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Swordcrossed
Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.
What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.
Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.
However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?
What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.
Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.
However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?
372 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2024
About the author
Freya Marske
17 books2,711 followersFreya Marske lives in Australia, where she is yet to be killed by any form of wildlife. She writes stories full of magic, blood, and as much kissing as she can get away with, and she co-hosted the Hugo Award nominated podcast Be the Serpent. Her hobbies include figure skating and discovering new art galleries, and she is on a quest to try all the gin in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 554 reviews
March 26, 2024
That cover! It’s so stunning! And yes, the story is equally fantastic! There’s so much yearning and pining and longing, and I fell so hard for it!
All of you like me who don’t read romantasy often, listen! This story reads like a historical romance set in an emancipated foreign country you don’t know much about. Feminist women? Check. Same-sex marriage? Check. Still a historical feeling? Check. So, if you like historical novels, I’m convinced you’ll love this one too.
This story is goood. Oh, I already said that, right? But it is. Swordcrossed has two great main characters. Matti is the one who was never a child, always doing what is expected of him, hiding everything he thinks or feels, and might be demisexual. Luca is an open book, a fiery extroverted, impatient red-head who especially hates early mornings, and might have ADHD. They are so great together!
But there’s more. A likable wedding partner, great family dynamics, lots of banter, vivid writing. A smile danced on my face so many times! Even though this is a standalone, I could do with another story in this world!
Thanks so much, Erin from Macmillan International, for this review copy! I’m always so grateful when you send me the ARC I’m asking for!
Actual rating somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars.
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All of you like me who don’t read romantasy often, listen! This story reads like a historical romance set in an emancipated foreign country you don’t know much about. Feminist women? Check. Same-sex marriage? Check. Still a historical feeling? Check. So, if you like historical novels, I’m convinced you’ll love this one too.
This story is goood. Oh, I already said that, right? But it is. Swordcrossed has two great main characters. Matti is the one who was never a child, always doing what is expected of him, hiding everything he thinks or feels, and might be demisexual. Luca is an open book, a fiery extroverted, impatient red-head who especially hates early mornings, and might have ADHD. They are so great together!
But there’s more. A likable wedding partner, great family dynamics, lots of banter, vivid writing. A smile danced on my face so many times! Even though this is a standalone, I could do with another story in this world!
Thanks so much, Erin from Macmillan International, for this review copy! I’m always so grateful when you send me the ARC I’m asking for!
Actual rating somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars.
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June 2, 2024
Trust Freya Marske to write a romantasy book that I really enjoy. I still personally prefer the Last Binding series, but Swordcrossed was a super fun, fast read.
Swordcrossed introduces a world of merchant houses ruled by scheming and secrets. I found the custom of duelists at formal events such as weddings entertaining and unique. Though I think a bit more could have been done with the tradition. I would have loved to see a few more dramatic or important scenes involving Luca’s role.
I loved Luca and Matti as characters. They both feel the weight of the world on their shoulders with their complicated pasts and family dynamics. The tension between them at first—caused by Matti’s dire situation—was really engaging. I loved the vulnerability in their relationship. They both saw sides of the other person that were hidden from the world. My one complaint is the strong insta-lust vibes. There was a lot of tension to build on in their relationship but the book moved past the pining stage very quickly.
As I would expect from a romantasy book, the romance takes up the majority of the story. I wish the plot had been a bit stronger, especially in the earlier parts of the book. The scenes between Luca and Matti started to feel a little repetitive because there wasn't a lot of variety in their routine. I also found some of the later plot developments really predictable, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment too much.
Freya Marske’s writing is engaging as always. However, I found some of the language irritatingly repetitive. Especially the overuse of the same three metaphors.
Swordcrossed is a charmingly romantic fantasy story with heartfelt character relationships.
Thank you Bramble for the eARC
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
Swordcrossed introduces a world of merchant houses ruled by scheming and secrets. I found the custom of duelists at formal events such as weddings entertaining and unique. Though I think a bit more could have been done with the tradition. I would have loved to see a few more dramatic or important scenes involving Luca’s role.
I loved Luca and Matti as characters. They both feel the weight of the world on their shoulders with their complicated pasts and family dynamics. The tension between them at first—caused by Matti’s dire situation—was really engaging. I loved the vulnerability in their relationship. They both saw sides of the other person that were hidden from the world. My one complaint is the strong insta-lust vibes. There was a lot of tension to build on in their relationship but the book moved past the pining stage very quickly.
As I would expect from a romantasy book, the romance takes up the majority of the story. I wish the plot had been a bit stronger, especially in the earlier parts of the book. The scenes between Luca and Matti started to feel a little repetitive because there wasn't a lot of variety in their routine. I also found some of the later plot developments really predictable, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment too much.
Freya Marske’s writing is engaging as always. However, I found some of the language irritatingly repetitive. Especially the overuse of the same three metaphors.
Swordcrossed is a charmingly romantic fantasy story with heartfelt character relationships.
Thank you Bramble for the eARC
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 12, 2024DNF na 40%. Pewnie nie możecie w to uwierzyć tak samo jak ja. Jak to, porzucać autorkę CZAROGEJÓW? Ale to nie jest fantasy, przepraszam bardzo, proszę przestać używać tego określenia do książek, które rozgrywają się po prostu w zmyślonej lokacji (wzorowanej na XVII-wiecznych Niderlandach z bardziej współczesną mentalnością) i nie mają ŻADNEJ MAGII. Bo bez magii to już jest tylko zwykły romans, a zwykle romanse są nudniejsze niż raport o plonach z Wielkopolski z czasu drugiego zaboru, nie zapraszam do dyskusji.
October 19, 2024
should have named this wool trading instead bc there was more of that than swords being crossed
Read
October 31, 2024So cute, fun, and heartwarming!
September 30, 2024
4.0 Stars
This might be one of my new favourite “Romantasy” novels. The setup was just cute. The two men were so likable. The writing was great, with right balance of nice prose and witty dialogue. Finally, I was pleasantly surprised that this one got hot. I often assume romance is all “fade to black” but this one got steamy.
I would highly recommend to those who love romance fantasy stories, particularly those with a gay angle. This one was so much fun.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This might be one of my new favourite “Romantasy” novels. The setup was just cute. The two men were so likable. The writing was great, with right balance of nice prose and witty dialogue. Finally, I was pleasantly surprised that this one got hot. I often assume romance is all “fade to black” but this one got steamy.
I would highly recommend to those who love romance fantasy stories, particularly those with a gay angle. This one was so much fun.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Want to read
March 21, 2024UMMM??? this looks so slay, I’m foaming at the mouth!!!
