What do you think?
Rate this book
Fae & Alchemy #1
Quicksilver
ŷ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Romantasy (2024)Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn't much a girl wouldn't do for a glass of water.
Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember.
But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.
When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently re-opens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.
The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him . . . or her.
Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home.
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn't much a girl wouldn't do for a glass of water.
Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember.
But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.
When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently re-opens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.
The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him . . . or her.
Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home.
624 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2024
87470 people are currently reading
516557 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64,132 reviews
December 27, 2024
2.5 �'s
This was a little bit of a mess. It wasn't all bad but it definitely could've been better.
Quicksilver technically has the puzzle pieces for a fantasy romance but they feel randomly thrown together. Some things work, other things doesn’t. As a whole it was just jumbled, confusing and spectacularly ordinary.
Whilst I see the potential for this book, I feel incredibly frustrated at how it was executed.
It's like someone tried to analyse what made other romantasies a success but have no idea on how to actually accomplish that.
For example, I recognise that they tried hard to create that badass, sassy, strong fmc in Saeris - which normally is my favourite type of fmc. The end result ended up simply being just that; try-hard. Her comebacks constantly felt weak, forced and ultimately became quite cringe. I don't think I've ever been more unintrigued by a fmc in a long time. The love interest, Kingfisher(I know, the name is absolutely atrocious) was at least a tiny bit more interesting. It's unfortunate the only perspective we got in the book was by the least fascinating character. 🥲
Over to the romance. This author has not heard of slow burn or building tension.
They never had enough chemistry for their heated moments, it was always so sudden without any sort of build up. Their "banter" was him smelling how aroused she was around him and him being overly cocky about that.
I prefer my fictional men well and truly obsessed, please and thank you - but as we never got his perspective we didn't really get to see that, now did we.👎 I did enjoy some scenes between them, especially in the second half. However, exactly everything felt too rushed when it came to their romance and I think you just have to accept that if you want to enjoy this.
Over to the writing. It consisted of run-on sentences, an overuse of the word 'fuck'*, long-ass chapters and plot holes on top of plot holes. One of my favourite thing about reading a fantasy romance is the world building and the magic systems.
For me that is where the story truly comes alive.
In this book that was an afterthought and doesn't seem particularly thought through. We get no explanation on how their magic works or what powers they have. Based on reading this, it seems as if there are absolutely no limitations to it, which is such a lazy move on the author's part.
The writer constantly chose convenience over clarity or logic, and it angered me every time.
Trying to end this on a somewhat positive note, this definitely gave me those fae fantasy vibes I've been longing for.🧚 I do think the overall story is interesting enough, even if it's incredibly overhyped in my opinion. For me this book was carried by the side characters; Onyx, Wendy, Carrion, Lorreth & Ren. All my love goes to them. I'd be fine if they kill off Saeris in the next one tbh.
*The word fuck(or versions, e.g. fucking) was used 387 times according to my kindle.
_________
⌞p-:�
I am in desperate need of a real good fantasy rn. I've seen this absolutely everywhere lately, so praying to all the bookgods out there that this lives up to the hype 😩
This was a little bit of a mess. It wasn't all bad but it definitely could've been better.
Quicksilver technically has the puzzle pieces for a fantasy romance but they feel randomly thrown together. Some things work, other things doesn’t. As a whole it was just jumbled, confusing and spectacularly ordinary.
Whilst I see the potential for this book, I feel incredibly frustrated at how it was executed.
It's like someone tried to analyse what made other romantasies a success but have no idea on how to actually accomplish that.
For example, I recognise that they tried hard to create that badass, sassy, strong fmc in Saeris - which normally is my favourite type of fmc. The end result ended up simply being just that; try-hard. Her comebacks constantly felt weak, forced and ultimately became quite cringe. I don't think I've ever been more unintrigued by a fmc in a long time. The love interest, Kingfisher(I know, the name is absolutely atrocious) was at least a tiny bit more interesting. It's unfortunate the only perspective we got in the book was by the least fascinating character. 🥲
Over to the romance. This author has not heard of slow burn or building tension.
They never had enough chemistry for their heated moments, it was always so sudden without any sort of build up. Their "banter" was him smelling how aroused she was around him and him being overly cocky about that.
I prefer my fictional men well and truly obsessed, please and thank you - but as we never got his perspective we didn't really get to see that, now did we.👎 I did enjoy some scenes between them, especially in the second half. However, exactly everything felt too rushed when it came to their romance and I think you just have to accept that if you want to enjoy this.
Over to the writing. It consisted of run-on sentences, an overuse of the word 'fuck'*, long-ass chapters and plot holes on top of plot holes. One of my favourite thing about reading a fantasy romance is the world building and the magic systems.
For me that is where the story truly comes alive.
In this book that was an afterthought and doesn't seem particularly thought through. We get no explanation on how their magic works or what powers they have. Based on reading this, it seems as if there are absolutely no limitations to it, which is such a lazy move on the author's part.
The writer constantly chose convenience over clarity or logic, and it angered me every time.
Trying to end this on a somewhat positive note, this definitely gave me those fae fantasy vibes I've been longing for.🧚 I do think the overall story is interesting enough, even if it's incredibly overhyped in my opinion. For me this book was carried by the side characters; Onyx, Wendy, Carrion, Lorreth & Ren. All my love goes to them. I'd be fine if they kill off Saeris in the next one tbh.
*The word fuck(or versions, e.g. fucking) was used 387 times according to my kindle.
_________
⌞p-:�
I am in desperate need of a real good fantasy rn. I've seen this absolutely everywhere lately, so praying to all the bookgods out there that this lives up to the hype 😩
July 12, 2024
I did have a lot of fun with it but I can't ignore some of the issues I had with it especially in the first 65% of the book. I did like the concept and plot as an overall but the way it was executed felt chaotic to me.
To me it came across as we're just thrown into the story. I had some trouble getting a handle on the world building and although things are happening at a fast pace to Saeris, it was too wordy. The library bits felt repetitive and could have been edited better. The fae world intrigued me a lot tho, especially the whole thing with gods and quicksilver. I believe quicksilver as a whole could have been explained better rather than giving tid bits, it lacked clarity for me especially when things slowed down immensely in the middle.
The banter between Saeris and Kingfisher 🤢😭 was nice. I had a hard time seeing him being called Kingfisher the WHOLE time, so am sticking with Fisher. The chemistry between the two is pretty good in the second half. The enemies to lovers vibes were pretty good. Them together in the first half was rushed and there was a lack of emotional depth, it came across as shallow and maybe that's because of their personalities. I liked Fisher more than Saeris, but she won me over in the end. The spice was hot and the romance towards the end thankfully matured. Idk if it's just me but this is the sort of book that should have been in dual pov. I feel like giving just Saeris' pov, made it boring at parts and it was like I only got half of the information.
The found family trope is set up so sweet in this one, I ate it up. The side characters, Ren in particular interest me a lot. I would like to see that trope fleshed out a bit more in the next one.
The ending was wild. I loved it. The action and the cliffhanger was chef's kiss. But it did remind me a bit of ACOTAR, not that am complaining. I liked the twist a lot. Am eager to read the next book but I really hope it's much better edited.
Thanks to beautiful Lindsey for reading it with me 🥺🩷
•~•~
The cover is gorgeous😍😍
To me it came across as we're just thrown into the story. I had some trouble getting a handle on the world building and although things are happening at a fast pace to Saeris, it was too wordy. The library bits felt repetitive and could have been edited better. The fae world intrigued me a lot tho, especially the whole thing with gods and quicksilver. I believe quicksilver as a whole could have been explained better rather than giving tid bits, it lacked clarity for me especially when things slowed down immensely in the middle.
The banter between Saeris and Kingfisher 🤢😭 was nice. I had a hard time seeing him being called Kingfisher the WHOLE time, so am sticking with Fisher. The chemistry between the two is pretty good in the second half. The enemies to lovers vibes were pretty good. Them together in the first half was rushed and there was a lack of emotional depth, it came across as shallow and maybe that's because of their personalities. I liked Fisher more than Saeris, but she won me over in the end. The spice was hot and the romance towards the end thankfully matured. Idk if it's just me but this is the sort of book that should have been in dual pov. I feel like giving just Saeris' pov, made it boring at parts and it was like I only got half of the information.
The found family trope is set up so sweet in this one, I ate it up. The side characters, Ren in particular interest me a lot. I would like to see that trope fleshed out a bit more in the next one.
The ending was wild. I loved it. The action and the cliffhanger was chef's kiss. But it did remind me a bit of ACOTAR, not that am complaining. I liked the twist a lot. Am eager to read the next book but I really hope it's much better edited.
Thanks to beautiful Lindsey for reading it with me 🥺🩷
•~•~
The cover is gorgeous😍😍
Read
July 29, 2024dnf 30%
The review contains spoilers!
If I had a nickel for every time I read a book where a human girl ends up in a fairy world, I'd have a lot of nickels, but if I had a nickel for every time I read a book like that that was actually good, I don't know if I'd even have two nickels.
I’m honestly too lazy to write a proper review, so let me show you, based on the tropes, why Quicksilver didn’t work out for me.
Enemies to lovers? Their "hate" was some of the most bland and unoriginal I have ever read about.
Boring. I fear I've read quotes like this so many times that they no longer have any effect on me.
Slow-burn? Who is she? They kissed at thirty percent, and this is just the first book in the series.
Romantasy? I think you mean, Lust-asy, or Insta-lust-asy.
Great banter? Where?
Hahaha so funny. I’m dying of laughter.
� � � � � �
Grumpy hero? No no no.
Insufferable and mean hero? Yes.
Hungry needy bitch in heat? No comment needed here.
I don't know what else to say, I'm just disappointed. I was hopeful this book would be something just for me, but sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations.
The review contains spoilers!
If I had a nickel for every time I read a book where a human girl ends up in a fairy world, I'd have a lot of nickels, but if I had a nickel for every time I read a book like that that was actually good, I don't know if I'd even have two nickels.
I’m honestly too lazy to write a proper review, so let me show you, based on the tropes, why Quicksilver didn’t work out for me.
Enemies to lovers? Their "hate" was some of the most bland and unoriginal I have ever read about.
"I hated this male. Hated him with every fiber of my being. But curse me, I wanted him just as bad."
Boring. I fear I've read quotes like this so many times that they no longer have any effect on me.
Slow-burn? Who is she? They kissed at thirty percent, and this is just the first book in the series.
Romantasy? I think you mean, Lust-asy, or Insta-lust-asy.
Great banter? Where?
“Pants and a shirt,� I said dryly. “And a pair of boots with really good soles. Do you have any idea what those boots cost me?�
“Let me guess. Your virginity.�
“Fuck you, Fisher.�
“Sure.� He smirked. “But I'm afraid I don't have any new boots to trade you for your time.�
Hahaha so funny. I’m dying of laughter.
� � � � � �
Grumpy hero? No no no.
Insufferable and mean hero? Yes.
“Maybe the issue is that you asked me a question about my cock like a hungry little bitch in heat and didn't ask me something that mattered.� Gods, but he kept surprising me."
"My jaw was screaming, I was clenching my teeth so hard.
“FܳЯdz—�
“There you go again. Hungry, needy little bitch in heat, begging to be fucked...� he taunted.
“Let. Go!�
“LIIIIISTENNN!!� Kingfisher's roar snatched my breath away."
Hungry needy bitch in heat? No comment needed here.
I don't know what else to say, I'm just disappointed. I was hopeful this book would be something just for me, but sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations.
January 30, 2025
The girl version of Aladdin steals an expensive glove and almost gets her dumb brother killed. She’s arrested and then a hot guy comes out of the floor and kidnaps her. She recovers from a stomach wound and finds out that she’s been transported (via the floor thing) to a land of fae where her Magneto powers could be of use. The hot guy talks about his penis size and is sarcastic a lot. The girl is incredibly annoying and everyone has a really stupid name. I went into this book fully expecting to hate it so when I realized I was enjoying myself, I just stared at the wall in disbelief for a while. 4/5 I guess whatever I don’t even care anymore.
full highlights/notes on Patreon ⬇️
full highlights/notes on Patreon ⬇️
November 11, 2024
4.5 🌟 MYYY GODDDD OKAY THIS SLAYED SO HARD WOW
that ending!!!!!! i’m so happy with how it ended. it had so many chances to piss me off and it DIDNT and for that i’m thankful. i kept expecting to have one of those endings that makes u wanna die waiting for the next one (i’m looking at u twisted sisters) BUT THIS WAS JUST *CHEFS KISSSSSS*
kingfisher the man that you are!!!!
i’ll be SAT waiting for the rest of the books. when i tried reading this in september it wasn’t the right time, so I paused and waited for the audio. and omg that was my best decision!!! the duet narration was SOOO GOOD. ate it up.
i will say personally, ✨carrion swift is my favorite�
that ending!!!!!! i’m so happy with how it ended. it had so many chances to piss me off and it DIDNT and for that i’m thankful. i kept expecting to have one of those endings that makes u wanna die waiting for the next one (i’m looking at u twisted sisters) BUT THIS WAS JUST *CHEFS KISSSSSS*
kingfisher the man that you are!!!!
i’ll be SAT waiting for the rest of the books. when i tried reading this in september it wasn’t the right time, so I paused and waited for the audio. and omg that was my best decision!!! the duet narration was SOOO GOOD. ate it up.
i will say personally, ✨carrion swift is my favorite�
August 3, 2024
DNF @32%-FRTC
I've been hearing about this book NON- STOP in many of my book groups. High, high praise for it. The first few chapters - the writing though?
Might Will likely trash this book in my review... idk. Still working on this one.
I've been hearing about this book NON- STOP in many of my book groups. High, high praise for it. The first few chapters - the writing though?
July 16, 2024
im convinced everyone is being held at gunpoint rating this 5 stars
August 12, 2024
this is my EXACT taste in fantasy i don’t even care
December 30, 2024
ABSOLUTELY FUCKING INCREDIBLE. Yes yes yes, I loved this from page 1 and from now on all I want to read is romantacy...
September 23, 2024
I feel so bad for all talented fantasy authors because how is this popular. The dialogue and writing are so derogatory millennial.
November 4, 2024
4.75 ⭐️ Trust me, this book is worth the hype!
"I am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I'm the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
� gritty romantasy
� humans, fae, vampires, gods, magic, fates
� she's a human with a secret gift
� he's a tattooed, damaged and dangerous fae shadow daddy
� bargains and oaths
� hate to love
� forced proximity
� delicious banter
� lots of lust and sexual tension
� 3.5/5 spice (open door, explicit)
� "she's mine"
� badass FMC
� grumpy MMC
� found family
� shocking twists and turns
� minor cliffhanger that sets up for book 2
� TW: war, violence, gore, torture, mentions of SA
��� single POV
My Thoughts:
I have not enjoyed a lot of of the popular romantasy book recommendations lately, so I am pleased to say that this was fucking fantastic!
Okay, so what did I like about this story???
The world-building and magic system is intriguing. It all felt familiar in the sense that if you dabble in the fantasy or paranormal genres, you've probably read plenty of stories with fae, vampires, gods, portal magic, etc. However, this was done in a unique way so it felt like a fresh concept. I don't want to say anything more because it would spoil things, but I am curious to learn more about the Quicksilver and dive deeper into the politics of these worlds and other forms of magic.
Saeris Fane is a breath of fresh air. She is strong-willed, scrappy, straight-forward, and persistent: a survivor. Since Saeris is the main character in a world with magic, she does have a secret gift that gets explored throughout the story, but it's developed in a realistic way. Yes, Saeris is unique, special, and powerful, but not in the obnoxious 'Chosen One' sort of way that's been repeatedly done. I also liked how she can be snarky and sassy at times without coming off as immature. Saeris is definitely one of my favorite FMCs and I'm so excited to see how her character develops in book 2!
Kingfisher. Powerful, intimidating, dangerous, and, of course, sexy. At first, I really hated him. 😂 He was SUCH a dick to Saeris with no explanation why. However, as the story progresses, you realize he's also fiercely loyal, protective, and selfless. There's nothing he wouldn't do for the people he loves and those he's responsible for. I liked that this story is single POV so we learned more about Kingfisher and ended up falling in love with him along with Saeris. The ONLY thing I didn't love was his name. I'm glad most people call him Fisher instead of Kingfisher (which is a bird), but I am almost positive the author chose this name as some sort of foreshadowing. From my research, kingfishers in literature symbolize the rise and fall of civilizations, which is definitely relevant to this story.
The romance ATE! There's amazing banter, delicious tension, and the spice is *chef's fucking kiss*! Almost every interaction between Saeris and Fisher had me kicking and screaming in a giddy sort of way. You never knew if these two were going to fight or fuck and I was living for it. I loved how Saeris would try to brush off her attraction to Fisher with rude or snarky comments but he'd always turn it around on her and she'd leave the conversations hot and bothered.
For example:
And of course, the actual spice had me in a chokehold! These scenes are open door, explicit and very detailed. Like, pages and pages worth of smut. 🔥 And Fisher's dirty talk is superior. I'm legit getting sweaty just glancing over some of the things he says.
Once Fisher and Saeris stop denying their attraction for each other, they share a few sweet and tender moments between. Whenever he calls her 'little Osha' my stomach flutters with butterflies. 🦋 The scene where he takes her hands and puts it on her heart so she can feel it beat, had me in my feels. 🥺 💕 And the note. 😭 Their love made me emotional and horny all at the same time.
The premise / plot is exciting! The beginning starts off with a bang as Saeris runs from one of the Queen's guard, and from that point on, there's always something going on whether it's political intrigue, developing romance, training, or fights. I liked how there's a relatively equal focus between the romance and story plot so that one doesn't overwhelm or take away from the over.
And that ending!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! I genuinely did not see those reveals and the turn of events coming! Again, can't say much without spoiling, but just prepare to experience a kaleidoscope of emotions.
Two things to note: the story is a bit long and it may take a second to get into. However, I didn't think the length was a problem since it all felt relevant to the plot and world development. There’s so many layers to this story and the more you read, the more invested you’ll find yourself. Also, I typically have to read 10% of a fantasy story to figure out if I'm going to enjoy it or not. These things weren't issues for me, but I want to mention them since I've seen a few reviews talking about these points.
Overall, Quicksilver is a captivating, swoon-worthy romantasy that swept me off my feet. Depending on the next books in the series, it could easily become one of my all-time favorite series! I wish I could read the next book immediately, and I’m so sad we have to wait an entire year for it. But also, kudos to Callie Hart for having this book get picked up by a publisher! Well deserved!
Favorite Quotes:
Dedication: "For those who live their nightmares so that others may have their dream."
_______
I hadn't seen many beautiful things in my short life. But, of all the beautiful things I had seen, Fisher was the most beautiful of all.
_______
"I can smell you, Little Osha, and I'm thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you're making for me straight from the fucking cup."
_______
Kingfisher was smart. He could be an angry, arrogant, half-mad, outrageously handsome piece of shit and an intelligent tactician at the same time. Turned out the two weren't mutually exclusive.
_______
"I don't enjoy hurting people. I don't like it at all. But that doesn't mean it isn't necessary. To avoid far more serious pain, sometimes we have to endure a little sting. Sometimes, some of us have to inflict it."
_______
We were either going to kill each other or fuck each other, and I was glad we were both opting for the latter option.
_______
"Let your knees fall open," he demanded.
"I-"
"No arguments, Osha. I've driven myself half-crazy wondering what you look like. I need to fucking see. Put me out of my misery."
_______
"Don't call her Sunshine."
"Why not?"
"Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before killing stars. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty."
_______
"Every warrior in Innir will smell me on you. I'm going to make you hoarse from screaming my fucking name. I'm going to mark you in every way imaginable, so that everyone knows you're fucking mine."
_______
"Make me forget that I've ever suffered. Make me forget that I will again."
_______
I was going to have a heart attack. Or my heart was going to break in two. Either way, my heart was in trouble, and there was no protecting it now.
_______
"I am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I'm the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
� gritty romantasy
� humans, fae, vampires, gods, magic, fates
� she's a human with a secret gift
� he's a tattooed, damaged and dangerous fae shadow daddy
� bargains and oaths
� hate to love
� forced proximity
� delicious banter
� lots of lust and sexual tension
� 3.5/5 spice (open door, explicit)
� "she's mine"
� badass FMC
� grumpy MMC
� found family
� shocking twists and turns
� minor cliffhanger that sets up for book 2
� TW: war, violence, gore, torture, mentions of SA
��� single POV
My Thoughts:
I have not enjoyed a lot of of the popular romantasy book recommendations lately, so I am pleased to say that this was fucking fantastic!
Okay, so what did I like about this story???
The world-building and magic system is intriguing. It all felt familiar in the sense that if you dabble in the fantasy or paranormal genres, you've probably read plenty of stories with fae, vampires, gods, portal magic, etc. However, this was done in a unique way so it felt like a fresh concept. I don't want to say anything more because it would spoil things, but I am curious to learn more about the Quicksilver and dive deeper into the politics of these worlds and other forms of magic.
Saeris Fane is a breath of fresh air. She is strong-willed, scrappy, straight-forward, and persistent: a survivor. Since Saeris is the main character in a world with magic, she does have a secret gift that gets explored throughout the story, but it's developed in a realistic way. Yes, Saeris is unique, special, and powerful, but not in the obnoxious 'Chosen One' sort of way that's been repeatedly done. I also liked how she can be snarky and sassy at times without coming off as immature. Saeris is definitely one of my favorite FMCs and I'm so excited to see how her character develops in book 2!
Kingfisher. Powerful, intimidating, dangerous, and, of course, sexy. At first, I really hated him. 😂 He was SUCH a dick to Saeris with no explanation why. However, as the story progresses, you realize he's also fiercely loyal, protective, and selfless. There's nothing he wouldn't do for the people he loves and those he's responsible for. I liked that this story is single POV so we learned more about Kingfisher and ended up falling in love with him along with Saeris. The ONLY thing I didn't love was his name. I'm glad most people call him Fisher instead of Kingfisher (which is a bird), but I am almost positive the author chose this name as some sort of foreshadowing. From my research, kingfishers in literature symbolize the rise and fall of civilizations, which is definitely relevant to this story.
The romance ATE! There's amazing banter, delicious tension, and the spice is *chef's fucking kiss*! Almost every interaction between Saeris and Fisher had me kicking and screaming in a giddy sort of way. You never knew if these two were going to fight or fuck and I was living for it. I loved how Saeris would try to brush off her attraction to Fisher with rude or snarky comments but he'd always turn it around on her and she'd leave the conversations hot and bothered.
For example:
"I wouldn't fuck you - if you were the last living -"
"Don't bother." The words held bite. "Lying is pointless with your heart betraying you so loudly."
"It's beating fast because I'm afraid," I snapped.
"Of me?" Kingfisher huffed a blast of laughter down his nose. "No, you're not. You should be, but you're not. That's one of the things I like most about you. . . You want to touch me the way I'm touching you, don't you? To feel the weight of me beneath your palms. The heat of me . . ."
"You're wrong."
He shook his head. "I'm not. . . I can smell you, Little Osha, and I'm thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you're making for me straight from the fucking cup."
And of course, the actual spice had me in a chokehold! These scenes are open door, explicit and very detailed. Like, pages and pages worth of smut. 🔥 And Fisher's dirty talk is superior. I'm legit getting sweaty just glancing over some of the things he says.
Once Fisher and Saeris stop denying their attraction for each other, they share a few sweet and tender moments between. Whenever he calls her 'little Osha' my stomach flutters with butterflies. 🦋 The scene where he takes her hands and puts it on her heart so she can feel it beat, had me in my feels. 🥺 💕 And the note. 😭 Their love made me emotional and horny all at the same time.
The premise / plot is exciting! The beginning starts off with a bang as Saeris runs from one of the Queen's guard, and from that point on, there's always something going on whether it's political intrigue, developing romance, training, or fights. I liked how there's a relatively equal focus between the romance and story plot so that one doesn't overwhelm or take away from the over.
And that ending!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! I genuinely did not see those reveals and the turn of events coming! Again, can't say much without spoiling, but just prepare to experience a kaleidoscope of emotions.
Two things to note: the story is a bit long and it may take a second to get into. However, I didn't think the length was a problem since it all felt relevant to the plot and world development. There’s so many layers to this story and the more you read, the more invested you’ll find yourself. Also, I typically have to read 10% of a fantasy story to figure out if I'm going to enjoy it or not. These things weren't issues for me, but I want to mention them since I've seen a few reviews talking about these points.
Overall, Quicksilver is a captivating, swoon-worthy romantasy that swept me off my feet. Depending on the next books in the series, it could easily become one of my all-time favorite series! I wish I could read the next book immediately, and I’m so sad we have to wait an entire year for it. But also, kudos to Callie Hart for having this book get picked up by a publisher! Well deserved!
Favorite Quotes:
Dedication: "For those who live their nightmares so that others may have their dream."
_______
I hadn't seen many beautiful things in my short life. But, of all the beautiful things I had seen, Fisher was the most beautiful of all.
_______
"I can smell you, Little Osha, and I'm thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you're making for me straight from the fucking cup."
_______
Kingfisher was smart. He could be an angry, arrogant, half-mad, outrageously handsome piece of shit and an intelligent tactician at the same time. Turned out the two weren't mutually exclusive.
_______
"I don't enjoy hurting people. I don't like it at all. But that doesn't mean it isn't necessary. To avoid far more serious pain, sometimes we have to endure a little sting. Sometimes, some of us have to inflict it."
_______
We were either going to kill each other or fuck each other, and I was glad we were both opting for the latter option.
_______
"Let your knees fall open," he demanded.
"I-"
"No arguments, Osha. I've driven myself half-crazy wondering what you look like. I need to fucking see. Put me out of my misery."
_______
"Don't call her Sunshine."
"Why not?"
"Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before killing stars. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty."
_______
"Every warrior in Innir will smell me on you. I'm going to make you hoarse from screaming my fucking name. I'm going to mark you in every way imaginable, so that everyone knows you're fucking mine."
_______
"Make me forget that I've ever suffered. Make me forget that I will again."
_______
I was going to have a heart attack. Or my heart was going to break in two. Either way, my heart was in trouble, and there was no protecting it now.
_______
July 11, 2024
“For those who live their nightmares so that others may have their dreams.�
Where do I even BEGIN??? Without a doubt one of my favorite reads of the year! Obsessed is actually the biggest understatement. Everything I want out of a fantasy romance book and them some! I am truly blown away that this is the authors first book in this genre, it was PERFECTION and I will be making it my entire personality.
The world building is very easy to digest and I was immediately sucked in from the second I started reading. I found it actually impossible to put this book down. The perfect balance of plot and romance. The magic system was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I love how it plays such an integral role in the overall story. There were times where I thought I knew where things were going, then I was absolutely gob smacked by how wrong I was. The last 200 pages had me white knuckling my book. The action and battles scenes were absolutely INCREDIBLE!
Don’t even get me started on shadow daddy Fisher� this man�. THIS MAN!! Let’s just say my top 10 book boyfriends have some serious competition. He is so grumpy and territorial and possessive and a little bit toxic but in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE!! I mean he’s Fae, what do you expect? His mouth???!! Every time he spoke all the feminism left my body. Such a shameless flirt and I ate up every second of it. I surprisingly loved not getting his POV because it added to the mystery and intrigue of him as a character, and trust me this man has secrets. I need him on a level that probably isn’t healthy and I don’t care. His nickname for her means “most sacred� I MEAN COME ON.
“I'll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I've been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.�
“She is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.�
“I'll be grateful for every second that I can say that I belong to you, Saeris Fane. Eighty years or eighteen hours. It doesn't matter to me. It'll still be the highest honor of my life.�
Our FMC Saeris is such a confident badass but not in an annoying, “pick me� way. She knows what she wants and goes after it but actually thinks her decisions through and doesn’t act on pure emotion, shocking I know. And her overall mindset is so empowering! I cannot wait to see her character grow throughout the series!
THE ROMANCE!!!! You can feel the chemistry oozing out of the pages. The banter between Saeris and Fisher is chefs fucking kiss, the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. It’s giving soulmates and I will find you in every lifetime. It’s advertised as enemies to lovers but I personally wouldn’t describe it as enemies to lovers i would say it’s more “I really don’t like you and I don’t know why to lovers�, but I still ate it up.
The side characters were so well flushed out and impossible not to fall in love with! The found family was EVERYTHING, I’m already so emotionally attached to them and it’s only book 1!!!
“Be unrelenting and unmerciful in the face of the wicked dead. And if you should find your soul sundered from flesh, order a drink for us at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We’ll settle the tab when we get there.�
This book is for you if you love:
✔️found family
✔️enemies to lovers
✔️grumpy shadow daddy MMC
✔️unique magic system
✔️delicious banter and tension
✔️slow burn
✔️fated mates
✔️badass FMC
✔️spicy spice
Where do I even BEGIN??? Without a doubt one of my favorite reads of the year! Obsessed is actually the biggest understatement. Everything I want out of a fantasy romance book and them some! I am truly blown away that this is the authors first book in this genre, it was PERFECTION and I will be making it my entire personality.
The world building is very easy to digest and I was immediately sucked in from the second I started reading. I found it actually impossible to put this book down. The perfect balance of plot and romance. The magic system was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I love how it plays such an integral role in the overall story. There were times where I thought I knew where things were going, then I was absolutely gob smacked by how wrong I was. The last 200 pages had me white knuckling my book. The action and battles scenes were absolutely INCREDIBLE!
Don’t even get me started on shadow daddy Fisher� this man�. THIS MAN!! Let’s just say my top 10 book boyfriends have some serious competition. He is so grumpy and territorial and possessive and a little bit toxic but in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE!! I mean he’s Fae, what do you expect? His mouth???!! Every time he spoke all the feminism left my body. Such a shameless flirt and I ate up every second of it. I surprisingly loved not getting his POV because it added to the mystery and intrigue of him as a character, and trust me this man has secrets. I need him on a level that probably isn’t healthy and I don’t care. His nickname for her means “most sacred� I MEAN COME ON.
“I'll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I've been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.�
“She is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.�
“I'll be grateful for every second that I can say that I belong to you, Saeris Fane. Eighty years or eighteen hours. It doesn't matter to me. It'll still be the highest honor of my life.�
Our FMC Saeris is such a confident badass but not in an annoying, “pick me� way. She knows what she wants and goes after it but actually thinks her decisions through and doesn’t act on pure emotion, shocking I know. And her overall mindset is so empowering! I cannot wait to see her character grow throughout the series!
THE ROMANCE!!!! You can feel the chemistry oozing out of the pages. The banter between Saeris and Fisher is chefs fucking kiss, the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. It’s giving soulmates and I will find you in every lifetime. It’s advertised as enemies to lovers but I personally wouldn’t describe it as enemies to lovers i would say it’s more “I really don’t like you and I don’t know why to lovers�, but I still ate it up.
The side characters were so well flushed out and impossible not to fall in love with! The found family was EVERYTHING, I’m already so emotionally attached to them and it’s only book 1!!!
“Be unrelenting and unmerciful in the face of the wicked dead. And if you should find your soul sundered from flesh, order a drink for us at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We’ll settle the tab when we get there.�
This book is for you if you love:
✔️found family
✔️enemies to lovers
✔️grumpy shadow daddy MMC
✔️unique magic system
✔️delicious banter and tension
✔️slow burn
✔️fated mates
✔️badass FMC
✔️spicy spice
February 2, 2025
2⭐️
Dare I say that this is probably one of the most overhyped books I have seen from social media? Yes, yes it is. This is going to end up being more of a rant review so here we go.
First off, I didn't like really any of the characters, besides Carrion. That man single-handedly carried the entire book and I wish we got more of him. The FMC was fine, but that's not saying much cause there wasn't really anything deep or meaningful about her. First going into this book I thought that the FMC's brother, Hayden, would be more a part of the plot seeing how the beginning went. However, this man was basically forgotten about 25% through the book LMAOO. Saeris would go on and on and on about needing him....just to forget about him and completely change her motive. I hope this man is living his best life cause no one else is thinking about him. 💀
Secondly, I was hearing everyone say, "Omg I loved Fisher so much he's such a book boyfriend,"....DUDE WHERE?? This man was absolutely diabolical to read about. There's a fine line between a grumpy, difficult MMC, but Fisher was one of the WORST characters I've had the displeasure of reading about. Some of the things he would say to Saeris were so...disgusting. You couldn't PAY ME to be around this man for a minute. I'll stick with keeping him at a ten-foot pole's distance thank you very much.
Finally, what the fuck was up with this plot? It was literally EVERYWHERE. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, this was just lacking soooo bad and doesn't even compare or stand up to the biggest names in the fantasy genre. The magic system and overall plot was so poorly explained and I mean that in the most brutally honest way. Nothing made sense. Trying to add 2 and 2 together was giving me 25. Make it make sense.
I should know better by now than to listen to books that absolutely dominated TiktTok, and I don't know why I didn't go with my gut on this one. 600+ pages and all I wanted to do was rip my hair out and scream. I have never read a hyped up book be this bad. I have zero interest in continuing this series. While I did enjoy the ending and I liked how it wrapped up, that is nowhere near enough to make up for the dumpster fire that was this book. Save yourself if you haven't read it, truly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Late to the party but I hope I'll be glad I arrived 🙂↔️�
Dare I say that this is probably one of the most overhyped books I have seen from social media? Yes, yes it is. This is going to end up being more of a rant review so here we go.
First off, I didn't like really any of the characters, besides Carrion. That man single-handedly carried the entire book and I wish we got more of him. The FMC was fine, but that's not saying much cause there wasn't really anything deep or meaningful about her. First going into this book I thought that the FMC's brother, Hayden, would be more a part of the plot seeing how the beginning went. However, this man was basically forgotten about 25% through the book LMAOO. Saeris would go on and on and on about needing him....just to forget about him and completely change her motive. I hope this man is living his best life cause no one else is thinking about him. 💀
Secondly, I was hearing everyone say, "Omg I loved Fisher so much he's such a book boyfriend,"....DUDE WHERE?? This man was absolutely diabolical to read about. There's a fine line between a grumpy, difficult MMC, but Fisher was one of the WORST characters I've had the displeasure of reading about. Some of the things he would say to Saeris were so...disgusting. You couldn't PAY ME to be around this man for a minute. I'll stick with keeping him at a ten-foot pole's distance thank you very much.
Finally, what the fuck was up with this plot? It was literally EVERYWHERE. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, this was just lacking soooo bad and doesn't even compare or stand up to the biggest names in the fantasy genre. The magic system and overall plot was so poorly explained and I mean that in the most brutally honest way. Nothing made sense. Trying to add 2 and 2 together was giving me 25. Make it make sense.
I should know better by now than to listen to books that absolutely dominated TiktTok, and I don't know why I didn't go with my gut on this one. 600+ pages and all I wanted to do was rip my hair out and scream. I have never read a hyped up book be this bad. I have zero interest in continuing this series. While I did enjoy the ending and I liked how it wrapped up, that is nowhere near enough to make up for the dumpster fire that was this book. Save yourself if you haven't read it, truly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Late to the party but I hope I'll be glad I arrived 🙂↔️�
October 10, 2024
“For those who live their nightmares, so that others may have their dreams.�
� � � � � � � � � � . � . � 2.2-2.4 � � . � . �
� � � � � � � � ╰┈➤˗ˏˋㅤmight contain spoilers �
� � � This served me as the biggest lesson to never trust booktokor people ever again, because I was genuinely excited for this book; I really thought I was about to find my second 5-star read of the year and I was looking forward to starting this book after how much it's been praised again and again everywhere around me. I was wrong; because what was this even supposed to be? I might be slightly overreacting, this was not such an awful book, it was pretty ok (as it can also be seen from my rating), but I guess my expectations were a bit too high, and I was, therefore, left rather disappointed.
� � � "Quiksilver" is the typical romantasy book that you will find around lately; a lot of very popular tropes, a lot cliches that are unfortunately not suitably adapted to the book's characters and action and a really dark MMC who wants to be morally grey.
� � � The story of the book follows Saeris a thief with a noble heart who is struggling to survive together with her brother in the city of Zilvaren, whose heartless queen rules without mercy or compassion. Once forced to be brought in front of the said queen to be judged, Saeris finds the true depths of the queen's malice, but fate has other plans for her and when a mysterious, dark and brooding man saves her just in time, she finds herself in the middle of the political intrigues of an unknown kingdom. Of course, the brooding man is none other than Kingfisher who, despite his very unfortunate and horrible name, is the most beautiful man Saeris has ever laid her eyes on. Oh, did I say man? My apologies, I meant to say male because, as you probably already guessed, he is fae. From here starts the whole adventure of loyalty, misunderstood heroes and brave companions, all revolving around the funny, even though a bit childish at times, banter between our main characters. Spice could not be missed from such a recipe of a story, even though I, at least, would have appreciated it way more if 80% out of it was indeed missed. But it is all leading towards the very ending of the book where the FMC might find herself in a very different, very new, and very intriguing position.
� � � I will just proceed with my analysis below without wasting any more time.
� � � � � � -ˋˏ � world-building, writing and action � ˎˊ-
� � � The world-building in this novel is really excellent, and it is probably the only aspect of it that I found completely satisfactory. There are hardly any extraneous details, and the world is intriguingly and fairly well-constructed, revealing more and more information to you as the reader as the novel goes on. It really did seem a little unique, which was exactly what I needed to keep me intrigued.
� � On the other hand, I genuinely have nothing to say about the writing. It is not bad, it is not good either. It was basic, a touch bland, and sometimes even a little fanfiction-ish. It had no business having such long chapters in the first half of the book.
� � � There is not much to say about the action in the book either. The action was pretty captivating, a bit slow at times, and gave the appearance that it was focused on insignificant issues, but overall, it was very adequate and even entertaining at moments.
� � � � � � � � � � � � � -ˋˏ � characters � ˎˊ-
� � � I refuse to believe these characters' ages vary between the range of 24 and 1800. These people acted like teenagers more than once and it was becoming so hard for me to remember that they are adults in so many instances.
� � � ❀ Saeris - I want to make this very clear, I do not like this character. I do not think there is something specific wrong with her, but I just couldn't, for the love of God, appreciate her as a main character. I am not sure if it was due to the manner in which she was presented in the book, but she was so uninteresting, and it was so hard to relate to her through the novel. She does not evolve in any special way; she, somehow, already possesses every attribute that may make every single person she meets fall for her, and she just does not elicit empathy.
� � � ❀ Kingfisher - Apart from having one of the worst names ever given to a MMC, there isn't really much to say about him either. He is the dark, brooding, and misunderstood, yet absolutely noble hero who suffered time and time again for the good of his people. He is, by far, way more intriguing as a character than Saeris, but once you really try to go deeper into his character, you do not really find much apart from the sexual/funny banter and his constant willingness to sacrifice for everything and everyone around him. There was way more potential behind this character.
� � � � I really need writers to stop promoting everything as enemies to lovers and slow-burn; because these two tropes lasted for about 20 pages after the characters met and that simply does not fulfil the requirements for any of these elements. This was very insta-love(lust?) and despite having about 500 pages of these characters together, I could not feel any real chemistry or genuine feelings between them by the end of this book. There was real potential for this romance, but unfortunately it got buried under unnecessary tropes. Not to mention that the ending opens the possibility towards a really...strange..thing.
ㅤㅤ ❀ Ren, Lorreth, Everlayne - They were genuinely really fun side characters. I loved them to be honest. Not much to say about them, but I loved them.
ㅤㅤ ❀ Carrion - thank you for your service, king!!! This book would have genuinely been so much worse without his jokes and funny banters with...well, everyone.
� � � � � � � � � � � � -ˋˏ � ending and conclusions � ˎˊ-
� � � Now, I am not sure what could be said about the ending of this book so it could perfectly encompass what I truly felt about it, but I will try to describe it using a question:is there any plot left for the rest of the books in this series, because why did so many different events have to be compressed into such a short span of pages? The ending seemed rushed, and there were so many disclosures and events happening at once that I became overwhelmed. Not to add that the finale, due to how it was constructed, fails to ignite your interest in reading the rest of the series. There may have been many fewer details supplied in this ending, which could have been left for the second book and piqued the reader's interest significantly.
� � � I don't think there is much to say as a conclusion for this book. It was not a bad novel, but it was really far from being the amazing piece of literature so many people advertised it as. If you want a quite entertaining, slightly long book that will give you some of the most popular book tropes right now, then absolutely go for this. But do not go into it expecting too much, because I made that mistake, and now, I am left slightly disappointed.
� � � I will be reading the second book as well, but it would be solely due to my curiosity regarding the plot and its direction. Apart from that, this is not really a read that piqued my interest.
┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶
� � � � � pre-reading � � � � � yes, it is finally time 🙌🏻 i don't even need to mention how many amazing things I've heard about this, so needless to say, I am so excited!!!
� � � � � � � � � � . � . � 2.2-2.4 � � . � . �
� � � � � � � � ╰┈➤˗ˏˋㅤmight contain spoilers �
� � � This served me as the biggest lesson to never trust booktok
� � � "Quiksilver" is the typical romantasy book that you will find around lately; a lot of very popular tropes, a lot cliches that are unfortunately not suitably adapted to the book's characters and action and a really dark MMC who wants to be morally grey.
