Name: Laoise Giblin's review of A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Item: A Marvellous Light
Rating: 5
Author: Laoise Giblin

Freya Marske

Set in an alternative Edwardian England, this is a comedy of manners, manor houses, and hedge mazes: including a magic-infused murder mystery and a delightful queer romance. ‘Mystery! Magic! Murder! . . . This book is a confection, both marvellous and light’ – Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn's Bridgerton, who'd like to welcome magic into their lives . . . 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. The Binding meets Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light. ‘A dazzling debut’ – Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun ‘Prepare to fall in love with the gorgeous Edwardian setting, the sizzling character dynamics, and the murderous enchanted hedge maze’ – Emily Tesh, author of Silver in the Wood ‘An absolute delight . . . If you ever wished Downton Abbey was sharper-edged and full of magic, this is the book for you’ – Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians

A Marvellous Light

Marz

The attack came while Robin was thinking about roast beef.

I’d like to introduce my fists to whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you.

Set in an alternative Edwardian England, this is a comedy of manners, manor houses, and hedge mazes: including a magic-infused murder mystery and a delightful queer romance. 'Mystery! Magic! Murder! . . . This book is a confection, both marvellous and light' - Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn's Bridgerton, who'd like to welcome magic into their lives . . . 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. The Binding meets Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in debut author Freya Marske's A Marvellous Light. 'A dazzling debut' - Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun 'Prepare to fall in love with the gorgeous Edwardian setting, the sizzling character dynamics, and the murderous enchanted hedge maze' - Emily Tesh, author of Silver in the Wood 'An absolute delight . . . If you ever wished Downton Abbey was sharper-edged and full of magic, this is the book for you' - Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians

betty

"Are you all right?" Robin asked. "I don't know what I am," said Edwin. "But yes. I'm all right." In the spirit of enquiry, he sat back on his heels and tried to identify what he was feeling,. Somewhat to his shock, he decided it was joy.

Robin wished for the first time that he could have met his predecessor, to work out for himself if this irresponsible man had in any way deserved the subdued longing of two clever people. Perhaps he’d had a smile like a sunrise.

It didn't take long to become so accustomed to something that you could describe the exact shape of its absence.

Only the impossible was safe. This was merely implausible. and that made it dangerous. But Robin could die tomorrow, or next week; the curse could writhe up his neck and burn his mind out with pain, or someone with fog for a face could take his arm on a busy street and decide to finish the job. He felt greedy for more nights like this, as many of them as he could Cram into his existence. And unlike shadowy attackers and mysterious tattooed runes, the way he felt about Edwin was a danger Robin was able to do something about. He could already feel the jubilant, contrary, Blythian urge rising within him: to rush headlong, as Edwin put it. To grin right into danger’s face and see what would happen next

The words landed in his mind like bad notes on a piano. Apparently Robin recognised lies even when he was telling them to himself. Because it wasn't the physical act alone. It was the way he felt watching Edwin read; it was the feeling he had every time his eyes sought Edwin in a room and landed on any angle of the man’s face, any movement of those delicate fingers: there you are. I've been waiting for you. 

And admission, even in his own head: I am nothing like you. and yet I feel more myself with you. The word inked by a certain hand on Edwin's heart was afinity. It was almost enough to make him bolt from the room. But Robin’s skin was warm and Robin was looking up at him now, with eyes like an unshielded flame. Robin took hold of Edwin’s forearm, a thumbprint at the wrist, moving it until he could press an open-mouthed kiss to the dip of Edwin’s palm.

As a rule, he did not enjoy physical contact. It usually seemed an intrusion, or mistimed, or compounding whatever distress or insult or small condescension the touch had been meant to mitigate. He was still full of an off-balance ambivalence, a tingling awareness of Flora Sutton’s fingers on his cheeks.

It seemed completely bizarre that Robin could reach out and touch Edwin like this, a casual hand on his back, and it could be perfect. Just as the touch on his arm last night, over tea, had also been perfect. Exactly what he needed in that moment and had been unaware of needing.

Robin managed to hold his tongue on something truly unwise like ‘You look like a Turner painting and I want to learn your textures with my fingertips. You are the most fascinating thing in this beautiful house. I'd like to introduce my fists to whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you’ Those were not things one blurted out to a friend. They were their own cradles of magic, an expression of the desire to transform one thing into another. And what if the magic went away? 

Robin took a long sip of tea, instead, and smiled at Edwin through the steam. “I’m not going anywhere” he said

‘You've been nothing but... precise’ That was it, the word that fit Edwin better than controlled. He was thoughtful, dedicated and precise, and Robin found it unspeakably comforting. His usual love of spontaneity was taking a serious battering, here and now, when it was his own well-being at stake. 

