Marske's quirky, funny, richly imagined magical world, complex character-building, relationship exploration, and storytelling continues in this third and last installment of the Last Binding series.

I've been sooooo excited to read this final installment in Freya Marske's Last Binding trilogy, a queer historical fiction fantasy-mystery series I've loved.

Jack Alston (Lord Hawthorn) swore that he was finished with magic for good after his twin sister Elsie died. But when a dangerous ritual threatens the safety of all the magicians in Great Britain, he reluctantly dives back into the world to try and help procure the Last Contract to keep safe his remaining loved ones--and the public at large.

An unlikely (and wonderfully mischievous and complementary) group of allies fights to reveal the source of the evil at work, and favorite characters (and villains) from past books are present throughout. Through unexpected attractions to each other and the uncovering of weighty secrets, the group works to unravel the mysterious roots of British magic once and for all.

I loved a deeper dive behind Jack's grumpy, closed-off façade. Marske continues the LGBTQ-positive storylines in a Jack-Alan romance that is frequently intensely steamy and develops into a sexual attraction heavy on the role-playing and specifics. The relationship is complicated, sometimes marred by betrayal, and also beautifully heartbreaking and heartwarming in its breaking down of emotional walls.

In A Power Unbound, Marske also explores class divides, gender-power imbalances, LGBTQ love, and the difficulty in--and sometimes necessity of--breaking long-held, outdated traditions.

The friends-like-family element and deep loyalty is strong among the members of Jack's group, and the magic of the situation is wonderfully imagined and rich in detail. There's danger, and justice served, and imperfect solutions, and compromise, and Marske's storytelling is yet again charming, funny, sometimes dark, and always fantastic.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group.

Marske is also the author of A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth (links to my reviews of these books available on the blog!).

Loved being able to continue in Robin's and Edwin's world, and you will fall for the two main leads as well. All in all a worthy conclusion to the series!

Freya Marske writes beautifully. I'm not...entirely certain I understood what was happening or why it needed to happen or what happens next, but she has just a really beautiful, lyrical, vivid style of writing.

DNF at 40%.

There was nothing wrong with this book AT ALL, it just wasn't working for me right now. I found it wasn't keeping my attention and I was having trouble remembering all of the people from the previous two books (both good and bad ones).

I'll likely come back to this one at some point, as I did enjoy the first two and I want to know how it ends, this just isn't the time for it.

While I deeply enjoyed the conclusion of this series the power dynamics were not as fleshed out as they could have been to provide a solid hfn or hea. Could have been stronger but I'm use to KJ Charles who is marvelous at this.

I want to see what you become when you're given the space for it.

In which the final book of the Last Contract arrives, and is both heartwarming and underwhelming. At least it made me actually kinda like Jack, who was a total dickhead in the previous books, and it had some solidly sordid D/s-light sex scenes, but overall the mystery and the resolution was...meh.

Throughout most of the book our intrepid heroes were bumbling inefficiently about while the baddies were hyper efficient in doing what it took to be Bad, and well, I wanted to smack every single one of them on the forehead at various points. And I thought it should have been about 100 pages shorter. I reached the 53% mark and was like, "wow, must be close now!" and was a bit stunned to realize I had only gotten a little more than halfway.

Anyhow, enjoyable, yes. But more frustrating than anything else.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

This is a stunning conclusion to THE LAST BINDING series. I enjoyed the exploration of the power dynamics between the two mcs and the kink! I can't decide if this was my favorite relationship to read....actually, I think it's tied with Robin and Edwin's--but my favorite character is definitely Alan. He's SOOO well-written, a very foxy, clever, always three steps ahead of everyone else. And it was really satisfying to explore this new couple without feeling like the other characters were left out of the conclusion of this story. Really well done.

If you’re groaning under the weight of all your AO3 bookmarks, read: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

Quelle timing! The third and final book in Freya Marske’s Last Binding trilogy, A Power Unbound, arrives just in time to get your loved one the full trilogy for this holiday season. It follows the arrogant Lord Hawthorn, introduced in A Marvellous Light, and the keenly ambitious writer Alan Ross, whom we met on board the ship in A Restless Truth. Together with the protagonists of the previous two books, they’re working to prevent a small but powerful cabal of English magicians from claiming all of English magic for themselves. Also, everyone remains very horny at all times.

