Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske is the sequel to A Marvelous Light and book two in The Last Binding trilogy. It’s a historical fantasy set in Edwardian times and features a beautifully written queer romance, an intricate magic system and a murder-robbery mystery to solve.
This time we join the incomparable Maud Blyth for an adventure on the high seas. She has agreed to go undercover and help her beloved brother by escorting Lady Elizabeth Navenby, one of the surviving members of The Forsythia Club, on her journey from New York to Southampton on the prestigious Lyric ocean liner. Mrs Navenby has hidden a mysterious item on board – one of three pieces that combine to create a magical contract. If the three items fall into enemy hands the consequences could threaten the existence of every magician in the British Isles. When Maud stumbles across poor Mrs Navenby’s corpse she must uncover the culprit, find the mysterious item and survive six days trapped on board with a target on her back and a whole plethora of secrets to uncover.
I love the combination of the Agatha Christie-style whodunit and salacious romance. This book is surprisingly spicy as we follow Maud exploring her sexuality with Violet, a notorious scarlet who fled drizzly England to chase fame on a New York stage. I absolutely loved this magical historical romp. A Restless Truth takes place within the space of 6 days, so I didn’t quite experience the same warmth and devotion for the characters as I did in A Marvelous Light. Gone were the little tender moments that made my heart flutter. Instead, we are thrown into a mix of murder, sex and scandal – not that I’m complaining. It’s just a slightly different vibe than I was expecting.
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske is available to purchase HERE.
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