Swordcrossed is an excellent standalone for anyone who likes Freya Marske's way of writing romance. Matti and Luca have incredible tension and banter and unique ways they love each other despite their anxieties and fears. The worldbuilding was also quite fun, with the way we see both characters strenghts and weaknesses as they navigate this world. Another absolutely delightful story by Freya Marske!

listen i gave this a good go but it actually just wasn't for me -- a shame as i really enjoyed lots of freya marske's other stuff!

2.5/5

I'm sorry to say that this was a DNF - I got to around 1/3.

The marketing for this one was weirdly off - I was expecting a fast pace with some action and fantastical elements accompanied by a banter-heavy romance. I somehow felt like nothing really worked. The pacing felt very slow both in terms of plot and romance. There were too many details in regards to world building and trade which made it hard to follow and confusing at times - add to that the lacklustre romance (even the opposites attract wasn't doing much for me) and I just felt like nothing was really driving this forward. I haven't read far enough yet but Matti and Silvo also felt a little like caricatures for their backgrounds.

I also didn't find either main character particularly engaging or likeable for that matter. I wanted to push through this one but it's not holding my attention and I caught myself skimming. Perhaps Marske's works aren't for me, I also struggled when I first picked up her debut and put it down again. Fans of her debut might enjoy this more. It's worth noting that fantasy is missing entirely unless there is anything in the second half - it feels more appropriate to call this alternative universe historic fiction. While this isn't what it promised, it probably leans more into the cosy fantasy genre which can be a bit of a hit or miss for me.

I really enjoyed Swordcrossed! I really enjoyed her previous trilogy, so my expectations were high. While this book didn’t hit every note for me, the romance and magic were still beautifully written. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book she’s going to release!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the arc.

I enjoyed Marske's first 2 instalments in the Last Binding trilogy and decided to give this one a go. While there were elements of this that I liked, this one didn't quite hit the mark for me.

There were moments where the worldbuilding was more of an info dump, rather than steadily introducing concepts at the beginning of the book. I found it took me out of the story for a minute, before returning to the main plot. While a lot of this happened during conversations, it still felt like it could have been incorporated a bit more seamlessly.

The other bit that didn't sit well with me was the romance in this. I wished there had been more communication between Matti and Sophia at the beginning of the book, so that the main romance didn't feel like Matti was cheating on Sophia. I feel if that conversation had happened sooner in the story, it could have led to a slightly different story with different dynamics.

That said, I liked what I saw of the worldbuilding (again, wished it had been fleshed out a little bit more) and I loved Matti's family.

This is one that I wished I'd liked more, but sadly it didn't work for me.

A fast, cozy read. Freya Markse is an absolute pro at delivering the right balance of plot and pining, tension and political intrigue. An auto-buy author for sure.

I love Freya Marske's novels and loved this one. Give me soon another one because I just realized I need a new one
Great romantasy, read it if you love a good novel featuring fun, romance, and fantasy
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Pan MacMillan, Tor via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Tor, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
A historical male/male romantasy, with duelling.

Thoughts
DNF’d at 36%

I just couldn’t do it anymore, every chapter felt a million pages long and I’ve been trying for two weeks and just can’t get through this. Heartbroken as I loved Freya Marske’s previous series. It was just too dry and longwinded for me!

This one was a bit of a miss for me, but I believe I am in the minority so please give this queer fantasy a shot! The world building and guilds were very interesting, and romance was fine, just a bit slow paced for my mood - would still recommend, we need as much queer fantasy as possible! Would be interested to read more of the same author.

SWORDCROSSED is a fun fantasy romance with the wool trade and cons.

In terms of world, this is quite a departure from Freya Marske's original trilogy - this is an original world, not a historical fantasy. I liked this world, with its guilds and their own specific gods. The traditions around weddings were also fun and didn't just feel like Western European traditions with the numbers knocked off, sitting comfortably instead into the world building.

There is also a lot of intrigue around trade, which I very much enjoyed. These merchant families are out for profit and not all of them are playing by the law to do it. Across the book, the process of making wool goods is explored and the ways it can be exploited. I really liked the plotlines around finding out what was happening and how to stop it.

There is far less swordplay than I expected, given the title and Luca's position. He does a lot more conning, which I did enjoy. He has so much energy and mischief, which brought a lot of fun to the book - and a nice contrast to the seriousness of Matti. It's a good pairing.

My one negative comment is that I wish more time had been spent on Maya, Matti's sister. I'd guessed pretty early on what was going to happen with her, but it just didn't feel like, when it happened, it had been set up properly. I would have liked to see more hints of how her part was developing. Then her role in the finale might have felt more earnt and like a win, rather than a convenient happening to save the family.

I feel like there is space for more tales set within this world - though probably in a different family. I hope we get to spend more time exploring this world.

This was the exact sort of decadent and delicious mess I enjoy. Swordcrossed was a super fun, fast read. The setup was just cute. The two men were so likable. The writing was great, with right balance of nice prose and witty dialogue.

