Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Qicksilver by Callie Hart

33 reviews

adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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DNF at 66%
Enemies to lovers but he is so abusive as to be absolutely unforgivable.

TW and spoilers in review 
Saeris removes her brain as soon as she goes to the fae realm. Once she was capable, collected, and clever, and then she is immediately transformed in to a naive, insufferable, and childish brat by the author. All this is to give Kingfisher ample opportunities to belittle, abuse, and bully her, constantly insulting and degrading her and tearing her down at EVERY opportunity. He also physically harms her, even slicing her with his sword unprovoked. Even in a fictional context, I can't imagine how she still ends up being attracted to someone who has absolutely 0 redeemable qualities. 
The most disgusting thing he does to her though, is to trick her into a binding contract where he CONTROLS HER BODY AND WILL, sometimes for days at a time!!! He removes her autonomy and literally puppets her around, imprisoners her, puts her in terrifying situations that effect her both mentally and physically, and all this is after she has shown positive reactions and a willingness to trust people when they treat her kindly and respectfully. 
Kingfisher says he has to control her "for her own good", and that it's acceptable because he _could_ SA her by controling her, but he's hasn't. She repeatedly says she doesn't want to sleep with him, and he refuses to believe it because her body is having a physical response to him. He takes advantage of this reaction to constantly make her uncomfortable in front of other people, and put her in situations where she feels humiliated.
Disgusting. I wanted to scream at the book.
Big time romanticizing of an abusive relationship. Have never hated a book more, I'm sorry, do not read this I can't stress enough how awful it is. Also it's extremely boring. 600+ pages, and nothing to say but BARF! 

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

DELIGHTED. Can't wait for the next one, put it in my veins

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adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Like several of the “brave annd ardent young woman is seduced by a male fae of unfathomable age gap” there were too many red flags for me to enjoy the romance. This is NOT an enemies to loves story, it is a “he’s picking on you because he likes you” story. The twist at the end wasn’t super predictable and that’s about the best I can say about it. 

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Extremely well done. The ending answered many questions while still leaving some open answers creating new curiosity to make me instantly want to preorder book 2. I loved the foreshadowing that didn’t hit you over the head about what was next. The characters all felt very individualized too. You could tell who was speaking just by the words and tone. 

There were some cheesy formatting  choices to emphasize words and fading away rather than the content speaking for itself. But it was minor. 

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I could not put it down, the tension throughout the story was gripping, and I’m not only obsessed with the main couple (🦋&🐺) but the rest of the characters. I’m deeply intrigued. I need to know more about all of them. I’m so excited to read the next book in this series. It can’t come soon enough.

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

This book had me hooked from the first page. Quicksilver is the kind of story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go—sharp, dark, and brimming with tension. If you love morally grey characters, enemies-to-lovers that actually deliver, and a world that feels fresh even with familiar tropes, this one is for you.

Let’s talk about the banter—absolutely top-tier. The sarcastic, razor-sharp dialogue had me grinning, and Carrion? I lost count of how many times he made me laugh out loud. The writing is modern, quick-paced, and unafraid to be bold. I can see how it might not be for everyone, but personally? I loved every second of it.

The world-building is chef’s kiss—a mix of fae, vampires, gods, and fate-bound alchemy woven into something that feels unique and immersive. And let’s not forget Kingfisher—unhinged in the best possible way. Dangerous, obsessive, violent, yet somehow impossible to resist. Every line he delivers is a beautifully veiled threat, and when he focuses all that intensity on the heroine? Whew. You feel it.

And then there’s her—Saeris. No trembling damsel, no naive heroine waiting to be saved. She’s fierce, defiant, and ready to burn the world before she bows to anyone. Their dynamic? Pure tension, pure fire, pure addiction.

Is it a classic romantasy with familiar tropes? Sure. But that’s exactly why it works. You go in expecting the push-and-pull, the reluctant partnership, the smoldering tension, and Quicksilver gives it to you with a sharp edge and a feral grin.

I devoured this book, and if you love dark fantasy romance with wicked banter, intense chemistry, and characters that leave you obsessed, you will too.

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