I love sharing a feeling of lostness with a character who has been recently dumped into an unexpected situation, and this book does it right—building the reader’s understanding of the magic system and magical world gradually. It was a deftly woven story, and played out in the most satisfying ways.

This ticked all the boxes for me—magic, mystery, romance, families, libraries and curses and power. Killer hedge mazes! And the list could go on. I closed the book, craving more. (And itching to draw lovingly-described wallpaper.)

In a word, magnificent.

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<p>This book was...<em>fun</em>. The magical mystery part was even great fun. The mystery itself was cleverly intertwined with the magical worldbuilding which was intriguing and full of unusual ideas without being so complicated that I felt I needed to make notes to keep track. I also loved that Edwin was great at magical theory but simply didn’t have much magical power. It was a nice change from characters that are either very good at everything or very bad at everything. (And unrelated to magic: Edwin came up with his own library classification system as a kid. As a library-adjacent nerd I am delighted).</p>
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<p>The non-mystery bit, i.e. the romance, was just...<em>nice</em>. I liked Robin. I liked Edwin. I even liked their developing friendship and how they helped each other with their vulnerabilities. But there was simply no spark between them that made me really care about them as romantic couple. In fact, when the big break-up due to an unfortunate series of misunderstandings/stupidity on both sides came my first thought was "Noooo! You're both going to mope now instead of investigate the mystery further and that's what I'm most interested in." which was probably not the reaction the author intended.</p>
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<p>The side-characters were a bit hit-and-miss for me. I adored Edwin's colleague Miss Morrisey and hope to see more of her in future books. But his siblings/friends of his siblings mostly stayed somewhat one-dimensional and I did have some trouble keeping them apart (admittedly I also took my time reading this book and perhaps it would have been easier if I had read it quicker). Robin's sister was very much the quirky enlightened/progressive female character that seems to be required in (historical) m/m romance and while I wouldn't call her annoying she simply didn't leave much of an impression.</p>
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<p>Overall it was a fun read and I will pick up the next book because I do want to know how the mystery continues.</p>
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Enjoyment: 5/5
Execution: 4/5
Final: 4.5 rounded to 5

A Marvellous Light is one part magical murder mystery, one part posh English country home shenanigans, and one part simmering heat between our two lovable protagonists. It's absolutely delightful and Edwin and Robin are both so wonderfully brilliant. Their relationship and the tension that builds between them makes this whole book.

Marske's writing is witty and engaging, and does a good job of worldbuilding without excessive info dumping. The magic system is unique and the underlying plot sets the scene for a sequel perfectly. At times, the constant similes felt a little excessive, but they are wonderfully written. My only true gripe was the excess of rather one-dimensional side characters whom I had difficulty telling apart to the point where several of the shocking moments left me confused as to who was being referred to.

This book has been on my radar since it was announced and it absolutely met all of my expectations. I am casually shoving this book in all of your faces and asking you please to read it so we can bask in the absolute marvel of Edwin and Robin. This felt like a wonderful meshing of KJ Charles and Cat Sebastian, two of my favorite authors, and I cannot wait to read more from Marske. Thank you so much to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings (may be incomplete, May contain spoilers): Torture, murder, parental neglect, bullying, descriptions of injury, blood, explicit sexual content, non consensual memory tampering/erasure, misogyny, homophobia

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK.

Holy crap this book was AMAZING. I knew I was going to like it, but I wasn't prepared for how much. Not only is it beautifully written, but it's instantly engaging -- absolutely un-put-down-able. The worldbuilding is unique and captivating, and the slow burn romance is agonizingly delicious. Well-paced, magically crafted, and incredibly satisfying.

PLUS: LIBRARIES. HEDGE MAZE. MAGIC. GRUMPY & SUNSHINE. MYSTERY. QUEER. FOREARMS. !!!!!

Easily one of my top favorite books of 2021. Going to re-read this immediately! (And wait *very* impatiently for the next in the series!)

A huge, HUGE thank you to Tordotcom for the e-ARC of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Circumstances have landed Robin Blythe in an obscure civil service position for which he is wholly unprepared. No one told him he would be the British government's liaison to a secret magical bureaucracy. Or that magic actually existed.

