Review by Booklist Review
Marske continues the quest for the pieces of the Last Contract in this fantasy/historical romance with a murder-mystery backdrop. Maud, the inquisitive and resolute younger sister of Robin, the protagonist from A Marvellous Light (2021), finds herself trapped on an ocean liner with a magician turned murderer. She was tasked with bringing Mrs. Navenby, a member of the Forsythia Club and keeper of the second piece of the Last Contract, back to England; but when she finds her companion dead and her room ransacked, she must team up with spirited illusionist Violet and the brooding but lovable Hawthorn to recover the stolen items. In a refreshing approach, Marske continues the beloved journey from the first book with an almost entirely new cast of characters and a new hot-and-steamy queer romance. Maud and Violet are attracted to each other early on; their relationship reforms the ingénue-falling-for-the-experienced-cad trope with feminist flare and a sex-positive attitude. Marske keeps the tone light with humorous antics like a staged séance and a particularly funny scene where the group reads erotica out loud to each other. She also coats the story with new magical insights and charming whimsy. Fans will be delighted.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Maud Blyth takes center stage in the charming follow-up to her brother Robin's story, A Marvellous Light--and thereby creates a conundrum, because nothing in that book renders plausible the notion of Robin sending his 19-year-old sister, alone and undercover, across the ocean to foil a plot laid by known murderers. Yet there she is on a 1909 White Star ocean liner, acting as companion to elderly magician Elizabeth Navenby, when Mrs. Navenby is murdered. Now Maud must determine whether the killer also stole a potentially world-altering magical artifact. With a combination of brains, instinct, and charm, she enlists the help of Violet Debenham, another magical Englishwoman aboard, who ran away to America and is sailing home now to claim an unexpected inheritance. Violet is 23, outrageous, and openly bisexual, presenting Maud with quite a different set of urgent questions as romance blooms. Marske writes with tremendous period detail and--to use a period term--incident, but without quite the drama or tension of a true suspense novel. This is a cozy mystery at heart, with a sprinkle of romance and magic--and some plot gaps to be sure, but not enough to spoil the fun. It makes for intelligent and pleasant reading over a cup of tea. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
There's murder, mystery, and magic on the high seas in Marske's historical fantasy romp that follows on the heels of last year's A Marvellous Light. The truth that Maud Blyth finds aboard the RMS Lyric is that her life can be just as sinfully dangerous and daring as her brother Robin's as she teams up with a beautiful actress, a conniving salesman, a scandalous aristocrat, and a profane parrot. Their mission? Ferret out which of the ship's many passengers is a magician hell-bent on enslaving all of England's magical community and forcing them to fight on England's side during the coming war. Maud starts out just wanting to help her brother, but as she's chased through the ship by mages, scandals, and an entire menagerie of shipboard animals, she finds both the love she's always denied as well as the true measure of all her surprising talents. The champagne-soaked alternate Edwardian universe of "The Last Binding" series is expanded by Marske's setting this second chapter aboard a ship where everyone seems to be hiding behind a mask of their own making. VERDICT Highly recommended for lovers of urban fantasy that's mixed with wit, danger, and romance.--Marlene Harris
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