robin’s sister Maud heads off to America to make contact with one of the women who has a piece of the contract in her possession, Elizabeth Navenby. Maud’s job is to let her know that their secret is out, and that everyone who has a piece is in great danger. It’s deemed safer for Maud to escort Mrs Navenby back to London to ensure that she and her piece of the contract remain safe.
Mrs Navenby is a wonderfully wily old woman who, despite her age, is determined not to be counted out just yet. She keeps her piece of The Last Contract on her and refuses to disclose its identity to Maud. She will reveal its location when they arrive in London. That’s all well and good, but it becomes a problem when Mrs Navenby is assassinated by the opposition! Maud is trapped on a ship with a killer, no allies and no idea where the hidden piece may be. With only her brother’s visions to guide her, supplied before her mission and with zero context, Maud must use all her wits to stay one step ahead of the perpetrators.
A Marvellous Light was great, and while I expected good (and steamy) things from A Restless Truth, Marske took things to a whole other level with this book. I have to admit I wasn’t that interested in Maud as a character in the first book, but she came into her own in this one, and that was entirely the point. At the start she’s a young woman who has never had the chance to do or experience anything. This is her first time being given the chance to experience life, and by god does she grab that chance with everything she’s got! There is something so very endearing about her naivety and bashfulness, and the way she navigates through all the new things. Unlike other characters in similar situations that I can recall, Marske stops just short of preventing those endearing qualities from becoming irritating. Maud is just naive and shy enough to be genuine, for it to feel real, and then she begins to learn, to understand what she wants, and likes.
I am talking about the romance and sex scenes, as well as other life experiences. For those who have read A Marvellous Light, you’ll be familiar with Marske’s saucy scenes. Personally, I would say that she turned it even further in this one, but I am a bi woman, so naturally, this one was more my speed than book one. There are scenes where characters discuss pornography, which are absolutely brilliant. They are both racy and comedic, and that is something Marske does so well; interlacing emotions so that one moment you’re feeling one thing and then the next line the tension completely shifts.
Baron Hawthorn, a character that appears in the previous book, is one of Maud’s allies on the ship, or should I say, the poor sod that Maud masterfully manipulates into helping her. Oh yes, as I said, there is much more to our young Maud than what we saw in A Marvellous Light. He was an interesting figure in the first book, and in this one, we get to see much more of him, learning more about him as a character. He is juxtaposed with another male character from a completely different background, and along with Violet, that makes the four comrades in arms who investigate Mrs Navenby’s murder. He doesn’t get on with the other man in the group, bickering constantly, but it’s one of those relationships that you’re sure is going to lead to something else…
I loved the character of Violet for so many reasons. She’s independent, fearless and charismatic, and yet so vulnerable. It wasn’t difficult to see why Maud was impressed with her because I was impressed with her. Watching the two women work together to investigate the murder and work out where Mrs Navenby hid her piece of the contract, all the while unsure of whether they could trust each other or anyone else on the ship, was such a pleasure. I lapped up every single detail of the scenes, from the banter and high jinks to the investigating and the magic.
A Restless Truth was a massive hit for me, combining my favourite genres with incredible world-building and irresistible characters.
Published by Pan Macmillan
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Action, Adventure, Romantasy, Alternative Universe, London, Bisexual Characters, Gay Characters, Lesbian Characters, Queer Characters, Sapphic Characters, Clairvoyant Characters, Journalist Characters, Magic Users, Disabled and Neurodivergent Authors, Edwardian History, Historical Fantasy, Historical Mystery, Various Magic
Series: The Last Building #3
My Rating:
Published on: 9th November 2023
Pages: 384
Disability Representation: Mobility Aid
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones
Add to Goodreads
Secrets! Magic! Enemies to . . . something more? Set in an alternative Edwardian England, A Power Unbound is the steamy, spellbinding conclusion to The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske.
Jack Alston – Lord Hawthorn – renounced magic after the death of his twin sister. But to save Britain's magicians from a dangerous threat, Jack and an unlikely group of friends must locate the final piece of the Last Contract – before their enemies do. To do so, they'll need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross. Cagey and argumentative, he unfortunately happens to be everything that Jack wants, in one gorgeous, infuriating package.
When a plot to seize unimaginable power unfolds at Jack's family estate, Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.
Filled with magic, murder and romance, A Power Unbound is the thrilling third book in The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske.
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:
A Power Unbound Review
One of the books I’ve been looking forward to most this year is A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. It’s the final book in The Last Binding trilogy, and as I’ve adored the previous two books, there was little doubt that this would be just as good!
It is always bittersweet to read the final book in a series, especially one that I’ve loved every minute of, and despite saying goodbye to beloved characters, I relished the chance to enter the world Freya Markse has created one more time. Like Marske’s previous two novels, A Power Unbound focuses on a couple, and this time it’s notorious Lord Hawthorn, Jack Alston and journalist Alan Ross, who we met in the previous book, A Restless Truth. I was thrilled as their growing interest in each other in that book was so much fun to read.
A Power Unbound is a terrific sequel, linking every thread that Marske has woven throughout her books together to offer an incredibly satisfying conclusion. While Jack and Alan’s relationship is the romantic focus of the book, Edwin, Robin and Adelaide Morrissey from book one, A Marvellous Light, and Maude and Violet from book two, A Restless Truth, play a large role in this book. Marske has written a masterpiece of a sequel filled with danger at every turn, magical battles and a puzzle-filled house that is hiding the final piece of the Last Contract.
I particularly liked the direction that Marske went with the plot of The Last Contract and how it tied elements together that I hadn’t realised were linked to it. I’m not going to say any more about the plot in this review for two reasons: a lot happens, and it’s one of those books where you’re best reading it for yourself! All I’ll say is that if you enjoyed the previous two offerings by Marske, then you’re going to love everything about this one, save for it being the end of a brilliant trilogy.
While we say goodbye to The Last Binding universe with A Power Unbound we thankfully, we won’t have to wait long for more books by the wonderful Freya Marske, as she signed a book deal!
About Freya Marske
Over to you
Thanks for reading my book review for The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske!
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!
Support Just Geeking By
I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please consider sharing it on social media using the nifty buttons at the end of this post <3
If you enjoyed this content, please consider supporting my blog. You can do this in multiple ways (click here to find out how!) or by donating via Ko-Fi to help me reach my current goal.
Discover more from Just Geeking By
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.