Quicksilver - Fae, Magic, and Ass-Kicking

 Quicksilver - Callie Hart

At a Glance

    If ACOTAR was actually good. Wish I would have read this before I read that series. Decent, if not typical. Wasn't a fan of the main characters but loved some of the others. I will be looking forward to the next book.

Spoiler-Free Review

    While browsing my local bookstore, I noticed a sign advertising a book for their monthly book club. I'd never been part of one, so upon seeing a Fantasy-Romance - or Romantasy - was the pick for January, I eagerly picked up Quicksilver. At the start, I had a hard time getting into the book. A thief who talks as much shit as they kick ass - and knows it - was a bit off-putting. Something about a back alley thief conveniently being incredibly skilled with a sword to take on highly trained guards was just a bit typical for this genre. I also struggled with the environment. The first location we see is set in a desert kingdom where water is scarce for those in poverty-stricken areas. These types of environments I tend to struggle reading through. Alas, we do not stay here long. Our hero, Saeris Fane, is taken through a portal of Quicksilver to a Fae world known as Yvelia. Yelia is the complete opposite in that it takes place in a cold world where water is plentiful and magic is not banned. The introduction to Yvelia and how its government works, along with how our hero is introduced, feels a bit rushed. A couple characters are quickly introduced while some characters remain vague. All in all, this Fae world is pretty typical for the genre - they're elves and there are some other creatures not as prominent to the story and rarely talked about.

    But what about the romance? Personally, I found the relationship between Saeris and Kingfisher (such an off-putting name) to be boring. Enemies to lovers? Of course. It just lacked depth. Aspects of the relationship felt rushed while Saeris herself was also frustrating. For example, I was confused as to why they hated each other so much to begin with and why Fisher (I seriously hate this name) was so quick to create sexual tension. It felt conflicting throughout the entire book. There is another relationship hinted at but ever so lightly. I wish Callie had added more to this other relationship, but I am sure she is saving it for the next book.

    While the romance is a large part of this story, the overall plot is equally important. As much as this book was similar to ACOTAR, the plot was what really set it apart and above. Saeris is from a corrupt kingdom and desperately wants to get back to save her brother, while Kingfisher wants to save his kingdom from a looming evil at the borders of his family's kingdom. Thankfully, the romance did not distract from this plot. We have a very obvious evil, some great battles with said evil, and then a pretty okay ending. With how disappointing some endings have been in other books, I may have just been glad that it didn't end within one paragraph (Looking at you Court of Mist and Fury and Priory of the Orange Tree). I did wish there had been more to the ending. Some of it felt rushed and incomplete. By the time I had finished the book, a couple parts had me rolling my eyes because it was just so.... typical.

    Despite how lackluster the ending of the book was, I still enjoyed it. I loved the world-building and how there were some areas that dove into the religion of the Fae. The romance feelss pretty basic and a tad irritating in places. The 'spicy' scenes were too raunchy for my own tastes. If you read this genre specifically for spicy scenes, you will love this book. If you read for unique fantasy worlds, you will feel it's a bit dull - especially if you have read similar works.

Now for the spoilers...

    First and foremost, I liked how Madra was introduced but Belikon? Could it have been any more obvious that he was evil? Maybe this is just me, but I would prefer if we didn't know right off the bat. Especially since the characters were surprised to see him with Malcolm. Side note: Why did everyone have such unique names but our big evil vampire was named Malcolm? It threw me off every time. At one point, someone says the name Saeris is a Fae name but I do not recall anyone saying what her name meant? That was one detail I was waiting to have revealed and it never happened. I was also thrown off by Kingfisher instantly hating Saeris. Realistically, he needed more of a reason. Yes, we know in the end why he hated her, but a bit more of a believable reason at the beginning would have been nice. A reason that could have been overcome before he called her a "Hungry needy little bitch in heat" would have been less.... startling. The romance felt less like romance and more like lust which just threw off the intimacy. Once I read 'his hot breath' I said ew and flipped a couple pages to skip the sex scene. Then I had to skip a couple more because oh my god they were still going.

    I need a moment to talk about Onyx. What point did the fox serve? If he was just a pet, why did he have to seemingly understand and sympathize with Saeris so quickly? Maybe he will have a reason for existing in the next book, but each time he was in the story I couldn't help but ask myself why? I did notice that Fisher referred to his horse as Bill and I am hoping Callie did this as a nod to Lord of the Rings.

    Carrion motherfucking Swift. My BOY! I absolutely loved his character. Our bisexual (or bi-curious) king who actually ended up being a king. Carrion was such a fun character to read about. He was so unserious about everything which made me question why exactly he was beating up Hayden so much. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that he named his sword Simon? I am not sure how I missed that he was actually the king (maybe I thought we were going to have a big character reveal or a whole mystery about finding them), but I am glad he's the King and not Saeris..... but then she becomes the Vampire Empress so there goes that. 

    Which brings me to my next issue... I physically rolled my eyes when she woke up and her ears were pointed. Becoming Fae, being a mate, and having her mate's tattoos were all concepts that felt so much like ACOTAR I just wanted to pull my hair out. Maybe if I hadn't read that series before this book I would not have been so bothered by it but unfortunately, I will never know.

    Let's talk about that ending. Why was Madra and Belikon even there? They just kind of.... sat there and did nothing but talk? I think we could have achieved the same ending without them. They barely touched on the issue with Madra and why she closed the quicksilver pools. More story there would have been nice since she was suddenly all hunky dory with her brothers. I also wished there was more to the labyrinth. We encountered one monster. Even just one more would have been nice to see so we could have understood Fisher's struggle a bit more. I did enjoy the twist with Carrion's blood and how Tal was free from Malcolm. Would have been nice to have known a bit more about Tal before the ending but I digress, I am sure we will know him plenty in the next book.

    Something I noticed and want to point out is how often consent was a topic. I really appreciated the characters who asked for consent and I appreciated the male characters being actual polite gentlemen. Tal asked for consent before turning Saeris. Carrion admitted to not being his best self and apologized. I am sure consent will continue to be a theme in the next since Saeris did not actually consent to being turned vampire and there our lovers will struggle. I also want to point out that we have vampires and that is not something so commonly seen - at least in my own experience. While I wish Callie had dived more into the lesser Fae, I am excited me have vampires and zombie-vampires. Give. Me. Gore.

Conclusion...

    This concludes my review. A little chaotic, I know. With my next book reading, I'll be sure to take notes as I read so we stay a bit more organized. I want to hear your thoughts! Do you agree with any of my points? What did you think of the book? If you haven't read it, will you? Let me know in the comments below!