Swordcrossed, Freya Marske
Swordcrossed, Freya Marske
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Swordcrossed

Author: Freya Marske

Narrator: Omari Douglas

Unabridged: 14 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2024

Categories: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Lgbtq+


Synopsis

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel.

The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

"There's a teasing, mischievous lilt to Omari Douglas's performance that perfectly suits this delightful romance set in a fantasy world...Thanks to author Marske's vivid world-building and Douglas's charming narration, listeners will be fully immersed."—AudioFile

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family's wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn't plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti's business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti's wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti's house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca's secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

"There's nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can't do."—Sarah Rees Brennan

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.

About Freya Marske

Freya Marske is the author of A Power Unbound, A Restless Truth, and A Marvellous Light, which was an international bestseller and won the Romantic Novel Award for Fantasy. She has been nominated for two Hugo Awards, and won the Ditmar Award for Best New Talent. She lives in Australia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ali on November 19, 2024

It sounds stupid to say something is too plot-heavy — at least I feel stupid when I say it — but sometimes you go into a book sort of expecting one thing and instead finding a big giant pile of info dumping about a very niche subject (let’s say, for instance, textile importation) that goes on for 20......more

Goodreads review by Vini on October 19, 2024

should have named this wool trading instead bc there was more of that than swords being crossed......more

Goodreads review by Marieke on March 26, 2024

That cover! It’s so stunning! And yes, the story is equally fantastic! There’s so much yearning and pining and longing, and I fell so hard for it! All of you like me who don’t read romantasy often, listen! This story reads like a historical romance set in an emancipated foreign country you don’t kno......more

Goodreads review by Samantha on June 01, 2024

Trust Freya Marske to write a romantasy book that I really enjoy. I still personally prefer the Last Binding series, but Swordcrossed was a super fun, fast read. Swordcrossed introduces a world of merchant houses ruled by scheming and secrets. I found the custom of duelists at formal events such as......more

Goodreads review by Lance on February 17, 2025

4.5 stars. Simmering with both sexual tension and wit and balancing political intrigue with swoon-worthy romance, Swordcrossed is a gleaming rapier of a queer romantasy.......more


Quotes

Featuring gorgeous rich rose sprayed edges in the hardcover edition!

"Marske writes what I crave most in romantasy: brilliant craft, fresh voice, characters worth obsessing over, and genuine honest-to-god heat."—Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White and Royal Blue

"There's nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can't do."—Sarah Rees Brennan, author of Long Live Evil

"The perfect blend of charm, yearning and romance delivered at sword’s point, Swordcrossed is a compulsively readable fantasy with characters who will steal your heart."—C.S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author of Captive Prince

"What a world Freya Marske has created for us! I feel like I could close the book and go walk the streets of her city—and enjoy myself thoroughly. A beguiling romance between a man who is too careful and a man who thinks he has nothing to lose."—Ellen Kushner, author of Swordspoint

“Freya Marske’s books are something special.”
—Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author

Both deliciously cozy and blisteringly hot, Swordcrossed is a book best read by a fire, with a glass of mead in your hand and a hot swordsman on your knee.”—Lex Croucher, author of Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

"Clever, sparkling, and perfectly indulgent, Swordcrossed feels like stepping into a party already in full swing. Everything is possible; everything is wondrous. This is fantasy romance at its very best."—Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief

"Swordcrossed is so good I want to set it on fire and physically throw it at people's faces. . . . It filled my brain with tickly champagne bubbles of glee."—Alexandra Rowland, author of A Taste of Gold and Iron

“An effervescent, sparkling fantasy romance that eagerly pulls you along into its blade-sharp dance until the final words.”—Emma Denny, author of One Night in Hartswood

Praise for the Last Binding Trilogy

"The prose is sublime, the world-building top-notch, and the magic system is fascinating and unique.”—TJ Klune, New York Times bestselling author of The House on the Cerulean Sea

"Stunning—the writing is lush, the world-building is fascinating, and the romance is searing hot. I am completely obsessed."—Cat Sebastian, author of The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

Delightful and spicy . . . Marske is simply superb at her chosen genres.”—The New York Times