I am a sucker for m/m romances and this one was great. Also I loved the double meaning of the title “wink wink*. Martinesh Jay needs to relax. Luca Piere needs to escape. This was a slow burn romance between the heir to the premier wool manufacturing house, Matti Jay, and a mysterious new swordsman Luca Piere. The way the desire between these two ramps up before their first spicy scene is done so well. I squealed at every kiss and longing gaze. The eventual spice was so well done. It was sexy and I was so happy when they finally gave into each other. I also just really enjoyed the story. It had some mystery and intrigue. Jay wool house is struggling and while their swift downfall seems like it could just be a stream of bad luck and coincidences, something just isn't adding up and with the help of Luca and Matti’s sister Maya, they come to find maybe their luck hasn't been so bad after all.

Character driven and romantic with a lovely coziness I didn’t expect, amidst the adventure and the swordplay and the intrigue. Very much enjoyed,

This was an interesting story. I liked the romance; it was nice slow burn throughout the book. However, the plot was a little much to get through. However, I still enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to review this book.

Swordcrossed is a relaxing, low stakes romantasy. Where you will find a slow burn romance with tension and forbidden elements, which I do love! This book is much slower paced than what I’m used to, I’m not sure that “low stakes” books are for me. I think I need a bit more to keep me interested. But I definitely enjoyed the setting, cozy atmosphere, and the author’s writing!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the arc of this book!

After falling completely in love with miss marske after a marvellous light, i was so looking forward to a new world of hers. i did enjoy my time, but it felt a little lifeless. the romance took so long with nothing really actually happening to develop their relationship. it did feel kind of insta-love-y, but also… idk.
i was rooting for his sister to marry [redacted] before there was any obvious hints at it. let’s go lesbians!
overall, fun , but lacking oompf . sorry :-/

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is a wonderfully slow-burning queer cozy romantasy. Mattinesh Jay is the heir to a struggling textile business who needs his arranged marriage to go perfectly if he wants to ensure his family’s finances. That means having an experienced swordsman to take on any challenges as his best man. He hires the best he can afford—Luca, a con artist on the run from his past. Luckily, Luca is an excellent swordsman, so Matti blackmails him to give him sword lessons before the wedding. The anxious, busy, and burdened Matti doesn’t get much time to himself, so when he gets a bit of freedom in Luca’s lessons, he can’t give them up, even if he feels himself falling for his best man. It doesn’t help that as they prepare for Matti’s wedding, a long sabotage plot begins to unravel, revealing the true reason behind the fall of the family business.

Luca and Matti’s romance burns at a glacial pace. That is not a complaint, mealy a warning for anyone unused to slow burn romances in their romantasy. They have a competitive relationship that gives both of them space to breath and become their best selves. Of course, this is all happening with the knowledge that Matti is going to get married. It’s a difficult needle to thread, but I think Marske pulls it off.

This is really a fantasy book for anyone interested in guild management, fabrics, and corporate espionage. The corporate mystery comes first, then sword lessons, then the arranged marriage plot. Meanwhile, Luca and Matti are slowly building their relationship on top of it all. If you have read A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, the pacing and topic focus are similar here.

Above all else, Swordcrossed by Freya Marske explores what it feels like to look for an escape root out of your own life. When you are alone and you feel like you have no other options, sometimes you meet someone who is similarly alone, and together you find a way through. I highly recommend picking it up.

I am loving how popular cozy low stakes fantasy is becoming this book was fun and full of swooning! Swordplay is always fun.

A delightful queer fantasy romance full of swords and swashbuckling. Sassy interplay, political intrigue, though more heavy on the ins and outs of trade and wool merchantry than one might expect.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

There is so much I LOVED about this book. I genuinely loved the characters and their relationship development . I thought the chemistry was fantastic and the way they made each other better made my heart so happy. The romance is the STRONG point of this book which was good since that was the main focus of the story. I did also greatly appreciate the casual and normalized queerness in the world.