� � � The story of the book follows Saeris a thief with a noble heart who is struggling to survive together with her brother in the city of Zilvaren, whose heartless queen rules without mercy or compassion. Once forced to be brought in front of the said queen to be judged, Saeris finds the true depths of the queen's malice, but fate has other plans for her and when a mysterious, dark and brooding man saves her just in time, she finds herself in the middle of the political intrigues of an unknown kingdom. Of course, the brooding man is none other than Kingfisher who, despite his very unfortunate and horrible name, is the most beautiful man Saeris has ever laid her eyes on. Oh, did I say man? My apologies, I meant to say male because, as you probably already guessed, he is fae. From here starts the whole adventure of loyalty, misunderstood heroes and brave companions, all revolving around the funny, even though a bit childish at times, banter between our main characters. Spice could not be missed from such a recipe of a story, even though I, at least, would have appreciated it way more if 80% out of it was indeed missed. But it is all leading towards the very ending of the book where the FMC might find herself in a very different, very new, and very intriguing position.
� � � I will just proceed with my analysis below without wasting any more time.
� � � � � � -ˋˏ � world-building, writing and action � ˎˊ-
� � � The world-building in this novel is really excellent, and it is probably the only aspect of it that I found completely satisfactory. There are hardly any extraneous details, and the world is intriguingly and fairly well-constructed, revealing more and more information to you as the reader as the novel goes on. It really did seem a little unique, which was exactly what I needed to keep me intrigued.
� � On the other hand, I genuinely have nothing to say about the writing. It is not bad, it is not good either. It was basic, a touch bland, and sometimes even a little fanfiction-ish. It had no business having such long chapters in the first half of the book.
� � � There is not much to say about the action in the book either. The action was pretty captivating, a bit slow at times, and gave the appearance that it was focused on insignificant issues, but overall, it was very adequate and even entertaining at moments.
� � � � � � � � � � � � � -ˋˏ � characters � ˎˊ-
� � � I refuse to believe these characters' ages vary between the range of 24 and 1800. These people acted like teenagers more than once and it was becoming so hard for me to remember that they are adults in so many instances.
� � � ❀ Saeris - I want to make this very clear, I do not like this character. I do not think there is something specific wrong with her, but I just couldn't, for the love of God, appreciate her as a main character. I am not sure if it was due to the manner in which she was presented in the book, but she was so uninteresting, and it was so hard to relate to her through the novel. She does not evolve in any special way; she, somehow, already possesses every attribute that may make every single person she meets fall for her, and she just does not elicit empathy.
� � � ❀ Kingfisher - Apart from having one of the worst names ever given to a MMC, there isn't really much to say about him either. He is the dark, brooding, and misunderstood, yet absolutely noble hero who suffered time and time again for the good of his people. He is, by far, way more intriguing as a character than Saeris, but once you really try to go deeper into his character, you do not really find much apart from the sexual/funny banter and his constant willingness to sacrifice for everything and everyone around him. There was way more potential behind this character.
� � � � I really need writers to stop promoting everything as enemies to lovers and slow-burn; because these two tropes lasted for about 20 pages after the characters met and that simply does not fulfil the requirements for any of these elements. This was very insta-love(lust?) and despite having about 500 pages of these characters together, I could not feel any real chemistry or genuine feelings between them by the end of this book. There was real potential for this romance, but unfortunately it got buried under unnecessary tropes. Not to mention that the ending opens the possibility towards a really...strange..thing.
ㅤㅤ ❀ Ren, Lorreth, Everlayne - They were genuinely really fun side characters. I loved them to be honest. Not much to say about them, but I loved them.
ㅤㅤ ❀ Carrion - thank you for your service, king!!! This book would have genuinely been so much worse without his jokes and funny banters with...well, everyone.
� � � � � � � � � � � � -ˋˏ � ending and conclusions � ˎˊ-
� � � Now, I am not sure what could be said about the ending of this book so it could perfectly encompass what I truly felt about it, but I will try to describe it using a question:is there any plot left for the rest of the books in this series, because why did so many different events have to be compressed into such a short span of pages? The ending seemed rushed, and there were so many disclosures and events happening at once that I became overwhelmed. Not to add that the finale, due to how it was constructed, fails to ignite your interest in reading the rest of the series. There may have been many fewer details supplied in this ending, which could have been left for the second book and piqued the reader's interest significantly.
� � � I don't think there is much to say as a conclusion for this book. It was not a bad novel, but it was really far from being the amazing piece of literature so many people advertised it as. If you want a quite entertaining, slightly long book that will give you some of the most popular book tropes right now, then absolutely go for this. But do not go into it expecting too much, because I made that mistake, and now, I am left slightly disappointed.
� � � I will be reading the second book as well, but it would be solely due to my curiosity regarding the plot and its direction. Apart from that, this is not really a read that piqued my interest.
┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶┶
� � � � � pre-reading � � � � � yes, it is finally time 🙌🏻 i don't even need to mention how many amazing things I've heard about this, so needless to say, I am so excited!!!
April 22, 2025
I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Quicksilver snuck up on me. I had fun. It’s the kind of romantasy that feels like an ode to tropes, but it reveres its predecessors without parroting them.
There’s intent here, and a nice amount of heart.
I caught hints of ACOTAR, the lore leaning towards Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series, and even some Beauty and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin energy. Plus some Excalibur vibes.
The fae lore hit Holly Black beats for me. No lying, the weight of oaths, the power of true names. And they weren't just constraints for the plot but metaphors for power, consent, and identity.
Similarly, while there’s romance, the story digs deeper with layers of choice, power, fate and free will. Who we are when we’re being used... and who we become when we push back. It’s thoughtful in ways I didn’t expect.
Carrion Swift is a supporting side character who was someone I fully expected to be reduced to a plot device, angst bait or cannon fodder but ended up being handled with care and kind of became one of my favourite characters? I was ready to be mad about his unfair character arc, but he turned out exceptional.
Likewise, Kingfisher, the broody, troubled MMC grew on me. He started off a bit insufferable, got punched (deserved), and then morphed into someone worth rooting for. Even his nickname for Saeris, which I was fully prepared to loathe, I'll allow, given all the emotional gravitas there.
So, yes. The cover gave me mild secondhand embarrassment. I get the critiques the story has, in particular, the female friendships (why did the one female friendship have to be tied to the love interest? Also, the role and depiction of Danya).
But I also get the hype. And in the end, I loved it.
˦️˦️˦️
Me: “I don’t trust hype.�
Also me: starts reading Quicksilver
There’s intent here, and a nice amount of heart.
I caught hints of ACOTAR, the lore leaning towards Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series, and even some Beauty and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin energy. Plus some Excalibur vibes.
The fae lore hit Holly Black beats for me. No lying, the weight of oaths, the power of true names. And they weren't just constraints for the plot but metaphors for power, consent, and identity.
Similarly, while there’s romance, the story digs deeper with layers of choice, power, fate and free will. Who we are when we’re being used... and who we become when we push back. It’s thoughtful in ways I didn’t expect.
Carrion Swift is a supporting side character who was someone I fully expected to be reduced to a plot device, angst bait or cannon fodder but ended up being handled with care and kind of became one of my favourite characters? I was ready to be mad about his unfair character arc, but he turned out exceptional.
Likewise, Kingfisher, the broody, troubled MMC grew on me. He started off a bit insufferable, got punched (deserved), and then morphed into someone worth rooting for. Even his nickname for Saeris, which I was fully prepared to loathe, I'll allow, given all the emotional gravitas there.
So, yes. The cover gave me mild secondhand embarrassment. I get the critiques the story has, in particular, the female friendships (why did the one female friendship have to be tied to the love interest? Also, the role and depiction of Danya).
But I also get the hype. And in the end, I loved it.
˦️˦️˦️
Me: “I don’t trust hype.�
Also me: starts reading Quicksilver
May 4, 2025
¿Por qué en todos los libros de faes los protagonistas tienen que ser mates? Estoy harta 😭.
EN FIN, van a amar este libro si les gusta Sarah J. Maas, ¡hasta pasan las mismas cosas!
No sé si estoy lo suficientemente intrigada para continuar con los que siguen, pero sí fue una lectura entretenida y entiendo por qué todas están enamoradas de Kingfisher (yo soy todas).
PD: Quiero agregar que... ¿mi personaje favorito? Obviamente Carrion Swift.
EN FIN, van a amar este libro si les gusta Sarah J. Maas, ¡hasta pasan las mismas cosas!
No sé si estoy lo suficientemente intrigada para continuar con los que siguen, pero sí fue una lectura entretenida y entiendo por qué todas están enamoradas de Kingfisher (yo soy todas).
PD: Quiero agregar que... ¿mi personaje favorito? Obviamente Carrion Swift.
March 31, 2025
Those of you who told me to finish this are BAD HUMANS 🤣 watch the reading vlog and very detailed rant review here:
I need a palette cleanser, stat 😳
I need a palette cleanser, stat 😳
June 9, 2025
—� 𝟓 � 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. 🦋
❝𝐼� 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’� 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇. 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇’� 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀. 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝓊𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹.�
📖/🎧┆𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞� 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭
🏷️┆𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: ℝ𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕤�
📆┆𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞� 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟝/𝟞/𝟚𝟝 - 𝟝/𝟙𝟘/𝟚𝟝
📋┆𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢�
� ”The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and when Saeris re-opens a gateway between realms, she lands herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed. Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him.. or her.��
❝𝒜𝒷𝑜𝓋� 𝒶𝓁𝓁, 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓀𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔𝒻𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝓇. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓉𝑒𝓇. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒.�
·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ�
ᴍ� ʀᴀᴛɪɴ�: ★★★★�
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴ�: 𝟺.𝟹𝟾 � ꜱᴛᴀʀ�
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ: 🌶️🌶️🌶� ½
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ & Qᴜɪᴄʜ� 💧
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: 📻 ᴀʟᴄʜᴇᴍ� � ᴛᴀʏʟᴏʀ ꜱᴡɪꜰᴛ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴ�?: ʏᴇꜱ! ꜰᴏʀ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛᴀꜱ� ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ�
ʀᴇᴀ� ɪ� ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🗡� ꜰᴀᴛᴇ� ᴍᴀᴛᴇ�
🦋 ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟ�
🗡� ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏ� ᴅᴀᴅᴅɪᴇꜱ
🦋 ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ᴘᴏ�
🗡� ꜰᴏʀᴄᴇ� ᴘʀᴏxɪᴍɪᴛʏ
🦋 ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇ� ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ�
🗡� ᴍᴏʀᴀʟʟʏ ɢʀᴀʏ ᴍᴍ�
🦋 ᴄʟɪꜰꜰʜᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ
🗡� ᴜɴɪQᴜᴇ ᴍᴀɢɪ� ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇ�
🦋 ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ꜰᴍ� ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ɢɪꜰᴛ
🗡� ꜰᴀ�, ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇꜱ, ᴡɪᴛᴄʜᴇ�, ɢᴏᴅ�, ᴏ� ᴍ�!