Robin realised he was staring, but he couldn’t stop. Edwin’s colourless self had taken up the white-gold of the sunlight and he looked close to ethereal, like a fairy from the book. A witch with his familiar. Robin’s first impression was still correct. Edwin was not handsome. But from this angle, with that smile like a secret caged in glass he had…something. A delicate, turbulent, Turner sketch attractiveness that hit Robin like a clean hook to the jaw.

Robert Blyth was not exactly imaginary-no, he was too solid, too broad-shouldered, his voice too loud and too warm: the voice of someone who'd never had cause to make himself smaller. But the urge Edwin had to creep closer to that warmth, to imagine that it might be for him, somehow ... that was illusion. Robert, Robin, was exactly the kind of person that Edwin had learned to dislike, and who had never needed instruction to dislike him right back.

“Crackpots and far too much paper," said Blyth. He directed the smile at Miss Morrissey, but he'd started it-perhaps by mistake-when he was looking at Edwin, and it was like being caught in the last rays of sunset. 

He was quietly, startlingly charmed for all his curt, practical manner, Courcey had chosen such a pretty kind of magic to show Robin

Red White & Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies. Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else. Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Kayla 

Basil

No notes. Favourite book of the year so far. Delightfully fun with a unique magic system and character that are so easy to love!

Laoise Giblin

Very definitely a book lovingly molded from the primordial ooze of fanfic, but I mean that in the good way, which is to say it plays to fic's strengths well while mostly avoiding the pitfalls (there's a decent amount of almost comical cruelty in the surrounding cast, but the author does a very good job of grounding it in the setting).  The prose was lovely, the magic system was clever, both the main characters were likable ... the primary reason I didn't rate it higher is just because all of those positives were butting up against my own personal and deep-seated disinterest in posh Britain in The Time of Peak Empire as a setting, even though the author was free with her own critical eye in that regard - anyone who vibes with that is going to have a great time!  Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy, though not desperately reaching for the next one.

miri

Chloé

allison chen

the prose is sooo nice
i wish it had a little more mystery but i suppose the amount it had makes sense since it’s part of a trilogy

This book was delightful. Historical fantasy with an interesting magic system and two main characters I was rooting for. I loved it. 

Megan BV

So this was pretty good - pretty good chemistry between the characters, intricate and engaging plot, competent writing. What completely took me by surprise was how explicit the sex scenes were, so much so I was wondering in which fandom exactly Freya Marske was. Made me think of that one fantasy AU fanfic I read ages ago that was like, 6 chapters long and you would think it would be all romantic tension and shananigans with some magic in the background but no, actually the author really wanted to get in their 5 chapters of high fantasy plots and demonic battles and I respect that immensely. "A Marvellous Light" felt kind of reading this again where it lulls you into a sense of false security that there is plot happening (5 chapters) and bam! cock (6th chapter).

NSFW for language

So this was pretty good - pretty good chemistry between the characters, intricate and engaging plot, competent writing. What completely took me by surprise was how explicit the sex scenes were, so much so I was wondering in which fandom exactly Freya Marske was. Made me think of that one fantasy AU fanfic I read ages ago that was like, 6 chapters long and you would think it would be all romantic tension and shananigans with some magic in the background but no, actually the author really wanted to get in their 5 chapters of high fantasy plots and demonic battles and I respect that immensely. "A Marvellous Light" felt kind of reading this again where it lulls you into a sense of false security that there is plot happening (5 chapters) and bam! cock (6th chapter).

Erzse Reed

Cloudface

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel (which just landed in my bookstore yesterday!). The romance between Edwin and Robin was cute, although the book was spicier than I was expecting (not a bad thing, just wasn’t prepared to read certain sentences in the break room at work). If I had a complaint about this book it would be that a lot of the world building felt either overexplained or completely glossed over, and the plot felt less like a plot and more like a series of events meant to ramp up the sexual tension between the two leads. The ending was abrupt, and I’m kind of glad I put off reading this one for so long so I don’t have to wait to see what happens next. 

Freya Marske clearly has a talent for writing characters, and it made up for the book’s faults for me, but I hope the world that her characters inhabit will come into clearer focus in the next installment.