Marske has a rich background in fic-writing, and it shows up in her novels in all the best ways: her tender compassion for embodiment, the biting, usually erotic, subtext that thrums underneath every interaction, and the guarantee that our central couple is going to bone and it’s going to be Excellent. A Power Unbound features one of my favorite kinds of protagonist in Lord Hawthorn, who pours a huge portion of his considerable energy and intellect into coming off like an asshole while not actually being an asshole. As soon as he showed up in A Marvellous Light, I was like, “this man is going to find love and it is going to stomp him to pieces,” and not to brag, but I was right. A Power Unbound is a terrific closer to a terrific trilogy.

The plot of this series never really manages to hold my interest, so I've read the books slowly, but I did care about the characters enough to finish, and the romance is sweet, the sex scenes smoking hot. 3.5 stars.

This is a extremely solid closure to the series. Alan and Jack are great together, even if it the dynamic isn't my favorite romance type, I still really liked them. It was great to see the whole gang together and watch them try and problem solve and figure things out with mixed success. I'm very satisfied with the way it all wrapped up, although I'd be here for other stories within the universe. I love all of the main cast (including Adelaide) so much! And I really really liked Jack's story in particular.

✨ Review ✨ A Power Unbound by Freya Marske; Narrated by Josh Dylan

The third and final book in The Last Binding series, this book brings together Jack (future Earl of Cheetham) and Alan (the journalist), both featured in book 2, close alongside Edwin, Robin, Violet, Maud, and Addie (Robin's secretary), as this crew faces down the malicious magical villains trying to get their hands on the pieces of the Last Contract.

Filled with a mix of great magical/fantasy plot and romantic flames between Jack and Alan, the book felt much more like Book 1 in structure and quick moving plot and old quirky houses and magics. Once again, the two main characters have a bit of an opposites attract energy that works for them, just like the other two books/couples in the series.

Overall, I thought this book tied up the series beautifully, adding richness to not just Jack and Alan's story but peripherally to the other characters as well. I'm still obsessed with these books and their incredible covers and am here for whatever Marske brings next!

Note: I alternated between the print book and the audio of this. I enjoyed the audio (no complaints about the narration) but think I enjoyed it more in print. The audio was handy while I was feeling under the weather though!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m historical fantasy romance
Setting: London / UK countryside
Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
Pub Date: Nov 7, 2023

Thanks to Tor and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

What a fantastic conclusion to this trilogy! This last book brought out all the best parts of this world and characters and ended them extremely satisfyingly.

I think the best part of this book is definitely Hawthorne. His point of view chapters made me love his character and the journey of grief and growth he went through. Seeing how his new found family and Ross break past that hard shell to his sarcastic but ultimately caring soul made the journey worth it. The romance between him and Ross was electric and made slower parts of the book go fast because I was so invested in both of them and their relationship. Also, the spicey bits show their chemistry exceptionally well.

Unlike the last book, where the pacing was off since the characters were a bit trapped in their environment, this book was easy to read and fast-paced. I loved how the other previous couples from the other books were there and involved without being overwhelming or taking the focus off the MCs in this one. The plot itself was concluded well, though I think it could have been explained a little clearer. Overall, it had a good ending. I am thrilled this book was so good and can end this series on a high note. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author when they come out and go back to this series when I need that comfort.

This was a good ending to the trilogy and things were wrapped up nicely as the group continued their quest for the Last Contract. I feel like it was ended in a way that more could possibly added in the future.

Alan and Jack definitely have a different kind of chemistry than the other two couples, as well as the difficulty of class differences, but I feel like they came to terms with that to a degree.

After losing his twin sister and his own magic, Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, has removed himself as much as possible from the magical world. However, with the looming threat to all magic users, Jack is being drawn back in despite himself. The Last Contract is an agreement forged long ago between the fae and the magicians of Britain, embodied in three magical objects that have remained hidden for years. Now, someone seeks to seize control of all the magic for themselves by locating the three objects and bringing them back together. What makes it even more complicated is the leader of the plot is Jack’s own cousin, a man whose greed led to the death of Jack’s sister years ago. George and his cronies hold one piece of the contract, Jack and his allies hold the other, and the race is on to find the final piece.