❝𝐹𝑜� 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈, 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈.�
·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ�
⚠️ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ᴛʜɪꜱ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴡɪʟ� ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ� �& ʙ� ʟᴏɴ�⚠️
💬┆𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭�
� You know what? Hell yeah. I get it. I get why you’ll either love Quicksilver or hate it. I get why there’s so many mixed reviews. Is the writing the greatest? No. Was there too much going on? Yes. Was it sometimes overwhelming with all the information thrown at you? Yes. But the tension was tensioning (not even sure that’s a real word) � banter was bantering 🟰 vibes were sure as hell �.
� Sure, it’s the same old story that’s been told so many times in fantasy books: human & fae hate each other then fall in love, human & fae are fated mates, human dies/transitions. I get why a lot of readers are sick of this & want something new to read about. But guys, I am a sucker for a romantasy with a good enemies to lovers trope, a morally gray MMC who also happens to be a powerful shadow daddy, a badass FMC who takes no shit, & pretty much every trope I listed above ⤴️ These are the ingredients needed to make a perfect romantasy read for me. I would describe this as if ACOTAR & The Serpent and the Wings of Night had a child.
� Like I say in my profile; I’m forever chasing the high that reading ACOTAR for the first time gave me. While this wasn’t the same high, tbh I don’t think there ever will be, it came pretty damn close. It scratched that romantasy itch. It gave me ✨the feeling� & if you’re a fantasy/romantasy fan, you know exactly what feeling I’m talking about. You could describe it as a million Oshellith butterflies dancing around in your chest. 😏
� While I knew I would fall in love with the star of the show, Kingfisher, I also ended up falling in love with Saeris, Renfis, Lorreth, & especially Carrion, the comedic relief we needed. He was giving Ridoc & I loved him so much for it.
� ❝� 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓅𝓎 𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓁,� 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒹, 𝒽𝑜𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓂𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝓊𝓅 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝒸𝒽. “𝐼𝓉’� 𝒻𝒶𝓈𝒸𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝑔𝓎𝓂𝓃𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈.�
� Even though this was a 5 star read, there were a few minor things I wasn’t crazy about. I do think the author was trying to do too much in one book, albeit its length, with all the different antagonists & issues that our protagonists were faced with. & sometimes I thought I would understand what she was trying to do or what direction she was going in, but then she lost me & it became too complicated with too many moving parts & players in this game.
� The ending is what really sealed the deal for me on how much I loved this book. Saeris Fane, the female that you are: most powerful alchemist to ever exist, mate of Kingfisher, half FAE, half VAMPIRE, & now QUEEN?🧎🏼♀️Can this chick get any more badass? From the beginning, I know she was going to become a favorite FMC of mine.
random thoughts:
� 10/10 would recommend the audiobook. I tried to do both, but the audiobook won in the end. Kingfisher’s voice is 🥵🤰🏼
� Before I read this, I thought the name of the MMC was going to be Quicksilver so imagine my shock being introduced to “Kingfisher�?
� Anyone else immediately think of Star Wars when everyone kept saying Saeris was going to be the one to bring balance? Or did I just out myself as a nerd?
� If anything happens to my baby Onyx, there will be hell to pay.
� You know what else I’m a sucker for? When Faes have elongated canines. 🤭
� This book made me want to chug my 40oz Stanley in one sitting. The water rations that were implemented on the Third Ward was cruel.
� I’ll never get over hearing Kingfisher call Saeris LITTLE OSHA 🥹
·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ�
❝”𝒟𝑜𝓃’� 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒,� 𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑒𝒹.
“𝒲𝒽� 𝓃𝑜𝓉?�
“𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈� 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝑜𝓃𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓂. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓂𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓇𝑜𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝒶𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓈 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓃𝑜 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈. 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑀𝒶𝒿𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓎.� �
·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ�
✒️ ᴍᴏʀ� Qᴜᴏᴛᴇ� ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ
❝� 𝒶𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀. 𝐼’� 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝓊𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓁.�
❝𝐼’𝓋� 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓊𝓅 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓇� 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑜𝓇, 𝒮𝒶𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓈. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝒻𝓉 𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃.�
❝𝐼’� 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝒹𝓊𝒸𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝓈. 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂, 𝒹𝑜𝓃’� 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝐼’� 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝑒𝓈.�
❝”𝐼’� 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒮𝒶𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓈 𝐹𝒶𝓃𝑒,� 𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝑒𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝒾𝓇. “𝒜𝓃� 𝐼’� 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓁𝒻-𝓂𝒶𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓌𝒶𝓎. 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉’� 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓍?”❞
❝𝐹𝑒𝒶� 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓈, 𝒷𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽. 𝐼’� 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂.�
❝”𝒜𝓇� 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒶𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃’� 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒 𝐿𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒪𝓈𝒽𝒶 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒?�
𝐼 𝒶𝓈𝓀𝑒𝒹.
“𝐻𝓊𝓂𝒶�, 𝐹𝒶𝑒, 𝑜𝓇 𝓋𝒶𝓂𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’� 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒, 𝒮𝒶𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓈; 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒷𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝒶𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒.”❞
·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ� ·͙⁺�*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩�*˚⁺ħ� ⁺�*•̩̩͙✩
December 4, 2024
2 STARS for the ending � Most of my critique is due to poor writing and editing. The book should have been 200 pages shorter, and there were typos, run-on sentences, and plot inconsistencies throughout.
Though no fault of the author, BookTok seems cursed with the inability to correctlycategorize tropes because this was nothing more than a mediocre romantasy. It is NOT enemies-to-lovers, nor is it a slow burn. The found family was neverfound and the supposed razor-sharp banter was more akin to a dull knife. The character names were an interesting choice as well. Her nickname is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and his "real name" is Kingfisher.
Was tempted to DNF at the 25-30% mark, but it's difficult to fullyevaluate without finishing. So I persevered, and can now confirm that while things did pick up slightly in the very end, it's not worth reading 500 pages of insta-lust in exchange for 100 pages of fantasy plot points that are done better elsewhere.
Though no fault of the author, BookTok seems cursed with the inability to correctlycategorize tropes because this was nothing more than a mediocre romantasy. It is NOT enemies-to-lovers, nor is it a slow burn. The found family was neverfound and the supposed razor-sharp banter was more akin to a dull knife. The character names were an interesting choice as well. Her nickname is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and his "real name" is Kingfisher.
Was tempted to DNF at the 25-30% mark, but it's difficult to fullyevaluate without finishing. So I persevered, and can now confirm that while things did pick up slightly in the very end, it's not worth reading 500 pages of insta-lust in exchange for 100 pages of fantasy plot points that are done better elsewhere.
March 26, 2025
˖ � ⟡� 4 stars ˚� � ˖
the way i DNF’ed this the first time at 120 pages� what was i on? i’m glad i decided to try again, because this was really good.
� writing �.˚
the writing isn’t amazing, but it also isn’t terrible. the author doesn’t use a lot of metaphors so everything is pretty understandable. sometimes the dialogue would feel kind of immature and i would get cringed out while reading it, but for the most part it was okay.
� world-building �.˚
the world building is there and for the most part it is explained really well. we find things out at the same time as the main character so while there is a bit of confusion, everything ties together perfectly in the end. on top of that, there isn’t a lot of info dumping. the only thing i am not super sure about is everything to do with the quicksilver. i feel like it could’ve been explained a little bit better because i’m still not sure about it.
additionally, i did feel like there were some aspects of this book that were very heavily inspired by one of booktok’s favorite romantasy books. it made me cringe and it definitely made me lower my rating.
� characters �.˚
� Saeris, at first i found her kind of annoying, but after spending some time with her i’ve really grown to like her. she’s a very confident, selfless, and empathetic character. i loved that even after constantly arguing with her brother, she’d still do absolutely anything for him.
her relationship with Everlayne, Ren, Lorreth, and Carrion was so sweet. they’re her true found family and i was constantly smiling during their scenes.
� Kingfisher, i still can’t believe that’s his actual name. ugh. it’s so ugly. anyways, he’s a lot better than i initially thought. he’s your classic booktok boyfriend type of MMC that’s tall with dark hair and shadow powers. in the beginning he really does hate Saeris, but he doesn’t bully or abuse her, which was something new, as 95% of booktok’s favorite romantasy books go that way. the bar is literally on the floor, but i indeed did appreciate it (it should be the standard). he was so so sweet in the end. he truly cared about Saeris.
� tropes �.˚
� human FMC x fae MMC
� 1st person POV
� fae, vampires, witches, spirits
� strangers (?) to lovers
� found family
� forced proximity
� animal companion
� hidden magical abilities
� traveling between realms
� court politics
� spice level: 🌶️🌶️
� final thoughts �.˚
overall, i’m really glad i gave into the booktok hype and decided to give this book another go.
i’m very excited for the next one!
the way i DNF’ed this the first time at 120 pages� what was i on? i’m glad i decided to try again, because this was really good.
� writing �.˚
the writing isn’t amazing, but it also isn’t terrible. the author doesn’t use a lot of metaphors so everything is pretty understandable. sometimes the dialogue would feel kind of immature and i would get cringed out while reading it, but for the most part it was okay.
� world-building �.˚
the world building is there and for the most part it is explained really well. we find things out at the same time as the main character so while there is a bit of confusion, everything ties together perfectly in the end. on top of that, there isn’t a lot of info dumping. the only thing i am not super sure about is everything to do with the quicksilver. i feel like it could’ve been explained a little bit better because i’m still not sure about it.
additionally, i did feel like there were some aspects of this book that were very heavily inspired by one of booktok’s favorite romantasy books. it made me cringe and it definitely made me lower my rating.
� characters �.˚
� Saeris, at first i found her kind of annoying, but after spending some time with her i’ve really grown to like her. she’s a very confident, selfless, and empathetic character. i loved that even after constantly arguing with her brother, she’d still do absolutely anything for him.
her relationship with Everlayne, Ren, Lorreth, and Carrion was so sweet. they’re her true found family and i was constantly smiling during their scenes.
� Kingfisher, i still can’t believe that’s his actual name. ugh. it’s so ugly. anyways, he’s a lot better than i initially thought. he’s your classic booktok boyfriend type of MMC that’s tall with dark hair and shadow powers. in the beginning he really does hate Saeris, but he doesn’t bully or abuse her, which was something new, as 95% of booktok’s favorite romantasy books go that way. the bar is literally on the floor, but i indeed did appreciate it (it should be the standard). he was so so sweet in the end. he truly cared about Saeris.