That being said, I did have some issues with the world building. It honestly didn't feel like a fantasy. There is no magic to speak of, the customs, practices, and gods of the world were just kind of there with little explanation, and while it doesn't take place in our world, it basically is just a different version of Victorian England. Overall it felt like a sequel book despite being a stand alone. This was unfortunate considering the magic system is what I loved of Freya Marske's previous series.


Still a bop though and I would recommend to lovers of Historical Romance

Swordcrossed is a cute and cozy queer romance that I'd recommend to fans of Legends and Lattes. This wasn't my favorite by Marske, but I enjoyed it. I do agree with other reviewers that this dragged a bit in the middle, but I enjoyed the characters and the coziness.

I ... didn't like the majority of this book. I may be in a romance story fatigue, so it's not 100% the book's fault, but yeah. The tension between the MCs was good until like 30% then I started to find nothing to be hot anymore, more in the cute and comfy realm. I kept hoping the MCs will be doing some hot stuff, but it always fizzled because it's too nice and polite for me. The worldbuilding was great, but way too complicated than the story needed, imo. By 68% (I'm looking at my notes here) I didn't care whether the MCs will end up together or not. Instead of making me sympathize, their personalities both annoyed me. It was too painfully obvious their frontal lobes had not yet finished developing. The last 2 chapters were nice (92-100% of the book). The worst of all, I suppose, was how boring all the business and technical talks were! I wanted to dnf at like 60% but decided to push through and I suffered. I just found no excitement while reading this book. It's not bad, but it wasn't for me.

This was my first Freya Marske, and it definitely won’t be my last! Swordcrossed had this wonderfully cozy, almost low-stakes vibe that made it such a comforting read, while still delivering on all the emotional beats. Following Matty and Luka’s story was just so heartwarming, and I completely fell in love with them.

And can we talk about the Jay family? Because they are adorable. Easily one of the best family dynamics I’ve read in romance—supportive, funny, and full of love in a way that feels so natural. Also, I’m a total sucker for sword fighting and training scenes, and this book delivered. I really hope we get to revisit this world because I’m not ready to let it go yet!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had a great time reading Swordcrossed. I loved Freya Marske's previous books so I knew I would love this one. It had high steam and spice, a lot of sass, and felt exactly like a cozy fantasy that I enjoy. The historical elements within the book add an entertaining element. Always happy to read more queer fantasy books and historical fantasy is a favorite of mine.

The perfect book if you love swooning, pining heroes absolutely yearning for each other!
I walked into this moderately curious and left with absolute love for this! I found the plot engaging and the meet cute refreshing! It’s not often you hire someone to be the best man for your arranged marriage!
It was a little plot heavy at times when I wanted a little bit more romance but I think that’s more a a personal problem rather than the books problem. I thought Luca and Matti had a lot of chemistry together and their love story flowed well.
This was super cute and I would recommend!

Fun, swoony, and steamy I had a great time reading this and it has inspired me to read more of Marske work in the near future!

I really wanted to love this book. I was excited for a queer romance that had tension unrelated to their sexuality. However, I found the book dragged. There's a lot of talk about wool. By a lot I mean the entire book is about wool. The main conflict revolves around wool and guilds. It seemed like Freya Marske developed a strong interest in wool. I'm not sure if she wrote this book because she wanted to write about wool or if her fascination came from research for the book... but either way wool, trade, guilds, etc. overpower this book.
Besides the wool, the romance was good. I liked the tension and the buildup. However, I'm learning I don't love instant attraction. It's one thing to mention a character is handsome, and another thing to start commenting on how their hair shines and body moves in a first or second interaction. Obviously this happens in real life, I'm just finding it takes me out of the story whenever I read it.
Honestly, I wanted more sword crossing and sword fights. Instead all I got wool.
If you're looking for a queer romance set in a society without homophobia or transphobia, then I would recommend this book. I'm definitely interested in checking out other books by this author.
Thank you to Bramble and Freya Marske via NetGalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely enthralling! I love the characters, story, setting, intrigue, and romance. There's just the right amount of delicious angst to really smart but it's balanced out by some very satisfying twists and grand gestures. My favorite parts are when Luca and Matti work together to try to unpick the conspiracy that has been woven tight around Matti and his family's business. There's spying and hijinks, sparring and flirting, plotting and kissing. I liked that while they're both capable and accomplished in their own areas, Matti and Luca aren't without flaws and weaknesses, which is something they have to reckon with as the plot moves forward. I enjoyed them so much, as well as the supporting characters. Overall, a fun and clever romance with plenty of action and heart!

