Brimstome (Fae & Alchemy, # 2)
By: Callie Hart
Publication: November 18, 2025 by Forever
672 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fae, Romantasy
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Goodreads description--Duty. Blood. Honour. Power.Saeris Fane doesn't want power. The very last thing she needs is her name whispered on an entire court's lips, but now that she's been crowned queen of the Blood Court, she's discovering that a queen's life is not her own. A heavy weight rests upon her shoulders.
Her ward - and her brother - need her back in her homeland . . . but the changes that have strengthened Saeris have also made her weak. Born under blazing suns, Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver. Which means that, once again, she must send someone else in her stead . . .
'Keep your mouth shut. Stick to the shadows. And for the love of all seven Gods, do NOT crack any jokes.'
Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate has defeated armies and survived all manner of horrors, but traveling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift might just be the death of him. The male just will not shut up. Hidden dangers await them down the narrow alleyways of the Silver City. Unfolding secrets pose impossible threats. Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.
A darkness falls across Yvelia. The realm and their friends are in danger. Together, Saeris and Fisher will pass through fire and brimstone to save them.
Guys, I'll just be honest...I don't remember too much about Quicksilver. Like the details. I remember the beginning and some of the middle and ending. So the start of Brimstone felt a little confusing for me. I'll also say, that despite being interested in what was happening, I fell asleep almost every time I picked this book up. I just could not stay awake. And only reading snippets at a time made this read take so long for me to get through. And that always affects my enjoyment of a book. Not to mention that Brimstone is 672 pages.
Saeris used to be human. Now she's turned half fae, half vampire. This was necessary to prevent her from dying. Because she isn't a full vampire, she isn't exactly controlled by their blood thirst. And because she killed Malcolm, she's the new Queen of the vampires. The entire court can be put under a command not to hurt her or her friends. Seems odd. Seems like everyone would be out to kill the current ruler in order to obtain that power for themselves. But whatever. Saeris and Kingfisher spend a lot of time at the Blood Court, but they also switch back to Cahlish periodically. They have to figure out what to do with the Blood Court, but there's also a weird rot that is spreading across the fae lands at a rapid pace. Oh and, Fisher and Carrion go back to Zilvaren to get Hayden for Saeris.
I don't know how many books are planned for this series, but I think Brimstone falls into the catergory that most second books in a series do. They deviate (because they have to) from some of the things that caused readers to fall in love with the first book. The main characters usually have to spend some time away from each other. Thankfully, there was no weird drama that caused a rift for Fisher and Saeris. There was only distance that seperated them.
The physical scenes were easy for me to skim by. But the language was a lot. Like a lot.
I will say...this is probably a spoiler, but I just have to comment on this. We all know that in fae lore, having the real name of a fae or fairy means that you have control over them. So in a lot of fae books, having a fae's true name is a big thing. This was brought up in Brimstone. It was assumed by many that Fisher and Saeris would get married since they are godsbound and mates. But Fisher informs Saeris that you need a fae's true name in order to get married, but he doesn't even know his true name. Well you'll probably not be surprised to know that Saeris does learn his true name. What will surprise you is that now that we've been calling him Fisher or Kingfisher for two novels, all of a sudden Saeris "can't think of him by any other name" and so she starts calling him by his real name. And despite the fact that he's gone by Kingfisher for HUNDREDS OF YEARS and never even known his real name, he takes no issue with this. And THEN she starts calling him a shortened, nickname version of his real name. I don't like it. Kingfisher/Fisher is such an iconic name. That would be like changing Xaden or Rhysand or Rowan at this point to something completely different. Or you find out that Harry's parents actual named him Benedict. You just can't take an iconic name and change it after 1000 pages.
Another complaint, I have argued about Colleen Hoover using letters to give big information dumps. In this case, Fisher's mom left Saeris a book that basically tells her what they need to do because she was an oracle/seer/could see the future. As the reader, we don't have access to the knowledge that Saeris has. We only know that Fisher's mom left this book that details what Saeris needs to do at different points. Yet it doesn't seem like she spells out exactly what Saeris needs to do, but she seems to have enough information to know what she needs to do next. I just feel like this is cheating in some way. It feels like a cop out.
I'd also be remiss not to mention that Onyx...well, I feel quite strongly about a specific scene with him. IYKYK. I'm not a fan of what went down there. This better have big pay off at some point.
Favorite quotes:
-“Can you— look, can you just behave yourself out there?” I murmured under my breath. He looked bemused, the faintest hint of a dimple forming in his right cheek. “I can,” he answered. “I can’t promise that I will.”
-“No, Carrion. I won’t.” “Why not?” He sounded like I’d just kicked him. “There’s only one way to learn how to endure pain the way I have. You have to suffer through it. Again, and again, and again. It galvanizes you. Tempers you like steel. But I wouldn’t wish the kind of pain I’ve lived through on anyone. I’ve borne it because I had to and for no other reason. Feel the pain you’ve been given, Carrion. Don’t be fool enough to ask for more. It’s a curse I would spare you from, believe me.”
-Meanwhile, I dream that I’d been turned into a goat, and I wake up with a mouth drier than the glass flats, covered in suspect pox marks!”
-I swear myself to you, Saeris Fane. I will carry out your bidding so long as there is breath left in me. And when I pass from this place and move on to the next, I will carry your banners there and storm the gates of heaven in your name if you wish it.”
-“I shouldn’t tell you this, since you seem blissfully unaware of the power you hold over me, but… I will give you whatever you want, Saeris Fane. Always. No matter what it costs me.”
Even with those complaints, I didn't feel like Brimstone was a bad book. Now, I still can't rate it 5 Stars or anything like that. It falls into a fairly typical second book in a series feel which are so rarely my favorites. Most of the time the second in a series ends up being my least favorite books. We will see where Brimstone falls when the series is complete. I'm giving Brimstone 4 Stars. Have you read Brimstone? What did you think? Let me know!
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