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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Qicksilver by Callie Hart

41 reviews

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

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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. 

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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 dark emotional funny fast-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“death has forgotten me, bitch. my name is nowhere on his register” sounds like something out of pitch perfect i lost it

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I both love and hate this book to the point to where I'm not sure if I'm going to keep reading the series or not. For me, the writing was the main challenge. There were some word choices that I felt didn't really fit, like using male and female to describe the gender of all races except humans. And Fisher using the phrase "you spayed my mate!" It was really difficult to take the book seriously when I read things like that. Why not just say sterilize or use the phrase "cleansed" that was used by Searis. I'm all for different terminology, but there was no real good explanation for it. Also, this world feels like your typical fantasy world, but then it turns out that they have showers and toothpaste. Again, not against there being modern tech, but it needs to be set up properly. Long story short, I think this book needed another edit or two.
What kept me going where the brief moments where the writing came together and the story had some really touching moments. Like Searis looking after Fisher, or when Lorreth getting his silver sword. It's those moments that make me want to wish the author the best of luck in her writing career, in the hopes she'll improve. 

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adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious 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: No

.... My first real toe into romantasy and holy shit. 

This is like the Fallout New Vegas of novels. 

Definitely an adult fantasy but I wouldn't rate it super high on spice because it only happens a couple times but the yearning and thirsting is S tier. 

I loved the cast of characters so much it honestly felt like any one of them could have been/is actually the main character if you just pivot a little. 


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings