I'm honestly really disappointed I didn't love this because I adored Marske's earlier series. I guess it just felt... slow. I love romance but -- without going into spoilers -- it took forever for the action to commence. Longer RTC.

This historic queer romantasy is full of yearning, pining and good! I loved the historic setting in a queernormative emancipated fantasy world full of feminist women. This book has a set of great characters with unique voices and a solid plot full of schemes. While the authors writing style sometimes bordered on a little overly descriptive at times, I enjoyed learning about specific themes (like the wool trade). Plot, Romance and Setting meshed really well together and I truly recommend it for the vibe and diversity alone.

Marske secured herself as a favorite author for me with her previous works, and 'Swordcrossed' only shows that she's continually getting better and better. Overall, this is a lighthearted read set in an original world with aspects of historical fantasy. Refreshingly, the likable main characters are generally good at communicating with each other and it's a treat to see the relationship progress. Readers will be eager to see how the seemingly impossible situation keeping the major characters apart will be resolved and the ending is nothing short of being dramatically delicious. Readers who enjoy illustrative prose will be pleased with Marske's flowery, but accessible, writing style. This is a fantastic addition to the genre of light romance and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for providing an ARC.

this one was great!!! Freya is a trusted author so I had no worries going into this one. The dynamic was incredible and and the world was amazing! I love how Frey weaves magic and romance together! I need more!

A great read! this was my first by Freya Marske and i'm very excited to pick up their other works. The romance in here has me kicking my feet and giggling.

I did find this one slow to start, but once I was drawn in, it was easy to keep reading!

I really enjoyed the characters in this one, and the romance.

I did find the plot a little hard to follow at times, mostly because of the names of places/people/guilds etc. feeling hard to follow. Overall I don’t think it takes away from anything though.

Thanks for the eARC!

Rating 3.5 stars

Mattinesh Jay needs someone to be his best man for his wedding, a wedding that will save his family business from bankruptcy. Luca Piere needs a place to lay low and a way to make cash. Matti and Jay meet, the seemingly perfect solution to each other's troubles. As they become more entangled in each other's lives, their stories are not quite what they seem….

I found this book a little slow to get into, as I was not a huge fan of the economic intricacies of the novel, and only found myself invested near the second half of the book. That being said, I really enjoyed the latter half. The drama picked up, the romance picked up and things were finally clicking into place.

I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical romance and likes a focus on economic or political intrigue. While I was a little bored during discussions of the wool trade, the book is not short on romantic moments and the overall mystery kept me reading.

I would put this at a solid 3.5 stars but as my first introduction to Freya Marske, I’m definitely interested to see what else she has to offer. As someone who doesn’t often read historical romance, maybe that impacted my overall enjoyment but I still thought it was a fun, cutesy book!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC ^_−☆

I really wanted to love this one, but it didn't quite connect. It was frothy fun in the way fanfic can be, but I wasn't invested in the textile business and there were a lot of details about it that I didn't need. I can see this book really working for some people, alas, I just wasn't one of them.

I've enjoyed other "cozy fantasy" and I think "low stakes high heat" is a perfectly nice little tagline. But unfortunately for me this felt like, actually the stakes were both high and boring, like just a LOT of information about textile tariffs and the fantasy mercantile caste system to get through. Also it felt like I was supposed to be horny for all the sword training scenes but they were not hitting for me (so to speak).

IDK, I'm sure this book will have its audience but if you're looking for something like Legends & Lattes...to me this is......not a good readalike for that.

This is another queer fantasy romance by Freya Marske, the author of The Last Binding trilogy, which I loved. Swordcrossed is set in an entirely new fantasy world. This one is ruled by merchant guilds, and it reminded me a bit of Six of Crows. There’s lots of political intrigue in this one, but as the cover says, the stakes stay low as far as fantasy books are concerned.

Matti is the heir to a failing merchant house and he’s doing everything in his power to shore it up, including marrying someone he doesn’t love for her money. For his wedding, he has to hire a best man, a swordsman who will stand up in his place in a ceremonial duel. He meets the handsome swordsman Luca, who is also a con man who duped him the night before. Matti hires Luca but demands sword lessons as recompense.

The first half of the book is a very slow build. Freya reveals political intrigue among the merchants, slowly revealing the mysterious sabotage. She also meticulously fleshes out the characters of Matti and Luca and the slow burn of their attraction. (Prepare for simmering sexual tension in the training room!)

After this build up though, we get a fantastic series of reveals on the politics as well as forbidden romance between two people obviously made for each other. The payoff was worth the slower first half. The final act brings everything together in such a perfect way. It was so beautiful, I cried.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic book! We got Freya’s signature blend of emotion, romance, heavy spice and political intrigue. I’d recommend it to people looking for a slower-paced character-driven MM fantasy romance.

This was such a cute book! I had a lovely time reading about Matti and Luca. Matti was cracking me up this whole book, and Luca was truly charming, as the summary suggests. Their story entwines in a facinating way, and their story ends perfectly. Highly recommend this Read!