Apiecalypse Jen

yes you heard that correctly i unironically enjoyed a romance book everybody cheered

no but seriously if you could sum up queer joy and put it into a book it would be called a marvellous light. i’ve never purposefully read a book slowly before purely because i enjoyed it so much but i did with this one. this book took me 1 month and 3 days and 40 pages from the end i was genuinely upset because i didn’t want it to end.

firstly i have to comment on the writing style of this book. from a few pages in i was already sold on the writing style it’s just so pretty, like i’ve never read writing this pretty before. there’s a reason why i have so many highlights for this book because the writing was so beautiful. i really appreciated the little nods to art and culture even from the reference of the art on the cover resembling a william morris painting i just can’t handle it.

secondly the characters i loved robin and edwin SO MUCH. like it’s very rare i’m actually invested in a romance but they were just so perfect together and i just adored their dynamic so much like they actually had chemistry with each other and it carried through after they got together!!! i usually don’t rly like books with strong themes of homophobia in them but i felt it was necessary in this book (bc of the historical setting ofc) and i liked that their shared queerness was what connected the main characters in the beginning. like the little hints of acknowledgment sprinkled through the first part of the book i found myself myself weirdly appreciating?

ok onto the romance which is usually the thing that makes me lose interest in this type of book but icl i absolutely lived for the pining at the start of this book (i do love a good pine) and i think ‘i’d like to introduce my fists to the face of whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you’ is singlehandedly the best line from a romance book i have ever read (freya marske and her excellent writing strikes again) isn’t it just crazy how a book can have a good plot and an actually really well developed romance with two actually likeable people? as a romance hater i still cannot believe how much i adored this book.

my only criticism for this book and it’s not even rly a criticism im just asexual and i didn’t rly appreciate the smut scenes i thought they were way too detailed and they kinda took me out of the book but like the author is an ao3 fanfic writer and it’s not like i didn’t expect this so i just was fine with skim reading them and then laughing at them.

apart from that though i guess what i’m saying is i absolutely adore books that were written by queer people for queer people. i seriously haven’t felt this passionate about a piece of queer media since reading one last stop or watching our flag means death last year. i just love rare pieces of media like these that make you feel happy to be queer and that feel like they were written for you as a queer person i feel as if they’re very few and far between and they feel so special and this book is definitely one of them. i cannot wait to read a restless truth

oh my god i love gay people

yes you heard that correctly i unironically enjoyed a romance book everybody cheered

no but seriously if you could sum up queer joy and put it into a book it would be called a marvellous light. i’ve never purposefully read a book slowly before purely because i enjoyed it so much but i did with this one. this book took me 1 month and 3 days and 40 pages from the end i was genuinely upset because i didn’t want it to end.

firstly i have to comment on the writing style of this book. from a few pages in i was already sold on the writing style it’s just so pretty, like i’ve never read writing this pretty before. there’s a reason why i have so many highlights for this book because the writing was so beautiful. i really appreciated the little nods to art and culture even from the reference of the art on the cover resembling a william morris painting i just can’t handle it.

secondly the characters i loved robin and edwin SO MUCH. like it’s very rare i’m actually invested in a romance but they were just so perfect together and i just adored their dynamic so much like they actually had chemistry with each other and it carried through after they got together!!! i usually don’t rly like books with strong themes of homophobia in them but i felt it was necessary in this book (bc of the historical setting ofc) and i liked that their shared queerness was what connected the main characters in the beginning. like the little hints of acknowledgment sprinkled through the first part of the book i found myself myself weirdly appreciating?

ok onto the romance which is usually the thing that makes me lose interest in this type of book but icl i absolutely lived for the pining at the start of this book (i do love a good pine) and i think ‘i’d like to introduce my fists to the face of whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you’ is singlehandedly the best line from a romance book i have ever read (freya marske and her excellent writing strikes again) isn’t it just crazy how a book can have a good plot and an actually really well developed romance with two actually likeable people? as a romance hater i still cannot believe how much i adored this book.

my only criticism for this book and it’s not even rly a criticism im just asexual and i didn’t rly appreciate the smut scenes i thought they were way too detailed and they kinda took me out of the book but like the author is an ao3 fanfic writer and it’s not like i didn’t expect this so i just was fine with skim reading them and then laughing at them.

apart from that though i guess what i’m saying is i absolutely adore books that were written by queer people for queer people. i seriously haven’t felt this passionate about a piece of queer media since reading one last stop or watching our flag means death last year. i just love rare pieces of media like these that make you feel happy to be queer and that feel like they were written for you as a queer person i feel as if they’re very few and far between and they feel so special and this book is definitely one of them. i cannot wait to read a restless truth

Aishling

This book captured me- I love Robin. He deserves the world, and imagination in this story was impeccable. It really has you thinking of these things are plausible when they are make believe

This book was so fun and whimsical, and I cannot get enough of Edwin and Robin. I loved seeing them grow together, and of course the magic building and constant suspense made it even harder to put down. I haven't had much motivation to read this year, but I raced through this book. 