October 15, 2024
An eagerly awaited book (because I had liked her previous books and it sounded Swordspoint-ish and I loved that book so much and will always be in the market for things in that ballpark), sp I got it and was all settled up for an easy comfort read. But it is like ordering pasta at a nice prestigious authentic restaurant and getting a big plate of overcooked industrial pasta with sauce from a jar. It's theoretically what I ordered, but it is all limp, wet, gluey, and just not good. And I am going to argue the metaphor, I think part of its problems is that it is too much, too overcooked, too long, too full of explanations and clues about what is next and repeating time and time again how much out two MCs love each other but there are REASONS for they not to sail HEA at once. Immensely detailed and long sex scenes, which honestly I found boring (I am sure there is far far better for free in AO3..)
It tries to be a romance, but the main characters have little conflict that I could respect. For a fantasy novel, there is little point, nor does it make use of its potential - everybody is devoutedly pious, and religion is mentioned often, but no magic or importance to it rather than "luck" as the will of the gods (some scientific thinking would do so much for their society...). There is little point to the politics except allowing our 2 MCs to be HEA together. And weirdly, this is making me feel old (but in a good way, a way I am proud of) for all that this is explicitly modern and pro-diversity and hence progressive (racial diversity, trans character, non binary character, pronouns, no homophobia) there is this underlying political conservatism around, where the characters are privileged and just not contesting the status quo, no impulse there to contest the oligarquich status quo. It's weirdly un-transgressive of the historical politics and unequal society it portrays, it seems to be totally fine with it maybe because our rich heir MCs get nice clothes and go to balls and they are the real people. It is the bad guys who want to do things, feel things I would kind of be in sympathy with like . And then the antagonists get duly embarrassed and their schemes foiled in an over the top infantile public confrontation because that is not that kind of story, nope, the story is our priviliged MCs get a HEA and their houses accumulate more wealth and power.
The economics do not make much sense, our MC1, heir and manager to a huge house firing people but still employing lots of people, but the poor guy is so poor now he rations luxury foods and other details which seems unlikely and manipulative tiny violin things for pathos and to show he has like REASONS to not be with MC2 at once because he must marry an heiress so his siblings can eat expensive fruit. (Also, there is no way a ship returning to a familiar port with just a name change is not immediately recognized. It's that kind of worldbuilding and plotting, obvious and well quite naive).
I heard the audiobook narrated by Omari Douglas who has a nice voice and accent for narration, and read every scene well. But there was something a bit lacking also with his narration, he seems to have no accent game, he used this generic, pleasant British upper class received pronunciation for everybody, both MCs sounded the same (not just accent wise, tone wise, and this is a problem since we get both their PoVs) even if the text made it clear there were lots of accents around, that the MCs were from different cities, and accents were being used as disguises or to fit in, but the narrator l always used the same accent. Nice voice and accent but maybe not the best interpretation possible.
Disappointing all around. I had been afraid of rereading Swordspoint and it not being as good, or loving it as much as I had back then, but this cured me of that. It might not be as good as it is in my memory, but it is certainly a lot better than this puerile, overcooked mess.
It tries to be a romance, but the main characters have little conflict that I could respect. For a fantasy novel, there is little point, nor does it make use of its potential - everybody is devoutedly pious, and religion is mentioned often, but no magic or importance to it rather than "luck" as the will of the gods (some scientific thinking would do so much for their society...). There is little point to the politics except allowing our 2 MCs to be HEA together. And weirdly, this is making me feel old (but in a good way, a way I am proud of) for all that this is explicitly modern and pro-diversity and hence progressive (racial diversity, trans character, non binary character, pronouns, no homophobia) there is this underlying political conservatism around, where the characters are privileged and just not contesting the status quo, no impulse there to contest the oligarquich status quo. It's weirdly un-transgressive of the historical politics and unequal society it portrays, it seems to be totally fine with it maybe because our rich heir MCs get nice clothes and go to balls and they are the real people. It is the bad guys who want to do things, feel things I would kind of be in sympathy with like . And then the antagonists get duly embarrassed and their schemes foiled in an over the top infantile public confrontation because that is not that kind of story, nope, the story is our priviliged MCs get a HEA and their houses accumulate more wealth and power.
The economics do not make much sense, our MC1, heir and manager to a huge house firing people but still employing lots of people, but the poor guy is so poor now he rations luxury foods and other details which seems unlikely and manipulative tiny violin things for pathos and to show he has like REASONS to not be with MC2 at once because he must marry an heiress so his siblings can eat expensive fruit. (Also, there is no way a ship returning to a familiar port with just a name change is not immediately recognized. It's that kind of worldbuilding and plotting, obvious and well quite naive).
I heard the audiobook narrated by Omari Douglas who has a nice voice and accent for narration, and read every scene well. But there was something a bit lacking also with his narration, he seems to have no accent game, he used this generic, pleasant British upper class received pronunciation for everybody, both MCs sounded the same (not just accent wise, tone wise, and this is a problem since we get both their PoVs) even if the text made it clear there were lots of accents around, that the MCs were from different cities, and accents were being used as disguises or to fit in, but the narrator l always used the same accent. Nice voice and accent but maybe not the best interpretation possible.
Disappointing all around. I had been afraid of rereading Swordspoint and it not being as good, or loving it as much as I had back then, but this cured me of that. It might not be as good as it is in my memory, but it is certainly a lot better than this puerile, overcooked mess.
Shelved as 'netgalley-tbr'
May 29, 2024new freya marske!!!!!
edit 29.05 I GOT AN ARC EEEEEEKKKKKK
edit 29.05 I GOT AN ARC EEEEEEKKKKKK
June 28, 2024
This book feels like the loveliest possible mashup of Cat Sebastian's gentle historical queer romances and Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, and it's just wonderful. Funny, cozy, and romantic, with fabulous swordfighting and lovable characters. The plot is less propulsive than the Last Binding books, but that gives Marske time to really dive deep into the characters.
I felt very lucky to get an early copy!
I felt very lucky to get an early copy!
March 28, 2024
SO fun and lighthearted, absolutely loved it!!
April 26, 2024
Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is a fun, hot, low fantasy romp set in a queernormative world ⚔️
Matti has to hire a dualist for his upcoming marriage into a rich family which has been arranged to save his family's failing wool business. His bride-to-be has a very insistent admirer who may challenge Matti to a duel at the wedding, and so hiring a competing dualist who's good with a sword is crucial. The only person he can afford though, is Luca, the man who scammed Matti just the day prior. With no other choice, Matti pays (and blackmails) the mysterious, new-to-town Luca into becoming not only his dualist but also his new sword-fighting instructor.
Their mutual attraction that neither initially plan on acting on only grows stronger the more time they spend together which is frankly incredibly inconvenient since Matti's set to be married. While this arrangement was only meant to be one of business, soon Luca and Matti are falling into bed together, and Luca starts helping Matti trying to figure out if his family's business failing might be due to sabotage rather than accidents while also desperately trying to keep his own past a secret.
Swordcossed is full of hot, flirty fun between Matti and Luca while also diving into lots of schemes and secrets - from multiple sides. There are crushes, sword-practice used as foreplay, trickery, arranged marriage where neither party's particularly into it, complex family dynamics, honour, and quite a bit of insight into the wool trade 😆
Matti's a gentleman, comes from a fancy family, and has the burden of running an entire business on his shoulders. Luca is chaotic af, impulsive, has forever unruly hair, a mysterious past he'd prefer to not get into, and a giant crush on Matti. Which is great since Matti crushes right back though he's more reluctant to act on things. Once he does though? Phew, these two get hot and heavy, and there's some kink that's juuust out of reach but definitely implied. It felt a bit like kink-teasing to be honest 😂
I really liked the characters, and the plot was interesting but a little overly into descriptions of the intricacy of the wool trade at times.
Overall, a very enjoyable book with a hot, fun romance, great characters, and a plot with mysteries and schemes.
Thanks to Bramble, Macmillan, and Edelweiss for the ARC. Swordcrossed is out October 8
Matti has to hire a dualist for his upcoming marriage into a rich family which has been arranged to save his family's failing wool business. His bride-to-be has a very insistent admirer who may challenge Matti to a duel at the wedding, and so hiring a competing dualist who's good with a sword is crucial. The only person he can afford though, is Luca, the man who scammed Matti just the day prior. With no other choice, Matti pays (and blackmails) the mysterious, new-to-town Luca into becoming not only his dualist but also his new sword-fighting instructor.
Their mutual attraction that neither initially plan on acting on only grows stronger the more time they spend together which is frankly incredibly inconvenient since Matti's set to be married. While this arrangement was only meant to be one of business, soon Luca and Matti are falling into bed together, and Luca starts helping Matti trying to figure out if his family's business failing might be due to sabotage rather than accidents while also desperately trying to keep his own past a secret.
Swordcossed is full of hot, flirty fun between Matti and Luca while also diving into lots of schemes and secrets - from multiple sides. There are crushes, sword-practice used as foreplay, trickery, arranged marriage where neither party's particularly into it, complex family dynamics, honour, and quite a bit of insight into the wool trade 😆
Matti's a gentleman, comes from a fancy family, and has the burden of running an entire business on his shoulders. Luca is chaotic af, impulsive, has forever unruly hair, a mysterious past he'd prefer to not get into, and a giant crush on Matti. Which is great since Matti crushes right back though he's more reluctant to act on things. Once he does though? Phew, these two get hot and heavy, and there's some kink that's juuust out of reach but definitely implied. It felt a bit like kink-teasing to be honest 😂
I really liked the characters, and the plot was interesting but a little overly into descriptions of the intricacy of the wool trade at times.
Overall, a very enjoyable book with a hot, fun romance, great characters, and a plot with mysteries and schemes.
Thanks to Bramble, Macmillan, and Edelweiss for the ARC. Swordcrossed is out October 8
September 4, 2024
Rep: gay mcs, lesbian side characters, transmasc side character
Swordcrossed is a perfectly alright fantasy romance, but remarkably unmemorable, as will be evidenced by the length of this review. I knew what I was getting into beforehand, having read all of Freya Marske’s previous books, and it was pretty much exactly as expected. A reasonably fun read, an enjoyable enough way to pass the time, with characters I liked and a fast-paced plot. But so unmemorable! In fact, I remember more of the third book in Marske’s series (which I read in June 2023) than I do this one (read in May 2024). So, in lieu of continuing to say more here, let me just paste what I wrote on finishing this one:
reminded me a lot of a taste of gold and iron and i don’t mean that in a positive way: the central relationship was a LOT better here & the plot better integrated with the romance, but said plot was somehow made more convoluted than needed.
Swordcrossed is a perfectly alright fantasy romance, but remarkably unmemorable, as will be evidenced by the length of this review. I knew what I was getting into beforehand, having read all of Freya Marske’s previous books, and it was pretty much exactly as expected. A reasonably fun read, an enjoyable enough way to pass the time, with characters I liked and a fast-paced plot. But so unmemorable! In fact, I remember more of the third book in Marske’s series (which I read in June 2023) than I do this one (read in May 2024). So, in lieu of continuing to say more here, let me just paste what I wrote on finishing this one:
reminded me a lot of a taste of gold and iron and i don’t mean that in a positive way: the central relationship was a LOT better here & the plot better integrated with the romance, but said plot was somehow made more convoluted than needed.
October 22, 2024
i can’t believe im saying it but this needed more swords??
also didn’t know i had a limit for hearing about wool until this book
still cute but the way i’d rather read this from the sisters perspective (she and sofia were so cute)
also didn’t know i had a limit for hearing about wool until this book
still cute but the way i’d rather read this from the sisters perspective (she and sofia were so cute)
September 23, 2024
4.75 stars.
Completely and utterly satisfying in all ways!
I'm genuinely a bit sad this book is over. A part of me wanted to stretch out and make it last, but once I got past the halfway point, I couldn't put it down. The book did try to break my heart a few times, but it was all completely worth it by the end, I promise! I loved this book so very much. The characters were wonderful (if occasionally infuriating!), the romance was so well done, and the whole thing just felt like a warm, cozy hug of a story.
Freya Marske has a way of writing characters that makes them feel alive and vibrant in the way they interact with the world and each other, and I loved all of these so very much. Swordcrossed just has such spectacular cast of main and side characters! I can't help hoping that we'll get to see more written in this world (perhaps featuring a couple of side characters in particular...) because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to everyone. Regardless, this is a book I expect I'll be coming back to occasionally just to relive my favorite moments again!
As far as the plot, I won't pretend that this is a deep literary novel, and a lot of it was predictable, but that was part of what made this book so very enjoyable to read. Freya Marske did exactly what I could have hoped for her to do, and did it very well! The intrigue and drama the plot involved was just delightfully fun to follow, and the relationship journey was the perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and dramatic. (So very dramatic. But what can you expect with Drama-King Luca involved!)
All in all, I really loved this book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfyingly delightful romance adventure!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Completely and utterly satisfying in all ways!
I'm genuinely a bit sad this book is over. A part of me wanted to stretch out and make it last, but once I got past the halfway point, I couldn't put it down. The book did try to break my heart a few times, but it was all completely worth it by the end, I promise! I loved this book so very much. The characters were wonderful (if occasionally infuriating!), the romance was so well done, and the whole thing just felt like a warm, cozy hug of a story.
