If I had to be more specific I would rate this book 2.75 stars.
I really enjoyed the tension that was between the main characters. I loved the significant characters in this story. But… I felt as though there were too many characters that were unnecessary. I felt that most of the characters that we were introduced to weren’t fleshed out. This made reading the book confusing as I was constantly having to remember an insignificant character who played no integral role in the book and in my personal opinion were unimportant.
For plot I felt as though the premise was amazing but execution just wasn’t good. The plot was convoluted and overly complicated. During this book I felt that the plot was being dragged out and things were being inserted in order to make the book longer.
Pacing. This was my main issue with the book. I felt as though the plot and character issues I was having bled into the way I felt about pacing. This is because unnecessary characters were having unnecessary scenes that were too extended and slowed the pacing right down. However, the last ten percent was fast paced and I enjoyed that part of the book.

Thank you Pan MacMillan for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The author tried to use original descriptions but I found them to be lacking and challenging to understand. E. G. "you could count the times he raised his voice on your hands, and still have enough fingers to play cards". How many fingers do you need to play cards? A fan of cards or just any random game? Why do you need to count on both hands? What card game only potentially uses one hand to play?

Between how much I enjoyed The Last Binding series and this stunning cover (times two), requesting SWORDCROSSED was a real no-brainer.

Personally, I didn't love SWORDCROSSED as much as The Last Binding series, but it's perhaps unfair to compare a standalone to a trilogy. I did enjoy it -- although it was a slow-build, by the end I was really rooting for the characters, especially Matti and Lucas, as well as Matti's sister and his fiance, who both play significant roles. As much as the 'low stakes' of the plot is it's selling point and what initially attracted me to it, I actually think I might have fallen for the story just a little harder if there had been a bit more in the way of action or intrigue, but since that's literally the point of the book, I can hardly call that a failing, just a matter of personal preference.

As always, Marske's writing is a lovely blend of vivid description and smooth readability, and the world created in SWORDPOINT is unique and interesting. The characters are flawed but loveable, and the slower and less world-rattling storyline allows us to dig down deep into their personalities and inner conflicts, making both our protagonists feel really relatable.

SWORDCROSSED is a charming, romantic fantasy with lots of focus on world-building and relationships. It's a great light-weight story in an interesting world.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book. ✨

This book was well written and I loved the idea of it, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t find it particularly gripping and I struggled to come back to it & finish it. It took me over a month to read and I feel like it put me in a bit of a slump.

I felt like the world building, although promising in the beginning, was under developed and the plot felt a bit bland. The romance, which was slightly “insta-love” in the beginning, was good but not mind blowing.

2.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded up)

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is a standalone low stakes queer fantasy. I'm a huge fan of Marske's The Last Binding trilogy although, I must confess, I didn't enjoy Swordcrossed as much as I thought I would.

It was gentle, cosy read and although I adored the exquisitely written sexual chemistry between Matti and Luca, I found the world building and fantasy element a little underwhelming. If truth be told, this could have worked as a historical romance set in a queernormative world. The magical/fantasy elements were really lacking. They felt like an afterthought instead of being integral to the plot.

Despite this, I was completely enthralled by the delicious slowburn of Matti and Luca's relationship. Marske is incredibly talented at building tension and making me swoon at even the smallest of gestures and touches. You can't help but root for these wonderfully complex, sweet and yet flawed characters. This was a fun, light-hearted read that had me smiling manically throughout.

This is a sweet and angsty romance that I ate up with relish. I loved the surrounding plot and the mystery behind the incredibly bad fortunes of the Jay family. It was clever and twisty, and I now know more about wool production than I thought possible from a romatansy. I had a lot of fun with this, and I'll happily read more books in this world. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book is a really warm and cozy story of a young man who has tried to keep his prestigeous family business afloat that has had one .troke of bad luck after another. To help the hose get a leg up, he gets engaged to a young woman who is also admired by a young poet and hobby duellist. Since the guy will most likely challenge the marriage, Matti needs a best man to fight for him on his wedding day. He engages the lively and energetic Luca who stumbles across his path and helps him to take a little time for himself.
The setting is a made up country in a time similar to baroque times where merchants of different trades became more powerful.
I really liked the characters, Matti and Luca. I would only subtract half a star because the business side of the plot went a bit over my head.
I did enjoy the book a lot, though. It was a cosy comfort read.

I went in to swordcrossed with high expectations and got them crushed. I loved freya marske earlier work and I absolutely love swords so this book felt like it was destined to be great. Yet it managed to fail me on multiple levels.

One of my biggest problems has to be the cheating-not-cheating. While our main character is not engaged for love he does have a fiancé during the entirety of the book and every romantic moment just feels… quite uncomfortable because if that. They keep repeating that it won’t be cheating until Matti is married to her but as a woman lover I was incredibly uncomfortable. In the end she is okay with it but that didn’t exactly help me feel better about it. I just think there was no reason to write it like that and no reason she is written so chill about it.

This also made me kind of dislike Matti through the entire book. Especially when he kisses her around the early mid point. Just plain uncomfortable.

I did enjoy Lucas character a bit more. His choices make sense and he never did anything that made me annoyed. ( except also going along with the cheating-not-cheating. )

I do think the world building felt very weak. I don’t know exactly what she was going for but it falls weak on multiple points. I don’t think enough time nor love was invested in to it. It also does not help that the setting is queer normative but the gay ML is still ? In the closet and have to marry a woman. It feels a bit like you have to pick either one of those things and stick with it if you want any real emotional impact. My first thought was literally just “thats stupid.” When we got to know that.

I do think the writing is nice and I enjoy Freya’s use of language. It made me keep reading despite my difficulties with the story and world building.

Im not sure if I’m extra harsh because of my love for “A marvellous light”, a book i find almost perfect. But Im really disappointed and I can’t really recommend this book in as good of faith as her previous works.

Absolutely gorgeous romance between an heir and swordsman.

This book made me smile so many times! The back and forth between the MCs in training and outside of it was perfect.

I loved the political backstory surrounding the families.

Overall loved it!

I love Freya Marske so much. I have read her previous series, but I think she has really knocked it out of the park with this one. I giggled, I swooned and I did not see the twist coming. Freya writes LGBTQ-characters with respect and love. They dance of the page and nothing seems too much or little. It’s very clear that the author loved writing this, it shows in the way our two men fall in love. The worldbuilding is something different than from other books, and I can’t put my finger on it, except that it is a unique Marske way. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has read Freya’s other series and enjoyed it. I was such a wonderful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Tor. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Swordcrossed.]

Rating: 4.5/5

This was my first Freya Marske read and it certainly won’t be the last! I wasn’t sure what to expect with Swordcrossed other than a steamy queer romance so I’m happy to say that this book delivers that and so much more. Led by two characters that you will fall in love with, this story takes you on a low stakes romantic journey wrought with betrayal, conspiracy and the best kind of action. Although it took me up until around page 50 to truly sink into this read, from there on I was well and truly hooked and genuinely struggled putting it down. If you love books featuring a historical setting and romance that will get your heart pounding, this is one you need to check out.

Swordcrossed is led by Matti and Luca, two young men brought together by a con that will change their lives forever. Matti is the heir to his family’s struggling wool business and is expected to see through an arranged marriage that will restore the family’s fortunes. In preparation of this, he must hire a swordsman to defend him against any sword-challenges at the altar, but his dwindling funds won’t allow him to buy the best in the business, and that leads him to Luca Piere.

Oh Luca, I think I fell for you quicker than Matti did, if that’s possible. He’s 100% a charming menace and neither of us stood a chance. Luca arrives to Matti running from his own problems and looking for a quick way to make money, but when his con is unravelled and he ends up being blackmailed into giving Matti sword lessons, lines begin to blur with each clash of steel.

