Freya Marske satisfyingly concludes her Last Binding Trilogy with A Power Unbound. I loved the first volume, A Marvellous Light. It has a creative magic system and adorable couple Robin and Edwin. I found the second one, A Restless Truth, to feel a bit rushed due to the time limit on having to occur on an ocean voyage between the US and England. Also, Maud as a character tends to make me feel breathless with her energy and constant pushing for action. Though A Power Unbound is no slouch as to moves along between action pieces to conclusion, it doesn’t feel as breakneck of a pace, which I enjoyed.
A Power Unbound is helmed between haughty, aristocratic, but drained of magic, Lord Hawthorn (Jack) and the quick thinking, barely above poverty, Alonzo Cesare Rossi (Alan Ross) who may have some previously hinted at magical ability. The two spark and react off of each other, letting their tempers and biting natures mingle in their romance. Unfortunately, I did not find their romance as appealing as Robin and Edwin, and Maud and Violet. I did not care for the power dynamics they get off to in their roleplay. But that is a me thing, your mileage may vary.
What I did love tremendously is the magic system and magical houses (domiciles) that Marske has created in her world. Across the three books, the reader’s understanding of the depth of the magical system continues to grow. At the heart of it are the magical ley lines that pulse with power across the land and the contract that the humans forged with the fae, as the fae were leaving the human realms. Time passed and humans began to rely on the Last Contract and try to control magic, slipping away from original sources of magic and how the fae do magic.
The fae cared that you made sacrifice for the power you bargained for. And that you took responsibility for the places you dwell.”
The ley lines belong to every magician. … Their magic was ours before the fae ever arrived in this place. Wages, not gifts. Every spell an agreement between a magician and the land.”
With a system structured this way, Marske’s magical houses/estates that seem to be living magical entities make perfect sense. As a magical family lives in and cares for a house (and property) it becomes imbued and develops a personality of its own. In this way, they become minor characters themselves, shaped by their owners. I thought it was a lovely take on the magical house trope.
While the intimacies of Jack and Alan’s romance were not to my liking, I did overall like A Power Unbound and how it concluded the Last Binding Trilogy. It’s a creative world, an intricate magic system (I’ve grossly oversimplified it for purposes of this review), with queer love stories in Edwardian England, always engaging with at times gripping adventure.