An Indie Next and LibraryReads "Hall of Fame" Pick!
A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske's beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.
"Messy people and burn-it-down conflict. . . . Marske uses the full span of the trilogy to build to a beautiful, devastating conclusion."-The New York Times
"Stunning-the writing is lush, the world-building is fascinating, and the romance is searing hot. I am completely obsessed with this story of unrepentantly dangerous people falling in love with one another."-Cat Sebastian, author of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
A Best Of Pick for LitHub, Book Riot, Amazon, Powell's, and PopSugar
Secrets! Magic! Enemies to. . .something more?
Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he's drawn reluctantly back into that world.
Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.
Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.
When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall-Jack's ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it's grown a personality as prickly as its owner-Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.
The Last Binding Trilogy: A Marvellous Light A Restless Truth A Power Unbound
Perfekt zum Pride Month hat dieses Buch die Reihe für mich gerettet! Der Humor war einfach gold und die Protagonisten Jack und Alan und vor allem ihre Beziehung mein Favorit der Buchreihe 🥰 Ich hab es geliebt wie sie sich trotz solcher Klassenunterschiede so ähnlich waren und auch wie sie sich gegenseitig geneckt haben. Einfach toll und ich musste so oft laut lachen und schmunzeln. Ein toll gelungener Serienabschluss mit Spannung und Herz ❤️
Jun 16, 2025
4.0
Happy Pride Month 🏳️🌈 🫶🏻
Perfekt zum Pride Month hat dieses Buch die Reihe für mich gerettet! Der Humor war einfach gold und die Protagonisten Jack und Alan und vor allem ihre Beziehung mein Favorit der Buchreihe 🥰 Ich hab es geliebt wie sie sich trotz solcher Klassenunterschiede so ähnlich waren und auch wie sie sich gegenseitig geneckt haben. Einfach toll und ich musste so oft laut lachen und schmunzeln. Ein toll gelungener Serienabschluss mit Spannung und Herz ❤️
After I liked the first volume and loved the second, I am completely head over heels for this one! I immediately noticed that it was so much easier to read. With the first two, while interesting, it was always kinda exhausting to read. This one also felt really long, but in the best way. I couldn't get enough of it!
After the happenings in the second volume, we are back in England, and our little group of allies who want to protect the contract, set out to find the last piece. This time the focus lies on Lord Hawthorn, who has to face his past, the tragic death of his twin sister, in order to move forward, and our journalist/writer of erotic fiction, Alan Ross, who desperately needs money to support his family and thus joins the cause again. But he won't get too wrapped up in this, especially not in Hawthorns aggravating gaze!
The constant banter and snark remarks between those two were hilarious 😂 Hate to love is totally my thing, and it works so well for them, especially considering their class difference. They also do role play in the spicy scenes, which might sound cliché or whatever, but it has so much nuance about trust and consent, which was amazing.
One of my highlights, as always, was also just the found family aspect of it all. A queer friend group that supports each other 🥹❤️ I just wish we would have seen more about the relationship of Violet and Maud. They left it a bit open at the end of vol. 2 and while you can guess what happened, and we see that they are happy here, we don't get any specifics. But generally, they are all very present in the story. It was so nice to have Edwin and Robin with us again 🥰 Edwin is just my favorite, besides Hawthorn, or rather Jack. I was surprised that I grew so fond of him since I didn't like him in vol. 1, but that happens often with my favorite characters 😂
What I also loved was Spinet house. Houses with little puzzles in them and mysteries to uncover, amazing. The whole plot came together really well. It was all so worth it in the end. Idk what else to say, just an amazing book, in a great trilogy with a fascinating worldbuilding. I wish there was more of it, but I am also really satisfied with the end ❤️
Jun 27, 2025
4.5
Highlight of the trilogy
After I liked the first volume and loved the second, I am completely head over heels for this one! I immediately noticed that it was so much easier to read. With the first two, while interesting, it was always kinda exhausting to read. This one also felt really long, but in the best way. I couldn't get enough of it!
After the happenings in the second volume, we are back in England, and our little group of allies who want to protect the contract, set out to find the last piece. This time the focus lies on Lord Hawthorn, who has to face his past, the tragic death of his twin sister, in order to move forward, and our journalist/writer of erotic fiction, Alan Ross, who desperately needs money to support his family and thus joins the cause again. But he won't get too wrapped up in this, especially not in Hawthorns aggravating gaze!
The constant banter and snark remarks between those two were hilarious 😂 Hate to love is totally my thing, and it works so well for them, especially considering their class difference. They also do role play in the spicy scenes, which might sound cliché or whatever, but it has so much nuance about trust and consent, which was amazing.
One of my highlights, as always, was also just the found family aspect of it all. A queer friend group that supports each other 🥹❤️ I just wish we would have seen more about the relationship of Violet and Maud. They left it a bit open at the end of vol. 2 and while you can guess what happened, and we see that they are happy here, we don't get any specifics. But generally, they are all very present in the story. It was so nice to have Edwin and Robin with us again 🥰 Edwin is just my favorite, besides Hawthorn, or rather Jack. I was surprised that I grew so fond of him since I didn't like him in vol. 1, but that happens often with my favorite characters 😂
What I also loved was Spinet house. Houses with little puzzles in them and mysteries to uncover, amazing. The whole plot came together really well. It was all so worth it in the end. Idk what else to say, just an amazing book, in a great trilogy with a fascinating worldbuilding. I wish there was more of it, but I am also really satisfied with the end ❤️
