This book has been having A Bit of A Moment, and in a way that usually gives mw pause. The hype around it was reaching a fever pitch, and I was side-eyeing it hard—but it’s on KU and I needed something to do on a *very* long flight from Dublin to Singapore, so I decided to give it a whirl. 

And you know what? I had a blast with it. 

The story follows Saeris Fane, a woman living in a desert where water is brutally rashioned by a queen who has been ruling for longer than seems possible for a human. After a damning run-in with a royal soldier and a threat to her brother, Saeris is nearly killed. But she unleashes a power in the palace she doesn’t understand, is saved by a terrifying man, and wakes up the next day in a wintry fae world where she meets a divisive warrior named Kingfisher, who tells her she has a very particular—and vaulable—sort of power. 

It’s a classic romantasy setup for sure, and Callie Hart weaves in a lot of beloved elements: the tortured hero, the stranger in a strange land who could end a war, a flouncy, bubbly princess, a rogueish criminal, an adorable animal, court intrigue, supernatural creatures aplenty, and a shock of a cliffhanger. Oh, and spice. There is spice. 

So, Quicksilver is a lot. And it does have its flaws—it is not well-paced, the worldbuilding is clunky, and it’s longer than it needs to be.

But you know what? I had a ton of fun reading this. And to me, that’s what matters.

4.25🌟