Book Review: Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Enemies To Lovers, Adult
Pages: 624
Format: Ebook | Kindle Unlimited
Rating:

Initial Thoughts

If you’re on BookTok, then you know Quicksilver is a fan favorite. It came out last year, but its popularity reignited with the release of its sequel, Brimstone, toward the end of November. It was always my goal to read Quicksilver, but since my friend got us tickets to the midnight release of Brimstone in NYC, I pushed it further up my TBR.

Because of the hype, my expectations for this book were moderately high. I also knew there was a lot of controversy surrounding the cover, and I knew the MMC’s name was Kingfisher. I’m sorry, but that name just is not attractive to me. That definitely contributed to why I kept putting off reading this book. More on that later.

The Plot (spoiler-free!)

Saeris Fane lives in Zilveran City’s Third Ward – the poorest Ward . To survive, she steals basic necessities like food and water while taking care of her younger brother. After stealing from the guard, Saeris is captured and sentenced to execution in a dungeon. While fighting with her captor, she pulls a sword out of solid silver liquid, and from it, a male, Kingfisher, appears and transports her to Yvelia, the fae realm.

Saeris is in disbelief. Faeries do not exist… right?

Saeris’s ability to pull the sword can only mean one thing. She is an alchemist, a kind of people thought to have been killed centuries ago. Suddenly, everyone is enamored with Saeris, she’s rare, and special. All Saeris wants to do is return home to her brother but in order to do that Kingfisher demands she uses her alchemist magic to save his people.

What I Liked (some spoilers)

There were a lot of good moments in this book that made it a well-rounded story. I am someone who tries to create a movie or TV show in my head while reading, and I felt like I was able to do that with this book. For example, when Saeris kept being referred to as a street rat in the beginning, I could not stop thinking about the Disney movie Aladdin. I even posted about this on TikTok and was glad to see others agreed.

Overall, this was a really good cast of characters. They all worked well together and had great chemistry as a group. Carrion and Saeris eating quiche crust in the war room like it was popcorn while serious conversations were happening genuinely made me laugh. TikTok promised me the seating arrangement scenes would be funny, and they were right. The way Fisher insults Carrion is also hilarious. Lines like “waste of carbon” and “it’s bad enough that you insist on sharing air with him” had me cracking up. I also liked the budding friendship between Lorreth and Saeris, especially how he came into possession of Avisieth. Their bar scene together stood out to me as well. I also loved the fire sprites. They were so overdramatic and funny. Just like me.

But do you know who my favorite character is? Onyx. Yes, the fox.

I am always a sucker for an MMC who has a way with words, and Kingfisher absolutely does.

“Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.”

What Didn’t Work for Me (some spoilers)

I am sorry, but I just cannot get over the name Kingfisher. It does absolutely nothing for me. Am I the only one who wants to be in love with the MMC in the books I read? I cannot be in love with someone if I do not like their name!!

Beyond the name, I have been struggling lately with books where the FMC and MMC are already in love by the first book. This is a series. Let’s drag it out a bit. Make the love story something that has to be worked toward. I want a slow burn.

I also had a hard time with the writing style at times, specifically the overuse of italics. To me, italics should be used to add emphasis to specific words or phrases. When everything is italicized, it loses its impact. Am I the only one who reads italicized words differently than non-italicized ones? Why does my brain feel like it has to emphasize half the book?

Final Thoughts

I would say Quicksilver is a solid romantasy. While it was not a five deer-star read for me, I can absolutely see why others rate it that high. It has everything we typically want in this genre: a good plot, likable characters, a smart FMC, a broody MMC, banter, spice, magic, and powers.

I will be continuing with the series, and I am interested to see how the story unfolds and develops from here.