From the building romance to the mystery surrounding the Jay’s misfortunes, I was completely enamoured by this story and the characters within it. Matti and Luca are excellent leads with such different personalities that make every one of their exchanges spark with tension. Their chemistry is undeniable and watching them grow closer was such a joy. From scheming in closets to arguing over how to hold a sword, there’s never a dull moment between them.

My only small complaint is that this was described as a ‘fantasy’ romance which I feel is a stretch. The fantasy elements seem to veer into a more religious theme where the houses link with gods, and we don’t really see anything like magic in the story. But did this ruin my enjoyment of the story? Not even a little bit. I didn’t feel like anything was missing but knowing that it was pitched this way, I was always waiting for something more fantastical to happen and it never did.

If you remove the fantasy descriptor (which really isn’t needed at all) you’re left with a really lovely romance set in a pseudo-historical world. This is a book that had me thinking back to other low stakes queer books that I absolutely adore such as Legends and Lattes, and I’m sure it’ll become a comfort read for many.

(Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

“Swordcrossed” is a thoroughly delightful Fantasy of Manners about an overworked Good Boi and a precious ADHD disaster scapegrace whose colliding paths lead them to unexpected solutions for their respective pressing problems, but create entirely new ones.

When I was seventeen years old I read and fell in love with Ellen Kushner’s novel “Swordspoint”. Freya Marke’s book has an entirely different plot, setting and characters, don’t get me wrong, and the prose style and narrative voice are quite different, but I think it’s fair to say that this is very firmly in the same GENRE as Kushner’s book: less baroque cruelty, more cosy cinnamon rolls, similar levels of swashbuckling and identity porn.

Both novels are fantasies of the firmly unmagical variety, but whereas Kushner’s Riverside actively evokes many European cities and is largely focused upon the aristocracy and those who work for them, Marske’s Glassport feels like its own place. Marske’s worldbuilding is engaging: we’re firmly embedded in the merchant class in a world of guilds jockeying for power. The class system is based on Houses, to be sure, but these Houses and their power structure are firmly rooted in commerce, and this is a world where people can change their status and responsibilities by marrying into a House or being adopted into one: most fantasies out there tend to favour Special Bloodline shenanigans as the basis of power, whether magical or temporal, so it’s a refreshing change to be given a world where social mobility is possible, and where the class structure doesn’t hinge on some variation of eugenics.

Relatedly Marske gives us a world where coming-of-age rituals provide young people with the opportunity to affirm or repudiate their birth gender: one protagonist has an older brother who is clearly trans, and although he is married to a woman (and Matti himself is marrying a woman) the story is set in a world where samesex marriage is unremarkable. Because bloodlines really aren’t treated as A Big Deal in this world, and adopting a worthy employee as one’s heir is clearly an everyday matter, there’s a similarly relaxed attitude to premarital sex and pregnancy, and a related absence of systemic misogyny, and can I just say what a blessed RELIEF I found this? (I’m making a point picking out this aspect of the worldbuilding because I really appreciated the thought that went into, but it’s very much just a background thing. It isn’t what the story is ostensibly about, but the worldbuilding naturally shapes the story.)

All too often one finds fantasy worldbuilding with elaborate systems of magic or deities, where gender roles are grimly familiar and constraining - or else the author tries to flip gender roles in an estatz medieval world without really thinking through the consequences, and it doesn’t ring true; I really appreciate that Marske has clearly sat down and reflected upon how to build a world where LGBTQ characters have as much chance to live their best lives as the cishet ones. It’s lovely.

