Your Next Shadow Daddy!
Overall
4.5
Quicksilver
Fae & Alchemy
Fantasy Romance
Forever
December 3, 2024
Paperback, Audiobook, and E-Reader
624
https://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Callie-Hart/dp/1538774194/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0#detailBullets_feature_div
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... Now with an embossed cover, silver foiling, and an updated interior design.
N.B. Quicksilver contains depictions of graphic violence/adult situations and is therefore recommended for readers 17+. For a full list of tropes and TWs, please visit the author's website.
Quicksilver by Callie Hart is action-packed with new worlds, a unique magic system, and an enemies-to-lovers romance, including a shadow daddy.
In Quicksilver, Hart immediately throws the reader into the action, with Saeris, the FMC, running from a guard. In what may feel like a nod to the Hunger Games, we see that our FMC is struggling to survive without enough food, water, or a place to live. She also happens to be a badass and doesn’t back down from a fight or Madra’s guardian. Though, I bet some of you may argue that it’s more stupidity than badassery. But where would we be if our FMC didn’t make things complicated?
“It’s under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged. And we are dangerous, Captain. She’s turned us all into weapons.”
I love the immediate and never-ending action. Hart takes us from one unsolvable problem to another, then to barely surviving a knife wound, world travel, a smoldering shadow daddy, and then more sword fights. Even with all the action, the first 15 – 20% moved slowly for me. It took a while for our MC/FMC to meet and then be able to stand each other long enough to develop a relationship, even an enemies-to-lovers relationship. Once they did, though, the witty banter and snarky remarks were everything!
“Straight for the jugular then, Little Osha? Ruthless. I like it.”
I find it difficult to be surprised by twists anymore, but Hart got me a few times. I had trouble figuring out Kingfisher’s “deal” or what all of his secrets were. While there are hints, it’s not as clear-cut as you might guess. I am still thinking about how she showed his growth from a cold Fae to this vulnerable male who has endured more than anyone should. He also happens to be possessive and has a dirty mouth…
“I’d know the smell of you anywhere. On anyone. I’d know it blind and in the dark…”
The ending was perfect and unexpected. Hart kept the action going until the very end. She also gave us a small HEA with enough of a cliffhanger that I’m still in a book hangover. I cannot wait to see where the story goes and what Hart does to our main characters. Please be kind to them and us!
I am a Libra, who advocates for rescue animals, loves to buy people gifts, travels as often as possible, and has an OBSESSION with special edition books. It all started with HP, Holly Black, and Cassandra Clare and has ended with a personality made up entirely of Romantasy and Dark Romance stories. I am married with 2 dogs and a grumpy cat. I love shiny things, glitter, gems, and foiled covers with metallic edges. I’m a proud feminist but also like my husband to put gas in the car. Lastly, and most importantly, I’m always down to get Greek food, attend a book con, go on a trip, or make new book besties.