Alan Ross is a journalist (and sometimes thief) who got himself involved in this plot during a trans-Atlantic voyage where he got caught up in a murder investigation. Alan has no magic and knew nothing of the magical world until aboard the Lyric. He is also not rich and titled like the rest of the group and would generally prefer to stay out of all of this. As it is, Alan has his hands full just helping his family keep above water. But, at the same time, Alan has come to realize the disaster that would befall the world if the power of magic was in fact controlled by one person, especially one like George who protects no one’s interests other than his own. So Alan has agreed to help track down the last piece of the contract, despite the fact that he must then deal with Jack, as the two men definitely didn’t get off on the right foot while on the ship.

As the group works to uncover the mystery of where the last piece of the contract is hidden, it gives Jack and Alan time to get to know each other better, albeit reluctantly. While they may not always get along, the physical attraction between them is certainly there, especially as they realize their interests align nicely. Soon, the men are not only acting on their attraction, but starting to actually enjoy being with one another. But as much as something is growing between them, Jack and Alan know a crisis is brewing. They learn that the threat will culminate at the triennial gathering of magicians, which happens to be at Jack’s family home, Cheetham Hall. They have limited time to figure out a plan for how to stop George and the others that seek to destroy the contract, with the fate of all magic users on the line.

A Power Unbound is the final book in Freya Marske’s incredible The Last Binding series and I cannot recommend this book or the series highly enough. I totally loved the first two books — A Marvellous Light, featuring Robin and Edwin, and A Restless Truth, with Maud and Violet — but this final story was my favorite of them all. I just could not put this book down and found myself trying to eke out every available moment to read, as I was enjoying it so much and couldn’t wait to see how the story all came together. I love the way Marske has structured this trilogy, with each book featuring a different couple. However, while the relationship focus changes across the books, the characters do appear in each other’s stories and, in this final book, it is very much an ensemble with all six of our main characters working together. It makes for a lot of fun as we see how this group has become a little family of sorts (though, of course, Robin and Maud are actual family), and the way they work together and rely on one another. I particularly enjoyed how Jack and Alan play significant side roles in A Restless Truth as they are aboard the ship with Maud and Violet, so we see the start of their contentious relationship in that book and then get the chance to watch them form not just a friendship, but a romance here in the final story. The pacing across the series is also so well done, with the right amount of information and plot advancement happening in each book, culminating with the big finish here.

I have loved this magical world that Marske has created and find the world building really interesting. In this story, we learn more about the history of the Last Contract, as well as how its magic works. There are also some other nice world building moments, like learning more about the home of the governing magical Assembly or Violet’s magical house that is hiding secrets our group is trying to uncover. This story also gives us the big final battle and it comes together so well. We know partway through the book that the conflict is going to occur at Jack’s family home, which has poignancy, as it is the site where he lost his magic and where his sister died. Returning home to help in the fight has some symbolism for Jack as he returns to the magical fold after distancing himself for so long. There are some great intense scenes leading up to the final battle and this last conflict is scary, exciting, and just so well written. I loved the way things came together in the end and how everything resolves on the magical front.

I also really enjoyed Jack and Alan together. They definitely get off on the wrong foot when they are aboard the Lyric together and the men basically hate each other for a variety of reasons at the start of this book. Part of their conflict comes from the fact that Alan and his family struggle financially and are currently living almost exclusively off of Alan’s income. The other in their group are all wealthy and several are magicians. In Jack’s case, he is rich, powerful, and grew up in a magical family, and Alan can’t help some resentment at Jack’s privilege. So it takes some time for the men to find common ground, and while eventually they form a friendship and then a strong romantic bond, at first what draws them together is their attraction to one another. This story is a bit more sex heavy than the others, with a dose of light kink. Both Jack and Alan enjoy fantasies and role play of the “powerful lord and the innocent stableboy” variety and they find a shared kink in exploring those power dynamics. The men have some clear conversations to ensure they are on the same page and that Jack understands exactly when Alan’s “no” means “no” and when it means “ravage me further” and so it is all well negotiated and consensual. But both men really get off on the role play and it makes for a fun sexual dynamic between them. However, aside from the heat, Jack and Alan also find a real connection and sense of comfort from one another that they didn’t expect and that makes them a really appealing couple.

