Reviews - Quicksilver | The StoryGraph

28.7k reviews for:

Quicksilver

Callie Hart

4.26 AVERAGE

countrymaiden83's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted 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: Complicated

I LOVED this book! The nod to so many elements from some many genres was amazing. She leaves you interested and wanting for the next book, but not in a desperate situation that makes you feel lost. Can't wait for the next one!

luciferyourqueen's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

katemulvey's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

kelsey3's review against another edition

DNF at 40%

Book Breakdown —

Characters: disliked both main characters. Side characters were interesting, particularly Rehn and Everlayne. Carrion Swift's attitude also had me chuckling sometimes.

Pacing/ length: slow world building. Much more focused on the so-called romance than the world building. Not a slow burn though.

Interesting Plot?: the world would’ve been if that had been the focus. Unfortunately the “romance” was so predictable while simultaneously being unromantic that I had no interest in reading it.

Reading Medium: audio. I really enjoyed the narration. 95% of the time it was clear but every once and a while I’d have to backtrack to hear what they were saying or pull up the KU ebook to catch a phrase. But all in all, it was well done and I really enjoyed their narration. I liked that it was a man and woman narration. The narrators did a great job distinguishing between characters and accents.

Spice (?/5): cheap heat no seasoning. Cringeworthy to boot.

Detailed Review—

How the narrators spoke the parts where they were narrating the quicksilver was really well done! They did a good job overall. The narration was one of the better parts of this book.

Speaking of, I really liked the guy narrating this book. His accent for Ren? So good 🥵. And every character he voices is just as solid—believable, distinct, and genuinely well-acted. He’s not just reading; he’s putting the acting into voice acting.

Now for the negative:

I’m not loving the impulsivity of the main character. Her harshness, assessing, and glass-half-empty nature make her irritating. Granted, her harshness and assessing nature would be directly related to her upbringing in her world. But her impulsivity isn’t. It feels out of place and annoying. For someone who’s supposedly shaped by a rough, brutal environment, she makes a lot of reckless choices that don’t really add up.

The MMC is worse. A total whiny, arrogant, dick. He’s giving toxic, not tormented. I saw a reviewer say the MMC is like a middle schooler mixed with a frat bro, and honestly, that’s pretty spot on. But more on the characters later.

The way Saeris talked about her younger brother, I honestly thought he was a preteen or early teen. Like, 10 to 14 years old, max. So when it was revealed he was twenty, I did a double-take. He’s an adult — treat him like one, and expect him to act like one. Early on, she calls him a screw-up who just needs time to grow up, and I was sitting there picturing some awkward 13-year-old. Nope. Twenty. Let me say it again: he was 20. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The scene where she’s being killed by the queen’s guard — run through the stomach with a sword that was twisted to maximize pain and internal damage, plus a dagger in her shoulder — and then she just… stands up and starts wielding a sword — not to mention it was a secret magical sword that had been stuck in stone for centuries? I didn’t buy it. I had to completely suspend my belief system to even kind of accept that. But hey, if I ignore the laws of anatomy and what the human body can reasonably endure, it was fine. 😝

I need more world building. 30% in and the FMC hasn’t really asked anything about the magic or world she’s been dumped in. She’s just along for the ride. Ridiculous. The world building was entirely lacking but more on that later too.

Speaking of, why is Saeris not asking questions? She’s just going along with whatever they’re saying. She was basically kidnapped by the fae to do… something… and she doesn’t even really understand what it is or how to do it—but she doesn’t ask any questions about it. Cool. Cool cool cool.

It was obvious that Kingfisher would be the MMC. Obvious that he was selfish and only out for himself and maybe his loved ones on a good day. It was so painfully obvious he’s been “tormented” and that’s why he’s so mean; bro, get a new trope. This felt tired.

The initial hostility between them didn’t even make sense. Eventually, he started being an ass and okay, then I got it — but they were already sniping at each other way before that. It felt like it was forced in just so they could call it enemies to lovers. But I need it to actually make sense, not just check the trope box.

It was so obvious that Kingfisher was Layne’s brother. How did the FMC not figure that out? Like… seriously? I get being out of your element, but come on. That one wasn’t even subtle.

I didn’t understand why Saeris went with Kingfisher to the forge instead of following Everlayne. She said it was to get answers, but none were given because Kingfisher got pissy when she asked questions, so she just stopped. Later, she got mad when he used magic to clean the room, after she’d been doing it by hand —because she assumed he didn’t have magic to clean it instantly. I get feeling frustrated or a little angry at that, but her reaction of punching him didn’t really fit what happened. I even rewound and listened again, thinking I missed something—still didn’t make sense to me.