Edwin Courcey, Robin's magical counterpart, is appalled to find himself saddled with someone with no knowledge of their hidden world. Despite their instant dislike, the two men soon realize they must work together to uncover a plot that could have devastating consequences for England's magical society. Along the way there are dangerous, magical house parties, maniacal hedge mazes, and thorny familial entanglements that have our heroes' dislike transforming into something else entirely.

My favorite thing about this book was the character development. Edwin and Robin both reveal more of their complexity as the story develops and we see the forces that have influenced, and in some cases, impeded their growth. In each other they find a person who sees beyond the surface to the possibilities underneath. Their journey from grudging colleagues to friends to lovers is bumpy and very believable. I was rooting for them the whole time and was not disappointed. Even the secondary characters show intriguing depth, particularly the women in the story, which is gratifying in book with two male protagonists.

Excellent world building really brings the Edwardian setting to life. This is helped along by some truly wonderful writing that makes reading about everything from William Morris wallpaper to the characters' internal lives a delight. Fair warning that the main character's romance gets steamy, then downright red hot, and there is no fading to black. No complaints here, but it was a bit of a surprise.

The author has managed to create something fresh in a crowded genre. I would recommend for anyone who loves a well-constructed fantasy/romance. I, personally, cannot wait for the next installment.

Soooo Cute! This book was So Damn Cute! I’ve had Sara from The Fantasy Inn shouting into my DMs about this one since December and I’m so happy to have finally gotten the chance to read it! Featuring both one of my favorite pairing tropes (grumpy and sunshine) and my favorite character tropes (anxious bookish nerd; must protect Edwin at all costs), I adored reading this one.

The premise of A Marvelous Light starts out quite fun. “What if a low-level, low-aspiring bureaucrat is suddenly introduced to the larger magical society through a paperwork error as the new non-magical government liaison, and how would his magical counterpart deal? Poorly. his magical counterpart would deal poorly. From there, hijinks ensue (aka, why did the previous non-magical liaison disappear and, aw shit, he’s probably dead isn’t he) and the two of them go through a delightfully prickly, sexually tense, budding romantic relationship.

As an anxious bookish nerd, I immediately imprinted on Edwin Courcey, lover of books and rolled up sleeves, hater of most other things. From Robin’s perspective, he has this extremely prickly, slightly dick-ish bevahiour (hiding both a soft interior and a Tragic Past™), but remains committed to getting Robin out of this mess in one piece. From his own POV chapters, you learn Edwin has both a strong anxiety due to his simply awful childhood and siblings (one of the few characters I was cheering for to die in this book), and also this extremely strong drive to research everything and anything. I loved seeing how academically-oriented his thoughts were, bouncing from ‘oh why doesn’t this field have proper documentation’ to ‘well I read this one obscure French paper that says this is theoretically possible so fuck it let’s try it’. Just a fantastic character overall.

Grumpy is basically always my preference for this pairing trope, but I did really really like Robin Blyth, our sunshine character, in this one too. Oh Robin, ye of big heart and little brain, man trying his best but struggling with big words. Robin’s probably equally confused about his position and not totally sure if he wants to stay, but I love both his determination to see things through and his absolute devotion to the people closest to him, both his younger sister and, later, Edwin.

For those curious, the primary focus of this book is the development of Robin and Edwin’s romance. Marske, however, does a fantastic job weaving in that development with the murder plot points so that neither aspect feels like it’s in stasis. Through various English countryside manor shenanigans, we watch the character development of Robin and Edwin, both encumbered by different forms of parental neglect, slowly learn to trust and open up. The quiet, intimate moments of researching in family libraries and mutual bonding through death-defying events bring the two together and the two are just so damn cute together.

Plot-wise, the biggest events really take place at the quarter of the book post-relationship establishment. I can’t say much without going into spoilers, but the ending is definitely very satisfying. On a broader note, I cannot stress how much I’m excited for the worldbuilding. From Edwin’s many complaints, English magic, and the study of English magic, is so far behind the rest of the world and the inner academic in me is just begging for the author to dive further into the details. Let Edwin get publications!! There’s so much potential in the magical worldbuilding here (starting with the fact the magical gestures are based on the cat’s cradle game!) that I’m so excited to explore in further books!

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. I absolutely adore the main couple and Edwin, resident grumpy bookish nerd, is now a favorite character of mine. The relationship development between Edwin and Robin was so so cute (also shoutout to the author for not being a coward and including magical sex). I absolutely can’t wait for book 2!

Review to be posted on my blog 22 October 2021