Swordcrossed is imaginative and well-written. There's nothing wrong with the story, but it fell a little flat for me.

Sword Crossed
is what the romantasy genre has been waiting for. Its romance-centric plot in no way eclipses the logical, evocative world building. Quite the contrary, from religion to economics to factionalism to food and dress, every element of the world serves to shape the way characters walk through it. Gone are the days of handwaving (or worse, infodumping) how things work in service of getting the protagonists to kiss; AUTHOR’s world is woven seamlessly into and expanded upon organically as the story progresses, standing out like a deftly woven bolt of fabric in a genre lately made up of hastily bundled tufts of yarn. Huna smile.

I joke a little, but only because this is exactly what I’ve been looking for in the sub genre of romantasy since the term was coined. I’ve fallen absolutely in love with Luca and Matti, both individually and as a pair. I had a great time with the way Markse wove in moments of physical proximity to further push Matti and Luca to the edge with each other, from sword lessons and drinking together to breaking and entering/corporate espionage.
They complement one another’s personalities and push each other’s buttons, and are forced to grow together. The intimacy built isn’t just romantic and sexual/physical, but deeply caring too. They’re a bit of an odd couple at first glance, with Matti’s honorable, naive dutifulness contrasted against Luca’s restless, roguish charm, but at their hearts they are the same: young men who are so hungry with something to prove. It’s that shared trait, and each one’s ability to recognize the way it manifests in the other, that both pushes the plot along and builds their chemistry to a breaking point. Each has a knowledge of what the other needs, and while the build of trust (intellectually) is slow, they instinctively work together well from jump. I believed them falling in love, and I had a great time watching it. Truly you can’t ask for anything more.

But deliver more Markse did, starting with the excellent support cast and the interpersonal conflicts they caused and helped sort out. Matti’s family and Sofia are welcome allies in a story where neither protagonist can catch a damn break, and the villains, while vile, make sensical choices (if you look through their POVs); our protags are just in the way of their goals, you see! I was stressed out enough for both M and L and Jay house’s fortunes in turns that I had to set the book down and take a lap more than once. The stakes aren’t as high as all out war or apocalyptic disaster, but the interpersonal and cultural problems felt true and tied to characters I cared for and were, thus, important.

And maybe that’s the most important element to making a romantasy feel quality and not a romance thrown on top of a slapdash setting to make it different from a contemporary rom-com. Making the world feel lived in and like its rules matter. The world of Glassport and the city-states surrounding it feels that way. Glassport especially is so cosmopolitan; it’s peopled with folks of all walks, religion and holy days are part of how commerce happens and are important to day to day life (but also have been watered down from the bloody, intense things they used to be) (but not in a way that makes the ritual and community building of it all weaker). Ditto the factionalism of the guilds and local government. It all slots together in ways neat enough to make sense and messy enough to feel human, just as our real world slots together around us.

And that’s the exact right recipe for me. I would recommend Swordcrossed to anyone who would listen to me gush about it, but especially to readers who don’t want to have to suspend their disbelief to indulge in the escapism of fantasy, who prefer a love story to build organically from attraction to affection, and who like books that feel like putting on a comfortable favorite sweater even upon first read. An easy five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

A gay swordfighting romance with the best of regency tension and all of the banter? Sign me up.

This book is fun and campy, with a theatrical swashbuckling flair, some political intrigue, and a lot of swordplay between the most buttoned up heir and the duelist he has hired to maintain his honor at his wedding. The vibes? Immaculate. The banter? Exceptional. The tension? Scrumptious. The mystery story that these two characters find themselves in? Fantastic.

Matti and Luca are fun to read and their relationship is adorable. I loved how everything came together and how these two overcame the obstacles in their lives and finally found something they could have for themselves.

Marske does it again!! While I don't necessarily think the plot of this is novel, Marske handles it with incredible aplomb. I found the political narrative genuinely intriguing, and of course the slowburn between Matti and Luca kept me hooked.

Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for the ARC! Mattinesh "Matti" Jay takes his duty to his family very seriously. The family is noble, but struggling financially after a series of unfortunate events. To help them restore their wealth, Matti is set to be married in a few weeks time. As tradition dictates (and a revival to his fiancee's hand ensures) Matti must secure a best man who will be able to duel (and win) to ensure his future (and fortune). But when he is scammed out of a chunk of the money he had reserved to hire the swordsman, Matti must make due with whatever his remaining funds provide and when that turns out to be the very man who took his money, Luca Piere, Matti makes a deal to hire Luca and not turn him in, if he agrees to train Matti in swordsmanship. Things only become more complicated as the sparks between Matti and Luca start to fly! Filled with deception, intrigue, and steamy romance, Swordcrossed is sure to thrill the hearts of Romantasy fans!