DNF
I'm TIRED of this book it is so slow for no reasons . I need a book that grab my attention from chapter 1 and this ain't it.
The chapters are really long and nothing much happened until the 30% mark I think. I've even tried the audiobook and even with it I was bored.

freya is for the fujos. i enjoyed this a touch less than the last binding books, only because i'm a sucker for a good mystery

So as mentioned I really struggled with this book. I’m not entirely sure why but will try to be somewhat helpful if I can be. Most of the reviews look positive so I imagine a lot of it is just it not being suited to me.
I think my main issue was not feeling engaged in the story or characters. I know it’s common at the beginning of fantasy books to have some world building so I imagine a lot of it was that but it felt dry for me. I think the blurb was really promising and it just felt slightly flat of that to me. Maybe I just needed to stick it out a bit longer but yeah. Thank you for the opportunity to read/review this book and I really do hope it goes well!


I have not reviewed publicly due to this feedback being somewhat negative.

Mattinesh Jay is the heir to the Jay house, a family business involved with wool. He’s betrothed to Sofia, and as part of this arrangement he requires a best man in case of challenge at the wedding, enter Luca. The book is a sweeping romantic tale of Matti and Luca getting to know each other properly alongside trying to save Matti’s family house and Luca hiding his true origins. There is mystery and deceit, longing and tenderness, and an excellent final act revelation which I really enjoyed! All in all a great book for people interested in historical romance or the wool trade! 😂

Swordcrossed is equal parts cosy, heartwarming, showing characters with deep feelings of friendship and families who will do anything for each other, and at times, intensely and romantically steamy. If you enjoyed the author's The Last Binding trilogy, I think you will like this too. Whilst they are very different worlds, the writing is the same, the spice has very much the same feel, and the main relationship of Matti and Luca is equally captivating.

After reading and loving The Last Binding trilogy, I was super excited to read this book - and it didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the world of this story. I'm not a big fantasy person, but I found the ideas and customs of this universe easy to understand. I also loved the dynamic between the two main characters and the romantic connections in the subplot. My only issue is that this isn't a series, either! I could have easily read more about the Jay family in a Bridgerton-style story structure. But I'll just have to wait for Freya Marske's next book instead.

This was very much a case of I liked it, but didn't love it. Sword crossed feels very plot light, focusing instead on building up a rich historical world filled with House guilds and industry. To call this fantasy is a bit of a stretch, rather an alternate history, but it felt very vivid and realistic. Matti is a delightful character. A worrisome bean who just wants to look out for his family, he falls to putting everyone else above himself. His relationship with Lucas, with his zest for life and endless joy and daredevil streak, contrasted well and made for some really good interactions. The yearning is top tier.

This just suffered because of the lack of a plot. It's very thin on the ground, and slow moving at that. There's a lot of business talk and talk of building alliances, and really I found it really uninteresting compared to these two wonderful characters.

Definitely a tale of two halves. Great characters. No plot. It's very much an all vibes, no story kind of deal. But honestly, that chemistry was so good I can almost forgive it. Almost.

A slow start because there is a fair amount of background info to be delivered about the merchant lifestyle which I struggled with a little, but it does all build into Marske’s usual excellent world building.

The romance is peak Marske, delicious pining and exquisite tension building, I loved it. I really enjoyed the side characters too,

Marske doesn’t miss with her beautiful queer normalised worlds, and this book is no different.

I had high hopes for this given how much I LOVE ‘The Last Binding’ trilogy and I was NOT disappointed like the vibe for this is immaculate!

Not to mention the TENSION between Matti & Luca, I mean one’s a con artist and the other is the person he conned who then blackmails him into sword lessons 🤣

Honestly I really liked Matti, he’s shouldering a lot of responsibility and I so badly wanted him to get his happy ending! Luca, meanwhile, had an air of mystery to him with the hints of his past and I feel like they both have quite a journey throughout the book, plus some excellent character growth!

While I loved them individually, I also ADORED them together! Like I said, the TENSION! The BANTER! The absolute YEARNING and PINING! Immaculate, truly. I shipped it hard and lowkey felt bad about it because Sofia’s actually (and surprisingly) nice!

Fortunately there’s a side ship to ease my guilt and it also happened to have me squealing!

Honestly, I really enjoyed the cast, they were vibrant, fun and certainly memorable. They also really brought the world to life which was giving quaint little country like Genovia or something 😅

Like it’s fantasy BUT it’s also giving historical romance vibes!

The world building’s intriguing too, yet also relatively straightforward which I appreciated! I thought the concept of duelists and warring merchant houses SO much fun but also unique!

Like YES this is romance focused BUT there’s also a dastardly plot complete with scheming & treachery! I was HOOKED and lowkey obsessed, ngl!

I also appreciate the normalised queerness as well as Marske’s usual brand of vivid, immersive writing which really pulled me into the world and held me there tightly!

My only gripe is that while the mechanics of importing textiles & textile manufacture in general WAS necessary to the plot, I felt that it was a bit too info dumpy and dragged the pace down a smidge.

I’d also hoped for more out of the duelist aspect BUT I still had fun regardless ☺️