Big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this arc.

This book was an absolute joy!

I got this in the audiobook format, despite rarely reading audiobooks due to a lack of focus. But the narrator of this, Aysha Kala, was absolutely magnificent. She did a wonderful job of narrative the characters, giving each of them a distinct voice, and conveying the emotions, humor and tension in this book. It kept me hooked throughout the entirety of it, even despite me being terrible at listening to audiobooks.

As for the book itself, it’s probably one of the best sequels I’ve read. The new characters were both enchanting and engaging, and their romance incredible. Though the praise for characters also extends to the side characters, particularly Ross and Hawthorne. Most scenes that included these two and their banter had me either smiling or laughing out loud. Fingers crossed we get to see more of both of them in the third book.

Another thing I’d like to see more of in the next installment of this series is Maud and Violent’s relationship, as unlike that of Robin and Edwin, seemed to be unfinished as this book ended, though it did still with pretty clear implications that there was more to come and I’m both assuming and crossing my fingers this will be in the next book.

As for the next book, where is it? I needed it like,, yesterday. Can’t believe I have to wait another year for it.

This review will also be up on my Instagram (@Kratist0) within this month.

I didn't realise this was part of a series but I read it anyway. I'm not sure if it would have made this better but I struggled with this. I found it hard to connect to the characters and found myself skimming the pages. I'm probably not the right target audience. I'm going to read the first book at a later date and hopefully revisit this book. I feel I've missed something

A great sequel, that I thoroughly enjoyed, I just wish it had a little bit more magic action in the plot., The romance was searing, I really hope there is more from these characters.

I don't know the first book in the series, but at no time did I have the feeling that I lacked vital knowledge, so this was well done.
I liked the setting, the idea, and the characters. What I didn't like was, that there are whole chapters describing sexual intercourse between characters -- I actually skipped those, and they added nothing to the story, cause I didn't miss anything by skipping them.
Still, the idea was great, and the story as a whole kept me listening till the end.
The narrator did a very good job, I enjoyed listening to her.

Many thanks to #Macmillan UK Audio, Tor via #Netgalley for my ALC of this book!

While it doesn't quite live up to the first book, I still enjoyed the second instalment of this series. I loved the expanded worldbuilding as it gave us the backstory of the women who found the last contract and some more magical surprises. It's a fun boat mystery that really shines when all the allies are together trying to solve it. The addition of the prickly Hawthorn to this group was great and I can't wait to see him in more of the series.

However, the stakes never seem to hit the heights of the first. The book even says that a lot of this is Maud wanting an adventure to prove herself to her brother and it's not until the end that we get any real sense of danger. The villains aren't as intimating either. Most of them are simply lackeys sent by the villain of the first book. The one truly sinister villain doesn't feature for long though I enjoyed them when they were around.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator gave a great performance. I do prefer the narrator of the first book however, they brought more excitement to their performance.

I received an audiobook proof in exchange for an honest review.

I'd highly recommend picking up this sequel by audiobook - it was the perfect medium to experience Violet and Maud's love story! The narrator is wonderful and the whole thing felt very immersive and just a solid storytelling experience. My one suggestion is to try not to blush during the steamier scenes if you're on public transport...

I totally adored A Marvellous Light when I read it last year and I was very excited by the possibility of a sapphic addition to the series. A Restless Truth is pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be - a magical murder mystery with no shortage of sapphic yearning - I am delighted.
Maud and Violet, our protagonists, brought me great joy and I really appreciated seeing a realistic take on this kind of whirlwind romance, the way things end up very much intrigued me and I'll be interested to see if things continue or if we're leaving these characters behind? But for those wondering if the romance holds up to book one I would say it certainly does! I liked the duality of the coming of age/self discovery story that Maud has and Violet's struggles with emotional vulnerability. It's a classic romance pairing in some ways but Marske makes it feel fresh.
The plot aside from the romance was also great - and I say that as a person who has read/consumed many a murder mystery in my time. The magical spin on things made it extra entertaining. I will say that I think it is well worth doing a reread of book one particularly if you don't have a good memory of the meta plot but honestly it's a good book to reread so it's a win-win. If you don't have time to reread the book will catch you up enough.
I'll for sure be adding this to my 'LGBT+ books of the year' list and I'm excited to recommend this to people until they assure me they are planning on rereading it.
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

It was a struggle to finish this book, I also didn't love the first one so this author is just not for me. The story was so slow and I couldn't connect with the writting style. However the narrator was great

I enjoyed the first of this series, but it was a struggle to complete this book. The story is sluggish and slow with the plot compared to the first which had a feel of D&D side quests. I found it hard to stay invested.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Macmillan UK Audio for the Advanced Listeners Copy in exchange for my honest review.
I was very excited to get an ALC of Freya Marske’s „A Restless Truth“, because I really liked the first book in the series, „A Marvellous Light“ earlier this year.

