Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This book was fine.
It was fun and it had it's good moments but I wouldn't say it's the most amazing thing I've ever read. It's a solid C.
Saeris starts out being a badass and then she just gets annoying. She's capricious, whiny and entitled. The antagonist is pretty one dimensional but the side characters were some of my favorite in a series thus far.
The magic system, specifically the quicksilver, is the most unique thing about this book but I feel like there's a point where the writing falls short. I was frequently removed from the world the author was trying to create.
I'll still read the next one when it releases because a part of me is invested enough. Hopefully there will be some improvement in the writing.
It was fun and it had it's good moments but I wouldn't say it's the most amazing thing I've ever read. It's a solid C.
Saeris starts out being a badass and then she just gets annoying. She's capricious, whiny and entitled. The antagonist is pretty one dimensional but the side characters were some of my favorite in a series thus far.
The magic system, specifically the quicksilver, is the most unique thing about this book but I feel like there's a point where the writing falls short. I was frequently removed from the world the author was trying to create.
I'll still read the next one when it releases because a part of me is invested enough. Hopefully there will be some improvement in the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
adventurous
medium-paced
I have many mildly conflicting feelings about this book. At first, I was surprised by how well-written it is over all! Through the first third of it I was having a lot of fun and making quick work of reading it, but... I wasn't buying the romance. Well, I wasn't buying the "enemies" bit of it - it didn't really make sense and wasn't well-established, which made several aspects of their dynamic tedious to read.
The first sex scene around the mid-way point of the book took me & my reading buddies all by surprise. I must admit it wasn't very well written; the pacing was all off and it simply didn't go with the scene leading up to it.
The problem with the romance, for me, is that there's this tonal dissonance between the rest of the book and the romance. As I said, the book is well written, I am very smitten with some of the world-building (it's impolite to show one's teeth, how cute!), but when it comes to the romance it just feels like the author tried to shove in as many tropes and kinks as possible, and it all just clashes together and makes a mess. Like there was a checklist of popular tropes the author had to squash into it, and it just isn't working. Also, because I am who I am, I think what would make this book a lot more interesting is if it were a why-choose and Carrion stayed in the picture, because he is a really fun element.
I'm not going to go into my thoughts on Saeris's autonomy and agency, or the way women are written in general, because we don't have time to unpack all of that...
The first sex scene around the mid-way point of the book took me & my reading buddies all by surprise. I must admit it wasn't very well written; the pacing was all off and it simply didn't go with the scene leading up to it.
The problem with the romance, for me, is that there's this tonal dissonance between the rest of the book and the romance. As I said, the book is well written, I am very smitten with some of the world-building (it's impolite to show one's teeth, how cute!), but when it comes to the romance it just feels like the author tried to shove in as many tropes and kinks as possible, and it all just clashes together and makes a mess. Like there was a checklist of popular tropes the author had to squash into it, and it just isn't working. Also, because I am who I am, I think what would make this book a lot more interesting is if it were a why-choose and Carrion stayed in the picture, because he is a really fun element.
I'm not going to go into my thoughts on Saeris's autonomy and agency, or the way women are written in general, because we don't have time to unpack all of that...
Quicksilver by Callie Hart felt like Throne of Glass and ACOTAR all mixed into one. The queen literally was a Maeve copy and paste. Though I can say that it has a unique magic system. I can give it that. I didn't expect vampires to be there but here we are.
I’m absolutely enthralled by this book and immediately ready to read it again.
I was so immersed in this epic world that when it was over I felt lost and out of breath. It took me a few chapters to grasp everything that was going on, but once I got into the rhythm there was no turning back. I was HOOKED.
Callie, PLEASE hurry with book 2! I’m infatuated with Kingfisher, and need more of him in my life.
I was so immersed in this epic world that when it was over I felt lost and out of breath. It took me a few chapters to grasp everything that was going on, but once I got into the rhythm there was no turning back. I was HOOKED.
Callie, PLEASE hurry with book 2! I’m infatuated with Kingfisher, and need more of him in my life.
5 stars!! really great and quick world building. This was the first book where the FMC didn’t piss me off.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love the concept , overall plot, and characters. The last 10% got a little muddled for me but still had a great time. Excited for part 2
Brace yourself, this us long. TL;DR on the bottom.
I’m not going to start with what this book is about, because first of all you probably already read the synopsis, and second of all, this book is so long and messy that I don’t even know what’s it about.
So let’s start with a good thing. It wasn’t that badly written. I’ve read worse.
And that’s about it, the only good, or nonnegative, thing I can say about this. Oh and Carrion. Carrion was a nice little treat.
Now to the bad stuff.
Worldbuilding is a mess. There is a desert city, evil queen, thieves, and then suddenly faes, vampires, gods, sprites, dragons…. You name it, it’s there. But there is also magic and alchemy and all together is just a huge mess that by the end of the book you don’t even know if this is some bella x edward fanfic or what the hell is going on. Also, there is supposed to be cold in that realm, but I can’t feel it, see it, there is no magic or authenticity to the fae realm. I have no idea what the dress looks like, I have no idea about the food. Saeris, in the bath, uses a SHAMPOO. Why, in the name of gods, if you are in a fae realm, would you use a shampoo. I want to see some enchanting soaps, oils, herbs… It’s like when the background in a video game doesn’t load.
So now that we know that the world we have is just a mess, and a mess poorly built, lets move to our beloved FMC, Saeris Fane.
If I disliked Violet from Fourth Wing, the hatred I feel towards Saeris is inexplicable. She is SO annoying that the only other character I can compare her to is the FMC from the Book of Azrael and I still have nightmares about that… lady. Saeris is this pick me up, not like other girls oh so special kind of girl. Of course she was born this super Alchemist, the most important one.
See, this is my issue. FMC’s in these types of books never have to move a finger to become special. How are we supposed to relate to that? I want a character that worked hard to get somewhere, to actually deserve to be special and praised by others. I am so fed up by all these annoying characters just being born special. Saeris doesn’t work hard even after discovering her abilities. Oh, she tells you about how much she works, but you can’t feel it, see it. She just says it and you are supposed to believe her. Yes, there are some paragraphs where she is working, but we don’t even know what exactly she is doing. It’s not explained, there is nothing more to it. She is also incredibly annoying with instantly antagonizing every other female character, besides Everlayne, but I will get to that in the end.
With Saeris, of course, comes Kingfisher, our MMC. The love interest. Shadow daddy, Xaden from Wish. YES HE IS NAMED KINGFISHER, FISHER FOR SHORT. That is supposed a Fae name….? Okay well lets move on. He is so toxic I can’t even comprehend it. I don’t know why so many male love interests, and I am specifically saying MALE, are toxic and controlling. This could be an essay, a study, about how controlling, masculine, ‘traditional’ men are dominating TikTok books. If you are sensing a conspiracy that conservatism is on its raise, you are sensing right. Kingfisher withholds information from Saeris, he makes her make a blood oath that essentially forces her to follow his commands whatever they are. Ella Enchanted, anyone? He also undergoes this strange shift in character, because at the very beginning of the book, he is the only person who honestly tells Saeris the truth, only to become the one not telling her anything later in the story. And there really isn’t even a reason why he shouldn't tell her.
I know I’m comparing this to the Fourth Wing a little too much, and that doesn’t even mean that I think Calie copied from Rebecca. These two books were written in the span of 1 year within each other, with Quicksilver being one year younger. I actually think it's the publisher's fault. It just feels too formulaic. We have the same basic narrative over and over again. FMC is born special, discovers her abilities, shadow daddy, borderline toxic character, saves her. They bicker and argue like a bunch of kids and then they have sex. And after that, MMC is obsessed with FMC and that is the only plot. Insert archetypical characters such as gay friend, honorable friend / warrior, a character that is supposed to be weak and needs protection, and one clown friend. Now you have your group that follows our pair of love birds into the death.
Side note, all of the villains are just cartoon villains and I am not going to waste my time complaining about black and white flat characters.
But all things considered, it still doesn’t sound THAT bad, right? Just like Fourth Wing, this was supposed to be just a fun little no brain romantasy. So why do I hate it so much when I was okay with other books?
Quicksilver is latently misogynistic. Sareis has no female friends, nor does she look up to any female characters at the beginning of the book. Even the first villain we meet, the queen Madra, is a tyrant. Then we meet Everlayne, who is Kingisher’s sister, and at first, Saeris is suspicious of her. When she learns that Kingfisher and Everlayne are siblings, she is okay with her. Also, in my humble opinion, Everaylne’s only purpose is to show that Kingfisher is, in fact, caring, because she needs to be protected at all times. That is also important especially towards the end of the book, when we are saving Everelyne. Then we meet Te Lena, towards whom is Searis ambivalent. She is jealous because she thinks Kingfisher sleeps with her. Later, she learns that Te Lena is married and they become friends. Are you seeing the pattern? Every female character that Sareis befriends has very clear boundaries when it comes to their relationship with KF. And then, we meet Danya.