In Swordcrossed, Freya Marske has mastered the art of scorching tension. The simmering passion between Matti and Luca kept me riveted to each page. Adding in layers of intrigue between the houses and the secrets between the two, I found the entire story breathtaking.
From the very beginning, when Matti and Luca meet, you feel the tension between them and the heat between them ratchet up throughout the novel but so too does the intrigue and the pressures between both Matti and Luca and within their families. As the secrets come to light, the revelations are shocking, delightfully written and the ending is a joy to read because it circumvents even the reader’s expectations. This is one of the best romance fantasies I’ve read and just whets my appetite for the next book Freya Marske writes, because I know I’ll love it.

This is another entry in the “queer couples work through trauma through politics” and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! We really need to name this subgenre because when it works, it works so well.

Edging more into the sword part of ‘sword and sorcery’ fantasy, swords and swordcraft are an integral part of the plot.

Definitely recommended, it’s a little spicy in a couple parts, so I would say older (17ish probably) teens and up.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A captivating read for fans of lighthearted, emotional, and adventurous romance, particularly those who enjoy LGBTQIA+ stories, fantasy, and intricate plots, as it weaves together themes of family, friendship, and self-discovery in a richly detailed world of guilds and high-stakes intrigue.

I found this book deeply boring. I'm usually a huge fan of queer fantastical romance, and I liked Freya Marske's other work to some extent, but the buildup was just excruciatingly slow. I didn't feel invested in the stakes or the characters. It just didn't hit for me.

I got 53% in to this book and could not finish it. The story is bland, the characters aren’t interesting. It doesn’t even feel as though there is a plot. I was so excited but unfortunately this one isn’t for me.

Highlights
~sword-wielding best man
~trade intrigue
~meet-cute < meet-CON
~wonderfully elegant worldbuilding
~thermonuclear levels of heat

Look: Marske has always been a good writer. A great one. A marvellous one, even!

But not until Swordcrossed has she written lines that engraved themselves on my heart in molten gold. Not until this book has she struck me breathless and aching and hurting from how beautiful her story is. Swordscrossed is the first time she’s made me honest-to-gods-WEEP from the sheer tender intensity of the emotions she’s magicked up.

I’m not even exaggerating: I had to put the down and just cry for almost an hour. Not sad tears! Happy tears! And kind of overwhelmed tears, too, because I was just So Full of emotions and had no idea what to do with them. I was shaking!

I’M NOT USED TO FEELING THINGS THIS STRONGLY, OKAY? IT WAS ALMOST SCARY.

Matti didn’t know what to say. There was a bubble of something in his throat, like blown glass or hot chocolate, a tenderness that threatened to sear itself into Matti on a fundamental level.

If I described the plot to you, it would sound like any other fantasy romance. Any other low-magic romantasy. There’s no story-element that makes Swordcrossed unique, exactly. Don’t get me wrong: the plot is INCREDIBLY compelling, there is so much tension-dread-hope keeping the pages turning, and even the most minor characters are vividly alive in a way only the best authors can manage. I was biting my lips and perched on the edge of my seat and frantic to make sure everything would turn out okay – and that is in and of itself an incredible accomplishment when we’re talking about a book where the happy ending is implicitly guaranteed. Books like this often can’t quite manage to sustain any tension, because you know it’s all going to be fine – but I was so nervous! I was so invested! I was genuinely anxious for everyone! Marske made me completely forget that all would be well, so, you know, ALL THE KUDOS FOR THAT!

But the plot’s not – the plot’s not the point. It doesn’t matter, at all, that you’ve heard or read similar stories before.

Because the way it’s written. That. That is what makes Swordcrossed something truly special, something breathtaking.

“I thought I had simple tastes. I don’t care about pearls or silver. I don’t need silk. I can live without cherries and bottles of Diamond Blend.” … “But you,” Matti breathed. “You are the most exquisite thing in this city, and I want you, and I’m going to have you.”

I don’t know if it’s the freedom of not having to fit a story inside real-world history, as the Last Binding books were, or simply growing confidence as a writer, or if it’s something else entirely, but Swordcrossed reads like the work of someone who has cast off all restraint and is exulting in their love of words and storytelling. There are so many more similes and metaphors in Swordcrossed than in any of the Last Binding books, and the effect is extravagant, decadent. You won’t need a dictionary to keep up – the language is every bit as accessible and beautifully easy as it was in Last Binding – but it adds a richness, a lushness, to the prose that makes it obvious how much Marske enjoyed writing this. And that joy definitely comes through to the reader!