One of the elements I have enjoyed across the series is how the books really take a look at the role of women and people of color, both in this historical period, as well as in the magical world. We see time and again how women magicians are not given the training that their male counterparts receive and how they often have to rely on what they can absorb from others. At the same time, the story shows us many strong women, including Maud and Violet, Jack’s mother, and others, who have a presence and a power that is often overlooked and makes them underestimated. We also are joined once again by Robin’s assistant, Addy, who is a person of color and doubly overlooked, despite the fact that she comes from a wealthy and prominent family. Addy is a force to be reckoned with and I loved the role she plays here. So I appreciated how Marske showcases these disparities, as well as the wealth gaps, to really give a nod to the often underestimated strength and intelligence of these characters.

Overall, I found this story was a wonderful way to finish up this series. The trilogy is such a great journey and each of the first two books sets things up so well for this final installment. I loved the chance to really reconnect with all the main characters and watch them work and fight together in this last story. This is just a fabulous series and one I can recommend highly, particularly to those who enjoy historical and paranormal stories.

I really enjoyed this final book of the Last Binding series. This one follows Jack Alston and Alan Ross as their ability to get under each others skins move from irritation to interest. I don’t read all that much romance and this felt like an excellent balance of romance and plot, good for readers who like either the romance or the fantasy. It was fun to get the observer views on the characters of the previous books. The stakes feel big and the conclusion is satisfying. Recommend.

If you love magic, found families, and spicy romance thoughtfully executed, you don’t want to miss this thrilling conclusion to the Last Binding trilogy.

See my full review https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-a-power-unbound-fantasy-politics-and-power-plays

What you'll get:
Disasters to Lovers
Let's Do Crime as Foreplay
Magic Society
Writer (of secret erotic literature)
Very polite kinks
Grief

So this book was hard for me to get into. The sheer amount of names would have been fine but then people were addressed by their last name by some or first name only by others so it took a minute to even figure out who was in every room. As far as the romance goes, these two are completely repulsed to learn they're super into the other. Alan and Jack go way back because Jack's a big fan of Alan's secret books and has a whole shelf of them in his private library.

I thought this helped to finish out the overall story arc on this series but it felt like a lot of plotting and standing around while plotting. I'm not even 100% that I understand everything that happened but I enjoyed myself anyway.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely phenomenal conclusion to the series. I fell further in love with a character that I detested in the first book, and the storytelling around that character and their history, as well as their growth, was so compelling. The way that the main story arc concluded was creative. It was also great to spend time with all the couples. Loved it!

HIGHLIGHTS
~the house is a music box
~of all the places one could hide a knife
~stupidly smart villains
~golden pheasants + peacocks = Yes
~this is The Kinky One, folx

The Power Unbound is a five-star reading experience – I had so much fun, and experienced so much sheer DELIGHT while reading! – that loses a little bit of its lustre when you step back and ponder it after finishing it. That doesn’t stop it from being a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy, though.

We met both Alan and Jack in A Restless Truth, and it was clear at the time that Marske was setting them up to be our next OTP. (Yes, I know OTP stands for one true pairing, but every pairing in this series is an OTP, don’t @ me.) Now that they’ve gained the spotlight in their own book, I have to admit, of all the marvellous (…pun unintended, I swear) couples in this trilogy, Jack and Alan are definitely my favourite. They both feel more complicated as individuals than any of our previous MCs, and their coming together (ahem) is also much more complicated than it was for Robin and Edwin or Violet and Maud. For one thing, both previous couples were all nobility, to one extent or another – and while Jack is too, Alan is very much not, and his working-class background – and the values, philosophies, and worldview it’s given him – is a major part of his and Jack’s romance; both as a hurdle to it and as a fundamental part of it. Alan despises the nobility, and there really is not one single moment in this book where you can disagree with him. Robin, Edwin, Violet and Maud – and Jack – might all be perfectly lovely people (…well, more or less, re Jack) but that doesn’t make the institution of the nobility a good thing.