Freya Marske has a way of writing characters that makes them feel alive and vibrant in the way they interact with the world and each other, and I loved all of these so very much. Swordcrossed just has such spectacular cast of main and side characters! I can't help hoping that we'll get to see more written in this world (perhaps featuring a couple of side characters in particular...) because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to everyone. Regardless, this is a book I expect I'll be coming back to occasionally just to relive my favorite moments again!
As far as the plot, I won't pretend that this is a deep literary novel, and a lot of it was predictable, but that was part of what made this book so very enjoyable to read. Freya Marske did exactly what I could have hoped for her to do, and did it very well! The intrigue and drama the plot involved was just delightfully fun to follow, and the relationship journey was the perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and dramatic. (So very dramatic. But what can you expect with Drama-King Luca involved!)
All in all, I really loved this book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfyingly delightful romance adventure!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2024
did i like this? sure, but idk it felt kind of...cobbled together. the plot is mostly just whatever--its not a super complex plot and yet it somehow came across as convoluted--and the romance itself was enjoyable but forgettable. altogether this was a bit bland, a bit flimsy, nice in the moment but a story where ultimately nothing much stood out to me. (tbh the cover has more intrigue and tension than the actual book...)
(thank you to Bramble for the eARC!)
(thank you to Bramble for the eARC!)
Want to read
October 26, 2023and i say: that's my fucking queen freya marske!!
November 14, 2024
eh. very readable, but finding out that this was the first book marske wrote made a lot of sense; it reads like the product of a person playing around in the fantasy(ish) rich person space without thinking much of it and then having to come back later after having grown more of an awareness and being like wait they're rich but they feel bad for the poors :( just had kiiiiind of a hard time caring about whether or not this respectable merchant house was going to be able to (checks notes) maintain their wool monopoly, lol. but it's okay because they're Reformers!!! and they keep on their injured factory workers (unless they're permanently disabled, in which case, you're shit out of luck)!!! (and yet, at the same time, calling this "low stakes" felt like a complete lie? one with which I was completely fine, to be clear, because I prefer stakes that aren't rock-bottom, but still, felt like a bit of forced marketing.)
that's a little overly harsh, though, because again, marske is clearly trying; you can just tell that she probably wasn't when she first wrote whatever embryonic form of this initially made its way onto the page.
this is a complaint I don't often find myself making about queer sex scenes, but I did find that the sex scenes ran too long and I skimmed just a bit in those parts!
still, though, it's a compelling read on the whole (I finished it in a rush on my birthday when I should have been doing my work so that I wouldn't have to stay up late doing work on my birthday, because I just had to know how it would all wrap up!), with plenty of fun to be had here, and I liked the fresh take of "what if u knew he was a con man the whole time from the beginning" and several other little details (like luca being terrible at teaching, actually). liked the religion-based system of swearing but could have used more about the actual gods and belief systems themselves, etc etc etc etc. A Reasonably Good Time For One To Have!
that's a little overly harsh, though, because again, marske is clearly trying; you can just tell that she probably wasn't when she first wrote whatever embryonic form of this initially made its way onto the page.
this is a complaint I don't often find myself making about queer sex scenes, but I did find that the sex scenes ran too long and I skimmed just a bit in those parts!
still, though, it's a compelling read on the whole (I finished it in a rush on my birthday when I should have been doing my work so that I wouldn't have to stay up late doing work on my birthday, because I just had to know how it would all wrap up!), with plenty of fun to be had here, and I liked the fresh take of "what if u knew he was a con man the whole time from the beginning" and several other little details (like luca being terrible at teaching, actually). liked the religion-based system of swearing but could have used more about the actual gods and belief systems themselves, etc etc etc etc. A Reasonably Good Time For One To Have!
October 13, 2024
DNF ~ 27%
This one hurt. :/ I've really enjoyed this author's The Last Binding Trilogy, and I was eagerly awaiting her next release, but I just was not enjoying this one. I found the world-building underdeveloped and hazy -- for most of the book I read it comes across as if it's vaguely in "old England times" except for the occasional vague mention of unique gods/traditions and the fact that racism/homophobia doesn't seem to be much of a thing (or at least not a prevalent thing in the first quarter of the book). While I enjoyed the main characters on their own, I really didn't buy the sort of insta-lust connection they had -- it felt forced and I felt zero real chemistry. I also started getting a little squicked by the marriage plot and kind of ethical grey areas around that and the MCs attraction. I'm certain it will all be resolved in a lovely bow and be totally fine, but it just wasn't enjoyable for me, which may not have been such an issue if I actually cared at all about the MCs being together. This was a bummer, and maybe would have turned around but life is too short to find out. Alas.
This one hurt. :/ I've really enjoyed this author's The Last Binding Trilogy, and I was eagerly awaiting her next release, but I just was not enjoying this one. I found the world-building underdeveloped and hazy -- for most of the book I read it comes across as if it's vaguely in "old England times" except for the occasional vague mention of unique gods/traditions and the fact that racism/homophobia doesn't seem to be much of a thing (or at least not a prevalent thing in the first quarter of the book). While I enjoyed the main characters on their own, I really didn't buy the sort of insta-lust connection they had -- it felt forced and I felt zero real chemistry. I also started getting a little squicked by the marriage plot and kind of ethical grey areas around that and the MCs attraction. I'm certain it will all be resolved in a lovely bow and be totally fine, but it just wasn't enjoyable for me, which may not have been such an issue if I actually cared at all about the MCs being together. This was a bummer, and maybe would have turned around but life is too short to find out. Alas.
September 18, 2024
Bridgerton meets The Bodyguard (by way of Georgette Heyer) in this low stakes and sizzlingly romantic, fantasy of manners. Which follows a dutiful heir and the charming, con-man-turned-swordsman he hires to serve as best man at his arranged wedding.
As a huge fan of The Last Binding series, Swordcrossed has been on my list of most anticipated reads since Freya Marske shared the premise at an online Q&A last year. And having finally read it, I can confirm it’s just as fun, steamy and dazzlingly cosy as I hoped it would be.
Marske’s prose was once again vividly detailed and dripping with intrigue, yet it was her heartfelt, character driven narrative (and a certain playfully witty, cinnamon roll MC) that really made this a standout read for me.
Our first POV character, Matti, was such a kindhearted (though anxious) protagonist. But his willingness to put everyone else first, even at the expense of his own happiness (or comfort) was soo incredibly endearing. Plus his interactions with the roguishly charming, Luca (our second POV character) were deliciously swoon-worthy and gave Robin and Edwin (from The Last Binding) some pretty strong competition in the slow burn relationship stakes.