Danya is a warrior. She has her father’s sword which used to have magical properties, now lost. We meet Danya and her sword in the middle of an argument. She attacks KF and Saeris, being the horny GF she is, destroys this sword. However, as an alchemist, she can repair it. So she does that because she is this sweet girl right? Well, the sword regains it magical properties and it chooses its warrior. ANd guess what, it’s not Danya. It’s some other character, MALE character, that gets to get the sword. Danya is obviously pissed and angry, and I would be too. Danya touches the sword and it cuts her hand off. So she lost the sword AND her hand and do you know what kind of reaction she gets? Let me quote is for you: “Will you stop all of this bullshit and calm the fuck down?” and then a couple of lines later, when we learn that her hand can be regrown, this is what Sareis says to us, readers: “Danya didn’t deserve her hand to be regrown. Her theatrics had reached a point where she deserves to live with the consequences of her shitty temper.” ……… This was written by a woman author. What kind of person writes something like that? There is zero sympathy for Danya. HER HAND WAS JUST CUT OFF.
And this is my biggest issue. This book is just inherently bad because what kind of a role model is Saeris supposed to be? Why should I root for her? I hate her, and she hates every other woman there, besides KF’s sister and one random healer. Is this what we want to read about?
But to end this with something positive, if you want to read a book with actually good female characters, and good characters in general to clean your pallet, may I suggest Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang (FMC undergoes big character changes, is morally ambiguous and unlikable for the majority of the book, giving us a real and believable portrayal of a human being), Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo for strong female friendship and supportive characters who are not constantly battling over who is prettier or hotter, and last but not least, Cruel Prince for authentic Fae Vibes.
TLDR: this book is misogynistic and you shouldn't waste your time reading this 670 pages long mess.
I’m not going to start with what this book is about, because first of all you probably already read the synopsis, and second of all, this book is so long and messy that I don’t even know what’s it about.
So let’s start with a good thing. It wasn’t that badly written. I’ve read worse.
And that’s about it, the only good, or nonnegative, thing I can say about this. Oh and Carrion. Carrion was a nice little treat.
Now to the bad stuff.
Worldbuilding is a mess. There is a desert city, evil queen, thieves, and then suddenly faes, vampires, gods, sprites, dragons…. You name it, it’s there. But there is also magic and alchemy and all together is just a huge mess that by the end of the book you don’t even know if this is some bella x edward fanfic or what the hell is going on. Also, there is supposed to be cold in that realm, but I can’t feel it, see it, there is no magic or authenticity to the fae realm. I have no idea what the dress looks like, I have no idea about the food. Saeris, in the bath, uses a SHAMPOO. Why, in the name of gods, if you are in a fae realm, would you use a shampoo. I want to see some enchanting soaps, oils, herbs… It’s like when the background in a video game doesn’t load.
So now that we know that the world we have is just a mess, and a mess poorly built, lets move to our beloved FMC, Saeris Fane.
If I disliked Violet from Fourth Wing, the hatred I feel towards Saeris is inexplicable. She is SO annoying that the only other character I can compare her to is the FMC from the Book of Azrael and I still have nightmares about that… lady. Saeris is this pick me up, not like other girls oh so special kind of girl. Of course she was born this super Alchemist, the most important one.
See, this is my issue. FMC’s in these types of books never have to move a finger to become special. How are we supposed to relate to that? I want a character that worked hard to get somewhere, to actually deserve to be special and praised by others. I am so fed up by all these annoying characters just being born special. Saeris doesn’t work hard even after discovering her abilities. Oh, she tells you about how much she works, but you can’t feel it, see it. She just says it and you are supposed to believe her. Yes, there are some paragraphs where she is working, but we don’t even know what exactly she is doing. It’s not explained, there is nothing more to it. She is also incredibly annoying with instantly antagonizing every other female character, besides Everlayne, but I will get to that in the end.
