A Marvellous Light

A Marvellous Light
Freya Markse, 2021

Premise: Edwin Courcey and Sir Robin Blyth are both men who don't quite fit with their peers. Edwin is a scholarly magician without much magic. Robin has inherited a title but little cash, and he has no interest in living like his late parents the social climbers. When a bureaucratic error brings them together (and to the attention of a dangerous group seeking a mysterious power), sparks fly. 

I've been reading a lot of historical romance-adventures lately where one partner is magic and the other isn't (or is much less so), but this might be the best one so far. 

I loved how complicated the magical society was, realistically including all the same problems and bigotries as non-magicians. I loved that Edwin and Robin's objections to each other felt rooted in their personalities. They had to struggle; there was nothing that was too easily swept aside for the sake of romance, but there also weren't any problems that felt too overly melodramatic. 

Plus the adventure part is top-notch. They're working against time on multiple intertwined problems and mysteries, and both the journey and the solution are so satisfying that I read the whole thing twice. 

This book opens a series, and it looks like it's doing the romance-series thing where each book centers on a different couple. I don't always love that, but the secondary characters in this book and the overall unresolved plot are definitely interesting enough for me to be very sad that I can't read the sequel right now (coming out later this year).

5 Stars - An Awesome Book