Luca, in all his Labrador-esque (and cinnamon roll) glory, completely stole my heart with all his antics. His laissez faire demeanour and outlook on life contrasted so well with Matti’s self imposed reticence (which we see Luca slowly dismantle) but also served to hide some of his own insecurities (primarily his struggle with Dyscalculia.)
I really liked that Marske explored both neurodiversity and mental health in her protagonists; adding a layer of depth and dimension to Matti and Luca’s experiences that only made me love them more.
The inclusion also highlighted just how necessary representation is in raising awareness, amplifying voices and combating stigma surrounding neurodivergence, and the effects that a lack of support can have on people’s mental health. The LGBTQ+ rep was phenomenal as well and just one of many reasons Marske has quickly become one of my favourite authors.
I don’t want to say too much else for fear of spoiling the plot, but the supporting cast (including Matti’s sister, Maya and his betrothed, Sophia) were wonderfully well written too. I’m not sure if this is standalone or not, but I really hope we get the chance to see more of them as they were both soo delightfully entertaining.
The pacing was a bit slower than anticipated, but did made up for it with its witty banter and engaging characters. Definitely a worthwhile read for slow burn, historical romance lovers or fans of Freya Marske’s previous books.
Also a huge thank you to BookBreak / Tor for the proof.
As a huge fan of The Last Binding series, Swordcrossed has been on my list of most anticipated reads since Freya Marske shared the premise at an online Q&A last year. And having finally read it, I can confirm it’s just as fun, steamy and dazzlingly cosy as I hoped it would be.
Marske’s prose was once again vividly detailed and dripping with intrigue, yet it was her heartfelt, character driven narrative (and a certain playfully witty, cinnamon roll MC) that really made this a standout read for me.
Our first POV character, Matti, was such a kindhearted (though anxious) protagonist. But his willingness to put everyone else first, even at the expense of his own happiness (or comfort) was soo incredibly endearing. Plus his interactions with the roguishly charming, Luca (our second POV character) were deliciously swoon-worthy and gave Robin and Edwin (from The Last Binding) some pretty strong competition in the slow burn relationship stakes.
Luca, in all his Labrador-esque (and cinnamon roll) glory, completely stole my heart with all his antics. His laissez faire demeanour and outlook on life contrasted so well with Matti’s self imposed reticence (which we see Luca slowly dismantle) but also served to hide some of his own insecurities (primarily his struggle with Dyscalculia.)
I really liked that Marske explored both neurodiversity and mental health in her protagonists; adding a layer of depth and dimension to Matti and Luca’s experiences that only made me love them more.
The inclusion also highlighted just how necessary representation is in raising awareness, amplifying voices and combating stigma surrounding neurodivergence, and the effects that a lack of support can have on people’s mental health. The LGBTQ+ rep was phenomenal as well and just one of many reasons Marske has quickly become one of my favourite authors.
I don’t want to say too much else for fear of spoiling the plot, but the supporting cast (including Matti’s sister, Maya and his betrothed, Sophia) were wonderfully well written too. I’m not sure if this is standalone or not, but I really hope we get the chance to see more of them as they were both soo delightfully entertaining.
The pacing was a bit slower than anticipated, but did made up for it with its witty banter and engaging characters. Definitely a worthwhile read for slow burn, historical romance lovers or fans of Freya Marske’s previous books.
Also a huge thank you to BookBreak / Tor for the proof.
October 11, 2024
2.5
Oh well, this was disappointing.
I'm so angry with myself for not liking this as much as I hoped! I was so damn sure "Swordcrossed" was going to be a winner. I love Freya Markse's writing, and I absolutely adored her "The Last Binding" series (I'm still missing book three, but I'm certain that one too will be a winner). Unfortunately, this book did not work for me.
There were some things that I absolutely adored, but all in all, they were not enough to win me over, and especially, they definitely were not enough to stop me from skimming nearly half of the book. I should have DNF it, but I was still curious to see what would happen to Matti and Luca and to see the plot unfold.
Anyway, the good: I adored Matti as a protagonist. If there's one thing I love, it's chronically responsible, anxious messes getting their shot at happiness and setting boundaries. He was the literal best: serious and competent but also so damn earnest and honest and vulnerable and insecure and uGHH, my son, I loved him to bits. I wanted to jump into the book to wrap him in blankets. I also ADORED all the side characters: Maya and Sofia were fantastic, and I wanted to be adopted by the entire Jay household.
I also really liked the plot: I'm a plot girlie through and through, and Freya's already shown us how good she is at crafting well-thought-out stories that manage to keep you on the edge of your seat. I didn't think I'd manage to find myself invested in the intricacies of wool industry, but here we are. The plot was the main reason I wanted to finish this book, alongside Matti's well-earned HEA and the feeling I had about the whole Sofia situation. I was so happy to be right. <3
Apart from these things, the rest of the book did not work for me.
I'm a plot girlie, but also a world-building one too, so I can't believe I have to write this but: the world-building was too damn complicated and convoluted. I'm usually good at keeping up, but damn, I could not, for the life of me, understand what was going on there.
I could have gotten over that if only the other protagonist, Luca, and Luca and Matti's romance, had stolen my heart... and yeah, that didn't happen. I disliked Luca so much. I'm usually all over messy, lying liars with secret damaged hearts, but god, he was despicable. Or not even that, just plain annoying, and his reasons for being annoying and a lying liar were thin at best. I didn't like how he treated Matti, and I didn't buy his sudden interest in Matti's well-being.
I also didn't buy their dynamic. Something felt off about them together, I'm still not sure what. Maybe I would have loved them more if I liked Luca, or maybe they just weren't my cup of tea together. Oh well. I still wanted to know what would happen between them, but I was more invested in the secondary romances.
Like I said, I really like the plot, and I really liked Matti and the cast of side characters. The ending was pretty satisfying too, and I was happy to see how everything wrapped up. I'm sticking with this rating for these reasons alone.
I think this could be a case of "it's me, not you" because the whole world loved this. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset, or maybe they can't all be winners, and that's okay.
If you love low-stakes romances in a low-stakes fantasy world, with a complex world-building and (at least one) complex, lovable protagonist, give this book a go. Hopefully it will work better for you than it did for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.
Oh well, this was disappointing.
I'm so angry with myself for not liking this as much as I hoped! I was so damn sure "Swordcrossed" was going to be a winner. I love Freya Markse's writing, and I absolutely adored her "The Last Binding" series (I'm still missing book three, but I'm certain that one too will be a winner). Unfortunately, this book did not work for me.