I have to say, I never felt like I was being lectured, though. Marske presents Alan’s perspective without commentary – probably because every point he makes, or thinks, is inarguable – and gets on with the story. Alan’s love for his family is a pretty major driving force of the narrative, so we get to see that too, his motivations for all the dodgy and totally-above-board things he does and has done.

<“I would put your heart between my ribs and guard it like my own. Is there any way I could make you believe it?”>

But with romance being such a big part of this trilogy, I have to admit that it falls a little short here. While I adored how Alan and Jack feel like complimentary puzzle pieces in a way we didn’t get with either of the other relationships, Alan and Jack are also the only couple I can’t imagine having a Happily Ever After now the book is done. The difference in their stations is a hugely important aspect of their relationship, but it’s one that’s never actually resolved. If you’re able to turn all your critical thinking off, then this hopefully won’t bother you, but readers like me are going to struggle picturing them still together a year after the events of the series, never mind a decade later. Their relationship doesn’t seem at all sustainable, and that’s really just hand-waved. I would have preferred that Marske have the two of them amicably part ways at the end of the book, acknowledging that there’s just no way of making things work between them long-term, than the sort of wishy-washy ‘everything’s fine, don’t think about it too hard’ ending that we got.

<Ross said, “Ask me if I’ve ever been paid for it.”

“Ask? I only have to look at you. Men would bankrupt themselves.”>

Romance aside, The Power Unbound is the big finale, wherein all the plotting and scheming and research and desperation and scrambling and betrayals come to a head – where all there is to know (and do) about the Last Contract is at last revealed and resolved. And there, I have no reservations whatsoever – Marske brought all the clues and groundwork laid over the last two books together into a massively satisfying (and at times heart-pounding) conclusion. There’s little I can say about that without going into spoilers, but I thought all things magical were wrapped up perfectly – not just in what happens with the nature of English magic in the end, which is the core of the story, but in everything it takes to get us to it. The bad guys are bad, but they’re also MADDENINGLY clever, and as much as it makes my blood pressure sky-rocket, I immensely appreciate villains that make me want to scream with frustration as they keep blocking or subverting the actions of our Good cast. You know all will end well – it’s just not in the tone of these books for real tragedy or horror to hit – but I was still on the edge of my seat more than once, alternately petrified that the Bad Guys were going to get away with it, or tearing my hair out as the Bad Guys parried the Good Guys’ plans. Or WORSE, the Bad Guys’ having the support of various institutions of power – it’s more than enough to make you want to burn capitalism down and start over, I swear!

All this to say, Marske has NOT lost her skill at making her readers feel all the Feels, so you’re in not just for a pretty perfect ending to a really great series, but one that will give you plenty of emotions while you read it through.

Two points that you don’t really need to know, but I have to comment on anyway: I love how much we learned about the nature of magic over the course of this trilogy. I remember what a revelation Violet’s rings were in Restless Truth, how much they added to something we already thought we understood the rules of. Power Unbound continues this, not so much changing the rules on us as revealing them – putting us right alongside most of the cast, who are also having the foundations of their world changed by reveal right under their feet in real time. Storytellers revealing that Things We (And The Cast) Have Taken For Granted are not, in fact, true – or at least, that there’s more to the truth than what Everyone Knows – is one of my favourite things, and I’ve loved that arc within this trilogy. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it will skilfully done, and I massively approve.

The second thing, which is not something I realised while reading but thought about afterwards, is: I’ve enjoyed Edwin’s arc over the course of this series so much. He already went through a lot of growth in Marvellous Light, but there’s even more of it in Power Unbound, and it made me so happy. I love how he went from an unregarded, disrespected ‘waste’ of a magician to – well. To what he is by the end of things. In a few ways, this trilogy is his story, and I am super okay with that.

An excellent conclusion to an excellent trilogy – these are books I’ll reread with pleasure for years and years!

Man, I love the final book in a trilogy, and this one was no exception. All the characters come together, which is such a treat, and the overarching plot starts to rev up and wrap up. I absolutely loved Jack and Alan’s banter, but their whole dom/sub thing in the bedroom was not really for me. But I loved hanging out with the whole cast and really enjoyed seeing how much they’d all grown together!