A Marvellous Light was one of the best books I read last year, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!

One of my favourite things about the first book is how Marske has built this fantasy world, and she continues this in A Restless Truth. As different aspects of the magical world are revealed to the characters they are revealed to us too, and she expanded on what we saw in the first book brilliantly. While the story is relatively ‘small’ – all of the action takes place on one ship’s voyage – we still get a sense of the wider world the characters are a part of. The middle book of a trilogy is often the weakest one, having the primary job of connecting the strong opening and the epic finale, but in this case we never lost the sense of the book having its own story that slots into the wider arc.

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Perhaps the most talked-about aspect of this book is that we have different main characters from the first one. In my upcoming video review (shameless plug!) I’m going to talk a bit more about how the shift from an M/M couple to an F/F couple has changed people’s perspective. While it may be frustrating for some people to no longer have their favourite characters as the protagonists, Robin and Edwin are very much still a part of the world, constantly being referred to.

The main character in this book is Robin’s sister Maud, and as she is a character we’re already familiar with, the transition is not as jarring as might be expected. It’s a very natural continuation, shifting perspectives slightly as more characters get their own adventures and romances. Maud is a brilliant main character, with a fresh voice, fresh problems, and a very compelling love interest. As the book is set in the early 20th Century, switching from a male to female perspective also helps us to see and meet more people in this world. In Edwardian England, men and women moved in very different circles and had very different careers and daily routines, so this switch introduces us to a whole new host of characters and friendships. It’s also in keeping with what I think is one of the strongest aspects of this series. One of the things I loved in the first book was the idea that there are a plethora of ways to cast magic, but most are cast aside in favour of the methods deemed best by upper-class English men. Through Maud’s eyes we get to see a little bit more of what’s out there, and I can’t wait to read even more next time!

This is a really fantastic series, with lots of exciting things happening in this book! I can’t wait for the final instalment, and to find out how it’s all going to end.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.