Freya Marske

A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske’s beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light. Secrets! Magic! Enemies to. . .something more? Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he’s drawn reluctantly back into that world. Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross. Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package. When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall―Jack’s ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it’s grown a personality as prickly as its owner―Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.

“Clever, sparkling, and perfectly indulgent, Swordcrossed feels like stepping into a party already in full swing. Everything is possible; everything is wondrous. This is fantasy romance at its very best.” —Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief Low stakes. High heat. Sharp steel. Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years. What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere. Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti. However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She expected plenty of it when she volunteered to serve as an old lady’s companion on an ocean liner, in order to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy that began generations ago. What she didn’t expect was for the old lady in question to turn up dead on the first day of the voyage. Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham, who’s also returning home to England. Violet is everything that Maud has been trained to distrust yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress, and a magnet for scandal. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of suspects, Maud and Violet must first drop the masks that they’ve both learned to wear before they can unmask a murderer and somehow get their hands on a magical object worth killing for—without ending up dead in the water themselves.

Set in an alternative Edwardian England, this is a comedy of manners, manor houses, and hedge mazes: including a magic-infused murder mystery and a delightful queer romance. For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn's Bridgerton, who'd like to welcome magic into their lives... Young baronet Robin Blyth thought he was taking up a minor governmental post. However, he's actually been appointed parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. If it weren’t for this administrative error, he’d never have discovered the incredible magic underlying his world. Cursed by mysterious attackers and plagued by visions, Robin becomes determined to drag answers from his missing predecessor – but he’ll need the help of Edwin Courcey, his hostile magical-society counterpart. Unwillingly thrown together, Robin and Edwin will discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles.

Maud Blyth a toujours rêvé d'aventure. C'est donc sans hésiter qu'elle a accepté d'aider son frère bien-aimé à déjouer une conspiration de magiciens. Elle s'est même portée volontaire pour tenir compagnie à une vieille dame lors d'un voyage transatlantique. Mais Maud ne s'attendait pas à la retrouver morte dans sa cabine dès le premier jour de la traversée... À présent, elle doit composer avec un cadavre, un perroquet irrespectueux, et la ravissante et sulfureuse Violet Debenham. Violet est tout ce dont Maud a appris à se méfier, mais qu'elle désire malgré elle : une magicienne, une actrice et un aimant à scandales. Piégées en pleine mer et entourées de suspects, Maud et Violet doivent apprendre à se défaire des masques qu'elles ont coutume de porter. Ce n'est qu'à ce prix qu'elles parviendront à retrouver un objet magique pour lequel certains sont capables de tuer... et à échapper à un assassin. Le tout, sans sombrer à leur tour...  « Freya Marske poursuit son merveilleux voyage avec une galerie de personnages presque entièrement inédite et une nouvelle romance queer absolument torride... La magie continue de se développer et l'atmosphère se fait délicieusement romanesque, pour notre plus grand plaisir. » Booklist « Magnifique et sensuel... Un mystère passionnant et un superbe décor de Fantasy historique. Une lecture dont les rebondissements sont aussi captivants que sa romance. » BookPage « Un savant mélange de mystère, de Fantasy et de romance qui vous fera chavirer. » BuzzFeed « Meurtres, mystère et magie en haute mer : voilà la recette de cette comédie fantastique et historique, émaillée de traits d'esprit, de danger et de romance. » Library Journal « Après son frère aîné Robin, héros de A Marvellous Light, c'est Maud Blyth qui tient le premier rôle de ce charmant roman. Une lecture aussi intelligente que plaisante, à accompagner d'une tasse de thé. » Publishers Weekly « Entre un monde imaginaire savamment construit et des personnages à la fois profonds et attachants, A Restless Truth est une délectable aventure - et romance saphique - en haute mer. Maud et Violet m'ont séduite dès les premières lignes. » Megan Bannen, La Ballade funèbre de Hart et Mercy « Dans cette pétillante suite à A Marvellous Light, on retrouve énigmes magiques, ruses, secrets et romance. Cette fois, nous sommes à bord d'un paquebot transatlantique, où les prétextes pour intriguer, semer la zizanie et élucider des mystères ne manquent pas.