Pick it up if you like:
- A murder mystery on a luxurious ocean liner
- Magical artifacts
- Sapphic romance with lot of steam
- Historical urban fantasy

The story begins shortly after the first book ends, and it’s main character is Maud Blyth, Robin’s sister. Her life has been pretty uneventful so far, if you don’t count what happened with her brother and magic. After she helped him get rid of a curse, she tries to have an adventure of her own, and preferably a magical one. She embarks on a journey to New York aboard the R.M.S. Lyric, a luxurious ocean liner, as an old lady’s companion. But on her first night, she finds the lady dead, her disrespectful parrot, a ship full of suspects, and lots of secrets. And she meets a beautiful stranger, Violet Debenham, a magician and a stage performer with a scandalous past, who is willing to help Maud investigate who might have been willing to kill for a magical artifact.

I really liked Maud as a main character, and the setting on the ship was great (it reminded me of “Escaping from Houdini” by Kerri Maniscalco, and “Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie). Violet was a very cool character as well, she has this mystery about her, and yet I loved the way she spoke very bluntly. The romance between Maud and Violet begins as curiousity on Maud’s side, quickly becomes very steamy, but I must say that I wasn’t very convinced in their emotional romance.

The mystery of this book began in book 1 and continued in this. The plot lacked a bit of direction in the middle; and while there were many twists and turns, the ending didn’t really feel very satisfying to me. This is probably due to the fact that the overarching plot of the Last Contract spreads over the whole series, and the middle book simply can’t offer much satisfaction. The characters from the first book, Robin and Edwin, were mentioned often, but I would have loved to see them play a larger role in the story.

The narrator Aysha Kala did a fantastic job! She was able to capture a lot of different accents and dialects, and she switched effortlessly between them. The characters were easily recognizable, and the narrator captured the humour perfectly.

Freya Marske has a great way with words and I really liked her witty writing. Overall I liked the story and would absolutely recommend it as an audiobook! I’m interested to see how the story continues in the next book.

#ARestlessTruth #NetGalley

The first book in this series – ‘A Marvellous Light’ – introduced a glorious, vibrant, historical world and a gorgeous romance between (non-magical) aristocrat Robin Blyth and the man trying to help him navigate the magical world, Edwin Courcey. I read it, loved it, and wondered very much how Freya Marske was going to follow it up given that it was touted as ‘The Last Binding, Book 1’.

In my review, I wrote about Maud, Robin’s unconventional and sassy sister who refused to accept the limitations placed upon her as a woman in Edwardian England. I hoped I’d read more about her in the sequel.

It’s fair to say that all my wishes came true – Maud Blyth is the central character in ‘A Restless Truth’ and I could not be happier! Especially as it also features some of my other favourite elements – a murder mystery, a cruise liner, characters breaking society’s rules, lots of humour and even a touch of scandal.

The story opens with a murder on board the ocean liner, the Lyric, returning to England from New York. The dead woman’s companion, Maud, finds herself embroiled in a deadly mystery – and the subject of gossip as she joins forces with the rakish Lord Hawthorn, beautiful actress Violet Debenham and journalist/purveyor of pornography Alan Ross. This unlikely crew is surrounded by a cast of quirky eccentrics – mediums, menagerie owners, members of high society, the magical and non-magical – as well as a murderer. As Maud desperately works to separate friends from foes and figure out the mystery of the Last Contract, she is distracted by her attraction to the mysterious and captivating Violet.

This is the second book in the series but there is enough of a recap of the over-arching and important plot lines about the Last Contract for newbies to keep up, I think. I would of course recommend that you start with ‘A Marvellous Light’ (as it is rather fabulous) but it isn’t essential.

I loved everything about this book – the historical setting, the claustrophobia of the Lyric, the steamy romance, the quirky characters, the mystery, the magic and the humour. It’s a story absolutely packed with surprises and delights – Mrs Navenby was an absolute joy and the parrot, Dorian, a lovely touch. As with the first book, it probably isn’t one for the easily shocked as there are a few quite graphic scenes and use of strong language.

The idea of the Last Contract lends itself to a trilogy because of the number of items being sought by the Blyths, Courcey and any number of nefarious others! Given the shift of characters between books one and two, I cannot wait to see who in Robin or Maud’s world will pick up the lead in book three. I’d love for it to be the louche Lord Hawthorn as he has scope for some serious hellraising!

I shifted between reading the book and listening to the audiobook read by Aysha Kala. I loved the (male) audiobook reader for the first book and wasn’t sure whether I’d like the switch but Kala was an excellent choice given the new female lead character. Her narration was clear and really sounded like I’d expect Maud to speak – quite posh but also with dry humour. She also managed the other characters well with a kind of upper class drawl for Hawthorn and a less refined London accent for Ross.

I’d heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoys a lively historical novel with added extras – extra murder, extra magic and a lot of extra sauciness! You’ll find yourself rooting for the marvellous Maud – an innocent faced with the much more worldly Violet and thrown into an alien world of magic and mayhem. I defy anyone to read this and not be waiting in anticipation for the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley for my copies of the book/audiobook for review. Opinions are entirely my own.

What an absolute joy this was!

I had an ARC of the audiobook, which was superbly narrated by Aysa Kala. She deftly found distinct voices for the various characters and did great work with humour, tension and romance. I've added her to my list of narrators to look out for.

I had really enjoyed the first book in the series but I think I might prefer this book even more. There was an excellent balance of Agatha Christie esque mystery-in-a-confined-space, magical powers and secrets, and the superb romance between the determined but inexperienced, and the using flirtation as a protective barrier. Just almost everything worked really well for me! If is very definitely the second book in a series - while there are some recaps, I found myself having a quick refresher of A Marvellous Light to remind myself of a few salient points - and at the other end, while there is no cliffhanger, there is a strong feeling of anticipation and many loose ends waiting for the next book to be tied up. I did feel that Maud and Violet's relationship was not as completed as Robin and Edwin's had been in the first book, but I also feel there may be more to see of that later on perhaps? Either way I am ridiculously excited about the 3rd book to come, its going to be a very long year or so!!!

A treasure, a delight, and a balm for all my senses. Totally recommended!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC*

Have already pre-ordered this but I was SO excited to be granted access to the audiobook! I'm a huge fan of the first book so was ready for the second and it did not disappoint!! The book kind of follows on from the first story, or is at least set a few months after, and follows Robin's sister, Maud, as she looks for the second part of the last contract. The book is very much like a murder mystery for the most part, set on a 6 day voyage aboard a boat.
It contains all the humour and spiciness I expected after reading A Marvellous Light and I can't wait to see how this all plays out in the final book! ( whenever we get that!!)

I was nervous about this sequel because I adored A Marvellous Light but wasn’t a huge fan of Maud, so I was unsure about her being the new MC. However, I absolutely adored A Restless Truth.

I loved Maud and her ragtag band of misfits. I’m sure I’ve seen this advertised as ‘queer Knives Out on a boat’ and I can’t help but thoroughly agree.
A Restless Truth made me laugh watching Maud and her friends bumble their way through discovering the second piece of the last contract, however I also really adored Maud’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

The narrator for the first book was perfect, and the narrator for the second is equally so. It makes perfect sense with the perspective change to also change the narrator, and she did a great job of keeping me immersed in the story.

I can’t wait to see how this all comes together in the final book of The Last Binding trilogy! Hopefully we’ll see Maud, Violet, Robin, and Edwin’s stories come together in book 3.

3.5 stars

Headlines:
Agatha Christie vibes with magic
Whodunnit
Maud meets her match

A Restless Truth served an immediate feel of an Agatha Christie voyage across the Atlantic complete with whodunnit. The additional queer coupling with the magic we knew from A Marvellous Light made this immediately interesting.

Maud's meeting with Violet had her considering a queer relationship when she hadn't had any kind of awakening before. The was a rather hilarious storyline containing some 'corn'ography that hastened Maud's self awareness. Violet was a tough shell to crack and it took me a quite a long time in the book to warm to her, but I did eventually.