I’m trying NOT to just retell the plot here, because I’m sure that plenty of other reviews will do that, and I very much enjoyed reading the novel with only the blurb (and, tbh, Freya Marske’s previous books) to shape my expectations. However: in “Swordcrossed” we meet overworked young wool merchant Mattinesh Jay, who is on the brink of clawing his House’s way back from impending financial disaster via a marriage of convenience to a very nice young woman from a very wealthy House of wine merchants. Unfortunately it is traditional for the “does any man here present know of a reason why these two should not be married” part of the wedding ceremony to involve the opportunity for other swains to duel for the hand of the bride (or groom), either personally or via a professional duellist - and Matti knows for an absolute fact that his bride’s other suitor (a noted swordfighter) is going to challenge the wedding. He doesn’t know one end of a sword from the other. Thus he needs to employ an extremely capable swordsman as his Best Man.

What he gets is scapegrace con artist Luca Piere, an excellent swordsman brand new to Glassport with enough baggage for an entire airport and enough charm to steal the heart right out of Matti’s chest.

The sexual tension between the two of them is wildly inconvenient, but also undeniable; the building trust and friendship is something neither of them expected, but both of them treasure.


There are nefarious villains and violent thugs to be dealt with, and secrets to be divulged, but this is firmly a romance with the promise of a HEA, and the issues that separate the protagonists are reasonable and believable ones. Matti and Luca are both absolute sweethearts in their very different ways, and Matti’s family (and fiancee) are all very likeable too.

I loved it. I’m not sure whether I loved it MORE than The Last Binding trilogy as a whole, but I think I did enjoy it more than “A Marvellous Light” - not least because as an ADHD hot mess myself my level of sympathy for Luca was off the charts. He is doing his best! (At first I thought he was going to be a Locke Lamora-esque professional con artist, but the reality is that he’s more Wyle E Coyote than Eugenides of Edis. Clearly the poor lamb suffers from dyscalculia as well as ADHD, and I really enjoyed the way Marske quietly shapes his backstory around his neurodivergence.)

“Starcrossed” feels like a standalone, and its ending was very satisfying, but I hope that Marske revisits the world she’s built for this story, in the same way that Bujold uses the World Of The Five Gods as a backdrop for stories about different people.

Funny, sexy and very loveable characters. I enjoyed this book immensely. I kinda wanna pick up swordfighting now.

[4.5, rounded up] i don't even remember requesting this but omg??!?!? i have 0 regrets

⚔️ we follow mattinesh jay, heir to a House that's falling into debt and disrepair, and is due to marry the daughter of another (more successful) House. he needs to find a talented swordsman to defend his honour at the wedding when his bride-to-be's (alleged) lover inevitably challenges them, but (surprise surprise) the only one he can afford is the mysterious guy who ran a con on him days prior and cheated him out of 200 gold. woah.... interesting..... you guys wanna read this so bad... 🌀🌀

okay if that somehow didn't intrigue you, LISTEN UP 🗣️
its a historical fantasy(!) focusing on a m/m romance(!) in a world where queerness is normalised!! the main character, matti, is brown (which i rarely see in fantasy books) and has (implied) anxiety. the other main character, luca, has (implied) adhd and dyscalculia. plus there's nb, transmasc and wlw side characters!! also, for people who love tropes, the author managed to include tropes without beating you over the head with them, which i really liked.


⚔️ i personally think the tension was perfectly done, usually i feel like romantasy books are either way too strung out, or (more often) there's insta-love and you don't feel a connection with the characters or between them.
but this time i rooted for matti and luca the moment they met again in the centre of a practice room. their banter didn't feel forced, both characters were interesting in their own ways, and i liked how they contrasted :3 they were hilarious, fun to learn about, and easy to understand and empathise with. seriously, i loved them sm i caught myself looking up fics for this book before i remembered that its just an arc atm 😔

ALSO i'm also very surprised that i didn't lose all interest as soon as they started getting 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂, cause that tends to be a big problem for me usually 😭


⚔️ the reason i didn't give this a five was that despite how interesting the setting was, it wasn't fleshed out enough, and the book could've really benefited from an exposition dump (which is not something i say often 😭)
since i found it hard to understand the plot and the wool-related stuff (?) i honestly found myself tuning it out and just focusing on the characters, the relationships between them and the Houses, and the wedding.
and speaking of the wedding, i think i would've liked more of it (considering how it was like the main plot point of the book,,) but i did think it was done really well and was delightfully dramatic despite how short it was.

anyways i know this is a standalone but freya marske if you can hear me i need a second book 🙏

Freya Marske swept onto the scene with her "Last Binding trilogy" and made her mark in the genre of cozy fantastical little queer adventures. I still have to read the third book of said trilogy, but I really liked the previous two and was excited to see what Marske would do in a standalone novel.