� tropes �.˚
� human FMC x fae MMC
� 1st person POV
� fae, vampires, witches, spirits
� strangers (?) to lovers
� found family
� forced proximity
� animal companion
� hidden magical abilities
� traveling between realms
� court politics
� spice level: 🌶️🌶️
� final thoughts �.˚
overall, i’m really glad i gave into the booktok hype and decided to give this book another go.
i’m very excited for the next one!
July 23, 2024
DNF 30%
Another viral booktok book doesn’t live up to the hype for me. Shock.
If you’re happy with fantasy on Ozempic, not getting the full picture with detail, but heavy on romance, you might like this. Providing you can get past the clunky writing and cringey dialogue. Oh and the MMC being called Kingfisher, who is not a Pokémon with that name.
Politics form such a huge part of a fantasy plot and if I don’t understand the world and why it’s the way it is, I’m out. I actually prefer romance as a subplot I’m realising. It should elevate a fantasy, but in these popular romantasy books, the fantasy is sacrificed to give way for the romance, by which point idgaf about.
The world. Why does the queen oppress civilians from The Third? Rather than ration their water and food if she’s afraid rebels from The Third are working with the fae, why doesn’t she just wipe them out already? How did she even become queen? She rations water but not alcohol? Why would the Queen do that 😭 how is a tavern packed if there’s a water ration? How are they making the alcohol 🤣 why would the Queen allow it?! No sense was made!!
Passage between The Hub and The Third is forbidden due to The Third being infected with a plague yet our FMC is easily scaling a wall to cross the two??
She also kept saying at the start before she stole the gauntlet that she had a plan. What was it 😂 was never answered.
How is the FMC murdering 2 trained queen guards and throwing down 3 of them when she’s dehydrated, doesn’t eat properly and was kicked in the ribs in the previous chapter? I’m expected to accept this and THEN it will make sense when I find out she’s got powers or she’s half whatever magical creature at 80%, I can almost guarantee it.
The FMC 🤦🏽♀� she didn’t know when to STFU. Utterly insufferable she needed a mute button. I couldn’t connect with her at all. She had zero internal struggle, sure she grew up in poverty and wished for a better future but because it wasn’t fleshed out enough it didn’t make her relatable or humble? Instead she yapped on and thought she knew best. I barely understood her actions, her behaviour was confusing. Like she opened that portal because ‘what’s a bit more suffering� WHAT 🤣🤣 also super selective on when she gave af about her brother.
Kingfisher didn’t talk like a fae who was thousands of years old. The banter he had with the FMC was immature and became sexual so quickly?
Saying ‘he was knocked for six� (a cricket reference), ‘super� and ‘cliff notes� took me right out of the story. It wasn’t appropriate given the setting of the book.
There was soooo much telling over showing. I couldn’t get on with it.
Not a vibe.
Another viral booktok book doesn’t live up to the hype for me. Shock.
If you’re happy with fantasy on Ozempic, not getting the full picture with detail, but heavy on romance, you might like this. Providing you can get past the clunky writing and cringey dialogue. Oh and the MMC being called Kingfisher, who is not a Pokémon with that name.
Politics form such a huge part of a fantasy plot and if I don’t understand the world and why it’s the way it is, I’m out. I actually prefer romance as a subplot I’m realising. It should elevate a fantasy, but in these popular romantasy books, the fantasy is sacrificed to give way for the romance, by which point idgaf about.
The world. Why does the queen oppress civilians from The Third? Rather than ration their water and food if she’s afraid rebels from The Third are working with the fae, why doesn’t she just wipe them out already? How did she even become queen? She rations water but not alcohol? Why would the Queen do that 😭 how is a tavern packed if there’s a water ration? How are they making the alcohol 🤣 why would the Queen allow it?! No sense was made!!
Passage between The Hub and The Third is forbidden due to The Third being infected with a plague yet our FMC is easily scaling a wall to cross the two??
She also kept saying at the start before she stole the gauntlet that she had a plan. What was it 😂 was never answered.
How is the FMC murdering 2 trained queen guards and throwing down 3 of them when she’s dehydrated, doesn’t eat properly and was kicked in the ribs in the previous chapter? I’m expected to accept this and THEN it will make sense when I find out she’s got powers or she’s half whatever magical creature at 80%, I can almost guarantee it.
The FMC 🤦🏽♀� she didn’t know when to STFU. Utterly insufferable she needed a mute button. I couldn’t connect with her at all. She had zero internal struggle, sure she grew up in poverty and wished for a better future but because it wasn’t fleshed out enough it didn’t make her relatable or humble? Instead she yapped on and thought she knew best. I barely understood her actions, her behaviour was confusing. Like she opened that portal because ‘what’s a bit more suffering� WHAT 🤣🤣 also super selective on when she gave af about her brother.
Kingfisher didn’t talk like a fae who was thousands of years old. The banter he had with the FMC was immature and became sexual so quickly?
Saying ‘he was knocked for six� (a cricket reference), ‘super� and ‘cliff notes� took me right out of the story. It wasn’t appropriate given the setting of the book.
There was soooo much telling over showing. I couldn’t get on with it.
Not a vibe.
July 13, 2024
5 MFN� STARS!!!
I. AM. SCREAMING.
This book is worth all of the hype. ALL OF IT. It deserves MORE!!!
It has it all. Magic I’ve never read about before, found family that I suspect will continue to get better and better as the next two books come, an EMO SHADOW DADDY!!!!, a badass FMC that has survived by the skin of her teeth, and plot twists GALORE.
For all those comparing it to ACOTAR� this series may end up being even better. I SAID IT. So freaking good, no boring moments, and I’m CHOMPING AT THE BIT for the next book.
This is one of my favorite books of the year and it will not move from that position.
Also� FISHER. I LOVVVVEEEE HIM.
10/10 recommend. Read it.
I. AM. SCREAMING.
This book is worth all of the hype. ALL OF IT. It deserves MORE!!!
It has it all. Magic I’ve never read about before, found family that I suspect will continue to get better and better as the next two books come, an EMO SHADOW DADDY!!!!, a badass FMC that has survived by the skin of her teeth, and plot twists GALORE.
For all those comparing it to ACOTAR� this series may end up being even better. I SAID IT. So freaking good, no boring moments, and I’m CHOMPING AT THE BIT for the next book.
This is one of my favorite books of the year and it will not move from that position.
Also� FISHER. I LOVVVVEEEE HIM.
10/10 recommend. Read it.
July 30, 2024
This is the age of Romance authors dabbling in fantasy, and Romance readers 4/5-staring them
What is wrong with that????
Because it gives us shit like this book
I'm judging everyone who liked this book
Please unfriend me immediately
Stop making mediocre authors famous.
Romance authors, either leave the fantasy genre to its people or, for God's sake, work on your books!!!!
GOD! Just another Fourth Wing and Reckless wannabe... not that either of those was good
Next thing you'll tell me, Colleen Hoover is writing a fantasy
What is wrong with that????
Because it gives us shit like this book
I'm judging everyone who liked this book
Please unfriend me immediately
Stop making mediocre authors famous.
Romance authors, either leave the fantasy genre to its people or, for God's sake, work on your books!!!!
GOD! Just another Fourth Wing and Reckless wannabe... not that either of those was good
Next thing you'll tell me, Colleen Hoover is writing a fantasy
January 29, 2025
I muscled through 6 half hours of this audiobook and simply couldn't stomach a moment more.
What book are y'all reading? Cause I haven't heard of her. This book, however, was trash.
You want me to swoon for a man that calls it 'wet folds'? Not once, not twice, but multiple times?? I'd rather peel my skin own off and staple it back on inside-out. Thanks though 😘
Also, the typos alone are an army too big and powerful for me to conquer. Publishing has been deteriorating by-and-large as literary consumerism has began to supersede it's capitalism. This, and Fourth Wing alike, show the discredit showed toward editing.
Sorry, let me shut my mouth, and allow those who feast to enjoy their harvest.
To those who celebrate, be merry.
To those who fester, I am in the dark crevices beside you, longing and willing to draw the deepest hate at a moment's notice. All who gather here, be ware.
What book are y'all reading? Cause I haven't heard of her. This book, however, was trash.
You want me to swoon for a man that calls it 'wet folds'? Not once, not twice, but multiple times?? I'd rather peel my skin own off and staple it back on inside-out. Thanks though 😘
Also, the typos alone are an army too big and powerful for me to conquer. Publishing has been deteriorating by-and-large as literary consumerism has began to supersede it's capitalism. This, and Fourth Wing alike, show the discredit showed toward editing.
Sorry, let me shut my mouth, and allow those who feast to enjoy their harvest.
To those who celebrate, be merry.
To those who fester, I am in the dark crevices beside you, longing and willing to draw the deepest hate at a moment's notice. All who gather here, be ware.
May 3, 2025
‘I wanted to remember this. In the years to come, when I looked back at this moment, I would be glad that I’d taken the leap and jumped. This was the kiss to end all kisses. Demanding, urgent, and carnal.
I hated this male. Hated him with every fiber of my being. But curse me, I wanted him just as bad.�
Another day, another popular fantasy romance book was reviewed. I do have to say, after reading Quicksilver by Callie Hart, I get why. This was a fresh breath of fresh air because it was different when it comes to Fae. I can easily say that it is one of my favorite fantasy reads of 2024.
My only real complaint is that it just dragged a little in areas where I wonder if it could have been edited out. But all in all, it was good and I wouldn’t change a thing.
As you are reading, the world is starting to unfold and reveal itself to you which makes this fantasy book easier to digest when it comes to world building. As the main character sees it, so do you. But I do see more potential for the world to unfold more because throughout the story, it is revealed there is a lot going on.
I really love the dry humor banter from Fisher to Saeris. It was fun and I really love the dynamic between them throughout the story. I would say, they did come together a little too quick where it felt a little insta lovey. But the way it unfolded made sense and I was here for their relationship from the very beginning.
Read My Honest Book Review on My Blog:
There are great side characters, adorable animal sidekicks, and a great balance between the romance and the action. This book has it all and I love it.
The ending of this book is what made this story super incredible and this makes me want the second book immediately. It ended well. So if you are debating on if this book is for you, I highly recommend reading this book to the very end before decided if this is for you or not.