Nicole Hedley

Amanda

An absolute delight!

If you love Slippery Creatures, Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, and Sorceror to the Crown; you are bound to enjoy this book as well.

Set in an England full of magic, two men find love as they battle unknown magical foes for unknown magical reasons. It's clever and cute and fun and heartwarming. I can't wait for the next installment. 

The audio version of this story is quite good and kept me listening happily. Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan for access to this ARC

Through a government error. Robin, hapless Baronet, is thrown into a world that he never knew existed. Through this bureaucratic fumble Robin not only learns that magic in facts exists, but that the job he was assigned to is in charge of investigating magical incidents that involve normal humans. Absolutely baffled Robin leaves his first day, with assurances from his magical college that he will be back to his relatively normal life by tomorrow. This plan is unexpectedly thrown awry. Throwing both Robin, and his reserved college of a wizard Edwin, into a race against time to figure out a mystery that could change the magical face of the world

Do not be fooled by the historical setting/era writing this book does not pull its punches. From the opening pages you are hit with a grizzly interrogation scene. And the spiciness was also soon apparent (think more Bridgerton than Bronte)

Following the high pace of the mystery I did feel like the book itself was too long for the plot. There were a few times where I felt scenes were included just as a filler, and especially towards the end I felt like bad things just kept happening to the characters just for the sake of pushing the ending back. Apart from these things though I really enjoyed stepping into a magical mystery with writing the reminds me of Agatha Christie. But with wayyy more spice

Alice Hyman

Through a government error. Robin, hapless Baronet, is thrown into a world that he never knew existed. Through this bureaucratic fumble Robin not only learns that magic in facts exists, but that the job he was assigned to is in charge of investigating magical incidents that involve normal humans. Absolutely baffled Robin leaves his first day, with assurances from his magical college that he will be back to his relatively normal life by tomorrow. This plan is unexpectedly thrown awry. Throwing both Robin, and his reserved college of a wizard Edwin, into a race against time to figure out a mystery that could change the magical face of the world

Do not be fooled by the historical setting/era writing this book does not pull its punches. From the opening pages you are hit with a grizzly interrogation scene. And the spiciness was also soon apparent (think more Bridgerton than Bronte)

Following the high pace of the mystery I did feel like the book itself was too long for the plot. There were a few times where I felt scenes were included just as a filler, and especially towards the end I felt like bad things just kept happening to the characters just for the sake of pushing the ending back. Apart from these things though I really enjoyed stepping into a magical mystery with writing the reminds me of Agatha Christie. But with wayyy more spice

4,5 out of 5 stars!!!

It was so good!!!! I loved how the magic system worked in this book. It was beautifully explained and all the characters in this book and their relationships and how they came to be were very well written. Just had a hard time getting into the first 100 pages so that's why it's not a full 5 stars. 

Definitely want to read the second book now, can't wait to learn more about Maud, Robin's sister, and her relationship to this story.

Alex

Laura Kehoe

This was such a fun, intriguing read! I loved the mix of period drama and fantasy. Not only is the cover stunning, but the book itself is a beautiful piece of work too!

I adored the main characters in this book. They were flawed, but so likeable. I feel like I could relate and understand each of them. I felt a strong connection with them and that made me want to keep reading just to make sure they were ok.

The world is also so interesting and well developed! I loved how seamless magic was mixed into our "normal" world. It made sense and felt very real. I feel like I could step right into this world, and honestly I wish I could actually live there!

I'd highly recommend this book! If you enjoy period dramas with a flair of magic, you should definitely check this out! I'm excited to see what happens next!

Thank you to Tordotcom for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book surprised me. It grabbed my attention from the start and I just couldn’t help but like the characters of Robin and Edwin even with their flaws. I liked the magic system. It was simple and could have been explored more but it worked especially with the premise of Edwin being a less powerful magician and Robin being totally new to the world. It meant you didn’t need a deep exploration of magic bit a quick overview and you could accept it would work. I’m intrigued by what’s next. There were enough open ended plot points that guarantee I’ll come back for more. 

Becky

Red White & Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies. Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else. Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Connor 

this was fine.

it was entertaining enough, and i liked the characters and the romance, but the magic system was so strange to me that i didn’t really know what was going on half the time. still not sure i do even now. 

(view spoiler)[((those sex scenes tho? WHEW)) (hide spoiler)]

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A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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