This was the exact sort of decadent and delicious mess I enjoy. In this we follow Mattinesh Jay, head a of noble family that has fallen on hard times financially, who is set for an arranged business marriage that will change his family's fortunes. The only problem is that a family friend Adrean Vane who thinks he is in love with Matti's soon to be bride, is set to challenge their wedding with a duel leaving Matti with no other option but to hire a "best man" to fight the duel in his stead. Enter Luca Pierre, a seductive con artist and swordsman who enters Matti's employ through dubious circumstances. As sparks fly between Matti and his best man treachery abounds in the Jay family business dealings. This fantasy romance was so entertaining on all levels. It's fantasy in the sense that it takes places in a historical setting not in our world, but no magic and fantasy creatures populate the tale.

I love a good historical fantasy and I was perfectly satisfied with the hints of theology and culture sprinkled amongst the ridiculous plot. There's lies and deceit, lust and longing, and a good deal of silly hijinks. It's very over the top in some places but I loved that. It was just so earnest. I loved Matti the put upon older brother shouldering the family burden. I loved Luca, convoluted little freak that he was. I adored Sofia the fiancee and Maya the all knowing younger sister. It was just a great cast, and fun romance with so many layers of mess and scandal involved I had a blast. My only critique would be the fact that sometimes the in-depth descriptions of the wool trading business were so dry that it took me out of the story a bit. It was just a very unsexy business plotline in the middle of such a sexy book. Regardless, I had a blast, it was a relatively quick read and I definitely recommend it to to folks who enjoyed A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland.

I’m someone who loves a good fantasy of manners story, and I haven’t read one in a while. So even though this is a recent release, for me there was so much about it that felt delightfully nostalgic. It’s a really entertaining story that blends together the doting bodyguard trope and enemies-to-lovers trope in such a fun way.

Even though this is a small-scale fantasy in some ways, the story really dives into the political dynamics of the city where the characters reside and also the industry Matti’s family works within. I was kind of surprised at how deeply we delve into economic theory and industry logistics in this story, but I think it makes sense in establishing the story’s stakes. Besides being a slow burn romance between Matti and Luca, there’s also an aspect of political mystery to the story.

I will say there were a few iffy things about various relationship dynamics that I wish were better addressed in the story. For example, I wish Matti were more upfront with his fiance about his attraction to Luca, especially because while their marriage isn’t a love match and it wouldn’t be a surprise if either of them were attracted to other people, I still think there should be a baseline of mutual respect.

And there’s also a huge class difference between Matti and Luca, which comes out sometimes in ways that feel uncomfortable. I don’t want to say too much, but it kind of seems like they enjoy power play in their relationship as a sort of kink, which is absolutely valid, but they don’t actually establish that or establish any boundaries. So it’s not always clear what’s kink play and what’s classism.

But even with that in mind, I still enjoyed this. I thought there was a great emotional arc for both characters paralleled against each other. They’re both struggling to break down their walls and share their true selves with the people around them. And through their relationship, they’re both learning how to be more authentic. The characters are endearing, the banter is funny, the tension-fueled swordplay is fun to read, there’s a great element of mystery, and ultimately I had a good time with it overall.