SciFi/Fantasy/Romance Book Review: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske: https://t.co/3vbPZ4ByqK
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) October 29, 2021
Short Review: 9 out of 10
1/3
Short Review (cont): A Really fun M-M romance in a magical early 20th century Britain, featuring impoverished non-magical noble Robin and his magical liaison Edwin as they investigate why magical assailants would curse Robin and grow dangerously close. Really great romance.
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) October 29, 2021
2/3
Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on November 2, 2021 in exchange for a potential review. I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.
A Marvellous Light is the debut novel from Australian author Freya Marske. It's a fantasy (M-M) romance, featuring an early 20th century-esque Britain, in which magic is a real yet secret part of British society, with its protagonists being a non-magical and a magical cog in the bureaucracy that coordinates the magical and non-magical worlds/governments. But the story isn't really about that bureaucracy, with it instead focusing the romance between two men in a still homophobic British society, men who are the odd ones out in supposedly privileged families, as they grow closer together investigating a dangerous conspiracy and mystery.
And as a fantasy romance, A Marvellous Light is excellent, with the two leads having tremendous chemistry (even if it is a bit of a slow burn), the story featuring some excellent M-M sex scenes (that are magical in more ways than one), to go along with a plot that works in general very well. The story follows a number of classical romance story tropes that you'll see coming, but it pulls them off rather well, and the magical world it presents is familiar but very understandable. If the book has a flaw, it's that it hints at but doesn't really deal with the issues of colonialism that permeate its setting (the only notable persons of color are an Indian secretary and her sister). Still I have hopes that the series will get to that in subsequent books, and everything else here is really good.
Trigger Warning: Homophobia - the story takes place in an alternate early 20th century Britain, complete with the homophobia prominent in that culture (and its laws). It's not a major focus but it's an undercurrent for the characters to deal with in their romance. -----------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
When Robin Blyth was appointed to the "Office of Special Domestic Affairs and Complaints", he knew it had to be another cruel prank by the noble politician that hated his family, and was now free to strike now that his parents were dead. But he took the position anyhow, because he needed the money to support himself and his now liberated sister.
He certainly never expected the position to be the a link between the ordinary British government and a secret magical society - or that magic even existed. Until Edwin Courcey, magical liaison to the office comes in and shows him what's out there. It's something he could never forget - especially after he gets jumped and cursed on the way home by some magical folks searching for something hidden away by his predecessor.
For Edwin Courcey, Robin is a pain - an administrative mistake in an important position in place of the predecessor Edwin had gotten used to. But Edwin endeavors anyhow to try and help Robin remove the curse and find out what Robin's assailants were looking for...even if that means going back to his home, where Edwin is belittled for having the weakest magical power. And yet...there's something in Robin's reactions to magic, to learning what's new, that intrigues Edwin...in a way he can't quite shake off...in a way he knows is dangerous.
But Robin's curse is far more dangerous than the two of them first realized, forcing Edwin and Robin to desperately search for answers....answers that will bring them closer together than they ever could have imagined.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Marvellous Light is in many ways a book with a very familiar setup for both fantasy and romance. From a romance perspective, you have a story told alternatingly from the perspectives of each of its leads, who slowly grow closer to each other over time...despite their fears of that relationship (especially as a M-M relationship in homophobic early 20th century Britain, where such a thing is a crime). From a fantasy setup, you have a British world with a secret magical underbelly, who uses that magic to erase the minds of non-magical people who often stumble onto it. From both perspectives, you have a Britain which is often Elitist in both magical and non-magical ways, leaving even those who might seem like they should have political, financial, or magical power but don't have it forced to fight for their own self-worth.
And yet, Marske takes all those familiar themes and setups and executes them in ways that never seem tired, and builds a fantasy romance that truly truly works. It helps that her two lead characters are excellent and have tremendous chemistry (and Marske is excellent with her dialogue). First there's Robin, the non-magical man who is at his very nature incredibly social...and yet at the same time feels overwhelmed due to the obligations and life forced upon him by his cruel gossiping parents when they died. Robin is curious and intuitive even if he's not a book-lover by nature, and so the idea of magic is fascinating to him, even as he isn't fascinating by the obsession over power he finds in the magical community. And in Edwin, he sees a man who cares about people, who is infuriatingly belittled, and who is insightful and well...marvelous, in ways that he notices Edwin's family overlooks. Robin sometimes runs from problems (like the support his sister needs), but his compassion and curiosity makes him a perfect fit for Edwin both romantically and as a partner exploring the mystery of the curse that's killing him.
For Edwin, he's always been belittled for his lack of great magical power, especially by his egotistical and bullying brother, as well as the rest of his family and family friends - other than his sick mother, who actually cares for him...when she's not sick. Edwin's response to his lack of power has been always to research new methods of magic, stuff he's not even able to do with his magical talent, and to become infuriated by how incurious others are with their gifts (especially as compared to in other countries). He's not a social bug like Robin is at heart, and Edwin fears getting close to people...because every relationship he's had, romantically or otherwise, has gotten him in trouble. And yet his caring and yearn for knowledge to make up for it, and with Robin he finds something he's never had before - a man who sees him not for a lack of power, but for a wonder. And so he can't help but grow closer, to want to not remove Robin's memory of it all, even as he fears how getting close to Robin will only allow himself to be hurt.