There were some things that I absolutely adored, but all in all, they were not enough to win me over, and especially, they definitely were not enough to stop me from skimming nearly half of the book. I should have DNF it, but I was still curious to see what would happen to Matti and Luca and to see the plot unfold.
Anyway, the good: I adored Matti as a protagonist. If there's one thing I love, it's chronically responsible, anxious messes getting their shot at happiness and setting boundaries. He was the literal best: serious and competent but also so damn earnest and honest and vulnerable and insecure and uGHH, my son, I loved him to bits. I wanted to jump into the book to wrap him in blankets. I also ADORED all the side characters: Maya and Sofia were fantastic, and I wanted to be adopted by the entire Jay household.
I also really liked the plot: I'm a plot girlie through and through, and Freya's already shown us how good she is at crafting well-thought-out stories that manage to keep you on the edge of your seat. I didn't think I'd manage to find myself invested in the intricacies of wool industry, but here we are. The plot was the main reason I wanted to finish this book, alongside Matti's well-earned HEA and the feeling I had about the whole Sofia situation. I was so happy to be right. <3
Apart from these things, the rest of the book did not work for me.
I'm a plot girlie, but also a world-building one too, so I can't believe I have to write this but: the world-building was too damn complicated and convoluted. I'm usually good at keeping up, but damn, I could not, for the life of me, understand what was going on there.
I could have gotten over that if only the other protagonist, Luca, and Luca and Matti's romance, had stolen my heart... and yeah, that didn't happen. I disliked Luca so much. I'm usually all over messy, lying liars with secret damaged hearts, but god, he was despicable. Or not even that, just plain annoying, and his reasons for being annoying and a lying liar were thin at best. I didn't like how he treated Matti, and I didn't buy his sudden interest in Matti's well-being.
I also didn't buy their dynamic. Something felt off about them together, I'm still not sure what. Maybe I would have loved them more if I liked Luca, or maybe they just weren't my cup of tea together. Oh well. I still wanted to know what would happen between them, but I was more invested in the secondary romances.
Like I said, I really like the plot, and I really liked Matti and the cast of side characters. The ending was pretty satisfying too, and I was happy to see how everything wrapped up. I'm sticking with this rating for these reasons alone.
I think this could be a case of "it's me, not you" because the whole world loved this. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset, or maybe they can't all be winners, and that's okay.
If you love low-stakes romances in a low-stakes fantasy world, with a complex world-building and (at least one) complex, lovable protagonist, give this book a go. Hopefully it will work better for you than it did for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.
April 23, 2024
spent the whole book highlight every double entendre about sword fights and i’m not ashamed about it.
June 1, 2024
and the tradition of me going feral for everything freya marske writes continues i see!
October 12, 2024
Когда думала, что книга про фехтование, а она по большей части про промышленный шпионаж 😂
Неплохо (особенно, как оказалось, для дебютного романа), но все-таки трилогия The Last Binding мне зашла больше.
Неплохо (особенно, как оказалось, для дебютного романа), но все-таки трилогия The Last Binding мне зашла больше.
September 24, 2024
Swordcrossed is a romance story set in a regency-inspired fantasy world, although there was no magic in it. Our protagonists are Matti Jay, heir to a textile business slash noble house on the brink of bankruptcy, and Luca Piere, a no-name swordsman slash con artist with dubious identity. Matti had to hire Luca as a swordsman for his upcoming wedding, after being conned by Luca himself.
I ... didn't like the majority of this book. I may be in a romance story fatigue, so it's not 100% the book's fault, but yeah. The tension between the MCs was good until like 30% then I started to find nothing to be hot anymore, more in the cute and comfy realm. I kept hoping the MCs will be doing some hot stuff, but it always fizzled because it's too nice and polite for me. The worldbuilding was great, but way too complicated than the story needed, imo. By 68% (I'm looking at my notes here) I didn't care whether the MCs will end up together or not. Instead of making me sympathize, their personalities both annoyed me. It was too painfully obvious their frontal lobes had not yet finished developing. The last 2 chapters were nice (92-100% of the book). The worst of all, I suppose, was how boring all the business and technical talks were! I wanted to dnf at like 60% but decided to push through and I suffered. I just found no excitement while reading this book. It's not bad, but it wasn't for me.
eARC provided by NetGalley and PanMacMillan.
I ... didn't like the majority of this book. I may be in a romance story fatigue, so it's not 100% the book's fault, but yeah. The tension between the MCs was good until like 30% then I started to find nothing to be hot anymore, more in the cute and comfy realm. I kept hoping the MCs will be doing some hot stuff, but it always fizzled because it's too nice and polite for me. The worldbuilding was great, but way too complicated than the story needed, imo. By 68% (I'm looking at my notes here) I didn't care whether the MCs will end up together or not. Instead of making me sympathize, their personalities both annoyed me. It was too painfully obvious their frontal lobes had not yet finished developing. The last 2 chapters were nice (92-100% of the book). The worst of all, I suppose, was how boring all the business and technical talks were! I wanted to dnf at like 60% but decided to push through and I suffered. I just found no excitement while reading this book. It's not bad, but it wasn't for me.
eARC provided by NetGalley and PanMacMillan.
October 23, 2024
plot wise this is marketed as a romantasy but is truly just about the protagonist’s wool business failing due to corporate espionage because his dad won’t approve some public utilities work for some reason. i think this could actually be quite fun to play around with (god knows i love a good “so boring it loops back around to being absurdly funny” premise) but the worldbuilding ended up being both too detailed and too shallow at the same time. i liked the combination of renaissance italy with a kind of netherlands-y trading city vibe. but i never thought the guild system was explored to its full potential — i got a whole bunch of gods’ names and descriptions, but not much insight into how the wider society actually functions with these guilds.
in terms of romance the first half of this book is a real slog because i was never quite convinced that matti and luca had very good reasons to like each other. they had very little chemistry when they were not having sex or thinking about having sex. weirdly they really only clicked for me once they actually got together but by that point we were 2/3 of the way into the book. a shame because i liked them as individual characters.
tbh kind of baffled by how meh i am about this book. it’s like a lot of pieces that should have fit together but kept bouncing off of each other. at least the prose was good!
in terms of romance the first half of this book is a real slog because i was never quite convinced that matti and luca had very good reasons to like each other. they had very little chemistry when they were not having sex or thinking about having sex. weirdly they really only clicked for me once they actually got together but by that point we were 2/3 of the way into the book. a shame because i liked them as individual characters.
tbh kind of baffled by how meh i am about this book. it’s like a lot of pieces that should have fit together but kept bouncing off of each other. at least the prose was good!