With Saeris, of course, comes Kingfisher, our MMC. The love interest. Shadow daddy, Xaden from Wish. YES HE IS NAMED KINGFISHER, FISHER FOR SHORT. That is supposed a Fae name….? Okay well lets move on. He is so toxic I can’t even comprehend it. I don’t know why so many male love interests, and I am specifically saying MALE, are toxic and controlling. This could be an essay, a study, about how controlling, masculine, ‘traditional’ men are dominating TikTok books. If you are sensing a conspiracy that conservatism is on its raise, you are sensing right. Kingfisher withholds information from Saeris, he makes her make a blood oath that essentially forces her to follow his commands whatever they are. Ella Enchanted, anyone? He also undergoes this strange shift in character, because at the very beginning of the book, he is the only person who honestly tells Saeris the truth, only to become the one not telling her anything later in the story. And there really isn’t even a reason why he shouldn't tell her.
I know I’m comparing this to the Fourth Wing a little too much, and that doesn’t even mean that I think Calie copied from Rebecca. These two books were written in the span of 1 year within each other, with Quicksilver being one year younger. I actually think it's the publisher's fault. It just feels too formulaic. We have the same basic narrative over and over again. FMC is born special, discovers her abilities, shadow daddy, borderline toxic character, saves her. They bicker and argue like a bunch of kids and then they have sex. And after that, MMC is obsessed with FMC and that is the only plot. Insert archetypical characters such as gay friend, honorable friend / warrior, a character that is supposed to be weak and needs protection, and one clown friend. Now you have your group that follows our pair of love birds into the death.
Side note, all of the villains are just cartoon villains and I am not going to waste my time complaining about black and white flat characters.
But all things considered, it still doesn’t sound THAT bad, right? Just like Fourth Wing, this was supposed to be just a fun little no brain romantasy. So why do I hate it so much when I was okay with other books?
Quicksilver is latently misogynistic. Sareis has no female friends, nor does she look up to any female characters at the beginning of the book. Even the first villain we meet, the queen Madra, is a tyrant. Then we meet Everlayne, who is Kingisher’s sister, and at first, Saeris is suspicious of her. When she learns that Kingfisher and Everlayne are siblings, she is okay with her. Also, in my humble opinion, Everaylne’s only purpose is to show that Kingfisher is, in fact, caring, because she needs to be protected at all times. That is also important especially towards the end of the book, when we are saving Everelyne. Then we meet Te Lena, towards whom is Searis ambivalent. She is jealous because she thinks Kingfisher sleeps with her. Later, she learns that Te Lena is married and they become friends. Are you seeing the pattern? Every female character that Sareis befriends has very clear boundaries when it comes to their relationship with KF. And then, we meet Danya.
Danya is a warrior. She has her father’s sword which used to have magical properties, now lost. We meet Danya and her sword in the middle of an argument. She attacks KF and Saeris, being the horny GF she is, destroys this sword. However, as an alchemist, she can repair it. So she does that because she is this sweet girl right? Well, the sword regains it magical properties and it chooses its warrior. ANd guess what, it’s not Danya. It’s some other character, MALE character, that gets to get the sword. Danya is obviously pissed and angry, and I would be too. Danya touches the sword and it cuts her hand off. So she lost the sword AND her hand and do you know what kind of reaction she gets? Let me quote is for you: “Will you stop all of this bullshit and calm the fuck down?” and then a couple of lines later, when we learn that her hand can be regrown, this is what Sareis says to us, readers: “Danya didn’t deserve her hand to be regrown. Her theatrics had reached a point where she deserves to live with the consequences of her shitty temper.” ……… This was written by a woman author. What kind of person writes something like that? There is zero sympathy for Danya. HER HAND WAS JUST CUT OFF.
And this is my biggest issue. This book is just inherently bad because what kind of a role model is Saeris supposed to be? Why should I root for her? I hate her, and she hates every other woman there, besides KF’s sister and one random healer. Is this what we want to read about?
But to end this with something positive, if you want to read a book with actually good female characters, and good characters in general to clean your pallet, may I suggest Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang (FMC undergoes big character changes, is morally ambiguous and unlikable for the majority of the book, giving us a real and believable portrayal of a human being), Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo for strong female friendship and supportive characters who are not constantly battling over who is prettier or hotter, and last but not least, Cruel Prince for authentic Fae Vibes.
TLDR: this book is misogynistic and you shouldn't waste your time reading this 670 pages long mess.