Do not touch the sword.

Do not turn the key.

Do not open the gate.

Quicksilver – Synopsis and Background

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…

Quicksilver is the first book in a romantasy trilogy from dark romance author Callie Hart.

Saeris Fane is a human girl navigating life in a harsh desert land, skilled at two things: keeping secrets and stealing. Her thievery is born of necessity—she steals to survive and to care for her trouble-prone younger brother. But her luck runs out when her crimes catch up to her. The guards come for her, dragging her before the Queen. The punishment is swift and merciless: death for Saeris and her family.

Just as all seems lost, a mysterious man emerges from a pool of quicksilver, rescuing her and spiriting her away to another realm. When Saeris awakens, she finds herself thrust into a world of fae and war. The path back to her home is anything but simple: the only way out is to help the enigmatic fae male, Kingfisher.

Kingfisher has his own secrets, and his desperation to save his people drives him to make a dangerous bargain with Saeris. Bound by a magical oath, she must complete his task in exchange for her freedom. But as Saeris soon learns, the devil is in the details—and the price of freedom may be far greater than she ever imagined.

Quicksilver Review

I didn’t have much hope for this after reading some of the reviews, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

Was it a bit predictable? Yes.
Was it very similar to other popular romantasy books? Yes.
But is that not why we read them? It felt familiar, yet slightly different. I felt engaged with the characters (albeit I probably liked some of the side characters more than the MCs), I liked the storyline, contrary to many of the other reviews I actually liked the pacing.

Writing Style

This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the writing style. I tend to be quite sensitive to inconsistencies, but more so to authors who try to ‘overdo’ the language and don’t pull it off. Hart’s writing style wasn’t anything to go crazy for, but I didn’t find myself particularly pulled out of the story at any time either.

Length and grip (😏)

In terms of pacing, I do agree that the beginning and end were much more engaging than the vast majority of the book, but this is the first in a trilogy, I am much more lenient than I would be with a standalone or a duology. You have to leave room for some world building. How many of our fan-favourite romantasy or fantasy series’ first books are perfection? I don’t think I can think of any. They’re a stepping stone to something much bigger and better.

At around 588 pages, I managed to read this in less than 3 days, which isn’t bad going. I did find it engaging, but it has been a while since I read anything at all (I’ve been too busy with my Christmas crocheting since about October time), so I’m glad Quicksilver managed to keep my attention enough to finish my first book in over 3 months!

World/Magic System

I did find the magic system pretty interesting, and I didn’t expect the inclusion of vampires in the fae world – I found this very surprising and I loved the idea behind how they become vampires. I also loved the idea behind Saeris’ connection to the quicksilver and how she bargains with it to bind into objects.

Of course, it’s rather unsurprising that the MMC, Kingfisher, is a shadow daddy. I’m not mad at it, we all love a shadow daddy, but I would have liked to see more of his power to really understand it and its limitations (if it has any).

The inclusion of physical interactions with the gods, I believe, is where we will see the trilogy start to take a new and interesting storyline going forward. The first book in this series felt like the author tried to cram in many of our tried and tested favourite tropes to hook us in, which is probably why it felt a little predictable. This is where I feel the next couple of books will have to provide something different, surely they have to after that ending?!

Smut

The first couple of ‘smutty’ encounters, particularly the kiss where Saeris steals Fisher’s ring, really made me cringe. I feel like the author got a little stuck in her dark romance spicy language, which we all love, but it felt misplaced in this particular part of the story. IYKYK.

The rest of the smut, however, I thought worked pretty well. Although the relationship between the FMC and MMC might have moved a little too fast for my liking, I still feel the rest of the spicy scenes worked with their chemistry.

Side Characters

Honestly, the side characters really took this book up a star for me. I didn’t dislike the main characters, but I feel like we learnt so much about them that I’m left far more intrigued by many of the side characters and their backstories. I won’t go into them in too much detail, but Carrion made me genuinely spit a cup of tea out at one point, and we all love an adorable animal side character like Onyx – lets face it.

Checklist:

• ✅ – Bargains and oaths
• ✅ – Fated mates
• ✅ – Smut
• ✅ – Forced proximity
• ✅ – Found family
• ✅ – Morally grey MMC
• ✅ – Minor cliffhanger

Favourite Quotes:

“For those who live their nightmares,
so that others may have their dreams.”

“Sure. Why not. I’m too pretty to die old, anyway.”

Overall rating and conclusion:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

In conclusion, Quicksilver by Callie Hart may not reinvent the romantasy genre, but it offers a familiar and engaging escape into a world of bargains, oaths, and shadowy intrigue. While some aspects, such as the pacing and predictability, align closely with other popular titles in the genre, the unique elements of the magic system and the intriguing side characters give this book a charm of its own.

Though the main characters didn’t fully steal the spotlight for me, the side characters, world-building, and promise of more to come in the trilogy left me optimistic about the series’ potential. Yes, the smut and tropes felt a little predictable at times, but that’s part of the comfort and draw of the genre. Overall, Quicksilver serves as a solid stepping stone for what could become an even more compelling series. If you’re a fan of romantasy, it’s worth the read—especially if you love a morally grey MMC, a found family dynamic, and a healthy dose of spice.