A Marvellous Light is a historical fiction/fantasy/romance about a cranky, disrespected magician finally getting the guy.

Robin is a charismatic and charming titled aristocrat, to the point that he is mistaken for living a worry-free life of ease. In truth, he is broke and will accept any position he is appointed to because he needs the money. Edwin is the younger son in a family of wealthy magicians, mocked and tormented by his family for having the least amount of power of them all.

Robin and Edwin are forced to work together in the positions they have both been unwillingly thrust into, and are forced into an unlikely friendship that evolves into more. I love that the cranky, acerbic nerd eventually gets the hottest guy in the room. I really enjoyed the character building and the absence of instalove. The story ended on a very exciting cliffhanger and I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series.

The audio narration was wonderful. He did a beautiful job animating the emotions of characters.

This book was a lot of fun! And I LOVED the audiobook. I don’t know where “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” meets “Red, White and Royal Blue” came from, because Robin can best be described as a himbo, with no magical abilities but SOME lightbulbs on upstairs, and has a grace and ease in social situations Edwin Courcey doesn’t have. Edwin’s looked down upon by his family and acquaintances for having little magic—hand gestures required for “cradling” a spell he actually needs string for to cradle. He was bullied by his father and is still horribly bullied by his brother. Robin and Maud left practically penniless by narcissistic parents who donated pretty much all their money to charity for appearances brings its own form of family issues.

There could’ve been a little more fleshing out of the magical world building, but that would’ve required an info dump. There’s enough revealed to allow the story of Edwin and Robin to shine through. I do admit that based on the magic-based fairytale we learn of in the novel, I saw the villain that plagued Robin and by association Edwin as someone COMPLETELY different, and off-camera. I still may be proven right in the next book, but when we learn who’s behind the attack on Edwin’s former coworker and then Robin, the explanation is kind of muddled, and the reader was hoping for a different outcome with this antagonist entirely. But it sets up a bigger world, and more magic, so, can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Definitely New Adult. I loved that the protag doesn't know a single thing about magic and that his education isn't up in your face, it's quite natural. Robin's chronic pain (via a curse) was quite relatable as a disabled person myself. The chemistry between the leads starts super slow but builds up to a wonderful crescendo. Definitely a great adult addition to my "HP Alternatives" shelf.

Readalikes: [book:The Queer Principles of Kit Webb|55338994], [book:Silver in the Wood|43459657]

Thank you to NetGalley for preview versions of both the ebook and the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Such a solid read and I enjoyed it overall. However, I don’t really read in this genre but I do want to start reading more. The audiobook has a great narrator and was very well done!

In many stories, magic serves as a brilliant light upon the world, a light that is often hidden from those who are unable to share in its wonders. In many of the worlds portrayed by those stories, that light is lit within some, or sometimes many, of the people who populate the world of the story.

But with the presence of light comes its absence – darkness. Humans, whether magical or not, already have more than enough of that within themselves. Magic, whether for good or for ill, is power. And as the cliché explains all too well, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Thus, A Marvellous Light is a story about magic, and about the revealing of magic to someone who has none. But just as the light of magic is “unbusheled” for Robin Blyth, so too is the darkness that surrounds it – and him – cast into the darkest of shadows. Shadows that threaten to swallow him before he ever learns what is hidden within them.

But Robin has more experience with the darkness created by brilliant lights than anyone might ever suspect. And in the person of his reluctant guide, Edwin Courcey, he has a partner who has been battered by those shadows for far too long. Someone who might be willing to help Robin find his own light – and share it.

If they’re smart enough – well that’s Courcey’s department. If they’re brave enough – that’s Robin all over. And if they can find their way to the heart of the puzzle before it’s too late. For themselves. For their loved ones. For their country.

And for each other.

Escape Rating A-: A Marvellous Light is a story about power and privilege. Yes, it’s about the power of magic, but it’s also about the power of money, the power of knowledge, the power of social position and about all the privileges that power can buy, especially for those who are so steeped in its exercise that they can’t even see those with less power as people. Even when they are members of their own families.

It’s also a flamboyantly beautiful story, set in a world as complex and intricate as the Morris prints that Robin Blyth loves.

But it’s the “casual, unthinking malice” of nearly every person with magic that makes this book a frequently uncomfortable read, particularly in the early stages where it seems like all the jokes are on poor Robin and everyone else, including Edwin Courcey, is part of the circle laughing around him.

At least until the reader, along with Robin, figures out that Edwin’s cold, brusque manner is a defensive mechanism to cover up, well, pretty much everything that he feels about everything in his life, including, most especially, his casually, maliciously cruel family.

Because Edwin has been the butt of those exactly same painful “jokes” for his entire life, while Robin has only been suffering from them for a few days. And Robin has much, much better armor against them because the scars don’t run nearly so deep.

Someone has learned that objects of power in the magical world have resurfaced after centuries of quiescence. Forces are arrayed to procure those objects – no matter who or what stands in their way. Or how much collateral damage they do in the search. Starting with Edwin Courcey’s colleague and continuing through Robin, the civil servant assigned through malice – again malice – to take that man’s place.

Drawn to each other by happenstance, by circumstance, by affinity and by shared pain as well as shared inclinations, Edwin and Robin embark on a quest to thwart their opposition, never realizing that it will lead them to the highest circles of power – and back into the rotten heart of Edwin’s family.

But they’ll have each other – if they can just get past their own fears and their individual heartbreaks, and accept a bit of help from some surprising people along the way. It can be enough – if they just let it.

One final thing, something that took me until the next morning to figure out, and now I feel like I just got unbusheled. Or hit with a clue-by-four. Throughout the story, they’re all aware that something huge and terrible is coming, and much of what happens is due to too many people taking desperate and wrong-headed methods to stop that thing or overpower it. The “thing” that is coming, the doom that is hanging over all their heads, is World War I.

Which may not happen for quite a while during the course of this series, The Last Binding, of which A Marvellous Light is merely the first marvellous part. I searched high and low for a title and publication for the next book in this series, but it has not been “unbusheled”. At least not yet. But I live in hope that it will be soon.

Reviewer’s Note: I listened to the first third of this one, until it got past the really uncomfortable, tooth-gritting bits. Not that Edwin’s family got any better – actually they got worse – but once it heads towards Edwin and Robin against the world the pace picked up, the magic got even more fascinating and at least some of the awfulness became part of the much larger point. And I was hooked.

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.

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

What a fantastic audiobook!

I think David Thorpe was a perfect choice as narrator, and he handled the different voices extremely well. I was engaged throughout the entire book and it's definitely one I'll come back to! A great audiobook for a great story. Five stars!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio galley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

I really enjoyed A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, but I must say that the book's description really does not prepare the reader for the amount of steamy scenes. It's to the point that I'm not evens sure what I would choose as the main classification- fantasy or romance?

I was given access to the Audiobook ARC and while it took me a while to get used to David Thorpe's narration style and voice I LOVED his ability to distinguish between characters when we switched POVs, it was fascinating to hear how Edwin and Robin sounded when they were narrating vs. how they sounded to the other person - all within Thorpe's voice. It was a great production.

Overall, the plot was perfectly rooted in Edwardian London while still leaving room for relationships and people that would have been been kept on the fringes - LGBTQ main characters and a prominent side character of Indian heritage. The plot was well thought out, for needing to subvert a curse and solve a fantastic mystery that could impact everyone who posses magic in this world, and this leaves a lot of room for the rest of the trilogy to expand on the word done within A Marvellous Light. Overall, I think I would have liked more world building, as far as the magical home (Sutton Cottage) and lay lines are concerned, and greater insight into the mechanics of the magic system. This was far from perfect BUT it was thrilling, sweet, and steamy enough to keep me interested for subsequent releases from Markse. This also has great recommendation potential because there is a little something for everyone within these pages.

This is one of those books that is just great in every regard! Lovable characters. Chemistry-filled romance. Hot sex. Interesting plot. Unique magic. Smooth writing.

Robin and Edwin were both lovable characters. Robin for his outgoing, charismatic, boisterous, brave nature. Edwin for his bookish, reserved, intellectual, somewhat anxious nature. Both had depth and struggles. I felt for them both when I learned about those struggles or they came up in the story.

The romance was great. I fully believed it and felt the chemistry. At one point, one of them thought about how it was wild they’d only known each other for a week, or something like that, and in my head, I thought, “Oh, wow, it seems like longer than that!” because the author did such a great job of showing their time together and showing them growing closer. It felt so natural. But I think they didn’t use the word “love” yet, which I appreciated, though I’m certain it’s in their future.

And the sex… It gets its own paragraph, because it was that good. The sex scenes were so tailored to these specific characters and their kinks and desires and feelings, and there was such a strong connection and chemistry between the characters, and sometimes they even had magic involved, and they were overall just really great.

The plot was good too, with some mystery and danger. It made sense and worked well alongside the romance to bring the characters closer. It also added a bit of action sometimes.

That magic was interesting, with a system that involved hand movements.

The audiobook, narrated by David Thorpe, was enjoyable. He brought a lot of life and animation to the characters and the right emotion when needed. Characters didn’t sound super different but were different enough that I could tell them apart. He had an English accent (to match the setting of the book).

Overall, I really liked everything about this book, from the lovable characters to the unique magic to the scorching hot sex, and I’m definitely looking forward to more books in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio copy to listen to and review.

I have been waiting for this book ever since I first heard about it and it did not disappoint! The time is early 1900s and magical abilities are held secret by a few in London. I love how simple things that are so important to the story are revealed and set up; for instance - that using magic takes up energy and the magician has to regenerate before doing magic again. I love the visuals in the book and the characters. My only criticism is that the word 'cock' was so overused. I do hope the second book (and hopefully more after) comes fairly quickly since there is more to the story and I want to know it!

What a fantastic read! This was exactly what I needed right now. It was the easy fun romp I hoped for with just the perfect amount of seriousness and action. The romance was well done and believable - I found myself rooting for them from the beginning.

The narrator was also great. I loved his dialog and different voices; I was hooked from the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me listen early!

I tried to get into this story but it was so rambly and unfocused. The concept sounded great, like a Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell type story but after about 25% in and no discernable plot I had to give up. Lots of characters and I couldn't keep anything straight. It's possible this one just isn't meant to be listened to but either way it unfortunately wasn't for me. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC!

“There are more kinds of power than the men of this country have bothered to know.”

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT is fascinatingly magical and deeply romantic, with a compelling mystery to boot. Set in Edwardian England, the story follows Robin, who is placed in a new position as a civilian liaison with the formerly-unbeknownst-to-him magical world and is promptly cursed by a group of magicians looking for a mysterious and powerful item. The curse causes extreme pain and also shows him enigmatic visions. Edwin, his counterpart on the Magical Assembly side of things, gets embroiled in the mystery as he tries to help remove the curse, and of course our boys fall in love in the process.

This book is a fantasy novel, a murder mystery, and a romance novel smashed into one, with the best elements of all three. Robin and Edwin are an absolutely delightful genial himbo/uptight librarian pairing, and it’s beautiful to watch them soften towards each other and help heal each other’s wounds. Both of them have complex histories with and feelings about their families, and I loved how that was integrated into their relationship and the plot development. The world building unspools slowly and the magical system was really interesting to learn about; I can definitely see how there’s room for this to be a series. The chemistry between the men is simmering from the start, and the novel becomes quite steamy. I loved how the intimacy and trust and openness established during sex ties back into the magical evolution aspects of the story (it’s quite...versatile, one might say). Aesthetically it’s also wonderful: sprawling country manors with secret rooms and blood-soaked oaths, a Beauty and the Beast-worthy library with an innovative cataloguing system, a dangerously enchanted labyrinth. This is definitely a novel lodged firmly in period-typical prejudices and I would have liked to see that more challenged in the story, especially by Robin and Edwin. Relatedly, (minor spoilers) I’m secretly hoping that the next novel is all about Flora Sutton’s escapades when she was younger and present-day Adelaide Morrissey just taking charge and kicking ass. Overall this one was really fun and I’m excited for the next installment! Also, the audiobook version is fantastic. Thanks to Tor.com for the eARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

“I want you. Enough to risk it. More than enough. You make me feel like something - extraordinary.”

Content warnings: sexism, homophobia (external and internalized), racism, xenophobia, injury/severe pain, death of a loved one, bullying, kidnapping

I received an eArc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book slaps. Like I was expecting it to when I saw gay wizards in Edwardian England but god it goes hard. It's so well executed from the pacing to the world building to the characters. And don't get me started on the sex scenes, Marske knows exactly what in a sexual encounter to highlight! The only compliant I can lodge is that I I find it difficult to keep straight the various Edwardian named characters.

If you loved The Magpie Lord series, or the Magic in Manhattan series, then you will absolutely adore this one!
We're at the start of 1900s, magic exists but not everyone knows. It's a protected secret and if a non magical person finds out, their memory will be erased. Robin finds himself by mistake in a job that involves magic and he has no idea what to do about it. Well, he gets attacked and cursed so he can't ignore it. Along with grumpy and a bit cold magician Edwin, Robin embarks in a magical journey filled with perils and a connection neither men thought they could find nor keep.

While the romance is mostly up and centre, the book is about a mysterious Last Contract, powerful magical objects. I love magic murder mysteries. They're one of my favorite genres. And this is also historical! I really loved it!

The world building and writing style fit perfectly the story and it made me want to keep reading without stopping. The dual POV made me happy because I love knowing what's going on inside the MCs stubborn heads! There's not much miscommunication nor unnecessary drama, which I appreciated a lot, so I could really focus on the main plot and these two men and their slow burn romance.

I can't wait to have the physical copy in my hands! Look at the perfect cover!
And I need book 2 right now!!

4.5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was fun and the characters were lovely and I am very much looking forward to reading more books in this series.
I really enjoyed the narrator, David Thorpe really did an excellent job with this. The voices weren’t quite what I had imagined when I was reading the book, but they were still really perfect. And really, it was only Edwin’s voice that didn’t match what I had imagined, the others all matched fairly closely.
I don’t often read historical books, but this one was really well done. Though perhaps I was simply won over by all the books, private libraries, and mildly obscure language…😁

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

A Marvelous Light is a whimsical, retro sci-fi novel following two men on a quest. I must admit I'm not really a plot person, and this book is very much a plot-based book, so for some amount of the book I was rather uninterested. However, when the book gave more character development, background, and romance, it was fantastic. Much like my reading journey with Six of Crows, while the plot was a bit hard to get through for me at times (at no fault to the author, just personal preference) the character work and romantic development made it SO worth it.

The romance between these two characters is electric, tender, and new. I'm so glad we're finally getting more queer love in the genre of adult sci-fi; there so much to love about their journey and how their romance develops in conjunction tot he surrealist magical backdrop of the book.

I definitely recommend this if you're somebody who can enjoy a book with 80% plot, 20% character work/romance, and even if you're somebody who doesn't prefer plot, this book would still make a great read.

As for the audiobook, I loved the narrator. The narrator's cadence felt very immersive to the time period, making the book just a bit more realistic. The narrator sounded a bit like John Oliver to me which was odd at some points... but that's not a complaint, just an observation.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of the audiobook of A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske!

A Marvellous Light is the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy. I appreciate that the first book set up the future plot but that it didn’t end on a major cliff hanger. I really liked the book. The audiobook was kinda long but it was worth it. I was invested the whole time. I saw a tiktok that this was a magical queer book and honestly that’s all I needed to know. It was really good and I’ll 100% read the next books. Definitely added to my list to buy a copy for my collection!

I LOVED the first half of this book! It was sweet!! I loved the lushly defined Edwardian England. I was truly engaged. Sadly it was set in a time & place where any romantic relationship outside of the male/female standard was vilified.

Sir Robin & Edwin are slowly feeling a connection. By the halfway mark of this book Sir Robin & Edwin have multiple graphic sex scenes. This is not for kids & definitely NSFW!!

This is more of a gay romance with a side of magic, mystery, murder & a curse.

I don’t like romance especially when there’s surprise graphic sex scenes when I’m listening at work. 😆 I feel the book is incorrectly categorized! LGBT+ romance should have been first & foremost with a warning of explicit sexual content.

I rounded up my rating because it was written beautifully & the world/characters were well developed & likable! I look forward to the next book & hope it’s more story, less sex!!

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio, I loved the story & hope to see more from this author!

Wow wow wow! This is probably the most enjoyable book I've read in a while. The combination of magic, mystery, humor and romance was excellent. It led to a fast-placed, twisty plot with tons of character development. The m/m romance sizzled while not overtaking the plot developments in the book. I can't wait for more from this author!