June 26, 2024
[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 🙏
arc from netgalley
⚔️ 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
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 🙏
arc from netgalley
November 14, 2024
B- / 3.5 stars
If I had to describe Freya Marske’s latest novel, Swordcrossed, in one word it would be, I’m afraid, ‘disappointing’. Having really enjoyed her Edwardian-set The Last Binding trilogy, I was looking forward to this standalone fantasy romance that promised secrets and intrigue and swordplay, and that gorgeous cover spoke to me of swashbuckling and adventure. (This is one of those times when judging a book by its cover will definitely lead to feeling let down). I suppose there are secrets and intrigue in the story, but the duelling I expected… not so much, and the romance, while enjoyable, is a bit insta-lusty and ultimately forgettable.
The book is billed as a fantasy, but if you’re expecting magic or dragons, you won’t find any here. The setting has the feel of a Venetian or Low Countries Renaissance era, with a social hierarchy built around Guilds of various different tradespersons and family ‘houses’ within them. Twenty-four-year-old Mattinesh – Matti – Jay is the scion of Jay House, one of the wealthiest families in Glassport, whose fortune has been made in the wool trade. Ever since his father was elected to the leadership of the Spinners and Weavers Guild, he devotes his time to Guild business and serving on the city’s ruling council, so Matti has taken over the running of Jay House’s business interests. It’s a huge responsibility and Matti is bearing it completely alone, working as hard to insulate his family from the true situation as regards the state of their finances as he is on business matters, and he’s fast working himself into the ground. For the past five years or so, Jay House has been struggling, and the final nail in the coffin has been the loss of one of their ships carrying a high-value cargo. Its loss has left Matti with only one alternative – to make an advantageous marriage that will pump funds into Jay House’s coffers. To this end, he’s made an offer to Sofia Cooper, the daughter of a wealthy vintner, and their marriage will take place in a few weeks. Luckily for Matti, Sofia is a clever, sensible young woman who is well aware of the reasons for Matti’s proposal, and even though Matti is not the slightest bit attracted to her, they’re friends and he hopes they will do well enough together.
Luca Piere has just arrived in Glassport, having travelled there with plans to re-invent himself after a stunt-gone-wrong in his home town stirred up a lot of trouble, and intends to ply his trade as a swordsman. To get himself a bit of cash to live on while he waits for his first job, he plies his other skills – as a con man – when in a tavern one evening, and bilks a handsome, well-dressed young man out of a large sum of money. It’s not a bad haul for a few minutes work. Next day, Mr. Tolliver, owner of the city’s only swords-for-hire agency, calls Luca to meet with a potential client, who wants to hire a Best Man for his wedding. It’s quite common for the ‘if anyone knows why these two may not be joined, speak now’ moment in the ceremony to result in a challenge, so prospective grooms usually hire a duellist to fight the challenger. If the Best Man wins, the wedding proceeds; if not, it does not, the defeat proving that the gods disapprove of the match.
Of course, the client is none other than the man Luca had conned the previous night, Mattinesh Jay. Needless to say, Jay is angry, but he’s also badly in need of a Best Man and, thanks to Luca’s con, doesn’t have enough money to pay the tip-top rates that would guarantee him a highly experienced one. Luca manages to persuade Matti to take a chance on him – and in return, Matti asks (demands, really) that Luca give him fencing lessons. It’s an odd request, but Luca is intrigued by Matti enough to agree to the proposal. That Matti is gorgeous and just a bit endearingly awkward doesn’t hurt, either.
After an inauspicious beginning, Matti and Luca begin spending time together each morning, and a friendship starts to develop between them. It’s an opposites attract situation; Matti is serious-minded and responsible whereas Luca is chaotic and impulsive, with crazy red hair and a mysterious past he’s keen to hide. He’s also observant and able to read between the lines, realising that Matti’s life has never really been his own and that while he’s outwardly straightforward, he’s as much a deceiver, in his way, as Luca is in his, because he spends so much time not telling his family how bad things have become. I liked the insight they have about each other, both able to see sides of the other that others do not. As the days pass, Matti begins to open up a little more about the financial difficulties Jay House is facing, and Luca begins to join some dots that start telling him that the bad luck that’s befallen Jay House is not bad luck at all, but a carefully orchestrated plot to ruin them.
I had high expectations for Swordcrossed which, I’m sad to say, were not met. I liked Matti and Luca and I liked their romance – the author does a nice job with the mutual pining – but the early scenes between them during the fencing lessons feel a bit repetitive, and it’s so low stakes that there’s practically no conflict; the one issue that crops up in the second half (which is easy to guess at) is easily resolved. I suspect that some readers may be put off by the fact that Matti is falling in love and falling into bed with Luca while he’s engaged to be married to Sofia (even though he’s not in love with her and this is regarded as perfectly fine in this society – as long as it ends once he’s married). I liked Matti and Luca working together to find out who is behind the plot to ruin Jay House and why – that part is really good and held my interest, but it doesn’t get going until around the sixty-percent mark, and although it’s quite simple, it feels very convoluted at the same time – possibly because of the amount of information that is thrown at the reader in terms of names, houses, trades etc. - which leads me to my next point.
The biggest problem I had with the story overall is that it’s too bogged down in minutiae. Freya Marske is clearly very talented when it comes to worldbuilding, but she gets so caught up in it that it seems like she doesn’t know when to stop, because it’s information overload. She’s created a whole new universe from scratch, including a complex, polytheistic religion in which different gods and goddessses are patrons of different merchant guilds. Some guilds swear by one god, another guild by another, and honestly, I lost count of how many are mentioned. There’s a complicated system of governance that is explained in more detail than is necessary, as are some aspects of the wool trade, silkworm farming, food, clothing, topography, geography… I applaud the author’s ability and scope, but it’s just too much detail for such a simple plot, and I found myself skimming chunks of descriptive prose while I waited for something to actually happen.
Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the strapline – “Low stakes. High heat. Sharp Steel...” – although to be honest, that’s misleading as well. The story is definitely low stakes, but the heat level is no higher than the vast majority of the other m/m romance novels I read, and as for the “sharp steel” – seeing as the duelling is either ceremonial or instructional and there is no danger of anyone being killed or injured, I’d say that ‘blunt steel’ might be more accurate.
I’m on the fence as to how to grade this one. The writing is good, the characters are appealing, and if you’re in the market for a low-conflict, cozy fantasy romance with a bit of intrugue and a lot of very detailed worldbuilding, then perhaps Swordcrossed will work better for you than it did for me. But I don’t think I can, in all honesty, offer anything other than a very qualified recommendation.
