A Power Unbound

The Last Binding, Book 3

De: Freya Marske

Narrado por: Josh Dylan

Hugo Award Nominee

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.

"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 Most Anticipated Book for Paste and BookPage

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.

©2023 Freya Marske (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Josh Dylan gives a stand-out performance in this stunning conclusion to The Last Binding trilogy.... Dylan's subtle narration brings each character to life; he especially excels at conveying Jack and Alan's electric chemistry when they finally give in to their obvious attraction and discover the dangers of falling for each other when so much power is at stake. Action and romance come together in a richly written and beautifully performed audiobook."—AudioFile; winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

“Maud Blyth shares a similar aversion to lying as Knives Out’s would-be murderer Marta . . . . Pair Maud with Violet Debenham, an actress and magician who can’t fathom making herself vulnerable enough to be truthful with anyone, and their romance unfolds along the same breathless plot beats as solving a murder that could shift the balance of all the magic in England.”—Paste

"If I had the ability to make everyone read one trilogy of books, it would be The Last Binding, Freya Marske’s phenomenal (and extremely spicy) fantasy series. No one intersperses gleeful, squeal-inducing sexual tension with tender and painfully human interactions between characters quite like Marske does. Think of your favorite romance trope. Is it rivals to lovers? Enemies to something more? Sunshine and grump? Forced proximity? Chances are you’ll find it in one of these books. A Power Unbound is a deeply satisfying conclusion to this series."—Polygon

A B+ to Two A+ Books

The romance of the first in the series was heartwarming. The plot of the second book on the ship, very clever. The depiction of the couple in the second book in the series was much better than the third book itself. Unless you’re reading for dom/sub kink with a few spells thrown in. The dom earl went from intriguing in the second book to an off putting jackass in the third book. Despite his long and noble lineage, if he had sprung a surprise visit on the family I was trying to protect in an awfully imperious way, I would have shanked him the ribs. That would have been more in keeping with the characters. Instead, the author took a really interesting narrative and world and finished it with you’re tall, commanding, and hot. While that’s great, it is contrary to the entire philosophy of the MC. The hot Italian Botticelli angel MC. 🧐

Incredibly hot

The third book does not disappoint. Marske provides the depth of character to make the sex scenes incredibly rich. Love that all our fav characters are best friends now too.

A very satisfying ending!

I really enjoyed this story! The narration was really good too. I was hesitant to read this book after the disappointing second installation; however, I was very pleasantly surprised by the romance between grumpy Jack and snippy Alan. Those two really do have soft gooey centers under those hard exteriors. 

This book tied up all the loose ends of the trilogy nicely, and had a happy ending, despite all the turmoil in the pages.

Love

The first book was a slightly slow start for me, but now I’m tearing through this series. I love getting the perspective of Jack and Alan and all the ways hurt becomes healed.

Excellent ending

Wonderful ending to this saga. Loved the new relationship. I was wondering if Alan and Jack would get their own story as I loved them in the second book and was very happy with their story here. Narrator did an excellent job, too. Very impressed with his performance.

Excellent narrator and writing!

The narrator’s voice was among my all-time favorites and made the main characters come alive brilliantly. I really enjoy the author’s writing, and it was best of the series in this book, especially the last few chapters*swoon*. As with the other two books, the plots are a little clunky at times, but the magical world is so inventive and entertaining it’s well worth it. Highly recommend!!

Absolutely fantastic

A great wrap up of this wonderful series from Freya Marske. Romantic and intriguing and sweet and magical.

Excellent series-is it really the end?!

I agree with most other reviewers that book 2 was the weakest of the series, and that Robin and Edwin’s relationship in book 1 was the clear favourite. Regarding Book 3 specifically, I really liked how Lord Hawthorn and Alonzo’s conflictual relationship unravelled and how the power dynamics were dealt with, along with how respecting boundaries and the concept of consent came into play (even during a time in history when obtaining sexual consent and establishing boundaries during sexual acts probably wouldn’t have been considered at all by most members of elite society — that is, those with political, social and financial power i.e. titled-land-owning-men.
By the end, it was clear that the dynamic between the 2 MCs: “Jack and Alan” was, in reality far more equitable than it appeared on its surface. I just love well done gay historical romances. I typically cringe at the idea of unequal relationships, and therefore can’t stomach romances featuring heterosexual lovers, since women are always at a social/financial/power disadvantage. I was worried, initially, that the class differences between Alan and Jack would prove cringe worthy as well, especially since Alan craved the sexually submissive role (plus his masochist predilections) on top of his social/financial/power disadvantages, but the author untangled the problems for me and portrayed the complicated relationship dynamics so well. Ultimately illustrating how Alan did have the power to demand or deny sexual pleasure, which was a magnificent equaliser. I loved the recurring phrase “nothing owed” and the concept that everything between Jack and Alan were “gifts exchanged freely”. This worked to illustrate a healthy and equitable relationship which might’ve otherwise, on its surface, appeared to have been quite unhealthy or even abusive to the casual observer who didn’t understand the true nature and nuances of their dynamic. I feel like the door was left open for the author to write more books for the series— it doesn’t have to end here! Marske could continue the series, or at least write more books that take place in the same magical world. Some possibilities include… a story featuring Oliver, Jack’s half brother as a (gay) main character. Or, one focused on Adelaide (the possibly A-sexual) Indian woman who ended up in a marriage of convenience w/ Robin in order to relieve social and family pressure — but with the full knowledge that Robin and Edwin were the real couple—maybe Adelaide could find an unconventional lover; a trans-man or a cross-dressing woman who infiltrates secret societies, presenting as a man, to uncover secrets, but is still comfortable with her female body…
Or how about some books that take place well before the events of the Last Binding Series, which focus on the 4 self-taught female magicians who discover the last contract in the first place. I have sooo many ideas.

Excellent Narrator, Great Writing

This has some of the most elegant erotic writing I’ve ever read. Evocative and original without eye-rolly cliches. The central relationship is so well and convincingly executed. There are also a few truly moving moments, which were unexpected but very effective. I do think there are too many characters (and magical houses) overall, but the narration is among the top 1% I’ve ever heard. I liked the first two books in the series but their narrators brought a bit of goofiness, which this one, thankfully, did not. All the characters have distinct voices but nothing feels overdone or overacted. Quiet, sexy intensity.

Astounding!

I've been eagerly awaiting this book to find out what happens to the magic of Britian's magicians as well as Jack and Alan and everyone from the earlier books and was so thrilled with how everything worked out! I loved the dynamic between Jack and Alan, and the development of their relationship was woven so perfectly through all the drama and surprises of the Last Contract and the magic part of the story. The ending was simply perfect, though I'm really hoping we get bonus stories for each of the couples as I'm in no way ready to say goodbye to these characters. The narrator did a wonderful job with all the accents and bringing even more life to this story, and I'd love to listen to more audios narrated by him. I highly recommend this series!