In this novel, we meet the mean and moody Jack Alston (Lord Hawthorne) who is living in the shadow of his sister’s loss and has renounced his magical skills. However, storm clouds are gathering for the magical society of Edwardian England; the pieces of the Last Contract need collecting and bringing together by those on the side of good – before those with evil intent can get there first. Along with the various characters from previous books, Jack gets caught up in the magical battle that plays out in the grounds of his family estate. Along the way, he has to fight his attraction to criminal and pornographer Alan Ross…
This is Book 3 of The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske – and it’s an absolute treat for those who’ve enjoyed the first two books. It might not be the place to start if you haven’t as Marske’s alternative Edwardian society with an undercurrent of magic takes some wrapping your head round, as does the Last Contract plot and the recurring characters across the trilogy.
For those of us who have read the previous books, it’s lovely to see Robin and Edwin (the lovers from Book 1, ‘A Marvellous Light’) and Maud and Violet (the couple at the centre of Book 2, ‘A Restless Truth’) back in fairly big roles here. They make a formidable team and the characters’ relationships and pasts are fleshed out a bit more in this story.
However, the stars of this show are Jack and Alan – two characters we have seen previously, but here are given their own narrative. Jack is the rakish and dangerous peer (with surprisingly liberal politics, of course – he wouldn’t be a hero otherwise!) struggling with his feelings about sexy, poor purveyor of saucy (gay) stories, Alan. This is a love story across the social divide and it gets really quite rude…in the same vein as Alan’s stories!
This audiobook is read well by Josh Dylan – who, Google reliably informs me, is Young Bill in Mamma Mia 2, for those who (like me) were trying to place the vaguely familiar voice. Gosh, I’m not sure how he read some of that without blushing, but kudos to him!
This brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the characters interacted and worked together as they fought the powers of evil. I personally loved ‘A Restless Truth’ more (Maud is the perfect heroine and it takes place on a transatlantic liner – my perfect setting!), but this is well-written, fast-paced and lively. I recommend it if you’ve read the other books – otherwise, start with ‘A Marvellous Light’ and fall in love with Robin and Edwin first.
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Header photo by Nav Rashmi Kalsi on Unsplash
