Name: Quicksilver
Series: Fae & Alchemy #1
Author: Callie Hart
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Paperback (available on KU)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Noted Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Fated Mates, Fae, Hidden Identities, Bargains and Oaths, Found Family, Vampires
Steam or Spice: Spice
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water.
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.
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 herself 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…
Review:
First, I want to reiterate what BookTok is saying, please do not judge this book by its cover. A lot of people (myself included) did not like the look of this cover. But I’ve finished it this morning (first time I’ve had to immediately write the review!) and I loved the story within the pages. Callie Hart is a new author to me and whilst this self published book occassionally had issues with spellings, I think the story she has crafted is brilliant. That being said, I’d like to add that whilst this version of Quicksilver is self-published, it has been picked up by traditional publishers, which is of course exciting! So congratulations to Callie Hart.
Our FMC is called Saeris and boy does she have an attitude. She’s snarky, and is not afraid to bite back. I really liked her and whilst I can’t relate to her position being taken to the Fae land unexpectedly, I found her character to be quite relatable. Her attitude was awesome in my opinion as it gave us some brilliant moments between her and multiple secondary (and background) characters. Not to mention her raport with Fisher, the MMC.
Fisher is a morally grey MMC with a touch of ‘Who touched you?’ / ‘Touch her and you die’ mentaility thrown in. He has great banter with Saeris and with some of the other secondary characters like Ren. Don’t get me wrong, he was an ass and I hated him. I hated how rude he was to Saeris and even his friends but – in the wise words of many a BookToker who recommended this – you have to let this book and our boy cook! It’s a big book, with many pages! Give Fisher the time he needs, and you’ll warm up to him…
Oh and when I tell you that Fisher and Saeris were a brilliant couple that had me giddy happy often… I don’t mean that they were perfect together and everything was fine and dandy (obviously). Simply put, I never knew if they were going to fuck or fight! These two had me second guessing whether they were going to actually accept their feelings for each other or not the whole damn time! They are brilliant.
And the spice in this book! I don’t think it will be to a lot of peoples tastes, but there is plenty of it (and not in the fucking in every chapter sort of way – but rather in a slow burn and then bang all at once sort of way). But please remember if you’re not up for spice, then this isn’t for you!
I really enjoyed the Fae world that Callie Hart has created, but ultimately I cannot wait to find out more about the Alchemists and Vampires of the world! Not to mention the Gods! Oh, I think we are in for a real treat in book 2!! Safe to say, I am perpetually doing grabby hands for the sequel. As Quicksilver has been picked up I expect we will get some information about when we can expect the sequel relatively quickly! But let me tell you, it’s not quick enough! I need the sequel like yesterday with the way this book ended!
“I don’t want bright and happy,” he whispered roughly. “I want real.” – Fisher
Reading With Tyler 
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