Reviews

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

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bookish_boy_mom's review

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵!

This is a genre-defying historical fiction/fantasy/romance YA novel. Set in London in the time of William Shakespeare, Joan is 16-years-old and Orisha blessed. She has the ability to manipulate and control metal, and works in Shakespeare’s acting company, the Kings Men, with the responsibility to manage and maintain the swords and blades. Her entire family is Orisha blessed and has the ability to see the presence of Fae via their faint glow. Joan gets caught up in political issues involving the Fae while trying to save her brother and the story develops from there.

The relationship between Joan and her brother was one of my favorite aspects of this story. Joan’s ability to control metal was really cool and a unique use of a magical system, which had a religious/spiritual component with the Orisha.

This novel had a lot packed into it. As a first in a series it is setting the groundwork for the future novels, but I feel like it just had a bit too much going on. There were a lot of side characters and I did start to lose track of who was who. There was a potential queer and/or polyamorous relationship situation, which was so intriguing, but didn’t get explored to its full potential. The FMC is unique, and I would have loved to see more character development there. And I also would have loved to see the magical system further explained.

I think there is a ton of potential for this series. I am hoping that the second novel (Publishing 4/23/24!) gives us more depth, exploration, and insights into the characters and the magical system. I will definitely be checking it out.

murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book had a really unique premise, and I liked the historical setting. However, I felt as though the plot never truly picked up, which made the reading experience a bit boring for me. This book also depicted several social issues such as racism and sexism, but the commentary never really went beyond the surface. The characters were all distinct from each other but ultimately, I just didn’t care about any of them. Williams’ Shakespeare-esque language style choices also felt clunky and out of place.

Content Warnings

kikilarue1471's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.0

missychristo's review against another edition

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no connection to story. not enough to immerse me into the work. not clear

rachelsmith3773's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

3.5

maryjessie's review

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no rating, started and decided not for me (dropped several chapters in)

what i liked:
-easy writing style and engaging prose
-amazing premise
-intriguing mystery and world

what wasn’t for me:
-in the first few chapters, i had key questions about setting, context, and believability with the characters (ex. why are the boys still so shocked at her strength when they know her so well in the first few pages?) that inhibited me from getting immersed in the plot and the world
-a “tell us” approach on the oppression felt by the protagonist that was a bit tired for me as an adult Black woman but I’m sure is wonderful and resonating for young Black girls!!!