Marske takes the two of these characters and throws them into a mystery plot as they attempt to figure out what the antagonists wanted so badly to curse Robin for, which works well enough to draw the two characters close together incredibly well. The sex scenes here are really well done and creative, especially the one featuring Edwin experimenting with magic, and are decently explicit (so fair warning if you want more chaste romance). And much of the side characters are done well enough when they get page-time, like Robin's sister Maud or Miss Morrissey, the office's non-magical (from a magical family) secretary, who is pointed and sarcastic at times and just all round wonderful.
That said the story does kind of hint at but mostly overlook some natural issues with this setting, which is a bit of a flaw. The story does deal with the sexism of the magical community a good bit, (again Miss Morrissey and her sister, along with a older woman magician, make some major points) but those points are often forgotten for a while due to the fact that our protagonists are two men. Less dealt with, but hinted at are issues of race and the effects of the British empire - with the only two real characters of color being Miss Morrissey and her sister, and the book hinting at other magical cultures, but really only dealing with posh British culture as if that culture wasn't taking from elsewhere. It's something in this day and age I expect some exploration of, and that's not really here.
Still this is a truly fun fantasy romance, with a pair of characters I really grew to love, and who I hope I'll see more of in the rest of this trilogy - although I could very much enjoy a switch of main protagonists to feature other couples (Miss Morrissey and someone else maybe?). Recommended.
For Edwin Courcey, Robin is a pain - an administrative mistake in an important position in place of the predecessor Edwin had gotten used to. But Edwin endeavors anyhow to try and help Robin remove the curse and find out what Robin's assailants were looking for...even if that means going back to his home, where Edwin is belittled for having the weakest magical power. And yet...there's something in Robin's reactions to magic, to learning what's new, that intrigues Edwin...in a way he can't quite shake off...in a way he knows is dangerous.
But Robin's curse is far more dangerous than the two of them first realized, forcing Edwin and Robin to desperately search for answers....answers that will bring them closer together than they ever could have imagined.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Marvellous Light is in many ways a book with a very familiar setup for both fantasy and romance. From a romance perspective, you have a story told alternatingly from the perspectives of each of its leads, who slowly grow closer to each other over time...despite their fears of that relationship (especially as a M-M relationship in homophobic early 20th century Britain, where such a thing is a crime). From a fantasy setup, you have a British world with a secret magical underbelly, who uses that magic to erase the minds of non-magical people who often stumble onto it. From both perspectives, you have a Britain which is often Elitist in both magical and non-magical ways, leaving even those who might seem like they should have political, financial, or magical power but don't have it forced to fight for their own self-worth.
And yet, Marske takes all those familiar themes and setups and executes them in ways that never seem tired, and builds a fantasy romance that truly truly works. It helps that her two lead characters are excellent and have tremendous chemistry (and Marske is excellent with her dialogue). First there's Robin, the non-magical man who is at his very nature incredibly social...and yet at the same time feels overwhelmed due to the obligations and life forced upon him by his cruel gossiping parents when they died. Robin is curious and intuitive even if he's not a book-lover by nature, and so the idea of magic is fascinating to him, even as he isn't fascinating by the obsession over power he finds in the magical community. And in Edwin, he sees a man who cares about people, who is infuriatingly belittled, and who is insightful and well...marvelous, in ways that he notices Edwin's family overlooks. Robin sometimes runs from problems (like the support his sister needs), but his compassion and curiosity makes him a perfect fit for Edwin both romantically and as a partner exploring the mystery of the curse that's killing him.
For Edwin, he's always been belittled for his lack of great magical power, especially by his egotistical and bullying brother, as well as the rest of his family and family friends - other than his sick mother, who actually cares for him...when she's not sick. Edwin's response to his lack of power has been always to research new methods of magic, stuff he's not even able to do with his magical talent, and to become infuriated by how incurious others are with their gifts (especially as compared to in other countries). He's not a social bug like Robin is at heart, and Edwin fears getting close to people...because every relationship he's had, romantically or otherwise, has gotten him in trouble. And yet his caring and yearn for knowledge to make up for it, and with Robin he finds something he's never had before - a man who sees him not for a lack of power, but for a wonder. And so he can't help but grow closer, to want to not remove Robin's memory of it all, even as he fears how getting close to Robin will only allow himself to be hurt.
Marske takes the two of these characters and throws them into a mystery plot as they attempt to figure out what the antagonists wanted so badly to curse Robin for, which works well enough to draw the two characters close together incredibly well. The sex scenes here are really well done and creative, especially the one featuring Edwin experimenting with magic, and are decently explicit (so fair warning if you want more chaste romance). And much of the side characters are done well enough when they get page-time, like Robin's sister Maud or Miss Morrissey, the office's non-magical (from a magical family) secretary, who is pointed and sarcastic at times and just all round wonderful.
That said the story does kind of hint at but mostly overlook some natural issues with this setting, which is a bit of a flaw. The story does deal with the sexism of the magical community a good bit, (again Miss Morrissey and her sister, along with a older woman magician, make some major points) but those points are often forgotten for a while due to the fact that our protagonists are two men. Less dealt with, but hinted at are issues of race and the effects of the British empire - with the only two real characters of color being Miss Morrissey and her sister, and the book hinting at other magical cultures, but really only dealing with posh British culture as if that culture wasn't taking from elsewhere. It's something in this day and age I expect some exploration of, and that's not really here.
Still this is a truly fun fantasy romance, with a pair of characters I really grew to love, and who I hope I'll see more of in the rest of this trilogy - although I could very much enjoy a switch of main protagonists to feature other couples (Miss Morrissey and someone else maybe?). Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment