Book Review: Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Pages: 624

Genre: Adult Fantasy/Romance

 Pub. Date: December 3, 2024

Publisher: Grand Central

Source: Personal Copy

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "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 re-opens 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 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."

Saeris Fane is living in the desert wasteland of Zilvaren. It's all she and her brother have known and since her mother's death, they do what they have to do to survive. She has become an excellent pickpocket, but unfortunately, she gets caught by the Queen's guards and while trying to escape, she inadvertently opens a portal. Saeris has always had mysterious powers, powers that she has hidden, but at this time, her powers have enabled her to open this portal. She comes face to face with this person she thinks is "Death" and she enters the land of Fae. It's the polar opposite of Zilvaren; it's cold, snowy, and magic-filled. Once she gets acclimated, she realizes that Death is actually a Fae warrior named Kingfisher. Kingfisher is a troubled Fae who will do anything to help his people and when he notices that Saeris holds powers that will help him with alchemist magic, he knows that he has to use her to achieve his goals. In exchange for her help, he will let her go back home once she completes her task. Meanwhile, Saeris and Kingfisher, while they initially hate one another, slowly build a relationship all while Saeris is discovering her powers and this new world she has entered. Callie Hart's "romantasy" sensation, Quicksilver, did not disappoint despite my initial hesitation. There's a lot of heavy romance, but there's also an action-packed story filled with a lot of magical creatures, a great fantasy world, and an enemies-to-lovers trope that sucked me in. 

At first, Quicksilver was presenting a lot of the usual tropes that long-time fantasy readers will easily recognize. There's a protagonist who is tough, interesting and has hidden magic. Then enters a dark and brooding warrior who at first is an enemy, but slowly they develop feelings. However, Hart really made it work and feel fresh. While some of the dialogue and nicknames were a bit much at times, overall, I enjoyed all the witty banter and the development of Kingfisher and Saeris's relationship.

The world-building in Quicksilver was fantastic and I really felt like Hart made the fantasy world come to life. It wasn't one of those complex worlds where you really don't understand things; it made sense to me and I enjoyed all the other magical creatures such as witches, alchemists, vampires, and more.

I must say that since Quicksilver was a BookTok sensation, I was a little hesitant to pick it up. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I think fans of "romantasy" novels will enjoy this one and I am excited to see how it will translate to the TV screen on Netflix. I will definitely be picking up book two in the series, which comes out this fall. Have you read Quicksilver? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.