Marvellous Light (The Last Binding, 1)

A Marvellous Light’ is Australian author Freya Marske’s debut novel and the opening book in her The Last Binding series. With ‘A Restless Truth’, Book 2 in this series of historical fantasies set in Edwardian England, due soon I decided to prepare by reading Book 1. I did a combined read/listen with its unabridged audiobook edition. It proved an entertaining fantasy, focusing upon Robin Blyth, a young baronet, who finds himself appointed as parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. He is introduced to Edwin Courcey, his counterpart in the magical society. Edwin is quite a prickly character, though as this is a romance things do more than thaw. Together they uncover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles. It end with a preview of the opening chapters of ‘A Restless Truth’.

Captivating. Intriguing. Marvellous! I loved this debut. The magic system was intriguing and I loved the ideas that it hasn’t been completely explored due to stifling society rules. I also loved how Robin took everything in stride and it took him awhile to process and take in all the information thrown at him which I love in a character and it is refreshing to see in a book that isn’t totally bonkers (I’m looking at you Lightning Struck Heart). I did find that there is more to the story and relationship between our hero’s and am slightly worried that the next books won’t expand on these as they are focused on different couples. I adored the two hero’s! I loved how they worked together but also apart and felt that they were absolutely perfect. Finding their own individual strengths and building their ideas of self worth and obligations was a joy to read and I can’t gush enough about how they worked through family, malicious bushes and arguments. I don’t want to spoil anything so you will just need to read this masterpiece to find out what I’m even talking about. This book is just “French kiss” 5 stars.

Beautifully written, set in an alternate Edwardian England, with a fascinating system of magic, and protagonists who will capture your heart. A perfect read for anyone looking for magic, adventure, peril, and romance, all in gorgeous prose. The secondary characters are wonderful, and I assume they will come into their own in the sequel. (This was a reread, before beginning the next book, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.)

Oh, this is an astoundingly lovely book. I had heard vague things about A Marvellous Light, but going into it, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. I figured I would probably enjoy it, as it had been sold to me as historical romance, plus a magical mystery/conspiracy. Now I love a good historical romance, and anything with magic is right up my alley, so this book was practically screaming my name. A Marvellous Light takes place at the tail end of the 1800’s, in an England where magic exists, but is unknown to most. One of our heroes is Robin Blythe, a non-magical baronet who has been thrust into a job that deals with magic. Only problem is — he has no idea magic exists. On Robin’s first day at his new job, Edwin Courcey — a man who DOES have magic — shows up to get a report, expecting Robin’s predecessor. Said predecessor has been missing for several weeks, and no one has any idea where he’s gone. Here is where the mystery begins! These two are such wonderful foils of one another, that it was an immense pleasure watching their relationship unfold. Edwin grew up with minimal amounts of magic, in a household where being nothing less than the best was unacceptable. He was brutally treated by his cruel older brother, and as such, turned into quite an icy, stoic individual who would much rather surround himself with books rather than people. Robin, on the other hand, grew up in a house where public appearances were so much more important than being your true self. His parents die shortly before the novel begins, leaving him and his sister in dire straits, as they have left all their fortune to charities and ‘projects’ rather than their children. Robin is a bright, confident man, who is rather quick to jump on the metaphorical grenade rather than have someone else get hurt. Robin was my favorite. I’m not going to spoil anything more, other than to say this was such a fun book to read. The mystery is dealt out in lovely, delicious chunks leaving you wanting just enough to keep reading. The writing itself is absolutely gorgeous and just a tiny bit haunting in the best way. I cannot recommend A Marvellous Light enough. Please go read it.

I really enjoyed this novel. As a gay man I frequently read "gay" novels that end up so sappy and obviously written by someone who's...not a gay man. This one didn't hit me that way and I loved the story of Robin and Edwin and the magic that's involved (the sex scenes were good, too). They come across as capable and I was charmed by them. However I give it four stars vs. five because the ending is kind of anit-climatic and so obviously set up for a sequel that it came across as unfinished. As a reader I want a novel to feel like it stands on it's own and with this ending, this one does not. And I just read that the sequel isn't even about the same characters, so a double let down. I do think it's definitely worth a read if you're into this kind of story.