Swordcrossed

by Freya Marske

“Clever, sparkling, and perfectly indulgent, Swordcrossed feels like stepping into a party already in full swing. Everything is possible; everything is wondrous. This is fantasy romance at its very best.” —Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief

Low stakes. High heat. Sharp steel.

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?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Adult, Historical

372 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2024

About the author

Freya 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.

Reviews

[Ali L · Rating 4 out of 5]

It sounds stupid to say something is too plot-heavy — at least I feel stupid when I say it — but sometimes you go into a book sort of expecting one thing and instead finding a big giant pile of info dumping about a very niche subject (let’s say, for instance, textile importation) that goes on for 200 pages. It’s interjected with slices of random, kind of sudden and startling lusty gazes and gropes between two characters to remind the reader that this is a romance, but it mostly feels like a novelized textbook. But just the first half! The second half is more like what I wish the first half had been, that is to say about 2/3 romance and 1/3 wool tax. There’s a good grovel, and one part that made me say “oh my word!” out loud (when I’m genuinely surprised by something I talk like a prim old lady). Swordcrossed: come for the sex pun title, stay for the… yarn talk?

[Vini · Rating 2 out of 5]

should have named this wool trading instead bc there was more of that than swords being crossed

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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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[mina reads™️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the exact sort of decadent and delicious mess I enjoy.

In this we follow Mattinesh Jay, head a of noble family that has fallen on hard times financially, who is set for an arranged business marriage that will change his family's fortunes. The only problem is that a family friend Adrean Vane who thinks he is in love with Matti's soon to be bride, is set to challenge their wedding with a duel leaving Matti with no other option but to hire a "best man" to fight the duel in his stead. Enter Luca Pierre, a seductive con artist and swordsman who enters Matti's employ through dubious circumstances. As sparks fly between Matti and his best man treachery abounds in the Jay family business dealings. This fantasy romance was so entertaining on all levels. It's fantasy in the sense that it takes places in a historical setting not in our world, but no magic and fantasy creatures populate the tale.

I love a good historical fantasy and I was perfectly satisfied with the hints of theology and culture sprinkled amongst the ridiculous plot. There's lies and deceit, lust and longing, and a good deal of silly hijinks. It's very over the top in some places but I loved that. It was just so earnest. I loved Matti the put upon older brother shouldering the family burden. I loved Luca, convoluted little freak that he was. I adored Sofia the fiancee and Maya the all knowing younger sister. It was just a great cast, and fun romance with so many layers of mess and scandal involved I had a blast.

My only critique would be the fact that sometimes the in-depth descriptions of the wool trading business were so dry that it took me out of the story a bit. It was just a very unsexy business plotline in the middle of such a sexy book. Regardless, I had a blast, it was a relatively quick read and I definitely recommend it to folks who enjoyed A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland.

[Samantha (ladybug.books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

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[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 2 out of 5]

An eagerly awaited book (because I had liked her previous books and it sounded Swordspoint-ish and I loved that book so much and I will always be in the market for things in that ballpark), so I got it and 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 our two MCs love each other, but there are REASONS for them not to get their HEA already, and more pages are needed. 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 to the worldbuilding, it says nothing important about that world, nor does it make use of its potential—everybody is devoutly pious, and religion is mentioned often, but no magic or importance to the religion other than "luck" as the will of the gods (some scientific thinking would do so much for their society...). There is also 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 book 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; there is no impulse there to contest the oligarchic and quite stupid setip. It's weirdly untransgressive of the historical-type 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 be highly respected (though woe to them they are poor, they can hardly afford cherries! They are not actually working full shifts in a factory though). It is the bad guys who want to do things, and things I would be in sympathy with, like equal power to those not belonging to "houses" , and spending public money on a canal rather than on some religious-toned festival . But 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 that our privileged MCs get a romantic HEA and their houses accumulate more wealth and power even if, well, actually the antagonists, IMO, had better plans for that society and public good.

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, but also 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 always used the same accent. Nice voice and accent, but no range.

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.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

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)

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Simmering with both sexual tension and wit and balancing political intrigue with swoon-worthy romance, Swordcrossed is a gleaming rapier of a queer romantasy.

[Megu]

DNF 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.

[Booked and Busy]

So cute, fun, and heartwarming!

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[X]

DNF @ 12%, sort of on me for thinking I should try another cozy fantasy. And a big part of this was definitely bad timing… i started this and then politics politicked and suddenly like - idgaf. Derogatorily. That scene where we see Matti and his family talking the family business could not have pissed me off more. Like - you’re afraid of some competition?? Do better then!! I just read that scene and like - I canNOT make it through hundreds of pages of this. I don’t want to hate Freya Marske personally, she seems nice and well-intentioned, and I feel like if I kept reading that’s the direction it would be going in. 🫥

Also for my tastes, too slow, and the premise just didn’t convince. And I hate the kind of mysterious “what dark past/secret is ____ running from” thing, especially bc I just felt like in this cozy fantasy setting the reveal would absolutely not be dramatic enough to justify the intrigue. I also found myself reading thinking “if Wendy Palmer was writing this it would be snappier and more fun” which isn’t a good place to be in.

