Quicksilver - Review

Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, # 1)

By: Callie Hart

Publication: September 10, 2024 by Forever

624 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Vampires, Magic, Fae

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--The global phenomenon by Callie Hart--a highly addicting enemies-to-lovers Romantasy with razor-sharp banter, heart-stopping action, and blistering hot romance--now has an embossed cover, silver foiling, and an updated interior design.

Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details...

The description is a little bit confusing. "Don't touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate." You might think those are rules that Saeris lives by. Or rules of the kingdom she lives in. But they are only things that come up in one instance. Also, when it says that no one knows of the strange powers she possesses, well that's true. Except Saeris herself barely knows about them as well. She only knows that metal vibrates around her. So it isn't like Saeris is keeping this big secret. What could she tell people about metal vibrating anyway?

I did like the idea of what people would do if water were rationed as it is in this book. And I love how when Saeris was transported to a realm where snow was falling from the sky, she was amazed at how easily accessible water was compared to where she lived. Saeris hasn't completely given her body over in all possible ways in order to get water. But she has stolen and bartered and fought for her survival and her brother's every single day.

Saeris doesn't exactly come face to face with Death in that Fisher isn't "Death". He does come to deliver a death blow the day she meets him. And while she is dying she believes that to be who he is. Saeris comes to learn that she opened a portal between the realms that has been closed for many years. And now she learns that she's not who she thought she was. And she has a part to play in changing the worlds for the better.

Saeris and Kingfisher have what's supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers trope. But it wasn't a true enemies-to-lovers situation. Fisher has information that Saeris doesn't have. And while he doesn't necessarily want a relationship with her from the beginning, I don't think he was a true enemy to her. Of course, he wasn't very nice either. There is on-page spicy scenes. And some of the dirty talk and descriptions were a little much for me. But I have a lower tolerance than I think most romantacy readers do. And while I'm mentioning things that might hinder readers from picking up the series, there was language. So many f-bombs to the point of being excessive in my mind.

Fisher himself has a bit of a tragic background. He's been through a lot. I really felt bad for him. He's nearly crazy from the effects of the quicksilver and essential torture that he's endured over the years. That's not to say that Saeris's history was squeaky clean or peachy. Because it most certainly wasn't. The histories make the characters real in a way that makes you hurt for them and connect to them.

Favorite quotes:

-"I hit him..." He thought about it. "Once. Maybe twice. That only qualifies as a light beating. And what's a light beating between friends?"

-"I never met a rule I didn't wanna break, Sunshine."

-Hayden refused to do what was asked of him, never paid attention, and then typically went and did the one thing you begged him not to.

Hey! I know someone just like that!

-The silence vibrated in my ears--an uncanny, unsettling feeling, like the moments after a scream, when the terrible sound tears the air in two, and for a split second afterward, the memory of it hangs there, determined to still be heard. I found myself straining, listening as hard as I could, searching for a voice that wasn't there.

-Rumors are next-door neighbors to gossip, and gossip always breaks bread with lies.

-Saeris Fane was twenty-four years of age when she died. Honestly, she should have died a lot sooner, but the girl never did know when to give up.

-"My concern is that a tool pushed to its limit is a tool that will probably break. And to be blunt, Saeris, you're a tool none of us can afford to let Fisher break."

-"Amazing isn't it? People prefer to acquiesce to a request rather than being forced to follow a command. Who'd have known?"

-I hated him, I did. But you couldn't hate something without caring about it just a little, too.

-"I'm not the type of person who keeps throwing herself at the things that hurt her."

-"I was wrong, y'know. You are a good thief." "What have I stolen?" But he smiled a small, sad smile, slowly shaking his head.

-"There are two kind of forever, Alchemist. One is heaven. The other is hell."

I do wish we could have had less on-page scenes and description and less cursing. Those things just aren't necessary to make a "good book." Good books come from plot and character development in my opinion. And Quicksilver had both of those in so much abundance. I do look forward to continuing the series, but I have to mention these things at the same time. My heart hurt for both Fisher and Saeris at different times, and I liked them as a couple. Qiuicksilver gets 4 Stars. Have you read Quicksilver? What did you think? Let me know!