If I had to describe Freya Marske’s latest novel, Swordcrossed, in one word it would be, I’m afraid, ‘disappointing’. Having really enjoyed her Edwardian-set The Last Binding trilogy, I was looking forward to this standalone fantasy romance that promised secrets and intrigue and swordplay, and that gorgeous cover spoke to me of swashbuckling and adventure. (This is one of those times when judging a book by its cover will definitely lead to feeling let down). I suppose there are secrets and intrigue in the story, but the duelling I expected… not so much, and the romance, while enjoyable, is a bit insta-lusty and ultimately forgettable.
The book is billed as a fantasy, but if you’re expecting magic or dragons, you won’t find any here. The setting has the feel of a Venetian or Low Countries Renaissance era, with a social hierarchy built around Guilds of various different tradespersons and family ‘houses’ within them. Twenty-four-year-old Mattinesh – Matti – Jay is the scion of Jay House, one of the wealthiest families in Glassport, whose fortune has been made in the wool trade. Ever since his father was elected to the leadership of the Spinners and Weavers Guild, he devotes his time to Guild business and serving on the city’s ruling council, so Matti has taken over the running of Jay House’s business interests. It’s a huge responsibility and Matti is bearing it completely alone, working as hard to insulate his family from the true situation as regards the state of their finances as he is on business matters, and he’s fast working himself into the ground. For the past five years or so, Jay House has been struggling, and the final nail in the coffin has been the loss of one of their ships carrying a high-value cargo. Its loss has left Matti with only one alternative – to make an advantageous marriage that will pump funds into Jay House’s coffers. To this end, he’s made an offer to Sofia Cooper, the daughter of a wealthy vintner, and their marriage will take place in a few weeks. Luckily for Matti, Sofia is a clever, sensible young woman who is well aware of the reasons for Matti’s proposal, and even though Matti is not the slightest bit attracted to her, they’re friends and he hopes they will do well enough together.
Luca Piere has just arrived in Glassport, having travelled there with plans to re-invent himself after a stunt-gone-wrong in his home town stirred up a lot of trouble, and intends to ply his trade as a swordsman. To get himself a bit of cash to live on while he waits for his first job, he plies his other skills – as a con man – when in a tavern one evening, and bilks a handsome, well-dressed young man out of a large sum of money. It’s not a bad haul for a few minutes work. Next day, Mr. Tolliver, owner of the city’s only swords-for-hire agency, calls Luca to meet with a potential client, who wants to hire a Best Man for his wedding. It’s quite common for the ‘if anyone knows why these two may not be joined, speak now’ moment in the ceremony to result in a challenge, so prospective grooms usually hire a duellist to fight the challenger. If the Best Man wins, the wedding proceeds; if not, it does not, the defeat proving that the gods disapprove of the match.
Of course, the client is none other than the man Luca had conned the previous night, Mattinesh Jay. Needless to say, Jay is angry, but he’s also badly in need of a Best Man and, thanks to Luca’s con, doesn’t have enough money to pay the tip-top rates that would guarantee him a highly experienced one. Luca manages to persuade Matti to take a chance on him – and in return, Matti asks (demands, really) that Luca give him fencing lessons. It’s an odd request, but Luca is intrigued by Matti enough to agree to the proposal. That Matti is gorgeous and just a bit endearingly awkward doesn’t hurt, either.
After an inauspicious beginning, Matti and Luca begin spending time together each morning, and a friendship starts to develop between them. It’s an opposites attract situation; Matti is serious-minded and responsible whereas Luca is chaotic and impulsive, with crazy red hair and a mysterious past he’s keen to hide. He’s also observant and able to read between the lines, realising that Matti’s life has never really been his own and that while he’s outwardly straightforward, he’s as much a deceiver, in his way, as Luca is in his, because he spends so much time not telling his family how bad things have become. I liked the insight they have about each other, both able to see sides of the other that others do not. As the days pass, Matti begins to open up a little more about the financial difficulties Jay House is facing, and Luca begins to join some dots that start telling him that the bad luck that’s befallen Jay House is not bad luck at all, but a carefully orchestrated plot to ruin them.
I had high expectations for Swordcrossed which, I’m sad to say, were not met. I liked Matti and Luca and I liked their romance – the author does a nice job with the mutual pining – but the early scenes between them during the fencing lessons feel a bit repetitive, and it’s so low stakes that there’s practically no conflict; the one issue that crops up in the second half (which is easy to guess at) is easily resolved. I suspect that some readers may be put off by the fact that Matti is falling in love and falling into bed with Luca while he’s engaged to be married to Sofia (even though he’s not in love with her and this is regarded as perfectly fine in this society – as long as it ends once he’s married). I liked Matti and Luca working together to find out who is behind the plot to ruin Jay House and why – that part is really good and held my interest, but it doesn’t get going until around the sixty-percent mark, and although it’s quite simple, it feels very convoluted at the same time – possibly because of the amount of information that is thrown at the reader in terms of names, houses, trades etc. - which leads me to my next point.
The biggest problem I had with the story overall is that it’s too bogged down in minutiae. Freya Marske is clearly very talented when it comes to worldbuilding, but she gets so caught up in it that it seems like she doesn’t know when to stop, because it’s information overload. She’s created a whole new universe from scratch, including a complex, polytheistic religion in which different gods and goddessses are patrons of different merchant guilds. Some guilds swear by one god, another guild by another, and honestly, I lost count of how many are mentioned. There’s a complicated system of governance that is explained in more detail than is necessary, as are some aspects of the wool trade, silkworm farming, food, clothing, topography, geography… I applaud the author’s ability and scope, but it’s just too much detail for such a simple plot, and I found myself skimming chunks of descriptive prose while I waited for something to actually happen.
Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the strapline – “Low stakes. High heat. Sharp Steel...” – although to be honest, that’s misleading as well. The story is definitely low stakes, but the heat level is no higher than the vast majority of the other m/m romance novels I read, and as for the “sharp steel” – seeing as the duelling is either ceremonial or instructional and there is no danger of anyone being killed or injured, I’d say that ‘blunt steel’ might be more accurate.
I’m on the fence as to how to grade this one. The writing is good, the characters are appealing, and if you’re in the market for a low-conflict, cozy fantasy romance with a bit of intrugue and a lot of very detailed worldbuilding, then perhaps Swordcrossed will work better for you than it did for me. But I don’t think I can, in all honesty, offer anything other than a very qualified recommendation.
Want to read
October 26, 2023OHHH MY GOD??? i just love freya marske's dedication to giving us exactly what we want every single time!!!
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March 8, 2024i'll be honest i skimmed this HARD "low stakes" is really, really just not for me and this confirmed it lmao god even the sex was boring somehow which freya has NEVER struggled with before
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