Or he could invent a vast family of siblings of all ages for {spoiler}. He could embroider each one lavishly with imaginary traits, and sprinkle them with freckles.

The indulgence – the sense that Marske is writing this book for herself and nobody else – is present in the worldbuilding too. It’s obvious how much pleasure she took in creating this original setting, in being able to invent whatever she liked instead of being limited by writing a story set in a real historical period. There’s a breathless delicacy to every perfectly-placed detail; never so many of them as to become overwhelming, or distract from the plot, but more than enough to elevate the story she’s telling, bring it to life. It’s there in the sensory description, in the figureheads of ships, in all the little moments of plot-irrelevant beauty.

The lascari balls were delicious. Luca licked the last of the sugar off oily fingertips as he walked across a crowded bridge, keeping close to the wrought iron railing, around which was tied a series of ribbons in varying states from fresh to rotting. It was an exam-time tradition common to students destined for the more academic Guilds. Perhaps there was a law school nearby.

And as a self-professed worldbuilding critic/expert, I am so impressed with the worldbuilding here. My preference is for deeply weird and extensive worldbuilding – think Locked Tomb or Teixcalaan – but the elegant simplicity of Swordcrossed wowed me. Marske uses just a few powerful details to convince the reader on a visceral level that this isn’t our world, and languidly explores the ripple effects these additions/changes would make to a society. Case in point, every guild serves/belongs to a specific god, which means members of every trade have different prayers, curses, and holy days/inauspicious days. That’s not an obviously dramatic thing like, say, putting dragons in your fictional world, but it does shape every aspect of the worldbuilding and story, from fashion to business meetings to how the characters speak. It’s subtle, but far-reaching and foundational. And all of the worldbuilding is like that; simple, but just complicated enough to be striking, to turn Glassport into a place so real you could almost believe it really exists just a few countries over.

It’s just a really smart approach to worldbuilding – creating a setting familiar enough to any fantasy reader to feel inviting and comfortable, but unique enough to be interesting and lovely, without so much lore that you might trip up and accidentally contradict it or leave worldbuilding-holes for the obsessives like myself to agonise over.

10/10, stamp of approval, this delights me!

He passed ship after ship and craned his neck to see if there were sailors working in the rigging, or to watch furled sails sway gently against the clouds. He noted which figureheads needed a fresh coat of paint, or had lost some detail of their design through either skirmish or decay. Many of these figureheads were clutching the reef-knotted rope and had the seaweed crown of Itsa, patron goddess of the Guild of Sailors and Shipbuilders. Other deities appeared as well; these ships were likely owned outright, or exclusively contracted to, grand Houses dedicated to some trade or another.

What can I say about the romance, which is, after all, the heart of this book? Dear gods, I cannot even. What can I say, except that I’m not sure I’ve ever believed in a fictional romance this much before? Matti and Luca meet like blades clashing in a duel, and from that complicated first encounter Marske spins first desire – which, please do yourself a favour and make sure you have a spray bottle handy while you’re reading, because you WILL need to spritz yourself regularly to deal with the heat sizzling off the pages! – which then, gradually, so believably, turns to love like straw being spun into gold. And it is – I was going to say ‘very nearly’ unbearable but you know what, no, it is unbearable, I couldn’t bear it, I already told you I had to put the book down and weep because I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t hold all that intensity inside me without breaking open.

He could imagine kissing her, but the thought didn’t turn like a key in the lock of his jaw, leaving his lips parted and famished.

It’s so BIG.

It’s so beautiful.

It’s not the kind of love story that changes the world – they’re not enemy princes of warring nations or something – except for how it is, because it completely upends their worlds. It’s this reminder, which I think I forgot for a while, that all love is world-upending, in one way or another. Sometimes those worlds are more private than others, but that doesn’t make it any less true. You know?

Luca felt like a route being memorised; an artwork being considered one last time by its creator before it was sent for framing. It made him want to make huge, impossible, unwise promises.

Seriously, the intensity!!! *FLAILS* Passion thrums through every line of Swordcrossed like music through a harp-string; the words sear like fire, shine like glass. I want them tattooed all over me. This story sears where you touch it.

It’s not that this is an Epic Fantasy story – as it says on the (stunning) cover, the stakes here are relatively low. It’s not epic in that sense.

But the love feels legendary. Is legendary.

I just. Wow.

“I wasn’t looking,” he said simply.