The grander plot carried on the storyline from book one and so I felt some similarities in that. I didn't love the creep in terms of the dead in this book but I do think it fit with the era and Christie-feel of the piece. The story had some slow parts but overall, it was enjoyable.

I'm not sure where I see the story going now. Two couples forging forward? A new set of characters? I'm unsure, but I'll be reading on.

The narration was excellent and the accents were spot on.

Thank you to Tor Books and Black Crow PR for the review copy.

I’m so thrilled that this book was exactly what I was hoping for and then some. While wonderfully matching the tone of the first book, these new characters bring such a fresh new look into this magical world and story.

I knew I’d love seeing Maud’s adventure as she was newly allowed to spread her wings and find herself, but I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I adored Violet’s character. She’s a unique brand of closed-off, her past is so intriguing, and her growth compliments Maud’s so fabulously it makes for such a compelling story. I’m also incredibly excited for the new look at Hawthorn’s character without the obvious biases that Robin and Edwin had.

Absolutely delicious content. The mystery aspect was exciting, the characters are charming, the queerness was so beautifully done, and the spice is off the charts 🔥 I’m so ridiculously excited for the next book to eventually be released!

It’s also worth mentioning that the narrator for the audiobook did a fantastic job. Her voice perfectly fit with the atmosphere of the story and her accents added an excellent layer to the characters.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley for the early copy of the audiobook!

Freya Marske tenía por delante un reto con A Restless Truth, la segunda parte de A Marvellous Ligth, una de mis novelas favoritas del año pasado. Y he de decir que lo ha superado con creces, haciendo desaparecer el síndrome de la segunda novela con varias herramientas que usa de forma maestra. Cambia los protagonistas pero mantiene algunos personajes secundarios para que no sea todo extraño. Cambia el escenario, pero mantiene ese aire aristocrático de la sociedad que conforma este universo. Cambia el tipo de misterio, para ofrecernos una asesinato en habitación cerrada. Cambia para que todo permanezca reconocible. Es un gran acierto.


La protagonista de la historia es Maud, hermana de Robyn a quien ya conocimos en la primera entrega, que a petición suya se ha desplazado a los Estados Unidos para asegurar una de las piezas del gran contrato sobre el que gira la serie, del que no voy a decir nada más para no caer en el terreno del destripe. Maud tiene una relación estupenda con su hermano, pero no es feliz en su vida porque ha de luchar contra la sociedad para conseguir lo que quiere en su vida. Todo esto saltará por los aires cuando la señora a la que acompañaba en un viaje trasatlántico aparece muerta aparentemente por causas mágicas y debe iniciar una investigación al respecto.

Marske juega mucho con los equilibrios de poder en el desarrollo de la novela, más que con el secreto de quiénes son los enemigos, algo que se desvela relativamente pronto en la trama. Es esta especie de juego caballeresco, en el que se han de mantener las formas ante todo, esta pantomima de la alta sociedad, lo que llena de divertimento la novela. Se busca el escándalo en ocasiones para ocultar otras intenciones, se chismorrea, se habla veladamente de las necesidades económicas de familias venidas a menos… Es un delicioso ejemplo de lo que la fantasy of manners puede llegar a ofrecer.

Las novedades y explicaciones que ofrece la autora en esta ocasión relacionadas con el mundo mágico resultan también muy adecuadas, porque la utilización de anillos para fijar los conjuros que se hace en Estados Unidos pero no en Inglaterra nos hace pensar en la innovación de la que hacen gala las antiguas colonias frente al inmovilismo de las pesadas tradiciones la pérfida Albión.

La narración del audiolibro se adapta como anillo al dedo (nunca mejor dicho) al ritmo del libro, con una Aysha Kala en estado de gracia.

No puedo dejar de recomendar una novela brillante y ligera, entretenidísima para disfrutar de una fantasía bien hecha.

Many thanks to Macmillan UK Audio and Freya Marske for the advanced audio copy of A Restless Truth via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

I really, really enjoyed this story! What’s more, I managed to read this without knowing it was actually the sequel to A Marvellous Light (AML) as part of The Last Binding series. Marske did a wonderful job recapping the events of AML so smoothly that I completely understood everything I needed to to be able to enjoy A Restless Truth in full.

Marske has developed a wonderful new world of magic (not easily done nowadays, when so many creative minds have developed so many different things), even pitting the two sides of the Atlantic against each other in the way they express and harness it.

This story was a delightful mix of whodunnit, fantasy, sapphic romance, historical fiction with just a dash of comedy, all wrapped up into a well-written smile of a book. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing, and will definitely be reading AML, and will keep my eye out for the next book: A Power Unbound.

I really enjoyed Aysha Kala’s narration. She was a pleasure to listen to, with a hypnotic voice and truly suited to the spicy sapphic scenes! Although she seems to have some trouble with the word “chemise”. I’ll be looking for more books narrated by her.

Moods: adventurous, funny, mysterious, tense
Tropes: enemies/friends to lovers
Pace: medium
Character development: medium
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: medium
Spice: 4/5
Trigger warnings: Abusive relationship, Alcohol, Blood/Gore, Death, Guns/weapons, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Poisoning, PTSD, Sexism, Violence

Rating
Story: 5
Audio: 5

'A Restless Truth' by Freya Marske.
I lost the thread of this book often. I think it would work better as a print copy. I also didn't realise until halfway through that it's the second in a series. At first, it doesn't seem necessary to have read the first book, 'A Marvellous Light' but, as the book progresses it seems to reference an incident with Maud's brother, Robin from the first book. A lot happens in this book and there are a lot of themes. The book begins with a death, a believed murder, and Miss Maud Blyth/Cutler takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. There are a number of deaths that then unfold aboard the ship liner, some of which we learn about have died before the story begins but, still link up.
I enjoyed this, to a point. There is a lot of swearing and crude language in this so definitely not an audiobook to listen to in public. The story follows Maud and Violet, taking it in turns to be the lead character which I found hard to follow sometimes. I did, however, like that Violet and Maud did not disguise their relationship as female companionship. It made me think though. 'A Restless Truth' is set upon an Edwardian ship and the graphic sex scenes seemed to belong to a different time, however, we hear so often about female companions that the graphic scenes were probably very true of the time.
Maud finds herself aboard a ship as Mrs Navenby's companion, a shortlived friendship between an older lady and a young woman. Mrs Navenby is killed in the first chapter and, it transpires that Mrs Navenby is part of a wider group of women in a secret society. I liked the subtle reference to magic throughout and, it reminded me a lot of 'Fantastic Beasts'. People are evidently born into magic, you either have it or you don't. You can't lose it if you have it.
There were also a lot of characters so, I really didn't see the end coming. Marske is quite witty which helped make the read light. I was admittedly confused by this book coming into the series before reading the first book so, maybe if I'd done that I might have grasped the thread more.

Really enjoyed this quirky audiobook.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

The sequel to A Marvellous Light, this books follows Maud Blyth as she dips her toe into the ongoing magical conspiracy. She volunteers to escort a valuable source back to England on an ocean liner, but just one day into the voyage said source turns up dead. To investigate the ships for suspects, she recruits actress and heiress Violet Debenham - a woman who inspires all sorts of interesting feelings in Maud.

A RESTLESS TRUTH hit a particular confluence of sweet-spots for me. Historical setting, sapphic romance, a fascinating magic system, an isolation mystery. While the whole plot is thrilling, the character work is where this book really shone for me. Maud is the determined but unwitting general, instructing her troops: charming scandal-magnet Violet, sardonic and exasperated Lord Hawthorn, wily and irreverent Ross. The more of them in a scene together, the more I enjoyed it. Maud is excellent at tripping herself into unfortunate situations, and it’s often a team effort to get her out of them.

Maud is captivated by Violet and fascinated by this attraction she’s never felt for men. Violet is generally a bit horny. The romance was deliciously sexy (the sex scenes in this series are among my favourite ever.)

The one thing that held it back was Violet’s character development, of which I felt there wasn’t as much as for Maud. As one of the point-of-view characters, I guess I just expected a bit more. This is also something that leaked a bit into the romance subplot. On one hand, it’s understandable that development might be limited since the whole book takes place in a week. On the other, that was a choice the author made, so I think they should have found a way to eek a bit more out of Violet.

I listened to the audiobook, and Aysha Kala was excellent, bringing a delightful energy to the story.