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Book Review: Quicksilver by Callie Hart

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Book: Quicksilver by Callie Hart (Fae and Alchemy Series, Book 1)

Genre: Fantasy Romance, Romantasy, High Fantasy, Dark Romance

Publisher: Forever Publishing 

This review is fairly spoiler-free. There is a short plot summary and vague background given for context. 

Before I get into this review, I’m going to need all the fantasy fans to pull up a seat and discuss the reality of romantasy in publishing right now. As the genre becomes more saturated, we are no longer looking for something entirely original. We’ve reached the point in the genre’s life cycle where we are reading for the comfort of the tropes and storylines we have come to know and love. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with that as long as we are accounting for it when reviewing new books within the subgenre. What now defines the “next big hit” is different than it used to be. Publishers and influencers are on the look out for smaller, unique aspects or nuances to a story that work within the existing romantasy framework. 

For example, we know readers buy into the idea of a strong-willed, female main character teleporting into a fae realm and causing an absolute ruckus. We know there is a large group of readers that have an affinity for the main male character being a shadow-wielder with a morally gray personality. This is obviously not the standard for everyone, but they are just examples of things that readers ask to see more of. The challenge now is—how can an author utilize these types of story structures or character templates and breathe new life into them? I’ve read two authors who I have personally seen do this very well within the fantasy genre this year. The first was Penn Cole with The Kindred’s Curse Saga series, and now the second is Callie Hart with her Fae and Alchemy series. Coincidentally, both of these authors were successful at self-publishing their novels and were later picked up by traditional publishers. I think this in itself is an indicator that what I have stated above may reflect what publishers are thinking right now. With that said, let’s talk about Callie Hart’s new book and why I think it stands to be one of the best fantasy romance books of 2024.

Summary:

Quicksilver is a fantasy romance that follows a seemingly human thief, Saeris Fane, who is living in the kingdom of Zilvaren. Saeris resides in an impoverished section of the land (“The Third”) that has been quarantined and rationed off by the Queen. The citizens there are living under dire circumstances and often perish in their environment. When we are introduced to Saeris, her primary goal is to keep herself and her younger brother alive so they can eventually escape The Third.  

In the midst of one of her survival heists, Saeris finds herself ripped from the life she knows and thrown into a fae kingdom. She lands at the feet of a man whom she believes to be Death himself—a warrior fae named Kingfisher. With no known way to return to Zilvaren to save her brother, she finds herself forced to ally with Kingfisher and the fae to negotiate her way back home. However, before she can leave, the fae discover a magical secret about Saeris that they need to utilize to save their own people. 

This is where I am going to stop the summary, because the plot of this book is so gripping, it needs to be read for the first time with no spoilers. 

World-Building: 

Rarely do we see novel magic systems introduced in fantasy; however, Callie Hart creates one in Quicksilver. She writes a combination of traditional, elemental fae magic, but also incorporates a newer version of alchemy into the mix— more specifically the introduction of a conscious substance called Quicksilver. Hart writes magic as if it is a living, sentient phenomenon. In fantasy, the wielder usually does have some innate connection to their magic, but in Quicksilver it feels like each fae’s magic is its own character with an individual essence. It adds an extra layer and dynamic to the interactions between characters in the book, and acts as both an aggregator and pacifier to conflict throughout the plot.

Characters and Romantic Tropes:

Enemies to lovers is one of the most popular fantasy tropes out there, and Kingfisher and Saeris’s romance is perfect for readers looking for their next banter-filled slowburn. Both Kingfisher and Saeris are fiery personalities with strong survival instincts and reactive defense mechanisms. For this reason, there is unmatched verbal sparring that occurs when these two are initially working out their dynamic. Grumpy/Sunshine? Forget it. This is more like Grumpy Meets Grumpier, and something about it just works in this book. 

With that said, there are very dark undertones to the dialogue, but the darkness serves a purpose here to explore the deep trenches of trauma the characters have to wade through in order to trust and be vulnerable with each other. Often when characters initially present as harsh or despondent, they have incredible potential in their arcs for growth. Characters with good arcs are characters that are hard to forget. 

The romance scenes in Quicksilver are for mature readers, and there are some trigger warnings that should be reviewed prior to reading this. If open-door scenes are not for you, I would still recommend reading the book and skipping over these parts. I don’t usually recommend doing that, but the fantasy paragon the author creates is just that good. 

For fans of the fated mates trope— I’ve never seen fated mates done this way. It is so complex and beautiful. I won’t go into detail to avoid major spoilers, but thank you to Callie Hart for the swoon-worthy way tattoos are incorporated into the romantic world-building in this story. 

Additional Elements:

What could make a fae series better? A heavy dose of vampires. Quicksilver revamps vampire lore. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat with Callie Hart’s development of fae-vampire history and interaction. This is different from a traditional vampire story, and is one of the features that makes this book stand out in its genre.

In addition to these magical creatures, we also have the gods. I’ve never been a huge fan of the gods puppeteering characters in fantasy books, but again, in Quicksilver, there is a nuanced approach to this that is revealed towards the end of the book that had my jaw on the floor. The author brilliantly balances the fate versus free-will tug-of-war. The gods she writes intervene just enough as to not undermine the choices of the characters. This is so important because we want to feel like these characters’ choices have an impact on the story versus everything being out of their control because the eyes in the sky do whatever they please. 

Themes:

Let’s talk about themes. Quicksilver is extraordinary when it comes to found family. If you have followed me for a while, you know that I absolutely love found family stories. They allow for a wide variety of readers to connect to a book emotionally through a tight-knit group of diverse characters. Found family caters to readers looking for a place to fit in, and it allows for representation of multiple personalities and backgrounds within one storyline. More than that, friendship storylines are just as important as romantic storylines in fantasy.  

As I mentioned above, trauma is a significant theme in Quicksilver. Saeris and Kingfisher both have extensive trauma from their childhoods that contribute to who they are in adulthood. They could not be protected as children, so they in turn have taken on the role of protector in order to heal these wounds. Naturally, this results in heavy themes of obligation and duty to family, friends, people, etc…

Overview:

I loved this book. If I gave out stars, I’d give it five. I read it a couple weeks ago, and I haven’t quite been able to fill the void it left me with. Quicksilver ends on a huge cliffhanger, but I think it would be weird if it didn’t. All good series have cliffhangers. There certainly is an air of mystery surrounding what will happen next. It’s rare that I can’t predict where a story will go; however, I have absolutely no idea where the plot is headed, and I love that. 

If you have read this book or plan to read it, head on over to my socials to continue the discussion in the comments!

*Book two of the Fae & Alchemy series is expected to come out Fall of 2025.

*The audiobook for Quicksilver will be released on 10/29/24.

View Quicksilver on Amazon | Bookshop.org | Books-A-Million | Audible  

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