I adored this book. It's honestly one of the best romance novels I've read in quite some time.

For me personally a key criteria for a favourite SFF romance novel is that the foundation of the relationship has to be friendship. If you could rewrite the book to remove all kissing and sex scenes and still have the plot hold up and the characters still care deeply for each other and generally have an incredibly close relationship, then you've hooked me. The relationship in A Marvellous Light definitely qualifies. I was deeply invested in their growing relationship. The characters both feel fully realised. 

Moreover, the wider plot is really interesting, essentially a magical detective story. The magic system intrigued me and I especially loved the connection that magicians have with their family's land. 

While the book is set in Edwardian England, it does not feel very much like historical fiction other than a few key cultural aspects such as women not being treated as equals by many of the male characters (I suspect this will be addressed to a greater extent in the second book of the series, which is an f/f romance). 

I loved it.