I did give this a number of tries and like - it’s just not great. The thing that prompted me to finally DNF was reading the sentence “A silver trout of an expression darted across Matti’s face, the barbed tail of it catching Luca’s breath.” Like - calling your love interest a trout face?? What!! And am I missing something, do trouts have barbed tails?? Did nobody read this and say “are you sure?”?? (Going back to the page to make sure I was copying that quote correctly, I did see that a few paragraphs above there’s a sentence that reads “Luca wasn’t sure what he was angling for,” which did crack me up. But I skimmed another couple paragraphs just to double check and I’m pretty sure the pun was not intentional…)

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

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!

[⋆｡ ﾟ sara (rinezha’s version) ☾ ﾟ｡⋆]

new freya marske!!!!!

edit 29.05 I GOT AN ARC EEEEEEKKKKKK

[ash (smokedshelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

spent the whole book highlighting every double entendre about sword fights and i’m not ashamed about it.

[Ditte · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Kalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO fun and lighthearted, absolutely loved it!!

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 50% of this book was like a textbook on wool manufacturing. 🥲 But the last half was a delightful mix of duels, espionage, and lingering looks over practice swords, so it evened out.

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!

[Jaelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[fatma · Rating 3 out of 5]

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!)

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i shall not be satisfied until i can figure how to unhinge my jaw, and fit luca into my mouth. i want to swallow this man whole. i want to crush him. i want to shake him around like a toy. i want to go about my day with him tied to my finger like a balloon on a string. god. GOD.

this book is incredible. they are incredible. luca and matti make for such an excellent, swoonworthy pair that i spent nearly half the book feeling like i was one sultry comment away from scaling the walls.

swordcrossed feels like a breath of fresh air after wading through so many books that either couldn’t live up to expectations or failed to be captivating enough to tempt me into doing what i so often can’t; take my fucking time. each chapter felt like a treat. each page, a reminder of why i love to read.

[Iz · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Celine Ong]

and i say: that's my fucking queen freya marske!!

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Natasha Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Aldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a “kinda-sorta” book for me. I kind of liked it, because Freya Marske at her not-best is still pretty damn good, writing-wise, and I kind of liked the characters, but I sort of wish she’d done something entirely different with them, lol.

Apparently this was her first novel, and I don’t care how much it was primped and revised and polished for publication, it still shows, and kinda-sorta maybe should have stayed in her drawer, or on AO3. Because it reads like fanfic of fanfic. Like, I know the shapes of these characters and they read like someone took fanfic versions of half a dozen other things and then wrote fanfic about that. And the result is kinda-sorta lukewarm.

My biggest issue was the plot. I was bracing for the “all vibes, no plot, low stakes” cosy fantasy trend that is just completely not my thing, and it isn’t that, quite. There are stakes, and the stakes are quite important to the characters, but good lord could I ever not care less about them, and I gather from other reviews I’m not the only one. Matti was having literal panic attacks about his dilemma, and I literally did not care, because at the end of the day the central drama still revolves around “will this well-respected, well-to-do family manage to maintain its absolute monopoly in the wool industry and continue to be well-respected and well-to-do or *gasp* struggle a little and, idk, buy fewer cherries and luxury pastries.” And we’re supposed to care because they care about poor people and want them to have better working conditions as they remain firmly in their impoverished station under their employers’ magnanimous sheltering hand. There are a number of areas of potential ick, like the whole plot being about this rich family and their rich family woes, as well as the fact that Matti, even whilst very much emotionally and sexually entangled with Luca, remains engaged to a woman until approximately ten pages from the end, that the author tries to smooth over with explanations like “but they’re GOOD rich people” and “but it’s socially acceptable to cheat on your fiancée,” and I don’t know, it all felt a little wonky.

That’s not to say there weren’t enjoyable bits – the worldbuilding is a little vague on the macro level but quite detailed in the small areas it focuses on, like the flavours and fashions of the city and the many (many many) details of the wool industry, and it does make the small spaces these characters inhabit feel quite lived in. The characters are fun, they have chemistry and I enjoyed the emotional tangle and the sparring on both an intellectual and very literal level. There are some well-worn tropes well employed. Once I got over the hurdle that I couldn’t quite care about what deeply motivates these characters, I was, puzzlingly, quite entertained as they went about solving their various quandaries. Also, the cover and the whole book is stupidly gorgeous and a pleasant tactile experience.

That being said, the solution(s) to this pair of numpties’ fabric-industry-related problems are fairly obvious several miles off, and with no relatable stakes or engaging plot, my ability to enjoy this novel became very much about how much I enjoy Freya Marske’s writing (which I do, quite a bit) and whether I cared about if and how and how soon these two pretty young men would shag and/or catch feelings. Which I also did, kinda-sorta. But also, again, you can probably get about the same level of fuzzy feels and satisfying smut from quite a wide selection on AO3, with better established characters in more interesting scenarios.

So… it was a reasonably fun and pleasant read as long as you handwave some weird ethical contortions, but if you’re considering this as your first Freya Marske read, I beg you, turn around and go for her excellent The Last Binding trilogy instead, where you can get good feels and good smut and good writing ALONG with good plot.