A slower read for me, and I didn’t always find the balance of romance and politics to my liking. But I think a lot of people will really like this.

This book was such a fast and fun ride!! I loved the characters and their dynamics were amazing and so exciting to explore. The fantasy element meshed well and while the whole guild politics could weigh it down at times, it still felt easy to get through and kept me engaged! The ending was truly amazing and I loved it! 4.25 stars would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this! I thought the characters were powerful and loveable and the writing itself was really easy to read while keeping me engaged!

Freya Marske returns with a smashing romance following Mattinesh Jay, leader of his House, and Luca Piere, a sword-for-hire. Matti's family business is struggling and agrees to an arranged marriage to get them out of financial trouble, but someone has promised to challenge their marriage, leading him to hire Luca. Luca is on the run and new to town for unknown reasons, but his witting charm easily wins Matti over, despite previously being conned by the red head. The two have instant chemistry and the two work together to unravel a plot to undermine Matti's business, but not before secrets come out and the two have to figure out how to trust each other. Swordcrossed is a fun read that is full of heart.

Thank you Bramble, Tor and Netgalley for the ARC in trade for an honest review.

This is the story of Matti, a young man from an established and well-known family that is struggling financially. His upcoming arranged marriage to Sofia Cooper, of another rich and well-connected house, is supposed to save the family, though neither of them are super jazzed about marrying the other. Matti must hire a best man to take on any challengers to the wedding, but when he gets to the shop the next day, the only duelist he can afford is a young thief who conned him the previous day. Matti reluctantly hires the young man, Luca, as his best man, and he finds out that he has much more chemistry with this conman than with his own betrothed, making things complicated.

To start with, I really enjoyed the world building. I love historical settings where things like diversity and queerness are celebrated instead of looked down upon or persecuted, and this was handled excellently in this book. I also liked the more modern twist on the traditions, like how either gender could duel for the other, not just for the bride.

The characters were lovable, though Matti and Maya had me wanting to rip my hair out, because if they would have just communicated better, most of their frustration would have been avoided! I did like Luca quite a bit and was always looking forward to getting more backstory from him. I also liked that even though this book started with the main character engaged to someone else, it was never a love triangle, as those can get exhausting. Lastly, the tension was great and the spice was steamy. It wasn’t exactly a slow burn, but it did feel like the moments were earned instead of just thrown at the reader.

As for the plot, there wasn’t much of it, and I found myself bored at times. There were many descriptions about the wool and merchant industries, which was interesting at first, but I would have liked more action instead, seeing as a big premise of the story was sword fighting and dueling. There was actually very little of that. The side characters felt nonexistent and are not expanded on at all, which was a bit disappointing. Also, while the book is technically fantasy because it is set in an entirely made up world, there are no elements of magic or creatures or anything like that, so it just felt more like alternate history.

Overall it was a solid story and I did enjoy myself while reading it for the most part. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Swordcrossed was a perfect blend of humor, spice, and suspense. Jay and Luca’s chemistry and banter had me hooked from the start. The story felt like a thrilling mix of a spy novel, steamy romance, and comedy, with the author crafting each character uniquely and balancing them beautifully. When Jay and Luca were together, all their baggage seemed to melt away—Jay blossomed and let loose, while Luca found his grounding. Watching their relationship develop was a joy, and the spicy moments? Absolutely scorching!

Gosh I adore Freya Marske's writing. This didn't have the magical elements of the Last Binding trilogy, but readers who loved the high-heat queer romance and disaster characters of her previously published books will find much to love here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

I was doing an Olympics reading challenge and needed a book that featured fencing so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Swordcrossed!

The opening chapter brings our protagonists into a collision, misunderstanding, and financial entanglement brimming with resentment. The solution is that con-artist Luca, a trained swordsman, will serve as Matti's best man at his upcoming nuptials (in case the wedding is challenged via a duel) while also giving Matti sword lessons. Matti is the heir to his family's wool business house which is teetering on financial ruin. He desperately needs this wedding to move forward to save his family's business. He absolutely does NOT need to be distracted by the menace Luca, but increasingly finds his mind and body calling out to him. This book is filled with so.much.damn.longing that I thought I might burst before these two men finally kissed. Marske writes romance in a fashion that makes readers hold their breath! The dual POVs were so well done, and Luca and Matti were both so flawed, yet fell hard for one another. They both carry the weight of family expectations, and it was a joy to watch them push one another into new experiences and roles. I laughed, swooned, and blushed! There is a good amount of business and political posturing, plenty of villains, a great plot twist, and a couple worth cheering on towards a potential HEA. Fantastic spice round out this great romance read!

I enjoyed this very much - it fits in well with the recent boom in lowish-stakes found family warm fuzzy books, although this one does have genuine conflict in it. Reminded me very much of a gentler Swordspoint, which is high praise.