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adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you like to turn your brain off for a read, this may be a book for you, but if you care about following the plot, I would pick something else.
I haven't been this conflicted on a book in a while. If I weren't reading this for a book club, I would have DNFed. The beginning of this book is full of contradictions and plot holes. However, I think the last 15-20% of the book is better but not great. I typically am not picky about writing style as long as the banter and general concept are good, but I found most of these to be lacking.
Quicksilver has an interesting concept, but there were so many plot holes and inconsistencies that I never knew if what I was being told was true. So much of the early world-building was later changed. It seems like the author just forgot the setup of the world they created.Kingfisher is an Oath Bound Fae who can't lie, but he makes several statements that aren't true. I suppose you could say the lies were actually sarcastic comments, but that doesn't change that the statement wasn't true. It didn't work for me and added confusion to my understanding of how the Oath Bound Fae communicate.
I really struggled with all the content containing Saeris' mom. Whenever Saeris speaks of her, it is handled so callously, and I found it incredibly off-putting. On the first page, she briefly mentions her mother's "peasant blood" on the sand and then immediately talks about how handsome the guard is who has captured her. If someone you loved was murdered, I wouldn't be using degrading terms like peasant to describe them, then fawning and flirting over an authority who is part of the system that caused her death. It is very tone-deaf. In the first couple of chapters, it is said Saeris' mother was a librarian before she died and that the town loved her mother who was murdered and left to rot in the gutter with crows pecking at her corpse. However, later in the book, there is a jarring scene that instead states she was a sex-worker who was murdered and had her body desecrated by both guards and the townspeople. It's like the original story was forgotten. They also took her body and burned it in the morning, once again changing our understanding of the FMC's origins.
There were a lot of issues with misogynistic perspectives that were very apparent in any scenes with secondary female characters. Danya (who probably has the most scenes after the FMC) is characterized entirely as a bitch, who doesn't understand what matters in the war, and is permanently sent away after she single handedly causes issues with an all female clan of witches. Everlayne, whom we meet at the start of the book quite briefly, seems like a great, likable character. She's quite feminine but is capable of standing up for herself. Then we don't see her again until the last third of the book, where she's taken captive and used as a bargaining tool with the threat of sexual assault. Saeris our MC is a not like other girls character who hates dresses. The author also needs to make sure we're arware how thin she is multiple times through the novel. She barely eats at any meal and says she barely eats verbatim. I understood this take when food was scarce, but when it was openly available this should have changed, especially with how athletic she has to be (which is why she hates dresses).
Many characters were also written very similarly, personality-wise. I thought Carrion and Lorreth felt the most individual and they gave me most of my enjoyment for this read. Unfortunately, my likable character list dropped down to one after Lorreth out of character states 'next time she tries to hit him, he'll put her over his knee and spank her' about one of his fellow warriors.
Lastly the main vampire villain turns out to be gay and obsessed with Kingfisher, with all their interactions being incredibly uncomfortable, insinuating SA. Yes, Carrion has moments where it's implied that he is bi, but for the only clear queer representation in the book to be vilified made me really uncomfortable. I was considering continuing the series as the writting seemed to get better towards the end, but the villified queer dynamic with no positive queer representaation in the novel made me very uncomfortable.
I haven't been this conflicted on a book in a while. If I weren't reading this for a book club, I would have DNFed. The beginning of this book is full of contradictions and plot holes. However, I think the last 15-20% of the book is better but not great. I typically am not picky about writing style as long as the banter and general concept are good, but I found most of these to be lacking.
Quicksilver has an interesting concept, but there were so many plot holes and inconsistencies that I never knew if what I was being told was true. So much of the early world-building was later changed. It seems like the author just forgot the setup of the world they created.
I really struggled with all the content containing Saeris' mom. Whenever Saeris speaks of her, it is handled so callously, and I found it incredibly off-putting. On the first page, she briefly mentions her mother's "peasant blood" on the sand and then immediately talks about how handsome the guard is who has captured her. If someone you loved was murdered, I wouldn't be using degrading terms like peasant to describe them, then fawning and flirting over an authority who is part of the system that caused her death. It is very tone-deaf. In the first couple of chapters, it is said Saeris' mother was a librarian before she died and that the town loved her mother who was murdered and left to rot in the gutter with crows pecking at her corpse. However, later in the book, there is a jarring scene that instead states she was a sex-worker who was murdered and had her body desecrated by both guards and the townspeople. It's like the original story was forgotten. They also took her body and burned it in the morning, once again changing our understanding of the FMC's origins.
There were a lot of issues with misogynistic perspectives that were very apparent in any scenes with secondary female characters. Danya (who probably has the most scenes after the FMC) is characterized entirely as a bitch, who doesn't understand what matters in the war, and is permanently sent away after she single handedly causes issues with an all female clan of witches. Everlayne, whom we meet at the start of the book quite briefly, seems like a great, likable character. She's quite feminine but is capable of standing up for herself. Then we don't see her again until the last third of the book, where she's taken captive and used as a bargaining tool with the threat of sexual assault. Saeris our MC is a not like other girls character who hates dresses. The author also needs to make sure we're arware how thin she is multiple times through the novel. She barely eats at any meal and says she barely eats verbatim. I understood this take when food was scarce, but when it was openly available this should have changed, especially with how athletic she has to be (which is why she hates dresses).