Greedy: “I made you look at me.”

“I could have been halfway down the aisle, and I would have looked at you,” Matti said. “I could have been halfway across the world.”

Reading Swordcrossed is like rolling rich, velvety chocolate over your tongue, letting it melt in your mouth and flood your senses with intense sweetness. It’s luxurious: you are enveloped in the sensation of being spoiled, and the enjoyment never plateaus; only grows and grows, coiling tighter and brighter until your heart comes apart like a firework in a burst of light and colour and beauty.

I didn’t know romance could be like this. I think I might be ruined for romance by anybody else.

I can’t recommend it enough.

This book was so good! The family duty, the intricately woven politics and the absolutely delicious mutual pining all had me dying to know what happened next.

I can see why LitHub has named this one of the most anticipated books of 2024! Not only is the cover an absolute stand out, the plot is rich and interesting.
I love that the author doesn't pull punches and allows the characters to have steamy moments instead of shying away from those scenes. The main characters had a lot of pressure and expectations resting on their shoulders which helped motivate them to do better and be better, even if they were close to breaking point.
A really great addition to the romantasy shelf, where we are screaming for more lgbt+ stories to love!

Let’s be real, the adorable cover vibes of this book are doing a lot of the heavy lifting as far as its marketing goes. I definitely gave it a second look purely based on this factor! That said, I was intrigued by the summary as well. Who doesn’t love dueling and political scheming and a heavy dose of romance?

Let’s start with the dueling itself! I really liked the way it was incorporated into this magical world, with dueling serving as an important form of entertainment often seen at weddings and other important events. Given how dance-like dueling can be when done well, this concept makes a lot of sense. I do wish it had been explored even more, but the story is a romance, first and foremost, so I’m not overly surprised that the book didn’t do a deep dive into this lore. My epic-fantasy-loving soul just always wants more, it seems.

I also really liked our two main characters. They each had interesting backstories, with different weights of expectations that they had to manage. The romance was also sweet and fast-paced. Perhaps a bit too fast paced, however, as there were moments that felt a bit like insta-lust early in the book. It also doesn’t shy away from the more steamy moments, so readers should definitely keep in mind that this is a spicy romance novel! I wasn’t quite expecting this, as the cover and description had lead me a bit further into cozy fantasy territory. But ah well!

The story itself felt fairly predictable, with even some of the romantic notes feeling a bit repetitive as we hit them with first one character and then the other. The last third, in particular, felt fairly expected, with the book hitting pretty much every note that one might expect. But, again, with the romance as the primary focus, this isn’t necessarily a net negative. It all just depends on what balance a reader is looking for between plot and love story. I typically veer more towards wanting more plot, but readers who are there mostly for the romance will likely be pleased with this one!

Rating 8: Full of adventure and witty characters, this is a fun romantasy romp!

Link will go live on Nov. 16 on The Library Ladies

No one is doing fantasy romance like Freya Marske, and I will keep rereading her books until they disintegrate in my hands and/or my eyes bleed. Sorry to be weird about it, but The Last Binding trilogy and Swordcrossed are legitimately that good.

Things I love about Swordcrossed:
The title. Come on.
Yearning! So! Much! Yearning!
Maya.
Sofia.
MAYA AND SOFIA.
A fantasy setting based on religion that’s also queernormative??
Matti and Luca bringing out the worst best of each other– Matti learning how to simply enjoy life and not work himself to death, and Luca learning to trust people enough to see and care about who he really is.

Thank you Tor and NetGalley for the eARC!

TL;DR Review: High on the steam, spice, and sass. An insightful exploration of the burdens of duty and the cost of desire.