What’s up with authors writing “sassy” characters who are actually just dumb and reckless? Like, for example—she’s transported to the fae realm, healed from near-death wounds by the fae, brought before the king… and refuses to bow. What an idiot. And when the court asks why, she responds with:

“He isn’t my king,” I answered tartly.

</blockquote>

This doesn’t make sense. In her realm, there’s a queen. She understands what happens when you disrespect a monarch and it’s not like she has allegiance to her queen, either. It’s literally just to showcase her sassy “badassery”, but instead it just made her look irreverent, rude, and just plain stupid.🙄

Why does Everlayne say she’ll help Saeris and then never actually… help her? Anytime Saeris finally does ask a question — even something random like about their gods, not even about her situation — Everlayne brushes her off to handle something fleeting and trivial, like her brother’s bad manners in the library. It’s not just Everlayne either — it happens with literally everyone Saeris interacts with.

The conversations go like this:

“What’s that?”

“Oh, I haven’t told you?”

“No.”

“Well, now’s not the time. [Insert some mildly inconvenient situation here.] Later.”

Here are two examples from the book:

“Where did your gods actually go?” I whispered to Everlayne. I’d been too overwhelmed to ask before.

“They set off on a pilgrimage thousands of—urgh! Another time. I’d better confiscate that food before Rusarius’s head explodes.”

“What if a horde of feeders burst through…”

“What’s a feeder?”

“Trust me you don’t want to know.”

</blockquote>

Cool. So just let her walk into mortal danger with zero context and half a clue. That’s fine. Totally fine.

Honestly, the way Kingfisher treats Everlayne doesn’t read as “tortured soul” — it reads as whiny man-child. His brooding is supposed to be mysterious and dark, but mostly it just makes him seem petulant. At least Everlayne finally calls him out:

<blockquote> “…It might be a while before he stops behaving like a spoiled brat.” </blockquote>

Bless her for it.

I’m glad Saeris punches him in the mouth when he puts quicksilver in her hand as a test; he knew, and expected, it would go poorly by either killing her or driving her insane and he admitted as much. I’m glad she didn’t just spar with him verbally but instead punched him. He deserved it. He and his whiny tortured personality.

Their “banter”, but especially his was disgusting. Saying the following things made me cringe, grossed out:

“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.”

“There you go again. Hungry, needy little bitch in heat, begging to be fucked…”

“You could at least say hello before you start eye-fucking me.”

Such a pretty little doll in her pretty little dress, aren’t you.”

“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.”

</blockquote>

Their instant lust made me roll my eyes. The “spice” moments? They made me cringe and make faces of disgust.

1. Their attraction felt unearned. I need emotion with my spice. Instead, it was just carnal interest without any real feeling—hence the insta-lust vibe.

2. The things he said to her? Not sexy. Straight-up gross. I’m not asking for the MMC to coddle her or whisper sweet nothings, but he could do way better than… whatever this was.

Here are some examples of the insta-lust and cringeworthy lines. I know a lot of these were popular highlights on KU, so maybe I’m in the minority here—but it was so cringey I actually sped the audio up just to get through it faster.

Oh, for the love of all the gods, he was pulling his shirt over his gods-cursed head! 🙄

“I’ve fucked plenty of humans,” he whispered. 🚩

“I don’t hate your kind. I’m just disappointed by how breakable you are. If I held you down and fucked you the way I’m imagining fucking you right now, I doubt that you’d survive it.” 🚩

“That 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.” 🤢

“Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know what I taste like?” 🤢

</blockquote>

This girl’s got real low self-esteem if she wants to be with him. I’m so tired of FMCs in romantasy falling for the “grumpy” trope—except the guy’s just a straight-up dick—and then sleeping with him anyway. Like, have some self-respect, please.

The f word is dropped every other paragraph. The writing throws around the f-word just for the sake of being vulgar, and honestly, it just makes the word lose all its impact.

Nothing really happens world-building-wise for like 200 pages. Two hundred pages. They mostly just travel to different places and bicker. They go to the library and bicker. They go to the forge and bicker — oh, and somehow get turned on for no good reason.

Plus, Kingfisher has zero redeeming qualities and still hasn’t given us a single reason to like him after 200 pages (40%). He just comes off as a total dick and a walking, talking red flag. He doesn’t even seem attracted to her—just seems like he’ll screw anything that moves. Oh, and by the way, he brags about sleeping with a bunch of humans… except, uh, where? He was barely alive when the portals to the human lands closed (like, maybe 10 years old), so who exactly are all these humans? Because it sure as hell doesn’t add up.

