Swordcrossed

By: Freya Marske

Narrated by: Omari Douglas

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.

©2024 Freya Marske (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"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

"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

Storytelling that’s both engaging and cozy.

The author proves once again that she can weave a complex plot. She manages just the right balance of world building, leaving plenty of room for character development/plot. The narration was good overall, but difficult to follow in a few spots.

Good hearted adventure story

This will go on the favorites. A lovely collection of characters not just the mains, and not a sausage fest. Lovely low angst romp brimming with plot and heart and a satisfying ending. Narration excellent. I find his voice very soothing.

Fantastic

This is probably my favorite narrator I've ever listened to. I've never heard them before, but they gave so much personality to the characters, especially Luka.

Such an amazing perfect book!

Awesome!!!!!!!!! This is the best book I’ve read in a while, and I love the ending. It’s rare to find books that conclude every plot point, and tie everything together, without seeming cheesy or unrealistic. This book was absolutely amazing and I’m so glad I read it.

A great book!

I always rate my books but seldom leave a written review. However, this is a great book! You will definitely enjoy!

it's not you it's my brain but maybe it's you

I adored Freya Marskes last series and I really loved Omari Douglas in It's a Sin but for whatever reason my brain can't process this book with his narrating style. it's hard to tell the voices apart and sometimes pov seems to jump mid chapter which makes it all the more difficult. I've had to rewind full chapters and I've given up out if frustration

Gorgeously spun story!

Very different from her trilogy, which I also loved. No magic, but a great amount of worldbuilding. Truly magnificent characters and love story.

loved this book

i really enjoyed this book - freya marske is one of my favorite authors!! I admire the complexity in the worldbuilding and honestly id love to read about other groups/factions in this universe. Every character was enjoyable to hear about, even the bad guys, which is always wonderful. I think the ending felt kind of rushed/unsatisfying in some parts (spoilers?) but it felt like everything was wrapped up extremely neatly in a way that didn't feel very earned. still a very fun book, you might just need to suspend some disbelief.

luca and matty read like real people who actually like each other for their personalities, and the romance is natural and sweet. i love when authors are able to really capture both the physical and emotional attraction between characters, which this author has proven to be particularly good at in her last series, and this one is another winner.

the narrator's voice was kind of hard to understand at times (took me an hour or so of listening very carefully to be able to figure out what he was saying until i got used to his accent) but overall i think he did an excellent job (especially during spicy scenes).

The voices, oh Gods the voices!!

The voice Actors read as if Rent were 10 days late and they had one more opportunity to make it and no more leftovers were left in the fridge.

Wonderful!

I was expecting good things from this as it’s Freya Marske, and this was even better than I imagined. Luca and Matty are easy to love and their escapades are so much fun! I had a grin on my face the entire time. Especially the last hour or so - that was utterly delightful and wonderfully dramatic. I desperately hope we get more of Luca and Matty’s adventures.