Full Review:
Mattinesh Jay—or Matti, to his friends—is fighting to keep a grip on his family’s fortunes, and pinching every penny in his efforts to just stay afloat a little bit longer until his marriage to a rich heiress saves their noble House. He needs money to hire a “best man”, a duelist to stand at his side at the wedding in case a rival challenges the marriage. Which he knows someone will do, because someone has made it clear they’re madly in love with the same heiress.
But his streak of ill luck continues when his stag night revelry ends in a broken watch that costs him a significant chunk of what he’s set aside to hire a duelist. He’s forced to pay for a cheaper—and potentially less talented—best man.
Who turns out to be the very man whose watch he broke.
Luca Piere is a talented duelist but an even more talented con artist. He lies as easily as he breathes, flits his way through the world with a smile and a laugh, and can charm his way into and out of any situation. Except he’s met his match with Matti. Matti’s no-nonsense, businesslike approach to life cuts right through Luca’s nonsense. Luca’s offer to stand as his best man/duelist is one-upped by Matti’s demand that Luca teach him to fence.
And thus begins their days of crossing blades—and, soon, stealing glances and a whole lot more.
The banter between Matti and Luca was an absolute delight. Luca is quick-tongued and sharp-witted, but Matti’s no slouch in the quip and zinger department. It’s clear from the very beginning that though their personalities may seem opposite, they’ve got the potential to be the perfect match.
Matti’s direct, efficient nature is contrasted wonderfully by Luca’s airy, happy-go-lucky, smile-and-wink approach to life. Matti helps Luca take life more seriously and Luca helps Matti to unclench. I loved the exploration of Matti’s struggles, the weight he’s carried in his duties to his family and his House—duties that are no less burdensome despite the fact that he’s doing it out of love. At the same time, Luca’s outward flippancy and breeziness hides deep pain, and through the time spent with Matti, we see what it has cost him in the past.
As their relationship develops, there is a risk that it will interfere with Matti’s marriage—and the salvation of his House. Obviously this presents a wrinkle to his story. I won’t spoil the outcome, but I will say that I LOVED how this aspect wrapped up. It was a delicious ending with a twist that I absolutely loved (and can honestly say I didn’t see coming).
Alongside their simmering romance—which is as steamy and spicy as you’d expect—there’s an interesting look into the business of Matti’s House, and the mystery of how things have gotten so bad is explored. Luca’s con artistry and thief skills come in quite handy in this endeavour, while Matti’s head for business and insights into commerce create an excellent balance.
By the end, you can see exactly why these two are perfect for each other. What begins as “opposites attract” winds up being the very reason that each is drawn to the other, and how each’s strengths helps the other to conquer their weakness.
From start to finish, it’s a well-crafted relationship that is believable and enjoyable to read, set in a fascinating fantasy world evocative of Renaissance Italy.

Swordcrossed is an excellent choice if you want to snuggle up with a fun, light hearted, effervescent read. Set against the backdrop of a regency inspired fantasy world, Matti is the engaged straight laced responsible heir to his struggling House and Luca is the lovable roguish con-artist that quite literally crashes into his life. Between blackmail acquired sword fighting lessons and ferreting out the devious machinations of the other Houses the two men find themselves undeniably drawn together as feelings grow between them. It's an easy read infused with romance and low stakes drama, perfect for anyone who just wants something cozy and light. The characters were vibrant and the world engaging though unfortunately I did find the low stakes nature of the plot a bit unmemorable. I found myself growing bored during the manifold of business talk. If I am to sit through so many discussions of wool and fabric I need some type of higher stakes to keep my attention. Thankfully the characters themselves made up for that short coming well enough.

Just not the book for me. I didn't really find the fantasy in this story? It felt like a slog to get through and I didn't even enjoy myself.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Books, for this ARC. I absolutely loved Freya Marske's The Last Binding Series and was very excited to read Swordcrossed. I had so many things I loved from the other series - swooning, aching, tingling love, some very hot sexy scenes, and a world where queer romantic love is gorgeously treated as normal without even the bat of an eye.

The world building in Swordcrossed took a bit of time to wrap my brain around but I knew it would be worth it, and wonderfully, Marske breaks it up with some very hot scenes. The world where Swordcrossed exists is really beautiful and fascinating. It feels old world, ships and trading, merchants and quality materials, Houses based on the fabrication of cloth - weavers of the finest wool and silk - both biological family and accepted family. It's a trip to a fantasy version of Morocco at the height of its trading era. You can smell the spices and the buttery pastries in the air. It's really a lovely escape to a new world.

And then there is Matti, the son and heir of one of the biggest Houses, who is feeling like a failure as the walls seem to be closing in on him no matter what he does. When he collides with Luca, the attraction is so strong that both of them overlook things that others might run screaming from. As Matti and Luca get closer, they start to reveal a plot to destroy Matti's family's House but also reveal more about Luca than he wanted to come to light. They battle it out in many ways, including in Matti's bed.

Swordcrossed is a wild ride and a fantastic escape into a new Freya Marske world.

As with all of Freya Marske's books, I thoroughly enjoyed Swordcrossed. The characters and their relationships are well-developed and fun, and the world was intriguing and I would be happy to return to it again in further books. I wouldn't necessarily say the book is low stakes, because the things at risk are of great importance to the main characters, but it is perhaps on a smaller scale, and feels cozier because of that. For fans of A Taste of Gold and Iron, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, or The Chrestomanci Chronicles.