"Swordcrossed" delivers just what you expect it to. It's a cozy, low stakes love story in a queernorm world with hot spice and witty quips.
This time, it's set in world of Marske's own making, a world ruled by different guilds that worship different gods. There's not too much world building (and what there is is admittedly rather convoluted) and it's very low fantasy, so while the world is a fantasy one there are actually far fewer fantastical elements than in the "Last Binding".
We follow a dual perspective - Matti, heir to a down on their luck guild house, and Luca, a mysterious newcomer to the city who first tries to con Matti then becomes his best man at his wedding, which involves duelling anyone who vetos the marriage vows. Both of these characters struggle, but it's honestly very very low stakes and it gets resolved almost comically easily in the end, especially Luca's personal troubles.
Their romance is sweet, though fair warning, it's incredibly instalusty which is actually something I rarely enjoy, especially when characters should be focused on their very bad own problems that the text itself keeps bringing up. They basically want to bone five seconds after meeting each other, and I haven't read a version of this that I didn't find boring yet. The actual romantic love story between them is also the opposite of slow burn, and I wasn't quite as invested as I hoped I would be.
The plot is, as expected, completely secondary to the romance but this time around I also didn't really find it that interesting. While I love a low stakes romance, the stakes should at least be above ground for me to care. We were told they were, but really, they weren't. In the end, everything gets resolved quickly and perfectly, and the Big Finale almost veers towards ridiculous.

This sounds rather negative, but really, "Swordcrossed" is a fun little love story with very likeable and complex characters. It's well-written, though that is a given with this author, and a quick read. The spicey scenes are hot, the relationships between the characters are sweet, and I had an all around comfortable reading experience. If you loved her previous trilogy, do check this one out!

Intertwining swords and wool, weddings and snooping around, fire and gentleness, Swordcrossed is a breeze of a book that lives up to the legacy of The Last Binding.

Meet Matti, heir to the honourable Jay House. Honourable, but currently in debt thanks to recurring bouts of bad luck. Matti’s marriage with the wealthy Coopers’ heir should change Jay House’s fate, but for that to happen, the marriage needs to go through. That wouldn’t be a problem, if only Matti’s betrothed didn’t have another suitor, more than ready to challenge the wedding… and possibly stop it altogether. What Matti needs is a best man capable of defeating the suitor in a duel if it comes down to it. Enter Luca Piere. Charming conman and talented duellist just arrived in town, Luca is fleeing his past and trying to lay low. He is all Matti can afford to pay for but luckily for Matti, the bargain is more interesting than it seems. Especially when the two of them discover that the Jays’ misfortune may not just have been bad luck, but rather a plot to sink them.

With Swordcrossed, Freya Marske proves that she never fails to deliver novels that are delightful and enticing from the beginning to the end. From a captivating plot that kept me on my toes until the very end, to vivid and endearing characters I could read ten more novels about, all of this completed by a rich and colourful world, Swordcrossed is perfect, and a fantastic follow-up to Marske’s debut series The Last Binding.

Marske decided to go with a lower-stakes fantasy here. By lower-stakes, I mean that the world is not about to end, and that the stakes are only personal. The danger with lower-stakes is that they are sometimes too low to be interesting to the reader. Never fear when it comes to Swordcrossed, the characters’ personal stakes are high and the fact that the characters are so endearing and lovable means I had no trouble being invested in the story. As usual, Marske’s pace is mastered, a perfect blend between fantasy and romance, with beats that fell just at the right moment. Languid enough that it feels like a summer novel, quick enough that I had no time to get bored.

