Quicksilver by Callie Hart introduces us to human thief Saeris. She mainly robs from the rich to survive her hellish kingdom, ruled by an evil magic queen. She had a past dalliance with the hot but insufferable schemer named Carrion. He will never let her hear the end of it. She’s living day to day until captured by the royal guard in a desperate attempt to save her baby brother. She assumes she’ll be executed, but in a world-shattering turn of events, she discovers she has magic. A strange fae named Kingfisher enters the scene, and her life is turned upside down. She gets mixed up in a fae vs vampires battle that’s been going on for centuries. Kingfisher attempts to train her, and some serious enemies-to-lovers type sparks fly.
I was cautiously optimistic while reading this due to the BookTok hype. After Netflix bought the rights to the series, I had to know what all the fuss was about. It’s a doozy of a page length, but worth it, even with the cliffhanger ending for Saeris. I managed by reading the print and audiobook versions. I liked the twist on the vampires as a demented version of the fae. It’s a dark tale with a lot more humor than I expected. The human world portion was paced a bit too slowly for me. If you can hold on until she meets the fae, you’ll like the rest of it. The romance is further into the book, but when they finally give in to each other, it really kicks off. I get the ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas similarities, but this world is more dangerous imo with the vampires trying to annihilate the fae. It was a fun ride, and I’ll be getting to the sequel, Brimstone, for CBR18.
Read this if you like stubborn characters who never listen, always ready to sacrifice themselves, and mythical worlds filled with warrior fae and evil royals.