And the FMC who in the first couple of chapters talked about only going to the tavern to “fight and fuck” hyperfixates on something as dumb as sweat dripping off his nose and has to force herself to refocus and poorly cover her ogling when he catches her in the act. It was stupid and didn’t match her character. Made her seem like she has low self-esteem and no self-respect to be drooling over this asshole.

There are so many weird parts that I’m not always sure if it was meant to be ridiculous or not: ie, when the fox bit her in the forge. Kingfisher's reaction (specifically how the narrators acted it out, not because of the scene itself) to her screaming when it happened was funny but not sure what the point was. Was it supposed to be comedic relief? Serious? I’ll never know.

She wants to find out what happened back home to her people—I get that. But then she threatens not to help them until she knows the truth… even though if she helps, she can go back home. She’s just choosing the path of most resistance, and honestly, she’s being dumb. I was glad Kingfisher called her out when she said she’d rather be tortured and die than help before finding out what happened to her family. Wanting answers is fine, but dying only gets you—and your loved ones—killed, dumbass. He called her out, even if she didn’t listen:

<blockquote>“Foolish girl… you have no idea what you’re talking about.”</blockquote>

Maybe I’ve just read too many fantasies, but it was pretty stupid of her to agree to a blood oath in a country she doesn’t know, with customs she doesn’t understand, and magic she has no clue about—especially with wording like “I’ll try to get you what you want.” That’s not the same as “I will get you what you want.” Come on!

I swear Saeris’ whole personality is just disagreeing with everyone—constantly saying no and whining. She even admits it herself:

<blockquote>“I wanted to refused his command to spite him…”</blockquote>

It stinks because the little bits of plot and world-building we’ve gotten in the first 200 pages—minimal as they are—made me interested. But having to slog through 80 pages of them just bickering like a couple of asses to get to a tiny, barely fleshed-out plot point? I don’t think it’s worth it.

The fantasy world actually caught my interest, but honestly, I’m not motivated to push through the “romance” — and I use that term loosely.

I started skimming the book around 31%, and honestly, that made it easier to get through with less annoyance. Skipping the irrelevant “romance,” all the whiny bits, and endless paragraphs of useless description helped a lot. Since that ended up being my preferred way to read it, I decided to cut my losses and DNF.

Character List—</b>

Saeris: FMC. Human with a rare power among the fae to manipulate metal.

Kingfisher: MMC. Fae. Partly crazy from quicksilver being trapped in his eye (or something). Used to be a famed and respected warrior and still is to some. Stepson of the king of fae.

Carrion Swift: human thief who hooked up with Saeris and may be related to her (implied but didn’t read long enough to find out). Hilarious and charming.

Everlayne (Layne): daughter of the fae king. Half sister of kingfisher. Friend of Saeris.

Ren: fellow warrior and likely possible friend of Kingfisher & Everlayne.

Memorable Quotes—

“It’s always confounded me. Humans aren’t restricted by the same laws as the Oath Bound Fae. You creatures can lie whenever you want. You do it all of the time. And yet you’re all so fucking bad at it.”

“Graceless fucking gods, human! Stop fucking yelling!”

Summary—

Book blurb; in 200 pages I never learned much past what was written in the book blurb.

erinwebb's review against another edition

5.0

I don’t care how basic this book can be at times I loved it. I don’t give a shit about the human girl going to the fae world I eat it up every time. And I stay eating up the enemies to lovers then finding out they are some kind of special mates I LOVE IT

chkn_10dz's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Fun, light read for me. The banter is funny, the characters enjoyable, the world quite interesting. Some twists and turns that have me wanted to re-read to find clues and connect dots. Can't wait for the next.

kirsco's review against another edition

5.0

Quicksilver fully justifies its acclaim. Callie Hart masterfully crafts a unique and enchanting world within which the narrative of Saeris and Kingfisher unfolds. Her creation of two distinct realms, one human and one fae, showcasing exceptional world-building, is truly remarkable.
To ensure the survival of herself and her brother, Saeris accepts considerable risk, thereby incurring the wrath of the Queen's guardians. Ultimately, Saeris faces dire consequences; however, she consequently encounters Kingfisher who comes to her rescue. This then heralds her subsequent arrival in the realm of the fae. In the fae realm, Saeris is obligated to assist Fisher and the other fae in resolving their own existential issues; she must learn to master her own unique abilities fulfill this oath. As she works alongside Kingfisher, they must figure out the developing relationship between them. #Spice