Not that I could’ve gotten bored with such fantastic characters as Matti and Luca. I could probably read a whole novel about them just spending time together and doing nothing. Not only are they fascinating characters individually, both of them vivid and complex, their dynamic is also amazing. As with Marske’s other novels, the number of time I found myself giggling because of the relationship between Matti and Luca is frankly indecent. But Marske sure knows how to write relationship and tease the reader while she’s at it.

Everyone who has loved The Last Binding trilogy will without a doubt love Swordcrossed, and I am of the opinion that Alexandra Rowland’s fans should love the novel as well. Swordcrossed feels like a summer novel to me, perfect for those looking for a light fantasy that features a well-developed, prominent romance.

Thank you to PanMacmillan and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Swordfighting, secrets, shenanigans, and spice.

If you take the swordfighting and silliness from The Princess Bride and mix it with the mundane light-fantasy aspects of the Discworld, you'd get this book.

Freya Marske has done it again. I must say I was worried about delving into her writing outside of the Last Binding world, especially as Swordcrossed has a much higher focus on the romance, but I'm so happy to anounce that this is a 5 star book.

This is not a rinse and repeat of the romance plots of her previous books; Matti and Luca feel like completely new characters and I fell in love with them. I was truly giggling and kicking my feet by about 25% of my way into this. Their dynamic and chemistry was unmatched, and I love the way that Freya writes romance as well as the more steamy scenes. This book was able to tie in enough intrigue and secrets to make the plot outside the romance entertaining as well.

The villains did not feel too one-dimensional and the political, spiritual, and guild aspects of the worldbuilding was interesting. This is a very casually diverse world, with a queernormative society and visible people of colour including main characters.

I definitely saw a lot of the final events coming, but it's what I wanted to happen so I am not upset in the slightest. I don't really see the comp to Legends & Lattes beyond the fact that they eat a pastry a couple of times, but I do think that the world has a bit of that cozy vibe to it.

Overall I adored this, and while I don't think it will have as much rereadability for me as The Last Binding does, this was a really fun world to dive in to and Freya Marske writes romance specifically for me.

More often than not, a book will be an instant favourite when 60% of the story would not have happened if the sapphics just admitted they were in love.

By no means was Swordcrossed a perfect book, but I absolutely devoured this. The plot reminded me so much of Running Close to the Wind, which was one of my favourite books I read this year - just as fun and chaotic and flirty. I did find some of the merchant goings-on a little confusing, but I don't know whether or not this was due to the writing or just my complete lack of aptitude for anything business/economics related.

Luca was my favourite, but I loved all the characters and character dynamics, especially the familial ones. I was delighted to see that Matti was terrible at sword fighting - really appreciated the physically inept representation. I even liked the romance, although the steamy scenes went on for way too long.

All in all, this was such a lighthearted and delightful read, and I'll be rereading it for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the world that was built, the attention to fashion and the minutiae of wool-selling; and I quite enjoyed the twisty-turny merchant politicking. I would have preferred that the plot focused more on that and less on the romantic relationship, but that's more akin to saying 'I wish this romance book wasn't quite as romantic as it turned out to be', which is hardly fair to the author. As it was, the romantic and non-romantic plotlines were skillfully interwoven, and the resolution at the end was entertaining. Yes, Marske was keeping secrets from us (although I must say I'd mostly guessed them), but she'd taken me on a skillful enough ride that I was willing to trust her on this one.

This was a fun read, definitely recommend for fans of Freya Marske's Last Binding trilogy. Swordcrossed is a nice, low stakes read set in an interesting (although not very fleshed out) world with fantasy flavours but not a lot of "high fantasy" elements. The first third left me somewhat unconviced--the characters didn't feel particularly solid and the chemistry didn't click for me until well into the book. Once the plot got going a bit more the writing began to feel more stable, and I really enjoyed the last 100 pages or so.