Connect With Me:
BLOG � � �
I hated this male. Hated him with every fiber of my being. But curse me, I wanted him just as bad.�
Another day, another popular fantasy romance book was reviewed. I do have to say, after reading Quicksilver by Callie Hart, I get why. This was a fresh breath of fresh air because it was different when it comes to Fae. I can easily say that it is one of my favorite fantasy reads of 2024.
My only real complaint is that it just dragged a little in areas where I wonder if it could have been edited out. But all in all, it was good and I wouldn’t change a thing.
As you are reading, the world is starting to unfold and reveal itself to you which makes this fantasy book easier to digest when it comes to world building. As the main character sees it, so do you. But I do see more potential for the world to unfold more because throughout the story, it is revealed there is a lot going on.
I really love the dry humor banter from Fisher to Saeris. It was fun and I really love the dynamic between them throughout the story. I would say, they did come together a little too quick where it felt a little insta lovey. But the way it unfolded made sense and I was here for their relationship from the very beginning.
Read My Honest Book Review on My Blog:
There are great side characters, adorable animal sidekicks, and a great balance between the romance and the action. This book has it all and I love it.
The ending of this book is what made this story super incredible and this makes me want the second book immediately. It ended well. So if you are debating on if this book is for you, I highly recommend reading this book to the very end before decided if this is for you or not.
Connect With Me:
BLOG � � �
July 9, 2024
This is terrible. There's no way anyone with a developed prefrontal cortex can enjoy this unless you're into dumb dialogues and even dumber MCs.
Don't get me wrong - the start is great. The idea and the world in which this is set is actually quite interesting. But as with many books in this genre, our independent, self sufficient and strong FMC turns into a useless, horny buffoon when she meets her eventual love interest.
The MMC? You're telling me you're 1000+ years old and you talk and act like a fucking moody teenager? In his emo stage? What grown ass woman finds that attractive?
Also, dear authors, respectfully, please don't gaslight the readers about the MCs being funny. It doesn't work. Just write funny scenes and dialogues to make us laugh. Don't write cringy 'jokes' and 'quips' that are not funny at all, and then have the side characters finding the MC hilarious as if that's going to make us think the joke was good. The FMC was making dreadful comebacks throughout which would have her be laughed out of a high school cafeteria, let alone in an adult setting.
It makes sense that this book is 'recommended for readers 17+'. Not because of TW or violence, but because the dialogue is on a level of 15-18 year olds.
Don't get me wrong - the start is great. The idea and the world in which this is set is actually quite interesting. But as with many books in this genre, our independent, self sufficient and strong FMC turns into a useless, horny buffoon when she meets her eventual love interest.
The MMC? You're telling me you're 1000+ years old and you talk and act like a fucking moody teenager? In his emo stage? What grown ass woman finds that attractive?
Also, dear authors, respectfully, please don't gaslight the readers about the MCs being funny. It doesn't work. Just write funny scenes and dialogues to make us laugh. Don't write cringy 'jokes' and 'quips' that are not funny at all, and then have the side characters finding the MC hilarious as if that's going to make us think the joke was good. The FMC was making dreadful comebacks throughout which would have her be laughed out of a high school cafeteria, let alone in an adult setting.
It makes sense that this book is 'recommended for readers 17+'. Not because of TW or violence, but because the dialogue is on a level of 15-18 year olds.
July 12, 2024
Made it 25%. I just can’t do it. This was…underwhelming.
If you’ve read any romantasy book in the past 2 years, you’ve already read this one.
There’s obviously a reason so many people are enjoying this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.
I don’t normally rate books that I dnf’d, but the average rating for this is very misleading.
If you’ve read any romantasy book in the past 2 years, you’ve already read this one.
There’s obviously a reason so many people are enjoying this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.
I don’t normally rate books that I dnf’d, but the average rating for this is very misleading.
October 12, 2024
4.25!! the beginning was good, the middle was looooooong, the almost end was a 5 & the end was a 6 that i would legit have me selling my right arm to get the second book asap� do with that what u will :�)
January 12, 2025
oh friends, i’m so sorry! I truly did want to love this so badly. and the reason i picked this story up was because so many friends on goodreads have given this five stars and put it on their best books of 2024 list (with many having it be their #1 fave of the year)! so if you’re interested in this book, please still pick it up, because i am for sure in the minority with my feelings on this!
saeris lives in a world where water is the most precious resource and is being rationed to only 6oz a day by a seemingly immortal evil queen. she is also trying to give her brother a better life, by secretly being a blacksmith who forges weapons, and by doing anything else she can in secret, too. but at the start of this book, she has an altercation with a guard, and quickly realizes that she is able to manipulate a special blade. and i probably shouldn’t say too much more than that, but she is teleported to a new world with the fae she only knew about from storybooks.
listen, i love anything with a forge and blacksmithing, and you add alchemy to that and being able to transmute some metals? oh, i’m living for it actually. you all also know that i love anything fae! I also have a very big soft spot for magical foxes! and fae gods and their backstories! and the mc’s friend, carrion, was absolutely amazing. but those are truly the only things i really loved about this. like, i feel like so many good and solid building blocks are here, but it just kept getting worse and worse as i would read on.
saeris was a little insufferable to read from. and i do enjoy a “unlikeable� character, especially one willing to do anything for her family in a fae realm, but she was just so annoying and her banter with everyone made me cringe constantly. and kingfisher was just someone i never wanted to root for until the very end when we were getting 500 reveals of the villains just saying their evils deeds. it was instalove trying to not be instalove, under a wild power dynamic because saeris was forced to stay in the fae realm, with dirty talk that made me want to jump out a window. in my opinion, the plot just kept getting more away from the original cool concept and just pieces of all these really popular romantasy plots. and then the ending�
this next paragraph is going to include a spoiler for the ending of this book, that also discusses a type of trauma related to sa that is implied - please use caution while reading: i am always going to be here for authors writing queer characters, villains for sure included in that, but implying that the villain of this first book is queer, and was sexual assaulting someone over decades in the past as part of a "plot twist", is just something that is always going to make me very uncomfortable to read. i feel like this is a very harmful message that our very real world is constantly trying to criminalize queer people with. also, upon finishing, even though carrion was my favorite character, he is still portrayed as a pan or bi character who wants to have sex with anyone and everyone. and i never want to shame that, especially as a pan person, but it also contributes to a negative real world stereotype! and i normally would look past carrion, because that experience can be a real and valid experience too, but after how malcom’s “my love� and “playground� and many more implications made me feel�., it just feels extremely bad to me. but i also recognize that maybe i am being too sensitive about it, because i haven’t seen anyone else say this in any review, so maybe my reading comprehension just imagined those missing 47 years of abuse being insinuated for the entire ending? but it was loudly giving outlander (in 2025 !!) to me.
yeah, i think that’s all i want to say. I am sorry if this is your favorite book, it just didn’t work for me the way that i wish it did. and please don’t let this review make you completely not read this, because i really am the outlier with these feelings (at the time of writing this, i don’t have a single moot who has given this under three stars)! and if you do pick it up, i just hope you have happier reading than i did, friends!
trigger + content warnings: exploiting resources, extreme dehydration, torture, unwanted touching, talk of sickness, loss of mother in past, loss of children, murder, violence, gore, vomit, blood, self harm to get blood, magical compulsion, anxiety, drinking, assault, kidnapping, threat of sa, talk of rape in past, insinuation of sa in past, genocide, war, slavery, spider-like creature, imbalance of power dynamics
| | | | |
saeris lives in a world where water is the most precious resource and is being rationed to only 6oz a day by a seemingly immortal evil queen. she is also trying to give her brother a better life, by secretly being a blacksmith who forges weapons, and by doing anything else she can in secret, too. but at the start of this book, she has an altercation with a guard, and quickly realizes that she is able to manipulate a special blade. and i probably shouldn’t say too much more than that, but she is teleported to a new world with the fae she only knew about from storybooks.
listen, i love anything with a forge and blacksmithing, and you add alchemy to that and being able to transmute some metals? oh, i’m living for it actually. you all also know that i love anything fae! I also have a very big soft spot for magical foxes! and fae gods and their backstories! and the mc’s friend, carrion, was absolutely amazing. but those are truly the only things i really loved about this. like, i feel like so many good and solid building blocks are here, but it just kept getting worse and worse as i would read on.
saeris was a little insufferable to read from. and i do enjoy a “unlikeable� character, especially one willing to do anything for her family in a fae realm, but she was just so annoying and her banter with everyone made me cringe constantly. and kingfisher was just someone i never wanted to root for until the very end when we were getting 500 reveals of the villains just saying their evils deeds. it was instalove trying to not be instalove, under a wild power dynamic because saeris was forced to stay in the fae realm, with dirty talk that made me want to jump out a window. in my opinion, the plot just kept getting more away from the original cool concept and just pieces of all these really popular romantasy plots. and then the ending�
this next paragraph is going to include a spoiler for the ending of this book, that also discusses a type of trauma related to sa that is implied - please use caution while reading: i am always going to be here for authors writing queer characters, villains for sure included in that, but implying that the villain of this first book is queer, and was sexual assaulting someone over decades in the past as part of a "plot twist", is just something that is always going to make me very uncomfortable to read. i feel like this is a very harmful message that our very real world is constantly trying to criminalize queer people with. also, upon finishing, even though carrion was my favorite character, he is still portrayed as a pan or bi character who wants to have sex with anyone and everyone. and i never want to shame that, especially as a pan person, but it also contributes to a negative real world stereotype! and i normally would look past carrion, because that experience can be a real and valid experience too, but after how malcom’s “my love� and “playground� and many more implications made me feel�., it just feels extremely bad to me. but i also recognize that maybe i am being too sensitive about it, because i haven’t seen anyone else say this in any review, so maybe my reading comprehension just imagined those missing 47 years of abuse being insinuated for the entire ending? but it was loudly giving outlander (in 2025 !!) to me.
yeah, i think that’s all i want to say. I am sorry if this is your favorite book, it just didn’t work for me the way that i wish it did. and please don’t let this review make you completely not read this, because i really am the outlier with these feelings (at the time of writing this, i don’t have a single moot who has given this under three stars)! and if you do pick it up, i just hope you have happier reading than i did, friends!
trigger + content warnings: exploiting resources, extreme dehydration, torture, unwanted touching, talk of sickness, loss of mother in past, loss of children, murder, violence, gore, vomit, blood, self harm to get blood, magical compulsion, anxiety, drinking, assault, kidnapping, threat of sa, talk of rape in past, insinuation of sa in past, genocide, war, slavery, spider-like creature, imbalance of power dynamics
| | | | |
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64,132 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.