Many characters were also written very similarly, personality-wise. I thought Carrion and Lorreth felt the most individual and they gave me most of my enjoyment for this read. Unfortunately, my likable character list dropped down to one after Lorreth out of character states 'next time she tries to hit him, he'll put her over his knee and spank her' about one of his fellow warriors.
Lastly the main vampire villain turns out to be gay and obsessed with Kingfisher, with all their interactions being incredibly uncomfortable, insinuating SA. Yes, Carrion has moments where it's implied that he is bi, but for the only clear queer representation in the book to be vilified made me really uncomfortable. I was considering continuing the series as the writting seemed to get better towards the end, but the villified queer dynamic with no positive queer representaation in the novel made me very uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infertility, Alcohol, War
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War
Minor: Infertility
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my top reads in a while! Not only are there elements of great writing in this piece, but the book was truly just a fun read!
It kept catching my attention how elevated and varied the vocabulary in this novel was compared to other works in the genre. Similarly, with the exception of nicknames, I didn’t run into the annoyance of recycled and repeated diction from characters that I see so frequently.
As an impatient reader, it was all too easy to fall into the trap of feeling unsatisfied at the end of the not all elements of magic have been disclosed and that there are a myriad of backstories yet to be revealed. As a first book though, I would be even more upset if I felt like I did have all the answers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was immediately surprised by how good the writing was—the voice was original and distinct. The setting was also very intriguing in its cruelty and local color, almost reminiscent of the Hunger Games. The stakes were high, but never too high for a little slapstick here and there.
The premise was very interesting, and although there were many elements at play, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the history or lore. Hart did a good job showing and not just telling, which I feel like a lot of fantasy authors can slip into a habit of doing when introducing readers to new worlds. Saeris’ experience learning about the quicksilver and how to connect with it was fascinating.
I did feel that the story was a bit sluggish around 25% and almost stopped reading, but I’m glad that I kept at it. It takes a while to warm up to Kingfisher, as he initially seems immature and antagonistic. This is a particularly slow burn, but the pay off is exciting and explosive. I would have preferred a bit more time to flesh out the characters’ feelings towards each other in the end, but I’m sure the next book will do Fisher and Saeris justice.
The premise was very interesting, and although there were many elements at play, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the history or lore. Hart did a good job showing and not just telling, which I feel like a lot of fantasy authors can slip into a habit of doing when introducing readers to new worlds. Saeris’ experience learning about the quicksilver and how to connect with it was fascinating.
I did feel that the story was a bit sluggish around 25% and almost stopped reading, but I’m glad that I kept at it. It takes a while to warm up to Kingfisher, as he initially seems immature and antagonistic. This is a particularly slow burn, but the pay off is exciting and explosive. I would have preferred a bit more time to flesh out the characters’ feelings towards each other in the end, but I’m sure the next book will do Fisher and Saeris justice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Rape, Vomit
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Vomit
Minor: Incest, Infertility
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, War
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infertility, Vomit
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay. I really went into this thinking it was going to be very meh because of all the booktok hype but it actually surprised me. In a good and bad way.
The good:
1. very unique way to bring far and vampires together. I’m not a vampire girlie but I really liked this take.
2. Carrion’s story and tie in at the end felt like it has a lot of potential and made me hate him a little less.
3. The world building is so good! The world is pretty simple but has a lot of room to build on and the setting fits the story really well. The gods tie in is also a nice way to expand the world without having to really build it too much at the beginning.
4. The alchemy!!! Such a cool unique tie in but I want more!!
The bad…
1. Why do all good world building fantasy have to throw in toxic male energy and cringey violent bedroom talk?! Book would’ve been better without it.
2. The “poor weak human girl thrown into magical world and saved by angry misunderstood dark haired man” has been played out too much.
I have many questions on plot holes, but will reserve this critique until the next book(s) hoping they will be answered.
The good:
1. very unique way to bring far and vampires together. I’m not a vampire girlie but I really liked this take.
2. Carrion’s story and tie in at the end felt like it has a lot of potential and made me hate him a little less.
3. The world building is so good! The world is pretty simple but has a lot of room to build on and the setting fits the story really well. The gods tie in is also a nice way to expand the world without having to really build it too much at the beginning.
4. The alchemy!!! Such a cool unique tie in but I want more!!
The bad…
1. Why do all good world building fantasy have to throw in toxic male energy and cringey violent bedroom talk?! Book would’ve been better without it.
2. The “poor weak human girl thrown into magical world and saved by angry misunderstood dark haired man” has been played out too much.
I have many questions on plot holes, but will reserve this critique until the next book(s) hoping they will be answered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Loved the characterisation and occupation/ skills/purpose of the FMC was a little different to your standard romantasy heroine and that Saeris was tricky and smart and headstrong and a metalsmith. Liked the twists near the end and the cliffhanger was great. Adored Kingfisher and Renfis and liked that it wasn’t insta love. Funny whilst also emotional and dark at times. Carrion is great as a side character too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, War
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Body horror, Genocide, Infertility, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
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.
There were some cheesy formatting choices to emphasize words and fading away rather than the content speaking for itself. But it was minor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization